Feb 14, 2014

London Fashion Week AW14 – Day 1

It’s 9.30pm on Valentine’s Day and I’m sitting on a hotel bed in my pyjamas, editing catwalk shots while drinking ridiculously expensive room service wine. Must be London Fashion Week!

This season I’m working with Panasonic to cover Fashion Scout London 2014. After a stupidly early start (hey, 5.30am), a tedious train journey and the usual confusion over which Circle line train to get on (Aldgate or Liverpool Street? IT’S ALWAYS LIVERPOOL ST BUT I NEVER REMEMBER), I arrived at Freemason’s Hall for my first show.

Leather trousers, Zara | Jumper, M&S | Boots, M&S | Bag, Brit-Stitch | Earrings, c/o Anna Lou of London

Armed with my new Panasonic LumixGM1 (c/o), my blonde hair and I went exploring around Freemason’s Hall. It’s such a beautiful building – all intricate cornices and carnivorous spaces.

I’ve been getting to grips with my LumixGM1 and honestly, I’m SO impressed. I’ve spent a good few seasons photographing Fashion Week with my Canon but not being a professional or particularly proficient photographer, I always struggle to find the right settings to capture the notoriously-blurry catwalks. With the LumixGM1, I stuck it on Intelligent Auto and got some really great shots.

First up was the Napsugar exhibition which I just loved. I love seeing wearable clothing at Fashion Week and I could see every piece from the Napsugar collection in my own wardrobe. The comic book styling was brilliant, too.

Next up was my first show – Ones to Watch, which is a series of collections from up-and-coming designers Sarah Ryan, Carrie Ann Stein, Hiroko and George Styler. From knitted dresses to bejewelled jackets and weird lace face mask things, each collection was a riot of colour, pattern and embellishment. Very nice indeed.

Downtime was spent in the amazing cloakrooms at the back of Freemason’s Hall. It has such a 1960s school gym vibe – far more preferable than Pret on The Strand!

I also saw Ong-Oaj Pairam and Pam Hogg, but both deserve posts of their own. Come back tomorrow for more photos, reviews and day two of London Fashion Week, where I reveal if I managed to stick with my stilettos for another day.

All images taken with the Panasonic LumixGM1.

The London Fashion Week Kit

Posted in Blogging, Fashion.

Happy London Fashion Week, friends!

The bi-annual style circus kicks off in London tomorrow and I’m catching a train at 6am (blergh) to be there. Despite the early starts, achey feet and constant outfit envy, I’m really looking forward to it. During the SS14 presentations I was busy getting married (which, to be fair, was WAY more fun) so it’s been a little while since I’ve stood (awkwardly, in stupid heels) on the Somerset House cobbles.

For AW14, I’m down in London primarily to work. I’m doing some really fun things with my client Brit-Stitch as well as capturing the happenings at London Fashion Scout for Panasonic, and I’ll be checking out Orla Kiely (always my favourite) as well as a few other shows.

I’m not one for peacocking so I’ll be wearing black, black and more black, with a pair of pointy M&S boots and my Nike Frees in my tote. I pulled together this ‘normal person at Fashion Week’ survival kit to help me through my three days in the fray – as well as the insanely-comfortable Frees, I’ve got plasters (I always buy new shoes for Fashion Week. WHY IS THIS?), a statement necklace to dress up even the blackest of black outfits, my Orla show invite, Brit-Stitch Milk Token Oyster holder, Revlon’s ColorBurst Matte Balm in Striking (such an easy red, especially for the newly blonde… eeep!), my iPhone for all that Instagramming and my new LumixGM (c/o Panasonic) for capturing the catwalk. After many seasons of lugging around a massive DSLR, I am SO excited to get to grips with this tiny little beauty!

See you on the other side!

Around My Home Part 2

Posted in Home.

Whenever I get into a bit of a fashion rut (where I currently find myself), I turn to the soft, non-judgemental, one-size-fits-all comfort of home interiors. Duvet covers don’t care if you’re having a fat day and you’ll never need to worry if your chopping board clashes with your scented candle.

So while I worry about London Fashion Week and if I’m cool enough to pull off Nike Frees as a legit style statement, here are some photos of lovely house (which is definitely cool enough to pull off Nike Frees, FYI).

The spare bedroom was one of the first things we finished after moving into our house just before Christmas. We had guests coming to stay for New Year and if there’s one thing I pride myself in, it’s being the perfect hostess.

Although that being said, we spent all our pennies on posh stuff for the bits of the house we actually use, so our guests do have to recline in a thrifty environment. I can’t vouch for the comfort of the £80 Ikea mattress we saddled them with, but look how pretty! The bed is from Ikea and matches the bedside tables which we used as our own until we moved. As Rob and I upgraded to a king size bed I reluctantly gave up my beloved Orla Kiely bedding, picked up at TK Maxx last year. Most things in here are repurposed – the lamp was in our old office and the ‘Le Chat’ print hung in the hallway of the old house. With a slightly different style for our own spaces, it’s nice to give these old favourites a new home in the spare room.

We’ve only been in the house two months but the living room has already had a makeover. I’m trying to emulate that cool, Scandinavian style with some mid-century inspired pieces – the bow lamp and curved coffee table are both from Made.com.

I posted a photo of the sofa on Instagram over the weekend and had lots of comments – it’s actually an old Ikea model, kindly donated to us by our awesome friend Nic. I picked up the ampersand cushion from Homebase a few days ago (£5.95! Bargain) and the custard cream is by the brilliant Nikki McWilliams. The grey, yellow and cream chevron blanket is by Cynthia Rowley, a steal at £16.99 from TK Maxx.

Mine and Rob’s bedroom is one space I have entirely neglected. It’s a bit of an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ situation and as long as I’ve got a cosy bed with great sheets, I’m happy!

A little bit of TLC over the weekend though, and it’s already looking much more together. The duvet was a panic purchase when I realised we only had double bed sheets (thank you John Lewis!) but it actually looks lovely with our oak bed and tables. The Orla Kiely framed print was a sort-of DIY – I picked up a pack of OK postcards from TK Maxx and chose my three favourites to frame. They don’t quite fit the space but I really like the exposed wood behind them!

The wooden Covent Garden sign was kindly sent to me by awesome decor site Out There Interiors. It’s beautifully hand-carved and looks fab up on the shelf in our bedroom, alongside a stack of Vogues, my glittery Louboutins, a Brit-Stitch bag and a vintage camera. Oh, and a Chanel carrier bag for good measure!

inspiration for home decoration blog post

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my first tentative steps into the world of wall painting at the weekend. I decided I wanted rid of the odd pinky-purple wall in our kitchen and spent two weeks studying the Fallow & Ball colour chart before choosing my shade – Mole’s Breath. A trip to Homebase, 30 minutes and some ceiling splashes later and ta-dah! I think the colour looks great with our Made.com dining table and Habitat chairs.

Things are slowly taking shape – there’s the bedroom to finish, Rob’s office to tackle and my dressing room to organise but every weekend we do a little more and I’m determined to have the whole place flawless by March. Wish me luck!

Inappropriate Footwear

Posted in Daily Outfits, Fashion.

Who cares if your feet are cold when they look this cute?

Jeans, Gap | Jumper, ASOS | Coat, French Connection | Heels, M&S | Ring, H&M

While browsing bridesmaids’ shoes with my friend Laura at the weekend, I found myself face-to-face with the most fabulous, floral heels. Entirely inappropriate, for both her wedding and the current weather, but I had to have them. And who can blame me – they’re adorable!

I couldn’t wait to wear them so despite freezing temperatures and gale force winds, they’re on my feet today. Admittedly I can’t even feel my feet due to coldness, but that’s a small price to pay for cute shoes, amirite?

Pssst – M&S have 20% off women’s clothing and accessories at the moment, making these shoes a totally amazing £23.60. You should probably just buy them now and save us all the fuss. Or maybe the black ones (which I also picked up)?

Double Your Denim

Posted in Daily Outfits.

My love of denim knows no bounds. I’ve tried pretty much every major brand and have a section of my wardrobe dedicated solely to jeans. From high-waisted to stonewashed to ones with tigers emblazoned on the bum (thanks, Topshop), I have every style imaginable and could recreate that classic Justin and Britney look at least four times over.

But, there’s always room for more. Well, there is when you’re a terrible denim addict with zero willpower. Which, let’s face it – I am.

Hello, pretty new things! Last weekend Gap had 20% off online, so naturally I rinsed that discount dry. I’m a total preppy fan girl when it comes to Gap, and these Legging Jeans are utter perfection. Perfectly skinny with a mid-rise fit and narrow ankle – if you’re hippy with long legs like me, these babies are for you.

I also snatched up this light wash denim shirt – I have a dark denim shirt (also from Gap) that I wear and wash about three times a week, so I know I’ll get loads of use from this. Denim shirts are perfect layering pieces and when worn with jeans in a different shade, make Doing Double Denim (TM) far less ‘eighties’.