The Fashion Laureate

2012-06-18T11:44:00.002-07:00

Have you seen? The classic Kate Middleton dress is on sale on ebay for a bargain price.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270999708222?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_1194 Elbows at the ready then!

Whistles meets Swan Lake

2010-10-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

I love this Whistles 'Evangeline' feather dress. Back in Cambridge, there was a 'Snow Ball' held every December by one of the colleges, and this would have been a perfect occasion to wear this Bjorn like creation. Sadly times have changed. I'm working in London now, where there is little opportunity for my inner fashionista to break free, and when she does its in a sensibly cool dress by Acne or Alex Wang. So please, SJPs out there, go and get this dress for me. Use WH25AW10 from 5th - 15th October and the lovely Whistles will give you a massive 25% off (works for everything). xo

Pigeon light

2010-10-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

I just love this pink pigeon light by Ed Carpenter, available at Liberty for £65. I have been told to keep all my pinkness in one room or the house would be overrun with girliness. So this beautiful light will be going in the kitchen.

Girly Louis Ghosts

2010-09-29T04:36:00.000-07:00

The Philippe Starck Louis Ghost chairs for Kartell have got to be one of my favourite chairs ever. I have four transparent ones in my kitchen and they look fab. As Lucia Van Der Post says, they take up no "visual space" and so they're perfect for a small room. Anyway, they now come in Barbie, which I think is uber cute.

For sale with thewhiteroom.com and others.

Shoe Stories

2010-09-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the Selfridges shoe story competition? Tell them your shoe story on the website and you could be in with the chance of winning a whole load of new shoes. Exciting stuff. Of course I wanted to write a poem, but the nasty site wouldn't let me put in line breaks. Anyway, here it is:

The day I failed my exams, or 'The death of the black shoes'

On the day I found out that I had failed my neuroscience exam
I was supposed to be going to a celebratory party:
A garden party
With all the other neuroscience students.
Obviously that was now out of the question.
No one else had failed the exam.
Just me.
And drinking alone is a new level of pathetic
I didn’t think I’d quite reached.
So I looked at the board one last time,
(Just to check candidate number 143
was where I expected it, between 142 and 144 and not somewhere else
like after 167 or 95)
Then sighed
And went straight to Topshop.
I bought a pair of pink high heels with a big pink bow
In soft fake leather with a 10% student discount,
Threw my boring black neuroscience shoes in the bin,
Put the pink shoes on.
And went to the garden party.

NB this is a true story. When I came back
for another year of neuroscience
the following September
I wished I hadn’t thrown the boring black shoes away.

New Gossip Girl

2010-09-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited that Gossip Girl is back! And its come back stronger than ever. If you're not already a devotee, start watching right now! Its a fashion inspiration.

Ode to Liberty London Girl

2010-09-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

I wrote this for Liberty London Girl on her website but I thought for completeness I'd put it on here too.
Hope you like it!

She travels, searching, cross the lands,
And diarises it by hand,
With prose inspired unfailingly,
By style and food, with repartee,
Today she’s offering a gift,
A fashion raft to those adrift.
Her generosity is like a gun,
That’s knocked us down and left us stunned.
Getting to our feet again we ask:
“The cashmere sweater, pretty please*?”
(And beg and grovel on our knees)
Plead cashflow failure, baby’s crying,
Or explain the cat is dying,
In the hope that she will see
The truly needy one is me.
But thank you Sasha even if
We do not win. (Boo hoo! Sniff Sniff!)
For you have brought us fashion week
Lovely snaps, a great sneak peek,
With life laid open, nearly bare,
She tossed her hair, and took us there

Natasha Law Artwork

2010-09-27T14:46:00.001-07:00

Has anyone heard of Natasha Law before? I saw some truly gorgeous artwork of hers for sale on the Matches online site (of all places) and googled the artist to find out where she'd appeared from.

Well, it turns out she is the sister of the fabulous Jude and has done a lot of artwork which you're probably already familiar with.. eg the drawings in the girly bible 'How to Walk in High Heels'

Time to start saving.. Prints are £250 at Matches.com and originals are in the £3.5k region.

Erdem Competition

2010-09-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

The London uber boutique Matches held a competition for tickets to their London Fashion week party for Erdem, and were kind enough to name my little poem the winner. See the full article here
http://blog.matchesfashion.com/

or, if you're feeling lazy here's a repeat:

There is a place, in London city,
Where young and bold, the fair and pretty
Do travel hence to find a dress
That wraps them in a sweet caress, and speaks:
"No need to ask the mirror now,
You are the fairest, and this is how,
I'm made of fabrics rich and glorious,
Cut insightful and victorious,
That does do justice to thine eyes, thine hair, thine sense of style.”
Oh sweet find! this little gem,
Constructed by the prince Erdem.
Its vivid brilliance stands out like sin,
Amongst the garments gathered within
A shop. Unparalleled, this beacon stands,
Its vestments revered through countless lands,
‘Matches, Matches” Richmond breathes in soft moan,
‘Oh Matches” echo Notting Hill and Marylebone.
For you I would travel through both wind and time,
To purchase this fine dress divine.

Delectable Erdem SS11 catwalk

Matches summer dresses

2010-04-12T12:32:00.001-07:00

The uber-fashion London store Matches really does live up to its customer service policy. After a site failure prevented me from buying a jumper last season, they sent me a £50 voucher to tempt me back. Utterly lovely. Now what to spend it on? I got yet another 'I'm engaged!' text last night (they're coming thick and fast at the moment- that'll be the 4th wedding in the last 6 months), so I may as well get shopping for a new dress to wear. If I can't have a wedding of my own, I can comfort myself with the knowledge that I look fabulous.

Here are my current favourites. The beige dress with the orange stripe is by LP.BG, a label I've only noticed this year, but the collection has hit the ground running. It costs £460. The polka-dot is £440 by Phillip Lim and the grey is a little less bankrupting at £195. Only its£145 really...

Leigton Meester vs Blair Waldorf

2010-04-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Now, I'm a big fan of all things Gossip Girl but I think Leighton is cashing in a bit with the sideline singalong. She looks lovely and the songs aren't half bad but I think I like her better as Blair- what do you think? And is it damaging her acting career?

American Diners

2010-04-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous photographic exhibition going on at the Fox Talbot Museum, Wareham, Dorset if you're in that part of the world: Capturing the American Dream runs until June 2010.

Feels like summer..

2010-04-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Rose in Alice's Wonderland

2010-04-05T01:48:00.001-07:00

I've always adored Alice Temperley's evening gowns (which net-a-porter girl hasn't?) and so I was filled with glee at the idea of a diffusion line for younger folk. But I have to say its a bit hit and miss. The good stuff is very good, the rest is a bit average. These are my favourites.

The red polkadot dress (also in blue) is from netaporter.com or Selfridges for £246. Its a funny length- you need supermodel knees to make it work, but the fabric is a soft silk mix and feels comfy on which isn't something I usually say about strapless dresses. The panther teeshirt is cute-I got this free when the Alice PR girls were having a promo drive. It works massively with a black skirt, and a nice piece of the brand for £69. I put in the white dress because I think EVERYONE needs a pretty white summer dress- it works for brunettes or blondes and can look casual or smart. Utterly perfect. Just don't wear it to a wedding.

Wear this Summer: Black and White

2010-04-04T08:42:00.003-07:00

There is something so eternally chic about black and white. I love these black and white Christian Louboutin shoe boots from Autumn Winter 09. (There are still a couple of pairs left at Browns Labels for Less if you hurry.) The dress is by Tibi, but Reiss did an amazingly similar one last season, called the Peplum. There's always one on eBay and its so worth the seventy-five quid or whatever, the flicky overskirt bit gives an amazing silhouette. The girl with a white bow is from the ever wonderful Sartorialist.com. I adore the simplicity of his photographs.

My favourite Erdem

2010-04-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

Everyone seems to be having a bit of an Erdem moment right now, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and share my favourite Erdem moment so far. From the ever brilliant Outnet.com