A la Mode

THIS BLOG HAS NOW MOVED!

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:48:00 +0000

INDIVIDUAL STYLE UNITED SPIRIT COMPETITION

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:48:00 +0000

Wearing: Dior sunglasses, Aquascutum shirt, Charlie May skirts, Dr Martens leather tote and shoes

I've teamed up with one of my favourite brands Dr Martens to run a style competition celebrating INDIVIDUAL STYLE UNITED SPIRIT. I'm representing the heels range, which actually I've never gone for before now, but I'm loving these slip on loafers! The slimline leather tote has been used every day since I got it too, it's perfect for fitting in an extra jacket, notebooks and even ferrying half made garments to and from the studios!

To enter the competition all you have to do is post a photograph of yourself in your 'Dr Marten's style' to twitter or instagram, making sure you @charliemay and @drmartens #FIRSTANDFOREVER. I will be choosing the winner, so feel free to butter me up all you like.

The winner will receive £500 to spend on DrMartens.com and an all expenses paid trip to the original factory with me on 8th October!

I'm really looking forward to seeing your outfits; I'll be picking the winner on September 10th, good luck everyone!

How much of a serious girl crush does everyone have on Alice Dellal? Such a perfect face for Dr Marten!

TRANSITIONING

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Wearing: DESA pony leather jacket, 2nd Day tank, Ann Demeuelemeester skirt, Chloe sandals, Miu Miu sunnies

Autumn is apparently here and I'm finding the best thing is to carry a leather jacket with me everywhere. My favourite at the moment is this minimal black leather jacket by DESA, with some not-so-minimal lace print on the front actually made out of laser cut pony leather!

LOCK AND CHAIN

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 09:32:00 +0000

Wearing: MOOD by me shirt, Bond Hardware necklace (currently on sale HERE), Acne trousers and boots.

Sometimes a series of detail shots is just better than one full outfit. Especially when in this instance I seemed to be pulling a funny face in every picture! I guess I was just giddy after the Sanderson spa experience - which is where I'm stood outside of. Hello fresh skin! Wearing a shirt that I customised myself online via MOOD by me - you choose a garment and then can customise colour, fit, length, everything! I always wanted a navy shirt with black detailing, worn here with a more S&M vibe necklace from BOND hardware.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my blog yesterday - 4 years old! Thank you to all my wonderful readers, I never imagined I could have achieved so much in this last 4 years and I'm so happy that I have you all to share it with. Here's to 4 more!

Pictures by Lexxi

TABI

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:44:00 +0000

Wearing: Alexander Wang shirt, Ann Demeulemeester skirt, Margiela tabi boots

I finally got my hands on some tabi boots! I was a little worried as Margiela only goes up to a 7/40 (WHY), but they actually fit well. They're leather on the inside so I'm sure they'll stretch out a little too. The white leather tabi's are still on my list for dreamy-all-in-white-outfits, but I think these brown hessians will get a lot more wear. Perfect transitional Summer to Autumn boots!

MATT VS SHINE

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:10:00 +0000

New in: Graphic matt and shine clutch by Kzeniya, now available to buy in Selfridges. My bag collection has been growing rapidly as of late, I seemed to have clutches in every colours except black, and the two finishes won me over - perfect addition!

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Apologies for the lack of posts as of late, if you follow me on Instagram (@girlalamode) you'll be seeing sneak peaks of my SS13 collection! So exciting, and only 17 days to go!

SUSHI DATES IN SOHO

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Sitting here editing these photos has made me so hungry! Last week Lexxi introduced me to Ukai Sushi; just down the road from her work, she goes regularly for a bite and was the perfect partner to order all the best dishes on the menu.

It all looked so good and we sat there hungrily eyeing up everyone else's dishes, until we decided to go for a mix of sushi and hot plates, washed down with some miso soup and a bottle of their sweet homemade Sake! The sushi was out of this world and I'm pretty sure I'm hooked, next time I'm in central I'll be heading back here to catch Lex on one of her impromptu lunches!

A NEW STANDARD OF ACCESSORY

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 09:16:00 +0000

This week I discovered new London based accessories label, KITE. Specialising in leather, their designs are minimal and clean with a strong focus on texture and material - a label after my own heart, I'm sure you know.

Kite was founded by designers Sally Kite and Grace Eden who between them have worked for Meadham Kirchoff, Halston and Marios Schwab, and despite only being around for one season, are already stocked at Shine in Hong Kong, and Darkroom. The edgy design of the mohawk clutches strike me as something I'd be gawking at walking around somerset house at fashion week or on the street; whilst the wallets and card holders are keeping it clean and classic in beautiful python and pony leathers.

What can I say, other than I need to get my hands on all of it?

THE BOX

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Wearing: Ann Sofie Back coat layered over Limi Feu jacket, Edun shirt, Moxham Eygypt necklace, Acne trousers, Jack Purcell Converse, Dagmar and Helmut Lang bracelets

Whilst this outfit may seem a little extreme for the nice weather we're sort of having at the moment, this is the kind of look you get used to in London; warm if the weather turns mean and easily shed when the sun turns a smile.

I love this new shirt by Edun, which is pretty much just a square with a collar attached, also the whole 'cocoon with some legs sticking out and walking around' look. Super comfortable and super layered.

Photos by Jen

WIN TICKETS TO FASHION WEEK WITH MOTILO!

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:13:00 +0000

How would you like to win a VIP trip to fashion week? One of my favourite websites, Motilo, have teamed up with Jonathan Saunders and will be streaming his SS13 show live from Motilo.com on 16th September! To celebrate, they've created one seriously amazing competition - A VIP trip to London Fashion Week for two, plus accommodation in a swanky hotel and £1000 spending money!

To enter all you have to do is create your LFW look on Motilo and include LFW in the name. Even if you're not the lucky one, runner up still wins £500 or 5 x £100 to spend on designer brands in the Motilo shop! The lucky winners will be chosen on the 7th of September. Good luck everyone!

Find out more details and enter HERE!

CLAW ILLUSION

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:23:00 +0000

Wearing: Aquascutum shirt, Acne shorts, Miu Miu sunglasses, MFP bracelet and Dominic Jones rings

I've been experimenting with more and more manicure variations of the DIY I posted last week. Absolutely in love with this one! Nude undercoat with black spiked tips. Almost gives the illusion of claws!

I painted the nails nude first, then cut triangles out of masking tape, this time putting them further down the nail, towards the end, then painted over with black. Remove when dry and add top coat.

In the mean time I've been working on my SS13 collection, so excited for fashion week in less than a month now! I also got myself a bicycle to zip around the city in. Took it out for it's first ride to the flower market yesterday!

Thanks to Nathan and Kit for the photos!

COLUMBIA ROAD FLOWER MARKET

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 06:05:00 +0000

There's no doubt that East London's Columbia Road flower market is the place to be on a Sunday, just a short walk away from Brick Lane's PUMA YARD, it hosts live music, a farmers market, coffee pit stops, cafe's and of course, the flower stalls overspilling with freshly cut or grown greenery. The sound of merchants trying to out shout each other is deafening as you walk down Columbia Road (GET YOUR ROSES £5 A BUNCH!), and always brings a smile to my face.

For lunch I stopped by Printers and Stationers, an old printing workshop converted into an eatery just off the square where you can watch the buskers play, it's the perfect chill out spot for a beer a beer and pulled pork sandwich, as well as being just around the corner from the fresh Oyster bar. The flower market is open from 8am to 4pm on Sundays only.

Helpful tip: turn up around 4pm, closing time, for bunches of flowers for £2 or £3!

YARD SNAP

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 08:05:00 +0000

Wearing: Yohji Yamamoto trench, Theory dress, Celine shoes, MFP bracelet, Miu Miu sunglasses

Last Saturday the UK blogging clan got together for a yard sale in Susie's yard (pictured above), the whole day was a lot of fun, if not a little hard core in the morning with bargain hunters queuing from 9.30am! You've got to be in it, to win it, eh? In the afternoon it was barbecues and sunshine and we all got to relax a little. The sale came at the perfect time for me, as I'd just moved house, I was ruthless with my selling; my highest price being £50 for some Nicholas Kirkwood shoes! Thank you to those who made it, it was a pleasure meeting all of you and I'm already seriously looking forward to the next one!

Photos by Kit Lee

GOING FOR GREY

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:21:00 +0000

Wearing: A.F. Vandevorst dress, Hussein Chalayan X PUMA shoes

I only recently found out that Hussein Chalayan was the creative director for PUMA! When choosing some pieces from the PHC collection I felt I couldn't pass up these beautiful grey leather high tops, availably exclusively at the PUMA Carnaby Street store. Having a look through his past collections for the brand, it's definitely the shoes that are continually catching my eye; minimal aesthetic but practical and comfortable, it's a perfect match I think!

Thanks to Jen for the photos!

WAISTCOATAPHOBIA

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Wearing: Haider Ackermann waistcoat, Acne tank, skirt made by me, Alexander Wang brogues, Miu Miu sunglasses, Helmut Lang cuff, Dominic Jones beetle ring

I've had this waistcoat in my wardrobe for well over a year, whilst I love the minimal design, I've been finding it tricky to wear and it's only so far seen the light of day once. I think I feel this way about all waistcoats; they are quite dressy and almost feel like an unnecessary addition to an outfit. I finally triumphed yesterday, by wearing this piece with a simple sheer tank and plain skirt. Yay to not being a waistcoataphobe anymore!

Thanks Jen for the photos!

EASY PEASY MANICURE

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:49:00 +0000

Wearing: Mood by Me shirt, complex geometries skirt, Nail varnish by Barry M and Chanel

The manicure I'm addicted to at the moment is this super easy DIY; you just cut triangle shapes out of masking tape and stick them over your cuticles, all you need to do then is paint over the top and peel off! I'm loving having the underneath triangle natural, but it would work so well with other colours too. So far this week I've had grey and then last night switched to navy satin, but what I'm really craving is a matt/shiny combo. I need to get myself some matt top coat ASAP!

LIFE'S A BEACH

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Wearing: PUMA hat, Yohji Yamamoto trench, Alexander Wang tank, Jil Sander trousers

Last Saturday I headed to the Roundhouse in Camden, for their Pop-up beach with some friends. It was insanely hot (I soon ditched the black trench), so we grabbed a jug of Pimms and some deckchairs and lay out to sizzle. It as pretty surreal being surrounded by sun and sand, with London's city scape just about visible over the pastel crates, and yet still very relaxing.

The beach is open for August so head down there when you have a few free hours. There's quite a family vibe in the morning but as soon as the 2 for 1 cocktails start, people soon crawl out of the woodwork.

Thank you to Matthew for the shots of moi

YARDSALE

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 06:39:00 +0000

This time next week I'll be scooping up my bags and heading over to Susie's yard! I'm moving house.. today, so have been scrupulously sifting through my wardrobe, trying to narrow it down to pieces that I actually wear.

I seem to love collecting hats, despite the fact that I never really wear them! I'll be selling my ACNE leather cowboy hat seen here, and my Jaeger trucker hat, because hats should not just be decorative objects, they should be loved too! I think we're planning on having food, drink and even live music; so come to the yard, even just to hang out for the festival vibes. See you next week!

HIGH SUMMER

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:47:00 +0000

Wearing: PUMA top, skirt made by me, Celine shoes, Moxham bracelet, Dominic Jones rings, Miu Miu sunglasses

The weathers been pretty amazing this last week, I got to enjoy it by heading down to the countryside mid week for my Brother's graduation/Mum's birthday. I spent a lot of time enjoying the sun in my Auntie's beautiful garden with a glass of wine. One day holiday!

All I want to be wearing right now is a white tee or simple shirt, I knew when I picked out this PUMA top it would be perfect for the heat, as well as being drawn the to the perforated back and sleeve panels, which felt like perfect SS12 wear. I'm also really into the unusual neckline, that and it's increasable which is perfect for me. As for the skirt, I made it in half an hour before leaving for the train; you know when you need something and you just don't have it? I need to do this 30 minute makeover more often!

Thanks to my Mum, the birthday girl for helping me out with these shots!

THE LAUNCH OF PUMA YARD

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:32:00 +0000

On Friday night I headed down to the opening of PUMA YARD on Brick Lane, the interactive new space from PUMA Social. The anticipation has been building up around east London with Brick Lane walls painted, and pointing you to the Jamaican themed social club.

There's lots to see and do on entry, from dozens of rum cocktails to try, incredible Jamaican barbecue food- I tried the curried goat with plantain, which was awesome, as well as a sprint track, photo booths, a Bob Marley Listening Wall with headphones plugged into shoes, and games tables with everything from checkers to ping-pong.

Groove Armada supported by Redlight and Kissy Sell Out played the headline set on the launch night, who were totally incredible, the perfect music to dance the night away to, and I can't quite remember dragging my ass home after a few of those delicious cocktails!

There’s a lot more amazing events to come from the Boiler room at Truman Brewery- where all the PUMA YARD events will be hosted over the next 17 days, from live music from Professor Green to Cool Rummings (a cocktail making competition to complete a rum cocktail in the time Jamaica took to lap the bob sled course)

I’ll be heading down over the week so hope to see you guys there!

Check PUMA YARD for more event details.

SHOWING YOU MY WARDROBE

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 07:59:00 +0000

Sorry for kind of dropping off the face of the earth this week, I've been busy blogging for Puma, which I'm very excited about; posts will be emerging soon enough! In the meantime here are some outfits I shot with Kit Lee this week for Jackie Dixon's Show Me Your Wardrobe. Some of my favourite outfits at the moment and always black and white, it's only when I laid my five outfits on the bed that I thought oh jeez! I've got a monochrome addiction.

Thank you so much Kit and Jackie for featuring me!

CURRENT INSPO

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 08:04:00 +0000

Some current inspo whilst I've fallen off the radar for the week. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know I just returned from 32 hours in the countryside for my Mum's birthday and brothers graduation, double celebrations! It was so nice to get out of London for a day, especially with the Olympic crowds building. London certainly feels more hectic than usual, can I say I'm jealous to those who got out whilst they still could?

A MODERN TAKE

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 09:09:00 +0000

Wearing: Religion blazer, Aquascutum shirt, Charlie May wrap skirt, Nicolas Andreas Taralis skirt, Chloe sandals

There is something about black and white together that is just too perfect, leaving the focus on the design and folds of the fabric. This outfit is also kind of a modern feminine take on the classic white shirt and jacket, all I want to be wearing lately is a loose white shirt or a plain tshirt, it just feels perfectly summery and fresh. I hope you're all having a great weekend! I've been so chilled.. I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to work!

BECAUSE LONDON

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 10:31:00 +0000

Incredibly excited to be featured in Because online's latest fashion film, entitled The Quiet Duel (credits below). To be paired with Margiela is too amazing to put into words. You all know how much I love monochrome, and any of these looks would be very happy in my own wardrobe!

In the meantime I'm working on SS13, went out and bought all the final fabrics yesterday ready to be dyed next week. I think I've created my dream jacket, I can't wait for you guys to see in September! Sorry you have to wait that long!

Credits:

Black look:

jacket MARGIELA

skirt CHARLIE MAY

shoes TENZIG CHARKVIANI

White look:

plastic jacket MARGIELA

skirt MARGIELA

Polo neck AMERICAN APPAREL

shoes J JS LEE

Hair by Ayo Laguda using 3 more inches by Michael Van Clarke

Make-up by Ciara O'Shea using Nude Skincare and M.A.C Cosmetics

Hair assistant: Jessica Hurley

Model: Ebba Lidvall@FM

ROSE RAIN

noreply@blogger.com (A La Mode) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 08:49:00 +0000

Wearing: Muriee knit, Complex Geometries skirt, Ann Demeulemeester boots, spiked ring and bracelet by Maria Francesca Pepe

Another rainy summer Sunday spent hiding in coffee shop, with much needed caffeine in hand, wearing my new favourite rose gold accessories and triple lace boots. I don't mind the moody weather so much if it means I get to wear my favourite boots, all year round; - just not accompanied with an umbrella, a winter coat, sunglasses, and a bikini! Schizophrenic London, I still love you anyway.

Photos by Alexxsia