gaga's workshop

I’m back! After a few months of silence I’ve promised myself I’ll spend less time plucking up the courage to ask Santa for a MacBook Pro, browsing NET-A-PORTER for ball dresses that my allowance won’t quite allow and spend more time blogging. It’s been a busy few days from Marc Jacob’s spring/summer collection being stolen to the entire world (excluding myself) being obsessed with Edward Cullen and the latest instalment of vampire romance. Lady Gaga rocked up to Barney’s last night in a white Chanel dress designed by Karl Lagerfeld himself for the opening of ‘Gaga’s Workshop’ her Christmas gift range filled with “the spirit of Madison avenue with the spirit of downtown New York pop punk culture" with a price range for everybody. While she was there she also revealed photos from her first official book ‘Lady Gaga X Terry Richardson’ filled with 350 personal and professional images of Gaga shot by Terry Richardson himself which is out today.

                                                          

                                                 

                                                               
                                                          

Happy Tuesday
x

brat and suzie

Although none of the Dragon’s invested, Brat and Suzie’s website has crashed with a stampede of people rushing to order after their impressive sales pitch on tonight’s episode of Dragons Den. If you haven’t heard of this quirky line, then it’s time you did. East London born sisters, Polly and Charlotte have been creating an array of funky animal-inspired t-shirts, jumpers and vests since 2009. Their fun t-shirts have been spotted on the Saturdays and Sarah Harding as well as being featured in a stack of magazines such as Look. On my latest jolly to London I picked up this foxy number below, the soft high-quality material pretty much seals the deal for me.

For peek at more of their amazing threads head to http://www.bratandsuzie.com/


Happy Sunday
xo'

forever 21

Apologies for my absence: it’s been a busy few months (voyages in Cuba and Portugal, the mayhem of a few festivals, exams, learning to drive etc etc.) but last week’s London adventure left me with a new hunger for fashion and style, not so much because of the numerous cool kids raking in their well-combined threads through brick lane’s finest vintage selection or because of Oxford Street’s over-sized Topshop. Forever 21’s freshly landed London flagship store spread out across three vast floors however, caught my eye.

Some of the stores other branches include none other than New York’s Times Square and Tokyo’s Shibuya district and 27 years since the first store in California it’s arrived on Oxford Street. Their autumn collection offers a huge variety from Aztec vibes to baseball jackets, grunge to fifties and sixties inspired vintage all at more than reasonable prices. Rumour has it they're set to open another store along the road at Westfield that’s twice the size as well as a good few more in the near future - maybe Topshop has some new healthy competition?

         Till the next time
xo

to the happy couple

Despite being beyond bored of the hype surrounding the royal wedding it was pretty much compulsory to switch on for a glimpse of Kate floating up the aisle in what was sure to be a monumental, historical dress, which of course it was. Who isn’t thrilled for Sarah Burton, McQueen and the amazing job they did designing such a unique and elegant dress? The dress was satin and Chantilly lace from England and France and had the McQueen tradition of a narrowed waist and padded hips fastened with 50 gazar and organza buttons with a Grace Kelly feel to the whole creation. The embroiderers (who were completely unaware of who had designed the dress) changed their needles every three hours to keep them sharp and clean as well as washing their hands every 30 minutes to keep the thread and lace in pristine condition. Naturally a perk to marrying into the royal family is sharing with the queen – her Cartier halo tiara from 1963 of course.

ps. Pippa Middleton is hot news! 

be safe boys and girls xo'

kate.

Putting aside severe health warnings and bad role models: Kate Moss’s first catwalk since 2004 was everything it should have been. Drawing on a cigarette to close the Louis Vuitton show in Paris in lace up boots, black hot pants and a jacket with extreme fur arms – despite what the critics say I loved it. The fall/winter Louis Vuitton show had everything from wide belts, sheer dresses, fur, round collars to lots of textured mid length skirts adorned by sleek elegant models not to mention an array of delicious arm candy. Marc Jacobs describes the idea behind his ultra sexy fashion show:

“It was supposed to be a hotel, it’s actually my experience at Claridge’s. I love when I see these exquisite creatures get out of the elevator, and some of them would be maids, hookers, mistresses, wives, criminals . . . I’ve been in plenty of hotels in plenty of countries at this point, and it’s very interesting to see who leaves at what time of day, and what they’re wearing the day after.”

If you’re going to do anything worthwhile today, make it 15 minutes of Kate Moss/Louis Vuitton magic on youtube.

Have a nice day

happy mothers day

We're hardly the most traditional family around so mothers day has turned into more of a girls day for my mum and I seeing as my two older brothers have bailed - never to mind. The chocolates have already been cracked open and we're going to spend the afternoon cooking broccoli and stilton soup followed by a delicious homemade lemon and poppy seed loaf from my mum's new hummingbird bakery recipe book courtesy of me. Probably a slightly self indulgent gift on my behalf but I absolutely adore the hummingbird bakery and their amazing cupcakes! My mum enjoys making a mean pudding anyway..

happy mothers day

xo

lucy in disguise

Apologies for my silence if anybody has missed me the last week or so but it’s been a busy few weeks with turning 17, the spring ball, giving up carbs , prelims and what not. Tonight I am not ashamed to say I am dedicating my entire night to the TV in my pyjamas – particularly looking forward to the 3^rd and final Lily Allen program about her vintage shop Lucy in Disguise. I’ve always been a Lily fan - of both her style and her music, admittedly I was never huge on the big gold hoops, dresses and Nike airs look...

If your completely in the dark about Lucy In Disguise, there all about luxury vintage to buy but if your more like me and can’t quite find a couple of hundreds in the bank to splash out on gorgeous vintage wear they let you rent it. Genius. From what I’ve seen in the last two programs there pretty good at selecting the good bits and leaving all the junk behind.

It’s also been announced that Lily Allen is going to launch her own collection in June with a vintage inspiration designed with Nadia Jones. Rumour has it there will be 30’s inspired black sequin dress and 40’s style tea dresses. As well as being sold in Lucy in Disguise the collection will also be available in Harvey Nichols. Meaning I won’t have to trek to Covent Garden for a Lucy in Disguise experience, although I think I should do so soon.

Happy Tuesday xo 

Galliano dismissed from Dior

It would be silly to let the hype around John Galliano go by without a word from me on the oodles of controversy that has surrounded him lately. Days after news broke that John Galliano would design close friend Kate Moss’s wedding gown, Dior suspended the designer after anti-Jewish comments in a Parisian bar. As if that wasn’t awkward enough, the video of him declaring his love for Hitler was. The ultra beautiful and jewish face of Dior, Natalie Portman was unsurprisingly disgusted at the British designer.

Timing wasn’t great either with Paris Fashion Week a few days away leaving Dior without a creative director. The industry held their breath to see the outcome of the end of an era. The Musée Rodin was swarmed with crowds, heavy security and policing as well as Anna Wintour and her daughter, Elena Anaya and Patrick Demarchelier. Dior president Sidney Toledano spoke of the holocaust before the reveal of the Christian Dior autumn/winter 2011 collection was shown with the brains of the collection disgraced and dismissed.

Have a nice day

Ps. Happy International Women's Day x

LFW 2011

If you’re completely unaware that it’s London Fashion Week then you probably don’t have twitter, watch the million pound drop, have fashion forward friends on facebook or pay much attention to the world of fashion in general, if so you’re missing out. I happen to be ticking most of the above boxes. It was the prime minister’s wife who kicked off London Fashion Week at the one and only 10 Downing Street wearing a mid length Christopher Kane skirt. Earlier today Mulberry revealed a new it bag – the Carter, Michael Van der Ham reinvented velvet and Henry Holland was without a mobile on the day of his show. Everybody was drooling over Burberry at lunch time, Paul Smith skipped his way down the runway to take his bow and off the runway, flares and wide legged trousers were everywhere. Anna Wintour was kept thirty minutes late by London traffic before Christopher Kane and Mark Fast showed that his clothes aren’t just for invisible sized girls with skinny vs plus size models.

Have a nice night
x

"the higher the heel, the better"

Since the launch in 2006, it’s becoming harder to miss the London footwear label Charlotte Olympia. Charlotte Dellal (Alice Dellal’s sister) has a collection of statement shoe designs to impress, most of which come with the oversized trademark platform. In the last few months I’ve seen the shoes pop up more and more. I’d say Charlotte Olympia shoes have the perfect mix of a bold statement and style yet easy to wear – if you can cope with a 6inch heel. Dellal’s shoes have been seen on Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Emma Watson. When a shoe designer says “The higher the heel, the better” – it’s surely love. So next time you have a spare £500 something in the bank, perhaps you might want to invest in a pair of quirky Charlotte Olympia heels.

Happy Wednesday
xx

when i grow up..

When you’re brought up between LA and Paris by your British mother who modelled for Chanel and your American journalist father you’re surely destined to be something slightly cooler than the everyday woman. And Natalie Massenet achieved more than cool, a former fashion journalist to the founder of Net-a-porter. Not everybody can say they were the brains and creativity behind the launch of one of the first ever websites to boast 300 designers to 170 countries with a £120 million annual turnover. Before the success of bringing luxurious designers online, Natalie Massenet worked for Women’s Wear Daily and Tatler as well as styling Milla Jovovich and Kim Basinger along the way.



Ignoring the fact I have always lived in Scotland and that my parents aren’t American journalists or Chanel models I still would like to believe that one day I will have written for a condé nast publication and sold my £50million stake of my online fashion business whilst juggling two children and hedge fund husband in my Notting Hill pad.

Golden

After an intense week of exams, I am so glad to be home with my beautiful dog at this time of the day. I’ve applied my second coat of Chanel vendetta (a deep purple with a gorgeous shine) and I most definitely have the Friday feeling! On the note of party, it’s award season. And of course with awards comes the endless flow of beautiful evening gowns adorned by beautiful women.                                                                                                          Ricky Gervais aside, the Golden Globes saw a supply of elegant pale pinks. Anne Hathaway stepped out a bit more adventurous than usual, Sandra Bullock looked classic and demure in sparkling pale pink and Leighton Meester looked once again effortlessly stunning in Burberry Prorsum. Olivia Wilde went all out in a beaded Marchesa gown, and if they hadn’t been so careless as to forget my name on the guest list I think I might have opted for something like Angelina Jolie’s long sleeved Versace gown in emerald.

Have a nice weekend
xx

spring summer is here..

Granted this post is probably a bit late, but just thinking about the new spring/summer collections will reignite my excitement for any kind of weather besides snow and frost.  Elle published a handy little runway edit with spring/summer all neatly laid out from Milan, New York, Paris and London and picking a few of my favourites was an easy task. Marc Jacobs burst into New York in a load of bold fun colour with some glamorous and gorgeous models with funky crimped hair. Although I would have to say that Alberta Ferretti and Chloe wowed me with their romance theme. Both utterly beautiful collections, both so delicate and feminine, both filled with some gorgeous dresses. Romance has definitely hit a soft spot with me this season. But if romance isn’t your thing then perhaps a Burberry or Balmain rock glam look is, or maybe you’re more a minimalism kinda girl?

Have a nice day


xx

wide and wonderful

With revising and the festive season it has been truly ages since I tucked into a magazine! But yesterday I brought home a shiny copy of Grazia to drool over after a piping hot bath and it really didn’t disappoint. The fashion chart had me lusting over a mini Topshop bag (a trend which is apparently here for a while) and a quirky colourful top from Diane von Furstenberg. But more importantly wide legged trousers were mentioned on two different occasions – a trend that I am dying to try. Since first seeing them a few months ago on Blake Lively, wide legged trousers are popping up everywhere! Names such as Caroline Herrera, MaxMara, Chloe and Alexander Wang all added flare to their spring/summer collections. Loads of different options, best worn with a killer heel. I’m more than happy to introduce my skinny jean dominating wardrobe to a pair!

Happy Thursday
xx

2011

The new year has arrived! Hogmany is one of my favourite nights of the year for getting dressed up. I brought it in wearing a sort of jumperish dress with gold hints of thread worn with thick black tights and my new shearling heeled boots courtesy of Liam. In the new year I intend to sink my teeth into the two new books from Santa about the life of Chanel - prepare for a few self indulgent blogs on Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld and without a doubt Coco herself. This year I've opted for the resolution of selling clothes on ebay. Partly because weight loss and I have never got on, I don't smoke and partly because my wardrobe can only hold a rather pathetic amount.







Happy new year!
xx