OUTFIT | WHEN FRIENDS CAME TO STAY

Over the weekend two very special friends from Devon visited. As they arrived late on Friday evening we stayed in and ate Mexican food whilst drinking mojitos and playing a ridiculous(ly funny) game called Cards Against Humanity, then on Saturday we went to some exhibitions in Chelsea. Theres a fab website called This at There, which tells you what's on in London - there are so many amazing free exhibitions, so it's worth checking "TAT" regularly to find out what's happening where!

First we went to the Tower of London to see the beautiful poppy installation; thousands of ceramic poppies have flooded the tower's grounds in memory of those who died during the First World War. Eventually, by the 11th November, an amazing 888,246 poppies will have been placed. It was a stunning sight, there are just so many, but it also eerily looks like blood seeping out of the tower.... you can find out more, and even buy one of the poppies, here. 

We then headed West to the Saatchi gallery where we saw an interesting installation called New Art from Africa and Latin America, and also went to the Private Apartment of Mademoiselle Chanel exhibition on the second floor. It was very interesting of course, she was a fascinating woman with a fascinating life, but I couldn't help feeling a little down afterwards. The gallery space and photography itself was very dark and gloomy.... very much like the end of her life apparently.

On a brighter note, we then popped to Chelsea's Proud gallery, where they're currently exhibiting old images of Jane and Serge. I find their love affair so inspiring and these images, which were taken by Jane's brother Andrew, are so full of life and character, it's definitely worth going to if you can make it before it finishes on the 26th October. I wore my favourite tartan dress by Mod Dolly with a grey jersey funnel neck underneath, and a check jacket from Zara. As anticipated, I've been wearing my Jigsaw pixie boots* nearly everyday! They're a great alternative to my DMs and I wear them when I fancy looking a little more sophisticated!   

TARTAN DRESS BY MOD DOLLY

TARTAN JACKET FROM ZARA

PIXIE CHELSEA BOOTS FROM JIGSAW*

 

LFW SS15 | FASHION SCOUT

FINALLY getting these photographs of the Fashion Scout showcase up; this weekend I had friends visiting so spent my time catching up, playing silly games and going to exhibitions, which was super fun!

On Tuesday I decided to check out what was happening at Freemason's Hall and went to the George Styler show too, whose work I also saw on the catwalk last season. I'm going to be honest, his style is not my cup of tea; I didn't really like the Egyptian theme that was going on and the collection seemed very confused. I did like one of his cardigans though, (the one with the hot hair balloon on shown below), and there was also a sporty aspect to some of his outfits, which was cool.

After the show I went to a showcase down the hall, which featured loads of upcoming design talent. I instantly fell in love with a brand called Museum of Friendship, who i'll be telling you more about soon, their brand values are really lovely and their designs are kitsch but in a sophisticated way somehow. I love the stars and illustrated hands below. 

I also got to see the work of Keiko Nishiyama up close, which was fabulous - her prints are so intricate and beautiful, literally like pieces of art! I'd actually already seen her graduate collection, for which she'd looked to botanical drawings for inspiration, this year her aquarium designs were just as breathtaking. The wonderful Min Wu was also there with her stunning new sport luxe collection - it was great to see everything up close and personal, and I got to chat with the designers too, which was super interesting and inspiring.   

Photography by Matt Lain

LFW | DAY 5 OUTFIT

Woah, sorry for the lateness, I will try to get the rest of my images from LFW organised and up on the blog by this evening! Then I need to catch up with what's been going on in Milan as thus far I've only seen snippets on instagram!

On Tuesday, when London Fashion Week was winding down, I decided to break in my new Dr Martens, which were an early birthday present from the wonderful Matt Lain! They started killing me after about three hours... which I felt was pretty good going! I then spent the rest of the day hobbling around central London, very chic. Regardless of the pain, I love them, they're beautiful, I intend on living in them for at least a year. 

Another key feature of my outfit was my new Beyond Retro backpack*. It's a beautiful plum colour and is nice and roomy so I can fit lots of crap in it! I wore it with my gorgeous new Halston Heritage dress*, (I need to get some snaps of it worn on it's own soon so you can all see how breathtaking it is), and also a cosy Boden cashmere jumper.

CASHMERE JUMPER FROM BODEN

HALSTON HERITAGE DRESS*

BAG FROM BEYOND RETRO*

DR MARTENS

LFW | PAUL SMITH SS15

On Sunday I was lucky enough to attend the SS15 Paul Smith show. I decided not to miss the collection whilst staring through a lens and took a few phone snaps instead, which you can see on instagram. All of these beautiful images have been taken from Style.com. 

Held in the bright, open show-space at 1 Granary Square, one by one Paul Smith clad models made their way around a figure of eight walkway. "Relaxed" sprang to mind as loosely tailored shirts and jackets sauntered past in stripes or muted tones. Many models walked with hands in pockets too, to amplify that casual, boyish look, and even the more feminine finalé garments featured dropped waists and emitted a leisurely vibe! Favourite styles included oversized culottes in a gorgeous grey-blue and stripes, as well as a striped, mannish style jacket worn over a shirt dress. What's fab about this collection is how wearable it is; I love its understated coolness. 

LFW | DAY 3 OUTFIT

Yesterday I popped to Somerset House to see some friends and go to a presentation - sadly I didn't actually make it to the presentation though cos I had to rush off to Kings Cross for the Paul Smith show, one not to be missed! I wore my M Missoni dress, which makes me feel "a million dollars", with a Boden roll neck underneath to keep me toasty! I finished the look with an oversized black bag from Marc B and my new favourite Chelsea boots from Jigsaw! These boots looks fab with a bit of ankle sock visible over the top... I'm going to live in these this winter!

I also wore my hair differently. As I'm trying to grow my fringe out I thought I'd take my new to be CP, (that's center parting), out for a test drive and gripped it back either side in some sort of Seventies inspired style. I'm not sure what I think yet, it's certainly different as I've had a fringe since the age of 14! Thumbs up or thumbs down?

DRESS BY M MISSONI*

BODEN ROLL NECK

BAG BY MARC B

JIGSAW PIXIE CHELSEA BOOTS*

LFW | DESIGN BY SHANGHAI

After the Orla Kiely presentation on Saturday I headed to the Design by Shanghai showcase where I was introduced to the brand Awaylee. There's an experimental air about this collection that has the pieces looking sugary sweet, arty and fun with a tomboyish edge. Plastic, pleats, transparency and volume were present, combined with chic, simple silhouettes that keep the clothing wearable and cool. I can't seem to find the latest lookbook online but I'll link you when I find it cos it's fabulous! Right up my street! 

Another of my favourite designers to showcase at the Design by Shanghai presentation was Min Wu, whose name and work you may already recognise from Fashion Scout. I was gutted to have missed her show at Ones to Watch on Friday so it was great to see her pieces up close at DBSH. Again, I love her use of plastic and transparency, there was a real sporty feel about this collection too; I've seen lots of sports luxe about over the last few days so I guess it's looking big for next year!  

DRESS BY ZHANG YUHAO

 

ELLIE FROM ROSE AND VINTAGE AND I HAVING A CHINWAG 

LFW | ORLA KIELY SS15

A renowned story teller, Orla didn't disappoint this season when she showed her SS15 collection through the tale of a Spring garden in bloom. On entering the show space we were faced with a rather underwhelming scene; an assortment of plant pots lined up in front of a small, white picket fence. One by one as the models filed out, they placed large wooden flowers into each pot, so that eventually a full flower garden was set before us. Simultaneously, Californian born artist Alia Penner painted flowers onto a clear background so that the "garden" really was in full bloom by the end of the presentation.   

As expected, the clothing was cute, colourful and graphic with a nod to the Sixties. Bold floral prints paired with minimal, muted handbags showed flower power in a new, modern light, whilst clean cut silhouettes stayed true to Orla Kiely's more classic, feminine aesthetic. Favourite looks included a loose floral blouse worn with a smart, a-line skirt in blue check and a more tomboyish pair of pastel blue culottes paired with a simple t-shirt and slouchy jacket. See the full lineup here.     

IMAGE FROM STYLE.COM

 

 IMAGE FROM STYLE.COM

IMAGE FROM STYLE.COM

 

IMAGE FROM STYLE.COM