Friday 18 November 2011

Not just another leather biker jacket

Today I’m a very happy bunny, as I’ve just got a new Muubaa leather jacket, which I hope you all love as much as I do (as always would love your feedback)! I’ve only recently discovered London–based leather brand Muubaa, and instantly fell in love with the Rick Owens-esque understated luxury of their designs. Their prices aren’t cheap (my jacket is £329), but their innovative designs and experimental techniques make for some fantastic stand-out pieces, and as a frequent leather sniffer (honestly, I can hardly walk past a leather jacket without giving it the sniff test – it’s practically an illness) I can confirm that this is the real deal. Besides the jackets (I also have my eye on this belted funnel neck waterfall jacket - maje), Muubaa also design some great clothing; just take a quick peek at this rather naughty Madam Whiplash stylee pencil skirt, and this perforated suede cami is just delicious!

I’ve been casually in the market for a new leather biker jacket for a while now, and have nearly brought a more typically fierce number on more than one occasion. Something was always holding me back though, and now I’ve realised that I was actually craving something completely different all along. In contrast to the usual harshness, this biker has a gentle fluidity which really differentiates it from the pack. I just love the fact it’s distressed grey instead of the typical jet-black, and the way it hangs more like soft denim or even linen, instead of being all stiff and rigid. Best of all you just know it’s going to get better the more I wear it – win!

Thursday 17 November 2011

A lesson in cynicism/ a lucky day


So, my infamous hard-earned finely-chiselled cynicism took a bit of a knock today. After last night's post where I declared, and I quote, 'there's about as much chance of me getting my grubby mitts on any of the [Versace H&M] collection as there is me marrying in to the Royal family', I only bloody managed to score not one, but two pieces! Well, you know what that means....move over Chelsy, Harry's MINE!

After hours of hitting refresh, I eventually made it through to the check-out without the site crashing (albeit 4/5 items in my basket had sold out by then) - I honestly couldn't believe my luck. Then, after work, I decided to take a walk on the wild side, and pop into a couple of H&M stores on the off chance that it hadn't all sold out, and in the second store managed to find my second piece. Score!

Obviously I'm desperado to tell you what I've got, but as I have to wait for one of my pieces to be delivered, you're going to have to wait to too!

I hope you were all as lucky as I was. If you were I'd love to hear/ see what you brought.

I'm off now to totally re-evaluate my entire outlook on life now...syke! Being cynical is the only thing that keeps me sane!

Kisses xxx

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Versace/ H&M: Be still my beating heart


Sadly I couldn't attend the show/ launch party...predominantly because I wasn't invited, but you know I'm veeeerrrry conscious of my carbon foot print now days, so probably would have refused the invitation to fly to NY just for one night anyway. Yer right! Anyway, I'm not one to hold a grudge, and as a MAHOOOSIVE Versace fan - spesh the retro '90s flash-trash prints - I'm beyond crushing over their collection for H&M.

As (bad) luck would have it I'm office-based tomorrow, so won't be able to get to a H&M till lunch time (if I'm lucky), so as there's about as much chance of me getting my grubby mitts on any of the collection as there is me marrying in to the Royal family, I've decided to wallow in voyeuristic lusting of what could be if only I were willing to pull a sickie and wake at the crack of dawn to join a queue in the cold and get first dibs...

Snaps to the H&M team for producing yet another blinder of a designer collaboration....and I really truly didn't think it could get any better than last years collabo with Lanvin. I daren't let myself think about what they could have in store next...


The insanely brilliant advert. If only all ads were this creative, clever and well-conceived.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Remember Remember....British Folklore

Roughly a year ago I had the pleasure of interviewing the fantastically talented Simon Costin - set designer/ art director extraordinaire. Not simply content with his day job, Simon recently fulfilled a life-long personal dream by establishing The Museum of British Folklore. The Museum, which seeks to 'promote, celebrate and revitalise the folk heritage of Britain', is shockingly the only institution dedicated to British folklore in the country, and as such undertakes some really very exciting, interesting and important work.

Late as ever, this video should have gone up before bonfire night, but as a. the exhibition is on until 11th December, and b. it's in Warwickshire (where most of you are not), I'll let myself off the tardiness hook this time!

Do take a couple of minutes to watch though, as it’s a beautifully captivating slice of Simon Costin (and Richard Sharples) magic.

Mini-style Icon: Onyx Cecil Wightman

He may only be 2 1/2, but I reckon my friend Nellie's son, Onyx, could give the staff of Mr Porter a run for their money in the style stakes. I'm more than a little obsessed with him. Here are some of my fave of his recent looks...

'Nautical but nice' for Gay pride


Working that old hipster classic, double denim


Easy-like-Sunday-morning in his Hawaiian shirt and sunnies.


Perfecting his nonchalant style-blogger pose in his AW11 off-to-daycare look.

LFW SS12: 5 sides of Si

So I thought I'd share my rather schizophrenic SS12 LFW wardrobe with you. Because I'm a control-freak stress-head and LFW is always crazy busy, I try to pre-plan my outfits in the days before. As the saying goes, 'the best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry', and as so much of how I dress is to do with how I'm feeling, it's hardly surprising that by day 2 I'm basically dressing off-schedule (in the case of Day 2 this season so off-schedule that I'm slightly embarrassed to show you what I concocted)!

As usual all feedback welcome!

Si x

Day 1: My 'easy breazy let a pretty dress do the talking' look

Dress: Zara
Jacket: Zara
Shoes: Dune
Belt: Karen Millen


Day 2: My 'last minute for one day only Liz Taylor in a Kaftan meets provincial art teacher' look

Kaftan: H&M
Slip: M&S
Shirt: Vintage
Bag: Love Moschino
Wedges: Office


Day 3: My 'Little Miss Prim wannabe-Moschino' look

Dress: Zara
Jumper: Toi et Moi
Belt: My sisters
Shoes: KG Kurt Geiger
Bag: Love Moschino
Earrings: Dannijo


Day 4: My 'playful twist on the classic jeans and a shirt' look

Jeans: J Brand
Shirt: Vintage from Italy
Belt: Charity shop find
Jacket: Charity shop find
Boots: Kurt Geiger
Sunglasses: Ermanno Scervino
Bag: Love Moschino


Day 5: My 'fashion can be fun/ I'm knackered/ fuck heels' look

Dress: Zara
Belt: Vintage Jaeger
Socks: American apparel
Trainers: Nike

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Moschino dreams

It's no secret that I'm massive Moschino fan, or that I've long longed for one of their black and gold logoed belts. At only £209 they're definitely on the affordable side of designer extravagance, but just something I’ve never quite got round to actually buying. So, how excited was I, when the lovely ladies at the press office sent one along with a pull I did for a Zoe Kravitz job the other day! Obviously I couldn’t resist giving it a whirl, and obviously I loved every minute of it. Think my piggie bank may be getting raided soon...

Monday 9 May 2011

Colour-blocking



Colour-blocking is one of my favourite trends this season. I don't wear nearly enough colour, and all too easily fall into the all-black fashion trap; it's great to take yourself out of your fashion comfort zone though, and if you're a black, nude or brown addict I strongly advise you to give it a go.
Top tip: Keep colours strong and bright - wishy washy pale tones won't work or make nearly as much of an impact.

Credits: Dress - 1970's vintage charity shop bargain
Jacket - Zara
Shoes - Kurt Geiger
Belt - Charity shop bargain

Friday 1 April 2011

Dolce&Gabbana Dress Me Up London party

As anyone who follows me on twitter will know, last night I hit the Dolce&Gabbana Dress Me Up London party/ event, where 6 bloggers - Liberty London Girl (Sasha Wilkins), Bip Ling, Carrie Harwood, Maddison Rothery, Marian Kihogo and Lois Waller - took over Dolce&Gabbana Bond Street's windows and made them their own. While they were hard at work I busied myself: a. doing a fantasty Dolce&Gabbana shop/ imagining how well dressed I'd be if I were a rich gal; b. taking pictures; c. eating as many ridiculously delicious arancini as humanly possible; d. catching up with my lovely ex-housemate Julia. All in all a fantastic way to spend a Thursday evening!

Sasha Wilkins aka. Liberty London Girl contemplating her next move...


Marian Kihogo in full-on styling swing...


Bip Ling showing who wears the pants....


The Dolce&Gabbana store in an unusual state of disarray with clothes and bloggers strewn all over the place!


Bloggers blogging bloggers....


The real stars of the show - the to-die-for arancini!


And here are the finished windows...

Carrie Harwood


Sasha Wilkins


Bip Ling


Marian Kihogo


A close up of my fave window - Marian Kihogo's. Totes feeling the ghetto chic all white meets headscarves and serious bling!

Tuesday 29 March 2011

WAH! Aztec Nails





I heart my Aztec nails SO much they inspired me to head into the glamour of our Marilyn Monroe themed downstairs loo (I kid you not! It's my mummy's interior designing triumph) for a Pop Art-esque mini shoot. Hope you like!

p.s. Massive thank you to the WAH team (who did them) and IPR (who's press day I had them did at)!

p.p.s. Check out the WAH website, for more amazing nail magickery!

69b Broadway Market

Right in the heart of trendster East London lies Broadway Market, and right opposite it's most loved landmark, The Cat and Mutton pub, has opened a gorgeous new boutique...with a difference. 69b is the new one-stop-shop for the very best in sustainable fashion, thanks to the expert eye of it's owner, Merryn Leslie, a fashion director who has styled for heavyweight fashion titles, from Vogue to i-D.

I popped in earlier in the week to have a snoop around (and as it turned out, try not to spend my annual earnings on a new sustainable wardrobe)...

Beautifully understated frontage...


As we all know every trendster MUST own a backpack, and these have sustainable fashion points too - winner!



Amazingly stylish, not at all 'ethical' looking sustainable jewellery, all at fantastic 'special treat, but not break-the-bank' price points. Er, yes please!


A Partimi dress I somewhat fell in love with (because I simply can't resist a tropical print)...and may have to own....


Super-stylish downstairs den....

p.s. for more information, please check out their (soon-to-be e-commerce) website

IPR AW11 press day

A short jaunt on that super-handy shiny new Orange tube line (which I'm totes loving right now) and I was in IPR's NY-esque studio.

For those who didn't believe me (when I said that IPR had an ever-expanding client list a couple of posts ago) - check this out. Congrats to the IPR team, who seem to have doubled their clients since last season - good work!

Here are some snaps from my fave collections...


Rachael Ruddick
Speaking of new clients - I was really impressed with their new Aussie accessories client Rachael Ruddick.

Not one for the PETA crew, she specialises in exotic skins, and I was very taken with this Onyx Sting Ray clutch. The texture was incredible.

Fantastic cuffs.


Eudon Choi
Eudon Choi is one of my absolute FAVOURITE young British (although he's actually Korean) designers right now. Since seeing this coat at the LFW exhibition I've literally thought about it every day, and it's currently topping my dream AW11 coat list. Below are two more coats from his Equestrian inspired AW11 collection...





Danielle Scutt
Totes rad fishnet trousers - not for the faint-hearted fashion right here people.


I have to say that I'm not sure if this gold dress is even a bit too much for me...
....no, on second thoughts it's obviously utterly fabulous. Phew.


Wonderfully surreal Danielle Scutt for Freedom at Topshop earrings, which I'm obviously massively hearting. Not sure if they're meant to say something Catchphrase stylee....Ear hand tea lippie....hhhmmm...


Julian J Smith
Rather Grace Jonesey fabulousness I thought.


RJS by Richard Sorger
Ethereal sheer jellyfish print top. Beautiful.


Yang Du

'Classic' Yang Du - slightly ridiculous yet utterly appealing fashion fun. Apparently Barney's in NY have asked her to create a kids collection for them - how cute is that gonna be!!


Sandro

The Yang Du antithesis. Painfully chic Parisian design, aka. The Fashion Editor's dream.





Rika
I thought this jacket was fantastic, and really different to anything else I've seen this season. Would look very West-London chic with a pair or skinnies and a simple white-tee.


Antipodium
Subtle and cute lady-print dress (look really closely).


Prism
The glasses label, which recently expanded into sunnies has now started doing swimwear too, and with great success I thought. Great matchy matchy simple and understated beach looks.