LFW: BORA AKSU

On arrival at the Bora Aksu show at Somerset House, it seemed that proceedings were running much more smoothly and on time than earlier in the day, but once inside the BFC show space chaos ensued! The paparazzi were going crazy for a celebrity line up which included Twiggy, Marina Diamandis and Jodie Harsh and when the plastic was finally pulled back from the catwalk, there were people literally sitting, crouching and standing in the aisles!

The collection entitled Angel & Fiend, despite being mostly black and varying shades of grey (apparently inspired by the streets of late 18th Century east London) left me with a more than mild obession with the apple green colour which highlighted. As always my favourite pieces were the androgynous menswear inspired looks - loose tailored trousers, broad shouldered 80s style shirts, bow ties and tailored jackets. Also loved the leather piping details, heavy cording, plastic 'armour', layering of sheer and solid and mixing of textures.

It amazes me how many people leave the show notes behind because there is often so much to a designer's work that can't be seen from your seat. For this collection Bora Aksu took inspiration from Jekyll and Hyde and I was really interested to read about the hidden details in the garments such as a 3/4 length coat which unfastens to become a cropped jacket.
Images from Vogue.com
Marilyn Manson's Sweet Dreams was a fitting soundtrack to the second half of the show as was the 'army of models' finale.

Tried to get a decent pic of this girl sitting front row with possibly the best dip dye hair I've seen. If you're going to do the ombre/dip dye trend why not go all out?

It fitted in nicely with the colour pallette of the show too. Speaking of which I painted my nails in Barry M 'Spring Green' in homage and really hoping these brogues in my ASOS save for later come back into stock soon!

Image from ASOS.com

LFW: THE EXHIBITION

I didn't spend too much time in the exhibition at Somerset House, but I did snap these amazing sunglasses from Linda Farrow Projects, which reminded me that even though my brain is firmly in AW11, we haven't even had summer yet!


I also popped to Fannie Schiavoni's stand to see her latest and fell in love with her gorgeous creations, especially the metal and leather collar. Amazing. (Perhaps Hilary Alexander could start rocking one of these as an update to her beloved feather cape!).


EDIT**Nearly forgot the shoes - a collaboration with Atalanta Weir. Love.

LFW: MARIA GRACHVOGEL

My first show of LFW was Maria Grachvogel, the Lancaster Ballroom at The Savoy being the fitting location for the luxurious collection she presented.

As well as the beautifully draped dresses in silk crepe and signature drapnig, a relaxed tailored theme ran through the show and my eye was particularly drawn to the high waisted trousers cut in cashmere and wool and the masculine draped shirts with balloon sleeves, both in lace and silk.

The inspiration from the Brothers Grimm was evident in the styling of the models with their hair styled in spiked top knots with strong eyebrows and black lipstick, giving the show a darker edge. Meanwhile prints referenced bones and enchanted forests!
Images from Elleuk.com


I must mention the jewellery which was created in collaboration with Erickson Beamon. Loved the feather cuffs in particular which complemented the collection perfectly but could easily be statement pieces their own right.
Images from Vogue.com
Yasmin Le Bon was just one of the celebrities in attendance, looking stunning and surrounded by papparazzi the day before her high profile return to the catwalk for the Issa show.

OUTFIT POST

What I wore to LFW, day one:


Hat & coat - ASOS
Boots - Bertie
Shirt - Vintage
Shorts - Mango

Image courtesy of Idol Magazine

LFW: JOHN ROCHA

crrrrryyyyyyy!!! Front of the standing queue at John Rocha and turned away too full!!!!!
The nice security guard wanted to let the first five in but no joy.

Watching from the big screen with a sad longing face

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

LFW

Blogging from the queue at John Rocha where I've just heard my fave model Abbey Lee Kershaw is opening and closing the show! Beyond excited.

Yesterday was Maria Grachvogel and Bora Aksu and this morning Bernard Chandran. Hope to have reviews up tomorrow.

My first fashion week faux pas was not redoing my nails this morning, chipped already! Hope everyone is having a happy fashion week!



















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

NYFW: CAPES & PONCHOS

When I was asked about my thoughts on capes the other day at work, my resounding answer was no no no. Don't get me wrong, I do love the silhouette but months of cold arms have put me right off, not to mention the sheer inconvenience of not being able to put bags on your shoulder. Just not practical when trying to juggle your food shopping for the week and an umbrella, whilst talking on the phone - a reoccuring scenario in my life. It was also just after my bitterly cold trip to Paris when my only thoughts on my AW11 outerwear were fur-lined, hooded, long, full length sleeves.

Well if NYFW is anything to go by, it appears I may have to take my rather brash statement - "no I will not be buying a cape in AW11" - right back.





And finally, LFW has begun! I'm excited to be attending 3 shows today and reporting back soon!
Follow me on twitter to see where I am: http://twitter.com/hardtochase

DO IT LIKE A DUDE

Following on from my last post, a lazy Sunday outfit. Sometimes dressing like a boy is best.

Denim shirt - ASOS
Extreme Wide Leg Trousers - ASOS
Trainers - Converse
Bowler Hat - Vintage

NYFW: TUX DRESSING

Loving the androgynous look at Jason Wu, definitely one of my favourite shows so far. I also loved the dresses in this collection, in complete antithesis to the tuxedo look, but that's for another post.

NYFW: WANG

Is it a blogger cliche to rave about Alexander Wang? I don't care, credit where it's due, the show was amazing. Loving how the length on tops seems to be getting longer and longer, I do like to waft around in something oversized and drapey. The last blouse in particular is the stuff dreams are made of.


Images from Style.com

ROB RYAN

Oh gosh, the best Royal Wedding memorabilia I've seen yet!


Image from Rob Ryan

PARIS PART 2

..the purchases...

1. Vintage advertisment illustrated by René Gruau - I bought this at the Marché aux Puces at Porte de Clignancourt somewhere I've wanted to go for years and read so much about, but nothing prepared me for the huge sprawling mass of stalls that is was! You have to walk past a good half a mile of knock off stalls before you hit Vernaison where the real antiques can be found. Literally row upon row of AMAZING vintage furniture, household objects, buttons, cameras you name it. Sadly we realised very soon after arriving that it was far too cold to do any real rummaging (the fountains at the Louvre were completely frozen we found later that day) but before our fingers went completely numb we stumbled across a stall selling vintage advertisements. So excited about bagging this one by René Gruau as it was one of my favourites from the exhibition at Somerset House. And I managed to barter, in French!
2. Dress from A.P.C - if you love A.P.C as I do but can rarely afford it then you must visit the little known outlet store on Rue Andre del Sarte in Montmartre. Everything is half the price on the label which is a lovely feeling at the till.


3. Some of my favourite things to buy in France - Jalouse, Numéro, Vogue Paris and L'Officiel (I don't know if you can see from that photo, but the cover of Jalouse has scratch off gold stars to cover the models modesty! I took a close up photo but it violated Photobucket's TOS even though the stars were still in tact).
4. Some favourite food stuffs - Sardines, the biggest jar of dijon I could find for 1 euro, Palets from Fauchon and Lu Petit Déjeuner (I used to live on these as an au pair so they will always remind me of Paris).

And finally, an outfit - what I wore to remind myself why I still love London by meeting my best girls for dinner at Bills


Dress A.P.C
Wedges Minimarket

OUTFIT POST

I promised myself an early night tonight (yes it's after midnight so I have failed) so I will save part two of Paris for the weekend perhaps, when I can give what promises to be an epic post, its full attention! Until then, a 'WIWT' which is actually "what I'm going to wear tomorrow". Incidently this was also what I wore to the Hummingbird Bakery Event I went to just before I left for Paris, but that's for another post.



Blouse - a sneak preview, due on ASOS imminently. I LOVE a peter pan collar or any interest collar detail at the moment
Dungarees - vintage
Boots - Bertie - I got these at the Bertie Bloggers Event I wrote about ages ago and they've barely been off my feet since. So comfortable that I walked the 40 minutes home from work in them, I was so engrossed in a telephone call with my Dad I didn't think even about what I was doing!

I have fashion week fever at the moment, especially as I just found out I've been approved for a press pass at LFW and my sister will be interning at Vauxhall Fashion Scout and staying with me for the week!

BACK

I'm back from Paris and the good news is I have a temporary laptop thanks to the best computer fixing service ever, also known as my amazing Dad. The bad news is I am experiencing some flat drama rama at the moment, which has left me with a knot in my stomach and little time or motivation to blog. Hopefully all will be resolved in the next few days as I have a camera full of outfit posts to share and tales of Paris to tell!

For now here are a few iphone snapshots of my wonderful 3 days in Paris:

Views from our bargain basement hotel balcony

Blue skies on our first day and the Sacre Coeur

More Carousel and Sacre Coeur. I could spend my life in Montmartre

The delightful grocers from Amélie I visit every time I'm in Paris and Notre Dame

Just a snapshot of some of the most amazing food I ate - French onion soup, red wine (cheaper than a diet coke) and a Chocolat Viennois

Being a tourist at the Tour Eiffel

Absolute contentment