Shows to Shops: Clashing brights

Images courtesy of Style.com

left to right: Sonia Rykiel, Jil Sander, Diane Von Furstenberg, Lanvin

After marvelling at the rainbow of block colours coming down the S/S catwalks I'm so excited to see summer colours already in the shops. It may not be a revolution that bright colours are big this summer but it's the way designers clashed them together that gives me inspiration for my summer wardrobe. Navy is about as bright as it gets when it comes to colour in my closet, but this coming season I have made a vow to myself to inject some colour into my look.  I probably won't do the bright on bright block colour trend but I will mix my individual brights with some nude pieces which also works really well. Jewel colours are my favourites and here are a few pieces that have caught my eye.

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Yellow dress £1340 Lanvin at net-a-porter.com, Bag £65 Banana Republic, Cardigan £18 Dorothy Perkins, Shorts £15 Boohoo, Shoes £68 Topshop, Purple dress Vionnet at Matches £1488

We heart: Non-bridal wedding dresses from the runway!

I remember a conversation a few years ago with my former fashion ed, where we both agreed that should any charming young men ever want to tie the knot with us, that we could never have a generic wedding dress. Bridal designers are fantastic, but at the moment I'd be much happier to shop the runway for the big day.

Here's my edit of the best bridal-appropriate catwalk looks for SS'11,

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Top Row L-R: Chloe, Rick Owens, Elie Saab
Bottom Row L-R: Alexander McQueen, Emanuel Ungaro, Stella McCartney

A-muse-ments: Black Swan

After being excited by the extreme fashion hype since it was announced Rodarte would be designing the costumes, hearing rave reviews and being seriously seduced by the trailer I finally got to see Black Swan. And I have to say I was for once lost for words. If I had to sum it up in one word I would use powerful. It's probably one of the most powerful films I've ever seen. Through the duration of the film I moved through nearly every emotion I can think of. I was excited, anxious, sad, scared, nauseated, annoyed and very amazed. And even after nearly a week since seeing it I'm still humming Tchaikovsky's swan lake and replaying scenes in my head.

I really hope Miss Portman gets the Oscar for her role playing Nina. I can not think of anyone more suited to the part. She is graceful in every moment of the film and her natural, effortless beauty really shows. Maybe it was the new love blossoming in the air giving her that extra glow. Aside from her looks the part is clearly demanding especially on her body. Even though already petite she had to endure a strict diet to shrink to the tiny proportions of a prima ballerina and then of course the super intense ballet training. You can clearly see it is her during the dance scenes and it's not easy to pull off all those pirouettes.

The costumes were stunning. I wish they could somehow be adapted so I could  wear them both in my everyday life. They would easily slip into my wardrobe monochrome, feathers and sparkle three of my favourite things. Ever since seeing the film I've found it impossible to not wear all black, not that it ever takes me much persuasion.  Fashion is a great disguise. My character is the opposite of my favourite things to wear. I love wearing black, faux fur, studs, leather, black lace and all things dark and tough. But my personality is far from tough, much more demure and reserved. My character is all white swan but my wardrobe couldn't be more black swan.

White or black which swan queen are you?

*M*

Images courtesy of www.imdb.com and www.wmagazine.com

White swan: Cardigan £14.99 H&M, Skirt £1400 Jason Wu at www.net-a-porter.com, Pumps £119 Pretty Ballerinas, Hairband £7.99 River Island.
Black Swan: Body £14.99 River Island, Trousers £2350 Balmain at www.net-a-porter.com, Shoes £65 Topshop, Clutch price on request Chanel.

We Heart: Shop at Bluebird's Raoul collection

Long handle bag £139, Leather shopper £219, Polka dot cropped top £119
From a selection at Shop at Bluebird, 350 Kings Road, SW3 5UU
02073513873 www.theshopatbluebird.com 

I absolutely adore Raoul's SS'11 offering at the King's Road go-to for great labels, The Shop at Bluebird this Spring. All these pretty little nude items are so wearable, and really remind me of the Chloe and Celine simple nude school of design. The price points are great too, generally ranging from £100-£250. Heavenly. I have my beady little eyes on most of the collection, and above is Show Shoppers edit of the best bits. 

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Star Pupil...Olivia Wilde

Image courtesy of www.Glamour.com

To be honest not many gowns really stood out to me at the Golden Globes last night. However, the only one that made me gasp, ooh and ahh was Olivia Wilde's Marchesa, magical ensemble. A real princess dress to befit a real princess. (She married the son of a real Italian prince!) 

Many actresses end up looking more bridal than regal when attempting to pull off a full tulle skirt, but the dark shade of this dress means there's no chance of anybody waiting in the side lines to catch the bouquet. The contrasting colours also give her extra sparkle. 

Keeping any jewellery and accessories to an absolute minimum is exactly what this dress needs. Extra brownie points for the natural classic make up and soft hair.

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News Fash...and this is how we runway

Moncler have taken runway theatrics to a whole new level with yesterday's Menswear A/W'11 show and we LOVE it! Way to cheer up a dull Milan Sunday


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Trendalicious: Indigo details

Seeing indigo on the runway again is a huge relief after a seasonal saturation of camel and red for A/W’10. Camel and red really worked for the blond haired Amazonian types among us, but for the rest of us, it all got a bit librarian does “splash of colour”. I aged twenty years while trying to rock the look. Thankfully, like all these unwearable trends (Yes midi skirts and harem trousers I’m talking to you too), they are just that, and as the season winds down, we can look forward to brighter pastures, this time blue ones. The hue for Spring’s palette is pretty specific, and can only be compared to the sky on a cloudless July afternoon. Outside of the British Isles, naturally.

Indigo has infiltrated all aspects of ready to wear, seen on the runways of both womenswear and menswear.  At the menswear shows we saw some bright blue footwear at Tommy Hilfiger and Acne, shirting at Calvin Klein collection and DKNY, outerwear at Jil Sander, accessories at Dunhill and Diesel Black Gold, and trousers at Michael Kors, Dickie Brown and Bottega Veneta. Kors absolutely embraced the luxury casual mood of spring, and kept his collection hugely wearable; achieved by designing a great range of trousers and not limiting a SS collection to a variety of white shorts as is ofter seen on the season’s catwalks. These included a loose fitting pyjama style trouser in Indigo with thin white pinstripes. Here Kors paired them with taupes and greys, the perfect complement to the brilliance of a hue so blue.

Then came the women’s RTW shows and the trend transformed into a seasonal phenomenon. While keeping true to the Italian house’s flamboyant style, Peter Dundas created a colourful and sexy Emilio Pucci collection for Spring Summer. Most of the lighter paisley looks had elements of indigo incorporated, as well as some great blocks of blue in full looks too- notably the full length silk indigo maxi dress, and the blue paisley long sleeved mini dress, which was a favourite  style of ours from his A/W show too.

Even my supreme man-crush Mr.Depp has indulged in a little blue, this time his aviators. I love him, and I love blue too!

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Blue Aviators, Police Menswear SS'11



A-muse-ments...Gucci's 3D glasses

A handful of designers have embraced technlogy in the most random way this season, and are producing 3D glasses to take to the cinema/to watch on a 3D tv. God forbid anyone should spot you donning a paper spectacle at Toy Story 3.


It is completely insasne, but I love it and am totally embracing it. It makes sense too- Frangrance used to be a cheap way of owning something designer, but now that you can pick that up at any old Boots, the people need something else, slightly more glamerous but not too much more pricey. Naturally enough, that thing is 3D glasses. CRAZY!


Armani Exchange and Oakley have done some cool ones, but these ones by Gucci are by far the most groovy.


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Trendalicious...Contrast Satchels



Top row; Paul Smith £265, Boohoo.com £28, Chloe £875
Bottom row; Proenza Schouler £1085, New Look £12.99, Miu Miu £795

 I bought a satchel at the beginning of A/W, and was surprised to find that I still wanted another over Christmas, once this new contrasting colour and fabric trend emerged in satchel-land. I find mine oh so useful; I wear it on my arm during the day, with the long strap dangling down, and tucked in for a slightly neater look in the evenings. 


I love these contrasting colourful numbers, and the trend has trickled down from designer to high street really fast. I feel like the above are quite preppy, but in a very Parisian minimalist way, so I would wear them with my ole faithful Breton 3/4 sleeve, an ankle skimming black fitted trouser and some of Show Shoppers favourite Russell and Bromley penny loafers. 


Bon Appetite Show Shoppers,




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News FASH

The rumours are TRUE, Emmanuelle Alt will be stepping into Carine Roitfeld's shoes as Editor in Chief of Vogue Paris commencing Feb 1st, SO exciting to have a brand new style-crush in the limelight! Bon chance Emmanuelle,


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Today's Special...

£155, www.lauraleejewllery.com

Since Showshoppers are right now blogging to you from Disneyworld I thought it very fitting that this bracelet should get its very own magical moment. I have called in Laura Lee jewellery for shoots a countless amount of times, and every time find new pieces to add to my wish list. Right now topping the list is this delicate bracelet in the rose gold plated option. Since at present my head is filled to the brim with wishes and Disney dreams this is right up my street. I plan on wearing it along side a rose gold Michael Kors watch (also high on my never-ending wish list!)

Best served with…

Everything. This is the kind of piece you won't want to take off. It looks great for everyday worn alone or on a night out piled alongside lashings of trinkets. 

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Store Credit...Madewell NYC

Interior- Madewell on Broadway, NYC

Madewell has never been a store on my holiday-shopping radar until August of this year, when Alexa chung designed a caspule collection for the American label. Since then I've been keeping a close eye on their latest offerings, and last week while in New York I finally got a chance to visit the Broadway store. While Ms Chung's collection has sold out at this stage, their mainline collection of jeans, silk blouses, glamerous knitwear and beautifully displayed costume jewellery is perfection.

The store is great, long and narrow with two floors of fun and loads of really nicely styled sales assistants at the ready. The styling is what really won me over, their mannequins, staff, and web shots are so well put together, that even a simple skater skirt transformed into my most coveted wardrobe essential. Genius!

Their star item which took pride of place in the store was the Telegraph trousers, a warm, thick jersey peg trouser which compared to the other items was really well priced ($88), and while I thought they might be the trouser that will revolutionise my wardrobe, and solve all my outfit dilemmas, I looked REALLY mumsy in them, so had to bow out! (Perhaps they look good on an Alexa-type?) I did go for one of their friendship bracelets and glitter thread fine knit sweaters though, and loved the silk blouses too. They also have a small collection of "Madewell Found" vintage one-offs which are scattered around too, like the denim cut offs above.

Oh great, another place to pop into the NYC-MUST VISIT black book! 

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Far right- Telegraph trousers
All from madewell.com

Details: Kat Maconie Boots

Kat Maconie at Whistles

These lovelies are everything I need from a boot right now. They fit my nude palette I'm currently obsessed with (see my latest trendalicious,) they have a practical chunky heel which means they look great but I can feel comfortable in them and both the colour and style can take me easily from winter to spring. They are also the perfect height as they don't come too high up past your ankle so they won't make your legs look short. They look great over your skinnies with an alpine style knit for now. And when the weather finally decides to warm up, pair them with a tea dress and cute ankle socks. 

And if you needed another excuse to purchase them they are now in the sale for £120 down from £138!

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