LFW Street Style

Edgier than Milan, cooler than Paris and more daring than New York, London’s street style is arguably the most captivating of all the fashion cities. As always you can get as much, if not more, fashion inspiration hanging around outside the catwalk venue as on the front row. Here’s my pick of the best LFW fashionistas:

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London Fashion Week

Creative, fearless and innovative are just some of the buzzwords being touted by the media to describe this season’s London Fashion Week. Over 40 catwalk shows, as well as off-schedule shows, presentations and salons are crammed in to a whirlwind five days while an estimated 5,000 photographers are on hand to capture the trends and names set to shape this year’s fashions. With LFW, the BAFTA Film Awards and the Brit Awards all taking place this month, even the capital’s mayor Boris Johnson agrees that there is no better time to shine the spotlight on London’s creative talents.

As day four of the proceedings at Somerset House draws to a close, here is my pick of some of the best looks so far:

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

Sibling

Sibling

Burberry Prorsum

Burberry Prorsum

Erdem

Erdem

Jonathan Saunders

Jonathan Saunders

Matthew Williamson

Matthew Williamson

Temperley

Temperley London

Paul Smith

Paul Smith

Topshop Unique

Topshop Unique

Mary Katrantzou

Mary Katrantzou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linked In

Links 2

Hope you’re all having a lovely Saturday. After last night’s raging storm, we had rain and hail this morning which finally cleared away to leave us with a glorious sunny afternoon. Right now, a roast chicken is cooking in the oven, the children are playing quietly (probably up to no good but I’m prepared to ignore that for the moment) having been outside to burn off some of their energy, and I’m feeling virtuous after my workout at the gym this morning.

Here is a quick roundup of some of my favourite links from around the web this week:

1. Twelve things every home should have

2. Fourteen foreign films that will make you believe in crazy true love

3. An essential tool for all bloggers/Instagrammers: Take your selfies to another level with this Muku Shuttr iPhone camera remote control

4. The best street style accessories spotted at New York Fashion Week

5. Maybe it’s because I’m on a health kick at the moment but the mere sight of these banana cupcakes with cinnamon frosting on Pinterest made my mouth water

6. See all the latest home trends for spring 2014

7. Get the low-down on how to dress like one of my all-time favourite style icons, Sienna Miller

8. Stickygram comes up trumps again with this neat idea to transform your photos into magnetic jigsaws

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New York Fashion Week – My Favourite Street Style Snaps

I’m ashamed to admit that I have not been paying too much attention to New York fashion week apart from a brief glance at the Vogue.com daily updates. Now that I have belatedly caught up with some of the proceedings, it is – as per usual – the street style that has caught my eye as much (or more) as the catwalk creations. You have to hand it to them – these NYC fashionistas know how to rock a chic cold weather look. Here are some of my favourites:

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All pictures from my NYFW Pinterest board

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A Fresh Start!

Going out B&W

{My new snakeskin heels from Office had their first outing last night teamed with skinny jeans, black peplum top from H&M and wavy hair.}

Turning over a new leaf, changing old habits, starting afresh – whatever you might call it, that is what I intend to do from tomorrow. The horrible weather, a lack of motivation and a sore knee (caused by what I do not know – certainly not over exercising!) have all conspired to stop my New Year fitness regime from getting off the ground. Add to that, a diet of too much sugar, white flour and caffeine (let’s face it, what else is there to do when the rain is pouring down outside except console yourself with tea and cake?) and the result is a sluggish mama, constantly tired and lacking the energy to keep up with my three lovely but boisterous children. I’m not a great believer in fad diets or super strict regimes but cutting back on the bad stuff and adding in more healthy food as well as using my gym membership a bit more frequently would be a good start.

On a different note, I spent another three hours in a hospital waiting room today! Clemmie had scarlet fever a couple of weeks ago and today I noticed a familiar looking rash on her body – and sure enough, the doctor at the out-of-hours clinic confirmed that it has come back 😦 So it’s another ten days of antibiotics and no nursery tomorrow. Poor thing but apart from the rash she seems quite happy and there is no temperature this time.

Despite spending all that time at the hospital and being out late at a dinner party last night, I’ve surprised myself by being extremely productive this evening – the house is clean, all the washing is put away and the kids’ homework is done and their bags are packed ready for tomorrow and now I’ve even completed a blog post. It’s always easier to start the new week feeling on top of things – hopefully I can keep that focus going until next weekend!

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Wrap up Warm

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Although we are slowly but surely moving towards spring, the weather here in the UK is still very much on the wintry side. Warm coats and cosy knits are set to be the order of the day for many weeks to come and I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some snow between now and the end of February (the Swede in me will be disappointed if there is not at least one opportunity to get the sledges out!)

So while I did pledge at the end of last year not to buy any more scarves, I couldn’t resist this plaid beauty from high street fave Topshop. It may be acrylic rather than cashmere but it’s super soft and, at only £18 a snip, compared to the Burberry scarf I had been coveting. When you look at it like that, I’ve actually saved money (although to be on the safe side, don’t mention that to my husband)!

Scarf 3

 

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40 Years of the DvF Wrap Dress

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From Burberry’s trench coat to Chanel’s tweed jacked, there are a few iconic fashion pieces that can withstand the test of time and passing trends. Diane von Furstenberg’s wrap dress is one such piece – it looks as fresh today as it did when it first hit the rails four decades ago. The DvF wrap dress is the ultimate day-to-night dress that can be dressed up or down and take the wearer with ease from the boardroom to a cocktail party via a quick change of shoes and accessories.

To celebrate the 40th birthday of the dress that launched her onto the international fashion scene, Diane von Furstenberg threw a star -studded party in Los Angeles earlier this month. The party marked the opening of an exhibition entitled ‘Journey of a Dress’ which features the designer’s favourite dresses and will run at the Wilshire May Company Building in LA until April 1.  Diane is also inviting women to tell their ‘wrap story’ in words and pictures via the DvF website

I bought my first wrap dress when I started a new job at a fashion magazine 12 years ago. I still have it now and it is the perfect piece to bring out if you’re ever unsure what the dress code entails. You just can’t go wrong with a DvF wrap!

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Linked In

Links I love

Everyday I’m stumblin’…Here are few links that I’m loving at the moment:

1. The older I get the less bothered I am about keeping up with the latest fashion trends so I was relieved to read that not falling victim to fly-by-night trends is one of the seven habits of highly stylish people! Find out what the other six are at StyleCaster

2. 16 Signs You’re A Little (Or A Lot) Type A. I’m not entirely proud that I read this article with a pang pf recognition. Just about all of those points apply to me, especially the sleeping (or lack of it) and worrying too much about things that may never happen

3. We’re in the process of upgrading our eldest son’s room to make it more suitable for a pre-teen. Out go the pirate cushions and in come these cool headphone bookends.

4. My default hairstyle when I’m not wearing it down is a messy bun or a simple braid but this week I’ve been trying out this cute dutch braid. Find a step-by-step tutorial here

5. How To Make Your Child Feel Special With Just 3 Magic Words .This article is a must-read for any parent out there. I’m a strong believer that you should not need to raise your voice in your own home but sometimes that’s easier said than done and life coach Lisa Parkes shows parents how to transform screaming to peaceful.

6. Great art doesn’t have to break the bank. We recently renovated our downstairs cloakroom and while I love the monochrome colour scheme the walls were looking a bit bare so I’ve ordered this limited edition print by Dutch fashion illustrator Judith van den Hoek from Swedish website Arte Limited.

This Week’s Favourites

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A Gingerbread latte (I was pleasantly surprised that they were still on the menu even though Christmas is over) and mini muffin at Costa earlier this week while Cameron was at his tutor. The traffic was horrendous so I needed a quick energy boost to face the drive home.

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Clemmie and her best friend on the way to pick up their older siblings from school. They have known each other since birth and, although they sometimes have their little squabbles, they are super cute together and you can tell they really love each other.

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Finally made it to the cinema last night to see American Hustle and I was not disappointed. It is an excellent film and I’m not surprised it has received so many Oscar nominations.

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During the week my breakfast tends to consist of a bowl of cereal eaten at my desk so on the weekends it is nice to make a bit more of an effort. These scones are a favourite of both mine and the kids and take no time at all to make.

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Another purchase in the Sales – most likely my last this season – but I couldn’t resist these shoes by Poste Mistress which were reduced from £80 to £36.

I had some work to do tonight so apologies for the short post! But I’m firmly of the belief that, if time is scarce, it is better to write something rather than nothing. Hope you agree!

Have a fab Sunday night. X