Tag Archives: London

Currently Coveting #14: Vivienne Westwood x The Cambridge Satchel Company

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I’ve been looking for a bag that is both practical and stylish – and, most importantl, not black – for quite a while now. A couple of days ago I stumbled across this beautiful satchel by The Cambridge Satchel Company and I think the search is officially over. To celebrate its fifth birthday, the brand has collaborated with iconic British designer Vivienne Westwood to produce a limited edition range that combines the classic satchel with the queen of punk’s infamous squiggle print. The design also incorporates the pale tan straps and buckles which first featured in Westwood’s Pirate collection from 1981.

The bags, which come in two sizes and three colourways: yellow and black, white and red, and brown and black, retail at £195 for the 14″ size and £165 for the 11″ version. They are sold exclusively at Vivienne Westwood standalone boutiques and The Cambridge Satchel Company stores in central London, so I think a trip up to town is on the cards for me if I want to get my hands on one before they sell out.

Westwood

This Week’s Favourites

Posted in Family Life by

This Week's Faves 29:9

A groggy but hungry boy tucking into pizza after his operation; Casper brought in his ‘bravery certificate’ from the hospital to show his classmates; Cameron was proud to win the trophy for good behaviour at Cub Scouts this week; Breakfast x 2 – yummy apple & cinnamon yoghurt and an omelette made in a ramekin dish; This week’s favourite outfit – I love my H&M snakeskin ballerinas; On the train back from London; A tired girl fell asleep in the carseat yesterday afternoon after a late night on Friday; After the train ride earlier this week Clemmie was delighted that the boys’ Scout group had organised a day out at a model railway today.

Bizarrely, I seem to have even less time to get things done since Clemmie started preschool. I think my expectations of how much I could achieve in 12 hours a week were perhaps a tad overambitious. Anyway, once you factor in the time it takes to drop off and collect her at preschool the time easily drops to 10 1/2 hours a week (and that’s assuming I go straight home without chatting to any of the other mums…). I suppose this week has not been typical as I had to collect Casper from school early on Monday before he had his operation. It all went fine – he was such a brave boy and didn’t complain once but that hour waiting for the nurse to come and tell us that he had woken up felt VERY long. Then on Thursday my other son had a (routine) hospital appointment up in town. My husband took him to the appointment but had to go on to a business meeting so I picked up Clemmie early to catch the train into London and meet them for lunch before taking the kids home. As we usually drive into town, it was Clemmie’s first time on the train and she loved it so much she cried when we had to get off. Now I know that if she’s having a bad day I can just buy a Travel Card and go up and down the train track to keep her happy!

So yes, to cut a long story short, I have not really accomplished much this week. I had visions of myself embarking on an exercise regime, doing a massive clear out of all the kids’ toys and clothes as well as catching up with the paperwork and answering all those emails which fill me with guilt every time I open my inbox. But tomorrow is a new start, with seven unwritten days stretching out in front of me, and as I’m booked into a gym class at 9.30am I hope that will set me off in the right direction. If not, there’s always next Monday…

Pinterest Puts the Spotlight on Fashion Week

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London Final

London Fashion Week may be officially over for another season but those who have not had their appetite for catwalk creations sated can still log onto Pinterest to get their LFW fix.

Pinterest has created a specific url for all things fashion week related where boards are divided into sections including London, Paris, Milan and New York as well as up and coming designers. As always with Pinterest, there is virtually limitless inspiration to soak in, from catwalk trends and street style to backstage beauty and front row outfits to name but a few.

Among my favourite fashion week boards are those created by Sasha Wilkins of LibertyLondonGirl.com (link), Navaz Batliwalla, who’s behind the super successful blog Disneyrollergirl (link) and also Free People’s Street Style Captured board (link) which appeals to the voyeur in me.

Pintrest LFW

Oxford Street Brings LFW to the Masses

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Oxford Street has never been my favourite shopping destination – too noisy, too crowded and too touristy. Its only saving grace is Selfridges but it’s been years since I ventured further east than the iconic yellow signs of the largest department store on the 1.5 mile long shopping street.

But this month Oxford Street is hosting the most influential fashion campaign of its 150 year history and it may be just the thing to tempt me back. In celebration of London Fashion Week, Oxford Street has teamed up with the British Fashion Council to give shoppers an insider glimpse into the fashion industry. Over 15 of the street’s most internationally recognizable fashion emporiums, from Selfridges, Topshop and River Island to John Lewis, House of Fraser, H&M and Gap have provided a range of exclusive experiences such as fashion forums, guest star interviews, makeovers, blogging workshops, celebrity pop-up DJs, in-store styling sessions and fashion career mentoring.

Even if you can’t get there in person you can still be part of the experience, as shoppers from across the globe will be able to get their fashion fix 24/7 with the launch of Oxford Street TV and real time store updates via social media. In addition, Oxford Street has collaborated with London Fashion Week designers, including House of Holland and Alice Temperley, to dress the street with 75 fashion flags, each illustrating the very best of the British fashion industry.

“This season we have taken fashion week to the streets of London and rallied support from the whole capital by making London Fashion Week much more inclusive,” British Fashion Council Chairman Natalie Massenet said in an opening speech on Friday. “Anyone, all of us are free to come down and join.”

Personally, I think that anything which gets people interested in fashion and supporting the industry, including events such as LFW,  is a good thing. What do you think? Do you welcome the democratization of designer fashion or do you think it’s wrong that the high street is ‘cashing in’ on London Fashion Week?

London Fashion Week – From a Distance

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Britain London Fashion Week S/S 2014 - House of Holland

(House of Holland SS14)

It may not be as sleek as its New York, Milan and Paris counterparts (according to the media anyway) but I love the edginess of London Fashion Week and the sense that anything (on or off the catwalk) could happen. With established fashion houses such as Burberry and Paul Smith rubbing shoulders with lesser known up-and-coming designers, London is arguably the most creative and innovative of the fashion capitals.

It is with a slight sense of nostalgia that I’ve been following this season’s proceedings. A few years ago I would have been there in person – not exactly in the front row, but near enough to soak up the atmosphere and see all the action up close. While the live streaming is pretty amazing, the most fun part of fashion week for me was always watching the people in and around the venues. I think you can get as much, if not more, style inspiration from the audience sitting (or standing) around the catwalk as you can from the models walking down it.

One thing I don’t miss, however, is waking up at 6am and agonizing over what to wear to the shows. Especially on a day like today when I’m sitting here wrapped up in a blanket and nursing a cup of hot water with honey and lemon to soothe my sore throat. The definite downside to autumn is the cold and flu viruses that start doing the rounds as soon as the leaves turn yellow.

But enough about my runny nose and on to some of my favourite runway looks from LFW so far:

House of Holland

House of Holland

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane

Zoe Jordan

Zoe Jordan

Sister by Sibling

Sister by Sibling

Holly Fulton1

Holly Fulton

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Markus Lupfer

Mulberry

Mulberry

Jonathan Saunders

Jonathan Saunders

Topshop Unique

Topshop Unique

Picture source: Vogue.com

Twelve ♥

Posted in Family Life by
Ready to go out in H&M dress, Zara leather jacket and Miu Miu shoes.

Ready to go out in H&M dress, Zara leather jacket and Miu Miu shoes.

Weather-wise it has been a week of contrasts here in England. At the start of the week we were basking in glorious sunshine and temperatures of 28 degrees. By Friday, however, the rain had arrived and there was a definite autumn chill in the air. Not only has the temperature dropped by ten degrees, the evenings are also getting darker as I realised last night when I asked my husband to take a picture of my outfit. (Apologies for the picture quality – at the moment I’m only using my phone as I’ve been putting off the mammoth task of downloading over 500 holiday photos from my camera)

We were on our way out for dinner at a local Italian restaurant to celebrate twelve years of (mostly at least!) wedded bliss. We didn’t bother with gifts this year, although I’ve now looked it up online and apparently gifts of silk and/or linen are traditional for a 12th wedding anniversary, which does sound rather good (!’m thinking silk scarf or draped linen top..) so I might have to give hubs a nudge in the right direction. The food was lovely and, as you can see in the picture above, they had made a real effort with the table decorations (scattered rose buds and an anniversary card set the scene nicely) and gave us a free champagne cocktail. Unfortunately the service was very slow – our table was booked for 9pm and we ordered the food shortly after, but the starter was not served until after 10pm by which time I had already devoured half the bread basket. The restaurant is a relatively new addition to our little urban village and while I always like to support local businesses, I’m not sure there will be a return visit for us.

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There might have been no presents from my other half but I got a gorgeous bunch of flowers from my lovely mother-in-law.

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Today we drove up to London to attend the morning service at the Swedish Church, where we got married on September 8, 2001. No trip to Marylebone is complete without a visit to the Swedish shop to stock up on chocolate and magazines. That’s my Sunday evening sorted!

Issa launches High Street version of Duchess dress

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You may not be able to get your hands on the custom-made Jenny Packham dress that Kate Middleton wore to debut Prince George, but another of the Duchess’ headline grabbing outfits is hitting the high street next month.

Issa London is reissuing a new version of Kate’s engagement dress in its forthcoming collaboration with US clothing chain Banana Republic. The British brand has created a daywear version of the blue wrap dress, which sold out after the Duchess wore it at the announcement of her engagement to Prince William in November 2010.

The new version, which has a wrap waist and ruched detailing, is made from jersey and comes in both blue and plum, while another similar style features short sleeves and a deep V-neck. Best of all, you don’t need a Royal budget to snap one up, as prices range from £65 to £75 – far less than Issa’s original price of £565. The 40-piece collection also includes light knits, tops and accessories, with prices starting at a purse-friendly £30. Destined to be a sell-out, the capsule range will launch online and in 700 Banana Republic stores across the globe on August 8.

Elbows at the ready ladies!

There are several versions of the sell out engagement dress in the collection including a £75 sleeveless style (left) and a £65 short plum piece (right)

There are several versions of the sell out engagement dress in the collection including a £75 sleeveless style (left) and a £65 short plum piece (right)

Currently Coveting # 5

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makeup bag collage

I’m a complete sucker for anything ‘limited edition’ or ‘exclusive’, and if it’s for a good cause then so much the better. This beauty bag designed by make-up maestro Charlotte Tilbury features lipstick kisses by, among others, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Stella McCartney. Sold exclusively at Selfridges, it’s a steal at £15 and all profits go to the charity Kids Company which supports vulnerable children in London.

And, of course, while I was on the Selfridges website I couldn’t resist having a little click-around (although I did restrict myself to the beauty section). I’m a big fan of Laura Mercier’s make-up range and I’ve been using her tinted moisturiser for over 15 years now, while more recent additions to my beauty arsenal include the cream blusher, Secret Camouflage concealer and Caviar eyeliner. Her new Dark Spell Collection has just launched  (again, exclusively at Selfridges) and I love the limited edition nail polishes in Bewitched – a deep forest green with flecks of golden shimmer, which (dare I say it) will be spot on for autumn – and Forbidden, a silky silver taupe suitable for all occasions. The Spellbound face illuminator – a fine milled powder with a soft rose gold shimmer that is perfect for highlighting – also caught my eye and, after reading a few online reviews, I think it could easily become a ‘Can’t Live Without’ beauty staple.

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Happy Friday ♥

Posted in Family Life by
Beautiful flowers are a lovely way to mark the start of the weekend

Beautiful flowers are a lovely way to mark the start of the weekend

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all have a great weekend.

Here in London the temperature is set to soar to 27 degrees, my sister is visiting from Sweden with her two kids and we’re going to a 40th birthday party tomorrow which looks set to be fabulous.

Apart from one of the children coming down with a tummy bug yesterday and missing his sports day, life couldn’t get much better!