Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Trend Alert: Highland Fling

I love Tartan. There we go I said it. A few seasons ago I had a plaid pair of tights I wore to death with over the knee boots and a long black jumper; it saw me through winter pretty much, so I’m uber excited that plaid is back.

It’s not exactly plaid as you know it either, we’ve seen candy coloured plaid on the high street (I recently swiped Topshop’s purple woollen number) and camouflage plaid on the catwalk. This is all in addition to the gorgeous red and green hues currently flooding the stores.

Personally I think a skirt is the ultimate way to work this look. Versatile and a staple for the season, it’s a safer and cheaper way to invest. That beautiful plaid coat may be a stunner now, but will it stand the test of time? Knowing my misfortune at ‘must-have’ season items probably not.

That said here’s my round up of best tartan buys this week…

1. T-Shirt, £17.99, New Look Simple, cute and cost effective, this is the perfect piece in which to dip your toe into the tartan trend.

2. Skirt, £36, Topshop I bought this a few weeks ago on a whim when it was still baking hot and everyone thought I was barmy buying a WOOLEN skirt. Still, I've had the last laugh now.. Brr!

3. Dress, £28, F&F at Tesco A gorgeous tartan dress from Tesco you say? Well, yeah! This little beauty with its leather collar detailing is sure to be a sell out. Get in there quick!

4. Trousers, £50, Topshop I'll admit you have to be pretty brave to attempt top to toe tartan, but these gorgeous trousers on their own would serve your work and off duty wardrobe well this season.

Time for Tights

I have friends who have sworn blind they will not be fishing out the hosiery until October, but when tights offer so much variety these days, why on earth would you want to wait?!

Personally, I’ve had them on standby since mid-August, until that blasted heat wave forced me to retire them until earlier this month.

With so many options to choose from why wouldn’t you want to splurge on loud colours, patterned goodies and cosy winter woollens?

Considering we are only in September and it is FREEZING outside, be smart and snap up these beauties before the snow hits and tights are abandoned for thermal leggings and multiple pairs of trousers.

Here are my top 5 picks…

Polkadot: £13, ASOS Stripes: £7.99, Pamela Mann Coloured: £4.00, ASOS Designer: £17.00, Emilio Cavallini Patterned: £8.74, Henry Holland

Mulberry's SS14 Dream

New York is over, London is midway through and soon we will be onto Milan and Paris... where does fashion month go?

I'll be honest, I've only skimmed the shows so far and been shameful in my trend analysis, but I did find the time to stream the Mulberry SS14 show live this afternoon.

My verdict? Wow. Just wow. And well, funny. Really quite amusing having a bulldog sashay down the runway with a model in tow.

The highlight for me had to be when the model responsible for said bulldog had trouble holding onto her companion as it decided to wander off course.

Looking rightly alarmed, her concentration broke for just a second as she contemplated the fact she may be upstaged by a dog on the runway. LOL

Trust Mulberry to make a dog a highlight rather than a distraction. Bravo!

Queen Cara opened and closed the show, smirking at the camera as she walked. I've got to say, she's a stunner alright but already looks bored with how easy success has come to her. Surely in fashion terms, it's time to move onto the next big thing?

Other than that niggling doubt, the show itself was a triumph of sumptuous silks, a palette of duck egg blue, poppy, pure white and orange ruled supreme, whilst texture played a big role all of its own in the SS14 preview.

Whether this is to be current Creative Director, Emma Hill's last collection remains to be seen, but I certainly thought her humble bow at the end looked like a thank you and farewell, as opposed to a “Thanks, I know amazing right?! Wait until you see my AW14 collection!”

Miley’s Naked Storm

Ah Miley. Once so young, sweet and innocent now quite famous for twerking, showing her tongue more than is strictly necessary and well for being naked in her new video.

The opening 30 seconds of ‘Wrecking Ball’ is a shot focusing purely on her face; skin flawless, lips stained a deep red and eyelashes coated with a hint of mascara. In other words, she doesn’t look like the car crash we have been lead to believe in the papers. In actual fact, she looks, dare I say it, ‘sweet’.

This doesn’t really last with the video taking a different turn, or as some of the press are describing it, descending into ‘soft porn’ territory pretty quickly. She rides a wrecking ball naked, licks a hammer somewhat suggestively and spends the rest of her time gyrating against something.

However shocking though, the thing is I like the new Miley. She’s 20, she is going to experiment, she is going to flash the flesh and she is going to make people sit up and take notice of her no matter what.

She is no longer the preteen Disney queen (see what I did there with the rhyming?!) she’s her own woman and clearly has a smart business head on her- most viewed clip in 24 hours ever? She’s not stupid; she knows stripping off equal’s tonnes of hits and more than likely another UK number 1.

I think her new style is edgy, cool and above all something she has had a say in. You get the opinion she was manufactured for most of her life and wasn’t able to get tattoos, piercings, wear a crop top or flesh coloured latex, but now, well the world is her oyster.

The naked video is not to my taste and I’m sure plenty of people will criticise her for it when she is supposedly a ‘role model’ still, but hey, she’s got people talking and she has certainly convinced me of one thing…. white nail varnish is hot!

Behind the scenes: Victoria Beckham's SS14 New York Fashion Week show

Behind the scenes: Victoria Beckham's SS14 New York Fashion Week show

My Five Hit Fashion Wonders This Week

Depressing as it is, Monday is nearly upon us. I know, where has the weekend gone and how on earth can it nearly be time for the working week to begin once more?

Thankfully the power of shopping is enough to get me through, more specifically what I'll be buying this week, which includes these five hit wonders...

1.Knitted Fluffy Crop Jumper, £34, Topshop
Everyone needs a fluffy jumper in their lives and for me, there is none finer on the high street than Topshop's cropped offering. I plan to wear with my lovely pink PVC skirt for my leaving drinks in a few weeks.

2. Grey Grid Checked Printed Skater Skirt, £17.99, New Look
I'll be channelling my inner school girl with this little checked number from New Look. May give the cardigan and knee high socks a miss though and wear with a crisp white shirt and boots instead.

3. M&S Collection Faux Animal Fur Coat, £85, Marks & Spencer
I'm very much hoping autumn makes an appearance this week, as I've worn my summer wardrobe to death and I'm now fully ready to embrace the new season. In anticipation of heavy snow, I'll be buying this faux fur leopard print coat to keep me snug over the coming months.

4. Bowling Handbag, £29.99, H&M
H&M's affordable accessories continue to surprise me each season and this offering from their AW13 collection is no exception. Perfect work bag? You betcha!

5. Floral Printed Tea Dress, £37, Miss Selfridge
Tea dresses flatter my figure perfectly and this gorgeous burnt orange cutie from Miss Selfridge will look fab with thick woolly tights and Chelsea boots when it starts to get chilly.

NYC Fashion Week Begins!

OK quick post before I go to Bedfordshire (Look it up, totes Bridget quote) about the first day of NYC Fashion Week.

So what early trends are starting to emerge? Well, I'd say loose shapes, fine floral prints, flashes of colour and a milky palette base used in shirts, skirts and jackets were apparent in many of the shows today.

BCBGMAXAZRIA tops my list for day one with the dreamy pale blue and grey oversized dresses, with cut out floral panels featuring heavily.

Zac Posen comes a close second with his delicate dainty dresses and pyjama inspired collection.

All in all a stellar start, bring on day two!

The Holy Fashion Grail: Topshop's Pink Skirt!

Well my dear readers, I finally did it. I tracked down and purchased the wondrous pink PVC skirt from Topshop, which has been evading me for two weeks since they cleverly did a feature on how to wear it.

Suddenly everyone thought it was cool and then, well, it sold out everywhere. By some miracle today however, a very lovely Personal Shopper found my skirt in 'Last chance to buy' and let me know it would be waiting for me after work to try on. Fantastic, right?

Well, kind of fantastic because in my ecstatic state I managed to get the zip stuck to my pants and spent a good ten panicked minutes trying to frantically remove this TIGHT, PVC, SKIN-TIGHT skirt.

After talking the personal shopper into letting me have some scissors, I managed to untangled myself from said skirt, feeling fairly close to tears from the sheer embarrassment of the situation.

I had visions of me waddling down the street in a skirt half done up, overheating on the tube and collapsing in a sweaty mass of vinyl. Thankfully I saw past the horrendousness of the situation, bought a cropped black jumper to go with it and skipped merrily away.

The next big decision to make is how and when to wear it... suggestions please?!

Countdown to NYC Fashion Week begins!

The next month will be a blur. A fashionable, crazy coloured blur as New York, London, Milan and Paris unveil their visions for SS14, just as we close the door on SS13.

It's confusing looking at Spring fashion in Autumn I grant you, but the thrill of getting ahead of the game and knowing what will be in style near enough nine months before anyone else, more than makes up for it.

New York Fashion Week kicks off on 5th September finishing on the 12th before handing the baton to London.

I'll be making sure I have a front row seat (at my laptop of course!) for the Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Badgley Mischka, Zac Posen and Betsey Johnson shows this season for sure!

Highly exciting stuff I'm sure you'll agree. Keep an eye out for my runway reports as they unfold, but until then sit back, relax and enjoy the build up. I know I will :-)

Fifty Shades of Grey cast announced! Thoughts?

After what seems like an eternity, the actors who will portray the lead roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele have been announced... and well, no-one is entirely sure who they are.

Well, to be fair after this announcement we can expect multiple news stories and bio's to pop up about the two, so by tomorrow we will be experts in all things Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson.

Author of the erotic fiction, EL James broke the news to her Twitter followers today after months of speculation about who would play her creations in bestselling trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey.

If you have no idea what I'm on about, you must have been living under a rock for the last 18 months. This piece of literature went global with women everywhere proudly reading their copy on public transport, despite the somewhat racy content!

I got into it pretty late, but can't deny how damn addictive reading it made, so the news that a movie was to follow had me and everyone else in a frenzy in no time.

The two young cast members certainly don't look like my Ana and Christian, but maybe that is a good thing. She's pretty, innocent looking and has already bared her bum in The Social Network, so I'm sure she'll be fine.

What's more certain is that everyone will be clocking her every move in the lead up, during and post production of the movie, so don't be surprised if you see her popping up in random places or gracing the FROW with her fashionable presence any time soon.

Check out the Daily Mail's coverage of the story here

Monday Must Have!

Every now and again, you just need to buy a jumper with a delightful brightly coloured unicorn emblazed on it.

Today is that day my friends. This little beauty from ASOS is the perfect pick me up after a long Monday in the office.

I'll be teaming this with a shirt and skinny black jeans for a casual office look, or jazzing it up with a leather skirt and ankle boots for after work drinks. Gorge!

Lunchtime Splurges @ Shopcade

On your lunch break? Half an hour to spare? Good, then check out Shopcade for some quick fire purchases, guaranteed to brighten up your Wednesday!

So far I've bookmarked a mug with a cheery motto, a pair of crafy feline collar tips, a gorgeous yellow wrap skirt and a bargainous 'oh my love' t-shirt for a fiver!

What are you waiting for? Get clicking!

Fashionable Harry Potter

Yesterday I fulfilled a lifelong ambition... to visit the Harry Potter set and to enter the magical world of Hogwarts.

To say it was utterly amazing is an understatement. The work and craftsmanship which went into each set and prop is just unbelievable, but whilst the hubby was in awe of the special effects, I found myself drawn to another type of craftsmanship entirely... the costumes.

Ahh yes, the wonderful, intricate, stunning costumes. From Dumbledore to Bellatrix the wizarding robes and glorious gowns have always caught my eye even from the very beginning of the series, but as the films have become gradually darker, so to have the gothic theme used to inspire the costumes.

Bellatrix and Narcissa's costumes are by far my favourite; the corsetry, the design, all the little details that went into making the two sister's gowns look so gothic and dark.

Then at the other end of the scale you have the pink lady herself, Dolores Umbridge, a thoroughly unpleasant character with a penchant for all things pink. Imelda Staunton's portrayal of Umbridge was just spot on I found. She looks sugary sweet in her twinset and pearls, but underneath all that girliness is a nasty piece of work!

I also adored the Yule Ball costumes for Hermione, Cho and Fleur which were proudly on display yesterday next to a giant ice sculpture. Fleur's pale blue silk and chiffon number was just stunning, but I think Cho's gold Chinese inspired gown was also beautifully designed.

The boys didn't look so bad either, aside from poor Ron and his dress robes, most of the time Harry and co. scrubbed up pretty well! The elder wizards got to steal most of the fashion thunder however, as Dumbledore’s pale silvery robes were the highlight for me, closely followed by Horace Slughorn with his dusty tweed robes and Snape's high collared navy blue (not black!) sweeping bat like robes.

All in all a brilliant day out!

5 Things to buy this week!

So that was the August bank holiday. The last one until Christmas, which is pretty depressing for most people, but for me it signals the start of one thing.... the new season has officially arrived!

With this in mind here are my top five splurges to make this week, which will see you all the way through until the Christmas holidays.

Enjoy! (Promise, there’s nothing pink in my list!)

1. Red pebbled t-shirt: New Look: £17.99

2. Elinor Tote: Accessorize: £42.00

3. Combination cut out ankle boot: Zara: £69.99

4. Biker Jacket: H&M: £34.99

5. Grey Wrap Skirt: Topshop: £30.00

New Fragrance Alert! Jo Malone’s Peony Suede Blush

Around this time every year I get a little fidgety. Not just because however old you may get, the thought of September still conjures up back to school nightmares (shiver) but because Jo Malone usually launch a new fragrance around this period.

I’ve snapped up Pear & Freesia, Blackberry & Bay and Cherry Blossom colognes over the years, but oh, the beauty of the latest one to hit the shelves is just something else!

Peony Suede Blush is set to land in store officially on 2nd September and there is already a waiting list despite the hefty price tag attached.

As a loyal disciple of Jo Malone I consider it a necessity that my name is down on this list so I can own the latest ‘it’ scent, especially if a spritz of this will magically start shooting flowers from my hair like the model below.

There is some comfort in the fact that this is a permanent edition to the range and not a limited scent, otherwise it would candles at dawn trying to bag the last few fragrances, which has happened to me on more than one occasion. (Lets just say there was some unwomanly-like tactics involved and leave it there...!)

Anywho! Check out the pretty pic below and start planning your ethereal daydream!

Trend Alert: Pretty in Pink

Forget your burgundies, blacks and muted greys this autumn because the catwalk and high street have other plans in mind. Namely that we will be casting aside the traditional autumnal hues and opting for, ready for it… pink. Yes beautiful, girly and pretty pink (hurray!)

Normally we will have had our fill of this wondrous colour (I’m a fan, can you tell?!) having worn it to death during the pretty spring season of sheer and pastels, but this year alongside the PVC, leather and winter woollens which will ultimately dominate our AW wardrobes, there will be flashes of pink.

Naughty will meet nice as sweet and dolly pinks are sure to be paired with leather jeggings and boots once autumn is upon us, or perhaps you will just embrace this trend in its entirely and think pink skirts, tights, jumpers and tops?

Topshop have totally nailed this style by cleverly incorporating it in their ladylike drops which have just hit the rails. Checked kilts, pastel blouses, futuristic sandles, fluffy jumpers and my favourite, but not everyone’s cup of tea, a vinyl pink pencil skirt.

Granted, it would probably take someone with a model figure to pull it off, but I’m still sorely tempted despite my friend’s desperately trying to talk me out of it!

So I’ll leave it to you dear reader, here are my top high street pink purchases you just can’t live without this autumn...

Updated blog coming soon!

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe it is nearly a year since my last post on here! It makes me kind of sad to think I've had nothing to say for this long, or maybe I've just been too busy/lazy to say it!

Either way, I've decided enough! Time to write again, time to treat people once more with my unique-ish thoughts and musings. First though, I'm going to revamp the site best I can using the new Blogger.

Yes, a new blogger. This both scares and delights me as I try and navigate my way around themes/imagery/HTML nightmares once more, but hopefully it will result in a better, more fun 'What Serena Saw'.

Keep you posted! x

I Heart the new John Lewis Advert!

Well well. September has rolled around and John Lewis have pulled another advertising gem out of the bag. They always get it right; it must be annoying for their rivals, but for us as consumers we look forward to their creative genius every year with relish.

I'm presuming this isn't the Christmas offering, although it is good enough to be one. Maybe they will update it a bit with some snow and mistletoe the closer we get to the festive period?

After last year's triumph with the very thoughtful smiley child, I'm dying to see what they will come up with next, as are I'm sure, M&S, Boots and the other power players for the Christmas countdown.

Until then, enjoy the Autumn offering from the department store giant. Devine 20s fashion to coo over, but I have already had an argument with the boyf about whether the outfits featured are available in store to buy.

His argument is that it is all about the brand heritage, mine is about the fact 20s fashion is huge for AW, particularly with the return of Downton tonight, so they would be mad not to put together looks you could not buy in store.

That cloche hat, those cute Mary Janes and that oversized red coat- stunning and oh so relevant for 2012.

Dark Shadows... Dark Times

Dark Shadows: Copyright Warner Bros

Last night I had a tough decision to make; Dark Shadows vs The Dictator. Both have had pretty mixed reviews, but my love for Johnny Depp won out in the end and we went for Tim Burton's latest gothic offering.

To say I was disappointed was an understatement. What the hell was it all about? Well, I have no idea really- something about a 200 year old vampire, a scorned witch and a fishing business. That was it.

It had some funny moments, but they were few and far between and the story was all of a muddle. I found the whole thing pretty dull, even though Depp clearly hammed it up in every scene he was in.

I'm not seeing anything else now until Snow White and the Huntsman at the end of May, at least that looks half decent.