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!