London Fashion Weekend 2010

Having not visited London Fashion Weekend since September 2006, before it was moved from its original location at South Kensington to it's new home at Somerset House I approached the event with an open mind.
Somerset House is undoubtedly a glamorous location, well renowned in particular for the ice rink that is held there every winter. However, the narrow halls and cramped rooms of the galleries were not, in my opinion an ideal place to host an event such as London Fashion Weekend. Not only was the event seemingly highly overbooked with scores of people roaming the rooms and getting in each others ways but the show was not particularly easy to navigate your way around. Whilst there are bargains to be had, in my case a fabulous ruffled Sara Berman clutch and a bargain of a Luella cardigan, you really had to hunt for them, and at times I felt like I was rummaging through stalls at a market.

However, what made London Fashion Weekend worth the ticket price was the catwalk show. I, like many other girls, dreams of one day attending a full blown London Fashion Week show, sitting casually amongst the Alexas, Kates and Alexandra Shulman's of the world like I belong there. And although the catwalk show at London Fashion Weekend is not quite up to that level it was visually exciting and easily enhanced my desire to work in Fashion Journalism in the not too distant future.


The show was divided into trend led sections, one of which showcasing a number of designs from Betty Jackson, all styled beautifully by stylist Miss Molly.


Overall I enjoyed the event but I'm not so sure that London Fashion Weekend accurately represented the British fashion scene in all its glory. More of a high street presence instead of the dregs of designer's past-season collections would make for a more inspiring experience for us everyday fashion fans.



All images owned by runninginplatforms.

Trend to try... Socks and Sandals

When glancing at the title of this post I imagine the first thing that comes to mind is a horrible image of your Dad, wearing a pair of white socks with a ghastly pair of Jesus sandals. However, in a strange fashion turnaround, socks with sandals has become the finishing touch to your carefully constructed SS10' outfits. As seen on the runway at Burberry Prorsum, socks are the perfect accompaniment to a pair of heeled sandals.



As scary as it may initially sound, the socks and sandals look is remarkably easy to wear. It all comes down to the type of shoe and the type of sock - go for a pair of sandals in tan or another neutral colour with multiple straps and a chunky heel. To contrast this, the socks need to be ankle length in a lightweight material. Either go for the schoolgirl look a la Burberry (see above picture) or pick a girly pair with frill detailing around the edges. I particularly like these double strap tan sandals from French Connection, £120, paired with these pink lurex ankle socks, £3 from New Look.




Pair them with a floral dress and you're good to go. And if you don't feel ready to take my word for it, have a look at these celebs giving the trend a go.





Title image owned by runninginplatforms, all other images from:
www.fifi.com.au
www.frenchconnection.com
www.newlook.com
www.graziadaily.com
www.zimbio.com
www.sugarscape.com

Alexander McQueen, R.I.P

British fashion designer Alexander 'Lee' McQueen was found dead in his Hyde Park flat last Thursday. The fashion world have spoken of their grief in large numbers, Anna Wintour cited his as "one of the greatest talents of his generation" and Kate Moss, a close friend of Lee's, is said to be devestated.

Instead of focusing on the obvious sadness of his death I thought we should celebrate his fashion achievements and remember him for the talent he was.

Who will ever be able to forget the much coveted Alexander McQueen skull scarf of 2005? Any celebrity worth their fashion stripes owns one including Sienna Miller, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Ritchie and Kate Moss.

Perhaps more recently, Alexander McQueen has been dressing the likes of the ever fashion-daring Lady Gaga, designing the red lace creation Gaga wore to this years VMA awards and apparently citing her as his "unofficial muse".



Gaga can also be seen dancing in the video for 'Bad Romance' wearing McQueen's infamous Armadillo shoes; the same shoes that caused three models to be cut from McQueen's catwalk show after commenting that they would be unable to walk in them. Gaga and McQueen seemed to be a perfect fashion match - both favouring highly creative, controversial fashion.



McQueen was worn by many celebrities for significant occassions, including the revealing dress Cheryl Cole wore to her 26th birthday. McQueen's catwalk shows were never dull or predictable, including his Paris fashion week show in 2009 where models teetered down the runway in creations that incorporated various pieces of household rubbish.




McQueen's show for his cheaper budget brand McQ in New York has been cancelled out of respect for his family and the future of the fashion label is uncertain. However one thing is for sure, British fashion has suffered a great loss in his passing.

Catwalk shots from www.style.com

Other images from:
www.dailymail.co.uk
www.stylewithanna.com
www.myfashionlife.com

XOXO... Gossip Girl style

I'm sure I'm not the only Gossip Girl fan who's noticed the impeccable style of a certain Ms Momsen, aka Little Jenny Humphrey from Brooklyn. At only 16, Momsen is already a tv starlet, lead singer of a band, and has recently become the face of New Look's spring 2010 range. Seen above sporting a number from the range, with platinum blonde locks and smudgy black eye makeup Taylor Momsen is certainly one to watch in the style stakes.

Whether making her way home from the GG set af the end of a hard days filming, or attending a star studded award ceremony, Taylor always adds an individual touch to her outfit. Snap up these 10 items to get Taylor's look on a more reasonable budget.


Boots, Linzi Shoes, £45


Smock dress, Matalan, £14


Parka, Warehouse, £75


Rayban Cockpit sunglasses, ASOS.com, £108


Ripped leggings, New Look, £10


Tutu dress, Miss Selfridge, £45


Clutch, Miss Selfridge, £20


High waisted shorts, Topshop, £28


Tights, Topshop, £10


Wedges, ASOS.com, £40

Images from:
www.fabsugar.co.uk
www.linzishoes.co.uk
www.matalan.com
www.warehouse.co.uk
www.asos.com
www.newlook.com
www.missselfridge.com
www.topshop.com

Club Tropicana

'Drinks are free'... well, not unless you're George Michael.

But 'Club Tropicana' is an exciting SS10' trend, and certainly the perfect colour palette to cheer you up this miserable February.

Everything is bright and brash: vivid pinks, bold reds, bright yellows and oranges are the key, think tropical beachs and colourful foods. Exotic animals including tigers, flamingos and parrots add kitsch touchs. The look is relaxed for daytime, no rushing from place to place but casually taking your time to stroll to your next meeting. For night bright flashes of colour and sequins keep the look lively and fun.

Here are the essentials for your Tropical wardrobe:

Cropped tee, Topshop, £20

Pink court shoes, Faith, £80

Parrot bag, ASOS.com, £15

Cropped denim shirt, Miss Selfridge, £30

Print shorts, Topshop Unique, £70

Gold watermelon necklace, Accessorize, £6

Pink pumps, Topshop, £15

Pair with bright eye makeup and hot pink lips and you're halfway to Hawaii...

Images from:
www.style.com
www.topshop.com
www.faith.co.uk
www.asos.com
www.missselfridge.co.uk
www.accessorize.co.uk

Sweet as Candy

Hello fellow bloggers... apologies for the length of time since my last post. I would like to say that I've been too busy shopping and/or attending lots of fabulous fashion parties but I'm afraid that is not the case. However, I'm back and striving to bring you all of ss10's exciting trends.

A easy fashion update this season is a pair of candy coloured jeans. Being the ever reliable skinny jeans one-stop that they are, Topshop have produced some fabulous pastel pairs for £40 a pop. Try this mint pair with a polka dot tee and ballet pumps, or these parma violet-esque pair with a black lace body tucked in and some lace up biker boots.




Images from www.topshop.com