Category Archives: Review

Review

Boohoo AW 2013 Press Day

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Show me a blogger who doesn’t like a boohoo event. That breed does not exist. The reason for that is that the brand always has everything covered: on-trend clothing, opportunities for shameless posing – see exhibit A, the collage of me posing like there’s no tomorrow – snacks, nail bars and just simply bars.

A few proseccos later I chatted away with the designers behind the new AW 2013 lines including Boutique, Rebel, Heritage-powered and my favourite one, the Sport-inspired one. The latter looked like Alexander Wang and Stella McCartney decided to kick start a joint line; something I bet the fash pack would love to see. I truly look forward to wearing the electric blue hues which dominated this gym-glam line as it would go so well with my shocking pink Chanel lipstick. A sporty Schiaparelli, if you like.

As a quick reminder – I collaborated with boohoo on a slightly more gothic look last December in Someone You Fear.

Headscarf

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Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bagEdita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 1Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 2Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 3Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 4Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 5Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 6Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 7Edita in Y3 coat, Ralph Lauren jeans, Rag and Bone boots, Orsa Couture Gloves, Roberto Cavalli scarf, Gucci sunglasses and Caracalla 1947 bag 8
Coat: Yohji Yamamoto Y3, Jeans: Ralph Lauren Denim&Supply, Boots: Rag and Bone, Gloves: Orsa Couture, Scarf: Roberto Cavalli, Sunglasses: Gucci, Bag: Caracalla 1947 (sent for review)

Images: Ming Lun Chan

You order a high quality leather bag online, you get it in the mail, you open the pack, you unzip it… And you sniff it. That’s right. Snort snort. And if you don’t like sniffing new bags, you are weird and we can’t be friends. Or okay, we can. I do even weirder stuff. I literally examine the pores in the leather, look at the stitching (preferably in the sun light) and analyse the colouring technique. I like to see things I can admire, and this Caracalla 1947 weekender is one such thing.

Originally when the brand approached me, they asked if I was interested in looking at something which was not exactly what I’d normally wear… Like man-bags inspired by car races. Bah. Little did they know I have this inexplicable penchant for converting masculine things into items that look overly ladylike. Yes, friends – this was a MAN BAG before it got into my clutches. I think I just made it unisex. Or just sex. Whichever.

Onto the silk headscarf. For too long this style has been considered the grieving/matronly/are-you-still-in-the-50s look. It can look modern if you style it correctly. It helps to keep the hair in place – London’s a windy place, don’t you know. But there are rules to pulling this baby off.

First. Make sure the scarf is good quality silk unless hair static is your thing.

Second. Place it so that some hair (i.e fringe or bangs) would be noticeable, otherwise you may be mistaken for someone who wears this for religious rather than fashionable reasons. If faith comes first for you, make sure no or minimal hair is on show, this depends on religion and level of religiousness.

Third. The scarf has to blend in with the outfit as if it doesn’t, it instantly starts looking misplaced leaving the wearer to resemble the village idiot clown. Almost like man bear pig but village idiot clown. You get it, connect your styling dots.

Fourth – you should feel natural wearing something like this. If you have a hint of doubt and think that you will start questioning whether or not this was the right choice for you in the middle of the street, so will everyone else. However, providing you walk with a say-whaaaa face, there will be not further questions; not from you, not from the passersby.

NOMINATE EDITA

If you like pret-a-reporter and the style posts here, I’d be so grateful if you voted for me at the Company Blog Awards 2013 under the Best Personal Style Category. Pretty please?

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Anyway, I am off to catch a bus. See ya.

Catherine Walker Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 Preview

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It wouldn’t be enough just having visited the flagship store, tried on a myriad of couture pieces, thanked everyone and walked off. No. That’s just not how I roll.

Instead, I was lucky enough to be invited into the world of the haute couture dress-makers, Catherine Walker & Co, from sketching ideas through to fabric selection and to the final cut.

Based in Chelsea, the atelier has been opened for more than 30 years, having established a solid client base who keeps on coming back for more couture candy each season, often adding their own ideas to the proposed designs and coming out with a hybrid of two visions – which is after all the beauty of haute couture. I say orange silk, I get orange silk. I say black velvet, I get nothing less.

Speaking of seasonal collections, cast your eyes on the offering below; my absolute favourites. I see a bit of a 90s throwback with the curve-defining black cocktail dress and the putty coloured oversized crepe trench-blazer (not that I am biased as I have a very similar one from Emporio Armani seen here. Ok, I am); I am also sensing an overall classic and conservative feel that Catherine Walker is famous for. Which is why I thought it was amazingly refreshing to see a rather playful Peter Pan collar and the white and blue boating style blazer. Sure, the latter looks formal with white, preferably linen in summer, trousers – a style a mature mother is likely to wear. However, when a daughter creeps into her mum’s wardrobe and gets her hands on that blazer, she can simply team it up with a pale pink mini and nude pumps. Easy.

Oh couture. If I has a chance to wear it daily, I would. It’s not only an art of dress-making, it’s also an art of dress-wearing. Catherine Walker & Co definitely keeps this form of art alive.
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LFW Closing Party with Schön!

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Shirt: Le boyf’s (last seen here), Trousers: Versace, Pumps: BCBG MaxAzria, Necklace and Cuff: Skadi, Bag: Knomo, Nails: Jacava in Marrakech Nights

No kids, Halloween did not come early this year – it was in fact the party where the fash pack came together and celebrated fashion, style… and just their own outfits. I had loads of fun, mainly because I got away with wearing my Versace velvet skinnies again and le boyf’s shirt. I can’t imagine a better party or outfit to wave goodbye to London Fashion Week 2013 in. Thanks Raoul and Schön! for yet another vogueing event!

Round 2: LFW Fashion Retrospective

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And… It’s back with a bang. Albeit not being as long as its predecessor, the Fashion Retrospective 2013 show has still managed to impress with modern shapes, current IT colours (note the fuchsia skirt – how very Roksanda Ilincic), despite carrying a solid baggage of years.

During this show I managed to actually spot a bit of wear and tear on the items and it added to the charm of the entire event no end. The point was to show that these outfits were not in their infancy but were of the sophisticated and experienced variety. Emphasis on experienced – no garment was younger than 25 or so. I mean at this point even I am younger than these.

I saw three show stoppers during this show – the purple rose outfit (the first image), the Catherine Walker evening gown (the last image) and a Bruce Oldfield gown, designed especially for Bianca Jagger in the 70s. I decided not to include the catwalk image of the latter as I felt it did not fit the model at all, but hey – that’s what you get with high quality made-to-order couture.

Edita at LFW Fashion Retrospective 2013
Top: Katharine Hamnett, Blazer: Haute Hippie, Hat: Top Vintage (last seen here), Velvet trousers: Vintage Couture Versace, Pumps: BCBG Max Azria, Bag: Chanel
Image by Sin Bozkurt

Meanwhile I continue my affair with Vintage Versace. You may remember me wearing my infamous red V-detail Versace dress last time, on this occasion, I rolled out my velvet trousers. This was purely coincidental – I have been finding it hard to wear anything but them for 5 days in a row. I felt I was literally abusing them on day 6, so I forced myself to go for something else.

Once again, I hope the stylist for the fashion show accepts my standing ovation for all the evident hard work. People like her prove that falling in love just once is an impossible concept, falling in love over and over again is much more plausible. Preferable, in fact.

Edita for Special K

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Blouse: Ralph Lauren, Skirt: Karen Millen, Vest: Rabbit Fur (used to be my mum’s before I confiscated it), Boots: Prada
Images by Joel Anderson and Simon Tang

I have always loved the message behind Special K, this sort of girl power without being overly Spice Girls circa the 90s. That also reflects in the brand’s advertising – just look at the last image with those beautiful girls I had the pleasure of meeting during the Special K advertisement shoot. They all are so different and gorgeous.

I can talk all I want about eating cereal: yeah – it is the healthy option, yeah – it makes you lose weight (providing you indulged in full builder’s breakfasts on a daily basis before). The fact is that I support the positive philosophy Special K stands for – love yourself, no ifs, buts or maybes. Oh, and I also strongly support the colour red, we all should wear it more often, particularly on the lips.

Thanks to all the lovely people at Special K and fellow bloggers for making it an inspiring event to remember. It’s not the first time Kellogg’s and I collaborate – view the previous project here.

Dahlia Christmas Blogger Event

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Last image by the amazing Joseph Kent who also captured me here.

Shoes: Brandless (Italian), Dress: Nicole Farhi, Bag: Gianfranco Ferrè, Fox Fur Collar: Vintage (Grandma’s)

As a blogger, I am not allowed to ignore the fact that Christmas is just around the corner, surely not at the Dahlia Fashion Blogger’s event where champagne was poured as if it was water and compliments were exchanged as if they were the standard hi-how-are-yous. And I mean it in the best way possible.

You see, Dahlia is a brand which has a hint of innocence in it which is delightfully mixed with dark, sinister monsters under your bed. It’s not quite sophisticated vampy (think Bram Stoker’s Dracula), but it ain’t Twilight either. It is something in-between – it is simply Dahlia.

It was a real pleasure to chat with fellow bloggers and the founders of the brand. Thanks for having me!

UPCYCLE – AIU Fashion Show

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All catwalk and backstage images by AIU London

Every now and again artists allow themselves to feel nostalgic about an era or an event in their lives. The connotations are often of the sad-it’s-all-in-the-past variety: the 70s WERE great, Audrey WAS beautiful, and the modern world IS nothing but commercial, over the top-pop, nothing is art, nay, sacret even anymore.

But that’s not what happened at the American InterContinental University London Fashion Show. The audience was treated to an extremely refreshing concept and there was not a moan in sight, not from Rashaud Hightower anyway, who was one of the designers showcasing his creations. This New Yorker was inspired by car engines (I personally loved splashes of yellow here and there in his designs- NYC taxis anyone?) and said that if he was to dress any celebrity at all – that would be Solange Knowles.

Rashaud and the whole pack of designers left me rather wide-eyed. For a moment I thought – Solange? That’s slightly unexpected. You see, I had lived convinced that songs with lyrics such as “Boy I know that you feeling things” or of course “So look like twins in Versace, BC, BG, Gucci, Viddi,/Yeah I like it, but don’t buy it/’Cause ya’ll wear it and it ain’t for me” (Good to know?) had no place in life other than the dance floor, certainly not to inspire art, fashion, or style.

What I failed to see was the delicious simplicity and that specific THIS-IS-NOW aspect which pop culture has brought to the table. Yeah, it’s overly-sexualised. Yeah, it ain’t nothin’ smart so to speak – but it feels so good. You know, the good shit, yo. Ok – I clearly don’t excel at slang.

And perhaps that is how it has to be. The AIU Fashion Show proved that the past is not the sole source of inspiration for everything but it can be a good material to work with – the show’s message was to “upcycle” oldies into to contemporary goodies after all. But what’s happening now or even trivial (for some) things can result in exclusive designs.

Take, for instance, the yellow jacket in the second catwalk picture. The designer, Isaias Ponce, was inspired “by girls who disguised themselves as boys in Russia to avoid discrimination and danger”. On the one hand, it has a contemporary and deep meaning to it, and on the other – forgive my blunt comment – it’s just a damn good jacket. I’d wear it any day.

I’ll let you, dear reader, decide what you see as fashion, art and style. I am glad to observe that contemporary icons/items are inspiring the latest batch of designers at AIU. It’s fresh, punchy, industrial, futuristic. Yamamoto and Helmut Lang would definitely approve. I know I did.

Last time I reported on The Fashion Retrospective Show during London Fashion Week 2012.

Faces of Chronos

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Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 2Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 4Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 9Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 7Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press dayFossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 3Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 5Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 6Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 8Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 1Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 11Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani jewellery and watches SS 2013 Press day 10

When as a child I laughed and wept,
Time crept.
When as a youth I waxed more bold,
Time strolled.
When I became a full grown man,
Time ran.
When older still I daily grew,
Time flew.
Soon I shall find, in passing on,
Time gone.
O Christ! wilt Thou have saved me then?
Amen.

Henry Twells (1823 – 1900)

Chronos, according to the ancient Greeks, is the human embodiment of time. In layman’s terms, imagine if time was a dude, he’d be Chronos. Away from mythology, time is not at all a human-being  yet it has a face – watches, alarms, clocks, timetellers, timekeepers all look back at you revealing the hours, minutes, seconds past.

Faces of Chronos have since become amazing merchandise, a must-have to our mortal kind. This of course brings me to a press event which displayed a few handsome faces of time.

As you have probably guessed from the images, I attended the Fossil, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani et al SS 2013 jewellery, leather goods and watches press day last week.

The general trend is that watch straps are going to play a game of matchy-matchy with bags and clutches. For instance, if you are interested in an ivory-beige DKNY or Emporio Armani bag – BOOM – you can get a watch with the same strap both in terms of colour and leather texture. Smart business move.

Meanwhile Fossil is pushing its vintage print collection when it comes to bags and a very Tiffanyesque jewellery line by adding the “key” element to its bracelets and necklaces.

Marc by Marc Jacobs stays true to its outside the box philosophy with electric blues, juicy oranges and punchy pinks.

Michael Kors continues creating bigger, chunkier, downright gargantuan valuables – the cuff in the last image and me wearing not one, not two but three huge watches should be evidence enough to that.

I now have the urge to layer up the small faces of Marc by Marc Jacobs watches in all three colours – some will mistake me for a mad woman with an OCD, others will give me style points. It’s a risk I am willing to take.

Thanks for having me over, Fossil Group, your designs gave Chronos a pretty face.

LFW – Fashion Retrospective

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It feels amazing to attend a catwalk show every now and again. And this one was special as it reflected something I have always stood for very firmly – mainly the fact that vintage can look even more modern than modern itself. I was not proven wrong, on the contrary, the show added to the rightfulness of my intuition thus making me very, very happy. And a teensy tiny bit smug.

It started off with the dark damsel in distress chic – think black velvet, tulle and lace with a bit of a Victorian Era touch. It then continued into the classic black and white, sequins and jumpsuits, come-sleep-with-me undergarments and the star of the show, the gold lamé gown – very Blake Lively from the Gucci Première ad.

I simply wanted to drown myself in the splendour of vintage Diors, Ossie Clarks and Chanels that have been both on the runway and worn by the viewers, who looked as if they too should have been part of the catwalk show. Hats off to the stylists who made this show happen and avid vintage lovers who made this a fashion night to remember.

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Dress: Vintage Gianni Versace (I am fanatical about the “V” neckline detail), Bag: Chanel (last seen here), Platforms: Minimarket (last seen here), Earrings: from my Bedouin jewellery collection.

If you are interested in places where you could score some high quality vintage goods, have a read though my Vintage Shopping in London guide.

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