Dare to wear

On nights out most of us girls like to dress up to the nines, showing off our newly toned legs or sometimes more... Now Winter is upon us, somehow my mothers cursing 'you'll catch your death in that outfit' or 'where is your coat?' is starting to configure and is no longer being ignored.

Countless times i have been stood in a queue huddled together with my nearest and dearest, wishing i had put on that extra layer or listened to my mothers nagging, yet i have never learnt or acted upon it.

Until now...

On a recent night out, i wore trousers for the first time in god knows how long. (Pictured above: Trousers - Matalan £16, Shoes - New Look £35, Lace body - Matalan £6, Crochet Cropped Jacket - Vintage, Oxfam £7, Jewellery - Mixture of Topshop and Vintage)

Whilst my friends were complaining of the cold, i was oblivious - more concerned about how much my feet were aching and how i wished i had a put a pair of flat shoes in my bag. As girls, we will always have something to complain about on a night out (feet, cold, hair or make-up) but as far as i am concerned trousers are the solution to cold Winter nights!

On that note, here are my top of the trunks!

Warehouse, £50

Matalan, £16

And if you can afford to splash out...

Roberto Cavalli, £2,915

What do Lily Allen, The Queen and your local farmer have in common?

Barbour jackets.

Having seen a recent surge of popularity thanks to celebrity endorsement, Barbour have become a sort after brand.

Earlier this month, a lorry containing 8, 000 Barbour jackets was hijacked by three masked men, whilst the driver was asleep at a service station. Stealing a total of £750, 000 worth of goods, the company has warned that the loss will affect busy times of year such as pheasant season. (I’m not going to lie – what the hell is pheasant season?!)

If you have a Barbour make sure you keep hold of it or sell it on Ebay - it could become limited edition!

Fashion's Night In - Grab Your Slippers!

On 1st November (in 19 days), Vogue will launch the first ever ‘Fashion’s Night In’ for online retailers and shoppers.

What better excuse to treat yourself? Shopping minus the rude sales woman, the ‘are-you done yet?’ boyfriend and the huge queues for the till. Instead, all you need is a computer, internet connection and a pair of slippers!

Retailers taking part so far include Asos.com, Matches and Net-a-porter.com who are all offering competitions and discount. Hoorah!

Let’s hope more retailers sign up before 1^st November – who would you like to see involved? 

A true find!

Meeting people down a small back alley in the middle of Gloucester isn't normally something i would recommend, as there is a high chance you might get mugged. However, if you are in to all things vintage and unusual, you will definitely appreciate this true find...

Time After Time is overflowing with vintage accessories, jewellery, clothes and bags - heaven!

After 2 hours of browsing and spending a small fortune, i had to be prised away from the threat of a parking ticket. I will definitely head back when pay day arrives!

My favourite purchase of the afternoon is this unusual magnifying glass necklace for £28

Oops - Australia's Next Top Model Massive Mistake!

Who got sacked that night then?!

SS2011 Trend: Burnt Orange

The recent London and New York Fashion Weeks have all demonstrated a key theme; 90's minimalism with a 70's twist - simple shapes accentuated with a bold colour.

Burnt orange is the new black!

Picture 1 - ADAM

Picture 2 - Halston

Picture 3 - Lacoste

Picture 4 - Marc Jacobs

Picture 5 - Monique Lhuillier

Picture 6 - Parabal Gurung

Source: Style.com

It's here - London Fashion Week!

Journalists, bloggers, buyers and fashion scouts are all out in force for the hectic calendar of shows, events and parties this week.

Goody bag preparation - LFW SS09.

Hair stylists, makeup artists and nail technicians are all working flat out to ensure each show has the right look; designers, assistants and seamstresses are all busily making last minute alterations; press assistants are checking goody bags and seating plans; back stage and front of house are dressing models and preparing the catwalk...

The start of the week kicked off with Paul Costelloe, closely followed by Maria Grachvogel.

Lady Gaga is not a piece of meat...

I am aware that Lady Gaga likes to stand out from the crowd and does not want to be seen as another 'processed pop sensation' but come on...a dress made of meat, really?

Image source: The Daily Mail

She wore this ensemble to the VMA's earlier this week and there is speculation as to whether the dress is made of real meat (i really hope not). 

As much as we may hate it, her goal was to create media coverage - and that she has definitely done!

So, what do you think Lady Gaga's next outfit will be? A clown because she doesn't take herself too seriously perhaps?! 

SS2011:ADAM

Clean lines, minimalistic and chic.

Fashion's Night Out - Top of the shops

One of the best events in the fashion calender hits the streets of the West End this week and you can be part of it for free!

Fashion's Night Out is taking place throughout the World's most fashionable cities on 8th September from 6pm to 11pm in key shopping locations. From High Street to Designer, there is something for everyone and it promises to be the best-dressed night out of the year!

The events that i will be attending are listed below. Where will you go?

Who? Stella McCartney
Where? 30 Bruton Street
When? Doors open at 8.30pm
What? Rub shoulders with Gwyneth Paltrow and Alexander Shulman at the launch at Stella McCartney's new collection 'Wardrobe'. Promises to be a start studded event with canapes, cupcakes, cookies and cocktails - YUM!

Who? Manolo Blahnik
Where? 49-51 Old Church Street
When? 6pm - 11pm
What? Win a pair of shoes and meet the man himself. Hello amazing night!

Who? Liberty
Where? Regent Street
When? Doors open at 6.30pm
What? Cocktails, VIP tickets, Richard Nicoll and win the entire contents of the window displays. (Mannequins not included!)

Who? Warehouse
Where? 19-21 Argyll Street
When? From 6pm
What? Calling all budding stylists - your chance to style an outfit and see it online! Make sure you pick something you'd wear as you have the chance to win the outfit too. Why thank you Warehouse!

Who? Topshop
Where? 214 Oxford Street
When? 6pm - 11pm
What? Vogue fashion advice, DJ Sophie Lloyd, makeovers and FNO goodies. I will see you there!

If you are living elsewhere, check out the other events happening around the world!

The Sunday Times Style - spot the mistake!

The Sunday Times Style is known in the fashion industry as one of the best Sunday supplements.

Imagine my surprise when i noticed this glaringly obvious mistake on 'The Real Deal' page!

3. Camel coat, £129, from Zara. 4. Leather A-line mini, £279, from Jigsaw Vintage. 4. Tan loafers, £80, from Topshop.

Hands up who can't count?

Let me know if you spotted it too!

Ethics Girls Photo Shoot

Here are the selected images from the photo shoot. A big thank you to everyone involved!

Models: Carly Morman & Katy Bruce
Photographer: Jade French
Stylist: Rhian Dark
Hair and Makeup: Rhian Dark

From Summer to Autumn...

If you invested in a fabulous Maxi Dress that has only ventured out of your wardrobe a handful of times due to our typical English weather, fear not! With a cropped jacket, leather satchel and belt, the look is transferable from Summer to Autumn.


Luckily for us, Warehouse has a gorgeous array of clothing and accessories that will complement any Maxi Dress.

Quilted Biker Jacket - £55

Skinny Double Buckle Belt

70's Saddle Tassle Bag

If you have yet to jump on the Maxi Dress band wagon and are looking for a gorgeous addition to your wardrobe, Warehouse have come up trumps again!

Floral Maxi Dress - £85

Complete the look with a great pair of ankle boots, such as these from Zara and you have the perfect outfit!

Rivet Ankle Boot - £49.99

Marks and Spencer offer £5 voucher...

Today Marks and Spencer launch their new advertising campaign 'One Day Wardrobe Clearout' that will be held on 8th September.

The campaign invites consumers to bring unwanted clothing to the store, which they will pass on to Oxfam to sell. In return of their good deed, Marks and Spencer will reward them with a £5 voucher to spend in store.

I am all for giving to charity, however why does it need to be incentivised? When i donate to charity, i do not expect something in return. Do you?

The gorgeous Lisa Snowdon modelling for Marks and Spencer

Both Twiggy and Danii Minogue have dontated clothing to Oxfam that will be available to purchase online from Wednesday 8th September.

Fashionable weight loss

Marie Claire recently launched their online Diet Club and at the moment they are offering you a free 5 day trial. To put it bluntly it is an online version of WeightWatchers, but without the embarrassing meetings. Hurrah!

As I am interested in keeping fit and eating healthily i thought i would put it to the test. My aim is to lose 5lbs – not exactly a life changing amount i know!

The interface is very easy to use and self explanatory and the mini-tuition when you sign in for the first time is extremely helpful.  (Even my mother could do use it – and that’s putting it to the test!)

My favourite features available are:

• Barcode QuickSearch – Type in the barcode of your item to add the calories to your diary
• My Food Reports – highlights your average alcohol intake, highest fat foods and your exercise expenditure.
• Food Swap – if you can’t resist your favourite chocolate treat, find a healthy, lower calorie alternative.

So far i haven’t found any negatives but i will keep you posted!

Am I reading this correctly?

The British Fashion Awards are fast approaching and the nominees have been selected.

Are my eyes deceiving me, has Victoria Beckham’s label made the shortlist for the Best Designer Brand? Is she up against brands such as Mulberry and Burberry? Surely this must be a human error! Is it just me who thinks this?

Don’t get me wrong I am a huge fan of supporting emerging labels and brands and i do like the label, however i can think of hundreds of other brands who deserve the award more, for example Stella McCartney and Giles Deacon.

The current VB collection has been a hit with certain (z list) celebrities such as J-Lo and the press have certainly jumped on the VB bandwagon. With the Guardian claiming 'she is in the fashion business for the long game.'

Let's be honest here, she probably has a team of designers and doesn't lift a finger. Am i jealous? Well, to put it bluntly she is a millionnaire and i am still living with my parents.

I feel another FML life moment coming on...

FML to the max...

It wouldn’t happen to anyone but me.

Being in full time employment is fabulous for mainly one reason; perfect pay packet at the end of each month.

However, it is not so perfect when you have zero holiday left and Vogue offer you a paid 3 week job. FML.

Topshop's Top Tints

D.A.R.K can reveal that Arcadia's Topshop is to launch a make up range this spring consisting of basic make-up products, such as eye-shadows, eye pencils and skin tints that coincide with the trends of the season.

As a full frontal fan of the brand it seems a natural progression and i am unsure as to why they have not done this sooner. They stock tempting sweets that shout 'buy me, buy me' whilst you are queuing - so why not makeup?

As with anything under the Topshop umbrella, i have no doubt that this will be the next 'must have' makeup bag addition for fellow fashionista's. Although with corporations such as L'Oreal owning most of the makeup sector, it will be interesting to see how well the makeup range is received.

One aspect we can be sure of though - Kate Moss will definitely not be the face of this range due to her ties with Rimmel.So who will?

Sony do their part for Fashion Week...

As i now work for a marketing company we are constantly on the hunt for innovative ideas and concepts to inspire our clients. One brand we are definitely keen on is Sony.

Within their marketing budget they allow for a huge poster at the side of their headquarters in Japan and this is changed once every few months. This has obviously been challenged by environmentalist groups (and quite rightly so) as what happens to the artwork once it has been taken down...

Sony have reacted and delivered a great campaign to tie in with Fashion Week's around the world.

They have made jeans out of the old artwork, which are available to buy. Each of the 120 unique, handmade pairs sells directly from the wall. People can view the jeans through supplied binoculars and once a pair is selected, someone climbs down the side of the building to collect them.

I think you will agree this is definitely a great marketing campaign - bravo Sony...Although i am not sure i would want any of these Jeans...would you?

Fashionista's help for Haiti

The second day of New York's Fashion Week saw an alteration in the schedule, with Naomi Campbell hosting a fashion show to raise money for women and children in Haiti and in honour of the Great Alexander McQueen.



Labels such as Versace, Calvin Klein and Christian Dior kindly donated outfits for the show, and celebrities including Kelly Osbourne, Chris Brown and Diane Von Frustenberg strutted their stuff down the catwalk. Agyness Dean had a series of unfortunate mis-haps; stumbling over twice in her Burberry heels. She seems to be following (or falling) in Naomi Campbell's footsteps!

Net-a-porter will be auctioning the collections featured in the show later this month with proceeds going towards helping mothers and children in Haiti. To do your part, donate by clicking here.