London Fashion Week Festival

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to London Fashion Week Festival with my mum. It has become a bit of a tradition for us to go whenever we can, as previously I would have been back at university in Manchester at this time. I had such an amazing day out, felt lovely in what I was wearing and even treated myself to a little something from one of the stalls. I have no idea how this post is going to turn out, maybe more like a diary entry, but I thought I would share it all with you.

BRUNCH
Where better to start than with the most important meal of the day! Our time slot for LFW was 11am-4pm, but we didn't really want to buy food inside the venue as it is usually pretty expensive and there aren't very many options. Instead I took my mum to Grind in Covent Garden, somewhere I had also never been before but I had followed for ages on Instagram and was desperate to go! We both ordered a coffee and a cooked breakfast which was amazing and fairly reasonable. I would definitely recommend it, but if you are looking for something more instagramable then maybe try one of their other locations.

LONDON FASHION WEEK FESTIVAL
Such a lovely selection of clothes, accessories and homeware. I fell in love with a dress from Lily and Lionel (here), although restrained as I am still yet to start my new job! What was really great was there was a a huge variety of product and price points, meaning there was something for everyone and it was a great place to buy presents. Rosie Fortescue was there with her beautiful collection of jewellery and I was so impressed by what a brilliant sales woman she is. And I also caught a glimpse of Hugo Taylor and Millie Mackintosh! But on top of all that my favourite thing to do was just seeing what everyone else was wearing. Everyone looked so fashionable, whether they were wearing something really smart and tailored or edgy and cool!

SHEERLUXE SHOW LIVE
Mum and I decided to skip the fashion show and instead go and see a talk. The talk I chose was from SheerLuxe and was a live viewing of their twice weekly show which I watch religiously on YouTube. It was so entertain, yet educational and everything I hoped it would be. There were some incredible affordable clothes featured from their High Street Edit that I have added to my Wishlist (mostly from & Other Stories). As well as a very interesting talk about all things beauty with the gorgeous Samantha Freedman. I even made some notes! Plus my mum, who had no idea about a lot of the people or fashion brands mentioned thought it was wonderful!

WHAT I WORE
I had been waiting for the perfect occasion to wear my & Other Stories dress that I bought at the beginning of Summer as it is a more autumnal style. It was something I saw and loved, saved up for and then treated myself when I could, so it it really special and makes me feel amazing. I think I should try and buy more pieces this way. When you wait a bit you are sure that you really love something, rather than making an irrational decision.
I paired the dress with some beige studded ankle boots (a Chloe copy) which I bought from Office last year. They keep the dress elegant while being comfortable enough for me to spend a whole day in. Plus they were a nod to the cowboy boot trend, which is really big right now. I wore my emerald green bag for a subtle pop of colour and all of my favourite gold jewellery.

WHAT I BOUGHT
There was so many beautiful pieces that caught my eye, but I managed to stay sensible! I've already mentioned the dress from Lily and Lionel which I will link here. The fabric was stunning and the wrap style was really flattering, but the price was too high considering I don't actually have an event to wear the dress to. I've saved it to my ever growing Pinterest Wishlist though so watch this space! What I did buy though was something that I was actually going to purchase anyway - how very sensible of me! This Summer I got my helix pierced, and though it is still healing at the moment I will eventually swap it for a gold hoop. I've had my eye on these ones from Astrid and Miyu (here) for a while as they are really small, but they have the beautiful diamante detail. I managed to get 10% off with London Fashion Week discount but you can received the same disount on your first order by signing up to their news letter.

Speak soon, xx

 

London Fashion Weekend

London Fashion Weekend

Last Sunday I was lucky enough to go to London Fashion Weekend at the Saachi Gallery, such a beautiful venue in Sloane Square. And while the trains weren’t exactly on my side (are they ever at the moment!?), the weather was lovely and for once I felt like I dressed appropriately.

I chose to take an over-the-knee booted step out of my comfort zone for the occasion, and wore this gorgeous floral maxi dress with a front split. I think the only time I have worn maxi dresses is for balls and my prom! During the day if I do wear a dress, as 90% of the time I will be in skinny jeans, then it’s a mini dress (not a body con though!). So for me this was huge, and I loved it! I spent the day feeling like a fashion princess!

And you won’t believe how much the dress in question cost me! £1!! It’s a little mean of me to boast about it as I got it from an ASOS sample sale a few weeks ago. However the dress is online at the moment and I think it is discounted so it is really reasonable. And you can click on the link below if you want to have a little look.

Goldie Great Lengths Maxi Dress

When we first arrived at 10am in the morning, a particularly early start for a Sunday, we had a little browse around some of the stalls. They had a few brands that I had heard of and a few brands that I hadn’t, but everything just looked so beautiful and luxurious. There were leather jackets, denim dresses, beautiful tailored suits and the softest faux fur. And while the majority of things were a little out of my budgets (especially the week before pay day!) I was so nice just to wonder around, get some pictures and just take everything in.

Wondering around the stalls and little boutiques actually left me with two little nuggets of inspiration.

1. Rather than have loads of cheaper clothes (and only a handful of them you actually wear) invest in a few pieces that you love and that are going to stand the test of time.


2. Be more daring! My aim for this season is to try and be a little more bold in my fashion choices, and I think that working at ASOS surrounded by so many fashionable people is the best place to be for inspiration. I’m not saying blindly follow every fashion trend! But wearing a floral maxi dress with a split up the front was pretty daring for me - and I felt fabulous.

We also saw a couple of lovely shows, displaying trends such a Winter florals, velvet and beautiful lace. I am now desperate to get my hands on something velvet is a rich jewel tone. I have seen a lot of velvet at the moment and I was a bit on the fence at first. It’s a texture that reminds me too much of my childhood dressing up days and makes me feel a little funny when it’s brushed the wrong way. And then I read a lovely article in Style magazine about the texture of the season and how it’s great because it is actually very difficult to tell the different between the designer and the hughstreet, as velvet is just really velvet. Unless you want to get all technical and say that the expensive will be silk and the cheap will be polyester! So I’m going to do a little online hunting as soon as I click the upload button for this post!

Speak soon xx