London Fashion Week Round-Up

Yesterday saw the end of this season's London fashion week. Whilst I usually do my utmost to attend all the shows I get invited to, unfortunately this year I was only able to attend on the Friday and Saturday. Although I prefer going to shows in September when it's a tad bit warmer and the sun shines  a little brighter, I do have a general distaste for Spring/Summer fashion. Therefore, despite the cold, with the Autumn/Winter collections I was in my element and this season's offerings did not disappoint.

My fashion week kicked off with a Gothic and edgy collection by Jamie Wei Huang. Models walked seductively down the catwalk to, what I can only describe as, an Eastern European rock soundtrack. The colour palette was simplistic and likewise prints were relatively minimalistic. Chains, d-loop detail and leather however were heavily present giving the collection an underlying 'fetish' feel. Whilst it's undeniable that the collection was rather eccentric, it was the combinations of pastel pink and pretty fur that gave the collection a girlish/feminine feel that was both subtle and covetable. Watch my video below: apologies for the quality!

Day two saw the radiant contribution by Pavane; situated in the atmospheric Institute of Contemporary Arts this collection looked stunning against the backdrop of the exclusive and off location venue. The collection combined shades of deep emerald, charcoal grey and jet black with military style trench coats and floaty, pleated skirts ultimately coming together to create a divine AW15/16 contribution.

See if you can spot me on the front row of the Mariana Jungmann show.

 My favourite show of the season was by Mariana Jungmann. Her collection combined gorgeous AW shades of greens, greys and blues. Sharp tailoring came together with floaty skirts and subtle, laser detail. The neat tailoring complimented the minimal colour palette perfectly and thus created a very sophisticated and ready-to-wear collection. See my favourite looks below:

The show by Vin and Omi is also worth a mention purely because of its unique and wacky aesthetic. Set in a basement location this exclusive show proved to be a real feast for the imagination. The designs were other worldly and unlike anything else I saw this season. Plus, you might've heard that at LC:M this year it was all the rage for the male models to flash their private parts on the catwalk. Let's just say Vin and Omi followed suit with their presentation.  #freethepene 

Photo cred @VinandOmi

Photo cred @VinandOmi

Check by in a couple of days for my roundup of the utterly covetable collections from this season's designer showrooms at Somerset House.

O x

Say Whaaaaa? The Influx Of Slogan S***

If I'm completely honest, for a long, long time I was pretty much repulsed by the influx of slogan s*** that swanned in and dominated the fashion industry (I'm looking at you Moschino). However, as time went on I started to warm to them and, just recently, I decided they're actually pretty cool. For one, they're actually a great way to take something quite causal, like a simple t-shirt or clutch, and turn it in to something a bit more statement worthy. Plus, as the styles themseves are usually quite simple, it means the items have far more potential to transcend the ever changing trends than some of the other more seasonal items.  

If I had to pick an ultimate slogan piece it would be an Edie Parker box clutch (if you're unfamiliar with this designer then I suggest you google her now, she'll change your life... promise). But, as I don't have a spare £2000 lying around (sigh), I'd even settle for the massively iconic, bloggers' favourite, sold out 'Stressed, depressed, but well dressed' clutch bag by Zara. 

As I'm unlikely to get my hands on either items, I've devised a little lust list of my favourite slogan pieces available to buy now. The more tongue-in-cheek they were the more likely they were going to make it in to my wishlist. I know, I know, TOP BANTS. 

Well obviously...
New Look - £9.99

Why? Because YES, that's why.
Ohh Deer - £19.95

Missguided - £12.00

If I were to attempt to organise my life,
this folder would be far too fitting.
Happy Jackson - £6.29

O x

OOTD - Tartan on Tartan on Dogtooth; thoughts please?

Shoes - Next, Socks - New Look, Jeans - ASOS, Scarf - New Look. 

I must admit, I'm not a massive fan of printed items or overly bold textures when it comes to fabrics. Yet, quite to my own surprise, this year I seem to have a massive obsession with dogtooth and tartan. The other day, for example, I decided it would be utterly chic to wear bright red tartan socks with some skinny jeans, a navy blue blouse and my new oversized tartan/dogtooth scarf. Perhaps it was a tad too much, but I didn't really care. In fact, I'm actually thinking about getting these trousers from River Island when pay day next comes around. Thoughts?

River Island - £40

O x

Product Review - Gosh Nail Lacquer in Denim Delight #627

Gosh - £3.99

When it comes to nail polish; I'm pretty much an expert! I've tried almost every brand under the sun and now have a clear hit and miss list. Usually I tend to favour either Essie or Barry M as both brands have great selections of colours, staying power and chip resistance. The only criticism I'd have of Barry M is that they too often bring out a limited edition colour that I fall in love with and then after a few months cannot find anywhere. Sad times. Anyway, I'll get to the point! Wanting to treat myself to a new colour the other day I went on down to Superdug. The store in my town is quite small and doesn't stock all of the brands that the larger Superdrug stores do. It does, however, have a Gosh stand. Admittedly I haven't tried many Gosh products before but fell in love with the colour of this nail paint pretty much instantly. Being someone who knows which nail brands to trust and which not to bother with, I was a bit apprehensive to give this polish a try. However, I decided at the very least I'd get a review out of it so bought it anyway.

On application I was pleasantly surprised at how clear and bright the colour of the polish was. I could've managed with just one coat really but went for two in the end. It was easy to apply and dried extremely quickly. However, despite being initially happy with the product, the real test was yet to come. Too often have I bought in to some ridiculous '7 days long lasting chip resistant' bullshit that for me, even getting a nail polish to last one day is extremely rare. I have to admit this polish held out three days at work before I started to notice any chips. That, my friends, is pretty much incredible considering how often I chip my nail polish at work. These were the results at the end of the three days:

Overall I'd give this polish a 5/5. As someone who hates having shabby looking nails, it's important for me that nail polishes are long lasting, chip resistant, have a bright colour and dry quickly. This polish, for me, ticks all of those boxes! For a cheap price, great colour and no promise of being long lasting, it exceeded my expectations. I'd definitely buy from Gosh again, only trouble is, this colour was also a limited edition shade. FML.

O x

Feeling Shady

Payday has finally arrived and with it comes the battle not to spend all my wages in just one week. To distract me from the fact that there's absolutely no way this money will see me through till next month, I've been focusing all my attention on my new purchases. VICIOUS CIRCLE.

Although many of you will probably believe sunglasses for Winter are more of an accessory than a necessity, I have to disgaree. Eyes need protecting from the sun all year round and it has never and will never be chic to squint. Luckily for me and my new found thriftiness (kind of), I picked up these babies in the ASOS sale. Jealous? DUH.

Until next time,

O x

Product Review - Trevor Sorbie Straight Protect and Shine

My sister is a hairdresser and has been at at me for ages to get a heat defense spray for my hair. Well, as someone who doesn't particularly like to be told what to do, especially from a younger sibling, I've put off buying one for ages. Well, that was until recently when I thought my hair was looking a little dry and I realised how desperate I was for it to grow a bit longer for the upcoming party season. So, after work the other day I headed on down to Boots to see what I could find. As someone with little to no knowledge of heat defense sprays I actually felt a bit lost when I saw the range available to buy. Not wanting to spend too much money on something I could potentially loathe after one use I thought it might be best to buy a trial/travel sized bottle and see how I got on with that. Plus, as someone who likes to test out products regularly I often spend the majority of my free time in the trail size section of Boots. #sadfactoftheday

I chose this one by Trevor Sorbie because I quite like their hair products anyway and, admittedly, the bottle looked pretty cool. It retails at £5.70 for a 200ml sized bottle, but I bought my trial size, 50ml one for £1.99. It is salon approved (apparently?) and the label implies that it prevents damage, reduces kinks and add shine. These are all major hair concerns of mine as, without the wonders of modern hair tools/technology I would look like that actress from the weird TV programme, Cavegirl, NOT EVEN JOKING.

So how does it rate? Well, firstly I'm not massively keen on the smell, but I've come to notice that a lot of the decent hair styling products don't actually have the best of scents to them and I think this means that they're less perfumed? Which is a good thing. After a couple of uses I have definitely noticed that my hair feels a little softer and I have noticed a little extra shine. I wouldn't say the difference is huge, but I've definitely seen an improvement. 

I would recommend this product as it has worked for me, however I'm not completely overwhelmed with the results so I think I'll test a few more heat defense sprays before I settle on the one for me.

O x