LFW - FASHION FOR RELIEF HAITI.

   London Fashion Week is finally upon us! To kick it off, Naomi Campbell hosted Fashion for Relief in aid of the Haiti appeal. Celebrity after celebrity strutted down the catwalk wearing Alexander Mcqueen to remember the talent and true legend who died last week. They included singers Gerry Halliwell, members from Girls Aloud, Jamelia and Dame Shirley Bassey. Sport legends also shyly walked the walk as Freddie Flintoff perfectly demonstrated by not stopping for a photograph. Drama occured in the New York Fashion Week show when supermodel Agyness Deyn fell not once but twice on the catwalk after struggling to walk in Burberry heels. She admittedly knew that she couldn't walk in them and so took off the heels and smiled to the applausing crowd.

   However in London James Corden and David Walliams made the show theirs by practically snogging the faces off eachother after waltzing down the catwalk. Kate Moss made a rare appearence after giving up the runway years ago along with fellow supermodel Helena Christensen. A fun way to start the much loved London Fashion Week, the event recieved praise by fellow haiti fundraiser Sarah Brown (wife of Primeminister Gordon Brown).

R.I.P ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

  

A deep, dark day in the fashion world as Alexander McQueen took his own life today. I found out when my friend Laura (who is sixteen today) posted the news on my wall via facebook. I was left shocked and devastated that such a legend has gone in such a tragic way. Graduating from the prestigious art college Central Saint Martins and spotted by the legendary Isabella Blow, he was set to have a great future. He had a marvellous one at that!

I'm sure he will be missed forever and his designs will live on for future generations to admire. My wishes go out to all his friends and family and he will be greatly missed. 

'On behalf of Lee McQueen's family, Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand has been found dead at his home. At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee's family.

Lee's family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this.'

From Alexander McQueen's Website.

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CHANEL SPRING-SUMMER 2010 HAUTE COUTURE

    This collection is mesmerizing, though I'm not quite sure if I like it or not. Whilst browsing through Chanels website and flicking through the photos from their haute couture spring-summer runway in january, I had very mixed emotions. The hair wasn't a hit no matter how much I like full front fringes. The cruella de ville style just didn't make any sense and though I know it's a bit edgy which is what Karl Lagerfeld might be looking for, I felt it didn't go well with the outfits. 

    Talking of outfits,I have never been so confused in my life, ever. It started off as classic Chanel, prim and feminine suits. All being in pastel colours, I felt that this has the potential to infuence the entire fashion world. This changed when I kept going and got to photo 51, where there I witnessed a dress with a tie. It was the odd one out as far as I'm concerned, however the development of dresses was truly breathtaking. The greek goddess gowns (also in pastel colours) looked absolutely gorgeous with fine crisp folds. Ruffles made a comeback and as ever, Chanel lived up to it's reputation with the swaying, airless dresses. 

    However the end photo just joined the dress in the tie as far as I'm concerned. To me the wedding dress looked absolutely remarkable, and the models light grey tinted hair worked greatly. It was who joined this girl on the runway which alarmed me. Hand in hand, a male model was dressed head to toe in the worst metallic gold suit I have ever seen. He looked like a 7 year olds' science project who had been wrapped up in tin foil to resemble a space man. The metallic worked when incorporated in the other dresses. This though, was a big mistake and ruined the entire show.

STUMBLED UPON THIS.

  After waking up at an abnormally early time for a saturday I thought I'd take a look at the very few photos I have of my Grandparents. Hearing how smart and glamorous they both used to look, I instantly thought of my blog when I came across one particular picture of my grandad. Here he is seen wearing a Duffle coat, which I've mentioned before in my blog as a fashion statement this season. Probably the shortest blog I've done, but I just felt like sharing this picture with you which shows how often fashion repeats itself. X

SURVIVING THE SNOW

  The past week we have seen areas all across the UK blissfully sprinkled with snow. With the giant thaw underway and the snow vanished from the streets, I'd like to know how you survived the recent weather. Well I lived in my Marc Jacobs wellies , the gorgeous pair my mum brought me proved to be pretty and practical. The smooth shiny surface coloured noir, is defined by a bright yellow outline. Wellingtons part of the Jacobs by Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs (tongue twister) also comes in a variety of other fluorescent colours, including pink.

 

However what about the top half of your body. Well Anastasia Kyriacou kept warm whilst in the snow with the ultimate winter garment, the fabulous fur coat. She perfectly demostrates how to wear it and is advised with little acccessory. H&M in their sale have reduced a large section of their fur coats so if you like what you see, buy yourself one. For the fake fur followers, dont worry its 100% not real!

Let me know what you wore in the snow by leaving a comment!

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A NEW DECADE, WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NOUGHTIES?

It took several attempts to sign into my blog and I don’t think last nights antics helped much either. I ended the decade by going to my friends ELLEN & RUBY'S party which was absolutely fabulous. However deciding what to wear was just painfully difficult. Why? Well I didn’t have a clue what anyone else was going to wear, should I dress up or dress down? To be honest I didn’t want to look the same as I do all the time, so off I went battling it out in the boxing day sales for a decent outfit.

I FOUND:

1 pair of black heels (stunning velvet classic design). £10 New Look

1 floral top ( black, with purple and dark green flowers ) £7 New Look

1 lace and sequin dress (black with sequins sewn into and around the flowers) £30 Topshop

1 dark gold dress £15 H&M

1 knitted navy blue cardigan (with amazing shoulders which were in trend in the last year, Rihanna seen supporting the 'look') £18 Topshop


So with this I decided not to wear any of the dresses I brought from the sales, but a tight black dress covered in lace with lace sleeves for a tenner in a run down clothes shop. It’s amazing, and could pass as Topshop, just a bit cheaper. I ended up going in the tight lace dress, black leggings, black suede heels and my shoulder padded cardi. This is what I ended up wearing to celebrate the end of the noughties. Oh, I might just add in that I took the heels of after 2 hours because they killed, then walked around barefoot then put on classic nautical keds on.

So what were you wearing on NYE? I do remember peoples outfits from last night, Brett (who you might remember from one of my previous posts, up and coming designer) wore a pale pink Lyle and Scott tee from Selfridges. Freya wore a topshop pale pink top with floral design in black with a fitted black skirt and purple tights. I also remember seeing hosts Ellen and Ruby sporting the latest trends, firstly Ellen with a sleek tie dye top and Ruby with a patterned vest and high waisted shorts. Also Ilse wore a one shouldered dress, a key garment this season and a favourite with celebrities. Libby also wore a sparkly geometrical dress which looked great and also Rowan wore a navy blue American Apparel high waisted skirt, which can also can be converted into a dress. Also noticed the boys were wearing polo shirts and checked shirts.

I think what everyone was wearing has summed up the trends in 2009, however the noughties started in 2000 so what was everyone wearing back then. Well I didn’t have much say in what I chose to wear as I was only five and my parents aren’t the greatest example in the world. My dad’s stuck in the 80's/90's and wears the same clothes as he did then, and my mum (please forgive me) doesn’t follow fashion, in other words isn’t that fashionable. So please excuse my lack of knowledge and to be honest with you I haven’t got a clue what happened until 2006 when I picked up my first copy of Vogue after swimming with friends. I remember thinking about fashion for some time, and was not put off by my mum describing Vogue as a magazine you would only pick up in a dentist waiting room. No I brought it regardless, and sat on the back of the bus flicking through it with my friends and pointing out what was nice and what was just vile. I think that’s the moment in time where I knew I wanted to work in fashion. It got to the point where I once sat on the bus on my way to school in 2008 and knew what every single person was wearing and where they got it from. I remember people being like 'okay Helene', 'yeah sure'. People then only realised that I was telling the truth when I was out and about with them in London and I’ll say, 'that lady's bag is from Vivienne Westwood and her top from H&M'.  Well that part of me is still going and I no longer have space for my Vogues on my shelf. 2009 was the year I started my blog, which I am thankful to anyone who reads it!

Flicking through a Aug 2006 Vogue issue, I've realised that fashions eccentricity died down a bit, simplicity was the answer. Tunics were in and wacky Versace was out. Youth was also taking hold of the fashion industry and influencing it more than ever.

2007, Alexander Wang had just broken into the fashion industry at the age of 22, Kate Moss still had a middle parting and not a blonde bob and Lily Cole was becoming the next British Supermodel since Moss. Dark metallic and neutral colours were in effect, also with the odd bright outfit. Fashion in a year, wiped out the simple look and in came the start of experimentation. Hussien Chalayan's bubble frock modelled by Coco Rocha revolutionised fashion and brought back the mixture of art in the fashion world. This later on spread to shoes, such as Prada and Vivienne Westwood's wacky creations. Lastly the troupe of extremely talented designers were emerging from the famous Central Saint Martins School of Art.

2008, stripes and denim were battling it out amongst the heavy tribal wear along with chunky accessories. We sadly saw the death of the legend, Yves Saint Laurent 1936-2008. His Mondrian inspired dress was featured in Vogue, 1965 and was revived in 2008. Agyness Deyn was the Supermodel everyone paid attention to, as her frequent hair change was talk of the town. The September '08 issue saw the latest trend emerge onto the scene with Karen Elson. Prada brought back lace dresses from the 80's, Topshop later cottoned onto the trend in 2009. Young talent got recognised and the uprise of young models, designers and musicians rocketed.

2009, the last year of the noughties and the most significant in my opinion. The slow build up of trends exploded in the final year of this decade. The hint of anti size 0, escalated with Mark Fast using plus size models in his show in London Fashion Week. Denim was hot, denim shirts, jeans, it was all extremely desirable and major magazines took advantage of its peak such as French Vogue. Chanel’s quilted 2.55 bag was copied by every single high street retailer, Marc B, River Island and Primark. Did it damage Chanel’s reputation? Leather jackets were on and off throughout the decade but nicely collaborated with the punk movement. Studs, gold, chunky jewellery established in the 80's and was brought back into the fashion world. The tribal look developed into the floral bohemian look, which made curly hair even with frizz desirable. This reminds me of the Mulberry advert which was unmissable on the tube in London, it was everywhere. Oh and lets not forget the classic Bayswater bag Mulberry continues to keep in date. Shoe art was a hit with Vivienne Westwood, how can we forget those love hearts sticking out on the end? Finally the lace dress, which I wore for NYE.

Thinking about the past decade is bizarre. You only realise how quickly fashion changes and how much we re-use what we wore in the past. The 80's has been the era which we’ve revived the most, shoulder pads etc...But who knows what’s to come in the next decade.

HAPPY NEW YEAR X

TAKIN' A BREAK FROM REVISION BOHEMIAN&&RALPHLAUREN STYLE.

  

Arghhh 8 down one to go (exams that is) YES! So to keep my sanity I've been browsing around my room and digging into my wardrobe as I've come to the conclusion that to save the pennys I'll keep the old and wait for boxing day sales. Oh the excitement of getting half price topshop clothes! However the fear of people treading on my beloved addidas is really a rather difficult scenrio to try and make sense of? Well I can wait a week and so in the midst of revising for my last exam (francais) and listening to what my mum describes as 'jungle music' (dubstep and grime actually, I found my camera and decided to take a few shots. The top I'm wearing in the last photo I brought from Urban Outfitters on sale for around about £20, I think it was about £40 before. J'adore this top, its really bohemian which is a style I'm crazy about. This top also creates that hard shoulder look which is really in trend at the moment, this is not so dramatic unlike some designers who are including the dramatic look in their collections. Then I pulled out my huge Ralph Lauren polo puffa jacket which is seriously appropriate for the extremely cold weather at the moment. Decided to take a crazy picture which, at least you can see the amazing lining of fake fur on the inside of the hood and the bushy fur on the rim. I'll be back soon as I'm now armed with my camera to style snap my friends! Au revoir.