You will be green with envy..

OK, I know that I don't really have the money but I NEED these dresses in my life....  NOW!

Yes I had a lovely gem of an email pop into the inbox from Girl meets dress this morning and this gorgeous Gwen dress caught my eye.  I love it and really need it in my wardrobe to go with my aviator ankle boots.  I also think my pleather necklace by Emma Ware would look gorgeous with it.  The great thing about Girl Meets Dress is you can hire fab dresses like this for a fraction of the price, just £99 for 7 nights as apposed to the £370 to buy it.  I will be hiring this baby in the very near future!

Then I spotted this even more striking and more versatile Keira tunic dress. The colour is to die for and the cut is gorgeous.  But I don't want to own a dress like that for a mere few days I want a dress like that for an entire season.  This dress will make my life complete (a major exaggeration) but I really want this dress but to buy from LaDress which by the way should be every girls first stop for finding that perfect dress, it is £210.  I am going to buy the dress but my real dilemma is which colour to buy?  The blue or the green?

So my lovely blog readers, I need your help.  I am about to part with 210 of my hard earned pounds but which dress do I go for?

I have fallen for Fall..

I am head over heels for the Autumn Winter collections already and I have not yet bought all of my Summer wardrobe!  What is a girl to do when she is coveting next winter but buying Summer?  Well I was planning on buying into the colour blocking trend in a big way this summer to ensure lots of outfits created from multiple separates and thankfully that is going to keep the budget down....  Meaning more money for A/W which means come September I can make these fabulous black Burberry trousers mine...

Wanted to have a Rant..

Today's post was intended to be a rant about being freelance and the frustrations of trying to get great fashion stories and styling printed!  I am always coming up with great new fashion stories and feel it is really important to show new designers to get peoples creative juices flowing.  For example I recently did a shoot using two fab jewellery designers Emma Ware and Sophie Breitmeyer as the main focus and trust me the images are great and I will share them with you once I have confirmation on publishing.

Emma Ware necklace

Sophie Breitmeyer necklace

However it is really difficult to get the magazines interested in these type of shoots, in fact it is a complete catch 22 situation!  The magazines want images using known designers but the designers won't release their items for shoots until you have confirmation from the magazine who wont give it until they have seen the story!!!!!!!!  ARRRRRGGGghhhhhh

This was intended to be a really long rant and then a ping in the inbox from the lovely Lucy at TKMaxx  headquarters lifted the frustration fog!  A shoot that I did with TKMaxx last Thursday got a double page spread in the York Press which put a nice big smile on my face.  Maybe the regional press are interested in Fashion articles after all!

OK, TKMaxx are a big company and have a really big consumer group but if the readership is there for a double page spread about fashion why not put it to good use?  Local produce and not just in terms of meat, eggs and honey, I mean local designers or small boutiques.  The regional publications could be doing fashion coverage on those people as well as high street fashion so that people can really get to know what is happening fashion wise on their doorstep. 

So I have decided that I am going to keep pressing the press to do more pieces on small fashion businesses and boutiques and keep you guys up to date on the progress!

Bafta Boo Boo"s

I love the award season because it should bring with it stunning dresses that make us non A-Lister's long for our very own red carpet moment.  But last night's Bafta's was a complete disappointment, I could only pick 3 dresses that actually worked for the actresses and one of those was Helena Bonhem Carter!  I mean who would of thought my favourite kooky dresser would actually have matching shoes, ok she was in Vivienne Westwood as she always is but it was figure flattering.

I predicted right with Amy Adams wearing that fab Elie Saab dress, I just wish she had opted for the green that I picked as it would have had more red carpet presence.  But my favourite look of the evening was Thandie Newton who looked stunning in this gorgeous Monique Lhuiller gown and to be honest made everyone else look less than average.

So let's look at the dud's..

Emma Watson usually gets it bang on but for some reason the hair, accessories and the Valentino gown just didn't work for her last night.  When I look at this photo I keep thinking she looks like Julie Andrews in the dancing scene from 'The Sound of Music' and I think from the look of this image she may have felt the same.

Young newcomer Hailee Steinfield who is only 14, looked a little granny chic in this Miu Miu number which needs a dose of sexy and a killer heel to carry off.  She gets points for fashion know how but I would rather see her in something more age appropriate for the Oscars.

OMG.... I can't believe that Jennifer Lawrence left the house like this...  The Stella McCartney dress is stunning but it makes her look like she has American football players shoulders, her bust looks ready to make a break for it and her choice of choker as an accessory just highlights the bust and shoulders.  A perfect example of when a beautiful dress and a beautiful women don't a great outfit make!

Is Eva Green auditioning to play Nigella Lawson in a new movie?   This Tom Ford dress makes her look much larger than she is!

I want to 'Scream' for Neve Campbell as this Roberto Cavalli dress is so very nearly great but the ruching on the bust makes her boobs appear a little saggy and the fall on the skirt is making her look hip heavy.  Her stylist should have adjusted her straps by an inch which would have corrected the bust, bought her waist higher and the skirt would have flowed over hips in a much more flattering line! 

Mini Driver looks Blah in this Temperley gown.  I cant help but think if this had been worn in LA it would have worked better but she should have popped a fur shrug with this to make it look less wedding and more red carpet.

DON'T BE A WALL FLOWER

D&G Spring Summer 11

Nothing says Spring Summer quite like florals and this year they are blooming marvellous!.  

The catwalks saw floral frenzy that would make even Alan Titchmarsh weak at the knees.  The likes of Erdem and Alberta Ferretti inspired us with romantic prints on flowing gowns, whilst Stella McCartney and D&G have kept prints playful on tailoring, jumpsuits and cute dresses so that this Summer nothing is going to escape these beautiful blooms.

Yes hold your hay fever at bay because clothes will be scattered with soft subtle peonies and poppies or bursting with vibrant roses and orchids.  From printed wedges to palazzo pants, Spring Summer has never looked more vibrant.  Forget all notions of the classic garden party floral print dress and choose your prints wisely.  Make a statement with one loud and proud print or embrace the botanical and mix and clash them to make your outfit eclectic and unique.

If your winter wardrobe can’t wait till Summer for floral explosion then cheer it up now. Don a tulip print kimono instead of your knitwear or mix beautiful floral print blouses with wide leg floor skimming trousers for that instant update. 


Here are some of the floral looks that have inspired me.

Stella McCartney SS11/ RST - this tailored combo is a great way of getting florals into your work wear. 

D&G SS11 jumpsuit a really playful alternative to the classic florals look, if i had the money this is the piece  that I would buy.

Alberta Ferretti SS11, why not mix your floating florals with your knitwear?

Erdem SS11 had prints to die for from etherial to modern so take your pick!

Viv's red nose day T's at TKMaxx

I have just placed my order for my Red Nose day T-Shirt and quite frankly I can't wait for it to arrive!

That is because the queen of fashion herself Vivienne Westwood has designed this great T-shirts  collection for red nose day 2011 that will be sold exclusively by TKMaxx.

So embrace your inner punk and checkout the fab collection of black and white prints with the quintessentially tongue in cheek aesthetic of Viv!  The prints fuse humour with History with designs featuring Rowan Atkinson and Miranda Richardson as their Blackadder characters 'Edmund' and 'Queenie', the laughing Audience by Hogarth and a Louis XVI lady.

 I think the Blackadder T's will prove very popular because of the fantastic images of celebs wearing them shot by Brian Adams.
My two favourite designs are the Shakespeare T and the Punk girl vest, the first because I love Shakespeare and the second because it will look fab with my black sequin skirt!  Which once it arrives I will be taking pic's of...

Westwood has also done great prints for the little rugrats too with a typically Vivienne pirate design and then a mother and baby elephant design so the Kids can join in with the fun!

The T-shirts are manufactured in Africa with 100% Fairtrade organic cotton.  So to own a piece of fashion history go to your local TKMaxx store or to TKMaxx on line prices are from £5.99 for a kiddy's 'T' to £14.99 for a ladies fashion 'T' and all net profits from sales of the range will go to Comic Relief.