The Best Fashion…Documentaries

Anybody who missed last weeks Stylist, missed a great interview with my idol Carine Roitfeld about her new documentary ‘Mademoiselle C’. I have added the trailer that features Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Jean Paul Gaultier and many more plus it is directed by the outstanding Fabien Constant.

Although, not only did they miss this, they missed a list of the best fashion documentaries so I thought I would bring them to you from the comfort of your laptops (which I must admit us bloggers are on far too often).

The list included:

The September Issue

Bill Cunningham New York

The Eye Has to Travel

Lagerfeld Confidential 

Valentino: The Last Emperor

Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton

I unfortunately couldn’t find the trailer for this one, however it is an amazing film even for those who aren’t fashion fanatics! It give you an insight into Marc Jacobs creative mind and the humour is top notch too!

Another documentary that I feel deserved a place on this list is:

In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye 

I absolutely loved this – its gives you an insight into the history of the most influential fashion magazine in the world, VOGUE. I found Babs Simpson so influential and I felt inspired to keep trying to break into the fashion industry.

Belstaff Flagship Store Launch

Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend the launch of Belstaff’s new flagship store on Bond Street. As you can imagine…my expectations were met! The whole of Bond Street had been closed and after being handed a glass of champagne the showcase started. Around twenty motorcycles zoomed down the street being driven by the most beautiful creatures and for the finale DAVID BECKHAM drives down!!! He is just as amazing in real life by the way however, he doesn’t stand a chance next to David Gandy (who happened to walk past me and touch my arm)!

Inside, the store is just as spectacular and the design is incredible…nearly as incredible as all the leather jackets that were surrounding me. I had my eye on the one that Pixie Lott was wearing – in my dreams!

Once inside the very handsome waiters served champagne and gin and apple cocktails as well as canapés such as quails eggs, mini pork pies and little roast beef tarts. Also for the sweet tooths like myself they served tiny meringues with strawberries, strawberry cheesecakes and millionaire shortcakes! It was all very yummy and trust me I tried all of it!

My dad and I sipping our champagne!

It felt like such a surreal evening, but now I know I need to work hard so I can one day be invited to events like these all the time :)!

Also if anyone lives in London or visits London they should go and take a look at the store or check out their designs at http://www.belstaff.co.uk

“I like my money right where I can see it…hanging in my closet”

Whenever I am feeling guilty about spending all my money shopping, I always think of Carrie Bradshaw’s wise words of wisdom. Especially now that I am living in London it is really difficult to resist the temptation to shop! I have been on a few small shopping trips so I thought I would share my recent purchases and my future purchases (someone help me)!

This Primark floral suit was only £27 for BOTH (£10 for the shorts and £17 for the little jacket) – what a bargain! 

This shirt is also from Primark and is navy blue with tiny little white stars all over it. It feels really nice and what I love about it is the fact you can’t see the buttons. 

This necklace is a Butler and Wilson beauty. It is available on their website here or you can visit my mum’s shop Fabulous Jewels (170 Brunstfield Place, Edinburgh) where she stocks the fabulous brand. This crystal leopard head necklace is so sparkly and a perfect statement necklace that looks great with this collared shirt. 

My mum came to London with me to help me move into my new flat, so we thought it was a perfect time to put in an order for her shop at Butler and Wilson on South Molton Street. It was so fun looking at all the extravagant yet beautiful jewellery and choosing what we thought would work best in her shop. She kindly gave me this necklace as a good luck present for moving :)!

I bought this knitted dress to wear for my interview at my current internship (lets just say it must of been my lucky charm)! It is from Zara and was £39.99 – it is quite thick and feels like really good quality. 

 This is also from Zara and is checked/floral dress with a black cami built in underneath that is £39.99. It is so unique and really caught my eye the first time I saw it! I wore it with my vintage Moschino belt that I bought on Ebay from a little vintage shop that is actually in London!

THIS FUR LONG WAISTCOAT IS MY DREAM! I absolutely love it…but it does not come cheap at £129. Why does Zara always get it so right – it is available here. My birthday is in November so I have sent a link to my sister to then pass on to my mum – fingers crossed I wake up and open a present and find this inside!

Duke of York Square

Yesterday I met up with one of my best friends, Alex, who is the most positive and happy person I have ever met. Every time I spend time with her my outlook on life gets brighter and luckily for me we are eventually living in the same city! We spent the afternoon in  The Duke of York Square in Chelsea where they have a lovely food market on every Saturday! They have every type of cuisine you can imagine from Japanese to Mexican to Indian to American. IT IS AMAZING. I am a massive fan of sushi and found this hand-made, super fresh sushi stall (which was actually very cheap as well)! I got some avocado maki, spicy tuna roll, salmon and avocado roll and prawn tempura roll…I just couldn’t decide so tried a bit of everything! It was very good and I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting London. 

I was trying to be healthy but Alex gave into temptation and bought a slice of the malteaser fudge. I must admit it was very indulgent and extremely tasty. 

 

My dream when I am rich and famous (one day) is to be living in this area. I absolutely love it. 

I had a little browse in Forever 21 and picked up this little button up pinafore dress. It is so versatile and looks great in summer worn with a tee under it or in winter with a knitted jumper and thick tights!

We ended our day with a little walk around the Saatchi Gallery and settling with a nice hot coffee outside in their restaurant, ‘Gallery Mess’. Next on my list to try is their afternoon tea…I had severe food envy!!

LONDON TOWN

I have finally graduated from university and plucked up the courage to move to London…it is the best decision I have ever made! The city is full of the most interesting people, beautiful little restaurants and cafes, the best breakfast places (my favourites are Bread Etcetera in Clapham and you can’t go wrong with The Breakfast Club), shops EVERYWHERE with unique stock, food markets every Saturday, vintage fairs all the time, sample sales, mesmerising architecture and luckily I am also doing the best internship at a Fashion Showroom. Its fair to say I am loving it.

 

I am sorry I haven’t been able to blog in such a long time but I have had no internet at my new flat. It has been very sad but I am extremely happy to say I HAVE INTERNET AS OF TODAY and you will be hearing a lot more of me. 

When Megan (my best friend I am living with and have known since I was like 9) and I arrived in London we thought the best way to get to know the city was to walk everywhereeeee! 

 

We became tourists for the day and managed to find an amazing rooftop bar on Argyll Street called Aqua (the weather was so hot so it was a perfect place to stumble upon).

 

I will keep everyone updated with all the clothes and accessories I pick up on my journey as well as letting you know about restaurants and bars that I visit (if I am not poor by then). I will also make sure I post what I am doing at work interning and any hints and tips I pick up a long the way!

COMING INTO FASHION

A CENTURY OF PHOTOGRAPHY AT CONDE NAST 

 

Today I visited the highly anticipated exhibition: ‘A Century of Condé Nast – COMING INTO FASHION. It was held at the Edinburgh City Art Centre and for everyone who hasn’t managed to see it yet, it is thankfully here until  September 8th!

 

Walking around the exhibition I realised how hard it was to tell what era a photo was taken in. All that mattered was the photo and the real skill these photographers have!

 

I was admiring photos from 1972 and realised these were taken nearly twenty years before I was born, yet I can still connect with them. 

I especially loved the way David Bailey, Helmet Newton and Willy Vanderperre were able to take such captivating images. Another plus point was the use of black and white in lots of the images (who doesn’t love a black and white photo)!

This image was one of my favourites captured by David Bailey for American Vogue in 1962.

Surprisingly my other favourite was also in black and white and was shot by Willy Vandeperre for W in 2011. 

After the exhibition, to my luck, I happened to walk past some vintage pop up shops that were there for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

My very talented and artistic friend Robyn managed to snap up a bargain. A beautiful emerald green dress for £5. She will no doubt turn this dress into some wonderful creation (I will post a picture on my Instagram tomorrow for everyone to admire)!

The Love of My Life

If anyone reads my blog they will understand how much I love Zara. They never seem to fail! Whenever I go shopping I try my best not to spend all my money in one shop. Whenever I dress I try not to wear 4/5 things from the same shop. THIS ALWAYS SEEMS TO HAPPEN AND EVERY TIME IT IS ZARAS FAULT. 

 

So I thought I would share my love with you and post some photos from their Fall 2013 Collection.

 

How amazing it is all? Now I will share my top 5 favourite items that are being added to my wish list (someone buy them for me…..please?):

Beautiful deep maroon leather skirt, £159, available here

Grey versatile polo neck top, £19, available here

Floral slip like dress with lace detail, £45.99, available here

 

Emerald green antique look necklace, £19.99, available here

Suede platform heels, £59.99, available here

 

Unfortunately a lot of the clothes that are shown in the campaign were not available on their website. However, a lot of them would of made there way onto my wish list!

Edinburgh Vintage Fair

I have been very quiet recently as I have just started an internship at a PR company and this 9-5 schedule has been taking it out of me (pretty pathetic I know). Although, working during the week allows me to make the most out of my weekend! After a very late night on Saturday (with my dad I may add) seeing shows in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. If anyone needs a great show to see where your stomach muscles are in agony afterwards – go and see Jason Byrne…he is HILARIOUS! I managed to pull myself out of bed late Sunday afternoon to visit the Edinburgh Affordable Vintage Fair. 

 

The fair was founded in 2005 and has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Stylist and Marie Claire, although what makes it so great is its wide range of vintage, from clothes and jewellery to home ware and vintage magazines. 

 

I wore a little bit of vintage myself! When I was in France I managed to bag myself this little denim dress straight out my grans wardrobe (I did have to take it up a little though). I wore a pair of heeled chelsea booths with it – they are essential my life! The top I got in the airport at American Apparel, Edinburgh needs one asap.

My guilty pleasure at the moment is white nails and top finger rings (I have no idea what they are actually called). Especially after being on holiday white nails make you look even more tanned – perfect!

 

Here are a little selection of some of the clothes I managed to find whilst searching through the hundreds of racks:

 

The trouble with vintage fairs is there are no changing rooms: you just have to cross your fingers and hope what you are buying fits. These shorts certainly did not! They are still pretty to look at and hopefully I will find a loving home for them. 

It is such a great feeling managing to find a few hidden treasures and this necklace is differently one of them. The photo does not do it as much justice but its such a nice fit around your neck and the stone is a beautiful baby blue. 

I love finding clothes that no one will have -there is nothing worse than buying a dress from Topshop to go out and find 10 other people are wearing it. So if anyone has any recommendations of amazing vintage fairs in Edinburgh or London please let me know :).

My Obsession with Sunglasses

Many girls have an obsession with shoes or handbags…my obsession is with sunglasses (I won’t lie though – I do love all three)! I know this post seems a little late as summer has been around for a while now, although recently I have been inspired by just how many weird, wacky and wonderful sunglasses you can purchase.  I have put together photos of some of my sunglasses; unfortunately they aren’t as crazy as Lady Gaga’s but they are all different shapes and sizes with unique colours and patterns. 

When travelling back from Biarritz, my sister and I were stuck in London Stansted with 4 hours to wait until our flight to Edinburgh. After we wasted time at Yo! Sushi and Starbucks, we luckily stumbled onto the new American Apparel store. I was in awe of the hundreds of pairs of sunglasses they had on sale. Whist staring longingly at them, a shop assistant kindly came over to tell me more about them. All the sunglasses on sale are vintage (not pre-owned) from the 1960’s to the 1980s – wow! They were all priced between £27-£40 and I bagged myself these two pairs. 

My next go to stop for sunglasses is Primark. They always have every style you can imagine and if, like me, you are a little clumsy a cheap pair is a much better option than spending hundreds of pounds. 

ASOS are also great for statement sunglasses and range from about £10-£40. These are Black Metal Round Sunglasses and were £15 but they have now gone into the sale for £12 (not that much of a bargain but at least it is something). 

Marks and Spencer do amazing underwear, but it was the last place I could imagine finding my favourite pair of sunglasses. They are a perfect shape (that I feel would suit any size and shape of head) and the subtle pattern through them gives them a unique quality. Although, the only downside to buying cheap sunglasses is that they do not last as long as designer pieces. The plus side is that ‘trends’ are changing all the time and it is perfect that high street stores offer the latest styles at affordable prices. 

The Perfect Denim Dress

My friend’s mum came over to the house wearing the most unbelievable denim dress. I love denim, so when I saw it I needed it! I went straight to Topshop the next day as she said she got it recently, but when I got there it was nowhere to be seen. I was praying it wasn’t already sold out. I was lucky enough to walk over to the ‘last chance’ rack and there it was, exactly in my size! How lucky was that?

 

It has loads of similarities to the Stella McCartney denim dresses but for a quarter of the price. It is hands down one of the best purchases I have made in a while! Unfortunately my dress is no longer available, but I have found two more that are both just as lovely. 

This MOTO Indigo Tencel Dress from Topshop is £38. It is a very flattering shape and I love the big pockets!

This is an ASOS Denim Smock Dress and is £40. I love how this dress is more floaty with the option to roll up the sleeves for a more casual look. A little denim dress makes the perfect outfit for  Autumn  worn with a pair of boots and a leather jacket!