Back To School

It's that time again and there was nothing I loved more as a child than going shopping for new school supplies. I may have grown up but that excitement hasn't and I still take delight in opening that just-out-of-the-plastic-never-before-been-touched-by-human-hands notepad or purchasing this year's winter coat.

I would say this is more of a grown up fantasy list and I haven't worn scrunchies since I left primary school but it just didn't feel like "back to school" without them.

Top Row: Smythson diary, Gucci coat

Middle Row: American Apparel lace topped socks, Tiffany & Co. pen, Paperchase craft book

Bottom Row: Chloé tote bag, American Apparel scrunchies

SALE

Since I've started working in retail, the only thing I hear at the moment is SALE SALE SALE. I started at Hugo Boss, Bond Street today (Burberry on Sunday and Zenia Bond St. Saturday) and people really do go crazy for a bargain. Shopping hint: if you're in the market to buy a suit, HEAD TO HUGO BOSS. Most suits are reduced to about £300 which is a huge reduction from £800+! I know a lot of fashion insiders are skeptical of sales since some stores sell last seasons "tat" but I have to say, I've been particularly impressed with Hugo Boss. There are hundreds of suits on sale and all classic styles which will last season after season. The womenswear isn't too shabby either.

So with that in mind, I had a little trawl through net-a-porter.com and mrporter.com and have come up with my 5 designer sale picks for men and women.

Net-a-porter.com

Vanessa Bruno - was £280 now £140. I love this pretty skirt. Would be perfect teamed with a cream blouse or camisole for warm evenings.

Michael Kors - was £200 now £120. A great addition to your work wardrobe and the fringing adds extra detail.

Gucci - was £425 now £212.50. A classic skirt for work or smart occasion. Would look great with a navy blue crisp shirt or a loose white T.

Chloe - was £860 now £516. Perfect for work with simple wedges or with flat sandals to keep you cool on holiday.

Christian Louboutin - was £445 now £267. Christian. Louboutin. Sale. Enough said.

Mrporter.com

Burberry Brit - was £150 now £75. A great pair of basic jeans for casual with a simple T or a slightly smarter occasion worn with a shirt.

Rag & Bone - was £170 now £85. I love the colour. Would look sharp under a dark suit during winter.

Polo Ralph Lauren - was £405 now £202.50. With all these down pours we keep having, a rain jacket is a must.

Hartford - was £130 now £65. Simple colour, uncomplicated style. Throw on over a white T when it gets a little chilly.

Aubin & Wills - was £49 now £24.50. Not for everyone but I love the candy stripe pattern.

But be quick! They won't be there for long!!

Parachute Silk

The inspiration for this post actually came from the daily net-a-porter.com email I subscribe to but I thought I would take the idea and show you exactly how you can wear it.

PARACHUTE SILK
From Mathew Williamson to Chloé, billowing silk has been shown all over the catwalks for Spring/Summer. An elegant, feminine trend which always looks beautiful but is not always practical (or cheap!). I've created 3 looks - day, evening and occasion - to show you that you can wear it from day-to-day.

DAY

Rolled-sleeve t-shirt - Splendid @ fashionbeans.com, pleated silk maxi skirt - Tibi @ net-a-porter.com, black leather clutch - Alexander Wang, suede sandals - Prada, black and gold watch - Michael Kors

EVENING

Silk organza dress - Valentino, patent wedges - Lanvin, black leather clutch - YSL, knotted bracelet - Lanvin

OCCASION
Iris-print silk-chiffon gown - net-a-porter.com, skull diamonte embellished clutch - Alexander McQueen, Palais pump - YSL, gold and blue agate cuff - maxandchloe.com

Ok, I know, they're all stunning pieces but not exactly accessible for the recessionista. But I'm now going to show you with just a few tricks, you can create these looks on a budget.

DAY
Take that canary yellow maxi skirt. I know for sure that with a little bit of rummaging, you can find one similar in a charity shop. It may not be the exact colour but if you spend a few pounds on the skirt and another few on some dye, it's hardly breaking the bank, is it?

And the Prada suede, black platforms. They look fairly similar to these Topshop heels.

EVENING
Now I would agree that the Valentino dress is a little harder (if not impossible) to emulate but a dress similar to these will still create the mood you want.

Left: J.Crew @ net-a-porter.com (£120). Centre: French Connection (£150). Right: French Connection at John Lewis (£135).

And if you layer a black lace body underneath, it adds a little more uniqueness.

Lace body - Topshop (£30)

And as for the Lanvin shoes, a simple pair of black stacked wedges will do the same job. Adding some cheap satin ribbon and tying it in a bow around your ankles will make them look extra sweet.

Wedges - ASOS (£40), scissors - totally my own creation. I would take off that boring ankle strap and instead thread a length of ribbon through.

OCCASION
This look is just that little bit more special/eye-poppingly expensive so it takes some creativity.

The McQueen clutch could be emmulated by starting off with this cheap box clutch and decorating with glue-on diamontes from a haberdashery. Now it would take patience and time but ultimately look glittering at the end of it.

Clutch - Kurt Geiger (£19)

ASOS is a great place to shop for occasion/evening dresses and I found this one for £60. Not too dissimilar, I don't think.



So that's it. My attempt at trying to show you that you can wear what you see on the catwalk and in designer shops, you just need to be a bit smart about it.

Images - Polyvore.com

How-to Make-Up - Inspired by A/W 2011 Catwalk

The last how-to make-up post I wrote has had well over 1000 hits - so I figured it was popular. Since I wrote that post, what seems like, a decade ago, I thought I'd do another one.

I looked at a few make-up styles from next season and picked a few different ones. Comment below if there are any you'd like me to cover.


YSL
This is the purple lip that never was. Although backstage photos show a coloured lip, last minute, Pat McGrath (make-up artist for YSL) decided it didn't suit with the variety of hair colours of all the models and instead opted for a pale peach lip.

This look is very simple to achieve. Flawless skin is the key so use plenty of foundation and concealer to even the skin tone. Keep it matte with finishing powder. Only apply one layer of mascara to top and bottom lashes. Shade eye brows with a brow pencil and use an eye brow brush to smooth the hairs upwards. Skip blusher and apply a lip liner, followed by a matte lipstick in a deep indigo shade (for the daring) or use a pale peach lipstick and apply clear lip gloss on top.


Chanel
This look is again, simple but there is a little bit of extra work to be done around the eyes. Start off with foundation and concealer, making sure to concentrate on the under eye and finish with a translucent powder all over. Use a shimmery silver eye shadow cream (it will make the colour look more dewy than if you use a powder shadow) on the whole eye lid, working it up to the brow bone and into the inner corner and along the bottom lash line. Use a white eye shadow on top to further highlight the inner corner. Use a black kohl pencil to line the top and bottom lash line making sure it meets at the out corners - this helps to define the eyes - and use plenty of mascara on top and bottom lashes. Finish off with a pale matte nude lipstick.


Chloé
This is the new beach babe-style look. Use a foundation in a slightly warmer shade than your natural colour and use a bronzer to define the areas normally hit by the sun (forehead, nose, cheeks, chin). Shade eye brows with a grey/brown brow pencil. Use a shimmery gold cream eye shadow to cover the eye lid and smudge a light brown/orange eye shadow powder up to the brow bone. Smudge a grey/brown eye pencil a long the lower lid and finish with a few coats of black mascara. Dab a little concealer onto the lips and press a nude, matte lipstick on with your finger.


Lanvin
At Lanvin, Alber Elbaz wanted the make-up to look like it was done my the models themselves.

Start, as always, with foundation and concealer and use a translucent powder to fix them on. Shade eye brows with a brow pencil. Use a black eye shadow powder and using your little finger, dab it onto the outer corners of your eye and flick out towards your temples. This may be a little tricky so use a cotton bud to clean up any mistakes. Use lashings of mascara and finally dab a little concealer onto your lips.


Valentino
Like most of these looks, it requires a (as close as possible) flawless complexion so use foundation, concealer and a finishing powder to fix the make-up. Use a highlighter on the cupid's bow. Use a light grey eye shadow powder and sweep across your eye lid and out towards your temples. Then apply it under your bottom lashes and smudge. Apply a couple of coats of mascara and dab a little pale pink lipstick (ideally a creamy one) onto your lips.
All photos are from Style.com





Maria

Work Wear

I am lucky enough to be working with three companies over London fashion week - Anya Hindmarch, Burberry and Amanda Wakely. None of these companies are super strict about clothes but I want to make a good impression. I felt totally unprepared outfit wise as I do have a few smarter pieces - a blazor, a pencil skirt etc - but putting together more than one or two appropriate outfits from my existing wardrobe proved a little difficult. I bought a couple of things from Zara, an ivory chiffon blouse (which you can also see here) and a black cross-over dress.

.................THE DRESS......................................THE BLOUSE................


I have done a little bit of playing around on Polyvore to try to find a few versatile looks and these are what I came up with...


Jeans - Lee, boots - Dune at ASOS, bag - Anya Hindmarch, jacket - Topshop


Skirt - Harvery Nichols, bag - Chloé, shoes - Guiseppe Zanotti, blazer - Alexander McQueen


Trousers - Zara, shoes - veryeickhoff.com, trench coat - Burberry, bag - Jimmy Choo


Ribbed tights - Debenhams, shoes - Christian Louboutin, bag - Yves Saint Laurent, trench coat - Burberry, belt - Topshop


Bag - Loren Taylor Kalli at John Lewis, shoes - Kurt Geiger, blazer - Chloé, necklace - vintage


Belt - ASOS, bag - Jerome Dreyfuss, pumps - Topshop, cape - Topshop





Maria