Zara lace pencil skirt

Last weekend, I went to the Vogue Festival 2014, and heard from some of the most influential figures of the fashion world. It also posed some interesting questions that got me to reflect on my own interpretation of 'fashion', but much more importantly on my personal style. One of the questions asked at the incredibly engaging and relatable first talk of the weekend entitled 'Personal Style - and do you have it?' was:

"If you had to pick one brand to wear for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

For Fashion legend Lucinda Chambers, a giant, corporate brand would never replace the decades of individual and personal style items haggled over in the bustling stalls of Portobello market. For the lovely and inspirational Amanda Harlech, nothing would ever be as timelessly elegant as Chanel Couture. And for all her enviously quirky ways, Alexa Chung picked Topshop! 

For me, it was a no-brainer: Zara is the winner.

I have been lusting over the lace veiling the Burberry SS14 collection this year, and fell head over heels when I saw it re-done (minus the granny pants shining through!) by Zara. I'm not a massive fan of the colour red, and definitely not of the colour purple. But together they look beautifully bold and subtle simultaneously. My new favourite thing this season.

What brand would you wear for the rest of your life?

Il est midi

On most days, a well-fitted pencil skirt will do. I’ll wriggle into it and suck my tummy in, as I stuff the dangling remains of whatever blouse I pick that morning in to my neatly drawn waist. Et voila! – a fantastical hourglass silhouette emerges, no matter what body shape you in actual fact are, and no matter what naughtiness you gorged on the night before. And the best part is, that when your flaring curves are out and paired with an elegant pair of heels, your legs actually look quite long and chiseled!

But sometimes, …sometimes I just don’t feel like being ‘leggy’. Sometimes, the thought of framing my womanly hips as I strut towards the coffee machine, or of wiggling my skirt-hugging bum in peoples faces as I ascend the escalators of the London underground just does not appeal to me. And this occasion calls for a ‘midi’.

A midi?! A skirt that chops your shins in half and has men questioning your newly assumed librarian attire? In truth, on arriving in to work in my swaddling black midi, my gay male friend wittily reminded me that it wasn’t Sunday yet and that I might want to reserve my outfit for mass. But whilst I am sticking to my guns about my favourite new work garment, this season’s trend couldn’t lie further from the stereotype. This Fendi number for instance screams youthful excitement, whilst channeling that floating elegance that a lengthy skirt will bring.

And that’s the thing about a midi – you don’t need to pack away your femininity when ditching sexy. Some of my favourite midis this year are all about the touch. A delicate fabric, or a soft pleat can instantly transform a traditionally frigid-looking skirt in to a whimsical fantasy. And such is the case for Christopher Kane’s take that combines virtually shapeless pieces in to a gentle and elusively appealing guise.

And finally, would it be anything more than a flash-in-the-pan trend without the Burberry seal of approval? I am utterly enamored with the idea of floating fabrics below the knee as Autumn calls and the cold starts to creep in. From Burberry English lace, to Derek Lam American leather, the possibilities for the turning of the seasons are endless…

A Ruby in the Rubble - London Fashion Week AW14

London Fashion Week is like a ruby in the rubble. Just when the saturation of the Winter sales sinks in, when all the frustrations of your favourite shoes you never bought now available only in size 3 or 14, when the Spring/Summer collections tease you through the icey windows in all their impossibly sunny colours, and when you've been wearing the same boot and coat combination for a week out of sheer lack of inspiration… That's when Fashion Week comes about. 

Following Fashion Week is like being granted a golden ticket to the Chief Charm Factory, where colours you had forgotten existed come flooding out in a catwalk concoction; fabrics, both old and new, float by around the ankles of a power strut; and new forms are born: shapes to adorn the human body - some re-awoken, others pioneered.

And patterns are formed: patterns to tell the story to come. And AW14 is born...

Isle of Wine

Think Radiant Orchid after a long summer's sun. The aubergines come out to play, Port grapes are collected and oak leaves turn maroon. A rich and complex foliage for a classic Autumn trend.

                                     Hunter                                                 Emilio de la Morena

                            Lucas Nascimento                                       Roksanda Illicic

                     Mulberry                                                   Burberry Prorsum

Re-Smoking

French Le Smoking? The Brits are Re-Smoking it. Nothing clouds the air with timeless androgyny like peak lapels, cummerbunds and a sleek, midnight palette. General revivals of the tux are to be expected…with a feminine twist.

                        Joseph                                                    Richard Nicoll

               Temperley London                                              Mary Katrantzou

                        GILES                                                        OSMAN

Whack & Blite

It's no secret that Black and White are the perfect harmony. But when played about with in a craze of dizzying patterns, they can be as exciting as colour itself. Meet Whack and Blite…or Blite and Whack? Either way, their intermeshing is extraordinary.

                       Orla Kiely                                                Margaret Howell

         Vivienne Westwood Red Label                                    Antonio Berardo

                                      Issa                                                          David Koma

 *Images borrowed from London Fashion Week.

Radiant Orchid

As we rolled in to 2014, I waited in anticipation for the colour that would take the year by storm from everything from the catwalks right down to your local design ateliers. Pantone had set the bar high. The worldwide authority on colour had nailed it three years running and truly made me believe that those tints and tones were painted across the background of the stories that I lived. 

                            2013                2012               2011

2011 marked my first year of university, and I spent many-a-moment looking at the world through Honeysuckled-glasses. Then when 2012 came in a whirlwind of ambition and glory, I found myself swooped up by the Tangerine Tango of the Olympic flame on the summer streets of London. And last year I was lost in Emerald city like so many others, bewitched by its deep elegance and the promise of its luminescent livelihood.

   Source: Pantone

Convinced that nothing could top the winning streak, my heart sank a little when I discovered that the Pantone Colour of the Year is purple. I have never really been able to wrap my head around the colour purple. Whilst its softer tints hint at a meek romance, the louder shades of violet are vicious and vain, and all too often vulgar.

But perhaps that’s what’s so captivating about the hue…the mystery of it all. It sits comfortably on the colour spectrum, somewhere between cool colours and the warm colours, whilst exuding neither feeling. Instead it appeals to imagination of the beholder. According to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, Radiant Orchid is an “invitation to innovation”, encouraging “expanded creativity and originality”.

Burberry Prorsum's Spring/Summer Collection '14 stems beautifully from it's inspiration behind The Petal, the runway bag of the season. This English Lace Fitted Shirt exudes confident elegance.

Karl Lagerfeld's pursuit of art in fashion has tumbled in to yet another playful whilst powerfully feminine collection for Chanel this season. The fashion house most classically associated with the elegance of black and white found an outlet in vibrant tones of purpley-pink with Look 16 RTW SS14. 

Christian Dior's SS14 collection was bathed in a mystical element - a collision of textures, shimmers and silhouettes that elevated the unwary show to the transcendence which inspired the very looks. 

"Temperley dipped in heady, ethereal romance" might just be this season's fashionable embodiment of Radiant Orchid. The bold richness of the hues have me hooked, but the gloss of the fabrics and the A-line silhouette elevate the irresistibly feminine look completely.

Although an ethereal glow emanates from the Radiant Orchid at first glance, a profound sense of harmony resonates at the core. The balance of fuchsia, purple undercurrents and vibrant pink traces expresses an unyielding confidence: a captivating charisma that both empowers and enchants. I have found myself entranced by the soft luminescence of a new year full of promises unfolding before me… 

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