[AW13] Ashley Williams at Fashion East for Autumn Winter 2013

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Shopgirl

Whilst perusing the Autumn Winter 2013 show photos on Elle.com I happened upon the Fashion East shots and these from Ashley Williams’ collection. University of Westminster fashion graduate, Ashley Williams made her debut at London Fashion Week at Fashion East earlier this month. Williams’ graduate collection made headlines with her Texan-inspired looks which were modelled by Pixie Geldof and Alice Dellal. Williams presented a kitsch take on Americana.

Williams’ “all-American” staples have already been worn on stage by Rihanna and have been featured in such titles as Vogue UK, The Independent, Nylon and ELLE.

Finalists were chosen by Fashion East’s panel of industry experts, which includes Sarah Mower (Contributing Editor, Vogue US & Style.com) and Hugo Scott (Head of European Operations, Marc Jacobs).

Fashion East’s director, Lulu Kennedy MBE said prior to this years show:

“Ashley’s fresh and confident aesthetic is the perfect addition to our line-up!”

continue reading [AW13] Ashley Williams at Fashion East for Autumn Winter 2013 (…)

[LOVELY LINKS]

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Shopgirl

Happy weekend! Hope you’re having a wonderful and relaxing time. I am spending my weekend with family which has been truly lovely.

A week on from London Fashion Week and the blogosphere* has been filled with much lively discussion following Suzy Menkes’ T Magazine article The Circus of Fashion. As a precursor to those posts I have picked out for this week’s Lovely Links, this line has probably caused the most outrage:

“the celebrity circus of people who are famous for being famous. They are known mainly by their Facebook pages, their blogs and the fact that the street photographer Scott Schuman has immortalized them on his Sartorialist Web site”.

However, the responses from a number of bloggers have been measured, carefully and coherently written and, to an extent, have partically agreed with some of what Menkes has written in her piece:

Leandra of The Man Repeller – whose words are always worth taking note – puts forward her own constructed argument, taking Menkes’ article as a starting point.
Over on Anastasia Duck you’ll find a gloriously susinct response.
afterDRK offers her own response, mainly agreeing with Menkes’ point and expanding to discuss the difference between dressing up and dressing up for the photographers at Somerset House.
Susie Bubble has written her own rebuttal, too, in response to Menkes’ rather scathing assessment of the blogger.
The Online Stylist is always on hand to offer a thoughtful and measured response in these situations and doesn’t fail again.
And last, but definitely not least, Jill at Street Style London offers her own take on the Fashion Week merry-go-round.

As for my own opinion? I had considered leaving it up to you to decide after these articles but I think I might add my own thoughts to the mix too, before allowing you the opportunity to offer your thoughts.

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[LFW AW13] Orla Kiely AW13

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Shopgirl

In an old warehouse just off Denmark Street in the centre of London’s bustling shopping district, Orla Kiely had set up a 1960′s office complete with prettily dressed secretaries busily typing away on old type writers in lines. The Autumn Winter 2013 collection is quintessentially Orla Kiely. The prints, the fabrics, the decade. It is a consistency which keeps fans and admirers hooked season after season.

The collection featured a revolving line of girls coming in and out of the “office” in ’60s shift dresses in classic Orla Kiely prints, cable knits with A-line skirts, twin sets and beehive hair styles.

The attention to detail is evident throughout, not only the beautifully constructed collars and accessories but also through the entire “office” which had been created for the purpose of the presentation.

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[LFW AW13] Jasper Conran AW13

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Shopgirl

The thing about seeing the autumn winter shows in February when it’s still cold outside, is that I start to wish it were autumn again. Yes, I long for balmy summer nights and hot summer days and wearing little in a vain attempt to keep cool. But when I’m already cold and have been wearing the same things for weeks on end, the newness of the autumn collections somehow makes more sense. And so it was with Jasper Conran’s collection: A line of girls sashayed down the catwalk in easy-to-wear shift dresses in bright autumnal tones and rich warm fabrics.

Perfectly cut skirt suits with boxy jackets were followed by a riot of colours and textures: From hot pinks to neon oranges, and furs and velvets to soft camel leathers.

Oversized boxy cloch-style hats will be keeping heads warm come Autumn Winter 2013. Of course, plus points go to the pretty patent pointed flats that graced the models’ feet.

Do you find yourself wishing the seasons away? What about Jasper Conran’s AW13 offering? A hit?

[LFW AW13] Zoe Jordan AW13 Beauty by Bourjois

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Shopgirl

London Fashion Week’s Autumn Winter 2013 season was opened by designer Zoe Jordan’s show at the BFC Space at Somerset House on Friday morning. The collection for AW13 featured a fairly muted monochrome palette which was accented with brighter neons in hot pink and orange.

The beauty look for the collection was clean and simple and feminine. With an emphasis on a subtle sweeping cat-eye liner. Bourjois were the brand behind the look and I was lucky enough to meet up with two of their make-up artists on Saturday whilst at the Handpicked Media suite and get a little demonstration of the look:

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[HOW TO] Attend Fashion Week As A Blogger

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Shopgirl

For the past few seasons I’ve been lucky enough to find myself at Somerset House to experience the spectacle of London Fashion Week. As a fashion blogger times have changed over the years and getting a pass for LFW can seem daunting. It needn’t. When I applied for my first season there was no application process specifically for bloggers, so we applied for press passes. This was fine for a few seasons but as the numbers of bloggers applying increased, so the BFC got wise to it and decided to open applications specifically for bloggers. This has sparked some debate about whether or not bloggers should be seen as something different to the press, and whether or not this might actually be a good thing. But that’s not the point of this post. Instead, I have been contacted by a few readers asking how I got my bloggers’ pass and whether it was easy. So I thought, in true blogger style, that I would write a post about my experience!

First off, the application process itself is easy as pie. Go to the London Fashion Week pages and hit the “Register Now” button at the top of the page. Registration opens just a few weeks after Fashion Week closes and you can find out exactly when by following @LondonFashionWk on Twitter.
You’ll need to attach your stats. This might seem a little daunting as it seems to be some kind of trade secret within blogging as to what warrants a good or bad visitor rate. Well, I’ve read different accounts of what you need for an application but when I picked up my pass at the weekend I was told that they’re looking for 5,000 unique visitors a month.
Despite applying early and attaching my stats, I have yet to receive a fast track approved application for Fashion Week since switching from the press pass to the blogger pass. Again, I decided to ask about this at the weekend and was told that there were simply so many applications for blogger passes that they usually give up and just validate on the day. So don’t be discouraged from attending if you haven’t had confirmation.
The pass is really for the exhibition and press rooms, so if you want to attend the shows, the pass is actually not so important. (Although I have managed to get into a few shows in the past – to stand at the back – by flashing a smile and my pass at the security guards!).
The London Fashion Week website has a whole page dedicated to the schedule and here you’ll find links to individual designer pages. There’s also a PDF sheet for all of the contacts for all of the designers showing on this page too. To get a ticket to any show, you’ll need to email these contacts and basically ask for a ticket. Don’t beg. Do not demand. My best advice is to send a short, polite email, explaining who you are and what your blog is about and that you are attending Fashion Week and would like to attend the show. Be sure to include a postal address too.
The thing with Fashion Week is that the invitations will not start to come in – if they are going to – until a few days before. A week in advance, if you’re lucky. So you’ll need to make a decision on attending regardless of these really. I usually try to combine my trip to Fashion Week with other fun London plans so that the pressure doesn’t fall completely on getting invitations.
For the most chance of securing a few invitations, look to off-schedule shows and Vauxhall Fashion Scout to request tickets. The best thing for your first season is to attend any and every show that you can and get some coverage on your blog for next season, which you can then point PRs to when applying for invitations. This is essentially how I ended up with a seated invitation at Jasper Conran this season. Two seasons ago I sneaked in, took a load of photos and posted the coverage. Last season I sent this over and was sent a standing invitation to the show. This season, I did the same again and was sent a seated invitation.

Anything else I missed that you want to know? Any more advice that seasoned Fashion Week attendees would care to share?

[LFW AW13] Orla Kiely AW13

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Shopgirl

I love this look from Orla Kiely’s Autumn Winter 2013 collection which was shown in London last Saturday. But mainly I am lusting after the full heavy fringe again*:

I’ll be posting about the whole collection later this week, so be sure to check back soon.

*I wrote about my obsession with fringes recently.

[OUTFIT] What I Wore at London Fashion Week

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Shopgirl

My London Fashion Week this season was cut unexpectedly short by a rather unpleasant bout of food poisoning which meant a delayed start to the week. I should have been at Somerset House on Friday morning to see the AW13 collection for Bora Aksu – instead I was laid up feeling mighty sorry for myself. I did however make it to Somerset House for a few shows on Saturday – more on those soon. First up, my outfit:

As I was still feeling a little fragile I chose to keep things simple and comfortable, teaming my favourite Baukjen striped dress with a pair of plain black flat shoes and my Gap trench coat.

I’m carrying my hold all suede Pieces bucket bag which I have been using constantly for months now. The shape is casual enough for weekends but the suede and colour mean I can use it for the office too.

The trench coat is the ultimate go-to fashion piece and a wardrobe essential that works whatever the season, never goes out of style and always goes with everything. If you’ve yet to add one to your wardrobe, whatever your budget we’ve got a trench for you:

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