Heels and Hangovers: London Fashion Week: Wednesday

On Wednesday I hit the B Store/Tim Soar show which was the final show on men's day at FW. After a little bit of street snapping we hit the Bombay Sapphire bar at Somerset House for a drink (and why not?!), before heading to the show.

I also bumped into a friend, Ruth Green and her friend Calum. Ruth & Calum are both starting at the RCA on Monday (definitely ones to watch) - good luck guys!

Once seated, Boy George made an appearance in a signature bold hat...

The B Store collection was hot! It played slightly on the safe side and could have done with a few key directional pieces thrown in to create some impact on the catwalk. It ran with a look that was reminiscent of looks from The Talented Mr Ripley with preppy shorts, satchel style bags, soft tailoring with some tailored denim thrown into the mix. A lot of pieces I would love to see The Boy in, the whole collection was very wearable.

Following BStore was Tim Soar. This collection was of a similar nature with a preppy vibe. The collection was formed of tailored pieces for the young guy but it did feature some inspiring, direction by using sharp tailoring and heavier fabrics with some great touches of PVC and metallic on shorts, trousers and blazers. Snakeskin trousers also appeared mixed with some more classic tailoring.

Next was the aftershow party. Held at Kettners in Soho, the party was buzzing. Packed with coolies and hotties, the heat met you as soon as you walked through the door. A great collection of music was played from The Smiths to Michael Jackson and the bar was serving fruity cocktails and beers. The Smiths, MJ, cocktails and beers: unquestionably the perfect combination.

Heels and Hangovers: London Fashion Week: Tuesday

Tuesday:

On Tuesday night I hit the street outside the Burberry show, held at the Chelsea College of Art & Design with my lovely friend from Far Fetch. There was no missing the venue with huge AW campaign shots (featuring Brit fashion sensation Emma Watson) lit by low lighting creating a clean and chic feel.

The industry's finest were of course all in attendance. I managed to get shots of an uber tanned Victoria Beckham (not the best shot I might add!) and Slum Dog Millionaire's Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto. The moment of the night was my chance encounter with none other than editor of French Vogue- Carine Roitfeld. Carine (looking chic and fabulous) actually stopped for little old Coco and her camera! The single most exciting moment of my snapping career!

The fashion pack were out in full force, whether it was from glam editors to innovative scene kids the looks were hot!

Heels and Hangovers: London Fashion Week: Monday

There are plenty of blogs that are going to tell you every trend that sprouts from fashion week, so I am going to avoid that.

Instead I will tell you about my experiences at this year's fashion week (held at Somerset House).

Monday:

I hit the Untold show on Monday with my wonderful friend and blogging accomplice Sarah-Leigh.

Untold are a creative collective that have formed to creative a platform for newly emerging designers to show and launch their work.

Onescouture was my favoured collection from the six shown. Designer Jeniene Scott created some inspiring shapes using felt and cardboard.

The 'Stay'cation...

The official end to the recession was announced a few weeks ago. It certainly hasn't ended for me yet though. Feeling like I needed a break from the buzz and hectic realms of my normal life I decided to book a week off work. Lacking the funds to jet off to the beach I put my recessionista hat on and thought I would join the masses and have a 'stay'cation (stay-at-home-vacation) instead of a vacation.

For the first three days I stayed at home, looked out at the rain and watched muchos amounts of TV (great!).

The Thursday I went to the coast to visit Mama Coco. We shopped in Brighton where we hit the Lanes and spent hours rifling through antique and bric-a-brac stores and markets. One of the stores we found was Oasis Antiques. It was like hitting Aladdin's Cave.

Street art is in abundance in Brighton, I found this piece that had been layered on by presumably different artists...

An amazing find in the lanes was Fizzwiggs! An old school sweet shop with literally everything you could think of. The store concept is completely traditional with a kitch twist, I loved it!

We went to Hastings for dinner and the old town is so lovely. A traditional seaside town with old tobacconists and beautiful buildings...perhaps it's time for Coco to re-locate to the seaside?

On The Edge...

A couple of weeks ago I spent the day at London Edge; The Alternative Streetwear, Rock & Cult Tradeshow!

The show held over 200 brands and designers exhibiting. Thought I'd share a few of the pieces I found...

Gig review: Friendly Fires

I'm back! Equipped with internet access once again so expect a gargantuan amount of posting while I let you in on what I've been up to!

Myself and The Boy headed to St Albans at the beginning of the month to see the Mercury Prize nominated Friendly Fires. There is something special about watching a band play their home town and although we had to travel out of London, the choice proved to be a good one on our wallets when buying the drinks!

The crowd were slightly older which was refreshing after feeling like a mum at the Foals gig last year (where the crowd were sweaty, skinny, pasty indie kids)!

Frontman Ed Macfarlane engaged with the energetic and jumpy crowd, throughout the set and improvised with cowbells and suchlike whilst playing the set.

They have swept the festival circuit this year and The Boy has suffered great disappointment by missing them at Glasto, but word has it that they are a much stronger act when playing gigs as apposed to festivals so there is the silver lining!

A great set, a great night, it was just difficult making our way back to London whilst in our beer haze!