Friday 22 November 2013

Hot to Trot and Keeping it Festive!

Oh, the shows I've been helping at with Rhodes (Rhodes To Heaven Luxury Skin Care- delish!) have been so amazing. All the Christmassy fairs are out in force making for lovely festive cheer and of course, pressie buying! But golly, have I got some outfits to tell you about this week! 

The fur, the gilets, the suede booties and tight jeans not forgetting the pearls and jewels galore! Now, at these country fairs we see money. And I mean old money as in, 'Oh thank you Lady Grantham for being so sweet!'

A snip of a vintage diamond ring for £3000 is nothing to these fabulous British country women. Ladies who lunch is just an understatement. I must tell you their attire!

We saw a lot of rabbit fur scruffled on layers of wool and lovely fake fur ribbons draping from their necks. Long oversized dresses made of cotton and light linen saw a well to do look this season. Lots of the classic hunting tweed and tartan, teamed with leggings and suede or leather over-the-knee and just-under-the-knee boots looked very rah-rah. 

Big scarves full of pattern and print looked electric yet sophisticated. There were these wonderful soft cotton scarves with animals printed on them. Adorable! Think calm cream background shades with black or brown labrador doggies on, soft pink with bright fuchsia flamingos, dazzling purple with a hint of lilac on pale blue for the parrots...gorgeous.

My inbox is flooded at the moment with lots of treats, deals and sales for this festive season. Brand Alley keeps me updated of where the biggy discounts are.  So the hot to trot sales right now are Missoni, Halston Heritage dresses and John Lewis (who have up to 30% off on the likes of Miss Selfridge, Whistles, East and Jaeger - not forgetting beating the chilly weather with your staple leather booties at Dune.)


And why not check out my hottest brand right now, Moloh. Quirky, eccentric yet classic and smooth clothing! Obsessed! 

You know how much I adore the 'more is more look', so layer up and keep warm in wonderful chunky knits, tailored coats and denim jackets. Choose pure wool scarves worn over Italian cloth parkers and heavy jumpers under leather bikers.

Keep chic and wear bespoke blazers over the hottest knitted jumper right now - this essential has had a Luxe makeover with beaded necklines, animal prints and stripes! The look is louche suiting and illustrates the power of classic perfectly!  



Me being very silly last weekend in my chunky knit! Slouchy down time, I paired my cardigan with my fur gilet, trusted tracky bums, wild up do and added a bit of fun with a feather earring. Outrageously fun! 



Add a vibrant pop of teal to a casual neutral palette or go bold and bohemian with rich gem-tones, pairing to simple skinny jeans or my favourite, those trusted slouchy boyfriend jeans.

Don't play it safe! Have fun and add lots of warm accessories now the frost is out!


And get those dresses swapped for all those parties coming up! Can't wait to show you our December collection, coming soon! 

Warmest Swishes, 

Saturday 9 November 2013

Wrap Up Without Looking Like a Wreck!


So the weather has turned. We are back to miserable dark afternoons and that wet wet rain...The wind blowing our perfectly coiffed hair so that it sticks to our lipgloss...Those wonderful floody puddles, traffic delays, and general frustration. Let's get sassy this Autumn and brighten up those dreary days by wrapping up warm and staying stylish. 
Being on the road at the moment, travelling the country with the gorgeous Rhodes to Heaven, I need to not only look good but keep warm and remain trendy. So, to my look today: 
  • Tight thick leather trousers   
  • A shoulder-padded monochrome wool-knit sweater a la Valentino (you'll hate me, charity shop find:) )  
  • Fur and wool-knit gilet 
  • My bang-on-trend trusted leopard print ballet pumps with bows 
The monochrome patterned sweater matched with the animal print shoes gives edge yet elegance to this season's theme of pattern mixing.  
If in doubt, for me more is more in the Winter. A grumpy, cold woman looks old and haggard because she is cold. Add the layers of polonecks, snoods, hats and overcoat...  
You'll still look stylish but you'll be happy because you're warm!

Friday 1 November 2013

Autumnal Days and Nights Ahead

I think Autumn is by far one of my favourite seasons. The colours, the leaves, the wind, the peeping sun and cosy nights. I love the heat but there's something so warming about going into this season. Hot honey mugs of deliciousness, the dark dark tea times and then out comes the winter wardrobe! I don't know about you but I secretly get all excited about my new clothes! I know they're not new per se but I haven't seen them in ages so it feels like I have been on a massive shopping spree!

The other reason I adore this time of year is because I am obsessed with Halloween. The masks, the endless choice of who you'll dress up as, the toffee apples, spooky starry nights, sparklers, spiders, green punch and those gloriously lit pumpkins. The fact that Hocus Pocus is one of my favourite movies....I might just go as a Sanderson sister this year!

So what's big this Autumn? Well as always, those chunky knits are a must have. Whether it be an oversized jumper or a big woolly cardigan, dress down with boy jeans and some converse with a plain white tee or zazz it up by popping on some tight leather cropped trousers, suede brogues or heels and finish with a collared shirt and phatt elasticated belt.

Why not try an old school look and team some woolly tights (in print crochet if you are really brave!) with an oversized knitted jumper and belt. I have a jumper that can be worn as a short dress too which I wear with over-the-knee woollen socks over my tights. For my feet I wear my trusted heeled ankle brown suede booties from Aldo. I bought them years ago but the heel isn't too high and they have awesome brass stud detail round the sole for extra flare and pazazz!

Zara at the moment have got some amazing new cuts on their coat collection- big neck scoops, flared pleated capes, buttons, zips, pockets. I love the way they mix different fabrics too- leather arms, wool breast, padded elbow sleeves - paired with a classic trench coat design leaves for a stylish and edgy take on this season's trends.

I do love my scarves and schnoods too. Match the colour of your eyes with one this Winter! They're snuggly warm and will keep the dreaded wind and flu at bay!

As seen at Saint-Laurent, Mulberry, Givenchy and Versace, tartan is a real scorcher this season. Wear with stripes and other patterns for a truly dazzling 'on-trend' style. Layer check, plaid and tartan up for a morning-after-marathon-party mood! Yet eccentric Vivienne Westwood, Queen of punk ignored the trend she became a household name for, in favour of a Dark-Ages-inspired collection fused with Forties glamour-oooh la la!!!

Elie Saab's Autumn/Winter Collection this year boasts the usual gorgoeus tailoring using dark sultry palettes of midnight blues and blacks. Perfect for those dark early evenings and parties coming up! We are also seeing a lot of sparkly grunge, which shows intense adult sexiness. Adding cutesy baby doll chiffon dresses and Peter Pan collars to this electric style will turn heads at every corner. Be daring and mix it up!

We saw our gal Stella McCartney paying homage to British tradition with men's-inspired tailoring before moving onto a softer section of floaty silk dresses, nicks and flicks with masculine cuts and edgey tailoring.

Herringbone heavy variations of military-tinted pieces flowed at Ackermann's show: very post-apocalyptic vision, whilst we saw Clare Waight Keller going back to school for inspiration for Chloe's Autumn/ Winter collection.

As is in our fabulous Winter Collection, check out all our monochrome pieces. Keep it super tight and layer with knitwear for day wear then pop on those killer heels and leather or fur jacket for night! And to finish my ladies, golly are you going to be the best dressed this season, go back to prints- checks on stripes, animal print........they're back with attack!!!!

Happy Halloween girls!!!!

With Spooky Swishes,
B