Picks to Match the Weather..

So in England at the moment, there's a hosepipe ban due to a drought, and flood warnings, which is typical of a British April.
But what do you do when you've spent hours compiling the best outfit possible, and the heavens open? Burberry trenches are pretty good, but what about your outfit underneath? How will people admire your enviable ensemble?
Michael Angel has come up with a solution - a chic take on the transparent plastic mac you would receive at a theme park before embarking on a ride involving water. Somewhere between trench and plastic mac, this coat is transparent enough to show off your outfit, but thick enough not to resemble a couture bin bag. An ideal buy for April showers.

Current Obsession: Bimba & Lola

If you've read a few of my posts, you may have picked up on my recent love for a certain Spanish brand. Bimba and Lola is a company that have recently come under my fashion radar, afer visiting their store in London and Westfield Shepherds Bush around Christmas time. I immediately fell in love with their accessories range, and this summer, their bracelets will be heavily adorning my wrists.
Try stacking these bracelets, or by wearing one of these super eccentric rainbow neon bracelets or parrot bracelets, for the perfect mix of neon and nature.

For Those of Us Who Aren't Brave Enough To Try

Whilst I'm on the topic of lace and pastels, I'd like to share a fashion piece I've been writing about those two things.

Pastels, pastels, pastels were on the menu at Louis Vuitton's candy coloured paradise. With the hors d'oeuvre being fluffy, pink lace dresses, and the centre piece of the table being a huge carousel - paris' largest in fact. and who was the guest of honour? None other than Kate Moss, stealing the show with a finale walk, wearing one of Vuitton's floaty lace gowns. The dress was a symbol of purity - a heavy contrast to the black, lace up boots she wore at the last show she walked for Louis Vuitton. Will this dress be one of the best selling items for the label, like last time? i do expect so, as a pioneer of the pure, white lace trend, I hope it takes off as well as both of those did, and anything modelled by Moss is bound to sell well, as she is one of the most successful models of the moment.
The fun fair has hit the nail on the head with one of spring and summer's biggest trends - pastels. From pastel nails, to pastel dresses and pastel accessories, everything is looking bright this spring, Vuitton too is undergoing a transformation. The seasons have changed, and so have they, making the transition between black leather and PVC, to lace and frills seem faultless. from darkness to light is clearly the message they're sending here, and I do hope that's a prediction for the weather, as well as a fresh start that comes with a fresh new year. We have certainly seen a turning point in the fashion calendar.

The beauty in the show was fresh faced, with nothing too over the top and dramatic, but the make up that I feel was inspired by the fun of the fair was the playful beauty at Meadham Kirchhoff. The brand used white wigs, neon pink lips and glitter (and lots of it!). The neon pink lips captivated everyone, and so did the drawn on pastel eyebrows. These geometric, colour blocked eyes created a sense of playfulness, and took me back to the days of my childhood, when I'd raid my mother's make up bag, and apply lipstick to every square inch of my face, in way that only young children can. These eyebrows managed to be playful, but perfectly executed (unlike my red face, or Ronald MacDonald lips), and they matched the outfits totally (which, by the way, were also totally out there, consisting of ostrich feathers, rhinestones and some intriguing glitter and plastic platforms).

If I predict one thing this season, it's fun. Break out of the doom and gloom that every winter brings, and go wild, embracing the new calendar and fashion season. even paint your eyebrows pastel blue. Yes, I agree that it's unlikely that you'll be seeing anyone walking round with such a beauty statement, but you never know... If I did see someone however, it certainly would brighten my day. Isn't that just what the doctor ordered in these days that are filled with recession? So go on, paint your eyebrows blue, for those of us who aren't brave enough to try.


(Want to sample this trend without standing out too much? Check out Dolce & Gabbana's new bouquet range of cosmetics. There's everything from gorgeous powder pink and mint nail lacquer, yellow eyeliner pencil and an eyeshadow quad that looks so fresh and flowery. Meadham Kirchhoff have released a fun range of nail wraps)

The Big 6: Accessories. Trends 3 and 4

I'm not going to beat around the bush, but as I explained in my last post, I'm excited about the next two trends. I love lace, and pastels are absolutely huge this season. so this post should be a good 'un. And also, I've found so many gorgeous pastel accessories. Turns out it was easier than white..(and lace, I found out).

Trend 3: Pastels
As I mentioned, finding pastel accessories was like finding sunglasses on Karl Lagerfeld: incredibly easy, and almost inevitable in a season dominated by pastels (from the Louis Vuitton show to House of Holland).

I started off by realising I'd posted very few shoes in this string of posts. Perhaps this is because I'd rather buy a bracelet or a necklace than a pair of shoes, but none the less, I started by looking for shoes. And initially, it was shoes I would wear at home at the weekend. At 5'10", heels aren't necessary at home (because if I wear an average pair of, say, 3 inch heels, I'm the same size as all the men in my house, which is weird). So I stumbled upon this pair of Sperry 2-eye boat shoes. They're $90 (roughly £56), which makes them quite expensive for a pair of shoes, but I own a pair of Sperry's, and they're such good quality, and they've survived multiple road trips to America, so actually, it's pretty good value. They're a timeless pair of shoe (as they've been around since 1935), but in patent Coral and Cognac, they fit the bill for the pastel trend.

Then I realised it was summer. So (duh) what better to celebrate the changing seasons than a new pair of sunglasses? A pair of Blue and Pink Crackle Surfrider sunglasses to be exact. And at £16 from Urban Outfitters, it doesn't get much better.

Pastel nails are so hot this season, and I know I already did a post on them (so refer to that!) but heres a new one I found. Topshop's Nails in Forget Me Not

And Nails in Parma Violet, if you want to go for a less mainstream pastel colour.

Aldo's Hains Leather Cluch in Light Green is also really cute. Match it with other pastel shades, or a white outfit for a pop of colour.

Trend 4: Pretty Lace



What better than combining a key trend with a key piece? Collars are very chic this season (many thanks to Lagerfeld's new colletion: Karl, which featured two fabulous collars), but if you're looking for a lace collar, there's no better place than Urban Outfitters for cheap vintage inspired items. Lace Collar.

I admit, I struggled to find anymore lace accessories, but nothing looks better than radiant, even skin when wearing lace or any textured clothing. So try a primer (Prime Time by Bare Minerals is my favourite at £19). it brightens and evens skin tone before you apply your foundation (if you like liquid, I reccomend Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, which is slightly more pricy at £31, but it's such a good product. But if you prefer a powder, I reccomend Bare Minerals Original powder (£24) for amazing even coverage

The Big 6: Accessories. Trend's 1 and 2...

After receiving May's edition of Vogue this morning (I've just got back from Spain, so it's been sitting on my doormat for a few days), I was delighted to find out that it was accompanied by another Vogue Promotion, this time, sponsored by H&M. I flicked through the coverage of this seasons biggest trends, but wasn't grabbed by any of the accessories or driven to go out and impulse buy (however, I might add, the clothes were beautiful!). So, I thought to myself, could I do any better? Probably not, but it's worth a shot anyway!
Trend 1: 'Tribal Tech' (or Urban Safari, or whatever you refer to it as)
I did take a fancy to the Dannijo Brass and Swarovski Crystal Cuff (£283), and the Ugg Australia Silk Scarf Bag (£165) (oh, I do love a good silk scarf...), but with both of these items, I felt like I'd been lead on. The front cover of the promotional magazine clearly states (in large neon pink capitals), that I was going to be seeing cheap but chic items (because after all, everyone wants "maximum style, minimum spend", right?), but I couldn't imagine myself going out and buying both of these items at that kind of price. Yes, the bag may be silk and yes, the cuff may be made of Swarovski Crystals, and you can't put a price on quality, but surely that level of indulgence should be saved for the main magazine? In a promotional magazine that prides itself on price, I expected lower prices.
So, I've decided to recommend a few items that I think might have fitted the bill better:

Topshop's Faux Snake Frame Bag is perfect. It's edgy, textured and bang on trend, plus its looks great with or without the chain strap that it comes with. Team it with the J by Jasper Conran Cotton Mix Skirt that Vogue recommends, and you've got yourself a winning look. and the price? About 1/10 of the cost of the cuff at only £28.

Bimba and Lola (possibly my favourite accessories brand at the moment) have some of the most gorgeous and fun jewellery EVER! This Parrot Bracelet is their most expensive bracelet, but come on, at £50, it's hardly an investment, and it's almost a third of the price of the Ugg bag. And did I mention it's a parrot? On a bracelet? Genius. Check out the matching ring too, because in my experience, you can never have too many parrots...(£31)

Trend 2: 'Sharp Whites'

White is my favourite colour. Without a shadow of a doubt. It may be easy to find white clothes, but it is certainly not easy trying to find equally as charming white accessories. So yeah, this may take me a while... And just so you understand this, Vogue only put in a tote bag and a belt.

So, as I was still on Bimba and Lola's website, I decided to look on there. Then I found this gorgeous Buffalo Leather Wallet. I love wallets. And this one is so perfect for this trend, and the Bimba and Lola logo (the greyhound) looks amazing on the front in gold. But at £68, I can't help but think that I can do a little better.

I decided to move onto bags - satchels to be precise - after a fruitless search for white jewelry. Then, I found this bag from Urban Outfitters. it's a Mono Contrast Satchel (and I know it isn't all white, but I fell in love with it). Yes, I may have cheated a little bit, but when you're only paying £48, you're allowed to. What's that? It's in their sale? And how much is it now, I hear you cry. Take off £23, and you've got yourself a chic statement satchel that (kind of) fits this season's number 2 trend. (it's now £25, if you can't do the maths)  

A quick note on beauty now. White is rarely seen on the face (after all, we don't all want to look like a sheet of paper, and no, you're un-tanned 'milk bottle' skin doesn't count either). So where can you get your fix of white in the beauty world? Duh, Dolce of course! Dolce and Gabbana's Crayon Intense Eyeliner in White is perfect. They recommend you use it as an eyeliner, applying it in short dashes along the lash line, working from the outer edge of the eye to the inner, and smoothing any gaps with a cotton bud. But with a colour like white, there's only one way to apply it in (and on) my eyes. Doing the same short dashes technique as D&G suggest is great, but if you focus on the inner eye, it immediately brightens eyes and makes them seem larger. blend it slightly before applying mascara though, to avoid looking like you've painted it on (more on painting makeup in my next post.. Details below). But at £17.50, it isn't cheap for make up. Try Rimmel's Soft Kohl Eyepencil in Pure White, which does the job just as well, but at £2, it's much more affordable.

So that wraps up trends 1 and 2. Sad... But my next post will be on this season's two biggest trends: Pastels and Feminine Lace. Damn, I'm excited. I'm going to be able to bring out the little girl inside me all over again.