Loving Lola

I was just about to write about my must-have accessory for the week, when I realised Grazia had featured the exact same item - great fashion minds huh?!

I am all about a bit of bling on the fing (er) and what better way to make a statement than with Lola Rose's bold jewellery designs.

Since it's inception in the year 2000 her designs have gone from fashion strength to strength and personally I have been hooked for quite some time.

Nicola Gewirtz (the creator and designer) explains 'my philosophy on affordable luxury is quite simple - I wanted to create designs that my customers feel wonderful, bringing colour, glamour and a smile with every purchase.' As a loyal admirer, I can honestly say they do just that.

As Gewirtz says 'I think it is so important for women to occasionally spoil themselves without feeling guilty.' I could not have put it better myself and it is exactly this reason why I just purchased one of her fabulous pieces and you too can do just that at www.lolarose.co.uk.

Come on ladies - we all deserve a Lola treat!

xoxo

Phoebe Philo's Phenomenon

In true '8 out of 10 cats' style - let's list the top five Fashion topics that everyone is talking about this week...

1. The Golden Globe Awards
2. Phoebe Philo's new designs for Celine
3. The almost 'so close we can feel, smell and touch it' London Fashion Week
4. The up and coming future Fashion show I am helping to organise
5. The detox diet that was supposed to start on the first of the first and yet still has not quite happened!

In no particular order, I've nominated Phoebe Philo to feature in tonight's blog.

Phoebe Philo is a former fashion designer and is well known for her designs in the fashion house Chloe. Having worked as an assistant for Stella McCartney since 1997, both of whom designed for Chloe at the time, she changed the brands image. In 2001 McCartney was offered the chance to start her own label and shortly after brought Philo to the team.

Phoebe Philo's reputation for making Chloe the 'it' brand and adding an 'edge' to McCartney's line is something of a phenomenon and it is exactly this that led to her affiliation with Celine.

In October 2008 Philo was announced as the Creative Director of Celine and it is from here onwards that the brand has made a huge turning point in the fashion industry.

Whatever 'vision' Philo had - it is one that I admire, lust-after and definitely most absolutely have fallen for.

Structured detailed jackets, leather dresses, electric blue pants and diverse footwear... Whatever you are buying this SS10 - be sure it is something of the Celine collection.

Prices range from £460 for a logo shopper bag to £1,900 for a biker jacket and although I hear you weep, I can assure one thing - once you go Celine, you never go back.

Time to splash out on the necessities and cut back on the unnecessary and me thinks Celine is very much a necessity!

xoxo

Blogging for Boys

On request - this is a blog for the boys.

As a good friend pointed out - I tend to just blog for the female population. I however disagree. Yes I blog about female clothes, shoes, accessories etc. But this is so the male population know what to buy us... Simples!

Having been in a relationship with a very well dressed bf for over two years now, I am constantly on the look out for the latest on-trend items for guys. Having done some browsing, I have picked out my top five must-haves for this week. Boys (aka Mozza) this ones for you...

Shoes - £30
ASOS.com



Top - reduced from £118 to £38
matchesfashion.com




Scarf - reduced from £95 to £47
my-wardrobe.com



Bag - reduced from £350 to £210
Mulberry




Belt - reduced from £15 to £9
ASOS.com

Guys, get shopping - us ladies like to see you looking chic!

Have a fab weekend all

xoxo

Birthday Bargains

I'm on a tiny bit if a shopping-high - that is legal right?!

Just spent the afternoon with a friend and as it was her Birthday we hit the shops. Not that we need the occasion of a Birthday to go shopping but even so, we were on the hunt for the perfect outfit for this weekend's celebrations. Whilst keeping our eyes peeled for anything glitz and glam we also picked up a few bargains along the way...

I purchased this funky tee for £3, a sequin vest top for £5 and a couple of casual mini skirts for £2.99 each, all from H+M. I also had a quick scan in Miss Selfridge and picked up these adorable pair of skorts (skirt/shorts in one).

Having spent a grand total of £20 on five items - I was all shopped out! HA. However, we still had the party outfit to buy so last stop was Reiss. With a 70% sale we were spoilt for choice and having tried on a few tops, the Birthday girl decided on this fab sequin silk tee for a mere £24. To be teamed with black leggings, grey blazer, black knee-highs and a sparkly clutch - she will certainly be one glam bday girl!

I know we are in January and the Spring/Summer collections have hit the shops but I just had to share my bargains with you all!

Now it's your turn - what have you been buying?

xoxo

Need - Must - Want

I may have bought two or three (OK, make that four) pairs of shoes over the last few weeks but in my defence they were all in the sale. Even so, they are last seasons styles and that's why I'm in the mood for something new and fabulous that will get me excited for Spring/Summer 2010.

Luckily I stumbled across these incredible designs by Givenchy. OK, so the price tag ranges from £888 to £1,122 - but as always I try and do some rationalising (amazing how good my maths gets when it comes to shopping!)

The spring officially starts mid March and the summer officially ends mid October - therefore...

Divide £1,122 by 7 (months of possible wear of the shoes) we get £160 (already looking better).

Now divide that by 4 (weeks in a month) which gives us £40.

Now minus a few skinny-lattes from Starbucks every week (we won't be needing them as much when the Winter slowly disappears) I reckon we should be left with around £30 a week.

£30 a week for a fabulous pair of shoes that we just have-to-have!

Enough said.

xoxo

Cosy, Casual + Glam

It's been a while since I've written a blog about the latest Designer vs High-Street items - so staying true to my readers, here it is. Let's call it, a mini fashion purchase-off!

Credit cards at the ready... Whether you want to splash some cash or, want to splash even more cash, I have created three looks that we all need to be wearing this month.

For a cosy look...

£25 - New Look £55 - TBA - ASOS.com



£35 - Dorothy Perkin £164 - Current Elliott



£98 - EMU £186 - UGG



£7.39 - ae.com £130 - Fendi

For a casual look...

£40 - Topshop £739 - Stella McCartney - net-a-porter.com



£18 - Peacocks £192 - calypso-celle.com



£48 - ASOS.com £374 - luisaviaroma.com


Tights - £43 - thoutnet.com

For a glamorous look...

£14 - ASOS.com £551 - Oscar de la Renta - net-a-porter.com



£99 - Topshop £148- DVF - matchesfashion.com



£80 - Topshop - £464 - YSL - farfetch.com



Tights - £4 - ae.com



Whether you are a designer diva or a happy high-street shopper - be sure to stay stylish!

xoxo

A Woman's Knitted Treat

Today's blog is inspired by my outfit and selling techniques.

Having packed a thin pleated dress and lace over top to wear for work today, I decided this morning that this would just not suffice given the fact that was minus something ridiculous outside. I rummaged through the bf's wardrobe in the hope to find something warm I could layer my outfit with until I got to work and thankfully I managed to get my manicured hands on a gorgeous chunky knit cardi (of which I plan on 'borrowing' for a while but haven't quite told him that yet).

Later this afternoon, as a client shopped away, I lent a hand to her stylist helping to pick out some basic vest tops and long sleeve tees. This particular client was all about layers and had a real laid back cool look. Teaming her UGGs with straight legged jeans and chunky jumpers, I decided that she would definitely benefit from the men's knitwear. Off we went to the ground floor where she tried on a McQueen knitted jumper and a John Varvatos cardi, both of which she happily purchased.

Ladies take note, often the men's knitwear looks ten times better on us - so - get them to purchase so we can borrow!

Here are my top five must-haves ...

Alexander McQueen - from £595 to £348
matchesfashion.com



GAP - £55
ASOS.com



John Varvatos - £468
matchesfashion.com



ASOS - from £30 to £18
ASOS.com



Topman - £90
topman.com



Whose feeling snug and trendy?!

xoxo

Snow Show

One of my tweets the other day read as follows... 'This snow is so 2009' I have a little confession - it is SO not! Am I the only 25 year old in North West London that still gets so excited at seeing the world covered in white?! OK, so it's a slight nuisance; public transport gets cancelled, one can't drive anywhere, the pavements are icy and on a whole, the snow seems to cause quite a bit of chaos - however, going back to basics i.e. sturdy boots, lots of layers, warm coat, gloves, hat and scarf - I reckon there would a lot more happy snow-loving people!

The following day, I sent a tweet saying, 'Velvet-esque bodycon dress and fur coat - time to show the snow whose boss!' Ladies, take note - it may be cold but the glamour must always stay hot.

Layers are key, that way when you get to your destination, you can peel back the bulk and be left with a very chic outfit.

Don't let the snow defeat you, wrap up warm and stay fabulous!

xoxo