F&F Spring/Summer 12

A couple of weeks ago I was very kindly invited to the OXO tower at Southbank to preview F&F's Spring/Summer '12 Collection. For those of you that don't know, F&F is Tesco's clothing brand, and I'll admit it.... I had never taken so much as a glance at their collections before. So you can imagine my surprise when I walk into the event and am greeted not only by champagne, fish 'n' chip canapes and cupcakes, but also rails and rails of BEAUTIFUL clothing. 

Bright hues and graphic prints met sleek tailoring in a cocktail of summery loveliness. I'm not normally one for high-impact colour and in-your-face pattern, but the sophisticated cuts of these pieces were enough to get me excited about a technicolour season. 

Sadly this was also the night I discovered my camera no longer focused, (in the process of getting it repaired as we speak), so I have no photo's of said clothes! I do however have a link to Hannah's fantastic photo's from a Bow Dream Nation, and a few of my favourite images from F&F's lookbook....

I had a thoroughly lovely evening and would like to thank Tesco for inviting me :)

Have any of you shopped at F&F before? I couldn't get over the prices! I'll definitely be checking out their dress collection next season, I have my eye on the print dress up there ^^

Outfit : Daisy Dreamin'

The maxi skirt. Simple, chic and an item that has well and truly made it into my 'signature look' pile over the years. Back when it was slightly warmer (ahh, remember those 2 weeks of Summer, that was nice wasn't it?) I wore my daisy print skirt to death. For work I wore it with a plain white tee, a long necklace and tan ankle boots. Now its getting colder I'll be pairing it with Chunky knits and layered chains. Here's how it looked then- as soon as I get my camera fixed I'll show you how it looks now ;) Not bad for a fiver from Primark eh?

Top: Topshop
Necklace: Topshop
Skirt: Primark
Awkward Pose: Models own

Have any of your Summer favourites made it through to Winter?

Fashion Writing Competition

People blog about fashion for many different reasons, some do it out of boredom, others out of passion. For a lot of people however, it is also a way of getting their name out there into the big bad world of fashion writing. Another fun way of doing this is by stretching those writing muscles and entering the odd competition....

Recently Freemans got in touch with me to see if I would spread the word about their latest fashion writing competition, naturally I wanted to keep quiet and enter it myself (mwahaha), but as this is competition is for students, I couldn't! But I know quite a few of my readers are students so thought I'd let you all know about it....

The prizes: The winner of this competition will be published on Freemans fashion blog AND win a shiny new Toshiba laptop! There are also 2 Sony digital cameras and a Samsung camcorder up for grabs for the runners up!

Here's Freeman's guide on how to enter: 

1) Find the perfect party dress for this year’s holiday season using the Freemans.com catalogue as inspiration - think office Christmas parties and New Year’s Eve – and piece together an outfit surrounding your dress of choice. 

2) Tell us why you chose this outfit in a blog style article of around 250-400 words.

3) Email us (studentfashion@freemans.com) your entry with your full name, age and place of study by 30th November 2011.

Let me know if any of you enter! And good luck :)

Stag Sixteen

I always find it exciting when designers from all arena's join together, especially when it's for one amazing cause. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it always promises amazing results, and this November the project Stag Sixteen have brought talent together to raise money for the homeless charity Centrepoint. To read a more in depth piece on what they intend to do, take a look here.

The general idea behind the project is getting 16 designers from the fashion, jewellery and interior world to put their own spin on an iconic stag head. Making each one unique and, (as expected), awesomely stylish, these stag heads will go up for auction on the 16th of November where all proceeds will go to the Centrepoint charity.

Here are just a few, click here to see the full collection!

Charlotte Olympia's stag

Lulu Guiness' stag

Manolo Blahnik's stag

Rob Ryan's stag

I'm loving this idea- my favourite is Rob Ryan's stag! Which one would you bid on?

Just a minute....October

source

Making: Lists: to do, to buy, to make....

Watching: The Walking Dead season 2, Uh-may-zing.

Reading: 'A Certain Kind of Intamacy' by Jenn Ashworth, a fantastic book for anyone interested in the mysterious world of human behaviour.

Listening: Ben Howard, Damien Rice, Feist.

Buying: Erm, too much! Mainly drinks, dinners and travel tickets.

Loving: The Rumwong restaurant in Guildford- amazing Thai food who also do take-away! Give it a try if you're ever in the area :)

Me & My Arrow

Those of you who follow my blog have probably noticed my slight obsession with jewellery.... and how much I relish discovering hidden gems (ahem, excuse the pun). 

My latest find is Digby & Iona, a brand launched in 2006 by designer Aaron Ruffs who has a penchant for hidden treasure. The latest collection is called 'Me & My Arrow' and takes inspiration from prehistoric times and ancient tools. Each piece is created with a simple aesthetic, which naturally appeases my minimalist style. I love how fine the pieces are and the dedication to detail, especially the teeny tiny feathers attached to each arrow.

To find out more and to see the full collection, click here. 

But for now, here are a few of my favourite pieces....

Anyone else loving this collection?