Does this count?

Do we think that this skirt counts as colour blocking?

If it doesn't, I love it... but if it does, I still love it.

Floral-print silk-twill pencil skirt

£490

Jil Sander

www.net-a-porter.com 

It looks amazing paired with this plain white tee, but could also for the braver among us, look fabulous with a bit more colour.

I know, I'm surprising myself, but I'm actually taking to this colour lark.

The latest additions to my wardrobe include a stripey top, which doesn't really sound that scary, but there's four, yes four, different colours of block stripes; the matching dress, even brighter and bolder; and a softly draped vermilion tee.

All earmarked for New York, you'll see how I style these pieces (and the look of terror on my face) in about two weeks. Take it from me, it'll have to involve a lot of neutrals. But I'm excited, I'm drawn to colour lately, everything second thing I buy seems to have to be a rainbow shade. The first is black or nude, but give me my due, I'm working on it.

Nice shoes...

I'm never normally a huge fan of H&M shoes, much as I love the clothes (more posts on them to come soon!).

However...

I was just having my daily perusal of the online shop, and came across these.

And I must say, I think they are rather fabulous. Clash them with even more print à la Susie Bubble, or, for the tamer among us, pair with simple nude tones.

And, at £29.99, they're a steal!

Love them!

Exclusive Cait Jewellery Interview!

The gorgeous AW/11 lookbook shots for Cait Jewellery are now released and they are most definitely worth taking a look at, as you can see from this one! I did an interview with Kate, the rising queen of costume jewellery, which you can see on Matt Ford's blog, along with the rest of the images. Click here to read the article...

17th February 2011 - Polyvore - Colour for the Colour-phobe?

Colour for the Colour-phobe? by Han@Parade featuring skinny leg jeans

Acne / Wonder T-Shirt
$110 - lagarconne.com
Silk tops »

Burberry Cotton-blend trench coat
$1,095 - net-a-porter.com
Burberry coat »

Louise striped mid-rise skinny jeans
$290 - net-a-porter.com
Skinny leg jeans »

Lanvin Two-tone crinkled leather ballerina flats
$555 - net-a-porter.com
Lanvin shoes »

Miu Miu Large leather tote
$1,670 - net-a-porter.com
Leather handbags »

FD - 15th February 2011

I'm back! I've not entirely given up on the blog, in fact I've not given up on it at all... I've merely been too busy with my sketchbooks! So sorry that this post is a bit random, just a lot of little bits of information to share with you!

The silence of late doesn't mean there's nothing exciting going on though... Coming up I've got definitely one, maybe two or possibly even three exclusive interviews with some fabulous new designers and some gorgeous new snaps from Matt Ford. Look out for them within the next couple of weeks.

In the summer I will be paying another visit to Central Saint Martins, this time for a Fashion Styling course. I couldn't be more excited, so I'm sure you'll hear more about it before I go! Plus, after the success of last year's series of "London Diary" posts, there will be a new lot this year. In the meantime if you need to catch up on last year's events, click here for the first installment!

  

So when I've not been in school or had my head buried in a sketchbook, I've been in the shop and it's funny the more time you spend around the same clothes, obviously you get more familiar, but you start to really love some of them. There's a dress that's just come out in the new Spring Summer collection, which is featured in this month's SHE magazine. We don't have it in store yet (or at least we didn't as of Sunday.. who knows if we'll have it by Saturday!) but you can get it on the website. There's a gorgeous vintagey feel to it and with crochet set to be huge this summer, this dress will look fab with sandals and could see you right the way through to winter when you whip out the woolly tights once more.

Hexagonal Crochet Dress £89.00 
 www.phase-eight.co.uk

There's also the latest addition to my wardrobe, and my current uniform, the Marlene dress. It is actually a lot more purple in real life, and brighter at that, but I love it. Animal print is set to be another big hit for summer and in my eyes this is meant to be snakeskin... It's working well with my black opaques at the moment but will look even better when it warms up with bare legs and nude shoes. I said this is the dress I can see myself wearing when I'm the boss of my big fashion company... And I jokingly suggested I'll buy a second one and save it until then, but the more I think about it, the better an idea I'm actually starting to think it is! Watch this space...

  
Finally, (and I promise it is, my itty bitty posts always end up the longest) a few people have been asking me lately how to get to parade if they don't know the web address. So here's a few admin-y things!

If your not friends with me on Facebook but you are a reader of Parade and you would like to be the first to know when I post anything new, you can follow me on twitter @HanParade.

Also, you can like Parade's Facebook Page simply by clicking on the like button to the right. Links to all new posts will be popped on there and will appear in your news feed.

Alternatively, you can send me an email to hannah-ramsay@hotmail.co.uk and I'll add you to the mailing list, which will send every new post straight to your inbox! 

Well that's it for today, I'm off to go and prepare myself for the excitement of the Brits red carpet outfits! Back soon with those interviews!

Almost, but not quite a Mulberry...

Just a quick post, 1) So you know I've not given up on you all entirely and 2) Because I've been dying to share this bag...

We've had this in the shop for a couple of weeks now, but I was waiting to get hold of a picture before I blogged about it. Imaginatively named the Tan Satchel Bag, this chic bag would be perfect to debut in spring, see you right into summer, and cheer you up in the dreary winter months. It looks enough like the Mulberry Alexa to have the same effect, yet it's got enough of it's own personality to avoid looking like a cheap copy because we don't like them.

Tan Satchel Bag - £130 - Phase Eight http://www.phase-eight.co.uk/



Brit Awards 2011: The first re-styled statue

I've just been sent these photos from the Brit Awards 2011 shortlisting event last night, where singer Jessie J was confirmed as the recipient of the Critics Choice Award.

But it wasn't just any Brit statue she received, as this year things have been shaken up. The new trophy is a blank white canvas, leaving it up to to leading British creative individuals to style it each year. Jessie J has received the first of this years statues, which has been designed by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. "Vivienne stands for all the things we want to inspire in tomorrow's generation of artists." said Brits chairman David Joseph.

And I couldn't agree more, I love the deconstructed Union Jack design and rich colours, and the sketch is almost as beautiful as the real thing. I'm now just wondering if there's a dress version to be modelled at the event... Watch this space!

Photos John Marshall / jmenternational