FD - 10th September 2010

I think.. I'm in love.

Suede Boots H&M £59.99

Wear with camel pants/jeans/trench/cape. You've got the picture... And so have Elle, they were featured in October's pick of the highstreet supplement.

I would love a pair of these very much...

Summer Fashion Trends Review

As sumptuous camel tones, chunky knits and luxurious fabrics dominate the catwalks and start to infiltrate the high street; it’s easy to forget the trends we embraced for the summer months. Why dwell on the past season you may cry; why not, I say! We loved the styles which carried us through to autumn, so lets take a while to reflect on some of them; celebrate the successes (and pray they return next year) and laugh at the disasters, while praying they don’t!

Firstly there’s denim which popped up embellished, bleached and in the ubiquitous “jegging”… Oh and we can’t leave out the controversial foray back into the 70’s world of double denim, a move that left the fashion pack completely divided. While some praised the bravery and confidence of wearers, others saw it as a fashion car crash. Then there’s bleached denim, which, for me, proved a summer staple mainly in shorts and shirts. Embellished metallic jeans seemed like an interesting concept but in reality only took off on the Balmain catwalk, however an inch or two of roll up at the bottom of your jeans was definitely the most foolproof and fabulous way to update your look. Lastly, pretending to be denim - jeggings… I’ll leave you to remember them how you will!

Without a doubt, the biggest success story of summer trends was the pastel colour palette with fashionistas up and down the country stylishly modelling themselves on ice cream sundaes and bags of pick and mix. With shades that flattered everyone, this was one trend that was unavoidable no matter how hard you tried. And even if you weren’t convinced by the clothes, candy coloured nail polish was an easy and chic way to tap into the trend.

Hemlines seriously dropped for the season as everything went maxi. The old favourite floaty maxi dress reappeared, but as did a new species that is the skin-tight, floor sweeping jersey sheath, in both dress and skirt forms. While some people just hated them, I mean, they were difficult to walk in, they did hide a killer tan, and were possibly the most unforgiving styles on the market, overall they proved to be a surprising hit in eye-catching stripes and patterns as well as easy to wear black, grey and khaki tones. I loved my dresses paired with a twisted and knotted belt.

Finally for shoes, we had clogs. They were an interesting one. After Chanel sent its brave takes down the runway, everyone was talking about the return of the clog. Then Alexa Chung appears on the cover of Vogue sporting said Chanel pair and the hysteria only builds. With advice popping up left, right and centre as to how to wear them and clogs being dubbed as “the only shoe to wear this season” it seemed like they were going to become just that. Though I think looking back now, they were actually more of a minority trend than was intended. Creeping up from behind, from the Sport Luxe trend, were shoe boots with missing heels and peep toes, which overshadowed the remodelled clogs. And though I did hear them branded stupid and pointless, they completely took off and were the easy footwear of choice for summer in flat, wedge and heel styles! I loved my perforated lace up wedge boots and will be wearing them right into autumn teamed with my classic trench coat. That said I loved my clogs too, they were far comfier than they looked, but they still didn’t get worn as much as my boots…

FD - 9th September 2010 - Glamping

Okay, the new way to do camping is "Glam-ping", so I've heard. Glamourous... and... Camping. Probably not two words you'd expect to be merged together, but hey ho, sounds perfect for me! I am in fact going camping at the weekend, and I'm hoping to be able to say I'm glamming it - I'm definitely not roughing it. Of course with camping comes the issue of a capsule wardrobe suitable for life outdoors, literally in a cold, muddy field. But, looking at the A/W catwalks this year, it seems the designers are doing us a favour, and helping us out with said capsule wardrobe, or at least giving me some inspiration, sadly I can't afford any Burberry shearling.

Thus, I set about looking for my "Glamping" wardrobe on the high street. First obstacle to overcome was footwear. The mother says walking boots, I say heels. Compromised and settled on patent black wellies to accompany black chunky heeled walking style boots with shearling trim. I fell in love with one pair (left - Next £65), and tried them on. Sadly no amount of persuasion was going to make said boots comfortable, so the search went on. Ended up with a pair half the price, but they were just a bit too shiny and looked too new. Problem solved after spending half an hour with a nail file, buffing them down a bit. Call me mad if you like but they look so much better for it.

Clothes wise, apparently it will be cold (though the weather forecast is sunny...) so I have to wrap up. Layers! Functional skinny jeans, pretty tops and dresses, a huge chunky woolie cardie and the old faithful trench coat are all on my packing list. Outfits are planned to work with both the wellies or the boots and everyone's happy. Note to self.. pack dress in case its super hot...

So this post will lead into another, the summary of the camping diaries, complete with pictures of my outfits...Then, we can decide whether I successfully pulled off "Glamping"!

A flick through some French fashion magazines

When in France, disappointed by some (the majority?) of the street fashion I witnessed, I figured a trip to Paris via the pages of a magazine would be a good idea. I tried hard, very hard to understand the writing in Vogue and L'Officiel Paris, to some avail. The pictures however were far more interesting...

Some were a bit boring, some quite funny, and others just rather french. Here's a few that stood out for me.

This spread, "Le belle etoile", in L'Officiel by Matthew Frost seems to have that particular French je ne sais quoi. While it may not seem on the surface the most exciting photo (left), I like the confidence and the statement made by looking at the back of the dress, as opposed to the more obvious front.

I love this image (right), from the same story, mainly because of the random sun worshippers in the background. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think they may actually have really been there. That is just so French, so typically laid back and I think, absolutely fabulous.

The next spread in L'Officiel by Rene Habermacher entitled "Tension" includes and image of a couple, clearly going through a rocky patch. While it is an editorial spread, the focus isn't so much on the clothes, but the scene, the situation and the feelings between the couple, which makes for a refreshingly different fashion story.

I can't help smiling at these images in the "Trompe D'oeil" story as I love the humour and the novelty aspect captured by photographer Paolo Zambaldi.

Moving onto Vogue... Remember in my last post, I moaned about not seeing the relaxed elegance we so associate with France? This picture (right) taken by Maciek Kobielski, is exactly what I'm talking about.

Finally is a spread of the new season key pieces from a selection of designers shot by top photographer David Sims. I like the uncontrivedness (is that a word??) and rawness of the images, which allow the clothes to speak for themselves.

FD - 19th August 2010 - I'm finally putting an end to this blog neglect

I'm back! As you might have noticed Parade has been somewhat neglected of late. Actually, make that very neglected - my dashboard said "last published on 20th July"... It's okay though I haven't been completely idle, this is just a quick post to let you know I'm still alive, haven't disappeared off the planet and tell you what I've been up to!

I've been working on some big articles which you'll see soon, I've been on holiday and finally I have a job! I'm now working part time in Phase Eight in the Metquarter, you know faffing around with hangers until every one is spaced perfectly and generally floating round a pretty dress shop... Which may I add is a pretty dress shop, not a frump shop. You could be forgiven for thinking it was, I did, but recently the stock has got a lot more suited to the younger consumer. Put it this way, I was given a uniform allowance and had absolutely no problem spending it! So please do come and visit me!

Speaking of which, I had the best dressed woman I've seen in a while in the shop yesterday. She was wearing camel trousers (slightly taupey actually), very reminiscent of those in the latest Chloe ad campaign (right), a nude silk blouse, unbuttoned almost to the navel with a blush sequin t-shirt underneath, a gold metal flower necklace and a flowing camel mac. I realise it sounds a tad dodgy on here, but in the flesh the tones were perfect and those trousers were so well cut... I only wished I'd had a camera with me to snap her. My boss was on her lunch too so she missed her...

Now I cant remember whether it was on this blog or my previous where I had a bit of a rant about French style. Nevertheless, I'm going to have it! In the nicest possible way, I actually struggle to see sometimes how Paris, one of the fashion capitals of the world, is in fact, in France. I say this because round where I go, (south west) the clothes to buy in the shops, I would say, are foul. And I think most British fashionistas would agree. Now if you love linen, very rough and quite raw, in various washed out pastel tones, in a milkmaid style sack of a dress, you'd love it there. If not, like me, you'd end up spending a bomb in the amazing bijouteries. I bought a gorgeous necklace, which weighs a ton. But anyway back to subject, if your not a fan of the linen, there's shops similar to one I went in which we dubbed "French Matalan". Thinking back, I think that's a bit unfair on Matalan. The problem is, everything is just a bit weird. A blouse which looks lovely from the front will have a couple of random gathers and a "hip" french word scrawled across the back. Get the picture? The fabric is just not right, and the colours... since when lime green should be used for cropped pants I'll never know.

See the thing is, they don't really seem to be bothered by the actual clothes they're wearing. I think sometimes its a case of they have to wear clothes purely to look decent in public and its quite an inconvenience. A lot of French women just naturally have that elegance (not to mention the tan and the physique) and the confidence to look good in whatever they're wearing. They all have that thrown on relaxed thing going on that we praise Vanessa Bruno and Isabel Marant (left) for - that's both for the clothes they design and the clothes they wear. I suppose in picking apart their clothes, I'm quite jealous of a Frenchwoman's attitude. I've been told I could pass for French in the face, I'm trying to adopt their manner of dressing...

But somehow thrown on doesn't work for me, noticed?!

P.S. So much for a short post, I'm sorry, I got carried away!

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P.P.P.S. I've just thought of an exiting next post so look out for that in the coming few days!

FD - 20th July - Carrie's Wedding Dress in the Sale!

Think back, think back before Sex and the City 2, all the way to the first Sex and the City movie... Thinking? Though it shouldn't really take all that much thinking, remember Carrie's wedding dress...

Get a picture of it in your mind! Okay, sorry about the brainwashing, I'm a bit excited, you should notice there's a picture here anyway! I'm excited because, having sold out on Net-A-Porter last year, you can have your own Carrie Bradshaw wedding dress from The Outnet's Sale! Well it's not the exact same one, but its verrrry similar, a sort of mini version. It is of course Vivienne Westwood (Gold Label), and is in the same luxurious taupe silk. While its original price was £4,530, it's now had a whopping 60% knocked off it's now a slightly more palatable £1,812.

All you need to do is find an exotic teal bird to perch on your head, swipe some rouge across your lips and the Carrie look is nailed!

Incase you can't get your hands on said bird of paradise, there's an abundance of feathered fascinators online and in shops at the moment with it being wedding season... I'm loving this emu feathered piece from Packy B (price on application) .

Ooh I only wish I was getting married now!

It's the Benna.co.uk Sale!

With the high street shops having sales left, right and centre at the moment, you all know that feeling you get when you discover a gem! The sale has just been launched on luxury accessories e-boutique Benna.co.uk and trust me there's a lot of that feeling to be had as you browse through the website. There's beautiful Annina Vogel jewellery and fabulous Tom Ford sunglasses, all at a fraction of the original prices!

Here's my pick of the best sale items...
(Click on the image to go directly to the item on the Benna website)

I'm quietly weeping at this adorable Pearl Swallow Bangle from Annina Vogel, now £175 instead of £250

Or there's this gorgeous Lara Bohinc clutch which you can grab at a reduced price of £425!

And if you still haven't got your sunnies for your holidays, this classy Tom Ford pair are now £147 from £210.

Perfect for summer weddings or parties, this glam Jennifer Behr crystal and cord headband is now just £62.50.

Finally I love this stunning Monica Vinader Lemon Quartz ring reduced from £108 to £75.

The Benna sale won't be on for long so make sure you pick up these fabulous pieces, and all the equally amazing items on the website before they all sell out!

You can go straight to the Benna.co.uk sale page by clicking here.

Happy Shopping!