I'm back!

After over a month of letting the cobwebs take over my brain (and my blog) all it has taken is a cheap little necklace to get me excited about shopping again. A £14 web exclusive to Urban Outfitters, I already know that it has to be mine.

I Love Lowie pop-up shop

Little known hand-knitted clothing brand Lowie has recently opened a pop-up shop on Neal St. Having happened upon it on Saturday, I was very happy to see how much the brand has developed since I once bought a customised flat cap at London Fashion Weekend and decided to find out who they were. Back then it was scarves, gloves and rosettes. Now on top of these lovely hand knitted accessories, we have the most amazing military inspired cardigan which, if it wasn't £178 would already be mine.

I wasn't able to capture it in all its glory, but take a trip down to the store, its around until Christmas, you can see what all the fuss is about. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Topshop hearts Paris

For lack of anything interesting to write I thought that I'd take a moment to regale you all with the wonderful Paris love that's going on at Topshop. C'est tres chic! I'd happily stroll down the Champs Elysees wearing any of them (especially the first one), walking hand in hand with mon petit ami whilst drinking a cafe au lait and eating a criossant.... No self respecting Parisienne would be caught dead in one, perfect however for this tasteless Anglaise.

Overkill?

I do love an I 'heart' T-shirt. Being the proud owner of two, shouting my love of Paris and New York, the latter of which I've never been to (so I'm a bit of a victim to fads...). Anyway I digress, having been on a couple of city breaks in the past year I've been faced with the question of whether actually buying one that doesn't support a fashionable city isn't just a little crappy?

Having fallen in love with Barcelona all over again this week, and it not being a terrible place for fashion, I was tempted to invest in a third T-shirt. Unfortunately I didn't find one I liked in time, and so now loser that I am, I am thinking of ordering one off the net. Is this an act of I Love overkill? Or am I challenging the imposed hierarchy of the fashion four? I 'heart' Budapest anyone?

I heart BCN

A very amateurish attempt to do some artsy style photos on an amazing Gaudi pillar background in Barcelona... Thanks to the Boy and his lovely new camera.

Don't forget your pants...

It seems that the visual merchandisers at Topman have taken low-rise jeans to a whole new level...

Intriguing...

Sorry for the tiny fuzzy photo, but a friend of mine sent this to me the other day and I just had to share it with the world. I'm so excited that I can barely contain my glee! Will Santa be dressed up in a twinset and pearls? Will there be elves in heart-printed platform heels sporting cool slogan tees? There isn't much information provided, but a quick internet search has informed me that not only will she be decorating the windows (eee!) but there will also be all manner of kitsch gifts to buy for oneself - the loved ones may get a look in if they're lucky.

Couldn't say it any better myself...

Asish SS10

I found them!

Unfortunately however, they are on the H&M online shop for Germany and they don't ship to these distant shores. It's definitely fantastic news that they are going to set up an online store at some point in 2010, but what is a girl to do now?

H&M makes shoes worth wearing (and they're not even Jimmy Choo)

Imagine, if you will, these gorgeous suede ankle boots in black and you'll begin to understand why i'm so excited. Not that they aren't lovely in grey, but in black they could well rival any other highstreet attempt at copy the oh-so-sought-after suede platform ankle boots that all the coolest fashionistas are sporting this season. Real suede and with a heel that doesn't make my head spin, I could only stare open mouthed when I realised that they will only set me back £50. Obviously they didn't have them in my tiny size 3, but I foresee a mad dash around various H&Ms throughout the capital in search of them!

The boy does rainy day dressing

God bless The Boy and his amazing ability to pick out all things cute and quirky. Usually this is for me, however on Saturday he managed to find a little number for himself. After looking through the gorgeous offerings for 'grown ups' at Reiss (which he also loved) he found something ten times cooler and much more youthful (and seasonal).

Here he is modelling the wonderfully visual 'brollies' jumper by The Youth Firm. One of the many new boutique designers now taking up residence on the newly created Topman second floor (5th floor if you count the rest of the Oxford Circus store).

He was torn between this, and the equally adorable frogs jumper (below - taken from Topman website).
It isn't to everybody's taste by all means and I'm not sure that many Topman junkies will be forking out £45 for a simple knitted sweater instead of the usual ball-squeezing skinnies and rosary beads... it takes a man with real cojones to pull this off and this boy certianly isn't lacking in those.

Cheryl makes it official...

Leading the fashion pack this winter, Alexander Wang, DSquared and Miu Miu proved that thanks to their SS10 collections the big messy side plait is going to be the super hot hair to copy this season. As if seeing it sashay down the catwalks wasn't enough to have you figuring out how to grow mermaid hair, Cheryl Cole has gone and brought it to the public arena on the first X Factor show of the season. Requiring much more hair than the average girl can ever hope to sprout in a lifetime, its a tricky trend that may take some creative hairdressing.

Time to invest in some extra tresses...

Perfect pink

I've recently developed something of an obsession with Barry M nail varnishes. So far I have amassed a grand total of four, but I am fairly sure that an obsession has been born. Whenever I wear any of their super bright eye catching colours people always ask where they're from. At under £3 a bottle I'm proud to display my very 'highstreet' cosmetic choice.

So whilst perusing the shelves in Superdrug during my lunch hour I was torn between spring green (yet another one) and flamingo pink. I chose the latter and I'm basking in its awesomeness. Slightly neon with a dash of coral. Girly, cute and almost delicious enough to eat.

October shopping list

I'm still on a wave on inspiration from 500 Days of Summer, so I thought I'd put together a little collage off all the 'geek chic' bits a pieces I'd love to buy this month. The jumper makes me think of a Sonia Rykiel number and as if by magic the skirt appeared in a mailout in my inbox alerting me to its super cool existence. Teamed with a few choice accessories I'll be skipping (in a post modern self aware way of course) all the way to Toni & Guy to get my new oh-so-cute fringe cut.

(Gloves £10, bangle £8 Accessorize, Hairband £8 American Apparel, Ballet Pumps £35 Office, Jumper £28 New Look, Skirt £24.99 Uniqlo, Mini Casio Watch £36 Urban Outfitters)

Double take

Above Givenchy perfect tough boots made for stomping through the winter (perhaps not through puddles though) £785. Below, a damn good copy from Topshop £95.

Subtle customisation

Take one Vogue 'fashion's night out' T-shirt...

Add a little ribbon...

Some subtle embellishment...

Et Voila!

Snappy dressing

Please excuse the background mess! Just thought I'd add a little snap of my new 'fashion party' dress. I was going to get the Christopher Kane for Topshop alligator T-shirt dress, but I'm not sure I have the fashion edge to wear a giant open reptilian mouth that steals my limelight. So the pretty dress it is.

Summer style this autumn

After watching the best film of the year - (500) Days of Summer FYI awesome movie! - I was taken by just how wonderful Summer's vintage meets preppy wardrobe is. Girly, kooky, cute, completely against everything modern, tough and trend-lend that we see on the catwalks today. I loved it. Lace-edged dresses, dainty bows, argyle sweaters, grey tights and all things high-waisted. Amazing. I also loved the hint of blue cleverly woven into everything, perfectly bringing out Zooey Deschanel's sapphire peepers.

I am now well and truly inspired to get a fringe, expand my meagre vintage wardrobe and wear blue bows in my hair every day.

Prospective new 'do'

This is how i'd like my hair this autumn. My face as well, but as a trip to Toni and Guy won't fix that I think i'll settle for the 'do'. Thoughts?

Double take

Remember those amazing Luella hairbands? I completely missed the part of the summer sales where they were reduced to £30 (probably due to reminding myself that that is still an awful lot to spend on hair accessories), but Miss Selfridge has come to the rescue of my designer knock off loving self with this jaw-droppingly similar copy for £6. Right down to the heart shaped button in the centre, its all a girl needs to add a little embellishment that could fool even the keenest Luella fan.

A little bit of love

Whilst shopping the other day I spotted this lovely little piece from Accessorize. It reminded me of the 'Carrie' necklace I've never quite gotten around to getting, so I thought that in the meantime £5 for a little but of love wasn't half bad.

Gah!

No, no, no, no. So it looks like they'll all be playing themselves 25 years ago... Just gotta hope that they've got an amazing CGI team, or failing that camera lenses smeared with Vaseline because they're kidding nobody...

If the shoe fits

According to health experts women are damaging their feet by wearing the wrong shoes. Nothing new there then. But before all you ballerina lovers start smugly nodding your heads, it turns out that even the humble flat can actually be damaging in some cases because many of us aren't wearing the right shoes.

The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists believes that for everyday use women should be wearing "a low-heeled shoe - no higher than 4cm - which has a rounded toe." Hmm... I'm not a "killer heel" - or even really a heel- wearer but I'm finding it hard to conjure up an image where a stubby heeled shoe with a round toe is even remotely attractive... I know a few girls that would club you to death with their Louboutins before you even suggest such a monstrosity.

The subject of high heels often divides people. At the beginning of August the (mostly male-lead) TUC announced that it wanted to introduce a ban on heels in the workplace because they're "sexist and pose a health and safety hazard".

Ok so this is probably true, even the most super fashion victims often pull a Clarke Kent and change from a tube-friendly flat into fabulous teetering lovelies as they arrive at the office before the rest of us are any wiser. But the effect of wearing them is unmistakable, even with my Bambi ankles I'm suddenly more confident, more outgoing, my bum feels a little smaller... In an office full of females the sexist issue feels a million miles away and as we can see Kelly Brook can clearly ride a bike in them, so where is the problem?Yes they're potentially ruining our backs/feet/ankles/ knees/toes, but if like me you've had ugly feet all your life (although I won't knock the ability to pick things up with my toes) there is hardly a dilemma at all. By wearing pretty shoes it might make me ugly on the inside, but as long as it looks good on the outside it doesn't much matter. Just like the rest of this wonderful world of fashion.

THAT shade of green...

An ode to pale green by Ellie_Girl featuring Manoush

Take a hike

I saw these wonderfully grunge hiking boots from F-Troupe at a press day months ago, and a casual search online showed me that they are now available to buy. They're cute, they're comfy, they're French and totally Marc by Marc. I'm fairly sure that they'll be stocked at Urban Outfitters, but if you don't want to leave the comfort of your sofa check out www.f-troupe.com and they can keep your feet cosy all winter for £183, which on a cost-per-wear basis will work out very cheaply indeed, especially if last winter was anything to go by.

Ponderings from The Boy

The Boy plays such a huge part in my style choices (more than I care to admit sometimes) that I feel I should give him a little platform to wax lyrical about fashion. He never fails to surprise me with his impressively wide knowledge of current trends, not only that but also his ability to create his very individual look without looking like a Topman or Shoreditch clone.

This week I asked him what he thinks of the soon-to-be-everywhere snood:

"The snood. Stupid sounding by name, circular and warm by nature. Whilst FF repeats "I want a snood, they're all the rage this winter" I remain cynical. "You can wear it as a hood, scarf or over your shoulders..." she says. Call me old fashioned, but isn't it just a scarf stitched up at both ends?"

Such a rationalist - Also for the record, I never ever say "all the rage"!

In another conversation he revealed to me that he regularly visits The Sartorialist, much to my delighted surprise...

Boy: Do you like the way i've rolled up my shorts? They're all doing it on The Sartorialist...
Me: You go on The Sartorialist? (Shocked silence)
Boy: Yeah, he takes really cool pictures.
Me: Oh my god, thats so cool...
Boy: I really like the ones of the old guys in suits... and he takes pictures of some really FIT women.
Me: *Sigh*(Images courtesy of www.net-a-porter.com and www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com)

Rick Owens eat your heart out

As a highstreet afficionista I'm often on the look out for the most credible high-end rip offs and this deliciously draped Warhouse leather jacket is as close to Rick Owens as I'll probably ever get. As its only £150, I think this will almost certainly be my payday treat. With its super thin tailored shape, skinny arms and general butter softness this gorgeous jacket will easily also play the part of a leather cardigan, how very bad girl indeed.

The highstreet does layers

Behold the not-too-unimpressive selection that the highstreet has created in answer to the delicious draping and layering trend that will be taking the female population by storm this autumn. With under two weeks left of August, I'm rubbing my hands in anticipation of the first proper wave of this season's collections hitting the stores.

This is by no means a complete portrayal, Topshop is notably absent (they're much harder to get images from) but I definitely think that there is enough here to get at least a little bit excited about, especially seeing as a complete Missoni layered look is sadly out of my reach... what would I give for those wrinkled leggings?

I'm also on the search for the perfect snood - you might remember my April entry where I talked of my love of them - they're back with a vengeance and they're all knitted and cosy and drapey... sigh...
(From top: River Island, Warehouse, Warehouse, Hobbs, Miss Selfridge courtesy of PRshots.com)