on the red carpet: victoria beckham

It is only fitting that Victoria Beckham wore black at tonights British Fashion Awards 2011. After all, doesn't everyone remember the artist formerly known as Posh Spice strutting around in her little black dress in the film 'Spice World'. The fashion designer was celebrated at this evenings ceremony as she won the award for Best Designer Brand. Wearing a dress from her eponymous label VB looks simply stunning. One of my favourite things about Victoria's designs is that the beauty truly is in the simplicity, she takes classic silhouettes and polishes them off with fabulous attention to detail and wonderful tailoring. This dress is no exception, the high necked cowl is elegant and the fitted waist blossoming into all the pleats is so pretty. It is by no means a show stopper of a dress but sometimes something so simple can have such a beautiful impact. Congrats Mrs Beckham, you clearly deserve your prize.

For a full list of BFA winners see Vogue

backstage beauty

My lovely friend Sophie at Marchesa sent me this photo of backstage at Marchesa's first ever show in New York this past September. I just think it is so beautiful I had to share it.

just call me jack frost

I was cheeky and borrowed some of my housemates new nail polish from Urban Outfitters. It has really got me in the Christmas spirit because, although technically it is multicoloured, it comes out a really frost like silver-blue after three coats.

where my party people at?

So, I realise I have been pretty useless at posting recently. This is partly due to Christmas temp duties in an attempt to replenish my constantly diminishing bank account and partly due to my time being dedicated to watching the likes of Gossip Girl, 90210 and...Living with the Amish (I'm not living with the amish and hating electricity free life, it is a show on Channel 4).

To make up for my poor efforts here is an extra big post on, yep you guessed it, the Christmas Party conundrum.

So the Christmas season has approached and that not only brings the welcome return of the christmas jumper (as discussed in an earlier post) but it also bring numerous events. Work parties...christmas dinner and drinks with friends...hell, any excuse for a party. But of course this brings the issue of party dressing for christmas without busting out a Mrs Claus type ensemble, being festive but not over-doing the 'sexy santa' theme. So, here are some of my picks for christmas beauty, christmas on a 'budget' and christmas off a budget. I tend not to stick to trends too much, after all they are only trends and as with all fashion they do change faster than the wind, so these are just some of my christmas season favourites...

Christmas beauty allows for a lot of leg room, tis the season to go overboard! Glitter becomes acceptable for evenings that don't involve dancing in a strobe lit room and is actually one of my favourite make up tips for the festive period. You can go full on gold leaf as was seen at Fendi or just go for subtle embelishment seen at Chanel and MAC have actually released a limited edition Christmas range called 'Glitter and Ice'. If glitter on the face really isn't your thing then OPI (as well as nearly every other nail brand) have released a fabulous christmas collection inspired by The Muppets, they come in a variety of colours but my favourites are the festive glitter red and glitter green as well as the multi coloured sparkle polish. Hair is another area to embelish if youwant to keep make up simple, jewellery can be worn in the hair, for example a chunky ring in the place of a hairband or a broch pinned on a chingnon. This season try switching a typical christmas red lipstick and go for a variation of the festive shade, I like a hot pink, blue red of orange red to switch it up and NARS as well as MAC have such a variety of colours you will be spoilt for choice. In my opinion hair can't really be dictated by trends as it can be so personal but at the moment I am loving any form of braid as well as really chic and undone ponytails, I will be pairing my pony with a massive silver sequin headband come christmas day.
images courtesy of Vogue, Mac and Nars

These are the party options that high street favourite Topshop have to offer. I especially love the yellow and purple beaded clutch bag to spice up a LBD. The silver shoes are a near exact copy of some Alexander Wang shoes that I had my eye on and the spiked head band is a nice alternative to a golden tinsel headband that I sported two years ago.
From top left: Satin lace tee £36, gold leather purse £16, Premium beaded clutch £35, Limited edition emerald silk strappy maxi £175, Lillie cherry trim sandals £65, Limited edition leather flippy waist dress £175, Planet flared heel platform moccasins £95, smudge animal print dress £60, mesh bib collar necklace £15, Lush metallic faux sankeskin platforms £65, spike cluster headband £25, Premium mteallic pleat skirt £90.

On the higher end of the scale net-a-porter have some spectacular options for any party. I love the golden Gucci skirt with a cosy knit for a casual christmas dinner and the red Valentino clutch with a bow is so Christmassy without being too much of a gimmick and the Mochino tuxedo jumpsuit is an adorable alternative to a dress.
From top left: Rachel Gilbert silk chiffon dress £695, Christopher Kane gel and PVC clutch £385, Valentino satin bag £520, Michael Kors leather and jersey gown £2400, Christian Louboutin metallic and patent leather pumps £425, Emilio Pucci crystal and velvet dress £5125, Miu Miu glitter and suede boots £555, Moschino Cheap and Chic tuxedo jumpsuit £815, Versace enamel bracelet £1515, Charlotte Olympia suede and satin boots £810, Dannijo crystal necklace £590, Gucci metallic leather skirt £1080.


It is less than a month until Christmas Day people! Be prepared to pop out the advent calendar.

v day

Versace is officially in H&M stores! Is anyone buying something from the collection or just window shopping like me?

UPDATE: Donatella had a meet and greet with the first person in the massive queue outside H&M. The lucky boy had been queuing since 4pm yesterday afternoon!!!

on the red carpet: kristen stewart

The lady is a vamp! I must admit I am not usually her biggest fan, but Bella Swan Kristen Stewart looks amazing at the London premiere of Breaking Dawn: Part 1 this evening. The Twilight superstar took to the white carpet in a spectacular Roberto Cavalli gown cinched in at the waist with an Alexander McQueen belt and finished off with Jimmy Choo's. I cannot fault the look. It is age appropriate, figure appropriate and SO event appropriate could she look more like a vampire? Her hair and make up are perfect for such a high glam dress and the peekaboo sheer of the lower part of the dress is a really sexy touch even if it is only showing of her ankles. But this isn't the dress everyone is talking about. The most highly anticipated dress is Bella's wedding dress designed by Carolina Hererra and kept under wraps until the big reveal when the movie is released on Friday. 

v is for versace

The Versace for H&M collaboration is unveiled in selected UK stores tomorrow morning and Donatella herself will be making an appearance at the London flagship store get your tents at the ready, I'm betting there will be a queue halfway down Oxford Street. The collection has been much hyped but is it actually the best collection H&M has seen from a designer? Sadly, no.

I appreciate the throwback to what made Versace famous way back when Gianni was at the helm, the garish prints and true Italian luxury that translate so well on the red carpet and runway. This however does not translate well when combined with the fact that, even without the massive budget cuts necessary for a designer to translate to high street, the fabric choices from H&M in general aren't the best quality and seeing palm trees splashed across nylon doesn't exactly scream expensive or stylish. There are a few gems hidden away in the collection yet sadly, from what I have seen and heard, Donatella actually cut quite a lot of the best looks from the final edit. Despite this I have no doubt that all those who love a good collaboration and want a slice of Versace for a slice of the price will be queuing in their thousands all over the country tomorrow morning. Elbows and palm trees at the ready.


the best looks from the collection...

and the worst...

for a complete look at the collection visit vogue.co.uk

see choo later

Tamara Mellon has resigned as cheif creative officer of Jimmy Choo. The co-founder of the luxury shoe brand has resigned from the company after 15 years and, more importantly, after selling the company 5 months ago for £525million (now that's alot of Choo's).

She has taken the company from being a small business to a now globally recognised name and coveted brand. She can walk away from Jimmy Choo not only with her head held high and a pocket full of cash, but also with an enviable shoe closet. Lucky lady.

tis the season

Tis the season to be jolly look like a twat.

Yes, as Christmas creeps ever closer it is that time of year again to rummage in the back of your wardrobe and find the guilty pleasure that is, the christmas jumper. I am personally a big fan of the christmas jumper and infact I feel that I don't own enough of them! Embrace it people, when else can you walk around as an adult wearing some version of Rudolph/Santa/a penguin/all of the above?

There are some great options on both the high street and the designer ends and my personal favourite is a demented snowman by Moschino (see below).

Come on now, let's not forget, if it is good enough for Colin Firth then it is good enough for you! Nobody likes a Scrooge.

Stella McCartney alpaca and wool blend sweater £670, H&M jacquard knit jumper £24.99, Topshop knitted snowflake cardi £65, Moschino snowman wool sweater £490, Jonathan Saunders knitted cotton sweater £315, New Look knit jumper £24.99.

http://www.net-a-porter.com/intl/home.nap
New Look Link
Topshop Link
H&M Link

girls on film

This music video is all about the video and nothing about the music even though I do quite like the song. Duran Duran's new video features the SUPERS, I'm talking Naomi, Eva, Helena, Yasmin and Cindy! The video was directed by Jonas Akerland from the Lady GaGa music video hall of fame and was styled by none other than Dolce & Gabbana and although it is nine minutes long the video is spectacular if only for the number of beautiful women that feature. The eternally beautiful and stunningly ageless models take on the roles of the members of Duran Duran and offer up a music video truly...well...super.

got a secret...can you keep it?

The Victoria's Secret Show kicks off later tonight so in the meantime enjoy some of last years show highlights. It's enough to make you want to never eat again...so skinny and so pretty, not fair!

This year is set to be even more impressive with 15 new Angel's taking to the runway and performance's from Nicki Minaj and Kanye West.

Time to hit the gym I think...

on the red carpet: lea michele

Princess Lea looked like a true glamour girl at last nights Glamour Women of the Year Awards in New York City. The Glee girl wore a stunning and sparkly Jenny Packham dress. I think her simple make up and care free glossy hair don't distract from the dress at all although I would have liked to have seen a cute clutch or bracelet but I think that is just because I am an accessory fiend. Although variations of this nude glittery dress has been seen on the red carpet on one too many starlets one too many times, I rarely get sick of seeing such a winning combination done the right way. Lea looks truly lovely.

the teddy bear's makeover

Even though Pudsey bear has been rocking the white and red spotty eye patch for all these years, even the most famous bear in the country needs a make over once in a while. The iconic bear has been made over by British designers as Children in Need approaches in ten days.

Liberty, House of Holland, Giles, Mulberry, Erdem and PPQ bears.

Which bear is your favourite?

foxy lady

On Thursday night the Mulberry store in Spiningfields in Manchester hosted an event with Stylist magazine and I was one of the lucky few who got to tag along. The event was celebrating Stylist's 100th issue and 40 years of Mulberry and was showcasing the new collection. Some very dashing male models were walking around the store offering up some very lovely looking nibbles (sadly none of which I could eat as I am a vegetarian with a nut allergy) and also keeping the many shoppers fueled with some incredible drinks provided by Hoxton Gin. I got pretty tipsy to be honest, my beverage of choice was the coconut and grapefruit gin with cranberry juice and I think it has to be one of the nicest drinks I have had in a while which is a feat in itself considering I despise gin. Yasmin was there DJing as well as performing a live set and the ladies of stylist were walking around offering style advice. Tucked away in a corner two ladies were close to suffocation because of the number of people crowding around them, after closer inspection I realised they were doing free manicures using nail foils so I dove hands first into the growing queue. Mulberry were also giving away the new Elvina bag, a beautiful soft leather hobo in tan with a metal panel on the handle. Sadly, neither I or my friend Mica heard our name get called and instead a woman named Harriet claimed the prize only to ask if she could exchange it for a bag she actually wanted ungrateful cow. Despite the fact I didn't go home with the bag it was still a fabulous night and the golden balloon, fox mask and goody bag that I got to take home with me definitely softened the blow.

on the red carpet: amanda seyfried

Amanda Seyfried bought more than just a pop of colour at the London premiere of In Time last night. She showed off her killer legs in a H&M blue suit...yes H&M can you believe!? Not only is this fabulous look from the high street but it is also part of H&M's conscious collection which uses sustainable materials. She finished off the look with a H&M shirt and Sergio Rossi black pumps. I think this is a stellar look from head to toe, her glossy mane is just untamed enough to add to the suit rather than distract and the colour of the suit is perfect against her skin tone. I still can't believe it's not designer to be honest...does it come in any other colours I wonder? I want it.

want to be in cosmo?

Cosmo magazine is looking for female university students or recent graduates living in the UK who want to be in a feature in the magazine!!!

They are looking for girls who feel like they have undergone a transformation whilst being at universtiy. It can be any kind of transformation: weight loss? a big break up? going from being a geek at school to a party animal at uni?

All you have to do is comment on this post saying what kind of transformation you had and why you should be in the magazine. Leave your email address and someone will get back to you if you are chosen. Feel free to follow me as well...it could help your chances!

If you are interested please respond as soon as possible! Thanks xxx

in the bag

I often wonder what goodies people have hidden away in their handbag but bags, and the treasures or lack of, that people keep in them are often very personal. Well not today! Here is a little peek at the crap that floats around in my everyday bag as well as a bag for a night on the town.

Day time essentials...
1. a copy of this months Vogue
2. my iphone
3. a biro
4. headphones
5. Ray Ban sunnies
6. highlighter pens
7. a small bottle of Miss Dior Cherie
8. my purse
9. Moleskine diary
10. Benefit You Rebel tinted moisturiser
11. Chanel glasses
Bag by Topshop

Night time essentials...
1. my iphone
2. hairbands
3. Haute and Naughty mascara by MAC
4. Wonderwoman lipstick by MAC
5. my purse
Bag by Topshop