Warung Bebas

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

London Fashion Week Diary: Day 3

Welcome to the third instalment of my London Fashion Week diary! Check out Day 1 and Day 2, too!

The morning began with a visit to the legendary Premier Inn breakfast buffet! The buffet was a godsend because we didn't have time for lunch most days during London Fashion Week and this kept us going until dinner.

DSC04118-1 (dragged)

Another perk was the free Wifi. Ours was courtesy of Premier Inn (as was the hotel room for those that didn't see Day 1's post!) but I believe it was only £3 for 24 hours of Wifi anyway, which is very reasonable. Loved this little graphic - haha!

DSC04344

Before catching the tube into town, I grabbed a Mocha from Starbucks in Westfield. It's the only coffee anywhere I enjoy drinking without having to put 3 heaped sugars in!

DSC04128

Jen touching up her nail polish on the train! Can't quite remember the colour but I believe it was Models Own Pink Punch...

DSC04132

That day I was going for a comfy take on the pastel trend. The shirt was a find in Whitstable's charity shops on Valentines Day, courtesy of the boyfriend :)

IMG_7939

IMG_7941
(Socks, sunnies, sweater and jacket - Topshop, necklace - New Look, jeggings - H&M, boots - charity shop, lipstick - All About Me by Topshop)

The schedule was rather quiet when we arrived on Sunday so we sat back and watched all the pretty people go by, leaping up to take street style shots when we spotted the right people! I'll be sharing my Street Style shots very soon! Didn't want to include it in these diary posts because I'd be sued for giving you all RSI due to the scrolling!

DSC04167

A quick snap of Zoe and Elisabeth - isn't Zoe's hair a dream?

DSC04178

After lots of street style snapping, we headed to the Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue up the road to see the House of Evolution show, showcasing the work of 3 designers - DeladaZeynep Tosun and Nadine Merabi. Amy of Wolf Whistle works for Katch PR and allowed us to go backstage and get some photos!

DSC04231

The makeup was being done by The Body Shop... Check out the supplies!!

DSC04186

Being backstage at a fashion show can be quite overwhelming... Everyone is so busy, and all the photographers are falling over each other to capture it all! You feel majorly in the way, but also majorly excited to be witnessing the secret pandemonium that takes place before the polished performance on the catwalk!

DSC04185

DSC04187

Epic smokey eyes for the Nadine Merabi show!

DSC04189

This was the crazy hair styling for the Zeynep Tosun show... Not sure it'll be top of the hair trend charts this Autumn, but it worked really well on the catwalk!

DSC04194

The hair for all of the models was a two man job - at least! I always find it so interesting to see the models just go about their business (texting, tweeting, lunching) whilst being pulled every which way during the hair and makeup! They're obviously so used to it it's like they don't even notice chaos around them. The world of modelling is such a strange one, it always completely fascinates me during LFW!

DSC04202

This model (and of course the dress) looked exquisite!

DSC04226

There's more behind the scenes footage on my LFW video, which is coming soon... Honest!

Once we'd taken some pictures backstage, we headed to the press lounge to wait for the show to start... I checked out my copy of The Daily - a newspaper distributed daily at LFW about LFW, featuring show reports, interviews and features.

DSC04237

The show was very delayed, but worth the wait! It was a great experience to see 3 fashion shows in 1! I adored these huge backpacks in the Zeynep Tosun show - I could totally use one of these for the next LFW with the amount of bits and bobs you accumulate!

DSC04261

DSC04269

As for celeb watch, I think I've failed you guys today... It's X Factor reject, Kitty. I promise I'll make up for it in Day 4's diary..! ;)

DSC04276

We headed out to Vapiano's for dinner. I've never been, but found it so cool! Each section of the menu has its own 'station' where you go and order food and have it prepared in front of you. You have a little card that you have to scan whenever you order something and it logs everything so you can just swipe and pay easily at the end. No more awkward flagging down of waiters! Don't you just hate that?!

DSC04285

We shared a meat platter to start:

DSC04283

And I got a BBQ chicken pizza for my main. I couldn't finish it (obvz, it was MEGA!) but it was divine.

DSC04291

We had two party invites on Sunday night. The first was the House of Evolution one, held at Cirque du Soir, some crazy circus themed nightclub!

WP_000764

Fire breathing burlesque? Dunno about you, but it's all I look for in a decent nightclub! Joking aside, writhing women were the first thing we saw when we got into this club and I was rather surprised..! I'm a bit of a prude so I was just a giggling wreck, taking photos on my phone and sending them to Alex. Haha!

WP_000735

Free candyfloss!!! Now you're talkin' my language.

WP_000763

We hung out with Amy for a while on these crazy beds within the nightclub! There was enough vodka flowing that I didn't think about how hygienic our hangout spot may or may not have been... Even when the bed next to us became occupied by some very loved up gents - haha! This was a definite eye opener for me in the world of London nightlife!

DSC04313

DSC04311

This photo definitely seemed like a great idea at the time (on the plus side, my blue bow is fetching!):

DSC04315

WP_000770

After a couple of drinks and lots of giggles with Amy, we headed off to our second invite of the night, the Bitching and Junkfood party at Whisky Mist. We were trying to be the first 100 as there were meant to be goodie bags for them (don't mean to sound like a freebie grabbing loser but I LOVE Bitching and Junkfood so didn't want to miss out!) but alas these were nowhere to be seen... Yasmin was DJ-ing, which was cool, though! And we bumped into my friend Steph from Deer Brains, so that made the drunken hike to Mayfair worthwhile.

DSC04322

WP_000782

Then it was back to the fashion trashpit that was once our lovely hotel room to get some beauty sleep and prepare for Day 4!

DSC04343

This night is much funnier on film, am going to get cracking with the editing now so you'll see what I mean!

Hope you've enjoyed my latest LFW diary day!!

xxx

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Tuesday Tip: Shoelace Styling

Here's a quick and easy styling tip I snapped at London Fashion Week! Tying a neck bow with a shoe lace instead of ribbon! Sometimes I think ribbon bows are a bit too dressy, so this is perfect for giving a blouse a bit of cuteness and edginess all at the same time.



Don't you think that's just the coolest styling touch? I love little details like that!

Also, LOVING denim shirts at the moment, they seem to be everywhere! I just bought a short sleeved one in a charity shop so will snap it and share it on here ASAP. I'm actually awaiting the arrival of my brand new camera today... £350 of spontaneity right there... Probably letting the scrimping side down a bit there, but there are some things you need to invest in and after a lot of missed photo opportunities at LFW, I've realised the time to invest in a Canon (the best camera brand, appaz) is NOW! 

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Loulou Loves You

I was going to post yesterday's outfit on here this morning but decided it was totes boring and you deserve better. Something that is definitely NOT boring is this adorable mini-lookbook for the new Lydia lingerie set from Loulou Loves You, featuring lovely little doodles by Loulou herself!




How delightful? I remember when I was a teen dreamer many years ago, I started making my own underwear around the same time Loulou started out. We actually exchanged Myspace messages and were going to have a little underwear swap! It never happened because I soon realised I was actually CRAP at sewing (hence the abundance of no-sew DIY's on here!) but Loulou was in a different league and is still making incredible undies to this day!

If you're not the pretty undies type (to be honest, most days I view my underwear as a scaffolding system rather than something to get excited about), Loulou makes pretty bows and collars that can be proudly paraded outside the boudoir. 

I'm visiting home at the minute and am off for a day of charity shop shopping in Bexhill and Hastings! I'm hoping for some major finds as my wardrobe needs a serious revamp! 

Don't wait up!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

London Fashion Week Diary: Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of my LFW Diary! Check out Day 1 here if you haven't already and get in the loop! 

Our first stop was the press lounge to gather our thoughts and rehydrate after a stressful morning... You may remember I lost my debit card the night before, so I phoned Pret in the morning to see if I had left it there the day before (Jen thought I had). They said nothing had been found, so we then had to find a Halifax so I could get some emergency cash and cancel the card. We walked along a long road of closed banks (it was Saturday) but luckily Halifax was open, so I got my cash. They made me ring up to cancel the card but a fashionista like me does not have time for such mundane tasks, dahhlings, so I put it off until later. We passed Pret on the way to Somerset House and I nipped in on the off-chance. Turns out they had it (I must've ring the wrong Pret)!! Phew. So I now had £100 cash burning a hole in my pocket as well as plastic. And a hotel room in Westfield. Danger! 

Zee press lounge:


An outfit snap - I went for a comfy look today, much to the indifference of the street style photographers! 

(Jacket, glasses and jeans - Topshop, tee - H&M, boots - charity shop, necklace - New Look)

(The necklace was only £2.99 and New Look are having a BOGOF at the minute, so it was the bargain of the century!)



The Topshop New Gen T-shirt exhibition I mentioned in my Day 1 Diary



Little photo sesh on the cool background! 


We wandered around some more of the exhibition - I adored the pieces in Simone Rocha's collection!


Sister by Sibling had some awesome Barbie dolls modelling their designs!


The life-sized designs - knitted, glittery leopard print = ABSOLUTE YES.


The scrum outside Simon Rocha's show! It was too packed out, so we didn't get in. 


Yeah, I stalked Fred Butler for a bit.. She seemed to be looking for her ticket to the show! 


We did lots of street style photography - I will be sharing mine with you soon! Here, Jen is papping Laura


Everyone else has the same idea at Somerset House. Papping away!


We then checked out some more of the exhibition. This was shoe designer, Julian Hakes talking to buyers about his incredible shoes. He is first and foremost an architect, and used these principles to sculpt a new type of shoe. Check out his 'arch-less' designs in the background! 


Fun accessories from Yang Du.


We were all ogling the stunning jewellery by Maria Francesca Pepe! 


Then we decided to queue for John Rocha. In the freezing cold rain. I'm not sure if I missed the 'If your name ends in Rocha, hate Jen and Gem' memo today, but just like Simone Rocha earlier in the day, we didn't get in. Sigh! 



Lily queued up for a while with us, along with Emma and Kate, but perhaps they could psychically sense the oncoming rejection as the 3 of them made a getaway! Here was Lily, fitting in with the decor with her Topshop bag! 


Not to be deterred by the rain and rejection, Jen and I headed to the Kinder Aggugini show at the Embankment Gallery. Jen was thrilled to notice the bright light I was stood in front of made my ear glow! Haha!


We got into this show using a mixture of manners, charm and guilt-tripping (all will be explained in my video diary!) I absolutely loved this show. It was based on the postmodern notion of artists copying the work of other artists - Aggugini took various prints and references and mixed them all in together. This mishing and mashing was quite literal in garments that were all sewn together from different materials entirely. A key print was cowboys with horses, key colours were green, blue, red and gold and the looks were styled with customised Dr Martens loafers! The makeup was lovely too, with rose gold glitter being applied directly to lips. A shout out to the soundtrack, too - a mash up of country songs and nineties/noughties hip hop and pop - think Usher, Justin Timberlake, Kelis, Beyonce and Dolly Parton! AMAZING. 





After that, we said goodbye to Somerset House and headed back to the bright lights of Westfield for some shopping and dinner!


I gave my outfit some more relaxed tweaks for our wander. Cue beanie, desert boots and my cosy 'fur' coat!


OH, Nandos. How I love you. Yes, just like Day 1, our adventures ended in a hearty meal. My signature Nando's order is the butterfly chicken breast (lemon & herb), chips, mash and halloumi. Yum! 


Hope you enjoyed this second instalment! Loads more to share from Day 3 and 4! No two days are the same in the world of LFW! 


 

gem and jam Copyright © 2014 Fast Money -- Powered by Blogger