13/09/2010





Upon entering River Island Treasure Island, one is met with a myriad of trends - military jacketsblazers and aviator jackets. However, boasting a comprehensive collection of jackets is not the only thing the brand has ticked off its to-do list. Above are two pairs of booties that managed to score a place in my wardrobe, pre-ban. Gorgeous chunky platforms, hiking boot treads, buckles, laces and shearling. Perfection. River Island have topped Topshop.

11/09/2010

Not the angry red spots, you understand, but the delicious clothes, shoes and accessories designed by Swedish brand Acne. A magical composite of classicism littered by edginess, the fashion house have transformed the timeless trench,  basic blazer and simple shoe for S/S 11. This analogy of merging classic pieces with edgy design is one I have learnt to build my wardrobe around. Gone are the days of Topshop prints and Primark patterns - I want simple, expensive and edgy. Acne ticks all of my fashion boxes. Check out the rest of their pre-collection to see exactly what I mean. 

10/09/2010


Banish biker boots this season, refute the glossies' demands that legs be dressed in khaki, forget shearling cover-ups, and embrace all things glam. Wholly feminine, this bandage dress will sculpt pre-existing curves, and build them in boyish figures. Layer on pink polish, slip on a studded black bangle and strut in crushed velvet platforms.


Bandage Dress - Rare £49
Earrings - Mawi at My-wardrobe £95
Bangle - Topshop £12.50
Snakeskin skull Clutch - Alexander McQueen £925
Pink Polish - Chanel £16.50
Velvet Platforms - River Island £54.99

09/09/2010


In one last frenzy, I scattered every fashion magazine I could grasp into my already heaving basket of press. This is photographic evidence of a final binge, my one last time, the ultimate hurrah - because, my friends, a fashion ban has been imposed. Self-imposed. 

I'm subscribed to a plethora of fashion titles: Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire, Glamour, and yet I supplement my feast with the junk food of mag-land - the weeklies. I devour their contents, and once satiated, chuck them into my recycling bin, week after week. The bin men dread Mondays. 

Admittedly, enveloped by naivety, this little vice was once regarded as 'research' because I aspire to pen fashion copy for a style rag. However, the people witnessing my descent knew better. I am an addict.  Not a day passes without Grazia or Look poking out of my Luella handbag. Forget footprints, I leave a trail of magazines when I walk. 

However, my fashion fixation is not limited to the excessive consumption of magazines, oh no, it extends to the compulsive purchasing of clothes and shoes. See it. Want it. Buy it. The motto that has left me with bags and bags of unworn loot destined for eBay.

In a bid to quell my cravings for fashion crack, I am giving up fashion for six weeks. I can look but I very definitely can not touch. I want to truly overcome my addiction. I want to be in Waitrose and not instinctively hunt down the latest copy of Vogue. I want to see fashion, feel clothes, pair items in my head knowing that that pair of shearling booties would look oh-so-perfect with last season's parka, and then, I want to walk away. 

I'm removing my fashion-shackles. Cold turkey. Six weeks. See you on the other side... 

Enticed by discounts, I tentatively ordered three pots of polish from Models Own. Hesitantly, because for around £12 I scored three pots of varnish and a black kohl eyeliner - cheaper than Barry M and we all know how many coats of that polish is needed per nail. 

Now this brand is no Chanel - you won't earn style points by pulling one of these bad boys out of your bag, nor does it invite the same level of interest that painting your nails at your desk with Dior's finest does. However, it is good. Two coats? Job done. 

Beth's Blue frosts fingers with a hybrid of lilac and blue, Green Tea leaves one feeling leprechaun-esque and Purple Mystique, well, the less said about that, the better. It's oh-so-wrong. Good thing I smashed the bottle all over the kitchen tiles while taking photographs.