The Met Ball 2013

The Met Ball in New York took place last weekend, the fashion industry’s annual opportunity to show off the most beautiful gowns on the most beautiful people.  This year designers created outfits inspired by ‘punk chaos’ so safety pins, colour clashes and stud embellishments were key in creating some of the most show stopping gowns....

Above:  Cara Delevigne perfectly punked in a plunging Burberry dress armoured in tiny gold spikes.  Hands down the  best dressed of the night.

Above:  The saying goes, 'Go Hard or Go Home' and Sarah Jessica Parker went Hard as NAILS!  SJP accessorised her voluminous Giles Deacon ball-gown (and lace knickers!) with thigh-high velvet TARTAN Louis Vuitton boots and a Philip Treacy Mohican headpiece!  

Above:  Some celebrities really embraced the theme with punk hairstyles and make-up, particularly Anne Hathaway who, wearing vintage Valentino (1992) with yellow nailpolish, took the opportunity to debut her new peroxide hair. I LOVE punk Anne!

Above:  A little safe and not particularly 'punk chaos' but I will NEVER tire of Rooney Marawearing white on the red carpet.  The actress contrasted her dark lipstick with her delicate white lace Givenchy gown.  Otherworldly. 

Above:  Errrrrrrm... Yup. That would be a floral upholstered Kim Kardashian in a Riccardo Tisci designed Givenchy gown, complete with 'gleeves' (glove sleeves).  Dreadful. 

LFW - Philip Treacy SS'13

It has been 13 years since the world famous milliner Philip Treacy last staged a show in London and he certainly made sure he returned with a bang.  Wearing a nude bodysuit, a floor length pink neon veil and a pair of Alexander McQueen silver platform boots, Lady Gaga opened the mesmerising Fashion Week show at the Royal Courts of Justice.  Lady Gaga continued to wow fashionable onlookers by taking to her seat peeping out of a multicoloured floral headpiece (left).  The show featured only black models, including Alex Wek and Jourdan Dunn, dressed in jackets from the archive of Michael Jackson, modelling an array of hats including a miniature Neverland fairground, a working carousel and Minnie Mouse style ears to the sounds of Billie Jean.

I reeeeeally hope we see Princess Bea rocking these hats at Buckingham Palace soon...

Emma Bridgewater Celebrating The Jubilee

Looking for a memento of this weekend’s Jubilee celebrations? Emma Bridgewater is offering a 15% discount off her gorgeous and decorative Jubilee range.  Co-owners, Matthew Rice and Emma Bridgewater will be selling an estimated 200,000 Diamond Jubilee items and it is easy to see why.  All handcrafted in Britain, colourful and jolly, these every day items can be treasured for years to come. 

Matthew Rice said: “Emma and I are both fiercely patriotic and have created commemorative ware for every Royal occasion for the past 25 years. However, we have never seen demand such as that which we’re experiencing for our Jubilee range."

Right: The Marylebone High Street shop window.
Below:  My favourite pieces from the range...

Above Clockwise: Tea Caddy £10.00, Egg Cup £9.95, Teatowel £10.00, 1/2 Pint Mug £24.95, Bisuit Tin £13.00, Diamond Jubilee Crown Jar £100.00

Below: Some other Jubilee goodies which have caught my eye this week… 

This limited-edition Marmite, Ma’amite, is available at all Sainsbury's supermarkets across the country. 

Love it or hate it? Love it.

World Exclusive Jeroboam 3 litre bottle of Pimms
RRP. £150 at Selfridges.

Pimms o'clock. Bound to get any party started! Only 150 of these commemorative three litre Pimm's bottles have been made. 

Jubilee Corgi Ankle Socks
RRP. £3.50 at Topshop.

Adorable! I bought these. Couldn't resist.

Above:  Prêt-à-Portea – The Royal Collection. A Royal Treat!  Available until June 9th, biscuits, fancies and choux buns have been transformed to resemble the most memorable hats worn by the Royal Family - including Princess Beatrice's, now infamous, Philip Tracey facinator (a delicious praline profiterole!) 

£36.50 pp or £46.50 including a glass of Laurent Perrier Champagne at The Berkeley.

Have a WONDERFUL Jubileeeeee....

My London Style - Presenter Izzy Lawrence

Presenter, DJ and one of Britain’s most prestigious bloggers, Izzy Lawrence is set to sky rocket this year. If you haven’t already heard of this Bath born, Oxford educated, London based STUNNER yet, you soon will. Believe me. 

When Izzy Lawrence's personal blog came to the attention of the Grammy’s social media team in 2011, she was asked to be the official Fashion & Lifestyle Blogger for their awards. 30 million page views and several red carpet frocks later, Izzy was soon regularly blogging for LA radio station KCRW, presenting for Spotify and working as the official BRIT Awards blogger.  Her engaging presenting style and husky voice led Jonathan Ross to approach her to co-host his French Film Channel, Cinemoi, at the Cannes and BFI Film Festivals, whilst her video blogs were picked up by Hello, Grazia Daily and Nylon Magazine, leading to her becoming an Official Youtube partner.   And no, we’re so not done yet...

Izzy also runs her own monthly charity music night at Camden’s Hawley Arms  Apocalystick Acoustic (which Laura Marling, Squeeze, Jack Savoretti and the late, great Amy Winehouse have all played at).  She combines this with regular DJ residencies at several London hotspots whilst playing sets at London Fashion Week, in Val d’Isere during the winters and in Ibiza and popular festivals throughout the summers.  All of this in heels.

Amazingly, Izzy found the time to share with The London Chatter some of her stylish tips and advice... This girl doesn’t sleep.

My Style In 3 Little Words – Rock'n'Roll.

This Season Every Gal Needs – Apple green nail varnish - or maybe that is just me?! I saw a video with Santi White from Santigold wearing it and have been rocking it ever since.

My British Fashion Icon – Isabella Blow. Certain people have the charisma to pull off those sorts of accessories and she had bags of it. Also, Isabella had the ability to spot and nurture talented young designers including Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy.

My Favourite Highstreet Store – All Saints - I love their maxi dresses and leather jackets.

My Favourite Boutique – Cochinechine, or Wolf and Badger on Dover Street which showcases young designers. The concept of young designers renting space and customers buying from new talent is a clever entrepreneurial model. There is a pop up Wolf and Badger in Selfridges now as well.

My Favourite British Designer – Alice Temperley is definitely up there. I wore Temperley London for the Cannes red carpet last year and I'm pretty sure that Brad Pitt winked at me (or maybe that was in my mind...)

At Gunpoint; Bags OR Shoes – Shoes please!

My First Fashionista Memory – Trying on my grandmother's dresses and dancing around in her shoes - excellent training for the future!

My Saturday Night Outfit – If I am DJing then definitely a dress (my favourites are from Paul & Joe and Liz Black) worn with a leather jacket to dress it down.

My Sunday Brunch Outfit – My bright yellow Converse trainers with jeans and a T-shirt. I need to be comfy for brunch.

OMG I Can’t Believe I Wore – Dungarees.  They should be banned.  Banned.

Forget My Last Meal, My Last Outfit Would Be – An amazing Alexander McQueen dress. Or, the gorgeous Tom Ford dress and necklace that I tried on during a recent trip to LA.  It is rare that I dance in a changing room out of excitement.

My Style Tip – I love the quote from Coco Chanel, "In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."  I take from this that you should follow your instincts - they are unique and the trends don't matter.

The next Apocalypstick will on June 8th at The Hawley Arms pub in Camden with music from Nimmo & The Gauntlettes, Tallulah Rendal and from Sissi.

www.izzyfied.com
www.izzylawrence.com