Archive By Alexa Chung

The klaxons for London’s SS’16 Fashion Week were sounded by Alexa Chung, kicking off proceedings at a party hosted by the British Fashion Council to celebrate her latest design collaboration with Marks & Spencer.  The 31-piece collection, inspired by the brand’s past designs from the 1940’s through to the 1980’s, features wide-leg trousers, mini dresses, a trench coat and THAT ruffle-necked shirt (seen in the promo shot above) that will more than likely cause in-store customer casualties upon it’s Spring release. 

With full access granted to the high street store’s vast 70,000 items deep archive, Alexa has reimagined previously popular classic designs with new colourways and modern fabrications. With a distinctive and internationally recognised style, Alexa, “pulled from stored garments, in-house magazines and TV adverts from various points in the history of Marks & Spencer to create the collection that I believe looks every bit as relevant today as it did then."

The range, launching in April, will cost between £19.50 - £89.00, with the most expensive item being the trench coat which Alexa herself wore to the event, and which I have my eye firmly on!

Below:  Featured in the Evening Standard, accessorising my off the shoulder Marks and Spencer shirt, with stacking rings from Gemporia and a yellow gold Boundary Necklace from Georgina Boyce Fine Jewellery.  My fish tail plait was created by the fabulous Tatiana Karelina (33 Holland Street, London, W8).

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Aerin Beauty's Mediterranean Honeysuckle

What better way to encourage Spring along, than over a randomly sunny afternoon spent surrounded by heavenly blooms, a gaggle of gorgeous gals and a feast to celebrate Aerin Beauty's new fragrance.  Fashion Me Now’s Lucy Williams (below) recently invited me to one of my favourite restaurants, Petersham Nurseries, where over the most delicious of lunches, I was introduced to  ‘Mediterranean Honeysuckle.’  With hints of jasmine, grapefruit, Italian bergamot, lily of the valley and mandarin oil, to name just a few, the scent evokes sun-drenched afternoons whiled away on the beach, and alongside the spoiling Prosecco jelly, we all felt quite transported... even if only for an indulgent couple of hours!  Thank you Lucy!

Above:  With Missoma's Marissa Horden, Lucy Williams and Stylonylon's Julia Rebaudo.

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TLC LOVES.... Aerin Beauty's Mediterranean Honeysuckle


L.K. Bennett x Bionda Castana

Usually taking my slippers off in the morning is a real struggle... However, when I have a brand new pair of graphic checkered Bionda Castana for L.K. Bennett heels to tap around in, they were thrown off with wild abandon.  Lloyd meanwhile, had her eyes firmly fixed on the shoe box prize;  a win win all round! 

In what I believe to be the dreamiest of spring collaborations, celebrity-favourite Bionda Castana have created a gorgeous collection of limited edition shoes with high street fave L.K. Bennett, and every pair is just, simply put, lovely.  With three differing heel heights, the twenty-piece line up of shoes designed by the two British brands, featuring gorgeous lace-up and scallop designs, are elegant, yet ultimately playful.  Predicatably, the collection, offering our tootsies a little every day luxury, is flllllying off the shelves.

Everything about the Bionda Castana for L.K. Bennett lunch at Mark’s Club, in celebration of the collaboration, was beautiful; the shoes, the flowers, the David Gandy… 

Above (L-R) Clockwise:  David Gandy and Erin O'Connor, and Bionda Castana designers Jennifer Portman and Natalia Barbieri.  Below: With Laura Jackson, both in L.K. Bennett (hover for links).

TLC LOVES... Bionda Castana for L.K. Bennett

Mother's Day Gift Guide 2016

I never thought I would ever find myself on a Monday evening flower arranging with some fellow bloggers, let alone actually enjoy it as much as I did.  I was invited by Bloom & Wild (the through the letter box florist I’ve come to depend on for gifts) to Hobbs in Covent Garden, for a specialist flower arranging workshop ahead of Mother’s Day this weekend.  Now, not usually one to blow my own trumpet, but c’moonnnnnn… HOW beautiful is my bouquet?! (*I shall now available for weddings and bar mitzvahs, naturally…)  

As my Mother lives in Africa, she will have to make do with this photograph of the flowers that shoulda-woulda-coulda have been hers (but are instead are sitting looking heavenly in my flat!) but you and your mum can attend the workshop on Sunday yourselves by booking tickets HERE.

For some extra spoiling for your Mummy dearest/beautiful Baby Mama, hover over the items below...

HAWT: Alicia Vikander in Louis Vuitton at the 2016 Oscars

Hawt = A late 1940's and early 1950's acronym for "Having A Wonderful Time."
Now the word is used on the internet as slang for something reeeeally hot.

You know it’s been a good day when the only person to upstage your amazing dress is… well, yourself, merely a few hours later!  Not only did Best Supporting actress Alicia Vikander win the biggest red carpet high five of the day in her dusty yellow Louis Vuitton gown, but later that night at the Vanity Fair party, the beauty’s sequinned, black Louis Vuitton dress saw no real competition.  Congratulations Alicia!

Banana Republic's Pants for Every Body

Having recently unveiled their range of new trouser styles for the upcoming sunny season (the Ryan, the Sloan, the Avery and the Logan) Banana Republic feels confident that at least one of these versatile designs will be your perfect fit/NBF.  With the trousers differing in both shape and fabric, once you have decided on your favourite pair, you can stock up on the style in a variety of different colours and prints – Spring sorted!

I quickly decided that the cropped, skinny Sloan was the one for me; a comfortable and uncomplicated design I could easily see myself styling up or down, situation dependent.  I was happy, although unsurprised, to find a pair in my beloved khaki, as historically, Banana Republic love safari inspired separates just as much as me!  This brilliantly adaptable colour works just as well in the city as it does in the African bush, and I decided to pair these Sloans with a variety of less conservative, colour-popping accents and flirty fun pieces which I felt would take my new trews from daytime to nighttime in mere seconds.  The go-to LBD has some serious competition!

Below:  With a quick change of top, shoes and accessories, my Sloans and I are evening ready...

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Photography:  Ella Sadika

Created in collaboration with BANANA REPUBLIC.


Hello There: Rose Rankin

Since becoming the loud and proud owner of the above cool cats (Cheetah Simmy Mid-Top Sneakers RRP. £169.00) I’m obsessing over all Rose Rankin’s trainers.  A veritable high five for your feet, these handmade, colour popping sneaks come in an array of metallics and animal prints, and as I'm all too aware now, one pair is simply not enough for anyone's wardrobe.  Dangerously collectable, and just so much fun, the Velvet Colt Runners (RRP. £169.00) are firmly next on my hit list!

So forgetting double denim... is double leopard too much?! #YouCanTakeTheGirlOuttaAfrica...

TOMS Traveller Sunglasses: #OneForOne

I am so proud to have been chosen as an ambassador for TOMS Traveller Sunglasses.  I have always been totally inspired by this brand’s ‘One for One’ ethos and the incredible impact their ‘Buy To Give’ model has made across the world over the last 10 years.  

Just like their successful shoe model (where each purchase of a pair provides shoes for people in need), each sale of a pair of TOMS stylish sunglasses directly helps the visually impaired in developing countries, providing desperately needed prescription glasses or sight-saving surgery.  Founder and CEO of TOMS Blake Mycoskie has said, "sight is a fundamental need. The loss of sight has a dramatic impact on a person's life -- and on his or her family and community." 

I love these matte nude Traveller By TOMS Sunglasses (RRP. £59.99) and I love them even more knowing how wearing them has given the gift of sight to someone in need.  See the rest of the range HERE

Credit Buy: Charlotte Olympia for Agent Provocateur's Cat Nap Leopard Print Set

Charlotte Olympia’s recent, sultry collaboration with Agent Provocateur is nothing short of a match made in heaven.  The ultra feminine and playful collection includes several sexy lingerie sets and three pairs of sky-high, platform shoes, but it’s this wildly chic, Cat Nap Leopard Print Set that I want to get my little claws into…!  

The slippers... The eye mask... The coordinating silk satin pouch... This is what real dreams are made of (or should be!)  RRP. £395.00

See the whole COxAP collection HERE.

 

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HEADS UP:  This purrrrrfect set of three APxCO knickers will be joining the current collection and hitting stores from April. As a loud and proud crazy cat lady, I will almost certainly need these in my life! 

Celebrating Matthew Williamson's Amazonia Collection

Last week I attended a dinner at Matthew Williamson’s Queen’s Park Studio for a dinner to celebrate his new Amazonian-themed collection. Well, I say dinner but it was certainly more of a tropical extravaganza. Hosted by Matthew’s right-hand girls (and party planner extraordinaires) Rosanna Falconer and Georgie Macintyre.  In the company of three parrots (yup, not even kidding) and a flurry of exotically dressed guests, I was served a delicious Balthazar London feast and waaaay too many glasses of NYEtimber bubbles amongst various wild and feathered figurines surrounding my plate! We were then adorably spoiled with mini meringue pies and jelly snakes served alongside our mint drunk from elegant vintage crockery.

The collection, inspired by the Amazon and the spiritual revelations and awakenings reportedly experienced from consuming ayahuasca, the enlightening drug shamans have used for centuries as a window into the soul and cure for illness and depression.  The typically vibrant Matthew Williamson prints contain beetles, monkeys, snakes and a lot of stunning, tropical flowers; mood lifting indeed!

TLC Loves Matthew Williamson's Amazonia Collection...

Above (L-R) Clockwise:  Raspberry Jungle Bloom Silk Chiffon Gathered Gown (RRP. £950.00)Mint Jungle Bloom Embroidered Flare Dress (RRP. £795.00)Raspberry Mother Amazon Silk Slip Dress (RRP. £295.00), Jungle Bloom Embroidered Halter Gown (RRP. £2,295.00)Lemon Jungle Bloom Silk Chiffon Gathered Gown (RRP. £950.00).  See the rest of the Amazonia Collection HERE.

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