LFW: DAY TWO

DAY TWO: Studded camo shirt, Zara

Just call me GI Barbie! Day two of LFW was another gloriously blue skied hot day and after yesterday, I learnt to go light on the layers - thank god because I've never been so hot as I have been at the Spijkers en Spijkers show. SWEAT BATH.

Anyway, after a morning of running around shows, Intern Harriet and I took a break from the madness and alighted to the Fashion Monitor Style Lounge at the Mayfair Hotel for a bit of R and R in the form of blow dries, drinks and snacks. As you can see from my photo, my hair was very, very curly afterwards. Looking at myself in the mirrors of the loos of the hotel spa, it suddenly occurred to me that this was what I imagined US Army Barbie would look like - leather shorts, camo and a really good blow dry. 

Worn with: leather shorts, Henry Holland; belt, Gap; boots and socks, Topshop; rucksack, Ruxx Bags; clutch, Christopher Kane; sunglasses, Kurt Geiger; necklaces, Nelly.com and Dorothy Perkins.

Accessories (right, top to bottom): green stone ring, Sushilla; silver rings, custom by my dad; skull ring, Daisy Knights; watch, Michael Kors; Beaded bracelet, Azuni.

BRIGHTS: DAY TWELVE

DAY TWELVE: Green box pleat skirt, JAM by Jameela Jamil

As part of the day job, I go to a lot of launches and press days to see new products, as you'll no doubt know if you follow me on twitter [@adulescent] or on Instagram [antoniaesque]. The other night, I popped down to Sketch to view the newest's collaboration for Very.co.uk from Jameela Jamil, called JAM.

This skirt is from that collection - what you can't see because of my t-shirt is the scalloped waistband on it, which gives a funny effect when my tee pushes through between the scallops. I probably shouldn't have worn it on such a windy day to be honest - I've been having plenty of near-misses all day. All I can say is THANK GOD I'm wearing opaque tights. Never thought I'd be saying that in mid-June and being happy about it. I was meant to head to the Menswear London Collection shows today but I've been bogged down by work so at least I don't have to run the windy gauntlet of skirt peril in front of people far cooler than me.

JAM by Jameela Jamil launches at Very.co.uk on June 21st

Worn with: grey tee, H&M; Necklaces, H&M; leather jacket, Topshop; Creepers, Underground; Wayfarers, Ray-Ban.

BRIGHTS: DAY TEN

DAY TEN: Green spotty silk scarf, Marni at H&M

I'm getting really, really bored of the rain. And the cold. And the wind. Not only is it messing with my hair, it is seriously starting to mess with my best laid wardrobe plans. I should be frolicking somewhere in technicolour, instead I'm drawn back to the monochrome ways of winter. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was October.

Everything that I've bought for the season has so far had one or maybe two outings if it's been lucky. There are sandals sitting in boxes in my wardrobe, untouched. This makes me monumentally sad.

I'm doing my utmost to cheer myself up with clashing patterns and colours but I'm not sure if it's working. This scarf is from the Marni at H&M collection from a while ago - this particular one was a gift from the PR team at the press viewing of the collection, I never saw the green one in-store on my morning of shopping madness but then again, I had my eyes firmly on the prize. Or rather, my shopping list.

Worn with: Neon stripe tee, Giles at New Look (menswear); sad face.

BRIGHTS: DAY FIVE

DAY FIVE: Green chino shorts, Dorothy Perkins

On Friday, I popped to town super early to hit up the Links of London clearance sale and on my way back to the station, with a few minutes spare I thought I would pop into good old DP for a quick nosy as I was having one of those outfit fail days. I'd been thinking about brightly coloured shorts as a summer staple for a while so when I clapped eyes on these bright green numbers, I knew I was onto a winner.

I'm much more of a shorts than skirt kinda girl as I like to be able to roll around (sometimes literally) on the floor of the fashion cupboard without feeling like I'm going to traumatise the work experience girls by flashing things that I shouldn't, ditto for riding on the tube in the ridiculous heat, so shorts are my go-to item each and every time it gets hot.

The bonus of these is that they're also not bum skimmers. There is no way I could walk through the newsroom unscathed if I had a buttcheek or two hanging out - the slightly longer style means that when paired with the right kind of top like this shirt, I can just about get away with these in a work environment.

Saying that, I've been sitting at my desk all day so deepest apologies for my rumpled state in this photo. Must steam myself next time before I get my photo taken! Must also lose at least a stone if my knees are going to carry on insisting that they're made of dough.

You can buy these green wonders [here] for a very reasonable £18, I've also got my eyes on the multitude of other colours that they come in - peach, lemon, navy and purple. Summer staple number one, officially in the bag!

Worn with: skull button shirt, Zara; belt, Gap; studded sunglasses, Valentino.

TRANSITION: DAY TWENTY SEVEN

DAY TWENTY SEVEN: Mint green skinnies, Peacocks


With my irrational hatred of pastels, I never thought the day would come that I would find myself in a pair of mint green skinnies but this pair from Peacocks entered my wardrobe very sneakily. The lovely girls at ZPR sent me a pair just before Christmas and they hung out (literally) on my rail for months until Friday when I was having a bit of a tidy as new batches of samples came in and found them. Suddenly, the thought of wearing mint green had an inexplicable appeal for me, maybe it's the fact that I've done so many pastel themed things this year that they have entered my fashion radar simply by osmosis. Or maybe not. Of course, I'm still wearing them with a palette of monochrome but it's all about baby steps. Maybe by the end of the year I'll be colour blocking head-to-toe in fondants. And maybe pigs might fly.


Sadly, the Peacocks website is currently down so I can't link to a purchase but you should still be able to pick up a pair in your local store for only £16. I liked the cut of these so much I bought a pair in cobalt blue too. 


Worn with: waffle sweater, Gap; Breton tee & necklace, H&M; grey bag, Jaeger; slip-ons, Converse; Wayfarers, Ray-Ban.

TRANSITION: DAY TWENTY TWO

DAY TWENTY TWO: Printed tee, Miss Selfridge


So, the great battle of the British weather continues. My daily routine seems to go: wake up to blue skies, realise that the temperature's still single digits and then by mid-afternoon get attacked by the rain. All of the spring/summer stuff that I'd started wearing is firmly back in the wardrobe until the temperatures pick up because this certainly isn't Miami.


However, never one to admit defeat, I am trying to pretend that the office is a tropical paradise by wearing this really, really colourful tee from Miss Selfridge. I'm not usually one for such full on prints if they're not on trousers but I am however sucker for both leopard print and palm trees. So bam, SOLD.


I had a hard time deciding whether to choose this purple/blue/green colourway or the slightly brighter pink/orange/yellow but the darker hues won out this time. You can get the colourway I'm wearing [here] or the pink version [here], each for £24.


Roll on, summer.


Worn with: grey skinnies, Topshop; Tortoiseshell Wayfarers, Ray-Ban.

TRANSITION: DAY EIGHT

DAY EIGHT: Trench coat, The Kooples


I have been itching to wear this coat since I bought it just before christmas when I was out during my annual shopping trip with my favourite credit-card-basher Katrina, who was over from Canada. We were about to leave Westfield when I suddenly noticed The Kooples store had opened and went for a quick nosy. Twenty minutes later and serious credit card bashing later (even with 50% off in the sale), I walked about with this beauty, as did Katrina. I'd been looking for a good trench for a while and I wanted something that was a little bit quirkier than your average beige cotton number so this fitted the bill perfectly with the leather, quilting details and the removable sheepskin collar.


It's quite thin and as I bought it in a size 8, it doesn't really accommodate anything chunkier than a fine knit, as I found out during fashion week when I tried to wear my waffle jumper underneath it - I looked like a rather uncomfortable version of the Michelin man for the day.


But spring looks like it is on the verge of, well, springing so I eagerly threw it on this morning. Might have been a bit premature as there's still definitely a bite in the air so the collar will be staying on for a while.


Here's a better shot of the details:

Worn with: grey cashmere sweater, Gap; Spotted trousers, Topshop; Black quilted pumps, Office; Necklace, Nocturne; Folding Wayfarers, Ray-Ban.

TRANSITION: DAY FOUR

I have been obsessed with the Marni at H&M collection since word first hit my inbox and after seeing the collection in the flesh at their press day just after LFW, I decided that I would need to form a plan of action to get my hands on a couple of key pieces. When the #BeatMarniQueue competition appeared on twitter the other week, I quickly entered and as usual, promptly forgot about it. So imagine my delight when I got a tweet back a few days ago to tell me that I'd won a pre-shop slot at the Oxford Street West store. Literally, I almost fell off my chair with excitement as this meant two things:

1. I did not have to get up at 5am and stand in the cold to queue

2. I would have the whole area to myself and none of the stress of having to fight someone over the last necklace/dress/shoes

So, I set about making my list and taking orders from the rest of the fashion team, amassing quite the list in the process.

Here's the Marni section after I'd politely ransacked it and as I waited to reach a final total:

And afterwards, with my purchases:

My favourite piece, the one that I tweeted about and led to me winning the competition, was this necklace:

I'll post more photos of my purchases when I get the chance, I have to leave everything at work tonight as I'm off to see Florence + The Machine tonight.

BEST. DAY. EVER.

Worn with: grey print tee, H&M

AUTUMN: DAY TWENTY FIVE

DAY TWENTY FOUR: Blue and green palm print sweater, Versace x H&M

So, unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you'll no doubt be aware of the Versace X H&M collaboration that has been whipping the fashion world into a veritable neon leopard print frenzy for the last few months. Originally, I really wasn't that fussed - sure it's great but I draw the line at having to queue overnight to get my hands on a dress. It just so happened that I was in town yesterday morning for a breakfast meeting and on my way to run another errand, I thought I would nip in to a few stores and see how the collection looked.

I didn't even bother with the flagship on Regent Street, having seen the queues that snaked down and round the corner to the Courthouse Hotel. Instead I headed to the store opposite Bond Street tube station, which was also ridiculous - clothes flung everywhere, queues and I swear I saw two girls wrestling over something sequined.

Giving up, I headed to Selfridges where the queues were much smaller and you didn't even need a wrist band to get into the menswear section which worked well for me - the tills were also located there so in order to pay, you had to make the passage through, where inevitably a lot of women changed their minds about their purchases and flung stuff back onto the rails so I got some pretty decent pieces of womenswear - expect them to drop on the blog over the next few days in some way, shape or form.

Saying that, this sweater is actually from the menswear collection - I had planned on wearing it as a dress but since it's ever so slightly too short, I teamed it with my neon pink Boutique by Jaeger skirt for a real Miami vibe.

Just call me Donatella.

Worn with: Pink neon skirt, Boutique by Jaeger; pink neon belt, Marks & Spencer; Gold chain, Vintage; Gold brogues, Office.

AUTUMN: DAY FOURTEEN

DAY FOURTEEN: Polka dot trousers, Topshop

When I first came across these trousers, I was convinced that they would not be flattering in the least but there is something magical about them. I don't know what it is but the second I put them on, I felt like I'd lost half a stone and hence they came straight home with me. Sadly, they've since sold out but River Island are doing a pair of jeans that are incredibly similar [here] and for a fraction of the price of the Topshop pair. I'm tempted to buy them in the black-on-black version [here]

Worn with: Latin tee, Marc by Marc Jacobs; necklace, Freedom Premium; polka dot pochette, Aryn K; nude pumps, Office; Sunglasses, Ray-Ban.

SUNGLASSES: DAY TWENTY EIGHT

DAY TWENTY EIGHT: Dark green sunglasses, Topshop

Apologies for the lateness of yesterday’s post (again), it was another busy day of packing for our trip to Rye. In fact, this post is actually coming live from the car. These forest green graduated beauties are great for hiding a hangover, which they most definitely did on Sunday. Their square-ish shape is also über flattering if you have a big ole face like mine!

Worn with: Grey sweatpants, Topshop; White ribbed vest, Topshop; Blue metallic espadrilles, Penelope Chilvers; Grey UFO scarf, Unique.

SUNGLASSES: DAY TWENTY FIVE

DAY TWENTY FIVE: Green retro sunglasses, Topshop

The sun’s shining which has definitely lifted my mood, although you wouldn’t know it from my grumpy face in the photo above (I was just about to go back into the office after lunch). I decided to move away from my usual monochrome uniform and try to embrace a little more colour, with these mint green sunnies from Topshop.

Although I wear a lot of black (even my floral playsuit today is black), I like to add a little pop of colour in the form of sunglasses, hence my extensive collection of colourful frames. I can’t help noticing that my head looks really, really square in that photo, I might need to reshoot for my own vanity. Meh.

Worn with: Black floral playsuit, H! by Henry Holland; Denim jacket, Abercrombie & Fitch; Cream and navy quilted pumps, Office; Yellow satchel, Asos; Ant necklace, Links of London.

SUNGLASSES: DAY TEN

DAY TEN: Green plastic aviators, New Look

Another day, yet another pair of aviator sunglasses. I had my suspected tonsilitis confirmed this morning by my GP, so I won’t be making an appearance on here until I’m no longer contagious/stop looking like I got run over by a truck. Whichever comes first.

I picked these up a few weeks ago as I dragged The Boyfriend around New Look in order to get him a new holiday wardrobe… and ended up getting these for myself on the men’s floor. They come in an array of rainbow colours - as they’re only eight quid, I also wanted the purple, red and yellow until The Boyfriend pointed out that I already have two pairs of yellow aviators and really do not need a third pair.

Worn with: Grey jeans, Uniqlo; Grey sweatshirt, Gap; Leopard-print scarf, Marks & Spencer