LBD X LFW DAY FIVE

DAY FIVE: LONG SLEEVE FASCIENNE DRESS, SCARLETT BLACK

Day five has come around all too quickly and with it, my final day of the LBD challenge. For the occasion, I saved one of the best til last - the long sleeved fascienne dress from Scarlett Black. I have a small obsession with leather detailing (I own too many leather sleeved coats, tops and pairs of trousers to count), so this dress jumped straight out at me when I was browsing the site.

While it's been sunny today there's very much a February chill still in the air so I was really glad of the sleeves! I wanted to keep this outfit really simple as I love the structured panels of this dress which give it a really, solid substantial feel. While its very different in style to yesterday's Peter Pan collar and flouncy skirt number from Fount, it still definitely has a 60s vibe with the slight A-line to the skirt so I added a Jaeger silk shirt underneath that I picked up in the sales (down from £175 to £48 - bargain!) which contrasted nicely with the simpleness of the dress and replaced any need to bling necklaces today.

Now, let's talk about pockets. Pockets are definitely one of the things I have missed during this challenge - I always keep my phone, security pass, change and god knows what else about my person so all through London Fashion Week I've been rootling around in my handbags for errant items. It's lovely to be able to shove all of my bits and pieces into the substantial pockets of this dress and indeed my hands when I've been standing in the cold queues outside shows waiting to go in. 

So, has this tomboy been converted to frocks? Quite possibly. I have loved the ease of rolling out of bed each morning and throwing on a black dress and opaques and suddenly being dressed. And funnily, a lot of people who I've caught up with over the last five days have enquired as to whether I've lost weight - so there's a definite slimming effect! Who knows, I might need to pursue this for a full edition of Thirty Days!

So, over to you guys: which has been your favourite dress from my LBD x LFW challenge? Leave a comment here or tweet me @adulescent and the team from LittleBlackDress.co.uk @teamLBD and let us know!

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.

BANK HOLIDAY LAYERS

DAYS SIXTEEN, SEVENTEEN & EIGHTEEN: Yellow dress, H&M; Blue clutch, Clare Vivier for Shopbop.com; Khaki cape, Zara.

So I'm cheating and using one outfit for three days but I figured that since this bank holiday weekend has had what can only be described as mercurial weather, I should tackle the art of layers. After Saturday was a virtually constant barrage of monsoon-like rains, heading out on what was meant to be a sunny Sunday, I wasn't taking any chances and I figured I could cover every eventuality with layers.

So, first up - base layer of a dress. I bought this shirt dress from H&M last year - its the same shape that they do every year and for some reason, last year I bought it in yellow with little heart polka dots all over it. If ever there was an item that was SO not me, this was it - girly, fitted and yellow. For those precise reasons, it has spent the last year hanging in my wardrobe until today when I suddenly decided that today was the day for its inaugural outing when teamed with layer two.

Layer two is my new grey jumper (because I clearly do not have enough of those yet) from Sparkle & Fade [here] that I picked up in the sale the other night. The difference with this one is that it has massive layered keyhole cutouts on the back so when you wear it, there's a not-unpleasant breeze circulating around.

I topped off with my new-ish Zara lightweight cape [here] - it has the biggest hood I've ever seen. While it might not be that warm, I knew it would keep me dry in a sudden downpour plus if I suddenly grew an extra head, I could live comfortably with the knowledge that my extra cranium would stay dry. Later in the year, I figure I'll layer it over my biker jacket for a leather/canvas contrast.

Finally, for a pop of colour, I added this Clare Vivier clutch from Shopbop [here]. I've had it for a while but I've only recently started carrying clutches during the day largely because I like to be hands-free but I really love the bright, cobalt blue. It's meant to be worn as a fold-over clutch but I far prefer carrying it as a slouchy pouch. Plus it fits way more stuff in that way and I don't like travelling light.

Detail shots tomorrow.

Worn with: sunglasses, Kurt Geiger; watch, Michael Kors; ring, Daisy Knights; shoes, Converse.

TRANSITION: DAY TWENTY EIGHT

DAY TWENTY EIGHT: Oversized shirt, Asos

Apologies for the lack of post the last few days, I have been somewhat overwhelmed with my regular work life (it's press day season) which means that rather than sitting at my desk, I have been running around town looking at what brands have to offer for next season. If you follow me on twitter [@adulescent], you'll have seen my favourite pieces from my rounds.

Yesterday was another one of those days of appointments, not helped by the fact that the rain was absolutely hammering down and there were gale force winds battering us from every angle.  I've taken to the belief that the wetter it is, the more important it is to wear as little as possible on your bottom half (avoiding backsplash and puddles) and as many thin layers as possible on the top half - there is nothing worse than overheating in a chunky jumper that you can't take off.

I've had this oversized white shirt from Asos kicking around in my wardrobe for a while but somehow, I couldn't find the right way to wear it until I came across my Versace for H&M palm print jumper and suddenly, inspiration struck. Two thin layers would fit under my coat, keep me warm against the wintery conditions and stop me from sweating the second I dived in to various venues across town on my missions.

The shirt in all it's oversized glory is still available on Asos for a very reasonable £25 [here].

Worn with: Palm print men's sweater, Versace for H&M; Leather shorts, H! by Henry Holland; Creepers, Underground London; Trench, The Kooples; Aviators, Ray-Ban.

AUTUMN: DAY TWENTY SEVEN

DAY TWENTY SEVEN: Sheer leopard print shirt, New Look


Sorry, I've been really quite rubbish at updating recently. Pre-christmas is always a little manic in our department and when you throw in moving floors to the mix, it's the equivalent of dynamite - it blew apart all of my carefully made plans.


Anyway, on with the show - last week, the lovely team from Instinct PR took me to see the Decades show at Proud Cabaret. I figured I should probably vamp up a little bit and I figured what better than a sheer leopard print shirt? A good thing about it is that even though it's sheer, the pattern means that you're not totally exposed - you can see my bra if you stare quite intently at my chest, which for the purposes of this experiment I will allow just this once.


Worn with: Leather shorts, H! by Henry Holland; Rivet belt, Asos; Airplaine necklace, NW3.