LFW: DAY FIVE

DAY FIVE: Wine and navy oversized sweater, Brave Soul at Own The Runway

The temperature dropped for day five so it was back to the chunky knits and I finally got the chance to wear my new Zara coat that I bought in Poland in July (yes, July). While I thought I would be too hot in this outfit when I left the house, I actually regretted not taking my scarf as there was a chilly wind whipping around Somerset House today. My fashion flu abated enough to allow me to swap trousers for my navy silk dress which paired pretty well with this jumper that the lovely ladies at Own The Runway kindly sent me. It looks like it's knitted from tiny ribbons rather than wool, ergo its super soft and snuggly - perfect for the cooler climes of today!

While I'm sad to say goodbye to London Fashion Week for another season, I'm really quite looking forward to getting back to normal - eating lunch at a reasonable hour rather than 4pm, not spending inordinate amounts of time queuing and sitting on chairs with backs to mention just a few things!

Don't forget, you can see all of the photos that I took for Rimmel London Australia over on their Instagram - RimmelLondonAU and hopefully in a future issue of Grazia Australia! If you're reading this over in Oz, I'm actually in this week's issue so keep an eye out...

Goodbye London Fashion Week!

Worn with: black boucle coat, Zara; silk dress, Topshop Boutique; boots, Topshop; clutch, Christopher Kane; sunglasses, Kurt Geiger; necklace, Nocturne; rucksack, Ruxx Bags.

CONSCIOUS CLOTH

I'm back. Already. Has too much time passed to carry on with Brights? I don't know, you tell me in the comments box. Should I carry on? In all honesty, with the wash out summer that we've had in London, it's got me firmly wired into thinking about my Autumn/Winter wardrobe.

As part of my job, I'm always doing the rounds at press days, seeing what each brand will be producing for the following seasons. It can mess with your head a little bit, especially Christmas press days in July - there is something intrinsically wrong about eating mince pies in the sun.

Anyway, sometimes a brand does personal orders - where you can order pieces at the press day and then receive them at the beginning of the season. This is dangerous for several reasons:

1. Lost on a giddy cloud of stroking next season's finest, you can't possibly live without that coat/skirt/pair of shoes. YOU MUST ORDER THEM NOW.

2. Said giddy cloud means that you end up ordering everything when really you should be ordering one or two pieces. Max.

3. Not having to pay when you place the order means that you feel like you're not really shopping. The bill that comes later seems like a distant spike in your giddy cloud of happiness. But trust me, when it hits you in the face (and the pocket), it hurts.

Having learnt my lesson and despite being surrounded by the most gorgeous cashmeres and cottons at the Chinti & Parker AW12 press day a few months ago, I had to reign it in. Part of my New Year's Resolution package was to buy less but buy better so I would rather spend more money on one item that's well made and will stand the test of time than three cheap versions that fall apart after one wash. And Chinti & Parker certainly fit this bill, with each of the garments that they produce they aspire to fulfill three of the following criteria:

* Organic Fabric
* Carbon Neutral Company
* Made in the EU
* Handfinished
* Natural Trims

Anyway, back to what I bought. As sucked in as I was by virtually EVERYTHING, I decided that I would only choose one piece, so drumroll please...

I went for the boatneck striped sweater in Italian cashmere [here]. I mean, come on, it has three things I love: stripes, elbow patches and GREY. There was no way I could resist the soft, cashmere-y goodness of this sweater. 

And when my boyfriend asks, I'll tell him it's an investment piece. Right?

Worn with: floral dress, Reformed at Urban Outfitters; watch, Michael Kors; aviators, Ray-Ban; plimsolls, Converse.

Photos: Caroline Leeming

BRIGHTS: DAY NINE

DAY NINE: Spray-paint cable knit sweater, H&M

I have come to the conclusion that I have an addiction. An addiction to Swedish fast fashion. Recently there have been several additions to my wardrobe from H&M, one of the most worn has got to be this highlighter coral spray-painted sweater. 

It feels wrong to be talking about knitwear in June but I have become oddly addicted to wearing this particular piece in this cold weather - it seems to cheer me up in this never-ending grey weather. The first time I wore it, some kids from the local stage school actually pointed and laughed but then, they think Uggs are the height of fashion so I'll let it go. There's still quite a few of these neon wonders hanging around in the Regent' Street store but I can't imagine they'll be there much longer. I'm already planning my own DIY neon orange or yellow version with an old jumper and some spray paint in the near future.

Worn with: grey skinnies, Topshop; white canvas plimsolls, Converse; studded sunglasses, Valentino.

BRIGHTS: DAY EIGHT

DAY EIGHT: Navy and red striped jumper, Boutique by Jaeger

Happy Jubilee! Sorry for my absence for the last few days, apart from shooting on Thursday, I was at Epsom on Friday helping to pick contestants for the style competition with WhatBestToWear.com which was great fun - I'd never been to the races before so it was a really fun experience.

So, technically, this jumper may not be classified as bright seeing as the base colour is navy but let's just play along and go with the red stripes as a bright today in honour of the Queen's Jubilee yes? I picked up this jumper a few weeks ago in the Jaeger flagship - while the sale has yet to kick in fully, they had a few items already on sale, including this jumper, down from £99 to £75, you can still get it online [here].

While we haven't been anywhere near the Thames today, we have been toasting the Queen (repeatedly) in the pub. Even Holly the sausage has got in on the act, wearing her Union Jack jumper.

Worn with: khaki skinny jeans, Topshop; Union Jack socks, Marks & Spencer; Black canvas high-tops, Converse.

Holly wears: Union Jack LOVE jumper, Monsoon.

TRANSITION: DAY NINETEEN

DAY NINETEEN: Blue striped knit, River Island

The sun came out again on Sunday, so to celebrate the the last few hours of glorious weather before it all goes downhill this week - I mean, snowing at Easter? You've got to be kidding me - I whipped out another purchase from my night of influenced shopping last week. Again, another pastel. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME??

I don't know how it happened but not only was I wearing pastels again, I'd somehow ended up wearing more colour than I ever have - pink chinos, the blue sweater and a yellow bag. My multi-hued look definitely got some stares as we pottered around the park.

Worn with: pink chinos, Zara; grey vest, American Apparel; Yellow satchel, Asos; tortoiseshell Wayfarers, Ray-Ban.

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 TWENTY THREE

DAY TWENTY THREE: Wool and leather sle­eve poncho, H&M

I don’t know what I was thinking putting on a wool poncho the day that our department had to move our fashion cupboard, I really don’t. However, I was so excited to have finally got my hands on it that I think I would’ve worn it even if it was 30˚C. I’ve been after it ever since Jackie Dixon of Show Me Your Wardrobe appeared in The Daily during LFW wearing it. I have stalked various branches until the other day, early for an appointment, I ducked into the giant Regent Street flagship – lo and behold, there it was, just one size small left. Hurrah!

So, while it was a sad day saying goodbye to our cupboard, at least I got a little joy from my purchase.

Worn with: denim shorts, Zara; Studded toe boots, Stuart Weitzman; Breton tee, Day Birger et Mikkelson

AUTUMN: DAY ELEVEN

DAY ELEVEN: Hot pink chunky knit, Zara

During the menswear day of LFW, I had a little time to kill between shows and somehow, I ended up in Zara where I came across a fluorescent pink chunky knit. Now, those of you who've been reading for a while will know that earlier in the year, I decided to step out of my monochrome comfort zone and into colour. Needless to say, despite my best efforts, over time I have once again scuttled back to my black-and-white box.

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation or the food deprivation oh so common during fashion week, but suddenly I found myself unable to leave the shop without this jumper. And since then, I have worn it so often, it has become my best cost-per-wear purchase of the season. I call it my I-don't-wear-pink pink jumper, as seen here as Simona and I traipsed around the Albert Docks of Liverpool:

Worn with: grey skinny jeans, Miss Selfridge; Leopard print scarf, Louis Vuitton; Studded boots, ASH; Leather bag, Jaeger; Wayfarer sunglasses, Ray-Ban.