buttons to you: @ ashish

You know how sometimes you're just so tired, so delirious (in a good way) you just can't shut your laptop off? I'm just going ramdomly thru some of my photos, and I'm getting drawn into each one.

For example: some random selections from the Ashish show. I can't believe it was only this morning (9:00. A.M.!): it seems like a lifetime time ago. I wasn't even planning on going and the next thing I knew, I was sitting front row center.



People who had seen his shows before knew what to expect (lots o'sequins in amazing patterns), but for me - who really just knew him by his fabulous leopard booties in that silhouette everyone wore last fall - this was just like following the rabbit thru the keyhole. I was just absolutely giddy with delight.

I think he's just such a genius that everyone expects so much from him. And he surprised them this time: while everyone else was doing crazy heights with heels, he kind of freaks them out with brogues. That's good: that's what the catwalk is all about. Shake it up, baby.



Going thru the shots now is like savouring the candy after trick o' treating, or presents at Christmas.. I think this might be my favourite show. Ever. I so get it about how this man thinks. And the styling... it's just how I've always dressed, when my mother, and now my husband, would look @ me and ask 'Are you really going out in that?'



Buttons. Brogues with baggy socks. Knitted caps & old men's bathrobes. Classic peasant costumes, with an acid twist. Patterns remniscent of Turkish kilim rugs. All in my favourite colours: turquoise of tropical waters, orange + pink. Graphic black + white, or muted tweeds in grey.



And the minute it was over, I overheard someone say: 'That was very wearable.' I guess it depends where one wears it. I wonder, for example, how that would go down in Spokane, Illinois. I, for one, would wear every item in this collection. In a heartbeat. I can't wait to show you more!!

That's it for the women, London A/W 2010. Tomorrow it's the boys, and then most people are on to Milan, then Paris. But for this London Correspondent, well I'm still buzzed from these intense, exhausting, exhilarating few days.

What a long, strange trip it's been.

style crusaders & their grannies

Just uploaded over 2000 shots. And I'm just posting one: Emerald, in her grandmother's vintage REAL leopard coat from the 1950s, and JENNIFER, the true Style Crusader, who is, as we speak, no longer a catwalk virgin: yes, cupcakes, she's been to her first catwalk show tonight @ 7:30. We had a long day, got stranded in Somerset House square outside in the freezing rain under a giant umbrella with a wonderful gaggle of blog girls and new BFFs, and I wanted to put this up to surprise her when she gets home to Oxford.

I just met her friend Emerald a few days ago, and we went to her first show together. Delightful girls. I've got a whole series of these shots and it was impossible to choose, so I just closed my eyes and picked one.

Oh! And here's a weird coincidence: Jen's boots are a gift - Christmas present I think? - from HER grandmother. So this is kind of a grandmother post, unintentionally

running in heels: a girl's guide to london fashion week

Apologies: I'm still posting Day One! I am so far behind. Just got in: cold, wet, starving, desperately in need of bubble bath.. (my beautiful, natural blond sister Amy, in Massachusetts, just emailed that I'd mentioned I was at fashion week, and said 'Are you in NY?' Read my blog, Amy, you'll figure out which city I'm in.)




Tonight I'm just posting random shots, this theme is kinda bold, kinda black, bits o' prints... I must admit I haven't shot any of the tons of leopard prints I've been seeing, as I'm saturated from shooting that all fall & winter, but trust me: I'm seeing some amazing leopard looks. I didn't even think of wearing my Motel Rocks leopard coat - which is my warmest - as I thought it was so last season but if it stays this cold, I'm definitely wearing it tomorrow.




Seeing lots of black leather (as I did in September) but the best looks are when it's balanced with something floaty, sheer, neutral, or nude.. like this vanilla top. Sorry, blouse. (I was just reading in the LFW daily paper: blouses are out, shirts are in.. can someone explain the difference please? Is it a Brit/Yank thing, like we call trousers pants and you think we're talking about our underwear?)



(Oh, I'm starting to soften my stance on harem pants). This is Rena, wearing Anna Angseryd of Made by Scandinavian. Which reminds me.. there was a clever piece in a London paper - Guardian perhaps? - that was a guide to how to dress for fashion week. I read it and I so disagree (sorry, but I do). She was saying things like 'you must wear killer heels..'



EVERYONE is wearing killer heels. You want to stand out? Wear normal, comfortable shoes. With attitude.



(Oh, that's another thing: they also said don't wear tights with dots, it's so last season. Oh, please).

Let me explain something: the entire Somerset House square is lined in cobblestones. As is the roads you need to run on to get to the various shows spread around Covent Garden. Running in heels isn't just tricky: it's potentially fatal. If you want to go for statement, height, platform is far more practical. As if practicality ever entered into fashion.



(btw: please - if you see yourself here - do let me know!)


Listen, I'm not kidding, ANYONE can come to London Fashion Week. So what if you don't have a ticket to a show: the best part, the people watching part, is FREE. The square at Somerset House is open to the public, you can even use the rest rooms.



You can see famous people going in & out of shows, and eat yummy crepes @ the silver Lavazza truck, or get a hot chocolate @ the Topshop truck..







And don't listen to those articles: truly, don't worry what you're wearing. This is the one place - unlike Tesco - where you can wear your flannel PJs and get away with it: someone will want to shoot you for their blog, and then everyone will start wearing flannel PJs. There's no wrong answer: to thine own self be true.

Just dress warm, put on your biggest smile, and be the star you know, deep down inside, you truly are.