After nearly a decade of long hair, I finally took the plunge and went for the chop. Thankfully, I think the new crop does just what I hoped it would - it makes me look like a grown up, and a rather sophisticated one at that, if I do say so myself. The lovely Spencer at Trevor Sorbie Brighton (pronounced Sorbee, rather than Sorbet I'm told) is to thank for the new do.
Before After In-between the steady snips and blow-dry blasts, Spencer told me that several of the salon's clients have been in for restyles over the past month, due to the change in season and the fact that many just don't get chance to get to the hairdressers in the school holidays. Many customers are asking for soft perms and waves, he said, predicting that the most popular Christmas party style this year is going to be big hair - blow dried, backcombed and curled. Time to invest in some super-strength hairspray...
There's no better time to bring out those midi and maxi dresses and skirts than on a summer holiday abroad, when wind and rain are less likely to ruin that Seventies glamour-puss look. So, making the most of the weather, I wore little else on my recent jaunt to Turkey.
Midi and maxi lengths are perfect for that late twenties-mid-thirties age range, which means these pieces will no doubt become holiday staples for years to come. Curve-skimming and pin-covering, they're also pretty handy if you want to over-indulge or hide any embarrassing sunburn.
Dress - Primark, clog sandals - Swedish Hasbeens x H&M
Ribbed top - Primark, floral skirt - vintage via Etsy.com, tan sandals - Clarks
Maxi dress - Fashion Against Aids at H&M, black flats - Terra Plana
Some trends are interesting, exciting even, on the catwalk, but in the harsh reality of the high street strip lights makes me glad that I'm not a slave to fashion.
Rosa Cha, Sao Paulo, SS11
When trend-forecasters Mudpie proclaimed that neoprene, the fabric used for wetsuits, would be turning up on the high street in spring/summer 2012, I just couldn't imagine it.
“‘Water Footprint’ examines the delicate ecosystems beneath the ocean, the value of hydro-energy and the benefits of a coastal existence,” they wrote of the emerging trend earlier this year. “Neoprene becomes a fashion fabric for skirts, shorts, ballet pumps and beach bags for a casual “surfer chic” look.
“Body-con jerseys featuring hyper-ethnic prints provide a refined wetsuit identity , while body-contouring seams display a more obvious reflection of the theme.”
Wetsuits in the city? Ridiculous, I thought, absolutely ree-dic. But, as usual, they were right - in fact the coastal invasion has already started. See exhibits A and B: Zara, Oxford Street.
It was mine and Irish's one year, or paper, wedding anniversary earlier this month. To mark the occasion we commissioned the fabulous Audrey Malo to create an illustration from one of our favourite wedding photos.
A really special piece that we can keep forever and enjoy everyday.
On Thursday 8 September, all the big name retailers on Oxford Street brought out their big guns for Vogue Fashion's Night Out; hosting fashion shows, offering meet-and-greet sessions with designers and celebrity collaborators and handing out hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of champagne and goodie bags.
I was with John Lewis for the evening, helping to create a short film about those all-important autumn/winter trends, featuring interviews with fashion bloggers, designers Mischa Barton, Osman Yousefzada, Amanda Seabourne and Nina Godfrey from Vogue.
I took a few sneaky shots I took of Mischa, who was sporting a one-shoulder black drape dress, statement necklace and the most magical white glitter and black velvet Mui Mui shoe boots.
Before everything kicked off, I popped next door to see what House of Fraser were up to and bumped into Mary Portas, who was promoting her standalone shop in the very glittery department store (I felt like I was in a nightclub at times, but then I don't get out much).
As well as an army of red-headed mannequins, Mary's shop boasts collaboration collections galore - Mary Portas for Clarks, Mary Portas for Radley - as well as her own range of sharp, smart and sleek clothing and hand-picked items, from home and fashion accessories to foodstuffs, by independent designers and companies. There's even a cafe!
Whilst there, Mary was cornered by a woman who wanted to see her range in larger sizes. "Well, we go upto a size 18", she replied. "No Mary, bigger, we want bigger" - you heard it from the shop floor Mary, and you of all people know the importance of pleasing the customer.
A rather modest parcel arrived for me this morning. Look at it - neatly packed in tissue paper with a simple sticker bearing the mark my favourite Amsterdam vintage shop, Wini Vintage.
Little did the postman know that these buxom beauties were just waiting to burst out of the box!
I'd been admiring the Sixties' sex-bombs since I tracked down Wini Vintage online. Every so often I'd check back to see if they were still there, and after realising that I'd be gutted if they weren't, bit the bullet and paid the 50 Euro to make them mine.
I like to think that the fabric once hung as part of a curtain or wall-hanging in the playboy pad of a super-suave Sixties' gent. But for now these lovelies are sharing our marital bed - my husband is one lucky man - until I decide whether I can bear to separate them to make cushion covers.
See the embroidered shirt and Fifties' floral print skirt I picked up from Wini Vintage on my last Amsterdam trip here.
The new Blitz vintage department store, off London's Brick Lane, is how I wish my wardrobe was - not a huge warehouse filled with hundreds of pre-loved clothes, although that would also be nice, but a bit of an OCD-sufferer's dream. Not only are different types of clothing stored with their close friends - jackets with jackets, skirts with skirts etc - so you know exactly where to head if you're looking for something specific, items are also stored by pattern and colour, making for some very visually pleasing polka dot and rainbow graduated displays.
I like to imagine that the folks behind Blitz have also employed an intern whose sole job it is to roll up jacket and shirt sleeves, as well as make sure that shoes are displayed just so, with one stacked on top of the other.
Delightful dresses
As well as satisfying satorial ordering, Blitz also boasts a vast collection of delightful dresses, all in good condition and reasonably priced, with summer sale items starting at just £16. Definitely one to bear in mind when you're looking for that special Christmas frock or next summer's vintage festival outfit.
Oh, and rather randomly, the store also has a well-stocked selection of cheap books, from authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Louis Theroux and Franz Kafka plus fun non-fiction titles - the Mozipedia or Dogs in Vogue anyone?
I can't actually believe that I haven't explored this area of London before now - what a loser - and will be returning with Christine some time soon for sure. Vintage clothing and curry - is there any better combination?
I recently wrote a post about how to bag a beauty bargain, highlighting the merits of magazine gifts. One of such freebies, a Ciate nail polish, was given away in Marie Claire last month, and at £9.00 a pot, represented a pretty good deal.
The brand's blurb that its "mouth-watering shades...are terrifically "bang on trend"" and ""scream "modern day woman!"" reminded me of the not-so-popular kid at school who makes up their own nickname and twenty-something girls who constantly exclaim that they're "crazy" in a desperate attempt to make themselves interesting.
However, aside from my sneering cynicism (it's not attractive, I know), the pink blush polish gave a pleasing French polish effect and dried quickly, which is always a plus for someone you can't sit still for more than two minutes. And Ciate's sleek bottles, complete with cute bow, will no doubt appeal to the increasingly number of women investing in nail polish as a cheap way to update their look in [newscaster voice] "the current economic climate".
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