Neonism

My love affair with Ashish started when I spotted his beautiful leopard wedges that he did for Topshop last year (see Major Shoe Crush! and Mannequin posts). Soon after I saw Pixie Lott and Lily Allen in these sequinned Ashish dresses and my love for Ashish was confirmed. He is a man after my own heart, as I sure you are beginning to appreciate I love animal prints, sequins and one shouldered dresses. But there is another thing that I love, and it may not be totally fashionable, and is probably a relict ingrained in me from my 80s childhood and teenage adventures at Gatecrasher and Sundissential, but I unashamedly love most anything if it is neon!

Just to prove my point, here's a few of my neon adventures from 2008 and 2009. Mostly I only feel liberated enough to wear neon during raucous occasions such as festivals (e.g. Exit, Serbia) and during afterski (e.g. Hemsedal, Norway) where it is almost a HSE requirement that you stand out or you risk being lost in the crowd. However, when I was in Miami last fall I felt it was the perfect backdrop to bring a little neon into my daywear, which is represented by my neon green shades and hot pink bikini top peeking out from under my blue AA skater dress. I am sure you are wondering how the black and white prom dress fits into this all - these pics are from NYE just gone, and even though the dress is monochrome, I was armed with my beloved neon face paints and set about spreading a little neon love amongst the crowd of Get Loaded in the Dark (see Mannequin post). This was also a good time to post these pics and show you what I wore for NYE. I said I was going to wear my neon splatter AA dress but after one too much supersized dinners over the Xmas holidays I felt this Topshop striped prom dress was more forgiving. I did recreate the make-up from the Mannequin post though, or at least I attempted to. It wasn't as crystalline as I would have liked but it still looked pretty good. I'm going out in London again soon and will try something similar but more intense then. But I digress....

I just found that gorgeous Ashish dress that I spotted on Lily Allen on net-a-porter.com with 60% off!!! It was obviously a sign, since even though I love that website I never spend as much time on it as I would like (probably because it is pretty close to torture when I can't afford most of the things I fall for on it). But with 60% off how could I resist the dress I have been coverting for so long? So I bought it!! It's currently in England being looked after by my mum until I visit her in a couple of weeks! I really hope it fits!!! I have the exact occasion I want to wear it for all planned out in my head...but I am keeping that a secret...I don't want to spoil the surprise ;)

Oh, and before I go, if anyone out there wants to donate one of these fabulous Blumarine dresses from last season to me....I would be eternally in their debt. How gorgeous are they? Love the crystal gladiators as well...swoon...

xxx

Christmas is coming and that means party time!

I expressed my love for all things one shouldered in my Happy Hallowe’en post but I also have a massive thing for leopardskin (see my Major shoe crush! post). Theoretically this should be a recipe for disaster but this dress shows that sometimes it can be a match made in heaven! What makes it even better is that this dress was less than £20 from Primark!!

This dress obviously took inspiration from the beautiful dresses and tops from Ellie Saab (centre top), Dolce and Gabbana and Chloe’s A/W 2009 collections (see Working Girl post). The one shoulder on this Primark steal is structured and padded for extra emphasis. After falling in love with the asymmetry and statement shoulders of these collections, this dress was a real no brainer – it’s perfect for this party season. And after seeing collections such as Jason Wu's S/S 2010 (left and right top), I know I am onto a winner for next season as well with such an opulent colour. Could this dress be anymore perfect?

Taking inspiration from Blair Waldorf as well as the aforementioned collections and their statement accessories, I added a little adornment in the form of an embellished headband from Accessorise and some gorgeous rings I picked up from a store called So Good in Miami and proudly wore this look to my first official Christmas party of 2009!

I finished my look of with my newest pair of Jimmy Choo shoes (swoooon!) and wrapped up warm with a faux fur shawl I bought at the bargain price of $30 (on sale) from Bebe in Miami.

It was the perfect start to the Christmas party season and I felt like the belle of the ball. xxx

Happy Hallowe'en

I am having a bit of a gothic moment - it must be the autumn air with Hallowe'en just around the corner. Topshop is currently providing the perfect playground to indulge this whimisical fashion craving. I've just bought the Aggie metal insert heel boot (top left, £80), the black Lace and Velvet Playsuit (3rd down left, £60) and the grey Leather Duffle Cross Body Bag (top centre, £55) from there. Plan on wearing the playsuit with the boots and perhaps with my new black Henry Holland Mock Stock tights that I got from ASOS (£10, not shown). The Lace Tiered Bolero (top right, £38) is a work of art and would look great with a skinny black top and leather leggings. I'd of course top the look off with chunky jewellery and my new Aggie boots. The grey Britany Leather Thigh Boots (2nd down, right) would also look awesome. These Britany boots are the only over the knee boots that I have been coveting this season - grey is softer than black and stops me from looking like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. I think they will also look great paired with the cream Vintage Inspired Lace dress (centre, £45), which I am desperately waiting to come back in stock.

Christopher Kane is a genuis who is kind enough to design some fab pieces for Topshop so that some of us with not so great bank balances can purchase some of his creations. His black One Shoulder Lace Dress (2nd down left, £50) is not only absolutely gorgeous (I get weak knees around anything with one shoulder) with beautiful lace detailing but is a bargain! Getting anything designed by Kane for such a small fee is an absolute steal. The dress is a modern classic.

The black Lace Waistcoat (3rd down right, £25) is just a great piece to add your wardrobe. Dress it down by layering it over a white tee and jeans and pair it with the Britany boots and grey Leather Duffle Cross Body Bag. Wear it to work belted over a fitted dress or out in the evening with some skinny leather leggings or short shorts (Lace Shorts, bottom right, £35), a simple vest top and smouldering black make-up. Drape it over a beautiful satin evening dress to bring your right look up to date.

As much as I love lace and all the soft tones in this pallette I also crave colour and sequins and that's why I want the Ultimate Jewelled Jacket (bottom centre, £200). I have a beautiful blue floor length 70's gown that I thrifted and I think this would look superb over the top for my work Christmas party. But this jacket is too good to save until then so I'll take it on the town with a tiny tee, lace shorts and Aggie boots. Divine!! To top all my outifts off, since it is soon Hallowe'en, the sequin devil mask is perfectly playful and unique. If you don't want to feel claustrophobic, then place it in your bedhead hair as a cheeky take on this season's hair accessories.

Happy shopping and have a wickedly wonderful Hallowe'en!