Bristol Fashion Week - Live Blogging Catwalk Show - VERY Picture Heavy

Yesterday I attended the Bristol Fashion Week Live Blogging Catwalk Show at the Mall at Cribbs Causeway.  Bristol Fashion Week had provided 200 free tickets for bloggers and fashion students to attend and I was lucky enough to get one of them!  We were encouraged to tweet during the show and were allowed to take photographs - this was great, as at the last fashion show I went to at Bristol Fashion Week, it was strictly prohibited. 

Having arrived slightly late, I picked up my blogger pack, picked up a glass of fizz and was ushered straight into the show.  I noticed that the girl next to me had a blogger pass as well, so I introduced myself and it turned out to be lovely Laura from A Daisy Chain Dream - we'd tweeted about the event earlier, so I was really surprised we ended up next to each other! 

Below I've put together my favourite picks from the fashion show.

Pastels and Pinks from John Lewis

The show started off with dresses from John Lewis in a variety of pastel pink colours.  The models were trussed up in sweetie wrappers with pastel coloured blue and green lipstick.  The dresses shown were mainly knee-length or shorter and were a mixture of work and event-appropriate dresses. 

I know it's a terrible photo, but the dress above is probably my favourite from John Lewis.  Here's a link to it - it's £129 at the moment.  I think seeing it modelled on the catwalk really brought it to life for me, as I don't think I'd give it a second glance from the website model!

Sports Lux from Next

The standout piece from the clothes from Next was definitely these coral coloured jeans.  I desperately want some coloured jeans to liven up my spring wardrobe and I think these might be the ones!  They're very similar to the ones that Kate Middleton has been photographed wearing in the past week, but a lot cheaper.  Kate's jeans are from J Brand and are £200 from Net-a-Porter.  I think I've found the ones on the catwalk from Next here - they are a lot cheaper, at £40, so I'm definitely considering blowing the dust from my wallet for these.

Workwear from Hobbs

Continuing the trend for pinks and pastels, the Hobbs show was one of my favourites.  The clothes are summary and work-appropriate with a nod to the 1950s and are totally my style.  I've never bought anything from Hobbs, but I'm really tempted to go and have a look now.

The outfit above is devine!  I think I need to have this skirt in my life - it's totally my style and I love the colours.  I also like the fact that it's striped and slightly colour-blocky, but the stripes are slightly more abstract than just straight across.  The skirt is the Hobbs Invitation Galindo Skirt and it costs £110.  I think I might be tempted.  The top is the Invitation Jewel Jacket and it costs £199.



I also love this dress from Hobbs, the Invitation Jewel Dress.  It costs £149 and would be perfect for a wedding, but you could definitely wear it to work in the summer.

I didn't manage to take a good photograph of it, but on the very left of the photograph above (purple) is the Invitation Gem Dress, which is also absolutely stunning but a bit of a splurge at £179.  I think the colour and styling is fantastic - I'm seriously impressed by Hobbs and will definitely popping in there.

Occasionwear from BHS

I almost never think of shopping in BHS.  However, whenever I do, I buy something - infact my favourite ever sundress was bought from BHS when I was just passing throught.  Actually, my Egyption cotton bedsheets were bought in there for under £20 for the set, so it's worth going in there more often.  There were some lovely monochrome 1950s inspired prom-dresses at the fashion show from BHS with bold floral prints.

Coming in at £49 each, these beautiful dresses are a total bargain!  I particularly love the purple and pink dress above, also £49.  Having spent some time browsing the BHS website, they have some amazing dresses - how cool are thier going out dresses and look at the prices - bargainous!

Italian Tropical Fashions from Oasis

I love Oasis when it comes to summer dresses - I own many of their floral bright prints myself and I think the photographs below show that they've done it again for 2012.  I love the very Italian look of the dresses - they make me want to pack my bags and go to Rome immediately.

Here's the link to the Tropical Fantasy Collection.  I particularly like the Tropical Jewel Dress (seen on the left above, £70). There are loads of gorgeous pieces and most of the prices aren't too sky-high either, so I might put a few on my wish-list.

Miss Selfridge Nude Tones and Floaty Fabrics

The Miss Selfridge scene showed off an array of beautiful nude-coloured dresses in soft, sheer and floaty fabrics.  It was a very romantic and soft collection.

Miss Selfridge are on to a winner with their Maxi/Mini dresses.  Basically, a mini dress with a sheer maxi-length dress over the top, they give you extra coverage, whilst still showing off your figure.  The nude dress above is a very reasonable £45.

This floral print mini/maxi dress is £50 from Miss Selfrdige.

Channelling Chanel at Jigsaw

One of the standout collections was from Jigsaw.  It was, according to presenter Mark Heyes, the best rip-off of Chanel he'd ever seen - I'll have some of that!  Thinking lady-like fashion, and taking inspiration from First Ladies Michelle and Jackie O, the collection includes work-appropriate tailoring in the pastel spring palette.

The tweed suit (above right) is not cheap with the jacket costing £235 and the skirt £140 ... but it's still A LOT cheaper than Chanel.  The Lemon Merino Cashmir Cardigan on the left costs £135 - pricey, but imagine how it feels!

I love this daffodil trench, and at £185, you can justify it as an investment, not a splurge. I also love this beautiful Easter Print Skirt at £98.

 The beautiful Deco Fan Dress on the left costs £169.

Celebrating the Great Gatsby at Marks and Spencer

One of my favourite stories was the Great Gatsby-inspired, 1920s feel of the Marks and Spencer Collection.  Apparently, this is going to be a strong trend through the summer, and with the release of the Great Gatsby film in autumn, it's likely to continue through the winter as well.

I love the wide-leg trousers on the left.  I think these Seam Waistband Wide Leg Trousers are the ones - at £22.50, they're very wallet friendly and have been added to my wish-list.  I couldn't find the dress on the right online, but it's rather lovely as well.

I love the cut of the dress on the left and I really like the outfit in the middle for workwear as well.  Unfortunately, I can't find either online.

In Conclusion

So, the top trends for spring summer 2012 are:

• Pastel colours and soft tailoring
• Coral coloured jeans
• Purples and pinks with deconstructed stripes
• Lady-like fashion, chanelling Jackio O and Michelle O
• Tropical, Italian prints
• Nude floaty fabrics

So, that's my round-up from Bristol Fashion Week Spring 2012.  I thought bringing in the blogging community was a great idea and it generated a lot of excitement about the show.  Unfortunately, I arrived slightly late, so I didn't have a chance to mingle with the other people before the show and I had to dash off afterwards, so I didn't meet anyone other than Laura.  If the organisers are reading this, thanks so much for inviting the bloggers - it was a great idea.  I've got loads of fashion inspiration from the show, so I'll definitely be having a little shopping trip to pick up some of the clothes shown soon.

I do think that there should be a programme for the show with the outfits and prices set out in it, as it would make it so much easier for shopping afterwards.  When I've been to other fashion shows, such as the one at Harvey Nics, the clothes and pricing was all written out on a programme, so you could make notes or ticks as the models went down the runway.  I think that this would help to generate more sales and interest if the Mall did this as well.

By the way, the saga of my laptop keyeboard continues - I've had to bring  my work computer home to type this... I couldn't face doing it with half a broken keyboard!  I might do this more often so I can actually do some blogging for once!

What are your picks for spring summer?  Thanks for reading! xx

Bristol Fashion Week at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway - Live Blogging Event!

Tomorrow I'll be taking part in the Bristol Fashion Week Live Blogging Event!

The Mall at Cribbs Causeway is holding a number of fashion shows until Sunday 25 March for Bristol Fashion Week.  The tickets are £8.95, and included in the price is a goody bag , and vouchers and offers for shops in the Mall.  You can book tickets here.

But tomorrow, they are also holding a special fashion show on Friday 23 March for bloggers and students!  I’m going, and will be taking part in their live blogging event!

This year The Mall is offering fashion bloggers the chance to attend a special showing of Bristol Fashion Week at 4:30pm on Friday 23^rd March. As well as previewing the hottest Spring/Summer looks from the designer and high street brands available at The Mall, fashion lovers will be encouraged to participate in live blogging during the hour-long show.

Lust after the latest catwalk looks while TV stylist Mark Heyes and celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton entertain with their valuable fashion knowledge and celebrity gossip.

The lucky fashionistas who attend will also be able to sample the delights of an M&S 50’s style champagne tea party, win a designer handbag, courtesy of John Lewis, and indulge in the ‘feel good’ treatments on offer in the BFW Pamper Zone.

I will be live blogging will be via Twitter, using the hashtag #BFW during the show!  I'll do a round up post after the show! 

I've been having technical problems hence the lack of recent posts - most of my laptop keys now no longer work!!!  This post has taken me ages to write using an on-screen keyboard!  I'll borrow my work keyboard at the weekend to post about the show!

Thanks for reading! xx

Bristol Fashion and Beauty Round Up - February and March

I haven’t done one of these for a while, but now we’re moving towards spring, there are quite a few things going on in the next 6 weeks, so here’s my essential round-up of dates to put in your diaries. Be warned, this is a mega-post!

Grace Emmerson’s Online Shop

Last summer I reviewed a Dr Hauschka facial from Grace Emmerson – it was fantastic by the way.  Now Grace has recently opened an online shop selling the complete range of Dr Hauschka products as well as men’s grooming products from Speick. 

As well as selling the products, Grace is offering Treatment Reward Points which are redeemable against Dr.Hauschka Treatments, Rejuvenating Facials and Massage.  A £50 spend will result in £6 off a treatment – not bad! 

You can see Grace’s website here and I thoroughly recommend a treatment as well!

An Eye For Fashion – Norman Parkinson Exhibition and Events at the M Shed

If you haven’t yet been to the M Shed yet, I suggest you make your first visit to see the exhibition of Norman Parkinson’s 1950s and 1960s fashion photography that’s running until 15 April.  My friend was lucky enough to get two free tickets for us to go to the opening night party in January, which was fantastic.  Most people dressed up in vintage or vintage homage clothes, the drinks were flowing and there was a 1960s covers band, which really added to the significance of the photography to British fashion heritage. 

'Plain Girl' Jean Shrimpton photographed by Norman Parkinson in 1963

As well as Parkinson’s beautiful vintage fashion photography, there was original 50s and 60s clothing displayed throughout the collection.  What really made this exhibition come alive for me was the information about the clothing and also details of how women in Bristol were dressing contemporarily to the photographs and which shops they bought their clothes from.  It’s a fascinating slice of social history, as well as fashion history.  Another friend of mine who went to the exhibition is in her 60s and she absolutely adored itas well – it took her right back to her youth.  If you, your Mum or Granny was young in the 1950s or 1960s in Bristol, I’m sure that you/she would love this exhibition.  Anyone else who appreciates 50s and 60s style (and who doesn’t) would also find this excellent.  Seriously guys, I can’t recommend this highly enough – just go to it! 

You can see a some of the photographs from the exhibition on the BBC website here. 

Tickets cost £5/£4, although there is free entry on Wed 29 February and Wed 28 March

 

In addition to the exhibition, there are a series of events running in conjunction.  On Saturday 25 February there is Norman Parkinson Gallery Talk with Catherine Littlejohns.  This starts at 11am and is free if you have paid to get into the exhibition.  This tal will discuss 50s and 60 high street fashion in Bristol - I'm so there!

 At 2pm on Saturday 17 March, Angela Williams, Norman Parkinson’s assistant will be giving a talk which offers a personal insight into the Designers of British Fashion portfolio of prints.This is also free if you have paid for the exhibition and will be well worth attending.

On Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 March The M Shed is having a Vintage Weekend.  This will feature the Blind Lemon vintage fair, Magpie Markets (Magpie Markets Sunday only), retro make-overs, 60s music, vintage vehicles, dance, memorabilia and 50s turban making.Dressing up is encouraged! And if you wear vintage style you can have your photo taken by fashion photographer Matilda Temperley (Sat only).

Alternative Miss Bristol

The Cube Cinema is holding an Alternative Miss Bristol night on 24^th March!  They say:

The Cube is proud to launch the Alternative Miss Bristol as part of March’s Fabulous Fortnight (featuring the Cabaret, harbinger of charm)

Shamelessly aping Andrew Logan’s Alternative Miss World, this event is about transformation, not beauty.

Contestants are invited from all and sundry to bedeck themselves in fantastical finery to best represent the area of Bristol they feel most connection with- be this a fashmina and oversized Gaga glasses for Miss Clifton or tiffin shaped earrings and graffiti-ed mega costume for Miss Montpelier...

The stage is yours for an evening of glitter, glue guns and glamour, queer beer and straight shooters, featuring our usual blend of film, music and general bloody brilliant party fun.

Participate ! get involved! email the House of Cube Mama eva@cubecinema.com !

See Paris is Burning and The British Guide to Showing Off and Bristol centre on a Friday/Saturday night on acid for funspiration!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjgS2tpyxvU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iSEnW88cPI

£4 advance /£6 on the door 

Lauren who volunteers at The Cube contacted me to ask if I knew of any Bristol fashion bloggers who wanted to cover the event.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it myself, although it sounds like loads of fun, but contact Lauren if you’d like to get involved!  Her email address is laurengurteen@hotmail.com and she says you may be able to get £1 off the entrance as well!

Bristol Fashion Week at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway

The Mall at Cribbs Causeway is holding a number of fashion shows between Wednesday 21 and Sunday 25 March for Bristol Fashion Week.  The tickets are £8.95, and included in the price is a goody bag (last time I went, this was a very good goody bag), and vouchers and offers for shops in the Mall.  You can book tickets here.

However, they are also holding a special fashion show on Friday 23 March for bloggers and students!  I’m going, and you can go too.  They say:

This year The Mall is offering fashion bloggers the chance to attend a special showing of Bristol Fashion Week at 4:30pm on Friday 23^rd March. As well as previewing the hottest Spring/Summer looks from the designer and high street brands available at The Mall, fashion lovers will be encouraged to participate in live blogging during the hour-long show.

Lust after the latest catwalk looks while TV stylist Mark Heyes and celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton entertain with their valuable fashion knowledge and celebrity gossip.

The lucky fashionistas who attend will also be able to sample the delights of an M&S 50’s style champagne tea party, win a designer handbag, courtesy of John Lewis, and indulge in the ‘feel good’ treatments on offer in the BFW Pamper Zone.

The first 200 tickets will be given away free of charge. Bloggers and students with a passion for fashion will need to apply to bristolfashionweek@mallcribbs.com before Saturday 10^th March and include a link to their blog or for students, a scan or image of their student ID card, for the chance to enjoy the essential fashion edit of the new season trends and colours.

The deadline for applications is Saturday 10^th March 2012 and if you miss out on the free ones, you can still attend if you’re happy to pay for a ticket.  The live blogging will be via Twitter (let’s hope my not-so-smart phone behaves itself for the occasion).  The hashtag #BFW will let you join in the fashion conversation!

I’m not sure if anything is going on this week in Cabot Circus, as there’s nothing on their website.  I’ll update this if I spot anything.  Personally, I prefer The Mall for fashion shows anyway as you can sit down, park for free, avoid queues on the M32 and it’s indoors with better acoustics... that’s just me though!

Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols are also holding a spring summer fashion show and party.  This will be on March 21 and will take place in store.  The theme will be Gatsby’s Speak Easy and will feature complimentary drinks and trend presentations.  Tickets cost £10 and are available from here.

This sounds like more of a shopping evening than a fashion show, but at £10, it’s not too expensive and with complimentary drinks as well, it sounds fun! 

Contact me if you know of any other events, promotions, special offers etc going on in Bristol in February and March (or later on in the year) and I'll add them to the list!  Are planning on going to any of these events?

Thanks for reading! xx

Bristol Fashion and Beauty Round Up - September

Welcome to the first post in a new series of fashion and beauty round-ups.  I'm hoping to feature all the news, events, launches and special offers taking place in Bristol and the surrounding area each month, so you can add the dates to your diary.

Benefit to Launch in Harvey Nichols

First up, Benefit are opening up a new counter in Harvey Nichols!  They will be opening on Saturday 3rd September to coincide with the launch of two new Benefit products - They're Real Mascara and Ring my Bella fragrance which will be available in store.  The Benefit counter will also feature a brow bar - very handy for a quick tidy up!

Vogue Fashion's Night Out

On Thursday 8th September, Bristol will be taking part in the global Vogue Fashion's Night Out event.  The Harvey Nichols store will be open from 5pm to 8pm to celebrate and will feature a Styling Booth with outfits created by the in-store Personal Shoppers.  Fashion Night Out T-shirts will be on sale as well as a DJ in store and cocktails!

There will also be events in Beyond Beauty, with treatments and activities happening at Paperlash, Violent Lips, Nailease and Blink.

See this link for further details.


Harvey Nichols Fashion Show - Sponsored by Land Rover

On Tuesday 13th September from 7.30pm to 9pm, Harvey Nichols and Land Rover will be hosting a fashion show at the new M Shed Museum.

Parading down the runway will be clothes from the new collections by Alexander McQueen, MaxMara, Diane Von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci.  Land Rover cars will also be on display.

The tickets cost £20 and they include a Champagne reception, luxury goody bag and a 10% discount card for fashion and accessory purchases in store until 20th September.  The tickts are available from Harvey Nichols.

Bristol Fashion Week 2011 at The Mall

From Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th September, The Mall at Cribbs Causeway will be hosting a series of fashion shows as part of Autumn/Winter Bristol Fashion week.  Standard tickets cost £8.95 and are available from the Mall's website.

Additionally, if you fancy being a make-over model, styled by Mark Heyes, email the Mall on contact@cribbscauseway.com by Sunday 4th September - see here for more details.

Cabot Circus Autumn/Winter Fashion Tour

On Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September, Cabot Circus will host the Autumn/Winter Fashion Tour 2011, with free fashion shows, fashion offers and free beauty samples.  Click here for further details.

So, there are some dates for your diary - a busy month in Bristol, especially in fashion.  I'm planning on attending the Harvey Nichols/Land Rover Fashion Show and one of the Bristol Fashion Week shows at the Mall.  I went to Bristol Fashion Week last year, and thought it was great!

I'm concious that only larger companies have responded to my round-up call.  Please do contact me if you run a smaller business and have events or news to share - I'm keen to include everyone in my round-ups.  Let me know if you have a September event/offer/launch planned and I will add it to the list, or if you have forthcoming activities planned in October, for next month's post.

Thanks for reading! xx

Bristol Fashion Week

With all the excitement over London Fashion Week, I've been trying to join in, by attending a fashion show at Bristol Fashion Week.  Christopher Kane, Matthew Williamson, Mulberry, Vivienne Westwood at London Fashion Week in exciting venues, verses a tent in the car park of The Mall, Cribbs Causeway in Bristol and a fashion show sponsored by M&S and John Lewis.  It doesn't really compare in terms of glamour and excitement does it?  But I found it a really good night out and got loads of ideas and fashion lusts for Autumn Winter 2010/2011, and most of the clothes were affordable and available now and I've already ordered a few bits having seen them on the catwalk.

The fashion show contained outfits predominantly from M & S and John Lewis, as well as clothes from Dorothy Perkins, Animal, Jane Norman, River Island, La Senza, East, J D Sports, Karen Millen and Jigsaw.  It was a long show, more than an hour long, and hosted by Andrew Barton and Mark Heyes who made it entertaining and imparted some of their top fashion and hair tips for the new season.

The problem was, photography was prohibited, so I wasn't able to take any snaps of the clothes.  There was a running order of the different collections, but no catalogue showcasing the clothes and looks and prices etc.  I think that this would have been a great feature, as there were loads of things I wanted, but I've had to rely on my memory, especially as my pen ran out, so I couldn't even make any notes!

The highlight for me was the gothic/vampire inspired collection from Dorothy Perkins.  I've ordered a skirt and a dress that were showcased already!

I loved this leaf-print skirt from Dorothy Perkins

There was a lovely purple evening dress from M & S with a black band under the bust, with drapes of material cascading down from it, and hiding any tummy bulge.  This was worn by a larger model and it looked gorgeous on her.  Unfortunately, it's not yet released, so I can't show you a picture of it from the website, but it's definitely a winner for the Christmas party season.

There was a great dress and jacket from the brand Damsel in a Dress from John Lewis.  It is a tweed material with a golden silk sheen to it.  I'm not sure if it would suit me, being a larger busted girl, but it looked stunning on the model.

This is £169 from John Lewis

I loved the Karen Millen collection which included camel dresses and polo necks, with very interesting cuts and a slightly preppy/70s vibe.  I love the camel trend, it really makes a change from black, especially as I have a little white cat, so I spend my life cleaning my black clothes of white cat hairs!  They definitely won't show up against camel!

One of the collections showcased the new range of bags and shoes from Radley.  I wasn't taken with the shows which were multi-coloured and quite clumpy - not really my style.  However, I did love the bags which included 70s style patterns, a move away from those cutesy dog motifs. 

I was surpised that I loved the J D Sports collection.  It was all greys, hot pinks and vivid purples, and I've come away lusting a purple Adidas Hoodie, which I didn't expect to!

The major trends to emerge were:

• Camel, camel, camel, from leggings to coats, and including dresses.  I've definitely bought into this trend big style!
• Other colours were purples, greys and blacks.
• Lace T-shirts, dresses and tops, especially in black.
• A slight 1970s vibe.
• Aviator jackets.
• Military style jackets.
• Capes.
• Fur boots/gilets/fur-trims.
• Animal print.
• Cut-out shoes.
• Biker boots.

For hair, Andrew Barton said that the up-coming season would be about very short, sleek bobs, or long and big hair, rather than straight hair, enhanced with clip-on extensions.   He said that colour trends are moving to dark browns, verging on the black, possibly with purple highlights, or a purple tone to dark hair.  That's good news to me, as I've always maintained my brunette locks!

The tickets cost £8, and I though that was a fair price as the seats gave a really good view.  There was also a goodie bag for everyone which was stuffied with booty - definitely worth more than £8 alone. 

All in all, it was a good night out, and I liked the fact it was accessible and affordable fashion, most of which could be ordered straight away.  However, it was a shame that there wasn't  a catalogue of the prices.

I've ordered a lot of clothes for the new season after going to the fashion show (as I couldn't face hitting the shops this weekend), so I'm looking forward to showing you all when they arrive!

Thanks for reading! xx