LFW FTW

London Fashion Week starts today and no longer do you have to wait for commentaries and static images from bloggers/fashion editors/magazines to catch a glimpse of the shows. This season, a fully fledged digital revolution is bringing LFW to the masses.  The BFC is streaming the highlights from the shows at Somerset House onto the screens of the London Underground, and Topshop will also be live streaming from its flagship. The biggest coup has been landed by Burberry (obvs!!); the Burberry Prorsum AW 11 show will be streamed in real time on the giant screen at Piccadilly Circus (Monday at 4pm).

Vive le video revolution!!! 

Noughties Nostalgia

What are your favourite Noughties fashion memories??? Whatever they are, I think you will agree that London was a great place to be. We went from being status slaves, to underground rebels. We had a brief fling with boho, and then we new raved our neon socks off!! The high street exploded, with Topshop and Primark becoming tourist destinations in their own right.

Here is a snapshot of some of the fashion moments that defined the last decade for me.

A cheeky Northern chappy by the name of Henry Holland grabbed the attention of the fashion world with his slogan tees in 2006.

Gareth Pugh came along to become the heir apparent to John Galliano's legacy of fashion for show; not for the street.

Christopher Kane showed us all things bright and beautiful in his first show for LFW Spring Summer 2007.

And another Christopher - Bailey - made Burberry cool again.

Boombox was the place to party hard on a Sunday night (until 2008 when it shut its doors for good)!

The recession hit home on planet fashion when in 2009, Luella went into liquidation.

We suffered the loss of Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow. However they will continue to be remembered by all for their contributions to British fashion and will go down in history for their creative vision.

I have probably not even scratched the surface in this post!! These were just the memories that really stood out in my mind. I think British fashion came into its own again this last decade and I am looking forward to seeing what the next will bring!

Winter Warmers

London. Winter has officially arrived and is here to stay (for a while at least!). The leaves have fallen from the trees, the air is chill and crisp, people are adding logs to the fire and thoughts are turning to Christmas time, mistletoe and wine. As the festive season approaches, the fashion magazines fill their glossy pages with promise and glitzy cocktail dresses (yes, please!) But what is the best way to keep warm between parties? Here are some of my favourite ways to wrap up this winter.

1. Fur

Fake or real (vintage or inherited, obviously!). Head to markets, granny's closet or even the high street (Zara in particular have done a great range)

Lambskin by Zara (I clocked this today in the store and it looks stunning and is quite different than the usual options out there!)

2. Military

This is always a winner (polish those brass buttons!)

Stand to attention and raise a salute to Burberry. Yes Sir.

3. Capes

Love the drama!

Nail the camel trend too in the Alexander Wang cape coat

Complete the look with gloves (I like leather); and a hat (trilby, fur trapper, cloche.....the options are limitless)! So cosy.

Over Rated

You simply can not open a fashion magazine this season without being told that you can not live without this season's must-have.....the aviator jacket. Topshop have picked up where Burberry began and no doubt Primark will jump on the band wagon too. I am not usually one to diss a fashion trend or especially Christopher Bailey (I have avoided negativity completely up until this post). However in my humble opinion, sheepskin belongs on a sheep. And I will not be a fashion sheep to this trend.

Saying that, now that it is September (where did summer go??), I can not shake off that back to school feeling and to me this means a shiny new pair of shoes. There is nothing like buying shoes to put a spring in your step and having worn out last seasons boots to the extent that I am now traipsing around London with holes in my shoes like Oliver Twist I can hardly wait. At the moment I am loving wedge ankle boots especially these ones from Surface to Air at Urban Outfitters (pictured). Having done some work for those of us on more of a budget, Zara is doing a similar pair for about one quarter of the price. Happy shopping.....you can thank me later!

By George!

My favourite thing about Burberry is not the classic trench, nor is it any of Christopher Bailey's creations. Instead, it is the Burberry male models who always capture my attention. The latest campaign for Spring/Summer 2010 featured George Craig, the 20 year old lead singer of indie band One Night Only. The reason I adore his look is that it is as British as Burberry itself. Picture a cookie cutter Abercrombie model (Ken doll) and then picture his polar opposite: tall, deathly pale with chiselled cheekbones and a smouldering, icy glare. Bailey uses Mario Testino to shoot most of his campaigns and to me, Testino's photographs are always evocative and capture the mood of an entire setting to perfection. Just beautiful. That is all.