Dress Me Up @ Topshop

Ok this must be one of the most exciting things Topshop has done...ever! A ton of celebrities, from Kate Moss to Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, have donated some absolutely stunning dresses which Topshop is hiring out for a mere £40! All proceeds are going towards two very deserving charities - Help the Aged and Age Concern. I happened to stumble upon the fabulous 50s style dressing up boudoir yesterday while shopping with Kristabel, and just couldn't help myself when I saw a beautiful Burberry dress (next season) worn by Frieda Pinto.



Unfortunately, I don't think I have an event fit for such a gorgeous dress, believe me I tried justifying wearing it to work/shopping/cinema but it's really not happening! Apologies for the crazy light settings and crazier hair...it was raining a storm in London all day...


Other dresses available include:

Lanvin, donated by Kate Moss
Dolce & Gabbanna, donated by Peaches Geldoff
Roberto Cavalli, donated by Julia Restoin-Roitfeld
Naomi Cambell's own design
Herve Leger, donated by Jourdan Dunn
Jayson Brunsdon, donated by Dita Von Teese
Zac Posen, Donated by Erin O'Connor
Marc Jacobs, donated by Katie Grand

PS - Dresses are available to try on until 6th December, they will be available for hire from 7th-23rd December and auctioned after this at some point. If you love me, you will win the Burberry dress for me and I will love you forever!!!!

Alexander Wang's Exclusive Capsule Collection for Net-a-Porter

Since the launch of his full womenswear collection in 2007, the fashion world has been crazy about Alexander Wang. Pretty much everyone I know craves his casual-chic, off-duty-model look, so it's not surprising he has a full accessories line, a diffusion line and a shoe line in just two years. Partially helped by friend, muse and show stylist Erin Wasson, who epitomised Wang's signature laid back look.


The capsule collection for Net-a-Porter shows a more grown up, super sexy aesthetic; the draping, the corsetery, the fabrics. There are so many dresses I'm coveting right now...



* Images Net-a-porter

Rare Fashion Press Day

When I received an invitation to the Rare Fashion press day, I was a little skeptical. The dresses are nice enough, I've actually got one, but the collaboration with The Saturdays made me think 'cheap' to be honest. But I decided to go anyway, I try not to rely on preconceptions and it seemed like a good opportunity to find out more about the brand.


I invited fellow bloggers Kristabel, Ozzy and Fiona too. In my usual fashion I was running late and met up with them there. Slightly flustered, I sat myself down with a glass of wine to get my nails done and peruse the Spring Summer 2010 collection. There were some pretty dresses which caught my eye, but also some more casual clothes surprisingly. The collection was very light and pretty, lots of pastel colours, prints and lace. The fabrics felt lovely.



The highlights were two dresses with lace detailing and a gorgeous green cropped jumper with amazing shoulders.


I also love this all over sequin dress and military cardigan from the current collection. I was so tempted to tuck the sequin dress into my goodie bag, it's perfect for my Christmas party!


Huge thanks to Almina and all the lovely folk at Think Publicity for such a lovely evening! x

Rihanna Global Album Preview

Last Monday was the best night I've had in a long time. The effortlessly stylish Marian has a wee competition to win one of four tickets to the super exclusive Rihanna album preview concert, hosted by Nokia. I was smiling all day thinking 'I'm off to see Rihanna tonight!!', and she really didn't disappoint.

Brixton Academy was buzzing with people, all excited for the show. Carina and I arrived early enough to have a couple of drinks and marvel at the lack of clothing on some girls, we came in coats and scarves!! Rihanna soon hit the stage in what can only be described as an out of this world one arm leotard. The magpie in me went crazy for the embellishment. She performed a couple of songs from her new album, Russian Roulette and Hard, as well as some old favourites like Umbrella. She was briefly joined on stage by Young Jeezy and Jay Z, which completely made my night!

I have to admit, I wasn't really her biggest fan before, but now...I'm sold! The actual concept of the night was amazing, as most of you will know it was streamed live on the internet and even started up a trending topic on Twitter! I've already downloaded Russian Roulette, Hard, G4L, Photographs and Te Amo. You can find more pictures and videos on the Nokia site - nokia.com/rihanna.

What a Month....

It's been a 5 weeks and 3 days since my last post...wowsers! I kinda left it on a depressing note, but thankfully things are a little brighter now. I have missed blogging terribly, I am so glad to be back, I have so many backdated posts which need putting up so excuse my tardiness! On the upside, I have a lot of outfit posts which have been missing from Fashion Daydreams for months. Here's just a little bit of what's happened in the last month:

The Boy - Despite all the rumours, love does not conquer all. All that pro-love propaganda that Disney has been churning out is lies! I know I sound very cynical, but I'm just realistic to my situation. If someone just continues to hurt you, intentionally or unintentionally, the only logical thing to do is walk away. It might hurt, but staying with them and being let down time and time again hurts a lot more. Love doesn't fix the situation, it just blinds you and makes you paper over the cracks. I loved him very much and planned a life with him but I feel so much stronger without him now. I still have days where I miss him and want to call him, but not that often anymore. I smile a lot more now, being happy is more important to me than struggling to cope in a relationship that doesn't work.

Work - Still stressful, 9-10 hour days are still the norm. I've been working on Christmas since September and cannot wait for it to be over, in a work sense. 34 days people...!I hope a little glimmer of my love for Christmas remains.

Home - Still trying to find a new abode. It's not as easy as it sounds, the property market is picking up and it seems that 2 bedroom flats around London are selling like hotcakes! I'm more than ready to move, which makes me scared that I will just snap up the first place which is vaguely decent. But finding that is like finding a needle in a haystack. But rest assured, once I do find a place, my lovely blogger friends are more than welcome to sample my cooking....Kristabel I'm planning on cooking you pad thai!

The rest - Needless to say my immune system took a battering due to all this stress and I had a horrible 2 week flu...which I took with me on holiday! Egypt was beyond amazing, it was just what I needed and helped me sort a lot of things out in my head. I did everything - swam with dolphins, snorkeling, scuba diving, climbed Moses mountain (epic), quad biking, bet in a casino, camel rides, saw the pyramids...! Here are a couple of holiday snaps, showing a happier and more together me.

I try to take each day as it comes...but sometimes several attack me at once

I saw that quote on a postcard in Camden once and fell in love with it. It's probably the most apt way of describing my life right now, it seems like almost every aspect of my life is caving in and needs propping up at the same time - working 10 hours a day for a job which could be gone tomorrow, being kicked out by my landlord..who is my father, and dealing with issues related to The Boy. It's enough to drive a girl insane, or at least to the nearest high street for some retail therapy! What I really need is a night off, forget all the issues and dramas and just be. So for now, the most difficult decision I'm going to tackle is which dress to order for Friday night!

Asos Dress - £45


All Over Sequin Warehouse Dress - £70

Striped Alice Dress by Motel @ Topshop - £45


Mesh & Satin Panel Lipsy Dress - £60


Strapless Ruched Lipsy Dress - £55

Vogue Paris October 2009

Vogue Paris is all about the supermodels in October 2009. I've got to say, there were some surprising choices and some conspicuous absences. I felt that the cover was a bit bland and safe, but the editorials were, on the whole, sublime. There was much debate on TFS, with a lot of people slating Kate Moss for being boring, safe and old. I've found that Kate has become a bit 'same-y' recently, and certain other models produced some far superior images. What do you think?

Eniko by Cedric Buchet

Eva by Hedi Slimane

Claudia by Alasdir McLellan

Kate Moss by Inez van Lamsveerde and Vinod Matadin

Kristen Mc Menamy by David Sims

Yasmin lebon by Alasdair McLellan

Lara Stone by Steven Klein

* Image Source TFS

Bryce D'anice Aime Spring Summer 2010

Sometimes it's good to know people, and sometimes it's absolutely amazing to know the right people! Daniella is lovely and sweet and just so happens to work for Bryce D'anice Aime, and she is an absolute angel as she sent me a couple of tickets to the show at London Fashion Week. I took along Gemma from Retrochick who was almost as excited as I was. It was a packed show, the queue was huge and I have absolutely no idea how they fit everyone into the room!

This was one of my favourite shows, I looove the super sexy silhouette and the amazing shapes. The inspiration was "50’s Parisian Chic combining classic with futuristic body con structure", it was a very directional collection. The colours were fairly neutral, mostly blacks and golds, but there was the odd flash of red and some shimmer to keep it interesting. Bryce's trademark tailoring combined with strong shoulders and mesh panelling made for some very hot looks. In short, an amazing collection and I would beg/borrow/steal/barter/sell a kidney for some of the dresses!


Photos are courtesy of the lovely Hugh O'Malley, a very talented fashion and beauty photographer.

Kinder Aggugini Spring Summer 2010

One of the least known 'famous' designers in the world, Kinder has ghost designed for Versace, Vivienne Westwood and Calvin Klein among others. He put himself in the limelight last season, showing his own label collection at London Fashion Week in February. I was thrilled to get an invitation to his Spring Summer 2010 show at London Fashion Week, the invite (a slightly bloody Snow White) piqued my interest. The collection was inspired by Alice in Wonderland and Grimm Bothers fairytales, which I grew up with. He explains, "The show is based around that spirit - where everything appears candy-coated and pretty on the outside. Yet, within, lies a constant darkness..I have taken the little pretty children's dresses, opened them up at the seams and inserted juxtaposing fabrics. These are usually darker and more textured".

I loved the theatrical show. Kinder's collection was a cornucopia of print and colour: pinks, blues, purples, metallics, stripes, snakeskin print, tribal patterns, polka dots. Everything was over the top, from the oversized Stephen Jones hats to snakeskin print fabrics and textures ranged from tweed to sheer, floaty chiffon. It sounds like an insane jumble of ideas, but there was an underlying cohesion which bought it all together and somehow it blended into a beautiful and vibrant show, one of my favourites.

Marcus Constable Spring Summer 2010

10.30 am...on a Sunday. I'm up, dressed and in central London, albeit in a barely awake zombie state. The occasion is the Marcus Constable show, held in Libertys for London Fashion Week. I wasn't overly familiar with Marcus' background, but he seemed like an intriguing character. Having graduated from Central Saint Martins almost 15 years ago, with his entire collection being snapped up my Libertys, Marcus gained sponsorship by Topshop. He then left London in 2001 for various stints in Paris, returning with his Autumn/Fall 09 collection, which Grazia raved about, naming him one of their 'One to Watch' designers.

Constable's Spring/Summer 2010 collection is simple with clean lines, but with enough subtle fabric-fold origami to stop it from being boring. The beautiful pleating is a continuation from his Autumn 09 collection, and works perfectly with the blue-grey and monochrome palette to create a fresh and delicate look for Spring. The only thing I disliked about the show were the shoes, men's shoes by Beatrix Ong. Shoes aside, I loved the collection. The manipulation of fabric and casual layering are definitely looks I will be trying next year.