Trendalicious...bracelet overload

It started last winter with a few jewellery designers turning their hands to simpler designs using inexpensive materials like leather and silk to create their bracelet designs. This was a genius way of letting us all feel like we're still byuing designer pieces without having to invest in seriously pricey gold. Essentially designer friendship bracelets became the new Chanel lipstick.

But this trend has seriously blown up for summer and already I have a tonne of leather wrap and encrusted fabric bracelets stacked along my left arm. These beauties fall into three categories; I am quite happy to dabble in them all depending on my mood, and more importantly, my proximity to reaching my overdraft limit.

The first group we love are leather wrap bracelets, with Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs leading the way and Next doing a beautiful high street version.




Top Row: Marc by Marc Jacobs £75, Ralph Lauren Black Label £175, Balenciaga £125

2nd Row: Next £10, M&S £16, Kitson £25

3rd Row: DKNY £45, Vita Fede @ Austique £175, Reiss £35

Bottom Row: £190 Alexander McQueen



Next up are the designer dainties. EC One has an incredible selection from really talented up-and-coming jewellery designers, but you won't get off lightly price-wise with this lot. The majority are made from gold and silver so are very deserving of their higher price points.



Top Row: Mitos £106 EC One + Corinne Hamak Unity Bangle £327

2nd Row: Helene Turbe £129 + Mirri Damer £192

3rd Row: Lindsay Pearson £81 + EC One workshop £195

Bottom Row: Selim Mouzannar £502



Finally, come the sturdy stackers. These are mostly cotton and metal little numbers and can be worn with just one or two with a watch (I do this with my Dower and Hall and Links ones) or as a huge bundle dominating your forearm. They're colourful and fun, and way more affordable than splashing the cash on 18ct gold!





Top Row: George @ Asda £4, Internacionale £3.99

Bottom Row: Lipsy £10, Chan Luu £210



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Trendalicious...Denim Jackets

Famour faces have been out in force this week, all favouring a very specific clothing combo - denim jackets and bare legs! It is a perfect summer ensemble; keeping tanned pins on show while keeping it classy and covering up the torso. Classy ladies indeed.

Our favourite has to be Hailee Steinfeld, who paired her with a Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti dress and biker boots. Really age-appropriate and cutey while having series label credentials. For a more casual look, Nicky Hilton teamed hers with all black, Nicola Roberts was SO beautiful and bright in Suno and Cameron Diaz looked elegant with a nude and white ensemble arriving at Good Morning America earlier in the week. Nice work laydeeees.

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Trendalicious: Skater dresses



From L-R: Azzaro S'11, Alberta Ferretti, Preen Resort





 My absolute fail safe go-to for summer is a skater dress, so naturally I am delighted they're all over the catwalk and high street this season. They cover up the problem tummy/hip area, and the full skirt is super flattering for one's thighs too. I tend to go for an elbow length sleeve (a la Joseph last season) and a shorter skirt, so that it covers the upper arms and is can be worn in the summer with flats and bare legs. I've already started wearing mine (yes I am in rainy cold London too) but have paired with an oversized cropped knit and opaque tights until the temperature gets into the late teens at least!

At various awards after parties Hollywood's coolest girls are already championing this trend; Hailee Steinfeld rocked the Alberta Ferretti number above recently, while Rachel Bilson is rarely seen in anything else. From the runway 3.1 Philip Lim, Azzaro, Preen Resort and Erdem led the way, and below is our pick of the best from the high street.

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From L-R: Oasis £50, Warehouse £50, Valentino £1895 Net-a-Porter, Zara £25.99



Trendalicious: Indigo details

Seeing indigo on the runway again is a huge relief after a seasonal saturation of camel and red for A/W’10. Camel and red really worked for the blond haired Amazonian types among us, but for the rest of us, it all got a bit librarian does “splash of colour”. I aged twenty years while trying to rock the look. Thankfully, like all these unwearable trends (Yes midi skirts and harem trousers I’m talking to you too), they are just that, and as the season winds down, we can look forward to brighter pastures, this time blue ones. The hue for Spring’s palette is pretty specific, and can only be compared to the sky on a cloudless July afternoon. Outside of the British Isles, naturally.

Indigo has infiltrated all aspects of ready to wear, seen on the runways of both womenswear and menswear.  At the menswear shows we saw some bright blue footwear at Tommy Hilfiger and Acne, shirting at Calvin Klein collection and DKNY, outerwear at Jil Sander, accessories at Dunhill and Diesel Black Gold, and trousers at Michael Kors, Dickie Brown and Bottega Veneta. Kors absolutely embraced the luxury casual mood of spring, and kept his collection hugely wearable; achieved by designing a great range of trousers and not limiting a SS collection to a variety of white shorts as is ofter seen on the season’s catwalks. These included a loose fitting pyjama style trouser in Indigo with thin white pinstripes. Here Kors paired them with taupes and greys, the perfect complement to the brilliance of a hue so blue.

Then came the women’s RTW shows and the trend transformed into a seasonal phenomenon. While keeping true to the Italian house’s flamboyant style, Peter Dundas created a colourful and sexy Emilio Pucci collection for Spring Summer. Most of the lighter paisley looks had elements of indigo incorporated, as well as some great blocks of blue in full looks too- notably the full length silk indigo maxi dress, and the blue paisley long sleeved mini dress, which was a favourite  style of ours from his A/W show too.

Even my supreme man-crush Mr.Depp has indulged in a little blue, this time his aviators. I love him, and I love blue too!

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Blue Aviators, Police Menswear SS'11



Trendalicious...Contrast Satchels



Top row; Paul Smith £265, Boohoo.com £28, Chloe £875
Bottom row; Proenza Schouler £1085, New Look £12.99, Miu Miu £795

 I bought a satchel at the beginning of A/W, and was surprised to find that I still wanted another over Christmas, once this new contrasting colour and fabric trend emerged in satchel-land. I find mine oh so useful; I wear it on my arm during the day, with the long strap dangling down, and tucked in for a slightly neater look in the evenings. 


I love these contrasting colourful numbers, and the trend has trickled down from designer to high street really fast. I feel like the above are quite preppy, but in a very Parisian minimalist way, so I would wear them with my ole faithful Breton 3/4 sleeve, an ankle skimming black fitted trouser and some of Show Shoppers favourite Russell and Bromley penny loafers. 


Bon Appetite Show Shoppers,




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Trendalicious: Leather Shorts

Top row left to right: 1. Black high waisted, Christopher Kane at www.farfetch.com, 2. Tan, River Island, 3. Black with buckles, Topshop, 

Bottom row left to right: 4. Brown, Warehouse, 5. Black,Vanessa Bruno a the at www.net-a-porter.com, 6. Black with frills Sparkle and Fade at Urban Outfitters

So we all know shorts are no longer restricted to summer but THE shorts of the season are the ones made from leather. Whether they're high waisted, hot-pants, belted, or have frills, they're bang on trend this season. Wear them over chunky knit patterned tights with an oversized cable knit jumper to keep warm during the arctic spell that is upon us.  Steer clear of any stiletto heels or sexy tights to keep from looking too errr racy. Add either some ankle or mid calf biker boots or chunky brogues and keep your look rock chic or androgynous. 

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Trendalicious: Faux Fur

Image courtesy of Style.com

The moment Chanel's yeti look came down the runway we knew faux fur was going to be big news. From full on fur jackets to more subtle accessories this is a trend for everyone. So as the temperature drops, up the style stakes and stay cosy at the same time.

Here are our favourites, but unless you walked for Mr. Lagerfeld please don't wear them all at once!

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From top left: fur jacket £100 Monsoon Fusion, earmuffs £16 Monsoon, jumper £40 Topshop, waistcoat £48 Topshop, bag £435 Marc by Marc Jacobs at Net-a-porter, Gilet £335 Rebecca Taylor at Net-a-porter, shoes £64.99 River Island, mittens £16 Asos.com, shearling trimmed jacket £1558 Acne at Matches.