Word on the street: LFW

From velvet tux blazers worn with polka dot slip dresses to metallic slogan jackets teamed with suede, black vinyl skirts, blue lipstick, and fluffy shoes, bags... everything, forget the catwalks. The streets during fashion week are the place to nab serious style inspiration.

Watching, snapping, scrolling through photos of showgoers (and non-showgoers) bringing their A-game to the street is one of my favourite things about fashion month. It's also sort of the only legit time it’s ‘OK' to people watch.

In collaboration with Farfetch, I've rounded up are some of the best ensembles to hit the streets of London.

Let me know your faves x

                                                               Photo credit: Farfetch

Sole'd

My nickname, Shoena,(pronounced Shoe-na),  was given to me by my Uncle, when he noticed at a young age that I had a thing for shoes. How many pairs of shoes do I own? I haven’t got a clue.  How many pairs of Ballerina pumps/flats do I own?  One! Yes, just one pair of pumps aka the most uncomfortable pair of flats ever! Here’s my thing, I have a funny relationship with ballet pump/flats.  I’ve tried on a few over the years and they just don’t work for me. I find them either too flat that I can literally feel the pavement, or they end up rubbing the back of my heel and I end up with blisters.

Last year, I decided to give them another ago, as I stumbled across a cute pair in Office. They were leopard print with a pony skin finish.  I noticed that one of the girls at work had the same pair, so I asked her how she found them.  She gave them a glowing review, and I was sold.  I bought them that same day convinced I had finally found my flat (shoe), sole mate. 

Sadly, I was wrong. On their first outing, by lunchtime, my feet were burning me hard! I just couldn't work it out. My colleague had the same shoes on and was walking around the work event like the cat got the cream. I, on the other hand,  was hobbling up and down the event, trying to hide my pained expression while feeling like the flat shoe gods were seriously against me. It got so bad that I had to make a speedy dash to Topshop and I ended up buying a pair of (comfier) heels - how ironic!

So, when the lovely people at Bonessi  Ballerinas  got in touch, asking if I wanted to review one of their ballet pumps, I was a little hesitant. I mean my experience with flats to date has not been great - I still have the scars to show it. But I figured I should take the plunge (again)...

 To give you a quick heads up on the brand. Bonessi Ballerinas is a luxury London-based brand, dedicated to designing footwear that is  equally unique, pretty and super comfortable. Made from the softest leather, each shoe is complemented with their signature,  inner cushioned sole.

I'm a sucker for statement shoes, so I opted for Yas; a gorgeous metallic gold ballerina pump, with embellishment detail on the toe.  When I plucked up the courage to wear them,  I decided that  I should  ease myself in.  Why run before you can walk, right? So their first outing was to a nice and local brunch meet-up with the girls.

The verdict? Yes, yes, yes! They actually do what they say on the tin! Soft, comfy and pain-free! On those (rare) days when I feel the need to wear flats, these ballerina's are the one!

Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to my Office leopard ballet pumps, let's just say they' ve gone to a new and hopefully much happier home.

Post in collaboration with Bonessi Ballerinas, but all views my own. 

  

Photos by Burd_boy

Culottes life

Culottes: yay or nah? Still firmly on the fashion radar, culottes show no signs of going away anytime soon. But the culotte is one of those controversial trends. Case in point, the heated 'debate' at work a few weeks ago. "My boyfriend thinks they're ugly.' yelled one of my colleagues. "The length is just too awks for short girls." said another. "You have to be stick thin." the intern pitched in. Yes, these girls are clearly a nah. Interestingly, these girls later admitted that they had never actually tried a culotte on.

I'm a yay. I will confess I was not always on this side. There was a time when I would have agreed with all the comments above. When did this change? I was browsing online en route to work (standard behaviour) when I came across a culotte jumpsuit on Topshop.com. I was (and still am) going through a cut-out detail phase, although the culotte leg did somewhat scare me a little, as I'm only 5ft 3". But I figured it was time to take the plunge and actually try on a culotte, so I ordered it and fell in love.

As I always say, with anything it's really all about having confidence.

Obviously, I'm now hooked and since then I've gone on to purchase quite a few. My latest addition? A pale pink leather culotte. Lush!

Moral of the story? Don't knock it until you try it!

Oh, how can I not mention the boots? These patchwork cuties are from ASOS and I was living in them so much, that they are currently with my shoe repair guy for some much-needed TLC.


Photos by @burd_boy

                                                                     
                                                                    Outfit details
                              Jumpsuit (sold out) similar here, Boots, ASOS (sold out) similar here 

Hump Day Breakfast at The Wolseley

For me, Breakfast is everything! It's my favourite meal of the day, so you can imagine my delight when I received an invite to a bloggers breakie at The Wolseley, from the lovely folk at Farfetch * fist pump*.

Last Wednesday, I excitedly jumped on the tube (with a rumbling stomach), and headed to Green Park to meet my fellow diners; what a gorgeous bunch they were. As we made our way to our table I couldn't help but feel a little in awe of the venue.  The art-deco interior, stairways, marble floors, the chandeliers... sheer plushness!

 The Food

I'm the most indecisive person when it comes to ordering food, but in the end, I went for the salmon on scrambled eggs, which was so yummy! I will confess that I did have a case of  food envy when the pancakes arrived. Ha!

Once we all placed our orders, we were given a talk on all of the cool stuff coming up at Farfetch. Farfetch has been on my fave online brand list for a while now, so I'm super excited about everything that we were told. Let's just say, they have some pretty wow things in the pipeline this year! If you're not too familiar with the brand, in a nutshell they are all about supporting independent boutiques/brands across the globe. 

We then spent the next couple of hours eating, laughing and yapping away. As always, I love meeting fellow bloggers and hearing their experiences and advice. That's the good thing about the blogging world, in my experience, all bloggers that I've met are incredibly supportive, friendly and uplifting.

Last year, I took a mini break from blogging due to various reasons. Spending my Wednesday morning with Farfetch and 4 lovely bloggers reconfirmed that my blogging juices were back and that I'm ready to get my blogging back on!

Big thank you again to Farfetch for such a gorgeous breakfast and a lovely morning!


This post is in collaboration with Farfetch but all views are my own

A Star Print Affair

Show me an eye-catching print and I'm all over it. And there is something about a starry print piece that just makes my stomach flip. A quirkier alternative to florals don't you think? When I stumbled upon this dress on ASOS.com I knew I had to have it!

The dress is true to size but it does have a low neckline and seen as I'm not particularly blessed in the bust area department (flat-chested girl problems), I did have to pop down to my alterations guys to adjust the straps and bust area.

I teamed my dress with my fave floppy hat, suede pointy lace-up boots, a faux leather quilted jacket (that I recently rediscovered) and round frame red sunnies.

Star print is not always easy to pull off, but the easy-breezy silhouette + double side slits on this maxi = winner!

The lovely folk at ASOS have only gone and marked this down to an eye-popping £9!!! (Scream!).Which is good for you but not so good for me as I did pay full price (Grr). So if you're feeling this dress as much as I am, I suggest you get clicking and 'Add to bag'. (#Justsayin').

Side note: The first photo made it on to ASOS #Asseenonme

                                                                            Outfit

                               Hat, H&M, dress, ASOS, boots, eBay, jacket, Portobello Road, sunglasses, ASOS