Vogue's Fashion Night Out

So I wasn't at Vogue's Fashion Night Out this year because I am no longer living in London but here's me "papped" by a fashion blogger outside Selfridges from last year's Night Out.

(Hareem pants (Next) and aviator jackets (A|wear) were all the rage. Also wearing Chanel necklace and bag, and Clarks Originals desert wedges.)

Hope all my London friends had a great time this year!

Style Crush on Karen Gillian

I have always been a lover of red hair and delicate, ghostly features. My sister has these enviable colourings but views it as a restriction. Au contraire ma soeur, there so much to work with!

Karen Gillian, ex-model (surprise, surprise), rocks the vintage indie girl look whilst having her own distinct style on the red carpet. I could have went on and on with the selection. Much like her enviable legs:

NYLON style sight

Apparently NYLON knows a good thing when they see it. It seems that when Christopher Kane did his masters degree at Central St. Martin's college, NYLON were so impressed that they photographed  him and his work for their September '06 issue. 

Not only this, but 4 years ago in their STREET book of style published, a 19 year old Robert Pattinson - then an unknown actor - was snapped in the streets of London. 

Colour trends for Fall '09: Part II

Of course the pop coloured brights of the '80s still have such a presence all over the catwalk. As with the blocking of the last couple of seasons, the same has been done again but this time round they have been partnered up with grounding neutrals such as black, navy and creams. If you're scared to go all out, small detailing will work just as well. It will be Fall after all.

A mixture of crimsons, coral, scarlet etc are always great for brightening up your Autumn/Winter wardrobe. Also noticeable is the emphasis Muiccia Prada has placed on the over-sized boyfriend cardigan (here even coming through the shorts). No need to get rid of last year's.

Shades of emerald and jade were seen all over the Fall runway collections. Love the Stella McCartney dress on the left. Chanel (far right) were key in pushing this look with even their accessories. I also saw that they have brought out a similar shade of nail varnish to match.

Organic Erosion is all about texture and earthy elements. Pure golds and silvers have been replaced by bronzes and more aged golds, which appear to have been left to oxidise or be chemically treated. 

Layering  and mixing is key with these darker, again earthy dark tones. Like the greys and the cosmetics, there is still a warmth to the moss green and maroon colours used and again partnered with furs.

Colour trends for Fall '09: Part I

I can't claim credit. I have collected some of the key colour palettes taken from RTW collections from Stylesight. So here they are in all their glory:

Monochrome geometric patterns continue to be big but are more exaggerated and over-scaled than before with harsh contrasts.

There was a luxe survival feel to a lot of the collections; a return to a nomadic look with layers of furs and skins thrown together in different layers in earth tones.

Mixing of different grey tones top-to-toe was key but without the cold minimalist feel from the '90s. 

Usually no-go colours were placed together in unexpected ways. This was most evident with the navy & black combinations. Not only that, but the textiles were often entirely different in surface texture and created a new aesthetic.

Continuing on from the apricots, pinks and blush colours of Spring/Summer, the cosmetics are a more exciting way of looking at neutral colour palettes. The greys and brown tones add richness for Fall.

Model's Muse.

This Vogue video is basically an unbelievable who's who of the fashion world - Intimate interviews with all the A-list guests who attended the Metropolitan Museum of Art's gala celebrating 'The Model as Muse' exhibition. 

Return to Topshop

As always, a trip to London wouldn't be complete without a quick visit to Topshop's flagship store on Oxford Street.

Before even entering, there were camp visual displays unlike any I'd seen in Topshop before. The window display mannequins sat upon oversized plastic flowers. Walking into the store, I was faced with garden style platforms and a parked vintage van with mannequins sitting in and around it, dressed suitably for the upcoming music festivals this summer. A bit over-the-top but it definitely grabbed my attention. 

I tried on quite a lot of things and fell in love with a pair of vintage Doc Martens and this dress with a cut-out section under the bust.  But I had to behave, I wasn't there to spend, I was there for the conference! *Sob*

Downstairs there was an interesting use of coloured ribbons strung from floor mannequins to high level displays. I have always found it inspiring how Topshop utilise props, graphics and fixtures to define one area/collection/trend from another. 

The window display for some of the in-store collections featured a more subtle colour palette and upsidedown vintage furnishings - a lot more stylish and less garish on the eye.

NOTE: Just visited the Topshop website and came across this behind the scenes video of their latest 'High Summer' photoshoot.

NastyGal.com

There's a website/online vintage store I subscribed to a while back and haven't visited in a while but today I had a look again to be re-inspired and subscribed to their blog. Based in San Francisco, the company offers a wide range of vintage clothing as well as unique, new designer pieces.

"Each item is unique, and comes with an individual history... giving it personality beyond what modern clothing could dream of recreating." 

This idea is really interesting to me and I spent an entire year of university investigating the relationship people have to their belongings and in particular, their clothes.

Although having never purchased anything, Nasty Gal is a great source for inspiration, something I would attend regularly for inspiration if I was a designer. The vintage pieces are always uniquely styled to look contemporary.

This video documents their latest fashion shoot for their upcoming Look Book - I really love what the stylists did with these looks.

I also just discovered that they held a Facebook competition for a uniquely stylized vintage outfit and will be holding another one this Spring. So get on it ladies.  

D&G's new 'blogazine'

I signed up on their website a while back to receive emails from Dolce & Gabbana. So I opened my inbox today and was told of a new 'blogazine' of theirs called Swide.

The website done in the style of a D&G magazine, tells you everything that is happening in the luxurious world of D&G such as moodboards and descriptions of their SS09 collection which is inspired by Roman Polanski's first feature film 'A Knife In The Water'...

"a chic 1960's sailing trip on the French Riviera. The Women look quirky, classy, and stylish in the former playground of Coco Chanel - in over-sized sun-hats, Breton stripes, bermudas and glitzy wedges all styled with a cheeky twist."

(I must admit, seeing another Nautical theme for another Spring Summer made me a little disheartened).

Other sections under 'Style' such as the gift ideas are really nice although it will take many years of saving before family unwrap Dolce & Gabbana gifts from me.

As well as the obvious style section that you would expect, in true magazine style, Swide offers its opinions on food, art, music and more. All worth checking out. One of the quirkiest parts of the website is its 'Dirty Laundry' email section where (I think) it imagines emails they would receive and their responses - some in a slight agony aunt or fan page style. 

The best thing about the website is its design, how it is layed out entirely different from the main Dolce & Gabbana website; its video clips from old black and white films and its stylish images of fashion illustrations.