London in Outfits & Building Self-Confidence

Hi guys! So if you didn't know I was in London a little while ago for a quick visit with my boyfriend. If you want to read more about all the fun we got up to then you can check out my Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 posts.

Today I thought I'd share with you a couple of the outfits I wore out to dinner while we were in London. Now if you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that I'm no fashion blogger. I'm never 100% put together with the perfect hair, make-up and a cute outfit. I hardly wear make-up as is! But I thought London would be the perfect place to do a bit of dressing up and show some self-confidence.

iPhone Diary: A Festive Weekend in London

Hello lovelies!

As it is officially the 1st of December I feel it's sociably acceptable to start getting excited for Christmas and all the festivities that come with the holidays.

I'm now going to uni near Manchester and my best friend is down in London so this weekend I jumped on a train and headed down to her for a weekend getaway.

It was a wonderful weekend with lots of late night trips for frozen yogurt (there are no good froyo places up here so I had to stock up), brilliant ice skating at Somerset House and of course, shopping....

Prepare yourself for the money shot....

Such a good weekend but now that I'm back at uni it's time for me to hit the books :(

Ciara xxx

London Fashion Week AW14 Days 1 & 2

Hello lovelies!

I'm back today with the first lot of my favourite collections from LFW and my oh my are they good! As I say every single year the London shows are always the ones I look forward most to simply because 99% of my most loved designers show there. One day I'll make it to LFW and then I can die in peace ;)

First off is Orla Kiely who showed off her skills with another beautifully cute and feminine collection. Collars, pretty t-strap shoes, pretty swing skirts and a whole load of fun prints summed up to create a well rounded classic Kiely collection that I am almost drooling over. I almost think there's a hint of Parisian chic to be seen from the umbrellas and elegant macs.

Staying along the theme of pretty feminine pastels and shapes Holly Fulton did feminine but in a different way. Powder blues and pinks still featured but this time in delicate graphic prints and intricate designs stiched into beautiful satin and silk. Even when bolder colours like red and black were introduced Fulton still managed to bring about a fun romantic look to her pieces.

Eudon Choi leaned more towards beautiful tailoring and fresh injections of colours. These harmonised suited looks had the one-up on all the other tailored collections due to Choi's playfulness with fur, stand out shoes and patterning.

 

What was special about Christopher Raeburn's functional, militant collection this year was his focus on sustainable fashion. He used left over scraps of material (known as cabbages in the fashion world)  to put together beautiful looks and 'up-cycle' material into actual wearable pieces. The stand out piece from this collection was the pop out parka which was fashioned from two different pieces of material and it seems Raeburn has a way with outerwear as his fur lined anoraks were worn by all the helpers at LFW.

And Sibling were back with their iconic knitwear bringing out a challenging collection of the highest quality knitwear out there. The first part of the show featured wearable enough looks that still emulated the Sibling sense of playful anarchy but it was towards the end of the show, when the gowns came out that you really got to see the spirit of the designers. 

Right that's it from me about days 1 and 2 of LFW AW14 I have to say I'm seriously tempted to spend a ridiculous about of money on some Holly Fulton or Orla Kiely!

Thanks for reading.

Ciara xx

All photos sourced from www.style.com

The Last of LFW SS14

Hello lovelies!

Ok so I know that London Fashion Week is dead and gone and that everyone has jetted off to Paris to check out what chic creations France has to offer but London is still alive for me. Partly because I'm way behind on my reviews and partly because I never want it to end! But bare with me as I attempt to play catch up.

We're kicking it off with the wonderful Matthew Williamson who created this collection with his brand woman in mind. He said that he recognised that the Matthew Williamson woman was no longer a 20 something year old with no scruples  she had matured and grown up and was no living in the real life. That is why this season we were more sophisticated with day time wear, suits, and looks for appropriate for work. However with hand drawn or painted prints, florals and energetic patterns we still didn't lose the classic Williamson vibe.








The Temperley London collection this season was inspired by a holiday to Sicily and features classic south Italian shapes and rich, romantic colours.









Burberry Prorsum celebrated Nottingham lace with some gorgeous pastel and dreamy pencil skirts. Bailey really designed for the functional working women by creating wearable but still feminine and beautiful silhouettes that could be perfectly adapted into a Spring/Summer wardrobe. (If only we had the money!)






 

And of course the one collection I've been dying to see is Erdem however this year the classic very pretty and beautiful 'Erdem' aesthetic was missing. It was replaced by a distinctive tomboy-esque theme with hard edges and a clean slate approach. I still don't feel quite as in love with this collection as I usually would with only hints of femininity here and there but I do applaud Erdem from stray from the comfort zone and branching out. 

 






Sorry for such a late post but I'm playing my 'settling into university' card and saying I'm just adjusting at the moment but I'll be back to normal soon enough!

Thanks for reading,
Ciara xx


All photos sourced from www.style.com