My favourite shops of 2012

As 2012 draws to an end I thought I would share with you some of my favourite fashion finds of the year...

Independent Boutiques:

Despite now living in London and being able to find a large amount of the brands sold in these independent outlets, I would still rather travel and visit these shops than head to Harrods, it's much more personal and I love a good natter with the people that work there.  I am looking forward to searching all the nooks and crannies of London to discover some more hidden gems I can fall in love with. I think it is important to support independent traders so if you can check out these places below:

Rumpus Resort Beachwear, Wilmslow, Cheshire. http://www.rumpusresort.com/
Even if I am unable to make it back up to the North West before I go to Barcelona in June, I will be ordering all of my swimwear online from this fantastic beachwear shop on the outskirts of Manchester.  Stocking a range of well known swimwear from Vix and Missoni to Melissa Odabash, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable and if you are lucky you may even be treated to a glass of champagne whilst you are trying on their fabulous spoils.

Vix Bikini and Kaftan and Melissa Odabash Hat from Rumpus Resort

The Style Clinic, Allerton Road, Liverpool. http://www.styleclinic.co.uk/
This friendly and on trend boutique in the heart of Liverpool's Mossley Hill is great for unusual and edgy wear.  It stocks a range of smaller brands such as 18 and East and Ella Luna (my two favourites) as well as being a big stockist of Ash footwear (I have some of their wedged trainers and am hoping Santa will deliver some of their studded biker boots - well one can dream).  Follow them on Twitter @style_clinic and you may get some good offers on their stock.

Ash Studded Biker Boots available at both Style Clinic and Think Bubbles

Think Bubbles, Cleethorpes (no website but they are on Facebook).
Situated on Cleethorpes seafront this designer boutique is now stocking a range of labels that all the trendsetters in East London are going mad for due to their buyer being based in Shoreditch.  Marc Cain is still their biggest seller but if you are looking for a younger, more affordable look check out their stock of Wildfox, The Pretty Dress Company and MinkPink.  You can also find a range of this season's favourite platform boots by Jeffrey Campbell as well as Ash Footwear, previously mentioned above. They also stock a range of designer childrenswear (my favourite being their Baby Dior collection which is to die for)!


Sonia Rykiel Trench from Vintage Rose in Richmond and Jeffrey Campbell boots from Think Bubbles, Cleethorpes

Vintage Rose, Richmond Hill, Richmond (no website).
This fabulous designer vintage shop has given me some fantastic bargains from a Sonia Rykiel trench for a mere £65 and an amazing pair of Alexander McQueen heels at a fifth of the cost of their original £600 price tag.  You have to search regularly to grab a bargain and when you see something you like in your size consider it fate and snap it up immediately.  Currently in their window at the moment are a stunning pair of John Galliano heels, Louboutins and a tweed Chanel jacket for just £450.  It really is a label whore on a budget's treasure chest.

International Labels:

Cop Copine. http://www.cop-copine.com/
Chic, timeless, structured, classic, quality cuts are what spring to mind when thinking about this label.  Their clothes are all monochrome and are guaranteed to make you look and feel fabulous.  Their designers are Japanese but the brand is French and the fusion of these influences create a fabulous look.

Maje.
Keeping with my love for all things French, Maje is the home to my favourite purchases of 2012 in the yellow cape dress and jewellery I purchased for a wedding earlier in the year.  Although I stocked up in Lille and Paris there are plenty of stores splattered around London as well as being stocked on www.net-a-porter.com.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed with their collections.

High Street:

Zara and River Island remained my favourite High Street go to places this year.  Zara has a range of high end looks at affordable prices and River Island is the best for summer dresses at ridiculously cheap prices.  Of course when times are really hard and you still need a fashion fix Primark and H&M never disappoint.

A selection of dresses from Zara and River Island with my Maje cape dress at the top

2012 - The best year of my life!

Here we are again, on the eve of the final week of another year, excited to have some time off work and gather with our families for Christmas festivities.  I always feel quite nostalgic as the end of a year approaches and like to reflect back on the events that have passed and decide whether the year was a success or not.  Life is a rollercoaster of a story, it has its ups and its downs, and a year is a small representation of the story you are creating, the legacy of your existence.

Unusually, and refreshingly, 2012 has not been a rollercoaster of a year for me; it has been an exhilarating zip wire of excitement and joy, a year unrivalled in the happiness and good times it has given me.  I will be lucky to experience another year like it, a year packed to the rafters with fun, laughter, joy and love.  I will always hold 2012 dear to my heart as the year I got married, but I never anticipated that this occasion would shape the whole year into the magnificent event that it has been.  I am sorry to leave behind 2012 but excited and eager with anticipation for what 2013 holds.  I left 2011 with mixed emotions, I had been dreadfully unhappy in my job and had just lost my Granddad when I secured the position I have been working in since September and ended the year knowing it would be more than 8 months before I would start it, which seemed so far away.

My highlights of 2012 have not just been personal experiences but also sharing the joy of the nation in the jubilee celebrations (if you followed my old blog you will know I am a closet royalist), the London Olympic games, Felix Baumgartner’s death defying leap and, despite being a Liverpool fan, a new football team taking the Premier League title when Manchester City secured their trophy in the dying minutes of the season.  In all it has been a fantastic year for our wonderful nation.

On a personal level, I have loved the amount of time I got to spend with friends and family on my three hen dos and at my wedding.  I am disappointed in the fact that next year there will not be as many excuses to meet up with my loved ones and I hope that we still make the effort for fun times despite being more than 200 miles apart.  My wedding day was undoubtedly the best day of my life, it is probably the only time that every single person you love is in the same room and having fun and, if there was one day I could go back and relive again it would unquestionably be 4^th August 2012.  My honeymoon experience was unspeakably fantastic and I am happy to have been able to cross off two other lifetime goals of mine in sailing around the pacific islands of Fiji and staying in LA’s The Beverly Wilshire, both experiences I will hold dear in my heart for the rest of my life.

As well as the massive landmark of becoming a wife, August also saw me move to London and start a new job.  Whilst I will not deny it has been stressful, I am resolutely convinced that I made the right decision and I am ecstatic to be enjoying the experience of living in London, one of my favourite cities in the world, as well as having made some great new friends in the process.

So as I say goodbye to 2012, I look to 2013 with hope and excitement at what lies ahead.  Normally I set myself goals and aims for the approaching New Year but this year I have but one and that is to enjoy myself.  This is the first year I will be able to enjoy not having to plan or work towards anything in particular and I look forward to exploring London further, visiting some Southern Cities I have yet to acquaint myself with such as Oxford, Brighton, Bath, Bristol and Cambridge as well as reacquainting myself with my two favourite European cities of Barcelona and Paris.  I hope to have plenty to write about and plenty to smile about. 

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2013 and hope you are looking to the future as optimistically as I am.  Remember, you cannot change or revisit the past but you can shape your future.

Winter Red

Today I was feeling extra festive as we went for a walk in Suffolk thanks to this Winter Red Coat from H&M! I love it!! It is also the same colour as my new Lusso London Cashmere gloves which I also am loving! Just a shame I've gained some festive pounds and I'm starting to have a belly resembling that of that famous old man who also likes to wear red! Ho ho ho! Back in the gym big time tomorrow!!


I am wearing:

Coat - H&M
Gloves - Lusso London
Trousers - Armani Exchange
Wedged Trainers - Topshop
Sunglasses - Miu Miu

Harrod's Christmas Stocking!

 On Saturday I braved the christmas shopping crowds of Oxford Street and Knightsbridge in order to show my inlaws, who had not visited London for 30 years, what they were (or were not) missing out on!  My Mother-in-law is obsessed with Christmas decorations, her tree contains over 600 baubles that pretty much tell her life story and so she was desperate to check out Christmas World at Harrods.  Me being the total opposite to my Mother-in-law and a bit bah humbug about Christmas
was a little reluctant to drag myself through the hoardes of people desperate to buy a bauble just so they can have a green Harrods bag but on arrival I did get into the spirit of things and was soon picking out lots of stuff that I wanted to make my new flat festive (although I think the fifty foot wreath I fell in love with was properly better suited to the mansion down the road than my tiny little abode!)

I did, however, fall in love with this Christmas stocking.  I honestly don't think there could be a stocking out there in the world more apt to my tastes, unless Monsieur Louboutin himself did a range.  Unfortunately at £99.95 I reluctantly had to put it back and walk away before I did something silly!

 

I am wearing: Snood, gap / Cape, Ella Luna / Jumper, topshop / Jeans, Abercrombie and Fitch

Alexander Du'Bel Launch

On Sunday evening I was invited to attend the launch of a new lifestyle company from the Alexander Du'Bel group at The West End's top cabaret venue, Circus. 

Circus is one of my favourite venues in London; the cocktails are punchy, the food delicious and the entertainment never fails to amaze me.  In fact, the last time I was there, as part of the audience in a cooking programme to be aired on BBC3 in the new year, I left convinced that when the episode is shown it will contain far too many shots of me gazing up, open mouthed at the gymnasts performing on our table.


One of the acts from the launch night party

The free champagne was already flowing when we arrived and, never one to turn down a glass of bubbly, it wasn't long before I had raised a glass and was mingling amongst the trendy West End crowd of footballers, dancers and models that had turned out for the launch of this interesting, members only lifestyle club.

Alexander Du'Bel lifestyle allows members access to exclusive offers on high end luxury brands such as Bang and Olufson as well as its Travel Service offering exclusive deals on luxury, worldwide resorts and bespoke VIP packages to Vegas.  Perhaps what makes this exclusive membership different to other lifestyle companies out there at the moment is the links it has with various charities and a percentage of each membership is donated directly to the charities it supports.

Managing Director Damian Batt took to the stage to welcome his guests and explain a little about the vision he had when setting up the company.  He also welcomed on stage a representative from one of the charities, a hospice based in Oxfordshire, that he is supporting.
 

Managing Director Damian Batt
delivering his speech.

It is nice to see a young footballer with the foresight of thinking about life after football and his vision and drive are likely to be the driving forces behind the company's impending success. 

Damian spoke with passion about the charitable links of his company as well as his desire to provide his members with a high quality, bespoke service befitting of their lifestyles.  He certainly succeeded in creating a professional and high quality launch night whilst the first edition of the ADL magazine offered a promising taste of what is to come as the company grows and develops.  The magazine contains a variety of lifestyle articles from health and fitness tips by a personal trainer to reviews on the latest gadgets hitting the world of technology, not to mention an interview with one of Britain's most current and in demand artists, Paloma Faith.



After the last act of the night but before the over indulance of the free champagne started to make me feel woozy, my husband and I made a discreet exit to avoid being persuaded to join the after party at Whisky Mist, knowing that despite the temptation to carry on the festivities, it was back to the day job on Monday and teaching teenagers with a champagne hangover is not the most enjoyable way to spend a day!

Thank you Alexander Du'Bel and Circus for a fabulous night and I wish you every success with your new venture.

Pollen Street Social Club

I've been a little quiet on my blog of late for a number of reasons. Firstly, I have been working pretty long hours and so have not had time to write about much and secondly, because I have been working such long hours I have not really been doing anything interesting to write about. My husband and I have also decided it is about time we should start thinking about getting on the property ladder and so have been trying to save rather than splurge, easier said than done when you live somewhere with so much choice in terms of places to shop, eat, drink and entertain oneself!

We did however have the chance a couple of weeks ago to meet some friends for dinner at the Pollen Street Social Club just off Regent's Street in Mayfair. For any foodies out there, Pollen Street Social Club is the flagship restaurant of leading chef Jason Atherton, the ex-Gordon Ramsey employee who oversaw the opening of Maze and his restuarant offers an exclusive à la carte dining experience at equally exclusive prices.

Of course, a new dress had to be on the menu in order to enjoy our evening out and, having spent the last few weeks eyeing up the dresses in the window of Cop Copine on Richmond Hill every evening on the way home from work, I thought a new LBD would be perfect for a night out dining in Mayfair.  As I have previously mentioned (I cannot remember whether on here or Twitter), I have been really impressed by the quality of material and cut of the clothes I have seen and their French/Japanese influences are pretty evident when you see the quality and structure of their clothes.  I tried on a few dresses but decided on one with a halter neck detail that went over the body of the dress and would do a good job of carefully disguising any bloating that may occur after enjoying a large meal and a few glasses of champagne! 



Dress: Cop Copine / Necklace and Earrings: Maje / Opaque Cashmere Tights: Marks and Spencers / Rings: From Qatar’s Souk / Bracelet: H&M / Watch: Gucci / Shoes: Christian Louboutin Bianca’s



I teamed the dress with some Maje jewellery, which I am still so glad I purchased in Lille earlier this year and my wedding shoes as I don’t have many an opportunity to wear them at the moment. I absolutely loved the outfit and I think I will wear the same for a press launch I am attending next week, although I may swap the Loubs for my Jeffrey Campbell sparkle boots.





The dinner at The Pollen Street Social Club was delicious.  Unfortunately for my figure I can never resist homemade bread and butter which were served before the starter, for which I had Cornish crab salad, avocado, wood sorrel ice, crab toastie.  It was a taste sensation, the ‘wood sorrel ice’ gave the avocado an unusual texture as it was so cold but it totally worked.  If you’ve ever had a meal where weeks later you are still thinking about the taste of something then you know it is good! For main I went for the roasted red mullet with Spanish prawn rice, cockles and samphire.  I had never tried red mullet before and it is quite a strong flavour but the Spanish prawn rice complimented it nicely.  My husband and his friend shared the 1kg of beef with duck fat chips and his wife decided on the roasted sea bass with celeriac truffle.

1kg of beef with duck fat chips

After the main courses were finished we were invited over to the bar for dessert where we were given a number of tasters to try, from lime cheesecake sorbet to little petit fours straight out of the oven.  I shared the cheese board for dessert whilst the other couple shared the 70% chocolate ganache.  We were then invited for a tour of the kitchen which, whilst spotlessly clean was ridiculously hot and I didn’t want to risk my makeup melting on my face so made a pretty hasty exit.  Not before being shown a truffle the size of a small rock but worth over £600!  It never ceases to amaze me how something which is grated over your food can cost the same as a precious metal, but people are obviously willing to pay for it!!



Red Mullet with Prawn and Cockles

I think, possibly the best thing about moving to London so far has been the fantastic choice of restaurants here that come in all shapes and sizes and for all budgets.  Although The Pollen Street Social Club definitely would be classed as a rare treat for us, next week we are trying out somewhere with a fantastic reputation at a price that won’t break the bank.  I’ll blog about it once we’ve been so watch this space.

 

 

Bespoke Bridal

Please find below a copy of the guest post I wrote for Bridal blog http://itsahardlifebeingloved.blogspot.co.uk/  Bridal Blogs are great ways to get ideas for weddings and Chloe, the writer of this particular blog, is not only getting married herself but has also set up her own company as a wedding planner.

The post below has been copied from her blog. Please check her blog out on the link above, it's fantastic.

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I'm super excited to introduce a truly fabulous post written by one of the most fashionable people I know. So it only seems fitting that this piece is all about a bespoke designer. Everyone, please welcome Musing Fantasist....

It was two years ago this month when, on the 10/10/10 I stepped out of the shower of the quaint boutique hotel in the lake district where we had spent the weekend, and found my then boyfriend now husband sat on the balcony with what looked like a wrapped up shoe box. As it was not a special occasion and my husband does not normally present me with wrapped up gifts on a Sunday morning for no reason, I wondered if this could be the moment I had been waiting over five years for but couldn’t quite work out why the wrapped up shoe box. The confusion subsided when I ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal the famous brown box synonymous with my favourite shoe designer M. Christian Louboutin and I knew that this proposal was going to be so special and so me. Inside the box were the most beautiful pair of ivory, snakeskin, Bianca Louboutins (if you haven’t guessed by now, I am something of a shoe obsessive) and inside the shoes gleamed a stunning one carat, square cut platinum ring.

Since that moment I have spent the past two years (until my wedding day this summer on 04/08/12) submerged in a world of wedding wondrousness and when a friend pointed me in the direction of my ex-classmates blog, I quickly became an addict and now feel extremely honoured to write this guest post. I don’t want to spend this article recounting tales of what was, ultimately, the best day of my life, but instead tell a tale of a very modern relationship, formed and developed through Twitter, a social-networking medium that can have an array of advantages for wedding planning and beyond if you look in the right places.

It was May 2011 and my wedding plans were well underway when I first met designer Kirsty Doyle at a hot yoga session organised by Justine Mills, owner of the boutique Cricket in Liverpool, where my stunning Louboutin shoes had come from. I started to follow her on Twitter and, after her mentioning in the changing rooms one week, that she was about to spend her Saturday doing some fittings for some bespoke clients, I decided to send her a tweet asking if she specifically did mother of the bride outfits. It turns out she did and, although this bespoke bridal aspect of her business was in the early stages of growth, she had started to be approached by a number of bridal party guests for outfits for their loved ones’ big days. I knew this would be the perfect option for my mum, who always likes to do something a bit different, as well as solving her problem of finding something to fit her ultra-petite frame.

Even before I met Kirsty, I was aware of her reputation as an up and coming designer in Liverpool and had spent many a Saturday browsing the shop she used to have in Liverpool 1 showcasing her latest range of designs. I knew that she favoured bright colours, good quality fabrics (specifically silk) and bold, sleek cuts that gave her clothes a distinctly recognisable quality for those who, like me, have an unhealthy interest in fashion. When I mentioned to friends that I was thinking of asking her to make my mum’s 'mother of the bride' outfit, they filled me in on her background which made my decision for me; she was the perfect candidate to make my mum feel special.

Kirsty started out selling customised t-shirts on Liverpool’s Great Homer Street Market before being chosen to compete in Sky One’s first series of Project Catwalk. Not only was Kirsty given the opportunity to work and network with some of fashions most prominent designers and figures, she also went on to win the show and have a feature in UK’s Elle magazine. From there, Kirsty’s career has gone from strength to strength with her clothes being stocked in Liverpool’s flagship boutique Cricket before the opening of her own store in Liverpool One. Kirsty has developed her brand into an ultra-modern enterprise, with the removal of her high street presence in favour of her website and a move into the bespoke market which has blossomed incredibly over the last 12 months into a thriving bridal business. Kirsty still does her normal ready to wear clothing line, Kiki by Kirsty Doyle which can be found on her website Kirsty Doyle but it is really her bespoke service for bridal parties (mother of both the bride and groom), bridesmaids and more recently, brides which are really becoming her flagship designs.

Two months after the initial tweet was sent, and many more Twitter conversations later, my mother made the two and a half hour drive from where she lives in Grimsby to Liverpool to meet with Kirsty at her studio. My mum and I had spent time doing a bit of research into what kind of style she wanted and came to the studio armed with photos and magazine cuttings to show Kirsty. Together, the three of us pieced together an idea of what we wanted and before long the basic outline of a design had come together. At this point my mother still had no idea as to what colour she was going to choose and so Kirsty pulled out a large range of sample colours and offered numerous colour combinations for my mum to choose from. Meeting one complete and both my mother and I were excited to leave Kirsty to produce a mock-up of the dress for my mum to try on at our next session. A few weeks later we were back in Liverpool, this time to try on the design Kirsty had come up with after our brainstorming session, enabling us to have a visual idea of what the outfit was going to look like. The sample design was not in the same colour or material as the final piece but gave us an idea of how the final design would fit together, enabling us to play around with bits that we weren't completely happy with.

This time we added a peplum to the bottom of the dress, another exciting feature to the outfit, suggested by Kirsty and quickly put together whilst mum stood modelling the design. Things so far were looking good!

For the third meeting, Kirsty actually visited my flat for the unveiling and first fitting of the final piece. It looked fantastic, however, my mum had shrunk even more since her original measurements were taken and a few alterations were needed, as well as the three of us deciding that the collar detail on the jacket should be stiffer and the peplum should be more defined. Kirsty went away again and, after a fourth and final visit, mum’s outfit was ready to be taken away.

Nearly twelve months after our original meeting, mum put on her outfit to watch me walk down the aisle, she looked absolutely stunning and received many compliments on the day. Furthermore, having the opportunity for my mum and I to meet regularly and bond over the development of her outfit was great and now the wedding is over we are both somewhat bereft at that fact she no longer has an excuse to visit me regularly (especially as I have since moved to Richmond which is even further away).

The advantages of going bespoke are endless and after enjoying the experience of creating the mother of the bride outfit so much, I was actually a little jealous that I had not gone for a bespoke gown myself. By this point I had already ordered and paid for my gown but I have excitedly followed Kirsty’s expansion into bridal designs over the past 12 months.

If you are looking for a personal and unique experience, where you can collaborate with a professional designer to produce the dress of your dreams, feel like a princess whilst indulging in the numerous appointments and fittings to fit the dress perfectly to your figure, whilst safe in the knowledge that no one else anywhere in the world will be wearing your wedding dress then bespoke really does win hands down. Another advantage with this choice of wedding dress is that you can give the designer your budget and they can (hopefully) try and work to it, giving you a designer experience suitable for your pocket.

If you would like to enquire to Kirsty about her Bespoke Bridal service then either follow her on Twitter or sign up to her website here - (there is a promotion on at the moment where if you sign up to her newsletter you get a £100 voucher towards your bespoke outfit!).

Good luck to all you fabulous brides currently planning your own day of your dreams, I only wish I could go back and do it all again!

Shoes!

My number one passion in life is...shoes! Shoes glorious shoes! Here are some of my favourites on my shoe shelf at the moment.

The Girl With a Perfect Life

As she walks through the crowds they whisper and mutter,
'I wish I were her they say'
And all she can do is stagger and stutter
and smile at those in her way.

On the outside she radiates being perfect within,
but her insides are knotted and tied.
They don't know all her thoughts are twisted and dark,
they don't know the last time that she cried.

Perceptions are easy to falsify and fake,
she knows because at that she's a pro.
She can work any room to believe that she's high,
she can work it so they'd never know.

For inside she's screaming and it's aimed at herself.
How could you be so worthless and dim?
You're little miss average, a coaster, a fake,
you can't even make yourself thin.

One day they will see you for all that you are,
a talker, an actress, an oaf.
And then they'll desert you, you'll be left on your own.
The one thing you fear more than most.

So she'll up the facade, she won't let people in,
to her innermost thoughts and fears.
Because she knows she's pathetic and they'll all agree,
that she isn't worth any of their tears.

Musings of A Fantasist

Having used Tumblr for my fashion/lifestyle blog for the past few years I have decided to change blog providers and take up with Blogger. I think this will allow me to see who is reading my blog and also for readers to comment and interact with me better.

A little bit about myself for anyone who wants to know:

I am originally from Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire but have spent the last 8 years based in Liverpool (with stints in Spain, France and a few horrific months in Manchester interspersed in this time).

This summer I got married and my husband and I also moved to Richmond which, thus far, I have found to be the best place to live on earth!

My 2 aims in life are to publish a best selling novel and write for Vogue. I hope you enjoy following me as I set out to achieve these aims.

Liverpool

Liverpool is the city closest to my heart. I miss it everyday, even though I feel extremely privileged to be living in Richmond.

This photo shows Liverpool as the special and magical place it is.