Highlights of LCM

I haven't really talked much about men's fashion on my blog but since London's Men Collections has just finished I thought I'd do a sort of summary of the highlights (or lowlights!) of the past 3 days. Although, I do love looking at men's fashion, I always find that things seem to repeat. The same suits always turn up or the same trousers are everywhere. This season seems to have mixed things up a bit (there are some very out there designs) with a larger variety. So here goes...

MONDAY

John Smedley

An interesting mix of leggings and striped jumpers!

Topman Design

Loads of different styles in this collection, though a lot of baggy trousers and plenty of layers. 

Lee Roach

 This collection was all about simplicity - every design was either black or/and white. 

MAN

Yes I agree - a bit weird, but it was actually one of my favourite collections. Check out the rest of the designs if you have a chance. 

Hunter Gather

Fashion East

 This definitely wins the award for one of the weirdest collections - footballs for shoes and a bucket for a hat. 

Meadham Kirchoff

Hackett

TUESDAY

Nicole Farhi

 Definitely one of my favourites. Simple but effective.

Aitor Throup

Jonathan Saunders

I'm obsessed with the colours in this collection.

Christopher Shannon

Martine Rose

Savile Row

Alexander McQueen

Sibling

 Yes, I laughed out loud too.

James Long

WEDNESDAY

JW Anderson

Shaun Samson

Katie Eary

The prints are great in this collection.

What do you think of these collections? Which were your favourite?

Dans La Vie

Ever heard of Dans La Vie? No, neither had I until today. It's a London based brand who have showcased off-schedule at London Fashion Week. I really like the idea of highlighting some lesser known (and newer) designers in my posts so that you can form opinions over whether you like them or not. There's some great talent out there, but many people don't get to see it (we only ever hear about the big names) so starting off with Dans La Vie. First of all: you'll probably love some of their designs but hate others. I'ts definitely one of those designer brands you can't quite make your mind up about, but give it a go...

Spring/Summer 12

 Ok, so I've picked out the best designs here (in my opinion of course). I really love the prints. I've never really thought about prints before (I'm more of a style,
shape and texture girl) but these are really captivating. It honestly just makes me want to go to an exotic island and eat loads of fruit! I also like the style the first two dresses have. I love the pleats and how they give the skirts lots of volume.

Autumn/ Winter 12

Not my favourite collection (the best is still to come!) but still quite exciting! Again, the prints really stand out as the main feature in these designs. I would absolutely love to have some leggings like the ones in the 5th design. It's also interesting the way that the designer has layered up the garments - putting the jackets over the skirts, dresses over trousers etc. It's almost like they were thinking in a different way to everyone else.

Spring/Summer 13

This is a really exciting collection - there's loads going on! All of the designs have something unique to them. With my obsession of dresses with good structure, I love all of these designs, plus they're really detailed and well made. The first three in particular are brilliant and I love the choice of fabrics. Also, did you notice the heels!? 

So what do you think of Dans La Vie's collections? Will you be watching out for them next season?

Roses are Red

An outfit post for you today. I went to the sales at Westfield yesterday with some friends and managed to find a few good purchases. The two in this post are this really lovely red dress and some silver heels. The dress is from Urban Outfitters. I saw it about a month ago when it was full price, so was really happy to see it was reduced to £25. I just couldn't resist this dress. The fabric is amazing and I love the print as well. It's also very versatile and can be worn in a variety of different ways. This is actually the first thing I've bought from this shop but I've always loved their clothes (even though they're a tad overpriced). I've paired this dress with some shoes I bought from New Look. I didn't go out with the intention of buying another pair of heels but these were only £8! which I thought was a real bargain. I'm also wearing my spike necklace (see here). It's a very simplistic outfit (quite unusual for me) but I really love it! Sometimes wearing one simple garment can look the best.

What were your best sales purchases?

Something a bit out there...

I believe this is my first post in 2013, so Happy (a bit late) New Year! I'm hoping to start making a few more things this year (that's if I stick to my New Years Resolutions) so should be doing some more posts like this, as well as some more outfit posts. I've added a couple of new pages to the site - an About Me section (feel free to read it if you want) and a page called 'An outfit a day'. This is more for my personal use to look back on but feel free to check it out every now and again. 

Back to today, and I've made something! This is actually for part of my textiles coursework at school but I thought I'd show you to see what you all think of it. I had to do a critical response based on Alexander McQueen. The photos below show the designs which I used as inspiration for my response. I made the dress using some old skirt fabric as a lining (not sure where this came from - it was on my bedroom floor!), and some lace which originally came from an old curtain. I then created ruffles and gathers to create the final dress. I'm also wearing a wide black belt I've had for years. 

                 
            

               

                                       

What do you all think?