Stumbling through NYC | New York Fashion Week SS14

Wearing: Sweater – Zara. Jeans – James Jeans. Heels – Lucy Choi. Bag – Couronne. Tartan shirt – Motel Rocks. Thank you Cup of Couple for helping with the shots of moi!

Well, it’s official. My champion all-nighter days are over. Now come the era of hot, crumbling mess under restaurant tables, desperate to catch a snooze between courses that are technically being served at 3am in the morning. It didn’t help that I never bothered to change my watch to NY time, so throughout the evenings every glance at the wrist was met with a mini heart-attack. Largely because normally by 11pm the hubby would be out by the door with a Sharpie and a pair of suede shoes, threatening with a game a tic-tac-toe on a pair of Chloés, but also because it really felt like all the lights were off in my body except the stomach into which I was shovelling dessert. (PARTY UP IN HURR) It was all very confusing. I returned to the hotel after each consecutive late night, reached for the laptop slurring I nee to update de bluuuuuuuug, then wrote some incoherent ramble before planting my face square onto a corner of the keyboard, typing a 25-page blogpost consisting of just Q’s, ~’s, @’s and W’s. I guess it stopped when I eventually rolled myself into bed, which let me tell you, felt like diving into milk. I guess jet lag is the closest thing to a drug I’ll ever experience. I do apologize for the radio silence, and the avalanche of posts on stand-by, soon to clog up your Bloglovin’ feed. For now, here’s a couple of shots from NYC/NYFW to get started.

Hope you’re having a wonderful week and enjoying the fashion month so far. 

Wearing: Sweater – Topshop. Skirt – Zara. Heels – Valentino. Bag – Nina Ricci ‘Ballet‘.

For those kind, brave-hearted folks who follow me on Instagram will know that I’ve recently taken on a 6-week beginners’ ballet course at the City Academy, all part of a personal ‘spring clean’ campaign brought on by a sudden onset of severe eczema a couple months back. It’s still a bit of a battle, although the flare-ups are much less aggressive nowadays… I’m still trying to adjust my lifestyle and work towards curbing it, accepting it can’t be completely cured. A spot of ballet every week seemed like a gentle, manageable solution to get myself back to being a little physical, while revisiting something I loved doing imitating when I was a kid. Coincidentally, a week into the course, I got an email  from Nina Ricci to work on a video to coincide the launch of their new bag, named Ballet. It felt natural, so I accepted. We shot the video in Frame, my preferred dance-studio in Shoreditch (long time-followers will also remember this particular Black Swan-inspired barré class 2 year ago), and while I was hoping to explain the connection to my personal initiative, we decided to keep it light and frothy (+ squeaky). Thankfully, the bag isn’t all that fluffy and airy in character, it’s actually a very solid construction of beautiful, supple leather met with suede; golden metallic detailing that hint on a bit of maturity and luxuriousness. If anything, it”s the size of the bag that gives away the personality of the owner, carrying a little more than what’s necessary, perhaps hiding a secret or two it the interior. Hope you enjoy the video!

Collaborative post with Nina Ricci.

Making of Jaguar #YourTurnBritain video

Wearing: Top – Red striped top –Chinti & Parker.White culottes –ASOS. White heels – Zara. Bag – Couronne.

Last week I popped by Victoria Grant‘s studio in Notting hill for a cloudy lemonade. The lovely Alice Temperley happened to be there, so was a lipstick-red Jaguar F-TYPE, and about fifteen film crew guys and gals. You know, just hanging around. We talked about hats and modern British design, while Alice and I wore the red & white outfits we matched over the phone the night before. As you do.

Who am I kidding. One of the few things that this wee blog allows me to do, that I’m very grateful for, is allowing me to to be a part of exciting campaigns like this. Especially alongside the likes of Alice Temperley, who translates English countryside love-stories into a collection, and Victoria Grant, the rock & roll milliner that have crowned many a head with pistols and purple nipples. With the arrival of the new F-TYPE, Jaguar are celebrating modern Britain in the areas of design, music, sport and film, and speaking as one ever slightly obsessed with this city that is London, I’m glad to be sharing it with you. I’m also very proud to have a British design education, although I guess it’s my fault I’m not really applying that education anywhere except when squirting ketchup very very artistically.

Be a part of the celebration

Capture an image, GIF or video that you think defines the best of modern Britain and share it on Tumblr, Twitter or Instagram. Use #YourTurnBritain for your chance to win one of four unforgettable weekend experiences with the Jaguar F-TYPE. (More information here)

In collaboration with Jaguar (If it wasn’t obvious enough…); Competition terms and conditions.

Aubaine, Dover Street

A blue macaron to celebrate the, hashtag, RoyalBabyBoy!

Wearing: Tee – T by Alexander Wang. Tartan trousers – Zara. Slingback heels – Lucy Choi. Bag – JinYoo103684. Watch – Sekonda. Gold bangles – ASOS. Thank you Kit for helping with the outfit shots!

This is where I take all my meetings to, and possibly also the reason I make meetings for. Client meetings, PR meetings, blind dates, sword duels, eBay item handovers… husband looks up from the sofa and asks ‘what are we having for dinner?‘, I’m glad you asked dear, shall we convene at Aubaine to discuss whether the chicken needs to be defrosted or will it be the Indian takeaway again?-meeting. Back when I was on student budget I used to visit Selfridge’s to fondle Louboutins and contemplate not eating for a month but then I’d catch a whiff of the croissants from Aubaine and I’d go pffft and splurge on a creamy latté instead. It would be a decision that allowed for a merry month of eating pot noodles and being a happy student. I believe it was actually around the time I could afford my first Louboutins a year or two back when they opened another branch on Dover Street, I braved the lunch menu and fell straight in love. If you treat yourself to breakfast, you must try the duck eggs omelette with Ugie smoked salmon and horseradish crème fraîche; for lunch, the Lobster spaghetti. I’ve never been for dinner but I imagine it won’t be long till the hubby and I have a meeting there about who will do the laundry and I can sneakily convince him to stay and eat.

This is not a sponsored post, I just like sharing nice places with you.

Jumpsuit – Topshop. Heels – Zara. Rose-gold star necklace – MyFlashTrash. Sunglasses & Bag – c/o Couronne. Watch – Sekonda. Gold bangles – ASOS. Friendship Bracelet – DIY (similar here). Belt – Marni (via the Outnet); Ring – Michelle Oh; Thank you Charlie for helping with the photos.

Let this be my humble attempt at inquiring what ze heck is up with this weather by going into the boiler room with a wrench. Apparently, according to practice, the most appropriate attire to such assignment is either a boiler suit or a beer company t-shirt + paint-stained khakis combo, and since I’m off beer for, like, THE REST OF MY LIFE after spilling it all over my laptop the other day, I’m going with the jumpsuit option. It’s surprisingly comfortable! But I won’t speak for the poor man who missed his chance to overtake me in a narrow street and could not help but to witness the series of wedgie un-doing.  As for the weather, I’m really not too sure what’s wrong – my theory is that the thermostat plastic melted onto a permanent state of 32°C (90°F). The manuals were clear though, on claiming I am just one ungrateful bastard for complaining about this beautiful summer weather. I do apologize. Alas, I did do some good banging around with the wrench (The stud-embossed Couronne bag does a fantastic tool-bag make) and now there’s a thunderstorm outside, which means I may have either fixed it or broken it further. We shall see.