Wednesday 12 September 2012

NYFW: The Row

Keeping true to Savile Row, the namesake of their brand, the Olsen sisters focused on the essence of the cut for SS13. Doing what they've come do so well the collection was a lesson in understated luxury and elegance. A neutral colour palette made way for bold reds and rich navys, all worn layered head-to-toe. The collection was said to draw inspiration from American folk, the English countryside and 18th century Japanese artist, Ito Jakuchu.

It's not particularly wearable for the average woman but The Row's minimalist aesthetic is really setting the benchmark for covetable, grown-up chic. Something to strive for.

Love the layering of a shorter sleeve shirt over a longer sleeve shirt that was seen at Alexander Wang too..

Dresses worn over trousers might officially be a 'thing' next year..


I'm really drawn to these white and nude looks, great colour combination..



So 1990s minimal..


Adore the navy looks with the fantastic detail..

The attention to tailoring and detail is really amazing..




Guest Blogger: Pictures From The Pass

If you're anything like me, fashion week is usually a hectic time spent running around with barely a second thought for a lunch break. Inevitably this leads to lots of ill-advised fast-food and quick-fix sugary snacks whenever you do manage to grab a moment (what would P'Trique say?!).

But fear not! My lovely friend Terry is the most amazing chef for Hix restaurants so I asked him to rack his brain for a few quick, healthy and most importantly yummy ideas that us fashion girls could steal to keep our energy up and our waistlines sample size! I'll let Terry take it away...

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So ladies LFW is upon us again and this inevitably mean lots of parties, lots of champagne and probably lots of healthy eating going out the window in favor of quick hangover food to get everyone through the until that next glass of bubbly.

So here's a couple of quick, healthy & tasty dishes that will hopefully help you resist that double bacon and egg sandwich. Theses dishes take about 5 minutes and are very easy to prepare:

Smoked mackerel salad with shaved celery, apple and horseradish dressing 
Mackerel is one of my favourite fish and it works great with the fresh crunchy apple and celery here. It contains the most omega 3 oil of any fish which is great for the skin and helps improve the metabolism.

Ingredients:
1 Fillet of smoked mackerel flaked (skin off)
1 Granny smith apple thinly sliced (cut in half avoiding the core on both sides then slice it) 
A Few leaves of baby gem lettuce torn up roughly
1 Stick of celery peelings (use a standard potato peeler for this)
A few watercress leaves washed
Fresh horseradish (grated over the top optional)
Horseradish dressing (1 teaspoon of creamed horseradish, juice of half a lemon & 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil mixed together in a teacup) 

Instructions:
Whack all the ingredients into a bowl apart from the smoked mackerel and coat with a splash of the dressing, add a pinch of salt and a twist of pepper, mix gently then start to arrange on the plate adding the flaked mackerel.



Sweet & Spicy prawns with a crunchy asian salad 
This is a cracking little variation on a dish I ate in Thailand a few years back, it's super healthy and super quick to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 packet of cooked king prawns
1 carrot peeled & coarsely grated 
A big pinch of picked mint leaves 
A big pinch of picked coriander leaves
Half a handful of bean sprouts
2 leaves of iceberg lettuce chopped
1/2 a red chilli (seeds out and finely chopped)
sweet & spicy dressing (1 tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, juice of 1 lime & 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar)



Instructions:
Open the packet of prawns and add 1 tablespoon of the dressing into the packet and mix in to coat the prawns. In a separate bowl mix all the other ingredients and add another tablespoon of the dressing to coat. Place the salad mix in a bowl and top with the prawns drizzling a little of the dressing over the top.


Pineapple with chilli and mint
I had these beauties on a beach in China where the locals sell them on sticks without the chilli, but I prefer it with a little warmth.

Ingredients:
1 pineapple peeled and cut into strips (you could also use packets of pre-diced chunks if you like)
1 red chilli seeds out finely diced
4 mint leaves finely sliced
2 tablespoon of golden caster sugar (plain white sugar will do as well)
2 tablespoon of boiling water


Instructions:
In a cup mix the sugar with boiling water until the sugar has dissolved. In a bowl mix the pineapple with the chilli and mint, then add 1 tablespoon of the water and sugar mixture. Place in a bowl and garnish.

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Lucky for us Terry has his own blog chronicling his mouth-watering, Instagram-inducing life as a top London chef. Check it out for more genius ideas and general delight here: http://picturesfromthepass.blogspot.co.uk/

You can follow him on twitter here too: @terencedwards85

Thanks Terry! x

Tuesday 11 September 2012

NYFW: Alexander Wang

Even though it was more of the same I did really like Alexander Wang. It's very much my aesthetic. That deconstructed, monochrome, androgynous cool he does so well.

I know Wang favours a sporty girl but I'm not sure how I feel about the baggy knee-length shorts.. The only nod to the fact that this collection is in fact different from any other season is that it was slightly more futuristic, particularly the glow-in-the-dark finale and uber-cool metallic strip partings.

Not too exciting but if it ain't broke I guess why bother to show something new?

Maybe I'm being swayed by the current AW12 penchant for head-to-toe white but I seem to have been quite narrow in my choice of favourite looks:


I can't fault him, I so adore the shirts..





Liberty Ross is my fucking hero!!! MAJOR moment..!







The shoe straps around the calves are kind of great too, I like that they run all the way up the back of the leg..


Photos from Style.com

NYFW: Rodarte

Rodarte is always refreshingly surprising, I feel like they are one of the few designers who do really strive to do something new each season be it prairie-chic or those Van Gogh gowns. It's nice to see designers take a bit of a risk and not sit back and do the same thing season after season just because it may be commercially successful.

Taking the side partings to extreme, the Mulleavy sisters showed slicked comb-overs topped off with ear cuffs(!) that fitted their futuristic theme. I've picked out some of my favourite looks below:

I love all the evening dresses with short sleeves that have been in many collections so far.. and of course prints again..

Taking inspiration from the medieval, some of the pieces showed some really beautiful detail almost like chain-mail armour.. and the shoes are amazing too..





This is probably my ideal outfit! Great knitwear and demure, boyish shapes with some cut-out detail to keep it far far far from boring. And a great statement necklace to top it off..



I love that we're seeing more grunge coming through too. PVC/knitwear deliciousness..

Perfection..

The bondage trousers are so hot..!


NYFW: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Always a staple on the NYFW calendar, I wasn't quite so enticed by Marc Jacobs' main line this time around. For me it felt quite SS12 Louis Vuitton, albeit with a lot more midriff. His diffusion collection, Marc by Marc on the other hand was really exciting.

I'm really into the head wraps (well, if Ryan Gosling's girlfriend is doing it..) and the fun, clashing prints. And who doesn't always love a good socks-and-heels scenario? There was a lot of socks-and-sandals action at the men's SS13 shows a couple of months ago too so it looks like his-and-hers dressing is on the cards boys!

Continuing with my fave trends to come out of NY there were some great clashing prints and androgynous vibes - I can totally see myself in the men's looks too!





Such a cute jacket!..




Of course I did adore the final look from Marc Jacobs though. Ideal sleeve-length and boyish figure with some playful sheer and mixed patterns = right up my street.. And another side parting too!

More soon.