Isle Of Wight !!

I had the pleasure of going to the Isle of Wight festival last month courtesy of a very generous friend. I was very grateful to be camping in the guest area which was considerably cleaner and had the added luxury of (reasonably) nice bathrooms. I was left wishing I'd thought ahead and booked a 'pod pad' though as our flashy pop-up tent left much to be desired. Plus they looked super-cute! It was like a tiny, brightly-coloured village..

The weather was beautiful though so we couldn't really complain. This is the view that greeted me when I woke up on Saturday morning..

Saw lots of amazing acts but not nearly as many as I'd hoped to catch, as is usually the way with these things. Missed a fair few acts having been in the Ray-Ban Rooms taking full advantage of the free bar, spying on Kate Moss and commandeering The Hold Steady's previously peaceful baseball game..

There was some fantastic fashion on stage as demonstrated by Paloma Faith, Marina Diamandis, Coco Sumner and Florence Welch.

Paloma Faith had the best show-stopping stage outfit by far! She was fantastic.

Coco Sumner of I Blame Coco definitely had the best grunge look of the weekend. You can't see in the photo but she had the cutest brown brogues on with pulled up light grey socks too. I'd love this outfit!

Florence looked great in her usual floaty dress in either white/black/nude, hey, if it works..

Of course, there was lots of great festival fashion to feast your eyes on at the backstage bar too..

Kate Moss hitching a ride on a golf cart backstage, glamourous. The hair extensions were very questionable up close..

Alexa Chung showing everyone how utility chic should be done

Erin O'Connor

Daisy Coburn of Daisy Dares You doing grunge very nicely

Marina looking good doing her usual quirky thing in a piano coat and bikini bod teeshirt

Pixie Geldof showing her patriotism for the England v USA World Cup match

I have to say, I was pretty impressed with H&M's first foray into festival lounges with their amazing teepee complete with bar, food, couches, beanbags, incense, flatscreens showing the main stage and much-needed and environmentally-friendly solar phone charging. If you felt like waiting an hour, you could also get a leopard print manicure in any combination of colours you chose! Well worth it, I know, but unfortunately my boyfriend did not feel like waiting and so we headed off to see more bands..

Standouts for me over the weekend were The Strokes (obviously) and one of my absolute favourite bands right now, Local Natives. Local Natives were so great, they just had so much energy and they kept switching up who was on what instrument which made it really interesting to watch, never a dull moment. I really can't get enough of them at the moment.

The Strokes

The Strokes Soma and What Ever Happened? (Sorry for my poor camera quality)

Local Natives performing a Talking Heads cover, 'Warning Sign'

I also enjoyed Marina and the Diamonds, I Blame Coco, Bombay Bicycle Club, La Roux, Paloma Faith, Blondie, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z and, for comedic value, Semi Precious Weapons. The only person I really regret missing is Florence!

Macca's big finish

More soon.

Follow the twitter for by-the-minute updates.

Fashion images from Vogue.com and zimbio.com

Lara Stone and David Walliams tie the knot!

After a whirlwind romance, supermodel-of-the-moment, Lara Stone has finally married her funnyman beau, David Walliams. The couple met in mid-2009 and by January it was announced that the pair planned to wed, which understandly prompted lots of raised eyebrows. It was reported that ladiesman Walliams proposed with a beautiful vintage engagement ring after calling Lara's parents in Holland to ask for permission.

David Walliams and Lara Stone shortly after their engagement was announced

Lara's engagement ring

Witnessed by what was probably the weirdest guestlist ever (I never thought I'd see Dale Winton and Tom Ford at the same party); the couple were married in Claridge's hotel before moving on to Shoreditch House for the reception. Lara opted for a beautiful white lace Givenchy gown but changed into a shorter-than-short Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy gold minidress before heading over to the party in a gorgeous vintage Rolls Royce.

The wedding car

The happy couple

It must have been quite a party as guests included Walliams' co-star Matt Lucas, Elton John, Richard and Judy, Geri Halliwell, Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry, Noel Gallagher, Natalie Imbruglia, James Corden, Fearne Cotton, Ronnie Corbett, Alan Carr, Jamie and Louise Redknapp, Tess Daly and Vernon Kay, Barbara Windsor, Dale Winton, Tom Ford, Denise van Outen and Sam Taylor-Wood and her fiancee, Kick-Ass star Aaron Johnson to name a few..

Tom Ford

A heavily pregnant Sam Taylor-Wood and her fiancee Aaron Johnson

Elton John and his husband David Furnish

Alan Carr and Natalie Imbruglia

Jamie and Louise Redknapp

Geri Halliwell

Tess Daly (looking better than I've ever seen her!) and Vernon Kay

Fearne Cotton
Russell Brand

Mazel tov to the happy couple!

More soon.

Alistair Guy's 'Shot From Above' at The Ivy

Sorry it's been a while, being a full-time fashion intern at Start keeps me pretty busy these days.

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a work event at The Loft at The Ivy. It was a private viewing of Alistair Guy's latest photography exhibition, 'Shot From Above', which features influential men in fashion. 'Shot From Above' follows seamlessly (forgive the pun) on from Alistair Guy's last exhibition, 'Behind The Seams', which focused on influential women in British fashion. The ten portraits, all shot from above, show the men in their respective work spaces. The likes of British Fashion Council chairman Harold Tillman, shoe designer Terry de Havilland, milliner Stephen Jones, designer William Tempest, jewellery designer Dominic Jones, Vogue's Robin Derrick, hairdresser James Brown and of course, boutique owner Philip Start, were all included.

Harold Tillman, Chairman of the British Fashion Council and owner of Jaeger and Aquascutum

Philip Start, co-owner of Start Boutique and Mr. Start

Robin Derrick, Creative Director of British Vogue

Stephen Jones, milliner

Terry de Havilland, shoe designer

Dominic Jones, jewellery designer

James Brown, hairdresser (definitely my favourite portrait!)

William Tempest, womenswear designer

The event was a hit with several of the distinguished men in question showing up to see their portraits. Guests sipped on Gin Brambles and Moscow Mules, the latter being my drink of choice. Grazia's Melanie Rickey was set to have her hen party that same night and so in the spirit of 'the more the merrier', Brix Smith-Start invited all 30 hens along who luckily behaved themselves, although as The Ivy was their first planned stop I can't speak for the rest of their night!

Alistair Guy in Mr. Start, with Erin O'Connor

Brix Smith-Start in Halston Heritage

Alistair Guy with James Brown in vintage Yves Saint Laurent

Dominic Jones and Hannah Marshall

Alistair Guy and Philip Start with his portrait!

The event was sponsored by Mr. Start. The prints will be on display for the next month at the Mr. Start tailoring store, 59 Rivington Street, EC2, and are also available to be purchased.

More soon.

Follow the twitter for by-the-minute updates.

All party photos by Luke Freeman

The Life of a Fashion Intern. (one week in)

I've just started interning at Start, Brix Smith-Start and Philip Start's boutique in Shoreditch. Right now I'm mostly doing press and online stuff and I'm loving it. Lots of lending clothes out to press and getting them back. Online orders, online content such as designer bios etc. I'm hoping to get some buying experience soon too!

Check out a couple of blogs I wrote for Jeanette's pop-up shop at Start (which I helped put together), and the launch party (which I got to attend!):

http://jeanettesshop.blogspot.com/2010/04/jeanettes-basement-invasion-launch.html

http://jeanettesshop.blogspot.com/2010/04/from-basement-to-basement-invasion.html

Elle Japan came to the office last week and took some pictures of me and two colleagues for a feature on Start that should be in their July issue. I was lucky enough to get to style myself in anything I wanted from the Spring/Summer collections! I chose to wear two of my absolute favourites; Alexander Wang and Vivienne Westwood. It was shot in the street outside Start, I can't wait to see how it turns out. Here's a sneak preview of what I was wearing:

Alexander Wang top and trousers, Vivienne Westwood Anglomania x Melissa shoes. Vivienne Westwood necklace and earrings (my own). Fossil watch (my own). Stella McCartney bra (my own).

I'll try to keep you updated on any exciting new experiences I get to do whilst interning.

More soon xx

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My new obsessions.

I caught the end of Jools Holland's show last night for the first time in a long time and discovered some new little treats I thought I'd share with you.

Melody Gardot was beyond intriguing. Absolutely my new obsession. She had style, she had mystery, she was amazing. So much so that I immediately looked her up on the internet and what I found only made me fall in love with her more. Her life story reads like that of a Hollywood movie; hit by a car that ran a red light whilst cycling in 2003, the accident completely changed her life. Gardot's injuries were so severe that she spent a year in a hosptial bed and was forced to learn to perform simple tasks such as walking and brushing her teeth again. Melody only learnt to play guitar and started writing music after her accident, which she credits with helping her heal - Gardot has spoken out many times about the benefits of music therapy and has expressed a desire to set up a music therapy programme in the future. Following the devastating accident she also took up a macrobiotic diet and became a Buddhist (she sold her apartment and gave away all of her furniture and even her cat) in a bid to help her healing process. Due to injuries to her brain, Melody has trouble with her long and short term memory and perception of time to this day. She is also hyper sensitive to light and sound, which is why she was wearing sunglasses during her performance on Jools Holland.



Jerry Dammers' Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra closed the show with an amazing reworked rendition of The Specials' classic, Ghost Town. Experimental jazz covers of my favourite songs done with Egyptian-themed props and costumes? I'm sold.



Kate Nash's triumphant return and 'Band of Horses' also tickled my fancy.

More soon.
Follow the twitter for quicker updates: http://www.twitter.com/thesculptedheel

Frock Me is back!

It's been a long time coming but finally, the second season of Frock Me is here! Fashion darlings Alexa Chung and Henry Holland have come together to host their fashion-oriented TV show once more and I could not be more excited - no longer will we have to resort to watching re-runs of Sex and the City for our TV fashion fix! If you don't know what I'm talking about then this advertisement should tickle your tastebuds:



In a rather disappointing turn of events, word has it that Alexa's parts were filmed seperately in New York where she is now based full-time following a move to host her MTV show, 'It's On with Alexa Chung'. A bit of a let down for those of us who loved seeing the two of them actually together, however it could be an exciting insight into the New York fashion scene where Alexa is now a bona fide style icon. As long as these New York segments aren't as brief and innocuous as Agyness Deyn's in the first season then it might still work. Henry's parts were filmed all across Europe presumably to interview leaders in fashion much like Alexa did in the first season, and joining them will be Radio 1 presenter, Gemma Cairney who will be travelling all over the UK to see what us Brits have to offer. And with fashion favourite, Marina and the Diamonds set to be the musical guest on the first episode, what more could you want?

Whatever the format, it promises to cater to the needs of fashion-lovers everywhere and I, for one, am thrilled to see it return to our screens! You can watch the first episode on Channel 4 on Sunday 25th April at 1pm.

More soon.

Beth Ditto designs second plus-sized collection for Evans.

What better celebrity to design a collection for plus-sized high street store, Evans, than the larger-than-life Gossip frontwoman, Beth Ditto? ..Noone. Exactly.

Beth Ditto

It's understood that Ditto has been in meetings with Evans' head of design, Lisa Marie-Peacock, working on her follow-up collection for the brand. Her first range, which was launched in July of last year, was a huge success so understandably there is a lot of buzz surrounding her Autumn/Winter 2010 design efforts.

Beth Ditto's first collection for Evans

Her last line was a reasonably tamer reflection of her own personal outrageous style, albeit with leggings and sequins a-plenty, and her second line promises not to disappoint. I am rather excited about Ditto's eclectic sources of inspiration which reportedly range from 1940's wartime romanticism to punk to the noughties to the diverse places she visited whilst on her recent world tour. Evans' head of design, Lisa-Marie Peacock, said that “This is a concept for girls with different styles, shapes and sizes. Beth wanted to make modernised versions of style through the years, to create a unique and mix-matching collection.” I must admit, I can't wait to see what she's come up with.

At a size 22, Ditto is constantly pushing the boundaries of what society deems acceptable for a woman of her size to wear, often choosing to strip down to her underwear on stage. However, many plus-sized women may not be brave enough to wear sparkly leggings and body conscious dresses (and it's questionable whether they should). Saying that, I'm sure this will prove to be another massive hit for Ditto and Evans and the countless women out there who feel that big can be beautiful.



Performing hit single 'Standing In The Way Of Control' in Sydney earlier this year with her band, Gossip

The bad news for most of us fashionistas is that Evans only stocks sizes 14 - 32, so start eating those cupcakes and piling on the pounds now if you want to wear Ditto's designs come Autumn. Beth will reportedly be making a series of appearances when the range is launched in mid-September so be sure to keep an eye out at your local Evans store!

More soon.