Is it superman? No its Betsey Johnson showing her pants - same diff'

Thursday marks the end of it all - the chairs are folded away, the sunglasses are popped back in their pouches and the millions of empty bottles of Vitamin Water are recycled. That cant be it for another year you cry?!! I have just learnt that Marchesa and tulle are my new best friends! Just learnt that its ok to wear black on black in the spring and not feel like im going to a funeral! And ive just learnt its ok to wear your pants on the outside of your outfit....oh wait, Betsey Johnson you sweet sweet fashion psycho. But alas, do not fret friends, we still have three weeks to go!! And the best part is...its all coming to London on Friday! Hoards of fashionistas are plucking, tanning, polishing and fretting over the next week, in a capital that will see the likes of Cara Delevingne stood next to David Gandy, stood next to Tinie Tempah, stood next to Jourdan Dunn...yeah im not sure im going to bother leaving the house either. Don't worry though, at the end of the day there will still be a lot of this going around....



Betsey Johnson - Vogue.co.uk

 

NYFW has seen some amazing pieces this week - follow these trends and you will be just fabulous:

- Peek-a-boo Sheers
- Monochrome
- Geo Prints
- Blue
- Ethereal - Silvers and tulle
- Boxy Cuts/Volume
- Pastels
- Sports-luxe
- Barely-there Dresses

Some of my favourite designers showed this season and as per usual they exceeded my expectation and completely blew me away with the beauty and intricacy of their pieces. Here are my favourite ensembles from NYFW SS14.

Betsey Johnson (Vogue.co.uk) - Do you remember when you were little and you had that one Barbie that looked like she should be in some sort of black arts ballet? Massive black tulle skirt, pink hair, sparkle EVERYWHERE? Well Betsey Johnson has taken that child-like love and run with it. Her collections are nothing if not fun and inspiring, bringing out the feelings we used to have as a 7 year old in our purple party dress. She has the 'eff you' quality of McQueen, the tulle use of Marchesa and the fashion sense of .... well like I said, Barbie...and we love her with our whole Dream House. Way more than Barbie loves Ken.




Marchesa (Vogue.co.uk) - You may not have the body, the money, the royal husband....or the sister...but secretly most of us dream of a day which rivals even the most stunning of Duchesses. All dress and no drunk uncles. Well, like ive said to you before, the word Marchesa strikes fear into my mother's heart. Not only because it will cost her most of her life savings, but also because she is genuinely afraid (with good reason) that I will wear a black Marchesa wedding dress when the day finally arrives. The tulle, the lace, the crystals, the feathers, the eye-watering detail make for a dress that will turn the head of the most royal of royals. So beautiful, it is everything I want in a wedding....who needs a hubz anyway?




Alice + Olivia (Vogue.co.uk) - One of the only collections I believe could truly be taken from catwalk to store with no in between interference. The colours, the cuts, the separates, the dresses - all other worldly whilst still being completely in my grasp. One of my favourite ever outfits was when Carrie (SATC) wore a purple prom skirt with a Dior t-shirt - it completely changed my outlook on formal and casual. Ever since I have been completely obsessed with flowing skirts and tees and apparently so has A+O...


Vera Wang (Vogue.co.uk) - I could never forgive myself if Vera wasn't included. She understands the female form better than almost every other designer known to mankind. If you glance quickly below, you will likely see a simple yet elegant blue dress. But what I see is a dress that makes a slim girl curvy. A dress which accentuates an already striking neck and a beautifully pale complexion. A dress that turns heads. A dress that makes a female, a woman. The whole collection is sheer, but at no point smutty. She has the perfect balance of feminine grace and sultry seduction. Perfection.



Sass & Bide (Vogue.co.uk) - As you will find out when we see Celine's collection, my weakness is a woman in a suit that could kill a man if he looks directly at it. As someone who wants to be a strong female boss (not in a strange Tulisa way....) I am a sucker for the new-age power suit. This Sass & Bide white trouser with bustier just kills me. In the words of Rachel Zoe, "I.Die"



Time to get some rest now and ill see you in the FROW at LFW for SS14 - geez so many acronyms, so little time...

And for the first time in history, the catwalk saw....a smile?!!

On this drizzly day we are transported to a room so shiny and bright, it seems half the audience have to wear sunglasses. And for once the dazzling star of the runway was not the host of lithely limbed models, the swathes of frothy fabrics or the sharp-sheared designers, but the tiniest fashionista of them all, Miss Harper Beckham. Continuing on my strange theme of having to write about Queen Victoria and her brood in my opening paragraph ("2 become 1" literally changed my life....), I will report on the only person ever to smile at a fashion week, who also happens to be the youngest of the Beckham clan. Wearing what I am sure is by no means her most expensive dress, Harper wowed in the front row in a pleated Chloe ensemble, bringing a smile to even Anna Wintour's face - the only other time that happened was when she found out Meryl Streep had actually caused girls to want to pick up her coffee...."I have Patrick!!"

So with a smile, the show must go on.

Bold and bright prints - We have been without sunshine for one day and everyone is already discussing where they will be spending Christmas - I mean it must be the dead of winter now right? So to cheer us all up the lovely fashions of SS14 will see our wardrobes filled with eye-watering bright and clashing prints. Whether you want matchy-matchy outfits, same print but opposing coloured separates or just one block print piece, make sure it is loud ... and that its screaming, "This is KATE SPADE don't you know!"


Denim - Its wearable, its durable, its the builders outfit of choice. Nuff said. Take a leaf out of DKNY's book and wear baggy dungarees with feminine heels, a waist skimming blazer and a plain baseball cap. Rihanna meets Rachel McAdams - real talk.



Volume, volume, VOLUME!! After posting about square shoulders the other day, NYFW has continued to build on this larger than life silhouette (pun completely intended) and is making the female form domineering and edgier. Like Threeasfour, remember to balance out big shoulders with a slim-waist and shaped hips to stop you from looking like Lady Gaga...



Floor sweeping skirts - Skirt lengths have moved from midi back to floor length and we are all secretly rejoicing. Obsessing over the dresses at Carolina Herrera which take a strong, structured bodice and pair them with a flowing sheer skirt. Modern day princess!



Pleats and gathered fabrics - As adding volume is the top of the fashion list for SS14, take something less terrifying than spikey shoulders and add texture and pomp by the manipulation of fabric. You may not want to look like a fancy lampshade, a la Zac Posen, but the idea of layers of sheer fabrics is actually a lot more flattering that you think. Choose the right shade and the right pleat and you can hide a whole manner of sins.



My final thought for the day...or should I say final fashion? Dior SS13. In the immortal words of Rachel Zoe. I. Die.

NYFW sees pastels, sportswear and...penguin?

It's Sunday, you are feeling a little worse for wear after last night and you just found your housemates false eyelash stuck to the bottom of the glass you are drinking from. Life is looking a little less razzle dazzle and a little more, 'isn't it misleading that Monday rhymes with fun-day'. So with the final few hours of your weekend slipping away, I bring you a few more trends that have graced the New York Fashion Week catwalks over the last couple of days. And just remember, Vicky Beckham hasn't eaten since 1992, so your life could be worse.

Sporty Tailored Separates: We are well into NYFW and so all of the big names have come out of their cotton strewn labs to bring you the crème de la crème of the new season's trends. One such artiste being the oh so coveted Alexander Wang. The man is next to Celine in making the most perfectly tailored/draped/cinched/sculpted separates for women and this collection did not fail to impress. In a twist on both the classic tailoring and the laidback sportswear, the two have been combined to make a new office wear trend which will have even the most uppity bosses taking you seriously. Well as serious as one's boss can take you when you are wearing a crop-top shirt and the equivalent of culottes....in fashion that is pretty damn serious.



Sheer Delight: I have made it very VERY clear to my lovely mother that there are only two designers I want adorning my body on my wedding day  - either Vera Wang or Monique Lhuillier. Monique understands that underneath it all, most of us women just want to be a princess. We want the frothy dresses, the smattering of crystals, the layers of lace (more royal princess than gypsy wedding...) and as is a HUGE trend for SS14, the soft feel of a sheer veil covering our bodies. Take a leaf out of her book, cover everything that needs to be covered and let the rest peek through a thin translucent fabric. Sheer beauty.



Pastel Perfection: Quelle surprise I hear you cry, pastels are in for SS14. Well yes, this is perhaps not ground breaking, but it is one of the easiest trends to wear and so pretty much deserves its crown as queen of the obvious. Prabal Gurung has created a line of the most spectacular suits, cocktail dresses and separates in divine shades of lavender, mint and bubble gum pink. Get a perfectly tailored suit in one pastel colour to make the boys realise you are sweet but still the boss.



Stripes: I mean who doesn't love a pinstripe suit on a woman right?! Ok, no-one....well no-one until now. Who said you couldn't wear two different stripes in one outfit? Well certainly not Altuzarra who has created a collection of striped separates that look like they may have been created from one of your Dad's old pyjama shirts, but surprisingly are some of the most flattering pieces on the catwalk. With vertical stripes to lengthen the body and a perfectly cut shirt, tucked into a skirt which shows the sexiest slice of thigh, the only thing you need to worry about is whether or not someone will mistake you for a tube map.



Monochrome: As always one of the most anticipated collections was that of Victoria Beckham - is it really true this sugary pop-let is turning her talents to impeccable fashion designing? Well yes it is. In one of her most grown up yet, the SS14 collection sees angular shapes, sheer panels and sports-luxe additions. Very un-VickyB. Generally I thought it was magical, all but a few cocktail dresses which weren't to my taste, but as the pro-ballers always do, she has managed to nail a one of the biggest trends - monochrome. Add a touch of white to your black outfit and make sure you visually pop in the crowd. So obsessed with the fact she layered the colours on top of each other instead of building them into one garment. Who knew that Penguin from Batman would turn out to be the most fashionable villain of them all?



And with that I will leave you with style and substance - Vivienne Westwood at her best during the SS13 FW shows....saving the planet and wearing face paint.