Afternoon at Somerset House for London Fashion Week in Chanel and Leopardprint

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! As you all may be aware, it's London Fashion Week until tomorrow and although I don't have any shows to go to, I have been living the 'experience' of it through my uber stylish and talented son who not only works full time in men's fashion pr, but is a freelance photographer. He has been fortunate to attend over nine different designer's shows to shoot backstage and some front of house-his highlights being Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith for Hunger Magazine.

Being such a proud mum, I will do a round up post of his wonderful pictures later this week when he has actually finished. Anyhow, it's been great to hear and see firsthand from him the backstage adventures and front of house antics from the view of a photographer and has made my experience of London fashion Week all the more enjoyable even though I did not participate!

As the sun was shining yesterday morning, I thought I would take him for a coffee at Somerset House before he set off to do his shows and we arrived early afternoon:

My intention was for us to have a coffee, him set off and for me to have a wander around Somerset House, take some photos and then do some people watching.  I just got to the people watching after making myself comfortable when it decided to rain-hard! Still, I managed to get some photos before the weather turned:

My lovely son, who was pretending he didn't want his photo taken, hehe!!

A view of the Embankment and the London Eye

Such a hub bub of passer by's, photographers and fashionistas in the business!!

My outfit of choice yesterday was my thrifted Chanel jacket, some new to me thrifted PRPS boyfriend jeans, black wool pashmina, a new Primark tee, thrifted Clarks black peep toe shoes and my leather leopardprint tote by Autograph at Marks & Spencer. I was so pleased I'd worn my scarf, I even had a hat in my bag which went on when the rain came down!! 

The shops at Somerset House had some gorgeous items-my favourite's were the Bella Freud and Markus Lupfer jumpers which I could easily have bought all of them if money were no object and also the wonderful bookshop, where I fell in love with nearly all the bookshelves and their contents. If you're after any designer or vintage book then this must be your first port of call:

As you can see, i was very windswept, but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon-especially when I had a sneaky McDonalds before getting the bus back to Liverpool Street for the train home!!

Have you been keeping up with London Fashion Week at all? I like seeing what the designers have to show, but I am not at the point where I watch live streams or apply for tickets for shows. I'm more than happy to take a backseat and view it through my son's camerea lens, hehe!!

Wishing you all a really good week ahead!!

Thrifted Nordic Scandi Knit, Channelling The Killing Style!!

Hi everyone!! Well the weather really is Autumnal this week, bouts of rain, wind and clouds mean that layering has been a must for all trips outdoors. 

A lot of style bloggers have been posting about sweaters for the coming season and a continued theme  is the need and desire for quality knits. In the mid 80s and early 90s it was standard to be able to buy knits on the high street that were lambswool, merino wool or pure wool-of course, acrylic was about but was that much cheaper. Now acrylic and viscose seem to be the norm on the high street and if you want a good wool mix or pure wool then you really do have to shop around if you're on a budget of under £50.

Who can forget the frenzy of 'The Killing', not just for the show but the wool sweaters featured on it:

The wonderful company Gudrun & Gudrun, run by two Faroese women make The Killing jumpers and cardigans and if you've around £200 to £300 to spend on one of these wonderful knits, it really is an investment knit for life. The Faro Islands are 18 tiny islands situated in the North Atlantic, between Iceland and Norway.  Their traditional knits are 100% organic wool and are handknitted.

My latest thrift find isn't one of 'The Killing' sweaters but as near as to it as possible!! I have been hankering after a Scandinavian knit for quite a few years now and was thrilled to find one earlier today in a neighbouring town's charity shop. The knit is by Norwegian company Nordstrikk. They are situated outside the town of Aalesund on the West coast of Norway and have produced Norwegian wool sweaters and cardigans for over 40 years:

My find is a unisex cardigan and was a fantastic fiver!! A cardigan of this quality can really be classed as an Autumn/Winter jacket and will be a versatile item as I can wear tees, blouses or shirts underneath:

The craftmanship and detailing is second to none and it just goes to show that bargains are there for the finding, especially if you're after some winter items. I spent £5 on this lovely cardigan and on their website the nearest design to it is currently around £150! 

If you do go on thrifting trips keep your eyes open for Scandi knits, retro or vintage coats or jumpers-not only will you get excellent quality, you'll pay a lot less than what's on the high street at the moment-as well as being unique and stylish in the bargain!

Have a great weekend- it's London Fashion Week so I'm sure a lot of stylish bloggers are London bound- here's hoping it stays dry for all of us!

Charity Shop and Primark Autumn Essential Accessories

Hi everyone! Are you experiencing a change in the weather where you are? It's definitely Autumnal where I live and I shrewdly decided over the last few days to stock up on some more style led accessories for this coming season. I already have a lovely selection of leather totes, handbags and wool scarves so I just wanted some pieces which were in keeping with the current colours out for this Autumn:

The as new berry colour mock croc camera style bag was from Oxfam charity shop and is by Primark and is a great pop of colour against neutrals, £3.99; the Aztec snood is from Primark and was £4; the khaki messenger bag was from the Cancer Research charity shop and is by Zara, £4.99.

I had to pick up these cute Primark ankle socks as I'm fed up with nicking the boys and hubbys ones!

Can't wait to start wearing this gorgeous pure wool pashmina scarf which was a fabulous £1.99 in the Salvation Army charity shop. Cobalt blue leopardprint will also be a fabulous pop of colour this Autumn.

The grey messenger bag is by Primark and  was £6- I instantly picked it as it's got a Balenciaga style vibe to it and it also comes in navy and black too; black and white tweed effect beanie from the men's section in Primark £3; camo i phone wallet on chain, a bargainous £1 from Primark; wine colour (although it looks more purple here) tweed effect beanie, £3.

What's on your Autumn and Winter accessory shopping list?

MyStyle Outfits from Summer

Hi everyone!! Today is currently wet and cold and on that note I decided to do a post on my outfits from this Summer many of which were thrifted over the last few months too. Earlier this morning I rearranged my Autumn clothes and put some summer tops away, put hats and seasonal scarves to hand so I now feel confident that the forthcoming season's clothes and accessories are all readily available and raring to go.

We are supposedly going to have brighter weather this week, hmm I'm not sure on this one, but I'll enjoy layering up in some newly thrifted finds. So with a nod and thanks to such a wonderfully hot Summer, here are some of my outfits of choice:

I am linking this post to the lovely Patti at NotDeadYetStyle for Visible Monday and also the wonderful Claire Justine for her Creative Monday blog hop.

Wishing you all a really lovely week ahead and I hope the weather isn't too miserable where you are!!

Thrift Inspiration...... Isabel Marant Bator Tweed Coat Style!

Hi everyone!! I do hope all of you have had a fabulous week and most importantly, now looking forward to the weekend, yay!! It was definitely jacket and umbrella weather today and I'm not really sure what to expect for the coming weekend-I haven't packed away summer clothes just yet, so here's hoping we have an Indian summer for a few weeks yet!

One item that I've been after for the past few winters is a black and white tweed oversized coat. Many people have their versions and here are my favourite picks which I find most inspirational and well styled for the colder weather to come:

This last photo is from Golestaneh street style blog- I really love her style here, such a casual chic and cosy look!! Her Isabel Marant Bator coat is from a few seasons ago but this style is so timeless and versatile and looks good with any type of chunky knit, white, blue or coloured skinny jeans and leather skinny jeans too.

 The stylish and timeless Isabel Marant Bator coat

I really did not need another winter coat but after nipping in to my local Sue Ryder charity shop earlier this week I just had to nab this wool mix version-pictured below which is by Debenhams and was a wonderful £8.99. It also meant I got more stamps and reached the end on my Sue Ryder loyalty card, so my next visit gives me £5 to spend for free!!

I also bought a few weeks ago some faux leather jeans from Primark-actually they are the only pair of Primark jeans that have ever fitted me properly and I can't wait to wear the coat and jeans together with a chunky knit when the weather cools. The coat is the perfect length and although it is my size it has room for a knit to go underneath just nicely:

I knew if I didn't snap it up I would regret it, for me it's a perfect Autumnal jacket and I now just need to invest in a black wool polo neck and also a wine colour handbag!!

What style of coat will you be wearing or hoping to buy this coming season?

(All photos: google images)