Friday Lookbook: LFW
I was lucky enough to attend some fantastic events during London Fashion Week but what made them special was that none of them were on the main London Fashion Week schedule. My application had been rejected due to the large number of applicants who most likely have 100 K followers and 50,000 hits a month I mean how am I meant to compete with that? I have to be honest it does frustrate me sometimes that I am overlooked when I know that I will be writing high quality content and not just post an array of photos and hope that constitutes as an appropriate blog post. Now I understand if you are doing a weekly post like some of the bloggers I know do 'Wordless Wednesdays' and that is fine because they do produce content that is excellent and will write more than a paragraph to back up their pictures. A large portion of the bloggers attending are there because they have the 'connections' and following to be considered important and that annoys me because we should celebrate all bloggers, big and small. Chances are you will be overlooking new bloggers with plenty of promise.
Now I don't want this to come off as bitter because I geninuely have a lot of respect for all bloggers regardless of personal style, following ect. I just wanted to draw attention to the way London Fashion Week operates and wish that it was not so inclusive and elitist because I would have loved to attend. That being said I attended some wonderful events that will be reviewed next month on the blog and it just goes to show you don't have to attend the biggest event to have fun.
Monday
On Monday I attended 'The Blogger Hangout Event' with my good friend Christine- which you can find over at Xtine Loves- and it was a food and lifestyle event with a lot of divine food on offer including natural mango fro-yos whose creamy sweet consististiency was the result of watered down coconut milk. Other personal favourites included the sweet chilli butternut squash and cashew rice sample with plenty of refreshing kick and original oat flapjacks whose bitter yet sweet taste was heaven for my taste buds. If you were very brave you could sample cricket flapjacks made using cricket flour and has a large percentage of energy boosting ingredients but I did not want to know any more as I am a vegetarian and the thought of eating crickets repels me. Not for the fainthearted but I saw a lot of bloggers tuck into the samples and said that they really enjoyed its 'nutty texture' [shudder]. After we attended the blogger event me and Christine went to a Turkish breakfast resturant where I tucked into hallumoi, chickpea and potato style meat free sausages, feta cheese, sweet plum relish and poached eggs with hot chocolate. As delicious as it was I ended up being very sick but it dosen't tend to phase me any more as I know that food has an adverse effect on my stomach unfortunately. We then went to a bar by Hoxton station while I watched my friend sip on cocktails as they had no non-alcoholic drinks but I didn't mind as I was feeling sick anyway.
Brands at The Blogger Hangout Showcase:ARK SKINCARE,HEAVEN SKINCARE, JD BEAUTY,MIRACLE TREE TEA, NATURIGIN,PACIFIC WORLD COSMETICS,PERPHONE, SHEA DECADENCE LONDON, SKIN DOCTORS, SUPERNATURAL BEAUTY, URBAN VEDA, BERRY WHITE, BLUEBIRD TEA CO, CocoNuts, COYO, CRANES DRINK, GATHR, HELLO FRESH, LACKA FOODS, NATURAL FITNESS,PICS PEANUT BUTTER, POPCYCLE, POPKAKERY, PUDOLOGY, RAW GORILLA, ROSS & ROSS FOOD,THANKS FOR FRANKS,THE COCONUT COLLABORATIVE,UFIT.
The Theme: Black Chic
Outfit: Faux Leather Pinafore- Forever 21, Shirt- Miss Pap, Knee Highs- Primark, Brogues- Deitschman, Hat- Asos, Bag- Primark
Location: Hoxton
[Apologies for the low quality photos taken on my new camera but we haven't quite figured out apeture yet & the second photo was taken on mobile]
Tuesday
Last Friday I went to the London Ethnic Showcase and although it wasn't an event I went to on Tuesday since the Lookbook starts from this Monday I thought I would include the details here. Located in Shoreditch art gallery and theatre space-insert name- London Ethnic is a celebration of London based designers creating a micro-culture of talent within the London fashion community. Luxe directional pieces like the boucle tweed cropped jackets and the chiffon wide leg trousers are the stand out pieces of the evening while hat designer -insert name hand stitches hats to be made at your service and trust me if I had more money I would custom order a baby blue floppy hat in a heartbeat. I have the smallest adult head size possible at 52 cms which makes it impossible to find a hat that fits me. The only place I have been able to get hats from is Asos because most shops retail as one size which is for people with a circumference of 56 +. I was meant to go to another two events - one at another catwalk show and the other at a salon launch party but unfortunately I could not attend due to clashing schedules. I went with my dear Greek friend Anna Maria who you can find at On The Edge and met Anisha from Fashion Frappes [finally!] who I have been friends with since the beginning of my blogging career and we just managed to meet now!
Theme: Pink Luxe
Location: Bethnal Green
Outfit: Faux Fur Jacket- Missy Empire, Co-Ord & Heels- Missguided, Sunglasses- Quay Australia, Necklace KLG jewellery
Wednesday
I wasn't planning to go to any events today but then one came at the last minute for Replay Jeans in Carnaby Street who were launching their debut perfume ' Replay Stone' which I attended with Christine from Monday's event and honestly it was the best event that I have attended all year. Not only did they gift everyone two whole bottles of perfume at 100 ML each but they also plyed us with gourmet canapes, free drinks- the rose and rasberry mocktail was delicious- and there was an even a stone reader who told me that I was fiercely independent and would reach financial and personal success this year. Replay clothes were decidely ripped and ragged but it had a cool street style vibe that my friend fell in love with. Plus there was some very attractive mancandy and it is suffice to say I don't see a lot of straight men in my line of work so it was a treat for the senses.
Location: Carnaby Street
Theme: 70's Queen
Outfit: Coat & Patchwork Suede Co-Ord- Missguided, Boots- Pretty Little Thing, Bag- Primark
Thursday
I attended a blogger meeting discussing future collaborations for next month in London and we sat over a warm comforting cup of hot chocolate discussing what we wanted from the collaboration. I have been milling over creating monthly blogger meetups which I think would be great especially for new bloggers who might have questions and want to seek advice over how to blog, SEO, social media ect. Its the kind of thing I would have loved when I started out but I was literally thrust in the deep end. I want to help new bloggers feel comfortable in their new phase of life and be able to organize small fun events for us all to attend. High tea came up on the menu and it has always been something I have wanted to tick off my bucket list so I will look forward to that day.
Location: East Croydon
Outfit: Faux Fur Scarf- Powder, Sunglasses- Quay Australia, Watch-Elie Beamount, Turtleneck- Topshop, Crepe Waistcoat- New Look, Skort- Forever 21
Friday
Today I will be attending London Fashion Weekend with my Anna Maria from last Friday's event and we cannot wait to watch the catwalks and speak to brands. The chance to create possible future opportunties is what I love about events like LFWeekend and that is the beauty of networking. Being a networker has its perks and I am looking forward to meeting all the brands and making Faded Spring known. In fact I love LFW so much that I will be going to it on Saturday too. After all you cannot underestimate the power of networking can you?
Location- Saatchi Gallery
Theme- Modern Prepster
Outfit: Hat-Asos, Sunglasses- Topman, Jumper: Primark, Skirt: Asos Tall, Knee High Socks- New Look, Brogues Deitschman
What LFW look was your favourite?