LFW, best left to Georgia

Well I can't boast about great seats or a great camera...but I did get a picture of Joe McElderry (looking better than ever). And a few very boring others, I think we'll leave it to the expert.
Believe me when I say this camera lense was pretty ridiculous, if the show had all gotten a little too much for me I could have very easily curled up inside it and gone to sleep..

Can YOU spot the McElderry in this picture?

And here's a few shitty ones to help appreciate quite how impressive G's really are

And I would like to point out that in the great scheme of LFW's often rather disappointing shows, I think we can agree this was among the best.

Malick Sidibé

I can't say I'd ever heard of Sidibé until I read the Guardian's Weekend yesterday. I loved the pictures featured, as much as I don't really like the magazine as a whole (dare I say it). But back to Sidibé, he's a black and white photographer of the 60s and 70s, predominantly. The photos portray an interesting take on life in Mali, where he's from, which I don't think can be found anywhere else. Fascinatingly, he still photographs the very same way: black and white and film. The pictures show his eye for pattern and composition and reflect to the audience the great deal of fun which he has as the photographer and the people he photographs have as models. They are, in my opinion, very beautiful.





I'll certainly be taking a trip down to The Lichfield Studios to see his exhibition

Clarks

The most unlikely love of my life, Clarks. I don't know exactly who's behind the newly acquired brilliance of Clarks' shoe designs, but I have my suspicions (the guy in the local film shop's Swedish girlfriend perhaps). Whoever it is, they've done a real good job. Never in my teenage years did I think I would be buying shoes from Clarks, but here I am with 2 pairs to my name and more to come with any luck. The love affair all began when I wanted some desert boots sometime last year, and anyone who knows desert boots also knows that Clarks make them best. So I planned to whisk in and out, making my purchase swift and discreet so no one would spot me in there - I couldn't think of anything more embarrassing at the time. But whilst in there I spotted more shoes I liked, and when I went back a few months later, I decided this shop was far from embarrassing: I was proud to be a customer. Gone are the days when Clarks, to me, was a hotspot for old ladies in need of something comfortable and practical or the place you might buy your child's first walking shoes (emphasis on the might). Not only do I wear my desert boots everyday, but my favourite heels are none other than Clarks..shocker. The other thing I can't help but love Clarks for are the names of the shoes, here goes: The Crepe Suzette (patent or not, take your pick)

The Marg Kate, and they're fur-lined

The Mells Creek biker boots

The African Art moccasins

The Crepe Lace, I love the mottled effect of the leather on these

Some rather eccentric desert boots...

But I think I'll stick to mine

I don't think they do these anymore, but I've only had them a few months, they're called "Costume Party" (I think)

P.s LOVE whoever thought to make a mini desert boot keyring for the limited edition pairs - ingenius

Next; ever improving, ever proving itself

That shop you'd walk past all the time and maybe occasionally the shop which you would assume some passerby's unflattering jeans were from. That shop no longer. Now Next is the shop which left me distraught when last spring they sold out of my dream sandals. The shop which it has become my guilty pleasure to dive in and out of. The shop which I walk around and see things I would not only like to have, but might even buy. Next might just be the light at the end of that dark, rat-ridden tunnel that is shopping. So this month, what are they offering? A great bikini in preparation for the summer - great because it's cheap, navy and has little gold anchors everywhere (and one thing you can't see in the picture is that the briefs have ruffles on the back, neat)

It's coral and £15: what else could you possibly want in a watch?

Sweet little 'Wish' bracelet, again, only £15. And I can never resist an anchor

Some exciting stripes; I love this little black and white nautical number and the medals on the red jumper are made of sequins - genius!


Blouse a la Chloe

There are also a number of lovely boat print pieces, which I can't get a proper photo of but here's an idea of what they're like


And take that American Apparel, next time try selling your stuff cheaper

Without exhausting it I'll stop there. Next's turnaround has really impressed me and I hope there's more to come.

Lace, lace, lace

Love it or not - and personally I tend to verge towards not - lace is hard not to find this season. It's everywhere. There's American Apparel's lace unitard, but £50 is pretty ridiculous and so is the item itself. Apart from making peeing a three-times-as-long operation, lace is only really acceptable in small quantities- not head to toe, and all one colour.
Err, no thanks
And for someone who tends to not like lace very much, Topshop is definitely not an option; it's overpriced, wholly unoriginal because everyone shops there and you wouldn't even accept some of their designs for free.

New Look on the other hand have produced a surprisingly inspiring collection this season. Here are a few of my favourites:-

Where New Look score particularly highly is on the modesty front - nobody wants to see your bra - proving that lace works best in moderation. M x

Very - Celebrities

Well this post was going to be about Fearne Cotton; who has to be one of the only celebrities who I could believe doesn't have a stylist, namely because sometimes she tweets what she should wear today.. And I couldn't truthfully say I always love what she wears like I could about, say, Alexa Chung. But her newish collection for Very (which I had never heard of) was not only the best of all their celebrity collections (until they added the 'POP By PPQ' at least), but had a dress which can't compete with any other I've seen on the high street, or from a designer recently, some cheaper-than-Topshop rather nice brogues - if you're into that kind of thing - and a great pair of studded jeans


But Very in terms of it's celebrity collections has done something right. Not to reveal my slight stripe fetish or anything, but the POP By PPQ stripes in particular really hit the spot.

Also look out for their chambray pieces - I love this dress

And Jasmine Guinness's little 'Celeste Cardigan' is sweet; although I'm not sure if the attraction is more about my love affair with Babar and Celeste as a child, than the cardie itself...

If you thought you had your dream pyjamas, think again

Rarely do I come across somewhere which sells everything I like and could ever want in one place. Steven Alan is full of my dream clothes but it's not long before I discover it really is too good to be true because for one thing it operates in America and for another, it's really expensive. But for anyone with the money, SA will provide you with THE nicest shirts you've ever seen and that thing you see and want and realise that is what's been missing from your life all along. And with shoes like this no man could ever go wrong. Anyone who has the money, it is certainly an investment you won't regret

There's that perfect duffle coat you couldn't find, however hard you tried.

And finally, who cares if this makes even American Apparel look cheap?