Say hello to Somerset by Alice Temperley: Coming soon!

Hi guys,
Another day, another look book, but this one has left me so excited that it's made me feel a little tingly! Alice Temperley's new diffusion collection for John Lewis launches on 4th September, and it looks great. This is the kind of designer collaboration that gets me excited: not celebs playing dress up, but designers I wish I could own at considerably more affordable prices!

Don't take my word for how covetable it all is though, check out some highlights from the look book, and then watch the new ad for the collection, which isn't out yet, but really does do the collection justice. It has the whimsical but grown up feel that, for me, is the Alice Temperley signature. I predict that my credit card is about to take a real bashing.....


Look one: Black double layer lace maxi dress, £249. 70s hat, £tbc. 
Look two: Ivory contrast lace trim silk dress, £160. Black leather shoulder bag, £255. Black pony foxglove boots, £195. 
Look three: Ivory lace collar silk blouse, £95. Black high waisted trousers, £99. Black skinny leather belt, £40. 
Look four: Grey shearling coat, £999. Black and mesh beaded dress, £199. Black 'hazel' heels, £140. 

Here are some of my favourite pieces from the collection, and how I would style them up and create an outfit from them, using some pieces from the rest of the new season John Lewis range.

I went for a casual day time look, because I need to justify buying these lovely designer pieces when 90% of my day will involve pushing a pram and attending mum and baby groups! But frankly, I just can't wait to get my hands on the Somerset collection. Every single piece looks amazing:


Black 'wisteria' suede court shoes, Somerset collection, £140
Black 'aroma' 70s hat, Somerset collection, £tbc
Red 'clover' leather travel clutch, Somerset collection, £135 
Black and beige jacquard knit jumper, Somerset collection, £89
Clinique long last lipstick, JohnLewis.com,£16.50
Made pindwa ingi bangles, JohnLewis.com, £30
7 for all mankind straight leg jeans, JohnLewis.com, £180
Swarovski crystal pendant, JohnLewis.com, £65

The Somerset collection launches exclusively instore at John Lewis from 4th September. What do you think of the collection? And will you be heading to your nearest John Lewis store to get your hands on any of it?

Love Tor xx

Life lately, according to my iPhone

Hi guys,
Warning and beware, blogger cliche coming up! Yet another 'life according to my iphone' post. On the bright side, I can promise that there's nothing hipster included:

Mmmm, mini sponge cakes filled with nutella instead of jam (because chocolate is always better than fruit!) I am very proud to say I made these myself, and they tasted just as good as they look

This weekend my sister and niece came to visit. We went to Great Yarmouth for the day, and Lily had her first ever donkey ride. She absolutely loved it: are there donky riding championships for babies I don't know about?! Because I'm pretty sure she'd win...

This picture pretty much sums up all of my life lately: painting the new house! We are currently painting in this Crown Heritage matt emulsion: the shade is called Duke's Blue. I keep finding flecks of this paint all over me. This morning I noticed I have it splattered all over my toes. Oh the glamour! 

I went to a press event for Puffin Books, and was gifted this gorgeous edition of Peter Pan, with Cath Kidston artwork on the jacket. Isn't it a gorgeous print?

A glass wall, shaped like a heart, made out of nail varnish bottles! All things to love: this wall is in the John Lewis beauty hall, and is made up of Nails Inc nail varnishes. In the right light you can see the graduating colours: very cool indeed, and obviously someone's labour of love.

Alan Sugar's car! My inner geek/celeb spotter was delighted to see this car being parked in Mayfair.  Unfortunately I didn't see the man himself - probably for the best. He isn't famed for his sense of humour, but who could see him and resist telling him he's fired?!

Isn't it funny how leaving somewhere makes you realise all the more how beautiful it is? London has never looked as beautiful as it does to me in the past 2 weeks, and when I wandered past the Natural History Museum I just couldn't resist snapping it! 

Finally, I've been exploring with a new shade of lipstick! Not exactly breaking news, but finding the right shade is still important. Rather than my usual vivid red this is a more muted shade: Revlon Colour Burst lip butter in Candy Apple.

What have you been up to lately? And how are you spending your summer? I'd love to hear all about it!

Love Tor xx

John Lewis unveils their new Oxford Street store beauty department

Hi guys,
What can you buy with £7.8 Million? Well, you could buy a new house, a yacht, half a dozen cars, a couple of football players and 78,000 lipsticks.  Or, if you're John Lewis, you could spend that amount on completely revamping your beauty hall! And if you're asking me, I would say it was money well spent!

I just got back from a guided tour of the new beauty hall at John Lewis, and I have to say I was impressed. The hall is built around a town square concept, with the bigger brands around the outside of the hall and the more tactile 'help-yourself' products in the middle. It is also (rather uniquely) zoned: so yes, if you want something from Chanel, you can head straight to their counter and find all their products there, like in an ordinary department store. But you can also go to the skin, hair, nail, or make up zone if you want a specific product, but don't know what brand you're looking for.

Other features of the new beauty hall include:

- The only Topshop make-up counter outside of a Topshop store

- Products and launches exclusive to John Lewis such as the new Clinque matt foundation, the Diptyque 34 collection, or the Floris Royal Arms Diamon Edition perfume. Only 6 bottles of this £15,000 perfume have been produced. One went to the queen, one went to charity, the rest are for sale in the Floris boutique apart from the one which is for sale in John Lewis. Exciting, but out of my budget. However they also have a £99 version available.

- Two on-floor treatment rooms, including one from Lancome. Apparently, this is the only on-floor Lancome treatment room outside of Paris.

- An interactive Chanel fragrance zone to geek out about. You place a fragrance on top of the touch-screen table, and the table will tell you all about the fragrance, including what notes are included in it.

It's not like me to get excited about a department in a department store (they usually all look pretty much the same) but I was very impressed by what John Lewis have done to their Oxford Street beauty department, and especially impressed by the thought and unusual structure that have gone into it. If you're in the area and looking to buy make-up, skin care, or fragrance, then this is the place I would recommend you go!

Love Tor xx

The Jaegar runway report challenge!

Hi guys,
I'm never one to back away from a challenge, so when John Lewis challenged me to write a report on the Jaeger A/W catwalk collection, I just couldn't say no!

The dresses are always the first thing I look at from any catwalk collection (this blog isn't called fabfrocks for nothing!) and these certainly don't disappoint. I love the mustard coloured dress: and mustard is a colour that was used liberally throughout the collection. The lines are simple and clean: they remind me of simple 60s shifts, but with longer, Seventies-style hemlines.

Jaeger is a heritage brand, so it was no surprise that there was an old English heritage feel to the collection, but with a Seventies twist. From the skirts with their preppy below-the-knee skirts to the silk blouses and even the coats with the shearling collars, there was definitely a Seventies-retro feel to this collection.

The steal-the-show pieces though (for me at least) were the knits. They were chunky, heavy-looking and surprisingly simple: unlike the coats which wanted to take all the attention with their wide lapels, leather and shealing detailing, and unusual proportions. But I just couldn't stop thinking about snuggling up in those jumpers and cardigans, which looked perfectly ladylike, cinched in the middle with belts!

And as for my second-favourite obsession, the handbags? Think classic boxy shapes in shades of tan, black and blue, with vibrant orange detailing.

-Do you love Jaegar? Then there's good news! John Lewis are running a competition where you can win two tickets to the Jaegar show at LFW. All you have to do is follow the link and enter your details. Hurry though, as the competition closes at midnight on 8th September!

Love Tor x

Images courtesy of MPDClick.com