London Fashion Week: Daily wear day two

A mixture of an early start, sore legs and a concert to go to tonight (meaning running home to change into evening clothes!) means that this is the most unexciting of my fashion week outfits and flat shoes too. And I believe it is also the first time i've been photographed in jeans or trousers on the blog!

My legs are by far and away my worst feature, so I generally avoid drawing attention to them by sticking to skirts and darket tights or leggings. But jeans and plenty of black is an easy option for an early morning:

Jeans and bag from Dorothy Perkins, Jacket from River Island, Tunic and shoes from Topshop, Belt from primark. It's a head to toe high street ensemble today!

Fashion week is a great success so far and although I haven't enjoyed all of the shows i've been to; i've met some lovely fellow bloggers and seen some great shows. I can't believe there are only three more days to go!

Love Tor xx

Style Compare has over 6,000 dresses by more than 350 labels.

LFW AW10: Hanako Narahira at A la Mode

There were eight designers at the a la mode show. Six of these were nice, but nothing to write home about; Two however were really fun to watch. The first of these was Hanako Narahira; an experimental knitwear designer who studied at Central St Martins.

The knits were oversized, and I loved the giant woolen plaits. There was a lot of use of neon, which I feel we've seen before in knitwear collections, but I love to see designers who have fun with knitwear; knitting has a reputation for being such an elderly occupation, and this is ripe for subversion!

So many different colours and textures of wool were used and I loved seeing the lurex with the touch of sparkle. I don't know enough about knitting techniques to review this properly, so i'm just going to let the images speak for themselves:

Seeing shows like this makes me realise there just isn't enough knitwear in my life!

Love, Tor

*A la mode is an off schedule show organised by La Geneve North - you might remember this, because I invited you all to attend a couple of months ago!

Style Compare has over 6,000 dresses by more than 350 labels.

LFW AW10: Gemma Slack presentation

When I got to the Gemma Slack presentation the presentation room was tiny and crammed with people wanting to see the short film that launched at around the time I arrived. I couldn't seem much of the 3 minute short (it's one of the perils of being tiny in a room full of people wearing 6 inch heels) but it was very loud and artsy. It was the clothes I came for, and although the layout of the room wasn't impressive (half of the outfits were hidden behind the film screen and couldn't be seen at all!) I was impressed with the collection.

I loved this studded mohair jumper dress. The shape of it is fierce. I also immediately thought "this is ripe for blogger diy" - I wonder how long until we see someone trying to create this at home?

It was a very "fetishist" collection which made me think of a German sex club (not that i've ever been to one!) There was a lot of leather and mesh. Everything was in black and more than the fabric or colours, what was most impressive about the collection for me was the strong shapes.

On the press release Slack cites the themes and images of Bram Stoker's Dracula as a starting point for the collection. She also talks of the eroticism created by the contrast of the chiffon and the leather. This really makes sense to me; the collection oozes sex.

What do you think? Does this inspire you to don a tight leather skirt and hit the town?

Love Tor xx

Style Compare has over 2,500 coats by more than 150 labels.

LFW AW10: Ashley Isham show review

Flash!!! Aaa-aahh!! Saviour of the universe!

Yes, it was to the roar of Flash Gordon that the Ashley Isham show began. And what a show! It seems lame' is making a come back and regal purple will (yet again) be the 'in' evening wear colour for next winter. Gowns were mostly floor length and the trend for sharp shoulders and shoulder detailing doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The incredible jewels and jewelled shoulder pieces were provided by Erickson Beamon. They were breathtakingly beautiful and really complimented the dresses, although I think they would compliment any dress!

Apologies for the poor picture quality; I didn't have the best picture-taking spot, and the official images aren't available yet. I always enjoy Isham's shows though, and the glamorous take on form fitting evening wear.

Whether with one shoulder detailing, layered straps or curved bodices, I think arms and shoulders will be the feature in evening wear next season, as apposed to the leg fixation we have experienced for the past twelve months.

The collection encompassed so many things; it was glitzy, space age, and warrior-like. The models looked strong and empowered and this was represented by their strong and determined walks. Most of the dresses came in plain block colours but I absolutely adored the two printed dresses: the graphic pastel print is beautiful and the fabric moved incredibly. In fact all the dresses moved beautifully with layer upon layer of gorgeous silk.

This collection was one of my favourites of the day so far, although of course, I never have anywhere to go where I would wear such fancy dresses! Still, a girl can dream, and if Prince Charming invites Cinderella to the ball I can promise you she will be going in an Ashley Isham dress!

Love, Tor xx

Style Compare has over 6,000 dresses by more than 350 labels.

LFW AW10: Saffron Knight show review

Paul Costello kicked London Fashion Week off to a flying start this morning, however my fashion week experience started with more than a whimper than a bang. At Saffron Knight the models weaved sultrily down the runway in vibrant wigs and intense eyebrows. Some of the prints were very beautiful (they were all hand printed) and the layers added texture and depth.

However, neither conceptual nor particularly wearable, I found the collection disappointing. I think it was the white ruffles that I disliked most. Although technically the clothes seemed well made they were ill-fitting on the models and had too much going on in terms of both the fabrics and the details.

I was disappointed with this show although I hate writing negative reviews. This is Saffron's first solo LFW outing and i'm sure things can only get better but sadly, I think things do need to get better to persuade me into liking the brand.

What do you think?

Love, Tor xx