Dressy/Messy.

Another pleasing feature of my building is this excellent lift. Not functioning, but rather a good backdrop I think. Thank you to Push PR/Nelly.com for the shoes. I'm incapable of wearing such dressy shoes without pairing with something loose and messy like this oversized beaded tee shirt - a favourite charity shop purchase. 

As always I love the photographic stylings of Mr.Daniel Martinelli.

Anna Casa: Furniture & Jelly

Furniture and jelly. Such a good combination; underused, I feel. But not at the Anna Casa Interiors showroom party last week where there was a happy abundance of both. I'm not much of an interiors connoisseur but loved the mix of candles, mirrors and statement chairs in the showroom, all designed by founder Anna Dodonova. The lighting in particular caught my eye so I was interested to discover that it was designed by the man behind MANNOOI who trained to be an astronaut but went on to create lighting inspired by space. Now that's something of a career change. 

The place was somewhat packed and I was lucky enough to bump into the lovely Anna Hessami who is a very talented stained glass designer and creator. 

I can't skim over the jelly situation though. Not only was there jelly in tea cups (pretty much an ideal scenario for me) but there were decorative jellies, just wobbling around on an elegant glass table. Needless to say I too way too many photos. We all know how I love to photograph jelly (evidence here).

Suzannah opens up shop...

Not too long ago I blogged here about Suzannah's 'Future Heirlooms' collection on show at the Savoy over fashion week back in Feb. And now here she is opening up shop! And not just anywhere; New Quebec Street to be exact. 

I went along to the launch last week and got to see the two floors of loveliness for myself. Fuelled by a ginger ale cocktail and cake on a stick I rifled through the collection, stroking and cooing over heavily embellished collars and beautifully structured skirts. As I had my lips done by the lovely Nadira using LilyLolo lips (a mineral make up brand I'll definitely be investigating) I learnt Holly Willoughby had been in that morning to purchase a dress to wear on This Morning. She doesn't hang about, does she?

So, to the clothes. The bright magenta pinks, purples and oranges of the SS'13 collection were positively delectable and the collar detailing had me peering in to take countless shots (I'm a sucker for a good collar). A little bolero style jacket and the structured dresses with deep pocket detailing were particularly pleasing.

Next time you're in the area (or even if you're not) swing by the Suzannah boutique at 3 New Quebec Street...

Buy My Wardrobe: Shoes and Flamingos

This weekend Kensington Roof Gardens was hidden under a mountain of clothes. Rails and tables and stacks of clothes, bags and shoes. The occasion was an event from Buy My Wardrobe inviting us to nose into the wardrobes of some of the biggest fashion bloggers and purchase what we saw.

Poppy Dinsey of Poppyd.com had some great bargains with dresses and sweatshirts from £5 whilst Sandra Hagelstam of blog 5 Inch and Up predictably had a rather amazing shoe collection including Prada perspex and Marni for H&M platforms which were too small for us (but worth drooling over nonetheless). We saw a clever lady snap up a Chanel bag for a mere £500 (well, 'mere' in Chanel terms) and rails were visibly emptying before our eyes.

After wolfing down a burger and sampling the pretty La Boisson en Or champagne (rather terrifyingly complete with gold flakes) it was time to go and observe the flamingos. 

Yes, you heard right. Those who have been to The Roof Gardens before will know about the pleasing pink residents who wander outside among the blossom trees and ornamental bridges. Obviously countless photos were taken with me squatting eagerly in front of the pond much to the dismay of my camel suede boots. It was lovely to bump into Jai'me Jan of Boy Meets Fashion again (that's the 3rd time this week!) who was whizzing around taking some lovely photos. 

Buy My Wardrobe has a boutique in Seymour Place and an online outlet. See the website here for more details...

Secondhand Circuit

As you all know, I'm rather fond of charity shops. 

There’s nothing better than entering Oxfam with a heady sense of adventure about the the delights one is about to discover. Knocking aside the elderly and the young in a greedy quest to rifle through the rails, all the while gathering great swathes of questionable but utterly brilliant items in your arms.

In London you have to work that bit harder to find a good charity shop. Everything too central is classed as vintage/reclaimed/thrift and stuffed full of a carefully ‘curated’ and extortionately priced selection of floral tea dresses and ironic sportswear. Where’s the fun in that? The joy of a good find is often in the rummage.

So, I'm determined to get more charity shops on the map through my new role as style editor at The London Word. Most recently we explored the new Cancer Research store in St. Johns Wood which was opened just before Easter  by Shoreditch native and cancer scientist Dr Larissa Moniz who came armed with a bag of her own clothes to donate. Happily, Cancer Research is working on a high street expansion plan, opening shops in new areas, so expect to see lots more springing up!

There will be lots more coming up so keep an eye on the Shopping & Style section on The London Word for our mini guides to the best places in London to find those secondhand items, from lamps to jumpers. The best finds are those you can play with, chop up, and make your own. And all the while you can ponder ecstatically over the fact that you purchased something for less than the price of a sandwich. How infinitely satisfying.

The new Cancer Research store is  at 53 St John’s Wood High Street, so pop in when you’re next in the area!

Four Little Photos.

Here's a portion of my week in four photos. A beautiful new magazine I stumbled across, a little office celebration, a delightful display at Liberty and a small dried flower. Lovely.

Just because I like this...

Paint my Walls: Iceland

Primary colours, an excellent washing line, graffiti that looks like an Icelandic jumper,  and possibly (definitely) the best peach and grey themed house I've ever seen. Note for future house painting scenarios. It's all in a day's work in Iceland.

Greys.

I took about a million photos of these beautiful clouds and then couldn't resist pairing them with these shots of the grey blinds and gold-rimmed drinking glass that I took recently. It's something about the colours... 

General Icelandic Niceness.

A few photos from the house of Nobel Prize winning Icelandic author Halldór Laxness. Of course he's dead now, but his house is open for visitors and we went to see his swimming pool on my last trip to the land of fire & ice (as you do)...

Tech/Jelly.

I'm not really one to get too excited about gadgets but I do rather like my new iPhone 5. But is it wrong that I mainly love it for its ability to photograph jelly SO WELL?  I mean look... (it was also exceptionally attractive jelly)

Black Sand.

I was lucky enough to accompany Rich and Rosa - founders of the beautiful Cereal magazine - on a trip to Iceland back in February. On the black sand beach I took a few creepy stalker shots from a long distance and I think they turned out rather nicely...