Britain's Next Top Model day out...

I was invited to visit the Britain's Next Top Model day out at the Excel centre on Friday and I was intrigued to go as there always seems to be a lot of press attention about the exhibition and I thought it was suppose to be the Clothes Show equivalent in London, I was wrong.

If you are a fifteen year old girl, this event is great, with cake stalls and hairdressers on standby to style your hair, they even had a how to do your make up by Revlon. But for a twenty five year old me, there was nothing about this event that captivated me. I went around Friday lunchtime to a mass of screaming adolescences and wannabe young models with hopes of being spotted at the event. As I walked around there was a vintage buses selling used and incredibly battered converse to a stall that was attempting, delusionally I might add, to sell novelty knits for over £30.00, crazy! Amy Childs was also there selling her first clothing range with some beauty bits. She was there all day and her stand was inundated with screaming TOWIE fans, she's a nice really friendly girl and I'm sure her clothing line will be successful it certainly was at BNTM but it's not saying much as there was hardly any competition to rival her.

The highlight, and this is slim was the fashion show they put on with all the contestants from the series, including the winner Jade. The show was professionally staged and had live music entertainers, separating up the show, which I think just shows the type of exhibition this is. It's not based on Fashion it's about a young fun girls day out with male dancers showing there pecks. Which I find really uncomfortable for me, doesn't seem right such muscle and buff men dancing topless. Don't like it!

Did anyone else go to the exhibition what did you think?

Until next time...  x

This is where BNTM was held, Comic Can was on at the same time, wish I had gone there looked like a great time!

Grace Woodward, the stylist on last years X Factor and panel judge on BNTM.

They chose a member of the audience to give them a radical hair cut on stage, rather them than me.

The naked muscle men dancing

An upcoming performer, he wasn't bad, no idea what he's name is though :/

                                         Harry from TOWIE supporting his cousin as Amy Child's launches her clothing range

My London Fashion Week...

I thought this year, instead of doing a generic blog about the best designs and top trends for S/S12 like I did last Fashion Week, I would blog about my experience during London Fashion Week attending press days. Something your unlikely to read about.

The venue for the highlight of the fashion calender in London is set in the beautiful Somerset House. And for the top British Brands the weather was glorious and the atmosphere was electric. I took a few snaps so you would get a sense of the layout and what London Fashion Week actually looks like.

So I had the pleasure of attending both an interactive exhibition and a runway show where the brands exhibit their S/S 12 collections. The first press day I attended was from Orla Kiely they had an interactive exhibition, where basically the models stand on platforms and show the garments.

The collection was very retro British Seaside inspired and I think it incorporated the top trends well, in a wearable effortless way.

The other press day, was in the form on an intimate runway show by a fairly unknown designer from Designers Remix- Charlotte Eskildsen, judging from her S/S12 collection I don't think she will be unknown for too long.  The pieces were beautiful and well tailored and she used the must have colours of the season Mustard and Tango.

Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter and Bloglovin.

Until next time... x

Vogue Italia September 2011- Ethel Granger

I came across the Vogue Italian September issue and to my surprise the influence behind the front cover is Ethel Granger.  Ethel lived in the fifties and by today's standards she would have been pretty controversial but in the fifties indulging in her husbands fetishist she would undoubtedly been a controversy. 

Ethel's husband William encouraged and loved her to tighten herself into ridiculous corsets that would modify her waist to the point her waist reached, a still unbroken world record, of thirty three centimetres. He made it clear that it would be wonderful if he could put his arms around her waist. Not just that her husband had a thing about piercings and Ethel had plenty, which for a woman in the fifties was pretty revolutionary and I would certainly say frowned upon. The extreme one for me is the bull ring through her nose that she would had to have lifted in order to have eaten.

So what do we think, could this be a trend we embrace in the near future? Me thinks not x

Amy Winehouse, great music talent is dead at 27!

It's a sad day for British music with the sad and tragic loss of the young Amy Winehouse who has died at the age of 27. With two successful albums and a beautiful and distinct voice reminiscent of Billie Holiday, Amy's career was far too short plagued by her demons of drugs and alcohol that has ultimately been her demise. For many years now Amy's private life as been in the spotlight as she battled to recover from her addictions. I'm deeply shocked by the news of her death today at 3:54pm in North London , I know she was still battling addiction after her current tour three weeks ago was cancelled but I always believed she would eventually fight these problems and come back to music with a bigger and better album than Back to Black, which was an exceptional album. I had high hopes for her musically and it's a great shame now that she will immortalised with the likes of Kurt Cobain who were troubled but exceptionally musically talented who showed greatness but died far to young.

RIP Amy I hope your finally at peace. xxx

Haute Couture Fashion week

I know this is about a week to late, but work has been crazy with trade shows coming up and the launch of a new season beckoning. So better late than never is my top three at Couture Fashion Week. I'm of to London Fashion week this September but I can't imagine it being quite as amazing as Couture Fashion Week with the exquisite hand made one offs it's where fashion truly meets Art.

My First of the top three of the week goes to Jean Paul Gaultier, his reinvention and homage to his classics makes this a really exciting collection, particularly with his make of unisex couture, and male models on the runway. With his designs including tailored tutus and corsets with key trends of pleating and draping, this really was a collection to be proud of. And  there was a great and welcomed surprise in the form of Erin O'Conner, it was great to see her on the runway again, she looked fantastic.

This was the first time in 15 years without John Galliano being Creative Director for Couture Christion Dior and he was noticeably missing. Although I liked Bill Gayyten's collection it just wasn't Galliano. With the pastel palette and graphic prints it was a fun collection, I particularly liked the embellishments and massive bobbles in the models hair. Ra Ra skirts was a huge trend in this collection and I think most of us won't ever afford couture but a Ra Ra once Couture flows to designer to high street is a certain wearable possibility. This whole collection was playful it reminds me of candyfloss on acid and I think fun in fashion is always good it's a shame this is Bill's first and last couture collection for Dior, as he certainly has potential but with his departure does this mean maybe Galliano could be back?

And last but very much not least is Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld can do no wrong and this collection inspired by Coco Chanel herself was stunning. The boater hats are exquisite and if anyone has one going spare I WANT IT!!! The classic tweed jackets had an update with a broad shoulder offset by nipped in waists that comes in vibrant magenta and navys. There was a definite lack of flesh showing and I think the strict governess look benefited from that, just going to show that less can definitely be more sexy.

As always leave a comment, what did you think about Haute Couture Fashion Week?

And don't forgot to add me to bloglovin and google reader! 

Email: dolcevitaoffashion@hotmail.co.uk

Cotswolds!

Last weekend a group of friends and I ventured out of London to the fabulous Cotswolds. It was my first time visiting and I can see why it's so popular. It was the rural countryside I had hoped for with it's little brick walls and with it taking under two hours to get there from London it's a great location for a weekend away.

We stayed at the Lower Mill Estate a vacation rental place within an natural reserve and our back garden overlooked a beautiful lake. If you are looking to escape the city I couldn't recommend a better place. The nights our the quietest I've ever heard and during the day there is a spa for treatments and an in door and out door swimming pool and gym. Once we used the facilities in the morning we rented bikes and rode through the countryside, stopping at country pubs at most opportunities.

It was an idyllic weekend, we had garden bbqs and spa treatments I couldn't have been more relaxed and calm. Note though if your are interested in the Lower Mill Estate it has a noise restriction at 11:00pm. Which is fine but on a wonderful summer night it would have been nice to have had some drinks and conversation on the deck and due to the neighbours and noise ban we had to go inside, which was disappointing. Don't get me wrong I appreciate no screaming, loud music but to not really be aloud outside at all after eleven on a girl weekend where gossip and vino were the topic of the night it was sad to have to move location.

See link for the house we stayed in http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/cirencester/56361

Don't forget you can now follow me on Bloglovin, Google and Twitter so follow me now!!!

Any fashion questions or questions about my blog email me on dolcevitaoffashion@hotmail.co.uk.

xxx