The smallest style icon: Suri Cruise

Suri Cruise : the smallest, sweetest style icon

Since reading Grazia's story on Suri Cruise the other day, I haven't been able to stop talking about it. There she was, walking along the street in a pair of kitten heels. I didn't know whether to find it cute or disturbing that a three year old girl was allowed to wear these? I soon found out it wasn't the first time either! Suri, daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, has been photographed in some of the most stylish outfits and definitely wins my vote for 'Cutest Celebrity Child' but I think the heels are was taking it a step too far (literally). 

Grazia reported that Katie Holmes spends 25,000 a month on Suri's wardrobe - more than a lot of people earn in an entire year - to ensure that Suri is 'the most fashionable kid in Hollywood'. The article went on to say that they spent£5,000 on a ruby pendant in the shape of a cricket which Suri picked out herself (expensive taste). She's growing up with everything she could possibly want and more, I highly doubt she'll ever learn value of money... There is even a Suri Cruise fashion blog :

http://suricruisefashion.blogspot.com/

Even Suri gets tired of shopping sometimes

Of course, she is without a doubt incredibly cute and yes, stylish but I'm feeling a bit disturbed that she's fast becoming my new fashion crush! 

Katie, who apart from marrying Tom is most famous for being Joey in Dawson's Creek, has launched a clothing line Holmes and Yang with stylist Jeanne Yang, including pint sized clothing often spotted on Suri. In a Style.com interview, Katie said "Jeanne's girls and my daughter have a point of view of what they want to wear... I'm constantly amazed by all the colors and layers that Suri will put together". When discussing the key design element for the little girl's clothes Yang explained "It has to twirl".

See the full article at : 

http://www.style.com/peopleparties/parties/scoop/losangeles-092409_Holmes_Yang_Launch_LA/

Although I find the whole kids in heels really inappropriate, I can't help but think she looks cute! 

Meet my new Carvelas!

After a slight hiccup with the Kurt Geiger store I finally bought myself a new pair of shoes :)

It turns out that although Westfield shopping centre is open until 10pm on a Friday, Kurt Geiger (amongst other stores) closes at 9. So after a scrumptious dinner at Fire & Stone, I hopped along to Kurt Geiger excitedly (at 9.15), only to find the doors locked (yes, I shook them just to check!). Needless to say I was extremely gutted and was moaning about it the whole way home. In the end, my lovely boyfriend felt so sorry for me that he drove me there again today (yes, all the way from Epsom). 

These babies have a whopping 5 inch heel (yes I got the ruler out!) which is definitely my highest heel yet. Better get practicing to perfect my walk and ensure I don't have any embarrassing slip-ups (literally).

This decision was not made lightly... I tried on at least 9 or 10 other pairs before finally weighing up these two... The navy ones were suede with a patent platform and heel. I loved the suede material but decided I had nothing to wear with them so the black ones (in leather) were more practical. I don't think practical is a word that most would use to describe these...

Now I just need somewhere to go!

Virtual London

I came across an interesting article about a new Virtual environment of the West End. Think Google Streetview merged with Second Life. 'Near London' has been designed to promote online spending and the software will be constantly updated. 'Near London' goes live on Monday 30th November.

"Near London is an exact 3D copy of the capital's main shopping area; Regent Street, Bond Street, and Oxford Street. Piccadilly Circus is there as well. 

It's been designed to promote online retail and users will be able to find a store's website by clicking on its digital shopfront. 

Selecting an item in the window brings up details for that product.

So far, dozens of big name companies have signed up. The people behind Near London say they hope to get every West End retailer on board. 

The service is also able to interact with social networking sites. Facebook users can meet their friends online and discuss purchases using video chat."

To view the full article and watch the video footage, visit: http://ow.ly/FVez

Topshop: Dress Me Up

Topshop have announced the launch of their exclusive charity initiative 'Dress Me Up' which gives us the chance to hire a celebrity dress for the night for just £40. Only available in the Oxford Circus branch, the 'Dress Me Up' rails hold designer dresses donated by designers such as Marios Schwab and Richard Nicoll as well as celebrities including Erin O'Conner, Frieda Finto and Scarlett Johansson. All proceeds are being donated to Help The Aged and Age Concern. 

Dolce & Gabbana dress donated by Peaches Geldoff

Visit the store to try on the dresses between now and 6th December (after 1pm) and if the desired dress is available on the date you want it (between 7th and 23rd December), you need to quickly make your payment to secure it. After the hire period, all the dresses will be putting up for auction. The hiring details can be viewed on the Topshop website.

Richard Nicoll dress donated by the designer himself

Topshop claims to be dry cleaning the dresses before you hire them - dresses must be returned by 12 but the next person can collect it from 1 - I hope they have a really fast laundry service or someones  going to have to wear somebody else's sweaty dress each day for 16 days!

Slightly gutted, I came up with a very similar idea last year during a 2nd year project but never pitched it to Topshop... Unless of course one of my tutors / peers / guest tutors stole my idea and pitched it themselves (not impossible to be honest). 

x x x

25% off at Kurt Geiger

I have just received a 25% off 'friends and family' voucher for Kurt Geiger! Technically I'm actually a friend of a friend and I'm now sharing it with my friends...

This voucher entitles us to 25% off in all Kurt Geiger Stores. This can be used on anything excluding Ugg. If you would prefer to shop online, just enter the discount code 'KGTREATS09' at the checkout to receive your discount. (www.kurtgeiger.com). If you'd like a copy of the voucher I've added the link to the heading of this post. Hope it works! If not, send me your e-mail and I'll forward you my invite.

Click the below image for store details

I've already planned a trip to Westfield on Friday evening to visit the store and spend some birthday money!

Here are my options: I just can't decide...

Happy Shopping... x

Q&A with Lorraine Sandy of Gap Inc

This is the second post of my Q&A series with key industry contacts on their responses to the 'Blogging Boom'. 

Earlier this year, High Street label Gap invited blogger Garance Doré (also an illustrator), to design an exclusive collection of  T-shirts to be sold in the Gap Pop Up shop in Carnaby Street over London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010. I wanted to question Gap on why they chose to collaborate with a blogger and how it affected the sales and promotion of the project. 

Lorraine Sandy is the Visual Production Manager for Gap Inc & Banana Republic. 

R: What made you choose to collaborate with Garance Doré for the limited-edition T-shirt collection? 

L: "We originally wanted to work with The Sartorialist ... who GAP have worked with in the past. Sadly he had already committed to an exhibition/book launch with Liberty's.  He suggested Garance, his girlfriend I might add, as a possible instead, and after our PR team spoke to her and negotiated fees etc, she agreed."

R: Did you receive a lot of hype about the pop up store and the collection itself through her blog? 

L: "Yes we did. She blogs on a daily basis, and had pictures of progress of setting the exhibition up, what she had done during the day.  It was her usual diary style of writing, along with some illustrations too. I even managed to be on the site in a picture she took, although it was only from the back :(. Through the blog and Garance showing the T's there was a huge response from her 'fans' and in the end we printed more T's for the French store Collette to sell. It was an amazing response."

R: Do you consider blogging as another form of advertising? 

L: "Absolutely.  Anything written about you is a form of advertising and very good PR."

R: By commissioning Garance Doré alongside the likes of Pharell Williams, would you say that bloggers are catching up with music and fashion icons as the new 'celebrities'? 

L: "I think that Garance is definitely proof of this. She has become a 'celebrity' herself, and is even one of the top 25 influential fashion people in the world.  She has a huge following on her blog site, is interviewed as much herself by lots of fashion magazines." 

To read Garance's blog and view more images visit http://www.garancedore.fr/en/2009/09/11/its-up/

A huge thanks to Lorraine for responding so quickly  x x x

Q&A with Claire Foster of WGSN

As part of my dissertation research, I am in the process of e-mailing various industry contacts with a few brief questions about their views on the 'Blogging Boom'. The point of this series of Q&As is to see how different industry professionals are responding to the rise in online media and blogging and how it has affected their jobs.

Claire Foster is the Associate Editor for WGSN's Footwear & Accessories trends department. 

WGSN Profile : 'Since gaining a fashion design degree at UCE in Birmingham, Claire has been involved in a number of creative and womenswear design-based roles and projects. She established a womenswear design collective and retail space, which culminated in running her own womenswear and accessories label No Dice.'

R: How regularly do you visit Street Style blogs such as The Sartorialist and Face Hunter?

C: "Everyday more or less."

R: How important / relevant are these types of blogs to you when looking for new trends?

C: "They are very relevant as they give us an insight into how directional dressers are styling looks and referencing designers or just wearing something that we haven't seen before, around the world. The global appeal of these sites is massive for us too; the ability to see what people are wearing on the streets in so many different countries is great."

R: Which are your top 3 style blogs? - Why?

C: "Garance Doré, has beautiful pictures and a refreshing take on street style. Facehunter, great international coverage and slightly more directional street looks. The Sartorialist, classic, great photos, reliable content. Those are the three constant ones I guess, and the more established ones but there are a number that I dip into sporadically with more niche audiences."

R: Do you feel threatened or refreshed by these blogs that are celebrating individual style rather than people who follow trends? - Why?

C: "Definitely refreshed, it is brilliant to be able to see what people are doing with their own personal style. Most of the time you can identify the trends being played out in the photos from these blogs but sometimes you see something amazing and inspiring that you haven't seen before which is part of the reason for checking them so regularly."

R: What are your predictions for the future of fashion? - Is the future of fashion media online? Will fashion weeks end as all the shows turn to the Internet?

C: "I think online media is most probably the future of fashion, but I don't think that means the end of fashion weeks. I think it is still crucial to have those events as long as people can afford to put them on! But I do think we will start to see more online innovative projects to do with fashion in the near future."

Many Thanks Claire x

Marilyn & Ella

Despite the rain, train delays and queues at Harrods beforehand, I managed to get myself to Shaftesbury Avenue's Apollo Theatre on time to watch the west end play 'Marilyn & Ella'. It was the second of a five show production and I was lucky enough to get tickets (thanks to my parents). 

I have been a fan of Marilyn Monroe for quite a few years now but until today, I didn't know much about Ella Fitzgerald. The play, written by Bonnie Greer tells the story of the friendship between the two: Marilyn helped Ella break the racial barriers and become the first black person to perform at 'The Mocambo', the most prestigious night club in LA.

It was an intimate show, simply with a musical quartet, Marilyn (Suzie Kennedy), Ella (Hope Augustus) and a guest appearance by Frank Sinatra (Stephen Triffit). Suzie Kennedy, one of the world's most famous Monroe impersonators, was very convincing and made the audience feel special by making eye-contact and singing directly to us. 

"I wanna be loved by you, just you, nobody else but you... boo boo bi doo"

I really enjoyed watching the show and even managed to get a quick snap afterwards with Miss Monroe herself. Unfortunately she didn't sing the famous "Happy Birthday" to me and my dad! 

x x x

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

My housemates and I have been waiting all week with our tickets at the ready to see the second Twilight film - New Moon. We finally went to see it last night (the first night) and I've honestly never seen the cinema so packed!

I have read the first 3 books so I knew the plot but unlike with Twilight, I wasn't disappointed with the film. 'Twilight' seemed to leave out parts of the book which I had really enjoyed and I also wasn't connecting so much with the characters. Although my housemate is obsessed by Robert Pattinson (who plays Edward) - once I saw the posters for 'New Moon', I knew I would enjoy watching Taylor Lautner (Jacob the Wolf). When we arrived at the cinema we were faced with 2 huge posters with 'Team Edward' and 'Team Jacob' which had stickers all over them with messages, mostly written by the giggly 15 year old girls that screamed all the way through the film.

Each time someone took their top off or kissed or did anything remotely sexual, the entire screening room was filled with screams. It was quite funny at first but soon got annoying.

I must say I much preferred 'New Moon' to 'Twilight' as it was more true to the book. After seeing the ending, I'm glad I've read the next book, I wouldn't like to have to wait to find out what happens! 

A few facts about New Moon:

- It shattered the midnight opening record, raking in an estimated $26.27 million at 3,514 sites showing the movie starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The previous benchmark was Harry Potter and the Half-Bloog Prince, which conjured $22.2 million at 3,003 sites for its midnight opening. 

- Actors of the wolf pack went through "wolf camp" together to get buff and bond with each other.

- New Moon premiered in the US on 17 November 2009, which, in the Lunar Cycle, is a new moon.

Sister Act, Carnaby Street, Southbank and Birthday Treats

Following 'Birthday Eggs' made by my housemate Anna as well as cake and present opening with the girls, Paul showed up with a big bunch of lovely flowers and a beautifully wrapped Michael Kors watch (Unfortunately I ripped the paper off so fast I forgot to take a picture). Lucky me!

We then headed into London for an early dinner before Sister Act - The Musical.

Although none of the original songs were sung (due to copyright I suppose) the show was loads of fun and the cast were brilliant - they looked and sounded like the characters they played. The actual set was constantly changing and I really enjoyed the whole performance.

We then had a walk down Carnaby Street to look at the shop windows and Christmas displays. Wasn't entirely sure how Christmassy they were but when I looked on the Carnaby website I found out what they represented...

The award winning Carnaby Christmas decorations take on a psychedelic theme this year to launch Carnaby’s 50th Anniversary in 2010; a year long celebration of the sixties, the decade in which Carnaby became an iconic fashion destination.

The decorations are designed by Paul Dart, from the James Glancy Design Agency; “A psychedelic Christmas is a fond homage to the 50th birthday of Carnaby as it was the birthplace of the explosion of British fashion design and its vitality still invigorates the design world today.”

On the way home, we went for a walk down the Southbank which was also lit up for Christmas.

All in all a lovely birthday!