FALL FLORALS

Me wearing: Zara necklace with a Jaeger Boutique sweater.

Floral prints might seem unexpected at this time of year but what a pretty pick-me-up for the dark winter months ahead. One of the easiest ways to work the trend is with a decorative necklace (mine pictured above: a lovely  birthday present from Zara), thrown over everything from sweaters to party frocks. Talking of which, check out this gorgeous little number by RED Valentino (below), a floral masterpiece so to speak and it doesn't get more carefully-crafted than Christopher Kane's SS14 flower inspired collection (further below): his exploration of their anatomy, a sign of things to come for sure. 

    Floral fancy: RED Valentino taffeta dress at Net-a-porter.com.    

Flower power at Christopher Kane SS14 (Style.com).

To see Christopher Kane's full SS14 floral-tastic collection, click here.

THE PARTY SEASON IS ON!

Me wearing: a Jaeger Boutique dress, Crumpet cashmere biker and Kate Spade book clutch.

I’m celebrating 150 years this month: a 60th birthday and three 30ths! That’s one weekend away, two house parties and a fancy-dress bash. And whilst I won’t embarrass myself by posting about the latter, here’s a little snap of me from Saturday night, toasting my school friend Laurie at her family friend’s house: evidence that I did step away from the cheese-board for all of two minutes to pick my Kate Spade book clutch!
And with no break for some R&R on the horizon (December is around the corner after all) these block-heeled beauties from Kat Maconie’s AW’13 collection have gone top of party season wish-list: bright blue metallic and kind to your feet, what’s not to love? 

Kat Maconie 'Wonda' sandals in royal blue.

To see and shop more party-pleasers by Kat Maconie, click here.

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND: NEW BALANCE

Me wearing: a Raoul coat, Marks & Spencer sweater, Citizens of Humanity jeans and New Balance trainers.

Since I started at ASOS.com (5 months ago) I've been quite restrained on the shopping front, until this week when the allure of New Balance got all too much and I bought two pairs of practically identical trainers (sneaker geeks will berate me for that) in a matter of days. They're not actually the same, the claret pair (the colour of the season dontcha know) are 410s and slightly more streamline than their 420 sister. I know it's wrong to have favourites, but when the latter pair arrived with their sleek black suede trim and gorgeous grey side panels, I got that new-trainer-high which frankly, has been missing from my life since... ooh 1995! I told myself my new trainer wardrobe was strictly for my commute and weekends, but as you can see they're already creeping into my working day! Maybe that's the mark of a true trainer revival or maybe New Balance are just too comfy for my own good!

To see and shop too many tempting New Balance kicks, click here. Tip: 410s and 420s come up a size smaller than average.

PUNK'D!

Me wearing: Ralph Lauren shirt, Doma leather jacket and Didi Jewellery earrings. 

Hedi Slimane’s AW’13 collection for Saint Laurent has given the whole season a punky-grunge vibe, and whilst the leather and tartan combo are no new thing, his decorative take on the ’70s (and '90s) iconic look is pretty delish! Unfortunately the Saint Laurent heavily embellished boots (yours for the drooling, below) are purely for my fashion fantasies (although... Santa if you’re reading this, I'm a size 39). Much more purse-friendly however, are these smoky quartz stud earrings by Didi Jewellery, a great nod to the pretty-punk look (accompanying tartan and leather optional).

        Dream boots: Saint Laurent A/W'13 (Style.com).         

To see and shop Didi Jewellery's full collection, click here.