I am forever grateful that the weather for this season’s fashion week decided to hold on just beore it thought to take a wintery turn. This will be the last time in 2016 you will see me out and about in tiny crop tops and bare legs as winter has most definitely come to the capital now that October is here. Despite some mild showers on day one, the weather was just perfect and I am thrilled to share my experiences with you from start to finish. Here is the first of five posts- London Fashion Week Day One.
My Outfit
Since this was a rainy day, I wore a very fitting trench coat dress from Red Herring. I paired the dress with a gorgeous bag from Today I’m Me and Steve Madden shoes. It was great to hang out with Eleasha (Duchess of Fashion) too who helped with the shots!
The Place
The place where I spent most of my time seeing the catwalk shows was at Freemason’s Hall for Fashion Scout. There were a few other places including a congress centre and a church too!
Catwalk Highlights
Ong-Oaj Pairam
I eagerly anticipated the Ong-Oaj Pairam show just like the previous season. He uses such a range of materials and the fabrics and colours are just to die for! A #perfectseason.
Ones to Watch
Tom Daley certainly loved being on the FROW for the Ones to Watch catwalk which showcased four top designers including Ana Ljubinkovic and Billie Jacobina pictured above.
Rocky Star
Rocky Star stole the show with their gorgeous embellished gowns. This season had a very Moroccan vibe as the girls came out to showcase each design. Heavy eyeliner and earthy tones made for a great ending to London Fashion Week Day One.
It’s certainly about time I did a post all about my confessions as a fashion blogger. Being in the industry of blogging has really helped my bad spending habits as I am now focusing more on quality over quantity. But I still have a few confessions I’d like to share with you and I’d love to know if you can relate. So here we go- this is my Confessions of a Shopper-HOLIC!
Confession 1: I’m in love with big bags
Yes, the bigger the better when it comes to my bags! I have a big bag for every occasion, and this one comes from the ever fabulous Colette Green. This dogtooth shopper bag is just perfect for all my needs when it comes to a bag. It’s stylish, affordable and it’s big enough for all my things. If I were Goldilocks, this bag would be just right, though I imagine the story would involve three bags instead of three bears! The typical thing you will find in my bag is another bag full of essential makeup products (you never know when you might need a touch up) an umbrella (as you can never count on the weather) my purse, snacks (cereal bars and chocolate) and probably a lot of other random useful things like pens, plasters and business cards.
Confession 2: I’m in love with pattern clashes
I always have a lot of fun when it comes to pattern clashes. My favourite of all being monochrome clashing, which is what you will see in the images below. This is another shoot I did with Nicole (@NE_Moments) in Holland Park. I just love the way that the print from the bag and jumpsuit work perfectly together even though they are two completely different patterns. This pattern clash is so simple to do and really effective, so I would really recommend getting a dogtooth bag like this. Dogtooth also works really well with tartan if you want to add a bit of colour to the mix!
Confession 3: I’m in love with outdoors photography
This is the best kind of photography! It’s quite difficult as a blogger sometimes to get help with your shots, but these are the type of shots I would love to bring to my blog a bit more. I really love getting out there, exploring new places and having a great time with photographers for the morning or afternoon as we shoot in the city. You can find some amazing scenery in London- it doesn’t have to be all about those white houses in Kensington! Find somewhere where you can change it up a bit- especially if wearing all black and white, something like a mass of green trees will just look amazing and bring your outfit to life. So yes, outdoors photography is a big win, and thanks to Nicole for choosing such a fabulous location!
Confession 4: I’m in love with just being me
Call it narcissistic if you will, but I really do love just being myself, and I hope that this shows in my photos and in the blogging I’ve been doing these last few years. I couldn’t be happier with the family, friends and sometimes sheer luck I have had so far. I feel like I’ve done so much for someone still finding her career path and I believe that I haven’t even scratched the surface of where this road will take me. As I carry on my journey, I will leave 2016 as a married woman with hopes of starting a family in 2017. This may come as a shock to many of you who don’t know me well, but I really am not going to be settling down. If anything I’ll be upping my game even more, and with a new addition to the family I hope that the things I’m in love with won’t change, but they will simply expand even more (this includes my bag collection!).
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an English lady cannot resist a good old-fashioned afternoon tea. So here is where Bea’s London comes in! This month I had the pleasure to venture across to the London borough of Marylebone to one of the splendid little cafes in the Bea’s chain. SAHARASPLASH visits Bea’s Cakes London!
An afternoon tea is such a great idea at this time of the year. It’s something fun to do in the city if you are hungry but you find yourself not wanting to indulge in a hot meal. Bea’s London provides an amazing atmosphere for a lovely afternoon spent with your best friend or your partner as you natter and nom away. I started things off with an apple and cinnamon tea.
Layer One- The Savoury Sarnies
Okay so they were more of a roll, but these four flavours were delicious! Naturally I ordered the gluten free option, and I had avocado with dukkha spiced yoghurt and pistachio – parma ham, mascarpone cream with honey and fig relish – goats cheese curd with beetroot and toasted walnuts and then smoked salmon with cream fraiche. The beetroot and goats cheese was to die for! Such creativity and not a cucumber in sight!
Layer Two- Scrumptious Scones
It was so wonderful to see a full-sized scone on my second layer. So many times I am left dissapointed by the size of gluten free cakes and pastries, but not at Bea’s! The gluten free scone came with the best serving of clotted cream and a choice of raspberry or strawberry jam. It was delightful.
Layer Three- Cakes, sweets, and more!
I really was not prepared for the amount of goodness on the third layer. This included a gluten free cupcake, the best chocolate brownie ever, a macaron, a homemade marshmallow cube, a meringue and some loaf cake. Needless to say I tried everything but did not finish everything. It was so nice to have a wide selection to browse through and taste. It’s the perfect thing for those indecisive eaters when it comes to choosing your dessert!
I want to thank Bea’s London for the very sophisticated experience, it was such a great way to start September and I hope that you will all go find a Bea’s London close to you if you live in London, or plan an afternoon tea with them on your next visit!
Outfit details: I wore a metallic crop, pleated skirt and zebra print jacket all from Motel Rocks.
Saharasplash x
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I am really excited to show you all this latest collaboration with Joe Browns. Joe Browns are a lovely company who I have wanted to work with on a project since attending their blogger’s event based around their funfair collection last year. Joe Browns really do the most amazing campaigns and I was lucky enough to join in on this one for their #JBholidaywardrobe project where we had to take the most bright and colourful photos we could. In London, this was a piece of cake! Enjoy colour me crazy with Joe Browns!
I really wanted to get a beautiful array of colours to match the stunning print of my favourite piece- the Tropical Jersey Pants:
I took them out with me to go on a bit of wedding planning with Paul in the country!
We then went on a trip closer to home for these great backdrops. Locations are from Bethnal Green all the way to Whitechapel and then back to Canning Town:
I love how soft the pants are, and they come with the most important thing- pockets! I then took them all the way home to do even more colourful shots against blue and red:
I need to thank my sister for lending me the coolest slip ons which went with the pants so well! I love how the shoes really work together with the pants for a colour me crazy vibe- just perfect for festival and holiday seasons which are just around the corner. I then ended up going to a whole new level of crazy for these last shots- taken against our spare room blinds with me standing on my head!
I think they came out really well against the fluffy red pattern, though I don’t recommend you do this with your holiday wardrobe pieces!
I hope you enjoyed my colour me crazy piece with Joe Browns as the star of the show. I hope to work with them agains on similar projects, as they really are a company you can get creative with just like this.
Follow the hashtags #JBholidaywardrobe & #LoveJoeBrowns to see more colourful shots from other bloggers!
Saharasplash x
Find out what I got up to with MsRosieBea recently for a brand new Superdrug collection!
I received this product for free for my honest opinion and review
I have been wanting to tell you all for a while now about my most recent collaboration with a company called Today I’m Me. Today I’m Me are a brilliant brand who I have the pleasure of working with all this year. I’m so happy to announce that I’m going to be writing and blogging for them as a part of their ‘Urban Girl’s Diary’ series! Once a month I will be posting unique content for their blog as well as blogging on here. It’s all very exciting and I can’t wait to get started on my Today I’m Me story!
My first post will be going live very soon on their brand new site, so make sure to stay tuned on Twitter and Instagram.
I had a fabulous time creating this first piece of content for them with a bag from the Panels collection, and I’m proud to share these images with you now. This is just the beginning of my ‘Today I’m Me’ Story!
I wanted to show off a range of looks- from elegant to sportswear- just so you can see how many ways there are to style up one bag!
Saharasplash for Today I’m Me also has a YouTube video!
I hope you will love the bags and the brand as much as I do. They are so unique and I will be doing some more videos as a part of my Today I’m Me story. Go and check out their brand new site and you will guarantee to have the most stylish bag at your next event! If you are an urban girl like me, you will fall in love with the brand and want a piece from each collection. My first Today I’m Me Story will go live on their blog very soon!
