The Frock Dress Monster

The FDM reaches the end

2010-02-15T19:50:00.000Z

Hello fellow frocky lovers - first off, I must apologise for my lack of posting for the past fortnight - sadly, I have been unwell, and as such at pains to pull myself off the couch and pour myself in pretty dresses in aid of my much loved cause.
It has been rather a disasterous two weeks in frockness terms overall I am afraid - trying to turn on my camera today, it appears a nasty, goggle-eyed gremlin has invaded its electronic insides, with the magic silver box proceeding to turn itself on and off sporadically before repeatedly taking photos which only ceased when I removed its battery, and restarted when I stuck it back in again.
Not only has sickness of myself and my picture machine caused me distress, but when I did a quick tally of my wardrobe essentials I realised I only had 20 dresses left, many of which I am going to struggle pulling off in the office (vintage turqouise houndstooth puffball anyone?)
With this in mind, and it breaks my little fit-and-flare loving heart to say so, I think the Frock Dress Monster may have come to the end of her road now. It has been a thrills and spills-packed last six months, with many frocky highs, and T-shirts being pulled off badly as dresses lows, but I have loved having the opportunity to show you all just how wonderful the humble dress can be, and how endless its possibilites of wonder are.
Before I go, I have one or two dresses which were special gifts for this challenge and which I am yet to manage to wear on here. I intend to get hold of a camera and get some photos of me up on the blog in those by the end of the month to mark what would have been the FDM's six month anniversary.
Thanks you so much for all your following and do check back in a fortnight for my final frocky post. And remember - a dress is for life, not just for one day a year.
The FDM xx

A quiff of desperation

2010-02-03T22:15:00.001Z

MONDAY - Oh dear, day 1 of getting beach body fit for my May trip to Thailand didn't go especially well today - too much of my chocolate fudge refridgerator cake and skipping spinning due to tutor problems tonight didn't get me off to the best start. Ah well, better luck tomorrow...

It was a day of super stripes in the office today, with both my boss and finance manger decked out in nautical hoops. Mine are from my housemate SJ, another of her Stateside Forever 21 purchases which has fallen out of her favour. All the more for me then. I rather liked my quiffed fringe today until I watched Jeremy Kyle this morning, and two matching, rough as old boots sister had the same scraped back, curled over style with a ponytail straggling out the back. Desperate error. I think you need a pixie crop to pull this one off...maybe I should think about it?
The FDM xx

My Nigella day

2010-02-03T21:30:00.000Z

SUNDAY - My first day off in weeks, so despite waking up at about the sprightly time of 9am, I spent a leisurely morning dozing until lunchtime and enjoying the fact that I had absolutely no reason to get up (other than to put on a dress...) Spent my afternoon cooking yummy food as practice for my dating show (should I end up on it...) so the flat was treated to warm roasted butternut squash salad with proscuitto and parmesan and a balsamic glaze, followed by chocolate fudge refridgerator cake - excellent first course, the dessert was more like biscuits however so I'll need to find a more pudding type end to the meal I think.

As I was having a day of indulgence (sleep and food, the two essentials of life, closely followed by dresses...), I thought I'd indulge with my dress too, hence this sparkly evening number. It looks quite high class from this angle, but it was actually 30 quid at Southampton's West One, the ultimate towny party girl shop, favoured amongst the Hampshire birds for picking up a new Saturday night outfit, so I like to think it is me that adds the class. Discuss...

The FDM xx

The most of make up

2010-02-01T17:24:00.000Z

SATURDAY - Up and out in the snow (seriously? It’s snowing again?!?) by 8am this morning as I was charged with the task of helping man the LCF stand at the International Makeup Artists Trade Show. In my time as a journalist I’ve seen the inside of many a fashion and beauty exhibition event but am yet to make it to truly experience the magic of maquillage, so today was an eye opening event - who knew they could turn a simple pale-skinned man into a pointy-earred, scaly-skinned amphibi-human in just five and a half hours? We had some pretty impressive demos going on on our stand too, including some incredibly realistic burn and scarring make up and the most amazing handmade Elizabethan wig resplendent in floral garlands and lovebirds and complemented with a spot on powdery face perfectly representative of 16th century fashions.
Dress code for today was all black, and I was well warned of the lack of heating in Alexandra Palace so this low cut, tie top dress (Girls Aloud wore this style around 2005 - this was bought at Pilot, the now defunct poor man’s New Look, around that time) is layered up over the ubiquitous black polo neck with has had many outings under my skimpier dresses so far this year.
The FDM xx

Day 150 of the FDM

2010-02-01T08:47:00.000Z

FRIDAY - A lovely end to the week tonight, as I went along to a booze-fuelled reunion evening out with all my old work colleagues. The alcohol was flowing and, being such a fan as I am of a good old gossip, it was fab to catch up on all the office chit chat I’ve missed for the past few weeks. Throw in some live music and were it not for my having to rise at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning I would have lasted much longer dancing the night away.
I love this dress, you can never go wrong with animal print, the cobalt blue and black colourway is one of my favourite tonal combinations, and the bug zip at the front is a typical quirky River Island touch. This dress was another one of my fiver purchases in the River end of New Year clearance sale, which actually meant it was 90% off its tag price. Mental.
The FDM xx

Work it - then work it some more

2010-02-01T08:45:00.000Z

THURSDAY - Edging towards the end of another week and ready for my first day off in 14 on Sunday. On the plus side, all the lovely extra cash from giving up my weekends to work the fashion shows of Europe means I can afford a highly anticipated trip to Thailand in May, which I booked today. The thought of 17 days of stunning beaches, amazing culture and noodles for breakfast should make it totally worth the schlepping around trade show floors for a couple of months. Well, the it better well be…
Super sparkly number from River Island today, sequins still get my vote going into spring, particularly when they’re café au lait coloured like these ones. Yum.
The FDM xx

Sweet as sugar Chanel...and creepy me...

2010-01-28T22:49:00.000Z

WEDNESDAY - Took a little break today to check out the start of Couture fashion week. One of my favourite weeks of the fashion show calender, nothing is too outrageous, expensive or exquisite for the French fancimen and women and of course there was no disappointing today. Karl Lagerfeld's pretty as a picture pastels were sweet enough to rival Burberry Prorsum's ice cream coloured whipped hem trenches and Valentino's carefully crafted ruffled folds back in the ready-to-wear spring ranges last year. The Chanel show ebbed and flowed like a candy coloured winding river as boucle jacket after boucle jacket tripped down the runway cast in peach and strawberry twinsets as demure suiting gave way to diaphonous satin gowns ruched and draped into liquid layers fit for the most elegant of Parisian princesses. Definitely my favourite of the week so far.
Today's look is the complete opposite of Lagerfeld's lovelies with a distinctly gothic feel to my pale skin and kohl rimmed eyes. This Topshop dress is usually reserved for the beach but needs must so it's layered up with a polo and super thick tights today.
The FDM xx

When the cameras came to play - part 1

2010-01-28T21:55:00.000Z

TUESDAY - As promised yesterday, I said I would reveal today why I eschewed my usually religious Monday night exercise session in favour of a vacuuming frenzy last evening... On one of my recent money-saving Saturday nights in, I became rather taken by an ITV dating show called Take Me Out. Already on the way to becoming a cult hit, TMO is a boy-meets-loadsa-girls premise which puts the power in the hands of 30 gorgeous (sometimes not so gorgeous actually - the twins with the matching mullet hair? Odd...) single girls to decide whether auditioning boys cut the mustard to deserve a date from any of them. "I say, I'd like to do that!" I thought from my couch one weekend and next thing I know I'm logging onto the ITV website and searching for an application form. Sadly the show was already full, but fortunately, I did come across a prospective new Blind Date-come-Come Dine with Me programme which sounded like just my cup of tea (boys + food = mmm) My seize the day mentality quicked kicked in and before I knew it I had whizzed off the completed form. Fast forward to this morning, and the production team arrived resplendent in cameras and lights to do my test video. Hence the pre-emptive cleaning...
So what does a girl wear for a potential starring television role? I opted for black (slimming), contrast statement shoulders (on trend), and a knotted belt (my favourite accessory of 2010 so far). This one was from the River Island New Year sale. Watch out for it on a telly channel near you soon...
The FDM xx
PS pics to follow...

The start of the week already?

2010-01-27T22:03:00.000Z

MONDAY - The week comes around pretty quickly when you work all weekend so it was a tough job getting through today. I skipped my evening spinning class (really must go back to the gym soon, I'm starting to develop stomach squish...) to go home and blitz the cleaning of the flat - all will be revealed in tomorrow's blog...

Today's T-shirt dress is one of the few designer pieces I own and one of my easiest outfits to fling on with a big belt, pair of leggings and some ankle boots for a guarenteed silhouette which curves in the all the right places and is sexy without too much flesh flashing. It's by Marc by Marc Jacobs and was 50 quid in an The Outlet sale last Christmas. One of my better bargains of the blog so far.

The FDM xx

Wanna launch your own fashion brand?

2010-01-25T21:50:00.000Z

SUNDAY - A quick whiz around the less trend-driven show in Paris (Pret-a-Porter) this morning (a dash more fur, a few extra statement shoulders and the usual oversized, dour-coloured knitwear) before another five hours of travelling back to sun-dappled London.

While today is a quiet day for fashion news, I wanted to tell you all about an amazing seminar we're running at LCF in March which some of you might be interested in. If you have spent endless hours trawling the high street and boutique rails only to think that the one thing you are looking for you just can't find anywhere maybe now is the time to consider launching your own fashion label. If so, LCF is running an amazing one-day seminar called Developing your own fashion label and it aims to do exactly that - speakers include Angela Quaintrell, former chief buyer at Liberty, discussing how to sell your brand, Nick and Mike Burt form i-am-colin.com on sourcing textiles and manufacturing your label, and PR maestro Nick Ede on PR-ing your new wonder collection. The seminar is taking place in March and is a steal at just £160. Find out more and book here!
As mentioned yesterday, today's is another Ruby Rocks frock, this time with an abstract print but equally as cute as the rainbow spots. Obviously the heating was high when I took this pic this evening...
The FDM xx

The shoulders still have it

2010-01-24T21:33:00.000Z

SATURDAY - Why is it that when you add travelling into your day, it suddenly becomes a lot more tiring? I left home at 9am this morning for my jaunt to the Parisian womenswear trade shows yet it was 2.30pm before I actually made it to the Parc des Expositions at Porte de Versailles. As predicted yesterday the halls of the trend-led Who's Next show were full of Balmain-inspired regimental jackets, carbon copies of Christophe Decarnin's chainmail-adorned epaulettes (yet still brands wouldn't let me take their pics - your pieces are a copy of one of the most famous French brands in the world, I'd say you don't really have a leg to stand on when it comes to copywriting your designs!) and silver encrusted shoulders. One of the biggest surprises however was the proliferation of fur. Usually more likely to be seen at the Copenhagen shows in colder climes, the snow and a re-emergence of fur on the catwalks last autumn seem to have filtered through to brands in a big way, and you couldn't move for rabbit trims and fox fur gilets. Let's see how the British buyers react to my report on that...

Amazing steak dinner at my favourite steak restaurant in the world tonight, Le Relais d'Entrecote, which is amazingly almost right next to my hotel (there was so much excitement when this opened a couple of seasons ago - we used to have to go over to St Germain to get such heavenly butter sauce and crunchy chips...) in my rainbow spotty print Ruby Rocks dress. I have two of these strapless styles for the weekend with different prints, this is my favourite though, but required a bit of layering for the cold Parisian drizzle. At least it's not snow...yet...

The FDM xx

Tartan turn on

2010-01-24T20:08:00.000Z

FRIDAY - The end of what has felt like a rather long week was not helped with the thought of no weekend stretching ahead of me - I am reporting on a trade show in Paris so will be up and out at the Eurostar by 9.30 tomorrow. Ouch. Looking forward to getting my hands on some product though and seeing how much Balmainia the French brands are going to present for autumn. A lot, I predict.

A hastily crafted vintage-esque look for today with some tartan tights and a fairisle knit cardi. The dress underneath is from Only, it's jersey on the top half then layered crinkly coated cotton on the bottom and I felt kinda cute in it. Which is nice.
The FDM xx

Striking Goldin

2010-01-23T21:39:00.001Z

THURS - Great news for one of my favourite young Brit designers today. Knitwear maestro Louise Goldin has won the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Forward award. This is amazing news for Louise, whose on schedule show is always one of the highlights of my fashion week. Her forward thinking use of knitwear techniques has produced results which veer from sci-fi Swarovski studded catsuits in deep blue sea hues through to candy coloured seashell skirts and sparkly power padding. Previously won by the amazing Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders, the sponsorship lasts for two seasons and also includes valuable business advice, which is so essential particularly at the moment.

So this Sainsburys Tu black dress (jazzed up by what SJ and I are now calling a Huxtable cardigan - we both have one - bring back 80s American cheesy family sitcoms please...) is actually a long black jersey skirt. Can't quite remember why I would have bought this at any point in my life, I only ever remember wearing it belted as a dress, but there must have been a point sometime when long black bias cut stretch skirts were desirable...? Answers in the comment box below...

The FDM xx

Ruby's rocking feet

2010-01-21T23:39:00.000Z

WEDNESDAY - A little bit of fun fashion info for readers today - you may have spotted me in numerous cute Ruby Rocks dresses over the past few months, and exciting news out from the short order quirky label today is that it will be launching a footwear line for spring. There aren't too many details yet but we know the sweet shoes are going to reflect the brand's humorous take on print - my favourite for this spring includes a kimono style wrap around dress printed with adorable little parasol-weilding geishas - plenty of statment embellishment and will be mixing it all up with a street edge to give it that extra shot of oomph factor. Can't wait.
No head in the photos today - not particularly because I don't like my face today (although I don't really - one of THOSE days) but because I think this print needs to be done proper justice. I spotted this dress in a magazine probably two years ago now and immediately sent my dad into the Asda hypermarket round the corner to pick it up. Yep, it is actually a George dress - who would have thought! I always get so many compliments on it and I think it was only £15. Cost per wear - I reckon about 50p. Amazing.
The FDM xx

Out of this world

2010-01-20T23:43:00.000Z

TUESDAY - A night out with a three-quarters of my girl group (we miss you Rache!) and much talk about the usuals - men (where are they?), holidays (Thailand in April?), work (are we earning enough to retire at 30? Hmm, unlikely...) There's nothing like a bottle of Pinot Grigio for putting the world to rights, either that or a cute little dress - today's was £15 in the Asos sale at New Year and I love its galactical print. Planets and solar systems have always been overshadowed by stars when it comes to otherworldly motifs, but I think there's mileage in the Milky Way look. We were in one of our fave West End pubs the Adam and Eve tonight, on Wells Street, and it was thought my photos could be livened up by a few props from the pub shelves. Honestly, I look a bit of a goon, but makes for a better photo than me in my room with my wash basket behind me I suppose...
The FDM xx

Bailey's Burberry magic hits again

2010-01-20T22:59:00.000Z

MONDAY - Can you believe the catwalks are upon us again already? It seems like only yesterday I gazed in awe and wonderment from my fifth tier seat as Christopher Bailey sent swathes of creamy satins swooshing down his palatial runway, and Victoria Beckham sat perfectly primed and perched just in front of me exchanging minor chatter with Emma Watson, Claudia Schiffer and those kids from Slumdog Millionaire. This weekend's Burberry men's offering for autumn 10 was somewhat of a different story to those sherbet dip frothy miracles from back in September, and instead boys were treated to heavily embellished regimental style jackets with gold disks encrusting collars and sleeves, beyond luxurious double collar, sheepskin lined flying jackets and some nifty nipped in boyish blazers. Can't wait for the womenswear next month...

Today's dress is one of my fave brands, Ruby Rocks, and is another stripey one (I'm enjoying stripes at the moment) and has cute little cutaway shoulders too - you can't see them so well though, I had to wear another layer underneath with the impending threat of snow...again...

The FDM xx

Sunday butternut squash bonanza

2010-01-18T11:36:00.000Z

SUNDAY - Feeling a need to cleanse and nourish today, I had a particularly productive Sunday (after a rather long lie in), making yummy batches of butternut squash curry (I LOVE butternut squash - I probably mention it a lot - it's my new favourite vegetable - I'm backing it for big things in 2010...) and sweet potato and goats cheese pasta to keep me going during what will no doubt be a fairly intense week at work as I try and get 20 fashion and make up courses underway without too much drama. FINALLY the snow has melted in Highgate so it was lovely going walking on the dry streets today in the sunshine and not fearing for my safety just trotting down to the shops. Apparently there's more forecast for this weekend however - if it ruins my planned trip to Paris I will not be impressed...
This lovely colour block dress is from Danish brand Selected Femme and hangs gorgeously loose. More suited to the summer I know, but it was a bit like a hot summerhouse in our lounge this afternoon courtesy of the sun streaming in so I felt I could go for something a little bit more suited to the holiday season. Roll on those days...
The FDM xx

No Fred Perry at the footie today

2010-01-17T22:44:00.000Z

SATURDAY - Another afternoon at the football today, and one of my favourite ground visits. While most footie fans break into a cold sweat when they see Milwall pop up on the fixture list, I quite enjoy the adrenaline that comes from never knowing if some crazy man might try and tear the red and white shirt from my back. Oh and the fact that you find more police at Milwall than you'll ever see at any other football ground so I feel fairly safe really, particularly as all the away fans are kept in a caged pen away from the mental home supporters. I was disappointed with the Milwall fans' fashion statements this time though. You can usually pretty much guarentee a raft of pink Fred Perry polos on the opposition's terraces but I think the cold weather kept them all covered up today.
As for me, no Saints dress today, instead this is one of a big bag of old clothes my housemate SJ was chucking away. "Stop!" I cried. "Don't even think about throwing away any dresses - I shall wear them all!" So here is one of them. SJ's parents live over in California so she regularly takes an empty suitcase and fills it up with Forever 21 delights that we can't get over here. Although that will soon not be the case as I believe Forever 21 is going to be taking up a unit in the new Stratford Westfield opening next year, alongside a giant Primark. A bargain hunters dream shopping destination that will be...
The FDM xx

Friday FDM fan!

2010-01-17T22:29:00.000Z

FRIDAY - It's a felt like a long old week this week so it was nice that it ended with meeting a true Frock Dress Monster fan (one who isn't part of my immediate family...) I have known lovely Stef since I first got to London when she interned at a beauty magazine I worked on. She has since gone onto become a PR maestro while I took the writing route, but I hadn't seen her for nearly a year until Friday night. She was so, so excited to tell me how much she loves the blog, how she reads it with her mid-morning cuppa everyday and looks forward to digesting all my life gossip and frocky frolics. Often I feel like I could be eschewing all the beautiful skirts, trousers and jumpsuits out there to don a dress every single day for nobody to even care, so it's so wonderful to hear that there are people out there appreciating my fashion calling!
Today's dress is a Vero Moda Denim allover sequin shift - I love the glitziness and am pleased the Strictly sequins are still kicking around post-Christmas party season. If you plan on keeping your bling levels high through the dreariness of the January rain, just make sure to keep accessories simple and false eyelashes more pretty popstar than pantomime dame (I have seen a few of the latter type recently...)
The FDM xx

Full of the glees of life

2010-01-17T16:32:00.001Z

THURSDAY - Finally got around to 4ODing hot new American all singing all dancing hit Glee this evening. O. M. G. It is bloody amazing! Apparently all the kids are actually Broadway stars and you can tell - their voices are totally out of this world. But somehow the directors have managed to translate what are probably painfully stage school acting skills to something much more subtle and witty for the small screen. And sure there are the token characters (a gay kid, a wheelchair boy, a jock whose actually a closet star vocalist aka Zac Efron in HSM) but it's nice to see a teenage American show creating role models who are not just stunningly beautiful, skinny to within an inch of their lives kids (yes, 90210 I am particularly targeting you with the skinny here). More power to them.
Love, love, love this dress and so sad I can't wear it again until autumn. It was a fiver in the River Island sale last week and I adore the sci-fi silver stripe and padded shoulders. Who said you can't wear silver with gold? Spaceman silver stripes, gold nugget bronze belt. Genius, even if I do say so myself.
The FDM xx

Shooting magic

2010-01-14T22:46:00.000Z

WEDNESDAY - It was a trip back to my previous world today to help Drapers out on its autumn 10 womenswear shoot. After spending Sunday editing out some actually pretty impressive gems from the masses of oversized beige knits and shapeless jeans often typical of the mainstream womenswear aesthetic, today it was all about adding in a totally gorgeous and absurdly petite model (hips not height), a great new photographer and a favourite make up artist. The best bit however was my friend Marie's fantastic management of the shoot and amazing creative style eye. Starting as an intern little over a year ago, a Drapers she is going to be a serious styling talent to watch out for in the future. Check out her handiwork - which I have to say wouldn't look out of place in and issue of Elle - in Drapers in the first week of February.
This dress was actually a Lipsy one we used in a shoot in the summer which I subsequently picked up. The colour blocking was an investment as it remains a hot trend through this spring summer.
The FDM xx

Day two of the new life

2010-01-14T22:35:00.000Z

TUESDAY - The end of my second day in my new job and I think I'm getting to grips with the fundamentals of life here at LFC - well, by that I mean I've found the nearest Pret; where to make tea and coffee; the fact that you should avoid the canteen as only students get discount not staff (that's a bit mean, isn't it?) but that your ID pass can sometimes get you the student discount at Topshop. I've also learnt that the shortcut to John Lewis is through the drab and depressing BHS £10 suits department but worth it to avoid the tourist crowds on Oxford Street, and that there is a section at the back of the LCF library full of DVDs that you can rent for free for a month rather than paying £4 a pop at Blockbuster for one night. I'd say that's a pretty good orientation in two days.
Dress is from Only, whose lovely lovely PR Charlotte sent me a little package of Only and Vero Moda dresses as leaving pressie. The detachable pearls are a cute vintage touch too. Love it.
The FDM xx

How will the purse survive?

2010-01-12T10:19:00.000Z

MONDAY – Being a fashion journalist, you learn to live on a not very impressive salary. You make an effort to not spend too much time on the Street of Temptation (I’m sure you all know where that is...) unless specifically there for research purposes, and squirrel away your press vouchers to have free money, guilt-empty shopping sprees instead. So when I found out my new London College of Fashion job would be located at the site slap bang in the middle of Oxford Street (also next to Waitrose) and with regular visits to a college five minutes’ walk from West London’s Westfield, I decided my first purchase may need to be a rather large padlock for my wallet. I managed day one without any clothes shopping however so it’s a good start, and I’m hoping some of the emerging design students might loan me a frock or two to help me out...
First day of a new job so it had to be a special dress. This is a gorgeous printed, bias cut frock which my designer friend Steff at Warehouse nabbed for me from her sample room. Look out for it hitting stores soon.
The FDM xx

NEWSFLASH: The FDM channels Monsters Inc as fashion icons

2010-01-12T10:03:00.000Z

SUNDAY - Sometimes I really lament living up on a hill. Yes there is less smog, yes we have lots of trees, and yes the snow looks awfully pretty laying like a blanket of fluffy white cotton wool over our terraced Edwardian homes. However, when the rest of London is happily melting away under its layer of city heat and I have to pull on a pair of snow boots to take more than two steps out of my front door or risk ending up backside down on a white coated pavement, suddenly clean air and hilltop views start to wear a bit thin. Oh how I long for the glorious wet roads and mud of the streets of Camden...
After a busy day of editing the delights of mainstream womenswear (yes, that is where the fluffy honey monster jumper is from, it's not actually one of mine...) we spent a perfect Sunday evening relaxing by a warm pub fire with a roast and a glass of red wine. The dress is from denim brand Cipo and Baxx - you may remember me talking about this G-Star inspired jeans label a month or two ago - keep a watch out for it in Drapers autumn 10 streetwear lookbook at the end of January...
The FDM xx

Does Polly fancy a cracker?

2010-01-11T00:04:00.001Z

SATURDAY - The snow hit silly levels here in London today, so just a quick trip up to the local corner shop for a Supernoodle and Cadburys Creme Egg stock up to quench the hangover munchies was as much as I could muster this afternoon. Not that being stuck in the house matters too much when you don't get up until 1pm I suppose though... Enjoyed another Saturday night of pizza and cheesy telly - anyone else loving Take Me Out on ITV? A dating show of loser men and porn star women all making tits of themselves is perfect fodder for an evening laying horizontally on the couch wrapped up in a duvet and slipper socks. And a dress of course... This Fruit Salad-coloured parrot print T-shirt dress is from a half Finnish, half English illustrator called Sanna Annukka who was plucked from obscurity to design the cover for Keane's Under the Iron Sea album and went on to create a capsule collection for Toppers earlier this year. This print in particular caught my eye, and you can't beat a hot bird for company on a Saturday night (you can tell from these rather ropey photos that I'm talking about the parrot here...)

The FDM xx

The FDM has left the building

2010-01-10T23:56:00.000Z

FRIDAY - A little bit of sadness for the Frock Dress Monster today as it was the last day of my time working for fashion industry bible Drapers. On Monday, I am to take my frocky magic off to the amazing London College of Fashion, so this evening was party time to celebrate my three years as a high flying fashion journo. A bubbly-fuelled night of much jollity but also many tears, in particular when my other fashion half Steve left the party (not least because he is also my best FDM photo taker and one of my most loyal followers and friend...) and my team buddy Ana, who set my waterworks off the most I think. Fortunately I cheered myself up by dressing up in a hot new frock, a denim and jersey panelled body con dress which was just 20 quid in the Asos sale. In fact the sales have been pretty impressive online this New Year, not least at http://www.riverisland.com/ which was flogging frocks for a fiver today, so I picked up three of those too. Not only that but I got given no less than six - yes, six - dresses as leaving pressies today, so I am well stocked up to hit the half year mark - only 183 to find after that...

The FDM xx

Island hopping in Camden

2010-01-09T22:35:00.000Z

THURSDAY - Another fun day of streetwear shooting today. Completely unaware I had booked us an ex-Shipwrecked contestant to model, lovely bundle of rock hard abs and cheeky grins Essex boy Sonny bounded into the studio this morning exclaiming 'Yeah Shipwrecked was alright, but I didn't think much of the birds they gave us.. hey, do you like raisins? How about a date!?' This was shaping up to be a very amusing shoot, and was all the more entertaining for my colleagues as this time two years ago I persuaded my then-fashion editor to allow us to option Stuart Mann, a boy I fell in love with whilst he was on the aforementioned Channel 4 stranded island show. This time round I swear I didn't know Sonny was a previous islander however, but fortunately he took a fairly good picture.
Today's outfit takes full advantage of the fashion cupboard and props for the shoot, but the dress is in there somewhere (well, the oversized T-shirt Steve got sent as a press gift and didn't desire to keep is...) from Japanese streetwear brand Zen and Fuka. I've also managed to to squeeze in a scarf, some leg warmers and an umbrella - a fashion shoot holds untold wonders you know...
The FDM xx

Snow shooting

2010-01-07T08:33:00.000Z

WEDNESDAY - So while the entire country spoke only of the powdery cold white stuff coating our roads, railways and roofs, we had much more pressing issues today - an autumn 10 streetwear shoot and two models, a photographer and his assistant, a hair and make-up artist, three interns and me and Steve to co-ordinate. Fortunately we'd just about all made it to the studio (our office basement today...) by about 10.30am, and, despite a lack of heating (which I tried to help rectify by giving scantily clad models hot water bottles to keep them cosy) we managed to keep smiling and got 30 wicked shots out of the day, so everyone made their merry, snowy way home happy. Top tips for next winter - denim jumpsuits and drop crotch sportswear for girls and preppy knits and farmer chic wellies and flat caps for boys...
Today's dress is from lovely Simeon at Bantum today, I had to brave the chilly basement for our photographer Ian (check his work out here... ) to shoot this - fortunately his software can retouch my shivering colour - oh, and make me look a couple of inches taller...
The FDM xx

Blossom's back

2010-01-06T22:37:00.000Z

TUESDAY - By far the most interesting thing that happened today was finding out that early 90s child star Mayim Bialik is back on telly! Yes, geek chic Blossom is back baby! Sadly there are no trilbies involved this time (she plays a school counsellor), so in honour of her infamous fashion style, I decided to sport a rather nice Vans hat in the office today (I forgot to bring it home so it is sadly omitted from this photo). Of course one of the best bits of Blossom was her be-you-de-ful goofy bro Joey, who apparently was the reason everyone started saying 'whoa!' in the 90s, although I think that might have had more to do with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...

This one today is a little River Island nautical-inspired cutesy frock. I love the collar, and also the forgiving shape, a favourite at River a couple of seasons ago. There is also a sweet little horse print lining inside which makes me smile everytime I wear it (except for in the above picture of course...I think it's my cold red nose putting me off...)
The FDM xx

The heat continues to evade us

2010-01-06T21:56:00.002Z

MONDAY - Another week and as yet no proper heating in our little office enclave so still wrapped up in scarves and trying to type in mittens. I couldn't even get hot in my Body Pump class tonight (despite upping my weights - I'm squatting 10kg now - that's nearly a quarter of my body weight, which I personally reckon is pretty impressive...) and trying to get our flat to a livable heat means shutting all the doors and sitting in one room together - pity the single glazed windows don't shut properly, that might help a bit...
Today's gorgeous embellished ethnic frock is from Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, a collection which is named after the street the designer grew up on in LA and sported by the likes of LA fashion devout devotee Nicole Ritchie. Another one from the Austique girls, ideally I'd choose to wear it in the summer months, but a bit of winter boho is never a bad thing - just ask Matthew Williamson...
The FDM xx

I thought I saw a Pussycat...

2010-01-04T08:18:00.000Z

SUNDAY - It's always the way with holiday time - you spend days on end sitting on your arse doing next to nothing, then when it's time to go back to work you realise there was loads of stuff you wanted to do that you thought you had plenty of time for that is still not done. For me, that included vacuuming my bedroom (why can't I bring myself to do it? WHY!?), going through the 200 emails in my hotmail inbox and finishing the book I've been reading for about three months now. Instead, I put all that mundanity to one side today and instead did something much more fun...
Now, we all know January is the season of rabbit food and reduced pub visits but it is also of course the month of shedding the festive flab courtesy of getting fit. I'm pretty gym-good most of the year round anyway, but I couldn't resist it when I saw that (super hot? super slutty?) Las Vegas girl group The Pussycat Dolls had released a workout DVD. Turns out it's pretty budget (there is only one Doll from the group in it, and her performance lasts for about four minutes at the end) but I can now do a butt popping, finger biting, feather boa-flinging set of routines that would put Girls Aloud to shame. Much more useful than clean floor...
This dress was a fashion cupboard find from last season which I think may need returning at some point, but is from a German (the home of all things your mum might wear) mainstream womenswear label called Senas. Not my style per se, but very comfortable loungewear none the less. I couldn't quite perform my PCD squat-and-slap moves in it however, so it had to come off for that portion of the day...
The FDM xx

A goddess of (some) domesticity

2010-01-03T23:30:00.001Z

SATURDAY - More sunshine than you could shake a stick at today but I still didn't make it out of the house. Why? Because I have decided that 2010 will be the year of cementing the domestic goddess persona I began to hone in 2009 (I took up knitting and started a button drawer last year) so I spent the day in my kitchen, measuring and mixing and mashing my afternoon away. The result? A big batch of roasted granola, a casserole dish of homemade baked beans and a rather impressive groundnut and butternut squash curry. I took a break to watch the FA Cup third round scores coming in on Sky Sports News (cooking and football - how is it possible I am still single, gentlemen?!) and to take photos of me in this cute little cream brocade Monsoon Fusion dress which my friend Josie lent to me. Perfect for my glamorous kitchen goddess re-invention I think.

The FDM xx

A body hopping start to the year

2010-01-02T22:12:00.003Z

FRIDAY - While New Year's Day is usually spent trying to quell a rather large hangover headache and scoffing the left over Christmas tree chocolates in preparation for a January 2nd healthy eating plan, we decided it might be fun to actually leave the house today - new decade, new ideas, and all that. So we ventured through the freezing frost into Leicester Square to watch what has become known as 'the most expensive film ever made', Avatar. Sci-fi isn't generally my bag, particularly when it involves spirits jumping from body to body on a mystical planet set 50 years in the future. But if I get to wear 3D glasses and pretend I'm on a Disneyland ride, then I'm happy. Watching blue aliens sharing passionate embraces was slightly disconcerting however...

Dress today is an absolutely gorgeous purple silk piece of heaven from new label Austique. I think I have mentioned Chelsea designer boutique Austique on here before, and now owner and buyer of the store Katie and Jess have decided to sell the shop's in house brand at wholesale so other beautiful boutiques can share their magic (they are regular finalists in the Drapers magazine awards). Not neccessarily for those shoppers who deal in Primark currency - this one retails at around the £275 mark - but well worth the investment if you love the feel of true luxury against your skin. Which, readers, I do.
The FDM xx

Bye bye Noughties, hello Teenies

2010-01-01T22:59:00.000Z

Very merry new decade fellow frock lovers! How time flies - it seems like only yesterday we were in the midst of Kate's heroin chic, the emergence of reality television and the revelation that mobile phones could have more than one message tone. I brought my new year in with plenty of champagne, some industrially stuck false eyelashes and a borrowed dress from Beccy after my planned pretty silk number got caught up in some bubbly-induced clumsy dressing (fear not, no rips, just a bit over zealous with the pre-dressing deodorant.) Fortunately Bec was on hand with this ruched shoulder stripey jersey from Dorothy Perkins which I of course have belted in the only way to wear your belts now girls (tied at the front, Burberry trench style). If the first two hours were anything to go by, 2010 should be a good year - as we left the Grand Union in Brixton not one but two empty black cabs came down the road. Surely unheard of on a regular New Year's night's end in London town? And I even managed to stay upright in my shoes all night - let's hope the wonders continue throughout the year for us all.
The FDM xx

The decade of the dress

2009-12-31T15:05:00.000Z

WEDNESDAY - I can't quite believe that it's the end of the decade tomorrow - I remember only too well my millenium night - I was dating a footballer at the time and I remember wearing his team sweatshirt around my village as we house crawled from parent's place to parent's place, getting drunk on shots of vodka and other spirits that should never be drunk straight. I intend for something a little more civilised tomorrow night - well, no shots of vodka anyway...

So, what to wear to usher in a new decade? Well, obviously, a dress, and that actually seems quite fitting, as if there's one product category which has had a true fashion moment in the Noughties, it's the fabulous frock. We've had 'em all in the past 10 years - revisited 70s hippy maxis, 60s super minis and 50s fit and flare, not to mention throwing in what will become know as a classic early 21st century shape - the Balmain pagoda shoulder (not to be confused with the 80s power shoulder, of course). No colour, print or fabric has fazed us (anyone invested in velvet yet this season?), no silhouette has been too daring from spacious smocks to super sucked in body con.

But what of the next 10 years? Will we feel the same fabulousness about frocks, or will statement trousers or stand out jackets be the name of the era? For me at least, the next eight months will continue to be all about gorgeous gowns... This one is another Numph dress (you all know I love them) and has the Danish brand's typically quirky print to keep it heads and shoulders above its competitors.

The FDM xx

Brain training

2009-12-31T14:48:00.000Z

TUESDAY - I had to wrack my brain to remember exactly what I did on Tuesday - nope, I can't think of anything other than sitting on the couch watching telly again...ah, I remember - I spent a couple of hours filling in a new puzzle book my parents got me in my stocking (bear with me...) Puzzles are one of my favourite ways to pass a rainy afternoon. We're not talking boring old Suduko here (I was doing them years before the rest of the country cottoned on...), there are so many more exciting Japanese logic teasers, thought-provoking canny conundrums and mathematical mental mountains to test and climb. My favourite today involved quadratic equations with letters - A + A = D + G, while A -T = B x G, that kind of thing (anyone still awake??!) Not the usual domain of a stereotypical fashion journalist of course, but then again, I am a fashion journalist who passed the MENSA entry exam in my early twenties...
Now I've finished boasting about my superior intellectual abilities, I think I'll go back to watching Running in Heels. Oh, and this one is a simple black jersey dress from lovely basics label Oscar.
The FDM xx

A big bird and some old style drinking

2009-12-30T16:11:00.000Z

MONDAY - The most active day of my Xmas holiday so far, I actually spent a total of nine hours - yep, that's actually pretty much a whole day - away from the telly tubbies in my house (i.e., the rest of my family - we feared my mum was developing mild agrophobia, she hasn't been out of the front door since before Xmas Eve...) and into Winchester for lunch and an afternoon of pub crawling the wood fire heated, low ceilinged drinkeries of the country's old capital. Lunch was a family affair, with babies and five-year olds to contend with as well as crushing 15 adults around an eight person table for fish and chips, burgers and cokes. I got sucked into sticking pictures of fairies together and playing with sparkly lipgloss (both these things could easily have belonged to me, but in fact came with the five year old...), but the kiddies were soon taken home for an afternoon nap (I can't deny I was tempted to join them...) so the rest of us to walk the frost-coated streets in search of the perfect watering hole for the afternoon.

This pic was taken outside the (controversially named for the 21st century) Black Boy pub, a favourite for taxonomy geeks with a family of dipping seagulls circling the roof's wooden beams, a fox wandering around the white wash brick ceiling and apparently there was once a badger, until somebody accidentally knocked his legs off. The dress is from a great little T-shirt brand called Bantum (hence the big yellow bird on the back) and the off the shoulder jersey is just my style - another one I am sad about not wearing from the next eight months...
The FDM xx

The pitfalls of man hugging

2009-12-29T17:52:00.001Z

SUNDAY - I seem to have lost all sense of what day we're on now; I went through thinking it was Wednesday then Friday before realising that today was actually Sunday. Another 16 hours of sitting on the couch was only punctuated with my housemate's Ultimate Tae Bo workout DVD this morning (WARNING: this is not for people who have spent the past four days sitting on their arse stuffing copious amounts of chocolate in their mouths for three hours a night - I nearly collapsed trying to haul my selection box-laden stomach through all the jumping around) and the rather nice butternut squash risotto I cooked the family for dinner. I did pull myself away from the big flashing screen long enough to sit and read Style this afternoon and was taken by how AA Gill had been given two pages (two whole pages!) to discuss the correct procedure for hugging his fellow man (I only skim read it, but it was something to do with getting comfortably close without accidentally knocking lovely jubblies with your mate) and learning about the technological advancements we can look forward to in the next decade (3D mobile phones, and fridges that instinctively know when you've run out of your favourite food and email Ocado to send you some replacement stock). I also did a bit of research into what house pets my parents could get instead or a dog or a cat (they can't seem to decide which, if either, they would prefer) and found these adorable sugar gliders. I wonder what my housemates would say about these...?

Dress is a Miss Selfridge knit, I bought it just before Miss S found its super on trend feet a couple of seasons ago - I'm not sure it would fit into the All Saints/cutesy girl-gone-rock chick aesthetic that's going on there now, but it is suitable for cooking yummy risotto in...
The FDM xx

Red and white machine

2009-12-29T17:34:00.000Z

SATURDAY - Boxing Day traditional in the Jackson household was upheld this year as my father, brother and I donned extra pairs of socks, wooly scarves, big coats and red and white striped shirts (in my case, mine is long enough to, of course, double as a dress...) and left mummy at home in the warm doing...I don't know, some kind of house stuff, and headed off to St Mary's to see our footie team bang in the goals. There was a nice spirit today, lots of singing and cheerful banter, and as opponents for the day Exeter also play in red and white, we looked like an even more formidable fan force from the top of the stands. A 3-1 win for Saints made sitting in the cold and frost for 90 minutes well worth it, and Christmas bubble and squeak for dinner was the cherry on the Boxing Day cake.
The FDM xx

Merry Christmas Frock Dress Monster followers

2009-12-26T23:16:00.000Z

FRIDAY - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! The big day finally came and went comfortingly predicatably for me and my family - obscene amounts of food, the odd kitchen skirmish (my dad broke the jar of goose fat which I was happy about because it freaks me out...), an argument over the washing up (my turn this year - bah humbug...), some hit or miss telly - Eastenders (a farcical soap masterpiece - didn't Dirty Den suffer the same busty end!?), The Royale Family (slightly innappropriate at times (Jim's pants anyone?!) but on the whole fairly titter-lating), Gavin and Stacey (set at the seaside so totally non-Xmas related but nevertheless as Essex/Welsh p***takingly funny as ever), and Catherine Tate's Nan's Christmas Carol (the let down of the night - an old woman swearing is funny for about two minutes people, and David Tennant as a camp ghost is...well, not funny at all...) - and presents which were suitably Cheryl-related (a calender and her favourite perfume, which made me very happy), along with the yearly Cadbury's Selection Box (is it just me, or have they got distinctly smaller?) Other than that, I was sporting this George for Asda scribble flower dress (it's black and white so the camera effect isn't hiding anything...) borrowed from my mum, and a feathery, sequinned thing in my hair which I think is a fascinator, but I'm not quite sure as I can't remember where I got it from...
Boxing Day bubble and squeak to look forward to tomorrow...
The FDM xx
PS spot the underwater soft toy today's pics and the cartoon character in yesterday's photos...

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas (but a bit quieter than usual)

2009-12-26T22:52:00.000Z

THURSDAY - So lovely to wake this morning in my parents' house and not have the thought of a day stuck on hideous public transport, or worse, stranded in another bout of bloody snow trying to get out of the city. Instead I spent the day catching up on Gavin and Stacey, Eastenders and Gossip Girl before heading out to the local village pub for a night of merriment with my oldest and dearest schoolmates. I have to say, despite having a good catch up with a few people, it was a slightly deflating Noel's Eve. With many married and/or with child(ren), we were a little thin on the ground this year (I got a cheer when I turned up as the first girl to appear despite the drinking session already being into its third hour). Many a pre-Xmas night has been spent getting sloshed on copious amounts of wine with old school friends only seen once a year (she's so thin/he's so fat/doesn't she have two kids now?/woah, he definitely peaked at school...) before stumbling home via the local curry house for a post-boozing bhaji and bhuna. It made me quite nostalgic to look around and see kids 10 years my junior doing just that, while the 15 or so of us left in my little group - which must have looked like an OAP convention to the hair-free, skinny little young'uns - sat discussing recession, babies and marriage breakups.
Despite this I, of course, didn't disappoint on the frock front - there I was, in my Warehouse fantasy winter florals, favourite fucshia lippy and layered bronze neckwear. John Lewis' early Christmas sale had this dress on for 20 quid which I think was a bargain as it must have been around the £50 mark at full price. Happy Xmas me.
The FDM xx
PS Oh, and happy crimbo to all you lot too!

If only I was a superhero and could fly home

2009-12-24T17:48:00.000Z

TUESDAY - Christmas Eve-Eve and one of my most despised days of the year - the one where I attempt to get all my dresses/shoes/jackets/accessories/makeup home for the Xmas break, not to mention the presents, which this year include a riduculously oversized George Foreman lean, mean, green grilling machine for my brother (fear not, I am not ruining the surprise, he knows my trouble and strife getting it on the train already...) The thing is, when I go home for the holidays, I don't just want to take any old clothes - Christmas is an even better time to dress up than usual, what with all the family events, pub lunches, all day drinking sessions and evening parties. So I may have packed a little more than needed in my travelling case... It was all going very well up to Waterloo - mum and dad paid for a taxi to get me through to the snow to work, Steve (bless his heart) took all my stuff onto the tube for me, and I managed to get onto Waterloo platform without too much trouble. The problem came when they put us on the wrong bloody train and we had to get off and run to cram on the right one - I'll have bruises on my knees until New Year... Fortunately I brought a rich supply of tights home with me...

I'm not sure where this T-shirt-come-dress is from, I found it lurking in the back of our fashion cupboard - it appears to be superhero themed however, hence the Superman poses and flying shots. Quite a few people refuted this as a frock- one cynic called it a 'printed grey marl jersey T-shirt - rather nice, but not a dress' - but note the belt - you can't belt a little T-shirt top can you? Case dismissed... Joyeux Noel, mes amis.
The FDM xx

Bag lady loveliness

2009-12-24T15:34:00.000Z

TUESDAY - Still freezing in the office today, so I had to get these photos taken in the canteen, the only part of the building warm enough to take off my scarf, cardigan and gloves - it's tough typing in mittens, you know... The majority of my colleagues - and most of the retail industry - have taken this week as an extended Xmas holiday so there is little to report on the fashion news front. The gold party dress is a loan from my friend Hana, I ended up looking a bit of a bag lady in it however, what with big furry boots, a wooly scarf and an oversized cardigan pulled out of the fashion cupboard to keep me warm. At least the knitwear was an autumn 10 sample, so an on-trend old bag woman if nothing else...
The FDM xx

A man of many muscles...

2009-12-22T12:04:00.000Z

MONDAY - In an office which houses near on 2,000 people, you'd think when the boiler breaks, they'd have a fairly speedy solution. BUT NO! Not in our office - we came in this morning to find there had been no heating on since Friday with none likely to kick in again until the repair men had come in the afternoon. This put pay to my morning of office admin and instead meant I got the opportunity to help out at our still life menswear shoot instead (hence the photo of me with this rather ripped mannequin...) It was a pretty cruisey day for me in the end with three stylists and photographers on hand to do the heavy grafting, so I spent most of the afternoon discussing with Steve and lovely Italian Luca (one of our photogs) the difference between being in a boy's 'boy friend zone' and being in their 'boyfriend zone' (note the subtle spacing...) and my inability to transcend from one to the other. I think 2010 may be my year of getting a cat...

The dress is from Topshop and is yet ANOTHER black frock kicking around my wardrobe. It's a flattering one though, with an inbuilt waist panel that sucks you in and flattering jersey drapes that cover the lower lumps and bumps. I'm going to try and get some colour in tomorrow though...
The FDM xx

Pucker job darlin

2009-12-22T11:46:00.000Z

SUNDAY - Fearing the worst about my day trip out of London today, I was thrilled to get a text from the Oxford contingent this morning to say they were totally snow free up there - hooray! Which meant as long as I could battle my way up the slippy, slidy Highgate hills to Paddington I should be ok to make it out of the city. Three hours of travelling later and I was firmly ensconced in Jamie's (Oxford) Kitchen, chowing down on spaghetti bolagnaise - the best I have ever tasted (bar my mother's, of course...) - polenta chips, and affogato with mint tea. These pics were taken in Coffee Republic as we managed about 10 minutes of walking along the high street before needing a nearby radiator again and another coffee. It was bought from a tiny little shop down a back road off Broadway in New York and around the time when those Mina/Yumi/Orion printed and patterned dress brands started breaking out into the mainstream arena (many courtesy of their position on Topshop's ground floor...) This has a jewelled neckline thrown into the mix to add a point of difference and the wooly material was greatly appreciated in today's snowy climes.

The FDM xx

Taking on the fourth decade

2009-12-20T22:14:00.000Z

SATURDAY – Today was my housemate’s 30th birthday and as she had had a rather stressful start to the weekend the night before, it was up to me and a contingent of her friends to rally round and give her plenty of good memories of turning the big 3-0. Whilst she was off getting cleansed, toned and exfoliated in Finchley, we decorated the flat in fairy Happy Birthday banners and got cake, champagne and party poppers ready for her return, before going off for brunch at Bistroteque in Bethnal Green (frustratingly too cool to have a sign up outside it so we wandered up and down the street three times before we actually found the place). Worth it though, with a man playing the best live piano ever – his repertoire included Fight for This Love, Pokerface and that underrated and little remembered Madonna hit, Dear Jessie – as the backdrop to our amazing fish and chips, pancake stacks and lots of bubbly Prosecco. The night was spent in Islington’s Albert and Pearl boozer which played loads of 90s R’n’B which was perfect for the birthday girl, who loves nothing more than a night of old bump and grinding tunes to get her groove on to.

This dress is a favourite of mine, and was one I bought from Asos just after Kate Bosworth/Kirsten Dunst (can’t remember which one now...) wore something very similar to the premiere of one of the Spiderman films. This colourway is back again for animal print this season – Warehouse has a very similar dress in right now – and will stick around for spring too, so it was a good investment piece back in 2007. This was my first night out in false eyelashes - I’m a Kimberley - after realising my natural eye hairs were not going to cut it in a Girls Aloud world, but I was pleasantly surprised that a) they stayed on all night and b) I didn’t look too much like a Barbie doll gone wrong. All in a day’s work...
The FDM xx

So much to do, so little time

2009-12-20T22:07:00.000Z

FRIDAY – An insanely busy day today which went something like this – go to office, compile preview of autumn 10 womenswear product (rivets, leather and harem trousers), try to book van to deliver clothes to studio on Monday, have argument with van man about there being no vans, win argument and find a van, realise I have nothing to pack clothes in, order lots of plastic packaging on speed delivery which takes ages due to snow drifts, rope in unsuspecting colleague to help package up 100 hangers worth of menswear with said plastic, get it all into van, jump on two tubes and a bus to deepest, darkest Shoreditch to assist on a different photoshoot, keep (super hot) model happy, go to pub for post-shoot de-stress drink, go back to flat where shoot was held and discuss the pros and cons of Iggle Piggle and Macapaca with flat owner’s 2-year old daughter whilst waiting for another van, head home to drop housemate’s 30th birthday presents off, head out of the flat slipping and sliding all the way down the road to bus stop and get on bus to Finsbury Park, get lost trying to find friend’s house in Finsbury Park, finally find friend, go with friend to get Indian takeaway, wait for ages for chicken tikka and vegetable curry then get home and realise we only have 6 minutes to eat food in, run back to Finsbury Park, get tube to Tottenham Hale then train to Harlow then cab to a venue to watch up and coming band (Morning Parade – AMAZING), drink straight vodka snuck in via a friend’s coat, trudge back to Harlow train station a little bit tipsy through the snow, get train to Liverpool Street, spend half an hour walking around in the bitter wind to find a cab, get home at 2am. Done - mental.

Dress is another Numph one, a birthday pressie from Marika and Peter who are two of the nicest agents around. These were taken by Matt, whose flat we shot in, against a photographer’s reflector, and the T-shirt says ‘We are all the same but different’. Very true.
The FDM xx

Office partying

2009-12-20T21:46:00.000Z

THURSDAY – Christmas party day in the office today and the perfect excuse to dress up – well, for those who don’t already have to dress up every morning of course – for me, it was just another standard frock wearing day. Work parties are always fun observational moments, an opportunity for all the girls you are used to seeing in jeans and Ugg boots sitting hunched over their desks suddenly having their chrysalis unveiling, rising up from the office loos in a cloud of perfume and hairspray, boobs and legs on full alert, primped, crimped and false eyelashed up to the nines. Three hours later and plenty of free booze and inappropriate conversations down, lashes were halfway down cheeks, curls reduced to limp spaghetti strands and dresses splashed with red wine and sweat, but you have to admire all our efforts.
For me, it was an understated dressing up day, with this ruffled black shift from newly relaunched label Jin-Ja (formerly known as JJ Park clothing). Being wholesaled by the team behind quirky dress brands Yumi and Uttam, Jin-Ja is set to become a new celeb daywear favourite like its sister collections so look out for it. This dress actually comes in zebra print too, perfect for those young aspiring Girls Aloud wannabes...like me...
The FDM xx

Who ate all the pies?

2009-12-17T12:18:00.002Z

WEDNESDAY – Now, I’m not a big ‘pie and a pint’ kind of girl despite my love of a good raucous footie match, but if I were, I would definitely suggest the Newman Arms for one of the most impressive pies I’ve ever tasted. My dear friend and ex-colleague Khabi and gorgeous photographer extraordinaire Jonathan organised a little mini soiree for close friends and fellow workers tonight in the Pie Room atop the old man boozer to try out their famous fully-filled pastry delights. Everything was on the menu – from standard steak and kidney pudding and chicken and ham hotties through to an Elizabethan speciality which I think involved mutton or something equally archaic. Hot and steaming and served with extra gravy meant they were perfect fodder to keep warm from the sleety outdoors and, although I refrained from eating my pie lid (much to my host’s dismay…) I did polish off all the inside, and half a treacle sponge after too. Mmm…

Another loan from my lovely friend Josie today, this dress was not the most comfortable of outfits due to its lack of elastic around the top (Josie has since informed me it has always been this way – wish I had realised when I put it on this morning!) but I like the cute tulle tutu bit at the bottom and it works well with the sharp shouldered jacket too – I like to think of it as directional cuteness… (Steve, cuteness is a word, before you say anything…)

The FDM xx

Britney's best bits

2009-12-17T12:18:00.000Z

TUESDAY – Before the days when I was wooed by the magic of Cheryl, my girl crush was firmly fixated on Britney. She was the sexually charged devil to Cheryl’s butter-wouldn’t-melt angel image and shows the evolution of the icons of the Noughties, from our love of the stripper girl set-up with sweat-drenched hair and rock hard abs on show to now, when we like our female role models trussed up with two sets of false eyelashes and wearing nothing less than a bespoke designer frock.
This T-shirt was picked up from Frank Strachan, who styled Britney and her dancers during her Womanizer phase last year, and I’m not sure if it was worn as a dress by a girl or a vest by a boy, but for me it is obviously long enough to class as a frock. I’ve tried to capture some of Britney’s less-than-pure joie de vivre in my facial expressions, but really I think I just look a bit drunk and chicken-necked. Back to the ‘how to exude sexiness’ drawing board…
The FDM xx

So you think you can dance?

2009-12-17T12:13:00.001Z

MONDAY – Casting is continuing apace for our January shoots, and today was the turn of the streetwear kids to come in and show us their looks. We’ve decided to go a bit off piste for autumn 10 and are considering chucking a few dancers into the mix to showcase next season’s jeans and Ts. We had all manner of guys and girls in today, from Pussycat Doll lookalikes to hot boys spinning on their heads and even ones ready to offer up their jazz and tap skills. Will definitely make for some interesting pics…

I once read somewhere that the official definition of vintage is something which is more than five years old, which seems a bit tenuous to me. But I can guarantee that today’s crocheted frock is a definite antique piece, as it belonged to my friend’s mum back in the swinging Sixties. It just about works as a dress on me (of course they loved their hemlines super duper short back then…), although for the past couple of years it has been living in her daughter’s dressing up box - fortunately, kids are fickle enough to not miss something nicked out of their costume wardrobe… It has no brand tag in it but it is definitely worthy of a ‘vintage’ label anyway.

The FDM xx

Olly exits as Joe completes The Climb

2009-12-14T23:09:00.000Z

So, the Geordie boy whose vibrato is almost as dull as his X Factor final wardrobe beat the shiny suited, snake hipped Olly to Cowell’s X-Factor crown (or maybe Joe would have preferred access to Simon’s crown jewels...I am not one to speculate, however...) I can’t lie that I shed a tear or two, partly out of distress at having to watch poor jolly Olly cry as he tried to sing that God awful Miley Cyrus song, but soon cheered up with my decision to dress today in homage to the man who makes makes comedy pants and a chest rug look hot. So the dress I’m wearing is actually the All Saints jumper which Olly wore on his original audition (well, obviously he didn’t wear this actual one...) which an ex-boyfriend shrunk in the wash and I ended up with. The hat is borrowed from a housemate which I think she got somewhere in the States (Olly loves his trilbies), and the microphone is the DVD remote control. I think I have Olly’s emphatic stance down pat too...

The FDM xx

Team C quandary

2009-12-14T23:02:00.000Z

SATURDAY – So there’s a little story behind this picture – first off, the dress. While trying to choose a frock for today I realised that I was yet to wear my Team Cheryl boohoo.com freebie. I was in a quandary – I love Cheryl (as you all know) but I really didn’t want Joe to win the X Factor. But if I didn’t wear the Team C T-shirt dress today, I’d have to wear it on final day (it would, of course, be redundant after that as Chez is sacking off Simon to hit the States next year), and while I was happy for Joe to get through to the last two, I didn’t want him beating Olly to the crown. SO... I decided better to wear it Saturday and give Joe the luck to get through to the final pair than wear it on Sunday and give him enough luck to win. Phew. As for the mittens, these were hand-knitted by my wool wonderwoman friend Kate as a birthday present, while the Bolivian hat I borrowed from her as it had cute little lama intarsias on it and I thought it matched the gloves. As for the poster, I was at the cinema to see A Christmas Carol in 3D – scary but amazingly brilliant.

Oh and Joe got through to the final, but fortunately Olly did too.

The FDM xx

It's not easy being green

2009-12-13T12:23:00.000Z

Talk about amazing dresses - Thursday night my friend Rachel and I went to see Wizard of Oz prequel musical Wicked. There was some pretty good singing chucked in there too, but it was the dresses which - obviously - caught my eye. Unsurprisingly, the scenes set in the Emerald City meant all the chorus had to be kitted out in green, but who knew you could make so many amazing looking outfits out of a colour which I generally associate with frogs, grass and Christmas. The frothy tulle layers on a prom dress in dark foresty shades and mint green was my favourite, closely followed by a a sparlking emerald column dress with fleks of gold which glistened under the stage lights. Amazing.
Friday itself started with eggs on toast and a big cup of tea with a photographer at the adorable Breakfast Club in Islington's Camden Passage to chat about our streetwear shoot in the new year - the idea is in its embryonic stage at the moment but turns out our office building has a rather handy underground carpark space which we hadn't discovered before...
I'm sure any fellow dress lovers out there can spot this as an All Saints' style a mile away. A brand which has seen sales soaring over the past couple of years, with lower rent high street competitors trying to rip off their tulip shapes, layered cottons and moody palettes left, right and centre. I love this dress and it goes into my category of 'dresses I almost shed a tear over because I can't wear them again until next September'. Bless me.
The FDM xx

Boys, boys, boys...and a man...

2009-12-12T23:52:00.001Z

THURSDAY - One of the best bits of working in fashion is undoubtedly the models. The boys I mean, of course. And today was menswear casting day at Drapers Towers, so I was in my element. For those of you who don't know the process, you basically call up the agencies and tell them the sort of boys you want, they send you some shots of the guys they think will be suitable, and you pick the ones you want to see in the flesh.

First up today was...God, I've already forgotton his name? That's how unglamorous being a model is, no-one even remembers your name... Anyway, he was a typical sultry Parisian poser boy, who instantly turned his come to bed eyes on me. I wasn't so impressed however when he asked if there would be any girls on the shoot, and I said no, just me, and his face fell so far he resembled a puppy dog who'd had his squeaky toy nicked off him. Strike one. Number 2 was too young - 17 is never going to carry off a classic db pinstripe suit without looking like he is going to his school prom - while Brazillian number 3 turned up in a sleeveless vest - ouch - and number 4 had the pizza skin of a pubescent schoolboy. (Yes, I know it sounds harsh, but it is these boys' job to look amazing, so you've got to be able to be a little critical.) Fortunately, we struck gold with number 5, 6ft 1in River, who had the most beautiful caramel coloured skin, broad shoulders and smouldering eyes. Look out for the results of his shoot in January...a real man...mmm...
After all the moaning over my dubious choice of dress yesterday, you can't deny this New Look floral frock its dress status. It was a birthday pressie from my friends Beccy and Bethan, and came accompanied by an 'unofficial' Cheryl Cole biography that I actually didn't already own. I feel like I've exhausted all there is to say about florals in the past 100 days - they are still here and refuse to vanish from the shopping rails just yet, although it's all about the digital overblown blooms prints for next spring. Look out for 'em.
The FDM xx

A dress or not a dress...that is the question

2009-12-10T17:20:00.001Z

WEDNESDAY - I got a few negative comments about my Asos dress today - APPARENTLY it isn't actually a dress - I made many protestations that it went 'over the head and over the hips' and that those are the FDM rules but I had to work hard to convince people. I think it was because I wore it with jeans and sheepskin boots - I had to spend the whole day tugging it down to try and make it look longer...
Before I forget, I have to point you towards a great website today called Running in Heels. It has loads of fun fashion features on it, including a piece on yours truly this month written by my lovely intern at Drapers, Lucie. Check it out here...
The FDM xx

Sexy shoes and a scummer bitch

2009-12-09T22:24:00.002Z

TUESDAY - Spent the morning trekking round the last set of press events of the spring 10 season - George had some cute dresses on offer, including structured wool shifts, bold floral prints and cute little broiderie anglaise trimmed boho styles, and they have capped dress prices at £18 for next season which is pretty damn good for a easy fit day frock.
It was then onto Kurt Geiger, who were showing their KG and Carvela wares for next season. With Kurt Geiger's main line going uber premium for the new year - styles will be retailing for up to 400 quid (eek!) - diffusion lines KG and Carvela look totally bargainous (I know it's not a word, but I don't know an equivalent that offers the same impact so I'm keeping it in there...) at around the £100-£150 price mark. My favourites were a pair of lilac suede courts with skinny rainbow paint splattered cork heels. Sound mental, look hot. I also had a fun altercation with Kurt Geiger's hard working and thoroughly lovely chief exec Neil Clifford who, on discovering I am from Southampton (he is Portsmouth born and bred and the football rivalry is fierce) called me a 'scummer bitch' to which I think I replied 'Well, I hate you'. Fortunately he was very good natured about it and I don't think my response will totally ruin my fashion career...yet...
An Uttam dress with big shoulders and covered in sequins, it's one of my favourite gifts whilst I've been doing the blog. My lovely friend Joe took these down a Kings Cross back alley (it was nicer than it sounds...) - you can probably tell from my bleary eyes they were taken at the end of a night of drinking. I do love the Turkish bath tiles in the background though, like being in an outdoor spa...fully clothed...in the freezing cold...

The FDM xx

Oz styles hit our shores stores

2009-12-09T21:47:00.000Z

MONDAY - A lovely day off so spent it hiding out from the rain and catching up on my missed Xtra Factor/ Gavin and Stacey from the week.

I did however find out about a great website for all of you out there looking for directional womenswear, jewellery and footwear to help you stand out for the party season. The Style Store is run by the lovely Claire Troughton and her wholesale sales office, The Claret Showroom, to offer the brands she sells into stores all in one retail place. The special thing about Claire's labels is that most of them have never been available in the UK before and are primarily sourced from Australia, a country not often associated with super cool fashion brands, but which has given us the fabulous Sass and Bide denim, and edgy girlish label Alice McCall (which The Style Store sells, in fact.)
Today's dress is a house dress, so I picked one that is a bit too big for me to wear out of my lounge. It's an army print Warehouse dress from their Utility range (a press gift, hence the big size) which is brand spanking new collection launching for spring 10. Hot pieces include this dress, Balmain-style regimental jackets and some great embellished khaki pieces.
The FDM xx

Something about the shoulders

2009-12-06T17:43:00.000Z

Friday was my birthday and as such required an impressive outfit. Cue figure clinging Primark dress, a belt once worn by a Saturday, and a pair of five-inch Kurt Geiger shoes complete with gold leopard heads. Pity it took until 1am for me to remember I needed to have my photos taken so I look slightly less polished than at the start of the night, but you get the idea...

A day of spa treatments and plenty of bubbly finished off with cocktail drinking in Islington and tapas at 2am made it a pretty good birthday day, and the rain even held off until the end of the night which was nice of it. Only a year now until the big 3-0 - I wonder if I'll be wearing super shoulders in another 365 days time?

The FDM xx

Mojitos made me do it

2009-12-06T17:40:00.001Z

Oh dear, oh dear. Who suggested cocktails for Friday night's celebrations? Thank goodness we only ever stay in to watch X-Factor on a Saturday night now, I couldn't handle another alcohol-fuelled evening. Instead, last night's mojitos were soaked up by a spicy beanburger and chips at The Diner in Ganton Street at lunchtime, followed by shopping for cushions in Debenhams and chicken fajitas with some friends in the evening discussing the relevance of Danyl Johnson's polar bear background video.

Tonight's dress is from boohoo.com and is in support of Stacey and Dannii for this weekend. Actually, I thought I better wear it tonight as I am a little fearful for the Dagenham dreamer going into next week's finale and I'm pretty sure bland stage crooner Joe will still be in it until the end so I'm saving my Cheryl version for next weekend...
The FDM xx

In Mint condition

2009-12-06T17:35:00.000Z

Finally emerging from my cocktail-induced birthday fog today (less than a year of my twenties to go now...more than a little scary...) so here is a bit of a catch up on this week's dresses.
This one got loads of complements, the print is really beautiful, I'm not sure which artist it is inspired by as my watercolour painter knowledge is somewhat lacking but all the colours are super pretty. It is by a brand called Mint, and was a gift from Richmond-based contemporary womenswear indie Feather and Stitch. Set up by former London College of Fashion graduates Fiona and Fleur, the shop was a finalist for this year's Drapers awards, and stocks loads of great, on trend brands, including By Malene Birger and Ginger & Smart. Definitely worth a visit if you're ever in south-west London checking out the park's deers...
The FDM xx
PS I liked the cat poster at Camden Town as a backdrop to this one...

A piece of Chezza pop history

2009-12-04T08:05:00.001Z

Finally...I have copied her style, perfume and make up techniques, but as of yesterday I am the proud owner of a real piece of Cheryl history. Yes my friends, I now own a handbag which Cheryl herself used to own. Well, not quite own, she used it in the video for The Promise (only in the first 10 seconds at the start, you have to look out for it...) but apparently, according to her stylist who sold me the vintage snakeskin purse, she loved it and held onto it all day long on the set and wouldn't be seen without it. Don't you worry Cheryl, I shall treasure this for the rest of my life as you did for that one day... Definitely the best sample sale I have ever been to...

This dress is one from the recent tie-up between online giant oli.co.uk and design duo Sinha-Stanic. It's a really beautfiul piece, and has quite a quaint flapper feel about it while not seeming dated courtesy of the sheeny treated fabrics used. It's still available and you can get it here.

The FDM xx

The marvel of Mina

2009-12-02T19:52:00.001Z

A day at the desk yesterday, apart from a lovely visit to see the team behind pocket rocket dress label Mina. A favourite of Sienna's (she's getting a lot of airplay on here this week...), Keira and Kylie, Mina's quirky prints and pretty little knitted motifs have been growing in popularity since the brand launched from designer Mina Lee's attic room in London back in 2004. Stocked in boutiques right across the country, desk bound shoppers can get the cute little dresses - and now vintage-inspired cosy wool outerwear and sparkly little bolero jackets - online at www.asos.com (naturellement...)
This red t-shirt dress was a Matalan freebie from the budget retailer's spring 10 press preview goodie bag. It's basically an update on the one I had on two days ago from spring 07 and reflects the move from the smocky, loose shapes that everyone was in two years ago through to the body con minidress styles currently sweeping our high street. These pics were taken in the new Blues Kitchen on Camden high street. My friend Kate and I gorged ourselves on nachos with spinach and parmesan dip, cheeseburgers and pecan pie. Delish...
The FDM xx

Bigging up the boho

2009-12-02T19:18:00.000Z

A day of re-visiting the beauty of boho on Monday with this Primark paisley printed dress. Speaking of boho, co-incidentally I spent much of the day researching one of the biggest trends of the decade in a bid to pinpoint exactly where the popularity of the prairie girl look in the mid-noughties actually sprung from. I had always thought it was a Sienna Miller creation inspired by her close friendship with hippie girl designer Matthew Williamson which she had taken and diluted down to ankle length skirts and raw edged gilets for her day to day paparazzi shots. However it turns out that this was actually the second wave of boho-mania since the turn of the century. According to the back issues of Drapers, it turns out that Tom Ford's YSL catwalk of spring 01 lit the fuse on the first Heidi-themed summer on the high street in 2002. After just showing one off the shoulder blousey top and a black broiderie anglaise maxi skirt, designers pounced on the look and shoppers took the trend on board before welcoming it with open arms again three years later after Sienna updated the vibe. Interesting stuff, this fashion malarky, hey?

The FDM xx

2009-11-30T09:44:00.000Z

A Sunday of squally showers and not much inbetween meant I was housebound for much of the day. I did, however, happen upon one of the best exercise videos I have found in ages. I say 'happen upon' because it lives in my flat but my housemate has so many, in the year I've lived here I still haven't worked my way through all of them. This one was called Ultimate Taebo Challenge (I'm still not sure what that means, but is some kind of spiritual boxing I think) and was run by a lovely muscly chap called Billy Blanks. Now, he might sound like a mate of Dennis the Menace, but this dude was more akin to Mr Motivator after a strong bout of steroids than a weedy little cartoon character. Kitted out in the kind of eye popping lycra get up only a man with bulges in all the right places can remotely get away with, not only was Billy a visual delight, but he was super motivational, and - this was the highlight - he threw a dance break in the middle that involved a spot of jiving and a pretty impressive hip thrusting routine. It made it worth staying in for...

This dress was the first thing I ever bought from Matalan - it is another top and four dress sizes too big, but for some reason I decided that it would be fine to buy it anyway (must have been a stressful shopping day...) Actually, I was right to shop it - it cost me £2 and it is one of the most worn pieces in my wardrobe. Sadly the little moths in my last flat liked it as much as me and it now has Edam-like little holey patches so I think it may need to be relegated to the scrap heap after yesterday...
The FDM xx

Those kinky boots

2009-11-30T09:23:00.000Z

I had the uneviable task of having to go into Oxford Street on Saturday afternoon - once you hit November, unless you are prepared to fight for your right to shop, there is no point in even venturing into town without knee pads and some heavy duty, sharpened elbows. However, I was running a non-shopping related errand so decided I would get off the tube and concentrate on forcing my way through the thronging streets without looking at any of the sparkly, Christmas shopfronts so as not to get tempted into the merry melee. Of course that wasn't what happened, and before I knew it, I was caught in a deluge of teenage boys snickering over the wannabe porn performer heels on River Island's top floor. River has gone to town on its footwear for Xmas with vertigionous heels decked out in gold leaf and cut away stacked heels that even the most practiced of platform walkers would struggle in. I wasn't interested in those however - I was checking out what was once considered the last taboo of sophisticated women but has now returned as the mark of a cool kid - the thigh high boot. Now, these hamstring skimming creations of carved leather are more than a little perilous a purchase. Firstly, because of the extra fabric used in the production they are much more expensive than your standard ankle high boot. Secondly, once you get to the calf area, you can no longer take a one size fits all approach and thus the chance of finding a long boot that is the correct cosy fit all the way up the leg is slim (whether your legs are or not...) And thirdly, as a short person, the length has to be exactly right - it must hit the bottom of the thigh to qualify as a thigh high yet with stumpy little pins, if it creeps any higher it reduces the length of the dress that can be worn with it to crotch skimming and no longer. Maybe not just yet then...

Today's dress is yet another Vero Moda (so sorry, I am getting boring with my brand choice at the moment, but I think this is the last one now!) Really its a flimsy blouse, but with thick tights and regularly tugged down, you can pull it off as a dress. In fact, it is just the right length to look amazing with a pair of thigh skimming boots...
The FDM xx

2009-11-28T21:12:00.000Z

This is me, proudly standing next to my new wardrobe - well, not actually new, it's a cast off from my housemate but is perfect to house all my remaining dresses and, with the doors removed from the front for space reasons, I can pretty much pick my daily outfit from the confort of my bed before I get up. Result.

This H&M orange juice coloured jumper shift is, I think, the only orange thing I have in my wardrobe, but it has a habit of moulting like a ginger tabby all over whatever it comes into contact with which I think is down to the mohair in it. Word of warning to you as you do your knitwear shopping there...
The FDM xx

Western wonder

2009-11-27T13:45:00.001Z

There's something quite comforting about being hungover at work on a Friday. The office is traditionally quieter than other days, you don't often have pressing deadlines, and you know you only need to make it until 5.30 then you can go home and sleep for 12 hours. I am having one of those days, after a 2am finish at Yoyos at Notting Hill Arts club last night. A bit of hip hop dancing, some class MCing from a dude called Teef but more importantly some amazing people watching. They say the beautiful people live east of the city, but I reckon the western side is far neglected if last night was anything to go by. Nothing enhances a man's attractiveness more than a set of good moves on the dancefloor, and add in a dash of cool brand power (I saw two A Bathing Ape jackets in there...) and sitting on the sidelines and staring is totally justified. But if you think the boys are hot, just wait until you check out the girls. At total odds with the stereotypically West London sloaney chick - legs to her armpits, blonde hair to her waist - these girls are petite power pockets of cool, with bleached out Rihanna-style crops, bling bling jewellery and bodies to die for clad in plunging leather bodysuits, denim skirts clinging to their curves for dear life and enough booty to put J Lo to shame. I don't think I can ever compete with that, but I won't be afraid to experiment with flashing a bit of flesh next time I head west...
This dress continues my love affair with Vero Moda and the soft shape is super flattering, although I could have done with a quick swipe of fake tan on my pasty arms. There are loads of Vero Moda casual dresses available on Asos and they are completely high street matchable in price so well worth a look.
The FDM xx

Frosty flowers

2009-11-26T14:24:00.001Z

Short and snappy today followers, I am snowed under with copy deadlines and meetings this afternoon, but am determined to keep to my promise of trying to update everyday, so here we go... Yesterday flew past in a flurry of more spring season collections, which included the launch of Warehouse's new utility line, which I loved - in part, because it channels that Balmain regimental look but in a totally non try hard way, and partly because my friend has designed some of it. Also looking hot was River Island, resplendent in beaded military jackets, new boho floral ankle swinging skirts and louche jersey harem pants (oh, to be able to wear a pair of harem pants again...)
This Peacocks dress is a loan from one of my many Kate friends - obviously its a little summery for this time of year but layered up I think it works. I decided to add a bit of extra oomph to the shape so there's a tutu hiding under there too - great for creating an itty bitty waist...
The FDM xx

Late night hours

2009-11-25T09:25:00.000Z

The sun has got his hat on, hip hip hip hooray, the sun has got his hat on and I'm stuck in the bloody office all day. Actually that's not technically true, I have a few press collections to glance my critical eye over this afternoon so hopefully I'll get out before the rains come. I think I deserve it - I was working my little fingers to the bone last night, still here at 9.15pm (although the panang chicken halfway through the evening helped the hours go quicker...) I feel a strong sense of worthiness now however, and my inbox looks almost naked this morning due to all my adminstrative prowess late into the night. It may hurt at the time, but its worth it to feel so cleansed the next day - kind of like the opposite of a good drunken night out - the evening is actually the rubbish part, but at 9am when you sit down at your desk the following morning, you do feel great (well, maybe not great, but less stressed than if you'd gone out at 5.30pm and drunk Pinot Grigio into the early hours...)

Right, enough working talk - I adore the print on this dress from yesterday - no doubt it has been inspired by something vintagey (full skirt, past the knee length, beaded waistline) but its actually from short order dress brand Uttam. The team at Uttam have been furnishing me with dresses since almost my first week of becoming a fashion journalist and the new bods who have joined in the past season are just as sweet and lovely - so thanks guys! Pixillated prints are also particularly timely as they made a couple of appearances on the autumn 09 catwalks. Buy this one here today!
The FDM xx

Step up to the mark

2009-11-24T21:16:00.000Z

I read an article in the Sunday Times Style this weekend in its barometer section that put bloggers who did not update blogs daily in the 'Going Down' column. Off the back of this, I now intend to try and get my posts up everyday, as I know I have been rather slack of late.
Yesterday proved to be a fairly fashion-free day as I spent most of it travelling back to London, with a brief stop off at a Body Step class on the way. Now, I haven't been to a step class in years. I see them as the most uncool of all the group exercise sessions - not as heart punishing as Spinning, as muscle destroying as Body Pump or as New World as Pilates, I always associate step with women of a certain age who can't hack the hard stuff. But let me tell you something - step is like the Simon Cowell of fitness regimes. Everybody pretends it is totally uncool and that they don't like but it still rakes the money in because secretly people are addicted to it. My class was so packed I was tripping over my step - and the woman next to me - every few minutes, and that was at 2pm in the afternoon - these are people who take time out of their working day to go to a class which people like me - somewhat of a fitness snob, I fear - consider totally beneath them. A quick chat with the gym staff after uncovered it was one of the most popular classes of the week. And returning to it I can totally see why - the choreography is fun, you get a nice little break at the end of every track to grab a slug of water and your fellow attendees are much less threatening than Mr Spin-til-I-win, Ms I-can-clean-and-press-30kg or Mrs Ha-ha-I-have-my-legs-behind-my-head. I think I might try step again you know...

This lovely slip dress is from Australian brand Julianne Boutique which has recently launched over on our shores. 100% silk, it is beautifully delicate and so soft to the touch, I loved wearing it! Click here to buy it now.
The FDM xx

Attention to detail

2009-11-23T18:58:00.000Z

As a retail as well as product journalist, I spend quite a lot of time observing what it is that makes a great customer experience. One of the most common things that comes up - and something that independents generally excel at over their high street rivals - is paying attention to the little details that can enhance a customer's visit. I came across a brilliant example of this kind of special treatment when I went out for an early birthday dinner with my family last night. The resturant - the lovely Cromwell Arms in Romsey - was very quiet when we got there (there were actually more staff than customers...no, really...) so we would have expected some pretty sharp service, but when it got to dessert I was delightedly surprised to see my raspberry sorbet come out with a giant sparkler in the top accompanied by all the waitresses and bar staff singing Happy Birthday. I, of course, assumed one of my parents/brother/future sister-in-law had informed the kitchen staff while I was looking in the other direction, but turns out they had just seen my birthday toast at the beginning of the meal and thought it would be nice to surprise me. It put a real smile on my face that they had been so sweet to do it, and of course I asked the bill payer (not me - hey, it was my birthday!) to add an extra large tip...everyone's a winner...

This gorgeous aubergine dress is another Vero Moda one, and I'm not sure what this fabric is but it has this really nice sheen, a bit like a treated cotton. My daddy took these in our lounge (check out the school photos of me in the background...!) just before we went out for dinner and proved a very worthy photographer to add to my list...
The FDM xx

Team spirit

2009-11-22T11:07:00.000Z

When you're a football fan, you really put yourself out to support your team. While I moan if I get stuck waiting outside for a catwalk for more than five minutes, expect champagne on arrival, and get upset if I leave without a goodie bag, going to the footie is a much more giving experience. You pay your twenty quid, have to walk for half an hour from your car to the game as there is no free inner city parking, sit in the freezing cold with the wind blowing rain in your face for two hours, have to pay for your refreshments (which don't extend further than a coke and a pie) and leave completely empty handed at the end, apart from maybe an overpriced programme. But of course the reason I go to both is exactly the same - to see amazing talent realised right in front of my eyes, whether it be skill with a sewing machine or prowess with a ball. My boys, the Southampton Saints, drew 2-2 today in a thrilling, rain-swept game and were well worth their £20 ticket price and having wet feet for three hours.

A Red Herring dress from Debenhams today. I find Red Herring really hit or miss. Sometimes you can go in and find a deluge of spot on, on trend pieces at really great low prices, and other times you can saunter round on a cold November afternoon and find the place littered with floral maxi dresses. This dress was a good winter discovery last December, and the colour is a favourite of mine. The woolly tights were a must in the chilly wind this afternoon too...
The FDM xx

Naked ambition

2009-11-22T11:04:00.000Z

Despite banging out a fair few thousand words of copy on Friday, I spent the afternoon taking a break from hardcore work to get acquainted with the week's press gifts. Of couse the biggest presents were my Team Cheryl and Dannii T-shirts and of course my hug from Olly (I read this interesting article on mothers in the States who are so obsessed with Robert Pattison they leave their kids at home hungry and alone to stalk him on the Twilight set - if I had kids, I would have a strong chance of becoming the X Factor version of one of these parents), but I also picked up a few other cute goodies this week - flowery knickers from Matalan, Bulgari perfume from House of Fraser, and some over the knee socks and matching teeny tiny briefs from Puma - what girl actually goes running down the road in a pair of men's pants masquerading as shorts? Well, maybe me if it ever stops raining...
Today's 1960s swirly printed dress was an Asos purchase a couple of years ago. I like the long billowing sleeves and the teardrop shaped back, although I wondered if it was a little low cut for the office - what with that and my workout Y-fronts I am in danger of getting done for indecent exposure...
The FDM xx

Team Cheryl or Team Dannii - which to choose?!

2009-11-20T10:29:00.003Z

A little bit worse for wear feeling yesterday due to still being on the Grosvenor Hotel’s dancefloor with the Asos boys at 2am Thursday morning...those pesky menswear buyers... My day was significantly brightened however when I received a completely unprompted package from boohoo.com which included a Team Dannii and Team Cheryl T-shirt! But which to wear? Dannii is rocking the directional hair this season, but Cheryl is still such a beautiful princess... I don’t know why I’m worried, I can’t wear T-shirts for the next nine months anyway...
Today’s dress is from Lipsy about five years ago (their dresses are a bit more glam these days...) and the flowery tights an H&M purchase – I was looking for those little polka dotty ones but they had sold out due to their high level of fashion press in the past month so I was stuck with floral ones. This cool chair was in the House of Fraser office when I visited the press day this evening...I might like one of these as a housewarming present should I ever get my own flat...remember that readers...
The FDM xx

An Olly and an awards do

2009-11-19T21:36:00.002Z

Had a great day today, the epitome of which was running into not one but four X Factor contestants in the middle of Soho, including hot, hot, hot Olly. I acted like a hormonally charged teenager and got my picture taken with Olly and the surprisingly normal sounding Stacey (above is the evidence for you). And before you ask, no I am not in a dress, but I’m coming to that... Tonight was fashion industry bible Drapers awards dinner celebrating the UK's fabulous retail and brand excellence, so I of course had to frock up for that and couldn’t wear it in the day and didn’t want to wear two dresses today as that would be a waste of a dress...you get it... The awards were great, my favourite winners of the night were the amazing Boudiche lingerie boutique up in Glasgow, independent department store Camp Hopson in Newbury (who were on my table and super excited to win), and stellar mainstream womenswear brand Sandwich.

So the dress is a gorgeous, gorgeous gold and purple jacquard dress from Pink Label by Gina Bacconi. The designer Juliette is totally adorable and gifted me this dress as a thank you for putting her on the cover of Drapers spring 10 sneak peak womenswear issue back in the summer. The dress will be available to buy in the new year...get it while its hot...
The FDM xx

Baxx to basics

2009-11-19T21:22:00.001Z

So so sorry FDM readers for my total lack of posting for the past couple of days – it’s been one of those weeks! So I’ll take you back to Tuesday...
For anyone who's a fan of G-Star denim aesthetic, I have uncovered a new jeans label that might be worth checking out. Cipo and Baxx has been wefting and warping its way around the north of the UK for the past two years clothing men in its distressed, engineered and heavily detailed jeans. Forget indie boy skinnies – these are about the looser fit decked out in rivets, studding and with interesting twists like treble waistbands and motorcycle details. For those of you who live south of the Watford gap, the Turkish label is setting up a London showroom on Brick Lane in January so expect it to be hitting a store near you by the end of next year.
This was a bit of a summery frock today I’ll grant you, although I rather like teeing up boho style dresses with boots and tights and chucking a cardie over the top – layering is a must in our office, which has some kind of mental heat setting that means we start the day shivering and finish it sweating. I’m actually ahead of the curve in this one today – Topshop is backing a bit of a boho revival for next spring so everyone will be in broiderie anglaise maxis by the summer...
The FDM xx

My Cheryl dress, my Cheryl dress, my Cheryl dress

2009-11-17T17:49:00.000Z

Usually one to sing London transport's praises, yesterday I got caught out by what can happen when there is more than 5mm of rain. Buses clogging up roads on the way into work and tubes only running once every 12 minutes on my branch meant I was 20 minutes late into the office in the morning, and then a signal failure on the northern line in the evening meant I was another 20 minutes late for my night out and I had to pay for a taxi to take me three tube stops down the road. Thank god the gales and wet weather has stopped today, dress wearers do not appreciate having wet feet...
I am still reeling from the excitment of my dress yesterday - after much to-ing and fro-ing with DHL and a trip to the back end of Acton to collect it, I am finally showcasing my Cheryl dress! The beautiful Mrs Cole wore it in the first promo shots released for her solo album and I love it. Its from an exclusive Beatrice Boyle for Browns collection and I love the cut, just sexily tight and short enough, and the cotton is super soft. What can I say, if its good enough for Chezza, it's more than good enough for me...Pity I didn't take them until midnight and as such look a little too drunk to really show it at its best...
The FDM xx

The wonderous white of Waitrose

2009-11-15T23:37:00.020Z

Fairly unexciting day yesterday, plenty of Sunday paper reading, a little bit of swimming and, the highlight of the day, a trip to Waitrose. Waitrose is like the Stella McCartney of supermarkets – clean lines, neutral colours, a calming set of sophisticated offerings...I really do like browsing the rows there on a Sunday afternoon. I’m trying to think of fashion metaphors for other supermarkets but it’s Monday and my brain can’t compute more than one tonight – feel free to suggest others and I’ll put them up tomorrow!
Dress loan last night was a Jane Norman number - I used to LOVE Jane Norman in my early 20s, those stomach-showing mannequins said it all for their target customer and I had many a floral printed flesh flashing top from there in my party days...This is one of their more demure offerings which is a little more suited to someone approaching the big 3-0...
The FDM xx

Mad as a mightily confused hatter

2009-11-15T23:35:00.000Z

So, after being grossly underdressed at the last fashion party I went to (my stripy tights were no match for a full on Beetlejuice on Halloween...), last night I thought I’d go all out for the Oxjam Mad Hatters Tea Party which I persuaded my friends to come along to in Clapham. My colleague Ana lent me this gorgeous, gorgeous Mulberry frock for the Alice in Wonderland theme, I put a flower in my hair, and actually found a use for this interesting pug dog bag (anyone who wants one, they’re from Fuzzynation...)

Of course, this was the one fashion party where people had made next to no dressing up effort at all and looked like they were just off for a pint in the pub – typical... So while I looked like I had been dipped in a pot of pink paint (that is not to say I don’t ADORE this dress – I just longed for a tan handbag and wet look leggings in this setting...), Bec and Beth had failed to clock that the thinking behind the Mat Hatter invite was not just to wear a hat but to have some kind of Alice in Wonderland reference, and instead came resplendently looking like a cowboy and an extra from the Blues Brothers in their Brixton market head gear. All in all, it was a slightly farcical night out, although, so saying that, the drug-adled Lewis Carroll would probably have been very proud... So after a couple of vodkas and a cupcake, my pooch pouch and increasingly embarrassed looking friends and I beat a hasty retreat. At least it was for charidee though, and our fiver entry fee did our bit for the cause...

The FDM xx

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer knit dress

2009-11-14T16:55:00.000Z

The whipping wind is whistling around my top floor flat as I write this post for yesterday - I am not looking forward to leaving the house this evening...

The main excitement of my day yesterday was visiting the press event of uber cool PR company Karla Otto. We have been concentrating on high street analyses the past couple of weeks so were mainly there to check out the Cos collection (fabulous for spring, the most amazing citrus lemon cropped jacket with detachable outside shoulder pads...) but the lovely Claire showed us around the rest of the floors while we were there. Being a cash strapped fashion journo, other than the London collections, the rest of my high fashion comes via runway shots rather than actually getting to see the clothes sashay down the catwalk in the flesh. We had the joy of being able to finger and fawn over pieces from Victor and Rolf (my favourite design duo ever), Valentino (indescribably beautiful), Maison Martin Margiela, DSquared and so many more stunning designers. There is something so amazing about being able to touch these amazing works of art, I wish I could spend all day everyday just examining exquisite pieces of clothing...

Have broken out the Christmas guns early with my reindeer knit dress, but I think it got a few people in the mood to start the festivities early and I have already threatened everyone with decorating their computer screens with tinsel - I know how much they hate that...he he he...
The FDM xx

Model behaviour

2009-11-12T23:35:00.002Z

The hardest working journalist in fashion, I was out and about again today meeting and greeting the fabulous fashionistas plying their wares for the coming summer season. Dropped in on dress brands Uttam and Yumi to hear about their fab new collection Jin-Ja (the ruffled leopard print dress is on its way for a Frock Dress Monster outing sometime soon...) but before that I started the day with a lovely breakfast of eggs and tea with a gorgeous lady called Eleni Renton. Eleni runs Leni's Models which is an ethical modelling agency. By ethical, Eleni means an agency which focuses on giving models a more healthy approach to the industry. To this end, Eleni sends her models out to her favourite facialist, has financial advisors on hand to help the younger girls manage their new found wealth, and lets her mum take them in if they're new to the city and don't have a decent apartment to live in. Eleni already represents Natalie Suliman, the stunning lingerie model for M&S, and is destined to be booking some of the biggest girls in the industry in the coming months.
Lots of people were digging on my dress today, it's a TFNC loan from my friend Josie, and she used to adore this dress. Josie and I grew up in Southampton and these little brands were massive shopping fodder for a Saturday afternoon in stores like The Vestry and West One before Topshop got a hold of them. I like the sepia effect on these shots - not sure how it happened, I think maybe my camera is giving up the ghost... Military jacket is obviously a nod to Cheryl (although I bought mine at least a year ago...)
The FDM xx

I'm forever shooting bubbles

2009-11-11T23:11:00.003Z

Sore little feet today from a day of trekking around press events and rifling through endless rails of new sample clothing for next season - today's best spots were biker jackets in new fabrics and colours (white denim and raw linen are the best), a deluge of jersey jumpsuits and peg leg trousers, and lots of sequin encrusted shoulders (spotted that one in Paris back in September - the Frock Dress Monster is well ahead of the curve there, and don't forget it!) Rounded off the day at an evening event at River Island's flagship store to celebrate the launch of their celebrity-designed Prince's Trust T-shirts - mini fish and chips and cheeseburgers and Kid British doing a live set was good fun, and my friend Marie and I then ended up eating French toast, pancakes and milkshakes in the Diner - definitely a need for a couple more trips to the gym this week...

Steve did these pics for me today and we had great fun - this lovely chap was demonstrating his bubble shooting machines outside Hamleys and kindly allowed me to borrow one to shoot him with - I feel he may have been getting into it a little more than me, however! Another Vero Moda dress today and this one has been quite popular with people, it has a nice mottled effect to the stretchy cotton fabric and was far more comfortable than my New Look books which at only 8 weeks old already have holes in the soles - you pay what you get for though guys (£12 in fact...)

The FDM xx

Of the Moda

2009-11-10T22:03:00.000Z

Totally un-rock and roll of me I know, but it's 9.30 and I'm getting ready to bed down for the night in preparation for a 7am spinning session followed by a 9am breakfast meeting tomorrow. I am breakfasting with the head honchos at Karen Millen for a first look at their spring 10 collection so really looking forward to seeing how they follow up those amazing colour clash panelled body con shifts currently in stores - their best dresses of the past four seasons in my opinion... Went to check out the new Coast range today - plenty of bright florals and acid chiffon drapes - and the Hobbs collection too, which is just getting better and better at the moment, particularly the first spring NW3 offering, which has the most adorable bird print peg leg trousers and some super cute accessories including raspberry necklaces and ladybird brooches. They also have an artisan range which is absolutely amazing - huge layered corset dresses all made in the UK with Irish linen and other homegrown fabrics, but there are only about 10 of each piece made which you'll be able to find in the new Covent Garden Hobbs flagship store opening on Saturday so best get down there quick. Retail prices are around £200, worth it for an almost one-off...

Had a great package of dresses turn up yesterday from the gorgeous people at the Bestseller group. For those reading who don't know the Dutch Bestseller family, it includes trend-led womenswear label Vero Moda and premium contemporary line Selected Femme. Today's dress is from Vero Moda's casual Jeans arm and is a super soft chambray style fabric with an exposed halfway zip on the front for extra edginess. Love it!
The FDM xx

Strictly come dressing

2009-11-09T21:28:00.001Z

I found out about an adorable little website today which I think must have been created with The Frock Dress Monster in mind... www.adoremydress.com was set up by Strictly Come Dancing blonde bombshell Camilla Dallerup as a kind of eBay for dresses, a way for fellow frock lovers to off load no longer loved gowns and buy almost shiny new ones at just a fraction of what would have been their original price. Now, before anyone who has kindly donated me a dress for my cause thinks I am trying to make a profit off them, I only intend to sell on the dresses I have bought myself as I of course don't want to abuse any brand's kind generosity, (and besides, I love all the frocks I've been sent so far) but I do have lots of old ones, still in good nick, which I no longer like for whatever reason that might be great to sell on. So if anyone wants a piece of The Frock Dress Monster, watch out for my old castoffs on the site soon...

Another loan from my friend Josie today, pretty in purple from Asos. I've had to dig out my knitwear to cover up the short sleeves in the office today, and I think there's going to be a bit more of that making its way into my winter shots. I'll endeavour to get as much of the dress in the photos as possible though of course, not just the woolly jumpers...

The FDM xx

2009-11-08T18:14:00.003Z

Come on, let's face it, it's not really a shock that Simon didn't chuck Jedward out. It's clear they are one of the main reasons ITV is trouncing Strictly every week by about an extra 6 million viewers - it is the festive season after all and everyone loves a bit of pantomime at this time of year. However, more disappointing than the twin's constant survival is the sad demise in Cheryl's outfit choices. Not that Mrs Cole's scarlet structured shift wasn't gorgeous on her tonight, but it's nothing compared to the beautiful Atelier Versace princess basket dress of the first show, or the same designer house's all-over lipstick red sequinned mini early on in the series. Last week we had the car hub David Koma disaster - amazing on the runway, not quite right for Saturday night family telly - then yesterday's frock was black and fairly uninspiring and today also lacked a certain oomph. I loved Dannii's underwear as outerwear dress though, bang on spring 10 trend already, and the rocky cherry lips and assymettric fringe were perfect for taking it from uber girlie to edgy lady. I've emulated the Dannii bob this season but not sure I can pull off that fringe...

This is the last of the Disaya dresses I have to wear for my challenge - I really love the glittering sequins on it and the star shapes, it's an interesting way to wear this season's sparkly embellishment which looks totally different to anything I've spotted on the high street so far this autumn. Back to work tomorrow after my fortnight off - I'm going to miss my daily Diet Doctors fix...

The FDM xx

Remember, remember the 7th November

2009-11-07T23:15:00.003Z

Year on year I declare, come bonfire weekend, I will definitely, without question, absolutely 100% be going to see a fireworks display. And every year, I routinely come up with 'something better to do' than trek out in the cold to get a neck crick staring up at the sky. Whether its the weather or a more tempting cosy evening in the pub - in fact I think the last couple of years X Factor may have played a part in there too - I always put it off. I don't why - I absolutely adore fireworks. The first November weekend holds amazing memories for me, from street parties in our back garden when we were kids with vats of hot soup, baked potatoes and parkin, writing our names in the sky with sparklers, through to the first time a boy told me he loved me, sitting watching fireworks from his attic room atop a Sheffield hill as strands of sparkly light burst out over the Yorkshire dales. So tonight off we trundled to Victoria Park with a mega sized flask of mulled wine, decked out in mittens and hats in preparation for the chilly East London air. Unfortunately we missed the start and then had to scale a fence to get in which I didn't fancy in my DRESS so we had to watch from outside the park gates, but despite that, they were still beautiful to behold and I'll definitely make the effort again next year now I've reminded myself how much I enjoy the occassion.
This cute yellow pinafore is from River Island (currently vying with New Look for my most worn brand) but needed to be well layered up for this evening. This pic is taken under the candy floss stand and I would have done it without the massive khaki coat on except the heavens opened just as I started posing and the grass was instantly too soaked to put it down. So the parka makes another appearance...I don't think this'll be its last this winter somehow...
The FDM xx

Acton impulse

2009-11-07T15:15:00.000Z

I always like to explore new bits of London, and today I had the task of crossing the city over to the remote corner of industrial park Acton to visit the DHL depot and pick up a delivery from Browns (FYI - Browns will not let you change your delivery address on your first purchase so make sure you are home when they deliver it!) I think I ended up taking eight buses and tubes in my entire trip today, waiting in the middle of business parks for two-an-hour single deckers to get me through the Park Royal maze. It was worth the four hours out of my life though, as I ended up with an amazing Beatrice Boyle for Browns dress, the same one in fact that Mrs C wore for her first solo promo shots. I'll have to try and find a ghetto blaster to recreate the look when I get around to wearing it...
This black and white stripey T-shirt dress was a find in Dorothy Perkins today (ok, so my day trip was broken up with a quick stop off at Westfield on the way home...) I have worn a lot of black in the last week, I think it is the hair which makes me feel like I want to be dark and moody...I will try for more colour over the weekend...
The FDM xx

Ally Pally power

2009-11-06T19:02:00.001Z

Had lots of fun last night partying with my fabulous friend Marie at a Morrissey gig at the formidable Alexandra Palace. I am ashamed to say that despite having lived in London for nearly six years this was my first trip to the palais on the hill (apart from an ill informed run up there soon after I moved into my Highgate flat - shan't be doing that again in a hurry...) and Marie had us down on the guestlist for the ex-Smiths frontman. Morrissey may not be within my sugar-coated pop-til-you-drop iPod playlists, but the stunning venue could have made me fall in love with even Jedward's vocal talents. The amazingly high ceilings were filled with creeping plants in the entrance way, while the gilt-edged columns and vintage tiling are so breathtaking - even better after a couple of overpriced mini vodkas. The fashion sense of the Morrissey fan mainly involves battered jeans and a shaved head but I did spot a girl in a silky soft faux fur leopard spot jacket - I am warming to investing in one for winter...

Dress today is a River Island loan from my friend Kate, a cute and comfortable-to-wear shape, River loves its statement buttons, whether they're shiny and oversized like these or more quirky such as the little hearts you often find on their blouses.

Oh I also have to point you guys towards the Drapers Great British Fashion party video - check out my presenting skills - I think I need to turn a bit more towards camera and learn some synonyms for 'spectrum'...

The FDM xx

PS I know I am a day behind with my blogging but today's dress post will be going up after dinner...

The big freeze squeeze

2009-11-05T17:36:00.000Z

Sometimes I really wish that working in an industry you loved could result in a salary that you could adore equally as much. My housemates and I (all journalists and editors) have been wrangling over bills this morning as we have been notified that we need to up our monthly gas and electricity repayments going into winter - and all of us are broke. What ensued was a to-ing and fro-ing of collectively frustrated emails trying to work out what we could cut out of our daily lives to mean we could pay less to the energy vultures. Suggestions ranged from turning off the fairy lights around the fireplace (twinkly lights are my alternative to an SAD lamp, I own loads of them...), having shorter showers, wearing extra jumpers rather than putting the heating on and cancelling our cleaner (I was most distressed at this as I am an obsessive clean freak and always the first to crack first when it comes to getting the mop and bucket out...). So we look forward to a Victorian working home winter, huddled in a corner of the lounge in three sweatshirts each with no light or heat and probably dirty from our water-restricted showers. At least we have each other to keep ourselves warm, but oh to be a banker (pre the scrapping of bonuses anyway...)
Final day at my parents yesterday so final mummy dress – this one is from Matalan and my mother is spot on with the colour choice – purple remains a winner for this autumn – although it’ll need some heavy duty opaques and maybe a roll neck underneath if she wants to visit our flat in it this winter...
The FDM xx

Say no to the babygro

2009-11-04T12:09:00.000Z

Now I'm not sure I'm neccessarily cut out to be the mothering kind, but I always thought that if I do ever get to big momma status, my kids will cut a damn fine figure in the playground with such a fashion-aware mum. With this in mind I recently bought the five-month old and eight-month olds in my life the most adorable little babygros as presents. They were powder blue and white with super cute slogans on them such as 'Monsters made me do it!' and 'Chicks dig my ride' (don't you just love that?!?) I got them on Carnaby Street, smug in the knowledge that the children in my life would always be one sartorial step ahead of their mini friends. However it turns out that while parents may be loving the renaissance of the all-in-one at the moment, once you hit the four month mark, babygros are SO last week. When I turned up yesterday to visit the aforementioned little ones, I found not a boilersuit in sight - baby Oli was kitted out in a rather nifty robot intarsia knit and drop crotch jeans while beautiful Lottie was in the most cosy of cream cable cardis. I might have adult fashion in some sort of semblance in my brain, but I still have a lot to learn when it comes to what's going down with the kids...
Today's frock was a George at Asda freebie a couple of years ago and one of my favourites for accessorising as its simple shape and lack of detail makes it a perfect blank canvas to experiement on. And the colour helps you out if you're having a less than flat stomach day...which I had anticipated as last night was spent at an all you can eat Chinese and Indian buffet...yum...

The FDM xx

Mud eating mini monsters

2009-11-02T22:52:00.000Z

A quick post today as, instead of concentrating on writing this, I have spent my entire evening enthralled by the wonder that is a wildlife programme in HD (love my parents technological investments...) I learnt about a lovely little diligent brown amphibian called the mudskipper tonight who spends his days burrowing into brown sludge, and then injesting and spitting out the mud to build tunnels for his myriad spawn eggs. Nothing whatsoever to do with fashion, although I understand that feeling of regurgitation when the spring season comes around and I see yet another take on nautical...

My gorgeous friend Josie has lent me a bunch of dresses to help me along with my cause. This one is from US young fashion label Charlotte Russe and I seem to recall it was a purchase from a trip out to Florida. I remember Josie wearing it just after she got back from that holiday actually, looking amazingly hot and gloriously tanned, a far cry from my pale palour this evening. And as is the problem with numerous borrowed dresses, my blessing of only the lower half of Marilyn's curves means it required a little bit of holding up during the day. Fortunately I spent most of today housebound geekily playing with my new laptop, so there was no embarrassing accidental flashing to contend with...

The FDM xx

The size issue

2009-11-02T13:40:00.001Z

Sorry for such a late post for yesterday, I had my new baby laptop delivered today and have spent the whole morning excitedly playing about with it. I've now got the iTunes working so am feeling much happier to have the dulcit tones of Cheryl accompanying my writing this morning.
Had a lovely Sunday with my girlfriends in a Hampshire countryside pub eating roasts and chewing the fat about impending weddings and babies. My friend Jodie brought her six month old daughter Lottie with her who I managed to frighten into screaming the whole car journey (I am convinced its because I look like a witch at the moment...) but she had got used to it by the time we got to the pub and we whiled away plenty of fun minutes with her throwing things on the floor and me picking them up again. My friends were also very generous with dress donations, including frocks from a four year old's dressing up box - I'd like to see me get into that one...
Today's is an M&S bias cut dress from my mum's late 90s wardrobe - I intend to try and only wear my mother's clothes while I'm staying with my parents this week. This dress really goes to show how high street sizes have changed in the past 10 to 15 years - this is a size 12 and while it required a belt around the waist, was perfectly fine on my narrow shoulders despite the fact that new size 8 dresses in most shops hang off my petite frame these days. By that charge, I expect to wearing size double 00s within a few years...
The FDM xx

The Anna Wintour of football

2009-11-01T11:53:00.003Z

Next to shopping, football is one of my favourite pasttimes. Weird, I know, for a fashionista to enjoy swapping her five-inch heels and champagne parties for a pair of trainers and a pie, but I have actually been a fan of the beautiful game longer than a lover of fab frocks so when I get the chance, I love to pull on a parka and get into some good old fashioned abusive chanting on the terraces. Growing up in Southampton, my blood runs red and white-striped (football cliches are even better than fashion ones...) and I had a great time supporting my Saints playing at Leyton Orient this afternoon. Today, there were 3,500 of us southerners turning out for the team, singing such delightful songs to the opposition as...actually I can't think of any that don't involve gross swearwords, but suffice to say, it's a fairly different experience to sitting on the front row in the LFW tent. While fashion week can sometimes resemble a hotly contested footie match itself - the rivalry, oneupmanship and making every conceivable attempt to look better, skinnier and taller than your seat neighbour (well, maybe not the last point...) - the beauty of being a football fan is that you feel a real camaraderie; it's like a family, with everyone dressed in the same shirt and proud to look identical to their neighbour, happy to chat away to strangers and make new friends, and there's no preference to sit on the front row - that's actually the worst view!
Today's dress was an accidental pick up in a slightly confused Next store a couple of years ago - the kidswear appeared to be mixed in with the big people's clothing so I ended up taking an age 13 dress into the changing room - turns out it fit so here it is. It used to be great to be able to buy kids clothes as they were so much cheaper than adult versions, but with the creation of Primark, that advantage has been swept away by their gutter prices. It's still fun to browse the kids rails once in a while though, kids still get some of the cutest T-shirt prints...
The FDM xx

Spooks and ghouls and fashion fools

2009-10-31T10:40:00.000Z

Just looked in the mirror and I still appear to have the remnants of blood red lipstick on my mouth from last night's Halloween costume (yuck...) Well, I say costume, but when my friends Vicky and Fi and I went off to the Browns Halloween party over at the disused Shepherd's Bush Pavillion we had no idea quite how much effort everybody else would have put into dressing up. We should have known; the party was in aid of one of the best independent department stores in the world and was held in conjunction with less-than-retiring wallflower Henry Holland, but even after many years of insane fashwan get togethers, even I was bowled over by some of the efforts last night. Not only was the place decked out in what appeared to be infinite pumpkins, there were art installations of blood soaked baths and random bits of limb poking out everywhere, and the getups included a full on stripy Beetlejuice with up-on-end white hair and dead looking eyes (my humbug tights paled in comparison to his suit...), blood-soaked brides, a deluge of white face paint and black eyeliner, and even a guy covered in packs of skewered Rice Krispies and Cornflakes ('cereal' killer - fabulous...) The event was a work of art itself, with the foyer of the Pavillion turned into a club rave area complete with fake dry ice, strobe lights and electro techno DJ, while what was once the stage and seating area in the auditorium was kitted out with mini tents to watch the live acts which included mental child singer Charli XCX who freaked out the audience by running straight into people in the middle of her set...good though... We drank apple vodkas and came home with free MAC make-up and 15% off at Browns this week so all in all a successful spooky night out.
The dress is another Disaya one, a similar fabric to the teal one last Friday but in black instead. I like the pleated layers, they add a girly twist to my witchy look...
The FDM xx
PS I am chasing yesterday's photos - I will get them, I promise!

Suffering for my love of Cheryl

2009-10-30T12:57:00.001Z

Oh dear, sore, sore head today (hence why yesterday's post is over 12 hours late...) My wonderful fashion industry mag Drapers held a brilliant party last night to celebrate all things great about the Great British fashion scene off the back of some big birthdays being celebrated this year (Selfridges is 100, M&S is 125, and LFW is 25 years old, to name just a few). It was a fab event, loads of champagne and lavender pinapple martinis, never ending canapes (micro mini burgers and sparkly brownie bites...amazing...) and plenty of stellar networking opportunities. I was on hand as presenter extraordinaire for the Drapers website, and managed to snag some good interviews for the piece, including designer Henry Holland, presenter Brix Smith Start, CEO of House of Fraser John King and Agent Provocateur's chief exec Gary Hogath (look out for it on http://www.drapersonline.com/ in the next week...) One of the best parts of the night was when I caught HOT (yes, I know he's gay, that doesn't stop me finding him very hot...) X Factor choreographer Brian Friedman smiling at me and checking out my dress - turns out he was actually grinning at me in pity as my colleague had just told him what an obsessive Cheryl fan I am...brilliant... The after party was at the reopened Chinawhites and I ended up knocking back free-flowing vodkas until the wee hours, hence the poorly head today...
I am really sorry there are currently no photos of me in yesterday's dress - the only ones I ended up having taken were by the OK photographer so I have to see if he will let me have one for the site...failing that, I'll have to put the dress back on tonight and do some snaps in my lounge (the less glamorous option...) I can tell you however that it was a gorgeous electric blue floor length vintage gown which I picked up for 25 quid at the weekend in Shoreditch and had heavily accessorised with Peacocks jewellery - I'm not usually a Peacocks fan, but seeing as I once got staff at a branch of the budget retailer fired due to my scathing report of one of their stores, I like to think shopping there gets me some good karma back...
The FDM xx
PS pic is up now!!!

Cabin fever couch

2009-10-29T11:52:00.000Z

Yesterday I hit a wall - a squishy, Ikea sofa-shaped one, but nevertheless, I think I have had enough of doing nothing now. Despite keeping up hourly with my work emails, brainstorming shoot ideas for the new season and writing this, there is only so much time I can spend in my lounge, however spring cleaned to within an inch of its life it is. Fortunately for me, we live on the top floor of a Victorian house on the top of a Highgate hill, so at least I get nice views of the sunset and rooftops, but nevertheless, I can't remember the last time I was so excited at an impending night out at Pizza Express and the cinema...

And what an evening it was - not only did we get half price on our food and film (thank you, Orange), but Up is one of the best movies I have seen in AGES. It is both wonderfully happy and tear-jerkingly sad, laugh out loud funny and heartbreakingly bittersweet, totally magical yet with a realism adults can really relate to...it was amazing. Not only that, but it's in 3D so you get glasses (hence the photos...) to see things flying out of the screen at you - even the trailers are three dimensional. I strongly urge EVERYONE to go and see it!

So I need all your verdicts on my hair today - I thought I'd embrace my inner goth in honour of the witching season upon us this weekend. I didn't realise however how much make-up I'd need to pull off such a striking colour, so anyone wanting to donate dresses, I'd appreciate a few tubes of mascara noir and some black liquid eyeliners chucked in there too please! Oh and the dress is from Asos - it must have been one of their best sellers a couple of seasons ago as I still see loads of people in it.
The FDM xx

Aye aye sailor

2009-10-27T20:02:00.002Z

Not much exciting fashion reportage to get my teeth into today - my sofa offers little sartorial inspiration I'm afraid. I nipped into Camden this morning - I say 'nipped', but my bus on the way got stuck in traffic, and the one on the way back turned off the engine at every stop before cutting out entirely halfway between Tufnell Park and Archway - to get my hair cut, and was inspired by the hairdressing assistant who had some great assymettric plum bangs - I am thinking of maybe trying black...

Some may say this isn't quite a dress, but it still covers the bits that matter, albeit needing a pair of skinny jeans to officially make it acceptable due to its shortness. It was a freebie from a New Look press day in the summer to celebrate Giles Deacon's first men's collection for the high street retailer, hence why its big enough to double as a dress. The nautical look was MASSIVE this spring and the Breton stripe will continue to rein summer supreme for spring 10 too - it is pretty much the only trend buyers can invest in summer after summer and still guarentee a stellar sell through.

The FDM xx

Bleachy clean, jelly bean

2009-10-26T21:22:00.000Z

First day of holiday and my hands are certainly no longer those of a glamorous fashionista after six hours of bleaching the life out of my flat. There's nothing better to set you up for three days solid in front of the telly than a nice clean flat to lounge about in!
I have to point you all towards a great online magazine today call Fat Quarter. Set up by Katie, a London-based journalist, the sharply written internet womens magazine is just a few months old and was created to offer girls an alternative to all the saccharine glossies with a raft of savvy, observational pieces on fashion, culture and a whole host of other interesting stuff. I was fortunate enough to be asked to write a piece all about the magic of the dress for the site, take a look at it here and let me know what you think.
Today's dress is from Darimeya, this brand does the absolute cutest prints ever, including the merry go round horses trotting round the hem of this one. You can get your Darimeya fix from the boutique in Kingly Court just off Carnaby Street, or online at Asos (of course!)
Oh and before I forget, Cheryl's album came out today - buy it - IT IS GREAT...

The FDM xx

Little blue house on the Hackney prairie

2009-10-26T11:15:00.000Z

Who said Sundays were for sitting in and watching trashy soap omnibuses (omnibi...??) Well, I think I did actually, but I'll back track on that today, and say that Sundays are all about getting out in the late autumn sunshine and sniffing out some fabulous back street fashion. Today's was located in the rabbit warrens of Shoreditch at travelling second hand mecca The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair. There was an overwhelmingly amazing dress choice so after a quick stop for tea and a cupcake I narrowed my selection down to an amazing electric blue floor length princess gown - I'm saving it for a very special occassion...
I love these photos today - my friend Kate and I took a wander from Shoreditch down to London Fields and came across this crazy powder blue cartoon house along the way. I've done a little bit of research, and it was designed by FAT who I actually spoke to recently while writing a piece on the redesign of Selfridges' third floor space. These guys are amazing at turning concepts into reality and this was their actualisation of a doll's house - pretty spot on I think.
Oh and I almost forgot the dress! It's another Disaya piece, with gorgeous lace and velvet inserts - perfect for a day of vintage browsing in fact...

The FDM xx