Friday Fashion Fix – Obsessed with Orange

Today's Friday Fashion Fix is dedicated not to a person, or to an item, but to one of my favourite colours – orange. I like most shades of orange, particularly coral, but my favourite has to be bright orange. Not fluorescent orange, (this shade belongs to highlighter pens only), I mean Bright Orange – traffic cone orange!

www.net-a-porter.com
Reed Krakoff, £465

Granted it's not everyone's cup of tea, in fact I know people who dislike it on the basis that it reminds them of carrier bags from a certain supermarket. However there is so much more to orange than carrier bags, mobile phone networks, prisoner jumpsuits and interior design from the seventies.

The colour orange makes me smile. It is a happy colour. I wore an orange bridesmaid dress and shoes for my best friend's wedding and I loved it! It's not as challenging as many people think, shades of orange are far more wearable and suit more people than shades of yellow. 

A full on orange outfit can be a little much in most situations and I wouldn't recommend it to the slightly orange shy, but there is no reason whatsoever not to branch out and try an accessory or two. So here are a selection from my wish list that will brighten up any outfit, and most importantly, make you smile!!

www.tedbaker.com
£75

uk.nixon.com
£65

www.net-a-porter.com
McQ Alexander McQueen £340

This is my last post as Jen will soon return from her travels, something I for one am VERY excited about! Thank you very much for having me whilst she has been away – Sarah x

Friday Fashion Fix – Mad About Karl

Today’s Friday Fashion Fix is dedicated to the rather fabulous Karl Lagerfeld – or more specifically, the miniature plexiglass version of him that I desperately want to adorn my keys with. Not only is Mr Lagerfeld the creative genius behind Chanel, but he has a reputation for being rather blunt, frequently bordering on the offensive. What's not to love?!

Plexiglass key fob, £119 from Net-A-Porter

And now his KARL collection makes him all the more accessible for those of us who can’t afford the Chanel price tag. Perfectly suited to this season's monochrome trend, it channels his own unique style, with items such as his iconic fingerless gloves and smart, white collar. Throw on a pair of dark glasses and voila, a mini Lagerfeld in the making!

Printed cotton-poplin cameo collar, £59 from Net-A-Porter

 This little beauty even has a subtle print on it which reads: "I only wear the latest thing. It's my job!"

Textured-leather bowling bag, £329 from Net-A-Porter

www.net-a-porter.com

Friday Fashion Fix: Sophia Webster

Today's Friday Fashion Fix is dedicated to the rather fabulous Sophia Webster, whose shoes I had the privilege of drooling over at London Fashion Week. Her designs are stylish yet fun, and she is not afraid to work bold colours and patterns. So far, so good!

Sophia studied at the Royal College of Art and Cordwainers before moving on to work for Nicholas Kirkwood as a design assistant. Kirkwood also acted as a mentor, and after two years he helped her to launch her own collection, which has already been picked up by the likes of Harvey Nichols, Saks and Net-a-Porter.

Describing her current collection, Sophia says, "Spring/Summer 2013 is inspired by the traditional dress of the Hmong people, Yayoi Kusama and deconstructed Aztec prints, all with a tropical West Palm Beach feel."

My favourites are probably the Aztec open-toe boots above – the pastels are perfect for spring, but the strong lines and use of black prevent them from being too cute.

In light of the uncertain economic climate of recent years, accessories have become increasingly important to consumers who are a little more cautious with their spending. The budget might not stretch to head-to-toe couture, but would anyone even notice the rest of your outfit in a a pair of heels as fabulous as these?! Probably not.

Expect to see a lot more of Sophia Webster, this lady has a bright future ahead.

Friday Fashion Fix #4 – True Romance

First things first, I know it's not Friday – the combination of a good friend and a bottle of wine meant that I didn't quite get round to posting this yesterday! But this week's (almost) Friday Fashion Fix is dedicated to an absolute style icon, the beautiful Patricia Arquette as Alabama in True Romance.

I was recently asked what my favourite film is, in an interview for a magazine that I'm contributing to. I always think that's a particularly difficult question to answer. It's easy to pick your top five, but to single out just one film? Well that's much harder. I figured that if I could only watch one film for the rest of my life it would be True Romance, so that was the answer I gave.

Strange then, that earlier this week came the sad news about director Tony Scott's death. So in tribute to him, and the amazing film that is True Romance, this week's Friday fashion fix is dedicated to one of my total style heroines – Alabama Whitman.

If you haven't seen True Romance, I'll give you 12 very good reasons why you should: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Michael Rapaport, Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer and Samuel L. Jackson.

An outstanding cast, but the star for me has always been Alabama... for managing to be such a total bad ass and a complete romantic at the same time, and for wearing leopard print like absolutely nobody else can. Patricia Arquette, I salute you.

Friday Fashion Fix #3 – Loving Louboutin

Today's Friday fashion fix comes to you from fantasy land – a place somewhere in the depths of my mind where I have thousands of pounds to spend on beautifully impractical shoes and am surrounded by bars with valet parking to wear them to.

Ever since visiting the Christian Louboutin retrospective at the Design Museum I've been fantasising about his shoes more than usual and these are two of my favourite pairs. A picture is supposedly worth a thousand words, so as it is Friday I will keep it brief and let the shoes speak for themselves...

Asteroid 140 suede and patent-leather pumps

20th Anniversary Isolde 160 patent-leather sandals

If you have the cash to burn, both styles are available from Net-a-porter. I meanwhile will keep dreaming and maybe write a very nice letter to Santa... do you think he accepts bribes?!

Friday Fashion Fix #2 – I heart Vivienne Westwood

Today's fashion fix is dedicated to my current obsession... my beautiful tassel and chain bag by Vivienne Westwood. This little baby is the perfect size for evening with just enough space for your phone, keys, cards and lipstick.

A big thank you to my beautiful girls at GMC Publications for the best leaving gift in the world. If I'd known they were going to spoil me like that I would have left months ago!

Now I just need to save up for the Louboutins to go with it...

Friday Fashion Fix – Hello sunshine!

There has been a lot of rock and not much runway lately, so it is time to change that.
In loving memory of my shades that ended their life in a portaloo at Download and
because the sun is finally shining, today's fashion fix is dedicated to sunglasses.

I'm often guilty of sticking to the same two styles; classic aviators or the kind of large frames favoured by footballers' wives and LA socialites. The latter actually work better for me as they are more robust and can withstand the battering that I inevitably put them through!

However summer is about having fun and as you can see, whether you have cash to burn through or are on a budget there are plenty of designs to liven up your wardrobe and make you smile. I love the leopard print Zac Posen!

As far as cheap sunglasses go (a better choice for me and my nasty habit of losing them, squashing them and generally destroying them), River Island do some great styles for under £20 that last a long time and can withstand being thrown in a handbag.

New Look do some good options for as little as £2.99 but you often get what you pay for, so beware lenses falling out, arms snapping off etc.

I get through sunglasses quite quickly so I am always looking for new stores to try. Any recommendations would be much appreciated!