Tuesday 28 February 2012

February

Dahlia

A little inspo to take away with you this February. I feel as if spring is right around the corner now; the air is crisper, the days longer and sunnier and the snowdrops and daffodils are starting to bloom. I love this time of year, its so fresh and allows me to cast a whole new eye over my wardrobe. I  need to start getting out of my black and navy rut I seem to have delved into over the winter and I am looking forward to bringing out some pastel shades in all aspects of my wardrobe. Take inspiration from the eclectic and soft shades of macaroons, sorbets and flowers to give your wardrobe a lighter lift and incorporate these colours not only in to your clothing but your accessories and your make-up too. Opt for lighter weight fabrics with prints or embellishments to fully take you through the transition from winter to spring. 

Atlantic-pacific

Cupcakesandcashmere

late-afternoon

late-afternoon

makingmagique

makingmagique


makingmagique


makingmagique

suchaheavyjewel

suchaheavyjewel

Monday 27 February 2012

Brogue


My new Asos shoes arrived in the post at the weekend (find them here). I LOVE brogues and they're definitely one of my favourite shoes styles, so when I came across these little beauties that successfully combined a sharp masculine edge with a softer more feminine texture and laces, I just had to snap them up. Wear them now with thick black tights, playsuit and fur gilet and with bare legs and denim cutoffs come summer for the ultimate laidback chic.

Friday 24 February 2012

Feeling Floral

 Asos dress, Carvella at Kurt Geiger booties

Last night the girls and I hit the town for a much needed cocktail or two. We went to this great speakeasy inspired bar in Manchester's Northern Quarter, Black Dog Ballroom. We had such fun and I decided to go for a girly meets boho look for the occassion. So I put on my best dancing booties and my floral asos dress and blinged it all up a bit with my favourite orange and diamante cocktail ring which was a gift from a very dear friend. 
This dress is great when you're feeling in the summer spirit as I was yesterday. The sun had been shining all day in Manchester (a rarity, I assure you) and the breeze was warm. I felt like wearing something fun and flirty and definitely some much needed colour. I also adore the full skirt of this dress and it's great for spinning (as demonstrated below), not that life calls for that sort of thing much! Have a lovely weekend everyone...


Thursday 23 February 2012

Fake Leather!

H&M jumper and bag, Topshop jeans and pumps, Zara jacket, Accessorize necklace, DKNY watch

Today is a very casual look and for days like today I love a grey jumper. Literally a must have for every girls wardrobe, it's so simple and easy but looks so good, especially when accessorised. Today I've teamed mine with my (fake) leather jacket and my (fake) leather H&M bag. This bag is amazing; I got it when I worked at H&M and it looks and feels absolutely like real leather. In fact I was quite surprised when I found out it wasn't. I must confess, I'm one of those who think there's nothing like the real  deal but sometimes, when your budget won't quite stretch far enough, you can find some really good buys on the high street that really do look like the real thing. It seriously oversized too, which is great for people like me who feel the need to carry every unnecessary item they can think of in their handbags!

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Vita Sackville-West

 suchaheavyjewel.tumblr

"Be wicked, be brave, be drunk, be reckless, be dissolute, be despotic, be an anarchist...
be anything you like, but for pity's sake be it to the top of your bent. 
Live - live fully, live passionately, live disastrously".

                                                                                                              Vita Sackville-West 

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Mary Katrantzou


This morning we saw the A/W 12 collection of emerging designer Mary Katrantzou, and what a collection it was. Beautiful prints on fabulously sculpted dresses was the order of the day however, my favourite designs were these three free flowing beauties. I absolutely adore the way Katrantzou has successful combined sharp tailoring with a soft, flowing ethereal feel all within the same dress. And the prints, oh the prints! Too die for! Literally... I would like nothing more in life than to put on one of these divine creations and float around a fabulous party, swishing from person to person with my layers of Katrantzou printed fabric. 
With successful collections for Topshop under her belt and an upcoming collaboration with Longchamp I sincerely hope that Katrantzou is then able to take her label and turn it into the worldwide fashion house it deserves to be. I am so excited for all this new designer has to offer and I can say wholeheartedly that I am so, SO in love with this collection, it may even be my favourite from fashion month so far.


Images sourced from Style.com

Monday 20 February 2012

LFW Street Style


Don't get me wrong, I love fashion month. I adore seeing all the new collections, the new trends and collating a wealth of inspiration for the coming seasons.But for me, a least for the time being, the catwalk shows are just a bit of a dream and so I also seriously love to find some more 'real' inspiration from the street style snaps too. My favourites are always from London, which is where these handpicked photos are from. Us British girls definitely know a thing about style and how to make everything individual. I think we have a definite sense of adventure when it comes to our wardrobes, and we're usually pretty daring to try everything at least once. And it's not just us, I think we have the same effect on the girls across the pond, cue Olivia Palermo (see video below!). 
The thing I love most about these outfits is the stylish simplicity of it all. Key pieces of tailoring and wardrobe staples in muted tones and textured fabrics all brightened up with one a kind accessories or individual prints. It's all so understated yet so cool. I'm also totally crushing on the leopard prints booties below, any free time I have not looking at the shows this week will be spent looking for a similar pair!








Sunday 19 February 2012

Mulberry


Day three of LFW is now coming to a close and, so far, I think it's safe to say we can be proud of all that is British and British fashion. Today we saw girls gliding down the catwalk at Mulberry, handbags in tow and even a dog by the side of one rather leggy brunette. The collection focused around texture; let's not forget that these are the A/W collections, and with it's strong heritage, outerwear was the main focus for the collection. There was a variety of different fabrics and plenty that you'd want to get your hands into, or on, which is more probable. With fur, lace and textured knits being the order of the day, those who are lucky enough to say they will be buying from this line with certainly be stylishly warm this winter. Later on in the collection saw sculpted dresses with pops of bright orange, bringing the subtle greys and blacks to life. 
Another great success for Mulberry, one of my favourite labels. Tomorrow brings with it Christopher Kane, Erdem and Burberry Prosum and I'm very excited to see what they all have to offer!






Images sourced from Style.com

Saturday 18 February 2012

Checkmate

Zara jacket, Vintage shirt, American Apparel leggings, Topshop boots

Here is what I wore yesterday and to celebrate the start of LFW I've gone for that laidback, cool look that so many of us British girls love. I adore this vintage shirt, find similar here, it's so effortless but comfy all at once and perfect for those days where you're running around with a million things to do. 
LFW started yesterday and I've been eyeing up the shows from Preen (colourful tailoring) to PPQ (sophisticated outerwear) and Basso and Brooke (print heaven). Stay tuned in the coming days as I bring you looks from all my favourite shows and maybe some street styling too. Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. Check out these photos of the U.S. Elle team and the French Vogue team at LFW. So chic!



Thursday 16 February 2012

Marchesa


Words that come to mind when looking at Marchesa's A/W12 collection from NYFW? How about celestial, heavenly, opulent, divine. The list goes on...Basically, Marchesa is the heaven to Prabal Gurung's hell. Oh we do have fun in fashion, don't we? The Marchesa collection is filled so much of fantasy. Fantasy in perfectly created gowns that flowed down the catwalk, not to mention the fantasy going on in my head that one day, maybe, in the very, very distant future, I may own one of these magnificent creations. 
The collection was inspired by the painting 'A Soul Brought to Heaven' by William-Adolpe Bouguereau. You can see the other-worldly comparisons between the two; there is so much purity flowing through this collection, from the pure white, delicate lace to the frothy layers of cream tulle. It almost feels like you've died and gone to fashion heaven when you look through these dreamy showpieces for the first time. I can't image what it would have been like to be there for real. What a magnificent collection to round off NYFW. Tomorrow brings with it fresh ideas from London and I'm so excited to see what will be offered to us; different inspirations and trends I am sure, but I have no doubt it won't be any less of a fashion dream...


Images sourced from style.com

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Alice + Olivia

The end of New York Fashion Week is ever looming but with London just around the corner there is still plenty to be excited about my fashion friends. Monday saw the showing of one of my favourite labels, Alice + Olivia. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this brand then I suggest you get yourselves familiarised ASAP as there is nothing not to love. Incorporating culture, music, art and vintage fashion into each amazing collection, Alice + Olivia is the epitome of quirky sophistication. 
The collection for A/W 12 was fulsome and dramatic with a mix of day and evening looks. The full length gowns were definitely swoon worthy with exposed backs, slinky styles and an array of desirable and interesting fabrics; the black lace was particularly seductive. Combined with this, there was also plenty of fun and fresh, less dramatic looks such as the full skirted mini dresses and leather shorts/sequined top combo. 
The collection did seem to lack a sense of flow; many of the looks seemed to be the complete antithesis of one another and often, I felt, the less dramatic looks were trying hard to compete for attention over the substantial gowns which seemed to be lacking in numbers. But, individually, the pieces created this season were, literally, to die for and so I think I can look past the lack of co-ordination and appreciate this collection for what it really is: fun and fabulous!




Images sourced from Style.com

Tuesday 14 February 2012

My Least Favourite Holiday

 Asos dress, ring and belt, Zara jacket and bag, Carvella at Kurt Geiger shoes

I'm not going to lie to you, readers, but I'm really not a fan of Valentines Day at all. It all seems a bit forced and pressurised to me. Although I suppose it's a good excuse to receive pretty flowers and eat some yummy chocolate. Anyway, today is a pretty special day for me for another reason; it's the one year anniversary of HattieSaidWhat! A year ago today I wrote my first piece for the blog and with O followers and, shall we say, some not so great writing, we've come a long way. That is 118 posts, 125 followers and many, many outfits. I'm so proud of how far my blog has come in that last year and I certainly couldn't have done it without all of you, my readers and followers. So I'd like to say a big thank you for all you're support which I hope will continue for the next year! And seeing as it is Valentines, I thought I'd share my holiday outfit with you. I've incorporate a bit of pink in today, not a colour I often choose but I figure, if I'm going to do it, I may as well do it today. Have a great day everyone.