In Love with Lavender

Lavender, my latest colour crush.

From top: Milk jug - Human Empire, Poppy hot water bottle - Toast, Angora sweater - Cos, Owl plate - Donna Wilson via Human Empire, Leather Satchel - The Cambridge Satchel Company, CH24 Carl Hansen and Son Wishbone Chair - Nest, Parma Violet nail polish - Topshop.

Fantastic Foxes

The humble fox has always been a favourite of mine. Their big bushy tails and mischievous ways never fail to delight me. Until now, I thought I was the only one with this affection for our fury urban creatures, but it seems the world of interiors and fashion now agree with me. This A/W the fox motif is appearing on everything from cushions (Donna Wilson) and plates (Jimbob Art) to jewellery (Tatty Devine) and jumpers. Hurray! As much as I'd like to own all of these lovely items, I fear I may come across as some crazy fox lady so will make do with just one instead: a nice, cosy jumper. I've had a good look around for the best ones and here are my top picks...

I particularly like Peter Jensen's offerings (top), but the high street has some good alternatives. Below the Peter Jensen ones are, clockwise from left, a cream Topshop number, a royal fox from Dorothy Perkins, a grey knit from Aubin & Wills; and a navy one from the menswear collection at Aubin & Wills. Do you like them?

{Images: Peter Jensen; Topshop; Dorothy Perkins; Aubin & Wills}

Geometric Jewellery

I found these pretty geometric jewellery pieces at the British department store The Hambledon and wanted to share them as I thought you'd love them as much as I do. The sweet triangle and hexagon pendants, brooches and studs are bang on-trend and are reasonably priced too.

The painted necklaces are £24.95 each and the sweet triangular studs are £15.00 a pair. There are some lovely solid silver triangle pendants too which are worth a look.

The Hambledon is a bricks and mortar store in Winchester, Hampshire, but they have a great website (easily navigable with pretty photography!) and ship worldwide, so make sure you have a peek this weekend!

{Images: The Hambledon}

Preparation for Autumn

Autumn, my favourite season, is finally here. For me this means windswept walks in the park, warming foods and cosy nights in, but it also means it's time for some new things. Below is my autumn wardrobe wish-list for the new season, including a gorgeous cape from the new Alice Temperley collection at John Lewis. I posted about a similar cape back in August so I'm really pleased I've managed to find one just like it on the high street. 

Also on my list: this pretty tea dress from Topshop, which I'll wear with thick black tights, a handy black satchel, some sparkly nail polishes and some new boots. If I manage to get all of these then I think that'll be me sorted for the new season. What about you? Have you got your eye on anything?

{Images: John Lewis, Topshop}

Up The Wooden Hills

Hello friends and happy Friday! Today I want to introduce you to handmade clothes specialists Up The Wooden Hills. Based in Sweden, Up The Wooden Hills create beautiful hand-made clothing that has a "dreamy, pretty and playful" quality. All garments are made with cotton fabric from Liberty of London and are made-to-order.

The focus is on simple, pretty day dresses in pastel hues and delicate patterns. Although there are some smock tops and skirts too.

I love the simplicity of these well-cut dresses. I can see myself literally living in one of these if I owned one - so easy to wear.

My personal favourite design has to be the CAITLIN dress below in Liberty's classic 'Poppy and Daisy' print. It has a beautifully simple design with two front pockets and self-tie waistband. I literally wouldn't need another dress again!

If you like what you see head over to their website to see more or to buy. Also, Up The Wooden Hills have a great blog, so make sure you check that out too! Have a great weekend and see you here Monday!

{Images: Up The Wooden Hills; Image one: Beata Rydén}

Street Style

I'm in no way what you'd call a 'fashion person' but I admit I do like looking at street style photography. I often think the way we dress on a day-to-day basis is way more experimental and fun than when we 'dress up' for a night out. I regularly read The Sartorialist and Topshop's tumblr page for ideas when it comes to style as I find they offer a lot of inspiration, both from the people they photograph to what they're wearing. Below are some of my favourite snaps from the Topshop site for inspiration for the coming months. I love all the black accessories from clunky boots, leather bags and polka dot tights- all 'must-haves' for me for next season.

{Images: Topshop Tumblr}

Summer Pastels

At the back of my diary lives a list I call the BIG LIST. On it are things that I like but can't afford just yet. So there are things like a Falcon enamelware bake set, an Ercol studio couch and a set of Diptyque candles amongst other things. A good thing to have, you might think, never having to worry when someone asks what you want for your birthday/Christmas etc, except that the list grows almost on a weekly basis...eek! The latest addition to the list comes in the form of a pastel-hued satchel from leather specialists, The Cambridge Satchel Company.

These new pastel satchels are available in lemon, rose pink, lavender and duck egg blue but are strictly limited edition so you'd better make up your mind sharpish about which one you want! It's 100% the rose pink for me but I have a bit of a thing for lavender as well at the minute since buying this pretty Topshop nail polish. Click here to view the full pastel collection.

If you live around the Cambridge area, Cambridge Satchel Co. are having a Clearance Sale this Saturday and Sunday (11th & 12th August) at the Guild Hall so it might be worth popping down to grab a bargain. If not, the company are also offering free UK delivery on all satchels. For details just head over to their on-line site.

{Image: The Cambridge Satchel Co.}

Christmas Wish List No.22

So, it's nearly Christmas and I need to start thinking about my Christmas party outfit. Most importantly, the shoes. They just make an outfit don't they? Having seen Miu Miu's A/W 2011 collection, I obviously fell in love with these.

Ah, aren't they the most PERFECT party shoe? However at $650 I don't think they will be coming partying with me this year. So, now realising it was a high-heeled-pink-glittery-shoe that I was looking for (who knew?), I set about to find the perfect pair on the high street. Luckily, it did not let me down and I found two good alternatives.

These are by Carvela and are £120.

And these are from Dune and are only £90!

Whoop, my pink-glitter-shoe dream can now come true!

{Images: Miu Miu; Carvela; Dune}

Christmas Wish List No.9

Dearest Santa...

Black midi dress; knitted cardigan; Peter Pan collar coat; Aztec socks; Clutch bag; Sequin dress; Leather jacket; Maroon tights, all Topshop

{Images: Topshop}

Let's Celebrate Wool Week!

To celebrate National Wool Week 2011 (5th-11th September), I thought I'd showcase some gorgeous pieces of hand knitted jewellery by Anna Alicia who I discovered this week via Tea For Joy. Anna uses Fair Trade organic cotton for all her jewellery, with vintage elements wherever possible, to make her jewellery as ethical and environmental as possible, both of which I think add to the charm. My absolute favourite piece is this pale peach 'Double Eagle' knitted necklace, the colour is just so pretty.

All of Anna's designs come beautifully gift wrapped in a cute box so would make a perfect present for someone. The 'Double Eagle' design comes in six colours; pale peach, pale grey, dusk blue, black, off-white and navy, as seen below.

Like what you see? There are more designs in her collection. What about this cute 'Owl' number?

Or the chunky 'Braid' design?

And finally this 'Moth' design is also a stunner. Isn't the texture of the knitted wool so lovely? Perfect for the Autumn season. With so many to choose from, which one will you go for?

 The Campaign for Wool was initiated by the Prince of Wales in an attempt to overcome the challenges facing the wool industry in Britain today. There are various events happening across the UK during this year's Wool Week, to find out more visit The Campaign for Wool website.

In the words of Vivienne Westwood wool is ''one of the world's great natural fibres, famous for it's versatility and comfort'' and if it's good enough for her then it's good enough for us too.

{All images: A Alicia}