Top Spending at Topshop

So I come with deepest, embellished velvet apologies, I'm a post or two behind, but uni work has been calling and for the first time in my life I'm actually on top and up to date with all my coursework. Go meeeeeee! Anyway, I ventured back to my home town of Glasgow this weekend and decided to indulge myself in a lil bit of retail therapy. I don't know if it was the beauty of the lights over Royal Exchange Square or the beginnings of Michael Bublé's Christmas album singing softly in every store, but something in the air definitely led me to splash the cash. 

Now it is undeniable when it comes to the high street stores I am an absolute Zara fiend, so much so I literally want to starfish the floor and set up camp upon entry and live out my days there. HOWEVER, I went into the Topshop on Buchanan Street, Glasgow, on Saturday and they have converted the bottom floor (previously Topman) into another floor of Topshop, which just happened to be filled with lots of Bri loving goodies. 
So, when I say I splashed the cash, I didn't go tooooooo wild, just your basic winter season necessities. Oh you know what I mean; warming winter coat, couple of jumpsuits, perfect little party dress and of course a fabby dabby top to match one of the jumpsuits.. No biggie. But yea, just thought I would give you a wee peak of my purchases that are literally making me melt into a puddle of awe in their presence and hopefully you find the same luck, love, lust and happiness over your key winter pieces.

'Popper Front Boyfriend Coat' - Topshop - £58

Thought I would buy a boyfriend coat seeing as I don't have a loving, caring, boyfriend to borrow his. *Cue the violins*

This coat is fab for winter though its so thick and cosy and goes perfectly with literally anything. So excited I have it in my life now.

'Diamond Jaquard Strap Jumpsuit' - Topshop - £55

Ok, so in this image the jumpsuit aint lookin' so fab, but when it's on ooooooh mama, it's a beauty alright. P.s I am OBSESSED with jumpsuits right now. This lil baby can be worn casual during the day with a pair of winter ankle boots and the fabulous boyfriend coat OR slap on a pair of heels and some bling to rock an Xmas night out. 

It is the chameleon of jumpsuits.

'Check Drop Waist Jumpsuit' - Topshop - £60

'Textured Tee' - Topshop - £24

Ok, so just going to pair these together as this was my jumpsuit, tshirt, combo I mentioned earlier. I am literally head over heels in LOVE with this jumpsuit and the tshirt actually goes perfectly underneath, creating a stunning colour contrast. It's as if the garments are best friends and show off each others best bits. Cute eh?

Anyway, this is so perfect for a casual, cold winter day when you want to work it without going the colour of the tshirt. I know we like to suffer for fashion, but the cold is something I simply can't deal with. Yes I am a princess. 

'Devore Strap Back Slip Dress' - Topshop - £50

Now THIS is what I'm talkin' bout. This is the ultimate LBD for winter. I am literally so in love with this dress I want to go to bed cuddling it and never let go. The dress is completely backless to just above the bum; can't be pulling an Alexander McQueen 'bumster skirt' stunt now can we?

 Oh the detail. Devore printing I love you. And the straps. Stop me before I melt. The intricately delicate straps cross over the back of the body claiming such daring elegance. This dress genuinely is just such a masterpiece I want to wear it all the time. 

It is a necessity for any special winter nights out this season girls and the perfect example of the modern interpretation of the LBD. It can not fail.

I hope you all have lots of fun buying your winter wardrobes and I sincerely hope your bank cards have seizures from the excessive spending. But most of all, I hope you fall in love with your clothes as much as I do, well maybe not quite as much, I am a wee bit weird in that sense. Anyways, to have a wee look at what else Topshop have to offer, click here. 

Love and jumpsuits. x

Self-Portrait

Oh my days, am I excited about this. It's finally here, the anticipation of its arrival is over and I can finally introduce to you, drum roll pleeeeeeaseeeeee, the fabulously divine, Self-Portrait!

So, you have all heard me ramble on about Three Floor Fashion, the profoundly stunning and unique London based brand, established by Han Chong and Yvonne Hoang, yes? If not, where have you been in my life the past two years? Anyway, Han Chong left Three Floor Fashion earlier this year to start his own, equally amazing and stupendous brand, Self-Portrait, and yesterday, we finally seen the powerful launch with an overwhelmingly beautiful first collection. 

I've been following the countdown on Instagram for Self-Portrait's first collection and I have literally been shaking in my boots for its arrival. So yesterday I literally could not have typed in the web address faster as the collection went live online for the very first time! Undeniably, I was not let down by what I saw. The collection is perfect. Like Three Floor Fashion, Self-Portrait possesses many similarities such as shape, cut and contrast in their designs, but there are definite factors which set the two apart. Han Chong has knocked it out the park with this one, the collection oozes beauty and elegance with a modern day interpretation and I literally want to buy the whole collection right now. 
The collection exploits a contrast of dark and light, with the initial garments of the collection being pure, progressively moving into raw, dark, alluring beauty. For example, take the 'Panelled Long Sleeve Dress'. This garment is the definition of provocative innocence. The streamlined panelling of the garment is utterly magnificent, highlighting and accentuating the female form excessively. The coverage of the dress interprets the innocence whilst simultaneously, the attention to detail and structure of the garment interprets its provocative side. Furthermore, the underlay of the neckline and sleeves gives an almost sheer appearance further enhancing this factor, however, topped off with the small slit in the back of the dress just rounds it off. A woman's back is an incredibly understated factor of sex appeal and by displaying this small area of it, the dress leaves its innocence behind and moves its way to the dark side. 

'Panelled Long Sleeve Dress' - £175

COLOUR SPLASH BABY. So I said about how this collection mainly focuses on the contrast of dark against light, BUT, it wouldn't be a Han Chong collection without some bold contrasting colours somewhere in between. Take the 'Panelled Pleated Midi Dress' for example. This dress is a work of art in itself with unbelievable structure and attention to detail; I literally could sit and admire it all day. However, Han Chong has contrasted emerald green and navy blue here to give a stunning colour battle as each element exploits the other and compliments it to its utmost advantage. Then we move onto a garment such as the 'Starlet Midi Dress'. Oh wow. This dress sets itself aside from the rest of the collection and if it were an animal it would be the lioness of the kingdom; proud, beautiful and respected. The colour of the dress immediately draws our eyes in bringing us into recognition of the fabulous attention to detail. The structure of the dress is incredible with cut out panels in each side of the dress and a nude, sheer back to create the illusion it is bare, again playing on the sex appeal of the garment. The pattern on a whole of the dress is so intricately beautiful and the folds of the skirt accentuate this as we watch it flow in front of our eyes. This dress is definitely a work of art. 

'Panelled Pleated Midi Dress' - £219

'Starlet Midi Dress' - £219

Finally, this is the part I have literally been quivering with excitement to share. My favourite piece of the entire collection; the 'Frill Seekers Midi Dress'. Firstly, I would just like to say, the name itself is absolutely fabulous with its cheeky play on words, and being a total english fanatic like myself, I do enjoy a good word pun. This dress though, oh my days where do I even begin. This dress is so powerful in ways you can't even imagine. The shape alone is astounding, combining a double overlay skirt with a fitting top to the dress, completely streamlined to the waist; a match quite literally creating perfection. Furthermore the combination of nude, navy and black creates a garment so allusive you find yourself falling in love at first sight. Texture. The word belongs in a sentence of its own with a crown on top as this dress defiantly exploits the meaning of texture in fashion. Lace overlay, sheer panelling and faux leather; a combination so magical it casts you under its spell. I am literally starting to lose myself for words I am so in love with this dress. Han Chong, I salute you, you have created a masterpiece. 

Pièce de résistance - 'Frill Seekers Midi Dress' - £199

These are only a few of the spectacular designs which make up the breathtakingly beautiful collection for Self-Portrait, so please go check out the full collection for yourself by clicking here. The collection features so much more with outstanding pieces such as the 'Textured Lace Bomber Jacket' which is perfect for the current reinstated bomber jacket craze. So have a look and I can only hope you find Self-Portrait even half as magnificent as I do. 
Love and frills. 

Cath Kidston

So I thought I would write a wee post on Cath Kidston seeing as they have ever so kindly given me a wee christmas temp job. I've always been familiar with Cath Kidston and I think everyone who is aware of the brand will most popularly familiarise it with their beautiful rose prints. However, I want to more focus on the rapid expansion of this company as it is excessively impressive to say the least. 

Cath Kidston established her company in a small store in Holland Park, London in 1994 selling mainly home goods such as cushion covers, ironing board covers and whatnot, all in her renowned 'rose bouquet' print. Simultaneously she also stocked second hand furniture and home goods which she made her own with her comforting, country style prints. Kidston initially used vintage fabrics to create her products, further making her nostalgic brand infamous for its vintage-meet-modern interpretation. Cath Kidston has always strived to portray English heritage and a sense of country life through her patterns and products and this has been emphasised indefinitely with patterns such as 'Classic Rose' and a variety of patterns stemming from inspiration of her dog, Stanley. 
As the brand image grew so did the products; and today Cath Kidston sell from wallpapers to dresses to handbags and everything in between. In the past twenty years of the brands continuing lifespan, Cath Kidston has grown from the one single store in Holland Park to stores worldwide with a mass situation in Asia. Japan alone has over thirty stores and Japan being such a fashion orientated country, Cath babes, take a seat and pop the bubbly; it's time for you to celebrate! 
So if you are a complete vintage-meet-modern gal like myself and love those cosy, country, home essentials you need to get yourself involved with some Cath Kidston goodies. Whether it be some 'Antique Rose Bouquet' duvet covers or even just some ditsy, floral accessories, Cath Kidston will provide you with some beauties. What's even better? Santa Clause is already stocking his sleigh and Cath Kidston makes perfect gifts for christmas. So come on you country gals take a wander down to Cath Kidston and find some home comforts in life's little necessities.
Love and Roses. 

Feelin' this as my Xmas jumper this year

Cath Kidston - Father Christmas Jumper - £70

Click here to view all the Cath Kidston goodies!

Lie Sang Bong

Lie Sang Bong; even his name is fabulous. I became infatuated with this Korean designer when I gained a deeper knowledge into his work during my stay in Tokyo this summer. His expressive, rich designs are completely mesmerising and I simply just had to find out more about the man behind the seams.
Lie Sang Bong is a prime example of the reason for my obsession with the fashion industry. He emerged into the industry back in 1993 with his first collection 'The Reincarnation' which was presented at Seoul Fashion Week. After recognition and admiration for his bold, flawless talent,  Lie Sang Bong continued on to make his debut in Paris in 2002 with his collection 'The Lost Memoir'. The success of this collection was remarkable, leaving Lie Sang Bong situated in Paris, where he has remained ever since.
I am going to take you through some of Lie Sang Bong's past collections to fully express his raw talent. Firstly, let us go back to S/S11 as Lie Sang Bong's S/S11 collection was utterly and profoundly, stunning.
The collection opens with a model possessing legs so perfect you never even want to smell chocolate fudge cake again, exploiting an exquisite, off-white, one-piece bodice. Attention to detail is critical here as Lie Sang Bong demonstrates perfect fabric overlay in organic, smooth shapes, making the garment simply magnificent. The collection then carries on with it's gentle aesthetics, bragging neutral tones in cut away dresses, however, this is contrasted with geometric shapes with straight cuts and lines of the garments; a perfectly understated contrast. The collection then moves into a more masculine-meet-feminine approach with fitted suit trousers, skirts and blazers. The blazers feature plummeting necklines and belted at the waist to enhance the female form and play against the masculinity perfectly. In contrast to the harshness of the strong shouldered blazers, Lie Sang Bong also shows fabulous flouncy skirts and dresses which are mesmerising to watch in movement. He moves onto bring forth an oriental interpretation with a select few garments demonstrating beautiful, intricate patterns and oriental style necklines. However, he brings this aspect to the collection minimally at a time, as if to keep the audience enticed. 
Undoubtedly Lie Sang Bong is a genius when it comes to movement. His designs are literally a vision to watch as they move so elegantly down the runway with feathered, fabric overlay and extensive, protruding fabric to the sides of the garment; it is simply mesmerising to watch. Lie Sang Bong brings further contrast to this collection with a dark and alluring mood as black, bold garments come to play in this collection. My favourite look of this collection, view it at 9 mins 35 secs on video below, demonstrates raw, dark, beauty with a ballerina-esque black, net overlay skirt teamed with an undeniably stunning jacket. The jacket is literally perfect; held shut with a thin belt to enhance the waist and give a dangerously low neckline exposing the female form. The jacket possesses a gentle feathered pattern in white and grey creating the most fabulous finish to the garment. The collection continues on with the colour theme of contrasting black and white and the renowned feather pattern creates stunning intricacy on many of the garments. Finally, the collection comes to a finish with a colour splash of crimsons, corals, purples and creams, detailed with blacks, to tie together the masterpieces that have been presented before us. A stunning silk red, black and white dress emerges, 12 mins, 34 secs on youtube video, reintegrating the oriental aspects to the collection. Ending the collection is a beautiful floating maxi dress, fully embracing the burst of colours and demonstrating an elegant black neck cuff, it itself is a work of art and a perfect end to the collection. The collection on a whole is beyond beautiful and underpinned with an understated sex appeal, all together creating something magnificent.
Anyway, what I have just babbled on about for half your life is literally only half the collection and some of my favourite aspects. Please have a wee looksie at the video below to fully understand and appreciate the beauty of this collection.

Lie Sang Bong S/S11 Collection 

Ok, I will try keep this short and sweet as I know I pretty much just wrote you a short story there, but it is undeniable, when I fall in love with a designer, I find it rather difficult to shut my big mouth. However, I feel it is a necessity I give credit to Lie Sang Bong's F/W02 collection. This collection SCREAMS sex appeal. Literally. The runway is red, the background is red, the curtains are red. And on that runway stride models dressed in black, seductive yet stunning garments. I LOVE IT. This collection is so gorgeous yet swimming with promiscuity you literally can't take your eyes off it. Cut, shape, fabric, you name it, Lie Sang Bong has mastered it. With only a few garments swaying from the colour black, Lie Sang Bong creates such a fluidity, yet keeping you embraced and eager as to what will be presented next. 2002 was Lie Sang Bong's year, it established him as a designer in Paris and it's no wonder it did. His bold and risky designs are why I love the fashion industry; it is unpredictable and captivating. 

I'll stop babbling and let you do the rest yourself. Click here to go to Lie Sang Bong's website and check out all his collections and even find out more about him. I hope you love him as much as I do. If you don't well I just don't know. Over and out. x

A Big Fat Fashion Blogging Apology

Ok, so it may be three months late and I may currently be considered a poor excuse for a blogger; but a summer ran-sacked with galavanting from tokyo to home to spain to home to uni; I feel I'm only just able to catch my breath. Following on from that, I can pretty much say I had an awesome summer. However, summer is over and I am straight back into uni to embark on second year and simultaneously, I am straight back into blogging; I PROMISE.
Don't get me wrong with my absence in posting, as I can assure you I have been doing my research and you will see this in posts to come!! I am currently infatuated with some particular designers and I'm digging deeper into the world of vintage treasures to settle my inner vintage child; so watch this space, I am ready to bring it on!
I hope you can accept my apology and we can move on and be happy fashion lovers together forever.
Love, apologies and kimonos. (I love them just now)

Harajuku Girl

Sun shining, temperature hitting 30 degrees and what do I decide to do?; saunter round the stores of Harajuku. I visited Harajuku last year when I came to Tokyo and decided to go on a Saturday, and let me paint you a picture; Harajuku on a Saturday is like a buffalo stampede on acid. I would say it's all part of the atmosphere and experience and something you have to participate in, however, I would advise this in a cooler season of time in Tokyo, definitely not summer when you literally cannot see for sweat dripping in your eyes. So I opted for a Sunday shopping sesh this year instead and whilst it was still ludicrously busy, it was most definitely the smarter choice. When stepping out the station at Harajuku you are immediately faced with Takeshita street; one of the busiest streets I have ever walked down in my life. This street has everything Japanese street style has to offer, it is literally the pick and mix sweet selection of street style. You can walk past one shop on Takeshita street overflowing with girly chiffons and an array of pastel paradise and then right next door sits a dark, sinister shop which looks like it eats its neighbouring shop for breakfast. 

After reaching the end of the street style, sub-culture, yellow brick road you are faced with all your usual high street stores; Topshop, Mango, H&M and to my disappointment, Forever 21 (spew). However, crossing over the road you will come to designer heaven. It goes without saying a stapler really would have came in handy today to staple my mouth shut because as I walked down this street my jaw was dragging along the ground as I gazed into all the fabulous window displays. And I repeat, FAB-U-LOUS.

So being in Tokyo and everything, I decided to treat myself to a stunning Ted Baker number. This particular Ted Baker dress is part of the Ted Baker 25th anniversary collection so it kinda gives it that extra pazaz ya know. I cannot begin to give enough appraisal to the shop assistants in the Ted Baker store, they were actually amazing and I actually found myself chatting to one of the girls for quite some time. It definitely makes the difference when the staff are top notch. Furthermore, the interior of the store, woweeeee, but I shall get to that another time. So aside from my amazing purchase, I was then walking back to the train station when I stumbled across a wee store called 'John Bull Private Labo'. I almost walked past this store due to my growing fantasy of lying in an air-conditioned room, however, out the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a Black Score t-shirt hanging in all its glory. Yes, that is right, Black Score. So with all my excitement I bustled into the store and there they all were; nearly the entire range of Black Score's t-shirts all exploiting their pure amazingness. This just topped off my day as if you haven't heard me go on about them before, Black Score are my favourite t-shirt brand EVER. 

Finally, aside from street style pick and mix, high street haven, and designer divineness, Harajuku also possesses many tremendous wee side streets all blossoming with cutesie, little boutiques and independant stores where you are guaranteed to pick up some awesome buys. Also, they have some really yummy cafes and they are definitely worth adventuring in to if you are a cake fiend like myself. So, the moral of the story, if you ever find yourself in Japan, you simply must visit Harajuku. And well, if not, seeing as it's not your average holiday to France, maybe have a wee research into it, it's a rather fascinating place. 
Click here to visit the Ted Baker website.
Click here to visit the Black Score website.

A photo I snapped of Takeshita Street, April 2012

My new baby

Nula - City Print Dress, Ted Baker - £129

Asian Antics

Konnichiwa. So after an unnecessarily long, hot and cramped flight and a week of fighting jetlag, I'm finally settling in to life in Tokyo. Humidity and thunderstorms aside I'm already beginning to sport a slightly orange Tokyo tan and it's inevitable what goes perfectly with a tan; perfect clothes. So, I've already started on my Asian adventure of gathering info on new designers and brands that I wasn't aware of before and I'm going to be blogging away about them as well as other well known and relative Asian designers over the next two weeks.  From designer to street style, the women out here love their fashion so I'm beyond excited to start writing about it all. So keep your eyes peeled and chopsticks at the ready and watch this space for upcoming posts. Peace out.