I love shops that have that old world feel to them, you just know that there is something extraordinary inside and I love antique jewellery. Bentley & Skinner specialise in fine antique jewels from Faberge and silver to an array of diamonds. They have been buying and selling jewellery for over 180 years.

Much of their jewellery is from private auctions or purchased privately. Jewellery and accessories are key to creating a personal style, and by adding an antique piece of jewellery it helps to create a more personal unique look.

8 New Bond Street, London W1

I’ve spent the last week in and out of fabric shops and I can’t imagine not having access to ribbon, lace and trimmings. I feel so happy when I’m in a haberdashery or lovely fabric shop! It’s a great place for a designer, stylist or fashion student to look for inspiration. You never know how much a particular piece of lace or ribbon is going to inspire or influence your work!

I’m not a sparkly bling kind of girl - but it’s something I do love in a shoot. If you’re looking to customize a garment Swarovski Crystals are the way to go. It’s worth a visit to the Swarovski Crystallized Cosmos & Lounge, 24 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1

Customizing shoes and garments is such a unique way of giving an item some personal style and making it unique!

Swarovski Crystallized Cosmos & Lounge, 24 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1

To celebrate the launch of The William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery the V&A Museum invited Comfort Station amongst 18 other designers & artists to create an exclusive piece of jewellery as part of their “Cherry on the Cake” collection.

I love this necklace:inside the book are secret treasures & inspirations from the V&A including fabric samples, prints, wallpapers, ink drawings, illustrated catalogues.
Comfort Station was started by the lovely Amy Anderson after completing a fine art degree at the Ruskin, Oxford. Amy had many adventures from working in sculpture, photography and video installation all before creating bags fashioned in oak and jewellery with secrets & hidden messages. Each piece of jewellery is handmade in the Comfort Station studio in East London.

MINE all MINE Sample Sale
Saturday the 28th of June
“I gave my love a paper cut” and other such stories

I met with the super petite designer Ada Zanditon in her super sized jacket! Ada graduated from London Collage of Fashion in 2007. She spent four season interning with Alexander McQueen and in 2007/8 she worked with Gareth Pugh as a pattern maker.

These images are from Ada’s graduate collection. I love the oversized shapes and how everything feels bit like a super hero. Lisa Snowden and Joan Collins have both been photographed wearing her clothes! For her next collection Ada is using ethical/organic fabrics and she presently has a new eco collection available in Oxfam 245 Westbourne Grove, London W11.

You might have see some of her illustrations featured in the London Underground. This autumn Ada will be exhibiting in The Ethical Fashion Show in Paris.

I went to the opening preview of The Viktor & Rolf exhibition at the Barbican. It was quite amazing! I love the doll’s house - I think every girl loves a doll’s house. I had so many dolls when I was little, and my mum would make matching clothes for me and my dolls. I never had my own doll’s house and was jealous of one girl who had a German doll house. Viktor & Rolf’s doll house is 6m-high with three floors, endless rooms and it feels very luxurious and empty at the same time. There are 55 porcelain dolls living in the house. The dolls are only 2 feet high, with human hair and are made by hand by master craftsman Mr. B. Terrie. Each doll is designed & styled after the model who originally wore the outfit and the dolls have the same make-up that was worn in the catwalk show. The dresses are a true replica - everything is made to scale and even the original leather is used to make the shoes.

I keep thinking of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and everything that Nora felt. Dolls can be so beautiful but have a very scary side to them especially the porcelain doll. One of exhibits had a doll surrounded by broken porcelain. In Viktor and Rolf’s work there is lots of dark humour, and there is a lot of it in the way the models are displayed as porcelain dolls. It’s eerie and adorable at the same time!

Of course an exhibition like this attracts fabulous people. I spotted super stylish Roisin Murphy. She’s a true fashionista and a wonderful singer!

…and one of my favourite people: Gok Wan!

Girls in Viktor & Rolf

Yesterday’s shoot was all about Wonderful Hair. I’ve never had hair extensions and have never had the desire to have them - until today that is.

I love how Yulia looks while waiting for her hair to be done. Most models bring a book or something, occasionally I’ve known models who knit to pass the time.

This was a busy shoot as we had lots to accomplish but we really had a great team and worked really well together.
I think too many people are thinking that working in fashion is just like life in The Hills! Although The Hills is my assistant’s favourite show she knows what really happens on a shoot & how much work is really involved.

And yes, sometimes there are perks! The perk was some red hair extentions!!

I love shops that feel like they’ve been there forever.The Wyvern Bindery feels like this: everyone seems very busy and it feels like true organized disorder. It really has that old world feel - which is the art of book binding.

All stylists, photographers, creative directors, make-up & hair artists have at least one portfolio. If you’re looking for a portfolio or you have a book that needs to be bound check out Wyvern Bindery.

Ben Sherman and PPQ have collaborated on a new limited collection of dresses. There are only 175 dresses available in each look. There are 5 dresses and each one represents the look of the decade. PPQ has always been involved in the music scene and they even have their own record label 1-2-3-4. And of course Ben Sherman is known for supporting loads of bands.

I love the shop windows on Carnaby Street!

I recently met with the lovely Leon Bailey Green. He is an online marketing and branding consultant. He is also the director of marketing for OSOYOU.

OSOYOU is one stop shop which helps shoppers navigate their way round the internet. If you’re looking for a little black dress OSOYOU is going to give you a selection from many different shops - my search results gave me “18,947 items “! Of course this is a lot of dresses but it’s really only about 30 pages and I could have refined my search. So really it’s just not a lot of click-throughs to find the perfect dress!

Dawn Bebe is the Managing Director of OSOYOU and if it wasn’t for her and all her persistence and hard work we would not have Grazia!! She’s responsible for bringing Grazia to the UK! It’s one of my favourite weekly reads

I was running some errands and came across this shop - it’s funny how you pass a street all the time and then one day it’s like you’re seeing it for the first time. This shop has been here for over 20 years.

All the garments are so beautifully cut and the linings are just gorgeous. I love the women’s coats; they’re timeless with a twist. Everything is understated but with lots of attitude. John Pearse has been a tailor his whole life and his site says so much about his personal style- in many ways it’s one of my favourite sites.

John Pearse is a Tailor of Savile Row which means he makes some of the best bespoke suits in the world. A bespoke suit is created to your specific personal requirements. A bespoke suit is not to be confused with a made to measure suit. To make a bespoke suit a tailor will take many measurements and figuration and then a personal pattern will be hand-drafted and cut from scratch. The suit is entirely hand-made and hand-finished so the care and attention is unparalleled - this is truly the art of suit making.

I never loved menswear until I moved to London and of course when you walk into a shop like this you’ll understand why.

John Pearse
6 Meard Street
Soho, London W1F 0EF
Tel: 020 7434 0738

I saw DJ S.O.L. and just had to take her picture. I love all the colours in this picture - it’s so eclectic & vibrant.

Puma launched The Reality Bag a while back in January 2008. I’m quite partial to PUMA bags, and I have a black one that I love but it’s started to look a bit tattered, so I don’t use it but I can’t get rid of it. I saw The Reality Bag at the Puma shop on Carnaby Street today - ooh a big silver bag! The Reality Bag is by PUMA® Urban Mobility and the Serpentine Gallery. Multiple artists: John Armleder, John Trembley & Philippe Decreuza created the bag. I like the concept of the Urban Mobility collection & there’s even a bicycle and luggage.

I do feel like I walk around with my whole life in my handbag and somehow it becomes quite simplified although the bigger the bag the more I carry. For example I usually wear flat shoes because I’m running errands or going to meetings, if I have a bigger bag I might add some heels - just in case…and maybe another lipstick or gloss…The reverse is also true, if I have a small bag, I carry maybe one piece of ID, some cash - usually not in a wallet or purse as it takes up too much space, mobile, house keys & lip gloss.

I do love & identify with the name, Urban Mobility. I want to live in urban settings and I want to be mobile and I like shiny things :)

I’m a sucker for leather gloves. The picture above is the shop front window of the House of Cashmere in the Burlington Arcade (in London). They have some great light weight leather gloves in fabulous colours. I like wearing gloves especially on the tube when everything feels so dirty. Oh, and I love wearing driving gloves too, especially in dark green. I just can’t bring myself to wear leather gloves in warmer weather and even though I like crochet vintage gloves they just seem a bit granny or better suited to weddings.

If you’ve looking for some super cool gloves check out Gloved Up by designer Laura Shepherd. She offers some really cool fingerless gloves like this Short Brocade, perfect for summer. All the gloves come in pairs, but of course you can wear one if you like ;)

I love the Shiny Black Puff Sleeved Gloves longer gloves too!

Estelle Blanche Puff Sleeved Fingerless Gloves

Black Mesh Fingerless Opera Gloves

Laura also does bespoke gloves just contact her at: info@glovedup.com

While on my way to dinner I spotted this Nissan Figaro that’s for sale. I know it’s not practical: I couldn’t fit my luggage in it, I only have a license for an automatic, I don’t like parallel parking - which is all one does in London. But it’s Barbie pink and so cute! I rarely want stuff - I know this might be an odd trait for a stylist but if I can use the things that I love in a shoot I don’t feel the need to possess them. Maybe I don’t need a car but I’d like to be the girl who wears a floral dress with big white vintage ray bans, singing my heart out while driving around town.

Salvatore Ferragamo Christrian Lacroix

Ray-Ban Wayfarer in white, black or blue. Bottega Veneta

Shu Uemura has a wonderful selection of false eyelashes and they offer a complimentary eyelashes application as long as you purchase the eyelashes in the shop. False eyelashes are the last thing that you put on the eyes, so the eye make-up has to be complete beforehand. Shu Uemura also offer an eye make-up session for only £10!

I chose a pair of blue and black eyelashes and had my eye makeup done too. It was quite strong but very cool and I loved it! In general I don’t like getting makeovers because I don’t really like foundation and I just end up feeling like there is too much stuff on my face. As for eye makeup the more mascara the better - so false eyelashes are perfect.

Shu Uemura also do eyelash extensions. I’m quite curious about this service but it only lasts several weeks, though it could last longer depending on your eyelash cycle. It’s also a bit more expensive £140 for a full set of lashes and it takes about 2 hours to apply.

I used to dress up my cat in my doll clothes and push her around in my pram when I was little. So naturally I was very excited to read about Cat Prin in this months Vice Magazine. You can read the full article by Vice at Puss In Boots (And Hats and Capes and Wigs and Little Ruffled Collars).

Takako Iwase - the cat tailor with her model & inspiration scottish fold cat, Prin!

I love this outfit, especially the wig; it’s part of the Versailles series.

Oliver Sweeney has been designing shoes for his own label for almost 20 years. Everything is designed in England and hand made in Italy. There are more than 120 stores stocking Oliver Sweeney shoes and accessories countrywide. I often go to the shop on Bond Street and the staff are very helpful.

It’s important to me that if you go to a shop you’re treated well and that the staff are helpful and sincere (hey, I’m Canadian so even if I live in the UK I expect good customer service). A while back there was one designer that I liked but I went into their shop and the staff was so snobby I didn’t want to use their clothes anymore.

Oliver Sweeney shoes are beautifully designed, and fashion forward without being too over the top - classic with a twist. They also come with a matching belt!

You’ll notice that this season many of Oliver’s shoes are very chic. I’m loving the white patent, which also comes in black and a petrol blue.

So many high street clothes are made in such large quantities that it’s very likely several girls could be wearing the exact same outfit at the same club or party. It’s hard to find something different without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for a fun little dress Dolly Dare specializes in making a maximum of 20 garments in each look. So it’s quite unlikely that someone will be wearing the same dress at your party or afternoon tea!

There are lots of day dresses & party dresses! Many of Dolly’s dresses range from about £60-£75.

37 Marshall Street, (just off Carnaby Street) 02704343423