London in the sun!

The London Underground is one of the worst places to be when the city is as hot as it has been this week. Although, the Express towers are in the perfect spot along the river Thames to help me forget about the hot & smelly commute to and from work and make me appreciate just how beautiful London is drenched in sun shine.

This week I was given my next main fashion photo shoot, which means my first one must have gone down well. This time instead of shooting in a studio, I need to shoot on a beach! Was freaking out inside when my editor told me that he wanted me to do the photo shoot on location, but I'm up for the challenge. The theme of the story will be 'Ice Cream Shades' so I have chosen Brighton and will give it a very traditional British holiday feel. I won't be shooting until the 2nd week of June although I have started organising permits, photographers and hair and make up already. I am really looking forward to seeing all my work come together.

Other than preping main fashion, I shot my 'Must Have' kaftans this week and have started calling in for my next one, which will be Flat Summer Sandals.

Again this week I went along to a few press events. I went to see the A/W 10 collections from Flax PR, House of Fraser and Reiss.
I absolutely loved the Reiss collection, especially the 1971 range which they have expanded for the coming season. When it first launched, 1971 was a small collection mainly made up of denim but for Autumn/Winter they have brought in so much more the sequined 'trophy' jacket and leather paneled T-shirt were my favourite.
These will be mine by the time Autumn hits (well...I'll decided for definite when I find out how much they are)

Apart from the 1971 range, the rest of the collection is, as ever, beautifully designed in great fabrics.

I think the camel cape is great and will be a key piece of every fashionistas wardrobe next season.

Friday night I went to the G-Shock party. Great BBQ and lots of free drinks at the presentation in the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane and then onto a slightly odd after party at Cargo.



This weekend all I have done is chill out in the sun with my boyfriend. I actually have fully on bikini tan lines from the good old British sunshine. Although, it will probably be nothing in comparison to Lindsay's tan by next week, as she has jetted off to Mauritius today with her editor to assist on 5 photo shoots. Can't wait to hear how it all goes.

Stacey Solomon, press days and my first test shoot...

I’ve finally had time to sit down and write this week’s blog entry! So much has happened…

Last Tuesday I assisted the fashion editor on a shoot with Carol Vorderman. This was for a feature in the magazine to coincide with the release of Carol’s new book. She wore some amazing dresses and looked great.

As Simona was away in Cyprus this week it was quite quiet for me in the office. I got to interview for new interns which was really surreal as this time last year it was me being interviewed! We are going to have an intern all the time now which will be great to have someone else to help.

Last weekend I went on a spontaneous road trip to Nottingham with two of my friends. It was so nice to be back in the city where I went to Uni and see lots of my old friends but it really made me miss it!

Back in the office on Monday and it was going to be a very busy week. The first couple of days we were preparing for a photo shoot with Stacey Solomon. Stacey was really nice and so photogenic. She was someone that I was really interested to meet. It was amazing to hear her story of X Factor, and to see how she was such a normal person. The shoot itself was 1940’s oriental style. The set looked fantastic, we borrowed authentic Chinese furniture from a shop in Stoke Newington, and it really gave the image we were looking for.


Set for Stacey Solomon shoot


One of the outfits on the set


Dresses for Stacey


Me with Stacey

On Thursday I went to a couple of press days with Simona. We went to Office first which was in an amazing location. The theme of the press day was that it was a shoe factory. The location was an old factory style building called The Painting Rooms. The walls were covered in paint. The collection itself was really nice as usual from Office. There were lots of vintage inspired shoes, lots of boots with low heels, which I love being tall. We then went to Land’s End which was on the 31st floor of a building in the centre of London. The view out the window was fantastic. The collection was much more fashion forward for Land’s End and there were lots of nice prints and pieces I could see myself wearing.

Thursday evening and I was styling my first test shoot. This is a shoot that I can use in my portfolio, and is great practice for me. I was really lucky to get a great experienced model, and I had a photographer that I know quite well so it was really easy for us to get some great shots. The theme to my shoot was nude colours. I enjoyed styling so much, and it was so good to see the pictures after. I’m really pleased by them I can’t wait to do my next one now!Here is a taster of the shots we did, thy're not retouched yet so they're not perfect!






As we are so busy in the office at the moment I had to work Friday which is usually my day off. We are planning for a 1960’s style shoot on Tuesday, so we spent the day looking for a male model and 1960’s mod style clothes. Later next week I am also assisting on an Underwear as Outerwear shoot. This one will be really interesting as it is being shot in a vintage car.

I planned to have a chilled out weekend this week, but I ended up going out locally on Saturday night. Apart from that it was quite relaxing, I needed some time doing nothing after the busy week I’ve had!

Back to reality...

Back in the office this week, after Cyprus and it started really well. My 'Must Have' Spring Jackets page was published in Monday's paper which I was really happy to see. My next page will be City Shorts so keep a look out for that and I have started calling in Kaftans to shoot next week.

Lindsay and I went to several press days this week. We checked out Dorothy Perkins high summer beach resort day, Lands End, Marks & Spencer, Moda in Pelle and Office.
Moda in Pelle have designed some great shoes for Autumn/Winter as well as their predictable jewel encrusted stilettos, not really my taste but as a favourite of Katie Price there is definitely a market for a bit of bling!
Both Marks & Spencer and Office really impressed me. M&S have some great fashion forward pieces and have picked up on all the main A/W 10 trends. It seems that the days of A Line skirts for your granny are well a truly gone and beautiful soft leather skirts in nude tones as well as fur lined coats are in.


The location of the Office press day was great, it was held in the Painting Rooms in west London and had all the shoes hung from the celling or on a conveyor belt. Not only did it look impressive but the shoes, as always, were great.


Friday morning a rather strange gift arrived for me in the post. Thank you to the PR that sent me the 'Come on England' false eyelashes but I think I'll give them a miss.


That evening I had plans for dinner with some friends at Gaucho so I had to find an outfit that could take me through from a day in the office to dinner and drinks with the girls.
I opted for this:



Dress,Topshop; Leather jacket,Doma; Belt,Banana Republic; Ankle boots,Office; Bag,Angel Jackson.

The rest of my weekend has been surprisingly quiet but a welcome change. My new obsession with the gym is still going strong and was there Saturday and Sunday (am really feeling the pain in all my muscles now though) Then spent the rest of the afternoon reading my favourite Sunday newspaper supplements, Fabulous and Sunday Times Style. Refreshed and ready for my week ahead!

Cyprus...

I finally made it to the sunny shores of Cyprus on Monday. It was so nice to step off of a plane a feel some heat.

We stayed in the beautiful and palatial Savoy hotel where everything looked as though it had been dipped in gold. We shot the first shoot, Kaftans, on the roof terrace of the hotel, where Katie Price and Peter Andre had stayed. The shoot looked fab and was a great start to a week of beautiful photo shoots. I like assisting the stylist I was in Cyprus with, she has a great sense of style and has always believed in my ability, so she really allows me to get involved and give my opinion on putting the outfits together.

The rest of the week we found some more amazing locations. We shot Embellished Swimwear on a beautiful private beach and Tribal on the eroded rocks along the coast line, and finally, Summer Evening Gowns in the ruins of an old Abbey in the gorgeous village of Bellapais.
All us girls on the shoot loved the evening dresses so much that we just had to try them on:


From left- Model; Stylist; Hair & Make up Artist; Me (Stylist Assistant)

I had a great time but it's always nice to come home after a trip. I never really know why everyone can't wait to go abroad and then can't wait to get home by the end but it's so true!

I had a lovely weekend with my boyfriend and friends. Went out on Saturday night and then had a nice girlie lunch on Sunday.

Back in the office on Monday, I'll be working on all the post production of the trip. Editing the shots, typing up the credits for the outfits and returning all the clothes.

Press days, last minute shoots and a great weekend!

Sorry for the late post this week, I have only just had the time to sit down and write it!

Busy as always we have begun prepping for six separate shoots this week!

The week began watching Simona’s friend Natalie run the London Marathon. Although we didn’t actually get to see her running it was a fantastic atmosphere and she did brilliantly! It almost made me want to run it myself, but as I told Simona, I struggle to run up the road! Our VE Day 1940s shoot was in the magazine on Sunday and it looks great, I think my favourite shoot yet!

Monday was a quiet day, I was feeling quite relaxed when Tuesday began with a frantic decision to change our florals shoot from Friday to Wednesday when we saw the awful weather forecast! It was all pulled together at the last minute but it turned out great on the day. I also forgot to take my phone to work on Tuesday, and I have never felt so lost in my life! It was so difficult to find anyone or do anything, just shows how much we rely on technology!

We went to River Island, New Look and Gap press days early on Tuesday morning. It was great as these are the first ones I have had time to go to. The collections were all great. New Look was very vintage inspired and looked really expensive. The had some great dresses in their Limited Collection range, and the fur lined shoes were amazing! River Island had a definite Lady Gaga theme running throughout. It also had a great collection of animal inspired hats! Great for kids, but well see how they take off with adults! Dress-vintage, leggings-Dorothy Perkins, Jacket-Primark, Bag-Warehouse, Socks-Topshop, Shoes-Primark, Sunglasses-Primark

My weekend was exciting, spending it with my friend Kirsty at Uni in Loughborough. We had a great time at FreeFest which was an outdoor festival with bands, rides and lots of cool things to do! If only the weather had been better! Above is my outfit from Sunday which I love. Being there was great but it also highlighted how much I wasn’t to move and have my own independence, so I’m thinking about what my next move on the moving out front will be...

City Shorts, Karaoke and a Sports Luxe shoot!

This week started relatively quietly after a pretty busy weekend. Lindsay and I went to the fashion editor of Smag's birthday bash in Shoreditch last Saturday. Was a great night!

Then an early start on Sunday to watch my friend run the London Marathon. She was amazing and finished in 4 hours 13 minutes, raising over £1500.

This week I shot city shorts for my 'Must Have' shopping page and as predicted I'm planning on buying two pairs. Went to a few press days to check out what New Look, River Island and Gap will have on offer for Autumn/Winter. New Look have some amazing pieces and their shoes in particular were great. Fur lined clogs and a pair of velvet shoes were my favourite.
Gap have designed a range of 'Perfect Trousers' all with a different fit perfect for any body shape. I think a pair of these trousers will definitely be a staple part of my wardrobe come Autumn.

Although, a main part of my wardrobe at the moment seems to be stripes. My newest stripy purchase has been a navy & white thick stripe blazer.

Blazer - Fearne Cotton for Very.com ; Jeggings - ASOS; Lace up wedges - ASOS; Bag - Mulberry; Sunglasses - Ray Ban; Rope necklace - ASOS

This week Faith shoes went into administration, quite sad seeing as they have been around for so long, although I suggest you get down to your nearest store because they are selling all shoes with big discounts and actually have some great summer sandals at the moment.

So Thursday myself and the fashion team went to celebrate one of our beloved post room guy's 50th birthday. Lots of drinks and karaoke was in order and it was such a fun night.


Friday was a big day for me, my first ever main fashion shoot went into the paper. I had a double, centre page spread for the Sports Luxe story I styled. Here is the link so check it out and see what you think http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/features/view/172405/The-look-of-luxe
I wasn't actually in the office on Friday, I had booked a day off and so went shopping with a friend. First stop was a sample sale I had heard about through work, and picked up some amazing designer bargains. A cream Doma leather jacket for only £50 and a pair of grey James Jeans for £10! Bought my first pair of clogs since I was about 10 years old (although a must have for this season) and then the inevitable trip to Topshop as always.

Friday night I went to an 80's bar to celebrate my friend's 25th birthday. So much fun, with constant cheesy 80s hits playing and lots of glow sticks and blow up microphones being passed around all night.

I am finally off to Cyprus tomorrow on the work trip that was postponed due to the volcanic ash cloud. So at 12.50 tomorrow afternoon I'll be flying off to assist on 4 photo shoot. Will fill you in on how it all goes when I return.