CLUB TROPICANA

Finally we've had some tropical weather in the UK, so now is the perfect time to embrace SS12's trend for hothouse exotic prints in your wardrobe. As seen in the Marc by Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney and Altuzarra SS12 collections, blossom and palm prints in a myriad of vibrant hues are a quick way to update your wardrobe for the sunshine. Here's my pick of the best pieces available online now:

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Havana print dress, net-a-porter.com, £277.50.
2. Field Trip sandals, ASOS, £16.00.
3. MSGM Shirt dress, Farfetch.com, £314.
4. Proenza Schouler printed PS1 clutch, net-a-porter.com, £493.50.
5. French Connection Gwendoline top, John Lewis, £44.
6. Tropical running shorts, Topshop, £28.00.

PRABAL GURUNG'S RESORT 2013 COLLECTION

If I could chose to be a muse for one fashion designer right now, it would be Prabal Gurung. Unfortunately for me, Gurung currently favours dressing Zoe Saldana, but hey, a girl can dream. Prabal's Resort 2013 Collection (pre-SS13 collection in other words, yikes where does time go?) went up on Style.com last week, and all I can say is wow.

The collection was inspired by the Canadian artist Aaron Moran, famed for making art out of reclaimed wood, and the beauty Gurung finds in the decaying rubbish in the streets of India and Nepal, where he spent his childhood. What this has lead to is a gorgeous collection for a very cool girl in architectural shapes and bold shades of aquamarine, tomato red, canary yellow and monochrome. Gurung's signature futuristic silk-blend fabrics and digitally-enhanced prints all have that fresh appeal that are perfect for a modern girl. Oh and his cute mini dresses have pockets, which make them absolute winners in my eyes! I want it all..

Image source: Style.com

HAVE YOU VISITED THE REVAMPED STYLISTPICK YET?

Have you visited the new look Stylistpick website yet? The online fashion accessories destination had a bit of re-style (so to speak, ahem) last month and I have to say, I'm loving the new user-friendly site.

As well as a new look, Stylistpick have also altered the shopping process, so now anyone can shop the site without having to sign up to the membership service. The lovely folk at Stylistpick have also introduced new lower price-points too, so that now you can indulge in a mid-month pick me up, such as the Luella yellow clutch bag, for just £20. I have to say I think Stylistpick are really excelling with their range of totes at the moment. I have an addiction to handbags as it is and Stylistpick have a great range of affordable styles in structured shapes that are great for the 9-5. Here's my favs:

1. Saskia satchel, £35.00.
2. Leona twin pocket satchel, £40.00.
3. Prudence handbag, £35.00.
4. Luella oversize clutch, £20.00.
5. Janey holdall, £40.00.
6. Maddison colour block bag, £40.00.

PRIMARK'S AW12 COLLECTION

Primark's AW12 campaign is doing the rounds on the internet at the moment, and there's no denying the collection is looking good. There's a definite retro theme to the brand's AW12 range, with plenty of 60s and 70s references and a Patti Boyd-alike model. Knitwear take centre stage, from polo neck through to cable, dogstooth and waffle knits. Shapes are long and lean with pencil skirts and tailored trousers contrasting against the chunky knits. Top of my wishlist are neon pink v-neck knit, bright teal lace-print pencil skirt and the brocade ankle grazing trousers, key pieces that will update my wardrobe come the new season.

What are your thoughts on the collection? Will you be heading to Primark for you AW fashion-fix?
See the full collection at on Look.com.

LFF SHOPS THE SS12 SALES

The summer sales are well and truly underway, and there are some great bargains to be had both online and instore that will see you through summer and into AW12. If you have got your eye on something in a store that hasn't started their sale yet, my advice is to wait it out a couple of weeks as there are plenty more sales to come and there's nothing more annoying than shelling out for something lovely then finding it's been discounted the next day!

As you can see, there's a bit of navy and green theme going on with my sale picks because 1., I've seen lots of green in the AW12 collections and  2., navy is one of those great colours that works equally well in summer and winter; go nautical for SS and style it with rich autumnal tones for AW.

1. Tweed pleated dress, Jaeger, was £299.00 now £149.00.
2. NW3 leaf earrings, Hobbs, was £35.00 now £24.00.
3. NW3 Kisses blouse, Hobbs, was £79.00 now £59.00.
4. NW3 Parliament shirt dress, Hobbs, was £159.00 now £79.00.
5. Navy colour block platforms, Dorothy Perkins, was £42.00 now £25.00.
6. Bali Geo Trouser, Warehouse, was £45 now £25.00.
7. Werdie Marc by Marc Jacobs Canvas Tote Bag, Matches, was £200.00 now £140.00.
8. Navy square heel sandal, Dorothy Perkins, was £30.00 now £20.00.

THE BEST OF GRADUATE FASHION WEEK 2012

Browsing the university stands at Graduate Fashion Week is so much fun, I like to scour the stands and pretend I'm a fashion buyer looking for the next big thing, at the same time compiling a mental list of all the collections I'd love to have in my personal wardrobe.

Metallics emerged as a key trend in 2012 graduate collections; my favourite example being Leeds College of Art student Hannah Wakeford's sequin-embellished structural aqua blue leather jacket. Hannah's collection also included pretty delicate sequin prints and a great teal jacket with an embellished collar.

Hannah Wakeford's metallic leather jacket

Hannah Wakeford

Another stand where I spied several gilded collections belonged to Colchester School of Art. Here my eye was caught by Sophie Alice Brown's futuristic collection in mesh and leather fabrics in a colour palette of bronze, silver and yellow gold. There was a fabulous pair of gunmental cropped pants that I'd love a pair of!

Sophie Alice Brown

My stand-out collection of the event had to go to Colchester's Becky Alexander, who presented a psychedelic collection of seperates inspired by the unusual combination of the 1960s and a Christina Rossetti poem. As both a textiles and fashion student, Becky had made all the fabrics herself, giving vintage prints a modern twist with pops of flourescent colour.

Becky Alexander

Becky Alexander

Natalie also picked out this candy-coloured suede studded dress from Amber Aves that had plenty of commercial appeal, love the contrast between the hard studs and soft suede.

Amber Aves

Unfortunately I couldn't find the name of the graduate from Cleveland College of Art and Design who made this distressed denim prom dress with studded shoulders and mesh underlay, on paper it shouldn't really work but in reality it looked fresh and modern.

Cleveland College of Art and Design

I also couldn't find the name of the designer of the below abstract geometric print shirt dress that was displayed on the central George of Asda stand, please claim it if it was you! I loved the intricate geo print snaking over the shirt right up to the collar. The organic-shaped agate pendants accessorised the look beautifully and are bang-on-trend for AW12 (Karl Lagerfeld showed a plethora of gemstones including agate, quartz, amethyst jewellery on the Chanel catwalk).

Emma Rodgers from Carmarnthenshire College's print-based collection looked current and relevant for 2012. I could imagine a number of A-listers modelling her dress shiftdress with train and cutaway waist detail. The painterly prints in a colour palette of autumnal hues were really very beautiful, the overall effect was naturistic, they reminded me a little bit of Alexander McQueen's Origin of the Species collection.

Emma Rodgers

The final graduate I wanted to mention was Ashley Kearns, although I'm not sure which uni she is from (sorry for the shoddy journalism, I was rather over-excited as you may gather). Ashley's  silk dresses printed with hand painted blooms and birds very prim and pretty, I'd rather like to own this dress too!

Ashley Kearns

There's some amazing talent coming out of Britain's universities, don't you think? Which graduates are you liking?

GRADUATE FASHION WEEK 2012: NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY SHOW

Yesterday I headed to Graduate Fashion Week to watch the Nottingham Trent University show. A good indicator of the buzz surrounding a uni's graduates at GFW is the crowd, and the Nottingham Trent show was packed to rafters with buyers and the fashion press including Grazia's Melanie Rickey on the FROW. I took my seat next to my fashion writer pal Natalie Dawson from WWB, who helpfully swapped notes with me during the show! One of Nottingham Trent Uni's specialist areas is knitwear, and the show proved to be showcase of some skillful work translated into fashionable, covetable collections. Here's my highlights from the Nottingham Trent grads...

Fashion is having a love affair with prints at the moment, and Dae Byn Lee's collection combined bold painterly prints with interesting structure in her collection. Natalie commented that the collection had a bit of the Basso and Brooke about it and she's 100% correct, don't you think?

Dae Byn Lee's painterly prints

The packed crowd 

Dae Byn Lee

My favourite collection of the show belonged to Tamsin Lakhani who showed the finest  of knits in rainbow colours that had a touch of the Missoni about them. Her striped knits in lean shapes elegantly skimmed the form and had a luxurious appeal.

From L-R: Elizabeth Daniell, Orla Emerson-Creak, Tamsin Lakhani.



Other collections that caught my eye included Elizabeth Daniell's bold graphic prints that had commercial appeal-aplenty and Orla Emerson Creak's intricate knitted seperates that reworked the 1960s mod look for the noughties girl.

Florence Bridge

The highlight of the show surely had to be Florence Bridge's glamourous resort wear in purple digital prints; the diaphanous maxi dress above floated down the runway and took my breath away.

The fabulous catwalk was followed by an equally fabulous after show party with free flowing champagne and an appearance from Made in Chelsea boys Jamie and Francis (it would have been rude not to ask for a photo).

What are your thoughts on the Nottingham Trent catwalk? I'd love to know your favourite looks as always...

PREVIEW THE WHISTLES AW12 LOOKBOOK

Remember my blogpost way back in April covering the Whistles AW12 press day? Well, if you liked what you saw in original blog, then you're sure to love the Whistles lookbook to accompany the collection. You're probably bored of me cooing over them by now, but in my opinion no high street brand can compete with Whistles in the lookbook stakes. The styling, mood and product always delivers.

With a pared-down and minimalistic feel, the AW12 lookbook has a super-luxurious mood. There's plenty of black, lashings of leather and tactile texture throughout. Everything is kept simple with the focus on the clothing; minimal jewellery and accessories are complemented by a low centre-parted ponytail sported by the campaign model. My favourite looks are the cute cropped parkas and duffel coats styled with tweed and lace mini dresses that are reminscent of J.Crew's now-signature quirky styling.  

Which are your favourite looks from the collection? And will you be buying into the Whistles AW12 range? I'd love to know your thoughts.

FASHION TIPS FROM THE STYLE QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Happy Diamond Jubilee to all La fashion folie readers! Whilst I wouldn't describe myself as royalist, I am a HUGE fan of the Queen, so to celebrate her 60 years on the throne I've put together a blog post picking out the style cues we could all take from Ma'am:

1. Block your colours

Long before Vogue was telling us to block our colours and colour co-ordinate our accessories with our outfits, the Queen was boldly embracing the rainbow and blocking here brights. As the Queen knows, head-to-toe colour makes the boldest impact, so be brave and embrace one colour for a style statement.

2. Accessorize with a hat

It's a sad fact that millinery is not the widely art that it once was. The Queen is rarely seen without a wide brimmed hat, chicly colour co-ordinated with her different outfits. Not only do hats frame the face, they also hark back to a romantic bygone era when dressing to impress was a way of life.

3. Develop a signature style

No-one dresses like the Queen, she is an individual with a truly unique sense of style. Trends pass her by, she know what suits her and what she feels comfortable in and stays true to her own fashion sense. Now that's the real markings of a true style Queen.