Thank you Queens!

Thanks to the wonderful Queen Marie and Queen Michelle at Kingdom of Style for remembering our first birthday.

We love your blog!

In an Absolut world

Just came across this picture and couldn't stop laughing. It's a great thought especially now as I'm getting bigger and slower and looking forward to a drink! Not quite sure that my man would volunteer to give up his figure for a baby...

Fashion Confidential's "It List"

Fashion Confidential, the insider's guide to fashion, featured the Camilla Staerk shoes as part of their Back to Black It List. What's even better is that Fashion Confidential members get free shipping for this week only.

Coffee and a chat with Sheerluxe.com

When I was in London recently I met up with the lovely Laura from Sheerluxe.com for a coffee and chat as part of their Coffee With series. You can read the interview here.

Yet another reason to avoid High Street disposable fashion

Fashionista discussed an article by Lisa Armstrong where she points out that even thrift shops don't want cheap High Street items. Lisa encourages us to thing about the difficulty of recycling all that nylon - something that I've been going on about for a long time. It really is time that we took at stand against unethical fashion and not just from a manufacturing perspective, and focus on quality clothing with a long lifespan.

A celeb with style: Janelle Monae

A fellow blogger and I have been exchanging emails lately about, among lots of other things, how to wear wide legged jeans and trousers. Today I had the ultimate inspiration from these pictures of Janelle Monae. Not only can this girl sing, but she can also dress. It's inspiring how she wears the wide legged trousers and jeans so simply and yet effectively. And the red vintage dress is incredible too. Lovely to see a celeb dressing well for a change!

You too can get this look with the Camilla Staerk Emily blouse, Amanda Wakeley ultra wide leg trousers and Camilla Staerk block boots.

Thanks to JQVintage blog for posting these pictures of Janelle Monae.

Bags of style

It's rather timely that I'm heavily pregnant and Brittique gets its first mention in a pregnancy magazine! And it's LucyJ again. She's been very popular lately, but her designs always are in the lead up to Christmas.

Prima Pregnancy & Baby magazine picked this LucyJ bag as the best baby changing bag calling it a Designer Treat. Personally I would just use it as a colourful bag rather than a baby bag, but it's also perfect for baby. It also comes in bright pink and blue.

In love with a bag, at last

Unlike my friend Jackie, who buys a new handbag a month, I've never been into handbags unless they are really quirky (like the Tata-Naka purse bag), and especially not big name designer handbags. I tend to shun them because they're so overhyped. But then I saw the Chloe Heloise... All is lost. I'm in bag love. I just have to have it. I think it's the combination of being oversized with lovely big straps that can be worn over your shoulder. But the most important thing is the colour. The bold orange is just so wonderful that I want to have it sitting in my wardrobe so I can look at it adoringly and match it will just black for winter.

I'm not sure what my chances of getting one are though. I've been calling the NY store for the past few hours and it constantly rings out. With all the publicity it's getting I'm sure the waiting list is already closed. But maybe I'll get lucky!

Update 30 October: Tried to get the bag in the NYC store but they sold out just two days ago. That's what I get for diddle daddling... Oh well, wasn't meant to be!

Update 1 November: Received a phone call from Chloe and guess what - they had a return. I'm now the proud owner of the above bag. It's so beautiful and bright. Can't wait to wear it out tomorrow!

The New Pink blog picks out purses

It's quite exciting when blogs picks up on Brittique. The New Pink wrote a lovely little piece on these LucyJ vintage coin purses. Not only are they incredibly cute, they also make the perfect Christmas present. There are also matching mirrors.

How to wear my new winter coat

Earlier this year I bagged a bargain at a Fashion Forward sale*. I got the most amazing AW07 padded, belted, floor length Missoni coat in a lovely light grape with very bright lining. At under £200, it really was a bargain, and current season too. Another shopper thew a proper tantrum after repeatedly trying to steal it off my rail so my friend and I had to take turns looking after it until it was safely paid for. I thought it would be perfect for the bitter NYC winters. Little did I know I was going to fall pregnant!

I thought I was going to have to wait another whole season before I could wear it. Then I saw this advertisement in a magazine. What a great idea! The belt of my coat will easily fit over the top of the bump leaving the rest open. The bump might get a little cold, but I'll just wear a really big scarf underneath that can nicely sit under the belt as well. Winter coat problem solved!

*Fashion Forward is a fabulous concept. It's a sample sale but with current season stock. Most other sample sales are past season stock or leftovers that no one else wanted, but Fashion Forward sell off the samples that showrooms' use to sell the next season's collection. For example, the sales being held now are for the Spring/Summer 08 stock. Fabulous!

Tata Naka's Oversized Purse

Big bags have been big news for a few seasons now. While clutches and smaller bags threaten to make a return, big bags are just so practical. How else can you fit in the necessary purse, keys, lip gloss (or full makeup kit), phone, blackberry, notebook, diary, Palm, water bottle etc etc? A small bag just won't do.

This Tata-Naka bag is actually a HUGE oversized purse. It is truly huge but still a practical and perfectly usable everyday bag. I'm in love with the gold studs, easy access clasp and shoulder chain, also the beautiful print lining. People can not help but comment if you walked around with this supersized bag.

Oh where oh where can I wear?

The new Basso & Brooke collection has just come in and I unpacked this little gem. It was love at first sight! The stunning silk optical print in a rainbow of colours, the strapless and yet bust enhancing style and this tulip shape. I want it I want it I want it! It would even work with my 6mth pregnant bump. But unfortunately I have no where to wear such a stunning frock. Maybe if I frequented red carpet events, fancy cocktail parties or even a wedding. Sadly no... But if you do then this is the perfect dress!

PS. Can't you just imagine Carrie Bradshaw strutting down the streets of Manhattan wearing this with silver strappy heels and a killer clutch. Shame no one actually dresses like that in NYC...

Liz Hurley wears Gil Carvalho for Brittique

Shoebunny pointed out this picture of Liz Hurley wearing Gil Carvalho. Liz has long been a fan along with Kylie and J-Lo. Currently we only have very small and very large sizes left of this shoe, so if you're a 3, 4 or 8 you're in luck!

Note: We have actually received a new shipment and now have all sizes from 2-6 plus an 8.

The Piracy Paradox

I cringe and quickly flip the page on those "Save vs Spree" or "Credit vs Cash" pages that many glossys feature. It's not that I'm a designer snob, it's just that I appreciate the design talent and quality that goes into an original garment or accessory and feel incensed at the audacity of some retailers to "seek inspiration" from these items.

My new favorite read, the New Yorker, featured a very interesting article about the Piracy Paradox and the underlying benefit that designers receive from cheap High Street rip offs.

The basic argument is that say Kelly could afford a Stella McCartney polar bear sweater dress but her friend Sally bought the H&M ripoff. They meet up for a girls brunch and both are wearing the sweater dress. Kelly is repulsed by the ripoff and vows never to wear hers again. This means that Kelly will then buy the next designer item to replace the one that she can no longer wear and therefore increase the sale of designer clothes. It continues by saying that Sally could not and would not be able to afford the real dress anyway so the designer is not really losing a customer but still creating customer awareness.

I'm not so sure I agree and that it does actually work like this. What do you think? I find myself avoiding designers who are frequently "copied" and too recognisable anyway. It's best to wear something that doesn't scream "I'm wearing a Stella McCartney dress" and stick this things that make people ask "Wow, that's really unique and the quality is fabulous, where's it from?". Let's keep it individual.

Dove Onslaught

Dove have yet again done a fantastic job of raising awareness of the issues that face women in this world that's obsessed with beauty and perfection - often at the price of individualism. Currently pregnant (and not finding out the sex), I'm actually scared to have a girl because of the pressure she'll undoubtedly face from the media. As I get older I'm learning to be more comfortable with me and hopefully I can lead by example and teach her to express herself and be confident with who she is - I hope we all can.

Debbie Harry wears Tata-Naka for Brittique

80s rock legend Debbie Harry gave a very frank and open interview to the Guardian recently about the price she paid for her attitude.

When Blondie was pictured wearing this Tata-Naka horse shoe ring it caused quite a stir. We sold out in minutes and had to reorder. The rings are now available and will be delivered in about 2-3 weeks.

Look magazine click 'n shop

British shopping magazine Look featured LucyJ's lovely little coin purses on it's click 'n shop page. They make the perfect little Christmas present and sold out last year so get organised and get yours fast!