My prize handbag

I arrived back to my office after lunch last week to find an email from the marketing team at Max Azria congratulating me on winning a handbag. Yesterday my new Mahogany Jillian Convertible arrived and it is beautiful. The leather is so supple and soft and the fold over style is exactly what I've had my eye on. It's a bit smaller than I normally go for, but a great size to throw over your shoulder and out the door with the necessities.

How I won this prize or even entered it I have no idea. I probably signed up for a competition on the website while lusting over some dress. I have spoken before about my love for this brand. The focus is on a muted colour palette with draped styles and soft fabrics. The dresses hang beautifully and the styles are very flattering. The ladies in their West Broadway, NYC store are so lovely that they entertain my little man while I shop - such a bonus!

Max Azria is a collaboration between Max and Lubov Azria and debuted on the New York Fashion Week catwalk in February 2006. The only stockist in Europe is in Paris but that seems to be their diffusion brand BCBGMAXAZARIA. So next time you're state side squeeze the West Broadway boutique in on your itinerary.

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Bionda Castana best new designer by Vogue Italia

Bionda Castana cofounder Natalia with Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani

Congratulations to Bionda Castana for winning the accessories award for the best new talent at the Vogue Italia "Who is On Next?" 2008. This award helped put Nicholas Kirkwood on the map after being awarded last year's prize.

We just received these sensational gladiator sandals from Bionda Castana. We only have really limited stock but email us to go on the wait list.

Casual style in the Guardian magazine

How lovely is this shoot from last weekend's Guardian magazine? Maybe lovely isn't the right word; inspired, natural, uncontrived? I just love the bare feet. I wonder if that was intentional or if they just didn't call in enough shoes for the shoot? Regardless, I think it's fresh.

Featured in the shoot is the H Chalayan printed tank top and Louise Amstrup scarf. The scarf sold out in minutes and we have a wait list in the off chance that we can get more.

I won the Peckham Rye scarf!

Remember this lovely scarf that Fashion156.com had up for grabs? I won the ebay auction. The 100% pure silk scarf arrived yesterday and I was not disappointed. The guys from Peckham Rye have done a beautiful job with the hand painting.

Love love love it. The best part is that the proceeds from the auction go to Acorn to Oak Children's Trust.

Source: Fashion156.com

Rihanna wears Emma Cook

Image from Batchplease.com

American signer Rihanna was spotted grocery shopping wearing the Emma Cook jumpsuit (Brittique.com, £245). This is one of my top 5 pieces from the entire SS08 collection available on Brittique and I personally have it. Not only is it comfortable but I think it looks good. It would look better with some casual flip flops though rather than towering heels. But some women can't walk in flats anymore! The perfect cure for that, pregnancy as I discovered.

Wedding frocks

In years gone by I loved to collect my mail each day and would feel anxious if I missed a day. But now it's just bills, bills and junk mail. So my mail sits in the mailbox until it spews out and the postman can't stick anymore through the slot.

So what a lovely surprise it was to receive a wedding invitation for a late August wedding in Hampshire, UK. Another friend who is tying the knot in November said she's not inviting anyone except close family because most people groan when they have to attend a wedding. But I do love weddings, not the ceremony admittedly, but seeing who else has been invited, eating, drinking, dancing then staying at a cheap hotel nearby. Most of all I love to dress up.

Nowadays we have so few reasons to dress up, well speaking for myself of course. I don't go to great cocktail parties or gala events so a wedding is the only opportunity I have to really go all out. So the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the invite was "what will I wear?". The invite says Morning Suit optional. That's fine for the boys, but what about us girls? What does it mean?

I think the chocolate dress by Kirribilla should be suitable. I'd wear it with my pointy snakeskin stilettos and a big, bold, gold bangle and perhaps my hair up.

What about this Basso & Brooke frock? Perhaps it's a little to "cocktail"? I have loved it since the day I saw it and really need a good excuse to wear it.

Another option is this Tata Naka dress. It might be a good choice considering how unpredictable a British summer wedding can be.

Nothing to say

I know it's been a long time but, simply, I've had nothing to say. Perhaps it's the constant juggling of an active infant with business and my life that has drained me of all inspiration? Perhaps it's the constant haze of sleep depravation (no, he's not sleeping though). I'm certainly not complaining, life has been great I've just had nothing worthwhile to add.

Often I read Sister Wolf, Susie Bubble and Liberty London Girl and wonder where they find the inspiration to come up with so much new material. (LLG has resigned from blogsphere for the time being with her excessive workload.)



So what have I been doing? I won't bore you with talk of mother's groups, playdates and baby news. Fashion-wise I have been VERY busy. All the new SS08 stock for Brittique.com has arrived and is, mostly, up on the site. I'm still working through the new arrivals from Hussein Chalayan and Peter Jensen, but they'll be up soon too. My fav dress from these collections is the Hussein Chalayan yellow zip dress in the pic above. This is perfect for strolling around the parks of New York City on a steamy hot day.

Also filling out my wardrobe are a number of Marni dresses sourced on ebay. I've developed quite a habit and constantly scan the auctions for genuine and cheap dresses. Her flouncy, blousey style suit me and feel so right.


So when I'm not buying Marni dresses on ebay I'm buying Marni-esque vintage items on ebay. The above cotton jacket/shirt is a recent purchase. I need a great bubble style skirt and some large beads and I'm set!

Having just started the blogging process again I'm feeling inspired. So more from me again soon. Happy SW??

Elle magazine loves our blog!

Brittique and our blog just featured in the latest Elle UK. They said you should visit our blog for tip-offs on designers and collaborations. I really need to lift my game and blog more often if we get that sort of publicity. I feel bad that I've been AWOL for so long. No more, I promise. I've got so much to write about. Thanks Elle!

Back to it after a long break

Well it's kind of been a break. I have been working away in the background as and when my new little man allows me. Behind the scenes here at Brittique we were kept busy by London Fashion Week, London Fashion Weekend and now the arrival of all the new spring/summer 08 collections. Here we are out and about at the Tribeca Film Festival that's running this week. I'm wearing a fabulous vintage dress bought from ebay.

During London Fashion Week Susie Bubble did an incredible job of selecting some real treats for AW08. I can't wait to show you some previews in the coming weeks. She was able to pin point exactly what the core Brittique customers love and I know her selections will be snapped up come September when they arrive online.

Here in New York the weather has been perfect - 25C days with a slight cool breeze. It means that I'm having to think about my own summer wardrobe. I am one of those people who pack away the winter woollies and plan what I'll be wearing. I then take pictures of my key outfits and stick them on the back of my wardrobe door. It helps me keep organised - something of particular importance now that I have even less time.

With my baby came a change in body shape. I've had to kiss goodbye my small waist (hopefully this is temporary) and embrace a more flowing style of dressing. Thankfully my personal shopping from Brittique hasn't been too hard. I'm just lusting after everything from Emma Cook. These drop waisted, striped denim pinafores will be perfect for this tween season over a little tee and then without as it gets warmer. The cotton voile blouse is stunning too and will hide the last of the baby blub.

We have had new arrivals from Louise Amstrup, Gil Carvalho, Aei:Kei and Peter Jensen. Now to find some time to get them all up on the site!

Fashion star of the future

Brittique.com and Fashion156.com were overwhelmed with the high quality of applicants for our Fashion Star of the Future competition. Help us select the winner and have your say here.

Monochrome Majesty

The stunning Fiocco Di Neve dress by Kirribilla was featured in Northern Woman magazine this month. While I'm a huge fan of colour, it always amazes me to see how stunning and effective simple black and white can look. And so easy to accessorise.

Cooperative Designs makes a darkly comic debut

Our newest designers from Cooperative Designs are featured by Vogue.com today. Cooperative Designs makes a darkly comic debut Vogue.com. I was so excited when I saw their new season collection with the Aztec inspired knits and it seems I'm not the only one. A certain model of the moment has preordered one of the more wacky pieces. I wonder who that could be??? I'm sure we'll see pictures of her wearing it in the coming months.

Quirky knits from Cooperative Designs

As soon as I saw Cooperative Designs in fashion156.com I just wanted to stock them on Brittique.com. This month the design duo have been featured in both Grazia and Amour Magazine. Each garment is handmade and as a knitter myself I can appreciate the work that goes into each stitch. Already I can't wait to stock the AW08 collection that features a range of knitted sweater dresses with Aztec inspired designs. It's truly original!

The summer collection is available on Brittique.com now.

Simply Fabulous!

We teamed up with Fabulous Magazine from News of the World to give their readers and exclusive 75% off these Gil Carvalho shoes. We were overwhelmed with the response and sold out within minutes - and late on a Sunday night. As a consulation prize we are giving readers another special gift so check out Fabulous for details.