Black White Denim

One of the things that I have loved the most about getting into blogging and social media is the fact that I have met some really lovely people, who I never would have met in real life. Four such ladies are Kate, Selina, Philippa and Jo. We all 'met' on Twitter over a shared love of fashion. And last year we all met in real life for the first time, together with the fabulous Penny, for a tweet up in Wilmslow. Why Wilmslow I here you ask? Well one of the reasons is that Jo owns an amazing boutique there called Black White Denim. The boutique takes those three words as part of its core aesthetic, and throws in a splash of colour to mix things up a little bit for those who don't want to live life solely in monochrome.

Maison Scotch sweatshirt - £90

etre cecile sweatshirt, £110

This weekend I travelled up to Wilmslow to stay with one of my best friends who I have known since we met as Freshers in Liverpool many years ago. As if staying with her and her lovely family wasn't fun enough, I rounded off the weekend with another Wilmslow tweet-up with my Black White Denim ladies. Sadly, Penny couldn't join us this time.

Zoe Karssen sweatshirt , 2nd Day leather t-shirt

First stop was of course the boutique on Alderley Road. Jo has amazing taste and this is reflected in the brilliant edit of established and newer labels instore: J Brand; Bella Freud; Avelon; etre cecile, and Maison Scotch to name just a few. I could quite easily have snapped up all of the stock instore (a girl can dream!) but here is a selection of my favourite pieces.

5 Preview sweatshirts

Don't worry if you don't live in the North-West though, as the store has a fabulous website where you can get your hands on Jo's brilliant edit of clothes, which always succeeds in being both on-trend every season, and offering key pieces which you will be loving for seasons to come.

While we were there Jo let us choose a piece from her brand new range of jersey basics, named after the store. I love the concept behind the range, so will post about it in a separate blog post.

8 of the best: Breton tops

When it comes to classic fail-safe fashion pieces, you can't go wrong with a Breton stripe top. Breton stripe tops have been a style staple ever since Coco Chanel first made them fashionable. They are really versatile and can be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion. They have become a bit of a go-to piece for me, which I often pair with a statement necklace to give a different feel to the look.

I have been looking to add some more to my closet, so thought that I'd share some of my finds. Although I tend to opt for the classic navy and white breton tops, I couldn't resist the Maison Scotch neon pink stripe for Summer. I really like the tops which have opted for a twist on the usual look, e.g. the Maison Scotch colourblock top or the Boutique by Jaeger Breton with broderie anglaise inserts.

Clockwise from top left: 5Preview - £85 ; Whistles - £55 ; Boutique by Jaeger with broderie anglaise inserts - £40 ; Gap black and mint stripe - £13.99

Clockwise from top left: Maison Scotch neon pink stripe - £39 ; Maison Scotch colourblock - £55 ; Saint James - £55 ; Chinti and Parker organic cotton - £85

What pieces are your  fail-safe items that you know you can always rely on?

Bottega: The Clothes

 

After having such a fantastic time at 'Take Me to Funky Town' the previous evening, I could have been at risk of a fashion comedown the next day. However, I needn't have worried, as there was plenty of style inspiration to be had within the four walls of 'Bottega'. I was very excited about paying a visit to the store ,as although I regularly chat to Sam (the owner) on Twitter, I had never visited the store before. Indeed, I hadn't actually met Sam in person before she invited me to 'Take Me to Funky Town'! . I have bought a few pieces over the phone from there, and I always get really positive comments about them ('Maison Scotch' blazer; 'One Teaspoon' velvet 'cardigan' and 'One Teaspoon' leopard print jumper). I had had a brief glimpse of the store when I arrived the previous day - before rushing off to Bolesworth Castle - but I couldn't wait to be able to have a proper look at all the style and homeware loveliness inside.

'Bottega' is on the high street in Tarporley, Cheshire (number 67 to be precise!). The store is like an Aladdin's Cave of style inspiration. Everywhere I looked there were fantastic pieces.  One of the great things about the store is that it has a real mix of both familiar and unknown (to me at least) brands. It is an eclectic mix, but it all works together perfectly. Sam and Alicia (the store's buyer) go out of their way to make sure that they offer something new for their customers every season, in order to keep the store's edit fresh., e.g. this season they have introduced 'Elizabeth and James'. In addition to the clothing, 'Bottega' also sells homeware and gifts. And if that was't enough, it also has a fantastic cafe at the back of the store, 'The Birdcage'- the perfect place to have a catchup and discuss your all important purchases. I took a lot of photos of the store, so to avoid this post being too picture-heavy, I will write about the homeware and cafe in my next post.

I love how Sam frames the clothing. I would love to do this with my wardrobe - if only I had the space and such fabulous clothing!

This outfit (Dress - Elizabeth and James; Blazer - Elizabeth and James; Wedges - Terry De Havilland) caused a real stir at the salon presentation the night before.

In addition to meeting Sam for the first time, my trip to Cheshire also meant that I got to meet the lovely Selina, who I had only 'spoken' to on Twitter. We met at 'Take Me to Funky Town' the previous evening, and we both chatted about how we couldn't wait to see the store the next day. After a catchup in the cafe we decide to explore all the temptation that 'Bottega' had to offer.

Love this top from Belgian brand ' Essentiel' - great combination of colours. I hadn't come across the brand before.

'Bottega' also stock a carefully selected edit of vintage pieces. How beautiful is this shawl? I love everything about it - the mix of colours; the pattern; the dip dyed fringing.

 

Unusually for me, I was quite restrained, and I only bought an American Retro shirt and a friendship bracelet. Although 'Bottega' hasn't got an online store, they do accept telephone orders (01829 733355. I am still thinking about a number of the pieces I saw, so I think I might have to put an order in soon. If you are ever in the Cheshire area, then you must visit 'Bottega'. You won't regret it!

My Red Magazine Photo Shoot: The Clothes - Part II

So, as promised, here are the rest of the photos of the clothes that Sam from Bottega sent me to try for my Red magazine photo shoot. I was spoilt for choice for a top, as she sent me a range of tops which covered a lot of different looks. There was a really cute 'Maison Scotch' breton stripe top (with a twist); a super-soft 'Zoe Tees' red t-shirt; a glam 'American Retro' gold lurex batwing jumper; a lovely drapey 'Olivia Rubin' t-shirt, and a beautiful black silk star-print top by 'Des Petits Hauts'.

Sam also sent me a quirky Tatty Devine ''Aarrghhhhh' necklace and a Maison Scotch star-print boiled wool scarf to accessorise up my outfit of choice. I would love to know which are your favourite pieces. I know that I found it VERY difficult to choose!:

numph 'Aladdin' skinny jeans - zip detail on back pocket and ankle

'numph' grey skinny 'Lula' jeans - love the bow detail on  the back pocket

MiH New York bootcut jeans

Des Petits Hauts black silk top with white stars

Maison Scotch star-print scarf

Tatty Devine 'Aarrghhhhh' perspex necklace

American Retro Gold Lurex jumper

Olivia Rubin Brick print top

Zoe Tees Boyfriend T-Shirt

Maison Scotch Breton stripe top

My Red Magazine Photo Shoot: The Clothes - Part I

Last month I was part of a photo shoot for Red magazine. They had put a call out on Twitter for people to test detox diets. I tested the 4-day 'My Detox Diet' package which consisted of 4 days worth of specially balanced meals, which were designed to detox the body and help lose weight.

The magazine organised for a photographer to come down to Cardiff to take my photo for the magazine. If you know me at all, then you will know that I am not a big fan of having my photo taken and will generally try and hide at the back of any group photos that I am in. Therefore my friends thought that it was hilarious that I had volunteered myself to be part of a photo shoot.

I only had 6 days notice of the shoot, and was told that I'd have to style my self. This induced a bit of a "I've got nothing to wear" style crisis on my part and I sought advice from some of my favourite ladies on Twitter: Sam_Bottega, Donna Ida, and Penny. As three very stylish ladies who have been in a fair few photo shoots themselves, I knew that they would have plenty of sound advice. However, I was blown away, when Sam offered to lend me some pieces after we'd had a style consultation via a stream of Twitter DMs!

I was eagerly anticipating the delivery of the items to my office, but was ecstatic when the parcel arrived, and I discovered that not only had Sam sent me 4 jackets, 3 pairs of jeans, 4 tops, and a variety of accessories to style up the outfits, but she had also given me 2 sides of A4 of styling notes to help with outfit options. A fashion Fairy Godmother, if ever there was one!

Maison Scotch Tuxedo Jacket

Maison Scotch 'Chanel-style' Jacket

One Teaspoon Velvet Blazer

American Retro Corduroy Blazer

Sam sent me a great selection from a range of brands that she stocks in her boutique, Bottega, in Tarporley, Cheshire, which was recently selected as one of the Top 50 Boutiques outside London, by Stella magazine. I won't reveal which outfit I settled on for the shoot (to be blogged about in a future post), but I wanted to show the pieces that Sam sent me, as I loved them all, and it was great to discover some brands that were new to me. I didn't want this post to be too picture-heavy, so I am going to post the photos over two posts.