Bye bye London

I'm shooting in London today and as of tomorrow I will be taking a WIT holiday to get my head down, finish work, move house and get married! But don't worry, I will be back end of June with more WIT outfits and maybe a little snap of my wedding gown a bit earlier..

Lots if love to all of you and see you soon,
Laura x

Je suis encore a Paris ...

Wearing stripes In Paris again at a very famous designer's studio for a secret shoot I'm doing for the September issue... Watch this space!

My take on the 50's look

I've been working on A/W issues last week and I've had to accept a reality: as unflattering as they can be, midi skirts are back and everywhere. So I thought I would give it a try with my Nicole Farhi floral midi length dress and retro pic taken with my iPhone. With midi's the secret is in the heel: unless you are really tall always wear a heel to elongate your legs and add a modern bag/accessory to keep it modern.

Nicole Farhi dress, Marni shoes, MMJ sunglasses, YSL bag, Miu Miu leather jacket

1, 2, 3. Baby steps towards colour

This summer is all about colour, but this is easier said than done. So here are three really easy way to inject colour into your wardrobe for all of you to try. First of all work out  a colour palette that suits your skin tone, then buy separates and accessorize to complement this.  I bet even the most colour sceptic of you will be able to rock one of my simple outfits:

1- Wear with denim! it's easy, it's casual and you can't go wrong with it.

2- Accessorize! Even if black is the only colour you wear, next time you shop look out for a colorful necklace, bangle or even a watch strap. Wear with black if it makes you feel safer.

3- Neutralise it! Tone down a bright colour dress, trousers or skirt with a neutral jacket, jumper or top.

And if you really can't do any of the above I have one last trick up my sleeve...

Do it with beauty! Paint your toes bright pink or wear a tangerine lipstick.

 

Good colours for..

BLONDES: reds, greens, pinks.

BRUNETTES: oranges, blues, yellows, light pinks.

RED HAIRED: greens, reds, purples.

Golden days

How I love trench season! 

Today I've taken out my special Burberry golden mac to visit a dear friend that loves a bit of Bling. She knows who she is ;-) If you have a gold or a metallic coat team it with classic staples, denim and flat shoes to give it a modern casual spin and avoid the OTT look.

Two pictures today because I couldn't tell if you could tell it's gold!

Burberry trench, Cos dress, Joseph belt, YSL bag, Zara ballerinas

Wit Wedding Wednesday: Little black book of a fashion editor bride

This month's Red magazine sees one of my favorite pages so far: my Little Black Book of a fashion editor bride. Here are some of my favourite fashion things, beauty treatments and sources of inspiration. I've also added an extra section for all my special WIT brides.  

Over night trip toParis

Going to Paris for one night on a press trip and a well organised wardrobe is essential. I'm travelling by Eurostar in the morning, meeting pr's in Paris for some shopping time, then cocktails, dinner, catwalk show and party. The key for me is to travel comfortably, look the part and bring only essentials, so here are my tips:

Luggage: 

1. One small stylish trolley- mine is from Anya and I love it, worth investing in.
2. One large holdall- mine is from Jimmy Choo and sits perfectly on top of my trolley.
3. One smaller bag that can work as a day or an evening clutch- mine is from Chanel and works worn across the body in the day, then I tuck in the chain and use it as a clutch bag in the evening.

Clothes:

1. Lingerie (I have a great linen bag with zip that says Clean on one side and Dirty on the other)
2. Day shoes (flats)
3. Evening shoes (black heels- comfortable as you may well not get a cab in Paris)
4. Evening LBD
5. Extra t-shirt for next day travel
6. Great travel outfit: jeans, flats, t-shirt, trench, sunnies.

Hair and Make up case and in your hand bag...

 ET VOILA!

Back in stock!

 

My navy lace Mago skirt is back in stock, so I thought I would let you know and wear it today. Here's a few tips on what to wear it with:

1. Flats and a gray marl t-shirt give it a perfect casual chic everyday look
2. Team with stripes or polka dots for a quirky look
3. Add heels, white t-shirt and a statement necklace for date night look
4. Wear with blouse and blazer for smart work look
5. Keep it in winter too: wear with navy opaques and soft cashmere roll neck jumper

Mango skirt £49 click HERE

Mango skirt, Joseph t-shirt, Zara flats

1 dress 3 ways

I often like to buy little bits of next seasons' items and then pile them up throughout the winter, so when Summer comes I have a stash of surprises. This handy dress I bought in Top Shop back in February that I'm proudly sporting today (first time this year with no tights), and here's 3 ways to work if from am to pm:

1. Morning at your desk: flats and a big work bag
2. Work lunch: throw over a trench and pop on your sunnies
3. Evening cocktails: accessorize with a necklace and add a pair of heels

(Sorry for the late update- apparently Blogger was on strike today and everything was down)

This works

If you are looking for chic denim, would like a pair of jeans that go from work to week-end and want to seriously elongate you legs (works on me, and I'm tiny), flared jeans are the answer to all of your question. WIT isn't usually big on celebrity fashion, but I have to make an exception this time because every time I see Claudia Schiffer's MIH Marrakesh's  look I find her so effortlessly chic and inspirational. 

To shop the MIH Marrakesh jean CLICK HERE

Also check out the video that myself and the Red fashion team filmed for this month's 

"Can I wear this?"

Wit Wedding Wednesday: guest dress code

I've received many emails and tweets asking me when I was going to do a WIT Wedding Wednesday about what to wear at weddings. I've had to be very mysterious...but girls, I was up to something!

I was waiting for the June issue of Red to hit the stands with my hoot on just that! Here is a little peek behind the scenes of the shoot I did back in February, lots of ideas and fabulous dresses to wear as a guest at your next wedding.

Play the video below

And here's some backstage action: moodboards, rails of gowns, a sea of shoes and hair and make up being done...

Summer wedding do's :

Go for something floral

Wear long with jeweled flats

Throw a trench over your shoulders

A modern alternative to the fascinator is a trilby hat with gros grain ribbon

Wear bright lipstick and matching toes

Ditch the pashmina and belt a cropped angora cardigan

Opt for soft neutral palettes

Wear a flower in your hair

Choose an oversize or envelope clutch

Black tie wedding? Wear a t-shirt with a ballgown skirt

Stay away from black.. or white!

See the full story and all my "Dress Code" help pages in the June issue of RED magazine

A recent buy

 

I know I know... I wear a lot of stripes. What can i say, I love a this versatile classic that goes with everything. So today I want to share the love for a recent find and alternative to the stripty t-shirt: the knitted stripy cotton sweater.  Mine is from Jigsaw and comes in navy and also in red.  

Click HERE for Jigsaw top £69.00

Jigsaw top, YSL trousers, Marni shoes and Jimmy Choo bag

Tempted in the shops..

The sun was shining in London today and I have a lovely day off with my friends shopping on Oxford Street. I was very tempted by a few items, but stuck to my role of personal stylist to my friends and didn't buy anything... even though I had to trying is allowed! Look out for some great shoes and hats in New Look and fabulous flats in River Island.

(After many emails from you wondering about these sandals here is a link to buy them online www.riverisland.com)

  

Gap tshirt, Top Shop denim blazer, YSL trousers, RB ballerinas

Fool proof outfit

Ever have one of those days where you just don't know what to wear? This morning I had about 5 seconds to decide what I was going to wear and resourced to my repertoire of fool proof outfits, those ensembles that always look good no matter what. Jeans, Breton top, blazer and a small heel is one of them. A mix of classic with a french twist that always does the job. 

Jigsaw top, Balenciaga blazer, Current Elliott jeans, Jimmy Choo shoes, Mulberry bag, MMJ sunglasses

Red stride

Red trousers are my latest passion, It's an easy way to inject a bit of colour to your outfit. I keep it simple with a grey marl t-shirt and a classic trench. I also love some of the red-pant tribe on the Sartorialsist blog: cropped, leather, denim or wide they always make a statement. Mine are from Zara but I found a pair from dorothy Perkins at only £17.00

Banana Republic trench, American Apparel t-shirt, Zara trousers, Christian Louboutin shoes, Mulberry bag

Dorothy Perkins trousers £17

Also, new RED out this week!

Wit Wedding Wednesday: pre-wedding work out

Not long to your wedding? Just over a month to mine, so in a post-Italian style Easter panic I've enlisted the help of Patricia, a personal trainer, for a little bit of pre-wedding  "toning up". Patricia's first question was: "What kind of body do you aspire to have?",  I had to think twice because I never really thought about it , but then it occurred to me that I love the womanly yet perfectly toned body that Jennifer Aniston has. To achieve that Californian bikini body (good luck to me!) Patricia  has given me an achievable, 45 minute work out routine to do 3 times a week. I'm usually not big on work out so I've asked her to to be realistic!  Here is what I do in the park (but you can do it at home too) in the morning:

1. Start by skipping as if you had a rope on the spot for 5 mins. 
2. Then on anything that you can step on, with a decent height and safe do the step ups x20, press ups x15, squats x20, dips x15, repeat the sequence 3 x. 
3. Walking lunges 2x 20, 
4. Knee taps 30 secs, 
5. Standing on one leg, opposite hand to foot 2x15 each, 
6. Squat jumps 15x. 
7. Then on the floor arms straight 1 leg hip raises 2x15 each, 
8. Flat on your tummy lifting legs up 3x 20. 
9. Standing again 2x20 walking lunges, 
10. 30 secs knee taps. 
11. Back on the floor, plank on elbows and toes 2x 20 secs, 
12. Plank on 1 leg 15 secs each, 
13. Laying on your back legs up rolling the hips 2x 15, 
14. Crunch 2x 20, 
15. Double crunch (last 2 together) 2x15. 
16. Stretch. 

My perfect body inspiration