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Tuesday 27 August 2013

Hero skirts

Stella Mc.Cartney neon jaquard print skirt, COS T-shirt, 

It may be because I couldn't wear them while I was pregnant; it may also be because I didn't really wear them the following year because rather unpractical, or it may be simply because they are fiercely back in fashion, whatever the reason I'm finding myself longing to wear pencil skirts. Hero skirts, to be exact: the bolder the print and the louder the colour the better, bring on feathers, sequins and embroidery. I like to wear them with contrasting tops: a sweatshirt with sequins, stripes with animal print and denim with silk. Here's my edit of the best ones out there and some ideas on how WIT would style them. Have fun!


And here's how to wear them..







Tuesday 20 August 2013

Fall shopping

I'm now back in the UK ready for my last leg of maternity leave before going back to work, I've packed away all my summer/beach clothes and I'm so ready for fall layers. This is always an exciting time of the year, September issues hitting the news stands and I can't get enough of fabulous fashion pages and shopping ideas. This week's WIT post, including the Star Buys, Look of the Week and Style tip are dedicated to all those fabulous things I can't wait to put my hands on (or kind of already have.. ups trip at Whistles), being forever buys or those special little things that add a bit of new spark to your existing wardrobe.


1. I can't wait for my J.Crew earrings to arrive in the post this week. Yes, I used my discount too! J.Crew Flower gold-plated crystal earrings £76

2. I loved the Celine show, I will be channelling their signature check with something more affordable like this clutch. ASOS Leather And Check Oversized Clutch Bag £45.00

3. As seen in Vogue's catwalk report, moody florals are huge next season, I love these bright red LK.Bennett pumps. I would wear with rolled up denim and baggy jumper. Sheila Satin Floral Print Point Toe Court Shoe £185.00

4. This week I tried a jet black glittery mani for a change and loved it. Try this Top Shop shade for a similar effect. Nails in Gypsy Night £6.00

5. I have a thing for heart print and couldn't resist this cotton jumper from Zara £35.99.

6. For a shoot last week, the make up artist used a darker shade of red lipstick, I wouldn't have thought of it but it really worked.  I love the idea of a darker lip in winter so I might experiment with new shades like this TOP SHOP one. Lips in Beguiled £8.00

7. Ups, this faux leather skirt might have already ended up in my shopping basket... Whistles Bailey Skater Skirt Close £85.00

8. The winter version of my most-worn summer shoe - this Boden pump is on my shopping list. Boden Pointed Pump £79.00

Thursday 15 August 2013

The Greta Collection


As most of you know by now, I've started designing a capsule collection of fine jewellery inspired by my daughters birth called The Greta Collection. When Greta was born, I really wanted a special, wearable, everyday piece of jewellery that bared her name, something that I would be able to give her when she is older and to which I could add more if I had other children.


So together with the Florentine Ponte Vecchio jeweller that made my engagement ring, and my mothers many years ago, we came up with the charm rings that I've been wearing ever since. 


What I absolutely loved, is that many of you bought them for the very same reason and Instagrammed me some gorgeous photos like the ones below..

 


The collection started with alphabet rings and is now expanding to single letter charms and fine chain pendant necklaces in white, yellow and rose gold with diamonds.


Every piece of jewellery in The Greta Collection is made to order and lovingly crafted in Florence. I personally liaise with each one of you regarding sizes, colour preferences and I post every package out myself! The jewellery comes in a chic branded packaging and makes a lovely gift for a loved one... Or you!


After taking a summer break, I'm now taking orders via email so if you would like to place an order please take a look at the GRETA COLLECTION "Info and how to order" section bottom left of the blog, and follow the order and sizing instructions. If you would like to see more styles of the rings, take a look at the "Photo Gallery"


All orders must be received and payed by Tuesday the 27th of August for delivery mid September. Next set of orders will be end of September for mid October delivery.

Monday 12 August 2013

"My fabulous friends... Wardrobes" (part 1)


As part of a new section on WIT, I'm starting a series of posts called "My fabulous friends...". Each post will take a sneak peak into the life and wardrobe of a fabulous friend as well as take advantage of their fashion expertise. To celebrate the very first MFF, I asked four gorgeous friends to share photos of their wardrobes and five invaluable tips to keep it as such. Every problem has been tackled: from small flats in NYC to how to keep away moths and even where to buy the perfect shoe storage. I hope you find it as helpful and inspirational as I did, especially as it's swap-over season, guess what I'm doing this week end??

...........................

Lucy Laucht

Digital Development and Social Media Manager at J.Crew

Wardrobe location: NYC

Follow her: on her blog wwww.lucylaucht.com

Wardrobe motto: Edit!


1) Living in a tiny, postage stamp of a New York apartment means my closet space is very limited. I've become pretty ruthless at editing and if I haven't worn something in six months then it goes to charity or consignment.


2) I like everything organized by colour and as you can see, I'm pretty OCD about it. I started my career as a fashion assistant for two stylists who ruthlessly organized their closets into outfits with each look meticulously photographed. That's organisation to the extreme.


3) Keep everything visible. If I store things in drawers I inevitably forget about them. My jewelry is displayed on an old antique mirror and rings in little Anthropologie bowls.


4) Invest in good hangers! Wire hangers drive me nuts.


5) Display your favorite items. My most loved shoes and treasured embellished items are like art to me. Just looking at them makes me happy!


...........................

Lisa Field

PR Manager at Boden

Wardrobe location: London - Blackheath

Follow her: on Instagram @mrslisafield

Wardrobe motto: Regular clear out is a key!


1) I try and organize items by style and colour as much as possible – it makes it so much easier to find things and to put outfits together.


2) I’ve also recently started storing away out of season items in zip lock bags which has freed up so much valuable space in my wardrobe (Why didn’t I do this years ago!)


3) I always plan my outfits the night before – right down to the accessories and jewellery I’ll wear with it – that way I can get ready in 10minutes flat and don’t waste time staring blankly at the wardrobe when I’m running late.


4) I try and take care of special items, have them dry cleaned and hung on nice hangers, get shoes re heeled & re soled – it makes sense to spend a little on maintaining items as it will pay off in the long run.


5) I try and keep my handbags on show as it’s easy to forget which ones I have if they are stored away and easy to get into a rut of using the same one everyday!


...........................

Polly Chamier

Art Director at Boden

Wardrobe location: London - Brook Green

Follow her: Pinterest

Wardrobe motto: Wash, press, hang. Happy.


1) Prevention is better than cure! London is terrible for cloths moths and I have a serious fear of them having been the victim of these destructive creatures once before! Therefore I am meticulous about washing and storing clothes as well as protecting clothes hanging in my wardrobe.Use lavender bags and refreshen up with lavender oil every few months. I stocked up in Hvar last summer. Moths hate lavender! Cedar balls and natural moth balls are great as they scent your wardrobe at same time as preventing moth attacks!

A great website and service for all your moth needs:



2) Always iron your clothes before storing. I believe this is key to creating a happy wardrobe, your clothes look so much better than a crumpled mess shoved in the wardrobe and makes you much more likely to wear as its hassle free on a rushed morning to pulled a lovely crisp shirt. Nothing enters my wardrobe until its been ironed so I keep a stylish basket in my room with anything that needs ironing until its ready to be put away.


3) Reheel shoes and clean out handbags before storing I keep my handbags stored neatly in these Muji boxes, never put anything away that needs a clean up after use or shoes that need re heeling. If you keep on top of these things your purchases will last for much longer esp high street buys. I put layers of scented paper in-between handbags and always stuff any special handbags (my Chanel!) with tissue paper to keep its shape when its not being used.


4) Choose one style of hanger and stick to it. Keep your hangers matching and consistent in size and shape - it helps create order in a wardrobe. These are my personal favourite www.ikea.com


5) Lack of Space? I don't have an enormous amount of room for my shoes (oops) in my wardrobe so I keep my favourite ones out on display, I like to think of them as an ever changing work of art!

These ikea hanging storage bags though are great for pumps and sandals in the wardrobe, however I think would need an entire wardrobe of these alone to house my shoes… www.tesco.com


...........................

Claire Brayford

fashion writer

Wardrobe location: London - Wimbledon

Follow me: on Twitter @cococan on Instagram @clairebrayford

Wardrobe organisation motto: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.


1) Maintenance: I always have a clothes kit ready containing a mini-steamer, knitwear shaver, lint roller and leather cream for any last minute maintenance issues. I hate to discard something I want to wear because it is bobbly/fluffy/scratched.


2) Compartmentalise: If everything is grouped in one section I can really assess which pair of jeans/white shirt/black stilettos work best. It means I buy less because I always know what I have and what is missing.


3) Organise: I try to keep on top of my wardrobe by ironing clothes before I put them back and I am always on the look out for new boxes to arrange everything from belts to sunglasses. Muji's acrylic boxes are a godsend for jewellery, you can see everything at a glance.


4) Rotate: I try to put my heavy knits and winter coats away in hanging or zip-up bags in the summer so I feel I have something new to wear when autumn rolls round (and vice versa) although this year has been tricky to work out when.


5) Love: I really take care of my most precious pieces - I have boot trees for my favourite boots, Lavender bags in my lingerie, I cover silk dresses in hanging bags to stave off the dreaded moths and I stuff my bags and store them with a felt cloth cover. A little love and attention goes a long way.


My next four fabulous friends wardrobes coming soon.

Thursday 8 August 2013

When WIT met Jenna... (and 20% off your next J.Crew shopping!!)

CRYSTAL FEATHER NECKLACE £50.46
A few months ago I had the tremendous privilege to be invited to a bloggers lunch with the team at J.Crew to celebrate their imminent store opening in London's Regent street next fall. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with J.Crew (especially in Italy), it is the huge American fashion brand responsible for our love of stripy tees and layered sparkly necklaces, of brocade worn with denim and t-shirts worn with maxi skirts. So only all things WIT loves! Their website and catalogue are an endless source of inspiration, I religiously consult their "Looks We Love" feature every week.


So off I went - I wore my Top Shop green lace skirt, my favourite J.Crew grey Tippi Sweater, slipped on the first pair of heels in months and headed out to their King's Cross lunch venue.

An exciting invite coming through the post!
After lunch I visited their pop-up store to get a sneaky peak at their A/W collection (mouth watering- I wanted everything). I got chatting with their enviably stylish Digital Development and Social Media Manager, Lucy Laucht, and with my biggest style crush, J.Crew's president the one and only Jenna Lyons. A chat here and a chat there we agreed to get together soon to celebrate our mutual love of all things fashion. WIT is a huge J.Crew fan, so something good was to come out of this new friendship (read on for a special WIT-readers discount...)

With Jenna Lyons at their London pop up store
 A few months later, we decided on me selecting your twelve must-pack summer holiday essentials from the J.Crew collection, which I would wear on an upcoming holiday to Capri and document with daily snaps.

Behind the scenes - getting ready for a shot on the beach
On my list, amongst others, was the multi tasking stripe T-shirtthe figure flattering one pice swimsuit a pair of fabulous flats the Panama hat and the dress-me-down grey tee..

Dressing down my stipey tee with a Tunisian sarong
But because my luck doesn't end here, I happened to be going on this vacation with my best friend Julie Adams (dreamy fashion photographer + editor of all things Italian on line magazine, An affair with Italy), who kindly took the holiday "snaps" you see in the post.  My twelve must-pack buys worked a treat, and those of you who follow me on Instagram will know I've been wearing them well past my seven days challenge. J.Crew's effortless dressing is totally up my street and I've often thought that if I had to pick one wardrobe, it would be from J.Crew.

With Julie on our way to Capri
The result is this interview feature on J.Crew's blog, click here J,Crew Blog to see the full story.

DISCOUNT ALERT! FOR WIT READERS ONLY!!
But most importantly, because this year is all about you, don't forget to take advantage of your special WIT-reader 20% discount on your next J.Crew shopping! Simply enter this code: WIT20 in the promo code at checkout to get 20% off your next shop. The code is valid from the 8th through to the 13th of August, so be quick!

Happy J.Crew shopping!

Offer valid on purchases made online at jcrew.com from August 8, 2013, 12:01am ET through August 13, 2013, 11:59pm ET.  Offer not valid in J. Crew or J. Crew Factory stores, jcrewfactory.com, or on phone orders.  Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases or the purchase of gift cards and cannot be redeemed for cash or used in combination with any other offer.  Offer not valid on Ludlow suit styles and third-party branded merchandise.  To redeem, enter the code WIT20 in the promo code box at checkout.  Limit one promo code per order.  Terms of offer subject to change.

On my way to a dinner party wearing a Jil Sander skirt
and my all time favourite Vintage Cotton tee £25.66 

Monday 5 August 2013

WIT is back!


There have been a lot of changes in my life in the last year - a new baby, a new do and the latest is one of my greatest loves, WIT. Having teamed up with a web and a graphic designer we've been working on quite a few changes - I've been so excited to show you the new interface and I can't wait to hear your thoughts. But don't worry WIT affcionados, all the usual content is still there: the daily outfit updates, beauty specials, packing posts and behind-the-scenes sneaky-peeks from my shoots. You will still be able to find all the usual inspiration and wearable, affordable fashion - I just wanted to offer you something more.

For the next few weeks, WIT posts will be weekly, updating every Tuesday (look out for tomorrows post!). Once I am back in the world of work it will be same "daily inspiration from inside a fashion editors wardrobe".. with a little few additions. Here is my lowdown on WIT's new look!

Live Twitter and Instagram feeds


Most of you know that WIT is on Twitter and also on Instagram but now you can follow live updates from the blog itself. It's a great way to get your instant WIT fix and to show you great buys, new shops and all the fabulous things that WIT loves. 

WIT's weekly star buys


Each week I will feature WIT's top three must buys with quick links to purchase them online: it will be everything from the best three pairs of everyday flats to a newly disocovered perfect-fit Tee via what's gone into my shopping bag that week. This weeks buys are all about celebrating the summer with a fabulous one piece swimsuit, a pair of classic sunglasses and some exquisite Chloe sandals.

WIT's weekly style tip


Another weekly addition is a quick style tip to try out each week. It could be anything from how to wear stripes and florals, to a heads-up on a newly discovered shop or the best manicure in town. This week I will start with a beauty tip on how to get the perfect beach hair with a little help from a product from the US.

The Greta Collection

  

Most of you are familiar with my new alphabet-inspired jewellery line, The Greta Collection. Now you can click on the site to see a gallery of some of the rings I've made so far (thanks to all of you who have Instagramed your rings to @WITblog) and order via email. In September, I will be launching the full collection which will include rings, bracelets, necklaces, a bangle and single pendants. But more of this in a separate post!

 WIT's promise


It is four years since WIT launched in February 2009. It began as a way to share my daily outfits with my friends and let them know where to get my trusted buys. It was also born out of my need to have my own voice, to share my passion and knowledge of fashion and connect with like-minded women who too want wearable, affordable shopping inspiration. I don't claim to always get it right, and I'm certainly not ground breaking but I do stay true to my taste. I only ever promote what I believe in and always try to remain fashion-realistic. Every single item featured on WIT is something I truly love and I always ask myself the same question: "Would I buy it?". It's a blog based on trust which has grown into a little community that I've come to love, so this year I plan to give my readers back as much as possible. I hope to team up with my favourite brands to bring you special discounts, promotions and fabulous giveaways so that everyone can hopefully take something away.

So sign up and follow WIT to receive your daily dose of 
"fashion inspiration from inside a fashion editors wardrobe"

Happy reading WIT readers!

Love
Laura x

  
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