Browsing Category

Big

Big Fashion TLM Monthly Edit

‘School Run’ Boots

Some people notice eyes. Some people look at hair. I like to think I look for a vibe but in reality, when I meet someone for the first time my eye is drawn towards their feet. When I see a ‘school run mum’ teetering in high heels, firstly I look with admiration as I would look like a cross dresser most of the time if I wore such sky scrapers and then I wonder why would she do that to herself if she is turning straight back home to clean up breakfast. So, boots.

In recent years, I like to think I have found a happy medium between stylish (as stylish as high heels) and practical (as trainers).  Here is a collection of the latest boots on the high street that you will be able to chase a scooter with and still rock a good look…

Apisi Suede Beige Boots £125 Hudson Boots

They are meant to look like they have been used. Saves scuffing them along the skirting boards when you get home before their first outing!

FullSizeRender(40)

Suede Block Heel Ankle Boots £44 Marks and Spencer

A friend at Diddi Dance was wearing a navy blue pair last week and they looked really good.  Here is similar.

FullSizeRender(45)

Black Suede Tassle Flat Knee High Boots £120 Aldo

Not for taking the dog for a walk after you drop the kiddies but they will take you stylishly into a cafe without any tottering.

FullSizeRender(43)

Nellie Pull On Waterproof Boot £130 Timberland

I’m into my 3rd year with these Nellie’s. I bought them in brown and black and they are still going strong!

FullSizeRender(39)

 

Easter Buckle Knee Boot £80 Office

Pretty standard but at the same time a classic.  Only wear with very very tight jeans or you may look like Puss In Boots.

FullSizeRender(38)

Grey Bermondsey Suede Ankle Boot £75 Atterley

They speak for themselves. Love!

FullSizeRender(36)

 

Toggi Calgary Boots £79.99 Charles Direct

These are my new winter purchase and are slightly more acceptable than welly boots in London on a rainy day!

FullSizeRender(41)

Ash Joulouse Woodwash Boots £155 Ash

Love the block heel, the colour, the style…

FullSizeRender(44)

 

Big Fashion Products

Winter Warmers : Parkas For Women

Make it a Parka. They are effortless, comfortable, warm and look good. Here are a few of my favourites!

Racoon Parka Jacket £450 Poppy London

I love the Eskimo style of this hood. Dreamy.

image12_1024x1024

Detachable Hood Parka £69.99 Mango

Good price and upmarket colour without being too garish.

51093559_16_B

Lara Black Parka £285 Parka London

The company that specialises in Parka has nailed it. The classic Parka – here it is.

FullSizeRender(12)

Faux Fur Trim Lightweight Parka £70 Topshop

This pop of colour is sure to turn heads and makes a change from the standard parka more sober colours.

11R14IKHA_large

Khaki Parka Coat £85 Atterley

Very sophisticated colour and flattering length.

11vicc080002_5

Cananda Goose Chilliwack Bomber Jacket £625 Browns Fashion

Not strictly a Parka but I can’t resist a bomber so had to include…

FullSizeRender(11)

Madewell Cotton Blend Parka £295 Net a Porter

Versatile coat with plenty of room for layering.

FullSizeRender(13)

Womens Original Nylon Parka £260 Hunter

You know it will be top notch quality from this British brand.

FullSizeRender(9)

Parka With Hood £59.99 Zara

Can’t resist a bit of winter white (if you don’t have children and / or a dog!)

FullSizeRender(10)

 

Big Fashion Products Spotlight

Amelia Bainbridge : Auree Jewellery

Having had a jewellery sabbatical for the last five years – I haven’t trusted a little tot not to pull it out of my ear or off my neck – it is time I start adorning myself with something a little bit more glamorous than a lonely hair tie.  I have just the place to start – Auree Jewellery.

 Amelia - Auree

Amelia always wanted to set up something for herself and having worked in the jewellery world for nearly 10 years, she thought it was about time to get on and do it.  She saw a niche in the market for beautiful jewellery that would travel through life with you – but that was affordable and didn’t need to be kept safe. Auree Jewellery moved very quickly initially – from business plan to launching the website and their first collection. 

She was inspired by her (highly!) spirited Grandmothers – one, a vivacious and daring traveler, the other a phenomenal multi-tasker – they both approached life with an enthusiasm and energy that influenced her from a very early age.  Both they, and many of her friends have done (and do) incredible things and she thinks that these inspiring independent women should have jewellery that lives alongside them.  

Jewellery is only as interesting as the person who wears it. It’s the personal stories and the triumphs and sadness that your jewellery will experience alongside you.  Auree is for people who love jewellery and who appreciate good quality and design.  We use a lot of fresh coloured gemstones with rich association and powers – aiding sleep, bringing happiness, promoting well being.  They have been used for protection for centuries, so if the Greeks can do it, what shouldn’t we?” 

 

Chennai 18ct Gold Vermeil & Gemstone Necklace – £195 (short) and £295 (long)

AureeJewelleryAug1-151

Eivissa Aqua Chalcedony & Gold Vermeil Earrings £95 

AureeJewelleryAug1-145

Walton Russian Wedding Ring – from £295 & Engraving from £20 

Walton-Russian-Wedding-Ring-Engraving

Westbourne Pendants – £95 each & Chain £70 

Auree-Jewellery-Westbourne-Pendants

Panarea Gold & Blue Chalcedony Earrings £65

Panarea Blue Chalcedony Earrings

Amelia’s Favourite’s

Shop: Green and Stone of Chelsea Amelia has happy childhood memories of many hours browsing this Aladdin’s cave Art shop

Website: i-escape.com Amelia’s ‘travel guru’

Restaurant: Nuovi Sapori – New Kings Road, London

Hotel: Hotel Signum,  Aeolian Islands,  Sicily

Holiday destination: Paxos – unspoilt Greek heaven.

Parenting Tip : “Get a dog – the perfect child sitter”

 

Amelia is offering 10% off your first order to The London Mummy readers (valid until 31st December)

Discount code : THELONDONMUMMY

Big Fashion Little Products Spotlight

Georgie Jones: Arambha

Georgie was living in Ethiopia with her husband and 2 small boys for 2 years.  She was inspired by the rich culture, vibrant colours and century old techniques there, so she decided to look into working with some of the very talented local artisans. Through meeting various people along the way, she came across groups training and working with people from some of the poorest areas in and around Adidis Ababa and founded Arambha, which sells ethically made clothes, shoes and accessories.

image1

Georgie with one of her sons

The groups Georgie works with provide sustainable jobs and lifestyle for all their employees – they are housed, fed and their children are educated.  They also pay a fair wage which is very rare in Ethiopia.  Along side all of this, all the materials used for her Arambha collection are locally sourced, handmade using traditional techniques and equipment and where possible, recycled.

image2

At her shoe workshop seeing her first children’s moccasins sample!

image4

5 gorgeous colours to choose from

Not only are the children’s moccasins amazing, Georgie also has a fab collection of things for women too. I adore the women’s moccasins – uber cool and very comfy.

arambha

Ladies mocassins with the Asaita scarf

There is a great selection of colourful accessories including scarves and ponchos and the little girls skirts are so sweet!  Below is one of my favourite scarves and a beautiful necklace that comes with a touching story.

image3

Mojo Scarf

aunnamed

“Bullets to Beauty” necklace made from recycled bullet shells and glass beads

 

Take a look at all the gorgeous things at Arambha whilst knowing that anything you buy supports women and families in Ethiopia. Who needs more of an excuse to shop than that?

 

Georgie’s Favourite’s

Shop: Merkato in Addis Ababa – largest open air market in Africa

Website: Barnaby Gates – beautiful wallpaper and fabric, especially their Star designs

Restaurant: Soushi in Cirencester

Hotel: Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge in Nepal

Holiday Destination: The Luberon Valley in Provence

 

Big Fashion

Jumpers With Detail

There is nothing better than a cosy jumper to throw on when you are in a rush and don’t have time to check yourself out in the mirror. Here are a few jumpers that feel as good as they look and the subtle detail on each of them will make you stand out from the (at times – very muted!) crowd.

 

Ladies Light Grey Cashmere with Neon Green and Yellow £140 Little Leggies Gorgeous cashmere jumpers and also worth looking at the section for the little ones.

Green+Jumper+Front

 

Love Thy Neighbourhood – Golborne £60 On The Rise Store A choice of neon colour and Borough – come in ‘mini me’ styles too. Although Fulham doesn’t quite make the grade. Unsuprisingly.

FullSizeRender(22)

 

Scatter Star Jumper £85 Hush You can’t fail with a Star Jumper!

JUM60-BLE-01

 

Pleated Back Jumper £55 Cos You could play hide and seek in this back – LOVE

0259305003_12_1

 

Cobalt Leapard Sweater £118 J Crew As the nights draw in, animal print will see you from day to night.

E2314_BL8133_m

 

Evi Pullover £90 Anthropolgie Lovely pop of colour, consistently delivered from Anthropologie

4113309215319_070_b

 

Zip Sleeve Jumper £59 Boden I love the zip detail on the wrists and the contrasting ‘collars and cuffs’.

15WAUT_WV047_BLK_M01

Big Fashion Little Products Spotlight

Sorting Your Wardrobe Woes

If like me, you are only now thinking of your families (inadequate) summer wardrobe, I have just the answer. I am sure many of you have come across the divine Milliemanu childrenswear.

It was launched in 2010 by Camilla Ridley after she couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for to dress her daughter Emmanuelle.

mail.google.com

It has grown since then and is now stocked internationally in stores such as Fenwicks and Igloo.  There is currently a fab summer sale with 40% off which will totally save your bacon in the summer style stakes. Here are a few of my top pics.

 

blue speckle panama

image

image

image

 

Her new venture, Ridley London was launched this season with the aim of making better fitting sumptuous silk garments made to empower women to look and feel their best. Having piloted some womenswear alongside milliemanu events she discovered a huge need for shirts and dresses to be made to fit the individual. With her team of dedicated London based seamstresses, it is possible to bring this personalised service to her customers.

 

 

 

image

 

image

image

 

Camilla’s Favourite’s

Shop: Liberty

Website: Ridley London 

Restaurant: Sonny’s, Barnes and The Ivy Chelsea Garden 

Hotel: Hotel le Senechel, Ile de Re

Place to go: Kew Gardens

 

www.milliemanu.com

www.ridleylondon.com

 

 

Big Fashion Products Spotlight

pampeano: Argentine Craftmanship Combined With British Luxury

Recently I have seen a few waists accentuated with ultra smart woven belts. They have all happened to be from the same company – pampeano.

The company was set up by Jenny, who spent a lot of time in Argentina in 2007 riding and wandering around bars and cafes. She totally fell in love with the Argentine lifestyle, the horsemanship, the food and the products and particularly the leather goods. She had a sense that continuing the rich Argentine heritage of leather and polo would be very well received by discerning Europeans, and so pampeano was started.  pampeano houses the finest polo equipment and their eponymous, exquisite, pampeano polo belts.  pampeano means ‘from the Pampa’, an area of Argentina renowned for its vast rolling plains and beautiful estancias.

Their products use only premium-grade, butter-soft, vegetable tanned Argentine leather and the highest quality saddlery threads. Each polo belt has been skilfully made in Argentina by true artisans, each one taking four to five hours to hand craft and weave, creating a product that will last for many years and will only improve with age.

With this in mind, each product has been expertly designed and developed in Great Britain to ensure that we continually remain on trend throughout the changing seasons. No two are quite the same, making them as individual as the people who wear them.

image

 

I love the dog collars too!

image

Will definitely be purchasing one for a Father’s Day present and with any luck, hubby will share it!

 

Jenny’s Favourite’s

Shop: Shapes Auctioneers, Edinburgh

Website: VoyagesPrive

Restaurant: Franks in Palermo, Buenos Aires.

Hotel: Rosewood, London

Place: Holkham Beach, Norfolk

Click here to buy

www.pampeano.co.uk

Big Fashion Little Spotlight

Millie Pink : Hot Hair Accessories

image
I’m a bit of magpie when it comes to brightly coloured accessories, so when I saw a few of the mother’s wrists at the school gates adorned with funky fabrics, I had to investigate. I was informed about a fantastic new website, Millie Pink.

Millie Pink was started by Kirsten, who was fed up with boring black hair ties that were too ugly to wear on her wrist and seemed to disappear as quickly as she could buy them, Kirsten set about to bring beauty and glamour to manes and wrists across Britain. It didn’t take long before she stumbled across some gorgeous foldover elastic in the most mouth-watering colours & funky prints and Millie Pink, named after her daughter Millie, was born.

 

Each hair tie is handmade in Berkshire with oodles of love and patience. Made from a super soft and stretchy fabric, Millie Pink hair ties will not only be incredibly kind to your hair, they look pretty cool on your wrist.

image

Kirsten

 

Kirsten’s Favourie’s

Shop: Anthropologie

Website: www.giftpop.co.uk

Restaurant: The Beach Hut, South Milton Sands, Devon.

Hotel: Hotel Esplendido, Puerto de Soller, Mallorca.

Place: Thurlestone, South Devon.

www.milliepink.com

FullSizeRender(3)