London Fashion Weekend.

Despite my money-less-ness I hit London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House on Thursday 20th September. I am really disappointed to say that my camera died so I don't have many photos, and that I couldn't buy very much, but I literally had the best day.

I explored all of the stores and drooled over their contents, gathering inspiration for my newest looks. I picked up on anything free (hello, Diet Coke, coffee testers and kinder buenos), as well as gathering postcards, catalogues and business cards to put up for fash-spiration! I abused the free photo ops as well - so much love for Canon cameras and Jean-Paul Gaultier for Diet Coke for these masterpieces..

I also managed to meet VV Brown, who dwarfed me, as she had a little pop-up VV Vintage store. She looked casual, fashionable and was absolutely lovely.

This was also the best outfit shot of the day - 100% me. Bold pants, a little bit of studding, some discreet skin flashing and my clompy, comfy, beautiful creepers.

After spending hours wandering around in a fashion heaven and taking in the DAKS mini designer catwalk (gorgeous), I listened to the Twitter Panel talk, collected my Showbag and went for a wander around the Strand.

Mulberry fabric tote | Velvet pocket tissues | Elizabeth Arden moisturizing cream | shopstyle.com pocket mirror | Self tan applicating mitt | Compeed blister plasters | Lavazza coffee | Jean Paul Gaultier Diet Coke night time | Label M sea salt hair spray | Colgate whitening toothpaste - All free as part of my Shop + The Lot package!

While surrounded by gorgeous designer items and stunning pieces I was really finding it hard not to spend money, and I will admit I caved a little..

 Gold cuff & double gold ring - nelly.com

The end of my day consisted of a yummy frozen yoghurt, followed by a cocktail at TGI Fridays and finishing up by stumbling upon Covent Garden before taking the bus back home and collapsing in a fashion coma.

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Dreaming of SS'12..

I literally cannot wait to crawl out of AW'11, and emerge like a beautiful SS'12 butterfly. I'm not saying that this season hasn't been gorgeous, stylish and full of amazing looks (it so has), just that I have had my fill of it already. Especially when there is such an incredible season of style just ahead. Literally, I can see it, breathe it and nearly touch it.. but every morning I have to remind myself that it is not quite Spring yet, and trying to float around in the new-season trends would only result in a very un-glamorous frostbite. It's so hard to force myself into that 'practical' and oh-so-necessary coat every morning, when the new looks are all around me in magazines.

I had been meaning to post a not-quite-comprehensive guide to SS'12's emerging trends, picking out the ones I in particular will hopefully be rocking, for a little while - basically ever since they began to take shape. But the thing that finally forced me into action was picking up the latest Elle (starring the gorgeous Dakota Fanning) and seeing their Front Row Runway Edit, packed full of stunning fashion. They feature their top trend predictions, plus showcase the best collections from the New York, London, Paris & Milan fashion weeks along with the emerging hair and beauty trends from each fashion week - it is well worth buying, and will provide weeks of fash-spiration. I am not ashamed to say that their brilliant Runway Edit was the starting point for my little trend report, but I haven't totally stuck to their guidelines...

Anyway, here are the SS'12 trends that are my absolute favourites - hopefully my wardrobe will soon be full of these gorgeous looks. I am literally dreaming of vacuum-packing the coat away for another year, and living my life in these styles..

Gatsby-esque.

I'm not ashamed to say that I am in the midst of 1920s flapper-girl fever. And I am not alone. So many designers, celebrities and fashionistas are currently harking back to the roaring 20s in their styling that this is set to be a huge trend for SS'12 and possibly beyond. I've named this look 'Gatsby-esque' because one of the main catalysts for flapper mania is the film of The Great Gatsby that is set for a 2012 release - I plan to see it, and am even reading the book for some Jazz Age inspiration. And it's not just the amazing, embellished, drop-waisted flapper dresses that are lust-worthy items (although they are - I'm so glad I've just picked one up), 1920s day-wear, especially tailored suits, sweet skirts in pastel hues and gorgeous hats are everywhere. I'm determined to fill my wardrobe with 1920s glamour - it's timeless, elegant and a real statement.

Print

The next trend I have totally fallen for is print, print print. And I'm not talking subtle, sweet florals here because this season is all about the bold, bright techno-styles. If I'm honest, looking at prints this season was always going to be a great appreciation of my current favourite designer, Mary Katrantzou - Queen of bold, graphic print and quirky shapes. I adore her new collection, which just epitomises the whole 'bold print' look perfectly.. expect to see a lot of her dresses on stylish celebs. Peter Pilotto also used print, and I love his unique dresses. Personally, I love a good print because it really makes you stand out from the crowd - and as a girl on the smaller side, I can get away with bigger, bolder prints, so bring it on!

Mid Century Modern

Another decade that the world of fashion and I are currently in love with is the 1950s - but this time it is being done with an edge of the 21st century, hence 'mid century modern'. Prada and D&G are pioneering this trend in my opinion, with those ridiculously cute fruit prints and retro shapes to their clothes. I might not start rocking a playsuit or bra-top (although you never know), but I feel the need for some fruit print in my life. It's not all about the bold, brash prints though, Rochas and Erdem have tackled the 50s in a more subtle, understated way which makes me think of willow-pattern china with the pale blue and white hues.. The fit and flare shape is also used by them, along with accessories that make me want to throw on a headscarf like Monroe.

Glorious Technicolour

I think we can all remember the colour-blocking craze of 2010/11, where the world fell head-over-heels for clashing brights, and bold colour is still a winner in the fashion stakes. However, come 2012 it has developed. The way to wear your colour is no longer clashy-clashy (although your print should be mixed up), but top-to-toe. A full outfit in one colour, like DKNY's pink and blue ensembles, is the epitome of cool - yes, matchy-matchy is in. I also adore Mulberry's ice cream colours, especially the yellow, green and pink dress that looks like vintage sweets mixed with those fruit pastille ice lollies... I wouldn't go quite as far as Thakoon and dye my hair a bright colour, but their lace-overlaid shirt dresses are perfect. Of course, colour was going to make an appearance in summer as everyone wants to kick of the dullness of winter and dress to reflect the bright natural hues appearing, but why not jump on this trend early - it will feel so refreshing to be wearing brights in January, and might just beat the winter blues.

Uber Feminine

After a season of androgyny and fetish-wear, fashion has gone girly again. And not just girly, the new season look is literally uber feminine - romantic lace, sheer fabrics, pastel colours and gorgeous florals are in abundance, ready to make every girl feel beautiful. I love the feminine direction the designers are going in because there will be a dress out there to make everyone feel like a princess, and also because it means the catwalk shows are the so pretty I can't take my eyes off them. Valentino, Erdem and Dior showcase my favourite girly looks, while Alexander McQueen, Carven, Nina Ricci and Louis Vuitton are also getting their gorgeous, feminine styles out there. I cannot wait to be a part of the prettiest season yet!

Those are my favourite trends of SS'12 so far, and the ones that I want to be rocking ASAP! It would be impossible to pick one look and decide to be 'that girl' every day for the entire season because I change my style every day - but these contrasting, often conflicting trends are perfect for influencing and inspiring pretty much every side of my personality. On princess days I can turn towards the gorgeousness of the Uber Feminine, while the louder part of my personality can pick and choose from Glorious Technicolour, Prints and Mid Century Modern depending on just how bold she is feeling, and finally the vintage siren inside me can be a flapper girl to her heart's content and get Gatsby-esque for evening (and possibly daytime too!). 

This is by no means a comprehensive compilation of ALL the looks I want to wear this coming season, because something incredible and inspiring might sweep the world of fashion. You never know! All I can say for sure is that these are the styles that are currently inspiring me, and that I am dreaming of wearing as soon as I possibly can, weather and wardrobe permitting... Hopefully it will be soon enough that I am not sick of seeing 'SS'12' splashed everywhere, or having to look even further forward to AW'12 (the pre-fall collections are out already..). Love and kisses, Tara xox

My go-to fashion formula.

I didn't realise this until I saw yesterday's look and today's next to each other on the computer, but I seem to have a bit of a fashion formula that I fall back on when I can't quite think of what to wear. Thinking back, it seems even more obvious. You'll probably notice it when you see today's outfit, or maybe I am just seeing too much detail here..

Top, Tights & Shoes - New Look; Skirt - Internacionale; Ring - Topshop; Bracelet - Temporary Secretary; Earrings - Miss Selfridge.
Do you see what I mean? This is a prime example of my go to outfit - cute top + swishy skirt + interesting tights = typical Tara. I mean, the details like the print, pattern and colour vary quite a lot, but it's the nipped in silhouette and my penchant for tights that surfaces again and again and again... All I'm going to say is if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It works, and as long as I keep pulling together different combos I don't mind this little formula. One more thing - in the rush today I didn't get a chance to put on any lipstick, and my lips felt very very naked.

Oh, and of course my trusty New Look coat accompanied me today, I just felt no need to darken such a cheery, sorbet-hued outfit with black, black, black when it wasn't absolutely necessary. I also am going to repeat how much I am dreaming of summer, especially since I picked up the new Elle magazine when I had a spare few minutes. It is packed full of gorgeous SS'12 fashion that I am falling in love with - there are so many different characters to portray this season, so now I have to choose which girl to be! Or shall I just be all of them, a day at a time?

Finally, I just wanted to say THANKYOU to everyone who's been reading and commenting - I hit 10,000 pageviews today! While for a 'proper' famous fashion blog, 10,000 views is achievable in a day or two, for me just starting out it is incredible. I can't quite get my head around the fact that my page has been clicked on so many times, and that people are actually interested in reading my ramblings. Anyway, so much love to you all, thankyou! Love and kisses, Tara xox

M-m-m-marry the night!

I absolutely cannot resist posting this. As you are probably aware, one of my icons is the incredible Lady Gaga, and if you are even half as much of a fan as I am, you will probably be aware of these two things..

First off, on a quick lunchtime trip to the shop my eye was caught by one thing - this month's issue of Elle, featuring a striking photo of the lady herself. Typically excited by these new images I grabbed my copy quickly and lost myself in the interview.

I literally love these photos of Stefani. As the reporter said in the interview, you don't see how beautiful she is when she is crawling out of a wrecked subway car, dripping blood, onstage. It is not until you strip back the theatrics a little that you can see how stunning she is - like here, the pastel colour palette really lets her shine. Of course, she isn't dressed totally pared-down. All of these dresses take more bravery than I have to wear, and she does wear some heel-less heels, so it isn't a total departure from the crazy, over-the-top Gaga we know and love.. There is still incredibly sheer fabric, gorgeous lace eye masks and an amazingly directional haircut - it just feels a little more simplified. 

I think it is the pastels that do it, they are so light and bright that she simply glows, and the shots all have a very clean, soft feel. They also make me ache for springtime, which is not good when we are heading into winter! Pastels always turn up on spring catwalks because they are so fresh and clean, which is why it feels so refreshing and fun to work them in December - also very fitting for the January issue. As well as the fashion, I love the strong, striking poses and expressions in all of the pictures (ex-photography student here, sorry), and it is the kind of shoot I would love to recreate. And then you get to the interview. Full of typically Germanotta revelations, like orgasms are good for your skin, this interview is a must read for any Little Monsters out there. I myself am a proud Little Monster, and am loving my fix of Mother Monster! Go get it!

The Gaga bonanza doesn't stop there though, upon arriving home and getting logged in to all my usual haunts (Blogger, Facebook, Twitter) I saw a link that again stopped me in my tracks... The Lady has released her video for Marry The Night! This was my favourite song from Born This Way, and the lyrics really resonate with me, so I have been waiting with baited breath to see how she would present it ever since it was announced as the next single...

This really is a crazy video, and I am not 100% sure that I understand all of the elements, but I love them. Every scene has been crafted perfectly. I especially like what Gaga called the Prelude Pathetique, which has been on Youtube for a while, and enjoyed the dance class part of the video. It is ridiculously long, but while watching it I was never bored, not even for a moment. Her outfits are typically creative, insane and beautiful all in one - even if she spends a lot of time naked. Or naked apart from gorgeous shoes. I love her efforts with the bedazzler and old denim, and her hair with that outfit was simply amazing. My favourite element of the video however was the element of truth. Of course, a video like this is the product of fantasy, surrealism to the extreme in the impracticality it presents, but the story being portrayed was that of her being dropped by her record label and the way she rose up from that. Not every scene is classically beautiful, there are moments that are dark and haunting. 

"I'm going to be a star. You know why? Because I have nothing left to lose."

Those were my favourite words of the narration. It promotes such a good attitude, that when you have nothing left you should stick to your dreams and come out fighting - don't let life get you down. Oh, I've gotten carried away with my love for this now. But anyway, watch it. It is artistically incredible.

I think you can all see how much I adore Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga. She is an artist in everything she does. And of course, this Gaga-packed day was beautiful for me. I am currently re-watching Marry The Night, and re-reading the Elle interview. Whilst dreaming of the day I am that brave. Love and kisses, Tara xox