Peplum Dresses

Hmm I'm in two minds about peplums really, as peplum dresses in particular tend to remind me of Lady Gaga's getup but I've decided that there's a peplum and then there's a peplum - so you can find one to suit you.  

Peplums at Alexander McQueen

Peplum Dress - Karen Millen - was £200 now £100

Peplum Dress - Apricot - was £28 now £12

Givenchy

Philip Lim

This Philim Lim dress restored my faith!

Peplum dress - Lipswy - Was £60 now £30

Peplum Dress - Topshop - was £55 now £22

Gold by Giles Deacon

Giles Deacon is a critically acclaimed British designer, whose career highlights include working for houses such as Bottega Veneta and Gucci, setting up his own label, Giles (see below), a collaboration with Ungaro, and winning awards such as 'Best New Designer' and later 'British Fashion Designer of the Year'.  Not bad...

Here are some of my favourite looks from the SS 12 show ('This is not a collection about Black Swan!' says Giles).

Giles has been collaborating with New Look for a while now to produce the Gold clothing collections, but he has recently branched out to include beauty as well.  I'm loving the pastel nail polishes, and they're only £2.99!

Shop the collection here.

Top 5: Don'ts

OK I realise this post has a slightly negative undertone, but I do quite enjoy watching the celeb do's and don'ts and so I've created my own.  I haven't commented on the pics, so tell me, what do you think?

Ok just one little comment, I'm liking Rihanna's stilettos.  Enough said.

Limited Edition Karl Lagerfeld at Net-a-Porter

As of today, a capsule collection from Karl by Karl Lagerfeld has been made available for sale exclusively at net-a-porter.com.

There are just 5 dresses which comprise this new collection, and only 50 models are available of each.  Prices start at about £660 (it seems I won't be touching his 'premium' line, Karl Lagerfeld Paris, any time soon) but on the plus side you do get a signed sketch by Karl like this one:

Now I do realise that these pieces are not in a sale, but I've noticed that the prices in euros (I'm currently in Grenoble) and pounds sterling are practically the same!  This means that for example, if you bought the beaded organza dress below for 4500 euros instead of £4,400, you'd save yourself about £800! With which you could buy the cotton-blend one! Then with the £140 you save from that you can buy someone else, and it just goes on and on.  Genius I think.

Take a look:

Beaded organza dress, £4,415

Cotton-blend jersey and tulle tuxedo gown, £785

Sequin-embellished faux suede dress, £1,765

Tulle and mess-lace mini dress, £1,080 

The original collection was released in January, when net-a-porter created this video to accompany it.  I love the rather dramatic reporter, and the cut scene of people relaxing on a beach to illustrate 'Karl mania reaching a phenomenal climax'!

http://bcove.me/77jmrx3r

Mary, Queen of Shops

In May 2011 the British prime minister, David Cameron, commissioned Mary Portas to perform an independent review of the Future of the British High-Street and it has recently been announced that 27 out of 28 of her recommendations have been accepted along with an agreement for £13m to be contributed.

Mary, Queen of Shops

Mary Portas is quite simply a retail expert.  She started her career as a Saturday girl in John Lewis but has since worked with brands such as Topshop, Harrods, and Harvey Nichols (the success of the Harvey Nicks we know today has been attributed by some to Ms Portas).

She has written several successful books, has had numerous television series with the BBC and Channel 4 including 'Mary Queen of Charity Shops' in which she transformed the charity Save the Children's least successful shop into it's most profitable, and has recently launched her own clothing collection at House of Fraser.

Mary's report for the government included suggestions such as providing free parking areas, financial awards for the towns implementing the best rejuvenation schemes, encouraging large retailers to support local and independent shops, and to create disincentives to discourage landlords and banks from owning empty property on the high street.

Back to the aforementioned collection.  In Mary's words, her collection for House of Fraser is a contemporary collection for 'grown-up modern women'.  My boyfriend is always telling me that I dress like a middle-aged women so maybe I'm admitting that he's right here, but I would seriously wear this stuff!

Mary Portas Neon Tee - was £80 now £56 - 30% off

Mary Portas Pleat Front Blouse - was £79 now £55.30 - 30% off

Mary Portas Oversized Jumper - was £79 now £55.30 - 30% off

Mary Portas Boyfriend Jacket - was £160 now £112 - 30% off

All available at House of Fraser.