Leopard Spots and Red Soles

I'm a staunch safari fan. Of course I've never set foot in a 4x4, nor have I sat it out for 8 hours waiting for a glimpse of a thick maned lion (ok that's a lie, except it was in India and I only saw a family of wild boars. Three times. I think they were on a circuit).

I have however poured over pages upon pages of the S/S10 trends featuring a muddle of khaki, dust, olive, tobacco and cream pigments that will dictate my wardrobe for the next 6 months. From Celine's leather lace-up cocoon dress to Chloe's wood and canvas wedges; or a starched multi-buttoned A-line skirt to a love-worn leather satchel. It's perennial to summer and it's one of my favourite reasons to get dressed.

And so as the next band of snow dumps on my doorstep, I thought I'd kickstart spring's journey into the jungle with my well worn leopard spotted ponyskin pumps.

What's your favourite look of the season?

Homespun Charm

What with the GFC, Credit Crunch, whatever you want to call it in full swing, it seems everyone's paying homage to all that is homespun: Missoni's opulent and oversized knits, Marni's shabby-chic brooches, Zagliani's lace-detailed totes and most recently spied, Christian Louboutin for Ohne Titel's raffia rope sandals.

Zagliani's stencil-scalped, paper-thin tote

Missoni's mille feuille knitwear

Christian Louboutin for Ohne Titel's raffia rope sandals

So in keeping with with this of-the-moment mood, I'm taking inspiration from Alice + Olivia's sequin-embellished cardigan and Miu Miu's sequin and bead-embellished socks and will be taking a visit to dear old John Lewis in the attempt of updating my tired cashmere knits into something more whimsical and wonderful.

Miu Miu's intricately embellished hosiery

Alice + Olivia's shimmering separate

I'll keep you posted.

Images courtesy of net-a-porter.com and JAK & JILL

A Painterly Picture...

While carrying out some picture and blog research, I spotted these fashion sketches. They're all so beautiful and tell so much more than an end-of-catwalk shot. Enjoy!

Manolo Blahnik's perilously high cherry-embellished sandals courtesy of 

The Perks of Bring a Wallflower

Erdem's eye-catching print courtesy of Bunny BISOUS

Rodarte's whimsical frou-frou courtesy of Hip Girlie

Michael Kors' monochrome courtesy of Google images

Balmain's power shoulder and Louis Vuitton's bunny ears courtesy of Life in Fashion

Peter Som's First Lady courtesy of 55 Secret Street

Christian Louboutin, King of the Red Sole courtesy of Google images

Delicious

Recently I've developed a bit of a craving for red velvet cupcakes from Bea's of Bloomsbury. Decorated with cream cheese icing, they're not as sickly as some of the other confectionary boutiques and they're a Louboutin's throw from where I live! Anyway, while I adjust my Bottega buckle one more notch, one piece of fashion that won't be affected by size and one which is rather apt is Judith Leiber's crystal-embellished cupcake chain bag from Net-a-Porter. How fabulous? Beautiful, elegant and not a calorie in sight, mmmm.

Image courtesy of Net-a-Porter