Packing for fashion week... Footwear

After compiling a never ending to do list yesterday, time seemed to have crept up on me and it was one hour shy of midnight and I still with no idea what i was packing and which looks i will be 'sporting' (or 'guying' as my mum would say).
Now i remember (painfully) vividly from last year that Milan in January is snowy and wet, very similar weather to what we have been experiencing of late but 5 times worse (if that is imaginable). The mistake i made last year was packing wholeheartedly for fashion and shunning comfort (some people might believe this is the only way to do fashion week...). My naive reaction to wholeheartedly celebrate fashion extended to the fact that i (subconsciously) forgot to/didn't pack any flats. I know, what was i thinking...? Picture this: me trudging the long streets of Milan, 5 feet behind the rest of my team, in sleet and wet conditions, running 10 minutes late for the Alexander Mc Queen show, getting my beautiful Stella McCartney heels ruined. But picture this for every show and every day for Milan and Paris fashion week.... Not only did my tottering pace drive the rest of the team mental having to stop for me at every block for me to catch up, but i now see what a Fashion no-no it was! Not only the fact that i had to borrow a pair of flats from my other male team members- namely a pair of battered size 11 Converse.
Any way, that was my first fashion week in Milan, i am older and wiser... This year calls for some more durable shoe wear... I am thinking DMs, amazing in all weather and will stomp me from one show to the next...

Practicality aside, here is a selection of other footwear i will be taking with me this season:

Burberry Prorsum AW09- My most recent addition to my collection

My (official) other sensible shoes this season

Mirror heels from Office

Show off some thigh...

I am about to begin my trudge to the airport, bon voyage, see you on the flip side!

x

My Milan and Paris dream wardrobe...

Arghhh! So, I woke up this morning with a smile on my face. I am off to Milan and Paris tomorrow! Whoo yay! Boo Yaw! It’s my second season flying out there and covering the menswear fashion shows for Buckstyle, and I am still as excited as I was last season (I seem to forget the trudging around, and non-stop work). It will be fun to get out of London, but don't be fooled. It will not be a holiday of drinking cocktails, rubbing shoulders with the fashion glitterati and partying till 4... Nope, we are not having a repeat of last season (or are we...)*cheeky smile*

BUT...it has now dawned on me, with less that 24 hours to go, what am I wearing? I am sitting here with dread at facing my actual wardrobe, but toying with reality. This is my fantasy Milan and Paris wardrobe...

Cotton hooded sweatshirt jacket, £75, by Adidas by Stella McCartney at www.net-a-porter.com
Strap sandal, £145, by Acne

Lulu Guinness shell stitching orange "Pollyanna" bag£250 Sophia Kokosolaki bangle, £481 ,Available from Matches,

Loewe Calle bag, £780, Available from Selfridges and Harrods

Sunglasses by RayBan, ClubMaster £108

Balenciaga sandals in black suede, £820

Loewe black open toe court shoe with gold rope heel,£665 Available from Selfridges and Harrods

Gold & crystal bracelet, £299, by Mawi at www.farfetch.com
Pink shorts, £100, by Acne (www.acnestudios.com)

D&G navy and white ‘Jackie ‘strap sandals, £480

Gucci fringed platform wedges, £440 Blue dress, £685, by Preen at www.net-a-porter.com
Oversized vest, £85, by Sass & Bide aw www.bunnyhug.co.uk

I could literally live in all of that and more....
Right, enough of the dreaming! I need to get packing! Wish me Bon Voyage readers, i will be blogging and Twittering while in Milan and Paris. Catch me here or on Twitter, i will also be tweeting on Buckstyle's Twitter

Kisses!

NEWSFLASH: Jimmy Choo for H&M Autumn 2009

Have you heard?? H&M have announced their next designer collaboration due to hit shops in November. Jimmy Choo! Tamara Mellon launched Jimmy Choo aka the red carpet shoe, in 1996 after partnering with East London shoe designer Jimmy Choo.
All very exciting, but I have questioned the integrity of some of the collaborations in the past. In the beginning the H&M collaboration was something for me to get excited about, something huge and illustrious, something I would be pandering to attend and try and stuff my shopping basket full of designer wares. I will admit that I was in-store on the first day of the Stella Mc Cartney collaboration, admittedly; I wasn't one of those die-hard maniacs queuing outside from an ungodly hour. I bought a few bits and bobs, but the experience left me feeling stressed. Seeing grown women and men fighting to get clothes of rails was almost enough to push me over the edge. The Victor and Rolf event was another one that tantilised my fashion taste buds. But I did get slightly confused at the Kylie and the Madonna additions to the collaboration history. The point I felt at the beginning was to bring designer labels to the masses and on the high street so that you could own a garment that you felt came form these prestigious names in fashion. The Kylie and Madonna ranges (as much as I love their music) left me feeling cold. It felt less designer clobber, more fan merchandise. I am not putting their designing skills to question (much), but I didn’t really see the point (without being so blunt) of it. I had no interest at all in it.



All negativity aside and out of the way, the images I got through of the upcoming collaboration yesterday has really tickled my me, I for one am intrigued and can't wait to see more of the designs. Maybe you will find me camping outside at 5am on Oxford Street after all. The shoes look brilliant, and I am guessing at the standard H&M collab price, will be a snip at under £100 hopefully! The traditionally shoe brand will be venturing out into menswear for the first time and the collection will include shoes, clothes, bags and accessories...!

Puma Running shoes

I have been on a no-end-in-sight quest for the past 4 weeks (or so) searching high and low for the perfect shoe... running shoe that is. Let me explain. As the days lengthen and we pull into the summer months, months of lighter fabrics, body hugging American Apparel dresses, un-forgiving high-waisted Stella McCartney Jeans, boob tube, tube skirts and the long talked about on CeliaLoves belly top. I made a pact to myself, a pact that i have every intention of keeping. To tone everything up in time for summer, to banish all wobble, lessen the thighs and flatten that tum); to stop eating in excess (step away from the tortilla chips); and to run everyday. And i had been doing this until i started to damage my ankle... why...? Bad running shoes, so my quest began, and my many enquiries have led me to Puma and the lovely people at Puma have sent over a pair of their Puma Concinnity III running shoe. They arrived this morning in a lovely red Puma box, not bad for a Monday morning eh...
They are such a lightweight trainer and, i have spent the whole morning wearing them, they are so comfortable and very supportive and a great improvement to my rubbish £5 brick lane sneakers i was running in before. I cannot wait to get out there on the open road (well however far i can get in 20minute run) and try these babies out. Although described as for the "runner looking for an unfussy shoe with great speed and an honest feel for the road" which is never my motto for any fashion choice. Not really a trainer-wearing sort of girl, i will be sure to enjoy my runs in them as this is definitely a means to an end... A fit bod!

Scholl....??

Yes that's right Scholl. As in party feet and and dry cracked heel repair, as in granny clogs in a nursing home and comfort over style. Well it looks like the brand is shedding that image for a more high fashion look. I was so surprised when i set my eyes on these babies, in fact my jaw dropped (These shoes can now be described as 'Jaw dropping-ly Beautiful', you can quote me)! I couldn't believe how beautiful these were, these would look great next to my growing collection of statement shoes.... "Hey come over here and look at my lovely shoe collection: My Stella McCartney's, my Vivienne Westwoods, my Miu Miu's, my Scholl's.....?" Hmm, doesn't quite have that certain ring to it. And the pricing i hear is a little bit on the steep side... Around £400 for the pictures styles... Eeek!