Around midnight

I love the colour blue, and I've always been a fan of midnight (I find it a flattering alternative to black, which can be draining).


And it seems you agree. Two of our best-sellers so far this season have been Leah and Ava - both in midnight blue. So versatile, as you can wear them with opaque tights now (I've found the perfect midnight match in M&S) and then with bare legs and our cobra sandals - coming soon - through the summer...

NEW IN: Spring collection!

The first part of our spring collection has arrived! Here's our pick of the just-dropped crop.

More to come over the next few weeks...

Walk this way...

Health advice says we should try to walk 10,000 steps a day, so this week I downloaded a pedometer app for my iPhone and decided to take the challenge.

I've always considered myself to be fairly active, so I was shocked to see that on Monday I was struggling to do 4,000 steps - fewer than HALF the recommended number!

Even when I walked to and from the train station in Bath and then spent the day pounding the aisles at a trade show in London on Tuesday, I only notched up 8,500 steps.

It's been a real eye opener, and even if I don't manage 10,000 every day, at least it's made me aware that I need to increase my foot count. A lot.

What's Up With Illustration II

I was in London on a buying trip yesterday, which meant I missed the private view organised by Rich at his gallery, Mauger Modern Art in Bath.

The show runs until 16th March 2010, and features work by five leading commercial illustrators: Noma Bar, Adrian Johnston, John McFaul, Paul Davies and Simon Spilsbury.

If you can't make it to the show, all the prints are available from his new online shop, The Print Dispensary

Take a peek

Here are a few contact sheets from the spring/summer collection, which will be online in the next few days. Meanwhile, I'm visiting Pure tomorrow to start ordering for AW10/11.

Alexander McQueen dies

I was saddened to hear the news today that one the UK's most talented and influential fashion designers, Alexander McQueen, was found dead at his London home.




Images of his SS10 collection from vogue.co.uk

Dress of the Year

The Fashion Museum in Bath has announced its Dress of the Year - Antonio Berardi's black and white trompe l’oeil corset dress worn by Gwyneth Paltrow to the premiere of her film Two Lovers in Paris.

Gwyneth said the following about the dress: ‘When I tried this dress on, I was amazed by the construction and the uniqueness of it. It was at once elegant and sexy and very very much its own dress. It is one of the absolute favourite dresses I have worn and I feel so lucky that we had that evening together in Paris’.

Each year since 1963, a fashion expert has selected a dress or outfit for the museum’s collection to represent the most important new ideas in contemporary fashion. Take a look at the Dress of the Year choices from 1963 to 2009 here.

Gardeners' world...

I've just come across these hanging Sky Planters, designed by Patrick Morris.


I quite like the idea of the upside down herbs in the kitchen, but the maidenhair fern and spider plant in the picture below reminds me a little too much of the macrame hanging baskets I used to make as a child in the 70s!
Having said that, I think they're really nicely styled images...

Reboot

After a four-week exercise break over Christmas (well, I'm only human!), I was raring to get back to bootcamp in January.

Finally, I'm beginning to feel like I'm getting back on track.

Exercising first thing in the morning does mean I have to get up at 5.50am, three times a week (urgh), but I'd much rather get the workout done before other commitments get in the way (and, more importantly, it's not hanging over me all day - something I hated when I used to go the gym after work). Our trainer, Zita, pushes us without being a bully, and each session involves something different - so much better than doing the same boring old routine every day!

Have I lost weight since I started bootcamp last summer? No. Am I feeling fitter and less stressed? Yes - dramatically so!