• Fashion mastermind Jane Shepherdson will be at the Whistles flagship store, where the long-awaited Roksanda Ilincic for Whistles collection will be unveiled. Shoppers will be treated to nail art by Wah Nails and refreshed with drinks and canapés.

• Don’t miss the opportunity to have your picture taken by a Vogue photographer in the pop-up Warehouse Style Studio in-store. Exclusive VIP goody bags will be given to all shoppers, plus 10 per cent of all sales on the night will be donated to Crisis – what more reason do you need to shop guilt free?

A worthy cause = more reasons to spend your money! I’ve been to a Warehouse shopping event before and got a goody bag which was surprising good and massive! So I would definitely head here if you’re not looking to spend all of your overdraft

• Guests will be treated to an all-American feast of beer and mini hamburgers at Gap, whilst they watch an exclusive performance by V V Brown, and will have the chance to buy a limited edition pair of Gap rinsed jeans for £19.69, with half the profits from all jeans sold going towards the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa for that day only.

I’m addicted to hamburgers atm, it has now become my sick food..

• Matthew Williamson himself will be enjoying FNO Chambord Champagne cocktails with his customers as they compete to win an exclusive bespoke dress crafted by the designer himself.

I will always have a soft spot for Matthew Williamson as he was the first designer to make me think twice about fashion

• For a taste of French cuisine in central London, look no further than Nicole Farhi, where the store will be transformed in to a relaxed brasserie. ‘Nicole’s Creperie’ will be serving sweet and savory crepes with French wine and apple juice from 6pm – 10pm for guests including Vogue’s Fiona Golfar and Jasmine Guinness.

I will always also have a huge soft spot for food..

So I guess since I won’t have any pictures myself from the event I’ll be updating with pictures I can find from the net and various blogs about the festivities going on across the world, not just London. Hopefully I won’t pass out with fever at some point tonight…

How many models can you name?

From COACD.

I’m basically about to cry right now. Basically there is NO WAY I can make it to the Fashion’s Night Out event that is happening tomorrow in London and I’m so annoyed. I tried pretty much everything (including threats), but in the end it didn’t work. And now I have gone and read some updates on what’s happening (because it never occurred to me to do that before?!) And omg I am jealous of everyone that’s going to be in the capital tomorrow night. Which includes my boyfriend. I’ll probably have to give him a call and get him to “pick up” a few things for me…

Here is a list of things I would LOVE to go to:

• Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey and Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman will be hosting a drinks reception at the Burberry flagship store, where 300 invited guests will enjoy drinks before the doors open for a night of shopping, with a 10 per cent discount in aid of the Burberry Foundation

Hello 10% discount…

• Head to Moschino to pick up your limited edition Moschino t-shirt whilst you browse the latest collections.

(This will have to go on that list of errands I urgently need…)

• Paul & Joe has designed a strawberry Champagne cocktail for the occasion and, as if that wasn’t reason enough to visit, will also offer a goodie bag with exclusive products to all shoppers.

• Renowned Tarot reader Martha Thompson will be on hand at the Roger Vivier boutique with predictions for your future, your fortune and perhaps even your fashion.

(I am seriously majorly bummed about missing this one! Getting my fortune read has been on my list of New Year’s Resolutions and is like the only unfulfilled one!!)

• Check out supermodel Jourdan Dunn styling up her fans in Topshop between 8pm and 9pm. Champagne and live DJs promised, too.

(Would love to try and catch a glimpse of her tiny baby bump)

• Make sure you see the live Vogue shoot in Chanel on Bond Street between 7pm and 9pm – styled by Kate Phelan, shot by Jean Michel and with Luke Hersheson on hair and Kay Montano on make-up – it’ll be fashion history in the making.

(Amazing)

Forwarding this post onto my boyfriend in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

Stay up-to-date on tomorrow night’s events

I had plans this Saturday (12th) to find a new wardrobe full of neutral, unoffensive colours for an internship over Fashion Week, but now I’ll be on the search for the Yves Saint Laurent manifesto for AW09. Last year Vogue posted a list of all the places in London the manifesto would be handed out, but no such luck this year. YSL have been handing out their manifesto twice a year since 2007, and this Saturday will see the arrival of the fifth manifesto starring Christy Turlington. Half a million eco-friendly of these booklets will be distributed on the streets of London, Paris, New York, Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong and now Seoul. The first 2000 will receive a tote bag with their manifesto (which I want!), but the whole thing will be online to view as well.

Via High Snobette.

When I was much younger, I was obsessed with nail varnishes. I had a whole lot, which I arranged on a shelf in my bedroom. I mainly liked to collect Spectacular nail polishes which I bought with my pocket money as they weren’t very expensive at all. I had pretty much every colour you can get, and was convinced that I wanted to do other people’s nails when I grew up. Nowadays I barely wear nail polish and that Spectacular collection has disappeared, leaving about four polishes in my ownership.

I love Barry M‘s colours but there’s only so many you can buy. I’ve been eying up OPI, albeit from a faraway distance as I’m not sure I can justify the price tag for some amazing colours (I’ll make that jump someday soon, I promise). Today I came across China Glaze‘s “For Audrey” polish and fell in love. China Glaze is a brand I’m not all too familiar with tbh, and I’m not entirely sure what they retail for over here in the UK. I’m not even sure where I can buy them? So of course, it was eBay to the rescue, and I bought it immediately for about £6 (which I can just about justify!). I’m so excited for it to come and put it on – I absolutely adore Audrey Hepburn and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” like most other girls in the world. Lately I’ve been even more obsessed with Tiffany’s than usual; looking on their website pretty much daily to drool over the engagement rings and cry over the prices. So I guess £6 for a Tiffany blue nail varnish is about as luxurious as it’s going to get at the moment…

(Image: Flickr)

Anyone who meets me will know straightaway that I love bags. I am a total bag lady. What cinched the deal for me when looking at student rooms last year was that my room has a tiny little closet – just big enough to store all my bags! Or, it stored all the bags I had back then, but since then it’s been a bit of a tight squeeze…

And with any luck that squeeze will soon get even tighter as I have just seen (whilst watching CSI: Miami – crime programmes, my other love) that Kinder Bueno are giving away a designer bag every day!!! Cue hyperventilation!!

Once I had calmed down (2 secs) I quickly logged online (speed of light, let me tell ya) and went on the site. I thought hmm maybe it will be not so high end, maybe a DKNY here, a Coach here, a LeSportSac… but no, it’s all Mulberrys! And even better news, they are all gorgeous and I have seen them in stock online and in stores, so it’s not all old season stuff which they couldn’t flog – double yay!!!

All you have to do is sign up to the site and log-in everyday for your chance to win! They will be handing out delicious Mulberry bags like candy until December 9th

The Telegraph has an article on Naomi Campbell and Bruce Oldfield‘s views on the “racist” fashion industry.

Key quotes:

• “This year, we have gone back all the way that we had advanced… I don’t see any black woman, or of any other race, in big advertising campaigns.”

• “You know, the American president may be black, but, as a black woman, I am still an exception in this business. I always have to work harder to be treated equally.”
• (on Italian Vogue’s black issue) “That made some noise, but, unfortunately, we are the same as before… People, in the panic of the recession, don’t dare to put a girl of colour in their campaign, full stop. Nor of any other race. It’s a shame. It’s very sad.”

• “It’s absolutely true that black models will be not as popular for advertising companies and magazine covers as white girls… In a recession, it’s probably doubly difficult for black girls to get a booking.” – Bruce Oldfield
• “In this climate, things are worse, but it is compounding a problem that already exists… Cover editors are going to choose white over black. Naomi is not far off the mark.” — Bruce Oldfield

Original article at The Telegraph.

I have interned at a lot of places this past year, and have been very priviledged to do so. I have loved every single minute and opportunity that has been thrown my way and am grateful for all the contacts I have made. Yet, there is still a slight nagging feeling when I stop and think about this industry and how I don’t exactly fit into the industry standard. I’m an 8, so on that side of things I’m good, but I’m not white and I do not have blonde hair. And there are so many people who are size 8, white and blonde that work in this industry that when I actually stop to look around the offices, most of the time I don’t see any other races. I can only think of one placement where there was a black woman on the press team, but everywhere else has been mainly white. And it does worry me, not being white and being in such a seemingly white industry. Will I get a job after graduation? Am I good enough to work for free, but not good enough to be paid? This is all heavy stuff which I, as a superficial person, would like to try to avoid thinking about! But reality sets in and it’s bloody hard not to ignore that nagging feeling.

Ever since Dior first came out with the Oui ring, I loved it. For a long time it was my dream engagement ring, and now that my and my boyfriend are talking about marriage and getting engaged I’ve linked him to it and dropped hints about that ring and some others (Tiffany, of course, and Alex Monroe). But now I see that there is a new Oui ring, a Oui mark two, if you will, and omg I have fallen in love! I think that this is the one, only thing is that I can’t really tell my boyfriend as it’s a little over budget at £2,010 and I know it would totally bum him out if he knew how much I love this ring and how much it costs. What I love about this one (it also comes in amethyst which is around the £1thousandsomething mark and is also drop dead gorgeous) is that the “oui” is so subtle and is the setting for the stone. I love the colour of this stone too (morganite) and think it complements the gold ring very well (in a way which I think diamonds don’t). Basically, this ring is everything I could ever want (although I think I would much prefer a cushion cut stone – my favourite of all cuts!) at a price tag that we can’t afford, sadly, but I hope many other lucky ladies get a lot of joy and happiness out of it!

Oui ring mark two, I love you but I don’t love your price tag! Oui ring mark one, I will be trying you on very shortly!

So I suppose I must still be in winter-mode as I’ve been on the Topshop website looking at coats. I have fallen in love with the Rose Coat with it’s oh-so-adorable peter pan cream collar and cuffs and little rose detail. At £70, I think it is totally reasonable for a coat (and funnily enough, for Topshop too) but I am willing myself to stay away. I think it’s pretty easy to tell every time new stock comes in what will sell out quickly and be the new “It” item in Topshop, worn by the Topshop clones and selling for thousands on eBay and I think this will definitely be one of them. As much as I love you coat, I have to love you and leave you and scour the highstreet for something else which isn’t so obviously Topshop