Paule Ka opens its new store on London’s Mount Street
Courtesy of Paule Ka

I can't think of a nicer way of spending an evening than surrounded by stylish people and beautiful clothes. And that is exactly why I loved the Paule Ka store opening last night. The French brand was celebrating their new address at 19 Mount Street, which just happens to be one of my favourite shopping streets in London. It's simply très chic. The shop inside, though full of people last night, was super spacious, minimalist with a modern touch of 60's and pops of colour.

From among the stylish guests my favourite was Poppy Delevingne, who is impossible to stop staring at no matter how many times you meet her. She was wearing a full Paule Ka look – oversized chunky merino jumper over a leather mini skirt and accessorised with a cute wicker basket bag.

There was a great atmosphere (I loved the music) and my friend and I had such a nice time checking out the amazing winter pieces the brand has on offer – make sure to check them out. You can also find Paule Ka on Grafton Street, Sloane Street and Harrod's.

Miu Miu presents the London Special Collection
Courtesy of Miu Miu

Miu Miu has created a special collection designed exclusively for selected stores in London available from tomorrow 27th of July. Even though the line is not meant as an Olympic edition, the colour palette clearly links with the event, which also kicks off tomorrow. Bags, clutches, shoes, iPad and iPhone covers come in different shades of gold, silver and bronze. This is, by far, the chicest most subtle nod from a fashion brand to the Olympic Games.

The accessory line includes Bauletto bags in madras or nappa metalassé as well as sandals and lace-ups in nappa and silk. There is also a bijoux collection of hairbands, brooches and ticks in satin and leather decorated with hand-appliqued microcrystal embroidery – all very much in line with that traditional-meets-contemporary aesthetic Miu Miu is famous for tied to their FW12 collection.

Courtesy of Tod's, Know Wear

Last Tuesday my friend Anna and I went down to Old Bond Street to celebrate the launch of Tod's Signature line at the brand's store.

We were welcomed by the most amazing drinks (peach bellinis!), which came in really pretty glasses. As we stood there enjoying the music from DJ André Saraiva, from Paris' Le Baron club, we nibbled on mini sardine pizzas, parmiggiano, breadsticks and cheese cakes –Harry's Bar has the best catering!

The place was really buzzing with super stylish people –Margo Stilley, Alexandra Meyers and Zoe Kuipers among others– most of which were already sporting the amazing bags and clutches from Tod's Signature collection. I especially loved Margo Stilley's very classic and feminine look and how she added a dash of colour with the red bag.

To top it all off Tod's got Dionne Bromfield to perform a short set of some of her songs. Anna and I really enjoyed all of them. They were very soul but upbeat, something in the line of Amy Winehouse.

All in all, a really fun and stylish event that put ended a work's day on a great note. There were even chocolate biscuits on the way out!

Last Thursday night Giulia and I attended the store opening party of the new Burberry Brit store in the heart of Covent Garden. We got there quite late and were so impressed with how packed it was. The crowd looked super cool and we had never seen so many our our favourite Burberry Prorsum biker jackets in the same place. Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Ellie Goulding looked sexy and cool up close, as did Lily Donaldson and the Delevignes, who we didn't bump into.

We didn't expect to have such a brilliant time because store openings are usually so dull but Burberry had live music by 'Life in Film' followed by a DJ set by Tom Guiness. So we just enjoyed a few drinks and the really cool nibbles while we got to see some of our favourite pieces like the red plastic trench from the April Showers collection.

[Courtesy of Burberry]

The coolest shopper, duh!

Giulia and I rose (too) early this morning to head down to H&M's flagship store on Regent Street and try to get a head start at the Lanvin x H&M collection launch. We queued for about two hours, enjoyed a Starbucks and built up the excitement as our body temperature dropped. It was at some point then, after the sun had come out, that Vogue.com spotted Giulia's warm, chic and easy look to endure the wait. What did they expect from soVIPzone, tracksuit bottoms and fleece?! (Stay tuned for our post on Giulia's buys).

I'm off.

[Picture: Vogue.co.uk screen cap]

Acne Studio opening in London

We have been waiting for this moment for years —Acne is opening their first London store on July 15th! Even though their super cool new spaces in Harrods and Liberty's are pretty amazing there is nothing like a whole space of black and white checked floors and sky-high jeans shelves. The brand new London Acne Studio (they don't call them shops) will dwell inside number 13 of the very fashion-oriented Dover Street, off Piccadilly. The space will host all Acne concepts, from the mainline collection to the funkier Pop, the essential Denim and Miniature.
I haven't personally walked pass the store address yet but I had a look at it on Google maps and it looks like a promising fit for the Swedish brand.
I assume we can expect a very stylish opening party with Acne-d up celebrities like (maybe) Kylie Minogue, Lilly Allen and the ever-stylish Yasmin Sewell. Apart, of course, from all the brand's Swedish creative team and the genius minds behind the Acne Paper.

I'm not too sure about what season(s) the new Acne Studio will have the first few days, being in the middle of July and all. Most likely the Pre-Fall collection and, hopefully, some remains on the summer one. In any case, I had a look at the SS10 items on sale. There is a lot of amazing stuff and sockingly good prices. Below you can see my favourites —essentially, anything fringed, dyed, or any of the stunning silk pieces including Swarovsky crystals. Click here to go to their website.

I'm off.

[Pictures: shop.AcneStudios.com, maps.Google.co.uk]

when Suzy met bloggers

Last night Giulia and I attended the launch of 'My Favourite Dress' at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey. I have to admit much to my shame that, living in the area, I had never visited the museum. It holds beautiful 60's pieces and numerous vintage issues of Vogue. A rather small place that lacks space but certainly not charm. The presence of Suzy Menkes and Zandra Rhodes, who hosted the event and wrote the forewords for the book, gave the main room an air of excitement that, mixed with the white wine, turned into elation. To our fortune, Giulia and I had the chance of shortly chatting to Suzy, who was ever so sweet and seemed very grateful for our kind words.

[Pictures by Giulia]

I'm off.

ramshackle catch-up

In the last two weeks I have been to Barcelona and back, spilled a ridiculous amount of water on my laptop, been laptop-less for a week, read two whole books, got back my laptop and got a job for Luella at London Fashion Week.

During the full one-day lock-in due to snow, this is one of the things I managed to do. Me and one of my mates created this unordinary snowman and tried to hit the other snowmen down in the garden resulting in purple hands.

Well, maybe picture perfect is a bit too much considering Scarlett's hair. Overlooking that fact, the picture is quite fashionably spot-on. There is colours and there is black, long and short, hidden and displayed shoulders, even a tuxedo. But even though they all looked pretty much flawless nothing could outshine the Balmain. The green and the little bit of shiny simply synchronized perfectly with Jennifer Connelly's emerald eyes and onyx hair.

Katie, Katie, Katie. Not only she bloomed into one of my favourite and most fashionable celebrities of the last few years but she cannot seem to get it wrong. Whether it is red carpet soirées or family trips to the beach she knows exactly what to wear and how to pull it off. As of late, she seems quite keen on adding a certain retro look —30's, 50's, 60's.

And now, to bring this randomness salad to an end, a few looks from the Style.com parties section. Red seems to be in wherever I look. I love the Lacoste jumper and I wish I could get my hands on the suit. But of course no one can win to Mr. Pilati, specially is he is wearing black.

[Pictures credit: Style.com, JustJared, moi]

I'm off.

PS. Thank you all for your good wishes for Christopher!

First of, Happy Christmas, Chrismukkah and Boxing Day everyone! Hope you're all having fun playing with your toy planes, Barbie dolls and Manolos.

On this lazy and happy day I have decided to post a little about everything and nothing. I figured there is nothing better than some entertaining to kill some free time and forget about stomachaches.

With too much of this free time on my hands I started to have a look at the Pre-Fall 2009 collections even though I had promised myself (yet again) I would not. The traditional disappointment was substituted by some kind of odd surprise. Diane Von Furstemberg and Donna Karan provided a certain excitement, de la Renta some yawns, and Versace, Alexander Wang and Cavalli a bunch of smiles. If, like me, you have nothing better to do than filling your brain with a bit of harmless fashion click here.

I realized I rarely post about music, when it is in fact a big part of my life and inspiration. Today I was happy to find the first ever Dead Man's Bones (Ryan Gosling's band) video ever. Gosling (piano and vocals) and his mate Zach Shields (drums) have come up with an indie mixture of gospel and gothic. I do not know if it is good or bad music but it certainly is enjoyable. Go here to watch their video. Also, look for Gosling's "Put me in the car" —a song he recorded ages ago that is part of my list of favourite tunes.

For some more music, I would recommend Britney's Circus, Beyoncé's CD2 Sasha Fierce (plus her performance on the World Music Awards), and any Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and John Mayer.

Paper-wise, I have been trying to think a bit out of the box and avoid buying another version of Vogue. Instead, I bought a seasonal magazine called View of the Times. As far as I know it is Spanish, but I have just discovered it so correct me if I am wrong. It reaches a good common-ground between alternative and mainstream fashion. The layout follows the same logic and it is both affordable and long enough to fill a couple of afternoons or even three when keeping your laptop by your side.

I recently finished reading Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger —the author of The Devil Wears Prada. Change the magazine for a PR company and add some upper-East-side drugs and parties and what you get is a book you cannot let go of your grasp. I am currently reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh —I loved the TV show and will like the film about the decadent lives of a British noble family. I usually like having one or two extra books to read in between the main one. They have to be short stories or something that is easy to follow if not read in a while. These two books are The Diamond as big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Return of the Timewaster Letters by Robin Cooper, both of which I would also recommend so far.

In the fashion department I would encourage all of you Londoners out there not to stop visiting Beyond Retro, Rokit and all those fabulous vintage shops in the surroundings of Brick Lane. If you are looking for some chic relax go to Harvey Nichols and have one of their delicious Mojitos. Being home in Madrid has also provided some new shopping experiences such as the brand-new Marc by Marc Jacobs shop (with wicked accessories for the holidays) and the Oscar de la Renta boutique (a type of fashionable sightseeing). If in Barcelona, pay a visit to el Born with its cool shops full of Isabel Marant, Danielle Alessandrini and Vanesa Bruno.

[Pictures credit: Style.com, Amazon.co.uk]

I hope I killed enough of your time. I surely killed mine.

I'm off.

a GLASSY event

After my interview with Gok I returned to my weekly duties as an LCF student. But I was excited as ever to go home, change, and run back to the hotel to attend the event. I was lucky enough to find a gorgeous last-minute date and off we went. Over an hour late. The Spectacle Wearer of the Year show was about to start so we dashed to the other side of the room passing PRs, camera men and assistants. From our places a couple of rows from the catwalk we saw the pretty hot and the rather blah walk the runway with their glasses trying to impress the judges. Once finalised the show, the auction started. Gok Wan stepped onto the stage and announced he would be auctioning himself in the first place. Most people would blush in that situation, how do I try and sell myself? Not Gok. At the shout of "C'mon you fuckers!" the audience did not complain, but raise their hands and shout back "Three thousand!". Auctioned as well were Mr. Christopher Biggins (plus dinner date at the Ivy) and Penny Lancaster-Stewart (yes, stunning legs included), which got a total of ten thousand pounds - organisation no wonder I would have given twenty if I could.

The auction finished with a good figure of money for the anti-bullying that takes care of kids all over the UK and everyone proceeded to move out to the lobby for drinks. My friend and I sat down in one of the sides trying to keep it cool, spotting  all our targets for the night. After a quick visit to the loo we caught Simon Webbe hanging out with a girl by the entrance door, so we approached. The guy was cool, quite underdressed. I took a photo with him and him and my friend exchanged a few words about how beautiful Duncan is. We moved on. Now we wanted Gok, but he was a prey hard to catch. Finally, after a few good moves here and there, we got to him. He nods to confirm he remembers me from that morning and takes a picture with my date. We keep on working the room. A circle of women are dancing crazily by the DJ table and a Cleo Roccas in red and thousands of pounds in diamonds on her ears, neck and wrists is amongst them. I smoothly put my palm on her shoulder and she turns around and gives us a the biggest scarlet smile with a hint of wicked. And, surprise surprise, she takes an interest in us. We dance with her and tell her with LCF students, a future stylist and fashion journalist. Now we get compliments on out outfits. Jackpot. The night is now coming to a close and everyone slowly drifts away. We catch Penny Lancaster as she is about to leave and she agrees to have a picture with each of us; a very quiet, classy lady. There is barely nobody left inside and we are by the door, Gok is tossing out his cigarette and going to bed. We catch him once more and say our good byes. What a night!

Click here for more pictures from the night.

Click here for the video.

[Pictures credit: Moi and Beth]

I'm off.

LONDON skies

Hey soVIP people!

I'm really sorry for the lack of updates on your coolness source lately. I arrived in London last Saturday and it's been pretty hectic ever since. I didn't even got Internet in my dorm room until today so I couln't so much as update fotolog very quickly from this pub. Everything's taken care of now so updates will be back to normal starting next week.
Get ready for the HARDCORE cold reviews of the finest creators from all over the globe!

I'm off.

[Pic: me with Christopher (my Mac) working together in London]