The right foot forward for Kylie

As far as I'm concerned, my fellow Aussie-living-in-London Kylie Minogue can't put a foot wrong in the style stakes. She always manages to look so sophisticated but not in a contrived way. Just elegant and quite natural.

This look is one even I would wear despite feeling like I'm trying to be 12 on the two occasions I've ventured out in leggings.

I was particularly excited to see her wearing these Gil Carvalho Ivy ankle boots because you too can own a pair - they are now available on Brittique. I already have limited stock, so be quick!

Lunch with Tina Gaudoin, Roland Mouret, Jonathan Saunders and Todd Lynn - the event!

Oh what a lunch! Today I dined with some of the darlings of British fashion. Roland Mouret, Jonathan Saunders and Todd Lynn, not to mention Tina Goudoin who is just lovely!

To say I was in awe of them would be an understatement. It was nerve wracking to get out the door and into a taxi to Home House. But once there they immediately set me at ease. And Madonna walked in just after me!

Roland is the most charming of French men - the type that makes you want beg God to make him straight, but alas not... I'm still in love though! Todd and Jonathan are both so unaffected by their success and the most down to earth gentlemen. Todd has a lovely soft Canadian accent while Jonathan has a lovely Scottish sound that makes Australian girls weak in the knees.

The conversation was easy and ranged from Madonna, Kate, Anna W, Vic and Dave's place, Elton's place and other people you might have heard of. We discussed surrealist art and dance (well, I just listened!), had a great gossip about fashion and analysed what creates design envy in each of them (Roland is jealous of Jonathan's prints naturally).

Now I'm on a post lunch high! I wonder if they'll remember me in 12 months time? Something tells me that they are the type of guys who would. Let's hope so anyway.

To Milan for (a buying) lunch

I flew to Milan for lunch yesterday. Got the 7:40 flight from London Heathrow, landed in Milan Linate at 10:30. From there it's just 7km into the city centre. I wandered the shops, ate wonderful pasta and then boarded the 17:35 back to London.

As grand as it might sound, it was actually for a buying appointment with Basso & Brooke. While the design duo Christopher Brooke and Bruno Basso are based in London, all their viewings are done in Milan.

It so exciting to be stocking their electrifying prints from SS07. But it's not just their prints that are incredible, their basic solids and knits are just lovely too. Before the buying appointment I kept telling myself "stick to prints, don't look at the plains, stick to the prints". But there was nothing plain about the "non-prints". They are high quality and just as moreish. The initial delivery from the Basso & Brooke collection will be available on Brittique.com shortly.

Escaping the city

Feeling exhausted and drained after the excitement of LFW and then LFW'end, I had to get away. We were supposed to go snowboarding at our favorite resort in Austria, but thanks to global warming there was no snow. And I was so tired that the thought of facing Heathrow airport made me break out in a cold sweat.

So the man and I jumped in the car and off to the Lakes District for a couple of nights. We stayed in a beautiful restaurant with rooms (they stress that it is not a hotel) L'enclume and dined in the Michelin starred restaurant. The menu was amazing in it's creativity. Foie Gras ice cream anyone? Oh yummy it was fantastic!

I believe that when you're away the rooms should be better than what you have at home. Now with our amazing bed and lovely decore, it's pretty hard to beat. But the rooms at L'enclume were amazing too. When holidaying in the UK I am repeatedly let down by the high prices of rooms that are so terribly you can't wait to get home again. We had our own large room with a private adjoining sitting room. The best thing about it was there was no mobile or Blackberry reception! After the initial panic it was bliss!

We walked off our meal by hiking around Lake Windermere. It is truly stunning with the lakes, greenery and snow capped mountains. But the best thing is that now I've returned to London invigorated and ready to face the rest of the year.

Brittique at London Fashion Weekend

Phew! Two days into LFW'end and I have developed a renewed respect for shop girls. It's exhausting standing all day and chatting with customers!!

So far our first LFW'end has been a success. Being our first, I had no prior expectations so it's all been a bonus. Maria from Ignes Handbags, Kelle and I have barely had a chance to run to the loo it's been so busy.

Running an online business means that I rarely receive feedback from customers about the products they buy. But this has been a fantastic opportunity to be in front of the customers and actually see and hear what they say about our products. The biggest hit has been Woolenstock slippers, Oni handbag holders and Aei:Kei jersey separates and dresses.

I'm bracing myself for Saturday and Sunday which are the busiest days. There are some amazing bargains to be had so I highly recommend getting yourself out of the house and to the Natural History Museum for London Fashion Weekend!

The shows conclude

Day 5 and the last days of shows for me. The day started with a buying appointment for Lou Lou and Law and Marios Schwab shoes (made by Scorah Pattullo coming soon to Brittique.com). I was supposed to buy Hussain too but another buyer was making the poor model try on every outfit in all colourways! So I'll go back another day for that.

Lou Lou and Law (yep, Jude Law's sister!) is a range of lovely jersey tee's and tops but they have also added a great range of Merino wool jumpers with either shoes or a bikini clad body. Really sweet.

My last show for the season was Tata Naka. I do love their romantic style and this season was no exception. Their horseshoe print is gorgeous and I'll also be buying the large horseshoe gold pendants. Although I doubt the more superstitious amongst us will be wearing an upside down horseshoe!

I then had a buying appointment with Emma Cook and Peter Jensen at the sweet shop/PR offices of Cube. I really loved both collections. Peter Jensen's had moved from the preppy look of SS07 to a darker look with bird patterned prints and lovely jersey and cord pieces. Emma Cook's collection was also heavy on cord with beautiful pinafore and smock dresses. Of course she her signiture applique was present and I've ordered a lovely jersey dress with a leaf design around the neck.

The next appointment was with Georgina Goodman. Lovely lovely lovely slouchy boots and some really sexy killer heels in black and gold. She also has a range of ballet slippers which I will order. I found that I really am missing flat shoes for AW06 so I'll add more to the orders going forward. I personally walk everywhere and as a result live in flats.

I then had the pleasure of meeting with Hamish Morrow. He is always so nice and pleasant and a joy to meet. The padded vests and jackets I spoke about yesterday where even more beautiful in real life. I had to order them in four different styles. Maybe I'm crazy doing that, but I really wanted to wear all four styles for different occasions and I'm sure my shoppers will too. I love his relaxed luxury sports feel to his designs and am looking forward to receiving the rest of my SS07 order from him next week.

Last for the evening was the Camilla Staerk party. I was shattered by this stage and met with Jackie (editor of our soon to be launched ezine) for a quick roundup of where we were at with the magazine. She's done such a huge amount of work on it and it's so exciting to see it there in the flesh.

We arrived at the party 10 minutes early expecting to be first, but there were already groups of people there eagerly awaiting the video presentation. We chatted away with sales manager Kay and then with designer, Roger. Jackie is writing about the label for the magazine so she asked a few questions.

The party was held in this massive St James house (I saw a sign on a door saying Room 35!) that was partway through renovation. Roger told us that this will be the new CS DK Ltd UK headquarters and soon they will move from their shoreditch studio to this St James mansion. I was flabbergasted at the thought of the ££millions that it took to buy and then renovate. Wow! Wow! Wow! Wonder if they want to invest in an online retailer???

The video presentation was fantastic. Beautifully done and starring Joshua the Raven. I met the fashion editor of Danish Costume magazine and thanked her for featuring Brittique in their January edition. She was really sweet and even bought a pair of shoes from me (need to deliver them today). It was a lovely night and a lovely conclusion to my LFW for this season. Now back to some form of normality!

The shows must go on

Day four of LFW and day two of shows for me. First up I met with Susie for the Roksanda Ilincic show. It was fantastic! Sorry for the blurry photo, but this was my fav of the bunch, a lovely silk wrap shirt dress. I will certainly try to set up a buying appointment with them.


After that I sneaked onto the press bus and travelled out to Lords cricket ground for the Preen show. I now understand why people wear sunglasses at shows, my head was aching after the lights in that place. It was so bright!

Sitting across from me was the trio of power!

I enjoyed the Preen show. Not a huge amount had changed since last season though and I even saw some of the same trousers as last year. There were a couple of trapeze shape coats that really grabbed me, especially in hot pink - stunning!

After a quick lunch break I went back to the exhibition and chatted with a few designers such as Sheryl May. Her new AW07 collection features some really cute dresses. First I loved the tunic style dress with the painted necklaces and jewels, so clever! Also the vintage tunic that's made from the real heavy jersey that proper vintage dresses come in. It also features a fur bodice.

Shoes have been selling really well on Brittique.com so I'm quite keen to extend the range. I met with Patrick and Anna at Gil Carvalho and selected some new styles. I'm loving their deep reds with gold trim.

The Hamish Morrow show was next on the agenda. It was a safe and solid collection and I'm loving his use of padded fabrics to create jackets and dresses. It adds a new meaning to duvet days!



After a buying appointment with Aei:Kei (loving her floral print with purple and mustard!) it was the Basso and Brooke show. Stunning as always I took Maria from Ignes Bags and she really enjoyed herself.


At first I thought Basso & Brooke had strayed from their signature bright prints with more demure colours coming out on the catwalk. But soon enough the brights apearred with a stunning geometric digital print. Can't wait to see the collection in Milan on 7 March.


Maria and I spent the next couple of hours chatting away with Brett at Wilbur & Gussie and drinking complimentary beer! Maria and I laughed later that we don't normally drink beer but it was fun.


The finale for the day was Julia Clancey's first show. After fighting the usual battle to get in, we were ushered to the front row. I sat next to the wonderful Rafael, joint founder of Iqons, the networking site for fashion. He wasn't the usual "too cool for school" type that I imagined and was really chatty and happy to meet up to discuss ways we can work together. I was on such a high after meeting him!


Julia's show was fabulous. Her style has really evolved from the Grecian style babydoll dresses of the past into the flapper style party dresses in the AW07 collection. There were so many dresses I loved and a few that I'd love to wear for my special dinner on Monday night. I might giver her a call...


Throughout the show Maria and I had photographers papping us. When the show finished they all started running over. I had no idea what was going on until someone informed me that it was Lady Victoria Hervey. She was sitting right next to Maria and we had no idea until the end. However, I'm not one who values celebrities and prefer not to acknowledge them but I appreciate that they can help bolster a designer's brand by being a their show.

Now I have a confession - I love goodie bags! I know it's terrible, but if there are some left at the end I do grab them on the way out. Well it would be a waste to just leave them there wouldn't it?