London Fashion Week AW'11, Day Five

Day Five is finally here...hoorah! Not that I don't love Fashion Week, but five days of running around town in silly heels, drinking only champagne (water has not passed my lips, which is actually rather silly as my skin now looks like that of a teenage boy) and smiling constantly, takes its toll.

Today was a busy day, so just as well that I dressed comfortably. Not!

Vest: Primark (keeping it real)
Jacket: Vintage
Necklace: Butler & Wilson (amazing, but I actually have cuts on my neck from the weight of it!)


Trousers: Yves Saint Laurent
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Bag: Chanel

And today shows were:

MARIOS SCWHAB

I've always been a fan of Marios Schwab...and he didn't disappoint. He might have played it a little safe with an homage to all of his previous seasons, but I thought it was a great collection. There were simple, flattering dresses, statement cover-ups and great details (bondage buckles being my fave!).

I love this coat. It reminds me of the coats he sent out a few years ago - I took them all the way to the glaciers of New Zealand to shoot them for Grazia. Anyway, I want this coat please.

The dresses may be simple, but they are tailored to perfection

AQUASCUTUM

Aquascutum is all about the coats and this season there were lots of them. I really like the fact that there was a more youthful feel to the collection. I've been scribbling the same words in my notebook all week: deconstruction and reconstruction (looks like Tim Blanks at Style.com has been copying my homework because he's only gone and bloody used my ideas in his show review!), and boy was that phrase appropriate here today - take the herringbone coat with the puffy gilet attached on top as an example.

I found some of the layering a bit too much, but then, you don't have to buy a whole look. I still believe that an  Aquascutum coat is an investment for life.

A sporty edge

Classic meets current

 Over-layered?

Love, love, love the blue gloves with fur detail - so fun!

High-impact outerwear

ROKSANDA ILLINCIC

Just stepping in to the salon (definitely not just a room) at the Roksanda show, was like walking in to a slice of bourgoise history. Gorgeous!

After a series of more casual looks, Roksanda showed off her real strength - beautiful dresses. Slinky, sexy and red-carpet perfect, there were yelps of delight all over the place.

Thigh high slit? Check. Maribou feathers? Check. Clashing colours? Check. 

Lust-factor? Check, check, check!

Trousers: The new dress?

I.N. 

L.O.V.E.

MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF

Now, it's quite hard to comment on this show. It was amazing, but I couldn't possibly tell you what the clothes were like. The choreography of the models' walk was simply stunning. Rather than sending out the models one-by-one, they all marched down the catwalk together, entering, leaving, entering, leaving...and then gone. Just like that.

It must have been the shortest show ever. I was so engrossed by the march that I could barely pay any attention to what the models were actually wearing.

Uber-stylist Tamara Cincik summed it up perfectly: "Ashkenazi Salem"...I'll let you have a think about that one...

ASHISH

Well, it probably comes as no surprise that I am a HUGE fan of Ashish. A man after my own heart, he's as big a fan of sequins as I am! I loved this collection and felt he'd really come on in leaps and bounds after last season's cowboy-McDonalds efforts.

Of course the announcement that this was the final show of LFW had the audience in a fabulous mood, but we were positively skipping after the fun and lightness of Ashish's work.

A sequin tribute to Chanel - I have never felt love quite like this before! 

 Lilac tartan in sequins? Who'd have thought that work so well?!

A hop, skip and a jump later, I was quaffing Moet at the My-Wardrobe party at Sketch - a totally chic soiree celebrating the website's re-launch, which you can see right here.

And that, dear readers, sums up my London Fashion Week.

 That's a lot of shows!

Bargain central!

Ooh, I love a bargain I do...and the past few weeks have been full of them!

Let me share with you my fabulously frugal finds:

This Manoush cardi is 100% merino wool, so incredibly snuggly and makes such a statement (I could have tried to get a better picture, but that's snow on the floor of my balcony there and I was freezing my ass off!).

Originally £570, I bagged it at the bargain price of £70. Thank you TK Maxx, Kensington High Street. FYI it is officially the best TK Maxx I've ever been to - it has a whole designer section which is always bursting at the seams with amazing finds. Don't say I never give you anything!

When I saw this little piece of summer hanging on the rails at the Jaeger sample sale, I knew it had to be mine. As you can see, it'll serve me well all year round. I particularly love the frilly tie-up neck.

I love even more what I paid for it. £20. Yes, you did read that right. £20 for a 100% silk blouse. Bargaintastic I'd say!

Another TK Maxx find, this Dents clutch was just irresistible. It'll go with my saris as well as my party dresses and is perfect for the festive season. At £12 it wasn't even worth debating!

This is the most exciting bargain of the lot. I could not believe my luck when, at the Aquascutum sample sale, I found this iconic trench coat sitting all on its lonesome. Once I had it in my hand, I could not let go if it; I was surrounded by Aquascutum-trench-coat-hungry vultures.

Not to rub salt in to their wounds or anything, but I purchased this piece of fashion past, present and future, at the purse-friendly price of £75. Price per wear comes in at about about 20p, for we all know that a classic trench like this lasts a lifetime. Read it and weep, dear readers. Boy did I have a spring in my step that day!

And here's the one that got away:

TK Maxx Edinburgh. How mental is this bag! I adore it. Can't remember the designer now (something Italian and unknown) but at £179.99, I decided to give it a miss. Practicality took hold - imagine lugging that around on the tube.

Today I say practicality, schmacticality!

Oh well, never mind. You win some, you lose some.

So what do you think? Has Miss Magpie done well?