Sonia Rykiel for H&M

Super-joy! I just read on Grazia.com (in between furious bursts of productivity of course) that Sonia Rykiel is doing a collection for H&M. I think this could be great – I love her stuff, shown here in this pictures I borrowed from Net-a-Porter.

The first advance will be underwear – I’d be really excited by this but of course it won’t come in my size (I am the opposite of A’s classic pear) but then there will be “female knitwear”, on sale in February. By then I’ll have a job and loads of money!

Rykiel will transfer really well to the high street I think. It’s mainly about whimsicality and lovely colour combinations and won’t be let down too much by a reduction in the cost of the materials. There’ll be stripes, bows and hearts in all likelihood and as I am on a massive girliness drive, this will fit into my plans very nicely, without making me look like Paris Hilton.

Out with spikes and studs!

S

Edinburgh Festival

As S mentioned, I went to the Edinburgh festival last weekend. This week has been so busy that it feels like a lifetime ago. I would recommend the festival to everyone who enjoys a bit of culture – there are apparently over 10,000 performers, so you get to choose from comedy, music, theatre and dance.

With so many shows, you do run the risk of picking something rubbish and feeling as if you’ve wasted a tenner on the ticket. But by the third week of the festival, the worst shows have been wheedled out and we saw five good ones from a comedy sketch show to a performance about time and chaos. Too pretentious for you yet?!

And here’s a few pictures to show you what it was like:

Day 1 Outfit - we got a travel at 7 am so this was a multipurpose outfit. Skinny chinos from Gap, Topshop brogues, Cos top, Gap jacket, Mum's 'vintage' bag.

I've always been jealous of people who inherit loads of amazing items from their parents - most of my Mum's cool stuff from the 70s is in storage in Pakistan. Except for this vintage bag. Which I love.

My favourite part of this outfit - purple knee high socks from Tabio to keep my ankles warm

The 80% cream banoffee pie

T in snazzy red cardie looking for our next show.

There were a lot of shows to choose from.

Day 2 Outfit - polka diamond tights, H&M shorts, Chemise Blanc top, ghetto chain, Gap jacket again and the new vintage bag from Etui.

Most performers just handed out flyers. These ladies found a novel way of getting our attention.

I love Edinburgh's architectural beauty and a lot of that comes grey tones of the city's stone. Except when it is lit up by blue lights at night, like here.

A

Camera agony

I went for a jaunt to the countryside and had every intention of taking some lovely bucolic photos of me in a nice pink outfit. Plus when I got there, my grandma was also looking fly in a green print dress (she has taken up the style baton again recently after losing some weight, which she loves). But of course my stupid camera ran out of charge as soon as I got there.

As part of the tedious process of finding a new job I went up to town today and ended up looking round lots of shops. I’ve felt extremely blah about H&M etc for a while but they had some interesting stuff in there today: I really liked a soft black leather skirt that looked a lot like a Phillip Lim one. In the absence of H&M providing online shopping and my dastardly camera still being uncharged, here is the Phillip Lim example:

I have a weird yen at the moment for D&G-esque corset dresses and leather. What is going on.

S

Emma Watson gets Teen Vogued

I.e. bedecked in loads of stuff she would never ever wear in real life that makes her look like a kid wearing her fabulous grandma’s clothes. But in a really good way!

This picture really excites me. Everything is rich and structured and beautiful. I may, against my better judgement, end up doing a statement shoulder. I’ve already tried on H&M’s white shoulder-padded dress and looked like a sexy android with make-up stains on my dress. Here is a sample of what the autumn brings. Oh Autumn! You cannot come soon enough for me:

Picture courtesy Nitrolicious.

You can peruse the whole lookbook at Nitrolicious.

S

What I Wore on Holiday

A few posts away, I was bemoaning the lack of success when it comes to the luggage. There’s all sorts of does-this-go type confusion and not-the-right-shoes conundrum, but I think I managed to get by ok when I went to Cologne last weekend…well, just. And in the interest of keeping outfit pictures interesting I have done a little analysis to show you why I like this one:

And here are my other oufits but without the analysis – crucially, I have recyled items between the days which is brilliant for packing lightly.

N.B. I am no good at posing for shots so these are the ‘Best Of’.

Silly Pose - H&M skirt, Topshop pumps & vest, Mulberry bag & jacket from friend

H&M top(used to be a dress), Topshop necklace, American Apparel skirt

A

An Open Letter to H&M

'Why no UK website?' says Eva Herzegovina (on your Finnish shopping site)

Dear H&M,

I would like to know why do you not have a UK online shop please? For many years, I was a loyal customer, enjoying your Viktor & Rolf collaboration as much as my weekly meanderings into your shops. A few years back I ended my student days and since then, I have noticed a distinct tailing off in my H&M purchases. This is partly due to my commitment to buying quality over quantity but I have noticed others sporting ingenious items from your collections, items that I have coveted. Like my student days I am still cash poor but unlike my student days, I am now also time poor and enjoy a good spot of online shopping. I understand that your Scandinavian heritage means that you have online shopping capacity in Finland, Sweden, etc but pray tell, why do you have online shopping in Austria, of all places, and not in the UK? I am certain that I could whip up a quick petition to this effect, amongst both sexes for this, most vital of online shopping services.

I would be very much obliged if you could let me know of any forthcoming UK online plans.

Yours sincerely,

A

Matthew Williamson for H&M

Fashionologie has a gallery of the new MW for H&M collection (womenswear), which is at least looking more seasonable now that the weather is warmer. I inform you of this as part of my civic duty as it is very blah – the colours don’t gel and the shapes are very “H&M nylon frills”. He has a long collaboration with the chain lined up so maybe it will get more exciting a la Kate Moss for Topshop - or maybe the swimwear will make more sense than the dresses.

S

H&M Spring Looks

Picture: courtesy Nitrolicious

Observer Woman served up some new Spring looks yesterday, and the designers at H&M  clearly saw last year’s Vogue shoot with the soft, gauzy pastels and pops of pink neon. Against all my judgement concerning what suits me and my figure, I really want this layered and puffed pink floral dress. I am suddenly drawn to faded, floral prints in teadress shapes after several seasons of them making no impact on me.

I may check out the new set of Liberty-print dresses from Gap for something similar in a simpler shape, that I can wear the wintry boots that are still necessary despite the bitter cold having seemingly broken here in London.

I really thought this was going to be the year of pared-back Parisian dressing for me but it appears not.

S

Matthew Williamson for H&M

Yet another designer collaboration announced for H&M – shiny boho Ibiza embroiderer Matthew Williamson will design a collection for women, debuting April, and one for men in May.

Matthew Williamson Resort 2009. Photo courtesy Style.com.

Williamson isn’t quite as exciting to most fashionistas as Comme des Garcons, but if Comme is the ideal winter brand, with its monochrome, structure and minimalism, then Matthew Williamson must be the ideal summer brand. Hopefully his hummingbird- and flower-festooned vision will translate with more flair in the H&M collection than it does in his largely ignored Debehams line.

The issue of fabric quality is important with designers who embody luxury and tend to design with bright colours and shine. When I started buying more designer and quality clothes, I quickly realised that much of the appeal is the softness of the wool or the light texture of the silk. No one expects H&M clothes to wash well or last, but they have to look like a respectable version of the designer’s main line.

S

Old Hat – News

Vintage as far as the eye can see

Funnily enough, I do have some old hats but they will have to keep for another post. This time, I am referring to stories which have been drifting around the blogosphere for a good few days but I still think they’re worth sharing.

So, first bit of news; Angels, the Costumiers, are holding a sale for the first time in their 160 year history. This is bloody exciting! And it gets more exciting when you realise that the items will not be sold individually but by the bag – you get bags for £10 & £20. I envisage some sort of historic scrum mayhem – ruffles, dresses and Marie Antionette skirts flying about all over the place.

Can my second bit of news compare to my first? Well, as per our previous news about Commes des Garcons for H & M – the collection has opened in Tokyo this week and will open in the UK on Thursday. Apparently the H&Ms in Knightbridge and Westfield are the best places to get your hands on the polka dots skirts, scarves and trousers.

That’s all for now folks. A.