From Viktor & Rolf to Van Gogh: The Ultimate Amsterdam Fashion Week Outfit

Amsterdam Fashion Week is known for being a hotbed of talent, showcasing the best in Dutch design to a clamouring fashion pack from around the world. So, when Fashion Chick invited bloggers to dream up their ultimate outfit to wear in Amsterdam for the occasion, I couldn't resist taking up the challenge. Here's what I came up with and why I chose each piece...

[Clothing images via Fashion Chick. Background image, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, via Wikimedia Commons].

I wanted to capture the bold silhouettes of Dutch designers such as Viktor & Rolf, but also get a flavour of the Netherlands' great art scene, which is a constant source of inspiration for creative types. From vintage art legends such as Van Gogh in the newly re-opened Rijksmuseum to up-and-coming talented students, it's an inspiring place to be.

• I started with a Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Halton dress, covered with text and being a real statement piece. If you want to see more oversized text, the iAmsterdam sign is a cool place to hang out in the city - I'd have to make a pilgrimage in my fashion ensemble.
• I added a black cape by Lovarni to give a nod to the Viktor & Rolf retrospective at the Barbican several years ago, where dolls were clad in their designs, including voluminous cape-like coats.
• Accessories were Miu Miu cat's eye sunglasses, which add to the doll aesthetic, and a sunflower yellow spider clasp bag by Charlotte Olympia worthy of any Van Gogh fan with a designer budget. Of course, there had to be some real Viktor & Rolf in the mix, so I chose a waist cinching leather mirrored sphere black belt to work well with the Anglomania dress.At only €49 from Hervia (sourced using Fashion Chick), this is a real bargain.
• To continue the sunflower yellow injection of colour, I went for Topshop's Logan flared heel platforms, which add to the vintage feel of the whole outfit, perfect for taking out on the town at all those Fashion Week after-parties.

Aside from the items I've chosen, I'd also be keen to browse the city's best shops. I've done my research thoroughly and I know there are some great retro boutiques to visit, like Wini Vintage, as well as the Nine Streets, a key shopping area. To top it all off, the World Fashion Centre mall offers a huge range of stores and would keep me busy for hours.

So, that's my dream outfit to bring to the streets of Amsterdam, and an idea of what I'd get up to if I was jetting off to experience the best of Dutch design. Would you channel sunflower yellow or would you go for something totally different? Let me know what you think.

A Fashion Postcard from Berlin

 A snapshot of Berlin from my travels.

I've just got back from a whistlestop tour of Berlin, Colditz and Dresden (yep, I don't do holidays by halves) and it seemed only fitting to share some of the sights of the German capital which is known for being a gathering point for hipsters. 

Local residents are so sick of trendy gangs of youths - think Dalston but with Euros instead of pounds being dropped on achingly cool fashion and overpriced cocktails - that they've told them to leave Berlin alone. Having managed to avoid most of the scenesters on my trip, I can safely say that the city is fascinating enough without paying them much lip service.

 The leaves were beautifully rusty around the city centre.

If you want a style reference, think Christina Hendricks' hair.

 A mime artist reclines by the Brandenburg Gate.

 If you want to buy authentic vintage that gives back to charity, go to Humana.

 The Humana store in Alexanderplatz is an affordable treasure trove. I loved the coats!

 The woman on the left had some amazing baggy harem pants that caught my eye.

 Someone should tell Miuccia Prada that a nail salon in the U-Bahn rather likes her name.

 A short walk from Potsdamer Platz, I spotted this man deep in hipster thought.

 How to do brand awareness, German style: dress up your workers in lederhosen and other traditional costumes. Add copious amounts of Schnapps and some fake gold bars.

 I'm pretty chuffed with how this photo of the Berlin Wall turned out.

This particular section had an almost pebble-dashed chewing gum pattern.

The poster art promoting the film museum was really interesting.

[All photos my own. Please ask before reproducing].

This is just a small portion of what I got up to on my travels, but I hope you'll excuse the absence from blogging. I did take my iPad and intended to blog but the Wi-Fi costs in hotels still remain ridiculously high (and I refuse to pay them) and also my trip was utterly packed with little down-time, so I decided to focus on photography for a bit. 

If you're thinking of going to Berlin then I'd thoroughly recommend it, whether you're into fashion or not; there's so much to see and I certainly don't feel that I've done enough.

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues: COS Dress

[All images my own. Please ask before reproducing].

Apologies for the not-so-happy face. I was having one of those days where you try and smile and you end up looking like you have trapped wind, so I decided it was better to look vaguely serious instead. Anyway, I was a bit more excited than I appear here, because this is my new dress from COS which arrived on New Year's Eve. I didn't wear it out that night as I was going for the careless-night-of-freedom look rather than fashion-conscious-person-who-will-drink-responsibly-thanks. The reason I chose this dress was because it reminded me so much of Miu Miu's S/S12 collection, with the little collar and the intense print. I wore it with a studded black and silver belt from a charity shop.

As you can see, it's quite long, so there's a definite vintage feel. I love the print because it's so dark and messy, in contrast to the very prim and proper shape. I might have to take it up an inch or two, as I'm only 5"7 and I tend to look a bit on the small side with things that are cut on the calf, but this is definitely a purchase that I'll wear again and again for smart occasions. 

Dress, 50EUR in sale, COS online.

PFW: Miu Miu and Balmain both feeling traditional

[Images via Vogue Italia].
Miu Miu's vision for SS12 was decidedly girly, with lace and satin being the dominant fabrics and most pieces falling on, or just above, the knee. Bands of black had been transformed into capelets with ribbon ties, adding the finishing touch to layers of clothing. The use of a murky teal colour was fairly innovative for spring, considering most designers bombarded us with pastels.

If you were thinking things looked a bit far adrift without a Miu Miu print, panic not. Several pieces were given repeated motifs, which jarred nicely with the inky black lace. Make-up, meanwhile, really stood out - a sweep of matte red on lids and nude lips, but the hair seemed a little unimaginative. I would've liked to see black ribbons in there somewhere, maybe.

The look here is edging towards Renaissance glamour, which is very different to the kitsch of SS11. I'm not sure I can imagine current ambassador Hailee Steinfeld in any of these three outifts, without her seeming too mature for her age, but perhaps the capelets will work on the young celebrities such as Hailee that love Miu Miu.

As you can see from this parting shot, there was some patchworking and combining of different key fabrics that left a lot of the pieces feeling like re-workings of each other, trying to go one better than the one that came before. I think that patchwork could be a big trend if it's picked up by the high street, as Miu Miu has set a strong example with this coat (also available in other colours).

[Again, all images via Vogue Italia].
Balmain's SS12 collection played it safe with their classic shapes of skintight trousers and bold-shouldered jackets, alongside a muted colour palette. The focus was on embellishment and the incorporation of embroidery and brocade elements. I can see the middle look from this montage being hot for eveningwear next season, as it's easy for the high street to replicate using PVC and chunky belts or bangles to accessorize.

I love these shorts. Why? Because the embellishment doesn't try to hide the female form - it enhances it by emphasising the curve of your thighs (okay, so maybe that's not a big curve on the model, but you get what I mean). You just know that these shorts are made to be partied in, with chunky heeled boots and a simple top. The choice of black, with long sleeves and gold buttons, is a good one, but in everyday life you could pair them with a rock band-emblazoned vest or a slightly undone white shirt.

Further love of everything embellished, whether it be a power dress or a pair of trousers (though I do feel that the latter is a bit 90s - remember when we all had diamantes up the side of our jeans?). The middle option is what you might call metallic-lite, with simpler adornments that stick to key areas (shoulder and central shirt edge), so that the split skirt can really shine. It's clear that Balmain knows what works.

It wasn't all black at the show - here's a good example of a paler Balmain option, with baby blue brocade trousers (personally I wouldn't wear them, but they're certainly eyecatching). The vertical-horizontal meeting point of the gold belt and shirt edge is really nice and neat - you could replicate it quite easily with a selection of metallic fittings (studs, etc.) and a belt from a charity shop or market. This collection has really shown that the key Balmain styles will always be popular, and that loads of gold doesn't have to be tacky.

Stand-out Shopping: Because we can't all afford catwalk prices

[Image taken from Oasis online].
As I've been blogging a lot about Fashion Week and catwalk shows recently (aside from the Look Show), I thought it would be good to redress the balance with some bargains from the high street. First up is this swallow keyring from Oasis, which is an excellent £4 in the sale.
Trend boxes ticked: Bird prints (massive at Miu Miu for this season) and leather lust (faux leather and studding).
Wear with: A plain but sturdy handbag, a 90s-style floral dress and some kick-ass biker boots.

[Image from Oasis online].
Yup, I found two pieces from Oasis that I wanted - their sale starts today, as I was kindly reminded in an email this morning, as does Warehouse's. This dress caught my eye for its draping, and it's now down to £30.
Trend boxes ticked: monochrome (it's always coming back, but particularly now because 60s colours are everywhere), fabric clashes (think Michael van der Ham now and Alexander McQueen's McQ line two seasons ago - it's another recurring thing), ladylike (Mad Men and The Hour have got us all craving nipped in waists).
Wear with: minimal jewellery (maybe a nice chunky ring, but no necklaces or it breaks the flow of the dress) and your hair up.

[Image from Topshop online].
I was lucky enough to see Simone Rocha's collection at LFW and it didn't disappoint. She's kept a lot of the same ideas in her Topshop diffusion line, with sheer arms against stiff shirts, but obviously at a cheaper price point. The salmon pink in this dress is very fresh and it certainly caught my eye. At £90 it's not cheap, but if you've got the cash then it will probably become a wardrobe staple for you.
Trend boxes ticked: androgyny (in the form of the shirt, with its high neck hiding any femininity and the rest of the fabric bypassing any thought of cleavage or hips), ballerina (the tulle-type sleeves in a sharp pink), fabric clashes (though this is a cleaner take on that look, with everything a little more clinical and neat).
Wear with: Chelsea boots or brogues, some ankle socks in an acidic shade, and strong eyebrows or lips.

[Image from ASOS online].
Paperself lashes are going to be massive. Stocked at ASOS and trialled for free on Fashion Week visitors (including myself), they are an excellent style statement which - if you're careful - you can wear again. This pair is called 'Clown' and it's a bit cheeky but fits in well along the lash line, with the little sections of chequerboard, zigzag and tent popping out nicely. Not one for a job interview, perhaps, but certainly something to consider for a night out.
Trend boxes ticked: the outrageous (think Nicola Roberts' new solo music, Henry Holland, early Gareth Pugh, Pam Hogg et al), ladylike with a twist (for example, the recent Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan for SS12 had chandelier-esque pasta earrings and onion print dresses).
Wear with: a manly shirt (or even the Simone Rocha for Topshop number) or a minimalist dress, with plain coloured tights and some metallic shoes.