It's Monday, we're feeling gloomy and we're in need of a little start of the week pick me up. If you're in the same boat, we prescribe an extra shot in your morning coffee, a sneaky lunchtime shopping spree (make that an e-spree if you're eating al desko) and a large Hendricks and tonic in front of something very good on the TV this evening. In the meantime, here are our ten fav fashion soundbites for your Monday enjoyment...
May this week be full of friends, cocktails and fabulous outfits!
We love Pinterest for giving us the means to keep an e-scrapbook of all our favourite, most inspirational, beautiful things. From lickable stilettos, to obscenely awesome food porn with plenty of Monday-lifting, life-affirming quotes in between. We swear our happiness has increased exponentially since we started pinning... Quite aside from helping us create mindblowingly fabulous shopping lists, every now and then, our Pinterest feed throws up something that stops us in our tracks. Social media really is a pretty brilliant way to keep educating yourself about the things that you love which for us includes art, photography and illustration. Take for example, this week's gem of a find - fashion illustration genius, Antonio Lopez.
Karl Largerfeld said about Lopez: "In the world of illustration, his contribution is superior to the efforts of all other fashion artists of his era", we couldn't agree more Karl...
We know it's still November Father Christmas, but if you're reading this, Antonio Lopez - Fashion, Art, Sex & Disco is slap bang at the top of our Christmas list...
A whole week of sunshine, no sleeves and open toed shoes! It's all been pretty amazing! Now it's not only the weekend, but it's going to be another SUPER one - what more can we ask for? Maybe a weekend with our HK Mouse sister? TICK...as you can imagine Mice Towers is buzzing with over excitement and planning is well under way!
When we haven't been bulk buying Pimms and suncream, this week the Mice have mostly been...
Overzealously spritzing ourselves from head to toe! You may have seen from previous posts that when it comes to pampering goodness we're suckers for Miller Harris but this addiction comes with a hefty price tag... or so we thought! Lyn Harris, leading British perfumer and founder of renowned perfume house, Miller Harris has joined forces with the much loved retailer Marks & Spencer to create an exclusive line of affordable (£25 for 50ml) yet standout fragrances for both men and women.
For her we have:
La Rose - it does just what it says on the bottle - a gorgeously classic rose petal scent
La Fleur - floral through and through with a woody edge
La Poudree - oriental core with fruity flair
I was lucky enough to be gifted both the La Rose and La Fleur scents to trial and they are both truly long lasting and sweet smelling...
For him:
Le Noir - rich in citrus zing complemented with notes of tarragon and amber
Le Sauvage - fruity and warming with elements of cardamon, oak moss and coriander seed
Le Cologne - comforting herb undertone with notes of rosemary and thyme coupled with fresh and citrus ingredients including Bergamot from Sicily
Shortlisting our favourite rooftop spots to ensure you're all ready to make the most of this glorious sunshine in style! Our top three are guaranteed to make up for the fact that we're not lazying on a beach sipping a caipirinha, well nearly... Queen of Hoxton - if like us Mice you don't have a garden and desperately miss one, then we have found the answer! A garden in the sky that comes complete with grass (it may be fake but we love it!), colourful tables and chairs, picnic benches and a BBQ! However it has one up on a quiet little garden, as it's slap bang in the middle of East London it of course comes with an eclectic crowd who will provide a far more interesting backdrop and conversations to eavesdrop!
Image via www.chillorthrill.com
The Boundary - our little slice of heaven that really does make you feel like you're a world away from busy, stressful London. Sleek, white, chic and exactly where everyone wants to while a sunny day away! You may have to queue but seriously it's worth it, there's a wood burner in the middle of the rooftop, comfy chairs and sofas and when the sun goes down they even hand out blankets to keep you snug!
Image via www.theboundary.co.uk
Sushi Samba - if you can battle your nerve with heights then we strongly recommend whizzing up to the 39th floor and hanging out on the Sushi Samba terrace. You'll be overlooking a wonderful London skyline, served mean cocktails and be relaxing among a pulled together crowd...riff raff aren't welcome under the orange Sushi Samba tree!
Snapping up a new Chanel wardrobe at a fraction of the price, with the brand new Tokidoki x Karl Lagerfeld Collection. To own a piece of Chanel would usually entail selling your car, house or self, however those extremes are well and truly over! The one and only Karl Lagerfeld has teamed up with the Japanese Lifestyle brand Tokidoki, to create a quirky, monochrome capsule collection with prices starting from £35! Net-a-Porter are the chosen online retailer to exclusively sell the range to the public....take a sneaky peak here of the delights that await you...
Image via www.net-a-porter.com, £159
Image via www.net-a-porter.com, £70
Image via www.net-a-porter.com, £329
Image via www.net-a-porter.com, £200
Image via www.net-a-porter.com, £35
We're off to pretend we're in our teens again and sing along with Justin Timberlake at Wireless Festival, but we wish you all a fantastically fun and super sunny weekend!
Like me this year, I say weeping over my MacBook Air, Diet Coke turns 30! I can't quiet believe it too ... how are we both saying goodbye to our sparkling twenties?! I still have a good few months of planning left to make sure I bid a suitably fabulous farewell to my younger years, but I have a feeling Diet Coke may just have pipped me to the post by working with fashion legend, Marc Jacob... You've guessed it MJ is now the brand's new Creative Director taking over from Jean Paul Gaultier and in celebration he has designed three super-fab limited edition cans. Yep, pretty sure i'm not going to come even remotely close to celebrating with as much pizazz...!
Image via www.thedieline.com
All three designs are standout in their own way, each representing one of Diet Coke's three decades through vibrant colours and beautiful illustrations. The eighties design revolves around the empowered woman, whilst the nineties screams attitude through the exploration of fashion, music and art and last but by no means least the noughties is focussed on fun, energy and sexiness!
Image via www.dailymail.com
It doesn't stop there though, Marc also plays dress up (or dress down) acting as the new hunk in the latest 'Diet Coke Break' line of ads. Check him out below...
We thought we'd hold a mini 3BM celebration of our own to mark the special occasion so we have taken it upon ourselves to look back at our top 3 favourite Diet Coke collaborations over the years...
In 2008 Patricia Field caused a stir with her 4-bottle range modelled around the sexy and sassy woman...
Image via www.fabsugar.com
In 2011 Karl Lagerfeld got into bed with the brand all for the love of losing weight! He apparently lost a whopping 90 pounds through drinking the iconic pop *along with a healthy diet. I think we've all learnt something here...!
Image via www.thedollsfactory.com
And last but not least, in 2012 Jean Paul Gaultier designed the 'Night & Day' range of designs for the brand. Stripes and lace - our favourite kind of combo...
image via www.heartymagazine.com
I think we're all in agreement that Diet Coke has well and truly mastered the art of reaching and turning the grand old age of 30 gracefully, lets just hope that I can do the same ...!
When you were little was there anything more exciting than a school trip?
Coach journeys and lots of messing about with your friends somewhere with caged wild animals or random paintings (that looked like the least artistic child in your class knocked them up). One whole day with no assembly, no times tables, no spelling tests and no mental arithmetic. And the absolute highlight of the trip? Spending your 50p in the gift shop (the beginning of our shopping addictions can clearly be traced back to buying pencils and postcards at the Science Museum in the eighties...)
These days we generally don't get to hit up those cultural hot spots as much as we should. Somehow the lure of Topshop and cocktails are a little stronger than museums and gift shops when our weekends roll around. But this month we're dusting off our satchels and polishing our Prefects' badges - two fashion photography exhibitions have us super excited! It's time to geek it up and head out for a bit of gallery hopping... The Little Black Jacket What: One hundred and thirteen black and white portraits of models, fashionistas and an assortment of other beautiful people in Chanel's iconic little black jacket. The exhibition of photographs styled by Carine Roitfeld and captured by Karl Lagerfeld has popped up in Tokyo, New York, Taipei and Hong Kong and will be making its London debut on Friday. I spent a very happy afternoon at the exhibition when it came to Hong Kong and left with three gorgeous free posters. From Lily Allen to Yoko Ono and Cate Blanchett to Kanye West, each subject takes classic Chanel and gives it their own personal twist. Top tip: keep your eyes peeled for the lone little white jacket shot... Where: Saatchi Gallery (www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk) When: October 12th - 29th 2012 Admission: Free!
A sneak peek at a couple of images from the exhibition...
Images by Karl Lagerfeld via: www.lebonchic.com, www.robynhobson.com and www.whudat.de
And a few behind the scenes shots from the Little Black Jacket shoots...
Images via: www.thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com
It's open for such a short time, so make sure that you catch it while you can!
Tim Walker: Story Teller What: Beautiful, decadent and a little bit crazy, Tim Walker's work is the very essence of great fashion photography. A staple on the pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair, W and the New Yorker, Walker's photography will be the focus of an exhibition opening later this month at the home of London Fashion Week, Somerset House. In keeping with the theatre of the photographs on display, the exhibition will also feature shoot props, installations and a series of specially curated films. This promises to be a fairytale monster of an exhibition and we can't wait to check it out! Where: Somerset House (www.somersethouse.org.uk) When: October 18th 2012 - January 27th 2013 Admission: Free! A few of our favourite Tim Walker shots...
Images by Tim Walker via: www.pinterest.com
And lastly, one for the diary...Valentino: Master of Couture opens at Somerset House on 29th November. Wall to wall Valentino red, behind the scenes footage from the couture atelier and a catwalk placing visitors in the shoes of the models - all in all, far too much fashion geek excitement for these three Mice!
