Currently Channeling... Louis Vuitton Underwear As Outerwear

Every fashion month, there are a couple of shows which grab us immediately, set the tone for our wardrobes for the season to come and leave us desperate to see whether the highstreet will have shared our excitement and deliver homages within our price range.  

Last spring the show that really had us at hello was Louis Vuitton. Fifty doors opened onto a hotel corridor come catwalk spilling out Cara, Kate and co in an array of lingerie-esque pieces with mannish coats thrown over the top. The show notes explained that the collection channelled the "attitude of getting dressed up only to find the most glamorous destination is one's own hotel room." What could be more decadently fabulous? 

 

 

Post-show Marc Jacobs elaborated further on the woman he'd designed the collection for: "She’s Left Bank. She’s Hollywood. A bit Gloria Swanson. A bit Juliet Greco. She’s romantic, erotic, decadent, glamorous and she loves luxury". If we weren't already sold, that really sealed the deal - that was exactly who we fancied being when the temperature dipped.

Turns out we were joined by fashion's finest in that sentiment...

 

 

 

So it was with baited breath that we waited for the autumn/winter highstreet collections to drop. 

 

And thankfully our favourite purveyor of high fashion on a budget blew even our wildest dreams out of the water... yup - Zara has once more totally excelled itself. In fact Zara's Louis Vuitton inspired offering is so extensive that there's a whole section of the website devoted to it - Lace. Here are the pieces we're currently most coveting...

 

Zara Lingerie Style Studio Dress
£89.99

 

Zara Lingerie Style Dress with Spaghetti Straps

£35.99

 

Zara Lingerie Style Dress

£25.99

 

 

Zara Printed Dress with Lace Trim

£45.99

 

Zara Double Layer Lingerie Style and Mesh Dress

£39.99

 

Zara Studio Mesh Dress

£109.00

 

 

Two Tone Lingerie Style Dress

£19.99

 

Zara Printed Lace Camisole Top

£29.99

 

 

Zara Lingerie Style Dress

£29.99

 

 

Zara Lingerie Style Tube Dress

£29.99

 

Zara Printed Skirt with Lace Trim

£39.99

 

 

Just add an oversized, mannish coat, chuck insouciantly over the top of your lacy loveliness and remember staying in is the new going out...

The House of Peroni : Italian Fashion & Red Carpet Glamour...

For those of you who liked our recent House of Peroni post, you'll be happy to hear we're back with part two. If you read and paid attention, you'll remember me saying that honorary mouse and jolly good friend, Julia McColl went along to a talk held at ‘The House’ on the influence Italian fashion has had on the Oscars’ red carpet. Take it away Julia Mouse...

When the email from Middle Mouse popped into my inbox with the opening line "I thought you might like this..." I immediately said yes! A chance to check out The House of Peroni and to talk red carpet fashion was far too good to turn down! 

The venue is an artistic pop-up, housing a restaurant hosted by Michelin starred brothers, a rooftop bar and copious art and design exhibitions. Having scheduled a super cool events calender for July, The House of Peroni is being reincarnated in November for what I hope is a more permanent post.

So I arrived, slightly more fashionably late than planned and significantly hotter than planned, wishing that I had a wardrobe of Italian designer outfits from which to dress. Now I do not pretend to be a fashion expert (far from it!) and I must confess I didn't immediately recognise all of the speakers (Sorry Three Bad Mice!) It's fair to say I had a lot to learn!

The evening was hosted by Colin McDowell and he was accompanied with three top speakers; Stylist Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, Laura Weir from the Sunday Times Style and Designer Antonio Berardi for an evening of chat, questions and gossip. 

 

The night was spent discussing a number of red carpet classics with some great insight into the gossip and stories behind them. I've included my favourites below... 

The shock effect as Gwyneth loses the squeaky clean image, in a Berardi dress of course...

J'Lo at her hottest - stopping just before the line of vulgarity is crossed...! 

Emma Watson's Berardi jacket with 'that' dress... 

Even Victoria needed a style evolution "she would hate you for digging that photo out"...

Anniston rocking the new regime of Valentino... 

The chat was lighthearted and fascinating, these were a group that not only knew their stuff but really had a passion for red carpet glamour. I listened in awe as they recounted countless tales of last minute outfit changes, financial 'incentives' to encourage certain outfit choices and hotel rooms taken over by dresses and jewellery - total dream! I can honestly say I had never realised how little I knew surrounding this subject and would highly recommend the events regardless of your fashion know-how. 

 

The House of Peroni doors are now sadly shut but I'll be first in line when they re-open again in November - watch this space...

 

This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

It's Friday!

And.... over in HK there's another reason to be happy... homelessness has been averted! Woo hoo! This time last week, my lease end date was a week away and I'd seen roughly seven hundred horrifically awful flats - I was pretty convinced that what I wanted just wasn't out there, and I'd just have to settle... And then BAM! Out of nowhere, along came the flat of my dreams! Within 24 hours I'd signed on the dotted line and now all that stands between the present and happily ever after is a day of packing all my things in boxes and shuffling them across town...Oh and seventeen days of momentary homelessness living out of a suitcase and sleeping on a blow-up mattress until my real estate Prince Charming is ready to sweep me off my feet - what can I say? True love waits...

That aside, this week the Mice have mostly been...

Welcoming a brand new A-List Mouse to the gang... Step up Posh Mouse... VB Tweeted a snap of herself leaving the Vogue Festival last weekend and baffled the media by adding a pair of mouse ears to the shot. It's been speculated that Victoria added the ears to show that "she's not a cow" (well duh, she's clearly a mouse...) and that she has a sense of humour. Both great theories, but let's face it, we all know the truth, VB just wants to be in our gang...

Image via: www.twitter.com

Daydreaming that we're dainty enough to don a tutu, tights and pointe shoes and join the Royal ballet! This week Daddy Mouse kindly gave us London Mice tickets to go see La Bayadere at the Royal Opera House. Ballet for us is something very special, our childhood was full of racing from school or very early morning wake ups to attend modern, ballet, tap and jazz lessons. Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday we changed into our leotards and ballet shoes and pranced around dutifully pointing our toes extra hard.

You and I worked at John Lewis or Topshop as our Saturday job, but not Mummy Mouse, instead she decided to dress the Royal Ballet dancers before they went on stage and then as a hobby painted them whilst they danced. As you can imagine this is how our love was born...stories and paintings littered our years of growing up, not to mention the extra special family outings 'all the way up to London' to watch the ballerinas in action.

We decided to make our Wednesday extra special and stop by Balthazar beforehand for the famous duck shepherds pie and a Hendricks....

Suitably full off we trotted, having not visited the Opera House for years we made a quick pitstop at the beautiful champagne bar...

Before we knew it the bell was ringing and it was time to take our seats....

La Bayadere is a beautiful love story set in India, the choreography and orchestra are fantastic in demonstrating the plot, a three hour performance whizzed by with utterly compelling scenes. I am not one of those artistic people who instantly connect with a story, therefore I made sure I read the plot beforehand and at each interval and as a result followed the scenes all the way through and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The costumes were simply beautiful...full, embellished stereotypical ballerina tutus to compliment scenes true of every little girl's dreams. Row upon row of frothy tutus, in precise lines executing perfectly in time sequences...simply breathtaking. I won't give too much away in terms of the story but definitely a night not to miss. By the time the curtains came down, both Middle Mouse and I vowed to become full time dancers with the best six packs seen to man!

Seriously considering getting a head of dreds on the offchance it might imbue us with a fraction of music goddess Valerie June's nonchalant cool. We've been super excited about the release of June's new album, Pushin' Against a Stone, ever since we heard Workin' Woman Blues earlier this year. And on Monday, it's out! If you can listen to Can't Be Told without tapping your toes you clearly don't have a rhythmic bone in your body...
Can't Be Told



Working Woman's Blues

Give Me Water


And that's it for another week! Happy Friday!

x
The Mice

This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

EEEEEEE it is officially so close to Christmas now I am finding it hard to breathe! Only 3 more weekends and we are at Christmas Eve and HK mouse is back with us where she belongs!!!! Super duper exciting but at the same time causing me slight heart palpitations as I am no where NEAR bought up in terms of Christmas presents! That is how I will be spending my weekend...well in between bridesmaid dress shopping, house warming parties and Friday night drinks of course! 

This week has been busy for all - HK mouse is freezing half to death in snowy Seoul whilst Middle and I are starting the Christmas parties and nights out...the only thing worse than waking up for work is waking up for work with a wine hangover and remembering those secrets you let slip that you really shouldn't have..Oh dear!!!

So when we haven't been jetting around the world or cringing at last night's activities, this week the Mice have mostly been...

Frantically scouring the Internet, magazines and shops for unusual and quirky Christmas presents...so far I haven't had too many brainwaves or gasp inducing discoveries so if you have any gems send then my way! 

However in my search I did come across the quirky Tatty Devine personalised necklaces. I am going crazy for anything personalised at the moment be it the Monica Viander engraved Siren pinky ring I blogged about recently or the Bauble Bar take on a Carrie necklace...I love them all! However if those are little out of your budget then why not check out these Tatty Divine beauties....cool, bespoke and a little bit of fun! 

You get to pick a word up to nine letters, the colour, size, font, charm and chain colour! When I was trying out the interactive site I opted for Alice, black glitter, Billboard font, no charm, standard size and a gold chain. And for £37.50 this is what it looks like....

Image via www.tattydevine.com

A few more examples to give you a better idea...

Image via www.tattydevine.com

Perfect Christmas gift, thoughtful secret Santa or even a little treat for yourself for this festive season!

Tearing apart our wardrobes...looking for the perfect Christmas night out get up! If like us you're pretty bored of everything you own and want something new, festive and a little bit special then you are not alone! Well we have found a new website which will help with such dilemmas and provide something that not everyone will have...we all love Zara but you don't want to be dress twins with the girl from the 4th floor do you?! So we present to you...London boutiques...a site which allows you to peruse London's most high end boutiques without having to swap websites or move from your sofa! What's even better is there's 20% off Party wear! 

You'll find the likes of Trilogy, Austique, Felt and Iris in the Boutiques section, but if you want to search by Designer there are so many goodies it'll hurt your eyes...Ash, Acne, Helmut, Victoria Victoria Beckham and By Malene Birger. 

It is literally a treasure trove all all things beautiful be it books, jewellery, scarves, shoes, dresses...you name and you'll find it here and for a range of prices also! 

By Malene Birger Metallic Top, £179

Image via www.london-boutiques.com

Austique Leone Mini Wrap Dress, £380

Image via www.london-boutiques.com

Ash Studded High Tops, £165

Image via www.london-boutiques.com

Tessa Ruffle Dress, £235

Image via www.london-boutiques.com

Hanky Panky Thong, £18

Image via www.london-boutiques.com

Bells Ring Jacquard Dress, Victoria Victoria Beckham, £675

Image via www.london-boutiques.com

Dying a slow alcohol death post Belfast...I was in Belfast last weekend getting acquainted with my Irish bestie's hometown! It didn't start well with me missing my flight and forgetting my phone charger - which meant that when I'd finally landed and switched on my phone to find that I had a flat battery, meeting up was slightly tricky! And it continued in a pretty similar vein when we managed to find each other with both of us slipping head over heel on the icy pavements in front of our boss' boss! 

However, when work was done we set about getting further acquainted with Belfast's much larger than normal spirit measures...! I was introduced to quite a few places however the best had to be The Spaniard Pub....dark, effortlessly cool, cosily lit by tonnes of candles and serving up officially the best Hendricks ever! Huge slices of cucumber, lots of gin and super cheap, in comparison to London anyway!

Image via www.thespaniardbar.com

My other must do tip is an Irish fry...I was lucky enough to have mine cooked for me by Kitty's amazing mum however, if you aren't so lucky you have to go find somewhere that does a good one! The potato bread is seriously delicious and addictive...believe me once you've tried it you will be on a mission to have it every weekend forever more! Plus after all the Irish drinking a bit or carby, fried goodness is definitely the only cure....!!!

And last but by no means least...

Falling a little but more in love...with William and Kate...We've been staunch supporters from the start and got thoroughly over excited by the wedding - cue the London Mice hosting a huge British tea party at London Mice Towers complete with a Union Jack Victoria Sponge cake, Royal fancy dress theme and lots and lots of Pimms...

While over in Hong Kong, HK Mouse toasted the wedding with Jaeger Bombs at a Best of British party which saw all her expat pals getting their Brit on and going dressed as everything from a jar of Marmite to a pregnant Kate...

Which brings us neatly back to this week's news that a teeny tiny bundle of Cambridge baby is on its way! We're very pleased to hear that after a bout of morning sickness which saw her hospitalised, Kate is now back at Kensington Palace with her feet up. Roll on super chic maternity Kate and plenty of speculation about the name. 

Wonderful news, we're very excited and we're already planning the Royal headwetting parties... 

Image via: www.huffingtonpost.com

And that's it for this week! 

Happy Friday, hope you all have great weekends - stay cosy and get some downtime in before festivities really start to kick into overdrive....

x

The Mice

3BM Best Bits: NYFW SS 13

One down another three to go. 

As London Fashion Week kicks off, we round up our best bits from NYFW which wrapped up, across the pond, on Thursday.

Christian Grey Turns Muse

In a most un-springlike twist, the New York catwalks were awash with leather, harnesses and black lace - do we detect a little Fifty Shades inspiration?! From harnesses at BCBG Max Azria to leather and lace at Jason Wu, Christian and Ana were clearly mood board staples...

Images via: www.style.com

Catwalk Catfights at Zac Posen

Emotions clearly run high during fashion week when the world's fashionistas are dashing around from show to show existing on coffee, cigarettes and three hours' sleep. Irrespective of that, we weren't quite expecting slapping at Zac Posen but slapping's what we got...

When fire marshals made last minute adjustments to the seating arrangements at the Zac Posen show, sixty seats were unexpectedly scrapped leading to one very angry French fashion journo and one very slapped American PR. Jalouse Editor, Jennifer Eymere, apparently followed the slap up with the utterance "Don't f*** with the French".

Seems that maybe the PR's having the last laugh though having just sued Eymere for US$1million for assault, battery, emotional distress, slander and libel...

Image via: www.graziadaily.co.uk

From Dawson's Creek to Fashion Week
It seems it's a year of firsts for Katie Holmes. First divorce, first time taking Suri in a cab and now first time showing at NYFW. Choosing not to stage a catwalk show but rather to keep it low key with an intimate presentation of fifteen looks to just 150 people, Katie seemed to be shying away from making this yet another media circus. We were particularly taken with the button-fronted black maxi dress and long-line tuxedo jacket and the ruby red short shorts and buttery camel-coloured suede cape. Well played Katie! 

Image via: www.latimes.com

Images via: www.style.com

Surprise Catwalk Guests

Naomi Campbell at Zac Posen and Liberty Ross at Alexander Wang, it was a week of unexpected catwalk appearances. Campbell who also joined Twitter on the day of the show (and to date already has almost 20,000 followers...), drew gasps of excitement when she stormed down the runway.

Image via: www.style.com

Liberty Ross walked for Alexander Wang, her first appearance since Kristen-gate broke seven weeks ago. Looking beautiful but fierce in a white outfit with cut-outs, Ross definitely sent out the message that she was back in business. 

Image via: www.style.com

Harper Made her Catwalk Debut
While it wasn't her first time sitting front row (it was her third time nach...), Harper Beckham made her catwalk debut last week at the tender age of just fourteen months...

We predict that it won't be long before she's strutting out in front of Anna Wintour & co...Looking chic and perfectly put together, Harper accompanied her Dad to the Victoria by Victoria Beckham show and then perched on her Mum's lap while she sat transfixed by the models stalking the runway. We've said it before and we're sure to say it again, what would we give to be Harper?! Sigh...

Images via: www.harperbeckhamfashion.blogspot.com

Indian Princess Met Daisy Buchanan at Marchesa

Always a show we look forward to with baited breath, Marchesa was our absolute stand out collection of NYFW this year. Complete over the top escapism, these were red carpet gowns heavily inspired by India but with a light sprinkling of Great Gatsby-esque chic. Rich jewel tones and intricate gold embroidery pervaded but our favourite pieces were those embellished with fringing and cast in twenties silhouettes. Breathtakingly stunning, we can't wait to see Hollywood's elite parading them down a red carpet in the very near future.

Images via: www.style.com

ADR got Snappy & had a Fashion Shower

It's just a matter of weeks until we can finally get our mitts on what promises to be the best H&M collaboration for a while (and based on our previous H&M collaboration excitement, that's clearly saying something...). Anna Dello Russo for H&M looks to be a mind-bendingly amazing menagerie of uber-fab accessories. In New York last week, ADR rocked a pair of crocodile sunnies and blingtastic A earrings from the collection sending our accessories lust into overdrive. 

Image via: www.harpersbazaar.com

And as if that wasn't enough, ADR has also released a video celebrating the launch of the collaboration where she models the collection while singing about her ten fashion rules. We have this on a loop over at Mouse Towers... PURE GENIUS!

London, you have a LOT to live up to!