Leopard Print and High Heels at The Bookshop

Here in England, the weather has been positively balmy considering we’re in the depths of winter. Although a snowstorm is forecast for tomorrow (I have my fingers crossed for a snow day!), it’s been so mild I could just about get away without tights (a winter miracle in this country) for those days when I’m cycling around town.

Although my default mode come winter is to hibernate indoors as luxuriously as I can, I do occasionally peel myself away for various dates with friends, walks or trips to the cosiest cafes and bookshops I can find. This little gem called The Haunted Bookshop (it is really this tiny) is one of my favourite Cambridge spots and is just made for wintery afternoons spend rummaging through dusty shelves for a vintage literary treasure.

Of course, it is entirely unnecessary to dress up for lazy weekend pursuits, but in my book that’s what makes it even more special. I always get a slightly smug satisfaction out of shopping for groceries, doing my laundry, having weekend brunch (or other such ordinary activities) in lipstick and high heels and jewels when everyone else is in their casual weekend uniform (not that there is anything wrong with that!).

And if you ask me, trips to tiny booshops should always me made in 60s-style dresses and leopard print heels.

Wearing: Vivetta dress (from Audrey Grace Boutique), Lulu Guinness book clutch, Kurt Geiger leopard ponyskin heels (from last season, but similar style here), Michael Kors watch, Jersey Pearl bracelet, Topshop leopard print coat (not seen, but similar style here).

Do you like to dress up for your favourite lazy weekend activities?

Love, Miss B xx

Thank you Sarah for helping with these photos!

A Girl, A Style for Michael Kors

There have been a great number of truly exciting highlights for my blog this year, but being invited to be a face of a Michael Kors campaign is surely to be included at the very top of this list. A few weeks ago I was asked if I would be involved in a new campaign to celebrate the opening of the brand’s new London store, which is how I came to be photographed on the banks of the Thames one beautiful autumn day last week.

Obviously, I am neither a model or a celebrity, so the gravity of being involved in another campaign for a luxury brand (you may remember my Jimmy Choo collaboration from earlier this year) is not lost on me. I find it wonderfully refreshing when major players in the fashion industry choose ‘real women’ as well as supermodels to represent their brands, and to be one of those women myself is a truly a great honour.

And truthfully, these photos from the campaign could not be more ‘real’. Taken one Wednesday when I was working in Parliament, I dashed out of the office on my lunch break (sans professional hair, makeup and primping; Michael Kors got me just as I am in my real life) and spent a fun 15 minutes skipping along the river opposite Parliament as the autumn leaves swirled around us before racing back to my office once again.

Yes, it is a strange double life that I lead (I’m sure there aren’t too many other political advisors slash fashion writers slash Michael Kors models in the world), but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Wearing: Michael Kors cape (borrowed), Hamilton bag (c/-) and watch, Mimco gloves, Wheels & Dollbaby dress (from this post), Mulberry boots, bow headband (just seen) from Tokyo. Photos by the lovely Michelle Bobb-Parris.

Thank you Michael Kors for inviting me to be a part of your London campaign!

I would love to hear your thoughts on brands using ‘real’ women (and gents) in their campaigns alongside professional models.

Love, Miss B xx

The new Michael Kors store is now open at 28 James Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8PA.

September in Pictures

Putting on my favourite Mulberry and pearls for a fabulously decadent brunch at Bob Bob Ricard (‘Press for champagne!’) with girlfriends. Playing tourist in London never gets old. Putting on my new pink Prada heels to make household chores a little bit wonderful. Frequent trips to Chinatown for custard buns and watermelon bubble tea. A surprise delivery from Lulu Guinness (a new pink lips clutch that made me squeal with delight). Pretty pink cocktail earrings from ASOS to brighten up a day. Stopping to smell the roses on the way to the Parliament office. Adding a little extra sparkle at my desk with my favourite Chanel ring.

A serious ‘pinch me!’ moment in my blogging career: joining forces with Jimmy Choo for a fabulous Fashion Night Out party in London: shoes, cocktails and wonderful party-goers (thank you so much to everyone who came to say hello! I’m still grinning at the memory). Packing all my favourite clothes for London Fashion Week. My two favourite Fashion Week accessories: glittery and cake. Garden gnomes in a fantasy garden at the Mulberry show. Soaking up all the action backstage, on the runway and everywhere in between. Beautiful dresses that wardrobe dreams are made of at Erdem and Temperley. Getting to attend the shows of all my favourite designers (and not being able to wipe the smile off my face the entire week).

Making the most of the last of the Cambridge summertime. Evening bicycle rides are more fun when there is a baguette, a bunch of flowers and a Mulberry bag in my basket. The last of my summer days smelt of garden roses, Annick Goutal’s Petite Cherie perfume and Diptyque’s Mimosa candles. Sunny weekends spent lazing on the banks of the River Cam with picnics, good books, my sweetheart and picture-perfect views. Pastel dresses and girl dates at the ice cream parlour. Pretending I go to Hogwarts with Sunday lunches in the Kings College great hall (with a suitably bookish and witty Lulu Guinness clutch bag).

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful September! What are you most looking forward to in October?

Love, Miss B xx