Kitties and Cats

Regular readers will know that despite my very serious day job, I never like to take my wardrobe too seriously. While my daily outfits are mostly a steady rotation of breton stripes, silk blouses and pretty dresses, I love and injection of wit and whimsy that serves only to make me smile when practicality just won’t do. (Yes England, I am talking about you and your seemingly perpetually rainy skies this month…)So when this package of goodies from Paul and Joe’s absurdly cute anniversary cat collection arrived on my doorstep the other day (thank you!), I practically squealed with glee! While they’re all the most wearable and pretty colours in their own right, the adorable packaging (the cutest I have ever seen) makes me smile the whole time I’m using it. I mean, blush sticks shaped like gentemanly cats in hats and paw print lipsticks? In my opinion, makeup should more commonly be shaped like small furry creatures…!

And while it wasn’t strictly necessary to team it with my favourite Charlotte Olympia Kitty heels and golden cat ring from Whistles, I couldn’t resist throwing all semblence of restraint out the window and embracing Cat Lady-chic with wild abandon. I’d love to know how you’re currently injecting a little fun into your wardrobe? All this rain surely calls for something to make our wardrobe smile!

Love, Miss B xx

A Girl, A Style for Jimmy Choo

Writing this blog has resulted in some frankly amazing *pinch me!* moments over the past couple of years that have made me want to squeel with delight (winning two major blog awards last year, meeting several of my fashion design idols, sitting front row at Fashion Week…), and being asked to be a face of one of the world’s eminent luxury brands definitely falls firmly within this category.

As part of their just-launched online project called 24:7 Stylemakers, Jimmy Choo have handpicked a few of their favourite real-life girls (as opposed to the usual models) from around the world who they think embody a glamorous, jetset lifestyle to be the face of the campaign. And yes, that is little ol’ me as the English ‘face’ (you can see my profile here). As part of the campaign, two enormous boxes of Choo samples arrived on my doorstep a month or so ago (*cue more squeels of delight*). Because the campaign is about glamorous women wearing fabulous shoes 24/7, this meant that I got to play dressups and go about my regular life in a month’s worth of twinkly, sparkly, sky-high Choos. Obviously, I wasn’t exactly complaining…

The Choo 24:7 campaign is live now, and any Choo-lover is invited to upload a picture of themselves with their Choos in their corner of the world to appear alongside the official ‘faces’ on the campaign site (enter before June 6th and you can win a Choo wardrobe worth £4000!). You can see A Girl, A Style for Jimmy Choo (featuring a peek at a week in my life) here.

I’d love to hear what you think!

Love, Miss B xx

Christian Louboutin’s Illustrated Artistry

Fact: I’m a shoe girl. From the moment I slipped on my first pair of ballet shoes (and felt like a sugar plum fairy) to the first pair of Marc Jacobs shoes I saved and saved and saved for, I’ve believed in the transformative powers a good pair of shoes can posses. But I’m not talking about the sort of footwear I wear every day to run around town (though they certainly have their merits), but the kind of shoes they are so beautiful, you dream about them on your way to work and buy them even if you can’t really walk in them just so you can sit them on your bookshelf, atop mantlepieces and within bell jars for all the world to see (and, on very special occasions, slip them on for your own Cinderella moment at a wonderful party).

And no one creates shoe art quite like Monsieur Christian Louboutin. Since the moment I saw a flash of that red sole on a chic Madamoiselle in Paris many years ago, I’ve been having a love affair with his creations. For here is a man who understands that sometimes, a woman just needs a silk bow on her slippers or a pair of high heels adorned with a thousand crystals to make her feel ever so slightly more wonderful.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the brand, Christian Louboutin has designed a capsule collection (twenty styles of shoes and six bags) which pays tribute to his most iconic styles in that time. He so kindly sent me his own illustrations of some of his favourites from the collection (I did squeal a little when I opened them), so I just had to share them here with you all. So until I can afford a whole shoe wardrobe filled with his designs, I shall quite happily settle for his framed illustrations upon my walls.

Thank you Mr Louboutin for the wonderful illustrations (the most perfect birthday present a shoe girl could ask for!)

I’d love to hear about your favourite shoe stories!

Love, Miss B xx

The Christian Louboutin capsule collection will be available from an exclusive Selfridges pop-up store from 27th February, and from Louboutin stores worldwide from March. Sign up to the Louboutin Facebook page for more updates and general shoe-related loveliness.