Summer Vibes

Today I took advantage of the very rare sunshine England has to offer and went down to the river for a picnic with my friend. 

I wanted to christen my new Timberland boots (a bargain I found at an outlet store for £12 may I add) so decided to construct my outfit starting from my shoes. 

I'm loving headscarves at the minute, especially for the summer months, so tied this Topshop one around my head for a touch of colour. 

I wanted to keep the rest of my outfit quite minimal and toned-down to contrast with the headscarf, so I paired this J.W Anderson X Topshop pinafore with an old American Apparel Breton crop I found at the bottom of my wardrobe. 

Again, I wanted to keep my accessories minimal as not to take away from the statement headscarf, so I kept it simple with this Marc by Marc Jacobs leather bracelet strap and my trusty eBay sunnies!

Headscarf Topshop, Breton Crop-top American Apparel, Pinafore J.W Anderson X Topshop, Boots Timberland, Leather Bracelet Strap Marc by Marc Jacobs, Sunglasses eBay. 

Sports Luxe blog post

Sports Luxe really is a gift that keeps on giving. The trend saturated the runways of Spring Summer 12 during the London 2012 Olympics and now, thanks to New York designers Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim and Donna Karan, it’s back again with a vengeance for Spring Summer 13.

The Sports Luxe trend is more minimalist and paired-back in its second coming. Think slouchy trousers, zips, mesh bodies and sheer sweaters. 

Top Tips:

For a bang-on-trend outfit perfect for a night on the town, team a pair of slouchy track bottoms with killer heels and a flattering lycra leotard for a feminine yet sporty silhouette.

For a dressed up daytime look, pair a tailored pencil skirt with a boxy sweater, cut out heels and a leather cap.

If it’s a more casual approach to the trend you’re after, then work a pair of leather drawstring shorts with a smart blazer, a leather backpack and your favourite sneaks. 

The trick is to style contrasting, sports-inspired separates and dressed up accessories into one game-changing outfit to ensure you’re more fash-pack than running track.

Check out fashion’s favourites Cara Delevingne, Rita Ora and Rihanna for a real lesson in how to work the sports luxe trend. 

Hattie Broom

A whirlwind three months

I'm back! I've been in London for the past three months selling my soul... Just kidding, I've been interning.

I started interning for celebrity stylist, and fashion director of Notion magazine Alexis Knox in February and my word did I have fun.

I won't lie, a lot of it was back-breaking work. Long hours dragging a human sized suitcase full of shoes and clothes I could only dream of wearing around with me. Onto the tube, through Liverpool St station in rush hour, through the bustling streets of west London - you get the gist. Despite that though, I enjoyed every minute of it. I learnt so much about the fashion industry and met some amazing people along the way.

I assisted Alexis Knox and her assistant stylist, Emily on some really exciting shoots including Sky Ferreira's *swoon* cover shoot for Notion magazine. I helped to shop for Little Mix's BRIT Awards outfits and was then asked to go to their London flat, their dressing room for the night, to help with the luggage and meet the girls.

I helped with a fitting for Misha B's music video in her south London home and heard the exclusive play of her new single 'Here's to Everything'.

My favourite celebrity encounter, however, was with the delightful Kimberley Wyatt. I was invited to assist with the styling of Kimberley Wyatt's individual performance on Sky 1's Got To Dance.

I spent two days at the Sky 1 studios in Shepperton with Kimberley and her team of ten dancers and watched the live screening of Got To Dance. On the night, it was down to me to individually dress all ten of the dancers in time for the live performance. I've never felt so much adrenalin and need to succeed. Despite my nerves, everything went smoothly and the performance was a huge success.

So what next, you might ask? Well, on the train back up north after finishing my internship with Alexis I received an email from Now magazine offering me an internship as a web editor assistant. I was over the moon. I had a relaxing weekend at home recuperating from the none-stop madness of my previous internship then returned to London on the Sunday night. 

I was given so much responsibility at Now from the word go and learnt so much. The team were easy to work with and really welcomed me into their pack. During press week, I was invited to Claridge's with the web team to attend the launch of Holly Willoughby's SS13 Very collection and met Holly herself. She was even lovelier than I expected and so gorgeous. We each received afternoon tea and a piece of Holly's collection to take home with us. I picked a gorgeous monochrome dress with spaghetti straps, perfect for the summer months approaching. 

After nearly a month at Now, I was asked to write my own fashion and celebrity news articles - a dream come true for me. My work was published on their website and I received brilliant feedback. It couldn't have ended on a higher note for me. 

So after a whirlwind three months, I'm back home in sunny Lancashire on the job hunt. Talk about coming back down to earth, ey.