This week London was the place to be… as of course London Fashion Week got underway. Everyone got on the band-wagon and nowhere more so than Topshop… there was loads going on. Not only did they have eye-catching window displays but there were scrummy cupcakes by Ella’s Bakehouse (these sweet treats are baked by a former model Lorraine Pascale and are so “on trend” they’ve been featured in Vogue!) who also gave demonstrations to perfect icing skills (www.ellasbakehouse.co.uk).  They had live DJ sets so you could bop-while-you-shopped and workshops to inspire budding fashion bloggers. There was an oh-so-cool pop-up salon from Wah Nails (where East London fashion girls in the know get their manicures – www.wah-nails.com) and you could also design your own TOMS shoes (if you’ve not heard of them, they’re an amazing company who promise that for every pair they sell, they will give a pair of shoes to a child in need, visit www.tomsshoes.com for more details)… No wonder Topshop Oxford Circus was so crazily busy when I had a look around on Saturday afternoon!

Something really fascinating that Topshop had on the lower ground floor was the Vintage Academe Installation And Talk. Not only were there exquisite vintage dresses on display but (founder) Clare Nicholls and curator Judith Watt  – who’s business is selling stunning fashion items from the 20^th century (www.vintageacademe.com) were on hand to tell all about the items, who designed them and why they were special – pieces included 1920s haute couture Chanel and 1980s Alaia..

But what about LFW itself?  Some of you might not know that there are really two elements which make up London Fashion Week – the exhibition and the shows. One great thing this year was that shows were streamed on-line so you didn’t have to be a fashion editor to get up-to-date front row access to the catwalks… you didn’t even have to stress about what to wear (as you could watch them in your pj’s)!! Visit www.londonfashionweek.com. LFW has been based for the past couple of seasons at Somerset House, which is an incredible building just north of the River Thames. Some shows take place in the BFC (British Fashion Council) tent or wherever the designer chooses (usually a quirky location in central London somewhere).

Obviously we all know about the fashion shows – from Betty Jackson, to PPQ, to House of Holland… Every magazine will have images of what we should be wearing next A/W from the shows – but what about the other side of LFW? The exhibition (held at Somerset House) is where designers showcase their collections, hoping that buyers who visit will buy their collections!

I had a look around on Monday and saw some stunning pieces. Here are a couple of bits that caught my eye…

Once inside the exhibition it was like a dream come true for me – as I’m a huge ballet pump fan – I nearly fainted when I saw this display – and this was only a tiny selection of what French Sole had to offer!! (www.frenchsole.com).

And I fell in love with these shoes from Kron byKronkron – which is an Icelandic brand, handmade with the best quality materials from Spain (www.kronbykronkon.com) – they retail between £350-£400 and will be available from Poste Mistress (www.office.co.uk/postemistress.com) and www.asos.com in approximately 2 weeks apparently!

Elvis Jesus was a brand that I really liked – funky t-shirts embellished with buttons, studs and chains – check out their website www.elvisjesus.co.uk  (and how about their leggings – not for the faint hearted!).

I took a picture of an amazing “Carrie” style prom dress (a mini version of the “mille feuilles” or thousand layer dress SJP wore in SATC in the episode when she fell asleep whilst waiting for Alexander Petrovski in Paris! By the way, that dress was a Versace gown which is said to have retailed for almost $80,000!!). Anyway the dress I saw was by a designer based in Cyprus called Sia Dimitriadi (www.siadimitriadi.com) but the photo didn’t come out, so check out her website – also she is showcasing her collection at Wolf and Badger in Notting Hill (www.wolfandbadger.com).

So now London Fashion Week has come to an end and the fashion glitterati have flown off to Milan for the next round of shows, don’t forget we have the London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House (www.londonfashionweeekend.com) which starts today and finishes on Sunday – where over 100 designers sell their collections at up to 75% off RRP! Definitely not to be missed…