INSPIRED BY: LAURA AUSTIN

It's a strange commentary on the current reaches of social media that I now discover photographers via their Instagram feeds. I start from low res tiny squares and follow links through to full screen images that thrill me. 

My latest discovery that I can't get enough of is the works of Laura Austin. I am being drawn more and more to epic landscapes such as the north west American coast and Iceland's eerie otherworldliness. I want to be the girl in the first image, road trippin' with map in hand, climbing cliffs and gazing down at the views below.

Photos: Laura Austin 

THE BEST OF PRE FALL 2014

 Carven

Pre Fall is a funny one. The collections are staggered over a span of two months (I reviewed 3.1 Phillip Lim at the beginning of December!), sandwiched amongst Menswear Collections and the beginning of Couture. They are also expertly timed; a rarity for the fashion world who like to show woolly winter layers just as spring is appearing in the air and give us flimsy summer dresses as the leaves are falling from the trees. This is transitional dressing, presented to us at a time when we are actually pondering transitional dressing.

A selection of my favourite collections are scattered below. Nothing ground-breaking, just wearable designs in fresh and reinvigorating colour palettes. Top tip? Fuchsia is going nowhere; invest in fuchsia this season.

All images from Style.com 

 Chloe

 Christopher Kane

Julien David

 Kenzo

 Matthew Williamson

 Valentino

Jonathan Saunders

A COUNTRY RETREAT

Apologies for overload of photographs. I spent the weekend on the Cumbria/Yorkshire/Lancashire border with a group of friends; walking, eating delicious food, playing Articulate and generally enjoying the fresh air. There's nothing better than a countryside retreat.

Photographs: my own

BELLA KOTAK - THE CAMP BLISS SERIES

Some of the most beautiful photographs I have come across in a long time, Bella Kotak's  series of images from Bali are truly otherworldly. Her portraits feature the attendees of Camp Bliss, a photography/well-being getaway on the Balinese islands organised by Nirrimi.  

PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Imagine how you would feel if Tim Barber shot your portrait. I can't get enough of this guy's work,see previous posts here and here.

BEST DRESSED 2013

Lisa Dengler and Alix Bancourt

I'm throwing you a bit of a mixed bag for my Best Dressed post. From grunge luxe to polished chic, by route of boho and hipster; these ladies are all known for their unique personal styles. Over the past year they have inspired me to wear wide-brimmed hats, embrace prints, go back to basics with black skinny jeans and that a collar peeking out from underneath a jumper will always be the best solution for off-duty style.

In no particular order, here are my top ten best dressed gals of the past year:

Suki Waterhouse and Alexa Chung

Shini Park and Natalie Suarez

Caroline Engman and Pixie Geldof

Margaret Zhang and Camille Charriere