356. Poser.

Jess and I decided to take a day trip to the Barbican where they have the most amazing conservatory filled with exoctic plants. Having a little wonder around we captured some pretty cool pics. Check out her website to see more! I love these shoes, they are my new found favourite, super comfortable they add a little height as well as looking pretty on the feet.

Taken by Jess M.

1. T-Shirt, Pied a Terre at House of Fraser.

2. Skirt, Zara.

3. Shoes, & Other Stories.

307. Poser.

 So I spent the day with my friend Jess at these beautiful gardens. Doing several outfits in one day, there were a lot of unsubtle changing and steamy sweaty surroundings, ultra glamourous. I was doing some manoeuvring amongst the shrubery in a dodgey manor but all in all a very good day. This was mainly for her art project, the Portrait x Poser series. Go check out her blog! Super talented photographer. Thingssilike

Portrait x Poser series.
Part I

1. Hat, H&M

2. Top, Pied a Terre at House of Fraser

3. Skirt, Dickens & Jones at House of Fraser

4. Belt, Vintage

348. All White

We all know that white is the absolute essential colour for this Summers wardrobe, everyone has a piece. I'm especially liking these divine high waisted wide cut trouser by Vionnet, some may think it's a hard look to pull off but really it's easy. You can wear any kind of top with this trouser silhouette, try a vest top or shirt tucked in, but I think it looks best with a boxy crop top. Keeping the colour palette to a minimum I've stuck with a classic black with subtle hints of taupe on the nails. I couldn't help but flash a bit of bling with the Moschino knuckle dusters, it just wouldn't be complete without a bit of weaponry.

1. Trouser, Vionnet, £635 Buy Me
2. Crop top, The White Pepper, £40 Buy Me
3. Sandal, & Other Stories, £45 Buy Me
4. Bag, Pied a Terre, £99 Buy Me
5. Knuckle rings, Moschino, £295 Buy Me
6. Nail varnish, Nails inc, £14 Buy Me
7. Sunglasses, Prada, £230 Buy Me

298. Vs.

Bammmm! Look at this uncanny resembalance. This kind of dress looks incredible on. My colleague was wearing this and it's super flattering. Super chic in a grey marl too.

HIGH END

£165

The Kooples

Buy Me

HIGH STREET

£69

Pied a Terre

Buy Me

299. Poser.

Ridiculously hungover post Kenzo party I had Colette Dinnigan at 9:00am. This wasn't a particuarly pretty sight, hence not looking at the camera. Please admire yet more mix and matching. Wearing the jacket and shoes again. Oooo multi wearing, this can be done.

1. Jacket, H&M

2. Top, Pied a Terre

3. Skirt, Beyond Retro.

4. Bag, Zara

274. 18 Hours

I used to work on Pied a Terre and it was my absolute favourite brand. Anyways I am totally obsessed with this dress they created, it's to wear straight from the office and out to dinner or drinks. It's the perfect day to work wear dress ever. The neckline is flattering and unique, whilst the zip adds a little sexy approach to the outfit. Being able to unzip it at the bottom to create a front vent to reveal a little more leg. Ooo la la. Or unzip it at the top to reveal a little more bosom. OH MY.

I'm deffos getting this, so I can look sophisticated and sexy in the office. 

Dress, £125, Pied a Terre, Buy Me

Glasses, £95, Ray Ban, Buy Me
Shoes, £764, Saint Laurent, Buy Me
Lipgloss, £21, Chanel. Buy Me
Ring, £10, Cos, Buy Me
Handbag, £1095, Balenciaga, Buy Me
Clutch, £300, Jerome Dreyfuss, Buy Me 

269. Apprentice on fashion shoot

I finally got to attend my first real photo shoot with House of Fraser. Every season we do a lifestyle shoot to release on our website showcasing the collection. Arriving promptly at motel studios in Hoxton, it was all very cool and swanky. Breakfast was served a la croissants, pastries, fruits and juices. Truly delicious. The studio was pretty awesome decked out in vintage cameras and quirky touches such as an old fashion hairdressing chair in the hair and make up section. Amps as tables, vintage guitars and film projectors.

I helped by collating the Pied a Terre AW13 collection together, steaming it and putting it in order and matching it with shoes and bags. Once hair and make up was done, the lighting of the set had to be sorted. The first shot always takes the longest as to get the lighting correct is important as this sets the tone of the whole shoot.

It was rather fun and interesting seeing the model "work it" and being directed on what to do. Hands had to be correctly positioned and what may look comfortable in a picture was uncomfortable in real life. Tall and beautiful Devon is the new face of IMG and at the mere age of 19 she's already been modelling for 4 years. Chatting to her was really interested, she had just flown in from Milan and been living there for a couple of months, switching between NYC, Paris and Milan. Tiring none the less, "it's a lonely business and I do miss my family".

Doing a photo shoot is a long process, each shot is instantly saved onto the computer and you can instantly see it on the screen larger. Sieving through the images the top one is picked and collated onto one sheet. The day is finally done and all outfits were successfully shot. Can't wait to see the final finished shots!



260. Career update

A critical change.

I haven't written about my time at house of Fraser in a while simply because not much had happened until recently.

So as you may know you have reviews known as cpd. Continuous personal development, and I had mine. It went well and I learnt that I had objectives to focus on to ensure I was getting the most out of my experience and also proving that I'm a good employee. I also set myself goals, I always hated these type of things because they were never followed through at school.

However since my last cpd I had completed my goals and it did prove helpful.

This time round it was obvious I was struggling working on three brands and keeping on top of 6 collections can be quite tricky if you only work 1 day a week on each brand.

So after further discussion I was told I would be leaving Untold and focusing on my two initial brands Pied a Terre and Mary Portas. This was absolute music to my ears and in all honestly I was thrilled, it meant that I could focus on the collections better and get a lot more involved. That was last week.

I returned today to more news after an intense week, part good part bad.

This was that I would be getting a more full on role as a buying assistant but I would be leaving my two teams behind and returning to Untold full time. Initially I was pretty upset as I had a pretty intense week and these two teams had initially introduced me to everything I know and they were also my good friends. Also the fact that I absolutely adored the brands that I worked on.

Bearing that in mind I tried to focus on the positives after being told lots of different things and actually I would gain so much more experience by working directly for a buyer and in a way taking on a full role of a ba would be beneficial yet daunting.

As today was my last day with the brand they completely spoilt me and bought a bunch of yummy goodies. Doritos and dip, they know me too well as crisp girl and plenty of chocolates treats too. They even gave me a mini send off with lots of gorgeous samples! It was as if I was leaving forever (I'm only moving a few desks away), it was so sweet and I'll truly miss working with them.

However onwards and upwards! As I say everything happens for a reason.

 Peace.

Sannita. X

Pick of the Week - 07/05/13

£159

Pied a Terre

Buy Me

Poser #16 - A week of work wear

My life as a working lady sure is hard and I'd thought I'd bring to you the outfits I wear to work. Seeing as I work in fashion, there is no strict rule of what I can and can't wear. Sometimes I'll wear a jumper, jeans and trainers, however sometimes I'll wear a pencil skirt and blouse. It's probably obvious that my colour palette will be muted, hopefully the colours will roll in as soon as the sun makes a bit more on an appearance. Hope you like!

 Monday. Jacket and Neclace H&M, Trousers and Shoes Topshop, Polo neck Uniqlo, Scarf Burberry.
Tuesday. Dress Pied a Terre (AW13), Shoes & Other Stories, Glasses Ray Ban.
Wednesday. Jumper Mango, Dress Boohoo.com, Beanie Brick Lane Market, Trainers Nike, Bracelet Kipling.

Thursday. Dress Pied a Terre, Shoes & Other Stories.
Friday. T-Shirt Vintage, Jeans Dr Denim, Sneakers Superga, Beanie LovenSkate.

Fashion Apprentice at HOF - Settling

As you may know I started my new apprenticeship at House of Fraser as a buying assistant for Pied a Terre and Mary Portas. So far I have really enjoyed it. I have my own desk, computer and filing cabinet! Haha! It's exciting so don't laugh at me for mentioning my office equipment, it makes me feel like a grown up.

There are two sides of buying, the in house design brands and the designer brands. At the moment I'm working with in house brands which means we have more say in the design etc, and we can suggest what garments we'd like to be included.

Part of it consists of fittings, which consists of a model trying on the samples, making sure they fit properly and also components and necklines etc look finished and perfect. Sometimes the supplier is with you and you discuss the garment together. A lot of though and effort goes into everything thats made, I never knew that they literally discuss everything from the way the hem sits to the colour of the thread.

I've been ridiculously busy of late and haven't posted in a while but y'know i'm a working girl now. I've now been given another brand to work on which is Untold, there will be a lot of development on this brand as we are undergoing a lot of changes in direction with the design and concept. This now means I have two desks! Oooo snazzy.

The whole team are lovely and it's weird having an actual office job where general office shenanigans happen. I look forward to more experience to the big world of retail and design. Ohhh la la.

Aurevoir.
Sannita. x

Fashion Intern - Fool?

So since leaving Rainbow Wave I've had a couple of interviews. I applied to do an apprenticeship for House of Frase as a buying assistant. Oh it well considering...I got absolutely intoxicated the night before. Yes some could call me a fool, a nutter, an idiot but I managed to get to the interview just in time (first day of the olympics so I had an excuse for being 10 mins late) and pull together a clean polished look, given the fact I was hungover as. Yes I'm a real person and I'm not sensible.

Apparently I didn't do too badly seeing as I got invited to a 2nd interview. And dear lord, I was asked to create a presentation that would last no longer than 20 minutes and be as creative as I wanted to be. I was given the task of doing a customer profile on Biba, Mary Portas and Pied a Terre. Three brands which are exclusive to House of Fraser. I decided to actually visit the stores and speak to the staff who worked within the brands and take photos of the area. All the girls were so lovely and helpful it was so nice to see people enthusiastic and wanting to help me about their brands. Had a real good time speaking to them actually.

Anyway before my 2nd interview I had another interview else where for Elizabeth Saltzman. The amazing Vanity Fair editor as well as stylist and party planner for celebrities and all sorts. I rocked up to her house/office in heels (blog post poser #2) and met her lovely assistant. I was recommended by one of my co workers at Rainbow Wave to apply which I was very grateful for. It was a nice casual interview, and I loved the idea of the position. As always, with a perfect position comes a catch 22. They don't cover expenses. OHHHHHH FML. I was in such a tizzy I just didn't know what to do, normally I would completely disreguard the position altogether but this internship would be too good to miss.

Would I be a fool to not do an unpaid internship with Elizabeth Saltzman or would I be a fool not to prioritise the paid apprenticeship? Either way, looks like I'm a fashion fool.

To be continued...

Aurevoir.

Sannita. x