394. The Edit.

THE EDIT

1. Winter white statement coat. £199 Buy Me
2. Grey essential tee. £27 Buy Me
3. Leather bomber jacket. £269 Buy Me
4. Charcoal embellished tee. £39 Buy Me
5. Tassel necklace. £25 Buy Me
6. Leather skirt. £249 Buy Me

Gray and Willow is the new Scandi inspired brand that has recently launched this year.  The aesthetic of the brand is tonal and relaxed, easy to wear and easy to work back into your current wardrobe. I highly recommend you take a look at the rest of the brand. It's all pretty exciting as I've been part of the buying team since July and will be filling you in on all the sneak previews of the collections soon to come.

364. Biba Gold

My team and I have been working on a luxury line on Biba, with the name Biba Gold it embodies glamour and extravagance. With the collection being made up of six styles, the range is concise and consistent. Only 50 pieces of each style has been made, so it's super exclusive! Everything is made from the highest quality and is perfect for any event you may have coming up. Whether you want to dazzle in our 1920's inspired flapper dress or dress with an edge in our leather piece, it's a collection you have to invest in and something I'm very proud to be a part of.

SHOP HERE

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

353.Poser.

Work has been pretty crazy at the moment, but it does come with a few perks. Lucky me I got one of the Biba jumpsuits which isn't out for a couple of months! So here's your sneak preview of what to expect. I love the graphic print, there's lots of it about at the moment with the added 80's vibe without looking to retro.

 

1. Jumpsuit, Biba at House of Fraser.
2. Belt, Versace.
3. Pouch, Comme des Garcons

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

343. Poser.

Getting all Celine inspired with this checked dress. Summer is slowly approaching and a patterned dress is an easy way to step into the season.

1. Dress, Missguided

2. Sunglasses, H&M

3. Clutch, House of Fraser

4. Shoes, & Other stories.

335. Fashion Apprentice.

As my time as an apprentice at Hof was drawing to a close, I made it very clear to my team that I wanted to stay on. Two months before the end of my contract I was determined to become a full timer after the course finished. Worrying about having to find a new job in this crap economic climate, I had to make sure that they didn't want to let me go. 

Having spent nearly a year and a half at Hof, I have made myself well established within the business. During my time I had made friends with security, HR, Guest services and the whole of Womenswear, fashion accessories and the design; it's good to feel like a valued member of the business. Being able to take responsibility for roles such as organising meetings, sample sales and parties I displayed that I was capable at exceeding the expectations of my job. Being confident is also key but knowing when to hold back is too. Being able to express my opinions without sounding obnoxious and offensive is very important, finding that balance is important. 

After learning and acquiring many skills during my time, one point last week I was pulled aside by my manager and was told they wanted to make me full time! This was pretty much a huge moment for me and I was pretty ecstatic. I will be a fully fledged full time with a normal pay as of March! Amen!! My year of endless interning and working seven days a week and a year and a half long apprenticeship has paid off. I have a job and I don't have a degree. It can be done. And let me tell you, I have no debt. Sorry students, imma have to rub that in your face for a teeny bit.

Aurevoir.

Sannita.x

328. Fashion apprentice.

Since working at House of Fraser I've moved round several departments and for my final three months I was due my unpredicted fourth move; this time moving over to the branded side. After enjoying my time on the product development side, I was truly sad to leave my team behind. 

It's been a bit crazy really, lots of changes have been happening and I guess that's something you have to learn when working for a big old company. I've been learning a ridiculous amount and have grown more confident within the company, I've done everything from helping organise events at the company, speaking during trade meetings and asserting myself to suppliers. It was all very daunting but I just threw myself into it and I think that's the best way for me to learn, diving into the deep end.

But more onto the interesting stuff I had to help organise the Christmas party and man was it fun! The theme was "Great Gatsby" like every other work do. Located at an old speak easy club we had a Leonardo DiCaprio cardboard cut out which didn't totally make it til the end. It was quite a messy night and I'm pretty glad that I wasn't in work the next day.

That night my old buyer wangled a meeting with the Executive Director to showcase our SS14 collection and to try and give me some face time with the big man. Try and get myself noticed which is a pretty amazing thing as it's rare for big companies to get time with the director and all the managers. So this was my "time to shine", did I have a clue what I was doing? No. I was told to "just be yourself". A little scary to say the least as I wanted to make sure I made a good impression.

On the day I racked everything up, made the meeting room look beautiful and presentable with all the garments in order by drop and price. I also set up the mood boards and mannequins to emphasise and showcase the collection. As this was my first time presenting I only discussed one drop, pointing out the key selling points such as price points, margins, trend and style. I was focusing on not looking at my notebook and to speak naturally without speaking too fast or show that I was nervous, I think it went accordingly. My buyer proceeded to speak about the other drops and discussion would come up about any queries he had. Surprisingly he turned to me about trends, asking for my opinion to whether or not we should do a style in a certain colour. I obviously gave my honest opinion and disagreed with some of his suggestions and I hope he respected that. It was nice to know he wanted to know my opinion, coming away from the meeting I felt a little relieved but real happy to that I took the step and delved into my opportunity head strong.

Happy New Year folks.
Sannita. x

314. Poser.

This was the last outfit of the day, and we ventured out into the rain, I saw this tree and thought it was so beautiful I should go hide and pose under it. And there it was, a pout and a picture.

Portrait x Poser series.
Part IIII

1. Hat, H&M

2. Coat, Asos

3. Top, & Other stories

4. Skirt, Market

5. Clutch, Untold at House of Fraser

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

296. Fashion apprentice

Now a fully fledged buying assistant I'm now also part of the social committee. This means I help plan any parties that may occur in the social calender. When it's Christmas, we need to party, when it's summer, we need to party, whenever there is an occasion we need to party. One of the many motto's as House of Fraser is "own the extra mile" and I'll tell ya now the team of seven that make up the social committee team have done exactly that.

The social committee team!

So myself and six others for the last month have been planning the long awaited staff party for womens wear and beauty. Located at 1 Leicester Square in the penthouse, we decorated the spacious white venue with bunting, glasses of sweets and disposable cameras. I got my friends band to play for the evening, ridiculously talented they strummed an array of jazz, soul and funk. We also organised food, which we previously did food tasting for and it was amazing!

 Oh yes, we had photography in the form of disposable cameras. And sweets for table treats.

All a bit nervous, bloggers love had an event down stairs and kindly did our hair for us before our colleagues started arriving. They spruced up the volume of our hair with their So...? fragrance's new range of dry shampoo which smells pretty great. All ready and raring to go. Our visitors trickled in with a glass of bubbly in hand.

Black is a dominant colour amongst buyers apparently.

A great photo of the jazz band.

Venue decorated with bunting!

The band were playing hit the road jack in the back ground whilst people were on the balcony with an astounding view of London. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, we even did a complimentary raffle which was pretty fun and got everyone buzzing. Delicious bangers and mash started to make an appearance, along with the other dishes we picked out such as pizza, asparagus risotto and chicken pasta. It went down pretty bloody well. After the band played their sets, the lights were dimmed and the DJ came on. Cheesy classics obviously blasted from the speakers such as Lady Marmalade and Shakira. With a female dominated party the odd man felt a bit out of place but it was quite funny. There was some serious booty shaking dance offs happening and I'm pretty sure everyone had a bit of sweat on their brow. There were a good few sore heads the next following day that's for sure.

280. Poser

I found these cool trousers in Zara and had to have them. Although they are a wide cropped cut and would probably look awful on a short person like myself, I also couldn't give a fuck and bought them anyway. All black everything as they would say on the good old instragram. 

1. Jacket, Label Lab at House of Fraser.

2. Trousers, Zara.

3. Shoes, & Other stories.

4. Back pack, Triangl.

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.

Giving it away.

This is my first ever give away, so all I'd like you guys to do is get in touch. All you have to do is like the picture below on my facebook page.

LIKE ME!