What's your Swagger?

This birthday was spent having a fabulous girls day in London with my mum. We visited the V&A museum to see the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibition (literally amazing, more to come on this later), went for high tea and then lucky me, got to go handbag shopping! 

Ever since seeing the Coach SS15 campaign back at the beginning of the year, I have been dying to get my hands on one of the beautiful Swagger bags. This bag is my new love, the periwinkle colour is perfect for summer and brightens up my typical uniform of black jeans and jacket.

For the Coach Swagger campaign they have created a #WhatsYourSwagger tag which has encouraged designers and bloggers alike to customise their bags and show what they carry. So I have taken the time to dig deap and find all the beauties I tend to carry around on a daily outing. Now I have one Swagger, I am already desperate to see next seasons colours... One for every season right?

COACH

I could ramble on for hours about Coach and their history, their collections and their bags (the Swagger... yes please!). To try shelf some of my ramblings I will just have a little outburst of love for the latest SS15 collection and a quick whisper of that AW15 presentation at New York Fashion Week.

Under the new direction of creative director Stuart Vevers, the brand has gone from strength to strength in just two years. Coach had it's debut presentation at NYFW last February and since has blossomed. We could have predicted that his designs would be a sell-out, after all he is the man who brought us Bayswater, Emmy and Gisele when he was at the helm of Mulberry as well as reinventing some of the classics at Loewe.

After seeing the latest campaign in all my magazines and reading about the brand in 'The IT Bag Superhero" article in ELLE (March 2015) I have been completely obsessed. Something about the simplicity of the campaign really spoke to me. Pastel colours are always a win and to have a classic IT bag at that more affordable luxury price range is just perfect. Just this weekend The Sunday Times had a article dedicated to the '300 club', applauding luxury designers for some of their pieces being in reach of the average working class women. We don't all earn thousands, we can't justify saving up for three months just for that £1000+ handbag, so for me to see that the Coach Swagger Bag is retailing between £325-£475 gives me hope that I can actually invest in a luxury bag, without completing draining my bank.

This latest Spring/Summer collection combines the subcultures of music, skate and surf. As always, inspired by the streets of New York, the brand stays true to its heritage, exploring luxury and street-wear. They define the collection as 'A journey across America', the dreamer, the optimist, the ideals of spontaneity and an effortless cool. The new Swagger bag is exploring a modern elegance, a classic shape which will hold all your necessities whilst still looking sleek and stylish. They're calling it 'streetwise sophistication' and I want one now. I feel that I could really rock streetwise sophistication, I'm thinking a Swagger bag mixed with sportswear, adding heels for some night time glamour.

 

The Coach Swagger Carryall in Pebble Leather, Periwinkle colour (ah adorable name!) is top of my wish list. Right up there with a new apartment to live in and the dream job. That is how much impact this bag is having on my life right now, I've always been a bag enthusiast but it recent years have cut down on my purchasing of high-street bags, opting to wait and save for one of the IT bags, but never quite finding the guts to spend all my hard earned cash in one swoop. But now, I think the time might have come. The cornflower blue (that was my initial colour observation, but Periwinkle has definitely grown on me) is classy, it has the power to transform an outfit because it adds colour to a monochrome look but also it can combine and clash with any colours you wear too. The size of the Carryall looks perfect too, I can fit my Ipad Mini, phone and essentials without looking like I'm lugging a sack around with me. This fresh and vibrant campaign has got one bag lover on side, how about you?

And so, to a brief applause for the Fall 2015 presentation at New York Fashion Week. This was my first glimpse into a Coach show and it was something to behold. Biker boots and shearling jackets, what's not to love about this glam grunge look? Now make sure you go explore the full collection here.

Fall 2015

Spring 2015

All Image credit to http://uk.coach.com/

Trends to Track

Trends to Track

I have always had an interest in fashion combined with sport. Ever since seeing the Fashion V Sport collection at the V&A back in 2009, I loved how the juxtaposition of a catwalk and the running track could actually work side-by-side. This mood board explores some current collections that are combing catwalk style with sports.

Currently loving the new collection by Jack Wills with the new creative director Richard Nicoll, you can expect to see the classic JW sweatshirts and sweatpants, with a more modern twist with shirts and dresses, alongside a new monograming tool to customise your clothes with JW & London inspired patches. How can I forget about the fabulous new Stellasport collection created by Stella McCartney for Adidas. This younger and more affordable collection is bright, fun and right on trend. Get your trainers and head outside; to the gym or to the office, you can make sports style work for you.

Take a look at my mood board and let me know how you feel about sports style on the catwalk.

SS15 Mood Board

My S/S15 Inspiration

This season for me is all about freshness. I'm feeling inspired by water, glass jars, flowers and fresh fruit to brighten up the season and take me through to warm summer garden evenings with friends and family.

SS15 Work Wardrobe

Working for Next has it's advantages: a generous work wardrobe allowance for one. Choosing an outfit to take me through SS15 can be challenging when it's still sub-zero temperatures outside in the morning. But this dress turned out to be a pretty clean cut choice.

As you may have gathered from some of my posts and lots of tweets, I'm a tennis fanatic. I love watching all the Grand Slams and ATP world tour series. I'm also an admirer of the tennis style, especially the women's outfits which they collaborate with designers. Caroline Wozniackis' dress choices designed by Stella McCartney for Adidas are always my most anticipated outfit to see at the championships.

So my pick of dress this season for work is a homage for my love of sports style dressing, a smart tennis dress which makes me feel like I could walk out on centre court at any moment. The dress is made of two components, so it does look almost like a skirt and top combined, in classic grey and white it can be mixed with accessories and colour throughout the season. A hint of yellow on the shoulders makes it feel fresh and the cut of the dress is flattering and stylish. I'll be pairing mine with tights for now during these chilly days, but hope to be able to wear it with some block heels and a bright clutch bag during the summer evenings.

Available for £38 in stores or online here