Trip | When In Paris

Fashion | Men's Paris Fashion Week - Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2011

So, this is the show I got invited to on Saturday. The fabolous Belgian designer Raf Simons held this honorary 15th anniversary show in Paris to coincide with Paris Fashion Week and let me just say, I can definitely see why he's attained such longevity in the industry. This particular collection though had me in two minds. Upon seeing the first model walk up the stairs I immediately thought of doctors, hospitals and patients in white hospital gladrags. Following the pastel trend of Spring/Summer 2010, I spotted hues of spearmint and faint pinks as well as leather tops and slogan-printed tees. Zips and colour blocking, particularly orange against black featured quite a bit in this collection too. One thing that I really liked (even though you can't see it on the pictures) were the zip open backs on some of the pieces, which link back to the theme of hospitals and such. A welcome variation to summer shirts and jackets. However the piece I adored most was an all-white trench coat. The sheer cleanliness of the coat appealed to me. Maybe if my name was Stephen instead of Stacey I'd be speeding off to purchase one. Alas such is not the case! The lines were fabolous all over, especially when it came time for the evening wear to be showcased. Simons played around with leg lengths too -  from floor-sweeping wide leg trousers to skin tight shorts and breezy culottes. I think this collection is a winner, bar the slogan tees that I didn't like so much!

Spotted: Riccardo Tisci, Creative Director for Womenswear at Givenchy and Italian supermodel Mariacarla Boscono - as well as lots of skinny male models and smoking people!

Trip | When In Paris

I'm back guys! I was only there for a day but it certainly felt like longer. The sun, the shopping, the show (yes the Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2011 fashion show) was absolutely great - you know how I feel about this city right? I have to live there! Anyway. I went on a few galavants before the show and discovered little pockets of fashion greatness!

Colette Store
Rue St Honoré
75001 Paris
Nearest Metro(s): Tuileries; Pyramides

This eclectic, four-story, open plan store situated in the heart of Paris, sells brands such as Moncler, Bape and various other streetwear brands. Forgive me if I don't seem uber-inspired by these labels, I'm not super interested in streetwear, although the second floor was occupied by headless mannequins dressed in fabolous pieces by Yves Saint Laurent and Guiseppe Zanotti. The walls were pristine white and adorned with artwork by Karl Lagerfeld and Pieter Hugo - fabolous, which gave the store a museum type feel. I can certainly understand why the store is universally celebrated; it houses rare and unusual accessories from designers such as Bape and Ease Designs. Various iconic magazine covers littered the store; Vogue of course, and fashion people walked the floor - this is where I met Carey! Check the picture below to see his fabolous fashion!

Afterwards I headed towards the Musée du Louvre (nearest metro(s) Palais Royal Musée du Louvre; Louvre Rivoli) and wandered through the grassy fields and cavorted with statues of naked ladies. Twas fun. By this time the sun was beating on my back and my skin began to tan furiously.

Next stop - Eiffel Tower (nearest metro(s) Trocadéro; Passy; École Militaire) How can I go to Paris and not visit such an iconic landmark? There was a huge Michael Jackson tribute at the Musée National de la Marine right across from the tower - men, women and children dressed as MJ, dancing to all his famous tunes. Even spotted a guy with the Moonwalker tattoo on his bicep: a true fan right there. Heading up to Trocadéro, I spotted another girl wearing a bréton top and cute blue denim shorts. It was her honey brown afro that attracted me though. Fantastique.

On to the next store!

Vintage Madeleine
31, Rue d'Anjou
75008 Paris
Nearest Metro(s): Madeleine; Saint-Augustin; Saint-Lazare

Visit here for vintage luxury accessories and clothes by brands including Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Manolo Blahnik and several more. All items are in excellent condition - I wanted to get a black patent Gucci clutch but the €495 price tag persuaded me to think again. All in all, a pleasant boutique which I'll definitely be visiting again!

Omaya Vintage
29, Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud
75011 Paris
Nearest Metro(s): Oberkamf; République

This shop is certainly thrift heaven. Accessories, clothes and shoes are meticulously arranged by colour and style and there is a wide selection of sizes too. I ended up buying a tan leather messenger bag and a printed purple headscarf from here - welcome items to my summer wardrobe!

Oh Lumiére
21 Avenue de la République
75011 Paris
Nearest Metro(s): République, Parmentier

Finally a store that does my waist size (W25) in Levi's denim jeans! This place is perfect for shoes, Dr Martens and Converses and various denim goods at reasonable prices. And you know that typical vintage smell? Yeah. This store doesn't have that! Definitely a plus!

After a while I skipped to a local boulangerie and bought some chouquettes (sugar coated choux pastry) to take the edge off my hunger. I love thes little things! Wanna taste them? Head to your nearest PAUL - the famous French bakery sells ten of them for only £1.90.

And at the end of all that galavanting, it was hometime for a quick nibble and a costume change in time for the Raf Simons fashion show at 8pm!

Today I Wore | Double Denim.

Denim Jacket - Topshop

Jeans - Topshop

Top - H&M

Wedges - Topshop

Men's Vintage Casio Watch

Glasses - Market Stall in Brick Lane

Today I Wore | Cheap Chic

Imagine. That dress was £2.99. FULL PRICE. God bless Hennes and Mauritz!

Dress - H&M

Belt - Vintage

Necklace - Vintage

Leggings - Topshop

Fashion | SMUT Style Shoot.

So the day after my exams I had the pleasure of accompanying my stylist friend Jada Simone on a style shoot, with designer Sascha Quimbaio, creator of SMUT Clothing. Needless to say, we had a super banging time! The shoot was set-up to have an 80's vintage feel - including Dr Marten's, vintage Levi's and a bowler hat I instantly fell in love with. I think this was my best shoot to date; I wanted to keep everything! I got to keep a t-shirt though (the skull one) and we had Nando's to end the experience, definitely a thumbs up. Ultimately, it was a fantabolous day and I adore how the snaps turned out.

Check out SMUT's kinky fashion here

And the fabolous blog by Jada here

Fashion | New Hair.

I was supposed to update you guys on this ages ago, but you know me, I'm lazy! However - here it is. My new look. Quite frankly, I'm in love with my hair now. It's much healthier, more manageable and it's definitely modelly. I wanted to go for an Alexa Chung type of short cut (I cut my hair myself btw) and it seems I have succeeded. Anyway - enough talk. Here's my hair!