Stepping into another era in Camden, with Collectif Vintage Clothing

100 dresses. No, it is not number I go through every morning before deciding what to wear, silly. It is the number of Collectif dresses donned by lovely ladies at the Collectif Big Camden Party, which lived up to its “night of style, sass and swing” tagline wonderfully.

Choosing from seven beautiful Collectif vintage inspired dresses, we were treated to a fabulous retro hair do as well as a few glasses of prosecco and an unlimited amount of fun at the Collectif shop at Stables Market, in the heart of Camden Town.

I am a huge vintage inspired clothing fan. I don’t make it a lifestyle and don’t really stick to an era, but I pepper it around my own style; and the 50s are by far favourite time.

I love pencil skirts, cinched waists and I think that’s the best shape for my body; I feel comfortable and of course, pretty!

After squeezing myself into the gorgeous Yvonne Hanna Check Trim pencil dress and with my head suitably adorned with Victory rolls (by Lucy’s Vintage Hair) we moved on to Solomon’s Yard for the party.

And what a party it was. We were promised live bands, DJs, burlesque, magic, hoola hooping and Unicorns (yes, UNICORNS) ad boy, did they deliver that and more.

Welcomed by a vintage car and motorbikes, the stage was always filled with the most amazing acts: the Victory Sisters, an impeccable wartime vocal trio wearing pretty Collectif Maria Woodland Bloom Swing dresses.

There was beyond sassy burlesque from stunners The Folly Mixtures, with two cute and sexy acts, music spanning the eras between performances, courtesy of DJ Gem Precious and Diana Thompson.

Fabulous in orange drag queen Meth killed the comedy lip-syncing and got us all singing and laughing, and I even got some bonus spanking from the hilarious Levitating Elvis, with his boxing glove hair, an act so weird that is wonderful.

I do have to single out the not only gorgeous but super talented The Tootsie Rollers.

All five of them wore sultry siren Ingrid Fishtail evening dresses and left me smiling throughout the whole performance of pop sons with a swing twist. Extraordinary.

Finally, the unicorns. They came all the way from The Fabulus of Unicorns, a group of horn wearing, glitter-spreading people whose sole purpose is to disseminate love and happiness among humans. I mean, I just felt so happy around them that it’s not even funny.

I was of course, “kissed” by a unicorn and can still find glitter all over my house.

And there was dancing. Laughing. Such a fabulous atmosphere, fantastic happy people, all supporting a great brand with glamour that keeps giving.

My dress (and all the others I tried – sorry guys, you were fabulous and so kind trying to accommodate me) has an excellent finish and detailing, amazing cut, fits well and made me feel a million dollars.

All their clothes are amazing, the designs are obviously, vintage inspired, but very wearable. I have my eyes on a few little numbers, I tell you!

You can browse the beautiful Collectif Vintage Clothing collection on their website, I highly recommend it.

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Three at the Roundhouse – a night of music

three_at_the_roundhouse_somanylovelythings - 6I cheated. On my iPhone with a Samsung Galaxy S6. Admittedly, it was a one night stand and I have to say  the performance impressed me.

Especially the camera quality, the beauty mode (hello, pretty) and various other options. Cool.

Three UK, rated by YouGov the most reliable network presented us their  recently launched their 4G SuperVoice which has a better coverage – even in the depths of Roundhouse –  and allows us to make call via 4G.

Using a complete different handset was easier than I thought; the network didn’t fail me and I manage to social network away!

Three took me for an exclusive tour of the iconic music venue Roundhouse, in Camden, London, to find out more about their great work with young creatives, who can use the studios in the Paul Hamlyn Roundhouse studios to develop their talents, be it music, TV, radio, performing arts and much more.

Young artists can join courses, programmes or hire studios and equipment for very affordable fees.

If you are between 17 and 25, and want to develop your talents, get in touch with Roundhouse to check out their offer, they have a fab support system to help you thrive!

Three partnered up with the Joe Strummer Foundation for this event. We visited the Strummerville studio, which has some original Joe Stummer lyrics on the wall and also heard about the foundation charitable work and were invited to The Monarch for an intimate performance by two of their recently signed artist: Lyza Jane and Bless.

Lyza Jane is singer, songwriter and producer, but also a lovely bright little thing with the kind of singing voice I like: soft, almost raspy, lingering and striking. She sings from emotions, has supported Alabama 3 and has been going solo for about three years.

She also performed in Glasto at the Rabbit Hole a few times! Definitely one to watch out.

You can catch her on YouTube and Soundcloud. She also has a cute and sassy clothing range, Pantsu & Pantsu which has tees and knickers, mainly, with embroidery and pom-poms. worth checking!

The other act was a band, Bless, which has a heavier sound and I caught myself dancing(ish) along to.

The guys are great fun, we had a fab chat; it is amazing to talk about what inspires their creations, the process in a group and the sudden suggestion of shots!

They all know each other from a long time, were in different bands before and decided to do music together in January.

They’ve been touring France and will have their first London gig on the 11 December at the Monarch.  You can check out their site for dates.

Overall, a great night! Thanks Three UK for having me and for the AMAZING furry hand selfie stick I came home with.

If you want to know more about Three UK, check out their site for all available handsets and options.

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Chanel Mademoiselle Privé exhibition coming to London’s Saatchi Gallery

Chanel Mademoiselle Privé

image from Chanel

After the success and beauty of one Chanel exhibition (the Little Black Jacket), the Saatchi Gallery brings us another, this time, a little bit more up close and personal: Mademoiselle Privé.

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Magnum Pleasure Store in Covent Garden, London is open

Lindsay Lohan attends the launch party for the Magnum Pleasure Store in London’s Covent Garden. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday July 1, 2015. To celebrate the store’s opening, Magnum has teamed up with designer Holly Fulton to create an exclusive necklace, incorporating Magnum through colour and design. Available to a select few competition winners, the necklace will be the key to a summer of unlimited freshly dipped ice creams at the Pleasure Store’s exclusive dipping bar. Photo credit should read: John Phillips/PA Wire

Lindsay Lohan attends the launch party for the Magnum Pleasure Store in London’s Covent Garden. Credit: John Phillips/PA Wire

Oh what a pleasure it is to work with Magnum ice cream! Who remembers last year fabulous dipping bar in Selfridges?

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Preview: “Shoes: Pleasure and Pain” at the V&A London

Shoes-pleasure-pain-final-hdr

When I heard my beloved V&A was going to open an exhibition called “Shoes: Pleasure and Pain” I was filled with excitement, after all, it focuses around my magic word: shoes.

Not only that, it looks at footwear extremes, a subject, in fact, I am particularly fascinated by. On top of it, these 250 pairs, spanning 2,000 years, 20 countries and 70 designers, chart cultural, sociological and historical significance of shoes, as well as their power of transformation, which I can personally vouch for. And obsession.

You can read my squees of excitement here when I found out about the exhibition – so you can only imagine the extra loud squee for me being at the preview and seeing it all three days before it opened to the public.

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Magnum Pink and Black Regent Street takeover party

magnum mollie king dani dutra

Magnum ice cream took over regent Street in London once again. This year the party was bigger and better – not only they painted the street pink and black, but they also lit up the London Eye in one of the ice-creams new flavours’ colours.

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Bathing Under the Sky outdoor spa with wood fired bath tubs

bathing under the sky outdoor spa - somanylovelythings

Bathing Under the Sky takes spa experiences to another level… how amazing are their luxurious outdoor wood fired bath tubs? Come on!

I had the immense pleasure to be invited by them to experience this amazing treat and headed to Innocent Un-plugged festival to immerse myself in the Swedish style tubs…

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