Miss Selfridge - Style Diaries

The Ultimate Ibiza Guide

We loved Lilly Lovelett's Cannes and Glastonbury adventures so much, that when we heard she was jetting off to the White Isle, we insisted she give us her essential guide upon her return.  And she didn't disappoint -

Lilly rocking her customised Miss Selfridge dress

 

"What happens in Ibiza, stays in Ibiza . . .

. . . Or so those loud groups of guys and girls' slogan t-shirts say.  Here is my guide, I'm going to break the vow of 'what happens in Ibiza' silence and tell you  what to see, where to go, what to eat and most importantly, how to cope! 

 

Ibiza Fact #1

All rumours of saving up a gazillion pounds for one week's holiday are true, true, true . . .  You will spend, spend, spend.  I was there 4 nights and I still managed to spend an unhealthy, spine numbing amount of money that I cried!

 

Ibiza Fact #2

It is potentially a really beautiful island with beaches, sunsets, parties and backdrops that melt in your mouth.  Don't sit on the same beach all week, or sleep off your night's mayhem in a hotel room.  Explore and take in the beauty on offer, and I don't mean hottie watching (although that is easily done).

 The beautiful Ibizan sunset

Ibiza Fact #3

Pacha gets it right every time.  In every city, Pacha has partying down to a fine art.  From stunning outside spaces to beautiful dancers and places to sit, you can do it all in style.  In short, Pacha, as a club, throws the biggest, most glamorous parties and is actually worth the 40-50 euros to get in.

 

Pacha is the place to PARTY
 

Ibiza Fact #4

Everyone has fake boobs . . . (ok, slight exaggeration but boobs that defy gravity are 10 a penny).  Hold yours up with a great bikini.

 

Ibiza Fact #5

It is definitely 110% a holiday to enjoy with the girls.  You will come back with a stomach toned from laughter, silly sayings and ROFTL.  It's not funny in the real world but Ibiza is not the real world.

   Lilly parties with her girlfriends

Ibiza Fact #6

You can wear (within reason) whatever you want without feeling like a brazen hussy . . . it's hot, it's hot and it's Ibiza.  Have fun, dress up.  Where else are you going to be able to strut around in hot pants, plunging neckline dresses, or lace leotards and a slightly orange tan, without feeling like a wannabe Burlesque dancer? DO IT!  

 

Ibiza Fact #7

IBIZA ROCKS. PERIOD.

 

Ibiza Fact #8

Do sleep on the beach.  If you party all night long and come home at 6, 7, 8, or 9am and feel tempted to dive into bed under the darkness of your apartment shutters, don't.  It's sunny out there, even if you're comatose in a deep sleep, at least do it under a parasol by the pool or near the sea.  Wake up to the sounds of the party starting once again, because at around 4 the Playa d'en Bossa beach turns up the speakers.  PARTY!

   Lilly leaves her mark in the Ibizan sand

Ibiza Fact #9

Get over, very quickly, the fact that you will have to pay to lie on sun loungers at your own hotel.  It's not right.  But it's ok . . . It's not ok, but that was the first musical reference that sprung to mind!

 

Ibiza Fact #10

You should go to Defected at Ushuaia Beach Hotel.  A brand new, 5 star, luxury beach hotel with a poolside area that can accommodate 5,000 party people.  Each event is like a mini festival with it's Glastonbury style stage area and incredible vibe.  Defected throw a Pacha warm up party every Saturday from 5pm.

 

 You can't beat the warm up parties at Ushuaia Beach Hotel

 

LILLY'S TOP TIPS

Where to stay: Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel

Where to eat: Cafe Mambo - watch the sunset and the party begin

Where to party: Defected at Pacha

Must See: The sunset in San Antonio

Lilly. xx"

 

You can follow Lilly's latest adventures by reading her blog - www.lillylovelett.com

 

Festival Diaries: Isle of Wight

When a last minute ticket to a festival is offered to you, you take it - and so it was, that after some very rushed packing on Thursday night, come 7am on Friday morning I found myself en route to the Isle of Wight festival: with a line-up boasting Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, Kasabian (and my personal favourite, Pulp) there was no way I was missing out!

 
Isle of Wight 2011 - Main Stage Line-Up

The sun was shining, and, despite the weather reports on the radio on the way down, the rain was holding off - good news for setting up camp! After a short car journey and a ferry ride, we found ourselves on the island that was to become our home for the following 3 days, and made our way to the festival site...

  
The lovely Katie with our bags, tent, jackets and accessories!

 After taking it in turns to carry our 6-man tent to our base (there were only 4 of us...the third "bedroom" was to become our walk-in-wardrobe), we set up camp and got down to the important business of getting glammed up, festival style!

Out came the make-up, the hair spray, the dry shampoo and then...the eyelashes!

 
Rocking some eyelash glamour at Isle of Wight festival 2011!

In the arena each day we checked out some bands, and took a look at what the festival goers were wearing. Between cute printed dresses and the festival staple of denim shorts, the girls had it covered - and were stylishly well prepared to layer up in fur and patterened knits when the sun went in a little later on. Here's a few of our favourites looks:

 

  

 
 

 


We were incredibly lucky with the weather, with only a little rain falling on Friday and not a drop of it on Saturday - and so we got to wear a good few of our planned outfits - take a look at some of them below...

 
Far left & far right: Charlotte & Ally in Limited Edition Festival; Centre: Katie in Ikat Midi Dress

 
L-R: Katie in Oriental Crop Print Shirt, Ally in David Bowie Tee & Glitter Wellies!

...and then Sunday... We awoke to the sound of rain falling on our tent, but carried on with our spirits high and outfits on (although, slightly masked by the layers of waterproofing we required!) and headed into the arena. After watching Brother and Two Door Cinema Club we decided to head back to base to dry off a little and rest our weary legs...

...DISASTER - our tent had collapsed under the rain and wind of the previous 12 hours and left all of our things more than a little soggy...We had a decision to make - should we stay or should we go? We decided to find shelter before it was too dark to see what was happening. Team work ensued and we packed up and headed home.

We were sad to have missed Beady-Eye and Kasabian, the last two bands of the festival, but know they would have been fantastic, and we still enjoyed a fun-filled and slightly drier journey home!

 Drying off in the car on the way home!

IOW 2011 Best bits: Personally, Saturday was the best day for me - seeing Pulp perform together live in the UK for the first time since 1996 was absolutely incredible! Of course Disco 2000 and Common People were the real crowd pleasers but the whole set was a huge success.

 Pulp perform on the Main Stage

I also think I should mention the food at Isle of Wight - I have never been to a festival before with such a wide variety of cuisine! Of course, if a burger and chips is what you fancy, it's perfectly possible to get these, but there was also Paella, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Fish 'n' Chips, Gourmet Pizza...(ever tried leek & smoked salmon on a pizza before?) The list is endless!

IOW 2011 Worst bits: The crazy rain on Sunday! For over 18 hours it rained non-stop and the wind was pretty strong too - coming back to a flat tent was a real test of character! 


 The crowds battle the wind, rain and mud on Sunday evening...

Acts we saw: We are Scientists, Band of Horses, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings of Leon, The Vaccines, Stornoway, Hurts, Mike & The Mechanics (it's surprising how much of their stuff we knew from cheesy disco nights!), Iggy and the Stooges, Pulp, Foo Fighters, Brother, Two Door Cinema Club.

Acts we didn't see but wish we had: Eliza Doolittle, Imelda May, Parade, Hadouken!, Pixie Lott, Plan B, The Script, Beady Eye, Kasabian.

 Ally (and Katie & Charlotte) x

Cannes Film Festival Round Up

Lilly Lovelett, the cool girl-about-town blogger has launched her official website covering behind the scenes goss from the London music scene and beyond.

We invited her to give us an update on the closing weekend of Cannes...

"There's nothing more exciting than the chance to drop everything: desk, emails, deadlines & umbrellas (thank you England!) and hot step it to the south of France for the movie industry's biggest event of the year: Cannes Film Festival! This was made even more exciting by the fact that my original weekend plans were: work from home, sort out washing and catch up on Made in Chelsea!"

"On our first evening in sunny Cannes we headed to The After Party represented by L'Oreal Paris - a party hosted to benefit amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research). The party was held at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, and was a black tie affair as suspected. Unfortunately we were so rushed to get there after a 10 hour journey that we didn't have time to change! Still, despite our lack of designer clobber we were ushered straight through. It would seem that the keep-your-head-down-walk-with-purpose-and-pretend-you're-someone-famous trick really works! Inside we spotted Kanye West, Michael Douglas and Eva Herzigova as well as Carine Roifield from Paris Vogue."

 
"...Having started our Cannes adventure with a party that was unbeatable by my standards (rest assured, they are high!), we escaped the hustle and bustle of the Cannes high life and headed to the beach in Theole: blue sky, clear sea and sun: Paradise!"

 
"The day quickly turned into night and, never being one to turn down an invitation to a party, it was off to exclusive Cannes hang-out 3.14 - hotel by day, party place by night - and not for the faint-hearted! It's non-stop during the film festival and plays music right through to the early hours."

"We headed into town on day 3 and browsed the Promenade de la Croisette: if you like to people watch, this is the place to do it! The streets are lined with paparazzi snapping blacked-out cars as they leave the big hotels. We were told about a secret party in the Carlton Hotel which had super tight security and a restricted guestlist - we tested our chances and somehow managed to blag our way in! We partied with the movie world once more. No major celeb-spots this time, although one director did offer me the starring role in his next big movie! Shame I can't remember his name...and I lost his business card...ahh well, maybe next year!"

 
"...On our final day in Cannes the parties were beginning to take their toll, so we headed down to the exclusive Palm Beach Casino for a relaxing spot of lunch - only by 4 o'clock the bear bar suddenly turned super-club! The music was turned up by the DJ and the space usually home to a swimming pool is transformed into a dance floor! What's a girl to do, but party in the sunset - not too bad for a spot of lunch!"

Best bit: Dancing to Samantha Ronson's DJ set at the amfAR party - and Leo touching my shoulder!Worst bit: Falling over dancing to Samantha Ronson's DJ set at the amfAR party!
Cannes Trends: Big sunglasses, maxi dresses, anthing that sparkled in the sun! Killer heels, bright colours & A-Lister ballgowns.
Must visit: The Carlton Hotel, Palm Beach for lunch and daytime partying / Drive to Theole for a taste of the quiet life & have a coffee on the Croisette.

Festival Diaries: Coachella Part 8

On their final day at Coachella, our girls give us their thoughts on the bands, the crowds and of course, the fashion...

"Yesterday was the grand finale of Coachella 2011 so we arrived earlier to the festival to make the most of our last day...The line up was fantastic - Ellie Goulding, Duran Duran, The Strokes, PJ Harvey and of course, the headliner - Kanye West."

"We spent some time hanging out with the New York StyleSite girls, Shannon and Amanda, who were also style spotting at the festival. It was interesting to hear that before they even got to the festival they'd been doing some serious Coachella prep by checking out what was in the shops in LA - as they were gearing up for the festival too."

Verity talks to Shannon & Amanda from StyleSight.com

"There was still a strong vintage look at the festival right up until the end with an eclectic mix of sheer maxi skirts, high wasited shorts and prints - all of which we've been seeing since day 1 of our trip - and we reckon we'll see the same trends popping up at festivals throughout the summer."

"Music wise, The Strokes blew us away with old classics like 'Last Night' which really got the crowd involved and excited, whilst PJ Harvey looked amazing in a boho white maxi dress and big feather head dress - she fitted right in to the whole Navaho feel of the weekend, and Kanye finished the last night of Coachella with an elaborate set which certainly did not disappoint! All in all, the perfect end to a perfect weekend!"

You can see all of the girls' pictures by liking us on Facebook, or get up-to-the minute news by following us on Twitter. x

Festival Diaries: Coachella Part 7

On their second day at sunny Los Angeles festival, Coachella, our buying team bring us the latest trend-spotting news...

"The temperature is rising and the girls here are looking extra-hot in swimsuits and bikinis: stripes, spots, florals, fringing and cut-out - you name it, they have it!"

"Swimming costumes seem to be the order of the day; paired with denim hot-pants or sheer maxi skirts - a look we can definitely get on board with."

"Of course not everyone was donning the beachwear - we've spotted so many eclectic looks - the girls here are just so cool!"

"We saw The Kills - Alison Mosshart is so mesmerising - the crowd loved her epic performance as she sang against a leopard print background with moody red lighting. Following their performance we checked out Elbow, Mumford and Sons and the amazing Arcade Fire who were even more energetic and fun than anticipated!"

"Keep an eye out for more updates tomorrow! E, V, J x"

You can keep up to date with the latest festival goings on by following us on twitter, liking us on facebook, or checking back here for more updates.

Festival Diaries: Coachella Part 6

Two days after arriving in LA, the girls get going to the first day of the festival - Hello Coachella!

"When we woke up this morning, the sun was shining in the valley and we were so excited to head down to the festival but first we had to decide what to wear! It took us ages to get dressed - we got changed about 3 times before finally settling on a bit of sparkle..."

"First stop band-wise was Warpaint. The LA quartet looked AMAZING - especially lead singer Emily who was wearing a gorgeous orange embellished jacket - we want one! All of the girls have such amazing style."

"The festival's jam packed with loads of cool looking girls and the trendspotters are out in force snapping away at them...we've also been style spotted ourselves - a fashion scout from American Elle asked to take our pictures!"

Estelle gets snapped by an American Elle scout!

"Later on we watched Lauryn Hill perform on the main stage. She really got the crowd going with a few of her old Fugees classics - she's still got it! After jumping around to her we grabbed ourselves a pizza slice before chilling out to watch Interpol. They were outstanding and the graphics by David Lynch added to their amazing performance. We followed this up with a walk over to see Brandon Flowers who blew us away with his rendition of Betty Davis' Eyes."

"The final act of the day came from headliners, and band of the moment, Kings of Leon  - Jared was looking as handsome as ever and sounded amazing. They mixed up some oldies with some newer tracks and the crowd loved it!"

Don't forget you can keep up with all of the girls' Coachella goss by following us on Twitter and see more snaps from the festival by liking our Facebook page.

 

Festival Diaries: Coachella Part 3

Miss Selfridge Marketing Assistant and resident make-up artist Hannah McGhee gives our Coachella-bound gang a few handy tips for how to maintain their look whilst camping at a festival.

 

 
 

Regardless of what festival you're going to, space is always going to be an issue, so make-up bags need to be compact...what are your festival make-up "must-haves"?

"A good lip balm with an SPF is an absolute must have - it's great for keeping chapped lips at bay as well as being a useful little trick to tame unruly brows! Obviously mascara is vital, but potentially unpredictable weather means that waterproof is the only option for festivals. A natural lip pencil can be used on the whole lip and finished with a natural gloss to make your lips look fuller."

 

So you've got your lip balm, lip pencil and mascara...what else is in your bag of festival tricks?

"Suncream! You guys are off to sunny LA so it'll be vital there, but even at the rainiest British festival you still need to protect your skin from the elements. Tinted moisturiser with a high SPF will add to this protection whilst giving you a lighter base to work with and give you that great just-rolled-out-of-bed look...or should I say tent..."

 

Any tips for glamming up from day-to-night?

"Get a bright matt coral or pink lippy in your bag - it can add punch to any outfit and immediately makes you feel more dressed up - between this and a smudgy kohl eyeliner for those rock-chick moments you'll feel more than glammed up enough to party the night away! Oh, and don't forget a big pair of false-eyelashes - from subtle looks to extra volume, lashes look great at festivals and mean you can make a big impact with no need for loads of make-up."

 

Any other tops tips?

"Some nail salons offer a 3 week manicure which will see you through even the toughest camping weekend! You could try to coordinate your varnish with your capsule festival wardrobe but why not try a colour that clashes - the greatest make-up tip is to never look like you've tried too hard!" 

Keep checking back for further updates or for more updates on festival season and up-to-the-minute news, follow us on twitter or like us on facebook.

Festival Diaries: Coachella Part 2

So you've seen what the girls will be wearing on the other side of the pond, but what bands will they be seeing once they get to Coachella?

We asked Jill, Verity & Estelle to narrow the line-up down to their top 5 acts to see and this is what they said...

 

Number 5: PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey is a sure bet to be one of Coachella's highlights on Sunday night. With the recent revival of 90s fashion who could be a better style icon than the widely praised punk goddess?

   

 

Number 4: The Drums

If last year's performance at Glastonbury is anything to go by, then The Drums will be absolutely amazing - charismatic frontman Jonathon Pierce is hypnotic with his Ian Curtis style jitteriness.

 

 

Number 3: Warpaint

Touted as one of 2011's hottest bands, we just have to see Warpaint! The all-girl quartet from LA have generated a heap of gossip in recent months...seeing them take to the stage at home in California will be unreal!

   

 

Number 2: Kanye West

Kanye West is seen as a bit of a controversial headliner among die-hard Coachella fans - but if he proves them all wrong in the same way Jay Z did at Glasto two years ago, then it'll be a performance that goes down in history.

   

 

Number 1: Arcade Fire

Undoubtedly the "band of the moment" Arcade Fire will rock the socks off the Saturday night line up...they are definitely our favourite band - we can't wait to see their set!

 

 

Don't forget you can keep up-to-date with all the Coachella goings on by following us on twitter & liking us on facebook as well as checking back here for daily blog posts on all the latest goss.

 

Festival Diaries: Coachella Part 1

We're all getting excited about the festivals this summer, and three of our lucky buying team are about to kick off the season with a trip to glam LA festival Coachella. We'll be checking in with them every day to get the goss on their trip so be sure to follow us on twitter, facebook and here at Style Diaries for their festival updates.

Today the girls are busy packing their suitcases and we've taken a sneak peak and some of their outfits...

 
(Left-Right: Estelle: Assistant Buyer on Knitwear; Verity: Assistant Buyer on Accessories; Jill: Junior Buyer on Petites)

 
Estelle: "I've chosen to pack the golden fringe dress from our Limited Edition Festival Collection. It was inspired by an Egyptian wedding veil found on a buying trip last year. I also love this vintage kaftan which I think will be ideal for keeping cool in the Coachella sunshine. Super round sunglasses are my favourite shape at the moment and add instant cool to any outfit so they'll be topping off my festival looks."

 

 
Verity: "This festival season I'm really feeling for fringing and I can't wait to carry this super fringe slouch bag! I'm taking a beautiful beaded, lace cape from the festival range which I'll wear with a bandeau underneath and some high-waisted denim shorts. My number one beauty essentials are false eyelashes so I'll be packing several pairs for the girls and me!"

 
Jill: "I'm going for a 70s inspired rock look for Coachella - I love my vintage Guns n Roses vest teamed with leather trim denim shorts, little ankle boots and a 70s floppy hat. These pieces are great but I definitely need some sparkle too, so I'll be taking an amazing sequin embellished poncho as my show-stopping piece. Lastly, I can't forget my vintage swimming costume for hanging out at the pool parties - oh, and dry shampoo is a must!"

 

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