TEAM JACOB!

I officially got dragged into the Twilight mania this week when I saw New Moon.

Call me a what you wish, but I was amoungst the group of girls gasping as the muscular 17 year old removed his shirt......is there actaully any contest between him and pale Edward??

And you would think this chick would crack a smile considering she has two of the most wanted men in the country after her..

Its a Floral Frenzy..

Forget pretty floral dresses your mother would wear, this season floral goes masculine, in the form of jumpsuits, trousers and sharp fitted blazers. The print is so small it’s hard to tell if ifs even floral.

Fashionable since the 1920s and returning in the 1950s as Paris couturiers embrace florals on dresses with full skirts and cinched waists. Vogue announces: “News from Paris – the print restored to high favour – rosebud chiffon, poppy-peppered shantung . . .” Celia Birtwell’s dreamy, Cartoon-like flower prints gave a new lease of life to Ossie Clark’s dresses in the sixties, again giving a nod to the floral trend that’s never out of fashion.

Mostly seen in Spring/Summer shows as a tribute to the oncoming season, SS10 was no different, mainly seen during New York fashion week, this time we saw a new twist on it in the form of small and intensified printed floral on more masculine clothes like trouser suits and blazers.

Paul Smith’s SS10 collection included the print on men’s shirts. Anna Sui leads the way for womenswear, with dainty florals splashed all over her catwalk in the form of bright colours, embroidered appliqué and small dainty prints. Thakoon clashed his florals and contrasted the look by having the models wear black bondage heels. Barbara Tfank included pastel coloured floral dresses and Versace and Derek Lam went for sophisticated, lady-like floral garments. Betsy Johnson, Mulberry and Donna Karen were just a few of the other designers also incorporating it into their collection.

The iconic Liberty print has undoubtedly had a major influence on the designers print this season. The design studio create new and re-work classic prints every season, “inspired by nature, architecture, our heritage and the store itself”. It has also recently had high profile collaborations with Nike and Gap.

Celebrities are getting caught up in the floral frenzy; Helena Christensen looks sweet and relaxed in a pastel, belted tunic during the launch of the Matthew Williamson for H&M collection and Sienna Miller works the trend with a black jacket and ankle boots. The high street is also picking up on the trend. Wear these cute liberty print shorts from Topshop with a plain vest top and OTK boots for day and a fitted blazer and heels for night. Miss Selfridge also does a smart grey and black floral blazer and snap up one of the pretty floral scarves from ASOS. This bold dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs will make heads turn wherever you go, give it an edge with studded ankle boots.

And on that farm he had some...

Karl Lagerfeld has come a long way since his days on the growing up in country, he revealed after the Chanel show, “I spent part of my childhood on a farm.” Everyone was alert at the roosters call for a farmyard- frolic in the hay. Hay fever wafted through the air in the gigantic hay-barn inspired by Marie Antoinette’s farm in Versailles. In the centre of the Grand Palais, it certainly wasn’t something you expect to see every day and the show hadn’t even started yet.

In the star studded audience, eagerly anticipating what Lagerfeld’s infamous wit would bring to the Chanel’s SS10 collection, were Prince, Rhianna and Claudia Schiffer. Karl was breaking all the rules of the brand of its usually lavish and elegant look, with the models flirting round the set in a mismatch of high-heeled clogs, trompe l’oeil tights and raffia chain bags. The models included Lara Stone, Abbey Lee and Baptiste Giabiconi. The models hair was swept up in messy pony tails with ribbons with hair falling around the models faces. Make-up was to a minimum so focus was entirely on the clothes.

Lily Allen, the face of Chanel, performed at the show, dripping in sequins and feathers. This was the perfect choice of singer as she added to the rustic feel of the show. And fitted in with the “I’m breaking all the rules, but I still look good” attitude of the collection immaculately.

There was undoubtedly a rock element to the clothes, velvet black blazers, big shoulders, high-waisted jeans, but then there was chic and classy, pretty floral dress. The best outfit in the collection being a beautiful chiffon one shouldered dress over a white body suit with monochrome heels, it was a breath-taking outfit.

There was one suit which didn’t seem to quite fit into the collection. A bright red blazer with leg of lamb sleeves and short skirt stood out as soon as the model came striding out. Teamed with matching red clogs and a fake rosary bead tattoo wrapped round both thighs, wasn’t so sure this look was trashy rather than sophisticated.

There were all the usual designs from Chanel, the classic quilted chain bags and tweed suits but they all had a new and interesting twist to them. The skirts had slits up the side and white silk ribbons woven into the jackets. The models march down at one point with Blackberries proving that the Lagerfeld had designed these clothes for the modern day and was breaking out of the Chanel norm. It is sure to say that Lagerfeld is true to his roots with this show, but I’m not sure how many models would actually frolic in the hay on a real farm in clothes as stunning as the ones he has designed this season.

"Dirty Old Hags Like Her Always Have Itchy Tummies"

Last night as poured out my bowl of Cheerio’s, I noticed The Twits book sitting inside the box.

Roald Dahl always has and always will be my favourite author. He is most probably responsible for my love of writing now. I grew up engrossed in The Witches, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Matilda and the BFG just to name a few. I made it my personal mission to make sure I read them all. With his witty way of writing and funny made up words he stood out from all other children’s authors.

I couldn’t help but sit and read The Twits all over again and it was just as good as when I read it as a child. It’s about a nutty old couple who hate children, animals and most of all each other. I thought I’d share my favourite bit of the book with you.

“Mrs Twit was no better than her husband. She did not, of course, have a hairy face. It was a pity she didn’t because that at any rate would have hidden some of her ugliness. Take a look at her.

Have you ever seen a woman with an uglier face than that? I doubt it. But the funny thing is that Mrs Twit wasn’t born ugly. She’d had quite a nice face when she was young. The ugliness had grown upon her year by year as she got older.

Why would that happen? I’ll tell you why. If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it.

A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out like sunbeams and you will always look lovely”.

Even now you can learn so much from him. Roald Dahl’s kindness and love for children shone out in all of his books.