I am being super organised this week so here are my favourite fashion and style blog reads for the week- a little early. Of course if you find any more great reads posted this week that I have missed please submit them as a comment.

The most painfully hip site of the week - I love the painfully hip blog. So great at spotting all things stylish. Here is a great review of a very stylish site.

The Fred Butler Palette - Susie Bubble adds a bit of colour to a dark, gloomy and freezing cold October day with this post. It cheered me up, I hope that it will do the same for you.

Ben Grimes unveils new fashion line - LPBG - Catwalk Queen reports on the latest capsule clothing line from Ben Grimes. I can’t wait to have a look.

Rabbit on the Run Fall 08 Look Book - Coutorture brings us some gorgeous and very expensive t shirts- can we resist?

Label Alert - Beckman - If you want to browse more lovely picture of bright and stylish clothes, My Fashion Life brings us one of the hottest labels from the states Beckerman.

Today on Better TV - Stay dry with practical pretty rain gear - Have you ever wondered how you can stay looking gorgeous and stylish in cold wet weather. Well this post will show you how. I love the umbrella for two.

For a stylish and compact solution to wet weather, I love this design go compact travel umbrella.

 pictures from style.com

I have a noticed quite a lot of discussion recently on the online fashion forums about Junya Watanabe. This prompted me to have a look at Junya’s Autumn Winter collection as it is not something that I have seen much of in many of my usual reads like style.com and ElleUK. Junya’s collections have always make me think of a kind of grown up fashion that can be worn (and look great) on any women. 

Junya is the protege of Comme Des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo. Junya has definitely followed in Rei’s footsteps producing innovative and distinctive clothes. He traditional textiles but also specialises in using technologically advanced textiles. His Autumn winter collection consisted of varying shades of grey jersey skirts, tops and dresses, draped and layered into veri interesting designs. The look was both relaxed and comfortable but at the same time chic and elegant. Junya’s clothes were beautifully and cleverley cut with sleeves that merged into hems and other unusual designs. The best thing for me about this collectionn was the way he draped the material to create long lines creating a very flattering silhoutte. Whilst the show was dramatic with the veiled faces and gloves did not detract all from the beauty and innovation of the clothes. I love the traditional boiled wool used in many of Junyas clothes and also in this stone boiled wool coat.

We all love having a bit of a spend up now and then. Sometimes nothing can be beat that feeling of coming home with a bag of brand new goodies. But now there is a new trend which I think will give you that same euphoric feeling of a spending spree probably even more or one as you know you won’t have a credit card bill to apy off. Swishing is the term that  has been given to the hottest new trend of clothes swapping rather than shopping. The swishing phenomenon has worked its way over from the US where it has been popular for a while.

The beauty of swishing is that you get some new goodies or accessories but without the associated feelings of guilt. Swishing is not just about new stuff, it is also :

• Ethical- no more throwing away perfectly good clothes. Someone else can benefit from them cutting down on waste and co2 emmissions released as a result of clothes manufacturing and transport.
• Frugal- In these hard economic times, we are all having to make a few savings. This is the perfect way to save money withoout compromising your style.
• Sociable- Swishing is also a socialable event. Great for socialising with like minded people who love fashion.

We all make the occasional error of judgement when buying new clothes. I have previously bought myself something I absolutely loved only to discover on the first wear that I don’t like it at all or it doesn’t fit properly. Swishing is a great was to swap these purchases saving your money to treat yourself to some really quality and luxurious wardrobe basics. I will definitely be having  a go at swishing leaving me to spend my hard earned money on this classic suede trench coat.

 pictures from www.vogue.co.uk

A real secret that I am going to share, just in case you didn’t know, is the classic wardrobe staples designed by Isabel Marant. She is fairly unknown and does not recieve a huge amount of publicity in the glossies but her clothes are simple, elegant wearable and chic. She designs clothes that are made for the women wearing them, with luxurious fabrics and fine knits giving a delicate and flattering appearance.

Isabel Marant started off designing a jewellery line in 1989. I am so glad she didn’t stop there. She moved on to to design a kniwear collection Twen which has now become her own label Isabel Marant. For autumn and winter 08 her clothes were deliciously laid back. Just the sort of thing that you could easily wear to look chic on the school run or any other day time excursion. The collection had a definte feel of this seasons grunge trend about it with a palette of dark greys and blacks and a relaxed and slouchy cut.

Every woman deserves a gorgeous Isabel Marant light weight knit and this is one of my favourites.

picture from www.style.com

When it comes to fashion awards, Fashion Group International’s 25th Annual Night of Stars is definitely one of the biggies. Just about everyone who is anyone in the world of fashion was there from Anna Wintour to J Lo and many others besides. The star studded awards were dripping with glamour and a really good opportunity to see what everyone was wearing. The awards were held at the downtown Cipriani being a stark contrast to the current feelings of unease and general nervousness on Wall Street.

Donatella Versace was presented  the superstar award and hardly batted an eyelid showing that she is no longer a foot stamping diva or at least she hides it very well. She arrived accompanied by J Lo on one side and Price on the other. The Versace label has managed to shake off it’s bad press and rumours that following Donnatella taking over the helm and Donatella has made a definite comeback in the last 4 years proving that she can design dresses with the most beautiful cut somthing that most women dream of. There were also awards to Bobbi Brown for beauty and Christian Louboutin. All in all it was probably one the years most glamourous and glitzy affairs - oh how I wish I could have been there. I can instead treat myself to something a little more low key like this Versace jeans couture shirt.

Rodarte - Autumn / Winter 08

picture from www.style.com

The look made famous by Vivienne Westwood in London in the Seventies is now back with numerous sitings on the catwalk for Autumn Winter 08. The original punk trend teamed with a big dose of anarchy included biker jackets, torn clothes with safety pins, ripped tights and lots of tartan, was  ground breaking in its day. It encompassed a whole scene including music by the Sex Pistols and the Clash and a real anti establishment attitude.

This time the trend is not accompanied by the attitide but is purely a clothing trend with tartan, shredded knitwear and dresses and cobweb tights. Rodarte was probably the show with the biggest punk aspect but the Mulleavy sisters pulled the whole look off by keeping it glam. There show was probably one of the best at New York fashion week and I can’t wait to see how much of this trend turns up on the highstreet.

For those who don’t want to go the whole hog with this trend, there are plenty of accessories and shoes which you can use to give your outfit a slightly punkish edge.

I love this purple stripey top which would look great with a skirt, tights and boots.

With the weather being so cold and miserable, it is about time I started to think about my wardrobe for autumn and winter. I have had a sort through my wardrobe and a bit of an edit. There are a few things from last year that will be great for this season and even a few summer outfits that I didn’t get nearly enough wear out of. I will be adapting some of my summer clothes for winter use by wearing over  a long sleeved or polo neck top with tights of leggings. But even with some lovely stuff already I will be needing a few updates for this autumn / winter and this is my wish list.

• Some new lovely fitting trousers for occassions when I want to look a bit smarter and don’t want to wear jeans.
• A tunic top for wearing with my lovely new trousers when I want a really flattering outfit.
• A black polo neck for when the weather is freezing, this is such a versatile item of clothing and can be dressed up with lots of lovely accessories.
• A mini dress for times when I want to get a bit dressed up but need something easy to wear so that I can ready quick.
• Some flat ballerina pumps - My summer pair have worn out as I have worn them non stop. They are the ultimate in chic praticality, great for walking in.
• Some anle boots with bit of a heel for those days when I need some extra height and for wearing with skirts and dresses.
• A variety of tights/ leggings - with a  selection of tights I can have great fun choosing what to wear. I will perhaps get some bright coloured and tartan tights plus some sparkly metallic leggings.
• A few interesting accessories for wearing with the above - but choosing these would probably fill a whole blog post in itself- I’ll keep you posted.

These Emilio Cavallini Metallic Cable Knit Tights are a great way to add a bit of sparkle to an outfit from last winter.

Ok so it cold wet and windy outside but don’t despair. What better excuse to sit and read the best of this weeks fashion and style posts. Here are my favourites:

Absolute House of Masquerade the Verdict - I am pretty gutted to have  missed this party and get the chance to try on some vintage clothes. Here is Disney Roller Girls review - sounds like it was great fun.

Interrogating Backlund - This post by Susie Bubble has to have uncovered some of the coolest knits I have ever seen. I never would have thought that you could knit such interesting shapes. As usual a very interesting and funny post.

Slashes are the new fringes - This post by Queen Michelle of the Kingdom of Style uncovers another new trend for slashed clothing but not in a punky kind of way, more a luxe designer sort of look - I love it!

The credit crunch and your wardrobe - Munique is a brand new blog dedicated to helping ladies look and feel their best and find their own unique styl. It has some great tips and advice, this post give some great ideas to help cope with the credit crunch and still look stylish and feel great.

Cosby Sweater Couture - another of my favourite reads, Painfully hip has found yet more gorgeous kits. we will have no problem keeping cosy and warm this winter I am sure.

The Search is Over - High Fashion Girl has written a wish list for Autumn Winter 08. Its really interesting to see what she would like and has inspired me to write my own wish list. 

 John Galliano - Spring 2009 Ready to Wear (picture from www.style.com)

I have just been watching (and thoroughly enjoying) British Style genius and finding out more about the genius designer John Galliano and his huge influence on fashion. He started off in the punk era in London when Vivienne Westwood  was also making her mark on London fashion. He graduated from St Martins College Art with a grounbreaking collection inspired by the French Revolution. The whole collection was bought and sold by he department store Browns. He has an amazing talent for tapping into to the natural movement of the fabric working it into his clothes and his designs. Although he is a home grown talent, he was (as are most talented British designers) persuaded to move away from London to Paris for a senior position at Givenchy. He was the first British designer to head a French haute couture house much to the disgust of many a Parisian.

Galliano now works for both Dior and his own label and between them produces six couture and ready-to-wear collections a year and a new mid-season range under his own name “G Galliano”. I love the way Galliano is not afraid to experiment and designs clothes that, whilst not always completely wearable are certainly ground breaking.

For some typical Galliano eye catching style in a wearable form, try this Galliano T shirt.

It’s not just London, Paris, New York and Milan that have fashion weeks. There are infact fashion weeks all ove rthe world with the Lakme India Fashion week happening as I speak (or type). With Bollywood,  the traditional Indian cinema enjoying a surge in world wide popularity, India is becoming centre stage for glitz and glamour. Some of the countries big Bollywood stars were there at Lakme Fashion week. Here are some of the fashion highlights:

Narendra Kumar graduated from National Institute of Fashion Technology (1990) which was run  in conjunction with FIT, New York and Trent Polytechnic, UK.

Aastha Bahl founded her own label ‘Mistletoe’ in 2004 following her graduation from N.I.F.T. New Delhi. She specialises in contemporary, minimalist and easy to wear clothes.

Krishna Mehta is the creative director of  her brand ‘Krishna Mehta’,which was established in 1988. It is one of the fastest growing designer brands in India with a international following.

Kallol Datta a graduate of Fashion Design from NIFT, Kolkata in 2004 and Central St Martins in 2006. He also freelanced as a fashion stylist whilst at college.

pictures from  www.bharattextile.com

If you love the rich colours and fabrics of the clothes at Lakme India Fashion Week, you will love this Fairtrade Recycled Sari Shoulder Bag.