SUNDAY MARKETS & A COSY PUB IN COVENT GARDEN.

On Sunday I had the day off. The weather however was miserable. Never mind though , my friend from work Fernanda - affectionately called 'FeFe' - and I were going to the Brick Lane & Spitalfield markets after a spur-of the moment msg from her. I cozied up layering my big black cardi and big grey scarf and headed for Liverpool Street station. I met FeFe there and we headed towards the markets (which are right by eachother) in search for a fur coat - for Fernanda. The Spitalfield market's were quite big and cool I must say. all underoof thankgod!

Off we went in search of FUR and there was many a market stall with an array of vintage fur for Fernanda's amusement. She wasnt sure whether or not she wanted a gret/white tone or a brown coloured fur so I got her to try some furs on. Here is gorgeous FeFe in oversized grey fur.

We continued through Spitalfields admiring all the stalls when I came across a little stall set up selling vintage designer peices. Amongst a chest of vintage Dior and Pierre Cardin I managed to find a cute vintage YSL scarf-pocket square big enough to tie around my neck or roll up and wear around my wrist or perhaps even dangling from a blazer pocket. At a too-cheap-to-mention price I had to snap it up! The pic is a bit dark but its royal blue & white. Loves it! As we walked towards the Brick Lane markets , cozied underneath my little umbrella we saw a man doing a live art installation in a shop window. He was paper-mache-esque-covering an old lounge chair with old magazine and newspaper articles - it was quite cool & attracted a crowd.

We walked along Brick Lane - famous for its food - all the smells of exotic food intoxicating our hunger. It was time to decide on the array of selection of food and what it was exactly we were going to have for a late lunch. After much deliberation we decided on possibly the best seafood Paella i've ever had. Home-made Spanish food on the streets of London who'd have thought?

We walked back to the Spitalfield markets where Fernanda decided on purchasing a brown fur coat at the cheap price of only 40quid! How good is that! She looks so cute in it too!

A succesful-yet cold afternoon of market hunting over I headed through the pouring rain to meet Ben & the girls at a quaint little pub in Covent Garden with a strange name I now dont remember the name of. Warm and cozy, we sat at the back of the upstairs lounge pints in hand - cider for me - beer for everyone else and had a nice relaxing sunday sesh with many laughs. Embarrasingly I spilled half a glass of Cider down Ben's tsubi jeans but he laughed it off and it managed to dry fairly quickly. Here are Benny and I at the pub :) All in all a nice way to end the weekend. xoxo Deni

LONDON STREET STYLE.

Hiya! So I for one am a huge fan of admiring people's style , there are many blogs dedicated to photos of street style across the world from London to Paris to Melbourne. The Sartorialist - thesartorialist.blogspot - is my favorite 'streel style' photographer & he's made quite a career out of it. I for one am always silently judging the style of walkers-by (and sometimes not so silently if you ask Ben) and a girl with good style always makes me look twice. The definition of style to me is not necessarily wearing designer clothing head to toe , style cant be bought , however styling a look together combining perhaps designer peices mixed with vintage and high street (topshop, sportsgirl etc...) peicess together to make your own individual look. Saturday was my day off & I decided to tackle central London with Ben's proffesional paparazzi-style camera to snap up some cool style (on days off to come I will tackle other area's around London). First stop was the uber-posh swanky area of Dover Street & Bond Street. Usually occupied by a mixture of wealthy women and many tourists. Here were my top picks from DOVER & BOND STREET.

Dover Street - I spotted Cheryl's green coat from across the road as I was walking & I immediatley crossed the road & approached her. Her coat paired with jeans, cons and a cool beanie was topped off with a oversized MARNI bag made from a cool shaggy-fur material.

It was Cheryl's casual yet cool style that really impressed me as I'm sure in her wardrobe next to her Converse and beanie lay copious pairs of Christian Louboutin heels & Chanel tweeds.Bond Street - It was this woman who really made me gasp for air. Her interesting Coat/Dress really took my breath away. When I approached her cute french accdent & dainty poker face stared at me with oversized SALVATORE FERRAGAMO glasses & long brown hair tucked into a perfectly wrapped black pashmina. When I told her how much I loved her coat/dress she informed me it was vintage AZZEDINE ALAI (amazing) and she swished her perfectly timeless HERMES Kelly bag with gold hardware at my request. I quite liked the unexpected choice of flat suede lace ups as I would've probably styled a black ballet flat or some pumps to go with the lady-like look but these shoes just add another element of interest & complete her look! As I walked towards the Stella McCartney store a posh blonde woman wearing a black parka with a fur lined hood carrying a classic CHANEL 2.55 quilted handbag wearing classic black leather riding boots - caught my attention. She seemed hesitant to stop so I 'papped her' successfully.

I walked further up Bond Street where a very lovely Oriental woman happily posed for me to take a photo. I describe her look as a walking advertisement of designer labels. At first glance her gorgeous black, white & red tweed CHANEL jacket caught my eye , these jackets are master peices in their own right - but I loved how she then teamed it modernly with a pair of TRUE RELIGION jeans , cinched at the waist with a CHANEL belt while an oversized CHANEL bag dangled off her shoulders and CHANEL boots adorned her two feet. Over her arm casually was a camouflage-logo LOUIS VUITTON puffy parka which once the weather chilled down she threw over her Chanel/True Religion ensemble. Here she is smiling graciously with her look. Too cute!I decided that - as much as I love them - I had enough of wealthy women trotting around in their designer duds and wanted to head to some 'cooler' areas of Central London so I headed towards Soho & Carnaby area. While walking past TopShop I noticed a really cool girl standing outside texting away at her Blackberry. Wearing what I'm guessing is a vintage fur coat teamed with a washed-denim shirt/dress and loads of chains her hair was perfectly 'couldnt-care-less' thrown up in a loose bun and her 'casual-glamour' attitude really caught my attention. Her over sized bag , amazing shoes and blackberry were the perfect accessories for this look!

As I walked toward Soho I saw the cutest little japanese-english girl walk towards me and her animal print fur coat grabbed my eye immediatley. When I got chatting to her she told me she was incredibly hungover. I call her look 'fabulously hungover' , her RIVER ISLAND (a high street entry level price-point chainstore) coat was teamed with an oversized grey marle top , black harem style leggings , black & white faux-pearls, cute flats with a chain detail on them together with a simple black clutch purse. Hair in a bun (I think they're onto someting) and specs on I think it may have been the same outfit she wore the night before bless her - however the effect is effortless glamour in a kind of 'Carrie Bradshaw walking home from a boozy party' type look. Super-dooper cute I say and she was really sweet too! Now, Soho is a very gay-district of London , so a combination of trendy cafe's and bars , quirky little stores , a few gay sex shops and a gay bar on every few blocks complete the mix of this bustling area. The following photo I call 'Will & Grace in the 80s walking through the gay village' - these two caught my eye immediatley from over the road. I didnt really want to approach them for fear of boosting their ego's because I dont necesserally think their looks a 'stylish' as much as they are daring. Props to them however for being different. They're look is very rockabilly-glamour-80s esque and they're influences I would say vary from Amy Winehouse, to Dita Von Teese , George Michael & Psuedo Echo. Here they are bless their little cowboy booties!

The next couple put a tear in my eye - quite literally. There I was walking through Soho when I noticed these two boys , now they couldnt have been older than 17 and yet there they were proudly together walking down the street holding hands. They continued to walk down and turn towards Oxford Circus (the busiest area in Central London) and as they continued to walk off they didnt let go of eachothers hands (and instinct tells me they wouldnt have let go once they got to Oxford Circus either). I was so proud of them for being proud of themselves and eachother , there is no way I at 17 could have done that walking through Geelong (my home town) without being cursed at or perhaps even bashed, sure they were walking through a "gay-district" but it still take guts to do that and their self-confidence really inspired me and I got a bit emotional. I see young teenage couples canoodling all the time in public so why shouldnt a gay teen couple be allowed to hold hands - equality for all I say. Back to style they were quite cool in their own right , one wearing a Billionaire Boys Club (Pharrell William's label) hoody and jeans and the other wearing a vintage-retro style knit sweater very Seth Cohen-esque and very in right now across global menswear trends. Their colorful backpacks made me smile! Carnaby Street was my last stop as daylight was ending (at 4.30pm how absurd is that) and I needed to get a couple more snaps in before my afternoon was over. While walking through Carnaby I noticed the following girl - her thrown together , winter-layering look is very much how I like to dress and how I like to see girls dress also. She perfectly combined a tartan shirt-dress with a black throw over , oversized scarf (I DIE) black stockings and lace up brogues. Her blunt fringe sat below her 'no fuss bun' (this really is a hot hair trend i'm loving atm). Loves it.The last girl I snapped up on Carnaby was this gorgeous tall black beauty who just demanded attention - altough I dont think she's aware of it which makes her cooler. The weather really impacts the way people dress around here - and its still something i'm getting my head around - her oversized black puffy parka layred over a cascade collared charcoal coat and a charcoal cowl neck tee - was paired with black leggings which were tucked indo black flat riding boots. Her Chanel inspired chain strap patent leather bag was a cute finishing touch. This girl was cool!

So its people like this who inspire me to think outside the box when getting dressed & express myself creatively. Sidewalk-Glamour is a term I came up with 4 years back in Paris when I noticed the amazing fashions displayed on the sidewalks filled with girls passing by in amazingly styled outfits. Its Sidewalk-Glamour that inspires me when I sit down to design because its them who at the end of the day are going to be wearing the clothes. We see fashion on models who strut clothes down the runway but then its up to all of us girls and guys included to interpret these looks in our everyday wardrobes. Hope you've enjoyed this. There will be more to come. xoxo Deni

BRINGING HOME THE AINO!

Well i've been working all week and apart from my Stella meeting on Monday night its been mostly quiet. *just for the record I got a reply from her assistant and they are currently reviewing my Cover Letter & CV and portfolio pictures and will get back to me asap. (fingers crossed). On Thursday I was a man on a mission. In the morning I headed to the Valentino sample sale before work. As I walked up to the venue I saw a reasonable queue out the front...

When I walked in to the large room covered in sample racks seperated into price points. The cheapest being 100pounds and the most expensive being 2500pounds. I stopped to look around , a woman with a crocodile skin Birkin picked up a 1000pound gown without hesitation - it is quite a good saving considering it would've retailed at 5000+ pounds. There were some beautiful fur coats on sale that I 'oohd and aahd' over all at the bargain price of 2500pounds. It was quite an interesting 20minutes and I saw many women (and some men) fight over Valentino bags at an alarming rate but back to work for me. That afternoon Ben and I were supposed to meet for lunch. Now Ben has been waiting for the release of a new Sony Ericsson AINO (in white) - it was supposed to be released a month ago and still hasnt. He was running late and told me to just duck into a phone store to see if its yet to be released. As I walked into the phone store I approached the salesemen that looked most like he knew what he was talking about , I couldnt be bothered with someone who couldnt understand english or knew nothing about phones. He told me they just arrived this morning and that they only had two. I walked out to dispose of the french fries I was shoving in my face and walked right back in to see an oriental couple looking at the phone I wanted to get for Ben with my salesmen. I found myself in a 'Bringing Home the Birkin' moment and was not about to let this couple get my phone. I walked over , got his attention and he asked me 'can I help you' , I said 'Yeah I want that phone' 15 minutes later it was mine and I jogged up the street late to meet Ben , however with a present that made him literally do a happy dance/jump up the street. Its a pretty cool phone.

Apart from that last night I did a bit of window shopping at Selfridges after work. I didnt want to go home to the mouse that was found in our kitchen the night before. I am TERRIFIED of mice , to the point that if I was living alone and saw a mouse in my house I would probably move out - so I decided to wait for Ben to finish so that I could go home safely with him. Good thing I did because I fell in love - with a bag. A studded Givenchy Keep-All to be precise. At only 540pounds if I didnt have living expenses to worry about I would've bought it immediatley.
Anyways maybe if I put some money away and it still there in a while I may treat myself...hrmm we'll see? Thats it for me now , off to go make the most of my day off , will update you all this evening xoxo Deni

THE NIGHT I MET STELLA McCARTNEY!

Hi Guys! Well I cant beleive I have something to post on what I thought would be an uneventful Monday evening. I cant beleive anymore that this night would be possibly-life-changing.

I feel it some what necessary that you all have the tune of 'Suddenly I see - by KT Tunstall' playing in your head. Its the song that is in the opening scene of Devil Wears Prada & also the first episode of Ugly Betty. I feel it will conjur up a feeling of a small city boy moving to the big city to make his dreams come true - you may even want to open the song up in you tube in a seperate tab to use it as a soundtrack to this post?

Shall I get started? Ok so I finished work at 7.30 tonight and decided I wanted a leisurely walk to the station so walked to Green Park tube station which is about a literally an 8 minute walk at most, but its just a prettier walk and I do it every morning but most nights I just walk up the road to Bond St tube station - well boy am I glad I walked this way instead *things happen for a reason as the saying goes. So as I walked up to the intersection I looked to my right and down the street out the front of what I guessed was Stella McCartney's store (I know all the stores location in this area by heart now) - I saw a huge group of paparazzi and many flashing lights.

'Oooh celebrity perhaps' - ever the celeb obsessed person that I am I told my security man from work (who I was walking down with) that I was going to go check it out , he laughed at me. As I got closer I saw that it was a party for the turning on of Stella's Christmas lights (they take this very seriously over here but I guess any excuse for people to drink & get frocked up). I stood on my tippy toes to see who the pap's were papping. There was a band on playing on an outside stage but I didnt recognise them.

When I looked infront of me (3 people infront of me to be exact) I saw the object of their papparazi desire - Stella McCartney herself. I could hardly contain myself , of course I forgot my camera - I thought , thankgod for my blackberry! I begin snapping immediatley. At first all my camera lens seemed to get was her back. Then she turned around -I almost 'ooh'd and aah'd out loud'!

"I cant beleive I am standing 3 people away from Stella McCartney" - I kept on thinking. Little did I know just how close I would get to her. So once the lights were on and the band finished playing everyone slowly started to make their way back into the store for the party. I looked around at the glamorous women and suited men - I noticed some also not so glamorous women and quite casual men. I then looked down on myself , dressed in a Black Gold Diesel tee which was black with the words 'Born with Cool' written on it in white , my black Diesel distressed skinny jeans , my new black asymetrical oversized cardigan and black military boots , my black Zara bag dangling off my shoulder appropriatley & my black Dior specs on face. I was the picture of urban fashion , all black with a hint of white. 'I can get into this party if I make myself appear im meant to be here' - so I sandwiched myself inbetween a group of people whopped out the blackberry and pretended to be on the phone to my friend advising her 'Yeah Im walking in now sorry i'm late i'll meet you in there' - worked like a charm. Walked right in and was given a champagne cocktail at my entrance. As I walked through the door there was Stella in the flesh , she smiled at me and said "Hi, How are you?" , I replied "Hi , good thankyou and you" - she smiled back and I continued to walk in. Is-this-really-fucking-happening? I scanned the room , lots of amazingly dressed women , more than I realised , sequined jackets , harem cut pants , I spotted a Jean Blue Birkin within seconds and mostly Stella McCartney accessories with the right amount of Chanel on some rich older women. When I turned around Stella was talking to Tim Blank , Vogue fashion editor (not 'the editor' but 'an editor' at vogue) I had also seen him at Paris Fashion Week and he is some what of a celebrity himself. I then noticed a young girl approach Stella and introduce herself as 'such and such from Grazia magazine' - ok do I lie and say I'm from a magazine , do I tell her i'm a blogger and that i was invited to this soiree. What to do? I paced the room for about 15minutes (it felt more like hours) a quick call to one of my besties Amanda (who I woke up rudely , fuckin time difference) and after a quick 'once in a lifetime' pep talk I hung up the phone deciding I was going to tell Stella the truth & go from there. I began to follow her like a shadow , but there were too many people wanting to talk to her. Just when I thought 'here's my chance' she walked up to her girlfriends. Damn! 'Wait around Denis , text on your phone dont look so desperate , act cool , nonchalant' - and so I did. 5 minutes later the lights started to flicker and Stella had to walk straight passed me to fix them (how down to earth is that by the way) she fixed them then walked towards her buddies again where she had no choice but to pass me , it was with that moment that i approached her put my arm around her waist and politely asked 'Miss McCartney could I trouble you for 2minutes of your time'. 'Of course darling' she replied. (am i actually doing this - i thought) To introduce myself firstly my names Denis (shake her hand)" , "I'm Stella" she said , I stopped myself from saying 'honey I know'. "I'm from Australia I've just moved to london ('how cool' she said cutting in) ... yeah and i'm an up and coming designer and have moved here in hopes to further my fashion career (her brow arched and she said 'cool very good') I continued "...i'm shaking right now because you are one of my idols , I respect you and your work immensley (Oh you're so sweet , thankyou - she replied) ...I'm sorry if i've crashed this invite only event (no i'm glad you could join us - she interjected)...basically I just want to know if I could send you my portfolio and my cv in hopes to get some kind of internship with you?" - was I really asking Stella McCartney herself for an internship? This was insane. "Sure honey , of course. See that guy at the bar (she pointed) thats my assistant Ben , I work with him , he will give you all the necessary details as to where to send you're work and he'll pass it on to me" , "Thankyou so much, it was a pleasure to meet you (..pleasure to meet you to Denis - she replied)...and by the way you look fabulous...(oh thankyou you're so sweet - she replied) - and she did. The women looked immaculate , hair back in bun diamonds in her ears she wore a crisp royal blue thick silk dupion jacket that flared out at the waist/hip area (tres chic) and black legging style pants that had a lace insert on each side of her thigh (the leggings that have been copied by stores internationally from supre to topshop) and amazing shoes - the thing is I cant remember what they look like and i ALWAYS remember shoes but I was that overwhelmed that its kind of all a blur. I walked over to 'Ben at the bar' and introduced myself with a masculine handshake , "Hi Ben is it, I'm Denis , Stella (we're on a first name basis you see) pointed me to your direction so that I could send you my portfolio & CV in hopes of an internship with her" , "Of course , no problems , where are you from" , "Melbourne" , "oh I love Melbourne" , "...yeah Its pretty cool place" , "Denis here's my card and all the necessary details and I look forward to hearing from you" , "I will be in touch with you tomorrow , tell Stella I say thankyou" , "Sounds good , talk soon" - and with those words I walked out that door and tears started to uncontrollably stream down my face! I could not fathom what had just happened , this is exactly the reason why i came to London & could it be that fate , destiny or just a stupid coincidence has opened a door for me that could change my life. At best I have a great story to tell my friends & family.

Keep your fingers & toes crossed for me guys because I wont stop trying to get something out of this once-in-a-lifetime-encounter! I still cant quite beleive it. Talk soon xoxo Deni

BDAY.BELLYDANCING & BREAKIN-IT-DOWN

Hiya! I sit here on my sunday morning and I can hear the rain drops pouring on my window! Good thing im nice and warm under the doona! Well oh what a night I have to report on peeps! My gorgeous new best friend Charlotte turned 22 on Monday (just gone) so this wknd celebration was in order! I had quite a long day at work and a late finish however her text at 6pm advising me I best be coming gave me the motivation I needed to get all dressed up for a nite with this gorgeous girl and her gorgeous friends! I headed home from work hopped in the shower - figuring my outfit out on the ride home cuts 20minutes out of getting ready - so I decided to pull out the YSL tee & blazer combo out of the closet for this special occasion and listened to my girl Beyonce to get me in the mood to groove. The celebrations were taking place at the amazing 'Levant' a Morrocan Restaurant/Bar located in the heart of London behind Selfridges off Oxford St. One thing I didnt prepare for however was the rain , I couldnt take an umbrella out could I is that what people do in London - apparently yes , thats what cloaks room were invented for , boy I have a lot to learn - suffice to say I got drenched walking to the tube station and the 30minutes i spent on my hair was now wasted! With a traveller to boost my spirits I didnt let it get me down and strutted my way down to the evenings soiree! Now Levant was amazing , as soon as I walked in I felt like I had stepped out of London & into Marrakech...

Beautiful moroccan decor - not tacky rather stylish actually - and the most complimentary low lighting anyone could ask for - I am huge on lighting it is all about the lighting! Char' met me at the door and walked me to her VIP morrocan boudoir-cave like-booth. It was gorgeous from the tiled mirror back wall to the fire engine red side walls (my fave color) to the cushions, pillows & rose petals scattered on the table - I am one for the fine details & I was in love with this place.Cuddled up on the couches were Char's fabulous friends and her gorgeous sister Rachel. You know when you meet people and you just feel so comfortable with them like you've known them forever , thats how it felt with these girls , they're my kinda peeps! Marco who me & char work with (he's our VM) also came along so us three ordered a round of cocktails and so the night began! The in house DJ started to spin some Beyonce and we all got up and started dancing in our booth when suddenly a sequin adorned belly dancer made her way towards our table! This girl was amazing , i've never seen a bellydancer so up close - the way they rock their thing , the gyrating belly moves the boob action was sexy and provocative without being tacky & cheap! These girls are really talented , me & charlotte of course joined her belly dancing as best we can.

After our belly dancer left the table we were almost the only ones left in Levant - we asked the DJ to get spinning and turn it up. Off he went with some Beyonce & Pussycat Dolls to keep us dancing a little while longer - we resorted out of our cosy cave and made our own dance floor!
We almost conga lined out of Levant making our way to location numero 2 for the evening! Choush had us on the guest list at Club 24. 24 has a concept like no other night club in London and is apparently the first fully interactive club in the world. Created with bespoke tailoring you can hire your own area and surround yourself with your own personalised backdrop. Its famous for its state of the art visually enhanced walls, the club's surrounding computer controlled visual projections can be tailored to project entire landscapes throughout the club or be personalised for each booth. the LED lighting system gives the club over a million different lighting combinations and the existing iBar, is the first interactive bar in the world. As a club experience the venue is incredibly unique and it was definitley the perfect place to go and kick it for Choushy's bday celebrations. We walked in passing the white LED wall and walked into the hallway which morphed into a neon blue - towards the entrance of the actual club doors...

As we walked through the hallway I could hear Jay Z's new track 'Empire State of Mind' pulsating through the club and as we opened the doors it morphed into Kanye's classic 'Gold Digger' - arms immediatley up in the air we all made our way to the bar and began dancing the night away! Before I get into the music , I truly was in love again with the interior of this club.

Pretty fucking cool I must say but then the music , well I dont know who the DJ was but its like he knew I was coming and decided to play all my favorite songs in a whole set. He went from Kanye to Pharrell , to N.E.R.D , to Beyonce followed by some Lady GaGa , Akon , David Guetta , Daft Punk & a current dancefloor favorite of mine "....i'm in Miami Bitch". Everyone was going crazy and he was spinning up the hottest tunes that just kept us dancing till the wee hours!Now it must be said that the Lubin sisters - Charlotte and Rachel (pictured above) have style! No doubt about it! Dressed for the occasion was Bday girl Choush wearing an amazing printed tank and PVC tights with zipd detail along the back legs (worn by Cheryl Cole in the 'Fight for This Love' video) some killer heels very Guiseppe Zanotti-esque and a hot Diesel tuxedo cropped blazer (for walking the cold streets to and from) and black leather Miu Miu cocktail bag. Her fabulous sister Rachel donned a sexy high waisted leather mini skirt with midnight blue silk blouse with peek-a-boo detailing paired with tights killer studded ankle boots & scrumptious purple patent leather YSL cluth! Amazing! So we exited the club , said our goodnight's and I walked up Oxford Street to catch my nightbus home - yes people a reminder , in London , you don't hail a cab home if you live out of the city and you dont get on the tube because it stops running after 12.30 , you get on the 24hour bus home! How funny! I stopped at Camberwell Green to get another Bus that would save me the 20minute walk to Brixton , as I waited I ordered a big fat greasy Chicken Souvlaki that then dripped all down my YSL tee (note to self must get dry cleaned). All in all a great night with a bunch of fabulous people! Hope you had a great nite Choush huni coz I had a blast! Here's a pic of yours truly walking home xoxo Deni

DIESEL SOIREE + AFTER PARTY + VIP BURBERRY AFTER PARTY = GR8 NITE!

Hey Guys! So I sit here on my friday night just gobbling down a peperroni pizza (which really isnt doing my carb intake any favors but hey) , I've just finished work but have much to report on last night's festivites. So as I mentioned it is approaching Christmas time and the central London area is full of amazing xmas lights & displays. Last night Bond Street - aka one of the swankiest, well known streets in London which just happens to be where I'm fortunate enough to work - had there annual turning on of the Christmas lights 'Bond Noel' they call it! The lights get turned on by a celebrity (who it was i'm not sure) and there's a snow machine and reindeers and Santa and all the usual Christmas cheer. Also all the stores along the street (all designer stores) participate by hosting a special event style night featuring drinks and canapes for shoppers to enjoy! Well its fair to say that DIESEL went all out and threw the best party on the street! Coinciding with our Jazz inspired collection the entertainment for the evening was a live Jazz Band called Sister Mary and the Choir Boys. We had a selection of fine waitresses dressed in high waisted black pencil skirts and black shrits red lips to boot handing out a selection of wine's & fruity cocktails! Especially for the night we were allowed to choose a top-of-the-range dressy outfit to look our best in representing the Diesel flagship store. I decided on a Diesel Black Gold (Black Gold being our more premium luxury brand) white tailored shirt an amazing pair of new collection Black Gold jodphur-style trousers a black cotton/denim blend with a zip detail that ran along the side of the leg from the front of the leg around to the back of the calf (ahmaz!) and an incredibly beautifully detailed Black Gold skinny tie & studded belt also from the new collection!

Greeting our VIP guests at the entrance was our gorgeous tall & thin russian ex-model Mariya in her stunning floor length Black Gold gown, seriously though she could wear a sack and look hot!

The night was a huge success! It was a great chance to mingle with customers and guests including visits from every Retail Manager of Diesel Worldwide - yes world-fucking-wide! Including the friendly group of Italians from the official Diesel HQ and also a group from our UK head office which was nice also! There by my side was my gorgeous new BFF Charlotte looking fabulous in Black Gold mini dress with chain metal detailing and some serious hair bling!

She's truly a gem and such an amazing person and we've bonded so much in such a short amount of time , I feel blessed to have met such a gorgeous girl I now call my friend :) Towards the end of the evenings festivities when everyone was paying full attention to the live performing Jazz Band our manager Michelle came and grabbed me (looking equally fab in a sexy denim dress) and pulled me & charlotte over to create our own 'dance floor' we danced like no one was watching & just let our hair down (in preparation for the after party) it sure got us in the mood!

So after a quick costume change (I chose my Topman check short sleeve shirt & my now much loved black distressed Diesel 'Mattic' jeans) on to the after party we went. Located at Dover Street Bar on the trendy Dover Street (just a few doors up from the amazing store Dover Street Market). The Bar itself was also a Jazz Bar (continuing with the jazz theme) down the stairs we went into this underground Jazz Club. As there was a tab on the bar off we went to claim our free wine hehe (just to clarify altough I look quite drunk in the following photo's i'm really not I promise you it was just very hot down there) as we got there we mingled stood around with our wine looking pretty - here I am with the gorgeous Lisa & my girl Choushy by the bar......posing is fine but we all really wanted to dance & the bar's background music wasnt cutting it so I walked up to the DJ and requested he 'up the tempo a bit' - he was more than happy to accomodate my request and before you know it he began to spin an awesome set of 80's songs all of which happened to be my favorites. From Michael Jackson to Madonna to Cindy Lauper & even Wham it was fantastic! Every MJ track played was a huge crowd pleaser as was 'Girls Just wanna have Fun', Whitney's 'I wanna know if he really loves me...' & Madge's classic 'Holiday'...

We didnt get off that dance floor for about an hour I think just dancing away as every song got better but for the smokers it was time for a smoke break and for those of us who are non-smoker's it was time for some fresh air (amongst the cigarette smoke surrounding us hehe). There we were Charlotte and I amongst our mates Clinton, Yolanda our gorgeous manager Michelle (who has become a dear friend) and then out of no where Clinton gets a text from his friend who model's for Burberry telling him that there's an exclusive VIP Burberry after party only a 5minute walk away at the exclusive Mayfair club 'Vendome' (yes the 'mayfair' - my life is a Monopoly board) & that he could get Clinton and his mates in! "Do we all wanna go?" - Clinton asked. Umm exclusive Burberry after-party at an exclusive club 'hell-fucking-yes'. So off we went a 12-strong army of us walking 5minutes around the corner & down the road to Vendome. We walked straight up to the VIP line and after a quick phone call to Clinton's 'inside-guy' & exclaiming we were all from Diesel here for the Burberry after-party we were all let in hassle free. Now Vendome is a pretty cool club, everyone from Paris Hilton to Kanye West has partied there. The inside of it is quite cool with a central circular dancefloor with a circle revolving DJ box smack bang in the middle and some very slick VIP booths this place screamed poser! The crowd consisted of a mix of 'fashionista' crowd featuring some anorexic models, wealthy mid aged men, your standard group of 'plastic-fantastic' poser girls in their sequinned minidresses from last season's Burberry Prorsum collection (or were they just Topshop knock off's)..hrrmm. Beverages of choice was a mixture of Moet & Chandon featuring Belvedere Vodka & cocktails.

Cuddled up in a VIP booth I spotted Burberry designer Christopher Bailey which was quite cool - had I been drunker I may have schmoozed my way over & demanded an internship - but i'm personally not a huge fan of Burberry so I thought i'd let the opportunity slide. With guest DJ Dan Healy - who under his portfolio has DJ'd for fashion labels Matthew Williamson & Alexander McQueen as well as private clients Jay Z , Justin Timberlake & Pharrell Williams - the tunes were bangin & we all had a good run on the dancefloor! Here we are 'all class' @ Burberry haha

...but as Cinderella must leave the ball so did we. With work the next day I wanted to be home at a reasonable hour and wanted to cuddle up to the gorgeous man waiting in my bed :) all in all a very good night , was a great chance to party with the crew from work as we're all becoming really good friends & getting into an exclusive designer after party is slightly brag-worthy if I do say so myself! Well its time for this fashionista to get out of his skull print boxer shorts & jump into a nice hot shower! I will leave you with this pic of me & my girlf Fernanda leaving Vendome walking up through the haze of lights of the pretty mirrored stairs toward the exit/entry xo Deni

A DASH OF ART & A WHOLE LOT OF WALKING!

Hey guys! So as previously mentioned today Ben and I both had the day off. We decided that we'd go check out the Tate Modern Art Gallery. Outfit of choice today - a black-charcoal-and-grey marle striped knit sweater I bought from H&M for 9pounds paired with dark denim Cheap Mondays and my trustee ZU boots - I've just had the soles re-glued and they're sure to get me through the winter puddles - perhaps with often visits to the cobbler i'm sure. As we left our flat in the morning the sun peirced through the clouds and the fresh breeze cut through the mostly pleasant weather. Ben decided that we should walk to the Tate Modern - I was fine with that , I love a good walk. Now the Tate is based right by both London & Tower Bridge - a good 20minute tube ride from Brixton. We didnt time it but I think it took us an hour at the most to walk there , or at least thats what it felt like. It was relatively quick and time always goes quick with good conversation. As we discussed possibly going sailing along the Croatia this summer we arrived at the Tate Modern...
A brown brick building that appeared to have a huge chimney column exploding from its side...

Now I for one am a huge lover of Modern Art. As Ben & I discussed art really is what you make of it. It can be anything from an installation of chairs to a video of self-mutilation. Its an individual perception of someones self expression. We saw some interesting things. This peice for some reason caught my eye - a combination of a sketch & taxidermy. I'm not sure what to make of it but for some reason it captivates me. I'm not a fan of dead birds but it got my attention.

The next installation that caught my eye was a peice called '30 Peices of Silver' - a combination of silver plates , platters , cutlery & tea pots suspended by string in circles in a large room.

There were definitley some things that made me scratch my head wondering 'does this really constitute as art' but I guess thats what modern art is not your stereotypical form of art. Not necessarily a pretty painting of perfect sculpture rather a modern interpretation of the artists inspiration even if it is peices of silver dangling from the roof. It was around this time that the security guard lady politely informed me that I wasnt allowed to take photos. There were no signs up so it wasnt as if I was to know. I put the camera away prepared to quickly whip it out when we reached the works of my personal favorite Modern Artist (and one of my favorite artists in general) Andy Warhol - perhaps best known for his pop art silk screen portraits of famous celebrities such as Marilyn Munroe , Elvis Presley and Jackie Onassis. There are many other really cool artworks by Warhol - I loved this one of the guns against a hot pink cow print and yellow background. I find his work very inspiring. His colorful playful attitude is admirable.

after perousing the small range of Warhol drawings and sketches I made my way to the 'Mona Lisa' of Warhol's the 'infamous' screen print of Marilyn Munroe. I had to get the cam out for this!
Oh so cool! The very print that inspired a big chunk of my Year 11 Fashion/Art collection hanging right infront of me - it was quite a cool moment. After my dose of Warhol we left the Tate and walked across the bridge towards Saint Pauls Cathedral as we exited three cute italian girls asked me to take a photo of them 'aw bless there little tourist souls' I thought. Now Saint Pauls really is such a majestic peice of architecture this church was definitley a highlight of London. The wind was really strong and blew my hair in weird direction so just ignore that for the moment and here's a pic of me on the bridge with St.Paul's in the background...
Man my hair looks awful in that photo hehe and now here's Ben - how friggin HOT does he look in this photo , it was like a 'phwoar damn' moment - he's got this half-serious half-trying to pose look on his face , his hair is wind swept in all the right places his broad chest is perfectly accentuated and he just looks so damn sexy! I officially am in love with this photo! ahmaz!we got up closer to the church and I fell in love with it all over again , it was not the first time i'd seen it but the first time I was really appreciating its structure - its truly spectacular! Unfortunatley I dont think my photography does this church justice - its amazing!

After that we stopped into a Starbucks and I had a peppermint Mocha - probably one of the best drinks i've had EVER hehe I think it may be a new fave! We then just continued to just walk and didnt stop walking , we walked along Fleet Street , all along the Strand , up through Covent Garden towards Leicester Square and then into the centre. We stepped into the Waterstone's book store and I bought a new book for me to read. I decided after such a high intensity book like 'Lost Symbol' I needed something light and easy to read so I decided on 'Bringing home the Birkin' - a true story by Michael Tonello a memoir of mad travels, triumphs and humiliations all in the pursuit of the Holy Grail of designer bags - the Hermes Birkin (high on my wishlist)...

I've already read 8 chapters and I must say its pretty ahmaz already! So following my book purchase we popped into our local Sainsbury's got some food to go - I decided on a cold pasta with chicken and bacon - bought some Banana & Choc Chip cookies for dessert (altough we both swear we tasted not a bit of banana in any of the cookies) and headed to Green Park for lunch :)

I love Green Park and especially in this Autumn-ness surroundings of orange leaves. Heaven! After our late 3pm lunch we continued to do some more walking , I showed Ben the range of Jimmy Choo at H&M and as it gets dark quite early here we were home by 5pm. All in all a very nice day had by all! Back to work tomorrow but bed time for me now. Love y'all xoxo Deni