CarrieMe celebrates new UK brand: flattering fits for the vertically challenged

Finally, a British Brand dedicated to those that are vertically challenged!

But hang on, I'm not under 5'4" am I? I wish! After all there are lots of Petite ranges already on the High Street. No, unfortunately I'm part of the other spectrum, those that have been ignored for too many years, those that are 5'9" tall and above and don't fit the other fashion High Street niche of Plus Sizes.

Being tall, I'm often faced with the tricky decision of do I go inadvertently mini (really not ideal for work) or go up a size to get another inch on the hem, which doesn't really improve the fit!

So enter stage right, a new brand launching online in May, focused entirely on tall women: Taller Than Your Average

Conceived by UK fashion stylist Irene Agbontaen, who is an impressive 5'11", it looks like she has a collection worth checking out.  Selfridges Department Store has already nabbed the first spot and will be stocking her range of jersey and key wardrobe pieces from June - bet I'll see you there!

In the meantime, where would you recommend I get a new maxi dress, that properly sweeps the floor even in heels to take advantage of our new found summer weather?

CarrieMe's Christmas colour wish list, straight off the catwalk!

As the fashion season draws to a close, colour trends have been firmly established throughout the big four fashion capitals. We focus on Fall 2013/14 to ensure you're ahead of the pack, enabling you to accessorize CarrieMe with your Christmas collection. We also had a peek at Pantone, the old school colour forecaster, and MMtrends.com for all designers just in case there are any we missed!

Pantone's top 10 for Fall 2013 for women
www.fashionising.com

Pantone predict Acai purple, Emerald green, Mykonos blue, Samba red and Vivacious pink as the most popular colour pops for Fall. Seems about right, with key colours on the catwalk for Christmas-

Fuchsia which was fierce at Tom Ford, Jasper Conran and Paul Smith. Fuchisia was prominent along with ruby red, dusky pink. Accessorise this trend by wearing a CarrieMe classic, glamour or vintage bag hook in this shade of eye-popping pink. Our Parasian fashion blog featured favourite Nina Ricci's Fall collection where Red was big, likewise at Moschino for winter 2013/14 who are known for their fun and flirty aesthetics.

Fuchisa and Red for Winter 2013/14
www.vogue.co.uk www.glamourmagazine.co.uk

CarrieMe Vintage bag hook
www.carrieme.co.uk

Aquamarine, emerald and teal shades of green featured in Matthew Williamson, Julian McDonald, L'Wren Scott, and many more. Put the CarrieMe Finder in Emerald on your Christmas list, to add a splash of colour to our fall outfits. This beautiful shade reminds me of exotic beach holidays... The CarrieMe Finder for mobiles and keys is a beautifully useful gift for Christmas.

Purple was popular for many designers, a deep, luxurious almost regal shade. This shade is amazing next to oxblood red, gold and aquamarine. As featured in our blog on Marios Schwab's A/W collection from London fashion week.

Mustard shades was much sought after at L'Wren Scott, Maxmara, Johnathan Saunders, and Peter Pilotto. This spicy, winter warmer shade of yellow looks best against black, but works with earthy tones inspired by nature; rust brown, sage and fennel green, big for autumn. Our goldy yellow finder and bag hook is bang on trend for this A/W period. Please Santa, may I have these L'Wren Scott shoes slipped into my stocking...they would look great when accessorised with my CarrieMe bag hook ;)



Mustard Must haves...
www.vogue.co.uk www.elle.com www.carrieme.co.uk

If your looking for a more subtle shade, this cool colour palette of Baby pinks and Powder blues are the ones to go for - these pastel shades were featured next to neutrals in Celine, Carven, Dries Van Noten, Nina Ricci, and even H&M which showed their first ever catwalk collection in Paris.

Soft pinks and blues for A/W - Celine, H&M, Carven, Celine, and Nina Ricci
www.fashion.telegraph.co.uk www.vogue.co.uk www.carrieme.co.uk

Lots of Neutrals such as beige, caramel, and nude were of course largely featured throughout many of the minimalistic collections for A/W 2013/14. The A/W 2012 collection at CarrieMe featured quirky faux fur snowballs in a gorgeous snowy creme and grey..... and CarrieMe are thinking of creating some neutral accessories with an extra special finish inspired by Christmas .... Watch this space!

What would you like to see at CarrieMe?

Parisian Fashion - from cheeky peek-a-boo to minimalism

Nearly closing time at Paris Fashion Week and time to say Au Revoir to the fashion season for another six months - sad times!

In general Paris was quite commercial with minimalistic and classic collections. There don't seem to be many new or ground breaking trends emerging!

Designer Pheobe Philo was our favourite French fashion house - Celine showed her trademark modern, minimalistic aesthetic for both S/S and A/W.  Autumn Winter was beautiful, very cool cocoon shape coats - slightly oversized. We saw the oversized look at Milan Fashion Week but Celine's aren't so exaggerated, making these definitely more wearable. Colours in neutral, cream, grey and navy, this collection is easy to wear, low maintenance chic.



Celine A/W
www.harpersbazaar.co.uk

Nina Ricci showed an impressive Autumn Winter collection too, with a 1950's influence. Sexy silhouettes which hugged the body, cheeky lingerie elements such as peek-a-boo bralet/tank tops, and cropped cardigans. Peter Copping manages to design a sexy collection which still remains sophisticated. CarrieMe's favourite was the red jacket with neckline that looked like a sweater tied around the shoulders.

Nina Ricci A/W
www.parisfashionweek.com

Raf Simons caused some controversy with his new collection as Creative Director of Christian Dior. Dior for me has always stood for drama and timeless glamour, yet Raf's collection was a clean minimalistic collection, in contrast to Galliano who always created show stopping, extravagant catwalks. Raf ditched the classic hourglass silhouette for a collection of slim trouser suits and tuxedos in stark shades of black, grey and white for both S/S.

Christian Dior Ready-to-wear S/S
www.parisfashionweek.com

At Milan fashion week the suit was also a strong trend, and maybe with the current economic climate Raf wanted to make things more current, and toned down. I'm just not sure whether Dior diehard fans want to see this though. People like to use fashion to escape the daily mundane by adding a touch of glamour in order to spice up our lives. Final pieces in S/S were full ball skirts in an irredescent type of satin, dressed down with black jumpers.

Christian Dior Final Pieces S/S
www.parisfashionweek.com

Christian Dior A/W
www.elle.com

Dior's A/W consisted of a similar colour palette, but with a touch of red and blue. Outfits were mainly bar jackets, shift dresses, and cocktail dresses - for the party season. Houndstooth fabric finishes were apparent throughout. A little more exciting than S/S's plain collection! This one also featured some Andy Warhol artwork, copied and embroidered onto strapless cocktail dresses.

What do you think of the new Dior image, is it the way forward?

Milan 's fabulous fashion and faux pas!

Caio! As the Italian fashion week comes to a close, we pick out the preferred looks and the fashion faux pas...
At CarrieMe, we're all about fashion and function so we liked Christopher Kane's designs for Versus. (Versace's label aimed at the younger audience) Spring Summer 2013. Very useful pinafore dresses, allowing the wearer to re-arrange studs and flaps to create handy little pockets! Kane, we like your thinking... And those kitsch, playful prints.

Versus S/S 13
www.elle.com

Volume for Autumn Winter 2013/14! Oversized statement coats were ubiquitous in both women's and men's wear. Many designers supported this trend, such as Richard Nicoll, Maxmara and Trussardi. Although maybe a little OTT was the huge fuzzy bear look at MaxMara!



Oversized coat trend -  MaxMara, Trussardi
www.fashion.telegraph.com www.elle.com

MaxMara Overszied Coat
www.Elle.com

If the baggy boyfriend cut isn't your style check out Dolce and Gabbana's princess themed collection where fitted ladylike coats were a staple. It looks like D&G at Milan used Britain for inspiration, the theme being very Royal.

Tweed, raffia emboidery, and heavily embellished fabrics complete this luxurious collection. Another fabric choice from D&G, was the use of crushed organza on high waist skirts. Nice taste we reckon! CarrieMe are getting ready to launch our Spring/Summer 2013 collection which features organza flower bag hooks.

Loved the mosaic prints adorned with red and gold jewels. Everyone needs a bit of sparkle at Winter! Make-up for this collection was almost gothic with pale faces and red stained lips.

Dolce Gabbana
www.fashion.telegraph.com

A wearable trend at Milan was the suit, which appears to be making a comeback. With the recession at the moment people want to look and feel sharp. With the great selection of suits here, there will be one to suit every shape! 

Armani - fashion-style.become gorgeous.com
Ermanno Scervino - Fashioning.com

With the cold weather still persistent here in Britain, we're thinking about starting to wear these Winter 2013/14 trends early! When will you start to brave the new Spring/Summer trends?

... ooooh the Oscars, how I love this time of year!

Oooh, I'm thrilled with the results of the Oscars, some of my favourite films won some great awards last night, I wish I'd been feeling up to watch it live. I really enjoyed Argo, Lincoln, Life of Pi and Les Mes, so its good to see them conquering all 3 different award ceremonies.... and of course the dresses were amazing!

Surprisingly though, there seemed to be few emerging designers on the red carpet, instead the big stars are playing it safe with the Fashion Establishment putting in a strong showing.

Jennifer Lawrence  in Dior Haute Couture
www.metro.co.uk

Jennifer Lawrence, looking magnificent in a Dior Haute Couture gown - just the ticket to collect her Best Actress Award, even if the length of the dress caused a little bit of a trip on the way up to the stage!

Nicole Kidman in  L'Wren Scott
www.guardian.co.uk

Naomi Watts in Armani Prive
metro.co.uk

The Metallic trend was out in force with both Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts opting for shimmering numbers - Nicole chose to showcase L'Wren Scott who we featured as part of our London Fashion Week roundup last week, and Naomi went for the chain mail look gone sexy!

Sadly colour was hardly anywhere to be seen., except ....

Reese Witherspoon in Louis Vuitton
 - HuffingtonPost.com

Jennifer Aniston in Valentino
- Metro.com

for Reese Witherspoon going for a trompe d'oeuil cinched waist from Louis Vuitton and Jennifer Aniston's sporting the trademark red number from Valentino, which were both absolutely stunning, though Jennifer's hair down didn't make it quite as glamorous as it could have been.

Amy  Adams - Armani Prive
Metro.co.uk

As for Amy Adam's Armani Prive gown, beautiful with all the feathers, but feels a bit like the wrong colour, it just seems to wash her out - perhaps more of a warmer colour needed?

So which favourite got your vote?















So who gets your vote?

Our favourites from the London Fashion Week Phenomenon!

This is a busy week, London Fashion Week is one of the main four catwalk destinations beside Paris, Milan, and New York.  With over fifty six shows over 5 days, you can definitely get your Fashion Fix here. For those who weren't lucky enough to visit LFW do not fear! CarrieMe is here to provide an update. London has a fantastic reputation for up and coming talent, and catwalk beauties such as the stunning London 'IT Girl' of the moment Cara Delevingne.

Designer Marios Schwab showcased a collection of spectacular epic evening dresses, our favorite being a floor-length nude dress, embellished in Swarovski crystals. This collection named 'Petrus Christus's Portrait of the Young Lady' has a strong renaissance, regal glamour, yet Marios Schwab made the theme 21st century by using unusual fabrics such as lacquered lace with embroidered PVC.  Trench coats over velvet mini dresses were also one of our favourite looks and we loved the colour palette of Petrol Blue, Lavender, Pale Pink and Oxblood Red. 

Marios Schwab
www.fashion.telegraph.co.uk

Model Arizona Muse, Twiggy and Olivia Palermo were front row at British designer Matthew Williamson's show. The designer exhibited his signature ethnic, eclectic detailing within an exciting show of 'Northern Lights' inspired by the North Pole with strobes pumping out pretty prints and patterns.  Of course, Matthew couldn't resist introducing some of his trademark sunny shades: canary yellow, bright orange, green and pink, which wouldn't look out of place in Ibiza!  Loose knits and roll neck sweaters featured throughout his A/W 13 Collection.

Matthew Williamson
www.fashion.telegraph.co.uk

Mick Jagger's other half L'Wren Scott, showcased at LFW for the first time, a very luxurious collection of genuine gold jewellery embellishments built into garments and 23 carat gold leaf shoes!  The collection was inspired by artist Gustav Klimt during the 'Golden Period' and included classic tailored silhouettes, some decorated in sparkling embroidery motifs such as serpents and leaves, which pay tribute to the muse - Gustav Klimt. Loving L'Wrens model troop of fluffy blond afro's!

L'Wren Scott
www.londonfashionweek,co.uk

So which up and coming talent @London Fashion Week caught your eye? 

More of CarrieMe's favourite accessory brands from Pure!

Oh dear, CarrieMe had a technical hitch with my laptop off at the doctors - so apologies for the delay but pleased to say its back in working condition again...I felt totally bereft without it!

So in our second posting on cool brands exhibiting at Pure, CarrieMe chose Versa-Versa who design soft leather luxury clutch bags, with interchangeable covers - pretty cool we thought!  Update your look with the current season's colours and mix and match the bases/bags to create your own unique look. Check out a couple of our favourites below.

Versa-Versa clutch bags
Versa-Versa.com

Versa-Versa Collection
Versa-Versa.com

Second up is a jewellery brand named Sam Ubhi. Beautiful statement pieces made from unusual and eye-catching objects such as horn, bone, shell, precious metal and stones, inspired by her tribtal roots in Kenya.  We're not surprised that this brand was a finalist for Drapers Accessory Award 2013 - take a peek at these unique arty pieces.

Sam Ubhi Necklace
www.samubhi.com

Sam Ubhi Necklace
www.samubhi.com

Last but not least, Vivien Sheriff's luxury hats are certainly distinctive, nominated for Accessories Brand of the Year 2013, they wouldn't look out of place on Lady Gaga!  Hand-made in England, this brand creates couture, modern head-wear, that we just lust after!

Margot Mixed head piece
www.viviensheriff.co.uk

Artemis headpiece
www.viviensheriff.com

Why not create a mood board with these fabulous items on Polyvore and add your special touch?