London will be raining… Roses!

This photo shoot by photographer Ana Gely A.  and make up by Valentina Syed features four models against a backdrop of pretty pink English roses, and wearing lingerie by Dentelle Etc..., Raine & Bea, 

Betty Blues Loungerie and Emma Harris.

These alluring lingerie in a pretty dusty palette are all made in Britain.

Dentelle etc is home of beautiful lingerie & loungewear, with fashion led deigns that aim to cater for the lingerie loving woman.

Raine & Bea lingerie use the finest silks and laces, corsetry and unique designs  from the creator of Cabaret Couture.  

Betty Blues Loungerie specilises in sleepwear, loungewear, lingerie and corsetry. 

Emma Harris Lingerie is a UK design studio with a team of highly skilled designers, pattern technicians and machinists. to produce lingerie for the modern woman.

Speaking of roses, luxury florist OnlyRoses™ will be ‘showering’ Londoners with their exquisite roses during the first week of August.  From Monday 4th Aug until Friday the 8th OnlyRoses will be giving away 100 roses each day from some of London’s key tube stations.

Says owner Sabine Schmitt, “We wanted to give everyone who was staying behind to work, something to smile about. And if it’s sunny, then that’s a bonus obviously!” The luxury roses are grown in Ecuador, home of the world's finest roses, under strict social, labour and environmental standards.  

OnlyRoses has released details of which tube stations in London they will be giving out roses and make sure you’ll be there to catch them.

Mon, 4th August - Piccadilly, outside Green Park tube station at 8:30am

Tue, 5th August - outside Bank Station at 8:30am

Wed, 6th August - outside St. Paul’s at 8:30am

Thurs, 7th August - outside Liverpool Street station at 8:30am

Fri 8th August - outside Canary Wharf Station at 8:30am

OnlyRoses™ is a rose specialist retailer in the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. With its headquarters in London, the company operates an e-commerce store, as well as a franchise system with retail locations in London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  The company delivers their ClassicRoses and InfiniteRoses throughout the UK and the United Arab Emirates. There are plans to open two further retail stores in the autumn of 2014, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Doha, Qatar, as well as further launches in capitals around the world in 2015.

REW launches new luxury "Scarves"

REW's luxury Concise "scarf" modeled by
fashion designer Amanda Jones. 

Since its launch in 2011, British brand REW (founded by Rachel Emma Wright) has made its mark on the fashion scene with creative scarves and stylish neck-wrap.  In cotton knits, wool and linen, REW's unique scarves are great statement accessories.

Now the brand has just launched a new range of "neck-wear" for autumn/winter 2014/15 that oozes luxury.

Founder Rachel said her signature style of extraordinary scarves are still very popular, but the new collection - which she refers to as "neck couture" takes the decorative neck-wrap to a new level.

REW's luxury "scarf" modeled by
jewellery designer Sarah-Jane Smyth.

REW's new Concise collection (as modeled above and at left here at the SCOOP International London trade fair July 13-15) features distinctively-designed geometric patterns on fine silk twill in coral and blue diamond, chevron or wavy designs, and teaming them with fine soft lamb nappa in light grey, baby blue and black. The palette is soft and alluring.

"By combining these textures with engineered geometric pattern placement, it gives structure and form to the scarves, and the wearer can create a unique personal style by adjusting and fitting the scarves as she likes around her neck," said Rachel.  "The emphasis is on bringing simplicity to the wearer."  

All REW products are designed and hand-made in the UK.

Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Sandals for the Hot Summer

Thank goodness for the hot weather we are having in London this week. As the temperature continues to climb, it's time to show off our favourite summer footwear. And what better way to cool off our feet than flat sandals and cool slides.

Just recently launched are these new light-weight single strap sandals from Birkenstock available in white and black, in keeping with the current Monocrhome trend.  

Classic Birkenstock's Madrid EVA sandals come in Black and White in keeping with the Monocrhome trend.

Made in an ultra light vinyl acetate material and are 100% waterproof, these are great for going to the seaside or lounging by the pool.  Weighing only 130 grams they are ideal for taking on holiday.   With adjustable straps and shock absorbing EVA soles, they are very comfortable to wear.

Both "Madrid EVA" colours are available on Birkenstock website.

Meanwhile at British shoe brand Clarks are these lovely "Tres Chic" sandals for their new take on classic styling for a truly British summer.

Clarks' Romantic Moon 

Clarks' Sharna Balcony

Clarks' Studio Punch decorated with jewel stones.

All styles available on the Clarks website.

Photos of CLARKS shoes by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Hashtag Collective launches ‘Essence of London’ Collection

New British fashion label - the Hashtag Collective - has launched its debut SS14 collection of men's T-shirt designs entitled "Essence of London".

Dedicated to providing stylish clothing while supporting and promoting young creatives, the Hashtag Collective  was founded in 2012, by Paul and Lorraine White.  The aim of the brand is to offer quality garments and packaging and a seamless customer experience.  Each Hashtag Collective garment is carefully hand-selected and packaged in signature bespoke Hashtag Collective boxes.

Hashtag Collective’s T-shirts use only natural fibers in scoop or crew-neck shapes. The T-shirts are made from 70% bamboo and 30% cotton, which makes them soft, smooth, comfortable and highly breathable.  There is also a range of plain men’s T-shirts in a fitted shape.

This debut collection features artwork by the celebrated graphic designer Olly Howe and is currently available on both the HashtagCollective website as well as ASOS Marketplace. New artists, photographers and designers are joining their roster of creatives to expand the Hashtag Collective brand further into menswear.

The brand believes passionately in giving back and donates a generous proportion of their profits to charity through their own Hashtag Foundation. Recently, the brand has been accepted into the highly acclaimed Camden Collective, a pioneering project to support the best of the UK’s creative community.

Paul's Boutique launches AW14 collection in Westfield Pop-up.

With prints and patterns continuing to be key trends, these fashionable bags should bring a smile on your face.  They are from the new AW14 collection of Paul’s Boutique, featuring pops of colour to brighten up the autumnal palette.

Molly, above, in a bowler bag shape sports a dynamic geometric pattern.  Note also the contrast piping to give the shape added definition.

Mellisa here is in a modern structured design featuring a multi-colour abstract print.

These and many other trendy styles in a range of shapes are featured in Paul's Boutique’s newly launched pop-up space at the Westfield (Europe’s largest independent shopping centre) in White City, London.

During the first three weeks, as part of the “Paul Makes You Happy” campaign, founder Paul Slade will spontaneously select customers in Westfield to receive surprise gifts in the name of making them happy.

Always designing with the London girl in mind, Paul said, “The line is inspired by strength and femininity; presenting more simplistic, structured designs suitable for day to night wear.” Remaining true to its roots with bold and daring designs, Paul is continually inspired by the diversity of styles, music, cultural influences and attitudes that typify the exiting vibrancy of the capital.

After 12 years of designing, Paul Slade has successfully expanded Paul’s Boutique from a stall in Portobello Market to 500 stores across 25 countries worldwide, across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. Today the brand has gained a substantial following of celebrities including singer Rita Ora, Pippa Middleton (sister of the Duchess) and actress Jaime Winston.

Thrilling sportive three days in the UK. Germany's Marcel Kittel sprints to victory in Tour de France’s London leg

The iconic Buckingham Palace along with thousands of enthusiastic spectators were among the memorable sights of London that greeted some 190 international cyclists as the final third stage of the formidable Tour de France's UK leg came to a thrilling finish today, July 7th.

The Tour's England leg ended with an exciting sprint finish by Germany's Marcel Kittel - a thrilling victory for the Giant-Shimano rider.  Such was the success of the Tour in England that Christian Prudhomme, general director of Tour de France, has hailed the event's three days in Britain as "the grandest Grand Depart ever."   The cycling race has now moved on to France.

On Sunday Serbia's Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon Men's Single Championship, beating Roger Federer in nail-biting five sets.

Sunday also saw England's Lewis Hamilton winning a crucial victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

UK Consumer Spending for attending live sport to beat Olympic record by 2016

What a summer it’s already been for sports fans in the UK, reaching the ultimate climax this weekend with Wimbledon women’s and men’s final matches, Formula I Grand Prix in Silverstone and the Grand Depart of the Tour de France kicking off in Yorkshire for its first three-day cycling race from Leeds to London before crossing the channel to France.

Petra Kvitova (right) of Czech Republic is 2014 Wimbledon Women's Singles Champion, beating Canada's Euginie Bouchard in a stunning victory of 6-3 6-0 to win her second Wimbledon title.
This year, Wimbledon officials enforced its all-white rule on players' apparel by banning coloured undergarments.

According to new market research by Mintel, Britain’s support for live sport is growing, although Britain’s sports fans may be hanging their heads after the defeats in the World Cup, Wimbledon and the Cricket’s Test Series against Sri Lanka this summer.

With the culmination of the World Cup, the Tour de France and Wimbledon, this weekend should be sports heaven for the UK’s sports fans with over half of Brits (55%) having watched live football matches and 42% live tennis matches via any method in the past year.   Indeed, with more than a third (35%) of Brits classified as current cyclists, the Tour de France too should receive high levels of spectatorship.  In addition, it seems Brits are beginning to be bowled over by cricket. Whilst one in five (21%) Brits said they watched a live cricket match via any method in 2013, this figure rose to almost a quarter (24%) in 2014.

For the first time since the peak of the London Olympics in 2011, consumer expenditure on attending live sport is rising, with sales forecast to reach £1.4 billion in 2014, an impressive 7% ahead of 2013 and set to reach £1.5 billion by 2016, topping the Olympic ticket sales of 2012.

Paul Davies, Senior Leisure and Technology Analyst at Mintel, said:"The London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 took the value of the spectator sports market to a level never seen before, as spectators made every effort to attend the first Olympic Games held in the UK since 1948. A year later, a seat on Centre Court to witness Andy Murray’s first Wimbledon title proved to be one of the ‘golden tickets’ to have in 2013, alongside England’s home series victory in the Ashes test series against Australia." Paul said."In recent years, the pull of potentially witnessing British success has boosted sports such as tennis and cricket, something which is likely to drive crowds to the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and the return of the home Ashes test series the same year. As a result, the value of the spectator sports market is now expected to return to and even exceed the level seen in 2011 (when the majority of Olympic tickets were sold)." Paul added.

It seems that for Brits, watching sport live at the game is enjoyed for the atmosphere of the crowd – with a third (31%) of event spectators saying it is generally worth paying to attend live sport events purely for the atmosphere.

As to where in the country are the sports fans gathering?  It seems that London holds the most sports fans with nine in 10 (90%) Londoners watching live sport in the past year.Yorkshire, Humberside are second with four in five (82%), and the North and Scotland at 78%. The smallest number of enthusiasts however, are in the South East and East Anglia where three in four (75%) have enjoyed live sport in the past year, the South East and East Anglia as well as East and West Midlands stand at 76%.