Harvey Nichols Walk of Shame

In stark contrast to the tear-jerking John Lewis advert, Harvey Nichols have released their own take on Christmas in this hilarious viral advert.

With no tinsel, no presents, no wise men… and certainly no angels... Harvey Nichols promises to turn a girl’s walk of shame into a stride of pride this festive season, with the help of their stylish collection of womenswear.

Julia Bowe, group-marketing director at Harvey Nichols says, “A fabulous dress teamed with a great pair of shoes will atone for a multitude of sins in our eyes."

Credit Buy - Charlotte Olympia Kitty Flats

Alexa Chung spent most of the Autumn wearing these purrfect Charlotte Olympia black velvet Kitty slipper flats (above and below.)

RRP. £485.00

At last week’s British Fashion Awards Alexa picked up her second consecutive British Style Award whilst wearing this heeled version of the shoe (left.)

RRP. £545.00

Marni on the Highstreet

Move over Donatella…

Hot on Versace’s stiletto heels, we now have a gorgeous looking Marni collaboration with H&M to look forward to - I am VERY excited - I adore their bold patterns and accessories.

Famed for their original, playful prints and inventive spirit, the Founder and Creative Director of Marni, Consuelo Castiglioni, has designed a Spring collection for H&M which will include both clothing and accessories in a range of fabrics from silk to crisp cotton poplin.

"I wanted to create a true Marni wardrobe by revisiting all our favorite pieces in signature fabrics and prints," commented Consuelo Castiglioni, "as always, I love juxtaposing prints and colours, mixing modern tribal with Bauhaus graphic adding sporty utilitarian elements."

Available from March 8th 2012

My Style - Milliner Laura Cole

In the New Year British retailer Hobbs will launch the Hobbs Invitation, a collection dedicated to occasion-wear. Featuring couture-inspired cocktail gowns that have a ‘touch of silver screen nostalgia’, shoes, and accessories (from £69.00) which excitingly will include three beautifully handcrafted head pieces designed by Laura Cole (below.)

Laura Cole is a London-based milliner, and author of ‘Mostly Millinery,’ and designs hats that I think are particularly similar to the lady herself; stylish, quirky and quintessentially British. Earlier this year, around the same time Laura was busy designing hats for several Royal Wedding guests, I modelled some of her fabulous creations...

Laura Cole shares with The London Chatter some of her fashionable loves and style tips...

My Style In 3 Little Words – Black, Collars and Jewels.

This Season Every Gal Needs – A fab hat!

My British Fashion Icons – Both my Grandmothers (and although not British, the amazing Marchesa Luisa Casati.)

My Favourite Highstreet Store – Oxfam on Marylebone High Street.

My Favourite Boutique – Lassco in Vauxhall for antiques. You never know what you'll find in there - anything from stocking moulds to beautiful door knobs - plus, there is a great cafe.

My Favourite British Designer – Helen Bullock: One To Watch.

At Gunpoint; Bags OR Shoes – Errrrm… Hats!

My First Fashionista Memory – Interning at Alexander McQueen and having a conversation with Andre Leon Talley about hand embroidery (he was wearing his trademark floor length fur coat... It was very surreal.)

My Saturday Night Outfit – My trusty old favorite Charles Anastaste dress; long sleeves and black velvet with devore Skeletons: not just for Halloween!

My Sunday Brunch Outfit – Any short shift, tights and plimsolls.

OMG I Can’t Believe I Wore – My 90's staples: Green checked lumberjack shirt with a red polo neck, teamed with green jeans… It had its moments…

Forget My Last Meal, My Last Outfit Would Be – Anything Lacroix... Sweetie... Lacroix!

My Style Tip – Add a hat!

Above: Laura's wedding, to artist Robert Nicol, was SO perfect and SO Laura...

Contact: lauramcole@hotmail.com

Tephi Christmas Sale

I have recently heard a lot about the beautiful dresses available from Tephi, a label started in 2009, by London based designer Chessie Grievson.

Tephi dresses (from £250-£500) are romantic, elegant and timeless - and all the pieces are named after friends of Chessie's - I particularly love the 'Pheobe' (right.) The gorgeous collection can either be bought straight off the rail at their studio or, uniquely, can be tailored exactly to your tastes with their bespoke service, "it's about offering high fashion in an intimate setting where women can come and look at the product, chat about designs, and leave with a creation that is exactly to their satisfaction."

The Tephi Christmas Sale starts today...

Isabel Marant for Gap Red

To mark World Aids Day on Dec 1st, Parisian designer Isabel Marant has teamed up with Gap Red to help raise awareness. With every sale of the limited-edition slouchy t’shirts, 50% of what you hand over will be donated to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Marant said, "this is one of those rare occasions when fashion can do something to help make the world a slightly better place.”

So far the Gap Red programme has raised over £109 million for The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The T’shirts will be available in Gap stores from Monday 28th November.

Hattie Rickards Jewellery - Geo Launch

Last week I went to the Electric for the launch of London jeweller Hattie Rickards’ second collection, entitled Geo.

After graduating from Central St Martins, Hattie went on to work for jewellery designers Solange Azagury Partridge and Kara Ross, before designing a collection for MADE and then starting up Hattie Rickards Jewellery.

The luxury jewellery is all fairtrade and fairmined - Hattie insists on full traceability for the gold and gems she uses for her designs - blending “aesthetics with a story and knowledge of origin.” Fans of her jewellery include Livia Firth and Poppy Delevigne.

I particularly loved the range of rings in the Geo collection (below, starting from £2000)

Top Left: Flip Octo Ring with Stones

Bottom Left: Flip Octo Ring with Enamel

Middle: Rubix II

Right: Eternal Ring Multi

Temperley Tea Party

Having just released her first book, announced a new collaboration with Filofax and won the prestigious Designer of the Year at the 2011 Hollywood Style Awards, you’d forgive Alice Temperley for needing to sit down and have a relaxing cuppa… But in true Mad Hatter style the acclaimed British designer has invited everyone to join her.

Tomorrow there will be a tea party at their Colville Mews Boutique to launch Temperley's two week exhibition of Alice's hand selected archive along with a retrospective of vintage Temperley treasures available to buy…

Milk, one sugar and something sparkly please!

Best Of London - Amelia Warner (Slow Moving Millie)

This year’s Christmas John Lewis advert (below) is a real tear-jerker - guaranteed to tug at even the toughest of heartstrings. The commercial shows an impatient little boy anxiously waiting for Christmas Day to arrive - but not, as you first assume, in eager anticipation to open his own presents, but because he is desperate to give his parents a gift.

The track which accompanies this advert is a cover of The Smith’s ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want,’ sung by emerging artist Slow Moving Millie (left) who I previously wrote about here.

Slow Moving Millie, the beeeeautiful actress and songstress Amelia Warner, has recently finished recording ‘Renditions,’ an album of songs from the 1980’s, including covers of hits by Tears for Fears, Thompson Twins, Bananarama, Yazoo and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. By stripping these songs from their manic 1980's rifts and crazy hair, what remains are "really poignant songs, and they're all about having your heart broken."

Amelia, currently living in West London with her boyfriend, took some time to share with us her London favourites;

Cocktail – I’m not a huge fan of the cocktail, so it would have to be a pint of Guinness at The Coach And Horses in Soho with some lovely friends.

Date night - Spaghetti pomodoro, red wine and candlelight at The Ripe Tomato on All Saints Road with my love.

Brunch - At home with the papers, Bloody Mary's and my friend Markus' home fries!

Boutique - Labour Of Love on Upper Street – I always find something one off and odd.

High St – It would have to be Topshop, although I am also loving COS.

Secret Place - Cork and Bottle, a very old fashioned wine bar hidden and tucked away under the craziness of Leicester Sq - Perfect for a late dinner.

London Icon - Tracey Emin for her humour, honesty, style and complete Britishness!

The single 'Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ is available as a single now on iTunes and Amazon.

The album 'Rendtions' is released on December 12th.

Slow Moving Millie's MySpace.

Movie Moment: 'My Week with Marilyn'

In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark, a movie enthusiast worked as an assistant on the set of 'The Prince and the Showgirl', the film that famously, and turbulently, united Sir Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. Olivier had hoped this collaboration would help him become a Hollywood movie star, and Marilyn hoped to become taken seriously as an actress.

An insight into a vanished era of filmmaking and the clash that ensued between the two actors was well documented nearly 40 years later in Colin’s diary account, ‘The Prince, the Showgirl and Me,’ but its author purposefully omitted one week’s production... This missing chapter was eventually published some years later as ‘My Week with Marilyn,’ and this film chronicles Colin's life changing week and near affair with the star.

Released on November 25th, the film stars Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Julia Ormond and Emma Watson - but its main attraction is undeniably Michelle Williams, who according to Vogue ‘brings Monroe to life with heartbreaking delicacy and precision without resorting to impersonation or cliché.’

Below: The trailer for 'My Week with Marilyn'

Michelle spent six months immersing herself in all things Marilyn Monroe; reading biographies, diaries, letters, poems, and notes, studying photographs, listening to recordings and watching her movies. Michelle also trained hard to transform her usually gamine body to achieve that infamous Marilyn wiggle...

Below: The original trailer for 'The Prince and The Showgirl'

Annie Leibovitz shot a stunning set of Marilyn Monroe inspired photographs of Oscar-nominee Michelle Williams for the October issue of US Vogue.

Styled by Tonne Goodman, Michelle wore a retro wardrobe from Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and J. Crew.

The actress revealed, “as soon as I finished the script, I knew that I wanted to do it, and then I spent six months trying to talk myself out of it... But I always knew that I never really had a choice... I’ve started to believe that you get the piece of material that you were ready for.”

“I wish that I could play her for the rest of my life...”