Given that Sunday was the opening night of London Collections Men, the Duchamp drinks reception was certainly not the only fash bash taking place in London that evening. After a couple of hours Old Fashioned drinking in Mayfair we relocated en masse to Harvey Nichols for what turned out to be one of the most hilarious fashion events I’ve been to in a long time. The iconic London Department store had decided that the best was for designer Paula Gerbase to showcase her label, 1205′s latest collection would be with a great big party and personally, I couldn’t agree more. By the time we arrived at around 8pm the entire 5th Floor of the iconic London department store was packed fit to burst with industry insiders and familiar fashion faces ranging from Susie Lau (AKA Susie Bubble) and Caroline Issa to David Gandy and Aluna Francis, one very cool half of my new fave music duo, Aluna George. In honour of the occasion, Harvey Nichols had teamed up with chef Nicholas Balfore and his team from super chic eaterie Salon Brixton to create an array of delicacies including everything from pheasant popcorn (sounds weird, tastes AMAZING) to Blood Orange Negroni’s and steaming apple, ginger and vodka confections so scrumptious they should really be made illegal.

Harvey Nicks ‘do’s are usually held in the 5th Floor Bar but given the sheer number of stylish revellers in attendance this one took over the restaurant and the roof terrace. Attending a party like this always makes me eternally grateful that it’s no longer 2010 as it’s really knowing half the room that makes it fun, especially the next morning when communal commiseration with your partners in crime makes having the hangover from hell that bit more bearable. After a couple of hours mincing and mingling a hush fell over the room as hotter-than-hot band The Kindness took to the stage clad in the 1205 AW12 collection and got everyone on the dancefloor. We drank, we danced, we, or rather I, struck some very silly poses which have since come back to haunt me on Facebook. Harvey Nichols are party throwing pros and this particular soiree was one of their finest.

Love Ella. X

So the second EVER London Collections: Men (that’s menswear fashion week) kicked off on Monday and what better way to toast its arrival than with a back-to-back double party bonanza?! Destination number one was Soho House’s super chic Mayfair outpost, The Little House where Brit heritage brand Duchamp were hosting an intimate drinks reception.

Besides my New Year’s Fasholutions, I also vowed to be a little more frugal in 2013. Suffice to say, my resolve lasted all of half an hour and despite renewing my vow this weekend I found myself taking a cab to the party… I then also splurged on a fur trimmed coat at Sandro the next day but that my friends, is another story. There are few things better than arriving at an event to be immediately greeted by some of your favourite people. That was precisely the case at the Duchamp do and it made for a fantastic, if perhaps slightly excessive, evening. As venues go I have to say that Little House is a fab one, just roomy enough to stop things feeling cramped but cosy in an old fashioned luxe way with antique velvet sofas to lounge on, cosy alcoves to catch up in and a magnificent mahogany bar which naturally I made a beeline for. Funnily enough, Duchamp were serving Old Fashioneds (lethally strong cocktail involving whisky and bitters) that evening and someone told me that this particular drink doesn’t give you a hangover. They were definitely wrong on that account as proved by my throbbing temples the next morning and I will be avoiding this particular cocktail in future.

As you know, I’m a sucker for a British heritage brand and Duchamp is precisely that. Their exquisitely tailored suits were artfully displayed around the party and having taken a brief break from mingling to check them out I can confirm that their latest offerings are absolutely gorgeous. We also all received a fab pair of socks and silk pocket square in our goodie bags so that’s the boyfriend’s birthday present sorted! Besides my usual party pals guests also included foxy TV presenter Rick Edwards (had SUCH a crush on him during his T4 days), Esquire Magazine Fashion Director Catherine Hayward and GQ Editor Dylan Jones and British Fashion Council Chief Exec Caroline Rush. All in all it was a damn good party but as per usual, the night was still very much a babe when we left.

Love Ella. X

There are few, if any, nights of the year more fraught with potential pitfalls, problems and planning induced stress than New Year’s Eve. Whoever and wherever you are, you’re meant to be having THE best time, an expectation that often leads to disappointment. The pressure to have fun, look fabulous and get plastered without doing something so embarrassing that you’re forced to delete your Facebook account the next day is enough is enough to make you want to stay home drinking wine in your pyjamas in front of the telly. My boyfriend and I did consider this option briefly but then the invitation to the Melissa X PONYSTEP Magazine arrived and all thoughts of movie marathons and starting 2013 sans hangover went straight out the window.

As a born and bred West London girl who’s only very recently relocated to central, I find the idea of venturing further East than Hoxton Square more than a little bit terrifying. Very few things would tempt me over to the never-heard-of-it-before realms of Shadwell but with previous “special” guests including Kylie Minogue, Beth Ditto and Bjork, PONYSTEP Magazine’s annual New Year’s Eve bash is one of them. After kicking the evening off with drinks at mine we headed out to make the epic trek to Shadwell which I can confirm, did feel rather like the back of beyond. A couple of navigation related arguements later we made it to our destination, Studio Spaces a huge, slightly grotty warehouse type venue. Much as I love getting glammed up and drinking champagne cocktails in luxe locations sometimes you need a bit of grot in your life and this was just the ticket. There was certainly no chilled Pinot Grigio to be had but I was having far too much fun to care. The place was rammed fit to burst with an ingenius mix of trannys and fashion folk including uber blogger, Susie Lau (AKA Susie Bubble) and her sister Lust and Found Editor, Louisa. In one room the likes of Jerry Bouthier and Princess Julia were on the decks, spinning a selection of dance tastic pop classics while room two was hosted by cult party kids “Get With Me”. We danced, we drank and we got increasingly over excited because we knew the best was yet to come when the “special” guest performer, or rather performers, took to the stage at midnight…

And who were these oh-so-special guests who had everyone in a frenzy? None other than the ORIGINAL Sugababes! Yep that’s Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan reunited to treat us to an amazing performance of the tunes that serenaded our (or at least my) teenage years. It was, for want of a better word, awesome.

Love Ella. X

Picking up where we left off in my previous installment of last Wednesday’s evening antics, our second after dark destination was notoriously naughty nightspot The Box in Soho for the Maybelline Christmas Party. I was lucky enough to attend Maybelline’s festive soiree last year too and had extremely fond memories of the grooming opportunities they laid on for us. Well I’m pleased to report that in that respect, this time was possibly even better! The much anticipated (by me) pick n’ mix boxes stuffed with make up were my first port of call (even before the bar) and I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I literally grabbed as much as I could carry. After that we headed to room number two where nail pros were poised to give guests the most A-MAZING manicures. Thought two tone or sparkly nails were exciting? Think again. At the Maybelline bash you could have your talons transformed into everything from penguins to polkadots.

By this point a drink was definitely in order so we scooped up a “Rocket Fuel” cocktail just in time to have something to sip while watching the incredible burlesque performance. Anyone who’s been to The Box will know that their infamous stage shows can be ever so slightly graphic. Thankfully that wasn’t the case on this occasion and we were treated to a dazzling display involving smoky eye make up, white feathers and rather more tasteful titillation/flesh flashing. As you might remember from my previous post, the evening involved a fair amount of party hopping so after one more trip to the pick n’ mix (natch) and a few minutes messing about with the various Maybelline props on display we were back in our Winter woolies and off to our next destination.

Love Ella. X

Fashion is an industry that needs no excuse for festivites and the lead up to Christmas brings more stylish soirees than even the most dedicated reveller could attend. Part of me longs for the magical day to arrive purely so I can swap my stilettos for slippers, wear pyjamas 24/7 and scoff chocolates while re-watching Love Actually for the millionth time. Admittedly, that part of me is small and I know that after the initial novelty of elasticated waistbands wore off I’d be itching to get back on the party circuit. Last Wednesday was a particularly wild one that left everyone who attended feeling distinctly worse for wear the next morning. Our first port of call was Carnaby Street where super cool Scandi brand Cheap Monday were celebrating the launch of their Glow in the Dark collection.

I’ve worn Cheap Monday jeans FOREVER (great fit, great price) and the label’s current offerings are particularly covetable. After just about managing to refrain from buying the super soft cords in every single colour, my housemate/partner in crime Georgie and I decided to pop out to the Maybelline party in the hope that the tills would have closed by the time we returned (they hadn’t). More on the Maybelline ‘do will be coming your way soon, but in the interest of not confusing myself, for now I’ll stick to this one. When we got back to Cheap Monday DJ Hanna Hanra was on the decks and the store was absolutely heaving. After a bumping into my usual party pals Graeme (Drapers Junior Editor) and Seb (Notion Magazine Online Editor) we decided to head on to the evening’s third and, in theory, final destination. Broadly speaking, great fashion parties fall into two categories: ultra extravagant and so-hip-it-hurts. The Cheap Monday bash definitely came under the latter and when we arrived at the after party – held underground in Brewer Street car park – I was extremely thankful I’d opted against wearing a silky cocktail number. As venues go, it was a pretty spectacular one with luminous green lights casting an eerie glow over revelers sipping lethally strong vodka mixers and dancing to the sounds of DJs Lovely Jojo and FEADZ & KITO (I’d never heard of them which generally indicates they’re good).

Several hours, countless drinks and a lot of fun later the party drew to a close. In retrospect going home at this point (i.e NOT into Soho) would have been an idea but of course, we didn’t. Oh well, ’tis the season to be jolly and all that.

Love Ella. X