What can I say, I'm a girl who loves luxury and the finer things in life! From fashion to food, travel to home, I have always been a girl who appreciates good taste and fine craftsmanship, and for me nothing encapsulates this more then the Fabulous Fashion Teas at the five star Merchant Hotel.

Returning for their tenth year (or twentieth season!) the Fashion Teas combines a weekend of decadent food, bubbly and fabulous fashion, and of course yours truly was there to check out all the latest looks!

For the event I opted to wear one of my favourite brands, Karen Millen. This lace and silk dress, with it’s obi style waist band and gold thread lace overlay is one of my favourite pieces from my collection, and was styled with a delicate gold necklace, a hand finished gold “Aurora” disc bracelet, Karen Millen sandals and my beloved Jasper Conran handbag!


One of the best parts of the Fashion Teas is checking out all the pop up boutiques, as it means I can catch up with all my fashion friends, as well as getting up close to all the latest designs at the Fashion Teas! I fell in love with Chloe Dougan’s leather and chainmail collection, and Petra has really outdone herself with her latest collection from her label A.P.D Jewellery!

I was however quite naughty at the Walk in Wardrobe pop up boutique and after catching up with owner Laura McPolin I snagged myself a stunning white jacket from designer Rebecca Rhoades (available from Walk in Wardrobe)! Then it was a quick nip over to Lunn’s the Jewellers David Yurman pop up to try on some major arm candy!

David Yurman’s bangles are to die for and for a die hard arm candy fan like me I was in my element layering up my own personal stack of covetable bejewelled bangles! I also had the opportunity to personally meet with David Yurman’s Director of Styling Events, Travis Ngo for my own mini styling session! I have to confess I was seriously in love with all of the pieces he picked out for me and I came away with a wish list as long as my arm!


Then it was off to the opulent Rita Duffy Suite with Cathy, Nuala, Lauren and the rest of the girlies for the David Yurman at Lunn’s the Jewellers show!


As always the models from Style Academy looked effortlessly chic, while their hair by Andrew Mulvenna and make-up by Lacôme perfectly complimented each stylish look!



The afternoon consisted of lots of Veuve Chicquot Champagne and delicious melt in the mouth patisseries as we were treated to an array of fabulous David Yurman jewels exclusively available at its UK and Ireland stockist, Lunn’s the Jewellers in Queen’s Arcade.

While I am naturally drawn to bangles and bracelets, I also found myself lusting after an exciting mix of statement cocktail rings and bold neckwear stacked together to create a modern edgy feel to the brands heritage pieces.

For someone like myself who loves fine jewellery it was wonderful to attend a show where exquisite jewellery was the focus rather than just the clothes and Travis did an amazing job at styling each of the jewellery looks! The only downside is that I going to need some David Yurman in my life!

I had such a wonderful afternoon catching up with everyone at the event, and once again I have to congratulate the team at the Merchant Hotel for putting on such an enjoyable and elegant event! I for one cannot wait to attend next season’s shows in October!

The Merchant’s Fashion Teas will return once again to showcase autumn/winter fashion trends from a range of top local designers and boutiques on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October 2016. Fashion Teas with Harper at The Merchant Hotel, The Walk in Wardrobe and a joint show between local designers, Shauna Fay and Gráinne Maher have already been confirmed for the Autumn/Winter line-up. For further information and to book tickets, visit themerchanthotel.com or contact The Merchant Hotel’s events team on 028 9026 2717. 

Massive thanks to Sarah Fox for providing the press release, photo credit Kelvin Boyes at PressEye.

"In a Wonderland they lie, Dreaming as the days go by…………"

Alice Through The Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll.

Welcome to my Style Diaries from all my fashionable goings on at West Coast Cooler Belfast FASHIONWEEK! From covering the catwalk shows to attending WCCFW workshops and writing my Style Watch column for Belfast Times it’s been crazy but equally lots of fun too!

So if you want to know the styling inspiration behind each of my looks from FASHIONWEEK then keep reading!

Day 1 of FASHIONWEEK began bright and early as I was attending a special series of “Cutting It” workshops organised by LW Creative Consulting with thanks to WCCFW. It was a fantastic opportunity for anyone with a desire to work  within the fashion industry to get an unique insight into what it takes to make it from some of our country’s most accomplished fashion professionals.

I opted to attend the morning session which included talks by Róisín Murphy former buyer for Selfridges and Burberry; Steven Simpson: Rio & Brazil/Mr & Mrs Stitch.com; Designer Karishma Kursurkar; Ricky Woodside: photographer and creative director of 10Ten Magazine; designer Gráinne Maher and owner of Vault Boutique & Lewis Robert Cameron: fashion journalist and founder of Beyond Man Magazine.

Even for someone such as myself who has been immersed in this world for some time I found the talks hugely informative and would certainly recommend them to anyone who has an interest in working within the fashion industry!

The workshops took place at the Gasworks and while I was there I took the opportunity to grab some street style shots with Adrian Quinn as it was THE perfect backdrop to showcase my look for Day 1 at FASHIONWEEK!

As it was a daytime event I went for a dressed down look, opting to work seasonal pastels contrasting with lots of textures: chiffons, leather and tweed to give the look a modern twist!

Mixing high end with low end, I took a simple chiffon Paisley patterned dress from Primark and added a deliciously butter soft leather obi belt from Rio/Brazil to give the dress shape and show off my tiny waist!

Next I channeled my inner Coco Chanel by pairing it with a super cute tweet fringed cropped jacket from Karen Millen, perfect for my petite frame and gave it a little nod to Chanel with my diamanté brooch!

Sticking with my love of all things designer I went all out with accessories! I do love my designer shades and these all black versions from Balenciaga are super chic! Next to bring out the blues in my dress I opted for my Gucci jacquard GG scarf, while my tresaured Chloé mini “Paddington” handbag perfectly complimented the neutral tones of my outfit!

Jewellery wise as always I was wearing my Gucci Diamond G watch, Rachel Galley Allegro star friendship bracelet and diamond tennis bracelet, while my other wrist was adorned with my latest acquisition, a gorgeous “Return To Tiffany” Tiffany & Co bead bracelet!

Such an effortless look which I always love to wear, I think a girl can never go wrong with a classic tweed jacket, and when it comes to elevating a look to that next level always invest your money into your accessories!

I love the shape and style of this dress, it’s gorgeous textured brocade fabric creating both added texture and volume to it’s beautifully feminine silhouette! Taking inspiration from my Dirty Ruby “Montana” necklace I added a contrasting yellow to my accessories which worked so fantastically well against the vibrant white and blue hues of my doll like dress!

From the splash of yellow in my statement necklace I carried it through to my wrist, wearing my beloved Hermès “H” Clic Clac bracelet in the fabulous “Jaune Soliel” (Sun Yellow), and finished it off with my super luxurious vintage snakeskin micro bag!

This season has been all about the micro and nano bags, and this super cute number was bang on trend! Surprisingly it can fit more than you would expect, with all the essentials a girl needs: phone, keys, purse and lipstick!

Of course no look is complete without a pair of designer shades, and my sunglasses of choice were my classic black shades from Balenciaga! These glasses are more petite than my usual styles, but they really do frame the face, and will always be a staple in my wardrobe!

The look was finished off with a pop of blue, my metallic watch from AURIOL looks stunning glinting in the summer sun while my sky scraper heels from Karen Millen complete the look!

The perfect look for Spring/Summer I just wish we had the weather to dress like this every day!!