Red Hot Chilli Pepper

Mini is rocking a Red hot chilli pepper number today from Stella McCartney. It's an all-in-one romper with frilled edges with a 1950's American Diner feel. It's abstract dove print is fresh with a hint of Hawaii, especially with an Hibiscus flower perched behind her ear. Mini is also wearing her first proper piece of Jewellery, a silver bracelet adorned with pink enamelled charms from her Auntie Peggy. A charmed life indeed.

Ibiza Rocks

Mini has acclimatised to Ibiza's sunny skies and dips in cool pools instantly. She's in heaven as are the rest of us. Phin is galavanting round the gardens and mini is catching a few rays. Today she is sporting her sunflower print dress and matching bloomers from Japanese American label Makie.

Flower Power

Mini is keeping on trend with her summer florals and as we're big chelsea flower show fans we thought it apt to cover our little budding rose in blooms of her own. This Bonpoint Liberty print smocked sundress has matching bloomers and a sun hat to boot. In a wonderful mix of pea green and mint it comes courtesy of the ever so generous aunty Peggy. We've added a layer of warmth with grandma Eve's teal zig zag edged hand knit and with us heading off to Ibiza today a pair of White crochet espadrilles from Ralph Lauren at Bicester is the perfect nod to a week of Balearic bliss.

Fresh Florals

Mini is flexing a fresh floral look today. Its such a sunny style, bringing many compliments and smiles in today's torrential rain. She's wearing her new 60's floral print blouse by Marie-Chantal, it has a short puffed cap sleeve and frilled collar and i love the mix of off-beat colours, aqua, chocolate and dashes of tangerine which coupled with the naive style of print give it a hint of Murakami. It comes from the ever so stylish Nazli who also generously gifted Mini the clementine coloured bow to coordinate with her new top. Nazli loves bows, dare i say, almost as much as i do and she understands an outfit is not complete without one! We've added her white Gap jeans and her wonderfully vibrant turquoise cardigan from Caramel and to finish off the look, her brand new white summer sandals. They are from the American brand Elefantito, who not only make clothes but also do a range of the prettiest shoes. These are a gift from my dad, or rather Mini's Papoo and are beyond delectable.  They have scalloped edging and a little leather bow adorning the front. Perfect for perfecting her first steps.

Twilight or True Blood?

 True blood anyone? Or do you think she's more of a Twilight fan, Team Jacob or Edward? Neither thank heavens, for although it does look like she's attacked a wilder beast in fact Mini simply got to the blackberries before i could take the snap. We were enjoying the last day of sunshine before the rain descends tomorrow, having a picnic with Phin's pal Merrill and co. Mini didn't hesitate for a second and raided everyone's plate. Today being a little gym day, practicality was key and so Mini wore her light-weight cotton voile polka pants from Makie worn with her rose print Bonpoint shirt, grey short sleeved cardigan and frilled edged socks. She took more than six steps on her own. By next week she'll be off...

Hot Wheels

So Mini turned one today! Her year of blogging is complete. Oh no i hear you cry! Well indeed a few of you have been a smidge perturbed that Mini's fashion file would now terminate, as i had originally set out to record only her first year's foray into fashion. You can all breathe a huge sigh of relief and gratitude to those who bought her yet more gorgeous clothes for her birthday, which will of course have to be showcased on her blog, so for now it will continue. I will still aim for everyday but there may be a few holes. Still today was her 365th day as fashion muse and Mini went bright and modernist thanks to her nanny jenny with an origami pleated hot pink shift from Zara. With its clean architectural lines it smacks of Calvin Klein with the heat of St Laurent, perfect for the start of summer. We paired it with apple green bloomers (not seen) and her lime green bow and white Mary-Janes from H&M

As you can see my dandy obsession was noted by an eagle eyed friend and Mini's godmother Karen, who not only bought her a couple of their cool T's but also this megatastic poster. I want it, but have crossed my heart it will go into Mini's room.

Another rocking gift was her pink Ferrari paddling pool courtesy of Melissa from The Early Learning Centre. Phin was most thrilled, pink and splashing around are two of his favourite things and well, Mini likes doing whatever phin does. The Shadow should be her Superhero name. In and out, hurling herself into the pool headfirst, she had a total blast.

Grease Lightning

Go Grease Lightning! Is Mini a Pink Lady at heart? Well she certainly looks like a 50's pinup in her clam-digger raspberry hued jeans from the Gap. A super snug fit, they show off her chubby ankles to perfection and look even cuter paired with her new Zara white Mary-Janes, a gift from her nanny Jenny. We've paired them with her pale pink and red love heart body and her stone and red intarsia knit cardi from Bonpoint. Add her bow and quilted star necklace from Cos and she's good to Rock n' Roll.

Phin got in on the action too. Who says boys can't flex this season's coloured denim look. Phin rocked his with a grey robot sweater from Cos and star boots from The Gap.

It's my Party

Mini was in her element on Sunday, supported by big bro Phin and surrounded by friends she celebrated to the max with face painting, singing and trampolining. Party on!

Mini showcased her special birthday dress today. A crisp white embroidered Victorian dress, it was a gift on her birth from the fashion maven Virginia from her eponymous vintage fashion boutique Virginia's Antiques. I've been waiting the whole year for her to be able to wear such a magnificent creation, and her birthday seemed a worthy occasion. It has a simple underdress with lace trim and the over dress has an embroidered front panel with a v-shaped bodice, capped sleeves and the quilted and starched pelmet gives it a full skirted feel without the need for a petticoat. Princess perfection.

Natalie may have felt that by giving a pepto bismal pink trampoline for Mini's birthday gift, it a) wasn't chic enough and b)it would never make Mini's blog. Well chic it ain't. But boy its fun! Mini may only be twelve months old but she got the drift pretty quickly and held on for dear life as she hopped up and down with glee. And see, it made the blog albeit with an ultra chic outfit as its accompaniment. 

Indigo skies

Ah to co-ordinate the kids. Do it while you can I say. My mum dressed my brothers and I in matching chocolate all in one ski suits and the only way to tell us apart were by the different amounts of stripes on each of our hats. I quite liked the indentikit look myself and although I tend not to dress this dynamic duo the same I do quite like a colour theme. Today's was blue to match the bright sky we were blessed with today. Phin is wearing his super soft ribbed grandad vest in cobalt from Bonton with his navy check shorts from mail order label B. It's a US preppy label at a great price. And of course he's bang on trend with his Superga trainers. Mini is also in Bonton. It's amazing how long you can stretch out the use of their clothing. She's in a babydoll top and pants that she originally wore last summer aged 2 months as a dress and bloomers. We've paired it with her Yves Klein blue cardi from Caramel and a new quilted fabric bead necklace by Kids Case from Couverture and The Garbstore.

Candy Girl

Our little minimus is stripetastic in her Sonia Rykiel for H&M leggings and sweater combo. I'm not usually a fan of black on kids, hey my mum banned me from wearing the colour before my sixteenth birthday, but when paired with these bright colours it makes Sonia's signature stripes really pop. Talking about popping, mini's bottom was making a break for it too.

Get Shorty

I love a knee sock. I may be over the age where they are acceptable but where the Chung treads its a trend worth checking out. And so what better way to combat the chilly wind of spring when wearing a pair of shorts than with a funky knee high. Mini's lilac ones are printed with silver circles and come from the left-field store Couveture and The Garbstore in NottingHill. http://www.couvertureandthegarbstore.com Its a favourite browsing shop of mine as they have fantastic womens, mens, kids and homeware all with a quirky Swedish sensibility and you never quite know what you might pick up. With so many high streets filled to the brim with the same ubiquitous stores stocking the same things as their European counterparts, its lovely to come across a few original finds.

We've dug out these winter herringbone shorts a present from Tata by H&M, her new pink and stone polka t-shirt and lilac knit vest from our firm favourite Bonton and a lilac bow from MC

She's almost one! How did that happen so fast. And with her first birthday approaching Mini is rejecting her pureed mush and grabbing food from all our plates, so much so that today she got her very own plate of mash, pan fried liver and broccoli and boy did she tackle her plate with glee. The mash potato in her hair was another matter.

LOVE

So Mini now has her own Dandy sweatshirt alongside Phins Pale blue Lucky version. Minis is purple with red glitter Love letters and it brings me back to 1982 where I had an orange sweater with Debbie in graduated glitter bubble letters going from pink into silver and then into blue. It was the coolest sweatshirt EVER! And my bros had them in blue and you knew you rocked every time you wore it whether it was to the zoo or Hebrew classes.
Mini rocked hers out today at little gym and she was too cool for school by far.

Rock on

Mini is back on fashion file. Hurrah! Today was an active day, post jam session at blueberry playsongs where Mini rocks out to ba ba black sheep she headed off to the playground with pals Scarlett and Bo. Attacking both the wobbly seat and swing with gusto Mini was looking stylish as ever in her Gap star print shirt from Godmummy Karen and her Phin hand me down cords from Ralph Lauren which may have also been a prior hand me down from Karens kids too. Well they're wearing up well. We topped it all off with a bit of sparkle (you know me I can't resist) from Bonton and her ubiquitous bow from Peach Ribbons.

Mini's Riding on her Pony

Mini's riding on her pony, on her big fat pony. Well to be precise Lulu McPherson the chocolate Shetland pony is actually Phins but she's gladly been appropriated by Mini. Grandma Eve is obviously thrilled that she's got a horsey girl in the family. Mini is sporting her denim dungarees from the Gap with her Bonpoint chunky waistcoat and floral shirt for an English cowgirl look.

Daisy Chain

Wistful Mini in her red and white Daisy print dress from Bonton and her quilted Daisy chain string necklace by Cos. A cool gift from Carolyn - The Times Fashionista who also happens to have the most fashionable daughter Decca, always decked out in off beat kids wear with bucket loads of style. Like mother like daughter I suppose. Ive added an Yves Klein blue cardigan from Caramel. A cardigan Phin wore at four months old, it now works brilliantly as a bolero and matches her new big blue bow perfectly.
I'm off to Turkey tomorrow shooting Red's August cover story so you may get a posting from Tom or you may be without a fashion file for a few days. Who knows. Until next week xx

Girl with the Pearl Necklace

Where's the sun gone? Who cares, Mini's smile lights up the sky as do her bright coloured clothes. She's in full on Bonton today, wearing a combination of their Yves Klein blue and white stripe trapeze top, watermelon cotton leggings and zingy lemon cardigan and matching bow from Marie-Chantal. But what tops it off is her gorgeous pearl necklace with its neon peach grosgrain ribbon and gold tassel from J Crew. Phin, meanwhile is also shining bright with his citrus and grey star print t-shirt from Bonton and grey skinny jeans from Stella McCartney.

Mini adores big brother Phin, she thinks he's hilarious, cackling at all his moves. The two of them have the best time together, serious double trouble.

Yodel Yo

I promise you it wasn't me. My mum made me wear this.

How do i fast forward to Do Re Mi...

Mini is channeling the Von Traps today. It's hilarious. This denim hot pant dungaree combo from The Gap paired with the knee socks and booties from Caramel screams or rather yodels 'high on the hill with a lonely goat herd'. I don't know what possessed me to dress her like this today but it's certainly made me smile.

Curiosity killed the Cat

Mini's hitting that stage where everything is a wonder. Yank on mummy's necklace lets see what happens... Pull down that coffee cup, lets see what happens, open that cupboard - what's inside? Lets pull it all out into a pile on the floor and hurl things about! Yay! This is such fun. Following Mini round the house is rather akin to a tornado hitting our house. I'm exhausted just clearing up after her.

I just want a peek...

I know you're all yelling where are the child locks! My response is, Phin never did this! And they're going on today.

Mini is wearing an old favourite before she bursts its seams, her raspberry stitch hand-knit sweater from her maternity nurse Penny. We loved its girlie frilled edges and ornate stitching like puckered up raspberries. We've teamed it with her cherry tomato fine cords from Bonpoint which are also a tad too snug with a new red polka dot bow from H&M from the lovely Bel.

Mini loves riding her pony (well Phin's actually from their grandparents) but he never really got the hang of the whole swaying forward and backwards to make it move. Mini on the other hand is a vigorous rider who enjoys galloping across the bedroom with haste and glee.

Hello kitty

Mini had a special visitor today, her old nanny Bel. Bel looked after her for the first three months of her life and although she has been following her fashion files daily, she hadn't seen her for quite some time. Mini's been doing quite a bit of growing since then. At eleven months, she's a sturdy eleven kilos with thighs that are strong enough for a power squat and an unaided steady stance. Mighty impressive. Today Mini is cherishing Bel's gifts, her very own German nursery book about naughty bears and a Pepto Bismal pink Hello Kitty snack-box (am so jealous). She's comfortably attired for such a sticky hot Sunday, with her sunflower pink print bloomers from Makie, her cotton ruffle top from The Gap from Grandma Eve and a linen crochet waistcoat from Bonpoint.

Go Get'em Cowgirl

Yee Hah Cowgirl! Phin and Mini were invited to Alex's wild west party so we obviously went checked shirt crazy. There is nothing our household loves more than a good old soft brushed cotton checked shirt reeking of the rugged outdoors. But of course they're more fashion than that. Tom has a penchant for RRL by Ralph Lauren and Uniqlo does a great low cost range in a whole host of colours. I of course am obsessed with Isabel Marant's form fitting ones in off beat colours, while Phin's generally come from Bonton or The Gap. Mini's back in her red gingham sundress this time accessorized with a cowboy hat and sheriff's badge to kick some fashion butt. 

And here is Phin's pal Jagger rocking her red cowboy boots like a true professional. We only wish she wore them more. She's paired them with a cherry red cowgirl hat and fuschia and navy checked sundress from Caramel. Heavenly.