Happy Birthday Bonpoint!

I've been going to Paris fashion week for over twenty years from my student days at Central St.Martins School of Art to my time as a fashion editor, writing reviews for The Times newspaper or doing photoshoots for Harper's Bazaar. But I had never been to a Bonpoint show. Who would have thought a seasoned fashion pro would have been so excited. But with three children under my belt I've become quite discerning about what children's labels I love and Bonpoint for me is the pinnacle of children's fashion.

And this show was no ordinary show but a celebration of 40 years!

Set beneath the glass roof of the Orangery in the Jardin Luxembourg, nestled in a forest of trees was an old abandoned wooden cabin with a board walk edged in wild grasses and leading to a giant white oak tree. The perfect setting for a collection that showcased Bonpoint's 'Best Of Hits'.

What is summer without frills and border anglaise, linen suiting for boys and sundresses for girls.

And all topped off with the most delicious gold glitter clogs

Out of all the styles of dresses, these ruffle fronted cross backed dresses were my favourite. With a nod the 70's and a touch of Little House on The Prairie I'm crossing my fingers they might come in my size...

The boys were reminiscent of Amish tailoring. Simple crisp cuts in soft linens and cotton, in hues of white, slate and blue, all topped off with the perfect boater.

A Bonpoint collection is never complete without  Liberty Prints and this season they were contrast hand-smocked in Madagascar in bright pops of neon.

These Liberty Print jumpsuits are so playful and summery and I loved that they were styled them with matching hoola hoops!

More of my favourite dress style but this time in a charcoal border anglaise.

My love of cherries knows no bounds and this oversized cherry trench and matching socks are perfection.

Love this simple styling tip - adding a black ribbon under a shirt collar - how very Chloe - and waiting it with dungarees. Perfect modern style.

I loved this trio of girls in their embroidered skater skirts and belted blazers. Fresh and cool.

This polka addition was such a fun section in the show. Bright and poppy and perfect for summer.

And then the finale, these two poppets were delicious in their Marie Antoinette gowns, complete with trains, bows and ruffles. Perfect for any princess.

And after the clothes came Prima ballerina and choreographer Marie-Agnes Gillot who enchanted all with her mesmerising dance.

The cherry blossom fell on the most perfect collection and all the models gathered under the cabin, a beautiful and poetic end to a stellar collection.

even the sweets had cherries!

And then the venue was transformed into a party complete with games, candy floss and the most gorgeous animal masks.

Time to party in my kitty mask, Bonpoint shearling jacket and Preen dress

The Faux Fur Flies

Mini and I always love a new label and Dixon & Daughter is the perfect capsule collection of faux fur pieces for children. There is none of this dog-eared raggedy stuff that passes for fur and looks quite frankly like the dog himself has chewed on it. Instead Dixon & Daughter comprises of two styles of fur gilts and two tippets. Simple but luxurious.

The fur gilet is soft and shaggy and looks mighty pricey but well worth the £55 especially after all the compliments she received wearing it. And its so versatile she wears it over all her dresses and when its not too chilly it doubles as a coat. Check out Louisa's website Dixon & Daughter for her other colour ways and items or check out Red Direct in December.

Here Mini showcases the delightful polka dot lining as well as her cute tie-neck Bonpoint sweater

And Ottilie sat still for once, although her face tells another story!

La Coqueta Kids

I was asked by Celia, mum of four and owner of my new favourite kids store La Coqueta to answer a few questions on her blog about mums in style. Not a chore at all having to talk about my style tips, love of fashion and my kids! You can check it out today on their website La Coqueta Kids
As you can see im a fan myself and have even taken to stealing Mini's cat ear headband. Its just too cute!

I did rather a big shop. There is so much to love but i just adore their Pampa check and have bought Phin the shirt, Mini the dress and Ottilie the blouse as well as their festive Red Greca Sweater which i got for all three. Just watch out for our christmas snaps.

I quickly put Ottilie in their Maranta trousers - I love this blue and yellow tartan colour way and the drop crotch style makes them super comfy too. I paired them with a frilled blouse from Bonpoint and Marie-Chantal yellow cardigan and brogues, but they'd work equally well for boys too.

Double Trouble

Day of The Dead

Every year the exercise in creating our Halloween look gets harder. How to do a whole ensemble look, where everyone agrees? Last year's Ghostbusters was hard to beat. So I decided to rely on my fashion expertise and style our family to the hilt Mexican style. I used clothes we already had. Adding white gaffer tape to create Tom's striped suit so it would coordinate with Phin and Mini's dress and suit combo which i had bought last year from H&M. My dress was a vintage black lace Spanish style affair gleaned from the wardrobe of my aunt Jutta, whilst Ottilie's burgundy tulle confection by Angel's Face was a Mini hand-me-down. But it was with the accessories that I really went to town.

Mini already had this pink rose crown in her wardrobe but i added feathers butterflies and birds with a glue gun as well as a black tulle veil from Claire's Accessories. 

Ottilie's cream flower and tulle crown was from Bonpoint while Phin's top hat came from our local party shop and I then stuck different sized spiders all over it, whilst Tom's was decorated in skulls.

The Grim Reaper

Our little skeleton baby kept on putting her crown on upside down, I guess she preferred it that way!

Lisa from the fantastic kids party company Jem's Fairies did our face painting and Mini and I plumped for pink crystals adorning our eyes.

I bought a couple of hair bands as well as the skull choker from Claire's Accessories and then added some blood dipped roses, a spider, butterfly and a few lady birds to finish off the look.

Our friends never fail to impress either. Here the Preston's have morphed into zombie Simpsons complete with bulging eyeballs. And the Steed's were transported to Hogwarts with Argus Filch, Professor Trelawney, Mad Eye Moodie and a pint sized Voldemort, although to be fair he was mostly mistaken for Malfoy. None the less we were all the toast of the street.

Ibiza bliss 2

More gorgeous snaps of our little break. It seems super sunny and I have to confess it was greyer than it appears but we took it easy, played dominoes, collected shells and skimmed stones. Perfect.