Peony

Miss Peony Lim.

These are some photographs I took of Peony for a feature for Grazia.IT which you can find here. Head on over for a wee interview with Peony (although you will need to use a little google translate action if you can't read Italian like me!). Find out why she started her blog, what she never leaves home without, Peony's must-wear accessory and the inspiration behind her style.

Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile (thank you!) will recognise Peony from previous fashion week posts. I realised, however, that I haven't ever really done a proper style profile on Peony- we have just kind of never got around to doing it. So Grazia was the perfect excuse for me to head on over to Peony's house with camera in hand to pull apart her wardrobe and take some portraits. And eat cupcakes. And chat ;)

I first met Peony at LFW in February last year when she was still studying History of Art at the Courtauld Institute in London (which coincidentally has its campus right on the doorstep of Somerset House- very handy for fashion week). But walking into Peony's bedroom it is clear that a career as a stylist was almost a certainty. A beautiful mood board that covers almost her entire door, stacks of neatly folded jeans (not cast aside on a chair like I am want to do!) next to a vintage Louis Vuitton case, long, floaty dresses hanging prettily near a window, a little area is set aside for hair products, make-up and a little DIY*, costume jewellery and belts are tucked away in vintage leather hat boxes.....and I am not even going to mention the gorgeous shoes and handbags. They have their own space in another room :)

Her wardrobe is basically a glorious kaleidoscope of vintage her mama has passed on to her, high street buys, eBay bargains and designer items (Bicester Village and TK Maxx are favourite places for picking up designer pieces on a budget. A recent purchase from Bicester was an Alexander McQueen dress from his SS 2010 collection).

Whenever I visit Peony's home I am like a kid in a candy store- it smells so delicious (she burns Diptyque and Penhaligon's candles), there are always bunches of fresh flowers everywhere and some form of naughty treat she has whipped up (see the bottom collage for the tiny pink cupcakes she baked on the day of our shoot). I also make her show me any new purchases...I obviously live vicariously through my friends!


Now, because I am terribly remiss at getting details of what people are wearing during fashion weeks (which I know is so frustrating for many of you ;), I am going to be giving you details of what each girl I photograph is wearing.

So, top photos: vintage military shirt, shorts (Patricia Field), hat (vintage from Antwerp), studded boots (Russell&Bromley), cross necklace (gift from Peony's boyfriend from Camden market), belt (from India).

Black dress (above) Patricia Field, heels (Christian Louboutin).

Leopard print dress (H&M). I loved that dress....it would be perfect for a holiday cocktail hour.

Grey t-shirt (H&M), denim shorts (vintage levi's), Hello Kitty headphones (I made her put them on!) were a gift from her boyfriend.

White shirt (Thomas Pink), jeans (J Brand), turquoise ring (bought in Morocco while on a job), large link bracelet (gift from Peony's mama). The beautiful teapot in the background is a Hermès limited edition with peony flowers on the side. It was a special present from Peony's parents. I stayed WELL away from said teapot for obvious reasons!

*Check the shoes she customised with spikes (inspired by a Christian Louboutin pair) with a little help from her boyfriend!

p.s. think you can click on the collages to make them bigger. I know they are a bit small...

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Grazia.IT , Peony , Peony Lim

London Fashion Week SS 2011....Peony

Peony, 1/3 of PRP blog (which stands for photographing real people and also Pete, Rowie and Peony, the creators behind the blog) which popped up during London Fashion Week (and who doesn't love a good pop-up?!). The blog is still up so be sure to check it out and find out what PRP got up to during the week.
I have been dithering over posting photos of Peony and Rowie (I have their outfits from each day at LFW!). I think once someone I have photographed becomes a friend, I find it more difficult to choose photos....I never want to disappoint or have them hate their photos! So I just procrastinate and procrastinate...
p.s. I was over at Peony's house last week for afternoon tea (homemade Ottolenghi carrot cake, and cupcakes-helllllllllllloooooooooo!) and was lamenting the current state of my hair (which ever so slightly currently resembles a blonde birds nest). Peony swears by Philip Kingsley products (which I already use) but insists that the way to get gorgeous hair (and hello, look at hers!) that I MUST start brushing my hair twice a day. Um, I have to confess that I haven't brushed my hair twice a day since high school. I am a once a day girl. Anyone else just brush once or am I just horrifically lazy?!

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in London Fashion Week SS 2011 , Peony , PRP

Running With The Fash Pack....London Fashion Week A/W 2010

And this is my second utterly gorgeous student, Peony (how beautiful is her name as well.It is my favourite flower!). Peony is a university student studying History of Art. She is friends with Rowan :)

In the photos below Peony is wearing a Peter Pilotto dress and of course that sweet little Hermes Birkin. Talking about Peter Pilotto has everyone seen the photos from the show? Those boys are complete geniuses: I loved the burnt orange colours although they did bear rather a strong resemblance to my mum's 70's kitchen (all orange and olive green) before she had it renovated the year before last!) and the leather accents were perfect. A completely wearable collection although I suspect (judging by past seasons) not affordable for most of us.

Edit: Okily, I know I lot of you were wondering what Peony was wearing in these photos so Peony was kind enough to email me the details:

Second 2 photos: "The cardigan is Zara, the belt is Gap kids (i have had it since i was nine, which means it is 13 years old!!!), the shoes are Russell and Bromley, the dress was Peter Pilotto and a huge spend for me (from his first collection before they were really a big deal), although the trench and fur wasn't included* it was a Burberry (and from the sample sale, it was £75, and both me and Rowan love to go to sample sales and often get our designer items from them) and the fur was vintage (and a gift from my mothers friend, it used to be hers, she is now in her 80s!)".

*I asked Peony if she wouldn't mind taking off her trench and fur because I loved her dress so much. Hence they aren't in the photos.

First 2 photos: "The hat was Joseph (a present from my mother), the scarf is McQueen (from Biechester village- this is an outlet village for any non-UK blog readers), the jacket is Hugo Boss, the Fur gilet is Zara, the trousers are American Apparel, and the shoes are Giuseppe Zanotti (on sale from Joseph).

In reference to the comments about my mini Birkin, it was a birthday present from my parents and it is second hand from a dealer in Hong Kong.....I am obviously incredibly lucky to have any of these things, but you can also see that not everything is designer, and I believe style has much more to do with person appropriation, of many different sources; vintage, thrift, designer, high street, in order to assimilate a great combination. I would never dress head to toe in any label, and I know Rowan wouldn't either (even if we could afford it)".

Brilliantly put, Peony, and I couldn't agree more. I think Caroline Issa (who is wearing customised Gap with designer in the photo a couple of posts above) is a perfect example of this.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in "London Fashion Week" "London Street Fashion" "London Street Style" "London Fashion Week A/W 2010 , Peony