Wearing a dress by the Fold London for an event in support of Action Cancer

Last week I was really privileged to be one of three guest speakers at a lunch at the Merchant hotel event in Belfast, which was held by Action Cancer and which was sponsored by BDO and the Bank of Ireland.

 

The charity, which doesn't receive any government funding, was celebrating its 40th year. It offers a fantastic service which includes a breast cancer screening service for women aged 40 and over - screening on the NHS starts at 50. 

 

Given that Action Cancer has been in existence for so long, I was intrigued as to why other countries hadn't followed in its footsteps, particularly given the accounts you hear of women being diagnosed with breast cancer in their 30's and even their 20's.  I realise that the density of breast tissue in younger women is an issue but the evidence clearly demonstrates that screening women at an age younger than 50 does result in the detection of breast cancer, so my intrigue remains....

 

The room looked incredible - so much hard work had gone into making everything look fantastic.

 

Shots taken during the event.... 

 

 

Thanks to Sue Wilty for taking the outfit photographs that day. Here I'm wearing the lace Camelot dress by The Fold London. It's not currently available in this finish but will soon be available in a lovely sparkly navy fabric.

This is a clearer shot of the dress but please excuse the scary eyes!

And look who's was wearing the same style dress, but in winter white, the day before - doesn't Holly look lovely?

 

 

   

   

The first shot included, left to right, Laura Jackson (BDO), me, Rachel Abbott (author and guest speaker), Sue Wilton (Director Roe Park Resort), Christine Boyle (MD of Lawell Asphalt and guest speaker), Maria McAllister (Bank of Ireland). Sadly Kerry Anderson, possibly the most stylish pregnant lady I have ever met, wasn't on the picture - she totally rocked a Zara sequinned dress!

 

Thank you to everyone who gave me such a warm welcome in Belfast. The chat and the laughter were fun and it made my first visit to Northern Ireland a fantastic one. Thank you!

The Fold's Autumn/Winter '13 Fashion Show

Sometimes as a result of being a stylist and running Style Guile, I am invited to fantastic events - events I never could have dreamed of attending a few years ago when working as a lawyer.

 

A few weeks ago now I was invited to the launch of The Fold's  Autumn/Winter 2013 collection.  The event was held at their fantastic showroom in Clerkenwell.  Some of you may remember the Fold featuring on Style Guile this time last year when I featured in a photo shoot that they were doing.

 

For those not familiar with the Fold, the brand was co-founded by Polly McMaster, who comes from a background of finance and accounting, and who has a PhD in Molecular Biology.  In her words "The Fold is about understanding a professional woman's needs in her daily life and trying to create a stylish contemporary wardrobe for them, but particularly focused around work." She also says "We really believe that being serious about work shouldn't compete with being interested in fashion."

 

So, just to give you a flavour of the event, here goes....

 

Lovely peonies - my favourite flowers of all times! Obviously it's nothing to do with the fact that they are pink!

 

In preparation for the guests, who also had an opportunity to shop the collection after the event.

The guests started to arrive, which resulted in us all starting to get a little nervous because not only had I been invited along, I had also been invited to "model" some pieces from the collection.  There were several of us - one model really was a model in the proper sense, in fact she was one of the original supermodels from the 1990's and had worked with Christie, Linda, Naomi and Cindy. I can confirm for sure that I was the shortest and widest of the models by a long way!

 

Here I am wearing the Le Marais long sleeve tunic in blush pink (£159) together with the Le Marais cropped black trousers (£159). The Fold are happy to make trousers to a bespoke length, should it be required.  

We were asked to take our own shoes along to the event and here I'm wearing my LK Bennett zebra print shoes from Bicester.

This outfit is the Brunswick dress in plum, which costs £225. Worn with a hat that was provided for the occasion, together with the Flinders Black Patent Belt (£65) which I love because it's so simple and elegant.

For my last outfit I wore the most beautiful dress, which is the navy winter Camelot. It hasn't yet been released but will be available in November, in time for Christmas. From it's length, to its neckline, to the navy fabric with a touch of sparkle in it, to the fit, the detailing - this dress is heavenly.

The Stratton top also comes in the sparkly fabric which again would be nice for Christmas, either with smarter trousers or with jeans.

You can see more images from The Fold's A/W '13 fashion show here. It's definitely worth taking a closer look at this season's collection - there are some beautifully elegant and stylish pieces.