It was with slight trepidation that I headed into London on Tuesday afternoon to start preparations for attending the British Fashion Awards (BFAs). On the one hand I was bubbling over with excitement to be in the vicinity of some of this country’s greatest fashion talents. On the other I was completely petrified they’d spot me as an obvious fashion fraud and ban me from entering the Savoy... thankfully this particular fear proved to be unfounded.

My stress levels on the day were not aided by my outfit planning indecision. The lovely Justin and Julia from Stanwells had offered to lend me a dress to wear, but unfortunately they didn't arrive in time and that meant I had to leave for London without a proper outfit plan. Thankfully my route to our apartment for the evening took me directly past Ted Baker’s store on Regent Street. I dashed in and announced to the poor member of staff who approached me to offer their help that I had "10 MINUTES TO GET A DRESS FOR THE BRITISH FASHION AWARDS... TONIGHT!" Despite the time limit I managed (with a fair amount of help) to find a wonderful black 20s style flapper dress that looked great with my Whistles leather jacket thrown over the top and my new Jimmy Choo 'Biker' bag.

Once my outfit drama was sorted I headed straight over to FOUR London to meet up with my co-conspirators for the night; Amanda (The Online Stylist) and Victoria (Frills and Feathers). We had all been offered a complimentary blow-dry from the wonderful stylists at FOUR and thank goodness for that as the combination of wind, rain and outfit planning panic had left me looking utterly dishevelled.

Post blow-dry we scurried around the corner to our apartment for the evening. We were lucky enough to be residing at the wonderful No. 5 Maddox Street; the ideal alternative to staying in a hotel and without losing any of the amenities. We had originally booked a two bedroom apartment and were about to pull straws to see who was going to bunk up together when the concierge announced that we had been upgraded to a three bedroom suite. And what an upgrade it was... fully stocked kitchen, two bathrooms with complimentary REN toiletries and three wonderful bedrooms to catch up on our beauty sleep.

Once we’d settled in and overcome the initial excitement we set about the task at hand, namely getting ready for the 2012 British Fashion Awards. At this point we had been joined by the lovely Laura Johnson (Victoria’s sister and make-up maharishi - www.laurajohnsonmakeup.co.uk) who had undertaken to give each one of us a glam-over in under two hours! The kitchen unit in the Bartlett Suite proved to be the ideal surface to hold all the make-up and utensils needed to get us BFA-ready. My make-up was complete in less than thirty minutes and I loved it! It stayed in place throughout the evening and I was quite upset to remove it when bedtime came round.

We left the apartment just before 6:00pm and arrived about fifteen minutes later at The Savoy Theatre. The ceremony passed quickly in fashion-filled haze of designers, celebrities, models, royals and Prime Minister’s wives (well... there was only one of those). Highlights from the evening include Cara Delevingne's acceptance speech "Thank you for hiring my crazy self!", Manolo Blahnik's genuine emotion while accepting his Outstanding Achievement award and Stella McCartney's excitement and delight at winning the Designer of the Year award. Awkward moment of the night went to Princess Beatrice, who suffered a right-royal-faux-par by referring to Harold Tillman as 'Howard'. Ouch! We finished the evening off at Beat, where the after-party was being held. Although we ended up sloping off early and picking up a cheeky McDonald's on the way back to the apartment.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the night such a wonderful experience; Stanwells, Laura, Ted Baker, Living Rooms UK and FOUR London to name but a few. And thank you to my fellow fashion musketeers Amanda and Victoria – oh what a night! Make sure you check out Amanda and Victoria’s reviews (My British Fashion Awards Adventure/British Fashion Awards 2012) and if you still want more then you can watch my video diary of the day.

Highlights from my trip to the British Fashion Awards!

I wore a black flapper style dress from Ted Baker (http://bit.ly/Rj3kFb) with my Whistles leather jacket and my new Jimmy Choo 'Biker' bag (http://bit.ly/TrakMh).

Please find some more useful links below:
FOUR London Hairdressers - http://www.fourlondon.com
No.5 Maddox Street Apartments - http://www.living-rooms.co.uk/hotel/no5maddoxstreet
Laura Johnson Make-Up - http://www.laurajohnsonmakeup.co.uk
Stanwells Boutique - http://www.stanwells.com

Amanda (The Online Stylist)
Blog - http://www.theonlinestylist.co.uk
Twitter - https://twitter.com/_OnlineStylist

Victoria (Frills & Feathers)
Blog - http://frillsandfeathers.wordpress.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/feathersfrills

It is only four (!) weeks until Christmas now, and it is time to start thinking about the preparation of the perfect Christmas party. In order to spice up traditions, one wants to make it even more special than last year, of course, even though that is not always easy. One important aspect of this preparation is the choice of the personal outfit to be worn on this special occasion. Putting together the most appropriate party outfit is not so difficult, thanks to the big choice offered in online shops. Basically, there is something for every taste, and the good thing is that online shopping is time-saving and comfortable, too. Especially in busy times like Christmas it can save one or the other walk to the shopping centre in town.

The huge variety of online shops doesn't make it easy to choose for the online shopping newbie. For that reason, it is important to watch out for the following things on the websites in question in order to narrow down the number of shops.

• Professional appearance: When you visit a website for the first time, you will definitely see if a website is professional and customer-friendly or not. Does it offer a well-structured menu? Does it give detailed information on the products available? Are there any pictures? Does one find the full contact details of the owners of the shop? If you can answer these questions with a "yes", it is very likely that it is run by professional sellers.
• Security mechanisms: Of course, if you want to buy a pair of shoes or a nice shirt online, you will be asked to transfer the money online, too. Many professional online shops offer you the chance to pay via credit card or PayPal. However, you should be prepared to pay extra-fees and be asked to enter your bank details when using your credit card, so PayPal is a more handy option. All you need is an account which offers utmost security. The PayPal security key, a free option to choose, even allows you to use a PayPal code for more security via your mobile phone, i.e. a six-digit number to login to your account. So if online shops offer PayPal, there is no need to worry about fraud or the like.
• Feedback options: Finally, it is a good idea to watch out for feedback options on the online shopping website. Are there any comments left by former customers? Is there a social media evaluation? If so, the shop is a good choice as it offers credible evidence for its services.

* Guest editorial *

Date nights are not something my husband and I generally indulge in. Unless you consider eating Chinese takeaway off our coffee table whilst watching The Walking Dead a romantic interlude. So when the opportunity arose to dine out together, I jumped at the chance. I'm not sure what I was most excited about; eating dinner off a table that sits higher than 50cm or the opportunity to get dressed up.

Choosing an outfit was remarkable simple, I had a new dress from Mint Velvet that I was dying to wear and the previous week I had won a pair of gorgeous black boots from Wallis, both ideal for a stylish yet comfortable date night outfit.

The bag was kindly lent to me by my lovely friend Lucy (aka The Luxe Life) and is from Stella McCartney. The dress itself has beautiful detailing across the front and for that reason I chose not to accessorise the outfit with a necklace, sometimes less is indeed more. The cute zip tassel is the only decoration needed on these elegant chic boots.

Mint Velvet is without a doubt my favourite brand of the moment. Creating a clothing range that encompasses ‘relaxed glamour’ was the goal they originally set out and have undoubtedly since achieved. Mint Velvet are firm believers that fashion should work with your life, so their collections will take you from 9-9, whatever you're doing, with a few "relaxed glamour" tweaks along the way. This video takes you through 5 days, and nights, of Mint Velvet style.

My latest blogger challenge comes courtesy of Phase Eight; who challenged the readers of their blog to put together the ultimate party outfit. The timing of this challenge is perfect, with Christmas only round the corner festive parties and events are imminent and Phase Eight have all your outfit problems solved.

The biggest challenge as it turned out was not choosing one outfit, but stopping myself from choosing hundreds. As it is I ended up selecting three, all equally versatile and perfect for the upcoming holiday festivities.

Outfit One
The first outfit I put together features Phase Eight’s new Sienna beaded tapework dress. This is a beautifully elegant dress and I’ve teamed it with their Thandie clutch bag and glitter platforms for that extra bit of sparkle. Completely perfect for festive drinks with your girlfriends.

Outfit Two
Outfit number two is all about preppy edge; the sequin panel skirt adds that necessary bit of sparkle with the Agatha silk blouse finishing the party-prep look. The leopard print bag is a distinctive and contemporary choice and the simple black Mary-Jane pumps complete the look perfectly. A wonderfully chic outfit to wear to your office Christmas party.

Outfit Three
The ultimate 1950s style party outfit; a magnificent crush taffeta prom dress with full puffball skirt, complemented by sophisticated metallic t-bar shoes and finished with a faux fur collar that adds both a touch of warmth and glamour. A vintage style outfit that would be perfect for a glamorous New Year's Eve!