Love Lila Blog

For the fourth year running Liverpool has been putting on its very own fashion week, a seven-day event with the promise of glamour, cameras and action. For the first time I actually attended this year and I was very excited to check it out especially with all the hype on Twitter! So Friday night I drove to the city which I love (after Manchester and London of course!) with fellow fashionista Jessica.

Here in Manchester we have are very own fashion week and of course a city with an array of shops, department stores and boutiques , not to mention our markets and of course the infamous Arndale centre and Trafford centre for late night shoppers. I think it is quite safe to say that Manchester is the second biggest and best city outside of London as we can boast whilst fine dining in Harvey Nics restaurant about our latest purchases from top international luxury brands right down to unique one-offs from a sweet little boutique in the Northern Quarter. When it comes to fashion we do kind of have it all on our door-step. So what about other Northern cities such as Liverpool how do they fair in the style stakes?

We all know of the boutique Cricket, probably one of Liverpools most famous shopping haunts for those who can afford luxury brands. But where else can one shop? Mmm…now this is where I kind of got lost. Heading down to Liverpool One I must say on arrival I was rather disappointed. It was a nice and contemporary shopping mall, but there wasn’t anything new or different to find, just the same old high street retailers that you can find anywhere and everywhere. Surely, there must be hidden gems within this city where I know from experience come the weekend everyone is looking super-glam no matter what age! If you are on Twitter it is probably one of the best places to find out about independent boutiques this is where I heard of Miss Francesca Couture and Lola Loves to name a few.

Anyway getting back to Liverpool Fashion Week, the event was much smaller than I had anticipated but in a way that was good as it has a more intimate feel about it. I arrived as Littlewoods were mid-way through their collection but I must admit I was pretty impressed. I never really considered Littlewoods as a fashion favourite but after seeing the on-trend pieces and in particular a gorgeous lace jewel embellished black fishtail maxi evening dress, I was in love – with the dress that is.

Other high-street retailers such as New Look also showcased their collections and key trends included, black velvet leggings, leather look pants,  printed t-shirts, owls, chunky knitwear, black lace, winter shorts and jacket sets that were very chanel-esq with hints of sparkle within the woollen fibres. The overall feel for this Autumn/Winter 2012 was a an elective mix of dolly-bird glamour with the winter shorts and box jackets and swinging skater dresses with a more statement gothic glam look created with studded embellishments on black lace, velvet or leather and surprisingly a display of 70’s come Downton Abbey look!

Take a peek (and apologies for the amateur photography!)