Taken from Bloomsbury Book Fair Website

Two weekends ago, I attended this month's Bloomsbury Book Fair*, with Mr P, and our friends from Scotland, Iran and Guyana (the latter two are currently based in Toronto). We were the youngest people there, with the majority of attendees being elderly men above 65 (that's not even the combined age of Mr P & I, seriously!!!). Whilst perusing the antediluvian books of one pleasant vendor from Kent, I managed to strike up a 15 minute long conversation with him about his rather impressive collection (he had a 1st edition Miss Moppet by Beatrix Potter, and another book that cost £2100). He asked me if I "come here often" (the sly old devil), and I told him that it was my first time, and that most of my book shopping was either on Amazon, at which point he cringed, and small bookshops or charity shops with used books. He couldn't let the Amazon bit go, and instead of complimenting me on my visits to small bookshops, he addressed the former.

L-R: Crazy Crop Top by Mary Meyer, £62/$100 | Lou Fringe Tote Bag by Cri de Coeur, , £110/$175 | Hall Trousers in Domino by Ace&Jig, £115/$189  | Clara Tassel Loafer by Grenson, £200

"You really should forget Amazon, and check out HIVE, that's H-I-V-E, like in bees. They support small, local bookshops." My eyes lit up. How do you spell that again? No, I didn't ask that, but I did make a mental note of this online platform for a literary cooperative that keeps these monographs alive. Sure, Amazon allows one to sell their books, but at what price. The vendor, whose name I did not get, was keen to point out that unlike Amazon, the shopper view all the local independent bookstores, and shop according to proximity, which was a great way to connect the shopper to their community and vice versa. Not to mention that when we buy a book from HIVE, our local bookshop will receive a percentage of that money. Huh!!!! Why don't you just check it out? And for those of you Kindle-lites, check out their e-Book section. There is definitely something for everyone.

[I am in a literary mood; just finished one of the books I bought by Oliviero Honore Bianchi, and am now starting another...]

* Bloomsbury Book Fair is monthly. The next event will be on the 10th November at the Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London WC1H 0DG.

Shoe Store, Kabul, Afghanistan 1992 | Taken by Steve McCurry

It's 03h00 and I'm buzzing after celebrating our friend's Taf's Birthday at The Toy Shop in Putney. Whilst in dancing and "sipping" mode, I spotted the most gorgeous cable jumper/sweater dress in off white on another celebrant from another party. I have NO idea why I didn't ask her from where she got it (heck, you never know she might've said she made it or that she bought it at 69b). However, to avoid the gut wrenching reality that she might've bought it from PRIMARK (eeewwww), I thought I would do a little bit of a search and remembered the Tokyo Dress I am obsessed with from Aussie brand Kowtow. Usually, I'm a Black kinda girl--I was in black tonight actually--but I keep telling myself that I need to be adventurous. So what if white gets dirty easily, and not practical for the field? I need to get out of my comfort zone. Tonight was the kick I needed to get excited about going white (not a tribute to M.J., R.I.P), but before I commit to buying all of my new white gear, I thought I would put together three options of how I would style the Kowtow dress that I am going to get in black white. Tell me which is your fav! 1, 2, 3 or aalll....

Fall is here, and it's time to take out the knitwear, jackets and scarves in our attempt to stay as warm, and remain as cool [aesthetically] as we possibly can. I love this time of year, it offers a happy medium between the dreariness and bitterness of winter and the sweltering heat of summer (NEED NOT APPLY FOR BRITS). As a result, I wanted to take some of my favourite looks from the Fashion Weeks and translate some of these styles into Ethically Conscious outfits, starting with this look from Milano Fashion Week S/S13.