I am seriously loving all the sunshine we have right now and despite the Fall Winter Collections starting to drop into store's I'm not ready to start thinking about the cold weather. I'm very much in summer mode and since it's shoesday Tuesday I want to talk about the must have summer shoes, Espadrilles.


When it comes to Espadrilles there is one brand above them all and that is Castañer, founded in 1972 although the families espadrille making heritage goes back to 1772; Castañer once dressed the feet of the Spanish military and are credited to have made the very first wedge espadrille after a commission from Yves Saint Laurent. So prized is their work, espadrilles you find in high fashion brands are likely to have been made by Castañer as their clients include Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and Hermes to name only a few.

However the biggest difference you'll find is the price, espadrilles from Castañer's own label retail for far less than those they often create shoes for, generally retailing in the region of 90 - 220 euros (£70 -£190 approx) and they can be purchased online or through one of their stockists.

All of the espadrilles in the image above are currently on sale at The Outnet making them an even bigger bargain here are the details:

Bonita canvas wedge sandals, was £85 now £51
Jackie cotton-canvas wedge pump, was £100 now £60
Denim and Canvas wedge espadrilles, was £105 now £63
Geraldine suede wedge sandals, was £205 now £113

Are you a fan of Espadrilles? Do you have a favourite brand?

If there was ever a bag that deserved to live in an all year sunny climate then it would be the Dolce bag from the Spring Summer 2013 Dolce and Gabbana collection, there is no doubt that this is a summer bag but thankfully it has been created from materials that are so connected with summer in general you'll be able to use it year after year.  The main body of this cute little bag inspired by Sicilian crafts is created in red and white canvas reminiscent of beach loungers, it is then trimmed in woven black raffia to complete the summer look.  Leather handles and golden hardware add a little bit of glitz to the bag.

The small Dolce bag measures in at 25cm x 24cm x 13cm and originally retailed for £1070 BUT since it is sale season right now I can now type those magic words that everyone loves to read....it's on sale!  The Dolce is now 40% off at Net-A-Porter so now has the far more favourable price tag of £642 and with the money you've saved you can also get the matching shoes which are on sale too, bonus!

Travelling can be anarduous experience but there are ways to make it easier on yourself here are 5 items that can help you travel like a superstar and get your vacation off to a great start.


1. Luggage - Lets start with the obvious, clearly you need luggage to travel but good luggage can make your transit through the airport go a whole lot smoother an essential first step for an amazing trip.  There are many brands to chose from when it comes to luggage but for me I'd have to go with Vuitton, now you could chose the original hard sided cases for that really glamorous vintage travel feel but they are heavy and you have to carry them so a pull along is probably the better option. 
The Pegase suitcase in it's many colours and varieties was until recently Vuitton's main option for pull along luggage but in recent months Vuitton have added a monogram four wheel 360 degree case named Zephyr to line up.
2.Footwear - We've all seen the pictures of celebrities in towering heels swanning through the airports but as fabulous as they may look it's not the best the option for travel, ditch your heels and let your feet move in a pair of pretty ballerina's like the ones above from French Sole.  Sticking to the flats will help you deal with any flight related foot swelling and help you get around a whole lot faster so you can begin your vacation just that little bit quicker.

3. Dark Glasses - Travelling can throw your body clock all out of sync and emerging from subdued aeroplane lighting to bright holiday sunshine can be quite a shock to your poor little eye's and lets not even mention the dark circles.  Throw on your sunglasses before disembarking and nobody will ever know what sins hide behind them


4. Scarves - Along with the dark circles ( I know I said let's not mention them) aeroplane environment can play havoc with your hair so keep a silk scarf on stand-by, you can fold it down to a thin strip and wear it as a hair band or perhaps to pull your hair in to a pony tail or if the situation is worse than that wear it like a beautiful bandanna.
The scarf is also incredible useful on vacation too since it can be used to dress up outfits and I've even seen people use them as Top or Bags by tying in a variety of ways.

5. Travel Adaptor - an often overlooked item but if you travel with electrical products and who does now you're going to need a travel adaptor but there's no reason that can't be a stylish as you, check out the beauties from Mulberry which come in gorgeous Black, Brown or my personal favourite Pink leather cases and the adaptor even has a USB port.

So what do you think of this essentials list? Is there something else that you can't live without when travelling?

Known for their artist collaborations Louis Vuitton are set to do it again with UK street artist Ben Eine.  Eine's work can be found on streets around London and other European cities and was famously presented to President Obama by Prime Minister David Cameron on his first official trip to the UK. 

The collaboration between the artist and Vuitton features one piece only; a large black silk scarf covered in Eine's signature bold colourful letters proclaiming "Great Adventures" tying it in nicely with Vuitton's spirit of travel ethos.

The scarf releases on the 15th June and retails for £460, although it's availability is unconfirmed at this time products of this nature are usually limited edition.

For more information or purchases please contact your nearest Louis Vuitton store.

Handbag addicts rejoice it's sale season!
With sales popping up all around now is the time to grab some great Summer bargains and still have enough left of the summer to enjoy wearing them. 
Gucci has already started their sale both online and in stores and it covers the whole product range for both men and women but I've picked out a few of my favourite bags from the sale to show you some of those fab deals to be had.

Top Left: Sukey Dark Pink Microguccissima Tote was £945 NOW £661.50
Top Right: Sukey Medium Hobo was £565 NOW £393.50
Bottom Left: Lady Stirrup Diamante Velvet Bag was £1835 NOW £1284.50
Bottom Right: Vintage Web Dark Pink Leather Boston Bag was £925 NOW £647.50

Do you have your heart set on anything from the Gucci sale?