From now on I am going to open the doors of the offices of BRITISH ELLE and let you take a peek inside, giving you a privileged front row seat at everything we do on the world's largest selling fashion magazine.
I can promise personal style advice from me and my fashion and beauty teams, up to the minute shopping tips, celebrity news (from the stars themselves), designer secrets (they tell me everything - well almost everything) and of course an exclusive look at how we put ELLE and ELLE Collections together.
You'll follow me from first thing in the morning through my busy and often unpredictable day into the evening. If you want to work in fashion this is the blog for you! If you want to be a writer or a magazine journalist this is the blog for you! If you're a working mum this is the blog for you! And if you want to be entertained I hope this is the blog for you.
But more importantly if you want to influence what goes into your magazine, then this is the blog for you - I'll be checking your comments every day so be sure to let me know what you think, and what you want. From now on you have a direct line to the Editor-in-Chief of ELLE. Bookmark it and use it!
If you follow me on twitter (@LorraineELLE) you'll know today is my first day back after my fourth maternity leave. I waved baby Mabel, aged nine months, goodbye this morning (please don't mention her name again or I'll cry) and set off for work in the first outfit of my new 'back to work' look. I'm being photographed every day this month (March) for our What the Editor Wears gallery.
ELLE stylist Elizabeth Black has helped me pull a spring/summer wardrobe together which hopefully embraces the right trends and proves practical for my day-to-day life back in our Soho office.
The one question I get asked more than any other as Editor of ELLE is "what shall I wear?" and as I have had access to the most knowledgable and experienced stylists/shoppers/fashion editors/models in the industry over the past eight years at ELLE, I have gained enough know-how to answer that question in most cases.
I didn't begin my career at fashion college (one thing I have in common with Anna Wintour!) I began it as a journalist on national newspapers (after leaving school at 16) and then progressed to my dream jobs on glossy magazines, so my approach to fashion is probably similar to yours as a reader which is why I hope this blog will help you answer the 'what shall I wear?" question in a useful way.
Over this month I will share those tips, tricks and ideas I have learned with you and I'll be asking industry insiders to do the same.
But first, how did I decide what to wear after nearly a year out of the office (wearing mostly J Brand jeans, flats and one of the nine million striped tops I appear to own)? I began with defining my silhouette: straight with a clear shape on top and asked Elizabeth to create a moodboard for us to work from.
I am making a break from my normal wardrobe, which is mostly black or navy blue (the safe options for a busy blonde) and beginning to embrace the colour challenge because S/S 2012 is so pretty and ripe with beautiful colour. This coat sums up the enthusiastic colours on offer this season:
(Coat by Michael Kors)
On Friday last week I tried on two suitcases of clothes from the new collections (particularly loved these shoes):
(Shoes JW Anderson by Aldo Rise)
...and I also took myself off to London's Bond street for a quick but effective shopping trip.
I always shop with a list as I am 'time poor' and I make sure I go through what I already have, so I buy for outfits rather than selecting pieces as one-offs (ELLE Fashion Director Anne-Marie Curtis taught me that). I love to mix high street and designer and very much adhere to the ELLE mantra 'it's not what you wear, it's the way you wear it" or as Tom Ford once told me "it's not about the dress, it's about the woman in the dress".
You can see what I finally chose to wear for this week's new 'back to work wardrobe' everyday on our What the Editor Wears gallery. Let me know what you like, what you don't and ask me any questions too. And wish me luck!
(My wardrobe, spot the spring section!)
THIS WEEK THE EDITOR:
Downloaded Chicfeed: While I am not keen on the name, I like the idea.
Is Reading Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey.
Is Listening to No Room for Doubt by Lianne La Havas (calming in the background on the journey home from work).
