What are you waiting for?

click here to see the directors cut of Gwen Stefani's What are you waiting for'.

This was to be my inspiration for my seven year old's school concert costume.

Luckily I had some baby blue tweed on hand

And meters of black ribbon and lace

The trick was making something she liked and making it age appropriate

So watch out Gwen Stefani, and Ms Vivienne Westwood. 

I think we did okay?

Anyway, it was all good practice, and proved my hunch that designing for 7 to 14 year olds will be a tough gig.

Miss Moneypenny's Office Christmas Party Dress.

Tis the season of the dreaded office Christmas party.

And what to wear to take you from professional non drunk person seamlessly into staggering slurring mess dancing with your boss to 'I'm Sexy and I know it',is a tricky one.

I have never worked in an office and never will. 

It is quite ironic then that as a child I loved playing 'offices'. I loved sitting at my Dads desk and shuffling bits of paper,stamping them, and filing.

His 'NOT NEGOTIABLE' stamp still takes pride of place on my desk in my studio.

And because I was always interested in fashion I had a strong idea of how I would look when I finally landed that office job. 

Something like Dolly Parton in Nine to Five. 

So I don't actually have any experience in office to drinks dressing.

When making this dress for Jennie, my inspiration was Maggie Gyllenhall in Secretary crossed with Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny from the early Bond films.


And despite all of that....Jennie seems pleased with her Cicciolina 'Miss Moneypenny' dress. 

I'd probably team it up with bright yellow pumps and a bright blue clutch, and she would be ready to Gangnam style it up with the rest of the office.

Oh, and take no offence if your invoice from Sunshine & Daydreams or Cicciolina  has Not Negotiable stamped all over it. 

It's just my inner office manager trying to escape.