Made in Chelsea

People laugh at this show but I actually like it. Ok the story lines are lame and the plummy accents can get monotonous but you gotta admit that Made in Chelsea makes very glam viewing. Living the Chelsea set lifestyle which consists of designer shopping, dining out at expensive restaurants as well as jetting away to exotic holidays is pure lifestyle envy. Made in Chelsea launched onto our TV screens in May and apart from coverage in a few newspapers and an extended piece in Grazia there has been little said about it. Inevitable comparisons were made with The Only Way is Essex aka TOWIE but apart from the fact that both shows focus on a specific location they are miles apart. Made in Chelsea is frankly a blatant rip off of The Hills and I love it. We even have our very own Lauren Conrad in the shape of wannabe pop star, Caggie Dunlop who has the same love triangle that Lauren had in The OC. She is still harbouring a crush on her childhood sweetheart, Club PR mogul, Spencer Matthews who still feels the same about her but unfortunately he is very loved up with girlfriend, Funda Onal who is a model, actress, whatever.. Then there is Millie Mackintosh who is Caggie's best friend who is on the dating scene trying to find Mr Perfect. Till then her job as a make up artist keeps her very busy.

In the middle of all this drama is Francesca Hull aka Cheska who is the Carrie Bradshaw of the pack. She writes a column in Matchbox Magazine called Girl About Town which covers the lives of the Chelsea set. She is joined at the hip with Rosie Fortescue who works at an art gallery by day and by nighr runs a fashion blog called At Fashion Forte with Amber Atherton who runs her own online jewellery boutique called MyFlashTrash and is launching a brand consultancy. Ollie Lock is a party boy who runs glam night club, Whisky Mist but has dumped his pop diva, girlfriend Gabriella Ellis after finding out that he is bisexual. He spends most of his time crying on the shoulder of his best friend, Alexandra Felstead aka Binky who works for an investment company while dreaming about an idyllic life in the country. Francis Boule is the most poised of the set, decked out in Thomas Pink shirts, designer suits and matching cuff links his day job is mining diamonds. His best friend is Frederik Ferrier who is a part time model and music and language student. Then there is Hugo Taylor, Spencer's best friend who is also a PR maven and the go to guy who has the inside info on all the hip places. I find watching this show very seductive with the overhead shots of London, flash glimpses of cute boutiques on leafy streets and cosy shots of the cast huddle in cafe bars. It really does reflect what the capital is like for those who are young, gorgeous and living off their trust funds. Glam people leading glam lives - not a bad life if you can get it eh?

Made in Chelsea is aired on Mondays on E4 at 10pm.

Essex Fashion Week

Some people thought it was a made up event but I can assure you that Essex Fashion Week was indeed real. The event was founded last year by twins, Adam and Simon Ryan and the idea was to make some noise about Essex and show that the county is much more than fake bakes, white stilettos, vajazzles and nail extensions. Essex Fashion Week kicked off last Thursday and yours truly took a trip down to Fairlop to check out Essex's fashionistas. The name Essex Fashion Week was rather optimistic as it only took place over three days. Thursday was press day, Friday was for student's to display their wares and Saturday was the main day were all the celebrities were in tow. Taking place in a spacious marquee, there were a smattering of celebrities such as Jo Wood and a few stars from The Only Way is Essex aka TOWIE, until yesterday I had never seen the show so I did not recognise the TOWIE stars. I am aware that Essex Fashion Week was incorporated into the show as a few members of the cast took part in it.  For such a low brow event it certainly notched up quite a few decent sponsors such as New Look as headline sponsor and Funky Mojoes and I hear that Janice Dickinson came on board as host on Saturday.

New Look were up first with their collection of denim shorts, waistcoats and lycra jerseys for women and bermuda shorts and tshirts that were perfect for the Essex man to show off their pecs on the beach at Ibiza or Barbados. Then there was One Off One You which is the label of Adam and Simon Ryan where we saw blazers accented with colours and worn over bare chests. Cherie"s Boutique was a delightful mix of flowing dresses that would be certain to impress at a cocktail party.  Idol is a new fresh label from New Look which has a vintage feel and they showed off their jumpsuits, boyfriend blazers and printed tshirts. Sweet Boy designed by Jay Lloyd Samuel who is a footballer and it is a cute kids wear which comprises of over sized blazars, shorts and sweatshirts. Believing is a boutique in Buckhurst which contains funky directional wares such as a jackets with pointy shoulder pads, sequined dresses and distressed harem pants. Then we saw A Pot of Marmite which was certainly memorable with ruffled bikinis and provocatively cut out swimsuits - lets say the phrase "You either love it or hate it" was appropriate.

What did I think of the event? Well I applauded the flamboyance and glitz that the event exuded - one thing about Essex is that they do not do things by half and the country certainly has the wow factor. As I mentioned the event took place in a marquee with Fairlop Waters as a backdrop and as well as a champagne reception there was a free bar and a chocolate mountain together with a fruit one. There was a goody bag on each seat which contained a lovely beaded bracelet and matching necklace from 1 and a cute scarf as well as a copy of Celebrity & Style Now magazine. The organisation was a bit mishap with a few technical difficulties with the music and I was quite surprised to hear that Thursday was actually a trial run. You would think that they would invite the press down after all the kinks had been ironed out. Still overall Essex Fashion Week was an enjoyable day and a great way to celebrate all that is fabulous about the county. Now all I want to know is when there is going to be a Kent Fashion Week.

Thanks to Sassi PR for inviting me.