Poppy Dinsey in the Compeed Lounge
Poppy Dinsey made crashing waves in the fashion industry with the start of her blog, What I Wore Today (WIWT) in 2010 as a New Year's Resolution. Since then it's evolved into a site where not only the fashionista can post her look each day, but we can too and we can choose our favourites, follow people whose style we admire or those who live close to us.
After a hectic week at London Fashion Week, Poppy attended London Fashion Weekend as a roving reporter with Compeed, the official sponsors. We caught up with her to find out how she survived all of the different shows she attended, what she'll be wearing in the coming season and what's the most prized item in her wardrobe.
How was London Fashion Weekend?
I was in the shoe studio with Compeed speaking to girls about shoe trends that are coming up and also find out about how girls keep themselves going when they’re wearing ridiculous 5 inch heels and shoes that they know are going to give them blisters. I also created a video, which let's people who couldn't get to London Fashion Weekend get the inside scoop of what it’s like.
What are you looking forward to most?
I’m looking forward to the shopping side really. Because during Fashion Week you’re seeing all of the amazing collections but you’re obviously not able to buy any of it for another six months and when it is available it’s all extortionally expensive. So at Fashion Weekend when you see the catwalk shows, all of the stuff that is shown you can buy in store now and you often have a guide showing the prices as they go down the catwalk.
How do you manage to keep going on your heels?
Well, I’m really bad for buying shoes that don’t necessarily fit if they’re in the sale or they’re the last pair I will try to squeeze into something that’s too small or have to pad out shoes that are too big. But I definitely rely on packs of Compeed blister plasters especially for heels and my ankles are all scarred up from years of wearing them when those sorts of products didn’t exist. The reason I was working with Compeed this season is because two years ago at Fashion Week, I was Tweeting about how if it wasn’t for Compeed I wouldn’t have gotten through the week and be able to do my job.
Which shows did you get to see this season?
I went to about 40 shows so I saw a lot that was shown. But my favourite shows were Christopher Kane, Ashish and Emilio de le Morena. Christopher Kane was definitely a highlight.
Are there any shows that you didn’t get to see that you would have liked to?
I’ve never been to Burberry and I would love to. And it sounds like Meadam Kirchoff was glittering, colourful and crazy as well.
What's the best thing about London Fashion Weekend?
It's getting to see the Spring/Summer stuff because it’s all been Autumn/Winter stuff and it’s depressing in Febraury when you’re trying to get excited about the summer and you’re already looking at clothes for later in the year.
Tell us about you blog...
Originally I started it as a New Year’s resolution to see if I could wear a different outfit everyday for 2010. It was very simple of just uploading an outfit and a quick line about saying where the clothing was from and it’s kind of grew quite quickly and lots of people were clicking each day to see what I was wearing and if I hadn’t posted yet, people were asking where the image was and telling me to get on with it. People then started emailing me pictures of their own outfits and asked whether they could be featured on the site so I realised quite early on that it would be good create a different site where someone could open an account and upload their own photos and follow other people in their city, or whose style they liked and that is how is became the site it is today.
Do you not panic about getting dressed in the morning?
Well, I’m very lazy. I set the bar really low when I first started it because I’ve got some girlfriends who also run fashion blogs and they wear the most unbelievable £10,000 outfits everyday and because they’ve set the bar that high they kind of can’t do those sloppy days in tracksuits. But my blog in the beginning was always very real, I’ve never spent more time on getting ready or any more money on clothes than I used to. It was just about wearing more of the clothes that I already owned.
Where do you get your inspiration for style from?
I do find Fashion Weeks really exciting to get ideas from for trends and that sort of thing, and I do read a couple of the fashion magazines but I know what suits my body shape and I tend to stick to that sort of thing. I like quite brash, colourful, anything kind of remotely tacky I will always be a fan of. I’m still in velour tracksuit mood half of the time. I like sequins, gold and leopard print and big oversized jewellery. I'm less into trends that are really fast fashion, things that come and go into style so quickly. People watching is a big thing for me, rather than celebrities.
Where about do you like to shop?
I’m a big fan of shopping online because it’s just easy to do from the comfort of home. I don’t really like shopping in London, where I live because it’s so busy and full of tourists. My favourite cities to shop in are probably Chester, Brighton and Guilford. They’re kind of manageable city sizes. Other than that, online is definitely where it is at for me.
Which particular shops?
Definitely the High Street for me. For expensive things like handbags and coats and that kind of thing, I will generally buy designer pieces. A coat you kind of live in all winter and it doesn’t matter what is underneath it because you don’t really see it. I generally only wear Burberry coats and jackets, I spend a lot of money on those. I’m a big fan of H&M, Miss Selfridge, Topshop, Primark and that kind of thing. I hit the high street for basics.
What’s the most expensive thing in your wardrobe?
I’ve probably got a couple of coats that are over a thousand pound.
Are they your Burberry ones?
There’s a Vivienne Westwood one that was probably more and a couple of Burberry ones.
What’s your most prized item in your wardrobe?
Probably a canary-yellow Burberry trench coat and that’s because I’ve never ever seen anyone else in it and it was a very rare one. That’s most probably my favourite coat.
Which would you say is a staple item that every woman should invest in?
I guess the clichéd answer would be a good pair of jeans or a little black dress. For me the main kind of staple thing I think is a really nice sweater or jumper. I’ve got some really expensive jumpers that just look so nice and look great with jeans or can be dressed up. I think that people should invest more in items that can be dressed up or down and worn in lots of ways. Rather than something that can only be worn in one style.
What will you be wearing this Spring/Summer?
In summer I’m always obessed with, because I’m quite tall, maxi dresses and skirts. So I generally kind of live in those. London Fashion Week always generally gets me in a quite grungy mood, I don’t like florals and girly stuff for summer. I’ll probably be in neons or anything really bright. I don’t like flowers or the hippy or boho looks. I’ll probably be wearing 50’s shapes or maxi skirts.
Who is your style icon?
I really like Tyra Banks and Beyonce.
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Tagged in Tyra Banks Beyonce Christopher Kane Topshop Burberry shoes Primark fashion Black