izzi blog

The official izzibag blog

Some days are just not worth the make up and some days are certainly worth it. Fashion week has come and gone and I feel like life is certainly passing me by. I had a great day at the Vogue Lounge and here I am posing as usual for the Paps. LOL, everyone wanted to take pictures of my necklace. I was really lucky that I managed to get my hair blown out everyday by Tresomme who had a stand at Fashion Week which was awesome.

I went to the accessories market week at the Javits center and bought a new hat, I so love hats and I have a huge collection at home now, which is doing izzi’s head in as he trips over them…ooops anyway let me know what you think of my new addition.

Izzi and I had to go to a wedding of his university friend Wai Poon in Hong Kong  and we had  such a memorable time. Hong Kong is such a vibrant city, we slept a total of 10 hours. The wedding was held Repulse Bay just outside Hong Kong and it’s such a beautiful place, the only downside on the day was that it rained. We all made the most of it and they looked so happy on the day and Michelle was a stunning bride.

Michelle with her dad

here she is in the traditional dress which is in red, the lucky color of the Chinese

Izzet and I spent a lot of time browsing the markets and I just love seeing all the fruits and vegetables which we have no idea, what they were. I would love to have had access to a kitchen so I could have experimented with them. But look at such vibrant colors and what are these?

Izzi and I had a wonderful time, but and there was a but, I left my dress for the evening dinner hanging on my wardrobe door and that turned out to be the biggest disaster ever. You maybe wondering why, well I am by no means a big person and if you are in the USA I wear a size 8 and if you are in the UK I wear a size 10. Now the thing is that every shop I dragged my OH around to get a replacement dress turned into disaster after disaster and that was because everyone in Hong Kong seems to be tiny ! seriously when I looked around that wasn’t true, but could I find a dress to fit me? No I could not. When I asked in fancy shops like Prada and Gucci and Versace they told me I was too big! were they kidding me? No they sure weren’t. Just as I decided to give up and go home, I walked into French Connection (Not a shop I normally frequent Sorry and all that Jazz but I don’t)They came to the rescue and I picked up a body con dress that squeezed me so tight that I couldn’t breath but it fitted and got me out of a huge hole.

Say nothing about the hair because that was another story, having spent 3 hours with rollers in my hair, as soon as I stepped out of the hotel the humidity hit and it went like poodle fur…I was not amused at all. At the end of the day it was not my wedding day and so I just got on with it and saw the funny side.

Since I was last here I had a birthday and there are no words to describe how happy I was with my pressie from the OH…. what is a girl to say when this is what I got…

I am now looking forward to the ACE Awards in New York which will be held at Cipriani next week, where I will be wearing the shoes and get this…. the man himself, yes Mr Christian Louboutin, will be there and I am going to ask him to sign the shoes. I cannot wait, so on that note I am going to go and polish my shoes.

We have worked so hard this year and been away from our loved ones that Izzet and I decided that we needed a break for the Holidays, I like to say Christmas but I know that is not politically correct in the US however you get the drift right? On Saturday morning before Christmas I was all packed by 7am and sat for two hours on top of my suitcase in the hallway counting the minutes until the driver arrived to take us to JFK. Hold the thought that he was not supposed to arrive until 1pm, Izzet said I was very childlike! Oh really well I was excited. Of course when the driver phoned to say he was 5 minutes away I couldn’t decide which shoes to wear, I mean any fashionista worth her salt needs to look good when travelling. I decided it was a toss up between the Gianfranco Ferre black 6” heels and the Michael Kors (Naughty Shoes) you will remember those that I had the little accident in on Madison Avenue.

Ok, Ok I know I am harping on the shoes but I chose the Gianfranco’s and hobbled to the front door, Prada sunglasses secured firmly to my face, forgive me for the fact it was like minus 5 degrees outside. But who was the bigger fool Izzet was wearing a T-Shirt.

A little light luggage needed

We arrive at JFK with an hour to spare, only to be told that the suitcases are over weight and we will have to remove 7lbs from each! Is this broad having a laugh? Where in God’s name am I going to put 14lbs of clothing, shoes, makeup? The answer was simple in my hand baggage of course, she tells me, why didn’t I think of that ? Are they going to let me on the plane with all this hand luggage I doubted it very much, seeing as though it weighed as much as the checked in luggage.

I have to say JetBlue were amazing NOT, we left an hour late, the inflight entertainment broke down right as I started to watch the cat fight on Bravo ‘The housewives of Beverley Hills’ life was never going to be the same and all the food was all full of carbs. I should have taken all of this to be a warning sign of things to come. When we landed at San Juan airport where unfortunately Izzet and I did not speak the local lingo. I was not surprised to find that the luggage carousel was changed 3 times before there was any sign of the baggage. I was getting very anxious now, as I was standing in 80 degrees in a pair of combats and a Desigual long sleeved sweat, along with the 6” heels, which was not going to be a great look at the beach the following day I feel. Phew then my suitcase arrives yippee doo. Holiday here we come…..

I went to the Jetblue information desk, loosely termed because I think the beached whale sitting behind the counter had never given any information in years let alone moved from the chair she was firmly attached too. On enquiring if I could hire a car within the terminal or find a driver to take us to Palmas Del Mar, I was pointed to the main doors by a 3” red painted talon that I was not going to argue with but no words were ushered. I left Jabba the Hutt and went to pass this on to Izzet who was still awaiting his suitcase.

We decided that as it was now very late and we should just get a driver to take us to the hotel, wrong move, huge mistake! The driver took us around the island 3 times, took 3 hours to do a 45 minute journey, ran out of gas and tried to drop us at the wrong hotel. This is going to be an izzi bag adventure I can feel it.

We arrived at the hotel in San Juan and after a goodnights sleep decided to go to the pool for the day. Laying on a sun bed I nearly had a heart attack to open my eyes and see this little fellow sitting next to me!

iggi Iguana

As you can see he wasn’t small around 40 inches long and constantly climbed trees and then jumped into the swimming pool, I kid you not.

I have to say and I apologise before I get lots of comments on this the food left a lot to be desired, or maybe we just ate at the wrong places, but when I ordered a salad and was served it with a tomato ketchup dressing I knew it was time to move on.

Tomato Ketchup on your Salad?

The next few days seem to all roll into one as we relaxed and enjoyed our holiday. On day six I was really excited to be going on a cruise and here are some of the highlights.

Caribbean Sunshine can't be beaten

As you will probably remember from my holiday in the summer I am not that fond of St Maarten so when the first port of call was Philipsburg I was determined to stay on the ship. Well that was until I saw this from my balcony. Now if I spelt the owner’s name wrong I am not apologizing sorry I really am not, this new dingy (meow) cost in excess of $200 million.

Roman Abramovich dinky yacht

Anyway why would I be jealous? this is the ship I was on and it slept 2000, I guess the only difference is that I did not know any of my fellow guests and the ship isn’t mine. But let’s not split hairs.!

Serenade of the Seas

Antigua has to be one of the prettiest islands and Izzet and I went on a helicopter ride to the almost deserted island of Montserrat. This is due to the fact that it has an active Volcano, which has sent most of the island into an Exclusion Zone as it is so dangerous. It is amazing to see houses and churches that have been buried by Volcanic Rock and very sad to think that people had to just abandon everything they owned as the Volcano erupted. We had a real adventure that day, I will never forget the look on Izzet’s face as the pilot flew over the island, it was an absolute picture.

Off to Montserrat

Abandoned Houses in Montserrat

Smoking Volcano

We had a wonderful day in Barbados with Dr Gerry Curatola and his family. We spent the day at their villa in a Marina on the North side of the island which was where Sir Phillip Green had his yacht moored for the holiday season. We were told that Simon Cowell was also going to be arriving that day but we could not wait as we had swimming to do and rum punch to drink.

We moved on to St Lucia, which is probably my favourite island in the whole Caribbean.  St Lucia is very unspoilt and so green and pretty, we visited a Cocoa plantation and also the Sulphur drive in Volcano, which smelt like rotten eggs,  as a drive in I don’t think it will catch on sorry!

The Drive in Sulphur Volcano - St Lucia

I forgot to mention that we saw Dolphins in Dominica whilst we were whale watching. Although we didn’t actual see any Whales after searching for around 4 hours, we gave up. But I have to say that the Dolphin pods were spectacular, they jumped in and out of the water and swam underneath our boat. If you ever go to the island I highly recommend you make that trip. I did not know that baby Dolphins are black in color and only become silvery grey as they grow into adults.

Dolphins Jumping so close to the boat

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and although we were not in the UK with our family I have to say that neither or us missed the snow that London had or the blizzard that hit New York. But now we are back to reality and Izzet and I have traded in our swimming shorts for our fur lined Wellington Boots. So on that note…..

Christmas Night on Serenade of the Seas

Happy New Year……..

Happy New Year

Today in New York full of snow!

New York or Barbados? it's a hard one!

OH where shall I start with this weeks Fashion Night Out? well actually I would like to start by talk about the move of Fashion Week in New York from Bryant Park to the Lincoln Center. It seems to have been a pretty smooth transition. The space is very professional looking and well laid out, unlike the grubby marquees that we are all used to. But I say that with tongue in cheek and not really meant the way it was said. We all got excited when we went to the tents amongst the fashion district of 36th – 40th streets of New York and having to clamber to get our seats on the make shift scaffolding was all part of the fun.

So here are some lovely pictures of yours truly on the First day of Fashion week September 2010.

New York Times Front Row

FNO T-Shirts for sale

I was one of the lucky ones that bought a FNO T-Shirt limited edition, whatever that means as they were all limited editions, but hey ho before the stock was stolen! how sad is that as they were for charity. I feel that whoever you are out there that stole them shame on you!

Maybelline are the official sponsors of the shows and they give away everyday a certain ammount of products. They invited me to their stand and here I am on the pink sofa, fit for a Princess!

Maybelline Pink Sofa

I think the highlight of the fashion shows has to be this magnificent dress by DHL, yes you heard it the ‘Get it to your door in less than 2 months’ delivery firm! (that is a story for another day) I guess you could call it ‘Bubble wrap me and ship me’ it sure gives a whole new meaning to bondage.

Bubble Wrap Me and Ship Me

OK, OK you waited long enough so here it is, the official night of izzi bag at New York’s Fashion Night out. Here we go, brace yourself and I hope you are sitting comfortably with a large glass of something in your hand you are going to need it….

izzi and I set off from our Mid Town, Manhattan Pent House and walked the few blocks to Macy’s one of my fav shops in New York. I am FYI wearing a Rachel Roy knitted fringed dress and my ummm very expensive new boots, no names mentioned  (Shush I told izzi that I got them in M&S). For those of you in the US this is Marks & Spencers..I am so glad to be wearing them as I constantly watch girlies tripping and falling in their high heels. I have been there lovelies so with my over the knee sox I am raring to go. Bring it on….

Fashion Night Out Starts Here

As we enter Macy’s Ground Floor izzi gets almost bowled over by Anna Wintour who is officially ‘leaving the building’ I thought her body guards (Pleeeeeze) were going to take izzi out before the night even started. She was driven away in her famous dark sunglasses in the blacked out SUV. I had better luck as I  bumped into Elton John, well actually that isn’t quite true, I did see his boots though, what do you think, will they ever make a come back? I am all for flying the flag..

Elton John's Boots

So we move around the store and I see that the Givenchy counter is being mobbed because Justin Timberlake had signed only 10 bottles of their new fragrance called PLAY and I asked one of the sales assistants to trot off and get me one of them as I couldn’t possibly be expected to push my way through this mob! (Do they know who I am ?) and guess what the lovely man did just that! so I am now the proud owner of a bottle of limited edition PLAY signed by Justin Timberlake and just to prove it here it is and duly signed. Offers in writing please and make it quick as I might just have to have a little tester.

Justin Timberlake

Well things then get a little bit annoying in my opinion, I went off to the 2nd floor poor izzi in tow (I am at this point feeling sorry for him, but not for much longer – read on!) I really wanted to meet Rachel Roy as I wear her clothes all the time and as you may recall above I mentioned I am supporting her tonight. Humpf, but she had so many body guards around her, you would have thought she was the Queen of Sheba. I was most annoyed as she wouldn’t let anyone get anywhere near her and her hangers on were actually so rude. She lost a customer – ME !

I'm Off

Well then I decided to go and see Rebecca Moses, she has just written a new book which I already have a copy of called ‘ A life of Style’ but I bought another copy as of course mine is neatly tucked in my book cabinet at home. Rebecca signed the book and here is what she wrote in it ‘ Dear Anne, To a very stylish lady, may the spirit of style keep you alive, Love Rebecca’ she was very endearing and she said she was looking forward to seeing me at her show later in the week. Bless her what a total difference from the previous DIVA !

Rebecca Moses & Anne

Ok so here it is and I now do not feel sorry for izzi anymore as his Man Flu of the last 3 days has suddenly disappeared and he is the fittest, healthiest man on the planet as he drags me to the 8th floor to meet, yes you got it JLO !

Words cannot express his face so just see for yourself!

Anne, JLO and izzi

JLO was so lovely and had time to speak to anyone and everyone that came to see her, I bought her new perfume called Love and Glamour and I am sure that once izzi gets back to planet earth from that little JLO Heaven he has been to for the last few hours he will enjoy smelling it on me.

I then dragged him off, but before we managed to leave the store Macy’s asked if they could photograph me for their FNO picture Library so here it is. I was very honored.

One Mighty Drop Fragrance at Macy's

As we were leaving the store, of course now everyone wants a picture, they obviously thought I was famous after the Macy’s picture so here I am posing with the Spiegel girls who were so funny. Thanks to you guys for asking me to have a picture with you.

izzi, Spiegel girls and Anne

izzi and I eventually managed to leave Macy’s reluctantly on part, I have to say because I spend far to much time and money in there, my fav New York Store. I want to tell you Brits a little secret, because if you go to their customer relations desk on the Mezzanine level before you start to shop you can  save 10% on all purchases as you are from out of town! worth remembering.

We shot off for a quick stop to Lord & Taylor as I wanted to see Wendy Williams but she had hot footed it out of the building as quickly as she arrived. So we missed her and although I would possibly have liked to linger on the 1st Floor with the NYFD, of course izzi wasn’t interested in anything else now or was he?

I had promised to visit my good friend Dickey at Hair Rules before we called it a night and so we quickly grabbed a cab. Actually to be honest we commandeared it, because the driver told us he was on his way home to celebrate the end of Ramadan, but he decided to be a good guy and take us to 54th & 9th to the salon. Big tip went his way.

We arrived at Hair Rules and it was rocking in there, Kara Young, Dickey’s partner was there you may remember her she was a cover girl and I have to say that she is absolutely stunning, beautiful, all the things I had heard about her.

Kara Young & Anne

I cannot miss out my Gorg hair stylist Dickey, he is such a good friend and he has changed my hair in the last 6 months to be the softest it has ever been and in the best condition. I really believe in his products and if you are a twitter fan you will have read that we give a lot away on his behalf. So log into twitter and follow us if you would like to have hair like mine. @hairrules and @izzibag

Dickey, Anne & Katria

I was absolutely stunned to see Russell Simmons sitting in the salon sipping a drink. I mean a guy that invented Hip Hop Def Jam sitting right there in front of me. I nearly fainted I mean this guy is a legend.

Anne with Russell Simmons

Two of the most important people in the salon are Katiria and Monique who take such good care of me and I had to mention them. I love you dolls.

Monique your blow out's are the best

Katria gives me sun kissed looks

So here it is, the end of the evening and how else would we choose to finish it but with a fellow Londoner. Estelle, what a lovely lady and so down to earth I so enjoyed meeting you.

Anne & Estelle

As I said would izzi ever top his evening and sure he did…

izzi & Estelle

Well FNO September 2010 came to a close and what a night, I am so blessed to live my life and meet the great people I do. OK so feet back on the ground let’s have a cup of tea.