(London) Right in the hight of the holiday season in December, two fashion trends were all the rage in London. The Fur hat that I blogged about here and the pleated skirt. For about a 2 week period, it was impossible to walk down Oxford or Regent street without nearly physically colliding with a girl in a long or midi pleated skirt. I spotted one while Boxing Day shopping for a steal (only £7!) and snapped it right up. A little late on the trend wagon but this skirt is going to transition beautifully into Spring. For the time being while I wait for winter to wind away, I’m wearing it with over-the-knee flat boots and cropped sweaters.

I’m wearing a pleated skirt from one of those random shops in the mall (£7.00), a merino sweater from Miss Selfridges, skinny studded belt from DVF and flat over-the-knee boots from ASOS. My locket necklace is from the Canadian store, Mexx.

I love the movement in this skirt!

(New York) Some of the things I miss most about New York are the people – the cab drivers, angry pedestrians, lost tourists, douchy bankers, annoying hipsters and most of all my friends. One of such dearly missed friends is my buddy Joel. Creative and talented, he has been seen on this blog before. He still keeps in the loop with all things fashionable in the men’s style realm like these boots he recently purchased.

On the left are Alden Capped Toes, Cordovan #8 (from J. Crew). On the right are White’s Semi-Dress with a Capped toe on the Swing Last.

Follow Joel:
Photography and Tumblr – http://everyday.joelzimmerphotography.com
Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelzimmer
Twitter –  http://twitter.com/joelzimmer

(New York) I’m in love with Blake Lively… no, just her stylist, whoever this mystery person is. Blake’s stylist is a genius! Apart from the standard awesomeness of the Gossip Girl outfits, the style team behind Lively always has her looking stunning, sexy and current which is why she graces the pages of The Stylester on a regular basis.

She was spotted in a sublime Valentino outfit at the unveiling of Godiva’s Valentine’s Day chocolates in New York last week. What makes this outfit special? Blake is wearing two key Spring trends – lace and pastels. Her Valentino skirt is the body con pencil shape and with a pastel lace, there is a touch of romanticism in the outfit – very fit for Valentine’s day.

(London) APC is massive in London and I hate to admit this so publicly but I didn’t know much about the brand before I moved here even though it is decades old. This video I found on the Cool Hunting iPad app, which I highly recommend by the way, kind of gave me a brief history of the brand and its founder Jean Touitou.

Cool Hunting Video: Jean Touitou from Cool Hunting on Vimeo.