Early September and there is evidence on the streets of London that the schools are now back (some), the buzz seems to be returning and London’s pulse is starting to increase in readiness for back to normal next week.

Monochrome polka dot and shades with a dash of colour Marble Arch Tube W1

Monochrome seems to be waning a bit on the streets but black combined with some sort of shade of brown appears to be emerging as the new colour combo. Tan, putty, mushroom, oatmeal, magnolia, camel basically the mid to lighter shades of brown. Rusty shades of red or brown with deeper darker oranges are also springing into life. This was observed in the West End but confirmed also in Knightsbridge, Kensington and Chelsea. Doesn’t look to be a passing one off coincidence, it’s spreading and spreading fast. Black is still there though!

Monochrome and shades of brown Piccadilly W1

Tartan mainly red and embellishment seem to also be emerging buzzwords. About time too!

Monochrome and shades of brown Goodge St W1

Brunette Side Parting Monochrome Trouser Suit Regent St W1

Blonde and Pure Black Oxford St W1

The Debenhams Fashionista All black hat and DM’s Oxford St W1

Oatmeal chunky knit Street Food Stall Fashionista Berwick St Soho W1

Monochrome, shades of brown and green Wigmore St W1

Shades of brown and denim with massive Sleeper Hoops Wardour St W1

Monochrome and hat with shades of red Old Bond St W1

The post Fashionista Spotting London West End. Early Sept 2015 appeared first on FJ Girls.

Simple but deadly Cream Dress Fashionista (Non Monochrome!) back of Tate Modern, Southbank SE1

Covering the areas of  Southwark St, London Bridge and Station, Tooley St, Southbank, Borough Market, Millenium Bridge, Tower Bridge, Shad Thames and surrounding back streets. Did try Old Kent Road, Elephant and Castle and even Peckam Rye where the new hipsterville is supposed to be but not much was happening during the daytime when I was there so came back to SE1 with Borough Market being the hub. I am looking to head beyond zone 1 to see what is happening where the real Londoners live but just seem to keep coming back to Zone 1 and 2 on the tube map.

Gone with this lady above for the headline shot, funnily enough the last one of the day, she got out of the cab with her boyfriend seconds earlier from the cab pictured left. Sometimes simple amd giving the impression of not trying too hard is best!

An area that this time of year is heaving with tourists and first thing in the morning is rush hour crush land with commuters. So in fashion terms you’re not going to get anything Camden punky or Shoreditch vintage here so the bar has to be lowered a couple of notches to ensure women who are going out on a limb just a little bit further than most appear on this website.

Monochrome print dress and shades and flip flops Millenium Bridge SE1

This is the vibe that is out there early August 2015. All shots taken with a Canon DSLR and Street lens (wide angle zoom) and shot from the hip or knee to give more natural shoots. They know what I’m doing these women but as soon as you put that camera to your eye when you’re close it’s either the daggers or they go into catwalk mode. As usual  never said a word to any of them. Promise!

Monochrome with cream and shades  near Blackfriars Bridge SE1

All black and blonde with tassle bag Millenium Bridge/Tate Modern SE1

Close Up Monochrome brunette and shades with green bag Shakespeare Globe Theatre, Southbank SE1

Anti Monochrome blonde denim and colour London Bridge Tube Tooley St SE1

Oriental cream and white hoody fashionista London Bridge Tube, Tooley St SE1

Monochrome with colour and ripped jeans and shades fashionista Globe Theatre, Southbank SE1

Monochrome with floral print and shades Tower Bridge SE1

The post Fashionista Spotting SE1. August 2015 appeared first on FJ Girls.

Brunette Hat and Shades corner Hawley Crescent NW1

 
Some classic full length photos taken from the hip (more like knee level) and a few different candid shots of Fashionistas rolling a rolly, backs of heads, tourist and band and market traders playing with their hair and others to add a bit of variety and zing to the mix. Women looking at their mobiles has been kept to a minimum but it’s surprising how common it is.

All Black and Shades Camden Stables NW1

 
All photos taken Thursday 9 July and Friday 10 July. About 1 1/4 hours on Thursday and exactly an hour on Friday.

The patrol route was Camden Tube, Camden Market, Camden Lock, Camden Stables and back plus Parkway, Camden High St and around the Sainsbury’s area of Camden Road. It really was a manic blitzing session as had limited time this week due to other engagements. Results considering the limited time are incredibly good.

All shots taken with Canon DSLR with wide angle zoom I call my Close Up lens but is being redubbed my “Street” lens to capture not only the fashionista but as much of the London street vibe as possible.

Brunette and Turquoise and Monochrome Market Stall Assistant Camden Stables NW1

Tattoos, Piercings and Shades Camden Lock, Camden Market NW1 making up a Rolly. Choose Life!

Miss Oriental Funky Shades Camden Tube NW1

All Black and DM Shoes Hawley Crescent Camden NW1

Mega Green Sack Bag, Cross and monochrome, shades and denim. Camden Market NW1

Rear View Funky Punky Barnets Camden Lock NW1

The post Camden Street Style July 2015 Part 2 appeared first on FJ Girls.

The usual Regent Street, Oxford Street, Soho, Covent Garden and Mayfair was the fashionista patrol route with loads of sunshine.

Vertical stripes Fashionista up close Mayfair W1

This is Part 3 of the test shots with this lens with Part 1 and Part 2 producing not very impressive results. This is supposed to be a cracking lens so after stripping this lens down it was revealed that this lens had been dismantled and put back together incorrectly by somebody else, so it wasn’t focusing properly and the lens elements had been cleaned but probably made worse. A quick clean and service and the lens is now something else and a completely different beast.

Monochrome and strappy Fashionista Marble Arch W1

All shots from the hip as this lens is quite big so you’ve got to be a bit sneaky with it to get natural looking shots which is why I got it.

So after 3 test sessions this lens I’m calling my “close up” lens is a keeper and will be used alongside my other Zoom lens dubbed the “fashion lens” for longer range shots. This website is still in it’s formative stages so it’s a case of seeing which gear works best and there’s only one way to do that and that’s test it in the real world out on the streets.

Normal service resumes next week now I FINALLY have the right and decent gear!

Oriental Monochrome Fashionista Piccadilly Circus W1

Miss Funky shades Monochrome brunette near Selfridges Oxford St W1

Red Head and All Black Covent Garden Tube WC2

Colourful print and flats Old Bond St W1

The post Street Style London West End. Test Shots Part 3 appeared first on FJ Girls.

Roller Girl on a mission Granary Square/Kings Cross N1

After the trial run with the new 70-200 zoom lens in the West End with head scratchingly good results and a sort of thumbs up from the women on the London streets, it was a return to the harder streets of London N1 to see what this lens dubbed my “fashion” lens can really do. If it can crack it here it can crack it anywhere in London.

My last visit to Islington was an epic disaster but not one for giving up easily I went with the view of getting 1 or 2 miserable looking shots at best. But the “fashion” lens delivered the goods and shocked yet again although Islington is a hard nut to crack. Would not have got the vast majority of these shots with the small wide angle lens. No way no how.

Extreme Read Head Denim Dress Kings Cross. Flip Flop Bottom Left?

Interesting was the agenda for the day rather than drop dead gorgeous looks. A real mish mash of photos here, extreme red heads, roller girls, Orientals, hoops and purple hair and more. Ended up walking in the middle of a fashion shoot or something near Hoxton Sq and rattled a couple of shots off although as you can imagine they were not impressed. Result!

Tried to capture as much of the urban environment in each frame as possible but when shooting a long lens it has a tendency to compress and blur things out in the background. That’s just the nature of the lens.

All photos Canon DSLR taken by yours truly. Not a word was said and all shots unposed and not staged which is the signature look of FJ Girls. Real, raw natural shots as it happens.

Purple Hair and Hoops, Laceless sneakers and Rainbow Socks Kings Cross N1

Smoking All Black Oriental Granary Square/Kings Cross N1

Models on a Fashion Shoot? near Hoxton Square N1

Monochrome with hints of brown. Shoreditch High St walking past Tesco’s

Monochrome and Shades Vertical Stripes Old Street Roundabout (Silicon) EC1

Monochrome print and shades and flats. Old Street Roundabout (Silicon) EC1

Monochrome Brunette  and heels Executive look Essex Road Junction with Upper Street, Islington N1

The post Fashionista Patrol London N1. June 2015 Edition appeared first on FJ Girls.

Red Head Monochrome and Hat and Tan Covent Garden WC2

Areas covered were the usual Oxford Street, Regent Street, Mayfair, Soho, Piccadilly, Covent Garden inc Piazza, Marble Arch and all streets in between. Busy main streets, quiet side streets, tourists, commuters and locals even some models on a fashion shoot.  Giving you the RAW street style as it’s happening with no posed shots and not a word was said.

Here’s my analysis of what is “going down” in street style terms in the West End of London for June.

1. Monochrome is definitely in with black, white and shades of grey being cool.
2. Flats are very much in, brogues, sneakers and slip ons
3. Horizontal stripes are a defo. If in monochrome all the better.
4. Jeans and leggings with ripped knees. A must. More rips even better. Distressed also rocks
5. Sophisticated shades are essential.
6. Monochrome bold prints seem to be popular.
7. Gypsy style maxi dress or skirts seem to be increasingly making an appearance.
8. Block heels are a yes but at the other extreme stilettos are also making themselves known

Model on a fashion shoot Golden Square, Soho W1

All photos taken with a newly acquired telephoto zoom lens and my Canon DSLR. Further details on this lens and how it went down with the London women in Part 2. Please note these are test shots with the lens. Some are sharper focused than others but have been included if they were notable in fashion terms.

Mega Ripped Jeans Fashionista Wigmore St W1

Balloon Girl Old Compton Street, Soho W1

Monochrome Horizontal Stripes and Colour Soho W1

Oriental shades of Monochrome Gt Marlborough Street W1

Monochrome Print and shades. Covent Garden Piazza WC2

Monchrome and draped colour Covent Garden WC2

Monochrome with Turban and Shades Covent Garden WC2

Monochrome Print and shades Old Bond St, Mayfair W1

The post The Fasharazzi Photo News June 2015. West End Edition Part 1 appeared first on FJ Girls.

This is the slightly weirder and arty farty part. Headline shot for me is this picture taken at a pedestrian crossing outside Harrods. Saw this girl with a yellow top and psycherdelic leggings that looked possibly Brazilian earlier thinking there’s your headline girl but she was on the other side of the Brompton Road, not an easy road to run across. Damn

Yellow, Black and Heavy Print Leggings. Brompton Road near Harrods SW3. Canon DSLR

Luckily saw her again an hour later as I was just about packing up for the day and dived in and grabbed a manic all or nothing shot but with the camera in landscape view not portrait. Result she’s eyes down, she’s not full length, it’s slightly blurred, it’s a bit manic looking, but there’s just something gritty about this shot I like. I call this my revelation or eureka moment shot. It’s not your ordinary somebody walking down the road style photo. It’s a confused jumble of people and steet furniture but within that confusion the girl in the yellow top is definitely the focal point amongst all that chaos. It’s a street shot, you can really feel and smell the street here to quote a Bruce Gilden line. Could be more shots like this in the future.

Further fashionista fasharazzi full length photos along with some experimental shots which I call “fashion bits” taken in Sloane St at Jimmy Choo and also some bizarre shots that are “photographer errors” or bloopers which are a result of shooting from the hip which seems to produce more natural shots but of course without the camera to your eye you really are half guessing what’s in the frame.

Monochrome Sloane Square SW3. Canon DSLR from the knee

When you get it wrong the results can sometimes be hilarious as above and are interesting photos in their own right. Shooting from the knee is a new technique I’m using which seems to produce some startling results with an unusual view point although again trying to compose a shot this way is challenging to put it mildly. The alternative is to practically lie down on the street in front of these women to get the same angle of shot which as you can imagine is going to look just a bit bizarre and will probably have them running in the other direction screaming “nutter”

Disaster shots I normally delete but a couple have been included and appear below. They are too good to miss!

Headphones and Shades and Boots Fashionista Draycott Place SW3. Canon DSLR shot from the hip

Mega Heels South Kensington Tube. Canon DSLR

Blonde, Shades, Monochrome and Neutral. Sloane Street SW1. Canon DSLR shot from the knee

Blonde Faux Fur? or Crushed Velvet? and Flats. Kings Road SW3. Canon DSLR shot from the knee

Black Faux Fur Gilet Close Up Bromptom Road SW3. Canon DSLR shot from the hip

Cycling Fashionista Sloane St SW1

Blonde Shades, Tan and Monochrome with Neutral heels. Canon DSLR shot from the hip

Shades and Cara. Brompton Rd SW3

Monochrome shades and flats motion blurred. Harrods SW3. Canon DSLR shot from the knee

Monochrome Jimmy Choo Shoes Close Up Jimmy Choo Store Sloane St SW1. Canon DSLR

Green Jimmy Choo Shoes Sloane Street Store SW1. Canon DSLR

The post The Street Fashion Times Knightsbridge Edition. May 2015 Part 2 appeared first on FJ Girls.

Spent a couple of days floating around South Kensington, The Brompton Road, Harrods, The Kings Road and Sloane St and Sloane Square. Weather was good, loads of sunshine, the Fashionistas were out and about, prime territory for a fasharazzi to get some street style pics.Gone with this photo for the headline but any one of those below would have been just as good. Good street vibe on this photo!

Monochrome Fashionista with a dash og green and multi coloured bag. The Brompton Road SW3

So what’s the vibe on the streets in Knightsbridge, Kensington and Chelsea? To sum up, monochrome, flats, draping is still in, block heels, saw a few stilettos, shades of the coloured mirror variety and distressed denim and leggings with ripped knees. Hats were lacking. Horizontal stripes are cool and abundant. Gilets are still in, Maxi long flowing skirts also seemed to be making an increasing appearance.

Oriental Monochrome and Faux Fur Gilet. Duke of York Square, Kings Road SW3. Canon DSLR

All photos taken Wednesday and Thursday this week and as usual follow the criteria of a fashionista that caught my eye, either by her looks, an item of clothing or the whole style package. Stunning looks is not necessarily a pre requisite to appear on this site BUT “something going on” most definetly is! Shots via Canon DSLR and shot from the hip and knee.

Blonde, Shades, Monochrome and Flats. Sloane Street SW1 near Knightsbridge Tube. Canon DSLR shot from the knee

Red Black and Tan Block Heels Brompton Road SW3. Canon DSLR from the hip

Monochrome and Neutral Heels Brompton Road SW3. Canon DSLR shot from the knee

Monochrome and Salmon Fashionista Sloane Street SW1

Brunette, Shades, Flats and Pastel split Maxi. Kings Road SW3. Canon DSLR shot from the knee

The post The Street Fashion Times Knightsbridge Edition. May 2015 Part 1 appeared first on FJ Girls.

Headline girl was this blonde walking over Westminster Bridge with Big Ben as a backdrop. This was a shot that was more planned and waited for which is not normally my style, I’m more the spontaneous shooter of the knee jerk variety. As soon as I saw this lady marching up the road I just knew this was the headline shot and “That’s my girl”. She’s not a tourist, she’s on a mission and is a Londoner no doubt. Looks like she could be sans make up as well and she still rocks that look.

Blonde Monochrome with a dash of brown. Westminster Bridge SW1 in front of Big Ben. Canon DSLR

Have to say I wasn’t expecting much on this Victoria and Westminster visit. Just a lot of jeans and trainers and jackets of the more homogeneous variety. Dull office workers and bland tourists with cameras and those incredibly annoying selfie sticks. How wrong I was. This area will definitely be a regular. Arguably better than Oxford St with some spectacular backdrops.

Grab Part 2 of this SW1 fashionista spectacular including a monochrome microphone holding brunette fashionista doing a recording for something. Asked for permission for that shot as they were filming at the time. She gave the nod and job done!

Monochrome Brunette Victoria St SW1. Canon DSLR

Oriental Mirror Shades with a dash of Faux Fur. Westminster Bridge SW1. Canon DSLR

Monochrome, Leather? shades and pearls. Parliament Sq SW1. Canon DSLR

Monochrome, stripes and riding boots. Westminster Cathedral/Victoria St SW1. Canon DSLR

Grey Coat, Monochrome Floral and black knee length boots. Victoria St Westminster Abbey End SW1. Canon DSLR

Presenter Fashionista in Monochrome at Charing Cross/Embankment WC2. Canon DSLR

The post The Street Style Echo April/May 2015. Victoria and Westminster Edition. Part 2 appeared first on FJ Girls.

Thought I’d give this area a try. Can’t be as hard as Islington N1…..surel

Headline shot is these two tourist fashionistas who I spotted on Westminster bridge doing selfies and then spotted them again walking past Buckingham Palace. Result!

Part 1 Tourist Fashionistas doing selfies on Westminster Bridge in front of The London Eye SW1. Canon DSLR

Part 2 The same Tourist Fashionistas walking past Buckingham Palace SW1. Canon DSLR

Took in the area around Victoria station, Victoria St, Westminster Abbey and Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge and Big Ben plus just south of the river at County Hall and the London Eye then back over the river to Charing Cross and down the mall to Buckingham Palace then back to Victoria again.

Weather was good, sun was out and so were the women and it was a red letter day with enough photos for two posts. Much easier than Islington, you can’t fail to get 5 or 6 decent fashionistas in a couple of hours.

Good mixture of stacks of tourists with cameras around the landmark areas and commuters and office workers and locals around the Victoria area.

Part 1 results below. All shots Canon DSLR and mostly taken Thursday 30 April. Keep your eyes peeled for a bonus Part 2.

Monochrome shades, denim, hat and boots tourists. Westminster Bridge SW1. Canon DSLR

Monochrome Tourist Fashionista Westminster Bridge SW1. Canon DSLR

Monochrome and Lace and flats. Victoria St SW1. Canon DSLR from the hip/knee

Brunette shades and blue and black stripes Victoria Street SW1. Canon DSLR

The London Eye mess around shot standing in a front of a fashionista at Count Hall Pre Shot

Monochrome side split dress. County Hall SE1. Canon DSLR

The post The Street Style Echo April/May 2015. Victoria and Westminster Edition. Part 1 appeared first on FJ Girls.