Marni at H&M - what I got

Shopping for limited-edition H&M designer collaborations is less a fun and relaxing day out, more a military operation. Even more so when the designer in question is Marni, and the collection is the perfect combination of aspirational chic and wearable everyday pieces.

I arrived at the Regent Street branch of H&M at around 6.30pm on the day of the launch - late by any fashionista's standards. Needless to say, most of the best pieces had already been snapped up. As soon as I entered, my heartbeat accelerated and, like most of the shoppers around me, I started looking around frantically for the pieces I'd been lusting over since the collaboration was first unveiled.

There began a strange ritual whereby people (myself included) lingered by near-empty rails for minutes at a time, in the hope that a shop assistant might come back with an armful of dresses or tops from the changing room. People wandered the store with a look of desperation, seeking out abandoned items in the non-Marni sections. Eyeing each other's shopping, they waited for someone to lose interest or be discouraged by the queue for the changing room or till.

After about an hour, I had managed to grab two skirts in my size - one a spotty pencil skirt, one a 50s style circle skirt with a tribal print. I admitted defeat and took my items to the till. No jewellery or shoes were about to appear any time soon.

I emerged from the store happy, proudly brandishing my Marni for H&M carrier bag - the trophy of a successful shopper.

All items from Marni at H&M

Primark car print blouse

This week, I finally got my hands on Primark's car-print blouse, "inspired by"* Prada's spring-summer 2012 collection.

I rushed down to Marble Arch on Tuesday night, expecting huge queues outside and crowds of marauding fashionistas inside, fighting over the last size 10. Instead I found several racks full of the blouse, largely ignored by the hordes of Primark bargain-hunters.

In my state of frenzied excitement, I grabbed the top in both pale blue and lemon and headed to the till.

I can confirm that the blouse, with its 50s Americana print, is nearly identical to the real thing. What it lacks in quality, it makes up for in its sheer bargainousness (is that a word?).

*shamelessy ripped-off from

Blouse - Primark

Cardigan - Primark

Skirt - ASOS

Belt - ASOS

Necklace - Monki

Shoes - ASOS

Leather pouch - American Apparel

Nail polish - Barry M "Peach Melba"

Lipstick - Topshop "Confession"

Marni for H&M

Images of the most exciting H&M designer collaboration since Sonia Rykiel for H&M have been released, much to my delight.

Marni has long been one of my favourite labels, but without a diffusion range, it's always been out of my price range, which is why I'm so excited about this new collection which hits stores on March 8th.

The collection is packed with Consuelo Castiglioni's trademark prints and quirky pieces. I particularly love the accessories - plastic bracelets and some seriously gorgeous silver shoes with wooden block heels.


Until Marc Jacobs or Miu Miu hook up with H&M, it doesn't get much better than this.

 Pretty prints

 Spots are a key look throughout the collection

 Plastic jewellery - yum

My favourite piece - the silver shoes