Launch of Lucy in Disguise by Lily Allen and Sarah Owen

Last night I attended the launch of Lucy in Disguise, a new vintage-inspired fashion line by Lily Allen and her sister Sarah Owen.

I love the way they set the scene with all things vintage! There were not only adorable chairs set out, but also luxe leather benches in the front where I was sitting. It was definitely a fun scene, with a DJ spinning some great music while waiters passed champagne and refilled glasses accordingly.

Lily and Sarah are the owners of Lucy in Disguise, a vintage shop in Covent Garden and they began this designing venture after noticing that while vintage is amazing, it's not for everyone. Sometimes you find the perfect piece, but it doesn't quite fit or has stains on it. They wanted to make the vintage look more attainable in terms of size, cut, price point and availability. Lily even used the phrase "reinventing vintage."

Sarah said the girl they have in mind when they're designing is based on the varied customers they have including everything from "girls of 15 to crazy old cat ladies."

They have created their own character, Lucy who is kind of a vintage "everywoman" in that she represents all decades of vintage in character and style. Lily said, "She's ever-changing. Girls wanna be her friend, boys wanna be more than her friend. She changes and loves dressing up."

Both girls wore pieces from the current line, now available at Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge. They accessorized their looks with very fashionable and fun shoes! It would've never occurred to me to wear leopard heels with a bandana print dress or maroon platform pumps with leopard print, but it totally worked.

When asked about body types they designed for, Lily talked about how it was important to her to keep all different shapes and sizes in mind because her weight fluxuates and she doesn't always fit the sample sizes for photo shoots. Because the sizes of most items were smaller in days past and sizes tend to change from decade to decade, they wanted to create a line that allows the normal girl to buy vintage.

When asked about influences on their personal styles, Lily said she prefers 1950's Hollywood glamour while Sarah claims to channel "Jane Berkin by day and Bianca Jagger by night."

The two girls gave some great advice to fashionistas in the audience. "Don't be too textbook vintage in your styling. Mix and match with other looks or eras. Don't get obsessed with trends," says Sarah. Lily's advice is a little more direct saying, "Wear what you know. Don't try to be something you're not."

I think there is definitely a place for the Lucy in Disguise brand in the fashion world. It brings in one season a 20's inspired flapper frock, an early 70's prom-style dress, mini's to maxis and leopard print to beaded mesh. I looked at a few dresses and the ones I looked at were around GBP 175.00 price point, which in my opinion is a bit much for these dresses, but not over the top. My favorite thing about the line are the names of the dresses. Each dress has a name indicative of it's style like Honkey Tonk, Speakeasy or South Kensington and the pieces are fun, flirty and sexy! I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for future Lucy in Disguise pieces and I hope to visit the vintage shop in Convent Garden in the near future!

Click here for the Lucy in Disguise Facebook page.