As a London commuter, every morning I leave the station to be greeted by a barrage of people handing out leaflets, magazines, newspapers and free samples as well as the odd one collecting for charity,  Sometimes it is an impossible task to walk at any pace due to this, lost tourists and people who cannot be parted for a second from their phone screens and thus get slower and slower.

Having said all this, by chance a few years back I did pick up the weekly free copy of Stylist magazine and was instantly hooked.  I now actively look out for it each Wednesday and feel rather cheated if I miss out on it.

The magazine launched in October 2009 and is now the leading UK weekly fashion and lifestyle magazine. It’s target audience is women aged 20-40, who commute, and it is distributed in major UK cities as well as some major French cities (since April 2013).

In November, a friend and I attended the Stylist Live event which was held at Olympia London for the first time.  This was the third of these festivals but the first in a new location and the first one I had ever been to.

For the day I wore a floral dress from Topshop with a pink shearling jacket from Zara, boots from Miss Selfridge and a tan bag from Accessorise.  Now black tights wouldn’t have worked so I searched high and low to find some adult cream tights and finally managed to track some down.  Unfortunately they were huge and I ended up looking much like Nora Batty for most of the day!  Since, my friend has advised me to buy M&S age 13-14 ones and they are much better – great life hack Nina!

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the day, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed.  There were all manner of stalls to indulge the shopaholic in you.  Among these were my favourite Swedish fashion brand – Kikki K, Lucy Love This, the Benefit Brow bar, Solely Original and Stella&Dot.

Lucy Loves this makes lovely prints based around different areas in London and I purchased my Mum the Putney one.

Solely Original allows you not only to design your own shoes online, but also ensure they are a bespoke size to fit your foot and they are a fraction of the price you might expect for something that is so customised.  I had my foot measured so it can be kept on file for future indulgence!

A walk around the stalls called for some light refreshment.  Now this was my only slight disappointment of the day, in that the only alcohol on offer was gin which I am not a big fan of.  I did give the fruity, pink special a try as it was included in the price of the ticket and whilst I wasn’t a great lover, it was surprisingly refreshing and the bar and stand were fab.

Also included in the cost of the ticket was a manicure at the perfect 10 nail bar.  I felt suitably pampered and chose a natural pinky Essie shade so as to not highlight the shortness of my nails.

It was then time for a bite to eat and I tried The Cheese Wheel, which is freshly rolled pasta, dunked into a wheel of cheese.  This first came to the UK in March this year at Kerb in Camden Market and has really taken off.  It was delicious and very filling.

The highlight of the day has to have been the fashion show.  It was unfortunate that we were quite near the back but what I loved about it was it was all available on the high street and you were given a sheet, telling you where each item on each look was from.  Shearling jackets featured quite heavily as did sparkle and stars.

More than just a day of leisure, my friend made the first step to a new career and signed up as a Stella & Dot rep.  Launched to empower women to be their own boss, the reps sell accessories online and face to face at parties.  The key is the flexibility which the company offers.  I couldn’t resist this gorgeous clutch with the mantra every woman should aspire to, ‘I am strong’ printed inside.

Finally, we had the opportunity to mock up a cover of Stylist, featuring our good selves.

It was a fantastic day and I would highly recommend it to any fashion lover.  2018’s dates are yet to be confirmed, but it is looking likely to be 9-11 November at Olympia.  Book early to avoid disappointment!  I fancy a VIP ticket next year which includes a lounge,  a bar and access to certain exclusive talks.  See you there!