Absolutely Nothing To Wear : A crash course in Capes

Seeing as I have a tiny bit of an addiction to the caped variety of cover-up, I’ve been having a little look online to see what’s there. So just in case you too have a penchant for ponchos, I thought it was only fair to share.

There are literally HUNDREDS more if you have the time to spend looking online or, better still, actually go out and look in real life shops. These are just a few of my personal picks from some of my most trusted web based retailers. I strongly recommend looking through Ebay too – I found 2 of my all time favourite capes on there for a fraction of the retail price.

1. Cream Poncho, ROKIT, £60

Burberry Brit Duffle Cape £595, NET-A-PORTER

3. Sonia Rykiel Cape, £500, NET-A-PORTER

4. Cape, ROKIT, £65

5. Reversible Cape by Ganni, £100, ASOS

6. Contrast Trim Cape, £16 (originally £80), ASOS

7. Circle Cape Poncho, black or navy, £160, Tallulah and Hope

8. And I know this isn’t strictly a cape but I love it all the same.

Sherlock Cape Mac, £180, by Dressmonster from ASOS

Hair Cuts : Is Grey the New Black?

I’m going grey. They’ve started catching the light when I look in the mirror and I’m not sure I like it. I always said it wouldn’t bother me when it happened but it turns out I was wrong, I’m not sure I’m ready for silvery locks quite yet.

So, what do I do? Do I attempt a self colour when the children are in bed – I have one I bought in France which came recommended – or do I make a day of it. I’m thinking this might be something worth making an occasion of. It could be my perfect reason to escape for an entire day and sit in a chair, alone, quietly.

I’ve never had my hair coloured and I’m terrified of making a huge mistake. I may well end up with something much worse than my current combination of dark brown with a hint of silver.

For now I shall remain grey and confused and enjoy this cartoon instead.

Haircut Strip by Zebedee Helm

Fashion copycats – flattering or infuriating?

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but I’m not sure the same applies when we’re talking about fashion and more so when we’re talking about fashion amongst friends.

I’ve always had a bit of a problem with wearing the same things as other people. I will do everything I can to remain as individual as possible, which is why although I love clothes and catwalks, I try not to follow trends to the very last letter. I’ve worked with my fair share of high street and luxury brands and when part of the press office, you are expected to practice what you preach – that is wear the wares you’re peddling. When you’re working in luxury this is just fine. I have absolutely no problem at all with that. Apart from when your “employer” sends bloomers down the runway – that didn’t make for an easy season. But when you’re working for, lets say the more commercial brands, the chances of you showing up for work wearing the exact same dress as 50% of your colleagues, is horribly high.

There were way too many times I found myself queuing up in the work cafeteria for my tuna salad sandwich – there are already far too many things wrong with that sentence – only to see my very outfit being worn by all kinds of chattering colleagues. Didn’t like that at all. It made me want to run home and change, or rush for the sample cupboard, or just leave the building altogether.

Now I know this wasn’t copycat dressing, it was all purely coincidental and not really terribly surprising bearing in mind we all worked for the same brand. What I’m curious about are those instances when you find something you love and then someone – most often this someone is very near and dear – goes out and buys the EXACT SAME THING. Do you applaud them for having your impeccable taste or berate them for not having a taste of their own?

Obviously this hasn’t happened to me. It happened to a friend who actually goes shopping, leaves the house and sees people. I don’t care who buys my ASOS t-shirt because, chances are, I won’t be bumping in to them in the village shop. But if I do…..well I’d probably just invite them round for a cup of tea. Like fashion minds are rare to find when living in the sticks.

Photograph courtesy of Pierre Cardin SS11 : for the simple reason, it’s just too good not to use.

ASOS – uh oh

Until yesterday I was an ASOS virgin. I’ve had a look, lots of times, but never actually bought anything. And now I’m hooked. There are all kinds of things I didn’t even know I wanted.

I started with a plain black “boyfriend” t-shirt. It’s long and slim with a perfect neckline and rolled short sleeves. I’ve been back online today and ordered it in Navy. It shall be at the centre of my uniform for the rest of the Summer and possibly beyond.

I’ve also fallen in love with a Sherlock Holmes-esque parka and a “chiffon” (read polyester) kimono jacket and a “Chanel” box jacket and I’ve even put a pair of peg leg trousers in my basket…..surely there’s a better name for them?

I’ve browsed through all the brogues and clicked on a pair of Chelsea boots more than once – could this be my biker boot upgrade? I’ve got my eye on a Fox print t-shirt, which I fear may be a little too young for me, and I’m considering yet another cape. I love capes.

All I need to do is click a few buttons and it might all be mine by Monday. It’s too easy. I better just have another look through and check I’ve not missed anything…..

When it rains it pours

What on earth are we supposed to be wearing in this weather. How can any vaguely fashion conscious being worth their salt, be expected to dress seasonally when the weather has the mind of an Autumn day.

I had to go to London today. If I hadn’t had to go anywhere, the rain wouldn’t have bothered me or my choice of clothes. When in the comfort of the Shires, I don’t have to worry about not being able to get a taxi, or wet overcoats swooshing past me on the tube or buses splashing through enormous puddles or umbrellas taking my eye out. I just have to worry about how the dog’s going to go out and pee without dragging mud through the kitchen. It can rain all it likes, I don’t care but I do care when it falls on the days I make my trips to London. Not just because of the reasons above, but also because these are the days I make every effort to really try and look nice. To remember how I used to look and dress in the olden days. I save some (all) of my favourite clothes for these days and to have them rained on and accessorised with frizzy hair and wet shoes is frankly tiresome. The very worst bit was that because of the severe lack of taxis on this most wet of days, I had to rush all over the place on my own two soggy feet and didn’t have time to make my high street pilgrimage to Cos and Uniqlo (for the last Jil Sander collection) which is quite honestly, the only reason I bother coming. Thanks rain. Thanks a bunch.

So what did I wear today for the August rain? I wore black….layers and layers of black and all topped off with my two tone brogues. At least Gene would have been proud.

Too old for Mickey Mouse?

I’m wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt today. It’s a vintage one, I hasten to add. Bought at a flea market in Los Angeles. But despite always having a bit of a craving for such a t-shirt, I feel like a fraud. It doesn’t suit me and I think i might be trying to be part of a gang which doesn’t really want me.

I was at a party in LA just before I bought the t-shirt. It was a warehouse, arty sort of party in downtown LA where artists and beautiful people hung out with their hangers on. We were supposed to be there. We were invited in fact, but still felt just a little out of place. Anyway, whilst I was watching a leggy blonde hitting the life out of a Yo Gabba Gabba pinata, in walked a leggy brunette wearing black leggings, short biker boots, a mickey mouse t-shirt and a black blazer. She looked properly cool. It was just about everything I like all rolled in to one outfit.

So, in the following days I decided that I too wanted a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Something I had steered clear of for many many years. I found one, in fact I found two, and I bought them both for the princely sum of $8.

Today is the first day I’ve ever worn my t-shirt. I’m wearing it over a long sleeve white cotton tee with my skinny blue jeans and my sheepskin slipper boots. I don’t think it works.

Absolutely Nothing To Wear : Shoes glorious shoes

I’m not feeling terribly fashionably inspired at the moment. I’m going through one of those phases where I dress in pretty much the same things day in day out and it’s getting a little bit boring. So, to try and reignite a bit of interest in my own wardrobe, I decided – under slight duress from my husband – to have a shoe sort out. Not a clear out, although that’s what he was hoping for, but a lovely, time wasting sort out, which basically amounts to looking at them all and putting them neatly back in their boxes.

I have quite a few pairs of shoes (60+) and since the children arrived and I welcomed countryside living, I don’t really wear any of them anymore but the thought of parting with a single pair is completely unthinkable. Why is that? I even have ones which don’t fit me properly – too big or too small – but I hold on to them with a just in case sort of attitude. Just in case my feet shrink? Ridiculous.

So, did my shoe sort out work as a source of inspiration? Yes it did. It inspired me to wear my red Celine wellington boots for our Sunday afternoon walk…..which are now covered in mud and suffered a minor scratch in the woods. Straight back in to the box they go.

I’m going to photograph a few said pairs when I get a minute on my own iPhone….my 3 year old uses it more than I do. I think some of them need to be shared in picture form, they deserve that much at least.

For now, I want these please YSL…..to wear on long walks with the children, obviously.

Absolutely Nothing To Wear on holiday….

Simple. Take a Tallulah and Hope kaftan or pareo and that’s just about all you need. I wore this long “Strongshark” silk dress more than anything else in my suitcase and I absolutely love it.

Am very honoured to have this picture included on their lovely blog too. They are very clever ladies indeed and I think T&H could well be my new fashion addiction.

Absolutely Nothing To Wear : Uzes, a style all of its very own

The danger with buying clothes whilst on holiday, is that you can often find yourself being swayed towards a style you would never normally wear and which never seems to translate terribly well back home.  This is a particular danger in Uzes where they have a style all of their very own – a sort of Marie Antoinette meets shabby sexy hippy kind of look – fabulous on the right person but not at all on the wrong. Let me give you a little example, although this one involves a man but you’ll get the idea – there is a little shop off the main square, which sells beautiful cotton Mousquetaire shirts. They have them in all sizes and on children they can look rather sweet. They are large and billowing and fastened at the neck with a laced ribbon which criss crosses up the front. Think Dartanian, or Dogtanian if, like me, you preferred that version. The father of a friend, who shall remain nameless, came to Uzes a few years ago and bought himself one of these local Mousquetaire fashion blouse / shirts and continued to wear it back home in South London paired with jeans and Crocs for his Sunday lunch at home look. I don’t think I need say any more.

This is quite an extreme example and to be honest, there were about 20 dresses I could have quite happily bought and which at home, worn with a leather jacket and biker boots, would have been rather lovely. This brings me on to perhaps the best shop I have ever visited. L’Atelier Des Ours is located on one of the little side streets a moment away from the main square – for those unfamiliar with Uzes, it is a little like Venice without the canals – and sells all these fabulous Uzes style clothes for women and children. In amongst the swathes of linen and lace and florals and silk, there are vintage tins and toys and signs and glass plates with domes and dolls and all sorts of lovely treasures. It’s a little hard to tell what’s for sale and what isn’t but you have the feeling that the lady would happily sell you anything if you asked…..and had enough pennies. The floor downstairs as you enter is covered in fine sand which somehow makes you feel immediately excited but also quiet and careful. This is not a shop for the children! There’s a delicious ice cream stand at the cafe next door which will keep them amused while you take it all in.

I was so tempted I can’t tell you and even more so watching a customer flouncing around the shop making sharp intakes of breathy excitement as she tried on another layered skirt over her silk floral slip. It’s hard to tell whether it was the surroundings which made me love it all or the clothes themselves. So back home to the English countryside and do I wish I’d indulged myself or am I happy back in my ubiquitous jeans and sweatshirt look? It’s hard to tell. I haven’t returned home particularly longing for anything I saw, apart from the glass cloches, the 1950s school desk, the chalk board, the pretty floral sun dress, the cast iron bath, the vintage signs and tins, the wardrobes, the brown leather laced ankle boots, the 1920s hat box……no, absolutely nothing at all really.