CELINE WOOD PRINT

England is usually a place of terminal greyness but this summer surpassed itself by being the worst since 1985, or so the papers said. For most of us this 'indian summer' (it's been almost 30 degrees for the last 3 days) has been embraced with vats of booze, BBQs and a return to the summer clothes we bought 5 months ago but hardly got to wear. 

I must admit that I was somewhat dismayed by the warm weather. After a fortnight in Morocco I had flexed my summer wardrobe muscles and was looking forward to the A/W offerings but when it's sweltering there is no room for knit wear and winter weight dresses, let alone coats. My only consolation is that my Marni top, bought eons ago on eBay, has a satisfying nod to my print of the season - the Celine wood print that makes my stomach do a little flip every time I see it. 

Celine A/W 2011 images from Style.com

Top - Marni 

Belt - Charity shop

Shorts - Forever 21

Shoes - See by Chloe

GUESS WHAT? NEW SHOES

New shoes! Thanks to the Kurt Geiger sale. Now if it would stop pissing it down I might actually be able to wear them out, instead I had to amuse myself by taking Hipstamatic photos of my feet in the hotel room. 

Top - Kurt Geiger 'Jeepers'

Bottom - Carvela 'Kob'

Too Many T-Shirts, Not Enough Jumpers

This summer I went a bit mad buying t-shirts. Rodarte, Christopher Kane, Acne, Something Else by Natalie Wood, American Apparel etc...These additions to my wardrobe are great, but now the weather is turning I am finding myself increasingly at a loss when it comes to dressing in the mornings. For the moment a cardie will suffice, but soon it's going to be time for a re-think - what will my winter staple be?

I usually just bulk buy Uniqlo merino wool or cashmere jumpers, but in my experience they don't last too well, they tend to bobble easily and look very tired by mid March. The hoodie option is out because it's not smart enough and any heavy knit jumper (cable knits etc) makes me look humungus because I have quite big boobs. Gah, dressing for the cold is a minefield. 

Cardigan - Urban Outfitters 

T-Shirt - Stolen Girlfriends Club

Belt- Charity Shop 

Jeans - Topshop 

Boots - Topshop 

Roll on Christmas...

The weather is horrible here in London. Time to say goodbye to sandals, actually wear socks again (I can't tell you how much I despise socks) and get the coats out of the loft. Sad face. The only good thing is that the new series of Mad Men starts on BBC4 tomorrow - you hear that FX? Get your butt in gear and screen True Blood series 3, don't make me wait until the new year. 

Hat - Knitted by a random family member 30 years ago 

Jacket - Army surplus, bought during my 1992 - 1995 Nirvana phase in Lee Green (glam)

Belt - Nicked from brother

Necklace - H&M 

Jumper - Charity Shop 

Trousers - Zara 

Primark Wellies - This Is Not A Festival Post...

It is only fitting that on a day I put my washing out on the line to dry and got home to find it soaked, I found this pair of wellies.


They are floral. They are from Primark. They cost £8. They are mine.


Now, I am not, and never will be a 'festival goer'.  Seriously, the word festival is beginning to make me cringe, or worse still, strike out. I will forever skim over those useless bits of filler in magazines with headlines like 'Get the Festival Look!' or 'Stars give their festival beauty secrets'  (OKAY, WE KNOW, BABY WIPES AND DRY SHAMPOO, SHUDDUP ALREADY), but thanks to my parents place in Somerset, there is always a chance that these wellies will come in handy come the day of the Summer fete or any other outdoor activity, ever, that we Brits take part in outside.

Australia Update

So,

I got to Australia with a slightly larger than intended capsule wardrobe.

So far we have had 3 dinners - all of which were outside (something that would NOT happen back in London). Yesterday I went a little pink on the arms from the sun, but today I am ready with sun lotion, why is it that Brits abroad always think they'll be okay in the blazing hot sun after 5 months under many layers?

Future plans here include kayaking, climbing, gold prospecting, swimming in the Fitzroy outdoor 50m pool and of course, shopping. Although I have already managed to buy a Philip Lim dress and a random black sequin bra.

Woolly Hat and the Monster Bobble

On a cold crappy February there is nothing like a hat with a whacking great bobble to make everything a bit warmer and jollier. FACT.


p.s. Still don't have a camera, so demonic red eyes due to camera phone. I don't *think* I am the devil. 

How to walk in high heels...

The best thing to happen in weeks, literally weeks, is the end of the great freeze (albeit briefly I am told). This means two things: 1) I can go out without a scarf, gloves, hat and ear warmers which means leaving or entering a building no longer takes 20 minutes and 2) normal shoes are back on the agenda! I don't have to worry about slipping on ice or my feet falling off due to extreme cold. In the recent cold snap it's been Uggs (I know they're not trendy, but oh heck they're warm) or big boots with at least two pairs of thermal socks.

One of my resolutions for this year was to wear more of my shoes more often - especially my heels. I am a flats girl at heart, and like nothing more than slouching around town in pirate boots. But I'm going to start training myself for height with Vivienne Westwood strapped boots because the heel on them is do-able, but one day soon I will conquer the Charlotte Olympia platforms outside...if only to hop into a cab after 15 seconds.

Weekend Excitment

This weekend whilst staying in Somerset with my Mum we had a power cut. The awful storms took down the power line and the whole village was without electricity.

I haven't experienced a power cut in the countryside for such a long time, especially in the winter. What can you do in a pitch black house with a few candles? So we made a roaring fire, boiled water in a saucepan and got the red wine out. My Mum and I came up with perhaps not the best idea - a jigsaw. By candlelight.

Before the power outage we'd gone shopping in Taunton and raided the charity shops. Will post a run down of my finds later on (a hint: total granny chic).

Bonfire Night Fireworks - What to wear?

Thursday was Bonfire night here in the UK, which for me can only mean one thing - fireworks on Blackheath! I can't remember the first time I went to see them there, it must have been when I was about 5 or 6, but I fell in love with them and for me they are the ultimate fireworks display. Ever. No other fireworks come close. 4th of July? The Beijing Olympics? NYE? Please...

The best thing about fireworks on Blackheath is they are reassuringly similar, with code of practice to follow for all time. You must eat warming foot before departure to the heath. You must wear a woolly had and gloves. Your Mum (and then later yourself, acting on behalf of you Mum) will put you in your warmest coat, sensible boots with two pairs of socks or maybe wellies if it's raining. And then walk to the heath with quite literally tens of thousands of other people and oooh and aahhh in unison.

Already I am thinking about what I will pull on to remain warm and snugly when I go to watch the fireworks with my friends on a cold November night. I will 100% be wearing Australian tube socks, my camo coat and probably Uggs (they are warm, people), but then I think I want this hat from Topshop for a tenner. Click on the title at the top to buy it...

Warning! Entering Somerset - Wear Something Ugly

I've just had a great weekend away with 'the pub quiz lot', as they are known collectively. Somerset in the sun is really quite a treat. We were so lucky with the weather - blue skies, no rain, no humidity and ACTUAL SUN, so it meant the world was our oyster.

I think going down to the West Country might be a bit like the fashion Bermuda triangle however. As soon as I get down there normal fashion rules go out of the window and I find myself wearing trainers with socks (sexy), too big cut of denim shorts that fall down as I walk and horrid thick knit cardies. Yet I'd travelled down in a rather neat floral tube skirt / white shoulder pad tee shirt combo. Why is fashion so place dependent, huh? Or am I just lazy?

New Stuff - When To Wear?

It is with satisfaction that I note Net a Porter has yet to get the Alexander Wang boots I got my mitts on into stock yet. I cannot wait to wear them, but sadly this horrible sticky weather is continuing and wearing boots WITH SOCKS is just not going to happen when there are perfectly good sandals in my wardrobe.

Maybe there will be a sudden dip in temperature (whilst remaining dry - fat chance) and I can debut them. Am hoping that wearing them will double as resistance work because they are hella heavy. Lots of hardware. Maybe it will stop be falling over in high heels too?

The other thing to look forward to is the arrival of new Sass & Bide grey marle rats leggings. I have lived in the original Black Rats for the last year, so the prospect of a new pair is really too much. In just over 3 days time, when my brother arrives from Melbourne with said leggings, I can have an evening of 'guess what goes with these'. An integral event in any item being invited into my wardrobe although the absence of a mirror in my bedroom means I have to keep hotfooting it into the bathroom for a good look.

Hot In The City

I am melting here in the office, yet outside it is bucketing it down. I wore my lovely Paul Smith brogues today with shorts to try and do the keeping cool whilst keeping your feet dry thing going on. But on reflection maybe I should have worn a swimsuit. It would serve you well on the tube as I know I'll sweat profusely and it might freak people out and give me the chance of an emptier carriage than normal.