THE GAP - A RANT

There are high street shops that I buy things from all of the time; Zara, Whistles, Topshop, H&M, ASOS, New Look, River Island.

And those that I don't; Warehouse, French Connection, Office, Next, Miss Selfridge, Mango and...Gap. 

Let's talk about Gap. In my youth Gap was one of THE places to shop. It was classic Americana at a good price, always innovative (the ads! can you remember the ads!) and with great simple cuts. But as the high street got more and more fashion conscious Gap began to look a little bit old hat and then Abercrombie took the all American look and did it much, much better (this was the late 90's / early 00's). Gap tried to be all cool at times...despite the fash pack harping on about the Pierre Hardy for Gap shoes each season you rarely actually saw them in store (the only pair I ever bought were in a charity shop about 6 months down the line). No, for me the store stayed the same as I remembered at the age of 16, which isn't a good thing in high street retailing unless you are Marks and Sparks. 

So it must have been quite some time since I have handed over any cash in Gap when I popped into the Oxford Street branch with my Mum a couple of weeks ago. She likes the linen shirts when they're in the sale but it was me who ended up buying. It's just a super simple sale priced £9.99 tee shirt dress but the fabric is lovely and stretchy and it fulfils all my chuck it on and go needs. So, please, c'mon Gap. Let's get back to real basics. Be proud of your denim, chinos, white shirts and sportswear. Go classic. Get good. Make me want your stuff again. I challenge you...

Dress - Gap 

Necklace - Whistles 

Tights - M&S

Boots - Carvela from Kurt Geiger  

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'

Going Grey

God, that title isn't even funny. I really am going grey. I've had a bottle of hair dye in my bathroom for 3 months now and I keep on putting it off because, as my hairdresser tells me, once I do there is no going back. Gulp. Old age is no fun kids, don't do it. 

Anyway, whilst I may be fighting a losing battle with my grey hairs, I'm winning the battle of grey / silver toned jumper acquisitions - nothing goes quite as well with blue jeans and these two components comprise my key uniform for weekends when I can't be bothered to dress up (or don't want to confuse people in the pub). 

Jumper - H&M

T Shirt - Ashish at Topshop 

Jeans - Topshop 

Boots - Carvela from Kurt Geiger

Harmonica necklace - Tiger in Hammersmith 

Jumper - Topshop 

Jeans - Topshop 

Thermal top - Uniqlo 

Boots - See by Chloe 

Black texture

My outfits feel pretty schizophrenic these days. Once morning I'll wake up convinced that Spring may be upon us and go light and airy in silk dresses or light colours, or on rainy miserable days when I realise it's only the beginning of February, I'll pile on the black. You can tell I was never a goth growing up - what with floral embroidery on the jeans and glitter woven through my jacket. 

Jacket - Jaeger from Charity shop 

Top - American Apparel 

Jeans - Topshop 

Boots - KG Kurt Geiger

Vivienne Westwood for Comic Relief

Comic Relief stated when I was just a kid at primary school. Back then Comic Relief was a chance to dress up in fancy dress for school, watch Lenny Henry on the telly and wear a very uncomfortable plastic red nose all day. 

But, 20+ years on, Comic Relief is a more sophisticated affair all round. Two years ago Stella McCartney designed the official Comic Relief t-shirts, this time it's Vivienne Westwood that are available at T.K.Maxx, so naturally a girl's gonna check them out. I ended up choosing the one pictured below, but there are many other designs available in store and online. Oh, and it's not just Dame Viv who's got in on the act, Liberty have created a waxed canvas shopper and a scarf with a Liberty / Comic Relief design you can buy in both the shop and the website - they are both lovely, but the bag is, I think, more useful. 

T shirt - Vivienne Westwood for Comic Relief from T.K.Maxx

Jeans - Topshop

Boots - KG Kurt Geiger 

Scary pout - All my own

One Dress, Two Ways

Shoes. The difference between rocking an outfit or dressing for drinks by the pool. 

Dress - Marks & Spencer 

Boots - Kurt Geiger 

Sandals - Charlotte Ronson