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Givenchy Dreaming

During a perfectly innocent wander round the Selfridges shoe hall earlier today to check out the sale (nice things in every size but mine was the final verdict), I stumbled upon the most perfect pair of Givenchy shoes, times two.  Slip on trainers for everything but the hottest of summer days, floral printed black leather Birk-alikes for lazy days in the sun.  Now that I know that they exist, I'm not sure my life can be complete without them.  I will almost certainly be buying some clumpy-verging-on-orthopaedic sandals this summer though, and possibly attempting to paint flowers all over them... 

Buy here

Buy here

(As a side note, it's funny how the shoes I lust over have gone from being high and impractical to flat and sensible over the past few seasons.  I prefer to think it's due to changing fashions rather than my slow and inevitable transformation into my mother.  I am massively excited about the sheer variety available in flat shoes lately though- where once there were only ballet pumps and the odd brogue, there is now every variety of loafer, trainer, slipper, pool slide, creeper, etc, imagineable.  I feel spoilt for choice without ever having to contemplate being more than an inch off the ground.)

Coat of my Dreams

... and it's mine.  After starting my coat search in July, and buying and returning numerous contenders, I've finally found The One.  It's from Topshop Unique A/W '13, and I got it for half price in the sale online, the last one, in my size.  Clearly it's fate...

It's slouchy and oversized (and 100% mohair so it's officially the warmest thing I own), but not so long that it swamps me.  And the best bit is that it reminds me both of the Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony teddy bear coat I lusted after earlier this year, and of this jumper from Dries van Noten A/W '09, which I've been obsessed with for literally years:

I love a happy ending.

Playtime

Yep, it's definitely that time of year again.  I'm ready for spring, and spring colours. And a cat sleep mask, of course, to aid in hibernating.

Photos from here and here

P.S. I love that Elle France both approves of my recent obsession with trainers worn with everything, and also manages to make skate shoes sexy. 

New Discoveries

One of the things I missed the most about living in a small city in the middle of nowhere in Greece was access to independent brands, as well as secondhand and vintage, a concept that is still very new there.  There was a small local craft movement, but none of the (very lovely) crafters made anything that was particularly my cup of tea, and I resigned myself to shopping on the high street.  So now that I'm back in London, I'm really pleased that most of my purchases have not come from Topshop/H&M/Zara, but from ebay, charity shops and indie designers I've come across both online and in person.  Today I stumbled entirely by accident on the Hackney Flea Market, a monthly market with stalls full of both handmade and vintage bits and bobs.  And for once, I actually bought a couple of things, and discovered some seriously talented people.  

Illustrator Sandra Dieckmann produces the most amazing animal prints, and I look forward to filling up the walls of my (future) flat with her work.  In the meantime, I consoled myself with this mirror, because clearly the image of a curled up red panda could make even fixing my smudged eyeliner on the bus a much more cheery experience:

I think In With the Old might just be one of my favourite shops, if their stall today was anything to go by.  They're based on Amwell Street in Islington, and stock 57 independent makers of everything from prints to jewellery to handmade children's clothing.  I really wanted some coasters made from vintage tiles, and one of Mike Hall's London Borough map prints, but as I'm writing this from amongst the clutter of someone else's attic, where I'm currently living, I made do with this initial necklace:

 

And finally, a brand I've actually been wanting to write about for a while, which I discovered whilst randomly trawling ebay, Amelia May.  I've been obsessed with rings lately, and their selection is possibly the best I've found, at any price point.  And, as a bonus, all designs are  available either as traditional rings, or in midi versions, and most of them come in brass or silver.  I bought the Crescent Moon Knuckle Ring Set, the Aztec Petal Ring, and the Cobalt Moon Glow Knuckle Ring, but I don't imagine I'll be stopping there...

Pink Crush

My obsession with the girliest of colours shows no signs of abating, despite the fact that I've yet to take the plunge and actually add it to my life anywhere apart from my nails.  

Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos in Miu Miu's Resort campaign (despite none of it being my usual style, I want every single thing they're wearing), the feather dress from Dries Van Noten A/W '13, a collection I clearly was too hasty to dismiss at the time, pink lips and black nails, sold-out pink Nike amazingness...

Nadja on a Bender

This editorial from the Spring/Summer issue of Scandinavia S/S/A/W is making me very impatient for spring.  I will definitely be buying a pair of pool slides.  Whether I'll be brave enough to actually wear them remains to be seen...

Outfits (again)

This past week I've mainly been trying to wear something something other than navy jumpers and my tiger-print skate shoes.  I've not entirely succeeded.

Clockwise from top left: dress- Topshop, boots- Beau Coops; jumper- Topshop, tshirt- Gap, shorts- Topshop Boutique, shoes- Kurt Geiger; top- Cos, skirt- Zara, trainers- Nike via ebay; jacket- Gap, top- Cos, trousers- Zara, shoes- Studio Pollini

My sky blue trainers are my aforementioned attempt at Scandinavian nonchalance.  I'm not particularly convinced I can carry them off, but they're so comfortable, I don't actually care and I have to force myself to not wear them with absolutely everything.  I think I may need another pair...  Also feeling quite smug that I've already got the perfect over-the-knee boots when all the magazines are bleating on about them being the shoe of the season.  Meanwhile mine are from 2010, the last time they had their moment in the sun- are fashion cycles moving that fast that three years is enough time for something to go from must-have to fashion pariah and back again?

Girl Crush of the Day

It seems fitting that after a day of trawling the shops and coming away empty-handed, and with the distinct feeling that nothing in the world could be quite what I'm looking for (aside from the entire contents of Liberty, as always), I should come across this photo of Rashida Jones by Garance Dore:

 

It's perfectly "me", at a time when I'm wondering what that even is.  And I can more or less re-create the entire look from my wardrobe.  Anklet, white court shoes, turned up jeans and lace over stripes- possibly everything I've obsessed over and/or worn to death all mixed together flawlessly.  Love.

Accessorize All Areas

Anyone who's been following my ramblings for a while will know I've got a mild obsession with & Other Stories- along with sister store Cos, it makes up my the exception to my general disillusionment with the high street, and I've made a fair few pilgrimages to Regent Street solely to paw at their handbags and contemplate their (just over my budget) outerwear.  So when I happened upon a feature on their website featuring Giulia and Giorgia Tordini , the Italian sisters on whom I've got a massive style crush,  in the winter collection, I went into fangirl overdrive and suddenly found myself wanting to subsist on a steady diet of red lipstick, elegantly spindly heels and piles of gold jewellery paired with simple black dresses.  It's the ultimate Scandi-meets-Mediterranean combination and I think it's the perfect antidote to my recent overdose on knitwear and ankle boots...

House of Hackney x Asos

It's been a while since I've been able to get excited about a designer/high street collaboration.  Isabel Marant for H&M left me cold (the high street has been overrun with IM copies for years now- the last thing I want to see is more of the same, even if it is officially sanctioned by Miss Marant herself), and Meadham Kirchhoff for Topshop was brilliantly bonkers, but ultimately, not for me.  So when I came upon House of Hackney's capsule collection for Asos, I couldn't help but add half of it to my wishlist and fervently hope Asos will continue offering 20% off everything next weekend, as they have in previous weeks.  I was expecting the collection to be a bit more floral-heavy, which is what I've come to associate with the brand, but tartan is probably a lot more "me", and it reminds me of both my beloved Dries van Noten S/S 13 collection, and the Stella McCartney coat I've been lusting after this season.  Now I just need to decide what to actually buy- I'm leaning towards the slip dress, which is, unfortunately for my bank balance, the most expensive piece in the collection...

November(ish) Outfits

If anyone actually reads this anymore (hi! *waves*) I can only offer apologies for vanishing off the face of the blogosphere. My new job generally leaves me exhausted and despite my best intentions for interesting blog posts, all I can actually share is a load of photos of me repeatedly wearing the same clothes (or ones which are so similar, they may as well be- I'm officially banned from buying anything with a white collar ever again!)  At least if the cost-per-wear of any given item in my wardrobe were calculated, it would be about 5p.  I'm not actually sure that's a good thing... 

clockwise from top left- dress- Cos, boots- Beau Coops; breton top- Sunspel, skirt- vintage, boots- Massimo Dutti; top- Asos, shorts- Whistles, shoes- Kurt Geiger; dress- Pop Boutique, shoes- & Other Stories; shirt- Asos, skirt- JW Anderson x Topshop, boots- vintage; coat- Primark, jeans- Masscob, boots- Massimo Dutti

clockwise from top left: jumper- Etoile by Isabel Marant, trousers- Topshop Boutique, shoes- Kurt Geiger; jumper- as before, shorts- Whistles, shoes as before; jumper- Topshop, shorts- Oysho, shoes as before; t-shirt- Gap, skirt- vintage, shoes- & Other Stories; top- Asos, skirt- vintage, boots- Massimo Dutti; top- Cos, jeans- Masscob, shoes- Kurt Geiger.

Not pictured- either of my two (!) new pairs of shoes, once of which is an honest-to-God pair of trainers.  I've been wearing them with little dresses and telling myself it's very Scandinavian of me, rather than 1980s commuter.  Photographic proof of my Scandi-coolness to come...