Rochas S/S '15

Oh. My. God.  I cannot even begin to describe how obsessed I am with this collection, in all its floaty sheer perfection.  And the shoes.  And the eye makeup.  Seriously, this is my favourite collection so far this season, and I can't imagine anyone will manage to top it (predictably, I'm still waiting for Chloe and Miu Miu- Carven and Dries van Noten have already managed to disappoint me)  I must admit this isn't a house I normally think of very often, but I saw a photo on tumblr that made me click through to see the whole collection, and I'm so glad I did.  Can you tell I'm going though a big girly phase at the moment?

source

wearing...

A few outfit selfies, plus a DIY necklace I made recently... Still failing to wear any shoes aside from my two favourites- I'm well and truly smitten.

P.S. Had a bit of a name change- not sure how long I'll be sticking with this one, but inspiration is resolutely refusing to strike.

Be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn, In that case, you should always be a unicorn.

I reckon this dress would go a long way towards making up for the fact that I can't actually be a mythical horned creature...

Two Weeks in September

There's been something of a glut of 60s themed editorials recently, but most of them seem to fall a bit flat, looking a bit too stylised and glossy, and thoroughly modern.  This one somehow feels just right.  From UK Vogue, October 2014.

Note to self...

l-r: In with the old, Topshop x2, ebay

to wear more jewellery!  A quick tidy of my bedroom turned up this lot, languishing unloved and forgotten in various boxes.  I'm officially banned from leaving the house without some form of adornment from hereon in.

Cheap thrills

Just thought I'd share a couple of new buys that were beyond affordable, yet have instantly become my new favourites.  I definitely needed something to cheer up my wardrobe from end of season fatigue, considering I'd largely failed to buy much for summer this year.  As it's very nearly September, it feels too late to make any serious purchases, but it's still quite hot here, so this is what I picked up to get me through the next few weeks until the temperature drops...

 

The perfect classic espadrilles, bought for 4€ from a supermarket, and the exact tan sandals I've been after for a couple of years, handmade in Greece, and costing only 20€.  I've worn either one or the other since buying them, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Summer outfits...

Outfit photos are a bit of a rarity at the moment, mainly because I've been wearing things that are more functional than they are interesting, due to both the heat and the fact that I tend to just throw on whatever I find before me as I run off to work.  This is pretty much everything I've worn in the last month or so that I've even remotely liked:
 

dungarees- Primark, top- Zara, espadrilles- Lidl

dress- Topshop via ebay, boots- Uterque

top- Oysho, shorts- Whistles, shoes- Park Lane via Asos

top- H&M, skirt- Topshop, sandals- local shop

Once more this year, I've failed to assemble much of a summer wardrobe, so I've been relying on my tried-and-true favourites, with the odd addition in the form of espadrilles and sandals...

Carven A/W 14

I've made no secret of my 60s obsession, so the fact that my beloved decade seems to have influenced just about every designer this autumn is making me especially happy (and my bank balance weep).  Today I'm fixating on Carven- swingy skirts, over the knee boots, and perfectly cut coats, all in a colour palette that could have been created especially with me in mind. I particularly love the arrow print on everything, and the nipped in at the waist silhouettes- they're the absolute perfect shape for my body type, so I'm hoping they'll be widely copied on the high street.  It's almost enough to make me long for a chill in the air.

photos from here

Recent favourites

In an attempt to move away from my default setting of moaning about the heat and thinking of all the lovely autumn/winter clothes I'd rather be wearing, I thought I'd share a few of the things I've bought in the past couple of months which I'm rather excited about.  I'll admit the boots and the long sleeved black dress aren't especially summery, but I have managed to actually wear them during a brief drop in temperature, so I'm including them, even though it'll probably be October before I can actually wear them again...

Saint Laurent A/W 2014

In light of the fact that we're apparently expecting a heatwave next week (the thought of trudging to work in 36 degree heat makes me want to weep), of course my thoughts are turning to my autumn/winter wardrobe.  Lately, I've been trying to avoid looking too far ahead, and just live in the current fashion season, but that's proving quite tricky when the sales are slowly reaching their end and the shops are filling with jumpers, coats and ankle boots, which are far more appealing than, well, pretty much anything summer's had to offer (does anyone else find the idea of spring/summer clothes much more attractive in the depths of winter than when it's actually warm enough to wear them?)    Spotting a pair of glittery knee-high boots by Saint Laurent in the latest Elle (Greece) compelled me to have a proper look at the whole collection, and it quite nicely sums up my perennial autumnal obsessions, which mainly involve looking like a 1960s schoolgirl.  Ahem.  It also further encourages me in my desire to own a tartan kilt, to be worn with my newest pair of ankle boots, an oversized jumper, and my navy peacoat.  I'd also love a velvet dress with a huge white collar.  And possibly even some knee-high boots, sparkly or otherwise....

photos from here

Furry Love

I'm on holiday at the moment, mainly floating round in bikinis and denim shorts, so of course this is when I decide to be obsessed with all things autumn/winter.  Top of my wishlist at the moment is this Whistles coat.  It's lilac, fluffy, and big enough to completely cover me from head to toe should I wish to curl up in a ball and hide away from the cold.  I'm not sure I could ask for anything more from my outerwear...

Wearing lately...

left: shirt-Asos, shorts-Whistles, shoes- Park Lane via Asos; right: shirt- Zara, shorts- Topshop Boutique, shoes- River Island

left: top- Pull & Bear, skirt- vintage, shoes as before; right: top- Zara, dungarees- Primark, shoes as before

 I'm not entirely sure how it's possible that we're halfway through July, but the calendar doesn't lie, and despite a late start, it's now very much summer outside.  Which obviously means I'm stuck in the same sartorial rut as I am every year.  I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I just don't actually like very many summer clothes, though I don't know what I can do about that.  This year, I had sworn to avoid the problem of finding two separate items of clothing that I actually like and which match each other, by just buying a selection of floaty summer dresses, rather than trying to match tops and skirts/shorts.  I've yet to buy one.  The problem with summer dresses is that they mostly tend to be shapeless sacks in an array of colours I'd normally never look twice at.  So I've once more resorted to my tried and trusted denim shorts, and I'm building up a small collection of non-t-shirt tops to pair them with.  The photo with the leather shorts was taken a few weeks ago- it's definitely too hot and sticky to attempt wearing them now.  Footwear is proving to be another problem- as much as I like the silver sandals and black and white espadrilles I'm wearing in every single photo, I'm very much sick of wearing them every day, but I'm finding it hard to find anything else I particularly like (well, anything that isn't Balenciaga and therefore completely unaffordable)  To be honest, I'm getting really frustrated with having to go through a big chunk of the year hating almost everything I wear.  Surely there must be a way to dress nicely when it's over 30 degrees out?  Answers on a postcard please...

New Obsession...

Ok, this isn't strictly fashion, but it's vaguely related (interiors are a great love of mine which is, sadly, rarely indulged).  Lately I keep coming across photos of amazing woven wall hangings, so I decided to seek them out, and came across quite a lovely selection on etsy.  I'm actually tempted to try making my own, as this would be the perfect way to use up the yarn I've bought for previous daliances with knitting...  

Buy here

Buy here

Buy here

Buy here

Buy here

Away from etsy, I also came across the work Maryanne Moodie, who does amazing things with yarn.   She also sells beginners' weaving kits via her etsy shop, though they're sold out at the moment.