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.

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...

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...

June outfits...

Clockwise from top left- top- Zara, skirt- Topshop, shoes- Minnetonka; dungarees- Miss Selfridge via ebay, top- Oysho, shoes as before; jumper and dress- Topshop Boutique, shoes- Kurt Geiger; blazer- Topshop, top- Zara, skirt as before, shoes- Marc by Marc Jacobs

So far this month I've finally got hold of some denim dungarees, re-discovered and couldn't stop wearing my ancient Minnetonkas and became a firm fan of skirts over shorts.  Dungarees aside, I'm actually feeling rather girly at the moment, after a winter spent mainly in trainers.  As much as I push myself to try new things, I always seem to end up in old favourites.  And, as always, it wouldn't be an outfit roundup post if I weren't wearing at least one item multiple times.  

Craving change

top- Cos, skirt- vintage, shoes- Charlie May

 It's funny, after a winter spent in jumpers, shorts and trainers, I'm suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to wear skirts, dresses and proper shoes.  I'm even finding myself craving heels for the first time in probably years.  I don't know what's behind this really- possibly a combination of my reverting to form (tomboyish dressing has never really been my cup of tea) and my flea-sized attention span- after wearing/eating/doing anything for too long, I get bored and want the exact opposite of the offending clothing/food/activity.  So it's no surprise that the grey suede vintage skirt I'm wearing in this photo is possibly my favourite recent purchase (I want to pair it with floaty cream tops, of which I currently own precisely none).  I instead chose to pair it with my trusty old favourite Cos top and my new-ish Charlie May x H by Hudson brogues which I've since decided are not quite me and are currently up on ebay (*ahem* not that I'm shamelessly plugging my own listing or anything...)  

The below outfit I think illustrates that shapeless sport-inspired tops do absolutely nothing for me and are best left as ghosts of sartorial mistakes past.  Luckily it was only £2.99 in the sale and will work quite well as a beach cover up come summer.  I am incredibly pleased with my scallop-hemmed skirt from Toppers though- I wish they had brought out more colours, I would have bought them all!

    

top- Pull & Bear, skirt- Topshop, shoes- Kurt Geiger

Outfits: February/March

 

 

 

Clockwise from top left: jumper- Topshop, skirt- vintage, shoes- & Other Stories; jumper- Topshop, skirt- Topshop Boutique, boots- Beau Coops;  jumper- American Apparel from ebay, skirt and boots- same as before; random navy top, dungarees- same as before, shoes- H by Hudson for Charlie May

Clockwise, from top left: top- Pull & Bear, dungarees- Topshop Boutique from ebay, shoes- Kurt Geiger; hoodie- American Apparel (from charity shop, random t-shirt, shorts- Topshop Boutique from ebay, trainers- Nike; cropped t-shirt- H&M, trousers- Zara circa 2010, shoes- Repetto; shirt- Asos, jeans- Primark, boots- Beau Coops

This is the sum total of outfit photos I've managed to take in the past two months.  This is mainly down to the fact that I've been wearing essentially the same things all. the. bloody. time.  I managed to buy quite a few bits for summer before I left London, but absolutely nothing for spring, which means I'm wearing the same few bits over and over until it's warm enough for little skirts, sandals and sleeveless tops.  Looking at these however, I can't help but notice that almost everything I tend to wear a lot is either quite old (both pairs of Beau Coops boots) or from ebay/charity shops (my two bits of American Apparel, and my much-loved velvet dungarees).  I'm starting to think shopping exlusively secondhand is the way forward...

January Outfits

And only a month late!  I've been slacking on all things blog-related lately, and outfit photos are no exception.  I feel like I've spent the last month or two wearing about five things over and over, so haven't felt any of my outfits has been particularly worthy of being documented.  Nevertheless, here are a few things I did manage to snap in the nearest mirror...

L-R: top- Cos, trousers- Zara, trainers- Nike; dress- Topshop Boutique, trainers- Nike; dungarees- Topshop Boutique,  top- Oysho, boots- Massimo Dutti

top- Zara, jeans- charity shop, shoes- Pollini; jacket- Marc by Marc Jacobs, t-shirt-Gap, skirt- Topshop Boutique, trainers- Nike

jumper- charity shop, skirt- Topshop Boutique, boots- Beau Coops; top- Primark, skirt- vintage, shoes- Kurt Geiger

So basically this past month or so I've embraced trainers and far too much Topshop Boutique.  And also attempted bare legs in an attempt to stick two fingers up to the frankly unbearable London weather.  Wake me when it's summer...

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.

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?

So far in October...

& Other Stories brogues, pink nails and my first midi ring, Mozza and a promising find from Daunt Books, amazing autumnal ivy in Hampstead, new Lula and my much-anticipated perfect white nail varnish- Butter London's Cotton Buds, the walled garden and entrance to Fulham Palace, the old pier in Brighton.

Outfit

top- Zara, skirt- Topshop, shoes- Kurt Geiger

The arrival of autumn (which I'm still in denial about- it somehow doesn't feel possible that it's already the end of September!) means I can once more start wearing things like closed shoes and sleeves, which increases my wardrobe options by about 300%, so I thought I'd start taking the odd outfit photo again.  Today's is courtesy of the fitting rooms at Zara, and was actually taken a few days ago, but it's better than nothing (or not, but if I ruled out grainy selfies I'd never have any photos of what I wear and I'm much too narcissistic to do that).  Fingers crossed my imminent move back to London will mean access to better lighting and/or full length mirrors. In the meantime, I quite liked this particular combination- I had grown bored of skater skirts in general, but with my new shoes, the shape seemed fresh again somehow.  Shame the shoes completely crippled me- fingers crossed they'll soften with time...

New

Just thought I'd share a few bits bought mainly in the dregs of the sales in the last few weeks.  They manage to quite nicely sum up my current obsessions of pointy, 60s style shoes, delicate jewellery and lace everything. 

Topshop A/W '13

Recently, during one of my daily trawls of Topshop's new-in section, I wondered if I hadn't maybe outgrown the brand, as none of their offerings tend to particularly catch my eye anymore.  For most of my post-teenage life, an embarassing percentage of my wardrobe came from the the high street stalwart, but in the past year or so, most of what I've bought has ended up being either sent back, or worn a few times and sold on ebay.  So, following on from my coat lust, I've just spotted the newest Topshop lookbook on Caroline's Mode and they've manage to completely win me over again.  I particularly love the shearling (?) coat, which might have just pipped the navy peacoat to the top of my wishlist. 

Too Soon?

 

Buy here

So I seem to have found my winter coat.  It popped up on Topshop's new-in page, and suddenly I became convinced a peacoat is the answer to my cold-weather (sartorial) problems.  I had a similar one when I was about 13, which had originally been my father's and was therefore ridiculously oversized on me.  I loved it though, and it fitted in perfectly with my grunge-era wardrobe of lace-up bovver boots and loose smock dresses.  This time round though, I fancy wearing it with skater skirts, ankle boots and slouchy jumpers- an homage to the schoolgirl style I eschewed as an actual schoolgirl.  I'm not entirely convinced it's not much too soon to be looking at winter woollies, but last winter, I ended up selling my older coats and was left with only a navy oversized boyfriend style I randomly bought from Primark in the autumn.  This year, I thought it would be nice to actually put some thought into what I buy, so it surely can't hurt to start dreaming of coats and jumpers in July. Normally, I tend to avoid buying things this far in advance, and can't bring myself to go bikini shopping (for example) before it's actually beach weather.  This year though, summer came late, which means that by the time I actually wanted to buy warm weather clothes, they were all in the sale and looking decidedly less tempting.  Therefore, I've decided there is absolutely no point in summer fashion and am skipping straight to next season.  Especially as I've just come back from two weeks spent by the sea, where I wore an outfit that did not consist of a bikini and flip flops exactly once.  And it was lovely.  So I'll continue to muddle through with my collection of beach cover-ups and denim shorts (fine, and a few actual clothes and sandals) until the temperatures drop and I can revive my interest in fashion.  In the meantime, I'll be working on my autumn/winter wishlist.  Next up, the perfect block-heeled chelsea boots and a pair of monk-strap brogues...

Continuing on from my last post, a couple more oufits featuring things I've either had forever, or have bought secondhand off ebay.  For the first time in ages though, I'm actually quite pleased with my wardrobe and don't just want to burn it all and start again, so clearly I've done something right.  And whilst everyone else is moaning about the lack of a summer thus far, I'm secretly quite pleased that the low (for Greece) temperatures mean I can wear things like long sleeves and closed shoes for a while longer.  

blazer- Primark (ancient), top- Topshop via ebay, skirt- Zara circa 2010, shoes- CB Made in Italy

dress- Topshop Boutique via ebay, shorts- diy, shoes- Chloe via ebay

I was going to post a few photos of recent outfits here and I realised that, even as infrequently as I take outfit photos, I'm still wearing things that I've previously worn- a lot.  And I think that's quite symbolic of my style, and finally feeling comfortable in my own skin.  I've spent a long time collecting inspiration photos of girls who look nothing like me, wearing things I never would.  Wondering if I shouldn't try things that were more quirky/colourful/trendy.  But none of that is quite "me".  So I'm coming to terms with the fact that I like quite simple, classic things.  That I don't really wear patterns.  That I feel most comfortable in non-colours like black, grey and navy.  Some of my favourite items of clothing were bought 3 or 4 years ago, most frequently the only item of jewellery I'll be wearing is a pair of gold hoops I bought ages ago on ebay for 99p.  This all coincided with reading this post by Garance Dore, about buying fewer things that you absolutely love rather than lots of things you're meh about.  It's something I've been attempting to do lately, often by filling my basket on various sites and then closing down the browser window.  Anything I'm still thinking about hours, or even days, later is worth actually clicking home.  So far I've bought nothing (bar a few ebay bargains which, as previously mentioned, seem to be my favourite sort of shopping at the moment).  But I'm re-learning to appreciate what I already own, and trying to find new ways to mix individual items together.  

Last year's Pull and Bear top and Surface to Air shoes with Zara trousers bought in the sale 3 years ago for £15.

Chloe sandals and Topshop jacket- both via ebay, leather shorts- Very by Vero Moda

Zara lace top, Primark jeans, Beau Coops boots circa 2010

And something that is a new purchase- the perfect pastel yellow nail varnish by Korres.  I've been wanting, and failing to find, this precise shade for literally years, so I'm so pleased this has come out: