Pink Wonderland

This photo from Pink Sweater shoot which I stumbled upon on the Wonderland site made me realise that my wardrobe is still entirely lacking in pink and that I clearly need to do something to rectify this.  I'm thinking the perfectly fluffy mohair jumper I've been lusting after from Cos might just do the trick...  

Portamento

One thing I find sorely lacking in UK/European fashion is mid-range independent designers.  Even fledgling designers just starting out seem to be completely out of my budget, and the gap between the high street and proper designer is increasingly being filled by brands like Whistles and Cos, which isn't terribly inspiring if you want something that can't be found on every single high street. I'm a bit rubbish about actually visiting many of the independent boutiques I admire, especially the ones based in deepest East London, which would appear to be most of them.  So I'm always happy to stumble upon websites that introduce me to brands and designers I wouldn't have otherwise known about.  A while back, I posted a pair of Chelsea boots by Portamento, available at Swanfield Boutique, which in itself is probably worthy of a separate post.  My hunt for the perfect Chelsea boots is still very much on, after an ebay disappointment, so I was contemplating whether I shouldn't give that particular pair a try after all and I ended up searching out the brand's website.  And I fell a tiny bit in love.  

Prices range from £29, for the espadrilles I wish I had been aware of this past summer, to £189 for the black Chelsea boots.  They do a wide range of styles, including a lot that are far more girly than any of the ones I've posted, but at the moment all I want is classic, men's styles.  According to their website, Portamento is run by a couple based in Hackney, and is "a gallery of art, contemporary fashion and unusual objects in an eclectic mix resembling the world of the owners."  They don't seem to have a physical shop, which is a shame, but I'm incredibly tempted to order at least one pair...

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...

& Other Stories (again)

I blogged about the latest addition to the H&M family before they opened at the beginning of the year, but like their sister chains Monki and Cos, I've tried to avoid looking at their collections too much as I didn't actually have access to a branch in person and they limit online shopping to a handful of countries.  Now that I'll actually be able to potentially shop there though, I had a quick browse and compiled a mini-wishlist.  

Leather Shoulder Bag

Claire Judge silk playsuit

Leather brogue boots

The bag is potentially the perfect black everyday bag to replace my knackered Zara one, the playsuit is the sort of silky, indulgent loungewear I always aspire to but never manage to actually own, and the boots could be a good compromise between clompy army boots and mannish brogues.  I'm also completely obsessed with their collection of nail varnish, which has names like Moire Green and Shoddy Pink.

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. 

Pink (again)

I thought my pink obsession had subsided somewhere over the course of the summer, as suddenly as it came on last spring. Even the flood of it in every hue imaginable in magazine editorials had left me indifferent, as I thought I was once more safely ensconced in my navy/grey/black bubble. And then I came across the above image on tumblr and decided that what I actually reallyreally want is a coat the exact colour and texture of candy floss. In addition, obviously, to all the other coats I've posted this season.  I think my autumn/winter wardrobe will mainly consist of lots of outerwear and nothing to wear under . Makes a change from a rubbish coat I don't much care for covering up the carefully planned outfit underneath...

Style Crush: Lolita Jacobs

I originally stumbled upon Parisian style consultant Lolita Jacobs on Vanessa Jackman's blog, and a quick google search revealed that she was the impossibly chic Frenchie I had seen photographed (multiple times) ages ago by Garance Dore.  I rather love her palette of navy and black, and her feminine take on androgeny.