A Day In The Country

Boy, it's cold... But, when you gotta go, you gotta go. Visiting friends well out of town does require a bit of commitment and a dash of waddling in mud. The upside is, it's not particularly difficult when it comes to answering the question of what to wear.

Dress or skirt? Out. Which leaves jeans or leggings. Heels? Out. Anything delicate or prone to get ruined by mud? Out. That means wellies. Desperate to look stylish? Absolutely not. You don't want to feel too self-conscious among normal people, or stick out like a sore thumb when meeting friend's family. Problem solved. One more thing: wrap up warm.

The alphabet print jeans seemed a perfect and decent nod to the printed trousers trend, the fine poloneck is just cute and simple, the softest cable knit socks provide the much-needed warmth, and the Hunters - well, they are the essentials, after all, when in Glasto...

When short, fancy or smart cover-ups are not an option, you'd better find something cute and warm to fit the bill. The feather-light, nicely sculpted A-line quilted duffle coat was a pleasant surprise - much warmer than I thought it would be, so one extra layer between that and the poloneck is enough to keep out the cold. My extra layer was a fitted velvet blazer, just in case.

Jeans: Asos, ribbed sleeve poloneck: River Island, knitted socks: Promod,
wellies: Hunter (Regent), quilted duffle coat: New Look

Sweet Surrender

As mentioned in this catwalk report, I was inspired to switch back to blogging mode by a single still image from the Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti show packed with pastel candy colours (click here for flash report and pics) to throw on a few pieces shiny and new, trashy and plain, retro and vintage - you will easily tell which is which.



One thing is for certain,  I dare not call this experiment a re-creation of looks from Alberta's collection. This is merely an homage to all things 1960s sweet and cute, lying untouched for years and years in our wardrobes, still impossible to part with. At first, I was only going to show you the blue dress for fun, but ended up snapping a few more to home test the basic Philosophy concept for autumn/winter and style a couple of outfits in pastels. Very nearly all a big no-no in real life for this tomboy.

The verdict: the simplest things with a great cut and a near-perfect fit just work, no matter what. The rest - too big, too creased, too forced, wrong length, will not. A no-brainer, then, for today. OK, here's one: don't fear sweetness. The devil is not in pastels and too-cute cuts, but in ill-fitting pieces, and in your head.

P.S. I do appear to like sporting two bags at a time.

dress and tie/belt, worn as headband: vintage, top: Promod, mocha tights: Dorothy Perkins,
shoes: New Look, sunglasses: C&A, lady bags: vintage

textured fabric, 1960s

structured dress: River Island, shoes: Mango, coat: C&A

skirt: Terranova, lemon knitted top: 1970s, knitted dress: charity shop, nude platforms: Mango,
gold jive t-bars: Topshop, stone tights: Dorothy Perkins

Simply does it

The latest addition to my collection of dresses has been screaming non stop for an outing since I got it. Apparently, today was the day.

We spent the afternoon of my dearest's birthday wandering about town in the sunshine, visiting fave record stores, and grabbing a quick bite. We picked up a mountain of cakes (see far below) in the best confectionery, then headed back home with the loot.

What better way to celebrate a special date than with a bit of day glam? I skipped on the make-up and popped on the sunnies instead.

The photos don't do the dress justice, but the base colour is antique beige, with a triple stripe print in terracotta, mocha and navy, and the skirt has double pleats.

The dress is mostly 1940s inspired (a reminder of classic tea dresses and shirt dresses), with a touch of 1950s (when sleeveless was more common, but the skirt is definitely not as full), and I remember my aunties wearing similar midi-length ones in the early 1980s too.

Now, when wearing a statement dress, adding just about any jewellery is risky business, but if you have any good ideas in that department, let me know. A fine owl necklace maybe... next time.

Here's how I styled the dress today:

Belted dress: Pull & Bear, shoes: Faith, bag: Promod, sunglasses: Zara

1. SHOES: 1970S RETRO

I love retro and platform shoes, but haven't been very lucky to find really good ones out there for myself. These 1970s style beauties, however, are sort of perfect, in navy suede and leather, with chunky heels, so you I can tell they will be out and about a lot in the next few months. This time, I was sure I wanted platforms, but any fine wedge shoes or sandals will do the job.

Shoes: Faith

2. BAG: BOHO SHOPPER

Since today I needed stuff to carry around, I chose an embroidered shopper in navy, with choc brown braided leather handles for a bit of 1970s hippy chic, but classic or coloured satchels are the perfect alternative, especially in smaller sizes.

Shopper: Promod

3. COVER-UP: A FITTED CARDI

I put this camel cardi in the shopper for the way home, in another nod to the 1940s/1950s housewife feel of the dress. And why not? We have lived to see the time when it's OK to do double denim, so I say it should be just as fine to work double retro.

Dress and shoes, as before. Cardi: Mexx.

And now for the birthday feast!