Glam Rock

This weekend, we headed out to catch the latest creepy thing of a movie in the beautiful spring sunshine. I decided to pull together a light, relaxed outfit based on a pair of striped glam coloured jeans by River Island, one that would look sufficiently springy but feel warm enough in the cool breeze while I'm outside.

One look at me, and my friends asked whether we were going to a rock concert - which made me rather proud of the non-fashion darlings. It's no bad thing to provoke some reaction, especially the right reaction... it's all in the education. 

But those who react to one's outfit also inspire the stylist. So, in addition to the relaxed look for the trip to the movies, I tested a few more options I would have if I were actually going to a gig or a spring festival. 

Jeans: River Island, leather brogues: New Look, sparkly cat motif tee:
Zara (TRF), stripe snood: River Island, leather blazer: Mango, brogues: New Look

Jeans: River Island, top: Kate Moss for Topshop, Trilby: H&M, leather brogues: New Look 

Plain silk vest: Hennes collection, printed silk top: Gap, cropped velvet military
jacket: New Look, necklace: Pull & Bear, scarf (worn on wrist): vintage

Celebrate Spring

For the 23th outfit post published on 23rd March, I felt I had no choice but to don a pair of bold floral print jeans and leap fearlessly into spring. Right. That decided, I realised that falling hopelessly for these wild things didn't mean I had the faintest idea of how I was going to make them work.

True, when in doubt, you can always go for that plain white tee or the steel blue racer back basic vest that goes so well with your eyes... or, you could skip the whole problem by covering up with a cropped trench coat, a pastel leather jacket, or a bleached denim biker.

But honestly, where's the fun in that? Where's the now in that? If you're going to buy into current big and bold trends, do it for love. And then, embrace those trends in full, in all their now-ness. There really is no way around it.

When a print you love is just loud, the looks you put together should not pretend otherwise. You can't mute it with anything plain anyway. To make your outfits right for now, you'll need more print. A bit like the way Mexicans (never too shy about their prints either) like to 'neutralise'  the hotness of spices in their meal with extra salt.

And the best part? You only need to dig in your closet for old tops (and shoes) of different styles and colours, preferably with some print on all of them. As a result, even if you take inspiration from others, your final looks will be individual. Here's my edit of what I found lying around - love how the feel changes with each print combo. 

I've dubbed the looks 'graphic', 'sweet', 'festival' and, considering the full bodycon-meets-matchy-meets-overly-clean effect, 'footballer's wife'. Too late now, but I think my lavender Mulberry Blenheim bag should have completed this last fashion victim look. Anyways, now it's your turn to pack a punch.

Graphic. Jeans: River Island (worn throughout), leather chelsea boots: New Look, navy stripe top and
owl necklace: Dorothy Perkins. Sunnies (above): Retro.
Sweet. Top: vintage, belt: Pull & Bear, leather ballerinas from Greece 

Cotton top and parka: H&M, leather boots: Sebastiano 

Knitted top: Women'secret, belt: charity shop, leather pouch: vintage, tweed and suede dogtooth stilettos: Alberto Zago, suede peacoat: C&A, belt on coat: Pull & Bear, suede and leather platform sandals: Zara

Stuff I Get Away With: Denim Shorts

I've had these black metallic weave denim shorts by Zara for quite a while, but I can't remember being out and about in them at all. So, one of the still half-chilly mornings I thought, what better way to wake that rebel spirit than a bit of smartness injected right into its opposite, as usual.

This season, jumpers are key, whether smart like this fine-knit thing by H&M, or the kind of sweat top with some huge cartoon character or animal motif, try and work them - or, as in my case, re-work them - into your wardrobe.

This shorts-and-jumper combo looks its best with a printed shirt and tights. For some reason, plain pieces just don't seem to mould into the right outfit these days...

Finally, the more legs you show, the more self-conscious you tend to be wearing heels, so I suggest flats or your lowest block heels for an easy, natural look. Here I'm wearing velvet Anglomania-style flat ankle boots to increase the fun factor, but simple knee-high pull-ons, lace-ups, calf-length boots or something very plain combined with knee (or over-the-knee) socks should work just as well with shorts.

p.s. I got away fine with this outfit but won't be pushing my luck...

Jumper and shirt: H&M, shorts: Zara (TRF), tights: New Look, boots: Shellys

In The Navy

In love with navy dresses, much? Definitely. Navy blue is supposed to suit blondes, and it's also the (not so) new black. Sure enough, every colour of the moment is labelled as the new black, but navy is more than just that. Maybe I should have said 'the other black' - a permanent, richer, deeper, more radiant alternative.

I got so hooked this last season that I filled my wardrobe with these dresses - the little lace number in the last post, then these three, plus a couple more.

The three I'm showing you today, to share the love, are perfect for transitional daywear.

Neat and easy, all that needs to go on top is your favourite peacoat, trench style coat, suede or leather biker or bomber. And simple black leather footwear.

First up is Miss Selfridge's petite military shirt dress, then an Alexa-style bodycon dress by River Island with lace collar and cuffs, and last, but not least, the uber-sleek and structured 1960s one with leather pockets from Asos.

Dress: Miss Selfridge, boots: Mango, belt: from a Dorothy Perkins summer dress,
shearling biker: Topshop 

Dress: River Island, shoes: Topshop, leather bomber: Mango
faux shearling collar: Asos 

Dress and platforms: Asos 

Give Lace A Chance

I never thought  I would ever wear anything you could remotely classify as a bodycon dress, let alone a lace bodycon dress. I looked on all-over lace dresses as in-your-face and try-hard, for girls who want to be ladylike and sexy, thinking they are being subtle about it.

Still, a certain Erdem dress in navy lace with a nude underlay caught my eye sometime in the last warm season. Somehow, it seemed simpler and just a bit edgier than any other lace dress, almost a natural choice, to wear instead of a shift dress or a LBD. It got me wondering... So, when I saw this petite exclusive dress on asos.com, I thought it was time to give lace a chance and see what happens.

I kept it simple, as usual. First, to enhance the spring/summer feel of freshness, I chose chunky-heeled but still delicate nude leather platforms - they don't distract from the general colourway, and do a bit of leg-lengthening as a plus. To accessorise, a suede clutch bag seemed just appropriate (instead of black, you could go for nude or pearl grey or some other colour, as long as it's a classic style and about this size). The only piece of jewellery I'm wearing is a fine gold bracelet, but a really delicate gold necklace with a tiny locket or  something along that line should look right too.

Next, since I really liked the dress on (it's not too tight or clingy as I thought it might be), I knew I wanted to give it a go at work, hence the second outfit. Here, I added black opaque tights to avoid having to explain I'm in fact not naked underneath the dress; a pair of this winter's staple ankle boots, and a navy velvet blazer for a boxier look and the extra warmth.

Dress: ASOS, nude platforms: Mango, boots: ASOS, suede clutch: Mum's stuff
from the early 1980s, velvet blazer: Zara

Happy Anniversary

They won't stop me. Neither the long day at work, nor the long evening with family and friends. Or sleep deprivation. Or a sore throat. I want to celebrate the second anniversary of GreyCatte's Book Of Style, and the second birthday of GreyCatte as a blogger.

The start of the second year was perfect - I had all the time in the world for about two months - from late winter well into spring - to dedicate to this brainchild. Now, as another year ends, I have all but missed London Fashion Week. This must change. And so it will.

The last outfit I wore and took a few snaps of too was this one, a cute and comfy dress in navy and toffee by Miss Selfridge. It's very 1970s, but in a simple and clean way, giving me the chance to subtly complement it with some winter platforms, then go a bit overboard with a floppy hat.

I have the same boots, the Dr. Martens Darcie, in tan as well, but the black embossed ones, with black tights, were the ones that felt right. But that's OK - the mock croc rich brown classic shoulder bag manages to push it back a bit towards paired-back OTT.

Dress: Miss Selfridge, boots: Dr. Martens, hat: New Look,
bag: TK Maxx

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