Beautiful Suiting

Having just been promoted at work, I've got quite into Power Dressing... Having never been a fan of black, I'm now in love with it for its air of professional cool and power.

This new M&S dress is my new favourite... Flattering, appropriate, and washable! The holy grail of work dresses!

Though I am now partial to a bit of black, you can't do without colour... And what is more Colourful than a berry red wool suit?!?!

The skirt especially is easy to wear, warm and incredibly nice on. The wool doesn't crease, and the lining doesn't get staticky with opaques!

And the footwear?

How about some gorgeous black suede heels, with cute triangular straps?

I'm such a twenty-something middle-ager, but I'm ADORING M&S this season! =D =D =D 

Xxxc

Getting Back In The Swing

As mentioned in my last post, the camera's back, if not quite up to previous standards of photography...

It's been so warm lately, my outfits are swinging from spring to summer and back again on the occassional day of rain. Summery thingshave been sorely lacking in my Cambridge wardrobe since the whole "grown-up life" began, so starting to collect some flimsy things to wear in the warmer weather, so my few bits from my "previous" (i.e. unencumbered by work dress codes) life aren't worn out!

 

PLEASE excuse the moody expression... I'd just got the camera working, and tried so many times to get it to capture my new *bright* dress, but it was refusing to play ball. Trust the only remotely decent photo to be of me looking Massively Grumpy!!! Also, sorry for lack of anything other than dress.  (I'll probably try some different belt options with this soon.) Haven't quite worked out where to pose yet! The dress is actually a size 20 tunic top with ties that you can use to pull in the "dress" massively at the back... I got it, as usual, from a charity shop. We have a massive East Anglia Childrens' Hospice shop next to our local coop. Yay Saturday charity-plus-grocery shopping!!! =D

And here we have a slightly different outfit... My work outfit from the other day! After days of blindingly-hot sunniness, we woke up to gray, and threatening rain this morning. So I paired a knit tank with a long skirt. Under my lovely warm coat and black cashmere cardie it was warm enough (if slightly nippy) to walk to work in, and cool enough to keep me from sweating buckets / keeling over / getting a migraine in our boiling-whatever-the-weather office!

 

I wasn't expecting this outfit to garner much attention, but it got several favourable comments today! Odd what people love! I wasn't sure if the length of the skirt plus the high neck was a bit matronly, but I think the bare legs and the high high black suede-and-snake pumps lifted it out of the no-go area into rather a nice outfit! (If I do say so myself.) The components are a John Smedley black knit tank, M&S via Oxfam charity shop floral skirt and Jaeger enamel buckle criss-cross leather belt, plus old Kate Kuba shoes (not pictured).

Apologies for the bare feet. My left foot looks a bit mottled, and my right foot has disappeared completely into the duvet / mattress quicksand! Trust me, I was wearing hot shoes, but I kicked them off as my right foot got a bit chewed up on the 50 minute (there and back) walk, so I was eager to get them off once I was in the house, and didn't want to wear them to jump on our clean duvet! I think for the moment this will be my pose of choice, so shoes might not feature very often... Oops.

How's everyone else doing with the can't-make-its-mind-up weather?

Xxxc

Resurrection Mark Ten Zillion

It's once again been a while since I touched this blog, and every time I get pulled back to it I wonder why I left it, whether I'll really be able to get going again, whether I really want to... But this blog has kept me going through some rough patches, and I just can't seem to let go of it.

So today, I'm turning over a new leaf. As I said, it's been a while, and quite a bit has changed. I'm no longer a student, no longer struggling to get through a depressive fog day to day, and I'm happily settled in a relationship, house, job etc.

My wardrobe has, I must admit, changed focus...

My weekend clothes are mostly the old favourites: a couple of Etsy and charity shop dress finds, an old pair of far too big jeans, some moth-bitten jumpers. All things I find comfort in. Because now weekends are about running around, doing errands, and spending time relaxing. Mainly as I'm still living in Cambridge, but a little further out than I used to be. Thus, I wander around the house with a book, while one of the boys builds something in the back garden, and the other programmes some "useful" thing on their laptop. Ah life.

My sartorial comfort zone now lies in my work wear. Having never before been chic and pared down, I have moved a little more into my mother's style of dressing. Simple jumpers with smart trousers, plus a few silky, smart dresses which share a teensy whisper of my previous life with my new one...

I have been converted to a well cut pair of trousers, and have three pairs from Jaeger on endless cycle. I definitely need more. Jaeger trousers always fit me, and are always the right length... Yum.

And I have become obsessed by knitwear. Particularly, John Smedley Geranium scoop neck sweaters and N Peal cashmere V necks which I have been scooping up at Cocosa's rather excellent sale prices. (John Smedley stuff is currently on sale on Brand Alley, but I hate their delivery policies - it takes far, far too long, so I'm passing on the "vibrant pink" jumper... Sob!)

Oh, and then there's my irrational, crazy, head-over-heels crush in the rather lovely oversized Stine Goya oversized grey jumper that I know, unfortunately, that I'll never own, no matter how long I yearn... Sad times. Seriously though... HOW HOT IS THIS ENSEMBLE?!?!?!

And then, there is my winter coat... It is my belief that an awesome winter coat is the foundation of a good day at work. Walking along in the morning, striding out against the biting wind, my coat protects me, it shelters me, and, catching a glimpse of myself in the window of the shops I pass, it surrounds me in a slightly princessy, slightly businesslike, slightly mysterious cocoon of mink softness... Paul Costelloe is the make, bought a few years ago in a sale in Peter Jones, the King's Road branch of John Lewis. And I adore it. It's got cute details like the double rows of stitching and the bracelet cuffs. The lining is secure and silky, and it still looks beautiful despite a few winters' hard wear.

Last year, I flirted with a gorgeous furry thing, that still makes my heart beat just a little bit faster when I wear it out, but it's always this one I come back to for warmth and great lines when it's really getting chilly. So now, I'm thinking about the next one. Paul Costelloe has made a couple of my mother's winter coats, so I now they last and keep their fit as she's had both of hers for years. So now I'm coveting one of their long riding coats like this one... (Though I have to say, on both John Lewis and House of Fraser's websites, they look really scruffy and crumpled! Ick.)

I guess I'll have to wait for the sales again though... Sigh.

Dumdumdeeedum... Skipping Along to Another LFW Show!!!

Short post this evening... Might be something to do with the huge lack of sleep I've been living on lately ( - I'm a massive insomniac - ) and also work being really quite hectic at the mo. Oh, and the lovely, and slightly expensive, very merry evening out I've had. Sigh.

Anyhoo... As you may have noticed if you read the lovely Claire's blog, The View From Here, we went to another fashion show on Monday evening.

Claire - Glam as ever...

Moi straight from work... I look like a small child hehe. (Take note of the velvet hair scrunchie... I am newly obsessed!!!) Wearing: vintage Escada wine silk shirt, Luella bag, Cheap Monday self-studded jeans, M&S sandals, Boots bordeaux velvet hair scrunchy.

It was the Maaike Mekking show at CAMP near Old Street - very East London, very too-cool-fash-un... Claire and I had a great time commenting incessantly on everyone's ensembles, and yumyumyumming at the red velvet cakes that were on offer. (Not so much at the wine though...)

The show, which annoyingly started almost an hour late, did present some rather cool clothes, the stand-out ones of which I attempted to get good photos of in poorly lit conditions on a poor camera. Like Claire, I felt that a lot of the clothes were let down by some rather shoddy modelling. If you're going to have non-professional models, then at least brief them on how to walk, the speed at which they should go, and that they should STOP at the end of the runway. I missed some photo ops on my favourite pieces because a couple of the girls moved far too fast and didn't even pause for breath at the end of the white carpet... Sigh.

However, I did appreciate several elements of this collection. Aside from the cupcakes, I rather liked the oriental details, the cut outs and the subtle definition of the girls' silhouettes behind both structured and loose clothes. The show was simple, but by having them walk against a wall, the shadows emphasised the free-flowing movement which made several of the pieces rather interesting. Saying that, one of my favourite pieces was a rather stiff white dress, so maybe I should just shush! ;-D

This floaty pleated trouser and white top with bra-as-outerwear thing going on was rather special and I was sad not to get a better shot... I think the collection, with it's muted but striking pallette and hints of lovely pattern-creativity was overall good. I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much as Saturday as the crowd was a bit too hip for little ol' me, and the lighting and models - annoying, niggling details - really put me off.

Adore this dress... Great brocade-esque details.

Scary China Doll look... Love the shirt though!

But maybe the cupcakes and the white dress, cute white shirt and pleated trousers may have been worth the adventure into East-London-Land for me...

Night All!

Xxxc

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down...

So I come home for the summer, and have to move out again in the space of two weeks...

Hmmmmm. Not ideal. Basically, our entire house is being rebuilt around us over the course of 5 months for reasons far too dull to go into, and all furniture / books / clothes etc that we don't use on a regular basis has to either be chucked or put into storage! Of course this was the plan, until my roof sprung a second leak, waking me up at 4am during the other morning's thunder storm... So now I am moving out, and into my old maths tutor's house ( - she's also one of my mum's best mates - ) for a while... Of course, this would be fine if my room wasn't Stuffed With Stuff, and we had more than 24 hours to do it.

Thus, all of this is why I might be a little lax on my posting every day rule for a while, but I'll do my best!

Anyway, life chat over with...

And onto some of the promised (for weeks) photos...

This post is dedicated to the finalists garden party, given by the Master of College in his gardens... Think Pimms and reminiscences and commiserations about how screwed we all are with the current economic climate haha. It was great fun actually, and I'm afraid it's a dress you've seen before ;-D - This wasn't a photoshoot in athe usual style, as obviously, T-B was taking photos of the event, not just me and my crazy outfits, but there were quite a few nice photos anyway!

- Oh yes, I'm just so serious... (And the old dude in the background is "The Master". Lovely guy.)

- Me sticking my tongue out in photos may be replacing the ubiquitous twirling ;-D

- How kwl is her dress?!?!

- The amazingly comfy, if slightly out of focus shoes, which cost me £15 quid in M&S and I wear ALL THE TIME! (Either those or the same ones in black which I also have :-D) - Oh, and evidence, that I don't iron my clothes hehe!

- The only full length shot... How serious do I look? ;-D


The outfit, elements of which have all been used before, was: Vintage handmade dress, M&S sandals, GAP shell pink cardigan and Vintage tooled leather bag, with my ToyWatch and BarryM purple nail polish.


So there you have it... Garden partay numero uno. Sorry it's taken me so long to post... I really do love this dress...


I'd had such a rushed morning before this, having overslept into a breakfast meeting, so I had to rush out in jeans and t-shirt and no make-up, knowing full well I had two garden parties later. Of course, I was late to both... And looked rather the ghost having just shoved on the first make up I could find, i.e. my going-out-foundation, and no blusher... (as I'd left it in T-B's kitchen cupboard. Don't ask!)

It seems weird to think that I've been gone from Cam for 2 weeks... It's also amazing how much one changes on starting work and settling back into big-city life. I'm much more routine-ised, and my style's subtly shifted; probably partly due to the environment I'm working in, but also because of how I'm feeling I guess... Up until yesterday, I had no idea what was going to happen when I've finished my internship in October. I was basically still waiting on an official decision from Cambridge's Business School as to whether I had been accepted onto their Management programme for 4th year. If not, I would have to get on applying for more internships and jobs in fashion PR and Marketing which is probably the career direction I'm going in...


And yesterday, the crisp white letter headed Judge Business School, University of Cambridge came in the post... And I've been accepted! So back to the 'Bridge in October. I am really excited, though I was quite ready to get on with "real" life... Scary eh!


Right. As usual this was supposed to be a short post, so I must be off!


Xxxc

Quick fantasy...

Short post today, honest! I'm trying to be on a shopping ban (and failing miserably, as I keep needing "essentials" like moisturiser and exfoliating gloves and new mascara... EPIC FAIL!) so am keeping myself happy with fantasy shopping... Like fantasy football, except more fulfilling methinks!

Creatures of Comfort, as ever, yields much inspiration... (Yes, I'm still yearning for *this* Bernard Willhelm dress...)

The PAM Zanbil Dayglo dress... For crazy moments when I want to run and jump and shout!

The PAM Geo Phantasm tank dress... Because sometimes it's going to be crazy warm and I'll still want to run and jump and shout in a crazy moment! 

The Sunshine and Shadow Purple Lights tank dress... For slightly more sober, probably at work, moments, when I need purple dashes in my life, but also need to be taken SERIOUSLY!

The Sunshine and Shadow Green Culottes... Because I haven't had a pair of culottes in ages, and want to feel like a Girl Guide again... ;-D

Each and every one is, of course, well out of my price range... But, hey, isn't that the fun of it??? ;-D

Until tomorrow!

Xxxc

I'm really awful.

I just ordered something from Rokit...

There's something about essays that makes me do something else... Like buying pretty accessories online.

It's a scarf that reminds me a great deal of the print from Marc Jacobs' Fall 09 stuff, and a studded bangle. Woop! I'll post when they arrive, but I suppose this gives me an excuse for some shameless MJ love. 

For me, this collection really was all about the colours... The shapes scream ladies of leisure, but the colours say otherwise... The use of velvets and silks is masterful, and I just love those pinstripe trousers (grey, blue and mustard - SIK!) and the 80s makeup!

Can I have some of those gold shoes please? Thank you very much. Oh and the grey cardie wouldn't go amiss either...

Teeheehee. Hopefully my scarf won't take forever! Cross fingers for me... Already got plans...

Xxxc

If I had a lot of money I would buy...

Surfing Net-a-Porter is a bad bad plan...

As is Browns... Slightly more on the expensive side too... While the Net-a-Porter items are all those which I could JUST justify the expense of, if and when I have the free cash. With Browns, however, only the first and last are REMOTE options... But don't you just LOVE the gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous MJ heart cutout bag? I'd sell my soul...

Xxxc

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

Ok, so it's been uber-uber-long since I posted properly, and there's probably noone left reading my inane ramblings, but hey... I am going try to start posting a bit more regularly as a) I need procrastination as 3rd years builds up the pressure and b) I need to get in the habit so I'm raring to go for my summer job, which is... 

*miniature fanfare*

WORKING AS A PRESS INTERN AT BROWNS!!! Yeek! The stores on S.Molton Street are AMAZING, and I love everything they stock, so here's to 10 weeks of excitement, working in Fashion PR! No idea yet what I'll wear, what I'll get to do etc. It's at the height of summer, so it'll probably be slow compared to fashion week season, but I think that might be good... Take it slow, be really enthusiastic and build up contacts! 

I don't really know if I want to work in fashion or arts when I graduate (2010 cross fingers) or if I want to go back to the archaeology post-management studies to do a masters and PhD... The latter is definitely what my DoS (Director of Studies) wants me to do, and I'm tempted, but this summer is definitely going to get me used to the idea of work, so I suppose we'll just have to wait and see!

My numero uno concern at the mo is having clothes suitable for my uber-stylish environment. I have no idea if I'll get any kind of store discount or what kind of price-point is going to be expected of me, but I'm thinking about slowly but surely building up my wardrobe which has gotten a little stale of late. Recession may be hanging over us all but I'm in a relatively good savings-position at the mo, and maybe I'll be able to do a bit of work over the coming months to prop my intern-expenses-only-salary up a bit... I've got a couple of shifts lined up at the theatre over the Easter break, and am stage managing a MAJOR May Ball in June for a hundred quid, so that's a start anyway. However, I'm also going on a chapel retreat in March and to Ghana for a couple of weeks in September, so I have to prepare for that too. Oh the joys of recession gloominess and no summer holiday payment prospects... I gave up my summer camp job for this internship, so bye bye easy money!

I am relatively happy, however, to just go slowly slowly. Ish. I have my Toy Watch that was bought last summer (though it needs a teeny repair if I can find the warranty...) and the Sonia Rykiel cardie I bought in the Browns sale shop on my way to interview. Those two items, I reckon, got me the job hehe. I got asked why I wanted to do the job and I explained about doing theatre costume, and the importance of clothing in building up any character that you want to present yourself as... The interview was quick, but I enjoyed it far more than my one other - politico - interview for summer stuff. Sigh. I suppose only time will tell where I end up, but hopefully this summer will be Fantabulous.

Today's naughtiness involved the buying of shoes from net-a-porter, which was BAD but OH SO GOOD... I couldn't bring myself to get them delivered in the black boxes. I'd be too embarrassed! I will post a pic when they arrive. I never know what size to go for, but I went for 39.5 which is my best guess. Knowing my luck, they'll be too small and when I try to exchange they won't have any 40s left. I will say that these shoes are flat, and therefore EXTREMELY naughty for me, little miss physio-tells-me-off-for-wearing-flats-as-my-ankles-are-wierd... Oh well. Time will tell if they're keepers!

Xxxc

P.s. I have some new topshop items - sale purchases of a ruffly light denim skirt and a "DANCE" Rainbow Brite blue tshirt... Love! Here I'm wearing them with my shell pink gap cardigan, generic gray tights and two tone converse. Don't I look happy!

Oh, and AA came up trumps for the first time ever with an orchid purple tri-blend tee. So wanting more tri-blend, and almost gave in today after seeing the black jumper on the stylish wanderer ... 

Woah. Uber-long post. Oops!

Office Dressing...

Well, after selling my soul for seventy quid a day, I find myself in a solicitors office in London, 'til it's back to Cam next week, twiddling my thumbs while I wait for someone to find me some photocopying to do. It's wierd to be in an environment where I have to do 'office dressing' - something I've never had to do in a big way. My everyday wardrobe is quite smart anyway, and the jobs I do tend to be either just requiring being presentable (working on a box office) or wearing comfy outdoor-able clothes (lifeguard, archaeologist, leader at summer camp). So... I bought two new pairs of TROUSERS - things I never really managed to buy (except for a pair of peg leg GAP men's ones in the sale a few years ago that I ADORE) - which go against my usual skirts bias... But after 3 days in the office, I find I LOVE them. They're warmer, easier to coordinate at 7.30am when I'm dazed from the earliness, comfy (yes, I get the horrible rubbing thighs thing that makes summer dressing a tad less easy) and I have to admit, make me feel amazing!



The first pair bought were the pair from Isabel Marant Etoile. Having put on a little weight since then (I had a job for 2 weeks which gave me too much extra money for food, so I bought dark chocolate, gluten free biccies and coconut rings every day for two weeks... yuk) they fit, but don't look amazing at the mo... Unlike pair number 2.



Having battled with trouser-buying before, and lost to the point where they just didn't figure on my fashion radar (except jeans, which I am currently weaning myself off...) I have made up my mind that since high street ones are often just so ill-fitting / made out of icky material (yes I'm a snob but I think trousers are the one item of clothing which really really show up such things), I will stick to high end stuff. Obviously not ludicrously expensive, but certainly investment pieces.



So along came my Diane Von Furstenburg high waisted, flared, woolen pieces of gorgeousness. Okay, so I have to wear heels with them (I may be tall, but my legs are stumpy compared to my wierdly long body), but they make me look, and feel amazing - which considering the steps backward with the weight gain, is GREAT! Hopefully, the fact they're on the tight side means I can re-lose this annoying stress-and-free-f00d-weight and they'll still be perfect! They're the trousers on the right in the left salt-and-pepper colour.

So, office dressing sorted. YAY!

About Face

In another turnaround from one of my earlier posts about my hatred of Topshop, I have, I must admit, ventured into the murky (to my mind) waters internet clothes shopping at Topshop.com - very late to the game! I had tried on a shaped black skirt with a red rose print on a few weeks ago at Selfridges, but refrained from buying due to being unsure and at the same time, making a purchase of too expensive office-wear trousers from the Isabelle Marant diffusion range (high waisted, navy wool, nautically inspired button up bib front, to die for!!!).

Since then, I've not really been near a Topshop store, but had been mooning over it online... A few days ago, my lust for the skirt, along with a grey jersey 'origami' skirt and two items used in the latest ad campaigns - a batgirl tee and a black and coloured metallic stripes structured puffy skirt, had caught me, hook, line and sinker. And since my four items of joy added up to the scary total that Topshop.com require for shipping it all free, I thought it must be fate! That and the fact that I can return things to the nearest Topshop store, rather than faffing about with postage, if they don't quite work!

They all arrived today... I excitedly ripped open the pleasantly polka-dotted package, and tried them all on. First was the 'origami sweat skirt' (not exactly the most pleasing of titles!). I have a bit of a love affair with grey going on in my wardrobe, but I must admit that this will not be added to the collection. In part, probably due to it being rather big, and on arrival was creased and not particularly good quality. I quite liked the front, but what made it interesting there made the back hang badly and though it wasn't expensive, I have too many clothes, and additions really have to work...

Then I tried on the rose print black skirt that had been the reason for my purchasing in the first place. I love the print as I did before, but I realised that my misgivings in the store were not misplaced. I just felt quite apathetic about it. It's nice an' all, but I don't know if it will fit perfectly into my wardrobe. However, I'm going to mull until I venture out to my local Topshop tomorrow, as I did think over the purchase, and I'm going to have to get a second opinion from the mothership...



In part, my willingness to return the rose print skirt is because while I'm not poor at this particular point in time, I had wanted to save up a bit post-summer jobs... I decided that the Batgirl tee would fit nicely into my wardrobe and fits my too long, kinda lumpy body well (also, my big boobs don't obscure the print - bonus!!!).



And I am growing to love the striped skirt... While on the surface, I am going to have to work hard to get it to fit my wardrobe, it really ticks my boxes for a going out skirt... Short, shiny, interesting shape (not puffed out as it seems on the ad pics, but slightly lantern shaped), sits high.



It was sold out on the website in all but my size and one bigger (it's now sold out completely), and I'm really glad I got it. It's in a slightly crumpled state, which shows a bit due to the stiff fabric, but I really like it! I'm planning on wearing it for my next dinner and cocktails out with the girlies with a forest green strappy top, black tights, black (and gold detail) suede ankle boots and a vintage red cropped suit jacket I rescued from a covering of dust in my mother's wardrobe... What do you think?

So... All in all, I have added to my Topshop stash! A skirt and a tee for definite, and poooooossibly, a second skirt. Though that will depend on mother's eye and how ruthless and thrifty I'm feeling pre-shops tomorrow!

Xxxc