Kate Spade

A and I went to have a peek around the new Covent Garden Kate Spade shop last week and we liked what we saw. I described it as “a bit like LK Bennett”, which isn’t going to set any hearts alight. But it’s much more cute and brightly-coloured than that – I think the London shop has had a more brutal edit than the US ones because the website reveals that the brand can be quite twee while Covent Garden’s stationary hit buttons on the whole scale from Smythson to Paperchase. It definitely hit my Glamour-reading funny bone as well with its many, many bows. I love a bow, and would have fallen ravenously on the handbag above if not for the hefty for the high-street price tag. And we LOVED the shop design, although the girl was right there so I was too shy to photograph anything. I know, I’m a bit of a crap blogger.

Intrinsically Florrie was a bit braver than us and photographed a lot of the shop but tragically missed out the best bit: the amazing cerulean corner with the perfect mid-century desk with sparkly shoes under it. It was the home workspace of our dreams and we have literally since been exchanging messages about what we would keep on it. I would keep a glass of milk on it. And the glass would magically refill when I’d drunk it all! And on the top would be the manuscript of the book I have written in Perfect World. It’s called something like “S Disconap: How I Achieved Lots of Respect in My Chosen Field and Made Everyone Like Me”.

I just checked and this stationary appears to come in every letter except…A. In your face blogbff!

Salut,

Back to school

It’s September and that means new stationary and things for “turning over a new leaf” (I wasn’t a model student at actual school and got asked to do this a lot). There is so much I would buy this season if only I had the money, so I’ll have to look at these bits and pieces and dream. Cos seriously needs to start doing a student discount AMIRITE.

For work and uni:

For chilling at home, minus the jacket and shoes and plus a blanket and a laptop (like right now):

I have a skirt a bit like this and it gets a lot of wear despite having a really small waistband - I got it from a charity shop. If I had a version that actually fit me I would probably wear it every day.

Or I could go for something a bit different like this high-waisted bow skirt.  I do adore a colourful, prim look but always fall at the last hurdle of scruffbagness. I would need a blouse to go with this as I am dyed in the wool t-shirt person.

Between scruffbagness and Topshop’s student discount, this looking like a favourite to enter my wardrobe. It’s grey jumper CHECK. It has French writing on it CHECK. If I lose my voice while visiting my boyfriend’s family I can just point at my jumper instead.

I’m pretty miffed to discover the shoes I was planning to save up for at F-troupe are already sold out. And that they are a bit more expensive than I thought, at £99.00. So I’m actually wavering over the issue of loafers, a place I never thought I would go. I need flat shoes and the grandmother chic going around looks really tempting to me. I wouldn’t even be wearing them ironically, it would be as a testament to grandmas, a category of person loved by all, especially me. Sometime I wish I could skip being a parent and go straight to being a grandma.

S

Tie a bow on it

Tying a bow on it makes it better.

Usually.

S

Something old, something new

I’ m not into mindless consumerism, but I’ve been broke for a long time and things are getting ridiculous. Yesterday I went and bought a sorely-needed cardigan and found myself considering haggling with Zara. A visit to Le Grand Topshop revealed lots of pretty things but parting with money for clothes that are already coming apart at the seams aggrieved me too much. I did buy a maxi skirt (I think they look cool again) and a lovely hairband so it wasn’t a total bust.

But after reading this post “Bad New” at favourite new blog No Signposts in the Sea, I really want to buy things I can pass down. I went out the other night and like this blogger, realised a lot of what I was wearing was vintage, inherited from my grandmas: an embroidered clutch bag, a jacket, a Russian scarf and most of my jewellery.

So, it’s not really possible with my money as it is but I’d love to replace these beloved items from my wardrobe that are no longer what they were. The bow shoes above from Topshop and these Shelleys ballet flats that are way past the point of acceptably mangled, I would replace with Ferragamo Varina flats:

This is a very beloved jacket but it’s now too small. Strangely, I found that a sequinned jacket is quite useful for putting over stuff as metallics go with everything; zebra print perhaps not so much. I bought this about five years ago and it was considered a bit weird at the time but now sequinned shoulders are everywhere. I have no idea why someone would name their label S’nob.

This jacket would get replaced with a lovely quilted flowery jacket from Rebecca Taylor. I am over my magpie phase but I still want things to be pretty and not sportswear inspired. Crucially, it also needs to button up: while looking for jackets I found some that don’t do up as a design feature but, calling from the real world designers, jackets need to do this.

More quilting on my only leather bag, from Accessorize, the one I take to interviews:

But I can’t anymore because it’s destroyed and the handles are hanging by a thread:

There is only one handbag designer for me and that is Miu Miu. In Opposite World, I will replace the above bag with its classier sibling, which will presumably last a little longer:

And finally, one of my most loved items: a lace dress that I bought from Joy about 4 years ago. It has done its utmost to survive but now looks very worn and ropey – I have started wearing  it as a nightdress because it can’t really go out anymore but even that application is beginning to not really work as the straps are broken. It may find new life as a skirt if I can get my sewing act together.

I did find a very good look-a-like in Topshop yesterday and spent a long time staring at myself in the changing room mirror trying to decide whether to buy it or not. A few years ago, I would have spent that £35 in a flash (although it’s only £30 on the website. But a big part of me looked at the already fraying synthetic lace and thought “who made that? Why does it already look like it’s falling apart? Why does it cost £35 when it’s so transparently poorly manufactured?” It just wasn’t worth it – I’d rather wait (around 20 years is my guess) and get the dream Stella McCartney version or chance upon a good replacement in a vintage shop.

S

Rodarte for Target

I don’t usually pay attention to collaborations that occur only in America but this one does seem a bit special. Rodarte aren’t so mainstream that you can already find decent copies of their stuff on the high street, and this picture that I spotted on Nitrolicious, leaked by a naughty fashion editor, looks like my wispy, Victoriana-style dream come true. I think this is what I want to be wearing in the autumn.

I may therefore have to construct myself a version of this, which hopefully I can do at least as well as what is basically Tescos, correct? A slip sourced from a vintage shop or from M&S (Elle recommends www.slipland.com if you can see past the dodgy website design and find something not too nylony), a very sheer dress or top, and some bows (ribbon from John Lewis).

No, it probably won’t be as good. But I don’t think I can do Ladylike or Biker Chick or whatever the trends are this autumn (they’re always the same anyway, except now there is The Eighties as well). This will also be considerably easier than the Mad Men look I have been daydreaming about, because I’ll always prefer an extra half an hour in bed in the morning.

S

House of Fraser

I generally do not go in House of Fraser unless it is to seek out the Benefit counter, partly due to a brief but traumatic experience working there. I was vaguely aware it sold brands and I think I went into the one on Oxford Street looking for Elle McPherson lingerie a while ago but in the main I give very little thought to HoF.

But with some time on my hands yesterday before meeting friends I went and had a look around the one at Bank and Monument and it turned out to be awesome! It must be new because it is small but perfectly formed, with a sort of art deco vibe. I scooted round the beauty hall and will have to come back for some supplies that ran out while I was jobless, but the best bit was a really excellent clothes department, which basically comprised the obvious Coast and Oasis sections as well as designer bags from Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Anya Hindmarch and Mulberry, and then a D&G, See by Chloe, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Day Birger and Mikkelson section. Joy! Just my level, especially if they have a sale… Shoes came courtesy of Kurt Geiger and French Connection.

I now have a little shopping list of things that I shall enjoy buying in this mini-HoF, which was the perfect amount of busy, i.e. just enough people to distract the perfume ladies but not heaving.

• Benefit Coralista blusher
• Lancome Adaptive foundation
• Black bow sandals from KG
• Yellow ultra-padded wooden heels from French Connection (I need a manicure before I can enjoy wearing either of these new sets of shoes)
• And this perfect white summer dress from Day Birger, which fulfils all my frolicking in the pastures dreams. When you see it in real life, it is that perfect white cotton dress.

S

p.s. I have not been able to find a picture of the bow sandals so this is my MS Paint interpretation for you.

 

Gareth Roberts – The Show

A friend of a friend pointed me in the direction of Gareth Roberts who is a Central St Martins graduate from this year. And I love these looks from his graduate show. It ticks so many of my boxes – metallics, blue, bows. 

This is my absolute favourite – the sequin trousers win it for me:

 

And I’d love to go to the office this glitzed up:

 

These trousers capture a number of trends in a luxe way – sequins and harem and ankle, all in one:

 

And last, but not least, I love the trousers & bows combo:

 

Have a look here for more shots from Gareth’s show. A.