Short skirts are great/not so great

It feels like spring all of a sudden. So when I went out today I popped on a short dress and a big cardigan and ankle boots and tights, not realising how much hassle this would result in literally from the minute I stepped out my front door. Best hassle of the day goes to the man who shouted “is that a GUCCI outfit?” at me ultra-loudly in the middle of the street. FYI: my outfit was not from Gucci so this man clearly had no taste, like all street harassers (I’m not one of those people who boasts about it as if it is a sign of my buffness). I am now on the lookout for ways to wear the short look without becoming alluring to pervs. Long blazer?

Seeing the sun today reminded me that a season other than winter exists and how soon it will be spring and then summer, oh joy. I am one of those people who spends most of the year shopping for things that I can only wear on the one week I am on holiday. Hence this little wish-list here.

YMC playsuit

Coolest swimsuit ever, Peter Jensen

 

Kurt Geiger sandals

S

Out and about in London Bridge

I was out and about in Borough Market yesterday afternoon, and as I have been terrible on the olde outfit posts (I always look wooden when I pose in any faux serious way), I thought I’d share a few of the afternoon’s delights with you.

First off to Konditor & Cook, bakers to the gods. And if the gods don’t exist then for a couple of minutes they were bakers to me which was just excellent. The cakes aren’t cheap but they are delightful so it felt good to spent my hard earned pennies in this delightful shop and on these delightful cakes.

I love how meringues look on the stand but I don’t actually like them very much. I spent a long time thinking about these biscuits before deciding on something else. There is no photographic evidence of that one – eaten much too fast.

The cake was bought and then next door to Monmouth Coffee Co. where everyone who is bohemian, and rich enough, not to have a demanding job hangs out. Apparently.

Cappucino for the lady

I’d like a job where I could hang out in that coffee shop all day and read books. Sadly, that is not going to happen anytime soon but here’s what I was wearing when I was living the dream yesterday.

TopDress donated by S, scarf from Accessorize, leggings & belt from H&M, bag from charity ship and shoes from Poetic Licence

That’s my attempt at posing for this picture. But here’s another stab, mostly because I felt chilled that it was all over.

What a lovely afternoon.

A

Signposts

Courtesy: Fashionologie.

• The gorgeous Chanel Autumn collection was shown on a boardwalk along the beach at dusk. I’ve just booked two weeks off for surfing and to go to Helsinki in July and this makes me think of how I will feel at dusk by the sea and by the lake. And how I will look of course.
• Actually, whenever I leave London I end up woefully underdressing because I think the countryside people will hate me if I turn up in my usual clothes. This is a completely irrational fear that is the product of watching too many films about an unlikely friendship between a stuck-up city girl and a down-to-earth country boy, and every time I turn up anywhere I just feel dowdy and miserable.  Instead I would like to look like this:

 

Courtesy: The Cherry Blossom Girl.

• Is there any outfit you could wear anywhere, with anyone, and still feel right? At work; at the pub; to meet Karl Lagerfeld; to meet Barack Obama; to sit in the park; to meet your boyfriend’s parents. I remember reading years ago that Kate Moss decided to go on holiday and all she packed was a gold bikini. This may well work for Mossy. I suspect A has packed considerably more than this for her current holiday. The Times says the statement dress is the “ultimate all-occasion frock”. If it’s made of jersey, I can only agree, The Times.
• However, this perfect jersey dress is currently eluding me. In my mind it is maxi-length, navy blue and has long sleeves. In real life this garment would probably require quite a lot of engineering and that’s probably why it hasn’t been produced by Asos or Topshop. Comes on M&S! I want something in return for championing you earlier.
• Bits and pieces: Fashion on Film in 2009, including Coco Avant Chanel, a documentary about Anna Wintour called The September Issue and Bruno.

Courtesy: The Guardian.

 S

Summer hair

I was comparing hair lengths with my friends on Saturday (this being the sort of thing girls do) and mine was neither trendily short nor beach-babe-ishly long. It was just in the middle. How can I make my hair more interesting? I have been harbouring thoughts of going blonder for some time and I know that I need to get it done professionally to get the right effect. I don’t want to be just any blonde, it needs to be just the right mix of LA yellow and Scandinavian white. I’ve found a picture of pretty much the most perfect blonde hair:

Soft, golden, not dried-out looking. Okay so the maintenance would be a pain but it only has to be for the summer and then maybe I could go golden-brown again in the autumn. Maybe when I get paid next month…

S

That summer feeling

One wisp of a warm day and I am daydreaming/agonising over summer and the necessity of dressing down and holiday style. I go out a lot more in the summer and there’s more lazing around outside – this year my boyfriend’s brother and his girlfriend have a patio and a garden and will be having barbeques, at which they will look like people out of The Talented Mr Ripley, i.e. beautiful and poised. I will be hanging out there and hopefully going on holiday at some point – cue the daydreams of warm air, coloured drinks and summery bohemian times.

At around the same moment, I saw some cool printed Numph leggings in Elle that I wanted to share on here but which do not seem to exist anywhere. Elle had no stockist in its list so I suppose it’s a matter of going to the concession in Topshop Oxford Circus and having a look through their stuff. Instead, for my prospective summer outfit, I’ve chosen an awesome scarf of theirs I managed to find on a website called http://www.divinetrash.co.uk.

Continuing the chain of fashion thoughts, Elle magazine reminds me that the new issue has a giftcard attached that contains £15 to spend at Kurt Geiger. As it happened, I was planning to buy some sandals in KG anyway so I was pretty delighted with my money off. If you plan to use it, please note it needs activating online before you arrive at the shop…(thanks for doing it for me A!)

So with summery things in mind, Elle magazine, Numph and Kurt Geiger, here is what I imagine myself wearing while I lounge in the park with my lovely friends on a Saturday in June. I’ve already got the sandals, so bring on Spring and Summer.

S

 

p.s. I finally bought a camera! Expect some pictures of me in my new sandals (post next week’s pedicure though).

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.

 

Lyell

 

I love this label Lyell, based in the US but available at Couverture in London. When it is summer, I get a mania for white lace/cotton/crochet dresses and tops and this is probably the sweetest, daintiest one I’ve ever seen. I love the look of the shop as well – I love the idea of a few, perfect items bought from a minimalist, old-fashioned place like this. I don’t look like a miniscule ballerina like all the models but I think this kind of basics line could be worked into anyone’s look. Providing you want to dress like a flower fairy.

 S

London

As mentioned already by S, we, at Disco Nap, want to talk about stuff we like. The reader will breathe a sigh of relief once they realise that stuff we like includes: clothes, shoes, fun and accessories. We also like more serious stuff like politics, but we’ll only mention that when its relevant.

Unlike S, I am in London town and it is suddenly miserable weather after lovely sunshine over the weekend. Now, I find that erratic British weather plays havoc with my fashion sense. A few weeks ago, I hauled the winter suitcase off the top of the cupboard, dusted it down and leapt on my wool cardigans with glee. This weekend had me shunning the cardigans and attempting to ‘waft’ around the East end in little more than a sundress. I need the weather to make up its mind – sadly, I fear that the weather will say ‘rain’, which is possibly the worst result. Soggy wool? No, thanks.

A