Heart-shaped necklace

This picture from the  Elle high street supplement caught my eye because I loved the dainty star necklace she is wearing - no matter how much fluff and feathers a model is wearing, my eye will find a dainty star necklace. It’s from Gogo Philip at Topshop. Apparently Gogo Philip is an Italian brand that has been going since the 70s.

I went to Topshop to find my necklace and was a tiny bit disappointed that the star shape was chunky rather than flat but I quickly got over it when I saw the heart version, which I bought instead. It was only £5! And I really liked the other designs, of which there were tonnes, and which tended to be more elaborate than my necklace. More Elizabeth Taylor than Alexa Chung if you see what I mean from this picture from their hideous lookbook:

But actually this poor man’s Tom Ford-style photoshoot doesn’t do the jewellery justice, and although it is actually cheap, it’s not tacky. Maybe I’ll go back and get the star as well…

S

It’s my park

This Guardian fashion shoot was photographed in the park next to my childhood home! You can almost see my building in the background from the one with the white railing.

The rest of the shoot is worth a look but slightly Topshoppy in that mismatched charity-shop way that it has been embracing for way too long now. I do want a peach jumper a la Prada and maybe lavender jeans to wear it with instead of this hideous suede skirt.

S

Crystallised

With £50 in my pocket and my trusty student card I went and braved Oxford Circus Topshop last weekend with some specific purchases in mind. I mainly wanted a pair of shoes that you could wear every day, but that were also spirit-liftingly fabulous. For less than £50 obviously.

I think crystal-embellished grey ankle boots fit my brief to a tee. – they’re even called the ”Magical” boot. For the time being I’m going to keep it classic and wear them with skinny jeans but maybe I’ll summon the courage to do the midi-length skirt at some point.

I also finally went and checked out the Topshop make-up range. I liked it, especially the neon pink lipstick crayon, but decided to limit my purchases to things I had been wanting and needing for a while. Hence this angled eyeshadow brush. I’ll report back on how it functions but it was only £4.

I have my ups and downs with Topshop, but there’s nothing like emerging from the big store with a haul of goodies, and now also Lola’s cupcakes (I ate these before I could photograph them). Cupcakes are a bit done now, and usually rather tasteless and overpriced, but I enjoyed these to the absolute maximum. The glitter-domed coconut one will haunt me until I can get another one. I wonder what the next It-pastry will be. Macarons are becoming done also.

S

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

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

Topshop. Is it over?

Reading this article over on the Guardian about how Topshop has lost its mojo has made me think. When was the last time I bought anything in Topshop? It’s been a long while. When I have money in my hand, I run straight to Cos for staple t-shirts, I buy jeans at Gap and if I want an amazing party dress it’s French Connection or maybe Asos. There used to be nothing I enjoyed more than going to Topshop Oxford Circus and coming home with something cheap and shiny to add to my magpie’s collection.

There’s a combination of factors in my losing interest in Topshop. For a start, it’s not cheap anymore. You can still get a vest for £10 (I imagine) but you’re probably looking at a starting budget of £40 for anything else. And the quality hasn’t improved – it’s still a high-street shop and fond as I am of it, you are in denial if you think it’s not sweatshopped by some poor unfortunates on another continent.

In most minds, this wouldn’t matter but it’s also true that the desirability of the clothes has gone down. The designs aren’t edgy, they look homogenous. The expansion to America and elsewhere has taken the shine off the quirky Britishness of it all and it doesn’t feel like it belongs to you anymore.

Or perhaps it doesn’t belong to me anymore because I’m too old and out of the Little Girls’ Club? Last time I went there I actually felt out of place and I’m in my 20s. I felt too big for the clothes even though I come in under their specious size 14 cut-off point (if you can find one on the racks that is). When I worked in Topshop I served women of literally all ages (not sizes however) and I imagined I would shop there my whole life. But when I go in, even though they have pretty things, something stops me from parting with precious pennies for it. It doesn’t give me that uplifting feeling anymore.

I can’t believe I just wrote a whole post about somewhere I am choosing not to shop these days, but that just shows what a massive part of my style Topshop was. Maybe I should go on a reccy and see if I can find something to change my mind because I’m not sure I’m ready to let go.

S

Vintage Schmintage

I received a hefty Topshop voucher when I left my old job a couple of months back, and I just kept in my purse for ages. I mean like two months. There’s something about vouchers – they are more precious than money. In fact vouchers arebetter than money because you won’t end up spending it on the gas bill instead of something frivolous at Topshop, because lets face it, that is what you really want to spend it on. Who needs heating when we’re expecting an Indian summer, etc etc.

Anyway, after much deliberation, I spent the damn voucher. My patient friend R accompanied me to the big Topshop in Oxford Circus and I knew I wanted…something. We spent at least an hour and a half in there. I tried on shoes, I looked at clothes and I spent a lot of time cooing over non-vintage vintage bags on the ground floor. Eventually, we went back to the ground floor and to cut a long story short, I bought this wonderful bag. It is made in the UK from vintage leather, in a vintage shape but isn’t actually vintage, if you see what I mean.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day...

The shape is wonderful, somewhere between a strict briefcase and perfection. The vintage feel allows it to be fun whilst the structure gives it resilience. It makes everything I wear look more sophisticated and I’ve been using it every day since I bought it (practically a record). It is made by a brand called Etui (no website sadly) and I’d recommend them if you’d like something unique you want to treasure (mine was a hefty £125). But with a voucher, it was a bargain. Sort of.

A close-up

Sadly, the bag can only do SO much on days like these.

A

Edinburgh Festival

As S mentioned, I went to the Edinburgh festival last weekend. This week has been so busy that it feels like a lifetime ago. I would recommend the festival to everyone who enjoys a bit of culture – there are apparently over 10,000 performers, so you get to choose from comedy, music, theatre and dance.

With so many shows, you do run the risk of picking something rubbish and feeling as if you’ve wasted a tenner on the ticket. But by the third week of the festival, the worst shows have been wheedled out and we saw five good ones from a comedy sketch show to a performance about time and chaos. Too pretentious for you yet?!

And here’s a few pictures to show you what it was like:

Day 1 Outfit - we got a travel at 7 am so this was a multipurpose outfit. Skinny chinos from Gap, Topshop brogues, Cos top, Gap jacket, Mum's 'vintage' bag.

I've always been jealous of people who inherit loads of amazing items from their parents - most of my Mum's cool stuff from the 70s is in storage in Pakistan. Except for this vintage bag. Which I love.

My favourite part of this outfit - purple knee high socks from Tabio to keep my ankles warm

The 80% cream banoffee pie

T in snazzy red cardie looking for our next show.

There were a lot of shows to choose from.

Day 2 Outfit - polka diamond tights, H&M shorts, Chemise Blanc top, ghetto chain, Gap jacket again and the new vintage bag from Etui.

Most performers just handed out flyers. These ladies found a novel way of getting our attention.

I love Edinburgh's architectural beauty and a lot of that comes grey tones of the city's stone. Except when it is lit up by blue lights at night, like here.

A

Spendthrift

Last night my Mum told me, in quite a sweet way, that I am, and have always been, a spendthrift. As with normal mother-daughter relations, I disputed this whilst really knowing that she was right, of course. Inwardly, I told myself to be more thrifty (a friend once told me she thought spendthrift meant that she was good with money, i.e. thrifty).

But then I went online, browsed some brilliant blogs with a dash of Outnet thrown in and poof, like Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, my resolution disappeared into thin air. I didn’t buy anything, so I suppose I stuck to my resolve, but I knew I wanted to and as with emotional betrayal, if I’d had had the money then I wouldn’t have it any longer.

I think this embodies the true definition of spendthrifts – we don’t always have the money because we spend it as soon as we can on something that fits into that moment. The moment can be created by me, just thinking about a particular item for a while, or by the environment (excellent sales assistant).

So, in the true spirit of the spendthrift, here’s a few items I’d just love to buy. In no particular order.

'Because it is still officially summer' Marc by Marc Jacobs mixed strip jersey dress

'The boyfriend hates them but I don't care' Boots - Topshop

Tallulah Tu Black Leather Rose Cuff - pretaportobello

Powwow - Yellow Drape Front Dress, Whistles

Parka from Full Circle

Well, lucky that I haven’t got any money then, isn’t it?!

A

Something from Nothing

Recently a friend asked me where I shopped and how I put outfits together. I found this seemingly simple question almost impossible to answer and I’ve been pondering the answer ever since.

A fuller answer will have to wait for another but I did say one thing, and although it seemed absurd to me, even as I said it, I’ve since come to fully believing it:

If you want to dress better, then go into a shop and pick up ugly things to try on

Now, this comes up with more than one caveat – firstly, this advice is more sound if you feel that your current style is in need of modification. As everybody’s definition of ‘ugly’ constantly changes, it’ll force you to try on items you may never have touched before. And you could be pleasantly surprised. This approach has certainly worked for me and I’m constantly amazed at other people’s ingenuity when teaming one item with another.

I saw another example of this today and feel that it illustrates my point well. You may have noticed the recent trend for crop tops? Why, I hear you cry?Well, that was also my initial thought but then I saw how blogger Diamondcanopy had incorporated this white lace Topshop crop top into her daily outfit and it made a lot of sense.

Blogger Diamondcanopy (photo courtesy of Diamondcanopy)

I recently moved jobs and got a great £75 Topshop voucher as a leaving gift. I intend to raid the sales racks and go for all the ‘ugly’ things. It’s going to be great.

A