Category: 2016
Pretty and Pink x
The rollercoaster of fashion steams on, morphing, re-inventing, disappearing and then back with a bang. Each time the story is different, responding to design needs, changing faces and context, which is what makes it all so fascinating.
Take the shoulder pad: Nemesis of the 80s, spawn of the 40s..and ripe for a re-birth.
But now less cut-out character from Disney, more cutting edge with balance.
I don’t know much – but I know I want some.
Laters, Kate x
Plum x
Laters, Kate x
Street Style x
One, Two, Three, Floor x
Before I go any further, can I just say how much I love my parquet floors – they’re warm, characterful and if they were a food they’d be a perfectly cooked, melt in the mouth steak. But there is another type of floor I would happily embrace, particularly in bathrooms: Terrazzo – A centuries old technique of mixing up marble, granite or quartz chippings with a cementitious binder, which is then polished to a fine shine.
The advantage of this technique is the ability to make anything from the mixture – it’s like the architectural version of play doh. Imagination (and possibly good taste) are the only limits to it’s capabilities.
It can be big and brash, laden with special effects: patterns, glittery bits and brass inlays.
Or it can be discreet, quietly accepting the continual pounding of life with extreme confidence, forever remaining constant. Qualities to value.
It also (and I speak from confidence here – this was the floor in my Grandparents house in Greece for many years) never shows the dirt.
Effectively it’s floor rock n roll.
Laters, Kate x
Sunday Shopping x
You now what you’re meant to do at the start of each season: Gatecrash the party and scoff all the canapes. But somehow it never happens like that. Take Sunday afternoon with it’s languid air of relaxation when sofas become blankets and fingers lazily skim across tablets. And light upon the dream dress. OMG!! That’s it!!..
It’s just like that dress that’s been lying in my great dresses folder in Pinterest for 2 years. OK..not exactly the same..the pockets are missing..the pockets are fab..pockets can always be added. I love the white, but there’s only the option of blue, red or black. Red could work. But it’s a summer dress. You need autumn clothes. But I’ll need summer clothes next year and WHAT?! Just £45?? It’s in the basket….and do they have any more bits of heaven?
Oooh Palazzo pants..THEY could be transitional combined with all the shirt dresses purchased this summer…
(All pictures and purchases from SilkFred)
And talking about shirt dresses – Oh my! It’s pure lust. The credit card doesn’t stand a chance.
And not a jumper in sight. Sigh.
Laters, Kate x
New Weave x
The summer has broken here with a bang; I think we’re having the full whack of autumn rains today. We walked into school, avoiding some of the puddles and laughing at everyone gridlocked in their cars, all nicely showered but still afraid of water! It was chaos.
It’s brought fall dressing to a head though, and there’s nowhere better for browsing transitional classics than Toast. This group of clothes is from their OAS range, which stands for Ordinary Attire Studio and are also the three letters at the heart of Toast.
The design aesthetic of simplicity, durability and wearability at it’s core.
It’s workwear reinterpreted for easy workday wear in the modern world.
It’s everything you want in your wardrobe really.
Laters, Kate x
The Palace x
Yesterday I went with the lovely Galliana to Buckingham Palace. As you do. The only downside was we were there only as ticket wielding plebs. But we still had the chance to admire the ornate state rooms and look out over the beautiful 39 acre garden in the centre of London.
But the highlight was the exhibition of the 90 years of style from the Queen’s wardrobe amounting to eighty outfits and 62 iconic hats.
It was a lesson in the diplomacy of fashion: Made for a reason, for a specific person with a unique job using colours to be seen with subtle emblems and signs to flatter the right people in the right places – like the incorporation of the colours of a national flag for a tour abroad. There was thought, care and attention to detail and whilst fashion was was there, it wasn’t fashion for fashions sake.
It really was the best of British. The collection is on till Oct 2 and is well worth a visit.
(You can also have tea by the lawn afterwards…)
Laters, Kate x
Pod luck..
This is more of a dream than a reality, but it’s something The Husband and I keep talking about..converting our slowly decaying shed into a state of the art office pod.
Given we live in London, it’s never going to be very big. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be well designed.
Nows the space to make a list of all the features that appeal, just in case the green light happens – like noting the slatted wall on the left for future reference.
Not practical for a garden, but the shelf-desk across the large window ticks the boxes.
As do these simple modular seating cushions.
(All pictures Pinterest. Somewhere!)
And black. It must be black..
Laters, Kate x
Haunted x
Hunter, an authentic British heritage brand beloved of the posh, festival goers and anyone inbetween: It’s the mainstream label with proper appeal and sits on it’s tartan wingback armchair like a curled, sleeping cat.
There’s much to love: simplicity, versatility, a sense of tradition mixed with a slick, modern attitude.
And yet I have a gripe (I suspect it’s to do with old age)
Take a product like a mac or a wellington boot (both things Hunters do particularly well). Part of their appeal is their adaptability and flexibility…so why do their products have to be divided ‘mens’ ‘womens’ ‘girls’ and ‘boys’? Why this continual need to introduce psychological barriers to choice?
I’m starting to think that the division of the sexes is a background noise that all too often we just accept and that it’s insidious reach starts when are children and impressionable: Boys uniform, girls uniform, pretty school shoes for the girls, practical ones for the boys, netball for the girls, rugby for the boys. And I can see the result of this in all the adults associated with school: The parents that are class reps for the school?…all women. The contact emails for playdates?..are for all the women – even if they work full time as well. If a child was sick..the school would phone the mother regardless of whether she was the main breadwinner or not. Pick up and drop off? This is more mixed..but it’s certainly not equal.
If we want true liberty of thought and equal treatment of the sexes then little things like unnecessary labels really do need to matter. And Fashion (with a capital ‘f’) is in the perfect place to take the first steps forward.
Laters, Kate x
Bags of love x
It was on Wednesday when the realisation struck that I was already down to one pair of school socks between the two of them. I high-tailed it to Oxford street, partly because I wanted speed…partly because I had an ulterior motive: A few weeks ago, after years of drought, I’d spotted that the stalls selling the touristy type of tat usually avoided had started selling designer rip-offs again. I’m not a great fan of faking it make it..except if you want to do something a bit radical.
I’ve been wanting to cover a recognisable designer bag in junk for sometime (sort of inspired by Anya Hindmarch, but also by an earlier random street style photo of someone carrying a battered Louis Vuitton bag covered in sewn on patches). This is just the start – the idea is to cover as much of the bag as possible.
Except maybe the back.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 