Category: Fall
Boyfriends for Girlfriends x
A friend is looking for a pair of boyfriend jeans – I’ve lived in my vintage 501’s virtually all year and for pure value, nostalgia and style wouldn’t wear anything else..but I reckon these by MiH might just be her perfect cup of tea!
(How can a patch be so appealing?)
And the rest of their autumn/winter lookbook isn’t bad either..
Laters, Kate x
Sneaky Blinders..
The weather here in London is like a PMT suffering raging beast..blue skies one minute..a cascading torrent the next, whipped up by strong winds and mashed up leaves. Coats and shoes are being seriously put to the test and any well worn with holes of love are the equivalent of leaky boats. Some emergency purchasing is required – and I’m thinking black leather skaters..a nod to the summer but with strong foundations for the autumn storms.
The white soles also have a surprising appeal..I remember looking at the AW14 catwalks thinking white soles? hmmmmm..but the appeal has chrystalised…mi piace..
Of course, I’ll buy them……and next week we’ll have snow….
Laters, Kate x
M for Masterful.. x
Wish I had one of these delicious jumpers by M Missioni in my wardrobe today – particularly that blue/green boxy slouch on the right. Sigh. It’s a double-whammy day – I’m co-hosting a coffee morning for all the residents of our road (writing it down makes it sound like something out of an urban episode of the Archers..) so there’s a pressure to find something half decent to wear..and the weather has literally turned over night – wet, cold and blustery – which is unfortunate as the wardrobe planning has yet to catch up – Birks just don’t cut it through the puddles..
London has a reputation of not being friendly, but I’ve never found it to be the case..I’ve always loved where I’ve lived. Lately we’ve had huge movement on the street with friends moving out and new people moving in..which doesn’t make it easy..you miss those that have gone and it almost feels traitorous to welcome their ‘replacements’ with open arms…but life must go on… 
So I need to go to sit on the end of my bed to ponder a bit more and hope for a flash of divine inspiration..preferably before 8 o’clock when we leave for school..I was hoping to squeeze in a swim before it all kicks off..up to 32 lengths now…but somehow that feels unlikely…
Laters, Kate x
Bohemian Rhapsody x
(Isabel Marrant – Shannon jacquard knit wool blend poncho)
Think boho and immediately summer and freedom spring to mind. But there’s a seasonal boho too that captures the warmth of open fires, fallen leaves and crisp mornings..
(Emilio Pucci – fringe jacquard knit turtleneck cape)
Poise, power and grace..the colours and textures inform the story: an inspired heritage of folk songs, earthy cowboys and fantasy indians all creatively mixed up with a little bit of Mexico and South America..
(Emilio Pucci – embellished flocked twill jacket)
(Burberry Porsum – Intarsia knitted blanket coat)
(Isabel Marrant – Adil hooded striped blanket coat)
(Burberry Porsum – Wool blend tapestry boots)
Twinkle toes for the closing in nights..
(Nicholas Kirkwood & Peter Pilotto leather and suede pumps)
There’s a whispered joy in watching the leaves dance whilst being snuggled up and letting the world walk on by..
Laters, Kate x
Making a Point..
Vans. Fail safe, classic and easy…but could there be room for change?
What about pointy Vans like these by Nicholas Kirkwood now viewed from above??
Sneakers with a heel and now sneakers with a point..who would’ve thought it. But this actually feels like a rather nostalgic nod to the once must-wear pointed flats of the eighties..and it’s always nice to find a forward moving mash…
Laters, Kate x
Stamp of Style x
Using badges and logos..not invented by Marc by Marc Jacobs but cunning all the same…
A rather delicious collection of fonts and styles married to the perfect boyfriend jeans..just add a smile and a killer pair of heels..
Penelope Chilvers has also got in on the act, although is hers a more traditional, preppy version..and the meanings are meaningful..I’d love to be able to buy the patches individually..
Also to be found on her boots and shoes..
Anya Hindmarch has pushed the creative boat out even further in her own offering of luxury-retro-street. Inspired by stickers from her school days, the graphics are embossed onto the leather in a three step process. Utterly edible.
But the real joy is that this trend has it’s roots deep down in freedom of expression and do-it-yourselfs.. you could just follow your heart and DIY your own fashion statement like Fun in the Making..
Or cover a Louis Vuitton bag like the courageous Sue. Because the truth about badges and patches, despite what the designer brands would have us believe, is they’re really about individuality and being unique in a stylish and remarkably accessible way..now, where’s my needle and thread?
Laters, Kate x
Kule x
Kule – not a clever play on words, but designer Nikki Kule’s highly appropriate name.
Offering a modern, classic luxury, ‘preppy luxe’ aesthetic thats easy on the eye and edgy in look.
It sits perfectly in that aspirational ‘smart casual’ part of the wardrobe..that essential area that’s surprisingly hard to fill…
Mi piace.. xxx
The Outside Edge x
Moncler Gamme Rouge is a thick layer of visual lust spread across the page..
Rene Ramillon from Grenoble, France made the leap from making sleeping bags to fashion when he turned the technique for making sleeping bags into coats. The rest is history.
Giambattista Valli is the brains behind this couture inspiration of the urban, utilitarian style and the man happily playing in the proverbial sweetie shop..
A collection that tempts and teases..
Street cleaner neon, shearling, and firefighter silver all braought together in a heady vision of aspiration..
Big, bold and beautiful but also utterly wearable and wonderfully practical…just a shame I’d have to sell the house to buy one!
Laters, Kate x
Rachel Rachel x
The appeal of perusing the latest catwalk offerings is thinking you are getting ideas hot off the sewing machine..
Except of course you’re not..large flotsam of inspiration comes for the likes of you and I just walking the streets with a strange consortium of bits from vintage sales and jumbles..so there’s a rather wonderful organic life force with no-one having a monopoly, a wave of responding and creating that the Designers then put a spotlight on..and then we think it’s brilliant all over again, but maybe in a different way..
Except the way something influences and what processes then happen is up to the individual, which can be truly enlightening, particularly if they have a strong voice..
Amplifying, creating opposition, accepting, asking for more or leaving a loose edge – utilitarian wear in posh fabrics, it’s all in the interpretation..
At Rachel Comey SS15 you can taste the strength – there’s a simplicity reflective of a confidence in what she sees..
With masterful strokes of clashing patterns, eras and colour. But does she influence my style? – or do I fly to her light because there’s a kindred understanding?
I can’t really say why her silhouettes appeal so much..
(Although I find it hard to resist a good beltbag..)
Her designs are far from the traditional feminine shapes..
(photos courtesy of Style.com)
But then, I’ve always preferred sexy to be a suggestion of shape – and fashion to be style rather than trend…and maybe that’s why she makes my eyes sparkle…
Laters, Kate x
Flying Fur x
Firmly in the faux-fur camp, Shrimp is the tongue-in-cheek, slightly eccentric and definitely witty British brand founded by the rather wonderful Hannah Weiland.
The lady herself..
The Collection is inspired by such deliciousness as picking daisies, cartoons, school uniforms and playing with fluffy animals..it’s pretty..surreal..and unexpected..
They have a unique sensibility to transform the mundane..
You can’t look away – it’s like being intriguingly bathed in sunshine and smiles..
And who would Hannah like to see in one of her coats? The irrepressible Grayson Perry no less!
I just want to hug her..and her coats..
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 