Category: jumpers
It’s a wrap..
Who thought granny squares could look so chic? Or the joy of vintage and handmade mashed so beautifully into lustful street style? Bring on the most wanted piece this winter..
(All pics Pinterest)
Love, look and laugh. Hopefully coming to a charity shop near you..
Laters, Kate x
Beans on Toast x
Just the name Toast takes on a whole new meaning when the temperatures start to drop and the smell of fallen leaves mixed with wood smoke permeates the air.
Their clothes capture that louche, appreciation of nature vibe: Loose cuts, soft textures, muddy palette.
If that’s not enough, not only do they do the best classic grey long cashmere cardigan.
(All pics Toast)
But each one of their eleven shops has a shelf filled with books from customers and staff. Inside each books are hand written notes, explaining how the book has enriched the sharer. Visit a shop to share your own book and take one in return. Genius.
Laters, Kate x
Retrospective Future x
Possibly lazy, perhaps ingenious but this post has been resurrected from the archives, mainly because it had a snifter of a future zeitgeist that is getting ever stronger. A firm favourite in the eighties, oversized cardigans are definitely claiming the spotlight this autumn..
Summer is close now and the time has come to pack away wintery things and embrace everything light and airy. But I always think it’s interesting to see what worked this season..and what things are appealing for next. My gut feeling for next autumn is a distinct urge to hang out with bad taste. High on my fall wishlist is a 80’s style mohair cardigan coat..
I want blouson sleeves, big shoulders..
And colour, lots of colour…
Laters, Kate x
Bare Necessities x
The weather in London isn’t brilliant making it easy to feel nostalgic for soft, comforting layers.
EPSON scanner image
(All pics Pinterest)
The hunt is now on for the perfect oversized slouchy eighties-style sweater.
A classic for any wardrobe.
Laters, Kate x
Holy holes x
This post makes me think of gentle waves lapping on sandy shore complete with bucket, spade and cricket bat. It’s old fashioned, timeless and harks back to simpler times in an eat it now sort of way.
Celia Pym is a knitting/embroidery artist and much of her work centres around visible mending – taking something worn, discarded and unloved…
..and adding a new, contrasting layer to marry the piece together.
The finished work takes on a whole new personality – the ghost of the past with the mend of the future. The work is seamless but showy, in the best unshouty kind of way.
It makes me think I would love to do something like this to a much loved cashmere cardigan that’s seen better days. 
Or mend the knees in my jeans like this. Maybe it’s the integrity of the craft that’s so appealing? But I looked up on You Tube to see how to do it..
(All pics Celia Pym)
Even watching this was meditative.
Now where’s my darning mushroom?
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
Dog Wool..
Can love ever be too much or am I just too westernised? I spotted an article on DogWool on the plane on the way back from Greece – apparently there’s a little place in Brittany between Abercerac’h and the Virgin Island lighthouse that will use a traditional spinning wheel, to spin your dogs unwanted hair into balls of wool ready to knit.
Which is nothing if not honest recycling: It’s something Eskimos have done for centuries using Husky hair as the perfect property against the cold. In northern Russia they knit socks of dog wool to prevent rheumatism…
But here? Now?? Maybe my worry is that we don’t live in an extreme cold environment where fingers drop off if they’re not covered appropriately and – lets be honest – this further blurs the line between dog and owner – we already know how many morph to look like each other and now, through this they can genuinely can be a human in dogs clothing.
And what happens when your dog dies??
If this is your thing, then by all means go for it – there’s certainly a high level of skill involved…personally, I’ve never met a dog I didn’t like…sadly I can’t say the same for knitwear..Molly, you’re safe.
Laters, Kate x
Vingil x
It’s spotlight time for Xenia Kigaeva from Russia and her label Vingil. Think stratospheric cosy knit factor, deep depth of richness and texture and a visceral resonance with the season.
She graduated in costume design. Does it show?
They are the pinnacle of defence against the dark arts of winter. Just accessorise with wellies and a large dog.
Laters, Kate x
Uber Uterque x
If I have a complaint against the modern life it’s the way technology has made the world spin faster, shrink smaller and generalise everything. Which is why one should dismiss Uterque with a simple flick of a hand: It’s part of the Spanish-rule-the-world Inditex which has chains such as Zara and Pull and Bear in it’s growing claws. Except I like it.
There’s sleek separates, a touch of artisanal cool and even the trend pieces of the season look fresh and modern.
Of course it helps if Caroline de Maigret is your muse.
It’s a salient lesson in not throwing the babes out with the bathwater.
Laters, Kate x
Creature Comforts x
It feels horribly unfair that summer in the UK is already slipping away over the horizon, but this week has heralded non-stop torrential rain and the unearthing of boots and jeans.
Normally, there’s a tipping point in late summer when the weak sunshine, falling leaves and hit of frost take on a tantalising sense of expectation for soft layers and roaring fires..but not in August. Not before terms even started..
But it seems that we’re in serious transition..that time when bare legs get mixed with big cardies and upper halves look like winter, whilst below is still hopeful for sunshine.
A time to look ahead for some serious wardrobe planning.
(All pics from Google or Pinterest)
Of course, I’m still praying for an Indian summer..but I’ve lived here for too long not to be prepared: 80s mohair cardigan and long, lace-up boots, here I come…
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 