Category: Style
A Gem x
So here’s the thing – I did a post about brooches a while back. But my love of them shows no signs of abating, instead the need to embellish is growing and multiplying like a sparkling, cabochon mold.
But there’s something else that’s caught my eye, away from the traditional magpie pull of vintage costume jewellery; beautiful handmade and handcrafted brooches, little masterpieces of creation, witty takes and outrageous pieces of inventiveness.
(All pics Pinterest)
I love.
Laters, Kate x
Julie Pelipas x
Julie Pelipas: Street style star, Vogue Ukraine fashion director and up cycled vintage fashion label owner – a one woman, stop at nothing powerhouse. She says,
‘When it comes to creating clothes, we can do better, we can create beautiful things ethically and thoughtfully, that is the challenge and the magic.’
I love her take on masculine tailoring – an obsession since her school days when she started adapting her Grandfather’s suits. Loose, lounge-able and louche; I want.
(All pics Pinterest)
Laters, Kate x
Layers
It’s almost got to that time of year, well, not quite, but nearly there – it could be just around the corner – and then again, maybe it isn’t. So really it is – transition clothing here we come. And what seems to be singling it more than anything else is layers – new layers, old layers, re-found layers, vintage layers, whether it be retro blouses, snug fitting polo necks or Uniqlo quilted jackets, the shape, the change, the experimentation is where it’s all at.
(All pics Pinterest)
Bring it on!
Laters, Kate x
Mind The Gap x
I was talking to a friend the other day about wallpaper for a downstairs toilet – always such an interesting room because it’s hidden away and small, meaning the imagination is free to fly – as are the purse strings; always a Brucie bonus. My first thought was for some classic Cole & Son; strong, contemporary that sing quality. But then I thought – how nice it would be to find something different that nobody else has – and remembered ‘Mind The Gap.’
(All pics Pinterest and Mind The Gap)
Bold, dramatic and timeless – but what more would you expect from a company based in Transylvania?
Laters, Kate x
Style Icon x
Leandra Medine has a sense of fashion which is not just about trends, but an organic amalgamation of all the wrong things being right purely because she’s given herself permission to step out of the invisible circle of expectation and just be. She rarely wears make-up, explaining she sells ideas, not bodies – ideas and clothes – or rather a love of fashion, a love of the visual and the impressions they make.
But the best thing is, whilst the hyperbole is fab, the real reason Medine doesn’t wear make up?
Because she’s lazy – she doesn’t want the faff. And because – drum roll – she’s comfortable with her look.
(All pics Pinterest)
And that is what makes her a beautiful, special treasure.
Laters, Kate x
Socked x
Happy New Year! We undressed the Christmas tree yesterday – a mark of understanding that this day, Monday 4 Jan, would be the official start of normality and the end of the lull, even before twelfth night. Can I say how much I love the lull? Every excuse to rein in, relax and restore; I know it can’t go on forever – that things ending mean they don’t lose their power to happen again. But I will miss it.
I think it was helped that we’ve hit a cold patch in London, encouraging layers and fires and general huddling and cuddling. Although, of course, only in our family unit. There’s also been lots of walking – which has meant a realisation that 3/4 length trousers, of which I seem to wear a lot, have an obvious design fault – but where there’s a will, there’s a way – and an investment in socks – notably long, knee high socks to lessen draft – striped socks, bright socks, argyle socks – has solved the problem in a most norm corm but satisfying way.
(All pics Pinterest)
Viva la sock!
Laters, Kate x
Christmas ug!
Which effectively stands for ugly – because, be still this beating heart – Swedish Hasbeens have come up with a winner: The perfect hybrid of never mixed with genius, a Frankensteins child where all the stars lined up and bowed down, a glorious fug of Dorothy meets nerd whilst waltzing to Lala Land.
(All pics Pinterest and Swedish Hasbeens)
Come to Mama.
Laters, Kate x
Baubles x
Pressies 2
I spoke to my gut the other day and asked it what the theme for Christmas would be this year, it said cottagecore all the way: home made, simple, unfussy, thoughtful. I said thank you very much and felt our bond. The above is from a great little independent shop called Midgley Green – what could be more hands on and satisfying than artisan soap and a thrown soap dish? Maybe the price point – £5 for the soap, £15 for the dish. £20 all in? Bargain.
Midgley Green also have these beautiful tea towels – which are fab just as that – but….wouldn’t they make the most beautiful pair of cushions stitched onto an enveloped piece of linen? Guaranteed washable.
(All pics Midgley Green and Pinterest)
On my personal Wishlist this year is this Welsh throw. I’m thinking sofa, candles, fire. And a large glass of egg snog. Sigh.
Laters,
Kate x
Mini Morris! x
So William Morris – who will always and forever had a piece of my heart – has teamed up with Swedish brand DockATot to produce some of the most edible nursery soft furnishings I’ve ever seen. Which is mind bending on several levels – 1. why has no-one thought of this before? and 2. No-one has because we compartmentalise everything away, with Morris floating under Victorian in big letters, and masculine in little. Which means should we throw all conditioned thinking under the nearest bus? And 3. If you’re thinking pah! I have no need for nursery whimsy – I would further highlight the perils of conditioned thinking, because their floor cushions are any-excuse-for-any-room-to-die-for.
(All pics Pinterest and DockAtot)
Dog bed. Anyone?
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 