hilkat

The best thing about working in fashion is that you’re automatically granted permission to dress as creatively and expressively as you like, throwing in individual touches here and there. As much as I adore spending every waking moment with my son, it’s certainly a breath of fresh air to wear something apart from chocolate-covered t-shirts and boyfriend-fit jeans three days of the week.

I’m currently having a huge love affair with the new Spring tailoring, particularly the wonderfully voluminous and architectural trousers that seem to be cropping up all over the high street recently. I’ve always been of the opinion that a successful outfit has to include one stand out piece, whether it’s a bold print, an oversize accessory, or an interesting piece of tailoring - and the new trousers certainly do not disappoint. A mix of peg leg and harem pants, they should be worn loose, tailored and with the highest of heels. Pick from full length lovelies that gather in a cuff on the ankle, or opt for the mid-calf length variety - team with a simple vest for Helmut Lang style cool.

Apart from art, books, bright colours, crafts and gorgeous vintage clothes, one of my favourite hobbies in life, like many women, is shoes. A former slave to heels, my shoe wardrobe took a rather drastic about-turn when my son was born, and I now find myself dedicated solely (get it? Sole-ly? Oh dear…) to flats. Pumps, brogues, boots and ballet slippers all contribute to my (somewhat lengthy) winter shoe lust list, found everywhere from French catalogue La Redoute to rather more trend-based Topshop.

Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins, I have to admit, isn’t on my list of top shops to visit, and I tend to find them a little, dare I say, overpriced? However, I was pleasantly surprised when I wandered in there on the off-chance one day, and managed to indulge my brogue obsession for a mere £28 (red, patent, heaven!). The shoe-lover in me continues to head there first for cheap-but-not-too-cheap footwear, which may not break the bank, but won’t fall apart in five minutes either.

Topshop

Kate Kanzier
I only discovered Kate Kanzier when someone at work mentioned the website, and as soon as I visited I fell in love with the collection of brogues. They might not be leather, but at the bargain price of £35, you can’t really complain.

La Redoute
Jewel coloured pumps, stack heeled boots and fringed ankle boots - what a wonderful selection! I’ve never really investigated the La Redoute catalogue before, but after seeing these I might be having a further look!

Office
Office has to be the King of the Shoe Shops… it caters to every taste, holds numerous concession lines and above all, stocks shoes under a massive price range. As you can probably tell, I’m a huge fan of flats (in truth, I can hardly walk in heels!) and they had the best selection I could find - how I’m supposed to choose between them is beyond me!

While I spend most of my time dribbling over the Toast website, stroking the beautifully made and brightly coloured clothes at Paul Smith (my place of work!) and perusing the Next catalogue, I have to admit, I do still receive the Topshop style notes email. Usually, I scan it quickly and then dismiss the bodycon dresses (after a baby? I don’t think so!), hot-pants and shorts (ditto), and paper thin t-shirts and fashionably ripped jeans (Winter equals cold, and I’m just not prepared to suffer for my fashion anymore…). But when I received the latest edition, detailing the rather lovely Jubilee collection (OK, perhaps not the cycling shorts…), I sat up and paid attention. I am a big lover of cardigans, comfortable clothes, sequins and bright colours, and this little lot seemed to tick three out of four boxes. Although I’m not that keen on bows in the hair (surely not on anyone over the age of ten? Is that controversial?), bows on clothes is fine, and while sweatshirts are great for Winter, they’re always a bit better when they’re embellished. So lets have a drum roll for my pick of the rather lovely Jubilee collection at Topshop…

I think Autumn is one of the best seasons for photography - the bright colours and changing nature scenes make for wonderful pictures, rather like my latest ones. Outside my window is a tree which seems to be losing its leaves at a rate of knots, leaving the ground looking like its been carpeted in yellow, while a little way across is another tree which has turned bright orange.

As I was resizing the images, I got to thinking how much like the blog is currently like the Autumn season - lots of changes, everything from the past making way for new things and an overall sense of progression. I’ve finally got to grips with the fact that I can enjoy clothes and crafts and domesticity and going out for the evening, all at the same time. Liking fashion doesn’t mean you have to follow trends religiously, as I used to (and frankly, with a one-year old, who has time?!), and I’m currently reveling in bright colours, patterns, the Toast catalogue and pretty dresses. Reading previous posts makes me smile to myself, as it was only over the summer that I was convinced I had to keep up with the teenagers with regards to style and clothes - I’m far happier just collecting pretty things!

PS: I bought some great buttons yesterday!

Come winter the trees and bushes may be bare, but that doesn’t mean life has to be free of blooms. I’ve had a trawl through the websites of my favourite shops and gathered together the best pick of floral clothes and accessories to brighten up the colder months. I’m imagining the dresses paired with richly coloured or patterned tights, and the tops with skinny jeans and my delectable new tan riding boots… perfect!

Above: Boden, left and French Connection, right.

Above: Cath Kidston

Above: Matalan

Above: Monsoon

Above: Next

Above: Topshop

Something about the winter makes me want to snuggle up in a hoodie and pyjama bottoms, thick fair isle socks and big slippers, read books on the sofa, and not leave the house. Ever. But another, larger part of me, wants to go shopping and enjoy all that the new seasons have to offer. Gorgeous riding boots, thick coloured tights, woolen dresses and skirts, and mostly, the fabric du-jour, velvet.

Every winter, I feel like donning as much velvet as I can find, in sumptuous colours and various styles, and wandering through the streets with a big fluffy hat, a la Julie Christie in Doctor Zhivago. I want to pretend to be a Russian Princess, or a wealthy woman from the Victorian era, walking through the park or the cobbled lanes in my pointy lace up boots and thick velvet gown. Or, more realistically, I want to wear a nice jewel coloured velvet blazer over my skinny jeans and chunky boots and go for a nice relaxing pub lunch, way out in the country with only the sunday papers and a roaring fire (and a few toys for the baby) to keep us company.

Above: Blazer, left, and jacket, right, both from Topshop.

Above: Boden coat, left, and ASOS dress, right.

Above: Capelet, left, and dress, right, both from Nasty Gal Vintage.

Above: Toast gown, left, and Littlewoods dress, right.

There comes a time in every womans life, when she doesn’t work in high fashion or the fashion industry in general, that she sort of drifts away from wanting to be massively trendy, and instead just wants to wear well-made, well designed clothes and look… well…. good. I’m currently treading the fine line between not wanting to be the oldest woman in Topshop, or to wear clothes that have massive shoulders or huge holes in them, but not wanting to sacrifice my own sense of personal style either. I might be heading rapidly towards thirty, but I am not ready for the Boden catalogue just yet. (Note: Mini Boden is fine, however.)

So when I discovered the wonderful Toast catalogue and online shop, I practically broke out a fanfare. Full of gorgeous, sumptuous clothes in an array of bright colours and quality fabrics, it was just what I was looking for update my frankly confusing wardrobe. The catalogue is full of photographs of women roughly the same age as me, standing in old country houses or wandering across fields, dressed in fashionable yet comfortable clothes - which most important of all, don’t seem to have any holes…

Another ASOS wonder-find, The Mountain is a New England based label, which has more to it than meets the eye. At first, they appear to produce a rather fantastic array of printed t-shirts, with quite innovative yet retro-esque designs. When I scanned my eye over the stock for the first time, I was transported to rural America, circa the early nineties (no surprise since they have been around for roughly twenty years now).

However, they don’t only produce well made, colourfully printed garments, they also produce them ethically. Most companies that are known for their ethical properties are famous mostly for precisely that, but unless you happened to click onto the ‘About Us’ section, you probably would never have known - certainly not from a quick ASOS purchase.
From the word go, before “eco” became the buzzword of the moment, The Mountain used water based inks, organic cotton and advocated land and eco-system conservation both nationally and internationally. They use full spectrum lighting to conserve energy, and all t-shirts are dyed and printed right there in New England.

It’s quite rare that I find a label that has an ethos which appeals to the fairy-tale-loving-day-dreaming-wood-exploring side of me (as I am now twenty-six and surely beyond all such fripperies), but Numph is certainly one of them. The Denmark based label offers up quirky images and colourful prints which adorn sweatshirts, t-shirts and dresses, which I initially discovered on ASOS.

Obviously, being someone who’s never satisfied with a just a taster of anything, I went off to explore the website, which is a wondrous experience. Artistically minimal, but still with the essence of fun, I took a few screen shots of the AW09 collection which don’t appear on ASOS.

Ok Marc, I get that you’re bored with studs and rivets, and that the thought of designing a punk influenced collection practically drove you back to drink, but really, is that any excuse for raiding Aunt Maud’s wardrobe and sending those poor models down the catwalk in her Sunday best?

No, Marc, the answer is no. It is not an excuse. I loved your AW09 collection, I really did. I did a lovely little post about it and everything - all those colours and sharp lines were a truly memorable moment in fashion history. So what happened between designing that and presenting us with something that looks like The Great Gatsby had a fight with Laura Ashley, before having a little pop at the eighties?

Don’t get me wrong, there are elements of this that I love. The fringing is wonderful, i’m completely in awe of the navy frill front blouse, and i’m not adverse to the silk panelled high-waisted pencil skirt. But cycling shorts with a ‘fanny pack’? See, I even had to put that between apostrophes because the absolute ridiculousness of it made it impossible for me to write otherwise. See through jogging pants? Underwear as outerwear? Oh dear.