When I was on my Personal Styling course last year, I was told that I should always dress in a way that was either "inspirational, aspirational or both". Ha! The item to which I refer does not fill either of those criteria. The only "fill" that it deserves to be in is landfill. This item is a navy blue boyfriend cardigan from Oasis. Minus the bobbles it is actually quite nice and it is certainly warm - which is why I was wearing it when I was out yesterday evening. It had been a cold and exceptionally wet day. Against my better judgment I had run in the rain (again), despite knowing that I was likely to be in for a cold. This realisation hit me at 5am when seeing to our youngest and I noticed that my throat felt scratchy. She was demanding her usual kiss and cuddle before going back to the land of nod for another couple of hours. All right for some. "Fabulous." I thought "Up at 5am, scratchy throat, unlikely to get back to sleep and about to go running with seasoned half marathon runners. Bring it on!"
Anyway, I became even more aware of the shortcomings of my cardigan from a style perspective when I got chatting to another Mum whilst out yesterday evening. Saying that I was out is really an exaggeration and makes my trip sound much more exotic than it was - all that I was doing was waiting for my son and his friend to finish their tennis lesson whilst simultaneously entertaining children numbered 1 and 3 at what is really a very tricky time on a Friday evening.
So, there we were, chatting about the Style Event that I am doing this Thursday. I was explaining how I would be assisted by 7 models, that I would be covering the trends for the season and doing sections on a capsule wardobe, new brands and so on. I don't know what it was, and I may be wrong, but I felt that she was perhaps taking a glance at what I was wearing and frankly why not. You can't hold yourself out as someone who knows about these things and not expect to be scrutinised from time to time. After she had gone I too looked down and noticed the bobbles and not only were they bobbles but they were big bobbles. I doubt that even John Lewis sells a comb big enough to deal with those babies!
So, reluctantly I came to the conclusion that I would have to buy some new knitwear. I am sure that you can only imagine how distraught I was about that. Fortuntately, having spent many hours in Kew this week for one reason and another, I had a pretty good idea what I wanted. As an aside, I have to say that I think the knitwear in Kew this season is some of the best on the High Street. So having established in my own mind that I needed three pieces, grey, navy and cream, this is what I came up with.
The grey cardigan costs £79, the navy one also costs £79 and the cream one costs £86. The cream one fastens with a pin, so it can be styled differently to how it is shown in the picture. Now whilst they are not cheap, they should keep me warm. Whilst I love layering and fine knit cashmere etc nothing beats something as thick as a blanket when it comes to warmth and these are stylish with it.
Of course during the course of my travels this week I have also come across these other items which I love. I have to say that I have invested in the grey boots, which are from Dune and cost £155, simply because having put them on, they were far too comfortable to take off. OK, well there was a bit more to it than that, but not much. The top of the boot also folds down to reveal a sort of grey sheepskin look - so not only are they practical (check out the sole on those) they are also versatile. However I have also just spotted these lovely tan ones, also from Dune and also £155. It was really a pair of tan boots that I was after this season so now what do I do. Maybe style someone else in them so that I get the pleasure from them vicariously?
The final items that I have my eye on are all from Reiss - a navy pea coat (£225), a bracelet (£35) and a bag (£265). The coat is the perfect fit for me - many are too large but this is neat and feels lovely and heavy. The bracelet goes brilliantly with the seasons minimalistic look and the bag is just gorgeous. I prefer the bag in black but it doesn't seem to be featured on the internet. The bag comes in two different sizes and the largest one is big enough to carry a baby and all of its equipment in so on the whole, good value really - if you have a baby.
So anyway, that's what I have been up to this week. Hours in the shops styling my models for the event on Thursday and inevitably, spotting those things that I would also quite like for myself. Can't complain really!
Have a good weekend
Beth
