the "hideously expensive leather jacket" conundrum.

A lot of people have been there at some point in their clothes buying life. You spend ages (in my case, years) looking for something perfect, determined to not buy anything until the one comes along.You don't want to settle for a series of cheap mediocre items that amount to the price you would have paid for one expensive version you would keep forever (this is how I feel about T-shirts but that's a whole different story for a whole different post).
I have spent years looking for the perfect leather jacket. I found it. It was named, aptly, Perfecto. It was by Joseph. It was £945. Yikes.

 

 So when, one day, driving down the King's Road, I spied a similar shape, with gold zips peering out of a leather shop window, I got a little more excited. Maybe it's cheap! Maybe it's just as beautiful! Maybe they'll give it to me because they can see no one will love it like I love it!

I thought about going back for a few months. Yesterday I went back. It wasn't cheap. It was less than half the price of the Joseph number but still by no means cheap. So I did the proper thing and sat down with a coffee and made a list.

 

Only went and bloody well bought it didn't I?

 

I regret nothing. Though I am now not buying anything other than food and tickets to Batman for a long time.

 

 

cos.

The deisgn team at Cos need to be investiagted.
Every season I feel like they've crawled into my head and extracted every fashion fetish I have. Including ones I had no idea I had (Neoprene, I'm looking at you)
I have never bought anything in there, partly because of the (I believe wholly justified) price but mainly because it's very difficult to wrap and pack an entire shop's worth of clothing into bags and carry it home on the tube.
But after an accidental, yet highly successful, shopping trip on Friday, I brought home my 3 new favourite items. Two tops and a beautifully simple clear sphere necklace.

 

Now I just need to try and show some restraint and not buy the rest of the shop.

 

with love.

Does anyone really care about Valentine's Day that much? Probably not. My sister prefers the practical approach. I like to use it as a day to celebrate the loves of my life, my closest friends.
Yesterday morning, I was like the best boyfriend ever. Home made blueberry pancakes, fancy juice, coffee and miniture potted Daffodils for my two nearest and dearest.

 
The evening was spent as a group of five, it was the first time we've all been single since we met. Dasilva found a little French restaurant on Dean Street, Pierre Victoire. Delicious and candle lit. So very romantic!

Alex looking gorgeous in a sparkly top and floaty skirt

Boots is always dashing.

My dress was a gift from a close friend and that BEAST of a necklace is from a stall just off Upper Street in Islington.

The highlight was being able to spend the whole day with my favourite person, Jonny.

I hope everyone's day was full of love, no matter if that love comes from a partner, friends or family. All love is good love!

casual friday.

I'm not a jeans t-shirt and trainers girl. I'm a Brogues, chinos and silk shirt girl. But recent bouts of on set costume stand-by work and the purchase of a particularly garish pair of Nike Airs, stirred by a small section on the dress down chic of trainers in Wednesday's London Evening Standard has got me thinking maybe I could be a trainer girl.

big knit.

You know it's a good day when you've got matching jumpers.

 

j'ADR.

Anna Dello Russo is a marvel. Fact. 

We have our Lady Gagas, Rhiannas, and other "avant garde" dressing pop stars. But in all honesty, to me, something about them just doesn't quite sit right with me. They always look incredible, don't get me wrong, but no one expresses their love of fashion like Anna Dello Russo.

Her tweet this morning inspired me so much "Every morning I check the weather before to dress up"

It's not just getting dressed, it's dressing up. Every day you can be a different person. If you want to. So many people (not just women, but men as well) feel they have to dress safely, that they can't wear what they truly want to. What if you just want to wear a feathered helmet?! True, ADR has the money and resources to access any look she wants but her spirit should be embraced.

Fashion is cruel and puts unfair pressures on women. But it is also beautiful and creative and when used in the right way, can make people feel wonderful. It should be embraced in whichever way you wish to use it. Don't just get dressed, dress up!

All photos by Tommy Ton

leafy.

Today I celebrated the official end to British summer time at the weekend by dressing like a tree.

But far more important than the beautiful turning colours of the trees, is the promise of a month of moustachioed men. Oh yes. It's Movember. And I love me a man with a tash.

Lovely

disco disco disco disco.

I like my trousers high waisted and skinny. I love a tucked in shirt and I find your natural shape gets lost in hipsters. Plus your arse has a habit of playing peek-a-boo no matter how hard you try to keep it under wraps. It's taken me about 6 months to even try these on but I couldn't resist the super-stretch and shimmer any longer. And a 15% off voucher landing in my email this morning meant I could resist them no longer.
I am currently awaiting the arrival of
THE AA DISCO PANT

 DISCO

Pricey. Yes. Slightly absurd. Yes.

Rather than glaming them up, I think I'll be countrying them down. Aran knit cardigan and walking boots and tweed coat.

Or maybe I'll just bleach my hair and do as god intended.