Tuesday 26 March 2013
Secret Shopping
There's some places I never admit to shopping to. Sometimes, I buy underwear from Marks & Spencer (and not even the Rosie HW stuff...the granny stuff...). Sometimes, I wander off in Asda and buy a bit of polyester crap from George. BUT occasionally a shop makes me wonder if I wrote it off prematurely.
This is one such occasion... welcome to the store that, if we're honest, we cringed at when our mums tried to buy us a polo shirt from for school. Yes. That blight of the retail park - Matalan. I was home for a few days a couple of weeks ago ill, and obviously I did what everyone else does in that situation - get sucked into daytime TV.
Someone from Look magazine was talking about Matalan. I didn't pay attention to what but after 48 hours of no human contact, googling Matalan was what I resorted to. I am so glad I did.
The yellow jacket would be six times more expensive from Zara. The paisley trousers are ridiculously good. JW Anderson would be proud. The jewellery is incredible (there is TONNES more on the website). The backpack is a festival staple. The boots are simply amazing and the shorts are actually cut at a flattering length (i.e not butt-exposing).
BUY IT. BUY IT ALL NOW. BUY ALLLLLL THE STUFF. I'll keep it quiet if you will......
Visit the site
Stone & Chain Necklace - £10
Cross Drop Bracelet - £6
Ankle Boots - £22
Striped Shift Dress - £16
Tallulah Yellow Blazer - £25
Washed Linen Backpack - £12
Crochet Trim Denim Shorts - £12
Ladder Stitch Navy Top - £18
Paisley Trousers - £16
SECRET SHOPPING
There's some places I never admit to shopping to. Sometimes, I buy underwear from Marks & Spencer (and not even the Rosie HW stuff...the granny stuff...). Sometimes, I wander off in Asda and buy a bit of polyester crap from George. BUT occasionally a shop makes me wonder if I wrote it off prematurely.
This is one such occasion... welcome to the store that, if we're honest, we cringed at when our mums tried to buy us a polo shirt from for school. Yes. That blight of the retail park - Matalan. I was home for a few days a couple of weeks ago ill, and obviously I did what everyone else does in that situation - get sucked into daytime TV.
Someone from Look magazine was talking about Matalan. I didn't pay attention to what but after 48 hours of no human contact, googling Matalan was what I resorted to. I am so glad I did.
The yellow jacket would be six times more expensive from Zara. The paisley trousers are ridiculously good. JW Anderson would be proud. The jewellery is incredible (there is TONNES more on the website). The backpack is a festival staple. The boots are simply amazing and the shorts are actually cut at a flattering length (i.e not butt-exposing).
BUY IT. BUY IT ALL NOW. BUY ALLLLLL THE STUFF. I'll keep it quiet if you will......
Go to the site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94397245@N07/8593722014/
Stone & Chain Necklace - £10
Cross Drop Bracelet - £6
Ankle Boots - £22
Striped Shift Dress - £16
Tallulah Yellow Blazer - £25
Washed Linen Backpack - £12
Crochet Trim Denim Shorts - £12
Ladder Stitch Navy Top - £18
Paisley Trousers - £16
This is one such occasion... welcome to the store that, if we're honest, we cringed at when our mums tried to buy us a polo shirt from for school. Yes. That blight of the retail park - Matalan. I was home for a few days a couple of weeks ago ill, and obviously I did what everyone else does in that situation - get sucked into daytime TV.
Someone from Look magazine was talking about Matalan. I didn't pay attention to what but after 48 hours of no human contact, googling Matalan was what I resorted to. I am so glad I did.
The yellow jacket would be six times more expensive from Zara. The paisley trousers are ridiculously good. JW Anderson would be proud. The jewellery is incredible (there is TONNES more on the website). The backpack is a festival staple. The boots are simply amazing and the shorts are actually cut at a flattering length (i.e not butt-exposing).
BUY IT. BUY IT ALL NOW. BUY ALLLLLL THE STUFF. I'll keep it quiet if you will......
Go to the site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94397245@N07/8593722014/
Stone & Chain Necklace - £10
Cross Drop Bracelet - £6
Ankle Boots - £22
Striped Shift Dress - £16
Tallulah Yellow Blazer - £25
Washed Linen Backpack - £12
Crochet Trim Denim Shorts - £12
Ladder Stitch Navy Top - £18
Paisley Trousers - £16
Sunday 24 March 2013
Valentino for Realz-O
Couldn't bring myself to wear some kind of hyper-fashiony AW13 Valentino look to work - I am lucky enough to work in a cool office but even they might bat eyelids at bare legs etc in this unseasonably cold March. I do however have a vintage raw silk black shift dress that has a white pointed collar and turn up cuffs. I love this dress - I bought it from Chinese Laundry in Hull a few months ago and it gets critically underworn because it is allergic to rain, snow, sleet...basically any weather that occurs in London in the autumn and winter.
I meant to post this two weeks ago...but...anyway - I went to the British Museum to subside the misery of being hundreds of miles from my mum on mother's day. Nothing makes me feel better like a Sarcophagus. So I decided to try out a lesser version of the Valentino look with this dress. I also thought the plait might be a step toward the fancy-dress, so I went for a slight beehive with a low ponytail. Obvs as I was heading toward Sixties territory I did heavy cat-eyeliner and nude lipstick; a trench coat, some vintage ankle boots and my favourite Chanel bag.
Usually anything that is not a shirt & jeans or an ass-flashing dress fails to raise any acknowledgment but I was actually told I looked nice which is a turn up for the books! I don't live for this kind of thing but the whole 'man repeller' aesthetic is not really my bag...so it was nice to hear...
Verdict on Valentino - I await the real thing but until then, I shall be wearing it like it's 1968...
Sunday 10 March 2013
VALENTINO FOR REALZ-O
Couldn't bring myself to wear some kind of hyper-fashiony AW13 Valentino look to work - I work in a cool office but even they might bat eyelids at bare legs etc in this unseasonably cold March. I do however have a vintage raw silk black shift dress that has a white pointed collar and turn up cuffs. I love this dress - I bought it from Chinese Laundry in Hull a few months ago and it gets critically underworn because it is allergic to rain, snow, sleet...basically any weather that occurs in London in the autumn and winter.
Anyway - I went to the British Museum today to subside the misery of being hundreds of miles from my mum on mother's day. Nothing makes me feel better like a Sarcophagus. So I decided to try out a lesser version of the Valentino look with this dress. I also thought the plait might be a step toward the fancy-dress, so I went for a slight beehive with a low ponytail. Obvs as I was heading toward Sixties territory I did heavy cat-eyeliner and nude lipstick; a trench coat, some vintage ankle boots and my favourite Chanel bag.
Usually anything that is not a shirt & jeans or an ass-flashing dress fails to raise BF's acknowledgment but he actually looked at me today and
Anyway - I went to the British Museum today to subside the misery of being hundreds of miles from my mum on mother's day. Nothing makes me feel better like a Sarcophagus. So I decided to try out a lesser version of the Valentino look with this dress. I also thought the plait might be a step toward the fancy-dress, so I went for a slight beehive with a low ponytail. Obvs as I was heading toward Sixties territory I did heavy cat-eyeliner and nude lipstick; a trench coat, some vintage ankle boots and my favourite Chanel bag.
Usually anything that is not a shirt & jeans or an ass-flashing dress fails to raise BF's acknowledgment but he actually looked at me today and
Thursday 7 March 2013
Valentino
[gallery type="slideshow" columns="1" ids="30,31,32,33"]
It would seem odd for me to start a blog at the latter end of a fashion week season and not at least mention it. So here's my gratuitous five-pence worth.
Until Paris, nothing had blown me away. Rihanna for RI was predictable, Topshop made me wish desperately for a donkey jacket, there was ANOTHER boring Mulberry show and I was sick to the back teeth of seeing Cara bloody Delevingne. She has me really feeling like models have lost their mystique, but hey, that's another post for another day. Chanel's global vibe was beautiful, although highlighting that they don't have a single store in Africa may have been some negative publicity they didn't need when showing such an intricate collection. And I think we should all agree to not talk about Saint Laurent for a while, eh? Haven't seen that much tack since I rode a horse. I digress.
I am usually a devout King Lagerfeld disciple. But for AW13, there is only one person I need to talk about. Crown Prince of Haute, Valentino Garavani. Or rather, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli; the DREAM team behind my favourite collection of not just this fashion week season, but of the past few seasons. It is probably sacrilegious to say so but having never been a huge Valentino fan before - I wish they'd have taken to the helm loooong ago.
The contrasting collars aren't anything new and are quite blatantly a ploy to get Hollywood hipsters wearing them at every awards season of 2013. But they are so beautifully executed I don't even care. I never thought I'd want it to be winter after these past few months of perishing on my walk to work but the coats made me yearn for November again, just so I'd have an excuse to buy one - warm, beautiful and devilishly stylish.
Of course, the chances of me buying a Valentino fur coat are about as great as the chances of me marrying the entirety of One Direction in a mormon marriage ceremony - but my favourite thing about Valentino was how achievable it all was. Girls on the street could work this look by tweaking existing items and adding new accessories (and obviously, plaits!). I am going to attempt a Valentino look at work tomorrow. I don't have the gamine limbs or the cheekbones of the girls on the catwalk so I am fully willing to bet I may look like a dumpy Heidi auditionee lost on her way to the West End, but alas. Fashion is serious business and I am willing to take the risk of losing a fool for the chance it pays off and I look quite as divine as the (notably non-Delevingne) models.
We will see if I am yodelling or strutting in the morning. For now, I dream of a field of those winter florals.
Natasha
It would seem odd for me to start a blog at the latter end of a fashion week season and not at least mention it. So here's my gratuitous five-pence worth.
Until Paris, nothing had blown me away. Rihanna for RI was predictable, Topshop made me wish desperately for a donkey jacket, there was ANOTHER boring Mulberry show and I was sick to the back teeth of seeing Cara bloody Delevingne. She has me really feeling like models have lost their mystique, but hey, that's another post for another day. Chanel's global vibe was beautiful, although highlighting that they don't have a single store in Africa may have been some negative publicity they didn't need when showing such an intricate collection. And I think we should all agree to not talk about Saint Laurent for a while, eh? Haven't seen that much tack since I rode a horse. I digress.
I am usually a devout King Lagerfeld disciple. But for AW13, there is only one person I need to talk about. Crown Prince of Haute, Valentino Garavani. Or rather, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli; the DREAM team behind my favourite collection of not just this fashion week season, but of the past few seasons. It is probably sacrilegious to say so but having never been a huge Valentino fan before - I wish they'd have taken to the helm loooong ago.
The contrasting collars aren't anything new and are quite blatantly a ploy to get Hollywood hipsters wearing them at every awards season of 2013. But they are so beautifully executed I don't even care. I never thought I'd want it to be winter after these past few months of perishing on my walk to work but the coats made me yearn for November again, just so I'd have an excuse to buy one - warm, beautiful and devilishly stylish.
Of course, the chances of me buying a Valentino fur coat are about as great as the chances of me marrying the entirety of One Direction in a mormon marriage ceremony - but my favourite thing about Valentino was how achievable it all was. Girls on the street could work this look by tweaking existing items and adding new accessories (and obviously, plaits!). I am going to attempt a Valentino look at work tomorrow. I don't have the gamine limbs or the cheekbones of the girls on the catwalk so I am fully willing to bet I may look like a dumpy Heidi auditionee lost on her way to the West End, but alas. Fashion is serious business and I am willing to take the risk of losing a fool for the chance it pays off and I look quite as divine as the (notably non-Delevingne) models.
We will see if I am yodelling or strutting in the morning. For now, I dream of a field of those winter florals.
Natasha
Hello
I have been faffing about writing this for weeks so I guess it's time to stop formatting as development is not my strong point. Here goes...
22 year old North Midlander in London, always feeling slightly out of depth and slightly like I'm about to get found out as a fraud and shipped off back to my homeland.
Before the bubble bursts though, I'll be documenting it here. London life, opinions (of which I have many), current affairs and whatever pops into my head. I'll also be recording some of my dalliances with style which are occasionally hits and regularly misses.
PLEASE say hi, get involved, tell me if you think I'm wrong and generally make me feel less like I'm shouting into the abyss...!
Natasha x
22 year old North Midlander in London, always feeling slightly out of depth and slightly like I'm about to get found out as a fraud and shipped off back to my homeland.
Before the bubble bursts though, I'll be documenting it here. London life, opinions (of which I have many), current affairs and whatever pops into my head. I'll also be recording some of my dalliances with style which are occasionally hits and regularly misses.
PLEASE say hi, get involved, tell me if you think I'm wrong and generally make me feel less like I'm shouting into the abyss...!
Natasha x
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