hilkat

I’ve had a thing for big t-shirts with skinny jeans for a while, and loved the print on this £5 bargain buy from Peacocks mens section, so it came home with me. I’m not entirely sure if I like it used in this outfit - it might have worked better with cuff sandals than pumps, but that’s the benefit of hindsight. Still, you’ve got to take the good with the bad, which is why I’m posting this outfit despite the fact that I’m not that keen on it.

Until recently, I would never even have dreamed of even looking at a pair of Doc Martens, let alone considering buying a pair, but somehow they’ve ended up on my winter wishlist.

Personally, I blame the likes of Agy Deyn, Alexa Chung and the lovely people on TFS for posting some of the best DM photos I’ve ever seen. Apart from the one person who labeled them as ‘junk fashion’ (what does that even mean you idiot?!), everyone had pretty positive things to say about them, and posted pictures of their own, and several from Lookbook.nu. I logged on and found some really amazing and inspirational pictures, which have only made me more inclined to nip out tomorrow and buy a pair.

(NOTE: This absolutely does not mean that Agnes have been forgotten!)

A few weeks ago I won possibly the best vintage dress on eBay that I’ve ever seen (ok, ok, maybe not as good as the Chanel that went for over £100), and until now haven’t had chance to post a picture. I am, for the last time, in Paris, and thanks to my utter tiredness while editing, managed to make the dress two different shades of red. It’s actually more similar to the one on the right hand side, and the print is fantastic. I was also rather taken with the flowing front panels, which could be tied together but I like to leave hanging. It’s an amazing dress, but rather an awkward length - I have absolutely no idea where I’m going to wear it, but for now just looking at it is enough.

Apologies if I seem to be harping on about Topshop a lot lately (no, they’re not paying me for the publicity - maybe they should be. You hear me Phillip Green? Give me a frickin’ job!), but they really have excelled themselves lately. The arrival of Topshop Studio online, the latest ‘new in’ items, and my most recent ‘must-blog-about-this’ subject - the Topshop Unique A/W 09 show.

I could go on and on about the obvious space theme that ran throughout the collection, and how it’s been mixed up with an undercurrent of grunge (lovely, lovely, lovely), but instead I’m going to concentrate on the layering, colours and textures that made it quite possibly the best Topshop Unique collection yet. There was a distinct air of the outsize as the models strutted down the catwalk in excessively large jackets and cardigans, with a couple of the biggest hoods and scarves I’ve ever seen, while at the opposite end of the scale were the fabulously printed bodycon dress. The fabrics were an impressive mix of fringing, weaving and above all, metallics, which transported us to another realm, assisted by the spaceship printed tops and dresses. A special mention goes to the metallic harem pants which glittered and sparkled their way down the runway, and also to the multicoloured top which was simply out of this world (sorry, couldn’t resist). The layering was spectacular, with tops, dresses, jackets and cardigans all competing to be the centre of attention, while PVC and leather leggings were tucked into boots and kept hidden under dresses. Which leads me nicely to my final point (always save the best for last) of the magnificent, the spectacular, thigh high boots. Impressive without being too fussy, heeled without being too high and most of all, perfect to wear with anything this winter. Whatever planet you happen to be on…

The Autumn / Winter 09 collections were all pretty impressive, some stood out more than others but overall it provided a breath of fresh air from all the gladiator sandals and pretty-pretty floral dresses littering the shops at the moment.

It’s been a while since I’ve had Dsquared on my radar, but after trolling through the shows, I was surprised to find they were actually my out and out favourites. I’m not sure if it was because they tugged at my old rock-and-roll style heartstrings, or because they simply had a great amount of wearability, but either way I was left coveting most of what I saw. Dean and Dan apparently based the collection around the ‘walk of shame’, their models strutting down the catwalk wearing last nights clothes with a little something thrown over it. Fresh from what we’re to assume is a hip party, Jordan Dunn and co. checked their mobile phones, sipped from Starbucks lattes and even dragged nonchalantly on cigarettes. The feel of the show was very much mix and match - elegant evening gowns paired with denim jackets and hooded voluminous sweatshirts cinched sharply with skinny belts - and I couldn’t help but think of the Olsen twins (never a bad thing) and their Hollywood cohorts, attempting to hide from the paparazzi.

My last post was showing my pick of the ‘new in’ section from Topshop, and included a denim gilet, one of which Dsquared kindly added to their collection teamed with possibly the tightest leather trousers I’ve ever seen, and a deliciously grungy rock-print t-shirt.  Check shirts were out in force, both slung loosely around the waist and worn under denim jackets - my favourite element of the whole show was the layering. T-shirts jostled for attention with leather and denim jackets, gilets and hoodies, while wrists were stacked high with cuffs and bands of various colours and textures. The footwear was wonderfully chunky, from wellington-esque boots to platform sandals and even some wonderful leopard print ankle boots.

I reckon Topshop and I have some sort of psychic link thing going on. It’s the only possible explanation for the fact that I’ve decided that after experimenting with head-to-toe colour and pattern, I’m going back to my old ratty-tatty grungy rock-and-roll way of dressing - and Topshop have overnight started stocking practically everything on my wish list.

Don’t get me wrong, colour is good, but I’ve discovered that it’s much better in small doses. Some people look amazing when they’re dressed in clashing prints and colours - I, however, am not one of them. I did have all the things I loved way back before my son arrived… the chunky boots, the little floral dresses, tatty t-shirts and trilbys galore. But there’s something not quite right about squeezing a size ten / twelve body into size six clothes - voluminous it ain’t. So now I’m off on a mission to find all the styles I had before… but bigger. And judging from this little lot, Topshop could be the place to start.

I’ve had a bit of a thing for tie-dyed clothes lately, and went so far as experimenting with dying at home, so it comes as no surprise to me that I’m fairly in love with this dress. I also like the fact that its a little bit distressed - it makes it that little bit extra grungy. The tassle crop-top needs no explanation - it’s just amazing.

I already Heart NY and Heart London, so how rude would it be to leave out Paris? The beanie hat is perfect - one can never have too many hats, or so I say.

This silk dress might actually be my favourite - its voluminous, its dark coloured and it’d look amazing with a pair of leggings and the wonderful Agnes boots that I can’t stop thinking about. The floral crop vest has one of those prints that would look amazing toughened up by some studded jeans and ankle boots - with a long line top underneath of course.

I love heels but practicality states that I get more wear out of flats, and these ankle boots would be perfect for me - the fringing and stitching adds that extra bit of interest. The cassette bag is immense - I don’t usually do gimmicky bags, but this one just caught my eye.

The skirt has studs and the jacket is beaded - that’s enough said, I reckon.

I love the croc bag simply because it looks so formal, and so would look great with an oversize rock-print t-shirt, skinny jeans and biker boots. The best thing about fashion is that you can take items out of context, and use them almost against themselves to produce unexpected results. The t-shirt is wonderful - how could I resist a Kurt Cobain tribute t-shirt?

I’ve actually been hunting for a sleeveless denim gilet for ages, and am convinced that just taking the sleeves off of a charity shop denim jacket will do the job. Otherwise I think I’ll be nipping out to get this one. I’m a big fan of printed and oversized t-shirts (not sure this one is meant to be oversized, but that’s how I’d wear it), which is why this one caught my eye - it’s cropped and distressed as well, which makes it even more perfect.

No pigeons this time, though. Here I am in a street in probably the most stylish city in the world, wearing the vintage floral crop top from earlier posts (the right way round this time), a blue skirt and my beloved brown boots.

Continuing on the theme of cut-and-paste-outfit-pictures comes one of my favourite dresses that looks a little bit vintage but was actually £1 from Primark. I love it because it looks ever so dainty, which means it’s utterly perfect for teaming with some stompy-clompy boots. And it looks a little bit French, especially with the trilby.

For the next few pictures I’ll be in Paris - I thought this would be an ideal background since it’s all I’ve blogged about lately.

Every year, when winter rolls around, I end up desperately just grabbing at things I think I’ll wear, without any sort of fixed ideas or overall theme. Yesterday, after reading a thread on TFS about getting your new season purchases organised, I decided that this was the year for a change and a fresh approach to style in the colder weather.

I posted yesterday about grunge style, and how I’ve got my beautiful, wonderful boots for Winter already lined up. Behold, the amazing, the fantastic, Agnes from Topshop…

They’re chunky, they’re black, they’re patent (never thought I’d use that as a plus) and they look like they could stomp all over those wimpy stiletto boots that appear every winter. Also on the shortlist is the almost-as-wonderful Aztec:

The thing with Aztec is that they’re flat, which equals comfort. Also, they have amazing studwork on the toes, which is a definite pluspoint. I have a pair of battered old brown boots from a couple of years ago which are just not, I don’t know, stompy clompy enough (that’s definitely a technical term) and so this winter they simply don’t make the grade.

I love posting pictures of my outfits, I really do, but a) I’m no model (which is why my face is invariably hidden) and b) unless I’m out somewhere that I can nip off round a corner so nobody can see me being photographed, there’s not a lot of scope for good backgrounds. Which is why for the next few posts (and for all eternity if it turns out as well as I hope) I’ll be pasting the photos of me in various outfits onto fancy backgrounds. This serves two purposes: 1. The stacks of nappies / childrens toys / piles of magazines / general crap doesn’t ruin the effect of the clothes and 2. It’s a little bit quirky and different. And is the only way I’ll be visiting far off lands for the forseeable future.

First up is my I Heart London t-shirt and my jazzy new leggings that I won for £5 on eBay (yep, current ASOS price - £18). It’s a bit of a sloppy, no effort outfit which is why I wore it on Sunday to slob about in and generally do nothing. This time I’m on a simple leopard print background.