The Joy of Jacquard

Jumper - Topshop

Trousers - Mango

Shoes - Unknown

Necklace - Vintage

Large Ring - Prickig Katt

As a life long lover of paisley, it seems only natural that I would have been drawn to  jacquard loom and, indeed, I have.  For months now I have lusted over quilted  jackets and slinky jacquard print bodycon.  I have drooled over it in jewel tones, in pastels, in monochrome, in metallic.  At one point, I'm sure I have even had a dream in which I was wearing it, yet somehow I never made a purchase, never had a piece to call my own.  Until Christmas morning, that is.

Amongst a generous pile of gifts, I found this knitted piece.  In a perfect combination of shades for winter - dark, yet still bright - and in my favourite sweater shape - thick but not oversized - it was a little piece of woven heaven.  As much as I am often drawn to minimalist styles, I equally enjoy patterns that make you look twice and textures that you could get lost in.  I love paisley because you could follow it forever, and jacquard holds the same appeal for me.  On another level, I also appreciate the contrast of decadent jacquard against the practicality of a knitted jumper.  I feel like it just works, as a piece.

There is something about jacquard that feels so deliciously luxurious; something about the fact that it is so intricate, so multi-dimensional, yet purely for aesthetic satisfaction, that pleases me to the point of feeling almost a little bit royal.  For this reason, I wanted to style this jumper simply, with classic pieces.  Once again, out came these green cigarette trousers, which for an item bought on a sale whim, come in very handy, very often.  As far as footwear was concerned, it was finally time to put to use these shoes which I picked up for just £5 - yes, that's right, £5 - as part of a buy-one-get-one-half-price deal.  At the time I wasn't too taken by them but they have really grown on me, to the point of being one of my favourite pairs.  I like the simplicity of them, which makes them instantly classy, combined with the chunky heel that adds a hint of modernity.  

In a nutshell, I think that what I'm trying to say is that just as I will love paisley forever more, no matter how in or out of fashion it is,  jacquard is also here to stay.  Everybody is allowed a few pieces to act as their personal "get out jail free" card.

Also, I must apologise for how lax I've been on the blogging front lately.  I was just about ready to get back into the swing of life when I sustained a pretty horrid ankle injury which has had me house/bed bound for longer than I would have liked.  Onwards and upwards though; peaks and troughs.  

Come Fly With Me - My Journey Essentials

Shirt - Vintage

Jumper - Mango

Jeans - Miss Selfridge

Boots - Bianco

After a dull week of essays and end of term poverty, I've finally set down on English soil which means one thing: it's Christmas!  I think that one of my favourite things about going away from home for such long stretches as I tend to is that coming home again becomes genuinely exciting, rather than being a chore.  I also enjoy the actual journey home quite a lot too.  I like curling up in a seat - be it on a plane, train, car, bus, boat - with some snacks and letting the hours fly past in a whirl of naps and books and day dreams.  

However, I know from extensive field research that an underprepared journey is a miserable one.  And by that I am, of course, referring to the outfit.  It must be comfortable but - and I know this from experience - not so socially unacceptable that disembarking the vehicle becomes a moment of dread.  This is important because I at least like to pretend to have an air of the accomplished traveller about myself and pyjama trousers just can't achieve this.  It needs to have the potential for warmth because trains and coaches never seem to turn the heating on at appropriate times.  Equally though, these layers must be able to be shed when, inevitably, the drivers opt of air con on the hottest day of summer.  There should be no clunky jewellery and a minimum amount of bobby pins.  Hooded items are an added bonus, as is a small pillow.

My pièce de résistance of the formulaic journey outfit is a scarf though, which can often compensate for deviating from every single of the above guidelines.  In spring, summer and autumn a large pashmina is perfect, ticking the boxes of duvet, pillow and seat spooning partner all at once.  However, for winter journeys (especially those starting in Sweden's double figure minus temperatures) something a little more heavy duty is called for.  In came my Monki scarf, essentially a giant fleecy blanket.  It was the most comfortable journey I've ever had and you can buy one of you own for a mere £18 here (it assure you it is a lot larger/generally more spectacular in the flesh).

Now, you may be thinking, why is she waffling on about this when there quite clearly isn't a scarf in sight?  And, yes, you'd be right.  This is what I wore under the scarf though: my stretchiest jeans, loosest shirt and softest jumper, with a cami underneath for extra layers and stripping options.  I would usually automatically tuck the shirt in but I liked the way it looked loose yesterday; I think it added some interesting texture to that outfit, making it a little more off duty.  I picked this lemon beauty up for £3 on a vintage adventure a few months ago, despite feeling a little like Dolly Parton in it at the time.  It has really grown on me though and I love the stitching detail on the collar which continues vertically down the opening.  Together, these items were versatile, comfortable and - hopefully - acceptable for public wear too.  Wham bam thank you mam.

There we have it - my journey essentials.  Just don't forget your socks.

The Daily Bread #16 - Soccer Mom

Shirt - River Island

Jumper - Mango

Shorts - Vintage Levi

Shoes - Topshop

You probably wouldn't believe it from this outfit, but it's actually -8˚ in Gothenburg right now, with -23˚expected tomorrow.  Considering how much I've been telling anybody who'll listen for months how excited I am for frosty weather and festive cheer, I'm actually woefully unprepared for these low temperatures.  My solution to this problem for the past few days has been hibernation but I have classes tomorrow, not to mention a serious case of cabin fever.  I'm really not sure how to tackle this.

You aren't here for a weather report though.  I popped this outfit on this morning as I wasn't doing anything or going anywhere and, quite frankly, I just wasn't feeling very inspired.  I know that I'm probably not meant to say that here, but it's true.  I just don't think that it's my week.  I never thought I'd miss England this much but by Jove I do.

One thing I will say though is that I've spent all day feeling a lot like an early 90s soccer "mom".  I think it's the badly dyed bouffant of hair and the cut off Levis, I just picture myself running around after some rowdy sons called Brett and Finn.  (I used 'mom' here rather than the more common British 'mum' because I just know that no mum would ever buy into this.)

Anyway, I'll update you on my snowy adventures tomorrow and I promise to have cheered the hell up.  It is Christmas, after all. 

Elise.

The Daily Bread #14 - The Restorative Powers of Paisley

Jumper - Mango

Jeans - Topshop

Boots - Bianco

Belt - River Island

Necklace - Topshop

Today is not my day.  I overslept, remembered it was the week for my night class, then I took about thirty photos and only these two were even slightly acceptable.   However, on days like today, it always helps to wear something that makes you smile the second you look at it.  For me, that's these jeans.  After all, when in doubt, wear paisley.

As it's just a casual, dreary Thursday, I styled these statement jeans simply with my new jumper I picked up in the Mango sale and this necklace that got delivered yesterday.  The necklace, which you'll see in more detail soon, is a collar made of hands and did come with dangly moons, but one fell off this morning so I just unhooked them all and I prefer it now I think.  It was reduced to £4.50 so I don't feel too bad about dismantling it.

Anyway, I have an urgent appointment with the library to attend to so I shall leave you to your days and return more cheerily tomorrow.

For now,

Elise.

Inspired By... My Pap

Today is, or would have been, my Pap's 79th birthday.  Whilst I'm not at all into the whole furore of Facebook RIPs, and I'm pretty sure he would have been equally as appalled by them, I thought I'd pay tribute with a post of style inspired by him.  This isn't meant to be dreary in the slightest, so I'll apologise in advance if this serves as a miserable start to your Saturday.

My Pap was very particular with his dressing.  He couldn't abide a hair out of place, spending a great portion of his time picking fluff from our shoulders, offering to shine our shoes and smoothing our hair.  I remember appearing on my 18th birthday in a new cardigan, a multi-coloured oversized affair from Miss Selfridge, and him telling me, "I like that cardigan but I don't like that fluff" as it clung to every dark surface in the room.  

I think it's fair to say that my Pap didn't beat around the bush to preserve your feelings.  If you looked a mess, he'd tell you, and if you acted like a mess, he'd tell you even more.  When you did something well though, or you looked 'smart' (his word of choice for aesthetic compliments) he would be the first to tell you, and I think praise like that is worth a thousand times more than when it's coming at you for no good reason.

Outfit #1:

Trousers - Monki; Jumper - Mango; Shoes - ASOS; Belt - Topshop

For this outfit, I have embraced androgyny in its fullest and went for something my Pap would have actually worn.  He always brought out a new pair of corduroys for special occasions and this pair I scouted out in Monki a few days ago sprung to mind straight away.  He also would have really embraced the fact that the colours of both the jumper and the trousers are seen in the check detailing on the shoes, always being one for a bit of cohesion.  I added the belt in because I rarely leave the house without a belt and neither did he, but it's just occurred to me what uproar the different shades of leather of the shoes and belt would have caused.  Crikey.  I generally really like the 'Grandad' feeling of this whole outfit and I think it'd be perfect for a crisp winter day, paired with a Mac and a home knitted scarf.

Outfit #2:

Dress - Love at Topshop; Coat - River Island; Boots - Missguided; Hat - French Connection

I chose here the kind of outfit my Pap would always have something nice to say about -  prim, put together, smart.  I'd turn up to a family meal in something like this, hair in a bun and shoes shined, and you know he'd say something nice.  I specifically chose this dress not only because I've been lusting after it for a while now, but because it's by Love and I think his favourite thing I ever owned was a floral dress from Love.  I've paired it with this coat because, well, warmth first and the hat because he always loved me in a hat.  I've gained this reputation amongst my family as being the one who does hats, and that's not a label I'm going to shirk because I bloody love them.  Whilst I do like this outfit anyway, for me the thing that made it particularly Pap-esque was the colour coordination between the floral design, hat and coat and the black dress background with the black boots.  Of course, opaque black tights will also feature in this outfit, but I didn't think you need to see a picture of those.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe this post is a bit weird but I just woke up this morning with some inspiration for it.  One of my favourite things about fashion is how we draw inspiration from everywhere, from the strangest of people and the unlikeliest of locations.  All the things my lovely old Pap loved in terms of how we dressed, I steered clear of for so long, turning my nose up at any kind of colour coordination, at polished shoes, at neat hair.  Yet now, I love it all.  If only he had lived to see the day I stepped away from grunge for good.  And if he knew I was finally growing out my natural hair colour?  Well, the excitement would have been overwhelming.

God bless,

Elise.

Autumn Uniforms

I've spent all day tidying, cleaning and generally fumigating my room from it's hovel-like state back into something more resembling a bedroom (-cum-loung-cum-study-cum-kitchen).  I succeeded fully on this front, if I do say so myself - when I uploaded a picture to Facebook, my friends thought I'd just gone and photographed somebody else's room - but it did mean that my day was spent looking like a swamp monster.  When I eventually finished the long tidying slog, I was very excited to shower and transform myself back into a human but then realised that all my towels were wet from the washing machine.  As I'm pretty sure that none of you want to see the jeans and sweatshirt wearing mess that I am today,  I'll spare you an outfit post.  

Instead, I thought I'd do a round up of my favourite "uniforms" from Autumn 2012, as its drawing to a close now and heading towards an all together chillier winter.  I really do subscribe to the whole concept of uniforms; I think it's so useful to have a few outfit templates to fall back on each season on days when you haven't got much time or you are feeling particularly uninspired.  I've been kind of badly dressed this week (which was terrible timing I know, given that this was the week I chose to start blogging outfits) but this is the sort of thing I've been wearing.

Outfit #1:

Blazer - River Island; Shirt - H&M; Trousers - Topshop; Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell

I love trousers.  I love everything about them: the practicality, the comfort, the often androgynous style, the political statement (yes, out comes my closet feminist once again).  I love them.  However, I have a bit of a problem with jeans quite often; I think they look great on other people but when it comes to myself I just feel a bit like I'm giving in, being lazy, falling into a rut.  For this reason, this season's influx of tailored trousers suits me down to a tee.  I love pairing patterned trousers with a plain blazer and, equally, I like pairing block coloured trousers with a novelty blazer, such as my blue and yellow Topshop boating blazer that I'm a little/a lot in love with.  Add my other  seasonal favourite of a slightly sheer button down shirt into the mix and you've got the perfect outfit, as far as I'm concerned.  This will work equally well with brogues, loafers or my absolute favourite, which I like to call "the wearable wedge".  When I was trawling the internet for inspiration for this post, intending to put in a picture of the tan JCs I own, I found this and I'm now lusting after a colour pop shoe for my blazer and trouser combinations.

Outfit #2:

Jacket - French Connection; Jumper - Mango; Skirt - Mango; Boots - Bertie

As much as I love smart dressing, sometimes it's raining and you're tired and you want to stay in bed, and on those days I always opt for something as close to a duvet as possible that I can wear.  In comes the chunky knit.  It just manages to make the least comforting of outfits into something so cosy and that's how I've styled it here, and a lot in real life this autumn.  I bought this exact skirt at the end of the summer and, being pretty poor at the time, really uhmmed and ahhed as to whether I could keep it.  Eventually I did and I'm so glad.  It's served me well on endless nights out but also adds a lovely touch of the 60s to a daytime outfit.  I think that ankle boots and a leather jacket are both autumn essentials and I just love the casual yet slightly edgy feel they give to the jumper and mini combo.

Outfit #3:

Blazer - River Island; Blouse - Topshop; Skirt - H&M; Boots - River Island

I've always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with high waisted, skatery style skirts.  I pull together an outfit that I love out of them but then it comes to adding outerwear and shoes and suddenly it just doesn't work for me anymore.  I've always tried cardigans but they just make me feel a bit like my Gran, and not in a good way, and no shoes or boots ever seem quite right.  Last winter, I solved the latter problem with my heeled Chelsea boots from River Island which worked perfectly and I think these brogue style boots could be even better.  I was still having a problem with cover ups though until I finally fully boarded the blazer bandwagon, at long last, and I've never looked back.  To me, they  add some maturity to such a feminine skirt and the fitted styles that I favour also enhance the silhouette created.  I lusted after this skirt from H&M for weeks, finally had the money to buy it and found I was between sizes.  Usually this wouldn't be too much of an issue but I find that H&M sizing is often erratic and this was the certainly the case here, with the 10 being far from even buttoning up but the 12 making me look like I'd been swallowed by a material monster.  It was a sad day.

As I've said and you can problem feel, autumn is sadly drawing to a close meaning that I need to conjure some new uniforms for the coming winter months.  I imagine that they'll be somewhat similar to these but swapping blazers and jackets for winters coats and adding tights/socks into the mix.  I had a little spree in the Mango sale yesterday for some essentials which I'm excited to show you over the next few weeks/months.  I promise to actually get dressed tomorrow, ha!

From a very tidy room (and mind),

Elise.