'Tis officially the season! And by that, no, I don't mean Christmas (although there's a concerning amount of Christmas themed decor popping up in the shops already...) I mean the season of rich, striking jewel tones - as I've always associated the A/W season with luxurious colours like ruby and emerald.
In addition to that, I feel like my style repertoire really expands with the reintroduction of coats come autumn, so you can imagine my joy when I spied this vibrant red number. Red is without a doubt one of my favourite colours to style and one of the most versatile, especially come autumn. I love mixing red with block colours like black, white, green, or even pink if I'm feeling brave enough for a deliberate clash, textures like faux fur and leather, and printed pieces too - checks or stripes are my favourites! As well as mixing patterns and textures, I also love mixing metals. It's something I've always done and thought nothing of, despite it being regarded as a stereotypical no-no. That's where these hammered ring drop earrings come in; two differently sized silver hoops held together by a single gold hoop. To me, mixing metals when it comes to jewellery only leaves you with more choice for other accessories, as you're not tied in to any hardware shade. Can't decide between your favourite silver hardware handbag and gold hardware belt? Wear both!
This coat is one of those quite rare finds that I'd describe as; warm enough to be practical but elegant enough to be stylish. It's not a style VS. substance piece, it's very much both. Another little detail I just have to mention is that it has REAL POCKETS. Yes, you heard me right. REAL, quite sizeable pockets that you can put things in. Not a fake, deceptive 'I'm-not-really-a-pocket-I'm-just-a-weird-slit-in-the-fabric-made-to-look-like-a-pocket-but-I'm-actually-not-a-pocket' pocket. PRAISE BE.
So, I've told you that red is my favourite colour to style come A/W - I'd love to know yours. Please let me know below!
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Thank you to Laura Ashley for sponsoring this blog post.
I think you all know by now that I'm a quality over quantity kind of person. In an ideal world, I'd have a (still reasonably large) capsule wardrobe of things that can interchange seamlessly. Being a blogger, that's a hard feat to achieve. So, half of my wardrobe is made up of really high-quality, higher end items that I'll keep and wear for years to come, and half of it is more trend-led, disposable stuff that I know I'll have grown tired of by this time next year.
I recently added a piece to the 'forever' side of my wardrobe; this coat. To me, it's sort of monochrome preppy. It reminds me of a man's boating jacket! I've always loved mixing quite androgynous pieces (structured, oversized jackets, bow-ties, suits) with the hyper feminine (ruffles, pussybows, bright red lipstick) this red jacquard suit paired with a seriously ott ruffled blouse springs to mind - feel free to take a look at that look here, although I was considerably more svelte then, sporting a misjudged dip dye and still taking photos in my back garden. So innocent. So pure. Treasure the mems.
This coat really fits the bill in terms of my style and despite it being quite 'statement', I have plenty of ways to style this in mind.
What do you think? Do you prefer having a more 'disposable' wardrobe or are you someone who likes to invest in pieces with more longevity? Let me know!
If you managed to scroll this far down, I apologise for the over indulgent number of photos. I had two main issues with these images; I LOVE MY NEW LENS and I LOVE THIS OUTFIT. Am I allowed to say that? I think I am. We all are. You know those outfits that put you in a good mood? This is one of them and these are the reasons why;
1. I'd been searching for a white coat that wouldn't make me look like a lab technician for the longest time and I found one.
2. I'm actually wearing seasonally appropriate footwear for the first time in I don't know how long, and oh my god my feet felt so warm and toasty. Is this what everyone else feels like when they wear socks? Why have I been exposing my feet to the cold all winter?!
3. I'm so in love with my new Bulgari Serpenti bag (more on this another time). I was gifted this bag by Bulgari late last year - for which I am immeasurably grateful, and it isn't officially released until this spring so I must admit that there's a small part of me that feels slightly smug about it - not particularly because it was gifted, but because it's not available yet. I am sorry. I spent the entirety of my adolescence playing World of Warcraft. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE COOL ABOUT ME. LET ME HAVE THIS ONE THING. (No but all jokes aside, I am very grateful, to you all as well. If it wasn't for you supporting my content I definitely wouldn't get opportunities like this.)
Touching back on the boots (which are now conveniently in the sale) I found it so difficult to find a pair of non-clompy, reasonably elegant looking everyday boots that had a day appropriate heel. It was almost impossible. The online product photo for these wasn't the most flattering, so I took a risk on these and trusted the reviews I read on the Topshop website. They're flattering, WARM and a perfect sock-style boot with a practical heel and stylishly squared off toe. I adore them so much I am genuinely considering buying a second pair 'just in case'.
Do you have a good mood outfit? I'd love to know what it is!
I also vlogged on the day I shot these photos so I'd love it if you showed that some love.
If you're new around these parts, you might not know that my standard fashion formula is a mixture of high end/designer pieces and high street gems - this outfit is the perfect demonstration of that.
Whenever I wear this cape, I'm inundated with compliments and every time, the person has been aghast when I tell them it's from one of my old high street favourites, Coast. Admittedly, Coast is on the slightly more pricey end of the 'high street' category, but I'd say their pieces are still attainable to a lot of people - so it still counts. This cape (which is also a fave of style queen Olivia Palermo!!1!) has knocked all of my other coats off the top spot. This cape is my no.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. I'm besotted. I want one of these capes to wear and another one to frame like teenage boys do with signed football shirts. There's something so flattering about the cut and the way the wing-like sleeves fall and swoosh. To me, it's cool but elegant.
In fact, this love affair began when I saw Josie wearing it at an event (you must check out her marvellous blog!) and we went through the exact same hooha that I've been going through with strangers, which went something like this; 'OMG where's that from? Is it designer? It's Coast? WHAT?' *eyes fill with tears of joy*
I really do think that there are such wonderful, high quality pieces to be found on the high street and this cape is the epitome of that.
P.S. shameless self promo: there'll be an OOTD of this look and a birthday vlog up on my YouTube channel tomorrow if you'd like to subscribe in preparation!
