There's been an element of wanting to look a little muted of late which I put down to the icy freeze that has invaded much of Europe over the past few weeks. I don't feel like shouting all the time with colour and prints when sub zero winds are blowing in my face which explains why I busted out with that Opening Ceremony x Tron dress at the Lane Crawford event in 23 degree warm Hong Kong and why shades of khaki, beige, grey and navy are the anchors that have been toning and weighting down any smidge of colour or print that I might be wearing. However, I see that London will soon be climbing out of its minus zero mire soon and wearing two coats, two cashmere jumpers and two Heat Tech tops will no longer be a necessity (I'm not adding numbers for effect there…) and incidentally, a burst of colour and print has simultaneously come my way to ease into the ice thaw – like they knew they were meant to gel together in a cacophony that actually at times, thwarted the camera from focusing properly because it couldn't figure out what to focus on.
(Worn with Michael Angel x Manolo Blahnik peep toe boots and vintage checked jacket)
First up, a bargainous printastic £20 jumper that I picked up at the Wilkes Street sample sale from David David. Did ya make it down? I landed in from Hong Kong on Sunday morning and made it a point to drag myself down despite my rule about sleeping in all day after a 12 hour plus flight. I got some Christmas shopping done too which made me feel all merry and totally on top of the whole festive thing.
Next up, Fedex thankfully didn't deliver whilst I was away in Hong Kong and instead popped over yesterday with these Suno printed trousers that I bought on Black Friday when the Opening Ceremony sale kicked off. For some reason this year, I wanted to get in on the Black Friday action despite me not being American and not really knowing the significance of Black Friday other than heavy discounting. I ploughed through ten e-commerce sites in two hours and settled on these trews that miraculously needed no trying on. I think I've finally overcome my fear of the 'perfect trouser fit' and can now approach buying them like I do with skirts and dresses – i.e. being drawn to a certain deet be it print, colour, embellishment and not really bothering with the final fit. Not necessarily a wise strategy but here's to my trousers rail being every bit as traumatically varied as my skirt/dress rail.
The print placement on the trousers mean that you really want to have both waistband and cuffs on show…
The next print adding device was a Christmas gift surprise courtesy of Proenza Schouler, which also very neatly coincides with my recent habit of carrying very small bags or none at all. I've got my going-out needs down to my phone, Oyster card, keys, Vaseline and debit card which makes this mochila wallet (weirdly in Spanish, 'Mochila' means backpack?) something of a small clutch or necessities-holding device. I'm also figuring out a way to belt the wallet onto the waist to make a sort of compact bum bag. The final final print to add to this seasonal print merry-making outfit are the nails thanks to a last minute trip to Wah at Topshop before I went to Hong Kong last week.
Have you combusted yet with a print-induced headache? Just as I finish typing this, sunshine has burst in all over my flat which I think is a sign that more print congested outfits are in order…