December Loves

1. Wearing: I’m currently feeling festive in daily combinations of sparkles, lace and snuggly knits. I’ve just added this Alice by Temperley lace dress (which after months of wanting, I finally nabbed on sale at MyWardrobe.com) to my wardrobe and have been wearing it with opaque tights and heels and tuxedo jackets until the return of summer means it is warm enough to wear it on it’s own.

2. Buying: I can’t get enough of Lulu Frost’s spectacular jewels at the moment, and have just added this necklace (in the white version) from her latest collection for J. Crew to my jewellery drawer.

3. On my wishlist: I simply adore my Charlotte Olympia Kitty heels, so much so that I’m contemplating a pair of the flats too. I can’t justify a second pair in black, but this burgundy velvet pair is too perfect for words and would add a dash of fun to everyday outfits.

4. Small pleasures: Things are hectic this week to say the least, so I’m so looking forward to a week of lie-ins and decadent laziness between Christmas and New Year. Whenever I put on a silk sleep mask (this version is so Holly Golightly-cute!), it means I’m serious about a looong sleep and not to be disturbed!

5. Sparkling: These tiny golden star earrings are festive, whimsical and fun, but cost less than a Christmas pudding. Yes please!

6. For my home: In lieu of a real Christmas tree, I’m burning Diptyque’s limited edition holiday spruce candle - which smells exactly like the real thing – each evening. It’s festivity in a (beautiful) jar!

7. Beauty note: Come December, only dark red or glittery nails will do (or, better yet, a combination of both of these). I’ve been wearing Deborah Lippmann‘s burgundy ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ glitter polish constantly.

8. Play: Indulging in my favourite festive tradition and watching the English National Ballet’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum. Quite simply the loveliest way to spend a December evening!

9. Listening to: My Rat Pack Christmas album is on nightly rotation (apologies to all my neighbours); Frank, Dean and Sammy Davis are getting me in the festive mood…

10. Watching: This weekend we’re getting together with some friends for an all-day Christmas movie marathon (with a lunchtime trip to the outdoor ice rink thrown in for good measure). It’s all about The Holiday, A Muppet Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, Scrooged, Elf, Love Actually and Miracle on 34th Street.

I’d love to hear what you’re all enjoying this month! Happy December lovelies.

Love, Miss B xx

The First Week of Term

There is something so wonderful about the first week of the new academic year here in Cambridge. Being a University Town, there is a noticeable shift in the mood of the city when the students flood back for the new year after the summer break.

I’m long out of university myself (though I live rather vicariously through the Clever Boyfriend, who has just started as a fellow at the University after graduating from his PhD this summer), but I can’t help but smile at the sight of the new students, wide-eyed with freshman enthusiasm, wheeling little wooden trolleys laden with all their worldly possessions through the cobbled alleyways to find their new dorms. Thankfully, lectures and essay writing never factor into my current life (studying three degrees was quite enough!), but I treasure the fact that I still get to experience the fun side of University life by merit of living here; there are wonderful start-of-term dinners, garden parties in courtyards that overlook the river, magical libraries I quite happily get lost in for hours, and candlelit dining halls that look straight out of Hogwarts.

And of course, the Oxbridge collegiate lifestyle has influenced more than just my social life. While in summer I’m all about florals and white lace dresses, by the time autumn comes around I’m craving a more preppy uniform (give me a rope of pearls, a bow headband, a crested blazer and a crisp Oxford shirt and I’m happy). The Clever Boyfriend and I took these photos the other day (after lunch in Kings College and a visit to the college library) and it struck me just how much that preppy sensibility has permeated my wardrobe. For here I was dressed like a grown-up version of a stereotypical Cambridge student, with a dose of irony (in the form of my toungue-in-cheek accessories) thrown in for good measure.

And you know what? I kind of love it.

Wearing: Camilla and Marc dress, Uniqlo shirt, Lulu Guinness book clutch (borrowed), Charlotte Olympia kitty heels (past season, but similar version here), J. Crew crystal necklace, Jersey Pearl necklace, Mimco cuff, Chanel crystal camellia ring and earrings (worn as collar studs), bow headband from Tokyo.

How does your style change at this time of year?

Love, Miss B xx

June Loves

Just a few of my favourite things this month:

1. Play: Living out my own Great Gatsby fantasies and going to an opulent Cambridge May Ball (in typical Oxbridge eccentric style, May Week actually takes place over two weeks in June). Fireworks, champagne, a live band, dancing until dawn, and everyone dressed in their sparkliest refinery.
2. Sparkle: I have been in love with this Lei Van Kash rose ring for about two years, so it’s probably about time I actually buy it.
3. Buying: It feels like every item of clothing I’m buying this month is either floral print or white lace. I especially love this dress by Whistles that is just made for a garden party.
4. Wearing: I’ve rediscovered my beloved collection of Marc Jacobs Stam bags (I have three!) and have been slinging my putty-coloured version over almost everything. Casual and chic all at once!
5. Beauty note: Annick Goutal Petite Cherie perfume, which smells of juicy pears and vanilla and freshly mown grass in the morning (I like to pretend I’m lying in a sun-drenched orchard in the south of France when I spritz it on)
6. On my wish list: Charlotte Olympia Pomeline sandals (blush pink + pom poms!)
7: Listening to: Vampire Weekend (the preppy soundtrack to so many Cambridge May Week parties)
8. Watching: Tennis at Wimbledon (accompanied by champagne, strawberries and cream and a spot of people-watching).
9. Gourmand pleasures: Elderflower cordial is the flavour of summer in a bottle.
10. Small luxuries: Fresh garden roses and pink peonies from the farmer’s market.

Which pleasures are currently making you smile this month?

Love, Miss B xx