I see through you

Marc Jacobs heels, J Brand skinny jeans (courtesy of Net-a-Porter), perspex bangle and silver charm bracelet both Mimco

A bit like my thing for lip motifs (that I wrote about here), occasionally I have a strange liking for things that shouldn’t work, but somehow do. For summer, I’m loving crystal clear perspex in the form of accessories and accents.

Along with a beloved perspex and crystal bangle from Mimco, I’ve been wearing these clear Marc by Marc Jacobs heels on high rotation of late. I call them my Cindarella heels – don’t they look like pretty glass slippers (Cindarella would have certainly preferred these, I’m sure…).

L-R: Fendi clutch and heels, Prada bag

However as these shoes demonstrate, perspex hides nothing and therefore calls for impeccable grooming – I never wear these unless my pedicure is immaculate. Similarly, a perspex chair or lamp requires constant dusting, while a transparent bag calls for an ordered selection of pretty contents – no shoving of old receipts and tissues into such a purse.

What do you make of this look? Fabulous plastic-fantastic, or too horrible for words?

Love, Miss B xx

Luxury is a DVF fluffy silk jacket

So here’s a quick snap of the treasure that got away in the Selfridges sale – isn’t there always one (the one you can’t stop thinking about but know it will be gone if you return to reclaim it)? And why are you looking at me strangely – you don’t pose in sunglasses for the fitting-room paparazzi too?

Diane von Furstenberg*, cream ruffly raw silk jacket – it sort of looks like fur until you get up close and realise every piece is hand stitched. I did manage to get more of Tracey Emin’s print (of a naked woman rather happily playing with a rabbit, in true Emin style…) in the picture than the actual jacket, but you get the idea.* Ie. pure, unadulterated divine luxury, that’s what!

If it weren’t for the current Chanel saving fund, she would be hanging in my wardrobe as we speak. But sadly, even at half price it was still a normal person’s rent for an entire month. I’m consolling myself in the fact that a) it made me look ever so slightly like the Abominable Snowman (albeit a very glamorous snowman); b) I would be leaving a trail of silk fibres all over London as they malted (not a deal-breaker, admittedly) and; c) I did get a few other lovely buys for the price of the jacket.

One last goodbye and then I promise to stop fantasising and move on:

L-R: Diane von Furstenberg jacket, Mimco pearls, vintage sunglasses, Chloe paddington bag

Did I make the right call with my purchases? Do you have something that got away that you always think about in those I have nothing to wear! moments (“if only I had X, my wardrobe would be complete…”)

Love, Miss B xx

* Who I think is just about the coolest woman in New York

** I do, by the way, love that Selfridges have hand drawn illustrations and Tracey Emin prints in their fitting rooms. I am absolutely of the opinion that one can judge the calibre of a store by the attention to details like this (nice clothes and sales assistants don’t hurt either, I suppose…)

Sales frenzy

On Monday I hit the opening day of the famous Selfridges sale. For those not familiar: combine the world’s best department store (it’s not just me anymore – it’s official!) with 50% off all the best brands (Miu Miu, Mulberry and Wang, oh my!) and, well… you get the idea. Woman’s idea of heaven, man’s idea of torture. I spotted no less than three fashion bloggers (we have an inbuilt radar for good sales), two editors, one model and one musician all jostling for the perfect buy. That said, it’s completely manic with a capital M on the first day – expect queues to even look in the designer shoe section and girls who forget any semblance of etiquette.

On the way, I stopped in at the Chanel boutique to investigate the cost of my replacement bag. Lets just say that they don’t come cheap – but as i’m planning on replacing the beloved on my August holiday, it’s budget time until then! This meant I was sticking to a strict £400 budget (except for extreme life changing items that I had to have), and a three hour time limit (the place is like a time black hole of time if you don’t do this!). Since it was a given that I actually wanted a lot more than £400 worth, this resulted in me standing in the fitting room like a person with severe amnesia for a good half an hour, staring at everything in a pile on the floor while vaguely attempting to picture how everything would work in my actual wardrobe (not the fantasy world of Selfridges).

So what did I get? A Matthew Williamson S/S ’10 silk harlequin skirt (not a designer I naturally gravitate towards, but when I saw this skirt happily hanging on the rack in only my size, I suddenly realised how lacking in colour my wardrobe is and it was meant to be); a purple patent Mulberry ‘Melanie’ laptop case/file folio; a nice little stockpile of Elle McPherson and Pleasure State lingerie (which I don’t need to share on here – but I will say that these brands are the best!), and a box of Rococo violet and rose creams for the Clever Boyfriend and I to share. That said, I am still dreaming of two things I let go – a YSL ‘Arty’ ring (which wasn’t the exact style I wanted) and a DVF silk jacket.

So did I make the right choices? Is the skirt a ‘lust-have’ or ‘return immediately!’?

Love, Miss B xx