A sea of greys

I am always comfortable in grey... does being British help? Here against marble and brick, I am wearing a MaxMara pinstripe jacket (seen previously as part of a trouser suit in 'Suited... for a Hampshire wedding'), a silk/organza floor-length skirt by Lynn Lugo, and a diaphanous Ted Baker top, with pleating which has medieval echoes. Chocolate-brown complements the greys, in the drawstring suede and fur bag, and the Ash tooled-leather boots. Even my jewellery is grey-hued, although the quartz earrings, from Istanbul, have a flush of pink about them.


http://gb.maxmara.com/
http://www.lynnlugo.com/
http://www.ashfootwear.co.uk/

Carven cuts it!

This coat of coats, by Carven, draws the eye and plays to the crowd. It is pure Paris since it requires neither introduction nor explanation. It is un vrai mish-mash of denim, dark and bleached, sheepskin pieces and Mongolian lamb fringing. However it was not purchased across the Channel, but closer to home in south London: Paraphernalia, SE4. The coat requires little accompaniment except austere black and the plainest wall of London brick. And whilst there may be more sheep than horse to its composition, it does remind me of a piebald pony I once knew!

http://carven.fr/cms/en
https://twitter.com/Paraphernalia65

'You use a glass mirror to see your face...

... you use works of art to see your soul,' according to George Bernard Shaw. Is that why I much prefer the latter? Last night, for this mirror-mirror moment, I am leathered up in an '80s Jasper Conran jacket, silk Aldolfo Dominguez shirt, Chinese-patterned trousers and my Ras boots, from Stella C. The bag is vintage, along with the quote!

http://www.jasperconran.com/
http://www.adolfodominguez.com/uk/
http://www.brandosa.co.uk/shoes/womens-boots-ras
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stella-C/151371178270114
https://plus.google.com/111925631767748661731/about?gl=uk&hl=en

Up at the Palace

A fine, late afternoon for a march about the park in Crystal Palace, wearing my latest purchase: a beautifully-pleated old military coat of little provenance, bought from 'The Good Fairy', Katherine, who never had cause to wear it. I opted for comfortable InWear skinnies, a Roland Mouret jumper, some biker boots from Harrods and a sporran to lend a flourish. The latter (Scottish Gaelic for purse) graced my brother's wedding in Aberdeenshire.

http://www.thegoodfairy.co.uk/
http://www.inwear.com/gb/
http://www.rolandmouret.com/
http://www.harrods.com/

Let everyone wear feathers for a day!

Caught the final weekend of the Royal Academy of Arts' show dedicated to one of the world's leading and most influential architects for the past four decades, Richard Rogers. Renowned for an 'inside out' style that challenges how we see and use buildings, Rogers' unique approach has created landmarks such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Lloyd's Building in London. Pictured in Burlington Gardens, I'm wearing a double-helping of Topshop: fantastic feathers and trendy trousers! My finely-knit jumper is by Roland Mouret and all the jewellery is vintage. The pops of green in the beaded bag and satin shoes add a little colour to the equation... I would like to think that Mr Rogers RA would approve. At the end of the exhibition, I left my mark on the comment wall, with a complementary feather!

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/richard-rogers-ra-inside-out/
http://www.topshop.com/?geoip=home
http://www.rolandmouret.com/

Frock coat: by night

The same frock coat - this time by night - worn with perfunctory black but with more stripes from the Mary Quant shirt I wore to my graduation! Back then, I matched it with a cream linen pleated skirt, long since banished from my wardrobe.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/m/mary-quant/

Frock coat: by day

What is a stairwell for, if not for a photo opportunity? Beautiful colour-blocking begs for a little pattern - in the form of my finely-striped mono frock coat and further stripes in my funky boots. All else is plainly black - from the InWear skinnies to that rucksack.

http://www.inwear.com/gb/

The Decorative Fair

The Decorative Fair opened its doors yesterday to a six-day autumn event, with more than 140 exhibitors in Battersea Park, showcasing fabulous finds from Fornasetti to a '70s Saint Laurent suit! I'm wearing a pair of silk-mix cream Chloé trousers with a pretty embroidered motif and a snugly-fitted Tommy Hilfiger jacket. The '70s bag is from Vien in Crystal Palace and the animal-print clogs are surprisingly by Scholl. And if the chair suits, sit in it! This one is a beautifully-deconstructed Georgian example and is, of course, for sale at Stand 12.

http://www.decorativefair.com/
http://www.chloe.com/#/en
http://uk.tommy.com/
https://plus.google.com/100655231884972489613/about?gl=uk&hl=en
http://www.scholl.com/en-GB/Homepage.action
Stand 12: http://www.drennan.co/