You guys know my heart belongs to French Sole, right? Every year during the sales I try to play hard to get, but alas, I’m always tempted back in by the bargains. Check them out for yourself here!
French Sole Sale A/W 2014
Category: Cycling
Autumn Colours: tartan red and Mulberry gold
An ode to the De Manta Clutch
Ever since I booked my tickets for the McQueen show at the V&A museum next year, I’ve been thinking a lot about what to wear. Yes, it’s shallow on one level, but at the same time, as a fan of McQueen, I feel like it only makes sense to take something from the label with me when I go to view the exhibition – as a sign of respect more than anything. However, I have a couple of pairs of McQueen shoes, a skull scarf, my Swallow bracelet – but no bag. Like many people, I really love the knuckle duster box clutches, and I also have a soft spot for the Heroine bags, but they’re both out of my price range! When browsing through the collections online, though, I came across the gorgeous shape of the De Manta clutch, and decided that it would be the perfect bag to accompany me on my trip!
The De Manta bag made its debut in Alexander McQueen’s final show, Plato’s Atlantis, in spring/summer 2010. The collection was inspired by the concept of mankind returning to the sea following an environmental apocalypse, and many of the most striking designs showcased silk screen snake prints. The python clutch in the top left is one of the final items designed by McQueen, and as such it’s a pretty special piece. The shape of the clutch is unique indeed – it’s inspired by the shape of the manta ray, and the two folded corners are held in place by magnets. To open the clutch, you fold the flaps out and the zip is free to open completely. I just love how simple this is, yet how elegant it looks!
On the right hand side is the ocelot print clutch in twill from 2012, which is much hardier and therefore more fitting with my lifestyle! Perhaps my favourite two clutches are the middle two (all of the final four are current season), which are perfect for spring and summer – the lace/crochet print (yes, that’s a print!) silk bag on the right is sublime, but the floral print bag is the one that really caught my eye. At the bottom, we have on the left a feather print design, and on the right, a patchwork design, both in a heavy black and red which suits a bolder colour scheme! All of these clutches are the large size (there are also ‘mini’ sized De Mantas) and retail at £325. However, I may have located a cheaper, second hand ocelot clutch… More on that if/when it arrives!
What do you think of the De Manta clutch? Which one would you carry? And, do you own any McQueen bags?
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Russell & Bromley / Stuart Weitzman Corkswoon Wedges vs Sainsbury’s Tu Suede Wedges
Kate Middleton’s most iconic pair of smart casual shoes are probably her blue suede wedges. Most frequently seen during the 2013 Summer Olympics in London, these wedges are by American designer Stuart Weitzman and available at Russell & Bromley in the UK. However, there are also plenty of high street replicas – such as the pairs from Next and Hobbs last year. This year, grocery chain Sainsbury’s is in on the trend, producing a pair of blue suede cork wedges for £18 for their clothing line Tu. I happened to drop into Sainsbury’s yesterday wearing the originals, so I present a quick side by side comparison in the interests of retail science!
(Just an FYI, Sainsbury’s is the lighter blue of the two!)
I thought it was funny to note that 1) these were the only pair left after the Duchess’s appearance with the similar pair the other day, and 2) that they were positioned right next to some Sledge lookalikes!
My verdict: the Tu wedges are a decent replicate at £18, although the colour is not really a match for the dark navy of the originals and therefore doesn’t blend that well with dark jeans – which is the way Kate usually wears hers. For the price you probably won’t be surprised to hear that the suede doesn’t feel as nice, and the shoe itself isn’t as comfortable – although the heel and platform are both lower!
Sainbury’s don’t do mail order but you can find the details, including the item number, here. The original versions are here from Russell & Bromley, although they always sell out after an appearance!
See my previous post about the difference between the Hobbs Myra wedges and the R&B Corkswoons here.
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Favourite Things: Kate Spade Earrings
Since I first encountered the brand at Bicester I’ve fallen in love with Kate Spade’s preppy, girly style. So I had to pop into the Kate Spade store near Covent Garden the last time I was in London!
The store is brimming with gorgeous treats, including some beautiful shoes on the bottom level.
There’s also a small range of really pretty clothes, including jumpers, dresses and skirts. I’m definitely in the market for one of the brand’s beautifully structured dresses!
For now though, I came away with something a bit kinder to my budget, these gorgeous skinny mini bow earrings:
I’ve loved this design since I saw a gorgeous bracelet featuring it on Pinterest. That’s on my wish list next! Do you like Kate Spade’s style? Got anything on your wish list?
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French Sole Warehouse Sale!
I have to admit, I’m a bit of a brand obsessive. I don’t love a lot of brands, but when I get into something, I can be incredibly loyal, even if whatever the product is is squarely out of my price range! French Sole is one of those products that I fell in love with, but couldn’t really afford. I first became really aware of the brand on the lovely Duchess (aka Kate Middleton) very shortly after she got married, as she piroutted around Waitrose’s carpark wearing a pair of their pretty flats. I fell in love because I LOVE ballet flats, and this company was literally the brand to bring them to the masses – beloved of Diana in her day, too. I had a mega crush on their sparkly gold Henriettas last year, but alas, couldn’t really get a size that felt comfortable on me for the price. Then I discovered their limited edition Union Jack shoes at the end of 2011 and stalked them until they were made available in the UK. They were launched in shops only, but I hassled the poor people at the warehouse until they very kindly sent me a pair for the princely sum of £125 – more than I could really afford, but easily justifiable for the beauty of the shoes, in my opinion! (Many thanks to those long suffering warehouse staff for sending them to me before they were really available, I was so grateful I sent them a card!).
Anyway, I was absolutely thrilled when I saw on Facebook that the company was holding a warehouse sale this weekend, so to treat myself after a fairly horrendous deadline, I got up at 6am, so I could get ready and drive an hour to get to the sale. I ended up getting there half an hour early, but they were already letting people in! 
This is what the warehouse looked like on a dreary October morning – complete with a food van (that I was too excited to buy anything from!). 
This is the sight that greeted me inside – the sides were set up with shoes out on the table corresponding to the sizes, so I immediately ran over to the 40 section. 
There were so many beautiful shoes, I just stared for a bit – then I saw people were picking up the shoes and trying them on, so I immediately pulled my socks off to join in! At this point, I had no idea what the prices were, but that wasn’t going to stop me… 
They had bargain bins with pairs for £10 each, but I couldn’t find anything in there that I liked, so I began to grab pretty shoes at random, hopping up and down and slavering at the display like some kind of uncontrolled pervert in the red light district. 
Honestly, though, can you blame me? 
I eventually worked out that the pricing seemed to be £20 or £40 for the boxed pairs, so I went nuts and grabbed about five pairs that were literally so awesome I couldn’t believe it might actually be possible for me to leave without them. I then hobbled over to the corner to try them on… 
These are the pairs I came away with, and I love each one. Starting from the top middle, a pair of quilted white flats with a black toe (very Chanel-esque), a pair of gorgeous brown-bronze flats (which you can’t see in the photo, but are actually lined with black fur), another pair of quilted shoes in brown with patent strips on the toes, then possibly my favourite, the brown glitter pair so similar to the ones I coveted last year (except not the same colour, but since then I’ve bought a similar pair in gold and black, so these are perfect!), and finally, a cute pair of plaid flats with a bronze shimmer finish, and more patent strips on the toes. The quilted pairs were £40 each, and the others were £20, which means I got around £600 of shoes for £120. Very. Pleased. The only thing that’s not too good is that it’s been fair too cold to wear these anywhere since I bought them – roll on spring, please!
(Even more amazingly, Vogue featured French Sole four times in their list of 100 best shoes for A/W 2012, and two of those styles – 28 and 53 – are very similar to the ones I picked up at the sale! Dare I say I prefer the shape of the ones I bought, though? Cos I do! http://www.vogue.co.uk/jewellery/news/2012/10/best-shoes—autumn/winter-2012-13-designer-heels-flats-and-sandals/gallery/59)
Becoming Effie Trinket
If you’ve seen my recipe for Katniss’ alternative plum stew, you’ll know that I love the Hunger Games. So much so that I’m planning a party (well, it had to be done, right?!) with loads of food, and costumes! Who else to dress up as other than the style queen herself, Effie Trinket?!
Looking at photos of Effie, it seems as though two of her major style signatures are puffy sleeves, and contrasting colours. Looking around on ASOS, I found this great, puffed sleeve coat from Liquorish:
Looks just like the kind of thing that Effie would wear, right? Even more so when you check out the back view and those awesome sleeves!
The item is much pinker in real life (you can check it out here), so I reckon the best colour pairing for this is teal! Something like this, sitting on top of a curly blonde wig!:
My Holiday to Cornwall: or, How To Put On A Stone in a Week
So, I went to Cornwall for the first time in my life about two weeks ago. I had a blast, visited some amazing places, ate some amazing food, but in the process I destroyed my bank balance and my waistline! The next month is going to involve some serious recovery… 
I Actually Won Something!
Oh my goodness! I actually won a competition! I can’t believe it, but it’s true!
Hobbs ran a competition which invited people to post their Ascot Ladies’ Day outfits on Twitter using Instagram. I’m not really a Twitter user, but I do have an account, so I Instagrammed a pic, bumbled about trying to make it work – and lo and behold, I won a £200 Hobbs voucher! Here is my winning entry: 
I love my Britannia hat even more now! And, I love Hobbs as well! Thank you, Hobbs!
Ascot Ladies’ Day!
I love Ascot Ladies’ Day… Let me revise this. I love wearing a hat in the company of other, well-dressed hat wearers. I just really, really, REALLY love hats. But, I never wear hats. If you knew me, you might be surprised how much I love hats, because of my general lack of headwear. So, Ascot Ladies’ Day is the day I pay a wedge of cash to someone to let me into a field wearing a hat, so I can feel no shame all day long for indulging in my frivolous love of hats.
As it’s Jubilee year, this was my hat of choice:
This is the Hobbs Britannia hat, and the moment I saw it in the paper, I had to have it. I bugged the hell out of the Hobbs customer service team until it was released, and as soon as it appeared on the site, I ordered it immediately. Then, it became the centrepiece of our grand scheme to colour co-ordinate for the day. I always go with two of my friends, Rachel and Lorraine, so it was decided that we should wear red, white and blue. I immediately bagged red, because it’s my favourite colour and I decided I needed an excuse to buy another red dress. I forgot I already had three. Rachel bagged white, and Lorraine went with blue. Then, we decided to each have one accessory with the Union flag on it. I already had my hat, so shoes and a bag were the obvious choices. For my wedding, I actually wore a pair of Union flag shoes, so Lorraine decided to track a pair down for herself.
Rachel bought a really cool Union flag purse by LDC (and it was so cool I had to buy one too), and we were all set… apart from the dresses. At first we were all going to buy the same dress in different colours, but the one we had in mind just needed too much alteration, and the blue and the red weren’t particularly strong. So, we abandoned that idea and Rachel ended up with a beautiful white ASOS dress (that she won in a competition!) and Lorraine borrowed another ASOS dress from me. I wound up buying a pretty lace dress from Pepperberry. 
Hilariously, I spent ages before the event agonising over whether everyone else would be wearing this hat, because I’d seen it in the press a lot after I bought it, and it was a fairly obvious choice considering even the venue was decked out in the flag to celebrate the Jubilee – but no one else was wearing it. Someone else did have on the exact same dress as me, though… Typical! 
Here are Rachel and Lorraine – I cleverly cut off Lorraine’s amazing shoes, because I’m awesome at photography!
Needless to say, we had a great time. We won a third of our stake back, which is great, and we even got to stay for the singing around the bandstand! 
If anyone has any other British hat-wearing events they can recommend to me, please do!
Food, Fashion and Fitness 