Last month, Kate wore this pretty little ruffled collar shirt from Gerard Darel under a green Hobbs jacket at an EACH engagement. Priced at £105 (already reduced from £175), this top was pricey, but sold out almost right away. A stock refresh recently sold out too, apart from one lone item in size 44, which you can purchase here.
If you describe your style as classic or preppy, you should have at least one Breton style top in your wardrobe! The Breton top is a classic and has been popular with the fashion set for nearly a century, after Coco Chanel introduced the top to her fashion collection in 1917.
The original, classic Breton top was worn by sailors in the French navy, was introduced in 1858, and was supposed to feature 21 stripes for Napoleon’s 21 victories. The lore surrounding the Breton top also states that the stripes were selected so that a sailor would stand out in the sea if he fell overboard! Breton tops are most classically defined as navy and white, although red and white is fairly usual alternative. These tops have been worn by Audrey Hepburn, Kate Middleton, Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel, Brigitte Bardot, and Alexa Chung, to name but a few. Taking stock of my wardrobe recently, I realised that Breton stripes had become something of an obsession, so I decided to do a post featuring a few of my current favourites!
Is there anything more classic and elegant than a well-made, analogue watch? Let’s just say, as a child of the ’80s, this fact completely escaped me for many years. When I were a lass (and all this were fields, err, mines… and coal… factories?) all I wanted was a digital watch with the most number of features humanly possible. I distinctly remember staring at the Argos catalogue, comparing the number of functions each watch had to the other, and trying to work out what was the best one my parents would let me get away with. Waterproof – yeah, but HOW DEEP COULD IT GO? Calculator? But how many time zones does it cover? And how many buttons does it have? And, DOES IT HAVE A STOPWATCH?
Nowadays, we all have phones to do all that for us, and in twenty years time I guess another girl will be updating her holographic diary about how she loves retro smart phones, but at least her robot companion can cook dinner and play movies from his forehead. For now, though, let us admire the sleek, simple, stylish lines of the humble, yet sophisticated, wristwatch…
You might have seen a few other bloggers raving about the beautiful watches from Daniel Wellington, a company whose style is both preppy and vintage, and manages to be modern and classic at the same time. The company has recently expanded, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about them as time goes by – these watches are truly beautiful. The first watch that caught my eye was the Classic St Andrews Lady – I’m a sucker for brown leather and gold – especially rose gold!
Classic St Andrews Lady
What sets Daniel Wellington apart, though, is the use of Nato straps on their watches – brightly coloured striped bands which give the brand a distinct personality and sense of playfulness.
Classic Oxford Lady
I love this great colour combination! Nato straps are certainly nothing new for watches, but I’ve never seen them so elegantly presented as they are here. Even better, the Nato straps are interchangeable, and you can purchase additional straps so that you can constantly update your look. Here’s the strap named after my home town of Southampton!
Southampton Strap
What a brilliant idea – and it makes you feel better about investing in a watch that is so versatile! Check out the site at www.danielwellington.com and tell me which one is on your Christmas wish-list!
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