Devoted follower of fashion or faithful to your own style?

Gorgeous look by Haider Ackermann...which I would love...

As I was getting ready this morning, it occurred to me that whilst I adore fashion, I have stayed quite true to certain foundations of my personal style over the years.

There are four things I haven’t deviated from since I was about 15. My style mantra can be encapsulated by these words - hemlines, heels, hair…and leather!

mcqueen

Heels

I have touched on my love for heels here before.

I rarely wear flats, unless they are trainers or flip-flops, and a 3 inch heel is sensible to me. But hands down, my ideal heel height is 4 or 4.5 inches. Posturally, I hold my body better and walk straighter.

I know heels are not for everyone and I am a great believer that if something isn’t comfortable you shouldn’t wear it…but I love them! These are my latest lust, by

Alexander McQueen

midi erdem

Hemlines

This season is awash with really full midi skirts, in quite weighty materials, which don’t work for me at all. I’m not sure if it is my height, or my shape or both (!) but I tend to be swamped when I try these on.

Here’s a lovely example by Erdem

, which I am sure will suit someone long, lean and athletic. Often, I am drawn to things that I know look better on someone taller or leaner, but it is nice to explore out of your fashion comfort zone sometimes. And if you don't try it, you'll never know...And whilst I love to wear floor length skirts, dresses and even the occasional sari, I favour mini skirts or shorts (as I am wearing today).

Obviously appropriateness and decency come into play. My shorts are never bottom skimming and the days of bare legs are saved for a hot summer’s day. But if I were to pick any sort of daily uniform it would probably consist of boots (high), tights (spotty) and shorts. 

Hair:

don’t worry I’m not going to post another picture of my hair here, as there are more than enough on my

Instagram

and

Facebook

!! But long hair is my thing.

My mum actually didn’t let me have long hair for ages, but as soon as I was allowed I have never looked back. Hair can be the ultimate style statement in my opinion and I am quite in awe of people with short sharp edgy haircuts.

Personally the thought of having half an inch cut of mine leads to palpations!

Leather

Shame, this doesn't start with an “h” as I love a bit of alliteration… but anyway… I have been a leather jacket girl for about 20 years. Here's one of my most coveted jackets by

Rick Owens

, it is the most gorgeous unusual green:

I love the elegance and warmth of being wrapped up in a proper coat…but when I am in a rush and undecided as to what to wear  I always grab my trusty leather jacket, or one of them, as maybe unpredictably I have a few!

So, having said all this, I do love to know what is going on in fashion – this season, the coming seasons – though I tend not to be ruled by it. 

 I feel as you get older you definitely have a better sense of your own style. I still like to experiment and try new things and sometimes something unexpected can become a firm favourite. There are other looks however, I have tried past and present which should be labelled, “What was I thinking?! For me this is anything too floaty or "boho" - just doesn't work on me.

So what about you? Where do you stand?

Are you fashion forward or do you prefer to stick to what you know?I would say I have my feet in the “stay true to your own style” camp, whilst keeping an eye on new and upcoming trends…. and with this in mind, I seem to have my eye on a cape this winter…thoughts?

This one by Alexander McQueen might be a little high fashion!!

cape2

How do you justify the cost of clothes in that “I just have to have it” moment?

Picture this – you’re out shopping with your mates and you see a piece of clothing in your peripheral vision, you make a bee-line for it – touch it, hold it up to you and check the price tag. You’re thinking, “I’ll just try it on to satisfy my curiosity”. This is fatal, especially if you have chosen well and it fits like it was made for you. Your mates, the shop assistant all chorus, “You look so good in that, you have to have it.”

At this moment, maybe like me you turn into a fashion schizophrenic. One part of my brain is telling me I don’t need this (let’s say for instance) dress. I begin mentally scouring my wardrobe for something similar. I have had to cultivate this habit. My default position is “I love this, it’s so versatile, I can dress it up and dress it down, it’ll never date…” and so it goes on. I have already bought it, paying is merely a formality.

I used to be a true clothes shopping addict – no justifications, impulse buys, coming home with something very similar to another thing I have already and feeling slightly peer pressured into buying something slightly out of my budget and sticking it on my credit card.

Nowadays, I am more discerning. Generally if I find something I love that’s expensive I will look on the high street for something similar. A case in point is this gorgeous Zara green silk shirt I bought a few weeks ago.

Photo taken from Zara.com

It is £39.99 as opposed to a Raquel Allegra one (which isn’t silk) around at the moment, retailing at £318 – which also looks lovely. The problem with "high street" brands these days though is the prices have been steadily creeping up and so aren't always the cheap option. I saw a couple of dresses on the Topshop site for £600 yesterday. Not what I expected, but price point may be another blog post.

So my justification list is broadly this:

1. Fabric. This is really important to me. Silk and cotton always win, I struggle to pay a lot for polyester.

2. Workmanship/lining. I know a few amazing seamstresses and used to make clothes myself when I was a teenager, so finishing off a piece of clothing well is vital.

3. Is it going to stand the test of time? I will admit I have a lot of clothes, but I still pull out things I bought ten years ago and they haven’t dated.

4. Do I really love it?

5. Does it fit me perfectly?

I know we all have budgets, and we all go through phases of “being good” and not shopping (this was me in January and February) and then having the odd splurge on something we can’t resist. So, when you see something you love, how do you justify the cost?

PS: Last I tweeted the top picture, a beautiful Dolce and Gabbana dress. Those of you who know me will suspect I succumbed. I did. Old habits die hard; it’s on my credit card…Sssshh!

Shoes, shoes and more shoes

Shopping is an addiction I enjoy, and dresses and shoes are two of my weaknesses. I think maybe shoes edge it slightly. I will pretty much always start an outfit from the bottom up.

I think Marilyn Monroe said, “Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world.” I’m with Marilyn on this one… perhaps not the world, but certainly your bit of it. A lovely pair of shoes gives you "instant sassy" on your feet.

Anyway, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites that go with pretty much anything, and my most recent footwear purchases, from the Christmas sales.

Firstly, Sam Edelman. Sharkskin Anastasia Kid Suede Shoe. Not crazily expensive for designer shoes and really comfortable. To be honest, these tick so many of my boxes. Shoe boot - check. Comfortable - check. Suede - check. Grey - check. I love all colours but there is something very chic about grey in my opinion. I think these come in black and a burgundy too and are still on sale. For me, these are a "do anything, go anywhere" shoe. The next pair are Vicmatie, an Italian brand who have boots sewn up, as far as I'm concerned. Also, grey, suede, but I promise there is some variety coming! These are probably my most sensible pair of shoes/boots. Sturdy and hard wearing, provided you spray the suede to protect it against the rain. In my head these are basically flat... Now come the two Christmas splurges that I secretly put on my credit card. When a pair of shoes feels and looks good sometimes budgetary constraints go out the window and lust takes over...These are the first offenders ;-) They are Dolce and Gabbana, Crystine lace ankle boots. Again a shoe boot, but so delicate. I was deliberating for a long time about lace shoe boots and some were ridiculously expensive and and a lot of the high street versions didn't look like they would stand the test of time. Whether I spend £20 or £200, I really like things to last. This next pair were a real extravagance but in my defence the leather is like butter, they fit like a glove and are an awesome colour. Without fail, when I wear these someone compliments me on the shoes. They are Gianvito Rossi. Whilst looking through my current favs, I rediscovered, these lovely black, suede boots from Office. I love Office. For me, they produce fantastic shoes and boots that are often so close to an exact luxury brand design at a fraction of the cost. These are a few years old. I remember lusting after a pair of Christian Louboutin boots that I simply couldn't justify, even in my contrived mind. Then one day I was running chores in Wimbledon town and I walked into Office for some R&R and, to my delight, found these. Not exactly the same as the Louboutins obviously, but a definite nod in the right direction. Admittedly they are a bit scuffed, but they make me smile. As you may have realised I am a heel girl. I’ve been wearing heels since I was sixteen, I'm short (5'2") and walk a lot better in heels. Put me in pumps or sneakers and I tend to waddle like a duck. Heels seem to make me stride along and improve my posture.

To me, the shoes that stand the test of time are the ones that don’t date, go with a multitude of outfits and are comfortable.Shoes that I can’t walk in, or stand in for hours, when I’m performing for instance, are no good to me.

Like anything, walking high heels takes practice. I’m not for one minute saying I am the perfect heel wearer, but no one likes to see someone tottering and stumbling along in shoes they can’t walk in.

Just to reinforce the power of my addiction, I took a picture of the bottom half of my shoe cupboard (!).I know some people take photos of their shoes and put them on the outside. I like to label them, by make, style, material or an event that reminds of the shoes. I have some shoes from Aldo that I wore in a music video several years ago, that I think you can see at the bottom. I would love to know what your current fave shoes are and if/how you like to organise them. Leave me a comment below so we can compare collections!