Freedom

11 Thursday Apr 2013
Freedom

07 Sunday Apr 2013
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Two things I brought home from my last visit to Portugal:
A new necklace from Zara.
An old little velvet jacket.
My mother was pretty excited about this velvet petit jacket she found in my grandmother’s wardrobe. It’s in excellent condition despite being more than 30 years old. The most lovely thing about it is that it was tailor-made by one of my grandmothers, who used to be a seamstress (or modiste, as she preferred to be called) for my other grandmother :) Very sweet.
Sadly, not everyone at home was able to see the sweetness of the whole thing. As soon as I put the jacket on my father’s first reaction was something like “Don’t tell me you’re seriously planning to wear that tiny jacket…” My brother, on the other hand, said between laughs that I looked like a toureiro (that is, a torero or bullfighter. Basically, something like this). He might have a point.Buh, men…
Still, my mother and I believe this is a great little jacket and it’d be a shame to leave it abandoned to rot in an old closet. I’ve already thought of several mix & match possibilities, like for instance…

♦ with a delicate lace top (this is from good old Zara) ♦ with a linen/ jeans longish shirt (this one is from Sandro) ♦ with a striped top (almost any colour and format can work. this black & white one is from Cos) ♦ or simply with a dress (this one is an old Vivienne Westwood jersey dress that I love but almost never wear because it’s skin-tight and requires advanced suck-your-belly-in techniques that I’m usually too lazy to endure) ♦
But there are many more possibilities. It’s not that hard to find a place in one’s wardrobe for a little black jacket.
Now I just need the weather to get a bit warmer…
01 Monday Apr 2013
I’ve gifted myself recently…
♥ wallet / mini-clutch by Clare Vivier for & Other Stories
I already mentioned Clare Vivier leather goods a few times in this blog. I’ve longed to own one of her bags for a long time now. Thus, as soon as I realised she had produced a small collection exclusively for & Other Stories I knew I would be definitely buying something… I am loving this yellow colour for spring (well, at least for my imaginary spring as I’m starting to doubt whether we’ll ever get any spring this year in this country), so this double-pocket wallet in textured leather was an easy choice.
♥ brass ball-ring from & Other Stories
I also got this brass ring from & Other Stories. Because I like (big) rings and I thought this one was a bargain (at £12).
♥ L:A Bruket lip balm
I’ve got a couple of things to say about this:
♥ Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro #400
I confess I got tempted into buying it after seeing it on Into the Gloss (I love that site, by the way :)
I’ve always been quite scared of red lipsticks but I liked the way it looked on the girls (check it here) and after reading a few other very positive reviews I decided to take the plunge. And, fortunately, I love it. It’s super-easy to apply, it has great staying power, and a beautiful matte red colour. I highly recommend it. (I’m wearing it today, in case you want to take a peek.)
21 Thursday Mar 2013
I finally wore a shirt I got for my birthday (back in October!)
And this is how I went to work: white shirt, blue jeans, and warm cardigan + coat.

I’m so much looking forward to Spring weather…
02 Saturday Mar 2013
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One of the Christmas presents I received from my husband was a little velvet pouch full of Liberty coins. It’s basically a gift voucher for Liberty, one of my favourite shops in London (maybe in the world?), but in a much more appealing format. Heavy, realistic-looking coins printed by Liberty’s Central Bank. How delightful!
(In fact, one of Liberty’s employees told me the coins are printed in the Bank of England printing facility…which I find hard to believe, but well, it kind of sounds amusing.)
I had hoped for a very rational management of my Liberty coin stack during 2013. I’d estimated that the amount would be enough to last until June. Besides, I am attending a weddings this summer and I thought I could use a good share of my coins to buy a lovely dress for the occasion. Ahah… I was fooling myself, obviously. It’s the 2nd of March today and I’ve got only one-third of my initial stack of coins left.
So, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce my 2 investment pieces:
Isabel Marant Etoile Sandrine skirt
A.P.C. blue, silver & white collarless shirt (the photo doesn’t do it justice. The fabric is really lovely)
I couldn’t resist to these two pieces. Haven’t worn them yet (it’s been TOO COLD here in London), but have already figured out several possible looks (do you this when you buy new clothes or shoes? I always do it. I mean, I try to estimate how many nice looks I can create with the item I’m considering buying. The more looks, the higher the probability of buying). I’ve photographed a few of the ways I’m planing to wear these pieces – see below…

♥ with simple black shirt & tights + my Zara booties ♥ with my husband’s XL green jumper ♥ with my Whistles cream top & bare legs(?) (Well, this one is good in theory but in practice I’ve got some doubts. I’ve to accept that cream/beige/nudes are hostile territory for me. Because I’m already too beige myself, these colours don’t do my any favour. I’ll need wear some crazy makeup or jewellery, in order to bring some life to my face) ♥

♥ 70s style with high-waisted corduroy trousers from Anthropologie ♥ A.P.C. good-girl style with shirt & skirt by the french brand and Ash camel boots ♥ relaxed style with H&M boyfriend jeans (hated by my husband. Whatever) and brown brogues from Dune ♥
The allocation of the remaining coins is now under deliberation. I had my heart on a spring jacket by Sessun that I know Liberty is going to stock (this one), but possibly due to the fashion-weeks-effect (i.e. the effect of seeing too many wonderfully dressed women wearing colors, prints, taking risks and being fashionable and happy – see post below), I’m now leaning towards something less sensible and a lot more fashionista from Kenzo (e.g. a nice colourful silk scarf) or Carven (e.g. a wonderful pleated skirt).
I will let you know of the outcome.
17 Thursday Jan 2013
I don’t wear eyeshadow very often. My daily eye makeup routine usually consists of a black or bronze eyeliner, eyelash curler and, if I’m feeling adventurous, a layer or two of mascara.
Every now and then I’ll take a step further and wear a bit of eyeshadow. Bronze/kakhi hues are my favourite and Bobbi Brown’s long-wear cream shadow in Beach Bronze is a winner.

Beautiful colour. Highly pigmented. Long lasting.*
* I always apply MAC’s Prep+Prime eye base under any eye shadow. I found it makes all the difference for me – it’s the only way make up can last for more than a couple of hours on my oily skin.
Worth every penny.
(There’s a couple of interesting discussions about the merits of primers recently on Into the Gloss (here) and Garance Dore (here), by the way.)
Do you wear eye makeup regularly? If so, what type of products?
And now for something completely different, this is what I (also) wore today…
My beloved Flavie blouse.
I’m so glad I bought this blouse. It’s exactly what I feel like wearing right now (under several layers of cardigans, coats and scarves).
14 Monday Jan 2013
Posted in Wearing
Squirrels and rabbits seersucker dress from APC Madras…

I love wearing dresses (you already knew this because I keep repeating it :) and, for me & my lifestyle, nobody does day dresses better than APC.
06 Sunday Jan 2013
Posted in Wearing
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(and a Zara dress – a gift from my parents. The boots are quite loose on the leg, which sort of make me regret not having returned them. Oh well. Too late now.)
06 Sunday Jan 2013
Posted in Wearing

(and one of my favourite bracelets, made of laser-cut leather)
29 Saturday Dec 2012
Posted in Wearing
Part II: the Obira cardigan by Étoile Isabel Marant.
