HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

The revival of over sized coats and vintage styles is a gladsome sight as winter coats are normally made of higher quality fabric lasting you into a number of years. The only disadvantage being that I never had the strength of mind to see into the future when I was younger, and never considered keeping beautiful old style coats or storing them with care. One such piece was a Camel coloured coat with a fur collar that my late maternal grandmother wore with great elegance. After her demise, I wore it for a while, until moths manifested itself in my storage space, requiring the coat  to be discarded. With a lifetime of experience of making poor fashion decisions and purchases, I now think twice before I store things away for another season, and carefully pack woollen coats with the most environmentally friendly deterrent, being Sunlight soap, keeping the little creatures devouring your wool, at bay. I have selected a number of coats resembling a vintage style from my favourite on line store, Asos, all of them reminiscent of glory days when coats were over sized and made with fabric to last a lifetime. These few gems could become pieces that could last you a few seasons, making them worth their weight in Gold.

 

 

all coats by www.asos.com

 

POP UP STORES

If you haven't been invited, or if you haven't booked your tickets yet, you had better log in  and reserve your place for this exciting event on Saturday the 30th November 2013, hosted by Style Society. Cape Town is no stranger to the latest phenomenon of pop up stores, and the innovative stylist and blogger, Kumari Govender, the creative editor behind this blog of note, hosts the third event representing numerous  local designers and international beauty products including Estee Lauder. So slip into something spectacular, slap on some make up, and remember, in case of emergency, apply mascara to yourself before you help others, and come and join the stylish  crowd rubbing shoulders with local designers and stylists at the uber chic Victoria and Alfred Hotel on the waterfront, see you there fellow stylistas!

 

SALUTING THE SUN

Our beautiful province has been showered with innumerate amounts of water, to such  extent that our roads are flooded, requiring a detour of 260 km to get to the sought after resort town of Hermanus, the whale capital of the world.  Finally, the sun stuck it's neck out this morning and with the faintest hint of summer, I immediately turned to some colour. Considering the fact that temperatures are still on the rise, it continues to allow long sleeves, hence my almost luminous blazer today.

 

The best style advice for anybody travelling to this part of the world in the following month, it to suggest that you pack your walking shoes, a raincoat and umbrella, a parka for balmy evenings and of course, your swimsuit. On average, the temperature normally rises to  well into the 30's after such a flood of rain, and may we just as well start unpacking the spaghetti strap tops and thongs for the sweltering heat of the festive holiday! Don't  forget the sunblock and a huge hat!

 

 Blazer - Reserved Clothing

Pants  - H & M

Tunic - Zara

Shoes - Asos

Handbag - Louis Vuitton

Sunglasses - Prada Baroque

 

YANG LI, A FORCE TO RECKON WITH

Visiting Fashion Week in Milan wasn't all about Made in Italy, as some other designers were taking the opportunity to market themselves in pop up stores or galleries with displays of single ensembles representing some of their best.

One whose work was on display in a cubicle set up as a temporary showcase on the Red carpet running across the city during the event, was Yang Li, a man to reckon with in the fashion industry. His designs seem to be dominated with the maxi, with minimalistic trimmings and somewhat of a ethereal feel about his dreamy looking garments. The fabric had a feeling of luxury, draping heavily to the floor, worn by girls as beautiful as those seen on chocolate box covers. I took a few pictures of one such ensemble which I wouldn't have minded finding it's way to my closet...... and then I discovered his website with more of his regal looking designs.

I think this designer is a legend in the making.....
 

 

 

From the website: www.yangli.eu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOARDROOM AND BEYOND

If deciding what to wear was my biggest stress, I'd be very cool, calm and collected. Compared to the effort required to perform my daily task at the office, the effort of dressing appropriately pales in comparison. However, deciding what to wear if you are required to attend a formal meeting at 8h00, a field inspection at 11h00 and a board meeting at 14h00, and then closing the day with another visit to rough terrain, you  have to do a little improvisation, especially having regard to the fact that you are required to move onto the next appointment virtually immediately after the other, leaving no time to slip into a change of clothes. I started off by slipping into a neat pair  of jeans with high heels, a crisp cotton shirt to balance the formality, jazzed up with a string of pearls, and a floral printed jacket which should give me enough confidence to assert myself during my first meeting where I am  required to address an audience. Wearing jeans and plain shoes with an informal top would not exactly have been appropriate, but considering the fact that the same group will be out and about doing a field inspection with me, it shouldn't take them by surprise that I am in jeans. As soon as we arrive at the location where we will be out in the open doing some navigation of rather rough terrain, I will remove the jacket, slap on a cotton hat with sunglasses, and put on a change of shoes where comfort takes preference. After that, I will put on a double breasted blazer in Navy Blue to match my heels turning the look into something  more formal for the next meeting which takes place indoors.

 

I will ruffle my tail feathers, put my hair up in a bun, all in a day's work.

 

How do you dress for a day requiring multi functional style?

 

 

 

 

 Jacket - Queenspark (Old)

Jeans - Belle Epoque

Shoes - Next

Sunglasses - Prada

Belt - Hermes

 

 

INTO THE BLUE

Finally, a glimpse of summer sun, and with temperatures slowly rising, I suppose the outfits will gradually become lighter, and perhaps a little brighter! I much prefer winter clothes, allowing you  to take shelter  in thick fabrics, with the royalty of capes and coats, snug scarves and gloves. However, the little hint of summer this morning spurred me on to find something more colourful and vibrant. Print is so versatile, and having  bought these pants a few months ago already, I welcomed the opportunity to finally slip into them, even if I still had to hold my breath doing so..... It was an instant love affair between the print and the colour block tunic which hasn't been worn yet since I never had inspiration to style it. Now, lets see if I can do something about my writer's block....... hence the short description.

 

Do ever you buy things that you forget about and then suddenly find something to pair it with?

 

 

 Pants - H & M

Tunic - Trenery

Sunglasses- Prada Baroque

Handag - Louis Vuitton

Shoes - Woolworths

Earrings and bracelet - Beijing Silver Market

WIND SWEPT

When the wind blows in Cape Town, it brings summer rain to Johannesburg, 16 hours away by car. It also means that you cannot wear flimsy skirts as the South Eastern wind has no discretion and could easily cause you to bare it all. So if you find yourself in skirts when the Cape Doctor as it is known locally, billows, make sure you wear  drop dead  gorgeous underwear, perhaps in French lace? I have however resorted to  take shelter against the wind with a light weight mid season coat in an over sized style to conceal the blubber of my weekend binge of sweet things,  limiting my risks of being exposed up to the belly button. I note that over sized coats are big in the Northern hemisphere where winter is eminent. I seem stuck in the comfort of monochrome lately, and since I can just slip on a formal white shirt and blazer to comply with court attire if I am suddenly required to venture there, my outfit is easily adjustable from playfully casual to office like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coat- Asos

Pants- Studio W

Breton Top - Primark

Shoes - Asos

Handbag - Louis Vuitton

Sunglasses - Prada, Sunglass Hut