My new style crush. Oh & when good outfits go bad
So following on from yesterday where I had my dalliance with dresses (and for all those who have said I should wear more - clearly I did learn something from my little escapade as I'm planning on wearing another one out for dinner this evening. Miracles do happen), last night was struck with further inspiration for working with what I know and love, merely from watching TV.
And I have a new style crush. It doesn't happen very often but I was literally salivating. And it wasn't over Johnny Lee Miller! It was Lucy Liu in the role of Dr Watson in the US adaption of Sherlock Holmes - Elementary. We watched two episodes (the husband wasn't best thrilled, he loves everything Sherlock Holmes. However apparently this doesn't include when the Americans get their hands on it. It was trash tv and, as the least cerebral member of the family, I thought it was just marvellous)
Interestingly she was wearing a skirt (but then she's so tiny she would probably come up to about my waist), which again was food for thought. However it was the layering (the layering was just fabulous), the colour palette, the mix of textures, the thrown on aspect of it all that I loved.
It's certainly nothing new or groundbreaking but I found it really quite inspiring. Maybe it was the fact that, on googling extensively afterwards, I discovered that she (the character - my new BFF) was a fan of a wedge trainer. Or was it that she has the Rag & Bone Newbury boots that have been on my wishlist forever. Perhaps it's the little cross body bag she has that is so like a Mulberry Lily but with a long enough chain to not look like you've borrowed a 5 year old's bag (as it sits on me just below my boobs, if I wear it cross body. A more idiotic look you have yet to see. Having said that, as I mentioned she is Lilliputian compared to myself so maybe it does sit better on her). It could be the coat that she has bears a passing resemblance to one that I have.
Oh who cares, I think she looks great and it gave me some lightbulb moments, looking at my wardrobe, laden with skinny trousers, to give some new life to old outfits.
So here she is, Lucy Liu as Dr Watson.
And here is my newly put together outfit. Like I said, hardly groundbreaking in style terms, but, for me anyway, a slightly refreshing change.
Here I am, off to the cinema to watch Ice Age 4. Not exactly Skyfall. And it wasn't as good as Alvin & the Chipmunks Chipwrecked (I hadn't even been drinking and I really really enjoyed it - Alvin 3 not Ice Age. Like I said earlier, I'm not exactly the highbrow member of the family. I fear I may have enjoyed it more than the kids. They delight in telling everyone it's my fave film. Which isn't true. It's not my favourite. If you held a gun at my head It might figure somewhere in the top 20...) But I digress. Was very pleased with my outfit. If I hadn't taken so long in trying stuff on, I may have had time to put some decent make up on, mind.
White ribbed 3/4 sleeve top - Joseph
Charcoal drape jersey top - FCUK
Petrol, black and off white tie dye jeans - H&M
Black suede & patent boots - LK Bennett
Black boiled wool coatigan - Ronit Zilkah
Black silk jersey scarf - Cos
Charcoal arm warmers - Toast
Gold bee necklace - Alex Monroe
Black Faridah hobo bag - Marc by Marc Jacobs
Black sunglasses - Dior
Ok. So now we move onto something which is up there under the heading "Outfits you will never wear again". I actually didn't think it was that bad till I saw the pics of it later in the day (I don't tend to check them normally as we're pegging it out of the house and RR1 just paps about 40 and I wade them through them later)
Barf. I hate it. The coated skinnies aren't that red in real life - they're much more oxblood. But they look terrible with my (beloved) Ash wedge trainers. This is the sort of pic where people are fully justified in saying - look how horrific those monstrosities are. I hold my hand up at this juncture and say, yup, you'd have a point. (only in this sort of photo mind....)
None of it works. In isolation I love all the pieces, but together, no no no no no. I also realised later in the day that the River Island longline vest had stretched hideously (that'll be going back and getting exchanged for a smaller size - I still love them but want a smaller size - especially as there's nothing else like them out there that I've found)
Lesson learnt. On the upside, at least I have make up on!
Black vest - River Island
Beige linen top - H&M
Oxblood coated skinnies - Dorothy Perkins
Camel knitted blazer - Whistles
Tartan scarf - H&M
Gold bee necklace - Alex Monroe
Gold pine cone necklace - NW3 by Hobbs
Black Faridah hobo bag - Marc by Marc Jacobs
Not entirely happy with my outfit from yesterday either - normally with a polo neck and these trousers I would have preferred to wear a heel - looks fine with the poncho but not so keen on it without it. However I dressed in the morning for Bonfire Night last night and knew that a) it would be outside and dodge terrain and b) it would be freezing.
Black polo neck - Zara
Leopard print skinnies - Primark
Tan & gold stud scarf - Taylor Stephens
Black biker boots - Kurt Geiger
Black crocheted hat - Primark
Black arm warmers - Long Tall Sally
Black fringed poncho - Reiss
Stone maxi zip cross body bag - Anya Hindmarch
Tomorrow I shall be trying to hunt out other ways to give new life to my beloved skinnies. Have a fab Saturday night everyone!
Agree about Lucy Liu!! Was just watching latest elementary episode last night and thought wow she is great at layering! She always has lovely necklaces and earrings too!
ReplyDeleteShe's an inspiration to us all! Or at the very least the stylist on the show is.....! Will have to look out for her necklaces - I think I have been merely obsessed with her coat and jumpers. x
DeleteLove the coatigan she's wearing that is not unlike your black one at all! Loving that last look - any chance that you could do a post on ponchos and the like? You seem to carry them off with such panache whereas I always feel like Batman when I wear one. Oh and you've inspired me with the wristwarmers too - just placed a cheeky wee order from Brora for my Xmas (to be handed over to the Hubs to put under the tree for me, God knows what I would end up with if I left it to him).
ReplyDeleteI am the world's biggest fan of wrist warmers & ponchos. I now only have two though but they are very much my go to faithfuls for cold days when I can layer up like crazy under them.
DeleteTo be honest, I think the thing is, they're much easier to wear if you're tall, having said that, there are golden rules I stick to when wearing them, so I'll have a think about a post.
And yes, I will be doing a Christmas wish list in the run up the festive season which will definitely include a variety of wrist warmers.
I love Lucy Liu's look too and as I am a midget she is a great style crush for me to follow. There has to be some advantages to being small such as wearing a Mulberry across the body without it looking like it's holding up the boobs.
ReplyDeleteYup. In one. The Mulberry cross body on me looks like it's additional scaffolding to hold up my non existent boobs. Darn being tall!! Or of course they could just make it with a longer strap MULBERRY ARE YOU LISTENING??!!
DeleteHave the coated skinnies in oxblood but not worn yet...cant decide
ReplyDeleteLove your bonfire outfit
Sue
Have to say I would LOVE mine if they were longer..... Perhaps an error buying in the regular length (which was all they had) Great for a night out though! And I think I shall team with black.
DeleteLove the Primark hat!! Will be hunting that down in my local store!! Not so keen on the DP oxblood jeggings, I have the black ones after pinching the idea from you and they are so comfortable I could have bought the whole range of colours but glad I stuck with just the black as I'm not sure the fabric works so well in other colours!! Have some Zara wax coated jeans and they are so much better!! So glad to hear you have those days too where you put something on and just don't feel right in it!!
ReplyDeleteThe Primark is, honest to god, 5 years old. Comes out every year and I have the same one in beige. Not sure if they do them every year but definitely worth seeing what they have in there. I perhaps should have looked at the Zara wax coated jeans but they are SO short that they'd be even more irritating at £40odd than the £20odd I paid for the DP ones. I shall make them work somehow....!
DeleteShe looks fab and so do you! I think the DP skinnies actually look great with the Ash sneakers! I wore my Alex sneakers with my Zara burgundy pants for this post with Avril and Fiona - I think you are being too harsh on the outfit - you always look great and they work well together! http://poppys-style.com/2012/11/02/day-to-night-in-burgundy/
ReplyDeleteoh you love, thank you. You guys look FAB!!!!!!
DeleteIf there's one thing I love about winter it's knitwear and how versatile it can be! I love to mix it up with fab scarfs and hats and layer it over just about anything. You look fab in the cardigan and I especially love the leopard print skinnys. I'm trying to find a good pair of skinny leather trousers at the mo, any ideas where I might find some??? LOVE this blog!
ReplyDeletehmmm leather skinny trousers. There are lots around I'm sure - I'll have a think if I can see of any I've come across. And yes, I am a HUGE fan of knitwear - much prefer a plethora of cardigans and scarfs to layer than a more conventional coat. Lovely to find another fan! (and thank you for being so lovely xxx)
DeleteI think you are being very harsh on yourself, I think all the outfits look fab as usual. Love the h & m linen top, I managed to get the cream one a few weeks back and love it, prefer it to the Zara long sleeve ones. Would like it in other colours but they only have a coral colour in the my size at the moment and I'm not keen. I have that H & M check scarf, love it, plus it's so cosy! X
ReplyDeleteoh you lucky thing getting the cream in your size! They only had XS or medium and of course I need a small. Doh. Yes, the coral isn't really for me either - I didn't see it in black, did you? Was it in Bluewater you looked? They had hardly any. And yes, the scarf is great, isn't it!
DeleteThe XS is my size and they hardly had any except in the cream. Yes it was at Bluewater, I live in Ashford but work in Gravesend so Bluewater is always my go-to! No I didn't see any black, had a look at Westfield as well today and they only had the cream and coral- think they had a cream in the small though... X
DeleteI think you look fab as usual so are definitely being too critical of yourself! Have sky+ the Lucy Liu series and looking forward to getting chance to watch it. She looks great too -Ant xxx
ReplyDeleteThank youxxxx And Elementary is FANTASTIC! Hope you enjoy it xxx
DeleteLove Lucy Liu too! Your cinema outfit is very nice though uber dressy imo - I think the boots make it look really dressed up. Your wedge trainers would be more Lucy Liu. The last outfit is my fave. :)
ReplyDeleteNic x
Can't wear wedge trainers with those trousers as they're too short! Pooo!!! We did go out for lunch afterwards so it wasn't just the cinema. And I'm always never knowingly underdressed! Can you believe, I've bloody lost my sunglasses though. SO annoyed. Anyway, I digress, thank you and hmm, can't say I love my last outfit!
DeleteI actually like the outfit with the red coated skinnies I think it's the best of the bunch! Keep meaning to get that scarf too. It's great that u can layer so much and still look slim, I love layering to keep warm but usually end up
ReplyDeletelooking like the Michelin man's wife!
You're very kind! I would say the trick is to keep all the layers very thin. (or at the least the under layers - it's ok if the top layer is bulkier but everything underneath must be thin jersey) And slim fitting. Anything too loose will add bulk. Hope that helps!
DeleteLucy Liu is beyutiful. She can carry off dressing like a hobo better than anyone. Apart from loving her bags can't stand what she is wearing.
ReplyDeleteBeauty crush? Yes.
Style crush? No.
You dress better than her! (love the H&M tie dye jeans)
Well that's v kind of you! I clearly have a secret hobo style crush. To be fair I have many of different style crushes - love the layer inspiration. And yes, I am beyond pleased with the tie dye jeans - very much a marmite outfit but they are so so up my street. xx
DeleteI agree with other comments you are too harsh on yourself, however, your blog is by far the best, really interesting and very funny, you have great fashion style. Looking forward to many more inspirational and entertaining reads..... Thank you
ReplyDeleteFrom scarf addict
Thank you so so so much for such lovely comments! Hopefully if I keep posting you'll keep reading! xxxx
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