In The Unlikeliest of Places...

Matalan is a place I love to hate, for reasons which I think are obvious to anyone who's been in one. For me, it's almost (but not quite) up there with TK Maxx as my ultimate in retail hell. Last night, however, after making an appointment for my cat's annual check-up and booster shots, the mothership suckered me into going in there - it's annoyingly situated right next door to the vet.

On previous reluctant trips into Matalan, the one area I do tend to check out is their shoe section, seeing as they usually have something semi-fierce going on in the way of heels. On this occassion I - shock horror! - actually bought a pair. Due to their being composed of cheapo plastic-y stuff, they are currently doing an alarming amount of squeaking, but they look pretty good. I am the only one in my household who doesn't think they're horrid, but that's okay. Not very good for my buy-less-cheap-crap, save-up-for-the-quality-stuff resolution, though, I do admit.

A Sweet Treat

Cafe Coco and Sugar Lounge aka my kinda place...

Cafe Coco and Sugar Lounge, Petworth, West Sussex

Nailin' It

On the hunt online for a matt grey nail polish, I instead came across Estee Lauder's White Beige, a deliciously creamy cafe au lait-type colour. Now, I'm pretty slow, so while teaming coral nail colour with taupe clothing was something I'd long been a fan of, it had never occured to me to team a taupe-ish nail with coral clothes! Well, it seems blindingly obvious now, yes... Anyway, I promptly placed an order, and I am muchos liking how it looks with my coral Topshop bandage mini. This photo doesn't show it at its best - and, man, my fingers look really pudgy!

And you've gotta love those Estee Lauder freebies, eh?

Happily, while in Boots yesterday, I found the grey I was desiring as well, courtesy of my favourite make-up brand, Barry M. Their colour selection is fantastic, it's sooo cheap and the quality is really good. Yay for Mr M!

Lalallaliyah: I know, looking at stuff on a screen can't compare to holding a big fat glossy mag in your hands - and you can't cut stuff out either... I think in Amelia's case it was a financial issue as well; such a shame as it was sooo pretty.

Mag Hag

I love magazines. I am probably semi-addicted. Scratch that, I’m full-on addicted. When I was a teenager, I would go into the newsagents on my way to school almost every day to buy a magazine. In those days it was Smash Hits (RIP), Big (ditto) and J(ust) 17 (now, once again, defunct) that I loved the most. Nowadays, my appetite for a glossy read is just as veracious. Not just for fash mags – I love film and music ones, too. But it’s the days of the month when Vogue and Elle hit my doormat that I get most excited about.
And that brings me to the point of my post, really. It’s only recently that I’ve discovered the true wealth of fashion mags out there. For a fashion/mag-obsessive like myself, it’s a sad state of affairs that my consumption has mostly been limited to the aforementioned big guns.
I blame this entirely on my surroundings. The mainstream magazines are really all I have access to in my locality. The one singular place that holds otherwise-hard to find titles in my town is the local branch of Waterstones, which stocks Dazed & Confused, i-D and occasionally Nylon. These might be easily accessible to some folks, but not poor little me. (Actually, maybe I’m somewhat lucky as all other Waterstones I’ve been in recently don’t seem to stock any mags at all.) Anyway, this almost complete lack of physical access (yay for the internet, of course) was rubbed in my face recently by a visit last week to the Brighton branch of Borders. Once again, this might be nothing to those that live in such places (ie civilisation), but for me it was like mag nirvana. A complete and veritable plethora of international Vogues was just for starters; my head spun at the selection of fash and art mags that previously I’d just read about on blogs. Here they were in front of me, and for someone who normally gets to choose from Elle, UK Vogue, Marie Claire et al, and thinks she’s spoilt if the local WH Smith gets US Elle (which I don’t even really like) in… well, it was truly overwhelming. I stood in the middle of Borders literally clutching my head, like the complete lame-o that I am.
In the end, I left with just one magazine. I could have come away with a dozen very easily, but I had to exercise some control. Especially seeing as I’d just enjoyed a mini AA spree. I opted for the last issue of Amelia’s Magazine (as in both the current one and the final – boo). It’s a real treat of a publication, which continues in online form here, if you’re interested in checking it out. You can also order a small selection of back issues there.
Thus, I was sceptical as to whether I would be able to find the inaugural issue of Katie Grand’s new magazine, Love, in town (though the fact that it’s Conde Nast gave me some hope), but I have just returned and can happily report that it was to be found alongside the Cosmos, Marie Claires and Elles on the shelves of my local WH Smiths. I shall report back with some thoughts once I’ve had a chance to look through it properly.

Tweet Tweet

I received this Buddug Wyn Humphreys hairband in the post a few days ago, but I’ve only just got around to photographing it. I bought it mainly to wear to my cousin’s wedding in May – they’re lovebirds, geddit? Aw.

Happily, there’s an online e-shop, as well a list of stockists on her website. The lovebirds weren’t listed on the e-shop, but I sent her an email asking to order one and she obliged, so that’s what I’d recommend if you see something you like that isn’t up for sale on the site.

The Fundamentals

I'll fess up. I wear about 10% of wardrobe 90% of the time. There are certain things that I just can't imagine how I'd get by without and that I return to day after day. It's good to have a solid set of basics, but as other bloggers have pointed out, there's no such thing as a definitive list of "essentials". I mean, the lists of what every woman should supposedly have that appear in magazines bear no resemblance to what I personally feel I need to have in my wardrobe. I don't have the lifestyle or the desire for a tailored white shirt or a trench coat.

For me, the most "fundamental" components of my wardrobe can also be thrown together to form my most oft worn outfit. If I had a daily "uniform" this would be it.

American Apparel Grey Tri-Blend T-Shirt

Love the colour, love the feel, love the cut and the fit. I can layer this under anything, pretty much.

Long/Oversized Plaid Shirt

The one pictured here is by Silence + Noise from Urban Outfitters. Plaid shirts are probably my personal definitive can't-live-without item. I like them to be soft and roomy, and this one is one of my faves.

Grey Sweatshirt

This is another AA piece; very soft, very cosy, with sleeves that cover my hands (I like an overlong sleeve), this is an ultimate basic. Goes with anything, I like to wear it over leggings or a brightly-coloured mini.

Black Leggings

These can be plain cotton from Topshop, or my current faves pictured here, the AA spandex leggings. I have it bad for leggings in any colour or pattern (and am tempted by a wealth of cool printed ones out there) but black, whether plain or shiny, is a staple of my wardrobe.

Flat lace-up pumps (I posted about these Topshop flats when I bought them, and as predicted, have indeed worn them out in the damp and the mud. They're holding up okay, but I'm still very tempted to grab another pair before they disappear off the site. I couldn't live without them now, nooooo!) And a roomy, casual bag to throw my junk in (This Topshop one fits the bill nicely.)

Not the most exciting collection of clothes in the world, no, but that's not the point. These are the items that I couldn't do without on a daily basis; they can be layered and mixed and matched up with different things. Or, when it's grey outside and what I want from my clothes is to be wrapped up in the equivalent of a comfort blanket, this is what I'll put on all together; not to wow but to feel comfortable, confident and very much like myself. Which is, um, a scruffy tomboy.

Other personal essentials not listed above but not to be excluded: Tabio 110 denier tights; Topshop "Pippa" jeans; Penny hearts Kenny white jazz shoes; a black 'go with anything' coat; a long line cardie in various colours; big chunky knitted cardies; a grey hoodie; mini skirts in brightly coloured hues; rock tees.