As much as I hate to admit it, it is far far too easy to fall in and out of Topshop decked out head to toe in the kind of things you dream about, well a scratchy polyester version anyway. It's not that i have anything against the high street, but Topshop takes the fun out of it. Anything you might even think about wanting they're guaranteed to have stacks of, and without the chase what's to really enjoy about shopping anyway? Clothes aside, I am pretty much always enticed by the hosiery and the shoes. Oh man those shoes. If you can make it down to the basement level of Topshop Oxford Circus without passing out, you're in for a treat. The couple of times I've invested in Topshop Unique shoes have been hugely successful. I bought a pair of the fall '07 runway wedges which i still wear to this day, and are often begged and borrowed for weeks at a time. The picture does them no justice obviously, the heel is stained wood not black plastic, and they make a great noise when you fall over.
Gotta love a good wedge heel and what do you know, Topshop have triumphed again with their wedges this winter. Amazing collaborations with
Emma Cook and
Ashish have brought me affordable shoe porn beyond my wildest dreams. Totally impractical, fine, whatever, check these bad boys out..
This shoe looks like the love child of a brothel creeper and Jennifer Lopez, it also comes in black and zebra but something about that burgundy and the furriness really does it for me. When my dad saw a picture of these he thought they were so ugly he had to look away, they're actually pretty tame compared to the Ashish ones which are inspired by travelling carnivals, and possibly freak shows, as the height is a little scary. Maybe because they're animal print you can get away with crawling on all fours? Maybe not.
I like these, but I don't like the thought of the salon fresh ladies with highlights and too much lip gloss who'll wear them into Movida with black leggings and a Jane Norman halterneck, always a risk with animal prints and especially on shoes. It's worth taking a second to look at them styled for the runway, pretty much hidden under pom pom's, sequins and stripes, to appreciate just how ridiculous and brilliant these shoes are.
Now that the weather's turned, and boy has it turned, there is no choice but to wear clothes which actually function. I know it sucks. Gone are the days of appliqued high-waisted shorts and crop tops, Vans without socks, and just really really BIG t-shirts. No, that for an outfit will no longer suffice. Ok fine the horrible weather means we wear more clothes which means we actually need to shop. Great. But what do we buy, all these months of sunshine have left me not a little dazed. So, I've thought about it and I think this year i'm going to embrace the cold and wrap up in layers upon layers.. upon layers... Soft things always make you feel good, they make you feel good when you put them on while you're still half asleep and then spend the day feeling like you're still wearing your pyjamas. They feel good on the bus, they feel good in the cinema, heck they even feel good in a club. I once bought two pairs of TseSay cashmere leggings and wore them so often they ended up resembling those Rodarte tights. It is admittedly difficult to wear an outfit consisting of a million layers and not look just slightly frumpy. This year however I'm convinced it will be possible to avoid the whole 'teen pregnancy' look, this Chanel leotard/tights thing is really just an adult-sized baby-grow and she doesn't even look healthy, let alone fat. And the jumper below from LAURA LAURA is 100% percent cashmere and the perfect colour to make you feel like you're about to hibernate in the roots of some giant tree, yummy.
