Some Like It Hot When It's Cold

"I like to feel blonde all over"

- Marilyn Monroe

In the depths of  my memory palace I have a special place for people wearing white fur coats...I am magnetically drawn to them. It could have been Marilyn Monroe who triggered it. Back in 1999 when I was running wild, I bribed my parents into allowing me to take a day off school to go to the Christie's view in London before all her clothes and personal effects were auctioned off. I was there the with my nose up against the window from the second it opened and was there when the doors were closed - I was nearly forcibly removed. I spent the day forensically examining her driving licence, notebooks, film scripts, clothes...but in particular the furs.The obsession had begun with being blonde and wearing white fur coats.

From that day forth I turned my back on a life of truancy and instead decided my existence would  revolve around a bottle of peroxide (my hair took a very dim view of that eventually) eyelash glue and scouting out fur. These days I'm more of a brunette so I find the best way to channel Marilyn is to wear white and fluffy in coat form - it's such a lovely feeling and does wonders for the complexion in the grey of Winter. (Monroe famously wore white near her face to reflect the light - it works!). On a dreary old day a bit of white fur is just the thing to keep you toasty (ALWAYS vintage, never new)...as long as it's not raining. I have often been caught out by a passing shower and had to do the wet dog look/smell all day. So make sure you have an umbrella or some Febreze handy. The other rule when wearing white fur is to forgo red lipstick or lacquer on your lips...any red lipstick contact with the collar and you end up looking like you've been involved in the Saint Valentines Massacre. The latter will make you feel like you've got the actual fuzzy end of the lollipop.

Just as I was deciding on what winter coat would see me through until early March/April I saw this image of Rita Hayworth in all her glory on my Instagram feed from the super wonderful Another Magazine.Well that was that...I'm not very good at practical and before I knew it, I was bidding on more white fur coats on eBay. Argh!

I am currently on white coat No. 5. Coats 1 to 4  have been left in various locations and taxis around London (never retrieved) or eaten by naughty moths. The following are ones I've loved and lost or have been consigned to the pet graveyard section of my wardrobe:

This eBay classic saved me a fortune on heating. I look a bit trampy here.

This gilet was bought from Portobello market...my absolute favourite... but sadly it hasn't dealt very
well with the ravages of time.

Another eBay find. They said it came from a smoke free, pet free home. But I think they were lying.
I think they were keeping moths as pets.

Besides Marilyn, I take my inspiration for wrapping up for Winter from the following:

Lara in Dr. Zhivago - she knew what she was doing when the temperature dropped below zero.

Kate Moss. Just lovely.

Edie Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens fame. Check out the infamous documentary. The aunt and cousin of Jackie Kennedy living out their years in a decaying house in East Hampton, New York. Fascinating. Their style in particular.

If you have the ick about real fur or fancy a bit of colour in your life then there is AMAZING faux stuff out there. I would suggest checking out Unreal Fur which is super cool. A new company who is totally on my radar is Shrimps. I am OBSESSED. Just get on their joyful website. Or buy their pieces from Avenue 32. I've started with their Vincent Clutch but am saving for a coat. Topshop has lots of great furry things at the moment too.

My Vincent Clutch from Shrimps

 

Green Hat from Topshop

Fur Tippet from Charlotte Simone

 Earmuffs from Uniqlo

Yellow Faux Fur Coat from Topshop

White Coat from Unreal Fur

Wilma Coat from Shrimps

Grayson Clutch from Shrimps

Monster Fur Bag from Fendi

Vincent Clutch from Shrimps

This is completely nothing to do with anything but for the movie buffs amongst you, you'll know this is the final line from Some Like It Hot (best final line of any movie). I saw these Hugo Guinness t-shirts for J. Crew which are now on my shopping list.

So I turned out to be the highest bidder on this wonderful coat. Here it is, keeping me warm along with my favourite leather trainers from Common Projects and Sophie Hulme handbag. I am ready for a cold front!

 Right, pass the peroxide.

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New York...What I Wore By Day and By Night

“I regret profoundly that I was not an American and not born in Greenwich Village. It might be dying, and there might be a lot of dirt in the air you breathe, but this is where it's happening.” 
― John Lennon

John Lennon I hear ya! Oh to have an American passport so I could live freegally in the best place on earth! I'm in a New York state of mind. Actually scrap that, I'm ALWAYS in a New York state of mind. I have an ongoing love affair with the place. The land of the Cronut, cwaffee and cool cats. The capital of the cupcake. I just returned from a whistle-stop visit to top up my dosage of the coolest place on earth. I love every inch of it - the glamorous Park Avenuers and the downtown dawgs. You can turn a corner from the snazziest street into the dirtiest den. I always feel that it gives me the possibility to be whoever I want to be and wear what I want. Like living in a real life postcard and there's an avenue for every outfit!

On the surface it is much changed since I last visited, but to me, it is still the place I knew as an overly romantic 19 year old, listening to Leonard Cohen, and trying to become an actress but actually spanking all my rent money on clothes. I spent a very long time looking for a famous blue raincoat to wear and days scouring Salvation Army dollar shops for dresses. Hanging around The Chelsea Hotel (I remember it well) I searched high and low for earrings like Edie Segwicks and Breton tops to look like Warhol. I spent a week trying to locate the exact spot of The Factory and cried for an afternoon when I discovered it had been turned into a parking lot for some well-groomed Midtowners. I took a walk on the wild side to find Studio 54 only to realise it had closed in 1979 after being raided by the Inland Revenue. Days longing to be like Carrie Bradshaw...in my imaginary life I was running around town wearing Manolo Blahniks and a tutu...waiting for my Mr. Big.

In reality...I couldn't walk in heels and my Mr.Big came in the form of a jock from Ohio with a tattoo of a cartoon octopus on his chest. 'Octopus' being his wrestling nickname from college - arms everywhere.

This time I return with a song in my heart (something by Dylan most probs) and a rather anorexic looking bank account but happy as a clam. 

BY DAY

I took my new Sophie Hulme bag to the top of the Empire State building to show it the view. It's a superb winter handbag and goes with EVERYTHING.

I thought New York was the perfect place for the first outing of my Ginsberg is God jumper by Bella Freud. Especially here in Brooklyn where I thought the beatnik hipsters would appreciate it. Channelling Alexa Chung, just a bit less hungry. I walked past a man who whispered in passing "I tend to disagree" and then ran away. It's a sure fire conversation starter. Especially in New York.

Still wearing my Illesteva sunglasses as mentioned back in the summer. Best sunglasses.

 

Packing for a city trip is always a bit of a nightmare for me. I'm having a monochrome moment - it's either black or white (maybe with a bit of navy) - These tones are very conducive with city stomping...as New York is not the cleanest place.I am currently living in my Liston Wool Dress in Coal Black from Acne and long waistcoats from Zara. They are absolutely brilliant - while it's not too cold. When it does get chilly I'll put a leather or fur coat underneath so the arms poke out. 

   

BY NIGHT

Wearing vintage Givenchy dress from a flea market in Paris with nude heels from here and a wonderful Cedric Charlier bag (he used to be head designer at Cacharel) from Avenue 32. Avenue 32 is currently my favourite website to lose hours and hours on...it has the most wonderful collection of interesting pieces and designers.

This is what the dress looks like up top. I don't tend to wear the ribbony bit in my hair because, let's face it, I look cuckoo.

I've just realised this is my eBay outfit! Wearing MSGM green skirt. Topshop Goat Coat similar here. My favourite Christian Louboutin shoes. Everything I'm wearing (apart from the clutch) I found on eBay - all items were brand new, unworn and most importantly, a smidge of the original price.

I bought my Goat Coat after seeing this picture of Edie Sedgwick. I mentioned her as one of my favourite fashion Goddeses here

This image came up on my Instagram feed. British Vogue upload images from their archive which is really wonderful. I saved this image (below) on my phone dreaming of owning a similar dress one day...

...so you can imagine my delight when I came across this Pierrot dress from the wonderful Merchant Archive on Kensington Park Road. The perfect dress for a night clowning about on the tiles. They have the most INSANE collection of vintage bits and bobs. I want everything in the shop. It's well worth a visit if you're in the area. Sorry I know I'm meant to be writing about New York...I tend to get distracted.

I am currently sitting at my desk with my Statue of Liberty (interesting fact: the actual one has a 35 foot waistline - nearly the same as mine after all those Cronuts). I am eating Lifesavers from a box,using Visine eye drops (illegal over here, but brilliant!) to combat the red-eye and swallowing handfuls of Advil to stave off my jet-lag/hangover from Hells Kitchen. 

TTFN!

               

Most photos credited to A. Lintell

Other photos: Zara, Acne Studios, Merchant Archive, Instagram

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Selfies...You're So Vain

"I loathe narcissism, but I approve of vanity." - Diana Vreeland

So in other news this week...the words 'Twerking', 'Vom' (my favourite) and 'Selfie'  have made it into the Oxford English Dictionary. I had to just Google Twerking to understand what the hell that is (Miley Cyrus' raunchy dance moves at the VMAs apparently?) and well, Selfie is a word borne from an egomaniac generation of narcissistic iPhone users. A few days ago, while having a mani pedi on my lunch break (yah!) I watched a girl parked in a van outside the nail bar spend half an hour taking pictures of herself from above, below, round the side...about 27 snaps later, each with a different shade of pout, she finally settled for the perfect pose. Maybe for a boyfriend (lucky chap!), maybe to stick on Instagram, Twitter, Facey or Tinder (my ultimate favourite!)...I just sat there with my hands under a grill and thought WHAT A LOSER! And hummed Carly Simon to myself...tralalaaaa.

I woke up yesterday morning thinking I had lost my phone. In my Aperol induced haze I lay in bed lamenting the photos I had taken in the last year and phone numbers of people who I would have no way of contacting ever again. After twenty mins of winding myself up and feeling like it was the end of the world, I rolled out of bed and realised that in fact the phone was actually on the floor and I just hadn't put it on to charge. Phewee. You don't know what you've got til it's gone I reckon so I spent the afternoon appreciating my phone, flicking through all of my long forgotten photos, digging into the darkest depths of old albums, reminiscing about happier times and then I realised...I AM A SELFIE TAKER! I remember thinking that if I were going to start blogging about what I wore then I had better document it properly. The thing is, they're all rubbish. I absolutely haven't perfected it and then it dawned on me the chick in the van had it about right...I would need on average 27 (or more) goes to get the perfect pose. I give up after about two, mainly due to time constraints and actually, boredom. Or in one case nearly garotting myself on a loo roll holder in the Pizza Express lavatories. It's embarrassing to explain why you've taken so long in the bathroom when you've innocently just been trying to make your arms look rexi while half smiling. You can't say "Oh I've been doing Selfies in the bog!"

Anyway, as an apology to the poor, judged van girl I am showing you my hashtag Selfies which I never thought would see the light of day. So here they are...me being vain and self-involved in various locations and WCs all over London. Knock yourself out!

Took this one to show a friend a dress (which turned out to be a brilliant purchase from Topshop here) I had been forced to buy because I had sat in tramps pee on a bus and needed something else to wear. Truly. It looks like I'm smiling but I was actually crying.

(I blogged these glorious Poplin PJs once before here )

Favourite ASOS ring - I think they do the best costume jewellery.

ASOS Jewel Print Dress and Clutch

Foot Selfie. Waiting for my close up in the Borders General Hospital.

Evil Eye from House of Harlow but you can get amazing EE stuff from Baublebar which has lovely things.

Another Topshop dress, Anya Hindmarch clutch and Christian Louboutins at St. John.

Best rezza in London I reckon. Cleanest loos.

You can't see it but I am wearing this Zara dress which is my new favourite thing.

Me and my Anya Hindmarch Huxley. I know, I can't see it either.

Me in the office today. Bye then!

I will endeavour to do MUCH better next time. Any Selfie tips are most welcome from you all. Unless your name is Miley Cyrus.

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