Tag: wiwt

Outfits

All dressed up and nowhere to go

by s.a.b1 Comment on All dressed up and nowhere to go

In today’s news, it seems I have become that woman in Johannesburg who visits her wardrobe to pull up an outfit, only to walk up to the garage door and coax Hubby Dearest into taking modelling pictures. Am I a model? No. Am I selling any of the pieces I’m wearing? No. I am just another bored fashionista in lockdown, dying to wear some beautiful things and go out… Oh well. For today the garage door will do.

I’ve been scrolling a lot of fashion news feeds recently (another side effect of 2020, the year of isolation), and it seems shackets are the piece of the season. It’s hilarious because I’ve owned plenty of shackets for years, like this camo one from Pull & Bear, but apparently they seem to be having a moment.

What is a shacket? A shacket is quite simply, a shirt and a jacket in one. Think of it as having a classic shirt silhouette with buttoned pockets (usually at the chest but not necessarily, god knows I for one don’t need more attention drawn to that part of my anatomy…) and a buttoned front. The material is usually wool, felt, or strong twill so you can quite easily wear it as a jacket. Needless to say, whilst we’re well into Autumn here, there is still no need for the wool ones. Maybe in July, when we hit week 14 of the lockdown and I’m posing by the treehouse… I may even try a lumberjack look for some fun, watch this space. 

You can wear shackets over dresses, jeans, on safari, out and about for brunch, or, like me, working from home over my most comfortable pair of khaki culottes (basically these culottes are a somewhat elegant way of wearing elasticated-waist trousers with absolutely no tug anywhere around the leg seeing as they are super roomy…) I accessorized for the photo with my Zara kitten heels and my Chanel small classic bag from the Paris Cuba collection, which I promise myself I will wear more when they let me out.

There you have it, another isolation outfit… still not wearing the PJs but perhaps next week as I ordered two beautiful ones in Liberty prints from my lovely seamstress, and they would look amazing with pink sandals…

With love, S.

Outfits

Sailor stripes and kitten heels

by s.a.b7 Comments on Sailor stripes and kitten heels

As South Africa moves slowly into Autumn, it’s still very much the same routine day in day out, with mornings and afternoons filled with video calls and emails demanding urgent attention (everything is suddenly urgent), but yes, we continue to work from home here.

I am still resisting the idea of spending my days in PJs; instead I’ve gone the opposite way and go visit my very redundant accessories in the morning, at least to try a bag or two or see how heels feel these days. Not very comfortable, I’ll admit, but so so pretty. Also, notice how I took these pictures by my Globe-Trotter wheelies, if that’s not a subconscious attempt to get closer to travelling again, I don’t know what is…

Today didn’t feel like a jeans kind of day, it might have something to do with all the delicious tarts and homemade bread we’ve been baking lately, although I’m pretending it’s just because I am a little tired today, so instead I am wearing cargo trousers that have a very nice drawstring waist, which means they can be let out or in as needed. I originally bought these trousers from Theory for travel days, however with the tapered cut and lightweight fabric they are perfect for transitional weather, and yes they are incredibly comfortable. Drawstring trousers are also a great idea for post-preggo waists that are finding their way back to their normal selves (I haven’t been pregnant in a good few years but we can still pretend my waist is working its way back to what it was ten years ago can’t we?)…

I adore big sailor stripe jumpers, and this one with the gold tone buttons on the shoulder is one of my favourites; it’s from Court & Rowe. I have a similar one with blue stripes on cream but find this one is more flattering as the darker colour is more predominant (and the shape is quite forgiving, isn’t it…). This is the kind of jumper that looks amazing with jeans and Stan Smiths, but it also gets dressed up easily: sometimes I wear it with a white button down underneath and some cigarette trousers.

And, just because it was the morning and I wanted to play with some accessories, I pulled a pair of Manolo Blahnik slingbacks from my closet (the kitten heels are easy enough but my feet are most definitely resisting closed shoes, especially the pointed toe kind) and a Céline classic box. It’s important that they feel the love as well even though we’ve got nowhere to go, right?

With love, S.

Outfits

Working from home… again

by s.a.b2 Comments on Working from home… again

It’s getting colder here in Johannesburg… and I’m starting to sympathise with that colleague of mine who was confessing with glee that she was very happy to work all day in her PJs (see, I told you I’d slowly get there, I’m not quite there yet, but soon, I’m sure), especially as I just heard our office would remain closed for another four weeks at the least… That’s a lot of home-based work outfits for me to pull together.

I found this knitted dress during last week-end’s closet clear-out, it was hiding under some (many) jumpers… It’s from Mango, which pretends it delivers in South Africa: in reality it still ships your orders from Spain and you get wacked with a major duty invoice if you’re not careful, I learned the hard way…

I’ve been wearing trousers most days since lockdown so this is a nice change. In all honesty this feels very close to wearing PJs at work… After all the knit texture is super comfortable, very unlike the more structured shapes I often wear in the office, and this outfit took exactly five seconds to pull together. I am however wearing Spanx-like undies, for obvious reasons (try wearing knit fabrics over lacy lingerie and get back to me), does that redeem me?

I did make an effort with the accessories (pretty much like my colleague of the PJs: she puts a nice necklace on top of a sweatshirt and there you have it, dressed) with my favourite Hermès CSGM, a design called A Cheval Sur Mon Carré (it’s over ten years old, is at the top of many H fan’s grail list, and yet I scored in a sale!), a few fun pearl earrings from Samira 13, and my favourite Chanel slingbacks, which would need to be replaced at this point after three years of traipsing the streets of many cities the world over, if only Chanel would re-issue this very classic grey flannel combo instead of issuing some pretty garish colourways…

Watch this space, at this rate it’s very probably I’ll soon be wearing something very casual indeed to get me through my daily video call marathons, and when I do, I’ll be sure to document it.

With love, S.

Outfits

Soft tailored office look

by s.a.b2 Comments on Soft tailored office look

I’m not going to berate you with some woke speech about how it’s important to keep a routine, get out of your PJs in the morning etc etc. There are loads of articles the world over on that, each one more patronising than the other. In my case, I function by tricking myself: I trick myself into getting up to go work out by picturing the walrus I will look like in three months if I don’t, then once I’m done with my morning session, all sweaty and red, nothing feels better than a shower, getting my hair dried (yes, short hair also looks better when blow dried, it’s not just long hair apparently…), and, seeing as I can’t realistically go back into PJs at this point, before I know it i’m picking an outfit for the long day of home-based work ahead.

That being said, even in my normal office days, I’m not a great fan of super structured pieces, I like to be able to breathe and move. I always prefer softer tailoring, and these trousers are perfect. I picked the striped cotton and linen mix myself from the fabric store and had my fantastic seamstress Nicole make them for me, and a couple of other fabrics: the high wast with the pleats at the front hides a multitude of sins (like that little tummy that is sure to grow from that special relationship I’m in with mini almond ice cream lollies from Woollies). The trousers are cut perfectly for me, with a hem just by the ankle as I like to show off my shoes (when I do wear shoes, and yes today I’m wearing pretty cute ones by Charlotte Olympia).

I’l confess I only took out the Céline box for show, but as I told you I miss my accessories, so here goes. This almond green hue is truly gorgeous, and it’s still warm enough for a beige and light green look no?

Before I go, one word on knit jackets, like the one I’m wearing today: this one has a gold thread knit detail and zips on the sides that give it a luxe feel but the knit fabric keeps it all on the right side of comfortable so this type of piece is ideal for those video calls where you want to look a little presentable but not feel too stuffy (what you wear as a bottom is your choice, but if you do opt for joggers or, dare I say it, underwear, don’t get up whilst the camera is on…) As it gets chilly in the early mornings and afternoons this is perfect for now. It’s by Maje by the way (so is the top underneath with the cute cap sleeve detail), but I’ve had it at least eight years, so not current seasons, although the brand does this type of model in most collections.

Lots of love, S.

Outfits, Uncategorized

I love a denim jumpsuit

by s.a.b2 Comments on I love a denim jumpsuit

The fact that I adore jumpsuits and own multiple versions (linen, wrapped, zipped, work-friendly, beach-friendly…) is odd, seeing as the look, done wrong, can make anyone look like a toddler in a babygro. It actually depends on how you style them, as each different type of jumpsuit has the potential to look amazing but you need to thread cautiously: a boiler suit is not very flattering with trainers, but add fabulous sandals and you’re in Studio 54 territory, a jumpsuit with palazzo legs absolutely requires heels 12cm and higher, unless of course you the the gorgeous legs of a giraffe (if that’s the case I still love you, but please don’t rub it in by commenting just that) etc… That said, there is one thing jumpsuits are bad, even horrible, for across the board: going to the bathroom; the idea of sitting half naked trying not to let the sleeves droop on the slightly damp floor in a restaurant’s loo just because I needed a tinkle is, ahem, not how I saw my glamourous self move through life. My advice: drink little. Once you are able to see past these trappings, you soon realise that a jumpsuit is actually the perfect hybrid between a dress and trousers.

Like a dress, a jumpsuit removes the need to think through matching separates, it’s a perfect one piece outfit and it can be accessorized up or down depending on the occasion. But, like trousers, a jumpsuit is a little more practical and easy to maneuver than a dress. A denim jumpsuit is the most versatile of pieces, it works for all seasons and this one, by Rebecca Taylor, is my current favourite; the fact it makes my waist look quite trim may have something to do with it… It also looks quite neat underneath an cable knit on chillier days (not that I’m seeing many of these now that I live in sunny South Africa).

The simplicity of a jumpsuit means you only need shoes and a bag and you’re ready to go…  in this case I was going out for one of my rare outings in lockdown, for some groceries, so everything was quite pared down. A canvas tote for the groceries, some easy flats (with the animal print detail, I have standards, you know), sunnies, and there I went. I obviously prefer when I dress it up a little with strappy heels and a fabulous H handbag, alas these days it’s all about simpler and easier… But I promise, I will post some more interesting outfits very soon.

What do you think…. denim jumpsuits: are you a fan or that’s not a trend for you?

Love, S.