Sartorial splendour
Aug. 23rd, 2005 04:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
radegundClotheses!
I went mad at lunchtime today and smacked an unconscionable sum onto my credit card, in return for two very fine pairs of trousers and three on-sale summer tops. Splurge, splurge, splurge, for these items were purchased not in the drab but sensible establishments where the bulk of my shopping is done (or should that be "Dunne", ha ha), but in the far more aspirational and refayyyned surroundings of Jigsaw and Laura Ashley.
The Jigsaw sale is still on, so I tried on a parade of dusty pink cotton tops, fixing unhesitatingly on a v-neck sleeveless T-shirt with silk piping, in a totally perfect Radz colour (sort of a rich but muted raspberry, although have you ever noticed how tricky it is to describe pinks satisfactorily? "Old rose", maybe?). I tried some cream (sorry, "stone") trousers, which were designed for a six-foot person with no hips (a nineteen-year-old boy, perhaps?). Then I put on some rather ordinary-looking trousers (also dusty pink, and cotton, and very mildly combatty), and lo and behold, they turned out to be beautifully cut and magically comfortable. Also far too long, because, obviously, I should be wearing three-inch heels at all times, but I do not. So I hummed and hawed about hemming (ha ha), and the assistant complimented me, the way they do, and casually dropped into the conversation the fact that they have an alteration service. So I allowed myself to be persuaded. I've never paid to have a pair of trousers taken up in my life, because it's a thing I can do myself in about half an hour, but frankly, the chances of my having an otherwise unclaimed half an hour any time in the next, oh, fifteen years or so seem vanishingly slim (not unlike the hips of those persons for whom the cream, sorry, stone, trousers were designed), so what the hell. She pinned me a trouser, and I paid up, and they'll be ready on Friday. Ten euros extra. Eyem wrrrrthit.
Then I accidentally wandered into Laura Ashley, where a pale blue and turquoise striped T-shirt and a strappy, lacy vest top in a colour that I think those in the know would call "aqua" proved pleasing. But my favourite purchase of all was a pair of pinstripey jeansy trousers, in predominantly a smokey sort of blue but with notes of turquoise and (again) aqua (this from memory, as I'm not going to hoist them from their bag in the middle of the office to check). They have little flowers on the button and rivets. I love them.
Shoeses?
My shoe collection needs an infusion of fresh blood. I recently bought some very silly Birkis, in pale yellow with big pinky-orangey-red flowers and grass-green leaves, but they (obviously) go with a limited range of clothes. Apart from these, I'm rotating unhappily between my standard black Ecco Mary Janes and my red suede Ecco lace-ups. My blue suede Clarks clogs are rattier than a ratty thing, and it's not cool enough for boots yet.
Given that I Do Not Do uncomfortable shoes, and that I'm stuck in these BLASTED support stockings for the foreseeable future, what sort of footwear should I be seeking? Help me, wise Internet!
I went mad at lunchtime today and smacked an unconscionable sum onto my credit card, in return for two very fine pairs of trousers and three on-sale summer tops. Splurge, splurge, splurge, for these items were purchased not in the drab but sensible establishments where the bulk of my shopping is done (or should that be "Dunne", ha ha), but in the far more aspirational and refayyyned surroundings of Jigsaw and Laura Ashley.
The Jigsaw sale is still on, so I tried on a parade of dusty pink cotton tops, fixing unhesitatingly on a v-neck sleeveless T-shirt with silk piping, in a totally perfect Radz colour (sort of a rich but muted raspberry, although have you ever noticed how tricky it is to describe pinks satisfactorily? "Old rose", maybe?). I tried some cream (sorry, "stone") trousers, which were designed for a six-foot person with no hips (a nineteen-year-old boy, perhaps?). Then I put on some rather ordinary-looking trousers (also dusty pink, and cotton, and very mildly combatty), and lo and behold, they turned out to be beautifully cut and magically comfortable. Also far too long, because, obviously, I should be wearing three-inch heels at all times, but I do not. So I hummed and hawed about hemming (ha ha), and the assistant complimented me, the way they do, and casually dropped into the conversation the fact that they have an alteration service. So I allowed myself to be persuaded. I've never paid to have a pair of trousers taken up in my life, because it's a thing I can do myself in about half an hour, but frankly, the chances of my having an otherwise unclaimed half an hour any time in the next, oh, fifteen years or so seem vanishingly slim (not unlike the hips of those persons for whom the cream, sorry, stone, trousers were designed), so what the hell. She pinned me a trouser, and I paid up, and they'll be ready on Friday. Ten euros extra. Eyem wrrrrthit.
Then I accidentally wandered into Laura Ashley, where a pale blue and turquoise striped T-shirt and a strappy, lacy vest top in a colour that I think those in the know would call "aqua" proved pleasing. But my favourite purchase of all was a pair of pinstripey jeansy trousers, in predominantly a smokey sort of blue but with notes of turquoise and (again) aqua (this from memory, as I'm not going to hoist them from their bag in the middle of the office to check). They have little flowers on the button and rivets. I love them.
Shoeses?
My shoe collection needs an infusion of fresh blood. I recently bought some very silly Birkis, in pale yellow with big pinky-orangey-red flowers and grass-green leaves, but they (obviously) go with a limited range of clothes. Apart from these, I'm rotating unhappily between my standard black Ecco Mary Janes and my red suede Ecco lace-ups. My blue suede Clarks clogs are rattier than a ratty thing, and it's not cool enough for boots yet.
Given that I Do Not Do uncomfortable shoes, and that I'm stuck in these BLASTED support stockings for the foreseeable future, what sort of footwear should I be seeking? Help me, wise Internet!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-23 04:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-23 04:10 pm (UTC)lalalalaI'mgoingonholidayIcan'tspendanymoneyIcan'thearyoulalalalalalalala
That sounds like a splendid haul of excellent clothing. And I too have found that all trousers in Jigsaw are designed for people who are about seven feet tall. It is a CUNNING PLOY to get people to pay for alterations, I'm sure of it.
Shoes: myself and
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-24 01:31 pm (UTC)Are they worth it? Please say yes!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-24 02:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-24 01:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-23 04:31 pm (UTC)As for shoes, what kind of birkis are they? If you don't already have them, I think you should get some of the Birkenstock Bostons, in either black or brown, depending on your predominant colour choices. They're the open-backed clogs. I LURVE them. AND you can wear support stockings with 'em.
shoes!
Date: 2005-08-23 06:12 pm (UTC)Meanwhile, I can live vicariously through people who are wrrthit, and suggest that you look at websites until you see something inspirational. What shoe size are you? StartRite and Clarks make "children's" shoes that go up to 'stonishingly large nowadays, and some of them are *extremely* funky. Shoeshops with websites... Clarks, StartRite, Faith, anyway. Sorry - children's shoes I'm good at.
A.
Re: shoes!
Date: 2005-08-24 09:29 am (UTC)They last longer! Admittedly, I frequently go to the other extreme and have rather too many pairs of shoes on the go, but they disintegrate a lot quicker if you wear them day in day out. So you'd get more wear out of three pairs of shoes worn on alternating days than from three pairs worn consecutively. Apparently.
I am intrigued by the idea of getting funky children's shoes, as I bet they'd be cheaper than the grown-up sort, but I doubt they go up to a 7....
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-24 10:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-24 02:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-24 09:04 pm (UTC)i only do comfortable shoes too: clarks, birks, ecco, dansko, mephisto, simple, born, and my latest thing is "think!" brand which is way too expensive unless on major sale. but i confess i've been eying websites for converse and vans with their new self-design options.