Style Me May: Ivy League Preppy

Or, Catholic girls school education preppy completed with a hair ribbon.

My first trip to America is hotly anticipated and currently in the planning stages.  Scheduled for 2014, the to-do list is going to take about 9 months, and it's constantly growing.  But as for today, having never seen a real live Ivy League anything yet, I give you my understanding of 'preppy'.  It includes: a collared shirt, a jumper (that should be sweater, obvs) a pleated skirt, tights, lace up shoes, and a blazer.  Oh, and a hair ribbon.  Considering my ribbon is HH's tartan, and the blazer is from Scottish boutique label Ness, this is a kind of Isle of Skye-vy League Preppy look.  The pale blues and greens in it are reminding me of my high school uniform, as are the stockings and shoes.  Maybe if I go to ASDA in it I'll get asked for ID again (that happened a couple of weeks ago and I'm still excited by it) I think the woollen aspects of it are going to stand me in good stead for going to Shakespeare's Globe tonight though... it's still a wee bit chilly outside.  You get a gratuitous shot of the trees across the road because I was using the timer setting on the camera and pointed it too high.  There's real life ivy by my feet near the fence btw. 

Someone just emailed me asking what did my school uniform look like?  Well Lou, I'm glad you asked.  See the picture above. I  should say now that I didn't do a lot of standing around near the fountain in my day.  My skirt was probably a fair bit shorter than the girl on the left's, too.

Birthdaying etc

In which I am ridiculously spoilt and get a whole bunch of presents.

On Friday morning the post came through the door (I know, I still love the fact that we have a letter slot in our actual door, having grown up with an outside letter box in Australia which is nowhere near as exciting) with a thud.  A suspicious, sounds like it could be parcels thud.  And it was parcels!!

From the lil sisters: A haul of sweets including not-available-in-the-UK Furry Friends and Caramelo Koalas, Kinder Buenos (I'm assuming because they'll aid my Spanish study) and a fabulous ring pop which I'm planning to wear to Primavera Festival in Barcelona in a fortnight or so, for sartorial snacking purposes.

From Penny: Just the coolest mix-tape birthday cd ever...

Which I listened to while breakfasting on Bucks Fizz, 
bread fresh from the oven, cream cheese and nutella all prepared by HH, and reading my instructions for the day (see right) which was to be a birthday treasure hunt around London with clues leading me to different locations where I would be partaking in activities like: shopping for our upcoming trip to Paris, consuming a coffee with whipped cream and chocolate (strictly limited to birthdays) picnicking in the park, mooching round Covent Garden, listening to a symphony orchestra in Trafalgar Square, and eating Thai food at one of our favourite restaurants.  Oh, and HH also got tickets to Shakespeare's Globe for us to watch Henry IV in Spanish on Tuesday night. (aforementioned Buenos at the ready for that one...)

Lovely things also turned up from Pma, my collection of Great Aunts, best friend S, work best friend whose initial is also S, and assorted others.  Thanks everybody.  Way to make a girl feel special.  Also, HH - you outdid yourself.  Which is why I spilt red wine all over your white shirt at dinner on Saturday night.  I was overcome with emotion.  And, you know, just very clumsy.

Style Me May: Seen on a Style Blog...

In which HH won't be seen out with me...

If I wear my favourite style blog 'look' which is... socks with sandals.
I know.  But... I like socks, ok? I also like high heels, and dislike a, cold feet, and b, the caprice of English spring weather (rain outside my window, case in point.)

If you'd like some further so-wrong-it's-actually-right inspiration, the lovely ladies at Fancy Pants Style  have put together a whole socks and sandals list.
My take on it is below.  I am threatening to wear it to Paris when we go on Wednesday.  HH probably won't sit with me if I do.  Which is ok, because that means I won't have to share my Kindle.
I am clearly following some of these 'how to pose like a fashion blogger' tips although the one showing my accidentally symmetrical  fashionista top-knot hair came about because I was looking down to see if I'd set up the camera properly.  
I think you'll find I've ticked quite a few style blog boxes including stacked bracelets, over-exposure (of the photos - although I suppose Style Me May posts every day count as over-exposure in some quarters, especially if you ask my brother) and the 'all my weight on one leg' side pose.  Gosh.  I don't know about you lot, but I'm exhausted.  On a completely unrelated note, but still speaking of style, can anyone, please, tell me why the font above the first photo in this post is a different size than the font I'm typing in now when behind the scenes it appears to be the same? In fact, anyone who wanted to teach me how to make a blogger site look nicer would be my new best friend.  I know I should probably just change to wordpress.  But that would be too easy.  You'd think I'd be able to work it out for myself, wouldn't you.  Working in online editorial and all. 

Style Me May: Colour Below the Ankles

The one where I pretend I'm not going to tell you where these fab shoes came from...

And then I 'fess up and say Barratts.  You can't really see the backs of them (I was too busy getting ready to go out for 'it's the night before my birthday let's just have a few drinks' drinks to faff with the camera,) and don't get me started on how much I hate that wave shaped mirror.  Oh, too late.  I HATE that wave shaped mirror.  It came as part of our furnished rental flat and it's too awkward to store anywhere.  I'd break it out of pique except I'm too superstitious.  So where was I? Oh yes, the colour-blocked shoes from Barratts.  If you could see them better, you'd see they're a combo of wedgewood blue leather block heels, navy leather sides and yellow suede toes.  Love.

Want to see another pair of gorgeous Barratts shoes? Oh, go on then...

Yep, my wedding shoes came from Barratts too.

Style Me May: Classic White Shirt...

Or, the first appearance of wardrobe thievery...

A couple of the many things HH brings to the table in our marriage are his record collection and his wardrobe.   After the Great T-shirt Purge of 2008, the necessity of which he came round to in time, I have enjoyed the fact that when checked cowboy-esque shirts, over-sized American Apparel T-shirts, aviator sunglasses and striped tops came in and out of fashion, I had his selection at my disposal.  (what? I was a student...)


The following outfit is one I normally only break out when I'm doing something really fashion-y which doesn't happen as often as I'd like, frankly.  It's HH's white shirt which has a cute rounded collar, and I always add a necklace or in this case, a ribbon, and a jacket, in the hope that it's more a look of 'polished androgeny' and less 'I didn't have a costume so I came as Tom Cruise in Risky Business'.  With a black blazer I like that it's kinda suit-y, and with my favourite pale blue raincoat it's weather appropriate.  Perhaps the shiny leggings should have gone into things that used to scare me - but it's not really me that they scare... more other people.

Style Me May: Used to Scare Me...

Used to? Used to scare me? This post's outfit comprises at least 4 separate elements which are all up there with watching Let The Right One In.

I can cope with wearing my leather pencil skirt, which originally was a bit 'out there' when I bought it from a vintage store in Amsterdam in 2010, because leather has been everywhere recently and also because Londoners don't turn a hair when they see it.  I used to be a bit afraid of coloured tights though, because I thought anything dark red might just make me look like I had some kind of severe skin disease.  I've worn them under open-toed shoes, which is the thin edge of the 'socks and sandals' wedge. I'm still pretty leery of wearing black close to my face, because I think it washes me out and makes me look like a 50 year old smack addict, a look which is only developed by me pulling my hair off my face, something else I rarely do.  Finishing the look of scary things are my glasses, which due to their Dame Edna-esque properties had been relegated to second string status until I lost my good ones and... BRIGHT RED LIPS.


So this outfit is the sartorial equivalent of reading Edgar Allan Poe by candlelight in a blackout with only mice for company.

Style Me May: Fresh Lipstick Colour...

Or, what do you mean? I never wear lipstick...

And I do mean never.  I tried some at a family do recently and my nephew was scared.   However, I do have a brand new bodyshop lipstick which I've as yet not opened or tried.  It's beige, and I don't think you're going to see much in the way of colour when I wear it...

so... as tomorrow is about wearing 'something that used to scare me' I think I'm going to save today's challenge for tomorrow and give myself a fierce red lip. (with, in fact, the red lipstick on the left in this picture) I'm pretty convinced it's to make me look like a drag queen.