Including my 5 best purchases from the whole year…
Overall 2018 has been a pretty lush year. We had some lovely holidays with friends and family and on our own, I wrote a book, Mark started a Masters (HOW COOL IS THAT!?) and I discovered this wonderful cookie recipe. It’s been fab. I’d say that it’s been a pretty good one style-wise too. I’ve continued my capsule wardrobe journey (even turning Mark onto it!) and feel like I’ve truly found my style spot. In case you were wondering I’d describe it as neutral basics with a hella load of leopard print. What a surprise.
I feel more switched into the capsule wardrobe mindset than ever. I’ve outlined my aims for 2019 below, but I really feel that I’d like to shop even less next year, buy more mindfully than ever and invest in quality and more vintage and second-hand items. I feel like I’m getting even better at tuning into my intuition as to whether a purchase is a good choice or a bad mistake and I’m pretty chuffed with the items that I’ve bought over the past 12 months and forsee that they’ll be hanging around for a loooong time. Spot my 2019 style rules and top five purchases from this year that are just THE BEST down below…
MY STYLE RULES FOR 2019
SHOP. LESS. I mean surely this is going to be on everyone’s list, right? With sustainability rightly being a hot topic right now, the best solution is to ultimately shop less. I think I’ve done an *alright* job this year, but next year I’d like my style outgoings to be even less and I aim to do that by finding new ways to get excited about what I already own and being stricter with my budget.
Vintage and Second-Hand. I used to trawl vintage shops when I was at Uni although it’s something that I regretfully haven’t done much since, but I’m hoping that’s about to change in 2019. I’ve already found myself scouring Vestiaire Collective more and more and I really enjoyed looking around the vintage shops in Copenhagen , so plan to always drop into some whenever we do a city-break and find the best spots in both Brighton and London – recommendations welcomed!
Sort Out My Denim. Seeing as all I wear is jeans you’d think I’d have my denim stash sorted, BUT NO. Some of my jeans are stained, some of them stretched and I feel like there’s a few too many hanging up in my wardrobe right now, which elongates the time it takes me to get ready in the morning. So I need to try them all on, sort ’em out and capsule-ise my stash. My weight fluctuates so I need to make sure that I’ve covered for both ends of that spectrum with comfortable options that don’t have tomato sauce spilt down them.
Invest in Quality. I know that spending more money on an item doesn’t always mean that it’s better quality than the high-street counterpart, but there’s something in my head that makes me pick up the pricer items in my wardrobe more – probably because I’m subconsciously trying to get the cost-per-wear as low as possible. So my aim isn’t to buy more expensive items per se, but just to invest in quality and make more mindful purchases. Time to start saving, eh?
MY BEST STYLE INVESTMENTS FROM THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Loewe Small Puzzle Bag in Midnight Navy. I bought this right as the beginning of the year as a bit of an ‘OMG YOU HAVE A BOOK DEAL/NOW YOU NEED TO WRITE A BOOK – GOOD LUCK!’ gift to myself as it costs a small large fortune. Thankfully I’ve worn it almost everyday. I can fit a decent amount of stuff in there, adore the gold detailing (FYI if you’re interested in this colour-way run don’t walk as it’s now pretty difficult to find!) and it still looks brand new. It goes with absolutely everything and I love the versatility of having both a hand strap and a shoulder strap option.
Topshop Marcel Snakeskin Leather Boots. A purchase from early autumn I’ve surprised myself by just how much I’ve worn these boots. Being a lifelong leopard print fan I was straying from my comfort-zone a little with these, but I’ve just absolutely adored them. Ultimately they are a neutral print, so aren’t too much of a stretch for me; but now I’ve worn them in they are comfortable and really jazz up my basics-filled wardrobe.
& Other Stories Oversized Button-Up Shirt. I purchased this back in the day as Lizzy often pips this as her favourite ‘I’ve stolen my boyfriend’s shirt’ shirt, but just couldn’t get it to work. It felt to big, too baggy and I just couldn’t style it without feeling like I was wearing a pregnancy smock. But then more of my style favourites started to chime in and recommend it, so I bought it again (LOL), and this time round – I get it. I wore it so much over the summer as the billowing nature of it meant that it didn’t cling to my body and it looks FAB tucked into jeans, or tied up over a midi-skirt. It took me a while, but yes this is the perfect ‘I’ve stolen my boyfriend’s shirt’ shirt.
Realisation Par Niomi Wild Things Skirt. Who’d have thought that this would be the year of the midi-skirt, right? I was a little resistant at first, but then I saw this one cropping up on every Tom, Dick and Harry and my interest was piqued. It somehow slipped right into my wardrobe and became one of my most-worn pieces over the summer. Smart or casual, boiling hot or a little chilly – you can make it work practically all year round. Two tips. One – buy in during the winter season some time, they frequently have discount codes floating around and I can imagine they’ll do a great post-Christmas sale. Two – look into sizing down. I bought a medium and had to return it to get a small and the returns process was a proper faff as they are a US-based company.
RE/DONE Double Needle Crop High-Rise Tapered Jeans. I’m a big believer in high-street denim, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with this brand and I have to say, believe the hype peeps. There’s something about a jean with no stretch built into it that makes it not the most comfortable pair of jeans ever at the beginning, but then you stretch them out to the perfect shape thanks to eating a few too many Quality Streets and all of a sudden it’s like putting on a glove that fits you like a dream. These are so flattering, I love the fit, the cut, the wash – everything. Plus, they are 30% off right now, which makes the price a little less eye-watering.
Photos by Emma Croman
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