How thrilled I was to be asked by Sarah to share some of the pieces that have caught my eye recently.
I’m a Personal Shopper, so in ‘normal’ times, this would be a really busy time for me. I spend countless hours walking around the stores so I can get to know what each person has bought so that I am ready for my clients but, like most of us, I have been shopping virtually online in lockdown with both myself and my clients in mind. However, I still love going to the stores and can’t wait for them to open up again. Part of the experience for me is to see how the stores have merchandised the collections and if they have exclusive pieces, collaborations or projects that might work for my clients. Most recently I loved what Selfridges did with Oxfam. Putting second hand clothes in a luxury space curated by the wonderful Bay Garnett was really forward thinking, and it has become so important to me in the last few years that I work very hard with my clients existing wardrobes and just add a few pieces that will complement pieces they already have, items which can be styled in different ways to get the most out of them and also not going out each season and buying tons of new items.
Right now, I’m working with a bride and mother of the bride for a July beach wedding (in this country). Fingers crossed that Boris will allow this! Instead of buying a dress for the bride, I am looking at some rental companies that have some beautiful dresses. There are some incredible hire companies out there at the moment and I think it’s such a great idea. Here are a few that I am using:
Hurr
My Wardrobe HQ
Rotaro
Onloan
Lastly, I have also just discovered that Ganni and Levi have collaborated and brought out a gorgeous capsule denim collection that you can hire the pieces from as well which is fantastic.
My personal style is more is more! I love jewellery, scarfs, hats… I will always study trends, and often pull certain ideas and styles and mix them into my existing wardrobe. Although I wear a lot of vintage I do love the high street, as well as some of the Scandi brands like Ganni, Stine Goya, Essentiel Antwerp, and Stella Nova to name a few.
I do invest in a few bigger price tagged items, but regardless of the price tag I think very carefully about what I buy and look after all of my clothes. I will never throw things away. I will give things away but never throw away – I often get things altered or changed. This is mainly done by our very kind and patient friend Fouad, who is the most wonderfully talented man. I turn up to his house with all sorts of things and we have fun reinventing. The last thing I took to him was an old duvet cover! It was such a great print and he turned it into a summer dress for me.
I will always advise my clients that it is a good idea when buying something new to get rid of something you no longer wear – one in, one out. I can’t say that I practise what I preach! I find this very hard to do as I really love all the things in my wardrobe, this is to the utter horror of my husband who cannot bare my overflowing wardrobe and dresses hung everywhere – but I like to see the clothes out, they make me happy, him not so.
Anyway, I am a terrible writer so I will stop now and just share with you a few of the pieces I am loving at the moment…
I think everyone needs a pair of great sunglasses that fit well. I found Joseph ones called Chelsea. I got them in black, but they are also available in – and they are now on sale!
Although Iris is a store that houses many great brands, they also have their own label called By Iris and I love their Roxy cord jumpsuit. Another great jumpsuit I found is on (I spend a lot of time on this site!). It’s a really good one from I would probably put a skinny polo neck underneath or team it with a silk vintage scarf. If you are not into vintage shopping, The Outnet has a gorgeous Gucci floral print .
I LOVE clogs. One of my favourite stores in New York is No.6 Store. I discovered them through a friend years ago and still have the same pair and they are still going strong. TOAST has the Kitty Clogs Jord clogs that have caught my eye as I love the closed back.
At Matches you will find Fabrizio Viti’s Jean and the Jean which are divine. Apart from clogs, I love trainers and cowboy boots. Although I own a great pair of vintage ones, Ganni has a gorgeous pair.
I have lots of treasured vintage summer dresses that I like to wear with flat sandals and dream of the next time I can wear them. Each season I look to see if I need an update and found great sandals from Mango.
As I mentioned before, I love jewellery and I wear rings on all my fingers. I mix up gold and silver and then add some colour. These La Manso rings are my favourite colour addition, specifically the Hot & Cold ring and the Lucky Me ring. I discovered a lovely designer Bea Bongiasca who graduated from Central Saint Martins and the same year launched her brand. I love so many of her pieces but green is a real favourite of mine. Matches has some cute broaches by Art School that are always a nice addition to a simple outfit. For example, the Clover crystal-embellished brooch and the Aeroplane crystal-embellished brooch. I struggled to stop finding things I liked! Especially as I have a big birthday coming up and trying to find some suggestions for my husband! Last one is by Cornelia Webb.
I have a few pieces from Missoma – it’s great quality and really lovely design. My current favourites are the mini pave spike charm hoop earrings, the gold pavé claw huggies, and the gold twisted link chain bracelet.
There are definitely days where I will just throw on a pair of my favourite jeans (at the moment my three favourite pairs on rotation are a pair of GRLFRND and two pairs of Levi vintage flares), an oversized cashmere sweater (the mens Uniqlo in XL are my current go-tos). And to add some colour I will add a handmade collar by Lola Alba. To complete the look, I’ll throw on an oversized suit jacket. I wear my Dad’s, but there are so many good ones out there from , to The Frankie Shop. Another one I found comes in a few colours – the Arket oversized Hopsack blazer. Personally I would get the Camel as you can wear it with jeans or a summer dress.
I bought a denim shirt with a pussy bow from Barney’s many years ago which I still wear with my vintage flared jeans, I’m often one to wear a bit of double denim! I found this blouse and jeans by Zimmermann from Browns and they remind me of my well-loved outfit. ARKET has a range of denim which has been up-cycled from vintage fabrics into patchwork – a different look from the Zimmermann and a great initiative. I would team the with a pair of trainers – The New Balance 880 or the 327’s – that would be triple denim! And the skirt could be worn with a pair of tan knee boots.
If you know me you will know that socks often have a starring role in my outfits. My absolute favourite brand is Kule and I own many pairs of their socks. But I also love the Gucci lamé knee-high socks. I’m also getting from & Other Stories when they are back in stock!
Mango has these rhinestone pendant earrings that I love. Infact, they are on sale at the moment! Worn either on a night out (we will have these again soon) or I would wear them during the day with just a sweatshirt like this Ganni embroidered one, and an old pair of jeans and some trainers.
Also at Matches are the Birkenstock 1774 Arizona leather sandals. These slides worn with a pair of socks are just my thing.
Stella Nova is a Scandi brand that you can either order online from or there are a number of independent stores in the UK who sell this brand. Zalando also stock it as well. There are a few things that I really love of theirs at the moment but here are a few in particular. The floral Agga blazer and matching trousers. This is such a pretty spring suit which you can either wear together or equally as seperates. I also really like the Kiri cardigan in water blue, which could be worn with a little tee and a pair of jeans.
A brand that I really love is Sea, although there are many things I love this season here are two in particular – the Leslie floral-print cotton poplin and the Leslie quilted floral-print jacket. An alternative but still in the same vein is the wonderful padded floral print vest from & Other Stories. I wouldn’t get this oversized, but there’s still room for you to wear a sweater or a tee.
I love wearing dresses – like a jumpsuit, you have an outfit all at once with minimum effort. The brand Sister Jane, which you can buy on ASOS, often has dresses I like. They are very particular, so definitely not everyone’s cup of tea! The midi smock dress in cream jacquard is one that I love. And this maxi dress in floral organza. A few other dresses I have found include this Stella Nova dress that has sold out everywhere! I found it here. The Debo dress by a brand called Busayo. Another brand I discovered a while ago is Sika, designed in London and handmade in Ghana. I bought the most fantastic tie dye trousers that fit like a dream and I have worn so much during lockdown. I have found these two dresses that I really like and are being added to my summer wish list. First up is the Bubble dress. Then the Ruffle. Talking of dresses, I just saw this Simone Rocha dress on The Outnet that is literally making my heart beat faster! It’s embellished ruffled tulle and satin midi dress. I love this one so much. On occasion I will buy a really dressy piece even if I don’t at the moment have anywhere to wear it to as I always think it’s good to have a few really special pieces in your wardrobe just because… And for sure there will be a moment when you have that occasion where you can pull out that dress.
In the meantime I have the other extreme, I’m sure the last thing you are after is a tracksuit? However this one from & Other Stories is so good.
I know Sarah has already done a post about this and I’m sure you all set your alarms, but I have to mention it again. On 11th March the Simone Rocha for HM collection dropped and I could hardly contain my excitement! I had my husband on his computer and I was on mine and we went for it! I managed to get a few great pieces that I tried at home and struggled to send anything back! I have to say the quality of the product was fantastic and the designs didn’t disappoint. I think it has to have been one of my favourite collaborations. I could go on and on but I hope you have discovered a few things and enjoyed my edit.
Ness X
ps: one last thing, the Lucky Stars PJ set from Free People. Good enough to wear outside!
Portait: Jay Rowden
