This week I bring you super sweatshirts and top-level trainers. I was going to do a full post on the trends for autumn/winter, but after a bit of research I decided I wasn’t keen on any of the ones that the high fashion magazines were touting for next season. Bodycon? No thanks very much. The last time I did bodycon I was 22 and hadn’t yet discovered the joys of a good cheese board. Plus middle age spread, two kids and a general disdain for any physical exercise that makes me sweat don’t help matters either.
Then there was cut-outs. Again, who does that? Why ruin a perfectly decent top by cutting bits out of the shoulders? Who wants a dress with no sides, FFS? Anything that requires special or, god forbid, NO undercrackers is immediately given a red card. I’m of the age when I ONLY wear a full brief and anything that cannot accommodate that preference is not getting anywhere near my wardrobe.
So, instead of new trends I’ve decided to go with what I’ve been wearing most of this week and that’s sweatshirts and trainers. I will do my own version of new trends in the next few weeks though – ones that we can all actually wear. And I promise I’ll do workwear soon too, for everyone that has requested that.
ALL THE CLASSICS
If you’ve been with me for a while you will know that I have a ‘thing’ for Anine Bing sweatshirts. I just find them to be the most comfortable, the ones I reach for more than others. Yes, they are expensive but they wash well (machine AND tumble dry every time) and look and feel better with age. The classic tiger one was, and still is, my ‘Lucky Sweatshirt’. Even though I got a hole in it by catching it on my old season ticket seat at the football. That hole reminds me of all the good times that sweatshirt has seen. Therefore that makes it priceless. I advise sizing down on Anine Bing sweats, unless you love the oversized look. I am a 12 and I wear a small in these.
1. Anine Bing eagle sweatshirt (size down)
2. Ted Baker oversized nylon puffer tote bag
3. Arket oversized line blend trenchcoat (size DOWN)
4. Mango high waisted balloon leg jeans
5. Adidas Ozweego trainers
MARANT VIBES
Another one that I own that I cannot ever get rid of because it reminds me of good times. Plus, even after seven years, it still looks good and I wear it regularly. One of my favourite memories of my Marant sweatshirt was the time I stood in for Nick Rhodes at a Duran Duran rehearsal. True story. They say ‘never meet your heroes’, and that is partly true as some of them are slightly pompous, highly strung neurotics (naming no names). But back in 2015 I got the chance to do PR for Duran Duran and at least two of them did not disappoint*. Nick Rhodes was very late to a TV rehearsal for ‘Later With Jools Holland’. In the TV world you have to do a camera rehearsal so that the film crew and the director know what shots to get. I’ve stood in a few times over my years working in this field; you don’t have to do much, just stand there and pretend to be in the band.
Anyway, long story short, in the absence of Nick, John Taylor says to me, “You could pass for him, similar colour hair, about the same height, get on those keys.” I’m not going to lie, I cannot play keyboards, but, to this day, I’m still disappointed that he got there on time for the live show.
1. Isabel Marant Etoile cotton jersey sweatshirt
2. All Saints Zebra Print Jacket (half price!)
3. Albaray light wash boyfriend jeans
4. Hush relaxed crew t shirt
5. Nike SB Mid Blazer trainers (use code BTS21 for 25% off until 30 Aug)
ALL THE AUTUMNAL HUES
As I write this, I am in the wilds of Northumberland, contemplating a rather autumnal-looking day. I’m not sad about this. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that summer is almost done. If we get a heatwave next month I won’t be mad at it, but I’m also looking forward to breaking out the russet hues and the warmer jackets. I do love a tonal look. These trousers from Anthropologie are my most recent purchase and I love the fit and the colour.
1. Hush eagle boyfriend t shirt
2. Mango oversized check jacket
3. Pilcro breaker relaxed jeans
4. Warehouse Wanderer sweatshirt
5. Nike Air Max 90 trainers (use code BTS21 for 25% off today )
BOLD AND BRIGHT SWEATSHIRTS
A friend of mine trained to do ‘colours’ recently. I’m not sure of the technical term, but it’s that thing your mum had done in the ‘80s when they tell you what colours suit you best. I was slightly sceptical but it does actually work. Some colours wash you out (in my case, browns, creams etc) and some just immediately make you look more, well, alive. Turns out I’m a ‘Winter’, which is quite a lot of deep jewel tones and bright reds and blues. It can be a bit tricky breaking out of your colour rut, but wearing something brighter every once in a while, especially on dull old days, can make all the difference to your mood. Check out Pangaia; they are an eco-conscious company that make sweats and tees in ALL the colours.
1. Pangaia recycled organic cotton blend sweatshirt
2. Arket small puffy tote bag
3. Arket heavyweight boxy t shirt
4. Hush Lindsay washed joggers
5. Boden classic trainers
90s THROWBACK
They say if you wore it the first time round that you shouldn’t go back. That may be true of Global Hypercolour T‑shirts and Joe Bloggs jeans 17 sizes too big for you, and I’ll not be wearing a dummy on a string around my neck at any point in the near future, but chunky trainers, a bucket hat and a sweatshirt with a slight reference to my youth, yes. I feel bad for today’s teenagers. When I was 16 I was in the back of a transit van somewhere on the M4 with a bunch of lads I barely knew (bear with, I wasn’t being kidnapped) hurtling towards Fleet Services to find out where the rave was at. It was inevitably somewhere in a field in Hampshire and yes, I did lose part of my brain there but oh, those were good times…
1. New Look khaki quilted zip jacket
2. Pangaia cotton bucket hat
3. Standard Reference Materials Acidhaus sweatshirt
4. Whistles stretch barrel jeans
5. Veja Roraima suede hi top trainers
In short, sweatshirts and trainers are your friends. This has stirred up so many good memories. Good clothes can do that.
K x
*John and Roger. Both lovely.
Main image sweatshirt by Tallulah & Hope Tallulah & Hope
