I want you to know that I don't wear vintage every day. No sir! I am actually a little bit of a designer whore on the side... Give me access to Net-a-Porter, a juicy Malbec (see my bio) and a flexible friend (Monsieur's Visa or Amex, I'm not fussy) and you can keep me quiet for hours. There is nothing quite like a whole evening of designer fashion-porn. I don't even have to buy anything - window shopping is enough.
The internet has given us the ability to browse through shops where we wouldn't normally dare to venture - well not without a professional blow dry and a full face of makeup just in case we are given the hairy eyeball by the sales assistant. I can remember visiting a Bond Street store in my twenties (not that long ago really...cough cough) and being glared at for lightly fingering a handbag I looked like I couldn't afford. Damn you Prada.
Anyway, I digress, back to me being a whore of the extreme fashion kind. My adoration of clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories has got me in trouble at home. So much so, I had to get rid of my spare room - sorry Mother, you're on the blow up bed again - so I could turn it into a walk in wardrobe. Don't get me wrong, I am not a hoarder - far from it! As soon as something doesn't fit, I haven't worn it for a season or just that our love affair has ended, it leaves my closet.
Since I've matured in attitude and years, I no longer save anything for best. If I think I can get away with wearing it, I bloody well do! A cocktail dress during the day or a little bit of Ossie Clark to the pub, a Chanel bag swinging from my arm - why not? I love to mix the old and the new too. My favourite outfit at the moment has got to be my leather skinnies by Sara Berman. Teamed with my Great Aunts 1960's Jaeger jacket over an Antik Batik tee and not a whiff of Suzie Quatro about it!
My problem is I wear EVERYTHING! And I just keep accumulating more. Having a wide and varied taste doesn't help me either. From vintage vixen to rock chick and everything in between - I love it all! Maybe there is some sort of fashion-rehab I should go to? I say NO, NO, NO....
So fash-fans, do your wardrobe a favour! If you only wear 20 percent of your clothes, try and figure out why. I suggested to a girlfriend last week that she empty her wardrobe onto her bed to force her into sorting it out. It was so jammed full, she couldn't find anything anyway and was constantly wearing the same things on rotation. I bet, like her, you've all got some treasure you forgot about lurking in the abyss.
On a final note, (which I do whilst wagging my finger) if you're saving things to 'slim down into' - the simple answer isdon't. If you're a size 14 and want to be a size 8, wait until you get there before buying those pair of trousers in the sale. They will not work as a goal, only as a taunt!!
This is a picture of me, mixing old with new (and I'm not talking about Grayson Perry). I'm wearing a gorgeous peach Jean Varon 70's maxi dress and an Armani tux that I picked up at Love Is Boutique (obvs).