It’s Wednesday again! This week I’m still in love with the ‘heritage’ trend that’s in all the shops this autumn. It’s cool without making you look like you’ve tried to hard to be sexy, it’s feminine, and it’s easy to wear – with or without the added crutches. But the more I think about ‘heritage’ fashion, the more I think it taps into something deeper. So this post started out as a post about a dress, with some nice pictures – and ended up as a ramble about..what exactly? Is a dress ever just a dress? Does it say something about our deepest longings and our worst fears?*
I’ve chosen this gorgeous dress from Hobbs today, with the cutest ‘dice’ print and a sweet Peter Pan collar.
Dice Dress – £139, Hobbs NW3
I’m going to toughen it up with these navy brogues from Boden (would also look fab in chocolate brown, I think).
Suede Brogues, £110, Boden
Now that autumn’s here, I’ve picked this gorgeous thick cable cardigan from Aubin and Wills to keep me toasty.
Wear it unbuttoned for added 1930s cool..
Marston cardigan, £69 (reduced from £95), Aubin and Wills
I think Aubin and Wills does this kind of heritage-with-extra-edge best out of all the brands right now – and so I’m gutted to hear that they will be ceasing trading by Christmas. There are lots of bargains on their website now – I’m trying hard to resist spending with Christmas looming but it’s not proving easy!
In terms of accessories, I love this cute necklace from Estella Bartlett, and it won’t break the bank, either:
Bright Star Necklace, £14, Estella Bartlett at http://www.johnlewis.com
And all topped off with this gorgeous satchel from the Cambridge Satchel Company in classic tan:
‘The Classic’, from £94, the Cambridge Satchel Company
This takes me back – it’s exactly the kind of satchel I had (and hated) at the age of 5. Clearly I had no fashion sense back then! I do wonder if this ‘heritage chic’ thing is popular because, besides being comfortable, wearable, and to an extent, work friendly (not to mention crutches/wheelchair friendly) – it taps into a kind of nostalgia that I’m seeing everywhere at the moment. A wish to return to a childhood era when we felt safe and drank lashings of ginger beer. A return to crafting and baking, the wish to eat more local food and live more sustainably fits into that nostalgia.
Is it just marketing? If so, I’m definitely sucking it up, and propagating it, voraciously, via this blog – uncomfortable. Or is it a craving for security and domesticity in the face of external threats to social order – the riots in London, threats of terrorism, arson attacks, recession, awful, awful child abuse scandals? I don’t know. Maybe it’s just about wearing a nice dress. I mean, there have always been threats to social order and the heritage trend draws heavily on fashions from the 1930s and 1940s, not exactly a peaceful era. Still, it reminds me of a kind of ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude that articulates coping with and rising above austerity, conflict, and loss (Note to self: maybe a £130 dress is not an effective method for this). Laughing in the face of adversity is a good thing, sometimes, no? And post major surgery, there’s plenty of opportunity, and need, for that.
*Irish hasn’t read this blog yet, but I can tell you his opinion on this. A dress is ALWAYS just a dress, except when it is a complete and utter waste of money.
crafts on sea
/ November 7, 2012Loving your dress posts
I do wake up on Wednesday at the moment and wonder what to wear, not always a dress, never as cute as the ones you’re blogging, but at least its got me thinking!