Pieces of Me - Top 10 things that define my style

Following on from WoTW this week, I wanted to do a top 10 linked to it. It's a little self indulgent but I just thought it would be fun - and kind of easy to do - as the (eeeep) lurgy seems to have reappeared this morning (coughing, sneezing, shivering - wtf!!). In case you're new to the blog, firstly HELLO! and WELCOME! and have some cake but secondly, here are a couple of links to the kind of drivel I write when I'm sick..... I hope this doesn't put you off reading this blog :)

Also, for regular readers and newbies, I know I've not been around much in the last week but look out for tomorrow's post which will be a little catch up (like this one) of what I've been up to. And, to ensure that I actually put some stuff on the blog this week, I have challenged myself to writing FIVE (yes FIVE) blog posts, in advance today (sunday) so that they will be ready for you during the week. I have been very remiss in not posting stuff or replying to comments - for which I hugely apologise and offer you all yet more virtual cake.

So anyway, here is the list - which is comprised of the top 10 things in my wardrobe, or that I own, that I feel are the essence of me/my look:

Top 10 Things That Define My Style


1) Angel Wing Earrings - I bought these about 5 years ago from Claires Accessories for a party. They're about an inch long and made of plastic in a off white with a mother of pearl sheen. And er, they're shaped like angel wings - one for each ear. I love them, I've never seen anyone else with them and I always (even now they're a bit battered) get compliments on them.

2) My Cowboy Boots - Also from around 3-4 years ago, these were from Faith and cost about £50. They go with  EVERYTHING I OWN. I've worn them to parties, the pub, work, client meetings (informal ones), drinks, dinner, the library, shopping....everywhere. I love them. They have about a 2.5  cuban heel and full detailing and they're awesome. They are however falling apart now....so I am sharing my allegiance with a pair of flat, knee high, black riding boots with 2 silver buckles that also go with everything.

3) Chanel No.5 - I've worn this perfume for 15 years now. It's sometimes seen as a bit of an old lady perfume - especially when you're 16, but I love it. The smell is totally addictive - and smells completely different on everyone. It always makes me feel utterly glamorous - and I love wearing something that I know Marilyn Monroe wore also. I bought my first bottle in Henry Bendel in New York when I was 15 or so.

Going In And Out - Word of the Week

(Style n: a mode of living, as with respect to expense or display. Etym. from L. stilus "stake, instrument for writing, manner of writing, mode of expression," Meaning "mode or fashion of life" is from 1770; that of "mode of dress" is from 1814.")

So, in case you'd not guessed, I'll be turning 30 in July. And this whole, leaving my 20's, officially being a grown up with a job and a mortgage and a husband and broody feelings and a blog and (thinks what else makes me grown up....er, nope, nothing)anyway yes, it made me think about how much I've changed in the last 5, 10, 15, 20 years. And that made me look at a bunch of photos - and I realised how I've kind of, grown into myself  and started to develop my own style a lot.

Style is something that over the years - decades, centuries - is something that appears to be dictated to us. Every single magazine or paper or website or blog sometimes, even, seems to contain the ideas that although, on the one hand, style is something that is intrinsic to a person but yet, on the other, if you buy just the right dress/shirt/shoes/lipstick/perfume you'll be stylish. Or so the marketing gurus would have us believe.

And yes, I do believe there are style icons out there - people who take clothes and wear them in ways, that although they aren't always outlandish and exciting, just carry off something ordinary with a great deal of panache. What they wear, how they look, how they carry themselves becomes their defining style. I can list off the top of my head, several such women - Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel, Jackie Kennedy, Ava Gardner, Clara Bow, Cleopatra and so on. Currently, we have Madonna, Lady Gaga, Vivienne Westwood, Erin O'Connor, Liv Tyler, Zooey Deschanel and so on.