Masculin Féminin

If you've been following my blog, you'll have probably noticed that I'm a self proclaimed tomboy. To me there is nothing more appealing than a woman dressed in a man's clothes. Ever since I was little, I would always be the girl dressed in the denim romper climbing trees and role playing Star Wars with my partner in crime (I assumed the role of Han Solo, he Luke Skywalker.) Whether it be down to my boyish figure (read: flat chested and gangly) or my attempts to break the mould in an all girls' school, my style has always bordered on the side boyish. My look has definitely evolved since my school days and now I've discovered that dressing with a tomboy edge needn't mean sacrificing femininity - my peter pan collared dresses are toughened up with mannish brogues or lace up ankle boots and my off duty uniform of white shirt, cropped trousers and penny loafers are made more feminine with a bow tied in my hair à la Brigitte Bardot. Despite the fashion forecast for this season being all about the new womanly silhouette, I'd still rather be in the boyish camp, embracing the new trouser shapes and array of capes on offer. After all, who wouldn't want to be associated with a band of women that includes such style icons as Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou Doillon, Annie Hall, Alexa Chung and Katherine Hepburn?

(Images from thefashionspot & my tumblr)

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Gloria

I once read an interview with Valentine Fillol Cordier in which she described her style as "something between Coco Chanel and Patti Smith"... quite possibly the perfect combination! Lately, having just finished Just Kids, I myself have been undoubtedly influenced by Patti Smith's blasé approach to dressing. Her uniforms of black skinny jeans, blazers & mannish white shirts, although formulaic, never air on the side of boring. Patti Smith is one of those rare style phenomenon's who makes the most understated of outfits look so desirable and incessantly cool that you want to wear the look head to toe... But somehow you just never manage to recreate that same nonchalant attitude. It thrilled me to discover that during one period of her youth, she rotated between variations on outfits inspired by French new wave films and Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. Her cultural influences are embodied in many of her outfits, whether it be the way she flings her jacket over her shoulder on the cover of Horses à la Frank Sinatra or her Keith Richards-esque haircut. Just perfection.

My style says ‘Look at me, don’t look at me,’ ... It’s, ‘I don’t care what you think.’ - Patti Smith

Elegance is refusal

As my obsession for all things French steadily grows (and showing no signs of abating), so does my interest in the concept of the French Wardrobe - the notion that you can base your entire wardrobe on a skeleton of 4-5 (usually high quality) key pieces. In the recent months, I've found this idea especially appealing namely due to the alarming prospect of having to fit my vast array of clothes into my matchbox studio in Paris. Long gone are the days of envisioning a wardrobe worthy of a place in UK Elle's monthly feature Closet Confidential...

Although at the tender age of 20 my style is constantly evolving, I definitely have a uniform that I can always fall back on which consists of good quality basics - a pair of Acne jeans, a Zara leather blazer and my French Sole ballet flats for day and a black See by Chloe dress or Day Birger et Mikkelsen blouse for evening. It's fair to say that I wear a variation of these outfits seventy five percent of the time in place of the more frivolous, 'on-trend' pieces in my wardrobe. Although this at first seems like a boring approach to fashion, the less-is-more approach to dressing is ultimately far more satisfying. After all, I would much rather by one more expensive, classic item that I really love and can wear in a multitude of ways in place of the latest highly covetable Balmain jacket or It bag.

When I think of women whose style I admire - Coco Chanel, Sofia Coppola, Jane Birkin, Emanuelle Alt et al - they all embrace a distinct uniform without sacrificing the covetable nature of their style.

See my 5 autumn/winter essentials on my previous post here. And my edit if money were no object...

1. Chanel 2.55 or Sofia Coppola for Louis Vuitton leather duffle bag

2. Chanel two tone ballet flats

3. Isabel Marant Bator Coat

4. Repossi yellow gold maure ring

5. Maison Margiela or Helmut Lang tee shirts

(image from I Heart Sofia)

Winter Lady

Saturday marked a momentous occasion for me - my first autumn/winter purchase. I've always preferred winter's sartorial offerings and have even been known to rip endless pages out of my precious magazine collection for my annual winter coat countdown! My most recent purchase, however, was a camel coloured cable knit sweater - perfect teamed with my Acne high waisted jeans and brogues in the city or over a tea dress with thick socks and my wellies for long walks at the seaside (see The Edge of Love for inspiration!) My winter wishlist includes some new suede ankle boots (I'm still dreaming of those suede Isabel Marant boots from a gazillion seasons ago), a camel coloured coat (Celine would be nice but Zara will do!) a navy blue blazer, a blue oxford shirt and some cropped wool trousers. All topped off with some samples of the new Burberry makeup collection. What's on your winter wishlist?