Toast X Graham St - Borough Market

As I am sure many of you know (we haven’t exactly been quiet on the subject!) we recently collaborated with Toast on a style edit. It’s the first in a series which will see us visit different cities across the UK, seeking out the interesting places to explore, delicious places to eat and wonderful places to see wearing - of course - Toast. By ‘we’, I mean mum and me but also our friend, collaborator and amazing photographer, Alex. Alex and I met aged 11 on the first day of senior school and we have been friends ever since. We went to school in York and so it seems fitting that our next destination should be the wonderful Cathedral city…..Watch this space.

In the meantime, let’s talk about the clothes that we chose for this shoot. As anyone that knows mum and me personally or has been following us here at Graham St will know, we are BIG fans of Toast. So when they approached us I could have popped with excitement. Choosing our outfits was very easy and a lot of fun!

We love the contrast of the relaxed fit of this shirt and trousers with the luxuriousness of the velvet.  Together they are the perfect mix of comfort and style.

Mum lives in Northamptonshire but is regularly traveling into London to meet with friends, either for dinner or the theatre but may be spending the day in the city first. We both commented on what a perfect outfit hers would be for such an occasion, when you want to look smart but also need to be comfortable.  Here mum is wearing suede pumps but for the evening you could slip into a pair of smarter, heeled shoes and the outfit would immediately be transformed into something suitably smart and elegant.

Mum wanted to pair the velvet shirt and trousers together as it gives the impression of them being a jumpsuit and we both felt that this is a very contemporary look.  However, the beauty of the two pieces is that they would look equally good worn separately.  The shirt would look fantastic with a pair of jeans and some trainers and the trousers would look great with a long, chunky, navy wool jumper and a pair of loafers.  

Of course, with both pieces worn together, it is a lot of dark blue.  Therefore we chose to break this up with a contrasting but very complimentary coloured scarf.  The honey hue lifts the whole outfit and brightens around the face.  The petrol blue pattern in the scarf ties everything together.  If you are going to add a pop of colour, it is nice to add that colour somewhere else within your outfit and the mustard bag did this beautifully.

I fell in love with this blackwatch check coat the minute I laid eyes on it.  Heritage prints are huge for this season and this is the perfect example.  What I really love about the fabric is that it is bold enough so as to be more of a statement than a plain coat, but subtle enough that you could wear it time and time again.  The navy and the green are two very versatile colours that would compliment most other colours.

I LOVE the mixing of textures in an outfit- the velvet of mum's top and trousers with the textured wool of her coat and soft silk of her scarf.  The light-weight wool of my trousers with the mohair jumper and mohair/wool blend of my coat.  I have always felt that this is a very chic and interesting way of dressing as it breaks up an outfit in a subtle way.  

I absolutely love these trousers.  They are made form a light-weight wool and so would be warm in winter but not so heavy that you couldn't wear them in the shoulder months.  They are also not itchy!  

They are extremely flattering as the high waist and pleated front creates the illusion of having an hour-glass figure, even if you don't.  The slightly cropped hem line, which exposes the ankles, is a very elegant shape on a wide leg trouser and ensures that you don't need to be tall inorder for them to be flattering.

These trousers are a great day to night pant as their relaxed vibe worn with a pair of flat shoes is instantaneously transformed into something very elegant with a pair of heels.  My mohair jumper could be swapped for a silk blouse and you have the perfect smart/casual evening look.  

I chose to wear a burgundy heeled ankle boot but you could swap the boot for a burgundy sock and a black or brown brogue and this would look fantastic.  

Do join us for the next stop on our Toast/Graham St road trip…..