On neutral ground
I know that some people hear the word 'beige' and run a mile. It has become a word to describe all things a bit, meh. A little bit boring, a little bit unexciting. It is a colour that I think many people avoid when choosing clothes for fear of looking, well, a little boring and a little bit unexciting. I am here to change your mind. I am here to fly the beige flag. I am here to persuade you that beige is infact a great colour with bounds of exciting potential.
With mum's outfit I have kept the colours tonal, ie both beige colours are from the same palette. Secondly I have mixed fabric textures. If the outfit was all one tone and one fabric it would not look nearly as modern, and modern is key when dressing in beige. The top is a linen-type fabric and the skirt is sateen. To break up these two colours we used a brown leather belt and to tie this in, brown leather shoes.
Another colour that looks fantastic with beige is white (0r the white side of cream). White and beige look crisp, clean and modern. A white shirt would have looked equally lovely with this gathered-waist skirt from Arket. Particularly a linen or oxford shirt. If you were to go with a shirt, I would tuck it in loosely and roll the sleeves up.
I built mum's outfit around this top. It's a top that ordinarily I would have walked past but due to its colour I picked it up and I'm so pleased that I did. Cleverly, its a body so it has pants which are attached to the top, ensuring that you stay neatly tucked in. This does of course mean that it is a top that can only be worn tucked in. For this reason, I thought that it would be perfect worn with a high waisted skirt.
I cannot rave about this skirt enough. It is 'Audrey Heburn' in style and anything that was good enough for her, is certainly good enough for me. Its gathered, high-waist creates a beautifully feminine silhouette and it is just the right length. Any shorter and it could look old-fashioned, any longer and it could look like you were off to an 80's prom.
It has pockets.....IT HAS POCKETS!
Mum 's sunglasses are from Topshop. The John Lennon style sunglasses are back in a big way. If you're keen to indulge in the latest eyewear trend but don't fancy committing to it for more than a Summer, then places like Topshop and Mango are perfect. You will find hundreds of pairs to satiate the craziest of fashion whims and you will not need to break the bank to do so.
Headbands. An accessory that has become a bit of an obsession for me this summer.
My brother got married this May and so I needed to find an outfit. I chose the dress but then really felt that a hat wouldn't quite work. I ummed and arred for a while until one day I was shopping in Fenwick and stumbled across their hair accessories section. In amongst the baubles, and bobbles and bows I came across THE most beautiful hairbands. There it was, decision made - SOLD to the lady panicking about what to wear to her brother's wedding and so began my obsession with hairbands. Since then I have discovered Anthropologie's stash and this is where I found the gem above.
The colour of this hairband has actually been surprisingly versatile and will also be accompanying me to a wedding this weekend.
Beaded bags are another massive trend for this Summer. You can't walk down the high street without knocking into a beaded bag. That's not to say that I don't love them. They're great. The only word of warning I would say is check how heavy they are before you buy. This may sound like an absurd piece of advise but trust me, some are SO heavy. As in, you'd drop a lipstick inside and get back ache kind of heavy. Well, almost.
If you're looking for fantastic tailoring at an affordable price then look no further than Arket. Their tailoring is superb and doesn't have a price tag to match. It's at the higher end of the high-street scale but cost to quality is unrivalled. The Scandinavian brand offers a brilliantly designed selection of wardrobe staples. From shirts and blouses with interesting twists to beautifully tailored trousers with a cropped hem to the perfect, classic mac, Arket does it all. Everything is laid out in a pleasing, colour co-ordinated way that helps the shopping experience and makes pairing the clothes together, more straight forward.
One of my absolute favourite colour combinations, especially for summer is white and cream. It is one that I think can be overlooked but is such a strong combination. To me, white and cream worn together is incredibly chic. You could keep this outfit very simple and stick with the theme - a white blazer or a cream jumper. However, I actually chose to pair it with this yellow checked blazer from Mango. It is such an amazingly cut jacket which looks alot more expensive on than it does off. It would also look good with jeans and a jumper in Winter.
One last thing. These trainers. THE trainers of the moment. The best thing? Not only do they look great but Veja have been working with cooperatives in Brazil since 2006 to make trainers that are socially and environmentally conscious - the label sources fairly traded materials like cotton and rubber to create shoes that are produced in dignified conditions, in direct consultation with producer associations and manufacturers.
And it is with that thought that I will leave you. Until next time...
SUE
Blouse, Zara . Skirt, Artket . Belt, Hannah's own . Sandals, Ancient Greek . Bag, Topshop . Sunglasses, Topshop .
HANNAH
T-Shirt, Zara . Trousers, Arket . Blazer, Mango . Earrings, J Crew . Hairband, Anthropologie . Sunglasses, Monokel . Bag, Zara . Trainers, Veja .
Photography, videography and artwork by Alexandra Mooney
Please check out our new video! Moving forward we are going to be filming our shoots to show you what we get up to and also so that you can gain an even better idea of how the clothes look and work on the body. In addition I will be styling further outfits to the ones that are photographed but that are within the same theme. This week we are looking at how to style clothes within a neutral palette. Let us know what you think!
