Hello!! I can’t tell you how lovely it is to be writing to you all again. I have missed working on this blog SO much. The pandemic (for various reasons) stopped us in our tracks but we are back! Hopefully this is it now, so should you wish to stay with us, we will be with you for the long haul. I also wanted to say thank you for the kind messages we received, asking after us and saying that you miss the blog - it is a really lovely community that we are creating here.

I’ve obviously had a lot of time to think since our last post and so I have made a few changes to the way I would like to approach the content I am sharing. I have always been a huge advocate of considered choices. I dislike fast fashion and I am not one to be a slave to the trends (although always with one eye on them). I truly believe that if you take time to build your wardrobe then there is no reason why it can’t be with you for life.

So with this in mind, mum and I will be incorporating clothes that we have had in our wardrobes for many years, alongside the latest pieces that we fall in love with. I realise it might be frustrating if we show items from our existing wardrobe which are no longer available, so I will try my best to list similar items that are currently in the shops.

Let’s get started. Mum is wearing a knitted vest from COS. I recently re-kindled my love for the Skandi brand with this season’s collection. They have some really lovely bits and their knitwear is particularly great at the moment - such gorgeous, vibrant colours. If you’re looking to inject new life into your current wardrobe then a vest would be a good place to start. This particular one is more of a cape and is incredibly easy to wear. Mum is wearing it with an over-sized shirt from H&M but it would look equally great over a fitted polo neck (Uniqlo have brilliant ones) or a t-shirt in the summer.

If you’re looking to wear old favourites but want to keep your look contemporary then give some thought to the cut of your jeans. Mum and I went shopping together for this pair. She naturally gravitated to the full length, straight leg version but I encouraged/made her try on the ankle length style (which naturally kick out slightly at the bottom). Although full length, straight leg (and boot cut) jeans are experiencing a come-back, as you get older you might want to consider a more overtly ‘modern’ cut (obviously people have been wearing ankle length trousers since Audrey Hepburn but you know what I mean). This style with the ballet flats looks so chic. I particularly like ballet flats that are cut higher up on the foot from the toe - very Italian (see Boden and M&S). The pair mum is wearing are from Hobbs. She’s had them for a while and wears them all the time.

Oh M&S, if only you could get it right all the time, the world of retail would be a happier place. This is the perfect example of when M&S have nailed it. This trench coat must be about 4 or 5 years old now. It is a classic, and it will always be a classic. Good quality, cut well, and a chic length with a few lovely design details (but they haven’t gone mad). The amount of times that M&S ruin a perfectly good piece of clothing with a terrible zip, or fade or logo or strange colour is beyond me. Stick to the basics and do that well - benefit from your economies of scale and produce good quality garments at a price that most other high street brands can’t…! Anyway, rant over. Sadly they have not continued making this coat but here is an alternative (Selected Femme at M&S).

A Graham St blog post would not be complete without a good neck scarf - mum likes to cover her neck and I love the look - so together we have quite the collection. This scarf is one that mum bought recently. She wears a lot of blue and was keen to find one that pulled together her outfit. It is from Arket and is a great size for the Spring - not too big, not too warm. The other place to look is Toast. They have some really beautiful scarfs in their current collection.

Mum and I are wearing essentially the same outfit (shirt, vest and jeans) but I have made it my own with a chunky gold necklace and heeled boots. As I have always said, the difference between what mum and I wear has nothing to do with our ages and everything to do with our personalities and preferred style.

‘Teddy coats’ (coats which are made from this textured material) are everywhere at the moment. I love a bomber jacket and so this one particularly appealed to me, I also find dark green a very versatile colour and a good alternative to black, navy or grey.

Just before I sign off, I wanted to remind you that my inbox is always open. Please feel free to email me at grahamstfashion@gmail.com anytime with questions and queries. I have two little girls at home so please bear with me on my response time, but I promise that you will always hear back from me. Anyway, until next time, I hope that you have a lovely week and get to enjoy some of this gorgeous sunshine!