January Collage

Print

I've always believed it's better to look crazy than boring - clashing print is a great way to lift the spirits and show a little personality. This was actually taken during lockdown on a daily walk - it was Saturday and so to mark the occasion(!) I wore two of my favourites: a charity shop leopard print skirt, and a Molly Goddard knitted t-shirt.

Other People's Birthdays

I'm envious of those with summer birthdays and respectively their outdoor celebrations. I've rediscovered fairy cakes - crucially they are easy... As well as reassuringly nostalgic. I also love wrapping presents (harking back to my online personal styling business and beyond), and hope no one spots me fishing discarded ribbon out of the bin when I think the coast is clear.

10 Years of 'What's She Like?'

It dawned on me this week that I've been writing 'What's She Like?' for 10 years! A surprise, even though I know I've kept this digital diary/scrapbook charting my sartorial (and beyond) journey through my 20s and into my 30s. Some posts make me cringe beyond belief - others make me smile at how confident and enthusiastic I was about the things I love. Here is my first ever post, aged 21 sitting in a cold student house in Withington, Manchester.

10 years later as a Fashion Stylist living and working back in my hometown of London, the young woman in Manchester wouldn't have believed what was to come... As the world seems to be looking at itself afresh and working out what's next - myself very much included - it's important to remember how far we've come, the people and places we have cherished, and of course - the clothes we have loved and worn to bits! Some faves from the early days (click image to read):

Picnics on the road

Boiled eggs and portable tin of salt... what more could you ask for? Also love my vintage embroidered napkins from ebay - bought as inspiration when thinking about embroidering my own. Watch this space!

Misty Eyed

A few days in Cornwall last week visiting family - long overdue and not for long enough! Celebrating being reunited come rain or shine...

Broad Beans

Broad Bean season... Reminds me of a painting of peas by William Nicholson which my Dad introduced me to many years ago.

The Lustre Bowl with Green Peas, 1911

Lockdown Polaroid 9

Roses outside my local corner shop

Bow, London

4/6/2020

Mum's Stripes

Mum's striped dress - out the suitcase for the heatwave last week. Keeping me cool as I catch up with family via video call... It's been a busy couple of weeks trying to get back in to the swing of styling and shooting. I first remember wearing this on the beach on Cornwall when I was about 16, so thrilled I still have it.

Takeaway Saturdays

Last weekend while walking home from seeing a great friend of mine for the first time in 4 months, I came across one of my favourite local pubs open for takeaway drinks. It's reassuring to see it open and finding ways to keep going - and also to have a draft beer! 

Lockdown Polaroid 8

02/06/2020

Eased Lockdown >> Picnic dinner in the park on a warm Summer's evening

Piecing Things Together

I've started (and not finished) quite a few projects during Lockdown. One of them has been a patchwork quilt, which I've really enjoyed piecing together bit by bit. My sewing skills are very basic but I love using my machine. The quilt has been worked on in stages - you have to be in the right frame of mind for sewing otherwise it all seems to go wrong very quickly... I'm looking forward to searching for more fabrics once life gets a bit more back to normal.

Pitching

I love looking through old Interiors magazines - they can be just as inspirational as fashion or art magazines for me. This was an editorial essentially about trimmings - something I seem to be collecting, judging by my styling kit and sewing bag. I love these embellished tents... food for thought. 

Slowly starting the wardrobe swap over (last mentioned here). My favourite t-shirt of all time really comes in to its own during the summer months: a 1991 Neil Young Crazy Horse tour t-shirt. I LOVE everything about it - how it's faded and soft from time and washing, the artwork, Neil Young, and that I've inherited it from my Mum.

Lockdown Polaroid 6

27/04/2020

Daily walk during Lockdown

Victoria Park, London

Bank Holiday Cheers

More embroidery recently finished - perfect for a sunny bank holiday Monday (Lockdown or not).

Lockdown Polaroid 4

21/4/2020

Olympic Park, Stratford

Lockdown Polaroid 2

12/5/2020

Bow, London

Polaroid 1 here

Tie-Dye Mania

There is no shortage of tie-dye clothing available at the moment: both the high street and designers are furiously peddling their take on the trend. I got quite heavily in to tie-dye last summer. My first attempt since childhood took place in Camberwell, see here. Min and I were hooked. Here we are a few months later in Portugal and up to our elbows in buckets of salt and dye.

Pictures by Allegra Pilkington

It's a very fun, inexpensive project. If like me your white t-shirts don't stay that way for long, or your other half is chucking theirs out - save them up for a Dylon sink session. I get dye from eBay (or your local art shop, when it reopens), but the Dylon website is helpful to see the full range of colours.

Lockdown Wardrobe

What have you been wearing during Lockdown? Or rather, what have you missed wearing? I've pretty permanently worn a pair of leopard print leggings originally bought for a shoot: after returning them unworn, I went back to re-buy because I liked them so much. Weird on many levels - mostly because most people don't look great in leggings, myself included. And yet here I am day in, day out wearing my trusty pair of now rather knackered leggings.

Slippers courtesy of Tesco

I do miss getting dressed for work. I'm a fashion stylist so this requires a balance of looking stylish (or at least, not a mess) and practicality. These days at home it's more a balance of comfort and stuff I don't mind spilling my breakfast/lunch/dinner on. I've realised how many clothes I actually have... Most mornings recently I've told myself that today is the day of the wardrobe sort out /season changeover, etc. I know I will find some gems to get excited about wearing again when I do. But it hasn't happened yet... I'll let you know how it goes.