ictoria oss rying it on
Don’t forget to up your summer accessories game
I’ve given up wearing make-up. It wasn’t a drastic overnight decision, more one that crept up on me. It’s a funny thing, but the longer you don’t wear make-up, the more it seems like an entirely implausible thing altogether. I think my face looks fine, I mean, it’s just my face.
What I’ve missed though is that extra sheen make-up offers, a soupçon de je ne sais
quoi, which I’ve been looking for in other areas… Hot weather brings up a lot of dressing conundrums, but accessories do need a rethink. Heavy leather bags aren’t right, clumpy trainers are a sweatbox of misery, stud earrings feel a bit killjoy. Where is the joie de vivre? The
pura vida… as the Costa Ricans would say. That “extra half an inch” as Victoria Beckham counselled in her 2007 tome.
May I suggest a fuchsia pink velvet Dries van Noten slipper? My husband gamely bought them for me for my birthday (and by bought I mean selected from a tightly edited list of options supplied by his resident fashion editor).
Anyhoo… I only have to look at them to feel happy. Scooting around town in them makes me positively ecstatic. Life, and I mean this, is significantly better for these shoes. It’s only kind to share, they’re now half price in the sale.
Proper baskets I feel, have no place in a serious sort of workplace. Fine for weekends, parks, lidos, etc. The best solution I’ve ever found is from a very old-school Swedish brand called Palmgrens – it does neat rattan bags with a leather trim (plus inside pocket for safety). I love mine and have used it every summer for years. They will ship from Stockholm. The quality is excellent and, in my humble opinion, very much worth the bother.
I wore a giant straw hat – by Marysia x Lola (£510, marysia. com) recently and loved it. A giant brim keeps one very cool. Who knew! I’ve been searching out others for an impending French Riviera jaunt. This, by fellow New York label Clyde, comes with a removable cotton tie, which I think is very helpful for, one, keeping it on your head; and, two, aping Grace Kelly in To
Catch a Thief. Which is always a very good reference.
Earrings are always an easy way to add jazz – Toolally is such a fun little brand and has many jolly iterations of coloured Perspex Pat Butchers. I love them.
In lighter-than-trainersnews, I find these Hoss Intropia plimsolls exceptionally sweet. The laces are velvet. Imagine! I’m also very taken with Pascale James, a newish London jewellery duo who only work with recycled or Fairtrade precious metals. Their witty collection is full of fruity segments in gold vermeil and silver. It’s quite delicious.
Hot weather brings up a lot of dressing conundrums, but accessories do need a rethink