Whispered by
The Clothes Whisperer
Whispered by
The Clothes Whisperer
Hot dog in the country. This holiday season, in lieu of alpine or tropical getaway, little Butters and I put on our best behavior (not to mention our wellies) and trained it on down to the town of Totnes in Devon for a little post-Christmas downtime in the seaside Shire with my boyfriend's family. Being the first time we city girls have ventured pretty much anywhere else in the UK besides London and Oxford (and the first meet and greet with the fam!), we arrived swathed in layered chunky knits, armed with tweed and woolly socks, not to mention loaded with Dawson's Creek goes English tea and crumpets and hound dog expectations. And Devon, with its twisting country roads enclosed by farmer's hedges, waves smashing dramatically against jagged cliffs, sheep-dotted fields, picturesque stone villages boasting crumbling fourteenth century watch towers and smattering of cozy fire-lit mulled-wine infused pubs, certainly did not disappoint. Straight out of a Thomas Hardy novel, the little English Major trapped deep within fluttered to the surface and yearned for the nearest tattered copy of Wuthering Heights to curl up with by the fire.
The things from which shoes and bags are made
snoozing on the journey
Butters and Pip eye James' scone
J scopes out the viewWe paid a little visit to the town castle, nestled atop a crag and overlooking the mouth of the sea. Scattered and cracked centuries old tombstones lurked at awkward angles sloping down towards the churchyard, giving way to the little seaman's chapel. Once inside the chapel, a solitary voice greeted my ears. In a sort of ethereal encounter, a woman was sitting forlorn alone in the chapel, sending out her thin yet clear voice to reverberate across the pews.
At the day's end, two city girls, cozily tucked up inside away from the salty seaside dampness, fell into a deep, intrepid slumber--the kind of satisfied snooze only possible when hidden from the world's eye and tucked into a recess of countryside peace and quiet. Guess there's a little country girl inside every city one after all.
The Castle and Church
Whispered by
The Clothes Whisperer
Olly olly oxen it's almost free!!!!!!!!!
Allegedly the most successful sale in Selfridges' history, yesterday, by 11am, the retail giant had beat its own record million-pound hour from last year by surpassing that sum two hours faster. Sale-enthusiasts began stalking the sidewalks outside from 2am Boxing Day morning--that's when you know you're December 25th was something of a let down. According to the retailer, over fifteen thousand customers had graced their Oxford street doors within 60 minutes of their opening. Roped and poled queues were organised for nearly all major brands within the ladies accessories department (Prada, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana) to contain the crowds. Waiting time in those queues reached up to two hours yesterday morning.
By the time I got there, the damage had been done on the accessories front. A barren wasteland, like a battlefield after an epic struggle, only a few bleeding stragglers remained standing on the field (or slumped on the shelf) and still, they queued and queued. It was an accessories rapeage unlike any I've seen before. Evidently, the recession-wary consumer is still buying into the idea of accessories as safe investment. Well, in my expert opinion, while that is certainly true, when everyone goes North, the savvy sale stalker heads South. That is to say, whilst the rest of the 15,000 bargain hunters were busy sniffing out whatever accessories they could, mind you, totes and wallets only marked down at max 50%, yours truly snuck upstairs to the ready to wear, where I found McQueen at 80% off and Current/Elliott jeans for practically free. I nearly had an Alexander Wang heart attack when I discovered the darling's label slashed to affordable prices, his T range almost on par with American Apparel.
What the bag-grubbing crowd didn't seem to understand about investment shopping is this. While traditionally bags and shoes and the like are better ways to dip into a brand as you can use it every day bla bla bla and so on. HOWEVER, since Lehman crashed and burned, designers have had two go arounds at design, and have tapered their looks accordingly. That is to say, no longer so trend-driven, designers are turning back to craftsmanship, minute attention to detail, cut, fit and all the other quality-driven aspects of high fashion which do in fact make it high. Therefore, rather than splashing out £500 on yet another incarnation of the it-bag long since gone, don't be afraid to set foot in the most expensive museum-esque recesses of designerwear this sale season. Basic, classic, eternally wearable pieces (say, a Balenciaga black dress) for a fraction of price of that Chloe Padlock revisit that you've been queuing for hours for. So go on, take a gander. High fashion doesn't bite when marked down properly. I promise. 
McQueen leggings £178 down from £355
Asymmetrical grey Margiela jumper £200 down from £335
Waxed denim McQueen black biker trousers £114 down from £455
Proof positive
Malene Birger sequined blue trousers £35 down from £150
Butters in bag...PRICELESS
Alexander Wang cage dress £323 down from £645
Alexander Wang black draped mini skirt £200 down from £425
Whistles fringe top with zip back detail £65 down from £135
Alexander Wang brushed wool and leather waistcoat £307 down from £615
look at that leather collar detail...amazing
T by Alexander Wang £40 down from £75
Current/Elliott boyfriend tattered jeans £75 down from £266
Given that this morning, whilst my fashion peers have trekked back into their offices to catch up on god only knows how many hundreds of holiday pile up emails, I am still playing hooky down in Devonshire (soon to be Cornwall...headed even further south to ring in the New Year), I thought I'd PILFER the archives and share with you today some behind-the-scenes shots from the DKNY Style Whispering.
Char introduces herself 
Squeezing into the first look
DAMN I wish I was...those Glam Wellies
The lovely Daisy of DKNY PR gives little B a cuddle
a girl's gotta have her shoes
A rare sight--the Clothes Whisperer putting on lip gloss
The lovely Pat
Audience
Gesticulating out of control as per usual
Shooting look 1
The video man with the video plan
Butters steals the show
shooting the second look
WASSSSSSSUP
Last shot
Then off to the pub...duh
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