Pink to Make the Boys Wink ...

Another lovely Sunday morning.  The sun is shining yet again this year and the Grumps is smiling and the boys are not killing each other.  I was toying with another tee shirt combo as I seem to be living in them this week but thought I really should get some wear out of some of the other clothes festering in the wardrobe (I'm sure I heard whispers in there of decamping to more appreciative owners).  So today is a bright pink check Hollister shirt, some old jeans and the white Converse.

Hollister Pink Check Shirt (old)

New Look Straight Jeans

White Converse

Lovely soft cotton shirt

Knackered old jeans

Far too clean white Converse

Tatty hems

The white Converse are still white and not grub coloured due to lack of wear.  I seem to have adopted my original taupe pair as the go to pair of Converse and the white ones have been sidelined somewhat but today, it's their turn for an outing.  The shirt itself is just a very soft cotton - almost linen like in texture but just wears lovely.  I picked it out as I was thinking about my holiday wardrobe and when I went to Portugal last year with a friend, this was my flight outfit along with my Uniqlo grey cashmere cardigan.  Who knows, it might be the same again this year. 


We went to the York Outlet today to do some returns and to find some holiday clothes for the Grumps.  Whilst there, I had a look in the Kooples outlet shop which again had big mirrors on the shop floor but probably none in the changing room.  Is this the same for all Kooples shops?  Do I need to write in and complain?  Now that's an idea or am I just old and cantankerous?  Does it cost that much to put a mirror in the changing rooms? Anyway, nothing in there and .... no customers either.  Sorry - just going off on one.


The best shop in the Outlet today was the Margaret Howell shop.  So calm and serene. They had such a lovely simple display in the windows which just drew me in.  It was very quintessentially English in a 40's kind of way - think Anna Friel in Land Girls (not that I've watched the film).

Apologies for the quality - taken with camera phone

Look closely - that's me reflected in the picture!

I went in there to look for a little blue cotton/silk blouse with a black neck tie and a checked top I had seen the week previously.  I found my blue blouse which I went to try on and promptly fell in love with.  I came out of the changing room and asked the lady outside if this was new stock as I was going on holiday and was it likely to be still around and she seemed unsure.  Then I wandered around again looking for the check top and when I couldn't find it, I said to the same lady if they still had any of the check tops left. She looked kind of puzzled and then said in the nicest way "I don't work here".  "Oh!". We laughed and she said she would take it as a compliment that I thought she did work there. And I insisted that she should as she looked lovely and she blushed and said "and I look such a mess today".  She really did look the epitome of the elegant English woman in her white linen Howell'esque top.  She did also say she spent a lot of time in there. I wonder if I were to spend a lot of time in there would I start to look that well groomed and lovely and quintessentially English. No. In a word.


The lovely thing about this shop and this brand is the simple design formula it has - for well cut, classic clothing.  Nothing particularly fashion led but always in fashion.  No neons, no mini skirts, no studs, no tat.  Instead, just lovely suede brogues, solid looking leather sandals, linen, silk, cotton clothes all in soft muted shades.  Unfortunately for me, a lot of the clothes are cut for someone much much taller.  That dress in the window? It almost comes down to my ankles and I'm pretty positive that it's not how it's meant to look.  Trousers?  I would need to chop about 10 inches off the length.  


But still I think its all just simply lovely. 


And I just wish I could afford more of it.


And they have proper changing rooms.  End of.