Best of Basics - Stylonylon

Black biker, torn denim plus nudes makes up the perfect heading-into-town for the day look. Pared down but with a couple of talking points – British heritage leather bag and too-cute-for words laced espadrilles; both drew equal amounts of attention…

I’m really not one for obvious it-bags, but I do love the quality of a bag well-made. This one by Tusting – I got to go see the factory where it all happens, the detailed handwork that goes into a design like this makes you look at a bag in a whole new way! – ticks all my boxes. Exquisite quality, strong minimal design, very subtle branding and in my right-now favourite blush-coloured leather. A good, honest bag with straightforward space inside and handles that hold well. Needless to say it drew quite a lot of comments and admiring eyes. I love peaking people’s interest with a brand they might not necessarily know!

The cute little laced espadrilles (still in stock at Topshop – go get!) have been going down a storm on Instagram, and my only dilemma is whether to buy them in the suede green. I’m not one for brightly coloured shoes on the whole, but these could change me. The biker I’ve had for what now feels like forever – a petite absolute win by Miss Selfridge (comes in non-petite too) and the jeans were a sale find at Zara and I did my whole snip & rip thing on the hems to get the fray – which you don’t get if you just cut through. As you can probably see, the rip technique does come with its pitfalls, specifically unevenness. Although I’m ok with that, despite the hulk/Robinson Cruesoe overtures. But there’s more in life to worry about than that, I reckon!

This little escapade into town was mainly for the Boden Christmas press day where the team asked me to pick my three favourite pieces – honestly Boden does just keep getting better and better, and I had no trouble zeroing in on some excellent timeless classics. And btw, keep an eye out for all the ICONS collection which has some incredible mohair coats and vintage and military jacket inspired pieces.

Afterwards I popped over to the Boxpark Units in Shoreditch to visit new jewellery shop Pärla. Pics coming soon but honestly such a great collection of jewellery – including my faves Clarice Price Thomas and Jesse Harris – and I couldn’t leave without a gorgeous little exclusive-to-Parla shard necklace by previously-unknown-to-me EA Burns, perfect for layering with my forthcoming #stylonylonxkg necklace! More on that soon, but overall, if you thought Boxpark was all streetwear and big brands, look again. It’s evolving into a lovely little collection of interesting lifestyle brands well worth checking out, like Pärla and The Decorum Shop which I love!

Lots more to come on the blog, so stay tuned – toodle pip!