An Autumn/Winter Playlist For That Autumn/Winter Wardrobe

Autumn/Winter Style-list

Men's Fashion Essentials

• A chunky knit scarf in a dark, rich colour like burgundy
• Penny loafers in ox-blood or black patent
• A pant-suit in navy or midnight blue
• Black Chelsea boots
• Doc Martens in a dark colour
• Cable knit jumpers
• An overcoat in a grey or camel tone
• Skinny jeans/trousers in a tartan print
• A satchel or holdall in burgundy
• A long-sleeve plain white shirt and a black counterpart (the white one preferably ribbed)
• A long-sleeve white collar shirt
• Trench coats
• Suede moccasins  
• Leather biker jacket
• A shearling-collar bomber jacket
• A navy or charcoal pea-coat
• A pair of black sneakers in the brand of your preference 
• Something - anything - by Alexander Wang or Rick Owens (it has to be black)
• A flat cap (but only if you have a beard)

Autumn/Winter Style-list

Women's Fashion Essentials

• A chunky knit scarf in a dark, rich colour like burgundy
• Penny loafers in ox-blood or black patent
• A pant-suit in navy or midnight blue
• Black Chelsea boots
• Doc Martens in a dark colour
• Cable knit jumpers
• An over-sized coat in a camel/tan tone
• Enough pairs of tights to see you through a zombie apocalypse
• Skinny jeans/trousers in a tartan print
• Detachable mitten/hobo gloves in a dark colour
• Corduroy dungarees in a burgundy/wine tone
• A satchel or holdall in burgundy
• A long-sleeve plain white shirt and a black counterpart (the white one preferably ribbed)
• A long-sleeve white collar shirt
• Smock dresses
• Trench coats

Style Stud: Alex Ebert

There's something so very admirable about people who manage turn 'disheveled' into 'effortless' and 'plain' into 'minimalist' - just by being themselves.
It's the kind of style I gravitate towards in my own wardrobe and the wardrobes of others, and one man who does it particularly well is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros front-man, Alex Ebert.

The singer/composer shows us why thin is in by complimenting his muscular but waifish frame with loose neutral clothing and an eclectic array of scarves and hats (you know I love my hats).
Ebert chooses to forego the usual mod-chic/coiffed hair indie band look and appears to have just woken up and gone along with his day as nature intended.

Take the hair, for example.
Many Man-Mags have shunned the top knot as seen on various A-Listers such as Jared Leto and Jake Gyllenhaal, and while I can agree that the trend is getting a little bit out of hand, a lot of guys do manage to pull it off. I would say however, that the ones who do work the knot well tend to align themselves with a kind of hippy hapless way of dressing which adds to the aforementioned disheveled effortlessness. Alex Ebert sports long wavy locks which he piles on his head more often than not and accompanies with a beard - and we all know how much everyone is loving the beard trend at the moment. Not only that, but his recent win at the Golden Globes showed us that he does know how to scrub up when necessary while still maintaining his signature eccentric style.

 Overall you can't help but picture him spending his free time under trees with flowers in his hair and a guitar on his lap. He probably does a lot of yoga too. He's probably into Tantra. And Veganism.

I'm getting carried away but anyway, if Ebert's style is up your alley, check out these bits and bobs:

Straw ASOS boater hat

                            Skinny floral trousers from Topman.
















Kurt Geiger espadrilles

                                     

                       Long sleeve Henley shirt at ASOS

Time to Start Embracing the Winter Blues?

This morning (ahem, afternoon) I woke up and opened my bedroom door to find a beautiful big parcel waiting for me in midnight blue wrapping. 

Like a brat on Christmas Day, I tore the box open with pens, scissors and axes in order to reach my new babies. They are my new Zara moccasins and they are now my favourite children who I honour even above my beloved pair of brown moccasins from Chicago, and my graduation gift Chelsea boots from my brother.

I diverged from my original plan in two ways:

i) I'm a Winter baby by birth and nature, so whenever September creeps around I get super excited for the autumn season. I thrive on Fall/Winter fashion and dread the onset of summer every year. There's nothing worse than the itchy, sweaty restlessness of hot weather in an Urban setting.
Sartorially I don't know how to act as I have around eight winter coats but only like two summer dresses, and most of my shoes are suitable for matching with trousers, tights and little else.
But I digress! Yes, I was supposed to be building up my autumn/winter staples this year ie, very basic items of clothing that can be worn a billion different ways (plain black t-shirt, a white button-down shirt etc), so the original plan was to buy a pair of shiny black loafers which were cheap and go with pretty much everything in my wardrobe. I figured however, that you can find black loafers pretty much anywhere but once my new blue ones went out of stock, I knew I'd regret not having bought them.

ii) As I still retain the status of a broke, indebted and unemployed graduate, I am in no position to be buying fancy shoes. My plan was to wait until I secure a job and then buy myself the shoes as a kind of celebration gift. Of course impatience got the better of me, and I as I assured my father this afternoon: these shoes act as moral boosters. It doesn't matter how much or little money I have because once I put these shoes on, I look and feel like a million bucks!

If you like the look of my new shoes  you can find them here at Zara.

If you're willing to splash out a little bit more and are looking for a similar style and colour, try these Chester Tassel Loafers from Russell and Bromley or these suede shoes from Tod's.
Guys should definitely consider these navy moccasins from Zara or Reiss's suede loafers.

Whatever you go for, my satisfaction in my new purchase compels me to believe that we should all definitely be deflecting our winter blues towards our feet, and experimenting with every shade from bottle-green to navy to midnight. These shoes in these shades not only add a splash of sophistication to any casual outfit, they also shake up an otherwise dull formal get-up. I absolutely promise that you'll receive endless compliments with a pair of blue loafers on your feet, especially in a suede texture.

Try not to get too bogged down with finding a bargain; although you shouldn't be making yourself bankrupt, I feel as though shoes come under the category (along with coats, jewellery and fragrances) of possessions that you should try not to scrimp on, as you get exactly what you pay for. You'll feel the pinch when investing in a quality pair, but they'll last you forever and if looked after properly, will look just as good when you want to whip them out again next autumn.

Happy shopping!


*Both images are my own.