this weekend i was invited down to centrale in croydon to take part in the brand's #your5 style event, which aims to take advice from the french when it comes to capsule wardrobes; we all know that french women are the most stylish in the world, so when they set fashion guidelines, you pay attention. i'm told by stylist laura that the secret to a french woman's wardrobe is five key items. yup, just five.
i mean, i just finished unpacking five boxes of clothing, so i'm not really sure that i'm ready to listen to these minimalistic french bitches, but hey ho; i'd travelled all the way (ok, about twenty minutes) to croydon for the event, so i was going to at least hear laura out. i'm almost certain that she didn't mean only five items, just five essential styles to get you through each season. this summer's are:
the short jacket
i am already a fan. i already own about seven. this is a style that's always suited me, because i am bottom heavy and quite narrow up top, so i've always been a fan of anything cropped. there was a cute cropped denim jacket in the mix from h&m that i now have on my wishlist, but other than that, the options were a bit on the 'mumsy' side, but i'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for suitable alternatives.
the cropped trouser
i mean, almost immediately i was like, "ugh, i don't even wear trousers!" but then i caught a glimpse of these peachy cropped coulottes from new look and i was like "daaaaaaammmnnnn, i could definitely wear those!" they're the same length as the midi dress i was wearing that day, and i can totally see them going with the white wedge sandals i was wearing that day too; they'd be perfect for italy in the summer, and they're on sale now too! look out new look, you're mine.
the shirt
oh, right. another piece that's completely redundant in my no-trousers-here wardrobe. the shirts collection included the harry blouse from the alexa chung archive collection at m&s and so yeah, of course i was like "it's so fricken pretty, i could totally wear it with... something!" but in all honesty, i don't see a shirt making its way into my summer wardrobe. it was only 22 degrees in croydon on saturday, and i was sweltering in a short-sleeve dress. maybe i'll shelve this piece until autumn...
the sneakers
aha! finally a trend i am actually ahead of! my sneaker collection is coming along quite nicely, having just added my third pair in as many months. no, i don't need that many sneakers, but the french ladies said i should wear them, so i will continue to add them to my wardrobe. these silver sparklys from river island appear to be sold out now (boo), but these black ones are pretty jazzy.
the silk
ok, in all honesty, i don't look after my clothes so don't deserve nice things. i'm also not entirely sure that "silk" can be considered a key piece as it is simply a fabric type, but the majority of the pieces in the silk collection would never have a home in my wardrobe, and so i think this was another slightly redundant selection for me. there are a number of silk-like items in my wishlist at the moment, so perhaps i will take advice from the french in the form of imitation only.
to finish up my style shake-up, i was booked in for a make-up consultation with make-up artist to the stars, sally rowe, to find out which of this season's five key looks work best for me. let me start by saying that sally is an absolute mega babe, and was the most easy-going person to hang out with for the best part of an hour. the consultation was supposed to be ten minutes, but we chatted so much about my current routine, what my problem areas are, and what hacks sally could recommend, that the time just seemed to fly by and we just... kept going anyway.
she spent about half an hour alone on my eyebrows, and to be honest, i want her to come to my house and do them for me every day. i've been noticing certain things about my ageing face over the last year or so, but she somehow managed to undo all of my worries and show me just how to apply the right product to the right area, and make my face look like some sort of gorgeous hun's face.
of course i immediately went out and purchased all of the items she used on me and recommended i buy and use on myself, but i am 100% sure that i will never be able to recreate the perfection that she made of my face that afternoon. i mean, look at those brows! so, a massive thank you to centrale for having me down to learn a bit more about what i probably should be wearing this season instead of the same scummy maxi dresses from eleventy-seven years ago, but most importantly, epic thanks to sally for pumping my face and ego full of confidence - something this wee babe has been struggling with a fair bit lately.
what are the five key styles or pieces you gravitate to in the summer?
*post written in collaboration with centrale; all thoughts are my own*
