SUMMER STYLE

Summer has finally rolled back around to us and the sun is shining over London which means that everyone is happy (or seems to be), there's no matches being rained off at Wimbledon and every Instagram post from the city is looking bluer than blue. This summer I'm not off on a beach holiday (weep weep) but I will be flying to Barcelona (hooray!) for a little city break at the end of July, which promises to be the hottest week of my life so far. I'm on the lookout for cute summer outfits at the moment and I stumbled over this gorgeous playsuit from Topshop. It looks like the perfect piece for a warm summer evening, assuming it doesn't clash with that pasty girl sunburn that I usually get. 

If anyone has any recommendations for where to go/eat/party in Barcelona then please let me know!

Playsuit from Topshop, Sandals from Office, Bag from Jil Sander

HOMIES

These brilliant Brian Lichetenberg t-shirts hit Net-A-Porter last week; along with the Homiés/Hermés one above there is a matching Féline/Céline number. I love these tees; I think with fashion we sometimes need reminding not to be to serious and to be able to have a bit of fun with what we wear. They're also great to play around with as they could be dressed up or down. Here I've paired them with this Tibi faux leather pleated skirt which is such a lovely colour, and a great day to night transitional piece. Also I've rediscovered my love for Valentino's footwear, and these PVC babies are the best ones I've seen recently.
How would you style your Homies/Feline tees?
Coat by Jil Sander, Tee by Brian Lichtenberg, Skirt by Tibi, Shoes by Valentino, Clutch by Givenchy.
N.B. The tees are actually full length and not cropped (I just cropped them for the image). See the set on Polyvore here.

Nadia by loeswhite featuring tibi

The Bandeau Experiment

Prada / Proenza Schouler

So bandeau tops are popping up all over the new Spring stock, but let's just think about the bandeau for a second. You can't really get away with wearing one normally or you'll look like a 13 year old who's going to the beach. If you're over the stomach bearing of your teens (a phase I never had the privilege of experiencing) then Spring's collections gave us the resolution:

Bandeau + High Waisted Skirt = Classy & Street Cool

Miuccia is undoubtedly the figurehead here, as we saw prolific bandeau tops at Prada all teamed with the pleated pastel skirts, but there were examples elsewhere. Best other demonstration; Proenza Schouler who paired their dual colour bandeau with yellow florals (a look which made their Poly starring campaign). I digress, but anyone else creeped out by Kinga's Schwarzenegger abs?

There seems to be a question here though...can we actually get away with the bandeau? It's not really the sort of look to go unnoticed in the office (and not in a good way) but it seems if you pair it with a blazer/jacket/coat (I know it's summer) then it becomes suddenly more demure, a la Prada with those hell-a-ugly printed coats.

So let's try these on for size...

Haider Ackermann Blazer / Tillys Bandeau / Jil Sander skirt / DVF Clutch / Alexander Wang Shoes

Or....

Givenchy Vest / Miso Bandeau / Chloe Skirt / Chloe Pumps / Tory Burch Clutch.

Seems to me like a jacket or a flat shoe might just push the bandeau into acceptable territory. Still, I think the only place this look is going to proliferate are those concrete catwalks outside shows.

And can we all just take a moment of silence to consider those Alexander Wang white sandals. I want them, you want them, we all want them. Hence why they're already sold out everywhere. Voila.

Peace Out

Loes x

Simons' Swansong

Jil Sander has had a turbulent relationship with fashion. She first left her label in 2000 after clashing with Prada owner Patrizio Bertelli, to whom she had sold the Jil Sander house. She was encouraged back in 2003 after a short stint from Milan Vumirovic, but she left again. And in stepped Raf Simons.

Simons has achieved a lot in his seven years at Sander. Not only was he barely experienced in womenswear before his appointment as creative director, but he transformed the house. His couture trilogy made Jil Sander a benchmark of simple dressing and Simons made a name for himself as one of the most exciting names to watch. But this collection was easily his best. As always there was a beautiful simplicity to his clothes; the colour palette was soft and pretty and the lines were calm. The models moved slowly, allowing us to absorb the roomy collarless coats in pale pink, navy blue and blush cream, some held by the hand, others swinging open, implying that things not held together will fall apart. Bustier dresses in soft cashmere, leather and PVC had space to move at the hips, and sleeveless dresses in cream and nude were the perfect ice cream accompaniment. There were flashes of nostalgia, harking back to Simons’ defining moments at the house; the bubblegum pink dress couldn’t help but evoke the memory of Spring 2011’s maxi skirt parade, and the metallic pieces were parallel to those of Spring 2007. Style.com’s Tim Blanks noted that chaos had been introduced into the perfect world of Jil Sander; ironic that Simons’ perfect forms were splintered by flashes of material or colour – his dream world is no longer. But the clothes felt like they came from the real Simons and they were a hauntingly beautiful swansong.

There have been whispers around the Dior job all season. With Simons leaving Jil Sander and rumours of Stefano Pilati making the move from YSL to Dior, we may well see Simons taking up residence at YSL. It will be interesting to see how he works at a new label, but for this moment, Jil Sander was his. As the collection took flight in its entirety there was a standing ovation, led by none other than Anna Wintour. And as a tearful Simons took his final bow, one couldn’t help but pray for Jil Sander. Rightful owner though she is, she’s going to need a real slice of magic to follow on from Simons’ genius.