My take on British Style

Illustration by Cindy Mangomini
You may have noticed the lack of fashion focused on the blog lately which is a culmination of reasons mainly the rainy weather, the craziness of the last three weeks and the ongoing adjustment phase. Never the less, I have not lost my absolute love of clothes and dressing up, but I've found that my style has somewhat evolved in the short time I've been here. I came across this drawing in Hello Giggles by Cindy Mangomini which made me chuckle because it is so true.

While I've had a leopard print coat since last year, in the three weeks I've been here I've picked up a tartan scarf from Topshop, a Fedora from Accessorize and tartan trousers from River Island. I used to find the British style so grungy and dark (very unlike me), but with the necessity of warm layers and the array of tartan and textures that are in fashion currently, I've really taken to this more edgy side of look. I love the boldness of mixing tartan with faux fur and knitwear finishing off the look with a cheeky bright red or a mysterious oxblood lip.

Even more exciting is the legitimate excuse to wear a hat. Back home try as I may, I could never quite be brave enough to wear a hat and I've been told on numerous occasions that beanies don't quite work for me either. Well here, I don't really have a choice unless I want to have an earache all day from walking in the wind. So while I've made do with wearing a beanie on most days, I whip out this wool fedora on days when I want to be both fashionable and warm. I don't know what it is about the hat, but it makes me feel sophisticated, strong and cool. I think the Brits are on to something....

S.