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Category: Fashion Find Fridays

The Strange Case Of The Little Yellow Valentino

How many of you over here are mystery books and movies fans?

If you are, please grab yourself a cup of tea because today I am bringing you an inexplicable story that could be out of the pages of a Sherlock Holmes case. It takes place in foggy London and involves an old Pinterest photo, a sceptical girl, and a little yellow Valentino dress.

Our enigma starts in a little apartment four years ago, when a then much younger (and probably much more rested) fashion blogger aspirant was browsing through her Pinterest feed on a cold Saturday morning. (In case you didn’t guess yet, that girl is me and I know for a fact it was a Saturday morning because back in the day Pinterest and coffee was my weekend morning ritual before getting ready for whatever plans I had. But I am disgressing here…)

Autumn Wintr Valentino Dress. Cheap design dresses.

So where was I? Oh, yes, Pinterest. So, I was browsing through my feed and saving some outfit ideas when the first event happened. The suggestions page refreshed and showed me this pin. I held my breath—There it was, the most perfect marigold yellow dress I had ever seen. I stopped scrolling and looked at it in wonder for a few minutes.

It was a little tie-neck dress, made of lovely silk, with a flared-bib design. It had the cutest buttons in the front part and looked perfect to me.

So I did what anyone would: I clicked on the link to shop for the dress. I was already taking my credit card out when I froze. Because guys, that unique and perfect dress, the one I was already planning to hang in my closet, was a brand new Valentino. And let me tell you that, back in the day, there was no way I was buying a two thousand pounds clothing item. ‘When Hell freezes over‘,I said with a lump in my throat. And I am not going to lie: I almost cried when I felt like a five years old who is not allowed to have nice things because she will break them (which is a fair point anyway, because with me being me, there is always a chance).

Affordable designer dresses. Sustainable designer dresses.

And this should be the end of it, really, but it would be a mediocre mystery story if it finished here, right? The interesting fact is I saved the pin. Then, once in a while, I would open my outfits folder and look at it, sighing. As weeks went by, I showed it to my husband, my sister, a colleague, and the dairyman, for the matter. It was my favourite dress, only… it wasn’t mine, really. That made me feel rather miserable. After a month or so, I started giving hope away and stopped looking at the Pinterest photo. Eventually, I even forgot about it.

Four years after, and already living in London, the second chapter of this conundrum was presented to me.

Sustainable waut to source designer dresses.

One cold evening last November, Sebastian and I went out for coffee and some shopping. We were walking down Oxford Circus when it suddenly started raining and we looked for a place to buy us some time. We were about to enter Zara (because I´m still shopping for pretty pants) when I felt this strange urge to go inside the outlet next door. First, we had a look at the homeware section, where they have some nice staff, and then I decided to have a look at the women’s floor. I started browsing through the clothes racks when I glimpsed a marigold piece hanging there. Attracted by the colour, I pulled the hanger and lost my voice. I stood there in disbelief, looking at the dress with stunned bewilderment. I had to ask Sebastian to hold it while I grabbed the phone and opened my Pinterest app. After a minute or two, I found the pin I had saved four years before. It was the same freaking dress.

‘How in the name of God?‘, I asked Sebastian in wonder. Then, I checked the price tag and couldn’t believe it. As I remembered, the original price was more than two thousand pounds but it was now reduced to three hundred and fifty pounds. I started checking the dress, looking for suspicious stains, flimsy seams, lost buttons, or any other defect. And you know what I found? Nothing. The dress was perfect in every possible sense. And also, my exact size. What are the chances?

Guys, I don’t know what happened then but I lost my senses. I looked at the dress and the very attractive price and instead of running to the cashier, I put it back in the rack. Yes, you can totally kill me now. That day I had just made another big purchase and wasn’t feeling that generous with myself. My husband, on the other hand, took the dress and headed for the cashier. I reasoned with him and decided to give it a thought for a couple of days. Sebastian, poor thing, was perplexed. He spent the whole day trying to make me buy it. But guys, let me tell you I can be quite irrational. At a certain point, I replied to him that if it was meant to be, it would be. I mean, slap me. But I went home, worked for the rest of the week, and got trapped in my daily routine forgetting about the dress again.

The last episode of this charade developed on Christmas Day. After lunch, we were opening presents and Sebastian gave me this big present wrapped in sparkly red. When I opened it, the well-known marigold yellow popped merrily and I opened my mouth in surprise. I looked at him, he shook his shoulders and simply said: ‘I guess it was meant to be‘. 

And this ends the strange case of the little yellow Valentino. To this day, I don’t even know how that even happened but I can only guess some universal forces acted here. And you know? That’s part of the beauty of it. Not knowing how it happened. 

Has something like this ever happened to you? Let me know in the comments!

joie-de-vivre

– OUTFIT –

Dress (Valentino) | Bag (Strathberry) | Beret (United Colours of Benetton)

January 26, 2022January 26, 2022

Allegra Caro4 Comments

The Ultimate Yellow Trench Coat: Fashion Find Fridays

There are a million things I love about London: the architecture, the food variety, the people… But among them all, a favourite of mine will always be the local pre-loved/vintage market.

The best yellow trench coat this autumn

During the last six years as an expat, I’ve had my fair share of travelling around, so I know a bit about vintage shopping at this point. Budapest is simply amazing for antiques hunting, while Tokyo second hand luxury market is to die for. But London is something else—a refreshing oasis for all the thirsty thrift lovers.

Only in London, the pre-loved offer seems to be never-ending: From flea markets to antique boutiques, and from designer outlets to charity shops. The party is never over.

By wandering around the Kensington and Notting Hill areas, I’ve been adding high-quality pieces over the last year. I feel like these shops are sort of a fashion black hole, where you can loose the track of space and time while browsing through piles of stunning dresses, bags and accessories. I am sure one day I will enter just to emerge in 2040 or somethig. I will do it flawlessly dressed, though.

frenchstyle

Being a slow fashion fan, I can only describe the last twelve months as amazing. Every time we enter a specialized shop I will find at least one piece I love. I am not joking guys: the quality is usually so good, even Sebastian will chase me around the shop in question, bringing me one piece after another. “LOOKZ!” he will invariably say, “It´s a designer skirt! In burgundy! You need to try it now.” (And I usually will, mostly because burgundy is my personal cryptonite and I can’t say no, really.)  But back to the topic, let me introduce you to the newest addition to my Fashion Find Fridays portfolio…

The ultimate yellow trench coat!

Oh, she’s my pride and joy! Look at her, isn’t she just gorgeous? Although it seems like a lifetime ago now, there was a time when I used to dislike trench coats (I know, CRAZY). But things are different these days and I can’t get enough of this beauty.

The best yellow trench coat for autumn
Olivia Buton wattch
Dorothy Perkins yellow satin pumps
The best 2020 autumn trench

She is the perfect shade—somewhere between lemon and butter— which makes this trench the perfect match for all those vibrant spring and summer outfits. It does help that I’ve been developing an insane taste for the colour since last year and it’s basically flooding my closet these days.


Also, the fabric is light to the touch and yet warm enough to wear it in September. Win-win situation here. As for the cut? It’s truly quite a structured piece, with well-tailored shoulders, a flattering waistline, and lovely details in the form of a nice satin trimming and over-sized buttons.

Since I bought it back in June, I’ve got lots of compliments and questions about it. So, I feel like a million dollars every time I wear it. The best part? It costed about twenty pounds and it was brand new!

confiltro

About one month after the purchase though, I found these amazing yellow satin pumps at Dorothy Perkins (which by the way, are now on sale: you’re very welcome!), and had to buy them since they were the exact same colour. How often does that even happen? I can tell you I am over the moon about it!

But let’s go with my favourite part: the five stars points system!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I am going to give four stars and a half to my fashion find this week, mostly because the fit was slightly big for me (I am between sizes) and had the waist tailored in order to reduce some inches. Even so and overall, I am truly happy with the purchase and I would totally but it again. I think this has been one of the most interesting additions to my wardrobe this season.

Although this is a vintage piece, I have looked for some beautiful yellow trench alternatives for you. All the links are below.

-OUTFIT-

Trench coat | Vintage (similar alternatives at Farfetch and Asos)
Shoes | Dorothy Perkins Yellow Gladly Satin Court Shoes

Watch | Olivia Burton Marble Florals and Grey Lilac Leather Strap 34 mm watch

Blouse | Max Azria (old, lovely alternative at Lilysilk)
Laser-cut miniskirt | Zara (last season, brilliant option at Revolve)

November 20, 2020November 19, 2020

Allegra Caro8 Comments

The Chloé Dress: Fashion Find Fridays

chloeteadress

I have got a confession to make: I am into hunting. I don’t mean living things, of course (far from it!) but to be more specific, I am into style hunting.

To me, a few things can compare to the pure excitement I experience when finding a clothing piece I love. Although I don’t consider myself a serial shopper at all, I spend a considerable amount of time browsing through my favourite fashion websites and apps, visiting vintage shops, antique markets, luxe and high street boutiques. As I have defended previously, the main secret behind an awesome wardrobe is time investment.

Chloé Summer silk dress

From my middle-twenties on (when I finally stopped drinking cheap rosé, making very questionable style choices, and being a total Zara shopaholic) I developed a healthier relationship with clothes. I had no words for it at the time but looking back now, I realize I made a transition into slow fashion, and as a result, my life quality improved a lot. Like in Carrie Bradshaw-finally-stopped-buying-designer-shoes-and-got-out-of-debt kind of improvement… Yes, guys—it was that bad.


The main consequence of my shopping habits change was a healthier savings account, but also a progressive closet upgrade. As time went by, less quantity mostly meant better quality. And I thought it would be a nice idea to start a brand fresh blog series, featuring all those astounding pieces I find out there.

Case on point, this amazeballs Chloé dress. This beautiful velvet-trimmed silk-crepon dress had been in my wishlist FOREVER. Partially because the initial three thousand pounds price tag was intimidating (and a bit of a cooler) to say the least, and partially because at the time it seemed to be out of stock mostly everywhere.

chloe-summer-dresschloespringdress

A few months ago and just as we entered lockdown here in the UK, I was checking my Vestiaire Collective app and browsing through the Chloé category when I suddenly found the dress. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with it, VC is a pre-loved and vintage website which specializes in the couture and luxury markets—and just so you know, it is my BFF these days (or it would be if it were a person and I could invite her over dinner or for cocktails every week, that’s how good she is…). But where was I…? Oh, yeah, THE dress.

As it happened, I found this marygold number in mint condition and with no visible signs of usage. As far as I know and given the fact it looks like brand new out of the store, it was probably only tried on or wore once and then sold. The best part? I only paid four hundred pounds, which is not even close to the original retail price!

summer-child

The gown is pure silk, light and soft to the touch. As for the shade, it’s vibrant and yet delicate. The cut makes me think of all those gorgeous pieces I used to drool over while watching Downton Abbey. It feels like a second skin and it’s truly comfy to wear in warm weather. In one word, we are speaking perfection here folks. So let’s roll-on and proceed with my favourite part…

Time to introducing the five stars voting system!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

In this occasion, I am giving this Fashion Find Friday five stars. Not only was the dress amazing in terms of condition and price tag, but the shipping was surprinsgly speedy. Vestiaire Collective has a wide selection of items stored in their central warehouse in Paris and it takes only a couple of days to reach you when shopping from Europe. Also, they check every item to be sure you are getting only what you pay for (no designer knockoffs there). What else could you ask for?

– OUTFIT –

Dress | Chloé (now on sale at My Theresa in capuccino colour option)
Bag | Vintage (similar Cult Gaia  & Aspinal of London Hat Box Handbag)
Shoes | Deichmann pumps (last season, similar Reiss Paula Gold Leather Strappy Sandals)
Accessories | Accessorize Starburst Pearl and Crystal Headband

 

November 6, 2020January 3, 2021

Allegra Caro26 Comments

Hi, I am Allegra!

A thirty-something Spanish expat with a love for Haute couture, books and period dramas. Way too many little black dresses in my closet. You can read more about me here.

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