london style blogger

Should you be dressing up these Christmas?

I think we could say, without fear of being mistaken, that 2020 has been a long, gloomy year. But just as December approached, we witnessed what I consider a Christmas miracle: the find of the Pfizer Covid jab. And guys, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been dancing around the house ever since then.

Although Christmas will be strange this year, with the jab coming soon and the promise of an eventual return to normal life, they also look a bit sweeter. Still, the only social contact for those of us living in the UK will be our Christmas bubble.

Things are so different now that most of our usual festive traditions and habits seem to need a bit of a review, to say the least. We won’t be attending the annual corporative Christmas party, going out for festive drinks with our friends, nor hosting a twenty people Christmas dinner. We’ll be toning it down and, with that in mind, a question arises.

Should we dress up for Christmas this year?

In the middle of the whirlwind 2020 has been, this is for sure the last of our concerns.

However, as we approach the seasonal period and try to maintain as much normalcy as possible, it seems OK to ask ourselves to what extent is dressing up acceptable, adequate, or even relevant.

The answer seems to vary from person to person. Many people will be spending these holidays alone with their significant other, many with their closest relatives, and—sadly enough—many will spend them by themselves.

In our case, for instance, we were planning to go home (back in Spain) but with the existing quarantine protocols, it looks rather crazy to us booking a two week holiday just to spend it quarantined at our family’s place—and then repeating the whole process when back in the UK. Instead, we will stay, form a Christmas bubble with another household to celebrate, and then spend the whole thing speaking with our family via Skype. So, not the December we were expecting. (Or as The Rembrandts would put it: It hasn’t been our day, our week, our month, or even your year… No matter what, Friends philosophy always works over here, lately.)

Every year, I will dress up to the nines for our Christmas Eve flamboyant dinner party but, without an opportunity to travel or host fifteen people in our miraculously roomy London apartment, the idea started feeling vacuous.

Would my family/friends look weird at me during our festive Zoom meetups? Would my Christmas support bubble be judging me? Should I give up and wear the ugliest Christmas jumper and pyjama bottoms all holiday long? Would anyone care at all?

I think it’s fair to say that, for most of us, these questions have come to our minds lately. And the reply was nowhere to be seen.

I’ve been thinking quite enough about self-love during the pandemic and how the small things and routines seem to affect our well-being. Even the smallest choices, such as the clothes we wear, have been playing a huge role in our mental health. And this is when all I have learned during the last nine months come into play.

Because the truth is the only person who cares is YOU. People are far too concern about real issues (no need to comment on how evident these are because we all know someone who has been put on furlough, lost their jobs, or even lost a vulnerable relative during this nightmare) to spend a minute of their time judging your personal choices about something as superfluous as clothing. So my advice is simply this: go with your gut.

Dress up for yourself, to have some sense of normality this year, to feel good. Or don’t dress at all and drink all the prosecco in your ugliest Christmas jumper and pyjama trousers. Dress up (or not) to claim the festive season for yourself. Just because you do deserve it.

You may have no control over the economic consequences, the permanent changes this pandemic will leave on all of us, or how quickly things go back to normal. And yes, if you are a control freak (hello bdudy, it’s two of us now!) it must have been bugging you for a while. What you can control though is the way you react. Try to take it easy by taking small decisions: choose the things that make you feel good. Love to wear a sparkling gold dress? Go for it. Love some jeans? That’s good too. You do you. Own your life and don’t let anyone or anything to convince you otherwise. Don’t even listen to me, for the matter. Always go with your gut.

Because you know? At the end of the day, we all had the strangest year and anything making it better should be welcome.

What about you, though? Are you dressing to kill these Christmas or toning it down?

Coat | Zara (last season, great festive alternative at L.K. Bennett)
Bag | Metamorphose temps de fille (vintage, similar model at La Redoute)
Scarf and gloves | Accessorize (last season, they have another scarf model on sale now. Nice gloves alternative available at Dune.)

December 14, 2020December 13, 2020

Allegra Caro10 Comments

What I Learned About Style (And Self-Love) During The Pandemic

I am going to tell you something nuts—a few weeks ago, I found myself screaming at my yoga pants. If this was an American comedy (a film entitled The Honest Crazy Fashionista Diaries, if you please) it would be that in media res moment when we see the main character making something weird and hilarious just before we are told the story from the beginning. Let me explain how I got to that point.

Nine months ago, in the few first weeks of the lockdown, I was sent home to work remotely. Like virtually everybody else, I set my best intentions: waking up as usual, investing the extra time in a relaxing morning routine which would include yoga, morning shower, and healthy breakfast, and then dressing up as I would usually do for the office.

At this point, you probably know where this is going, right? Three weeks afterwards, I was wearing comfy pants 24/7, eating chocolate cake for breakfast, and dressing up from the waist upward for the occasional Zoom meetup—which wasn´t that often, anyway.

So basically, any sense of normality went out of the window in about five minutes.

I was struggling to sleep as usual, eat healthily, and having the necessary amount of daily exercise (I already wrote about that period over here) so, dressing up was the very last of my concerns. Indeed, the only moment I would open the closet was when picking some clean comfy trousers. Then, I´d look at my clothes and think how sad it was not to have anywhere to go… In other words, wild party over here guys.

As events unfolded though, it was crystal-clear this wasn´t one of those situations that would fix themselves in a few weeks´ time. Quite the contrary, Sebastian and I found ourselves cancelling any travelling plans (we said our farewells to my birthday city-break in Paris, as well as our yearly beach retreat family visit) and I didn´t even see the point in shopping any cute summer outfits because who in the world cared, really?

And then, the unexpected happened and we were allowed to go outside again, even if it was in a socially distanced way. I remember the first Saturday morning we ventured outside. It felt surreal and exciting, even if it was just about going for a walk to the city centre. Every step outdoors was a bit like walking on the moon: it felt that strange.

But one of the strangest aspects was opening my wardrobe and looking for real clothes. Not yoga pants, or my university hoodie but actual, grown-up, outdoors clothes. And guys, that was a trip.

I hadn´t been more surprised even if an army of Oompa Loompas had paraded out of my closet singing. It was THAT weird. On the one hand, I felt super excited about the prospect of dressing up but, on the other hand, I couldn´t help but feeling dressing to the nines would be a bit inappropriate. Still, I missed the sense of normality linked with dressing in nice clothes. So there I was—trapped on a dilemma of my own creation. Thank you very much, you stupid brain.

So, I did what felt right and found a middle ground: I dressed up a bit without going over-the-top and called it a day.

As we walked through Bloomsbury, I came to realize most people had chosen a similar plan of action. You could feel many people were making a bit of an effort (probably because, just like me, they were missing the chance to wear real clothes) but at the same time, trying to tone it down a bit. So, I went home thinking I wasn´t that crazy, after all.

Then, as summer progressed, I started getting used to normal clothes again and that new casual-chic-thing I was trying felt more and more natural up to an extent, I perceived it as the only acceptable way of dressing.

By the time my birthday arrived in mid-August, I was so used to it that dressing a bit fancier felt unnatural. And as much as I enjoyed the day in general, wearing my Chloé dream dress for high tea was strange. But the part that hit me like a bullet was the fact I was feeling slightly ashamed. I knew it was a special occasion when we were going to celebrate at some fancy place, and still, I felt guilty about it. I felt guilty to wear something nice, guilty to enjoy myself, and—on a deeper level—guilty to be perfectly healthy to enjoy a day that was nothing but perfect when many other people were struggling out there.

As stupid as this might sound, that guilt made me going back to my yoga pants for a little while. I felt I didn´t deserve anything nicer in the short-term. How could I be thinking about clothing, anyway?

I returned to the comfiest clothes I could find on working days and toned it down even more on the weekends. In my head, that would make me invisible to any judgement coming from others—what I was reaching for was being invisible to my own judgement, though. And guys, I am Judge Judy´s severe sister when it comes to myself.

At some point and during one of my Skype chats with my sister, we talked about it, and something she said stuck with me: “Girl,” she told me, “this crap ain´t nobody´s fault and punishing yourself for doing whatever makes you cope won´t fix it. You know that, right?” And guys, I didn´t.

That was some food for thought, certainly. I began to realize every time I picked up my yoga pants, I was saying sorry, somehow: Sorry for being young, sorry for being healthy, sorry for having a job while others are being made redundant, sorry for laughing…sorry for being alive. It was time to let it go.

So, on a cold autumn morning, I found myself yelling at my yoga pants. Letting all the compressed rage go out. And you know what? I felt better immediately.

Because in the end, it wasn´t about clothing or style, really. It was more about self-love and acceptance and forgiveness. And that guys is something to remember.

December 1, 2020November 30, 2020

Allegra Caro14 Comments

A Chic Outfit Under A 100 Pounds? Challenge Accepted

Although we took these pictures back in late-September, it feels like a thousand years ago. I am tempted to play your grandma here and say they were simpler times, when you could leave the house freely and have a nice walk under the autumn sun. That’s how odd things have gone.

At the time of writing, we’re not allowed to leave the house except for essential reasons which can make blogging and content creation a challenge, and although I do know that means nothing in the big scheme of things, it means a lot to me. The positive side here is Sebastian and I anticipated a second lockdown at the end of the Summer and we started creating batch content, which is the reason you are able to read me here once a week (plus, the reason why I keep updating my Instagram page regularly) and why many of my photos are a bit older. Case on point, the ones in this post.

But getting straight to the point, the week before we shot these pictures, I was spending some spare time browsing through one of my favourite online fashion forums when I encountered a thread where people were discussing the average cost of clothing these days, and more especifically, how expensive it is to dress on a stylish way.

Although it might sound fair enough initially, the problem with that premise is most users identified dressing decently with couture brands. Hence, they wrongly assumed that style is all about an expensive price tag. And I think that’s a huge mistake.

It is true that most couture brands produce high-quality clothing but it’s no longer the monopoly of these companies. These days, you can find attractive prices under different shapes: high street stores, vintage shops, and even second-hand couture markets if that’s your jam.

Since most people will think it’s easier said than done, I thought I would take the plunge and finding a nice outfit for less than your average price tag.

A chic outfit under a hundred pounds? Challenge accepted!

So first things first: the moment I decided to try this, I knew shopping resposibly was the main angle to me. I didn’t feel like going outside and shopping for new clothes on some random fast fashion place and then forgetting about them forever. Don’t get me wrong, I am not judging other bloggers for doing that, but I don’t feel comfortable about it. Hence, the first thing I did was thinking about the outfit in terms of my actual wardrobe gaps and using the chance to fill some of them. For me, shopping sensibly is a must.

I keep a document on my laptop containing a shopping list with specific pieces I need to get at some point (things like, let’s say, a good-quality camel coat or a long-lasting neutral bag). So, I opened the list and after determining what was next, I made a bit of shopping research… AND BINGO! I found the exact brown mid-length pleated skirt I had been looking for a while on the final summer sales. I ordered it online and crossed the item from my list. As for the price? I paid only twelve pounds for it. Win-win situation, people.

For the next piece of my outfit and keeping up with the sustainable principle, I wanted to use an item from my existing wardrobe. One of the most interesting points about sustainability is elongating the useful lifespan of your clothes by taking proper care of them. And guys? I am sucker for that.

After checking my closet extensively, I chose this off-white Zara turtle neck from last season. It is perfect for autumn weather and it looks great. The original price was about fifteen pounds at the time I bought it and, although it’s not available anymore, I found a nice alternative for you here. Let’s go with the next piece!

This is probably my favourite part of the outfit (a.k.a. SHOES). In the last year or so, I have become a total convert (and by that what I truly mean is I’ve been possesed by an evil spirit who will push me to buy the most gorgeous pair I can find, day or night…). I used to be quite practical —and a bit boring, if we are being honest here— when it comes to shoes but not anymore. Right now, I feel like filling the gaps on my shoe collection and I’ve been having some fun by doing so. And speaking of that, I got obsessed with the Gadly Court Shoes by Dorothy Perkins last Summer, which made me buy them in tan as well as in yellow. What can I say? I am no saint. But the point is, these lovely pumps were in my closet already. Total cost? Seventeen pounds. I know, CRAZY.

As for the accessories, I wore this cute vintage carved ivory box from my collection. It was a gift from Sebastian but the price in the antiques shop was about fifty pounds, which is a steal. The belt was another lucky find at ASOS (I got it for five pounds in the final sales too). I am not including the sunglasses here since they were another present my husband purchased for me at Chloé for a special ocassion (I am truly sorry because it’s a bit like cheating, really. We all know you can find inexpensive sunglasses out there without any hussle, though…)

But it’s time to do the maths!

Skirt | H&M Value: 12 GBP
Sweater | Zara (old) Value: 15 GBP
Belt | Asos Value: 5GBP

Bag | Vintage Value: 50 GBP
Shoes | Dorothy Perkins Value: 17 GBP

TOTAL COST | 99 GBP

Final thoughts: I did dressed up for less than a hundred pounds (leaving out the designer sunglasses, obviously) which is great, all things considered. I would say it is totally possible to dress on a classy way as long as you carefully curate your pieces and take care of your exisiting clothes. To me, planning this outfit did not feel hard. I simply had to be witty with my choices and give it some thought.

So tell me, what do you think about style on a budget? Are you into sensible shopping too?

November 25, 2020November 24, 2020

Allegra Caro9 Comments

How to Wear a Tulle Skirt in 2020 (Without Looking Like A Ballerina)

Worried about the ballerina look outside of a performance of Swan Lake when wearing a tulle skirt? Not in my watch! I have you covered…

In the six years I spent watching Sex At The City, I learnt a few interesting lessons from the show: Manolo Blahnik will ruin your life, friends are family, and it’s probably better to avoid dating eccentric Russian artists. But most important, you can totally wear a tulle skirt and carry away with it. (Pun intended…)

Before SATC entered my life, tulle skirts seemed to be the epitome of a style faux pas—a capital sin capable of transforming someone chic into a clueless fashion victim. However, as my relationship with the show developed over its six seasons, I came to figure out a few things about the main style icon Carrie Bradshaw, including but not limited to:

She sipped Cosmos the way you and I drink water (don’t try at home, kids. You will have to trust me with this one)
Mr. Big was a not very nice human being but she had her own luggage too
She could rock the hell out of a tutu

In terms of style, I felt like Carrie was reinventing the wheel! I had been living in a white and black world and suddenly discovered technicolour. In that old, dusty world tulle skirts exclusively belonged to ballet performers and maybe circus tightrope walkers. But not anymore! It was time to leave fear back and start experimenting.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to fully understand how to wear a tulle skirt in any situation.

As most experiences when walking my style path, it required a good dose of trial and error (I am a slow learner guys, what can I say?), as well as an embarrasing number of class-A fashion disasters—don’t make me ramble about the 2017 Christmas Eve tulle massacre. I would cry, you would cry, and we would never ever be the same really… But I like to think it was all worth it at the end. Eventually, I felt confident enough to wear them in public and adopt them as a part of my signature style.

So, what is the magic formula to looking great on a tulle skirt? It’s all a question of following a few steps. No secrets here!

Bear with me for the top five tips to rock a tulle skirt in 2.020

1. Tone it down with a graphic tie

Look, tulle skirts are dressy and unless you tone them down a bit, it will look like you’re all set-up for an evening at the opera. Now, that’s all good and well but unless you have tickets for La Traviata, you might feel a slightly overdressed in most situations. The solution here is rather obvious: you need to tone it down. A few things scream casual as loud as a graphic tie does, so pick up a nice one and you are good to go. For me, it was this cute t-shirt I got last year at StarShinners, but there are plenty of chic options out there (like this cute one at River Island (already on my shopping cart) or this lovely one from Pretty Little Thing). And yes, I totally have got a thing for French inspiration t-shirts.

2. Mix it with stripes and get the Parisian chic look

Another of my absolute favourite options is mixing tulle and stripes. Personally, I feel it gives you all the Paris girl vintage vibes and you can’t wrong with that, can you? I mean, how could you say no to looking like a modern Brigitte Bardot, right? Can I hear the amen here? Choose a nice striped tie or sweater and you’re done! Case on point? This gorgeous Boden top: it has got that gorgeous boat neck, it’s soft to the touch, and absolutely chic.

3. Add a bike jacket to make it edgy

This is a simple way to add some interest to your outfit while making it edgy. Guys, I am not gonna lie here: I love a good old biker jacket over my tulle skirts, especially in Autumn and Spring, when you can make the most of the weather by adding a warming layer. (Actually, I love a biker jacket with mostly everything but that’s a different story for a different post. And I can guarantee that will be a long one.) The good thing about bicker jackets these days is they come in every colour you can think of, so you will be always able to contrast/match your skirt.

4. With a turtle neck for a classic look

A turtle neck is such a versatile piece, it goes basically with everything (a tulle skirt, nice tailored trousers, an astronaut jumpsuit… you get the idea). So it’s no surprise it is one of my favourite ways to style a tulle skirt. The combination makes any look sophisticated and yet wearable, no matter the ocassion. Personally, I like to add some texture with cashmere but the options are endless.

5. Make it special with some lace

Now, it is possible you are wearing a tulle skirt for a special ocassion like a date. So, the dilemma here is how to dress it up and yet avoid the fatal ballerina looks. Easy-peasy: add some lace for a dramatic effect. Then, you can pair it with heels and some nice jewelry. I can guarantee you will look great.

And these are my top tips to rock a tulle skirt in 2020.

Have you tried any of them? Let me know and share your experience.

– OUTFIT –

Skirt | Chicwish (old, similar here)
Graphic Tie | StarShinners (now on sale at Wish)
Shoes | Dolce & Gabbana (old, beautiful alternative at La Redoute)
Bag | Chanel Boy Bag (available for a fraction of the price at Farfetch)

November 12, 2020November 11, 2020

Allegra Caro22 Comments