Wild Cherry Soup

[smokingboot]

bought for me by the ever wondrous bytepilot at the Gay Hussar near old Compton Street rounded off a difficult day with delight. Oh, there was some other Hungarian food too, and the wine was lovely but the soup and conversation were stars. Thank you my dear duke, I needed that. Haven't properly relaxed in weeks.


After the breakfast show yesterday, I went shopping for clothes. I never really enjoy this, and right now the high street's more hellish than usual. The fashion industry, undaunted by last winter's failure to coax us all into cabinet filing grey are trotting it out again to such similar extent I suspect it's all the same stuff given bubble hems and hitched over leggings.

I went looking for elegant suits and dresses; I found department stores full of dead people. After ages of swearing I found the outfit; a beautiful dress, looking like a black top and delicate black&white checked miniskirt. It is in fact, one piece and so sweet...near it on the rack is the matching jacket, a snip together at just under two grand. Thank you Ralph Lauren, I'm sure larians would understand perfectly. I slunk off sheepishly to Topshop where this winter's theme appears to be Malign Clowns or Monochrome. Here is the law of the jungle:

1)Checks are in, boy are they in.

2)Prom dresses are in, sweet jesus are they in.

3)Lots of stuff on your legs; Tights under long socks are still in, but they should clash or the tights should be holey.

4) Belts. Nothing has proper waists, everything is elasticated, but what's lacking in cut is made up for in material, ie lots of netting/frilling at the hem, so buy the checked elasticated prom dress and then buy the huge belt to pull it all in, giving you the appearance of a froufrou explosion just above your holey tights and clashing socks. Add one of these:
http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=19551&storeId=12556&categoryId=42356&parent_category_rn=42351&productId=796412&langId=-1
and you're ready for the office.

Or do what I'm doing: Go retro under a napoleonic jacket or cape/coat, cos these are the only chic things in the shops, and hide in black until the carnival passes. Preferably in the Gay Hussar with a good friend, some wine and a lot of cherry soup.

Comments

[ravenrigan.livejournal.com]

Yay Cherry soup and entertaining conversation!

Boo Top shop.

I grew out of Top Shop about 15 years ago. Actually, literally, since it seems to only sell about three sizes, anorexic, stick insect and still quite thin. For a target market of teenybopper, twenty something raver, and it girl old enough to know better.

But then we've had the Monsoon Conversation. Though Per Una in M&S also does very nice things, as does John Rocha at Debenhams. The trick is to try them on in the shop and then look out for them at half the price on Ebay!

Having said that, I tend to buy a lot of my basics clothes in George and Sainsburies these days. They are fairly well made, they fit, they are cheap, they seem to suit me, and best of all, they don't involve me venturing into the hell that is the average British High Street.

Though if you ever fancy recreational clothes shopping I can heartily reccommend Bluewater. And they have Yo Sushi for when you've shopped and dropped. AND they have M&S, Debenhams and Monsoon! I probably need to go Lingerie shopping in Marks some time soon, if you want a companion.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

*grins* I must be an 'it' girl, as in 'What the hell is it she's wearing?'

Top shop is currently rendering all attempts at stickinsectory redundant, cos there's nothing but drop waists and belts. Many's the woman gracing Oxford street swathed in a big grey satin sack with a salmon pink bow scooping up her hefties. One thing about dreadful fashion seasons is that they make everyone shameless...

Lingerie shopping in M&S sounds like a fine idea (especially if followed by Sushi) though I may have to give my panting purse a month or two's breather beforehand!

[ravenrigan.livejournal.com]

Shall we make an appointment for the Sales? I'm broke too, (blame new BPAL obsession courtesy of esther_reeves the most magickal smellies in the world, better than Lush, and as damianobf says "like a collectable card game for women") and the fact that Serenity needs a new Pistol physrep.

PS pengshui_master says Boot does not need 2K dress to look nice, Boot looks nice in anything she wears, and should go shopping with us for extra fashion confidence!" (and fun!)

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

An appointment for the sales sounds like a glorious idea! I am pretty brassic now, not least cos I bought two dresses and a vintage clutch bag bringing my total to £127, and I still need a jacket/coat for winter. Hopefully January will be better, fingers crossed!

I am completely hypnotised by BPAL - their marketing is astonishing, I am gutted they don't do imps of their carnival diabolique scents! Can't wait for our smellie session!

As for pengshui_master he is lovely as always.I would really enjoy coming shopping with you both:-)

BPAL

[ravenrigan.livejournal.com]

Do you know esther_reeves? She's the r/l partner of Tom damianobf who plays the Compte in Millen, when she plays she is his tailor, though she hasn't been this year due to procreation issues. She's also best chums with sarahfeeney who plays Amilie.

She runs an occasional group order of Strom ladies. It started in Millen (of course, where else do all really decadent ideas start)but I have insidiously spread it to the crew. If there were enough of us interested in Carnival scents we could do decants (one person buys a bottle, decants it into 5 imps and people share the cost, based on how many people want that scent) of the Carnival scents.

Shall I facilitate an exchange of emails? Esther is lovely and is also a mad frocker!

There are also UK based swaps and decants on LJ pwaters_decants , and a lot of UK peeps on the BPAL Forum who do swaps and sales of things they've tried and either not got on with, or bought a whole bottle of. And one or two people selling decants of the Carnival on Ebay. I've managed to collect quite a few imps of carnival scents that way, which I shall bring to Strom.

Be warned though. Some of the Carnival are sex in a bottle. Especially the Grindhouse girlies! I already have two or three that are going to have to be whole bottle purchases the next time Esther does a group order.

[velvet-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Bloody hell, they want £15 for that hat! WTF?

More constructively, I'd second the recommendation for Per Una seconds on eBay! Now I've sussed the actual measurements I want (rather than just the size) it's pretty straightforwards and considerably cheaper!! Although I fear it does rather identify me as being in a certain age bracket now... ;o)

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

I haven't had much luck with Per Una but I keep trying. Lovely clothes that just look bad on me. Cut is a strange thing...
as for seconds on Ebay, that really is too much like planning ahead for me - plus, I have no eye for a pretty garment, I have to try it first. Went to the Karen Millen online store, spotted clothes which should have looked beautiful on me. Tried them on, and they turned me into Matron!

[sixtine.livejournal.com]

Per Una awful on me too. Too much fabric for small people; they look like an accident in a haberdashery.

[squintywitch.livejournal.com]

AAaaaa. Who would wear such a thing? Who? WHO?

There's a hat for everybody

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3293482.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=C06051C8BA2A5A2CFCB7C6A76D5E538AA55A1E4F32AD3138

[bytepilot.livejournal.com]

Darling Boot, Sweet girl of my dreams, you are luciously lovely and much much loved.

An evening spent in your inestmable company both races past at improbable speed and dawdles delightfully leaving the slighly zonked feeling of a large jug of pimms drunk under an apple tree in early june whilst watching the scattered clouds in a sky that looks like an eternity of blue.

We must do this again, and soon.