The Lure of Lurex
Monday 9 November 2015
The Lure of Lurex
In the autumn a gal's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of sparkles. The season is upon us for all that glitters to be lurex: those threads of gold and silver are a great thing to pep us all up on a dreary November day. Jane and Beryl find that the wearing of lurex need not be confined to the evening either, but can add a bit of glitz and glamour to the most mundane of everyday items.
Jane wore this to every social occasion from Hallowe'en onwards last year and plans to do the same this. The long lurex skirt sweeps the floor and is stretchy and comfy. It cost £65 from one of three very nice boutiques in Lymington (Jane can't remember which one, such is the state of her memory now that Marjorie Menopause has come to stay).
The last time Beryl had this much Lurex in her wardrobe, the Cold War was raging and Beryl's sister had a Saturday job in the Hasty Tasty, which begs the question is there a relationship between the wearing of lurex and Soviet imperialist ambitions? (Discuss). This jacket, which is pale gold and lurex, has a 1960's vibe and came from the LK Bennett outlet store at Great Western in Swindon: it cost £120. Now, a pale gold lurex jacket may not sound like a neutral, but this little number goes with
everything from jeans to pencil skirts to topping off my Fifties-inspired summer dresses.
The skirt is vintage Valentino £18, and the shoes are from Top Shop £45 (they are a great
update on the court shoe this season).
Jane's vintage jacket was a great little find by Beryl. It's got a real hint of the opera coat about it and makes a girl feel like she's off somewhere splendid. Jane is wearing it here with the ubiquitous boyfriend jeans and a pair of gold lurex brogues bought in a sale for £39 from Dune.
Here is Beryl's new lurex skirt, an update on the beaded sparkly variety that has lurked for 13 years in her wardrobe. It is a subtle metallic number with a pinky-purple hue and cost £40 in a local sale. Beryl likes pairing luxurious fabrics with lurex, a velvet top (£45) from Deadly is The Female in Frome (left) and with Laura Ashley chiffon blouse which was an astonishing £75 (right). The shoes are Moda Pele and were a much-searched for patent maroon court for £39.
This stripy lurex silver and black sweater dress is Jane and Beryl's charity shop find of the week,
it cost £8 and is immaculate. It came from Oasis and is almost identical to one worn by
Pandora Sykes in last week's Sunday Times for £60. It rocks so many trends that it's dizzying;
stripy, lurex and knitted. Just in case you are thinking that would never get worn, it has already
been to Beryl's daughter's sixth form presentation evening with red colour pop shoes.
PS Beryl gave Jane the bag two Christmasses ago and it came from Beulah's Vintage Attic,
Shipton Bellinger in Wiltshire.
Jane found this frock in The Gallery in Penzance's Chapel Street (we love shopping in vintage Penzance, but that's a secret!) It's a bit of 60's Bri-Nylon (how we adore ancient man-made fibres of which we have an almost encyclopaedic knowledge), which is as comfortable as a polyester bathrobe. Its lurex appeal lies in the subtle trim around the fabulous scoop neck.
Gathered together, you can never have too many sparkles and spangles.
In line with the seventies nostalgia of lurex-wearing, Jane found these on-the-fashion-button trainers down a dark alley in Venice for £29. Like the young things, Jane has taken to wearing them with her jeans as much as her dancing trousers.
Jane's tweed biker jacket is shot through with gold lurex and shows that the casual allure of lurex has its place in the WOACA's wardrobe. From Jasper Conran at Debenhams for £74 it is teamed here with an Esprit black lurex vest top (£9 in the sale), jeans and platform suede boots from Clarks (£60).
Post a Comment