I like to Bougie, Bougie

I like to Bougie, Bougie

Tuesday 29 October 2019

Vintage Laura Ashley jacket £15, Tippet Laura Ashley (past season)
Bag vintage Mulberry £50, Denim sailor's trousers Seasalt (2018)
Boots LK Bennett £300 past season

Jane and Beryl are spinning back down the time tunnel to the 1970s, to try out the latest new... or is that old trend? One part Parisian bourgeois ladies, two parts Lady Crawley and one part what our mummies wore, Jane and Beryl test out if they still have a taste for the key elements: hacking jackets, riding boots, and Mrs Slocombe's pussy bow. 

The hacking jacket 
(and jeans tucked in boots)

Jeans Fat Face £45 (past season) Navy Suede Boots £145 Toni Pons (this season)
Vintage Viyella jacket £12,
Sheepskin muffler £30 The White House Designers Sale, Driving gloves Dents £8

Beryl is going to whisper this, as Jane is not keen, but is Beryl going to tuck her jeans in her boots this season? Yes of course she is. Baa, baa, Beryl's making sheep noises.

Jacket, Bariloche,, Cadogan sale £99, trousers £49.50, M&S

Pre-loved Viyella jacket £12, Dents gloves £8

  And surely the hacking jacket must be the preserve of the well dressed WOACA? Easy to wear with boots and jeans, not much of a fashion stretch. Why then does our Bezza feel a bit of a fraud in one? These English tweedy clothes are very Lady Grantham, while Beryl definitely sees herself more as a Mrs Patmore! (Whose Christian name incidentally is Beryl).
Beryl's beef really lies in the fact that 'country' clothes are tribal, they signal to others that the wearer is a fully paid up member of the Church of The Latter Day Sloane. Beryl's verdict therefore, more hackneyed than hacking it, she will not be investing beyond her £12 vintage spend. 

 Culottes

Zara £29

Karen Millen £40 sale 

 Jane and Beryl could find no culottes to try on the high-street this week, and come to think of it, when did you actually see any of your mates wear a pair? This might be one of those items that fashion editors like but store buyers don't. 

 And here Jane and Beryl are talking about proper culottes, the sort that look like a split skirt, rather than a sawn off trouser best left to a Bay City Roller. The truth is Jane and Beryl have had little success with this garment. In 1976 Beryl had a high-waisted brown pair over which her pneumatic bosom protruded in cheesecloth. This caused quite a stir at The Young Farmers, she remembers: she is still having nightmares. 

The pussy bow blouse

Second hand Fabienne Chapot silk shirt Re-dress, Winchester £60,
 Past season Laura Ashley velvet trousers , part of suit
Old red Zara boots.

Beryl likes a pussy bow, while Jane feels her chest is over-exciting enough without added folderol. This one has a low-bow, which is calmer on the tittage - the nation breathes a sigh of relief. Both Jane and Beryl are partial to leopard with red. Throw in a red boot, a red coat, or even a knicker red car and a pair of seventies style shades. Suddenly things get very Marc Bolan.
Bring it on, bang a gong!    

The blouson sleeve

Dress Stein Goya £200 (in sale) boots with tassels preloved £25 House of Gallet Arlesford,
 earrings Anthropologie £42

Based on the notion of a silk blouse with big sleeves, this drawstring-waisted frock coupled with black knee-high tasselled boots makes our Beryl feel like a glamorous grown up lady-person. Jane and Beryl are very clear on this subject, clothes are about HOW THEY MAKE YOU FEEL. If you feel like a bit of alright in something, buy it immediately and forgo 20 grey cardis. 

Brown 

Trousers vintage Toast, jumper Phase Eight £69

Jane has a wardrobe full of brown from the last time it was fashionable circa 1980 (or was it 1880?) so drags out some wide-legged trousers in desperation to see if this look will work: of course, it doesn't, even when pepped up with red as Jane's rictus grin makes evident. (And while we're on the subject, Jane is not sure about this jumper either, her puppies are looking even more humungous than usual...)

The polo neck skinny rib sweater

Charity shop jumper £3

Don't make Jane and Beryl laugh, neither look good in skinny ribs, because akin with many a middle aged woman, neither has seen their ribs since the 1980s! Marvellous things for those in a B cup or under, with a long neck and indeed a prominent rib-cage, but the rest of us? Forget it.

Checks, hounds-tooth or Prince of Wales or anything in between

Coat, Really Wild, £210, bag £85, both Re-dress, Winchester

This may look like a grey coat (sad) but in fact the eagle eyed will notice the subtle pink checks. In line with Jane and Beryl's current thinking, this is pre-loved, but is still comes in at a whopping £210. Nice, nonetheless, on trend and beautifully cut.

Coat Debenhams Savannah Miller £75

This may look like a grey coat (sad) and in fact it is. Oh, dear, Jane cannot bring herself to get excited about such as this, and suddenly feels like an aged wreck of the Hesperus: it's all in the cut (or lack of it). 

Double Face tweed short coat £275 Jigsaw, Trainers LK Bennett £119 sale,
Jigsaw Otto Micro bag £196, Velvet cashmere scarf £98 (trousers models own)

And don't think that price is key here: this version is four times the price of that above - it seems the superannuated car coat is the look of the moment. What is going on?

Jumper Whistles £135, Italian wool trousers £155 At Last,
Andover, shoes Stradivarius £22, all past seasons

Rod, we love your coat!

'Oh, she wears it well, a little old fashioned but I don't mind' 

When it comes to checks, Beryl likes them big and bold, no shilly-shallying around with your mimsy Prince of Wales or your little doggy teeth for this WOACA. These trousers are on their third year and going strong. Past smaller checked experiments have ended up in the charity bag, and in this eco-conscious age, Beryl and Jane are not going to encourage anyone to buy clothes that they have personally not loved and cherished.    

Saddlery references

Bag, Debenhams £55, Skirt vintage Jaeger £7 charity shop

Fashion editors of the world are united in their love of any reference to a detail that passes for an equestrian trim as part of this eccentric look. Jane and Beryl are not known for their seat in the saddle but on a handbag? Possibly... 

Next Time: Jane and Beryl go in search of new season colour