New Work Bag

Treating myself to a good-quality work bag was something I planned to do later this year, when Paul an I are on a four-week trip through Europe and the U.S. But when the Area 51 website offered a 15% discount on first online purchases just for signing up to their weekly email newsletter, I decided to bite the bullet and buy this beauty:



I have had my beady eye on this Marc by Marc Jacobs bag for some time. It's the exact shape I want, it has short handles (I have long arms) and the leather is soft. It's a modern design with just the right amount of hardware. The only thing I had to think hard about it its size. It's quite large. After a week of 'alone time' with the bag, and making sure it was going to work out, I finally cut the tags off tonight and it makes its debut at work tomorrow.

Gregory: Purchases

A few weeks ago I finally felt up to bricks-and-mortar shopping so I headed to Gregory to peruse their SS14/15 collection that I blogged about a while back. I tried on lots of items but in the end I bought the same top in different colours (azure blue and black). Oddly, I can only find an image of the blue version on the Gregory site:

Cortez Top in Azure Blue $239

Regular readers know how rarely I buy clothes featuring colour. But this blue is stunning and a new discovery for me. The tops are in slightly different fabrics, but cut in the same shape. I bought the blue in a size 14 and the black in a size 12. The black version has a slight sheen to the fabric, while the blue one is more matte. It looks like a denim chambray in the photo, but it's not.

These tops represent the best in separates dressing for work. They're elegant but modern, intricate but simple and oh so wearable. They do have linen and rayon in the fabric mix which means they're prone to creasing, so I need to tuck the back folds under my bum when I sit. Outfit photos to come soon!