I’m pretty much a coinisseur of brown things. It’s a difficult title to hold, but it’s reached the point of ridicule so I think I can carry it. Over the last year I’ve been faithfully carrying around a brown See by Chloe bag – it’s a perfectly slouchy but very sweetly detailed shoulder bag. On the other hand, it’s awful at carrying 15″ Mac Book Pros when freelancing. It’s now got a giant hole that even my slightly dodgy sewing with leather thread can’t fix.

So in true avoiding-any-change I’ve asked for a replica for Christmas. But having seen the rest of their range, I think I’ll just have that. All of it. Not to wear all at once mind.

I adore this one on Mademoiselle Robot. Typically terrified of Houndstooth patterns, I think I could wear this without feeling like Cruella De Ville.

This one may be a suspiciously similar version of the one above, but you’ll note it’s not brown. This pretty much fits my criteria of ‘new things I am allowed to buy without being repetitively mocked.’ I may like it even more than the other one.

Also, despite the numerous tech blogs’ guides to ‘cute bags for your camera and tech pieces’ which very occassionally throw up good pieces, this is gorgeous. I don’t think there’s even a regulation that you put a camera in it. It could be used for ANYTHING. It could be a bag for bottle of gin or a gun. The options are endless. Another reason this bag is amazing.

They also make one that looks like a Toblerone. See, something for everyone.

I’m not aware of whether the news has reached you yet, but these shoes are mice.

Aren’t they jolly? I think they quite permit running about making squeaking noises at everyone you meet.

N.b. they may be mice, but my feet are not convinced they find them nice.

I secretly think Regent’s Street is a bit over-rated, but one of my favourite shops is Anthropologie. Inside, amongst lots of clothes I can barely afford (which in no way inhibits my ability to take 80% of the store into the changing room with me) is an awesome shop design. Whilst they don’t do anything massive and outstanding, it’s filled with enough small quirky odd bits that it’s like entering a lovely new world of Anthropologie personality. I may just like it because there are stacks of books everywhere and it does a good job of trying to morph itself some sort of shabby chic habitat. It’s not quite my dream home like I suspect it’s trying to tell me it as, but with lots of things to look at beyond clothes it’s definitely more unique than other shops.

I already have a thing about things groups of lots of hanging things (following some spottings at Clerkenwell Design Show last year), but the other day this was lovely. More sexy shops plz.

I struggle to amass massive amounts of clothes that I’m fond of. I buy what, for me, feels a lot over a stint of time and I’ll wear the same sort of things on and off for days in a mini-fad. Then I’ll suddenly find I’ve been wearing the same set of things for ages. I love clothes – over fashion* – and variation, though you wouldn’t always know it (for which I love dresses because they give this immediately and they’re very lazy. Also I like swishing about). But the concept of ever being able to do a What Katie Wore or a What I Wore Today type blog is beyond me. And I’m not sure I’d ever want to own as many clothes as Katie does.

I love fashion blogs to a point. A little documentary film about The Sartorialist has just popped up online and it got me thinking about why I don’t read that sort of blog. “My only strategy when I began The Sartorialist was to try and shoot style in a way that I knew most designers hunted for inspiration,” he says. There’s the difference, with the site catering for design it doesn’t feel functional for me. I suspect I don’t really care about staring at other people’s clothes that much.

I’d rather:
- Read blogs that show me good things coming out. Basically reading news whilst shopping in the back of my mind.
- See good imagery – if you put a model in a dress in some woods there’s a 70% chance I’ll try it on or order it.
- Look at an interesting store design and seeing what they’ve done, either through a blog or in real life. I as much time looking at how Anthropologie have designed their little in-store world than looking at clothes.
- Notice people myself, and ask them where they got an item from. Here I mostly mean spying on people at work. Sometimes I ask people milling in shops, but only if they’re incredibly special.

Essentially this splits into getting shopping ideas, or hearing good stories or good images that pull me into a brand’s world. (The extent I stick to this will depend on whether you catch me in front of a laptop at 1am in what feels like a time vortex.) If you give me interesting ideas, news and a bit of personal culture though I’ll be pleased as punch and probably love that blog. Mademoiselle Robot‘s one I read regularly.

So, whilst I’m not the perfect demographic for The Sartorialist, this is a lovely film about his day to day goings on. Though I can’t pinpoint what it makes me react with (perhaps a feeling that I can’t wait to move to London, really), something struck me about one of his comments:

“But then the real joy of it is having those 4 or 5 hours a day to go out and just be in the world you’re in and see it and keep your eyes open and really relate to what you’re seeing; react to what you’re seeing.”

I wonder how typical I am. How do you use fashion blogs? I’m curious, having only just really thought about my own behaviour.

* Whilst I say “I love clothes over fashion”: I am unwittingly affected into thinking puff shoulders are a travesty or pretty awesome depending on how the fashion houses swing, so this is a lie.

video via tomgibson

Some days I want to be a skinny boy pulling off some good shoes (or perhaps just have smaller feet). Vans seem to have stepped in a different direction for a moment, away from heavy skater shoes. Green suede, leather laces and some pretty sharp embroidery. These are some beautiful things.