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What's happening? Has it turned into Autumn overnight - leaves falling, a drop in temperature and rain'a'plenty? And that's still in August! However, this has given me a great opportunity to test run my 'new' shearling jacket. Mind you, any long-term eagle-eyed reader might spot that the jacket itself is not exactly new. I featured it on my blog last year ('The North Wind Doth Blow') in what was one of my favourite posts to date.
A year or so later however, it has a new lease of life - in, namely what seems to be one of the biggest current trends, the eponymous Shearling Jacket. Not having nearly £2000 to spend on one of the highly covetable Burberry ones (complete with waiting list) that kick-started the appreciation for all things aviator (my Amelia Heart-esque hats will also be coming out of the hatbox), I devised a much cheaper, and more unique version instead...
The leather jacket came from a charity shop for the grand sum of £1.25 last year. Not only is it Escada, but it has the butteriest leather, vintage style buttons and a blue wool lining. Why the cheap price?
1.) It had a small rip underneath a button, which was easily fixed by re-sewing it down..
2.) It came from one of my favourite local charity shops, who put out pretty much everything that is donated - be it Primark or Prada.
It was actually my mum's idea to transform this jacket into an updated beauty with the aid of an old sheepskin seat cover that had begun to fall apart. We made a template of the collar and traced this onto the back of the sheepskin before cutting out the shapes carefully and pinning them to the jacket. Then many hours were spent sewing it in place while watching the Fast Show (a British sketch based comedy show from the nineties, and one of the funniest things around.) For anyone who has seen it, I doubt that the actor running around growling "You ain't seen me, roight?" realised that his character's shearling jacket would one day make him a trendsetter. (But let's hope that nasal hair doesn't undergo a similar renaissance!)
I made sure that the new false collar is only attached to the lining, meaning that it can be removed again if needs be.
I felt that if I'd already interpreted the Burberry look so literally, I may as well go the whole hog and style it in a very Burberry-esque manner. I bought the lace dress in a charity shop, and the suede boots were charity shopped by my mum. The big gold necklace was my great-grandma's, and the other belonged to her daughter (my grandma.)
I'm not often one to follow trends, but the Autumn/ winter collections this year seem like some of the most desirable and wearable I've seen - classic shapes, understated colours and standout works of craftsmanship. From the cult status of Christopher Bailey's designs, to the demi-couture aesthetic of Erdem or the bright ideas of up-and-coming designer Charlotte Taylor, there's more than enough eye-candy/clothes candy to salivate over this season.
My mum took these photos in a small gale. The clouds lowered more and more by the minute, with mum saying, "I can't see your face! It's too dark," and me trying to hold back my hair, as it seemed to be determined to make me look like a yeti. However, the wind added a nice touch, and I was definitely feeling 'Autumnal Vibes' in the cold. And I can happily report that the customised jacket performed its job of keeping me warm to perfection. I think it will be getting alot of use as my "photographer jacket" in the next few months.
I did another behind-the-camera Autumnal themed shoot today (They're starting to stack up on my computer...) with someone else called Roz! It was quite surreal ringing up to confirm the shoot by saying "Hi it's Roz. Is Roz there?"
Autumn is by far my favourite season, and I can't wait for the photography opportunities, design inspiration and wonderful walks it brings. Not that I want to wish away the end of the summer, but it looks like it's been shunted out of place already, and I'm ready to embrace the weather.
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