The Art of the Trench

There is nothing better than a classic trench coat. One of my flatmate recently showed me a gorgeous vintage Burberry trench that made me lusty for one of my own. Mr Sartorialist, Scott Schulman, undertook a project for Burberry called The Art of the Trench, which is super cool, but outside of the realm of Burberry are these babies, also utterly enviable. I may have to invest, I think. With the right layers, I might avoid freezing to death in the brutal Edinburgh wind!

Standing In The Rain - Jamie Scott

Lindsey Wixson by Garance Doré. Heaven.

Summer in the City

Summer in the UK means one thing to me. Cute outfits. During the winter months, we become so preoccupied with warmth, and so laden with layers, that ‘cuteness’ gets pushed way down on the list of priorities. But the sun is gradually becoming a regular feature in my life, and so, big shoes, and tiny dresses are finally feasible outfits! I have a particular grudge against tights – they cage our legs for months at a time! – bare legs, how glorious! Feeling air on your six-month shrouded shins is the most wonderful sensation in the world!

Ain't No Sunshine

Being hooked on People.com and 90210, I'm starting to feeling really distressed that I can't wake up in the morning and put on a gorgeous summer dress... The weather in Edinburgh has been ridiculous - last night the fog descended and the city looked like a scene from Dickins.

Tomorrow I will return to London - my soulmate - and I am praying that Spring has arrived there. 413 miles south of here, the weather will be entirely different!

J Crew Campaign

Vanessa on People.com

Sunshine: Strange New Torture

Scott Schuman is chasing the sun. The Sartorialist is in Sydney, now in Melbourne, now in LA. What he is not doing is posting images of winter style. How to be cool in the cold. That, Mr Schuman, is what I need!

H&M SS'10 (FashionGoneRogue)

Spring/Summer campaigns are rearing their ugly heads – a Hydra of sunshine images, styling that defies imagination in minus-something temperatures.

H&M SS'10 (FashionGoneRogue)

My lust for warmth – real warmth, when you can get out of bed without fear of hyperthermia – has become overwhelming. I want to be able to leave the house without wearing a hundred pounds of knitwear and without fear of further damage to my already weather-beaten skin.

Flavia de Oliveira by Fabio Bartelt (FashionGoneRogue)

Bring on spring. No more tights, no more Michelin-man waddling down the street, NO MORE COLD! Let’s start a petition…

Flavia de Oliveira by Fabio Bartelt (FashionGoneRogue)

Ode to Autumn

I love autumn. It might be my favourite season. Weather here tends to be bright blue skies and the leaves are all turning to burned gold and copper. Plus the cold starts to creep in, which appeals to my inner-dormouse, making it acceptable to hibernate under piles of blankets, and cozying up to share warmth! There's something romantic about autumn, that the other seasons lack. Something about mittens and pink noses and Ella Fitzgerald which warm the soul, despite the crisp, cold winds.

Keats likes it, too!

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, -

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying dayAnd touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing, and now with treble soft

The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

~ John Keats, 'Ode to Autumn

My penchant for this particular time of year might also be why 'Autumn Effects at Argenteuil' is one of my favourite paintings...

'Autumn Effects at Argenteuil', Claude Monet. Courtauld, London.