I freaking love Millie Mackintosh, star of the not-at-all reality show, Made In Chelsea. I can't help it. I'm hypnotised by her. The perfect caramel locks (how on earth do I get that hair colour?), the glowing skin, the whip-thin figure and the haughty pout. I cannot get enough. It's bordering on an obsession now, as I'm noticing more and more 'Millie' style purchases creeping into my wardrobe.
Seriously, I've now bought several pastel tweed jackets, a feather gilet and a couple of chiffon blouses with Millie on my mind. And, as per my previous post, I am dangerously close to purchasing a pair of skinny leather trousers, all because the lady Mack likes them...
I caught one episode of MIC a few months ago, having never watched it, and was instantly mesmerised by the gilded lives, immaculate outfits and sleazy relationships, and ended up getting the 40D app on my iPhone so that I could catch up on several series worth (much to the disgust of my husband, who thinks its an absolute pile of nonsensical rot. And he would be right. But oh, its such pretty rot!).
And the star of the show for me is Miss Millie Mack. So, how do I love her style? Let me count the ways...
1. She pulls off a pop of bright.
If you said to me the term 'orange leather jacket' in connection to something you actually wanted me to wear, I'd usually run away screaming. And yet Millie takes the same item, and makes it look instantly chic with the aid of a cream chiffon vest. And she gets away with it! That takes a certain kind of skill that I can only respect...
2. She doesn't give a damn about seasons
Well, a furry gilet and boots wouldn't be my first choice on a day warm enough to break out the denim shorts, but what do I know? I am but a moth to Millie's fashion flame. She breaks all the rules with this outfit and she does it with complete conviction, proving my theory that attitude is 80% of all style. Even the felt fedora works (somehow) when it should, by rights, look oh-so-wrong. But I adore that gilet so much that I purchased a damn near identical one from Miss Selfridge when I would never normally have given it a second glance. That's the Millie effect in action!
3. She mixes up her style
Millie is a perfect blend of so many different styles- a little bit classic, a little bit raunchy, a little bit boho- and what she achieves is a great mid-ground where she never looks overdone. I love this combination of tweed blazer with leather shorts so much, it's just bang on the money. And of course it showcases her enviable legs...
4. She gives great red carpet
Whether its the BAFTAs or the BRITs or anything in between, Millie knows the power of a show-stopping red-carpet frock. Its ridiculous. She almost looks more at home in a floor-sweeping gown than anything else. And the two themes she's gone for recently...green with envy at her emerald green, thigh-split gown with jewelled belt, and I adored her white greek goddess dress as well. Wowzer!
5. She makes the trends her own
Miss Mack is always straight onto the catwalk styles, but somehow she manages to do them in a way that looks utterly her own, and never too contrived. She tends to favour a skinny-on-the-bottom, floaty-on-the-top silhouette that really works for her, but she always seems to make sure one star piece is the main attraction without detracting from the impact of what she wears. I get the impression (from watching a few YouTube videos of her discussing her wardrobe) that she puts a fair amount of thought into her outfits, and it sure pays off. I haven't ever actually seen her in anything that looks bad. In fact, every outfit I see her in, I want to own.
In short, Millie is a bona fide member of the glossy posse, and has the sort of refined polish to her that only a sweetie heiress could hope to achieve. But she has that rare talent of making anything she wears- even if its Topshop- look designer and utterly delicious. I look forward to seeing more of her outfits in the future!
Oh my goodness, I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last wrote a blog post! Time has really flown. No one reads this with any regularity, but regardless it is something I enjoy doing, and I had promised myself I would keep at it, if only for my own amusement. It seems I really do want a space to talk about shopping, fashion and make-up.
This is an issue which has been preoccupying me for a few days now, and one I’ve asked all my friends about: are leather trousers ever okay?
I mean, obviously, they’re okay on some people. Namely super-skinny, stick-legged models and people with Badass Rock Attitude. But I fear I have neither the thighs, nor the tude to pull off leather skinnies. And I’ve never particularly wanted to, either. I always thought there was just too much potential for these kind of things to go wrong. There’s such a fine line between looking like Kate Beckinsale and looking like a Hairy Biker, and I’m terrified of getting it wrong.
I’ve seen that episode of Friends too many times (the one with Ross, the ‘leather pants’ and the lotion and powder making a paste) not to feel a tremor of fear in my heart at the prospect of them. And yet...and yet. Last Friday night while out at a dark, I spotted a girl looking amazing in them. She wasn’t rail thin either, and she just looked brilliant. I wanted her whole outfit- strappy heels, skinny leather jeans, a loose floaty vest top, and a blazer. But I’m in agonies over whether I could pull off this particular look, or whether I’d just look like a fat fool.
Having consulted with my best friend and fashion guru, Lady T, I’m none the wiser. She was all for going for it, but I think she’s just trying to be nice. I think the key would absolutely be to get a decent quality pair- the kind that pull you in rather than the kind that bounce the light off your butt cheeks in an unflattering way, and that probably means spending a bit of money, so I want to be sure about it.
As a consequence, I’ve been researching girls rocking the leather to try and get inspired, and here are the results...
This girl totally gets it right with her floaty leopard blouse, fierce heels...oh, and the pipecleaner thighs don't hurt, either!
Love, love, love, the bright yellow handkerchief hem blouse and statement collar necklace with these skinny leather leggings
This girl just looks impossibly cool( if a little dusty!)
Wow. Just wow. This is so sharp, so sexy and everything I would love to look like, but never will. *sigh* oh for a size 6 frame and a forehead large enough to take a heavy fringe on!
And then there's Kim K, whose default outfit at the moment is leather leggings. Now, say what you will about Kim's character (and I do, frequently), but I do think she is an absolute raving beauty. Not only that, but (despite the face she consistently tells the media she's a US size 4, when she's actually a size DELUSION) she is undeniably a curvy girl, and she still looks absolutely smokin' in these trousers. So, is that proof that there's hope for a normal sized girl in the leather trews department?
And finally, here is the best pictorial guide on how to style your leather trousers that I have ever seen. For people like me, who are well aware of their lack of innate elan, it's crucial! It gives me so many ideas for how leather trousers could actually be quite versatile.I like to see that there are some really cute ways to wear them that don't involve sky high heels as well. It's certainly making me consider purchasing a denim shirt as well!
So with all things considered, I might have to consider going down the leather route, despite my inital misgivings. But I have to say, this is one trend I would definately advise approaching with caution, because as every child of the 90's knows, it could so easily end like this...
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