Mama Style | Paint It Black

 

'Women think of all colours except the absence of colour. Black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.' 

- Coco Chanel

As style icons go, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel is pretty much the one to beat. 

With her revolutionary aesthetic, she single handedly made restrained elegance the last word in fashion, and the impact of her vision has reverberated down the ages. 

I've been thinking about her style a lot lately, because I've been reading 'Chanel' s Riviera: Life, Love and The Struggle for Survival on the Cote D'Azur 1930-1944' by Anne De Courcy recently. 

That time and place always draw me in, and I loved finding out more about this interesting period in the life of such an iconic woman. 

Black and white, or monochrome dressing was something Chanel championed, and like many other themes in her work, it's design roots came from her own austere childhood in a religious orphanage, where the strict black and white of the uniforms and nun's habits had a simple elegance. 

All black everything is definitely a favourite of mine, because it's so timeless and just fits in anywhere. 

It's been a long six months, so venturing into the city for a few socially distanced drinks with a friend felt very strange. 

What do people even wear nowadays? Gym leggings are my whole existence right now, so if I'm going to break from that then black is the one thing that can help me, I thought. When in doubt - what would Gabrielle do?

So this post is a little love song to Chanel, the enduring power of black-and-white dressing in a shades of grey world, and to spending time with friends, which is something that has been sorely missed from all our lives so far this year. 

 

Black silk tshirt dress | Zara

Cropped leather jacket | All Saints

Teal, nude and black colour block ankle strap rubber sandals | Melissa x Pedro Lourenco

Quartz obelisk necklace | KissTheFuture @ Etsy

Textured leopard cuff | Zara

Wallet on Chain | Chanel

A simple black tshirt dress is something that is easy to style in lots of different ways. A very clean, slightly oversized flowing piece that manages to be combine the best of casual and dressy style. 

Adding a leather jacket on top is a failsafe, and this cropped number from All Saints is something I've had for literally years that never lets me down. It's structure is the perfect contrast to the free flowing shirt dress and nips the silhouette in at waist level. 

One thing that is extremely rare for me is wearing high heels. It almost never happens, so there must be an elephant happily jetting into the sky somewhere out there. But I do love this pair! 

They feature a leg-lengthening platform that also makes them very comfortable to wear, and I love the ankle strap and the bold nude, black and teal colour blocking. They were actually a dream to wear. One good thing about all the bars being table service is you don't have to stand up all night, so heels become a much easier choice. Finding heels that feel comfortable but don't look it is like the holy grail for me.

Accessories? While we're talking Chanel, the Wallet On Chain bag is the ideal mini companion for evening adventures. You have to pack light, but I like that. The lighter the handbag, the freer the heart! 

Then I threw one of my favourite pendants on- this rough cut quartz number is just beautiful. I love natural crystals, not because I neccessarily buy into any of the stuff around them alterting your energy, but I just like the look. Karmic vibrations also welcome! Then for a splash of pattern, I added a textured leopad cuff. Because what is life without a splash of leopard? 

And of course, the other essential accessory at the moment is a face mask. Even typing that sentence feels weird, but that's the strange world of a pandemic. 

I thought heading into the city might feel a little odd, but actually? It was fine. We hit up a great little cocktail bar called The Secret Garden that was hidden away down an alley and enjoyed some martinis. It felt good to dress up and escape the stresses of life for a few hours.

A tiny slice of normality that's been much missed over the last half a year.