This is going to be my Spring theme. It’s not as intuitive as dark romance so it requires some explanation. I hope the “Chanel” part does not sound pretentious! I am not trying to emulate a particular designer look. It’s a blend of elements that interests me.

Here’s the breakdown:

Urban

Modern
A little tough, hard edge or moody
A little casual (think denim, knitwear, crossbody bags and boots)
Practical and streamlined (functional, not too fussy)
Military styling
Biker styling
Black

Graphic

Contrast
Graphic patterns
Abstract patterns
Large scale patterns
Geometrics
Saturated colours

Chanel

Tweed
Texture
Pattern mixing
Black & white
Pearls
Gold
Heavy costume jewellery
Jersey
Classic elements
Sophisticated
Comfortable

Here’s how I came up with this theme:

*I want to continue to use some dark, tough, moody and military elements. I have grouped these under Urban. This part of my style is fairly constant.
*For Spring, I want to lighten up. A little This is a challenge because I don’t enjoy wearing pastels, most brights and most lighter colours (as solids). Instead I am going to try to incorporate more contrast by wearing more pattern (I will wear lighter and brighter colours in patterns); more solids in mid range, saturated colours and more white. I have grouped these aspirations under “graphic” because graphic patterns and colour combinations have always appealed to me. And it sounds more inspiring than “more colour and contrast”
*I am currently a little obsessed with tweed. Tweed has fantastic texture, is not too warm for Spring because it’s often made from cotton, and has a touch of retro sophistication. It’s similar to space dye, which I have always been a bit fanatical about. I like the fringed, frayed and slightly RATE versions. This year I have added 2 tweed jackets to the 2 that I already had. I am also on the hunt for a fringed tweed asymmetrical skirt. Tweed started me thinking about Chanel, and how I am drawn to the Chanel use of texture, pattern mixing, and jersey, and the predominantly black and white palette. Also, I want to continue to wear and experiment with long layered necklaces; short, heavy, ornate necklaces; pearls; brooches and chunky jewellery generally. And that also brought to mind Chanel.

So: urban + graphic + Chanel. I am going to use this as my general guide for outfit creation and purchases.

As you can see, it’s not a big change, just a different emphasis. It won’t necessitate buying lots of new stuff.

The end!

Thoughts?