Fruit Pastels

This week I had the questionable luck to be hanging around waiting for a mate at Oxford Circus, and I decided to pop into H&M, just to have a look, while I was waiting. Having not crossed the threshold there for quite some time, it was a pleasure to wander around in the evening of a quiet Monday, without wading through the quicksand of neon teenagers. Maybe I'm just getting old, but Oxford Street on a Saturday now fills me with terror me, rather than the feelings of excitement that I had when I first came to London. On this occasion, I quickly grabbed a few polo shirts and a couple of neckerchiefs, and suddenly remembered just why it is that H&M is so busy - it's very cheap and very cheerful. Pastel polo shirts are my summer look, and this lilac one will be replacing a much-loved Lacoste one that is now practically sheer. A few weeks ago I bought a couple of polos at Rokit in Camden, just fairly plain in a lovely turquoise-teal and a powder blue with a maple leaf design on the breast pocket, however these were £15 a pop. H&M's were less than half that, just £5.99. That's absurdly cheap. I bought three (the lilac; a vibrant orangey-red, and a lovely sky blue) and am very impressed with both the quality and cut of them. The two-button placket is relatively stiff and looks great buttoned to the top, and the pastel shades work brilliantly with pastel cardigans. This clashing Hockney-via Burberry Prorsum S/S '05 is a smarter way to wear colour this summer; pastels take the brightness and mute it down a little, and when paired with a more subtle colour of jeans (burgundy; grey; black) or shorts leads to a smart yet still fun look. I’ve also been hankering after adding some pastel canvas shoes to my growing collection – Topman’s mint pair are top of the list, followed by their subtle (ish) peach pair. I'm a long way off dressing all in black yet...
Other Staples this week:
Pastel-coloured polo shirts and shoes
The Miller pub in London Bridge
Matthew Dear at the ICA (with my Dad)
A glut of sample sales (Thanks McQ!)
Whisky & ginger
Squint Homme magazine

UPDATE: So I bought the peach ones yesterday as they didnt have the mint ones. they are delicious...