Monday 3 January 2011

'Mark My Words

Well hello there! It's been awhile hasn't it? 2010 was not a successful year for The Staple, however, as you may have gleaned via Twitter or previous posts, that's cos I finally got out of the world of financial journalism and into magazines; Notion Magazine to be precise. And as the Online Editor of PlanetNotion.com, I've been in charge of a bigger platform for 'blogging'. However, it's time for The Staple to come back - I need some personal perspective. So expect at least weekly updates on the usual things, with an injection of style-related bits that I come across through Notion.
So, what am I feeling at the moment? Sweatshirts. I'm not entirely sure what sparked this one (though I think the fashion show in the latest issue of Fantastic Man might have been Genesis), but for some reason I'm all about sweatshirts. Not jumpers, but cotton, fleece-lined sweaters with a crewneck are my order of the day. I sit here wearing a grey marl one from (amazingly) Primark, which was £3 and worth every penny. In this cold snap, it's been a practical purchase, but I've been desperate to find another in the January sales. Luckily, I snagged this bargain Marc Jacobs number in Selfs: it's that shade of cobalt blue that I think seems pretty flattering with my skintone, and the perfect shape and size for me (amazingly as I didn't hit the sales 'til NYE - even the nice tillmonkey was surprised that I'd managed to find something nice and in the right size with almost £100 off)> In fact, it was my NYE outfit, and roundly complimented as well. I was dubious about sweatshirts at first, but there's something that feels modern and fresh about them, especially after years of thin-knit cotton V-necks. I've never held with chunky jumpers (I just get too hot, even in this weather) and there's something cosy but not suffocating about the humble sweat. Even the Primark one. In fact, I've been surprised by Primark. Yep, the menswear isn't exactly groundbreaking (in fact much of it is sub-River Island printed tshirts), but the sweaters are actually wearable, and for £3 a jumper, it's definitely worth investigating (if you can put the sweatshops out of your mind, though I don't reckon Primark's any worse than the rest of the High Street). Either way, Primark or Marc, it's time to get into a sweatshirt. Here's some other Staples from my week:
Walking in the snow
Paul Auster's latest novel, Sunset Park
Monocle Alpino
James Blake's debut album
Home cooking at Xmas
Terry's chocolate orange
Moleskine notebooks
JUSTJR

1 comment:

Matthew Spade said...

from primark to high-marc! man that's a good one. but yeah big jump from the two. weirdly i was looking at sweatshirts in gap sale yesterday but i didn't go for it. saw a grey marl one with cream bits. should have taken the plunge really.

glad you're back