I've Never Regretted A Metallic Accessory

(and what to expect in Jan)

Gold shoes on Christmas Eve, how original. But I plan to wear these all year round, because I have never regretted buying a metallic accessory. My Marni silver low heeled shoes I bought in Bicester Village (10 years ago) remain some of my most prized shoes, so when I saw these gold Miu Miu flats on Vinted I knew they would work with my wardrobe.

Hey, it’s the same jumper, too!

The Marni ones have a slight heel so I took the opportunity to look for gold flats this time. I think these would look cute with sheer dotty tights (a la Sezane) but I’m wearing with socks right now (a little trick for wearing in new-to-you shoes - these might have pinched a little if I went without at first).

Coat: Baum und Pferdgarten via Vinted. Jumper: H&M Conscious Collection (around 7 years old). Jeans: M&S ‘Horseshoe’ jeans. Shoes: Miu Miu via Vinted. Socks: Arket. Glasses: Vivienne Westwood at Specsavers (with blue lenses). Earrings: Next (around 6 years old)

Finding items like this - better quality items that suit my style and save me money - are one of the reasons I adore Vinted. There is no compromise and I hope to head into 2025 with more of this shopping mentality. I’ve been trying to buy better, less and more sustainably in general but I don’t like to put a blanket ban on myself of no new clothes. Mainly because I set myself up for failure (and I’m also trying to be less hard on myself!), instead I prefer to take each month as it comes and be more mindful of what goes into my wardrobe (and why I am buying it).

This will resemble my Christmas Day outfit (it has been a twist on this for the last few years, to be honest):

Cardigan: JW Anderson x Uniqlo (2 years old). T shirt: Sezane ‘Martha’ (the one I tested for my white tee try-on! But can no longer find it online annoyingly). Jeans: Marks & Spencer. Socks: And Other Stories (7 years old). Shoes: Miu Miu via Vinted.

The fact these don’t have an elasticated ankle strap a la the John Lewis ‘Harietta’ flats is a flaw, but they’re so pretty I’ll get over it.

You know I love a fairisle knit, and I try to add a bit of luxe with a drop earring. The flats will change to slippers as soon as I step over the threshold, of course.

And now: what to expect over the next month. I dabbled in pausing subscriptions as I have such a huge fear of letting people down with content but I’ve decided to just let you in on the chaos and attempt to let go of my perfectionism around content and imagery. The next few weeks are going to be mayhem: packing, moving, settling our kids into new schools as well as adapting to and learning a whole new area.

I am taking the entirety of January off social media but will continue my weekly posts for Paid Subscribers here on Substack - they might not be stylised posts, more behind the scenes and real-life but I think it’s good to show that rather than finished results - this upcoming year will be messy before it gets better but we didn’t take this decision to move light-heartedly. We know firsthand how hard it is to move, especially with kids, and we wouldn’t take it on unless we thought it could be amazing.

The stye on my eye was definitely telling me to slow down for Jan…

And finally a huge huge THANK YOU for your support this year, it has encouraged me to write more, share more and given me so much confidence. I was so nervous to move my newsletter over to Substack, worried that no one would stay signed up and certain that no one would ever pay for my content, so this has proved such a wonderfully valuable year. Maybe I’m not so bad at what I do, after all. There you go, I was less hard on myself again (more of that in 2025).

Alex xx