A couple of quickies.

I've been asked to track down a red, fluffy bakerboy hat. A Bakerboy (aka newsboy) is like a full beret with a wide peak at the front, and they help to balance out a larger figure, particularly if, like me you don't have much volume in your hair.

I've had a really good scour, and pickings are a little slim, no doubt due to the preponderance of berets around this season, so I've had to go to ebay - but these are my best options:


Burgundy angora - £4.49

or


Scarlet fur - bidding starts at £1.49

Secondly, there's 15% off all orders over £50 at Dorothy Perkins until Saturday 14th Feb. Enter the promo code DPVALENTINE. Worth a special look for their insanely flattering 'flutter dress' - recommended a couple of months ago on these pages, and now available in Coral (for darker colouring) and Iris (for paler skins, blondes and especially redheads), as well as the black I mentioned yesterday - £25.

Heads up.

Hats.

It's cold, people want hats.

I bought a new hat this autumn. A slouchy beret (above). Very now - but more importantly, it's a style that works with hair up or down, and it can be shoved in a pocket or bag. I stumbled across a woman on ebay who makes a small range of crocheted hats, and she made it to order in a shade of purple (above) that matched the leather gloves I'd just bought. Lovely, and very happy to do commissions.

I'm sure you can find one cheaper (prices range from around £12 - £22, depending on the style and yarn used) but I think she represents good value for money, and you know there's no sweatshop involved.

The next step beyond is the sequinned beret. Perfectly acceptable for daytime if worn in a dark colour (or, indeed any colour, if you just don't care) Miss Selfridge have them in Black, Navy, Blue, Bright Pink, or Gold for £15. In fact spot the difference between thses two sequinned berets:

The one on the left is £15 from Miss Selfridge, the one on the right is £90 from Jaeger. Just how fabulous can sequins be that they cost six times as much?