oh, roland

know i'm a bit slow on the uptake with this one, but i couldn't let a travesty such as this go without saying something.

WHAT was roland mouret thinking when he unveiled these potato sacks posing as dresses the other week? the belted one is at least slightly wearable - if not made from a scratchy material that really does not justify the 80GBP price tag - but the smocks! oh, the smocks! the girls in the above photos look like they should be wearing rubber gloves and armed with a bottle of window cleaner - housekeeper chic, perhaps?

i think if it were any other designer, i wouldn't have been as disappointed - but when i first heard roland mouret was going to be designing a line for gap, i was hoping that his impeccible tailoring and knack for making the most out of the female figure would come into play in some way - these shapeless bags seem like such a waste of his talents.

how to wear: schoolgirl chic

stuck in germany for a few hours after a work meeting last week, i decided to take a browse round H&M before heading to the airport. i'm not normally a big H&M shopper, but i find that the quality of the clothes is better on the continent than in the UK for some reason, so i try and make a point to stop in whenever i'm travelling there.

i found myself strangely drawn to the hoseiry aisle, particularly a few pairs of thick, woolly, cable-knit knee socks in school uniform shades of navy, grey and ivory. i was a bit short on time & inspiration at that point, so i didn't buy them, but i haven't been able to think about them since, especially after seeing this girl sporting an adorable bright green pair on the sartorialist.

as the temperature drops and leggings start to become impractical, thick, high socks seem like a good alternative for knee-down accessorising. i'm thinking of layering them over dark, opaque tights , peeking out of the top of chunky, flat riding boots, or even just on their own with a pinafore dress and heeled brogues. with the return to 90's in full force with black skinny trousers and grungy parkas filling the shops, it's only natural that other icons of the decade, like cher horowitz and britney, should be referenced as well, no?