The London Lookbook: The Dressing Room
Small businesses on the British high street are an essential part of our national identity – without them the hearts of our communities beat a little slower. It is deeply saddening to see our once vibrant high streets populated with banal, homogenised chain brands and charity shops. Thank goodness for Small Business Day, which was on Saturday 7th of December, an initiative to encourage shoppers to support independent businesses – a very good thing in my book. I’ve got some of my best buys in local shops and vintage stores.
I love small boutiques, you’re most likely to discover under-the-radar brands and brilliant accessories in small, carefully composed stores. A great boutique with an individual collection can be a godsend when looking for a Christmas party outfit, walking into a room wearing the same dress as someone else is a sartorial nightmare.
My quest to find the very best, off the radar boutiques led me to The Dressing Room in St Albans. It’s a little out of the way, but the cleverly curated collection makes the journey more than worth it. Behind any successful boutique is a sharp business mind and Deryane Tadd, the founder and owner of The Dressing Room has a keen eye for clothes that are bang on trend and extremely wearable.
When I go shopping I look for clothes that are unique & individual but also easy to wear. I love this outfit as an alternative Christmas party look. The sweeping yet fluid Nadia Tarr dress contrasts beautifully with the toughness of the Muubaa leather jacket. Combining traditional eveningwear with edgy, hardwearing outerwear creates an interesting look that stands apart from the run of the mill sequins and high heels. My clutch is by Twist and Tango adding a dose of Scandi cool to the look and the scarf is by Weston, whose beautiful silk pieces are nothing short of works of art. The images on the scarves are extreme close ups of fossils and minerals, the colours are astonishing, the quality of the silk is second to none making them a stunning addition to any look. What I love most about this ensemble is that, stripped down, all it’s components can be worn again for different occasions.
