A Classic In Green Leather

"Classic" is not a word I throw around lightly. Especially when talking about clothes. To me the word conjures images of Audrey Hepburn in a little black dress, Jackie O in a Chanel suit, and I only have to mention Marilyn Monroe to know that you are already picturing her in the same iconic dress that I'm thinking about. These women made these pieces the timeless classics that they are today- but you don't need a celebrity of yesteryear wearing an outfit to prove it can stand the test of time. 

The humble trench coat may have been given a bad rap over the years (thanks to a stereotypical image of a flasher and dodgy guys on street corners peddling fake rolex's) but it's simple cut and strong lines have kept it current through many decades. All of them in fact since it's inception in the 1850's. Thanks to Burberry, we have a coat that with a good fit will be flattering on anyone.

My version of this classic has a definite army feel. I don't know if it's the leather (soft and buttery) or the shade of green (dark and forresty)  but I can't help but feel like some sort of glamorous war time spy when I'm wearing it.

While it is a very flattering cut, there certainly isn't a lot of room for weight variation. A few cheeseburgers could be all it takes to pull at the buttons and destroy the clean lines completely. There has been at least one Winter that I didn't think I was doing it justice so it stayed on the rack!

To roll with my idea of "war time glamour" I have played around with my scarf options for these pics. I am more likely to wear one around my neck in real life- but it sorta suits the head scarf version too. Doncha think? I also imagine it working with an unconvincing french accent. You know the one.

"I shall say zis only waaance...."

I honestly don't know why, but a fake moustache just felt like the right thing to do here. I can't explain where that particular gut feeling came from but I stand by it enough to include the photo in this post!

Blue 70's Trenchcoat

Some shopping days are much better than others. Some days you trawl dozens of second hand stores and come up with nothing. Other days are so incredibly epic you can hardly believe your luck all came up on the one day. This coat was bought on one of those EPIC shopping days.



I was living on Waiheke at the time and had come into town with a good friend of mine form the island. We made a day of it and started out at the K Rd Markets. I bought 2 incredible coats within 5 minutes of each other. One was my kermit green leather bomber jacket (previously featured HERE) and the other was this beautiful full length 2 tone blue leather 70's trench coat.

Baby blue leather with a darker cornflower trim- this coat is all kinds of awesome. It isn't in particularly high rotation at the moment- but you almost couldn't get it off me the entire Winter after I bought it. It was an absolute bargain at $40 and my god have I got my money's worth!


The lining deserves it's own special mention. I always thought it was a pity it wasn't more on show. Such a great example of 70's diamonds and paisley. I often wished I had a dress in that same pattern....

The shoes are an incredible match even though they were bought years later. They came from a vintage store that was closing down on K Rd- and everything was being sold for $10. (another epic shopping expedition- but I'll save that story fro another day) The shades of blue are so perfect with this coat that it's like they were actually made for each other.