I’m not usually someone that goes for the designer/ high street collaborations as I fear everyone will be wearing them and usually I can’t be bothered with the hysteria and queuing involved!
Thursday 8th August saw the global launch of the Banana Republic X Roland Mouret collection. I’m not usually someone that goes for the designer/ high street collaborations as I fear everyone will be wearing them and usually I can’t be bothered with the hysteria and queuing involved! However, I’m obviously a fan of Roland Mouret, I mean who isn’t?? His designs are always classic, sophisticated and stunning. I think all fashionistas dream of having a piece of his in their wardrobe!
Also, as an ex BR shop girl (many moons ago!) I am more than aware that the cut and fit of their clothes is excellent. With this being such a hotly anticipated collab I knew they’d be pulling out all the stops on quality.
Unfortunately, due to manic work constraints I wasn’t able to get to BR till after lunchtime. As you can imagine it was mostly all gone. Rumour has it the Canary Wharf store sold out in 7 minutes! However, even with my lateness I still managed to bag two dresses.
I chose the Pink one because it crosses the boundary between office wear and evening. This is typical of RM’s designs- smart but elegant. I also felt this particular one was very characteristic of an RM design so I just couldn’t pass it up! The one shoulder design was just so lovely and fitted perfectly. I also thought the colour blocking on it was too fabulous!
If you missed out don’t despair! Often the easiest and best way to pick up these kinds of collaborations is to wait for returns. There are often huge amounts of returns because people buy everything in a frenzy and then decide if they actually like it when they get home. So keep popping into your local BR to see what they get back.
One thing to bear in mind is BR’s bizarre sizing. Firstly, it is all American sizing so a US4 is a UK8, US6 is a UK10, US10 is a UK12 and so on. Their sizing also comes up huge! I usually wear a UK 8 – 10 but with BR I wear a US0. This is supposedly equivalent to a UK4, which I’m certainly not! So make sure you take a couple of dress sizes smaller than usual (it’s a great confidence boost!).
I kept the accessories pretty simple… Just bags and shoes! For those interested I’ve added some details and links below:
Pink dress
Bag is from Chanel – Madellion. This was a Chanel classic shape for a long time before they recently discontinued it. It’s the perfect daytime bag as it fits everything and neatly sits on the shoulder. Designer Exchange (read about how fabulous they are HERE) currently has one in pink in their store or check out Vestiaire Collective if you’re looking for a black one.
Shoes are from Christian Louboutin – Diptic. These are my favourite and most comfortable Loubs I own. They do occasionally relaunch these in other colours. This is a style I would definitely recommend!
One shoulder dress
Clutch bag from Smythson – Nancy collection. Unfortunately this one is no longer available which is a shame because it’s a great clutch. It is one of the few which actually holds everything! Occasionally they crop up on eBay but not as often as I would like. I’m always keeping an eye out for these bags as I love the style so much!
Shoes are from Christian Louboutin – Gwynitta. They regularly bring this style out in various colours. Past seasons have included a nude, silver, gold and red/black.
This post was so much fun to do because it was a real family affair! My cousin and little brother took the photos and my little sister did my hair and helped with the styling. I thought I’d include some of the fun outtakes as some of them are just too cute!
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