Outfit idea: borrowed from the boys

Menswear has been on my mind for a while now. I am not sure where I caught the style bug in a first place, but guessing that a few good editorials, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent pea coat, brogues (don’t you just love the brogue pattern?!) and Diane Keaton had quite an impact on me. Admittedly I resisted it for a few years having drawn the line by wearing simple cuts and shapes and supplementing those with brogue-style high heels.

Then I stepped into then unfamiliar field of flats with a pair of ballerinas worn with men style trousers, a simple white shirt and a trilby a la DSquared2 Spring/Summer 2011…

This year I decided to go a little bit further, break the mould so to speak. With the brogues and trousers and all… It was a necessity for the heels were temporarily forbidden, but, frankly, I was curious and, if I am absolutely, totally and utterly honest, I really wanted a pair of brogues.

Finding the footwear was easy – it took me two days of web browsing to find my perfect pair in chocolate brown and taupe suede, two swaps of parcels to get the ones that fit. It was the rest of the outfit that became a challenge.

I think until then I have never saw my UPS and DHL men that much – we stopped being strangers and began waving each other when passing by on a street! Alas, despite numerous attempts and orders (and I even went shopping, something I hardly ever do these days, so it was clearly very important), my perfect pair of wool trousers and a jacket remained an illusion.

Still, I persisted, with hope and determination, until one day I came across Peter Hahn where I saw the jacket, trousers, shirts, gorgeous oxfords, trilbys, bags and many other wardrobe staples that I would love to have as my own. It wasn’t just about the shapes and colours. There was quality there, too – wools, silks, pure cashmere, leather… Browsing that shop was like eating a delicious dessert, so tempting that it would be difficult to stop after a couple of bites.

To prove my point and to play a little dress up, I ended up styling a menswear inspired outfit, the way I would love to borrow it from the boys.

Oversized wool jacket, Uta Raasch | Classic white shirt, Peter Hahn | Burgundy handbag, Peter Hahn | Flannel trousers, Uta Raasch | Shoes & belt, Peter Hahn

Photo source: Vogue Paris 2009 (photography: Mikael Jansson; styling: Anastasia Barbieri), Madison Australia August 2010 (photography: Simon Upton; styling: Rachel Wayman), Peter Hahn