on rotation

1. Jumper, River Island. Dress, secondhand. 2. Le Monde top, Zara. 3. Parka, Urban Outfitters.

4. Shirt, Urban Outfitters 5. Top, Zara. School skirt, Marks and Spencer. 6. Snakeskin shirt, denim shorts and Birkenstocks all secondhand.

Some items I've had on seri-ous rotation recently. Serious rotation as in verging on a "is there nothing else to wear?" crisis but for now still in positive territory. During my stay in London last week I met up with Charlie from Urban Outfitters and was allowed to choose a few items. The old 'like a child in a sweet shop' idiom may be cliched but in this case it is wholly appropriate. Afterwards I padded quietly out of the shop, mentally executing a self defence strategy to deal with the security guard I was sure would pounce at any moment and wrestle me to the floor. Luckily all was okay and I managed to avoid any Peaches Geldof shoplifting skurmishes (haw haw haw). Instead I left with a couple of pairs of boots to fill my wardrobe's shoe void, a pretty lace bra, a shirt and a big parka coat which has been sheltering me from the Manchester chill since.

 Also getting lots of wear is my Le Monde top from (who'd have thought?) Zara. It hangs so well which is something of increasing importance these days as my boobs have jumped a cup size in the last year and I've learnt about the daily trials of maintaining any sign of silhouette. (Don't even get me started on wearing knitwear) I've been wearing it lots to seminars, tucked into my Marks and Spencer school skirt or with simple black Topshop jeans and Birkenstocks.

On a final note, it's taken me this long to realise the joys of the coat hood. 20 years! Why has it only just clicked? But during a relentless period of rain last month in Manchester (about 10 days!) it was my saving grace against the downpour and also a cosy insulator which is particularly welcomed as I'm not a hat person at all. The parka count is steadily increasing around Manchester University, the sea of khaki green is reaching laughable levels. At first I wondered if it had been added to a 'must have' list of items distributed to Freshers along with reading lists, a sort of 'You're in Manchester now, so make like Ian Brown, FAST!' conspiracy, but now I understand, we all know about the powerful warmth of the parka hood.