Friday Favourites: Bow back sweater two pairs of boots

grey bow-back sweater

I’m still obsessed with knitwear, and I’m still obsessed with the colour grey, so it would stand to reason that I’m ALSO obsessed with this grey bow-back sweater by La Redoute, wouldn’t it?

Actually, to be practical just for a second, this is one of those sweaters that I absolutely LOVE to look at, and which therefore seems like a good idea to buy, but which then turns out to be a very BAD idea to actually wear. The reason? That cut-out detail at the back. Sure, it’s one of the things that makes the sweater stand out, but it’s also the reason I’d find it pretty much impossible to wear: you presumably couldn’t wear a bra with it, for one thing (other than those strange stick-on ones, which I always worry will un-stick themselves right at the most inconvenient moment possible), and for another, well, I can already tell I’d FREEZE in that thing. The very thought of my bare back making contact with the cold leather of my desk chair on a chilly winter morning is enough to make me shiver. So I guess this is one item I’ll just have to admire from afar: even although I really, really want to make it work!

My other favourite of the week, however, is, at least, a little more practical:

Aldo suede western=style ankle boots

ALDO ‘Dinoto’ suede ankle boots

I know I’ve featured Aldo quite a few times lately, but that’s purely because I’m LOVING their work right now. I’m also loving these suede ankle boots, which are a  little bit Western-inspired – with the exception of that high, cone-shaped heel, obviously. The big problem here, of course, it that I now have so many pairs of Aldo boots on my wish list that if I were to buy them all, it would add up to the price of a pair of Louboutins: but if I only buy one, well, it’s probably going to take me a long while to choose between them all, let’s put it that way.

I found both of these items using a new website called Octer, which I’ve been trying out this week. This is basically a shopping search engine, which allows you to sift through thousands of brands simultaneously: so, rather than having to hit up each website individually to find the two items above, I was able to find them both on Octer – plus a ton of other stuff, besides. (It’s pretty lethal to the bank balance, in other words…) The brands available include most of my usual high street favourites – La Redoute and ALDO are both covered, as are Topshop, ASOS, Mango, Oasis and more – plus a range of high-end designer sites, too, like FarFetch and The Outnet.

Using the credit I was provided to test the site out, I had a good look around, sticking mostly to the shoe section, because having fallen hard for the Chloe ‘Susannah’ studded ankle boots, I’ve become obsessed with finding a high street alternative. By typing the phrase “studded ankle boots” into the search bar, I was given hundreds of different shoes to choose from:

studded ankle boots

Ultimately, though, I just kept on coming back to Office’s ‘Lucky Charm’ boots, which I’ve mentioned here before, and which I think are still as close to the original as it gets , without having to pay a small fortune. The shoe gods must have been smiling down on me that day, because when I checked them out, mine was the only size still available: I took it as a sign, and they’re on their way to me now – fingers crossed they look as good in real life as they do on the website!

1 Comment

  • Thank you for alerting me to the bow back jumper. La Redoute has £50 off when you spend £100 so I got a great deal with some other bits. I’m *hoping* I can wear it with a lace back bra (Topshop has a plunge one that is nice) fingers crossed it will look stylish rather than provocative!

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