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Style Theory: There is no doubt I am a sucker for a collaboration especially if it involves Alexa Chung, she has such an eye for wearable fashion. Her incredible style joined with M&S prices make the new Archive by Alexa range very exciting
So how did it look? Well, the quality was good, sizing slightly hit and miss and the prices reasonable. The design details on each piece were very Alexa but as she is incredibly tall and super slim I wasn't sure how this would translate to a 5ft3, 41 year old woman who had seriously indulged over Easter. So I had a try on session in Marble Arch M&S today in between meetings to see and here are the results..
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| The Harry Blouse £35 |
This was always going to be my favourite piece in the collection and I must admit I love it. I bought a size 10 and found that it did come up a little small, it is really tight across the top of my arms (but I am a bit chunky there at the moment so with less Easter eggs it may be ok) I didn't size up as I am quite narrow across the shoulders and thought it may be too big..so plumped with the UK10 and the hope I will lose weight/the blouse will stretch! I prefer the pink colour over the white as I am a big pink fan but the white did look good.
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| The Ada Blazer £49.50 The Ada Trousers £39.50 Shoes - Gucci Marmont |
The blazer and trousers were a surprise hit. The blazer looks fab on, I sized down to a size 8 and it fits well at my shoulders and is a good length, I have a cropped blazer but was on the look out for a longer one and this fits the bill. I was slightly nervous about the serious 80s styling but I think it works.
The trousers were also fab on, these are a size 10, they were quite tight across the waistband but as I said earlier I am definitely slightly bigger that normal so I think in normal time they would be ok. I love the button detail on each side of the waist with pockets. They are super high waisted so although they are cropped dont make your legs look too short. This whole look above is a fab work look, slightly 80s power suit but done in a 2016 way.
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| The Eliza Dress £45 |
Again, I was surprised this looked nice on, I thought it would be too short but I really like it. It will be perfect for holiday with flat tan strappy sandals and for now I think I would wear with black opaque tights and my gold shoes above. The fabric is a linen-like feel but quite thick so it keeps it's shape. This is a size 10, again it was tight at the top of my arms but pretty loose everywhere else so I would say if you have slim arms to size down. I bought the 10 as did about 10 girls in front of me in the queue for the till!
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| The Misty Dress £45 |
This is a beautiful floaty dress but I was just too short for it. It comes up big so definitely size down. It would look fab with high strappy sandals for a spring/summer wedding.
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| The Elsie Dress £39.50 |
This is cute but I felt I was a bit old for it. This was a size 10 and fitted true to size.
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| The Myrtle Jumper £29.50 |
I love the colour of this sweater but it was thick and fitted. This is a size 10, not quite my style, it would look great on someone taller and slimmer (and not wearing a navy bra!)
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| The Frances Trench £89 |
I ordered this trench, firstly because I love the colour, secondly because of the name! They only had larger sizes left in store so I didn't try it on but will hopefully collect it tomorrow so will let you know how it looks.
All in all I thought the collection was really lovely and well priced, unfortunately the styling online really does not do it justice, it looked fab on Alexa Chung of course but I was glad when I stumbled across it in store. Hope this gives you a little bit of an idea of what it looks like on a 'normal' person.
Have you bought anything in the collection, is it your style or do avoid the hype? As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time Frances xxx
