H&M Rebel Slim Fit Chinos

As part of my A/W wardrobe staple I have been on the lookout for suitable rebel pants. What do I mean? The trousers that fly in the face of the damp miserable British winter and harp back to the summer fun we had on holiday. Abroad of course.

Our scouring the net and pounding the high street led us to a brilliant find. The H&M slim fit Chino. Available in a fine array of colours we were able to bag, not one, not two, but three of the beauties for our winter wardrobe.

Colourful Like a space rocket ice lolly!

First off there feel great on with a soft cotton feel and a vibrant hue finish to the fabric. The cut is indeed a slim cut, tapered on the leg. Often I find slim to actually be more like a straight cut so this was good. H&M use comfort fitting so don’t be surprised to drop a size to get the best fit.

I went for the Bright Blue, Mustard Yellow and Rust coloured chinos all at the bargain price of £10 each! The yellow was a must, but the colour is a hybrid of canary and mustard as opposed to just mustard I would say. The rust and blue are extremely versatile.

The 33 Borough Triplets

So far I have had to wash the yellow pair but am pleased to say that the colour has remained vibrant. In fact there was no real loss of colour at all. Something we cannot say for other premium high street brands.

For £10 you really cannot go wrong. I’ve had plenty of comments regarding all of them with one person saying the rust pair made them ‘smile’. I hope that was a compliment! I didn’t think to ask actually!

Tried and Tested: 111 SKIN Collection

I was lucky enough to get my sticky little mitts on the luxury skincare range from Dr. Yannis Alexandridedes of the 111 Harley Street Clinic. As a Dr. of plastic surgery and member of no less than 3 Surgeon boards, Dr. Alexandrides knows his stuff, from the inside out you might say.

He has pioneered the use of NAC (n-acetylcysteine, obviously!). NAC stimulates increased production of glutathione, which in turn blocks free radicals the main cause of skin ageing (obviously). Let face it “black don’t crack!” is cool and all, but I won’t say no to a little help along the way.

I’ve been using the Lift Off 111 NAC Y2 Essential Facewash Cleanser followed by the Daily Orbit NAC Y2 Energising Youth Toner and finishing up with the Astro Aqua Physics NAC Y2 Day Moisture H2O Infusion System. Quite a mouthful and quite a daily undertaking for the wash, dry, cream and go guy that I am.

3 Step Daily Process

The results? A massive thumbs up. My skin tone is visibly more even and my face feels hydrated even now at the end of the day. This is after a 90 minutes exposure to freezing winds in Borough Market this lunch time. My skin is smoother to tough and feels tightened.

This does come at a price however. The cleanser retails at £35, the toner at £40 and the moisturiser at £90!

The products are available to buy at Harrods or at the 111 Harley Street Clinic directly.

Seasonal Layering: Chunky Knits

During the cold weather it’s all about layering up for the daily commute; wherever that may be. For me its home to the station, on a train, walk again then in the office. The office is usually hot and stuffy so I always try to layer up just so I have the option to strip down when it gets too warm.

Today’s I’m focusing on the chunky knit. I managed to get a few great pieces in Banana Republic New York last year that are really coming into their own now.

The first is this luxurious looking grey knit from the Soho store. I remember spotting it on sale at $71.99 (£45) down from $119 (£80). It’s reassuringly heavy yet feel like silk to touch. I have teamed it here with AllSaints slim fit black jeans and an old t-shirt. As it is ridiculously warm therefore you don’t need as many layers.

Next up is this BR waffle knit jumper I picked up from Woodbury Commons BR outlet store. To be honest the store was a bit disappointing and this was definitely the best thing in there. It’s a small yet still quite big but that is just the design. I teamed it with my rebel coloured chinos from H&M and a blue denim shirt from Levis.

Next I have this TK Maxx purchase from Frederik Andersen Copenhagen. It was a gamble as the jumper is too small but at £20 I couldn’t leave without it. The appeal was the flecks of colour. They just jumped out at me! Reiss have a similar styled jumped called Flecky for sale at £89. If this reduces I’ll probably cop it! I teamed this up with mustard yellow H&M slim fit chinos.

Last but not least is this chunky knit cardigan from AllSaints. Heavily reduced in their summer sale it’s become a staple piece due to its versatility. I wore it with a suit the other day! I teamed it here with a J. Crew flannel lumberjack shirt and grey slim fit jeans also from AllSaints.

There are of course plenty of bargains to look out for in the upcoming sales but I’ll feature these later on in the month.