APC Madras

I took a look at the APC website the other day and happily discovered the new Madras collection is up. The Madras collections are always lovely and summery and happily more affordable than the main line.

I fell in love with this blouse, but it was sadly sold out:



(the print looks much better in this close-up:)



Luckily they still had this t-shirt in stock:



and I couldn't say no to yet another summer scarf:



Finally, since the lovely April weather has given way to a much cooler May, leading me to wonder whether there's any chance of a warm summer this year, I had to pick up this sailor pullover:



Loving the button detail on the hip!

My new(est) bag

I'm usually quite practical about choosing bags that don't need to be held in my hand - shoulder straps or cross-body straps make life so much easier. But I fell in love with this embroidered bag by APC, so when I saw it in the sale I had to have it. The handles are mother of pearl and the bag is lined in cotton with a zipped internal pocket. There's also a magnetized closure at the top. With plenty of room for magazines, sunglasses or umbrellas, caution will probably result in me waiting for a sunny day to take this new acquisition out...

The psychology of sale shopping

I'll tell you a little secret - I'm not very good at sale shopping. Some people have a magical talent for rifling through racks of clothing and picking out amazing pieces for 70% off. I have a tendency to see a wall of mismatched and uncoordinated rags that look like they were last on a hanger in the shop three years ago and have only been brought out of dusty storage at sale time every year since.

I suppose it's not surprising, therefore, that sale shopping online is so much easier. Everything is laid out nicely on a clean white background, grouped into categories to make searching easy, and on the APC site they even make your shopping basket look like this:



It sort of reminds me of when I used to dress paper dolls in cut-out clothes and I like the way you see a whole outfit come together on the page. A lot more fun than those picked-over heaps of clothing in the shops, it has to be said.