Ted Baker does 'Black and Rainbow'

I am wearing a lot of black at the moment.  Is it because the nights are drawing in? I think I just feel like I want to be a bit more discreet.  Although I am thrilled with a recent haul of subtle yet interesting black tops from & Other Stories I do tend to worry that it's all a bit funereal. But Ted Baker has the answer. 

Any frequent readers of HungDrawn will be familiar with my obsession with 'Black and Rainbow' colour combinations and it was in advance of my visit to Ted Baker's Headquarters in London last week that I happened upon these beauties which fell right on theme.

 How good would they look with just simple black skinny jeans? A pair of floral gold earrings?  As I continued to browse I started to feel more upbeat. I began to think of warm summers and festivals and thought that this bag would be a great festival day bag. It's PVC so you wouldn't even need to worry about it getting wet...

They even do wellies in this print so if you are concerned about muddying your hi-tops, they are the perfect festival footwear and no mistake. There's no excuse. 

Mental (Colour) Block

Trend CBT: Slowly and surely widespread exposure to AW11's gorgeous colour combinations are changing my behaviour. These gum-drop colours, blocked within one key piece are re-programming the stripe addict in me. As someone once said to me 'you can't have the same favourite flavour of ice cream your whole life' and I'm getting a bit bored of stripes. And this could just be the solution.

Above: Sonia Rykiel AW11

Above: Jonathan Saunders AW11 scarf

The moodboard for this look, and what it means to me and my waning relationship with stripes, is perfectly encapsulated in both the blocked colours of the 80s shutdown screen of the BBC and all those hours I spent as a child optimistically staring at it hoping for something to change...

Style note to self: Wear with black wardrobe staples and gold or brass jewellery (from Mor Jewellery)

Dark Side of the Moon

At the moment it seems I cannot say no to clothes that are all the colors of Pink Floyd album cover Dark Side of the Moon. Or, as I like to call it, 'Black and Rainbow'.

A short while ago I picked up a dynamite vintage cover-up in this colour-way (see below for a close-up) and now it keeps popping up on my radar. 

Yesterday marked the sad (but necessary) passing of my favourite striped t-shirt. Unwilling to face even a day without this wardrobe staple in my life I strode forth to replace it. I happened to pass a Ted Baker concession and found a solution in the form of the Balfour wrap which hits two-fashion sweet spots, stripes (on the front), and Black & Rainbow (on the back). See Below.

I love the colourway for it's versatility. It will go with leather, this seasons big trend bright block colors, gold or silver jewellery, patent, matt, I could go on but I won't, you get the idea.