If you’re anything like me, with ever growing Claudia envy after every episode of Traitors, fear not! While Claudia’s clothes are all bespoke, artisanal and haute, that castle in the country look can happen on any budget. I mean, not the castle, obvs, but the kit at least.
I’m basing the looks around this skirt – the Midaxi Wrap at Marks & Spencer that I spotted in the wild at the weekend. It’s soft, wraparound and fringy with all the practicality of poly but the sturdiness of wool (10%) and it’s truly the only skirt I’ve ever wanted to hug. At the time of writing every single size of this kilt-vibe skirt is in stock HERE. Footwear wise? Anything from Hunters to Doc Martens and then everything in between.
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Bottom to top: A burgundy, collarless, faux leather jacket – upsize to accommodate your chunky knits. Normally, I’d never suggest anything collarless but we are in peak scarf season and the bigger the better. For oversize scarves, a collar just gets in the way. This one, from H&M, is £37.99 HERE. All sizes, bar XL (there is XXL) are available.
The blessing of synthetic fabric in jumpers (this one has 32% wool and 32% mohair) is that they take the scratchiness out of natural fibres. This oversize sweater is soft as anything and I’m really not sure why I didn’t buy it on sight. There’s a white/black colour version that’s half price and other block colours available but I love the blur on the stripe. This is £54.99 HERE in sizes S, M, L and XL but do bear in mind that it’s meant to be roomy.
Up top is a very basic polo-neck in grey marl – it’s oversize for optimum slouch and has 25% off, making it £20.99 HERE. This will be a wash and wear on repeat with jeans, that skirt, a shorter leather skirt or actually, whatever you fancy.
From the bottom again, this v neck boucle style jacket with front pockets is perfect for your polo neck Heat-Techs. It’s got CHANEL vibes just like Claudia (how is she not signed up yet?) but requires way less a) money and b) care. I love the shaping of this – I can’t imagine wearing a tailor fit jacket ever again in my life – that allows for easy movement and gives a sloppy-chic, didn’t-make-much-effort-to-look-this-good vibe. It’s £64 HERE. Sizes are XS to XL, all in stock.
For the second up, we are back at M&S for this leather look A line skirt with a midi length. I’m something of a pear shape so A lines aren’t easy for me to wear when I prefer a straight up and down look. However, an oversize sweater that skims my hips is the answer this time with my legs firmly in fleece-lined boots. The skirt is £35 HERE and has full availability in all sizes and length options.
Finally, the cream turtleneck sweater with the black piping – an absolute snip at £27.99 HERE. There are zero natural fibres in this which is what makes it squishy and comfortable. I am always drawn to black and white but worry about colour bleed – highly unlikely with this unless I boiled it (which I would not!). It’s so easy to style because there’s virtually nothing it won’t look great with.
Personally, a cape is a Claudia-a-like too far but if you love that look, Brand Alley has this beautiful cashmere version HERE for £130 (started life at £400).
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