All Things Considered: November edit
A round-up of shopping saves, obscure thoughts and bakery complaints
Hello hello! If you’re new here, All Things Considered is a monthly medley of things I’ve seen, bought or thought about over the past few weeks.
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Without further ado…
Thoughts on gift guides
When all the Christmas gift guides landed on seemingly the same weekend in mid-November, I noticed a bit of shade being thrown. I skipped mine this year so I didn’t take it personally, but I felt bad for people who spent evening after evening hunched over a laptop making theirs, only to feel weird about sharing it.
Key irks seem to be: the growing number of them, how early they’re published, unaffordable price points, plus questionable motives for creating them when there’s potential revenue in panic-buying + affiliate links.
I don’t tend to give or receive Christmas presents (with a couple of small exceptions) but I do bookmark gift guides to discover new brands and remind myself of brands I love but had completely forgotten about.
I wouldn’t attempt to guess how much others make from affiliate links in their edits here but I’d bet it’s less than you expect. For me, it was exactly £2.11 in the last 30 days. I rarely bother to include them and that’s not a holier-than-thou decision, it’s just quicker to leave them out. For what it’s worth, there are no affiliate links in this post either.
If a gift guide is done well, it would have taken its creator days or weeks of thoughtful research, deliberation and planning before they decide on a carefully balanced shortlist. The time and effort likely outweigh any revenue it generates. Last year mine took a full week and I agonised over every item. There will always be dodgy characters who link to the first 30 things they see on Amazon and hope for a payday, but I believe the majority of people have more integrity than that.
If anyone wanted to make an easy buck, they’d sell foot pictures on the internet, they wouldn't make a gift guide! If someone makes £3.78 affiliate revenue because they introduced me to something I love, then good for them!
I loved my last All Things Considered edit a bit too much and after publishing it, I bought the brown Adidas trainers, the Soeur Berlin coat, my fave Arket cords in brown (one pair wasn’t enough) and a leather belt from Massimo Dutti. I rarely add to my wardrobe as we have no storage space, so it was a lot to spend in a month but I’ll wear it all for years. I have zero qualms with outfit repeating – my clothes are here for a good time AND a long time.
Below are some things I’ve had my eye on recently. I’d seriously consider buying the Massimo Dutti knit and trainers, the shearling boots and the leather bag.
Patchwork bedspread, £180 from Zara Home
Take this quilted bedspread out of the context of Zara and put it in John Derian’s house (I know, I know, he’d never shop at Zara Home) or in a Commune Design project and it’s going to look the bee’s knees.
Gold-plated silver earrings, €160 from Après Ski
I found this brand via Instagram and while I haven’t bought anything yet, I love the shape of these. They also have some great necklaces on colourful fabric cords.
Painting by Miles Cole at McCully & Crane, £1,750
One of my favourite colour schemes from a painting this month was this abstract by Miles Coles at McCully & Crane. I know I feature them here far too often but I can’t help it – they have such a great eye for contemporary art and they allow you to pay in interest-free instalments over a year.
Clara cotton nightdress, £165 from If Only If
I can’t put my love for this brand into words. Before buying my first If Only If nightie a couple of years ago, I was an ardent pyjama wearer. Now, unless it’s ice-cave levels of cold or I’m on my period, I’ll only wear their lightweight nighties. They’re SO comfortable and really come into their own on summer holidays. My boyfriend says I look like a Victorian ghost in them, which I take as a compliment.