La Garçonne

I am no garçonne, in the original meaning of the word, but I do think this outfit fits the title. Born of being in a great spot for photographs with only a very little rucksack of clothes, this is an outfit very much thrown together, mixed and matched from my boyfriend's bag and mine, but in a style I really admire, and would wear all the time if I had enough money to do it properly.

This is the marquee for the party we were at at the weekend, just before Olive the kitten turned up. The gingham table cloths and the bunting are beautiful I think. I'd like to compile a selection of fabric cut offs and cut them into triangles and make my own bunting, ready to deploy for any kind of spontaneous celebration.

I rarely wear proper trousers, (in fact this is their debut here) probably due to teenage years of too-tallness in the early 2000s when only Topshop made affordable trousers long enough for me: it was flared hippy jeans with embroidery on the hems, dull polyester officewear or something that flapped around the ankles. It kind of put me off even trying to find nicely cut proper trousers. Then I discovered the menswear section of Gap.

It all started with Ben buying a pair. Then I, cross dresser that I am, tried them on, followed a few weeks later by my sister. Now we all have a pair. Men's trousers, like men's shirts, are just cut in a more versatile way – not to mention being much longer, which is perfect for tall girls.

In the early 2000s I remember squeezing myself into too-short, tailored-within-an-inch-of-their-lives 'blouses'; now I embrace a bit of billow. The reason I love this one, seen here before and from the Comme des Garçons collection for H&M, is that it does a bit of both – a little bit of billow, a little bit of strictness.

Trousers: (Ben's) Gap
Shirt: Comme des Garçons for H&M
Shoes: Topshop
Bow Tie: Little piece of velvet ribbon usually reserved for my head