Autumn leaves, colder days and Toasty talk!

[IlovePond]

I have started a new thread for all things Toast related !

The waxed cotton coat would be perfection if it had a hood. @IlovePonddid you not buy anything at all?

I didn’t @mizu - incredibly enough! There were some very nice things, but some of it was, imo, a bit over-priced and not that impressive. They are all small businesses doing their best, and deserve to be encouraged but some of it really wasn’t my kind of thing at all.

Toast had a stall, and I did contemplate a bauble or two, but I would have been buying for the sake of it.

Stalls included:

Pottery of varying levels of quality/appeal - there were some Japanese pieces that I really liked but I have dozens and dozens of random pots, plates and cups already!
Jewellery - ditto
Wooden objects - these never really interest me. There was nothing wrong with any of it - all perfectly nice things if you were in the market for paying serious money for tiny wooden cups and spoons, (which I wasn’t!)
Various woollen socks/hats
Some scarves - not wool - synthetic?
One stall selling jam/chutney, one selling cards/paper items and one selling handmade bath stuff - again nothing there to interest me at all. It was all perfectly ok, just not my thing.

The stall holders were chatty and friendly. I particularly liked one and we had a nice chat about Kate Sheridan bags, as I was wearing mine and she admired it. (Apparently KS herself had popped in to do a bit of shopping earlier!)

I did really like the jewellery on her stall - good quality, weighty and unusual, and was very tempted. However, I have SO much already that I never wear, thanks to decades of being such a magpie, so I restrained myself.

Ditto Sally Lacock’s stuff - I really liked it IRL and would have bought a piece - but again - too much already!

Some stalls had sample pieces - which was good, as they were a bit cheaper. (I’d have liked to have seen more sample stuff!) I think some were missing a trick by not selling their stuff with 10% off their website prices. People do love a bargain. TBH, I probably would have bought a Sally Lacock piece if she’d been offering a small reduction. As it was, I decided that, if I really wanted it, there was always the website.

Overall, interesting enough but it wasn’t worth trekking miles for.

Just thought - I would have liked to see more bags and clothing accessories - there were a couple of bags dotted around a couple of stalls, and one stall selling socks and the scarf stall where everything was identical and I couldn’t tell if the material was synthetic or not, but that was about it.

If you love the waxed cotton coat but the sizing doesn’t work, have a look at the menswear version, now also available in green. I bought it last year and have had so much wear out of it (lots of compliments too). I’m 5 ft 7 and a standard size 12 - but closer to a 14 at times than to a 10 - the size Small worked best on me. Still oversize but not overly so. The XS also worked but was a
bit tight over my chest when buttoned up. I like the longer length - hits me mid calf and the colour is gorgeous. I turn up the sleeves to reveal the contrasting black lining. I love it !

Thanks @PeonyBlush10 i am far too short for the menswear version sadly, or any of the menswear actually. I have tried a few jackets in the past, but I am 5’2” with very short arms, so it tends to looks ridiculous. I saw the new green version of the menswear trench in store and thought it was a beautiful colour.
I actually popped in and tried the women’s one again this morning, because I would love it to work. On second try, the larger size actually seemed pretty good. I’d love to see what the patina on yours is like after a year’s wear - would you share a photo or two?

@ScottishMouse yes, of course. I’m not at home and it’s dark so I’ll send a couple of pics tomorrow morning. Coat looks exactly the same as when I bought it but I am very careful with it.

Thanks @PeonyBlush10. I’m wary of gathers/folds that might happen on the slightly bigger size, and that they would bed in and become creased and patina-ed (that’s not a word!) there. I had this sort of thing with a denim jacket once and it ended up fading on the crease and that kind of annoyed me.

Also worried about straps from bags marking it too.

So I may have popped into my local shop and bought the Beetroot cord trousers and matching merino knit top. The colour was just stunning!

@ScottishMouse that would annoy me too. I don’t have any crease/bag marks. The fabric is surprisingly soft and drapes/hangs very nicely, so no creases/folds yet. I do circulate my outwear (I have one other trench coat), so although it gets lots of wear, it has plenty of rest days too. The shape is classic men’s trench coat - and I like that style. The new one in women’s wear is more A line and shorter perhaps. The menswear coat is also deliberately slightly patchy in colour - which is subtle and works well. The new trench looks more of a solid colour but I can only go by the photos. I love this new one too !

De lurking to ask are the coats likely to go in the sale? I’m so tempted by one ( the long brown one) I’ve tried it on but it’s £600 ish I know last year the one I like sold out but at the moment my fave is in stock in all sizes.

@triggers34 - that lovely brown coat has only just appeared so I don't think it's likely to go into the sale. Never say never though!

I love the tote bags available at the TOAST Christmas market. Are they available anywhere else I wonder? @IlovePond did you see them?

I bought a pretty identical trench as the brown in Massimo Dutti on holiday in October, obvs not waxed or possibly as heavy , but it’s unlikely to crease much. Mind you I’d say it is as heavy as my green waxed Toast raincoat.

I popped into Hampstead Toast this pm to have a look at the new drop. I spent an hour in there but didn’t try everything on. I loved the look of the beetroot cord dress, @Yorkshirelass04 I am sure the trousers are lovely too. I saw all of the new cord trousers in there and the cord skirt but I wasn’t in the market for cords today.

I had gone in to try on the space dyed check wrap skirt and the flowery top it is styled with but interestingly they had been taken out of store to make way for the new drop. It is a small shop so they can’t hold lots but I did wonder if both are heading for the sale, hence their removal.

I tried on the donegal striped short sleeved sweater in Neptune. I loved it but the more I thought about it, the more i wondered if and how I would wear it. Short sleeved sweaters always seem to me to be a bit of an oxymoron to me, warm but without proper sleeves…

The Gia Herb print Shirt is lovely, a much more vibrant print in real life, but the colours did nothing for my colouring. The fit is true to size. I had taken the Bryn dress in the same print into the changing room to try on but didn’t bother when I realised the print washed me out.

The surprise for me and something I would never have ordered from looking at them on the website was the indigo denim tapered trousers: they are so much cooler and more stylish in the flesh. The dark denim looks lovely and they are wider than they look on the website but the taper pulls them in. They are true to size and 7/8th in length on my 5ft 5 body. They had to come home with me even though I already have the Japanese twist jeans from Toast.

I also tried the crockery edge cotton poplin blouse, nice, true to size, but didn’t wow me, although would probably go for it in the sale.

The fine mohair cotton sweater in forest green came home with me. It is super thin but truly beautiful, and the gathers at the sleeve cuff really make it modern. I first thought it too thin but that is the beauty of it, a fluffy cosy sweater which isn’t too chunky and overwhelming.

Aargh @mizu - if I had seen them I would have bought one! I wonder if they only put them out yesterday or if I just missed them. I had other things on my mind yesterday and was a bit distracted, so that’s possible- but I did walk round a few times 🤷‍♀️

Where were they and how much, if you don’t mind me asking?

Thanks

Love all your observations @ToastCosILoveIt Did you have a look at the Alpaca jumper in olive ? I’m tempted but now I am considering the forest green jumper you mention. It looks gorgeous.

Hi @PeonyBlush10 , yes, I did look at that one (but didn’t try it on). It is much chunkier, maybe one that you would wear outdoor but take off when you come inside. The one I bought is one I will wear indoors I think.

I meant to say, I looked at the wonderful mac, felt it and looked at the lining. It is absolutely beautiful. I didn’t dare try it on as I have the Plumo Doherty raincoat and a recent Barbour collab with Alexa Chung so I really don’t need another mac.

@IlovePond i don’t know where or how much, I saw on TOAST on Instagram. I asked them about availability but alas, limited edition and only available at the market.

@ToastCosILoveIt yes, thank you. Love the easy links you’ve added. I might have to look at that raincoat again!

Thanks @mizu I wonder if they’d sold out already by the time I got there. I arrived about 2pm on Friday.

It’s also possible I just didn’t register them as for sale. There certainly weren’t piles of them on the Toast stall. I am wondering if they had just one hanging up on a rail - that’s ringing a vague bell - I think I thought it was a banner advertising the stall 🙈

Hi @ScottishMouse apologies for the delay in sending the photos. Hope you can see them ok, the natural light is very gloomy today.

@ScottishMouse the photos (currently under review) don’t do the coat justice really. All I can say is it hasn’t marked or creased or faded so far.

Thanks so much @PeonyBlush10, looks beautiful!

So many things are tempting me! I have an unexpected event coming up that I need something a little dressier for - I own nothing of the sort as my lifestyle does not call for such things. I tried on the velvet dress today - stunning, though I don’t usually love velvet. Also tried the silk shirt with the wee tie neck - also very lovely. Also love the new mohair sweater, and I could possibly get away with it for the event, depending on bottom half, but I think it would be too itchy for me. Decisions…the velvet dress would only ever get worn once or twice a year tops, the silk shirt would be more versatile, but then I need to think about my bottom half. The Bryn dresses would also work, but I am not a fan of a pattern and there’s a risk they would never get worn again.
I also tried the waxed coat again - that’s on my Christmas gift list for myself (my dh does not need to know the price!). The lovely cashmere wool tank in stone and the very useful Kate Sheridan origami tote both came home with me 🤦‍♀️ Just as well all my Christmas shopping is done already, this is the best selection at Toast in ages imo.