13.12.10

dear tabio (a love letter)



From the moment I first laid eyes on Tabio - on the King's Road... it must have been about five years ago, maybe more.. it was love at pure sight. I was walking down the street and here it was: just a pretty, minimal space, lined with socks and tights in really really neat rows. I was afraid to pick them up and touch them but the friendly sales people encouraged me to, but in a way that I knew that soon as I left they'd quietly go back and clean up my mess. I got the sense that the job requirement was to be like what's her name - the red haired one in Desperate Housewives - I want to say Monica, but that's Friends - same thing. Just someone who is really really neat.

Obviously, I had to buy a few pairs. And I've been in love ever since.



So when I started noticing that other blog friends were tweeting about doing posts of their free Tabio tights, my heart tightened with a form of weird jealousy. I followed Tabio. I tweeted to them that I had a blog and I'd like a free pair of tights to post on it too and - Reader, this never happens - a few minutes later Tabio was following me and asking for my email address and saying, choose your tights, sure, yeah, no problem.


Needless to say, I was the problem: I couldn't decide. I had to go first to the shop, and couldn't get there for a while.. even then, I narrowed it down to the style that's like a cable knit jumper - they call it the 'twisted style' - but I couldn't choose between a creamy ivory, which is almost more like a camel, and the purple, which is the exact right shade of purple. (When it comes to colour, I always say there is no 'wrong' colour - but there is definitely a wrong shade of purple when it comes to tights). I had thought that this season I'd be all about black, white and camel, but it's turned into more that what I want to wear right now is shades of white and cream and bits of camel and rust, OR black/navy/purple/forest green with bits of unexpected mustard and turquoise: the deep, tropical, jewel like colours that captivated me last summer in the Dominican Republic during an unexpected rain. If I had those two colours, I figured, my wardrobe would be complete til next spring.

So when I told Kam at Tabio that I couldn't decide between the two, she was like 'yeah, no problem, I'll send you both.'




I almost don't want to say this out loud because this is SO the right way for the PR people at a brand to behave, that I don't want to give this secret away. If I do, every PR company will do it, and then we'll never know which brands to support. And we'll have to do like 27 posts a day. But had they emailed me in an anonymous group email and offered me a free pair of their tights if I promoted their product, I probably wouldn't have answered. When I'm chased by PR people, I run a mile. But they made me come to them.

Which, come to think of it, is exactly what any girl should do if they want someone to fall in love with them.




Thank you to Jennifer, last Friday, for shooting me even tho I so didn't want to be shot. You even managed, in the shots that show my face, to get it dark enough that we can see the details of the tights, but not my sad sack face.





I am wearing: faux fun fur jacket by Jordache (anyone old enough to remember the Jordache look? OMG, they still exist!) that I found in a thrift store on Long Island in 1994, a jumper by Adrienne Vittadini that I've had since the 80s - I have no idea which ex boyfriend it belonged to, or maybe it's my brother's - purple leather gloves by M&S, gifted boots by Mou, and creamy Tabio twisted tights that are so unbelievably deliciously porridgy cosy, that I'm wearing them as I type this. And if you want a free pair and you want to do a post, just get in touch with them: I promise I won't be jealous. There's more than enough Tabio love to go around.

14 comments:

San said...

Hey, Jill, great story and pictures. Girl, you've got great legs. I just love the picture where you hide in you coat. So funny and cute.

I'm happy that you got the tights you liked and they were so nice. I still avoid tights whenever possible, though I figured out that I just need to buy expensive ones for them to fit and feel right. Anyway, since I don't have a "winter" skirt or dress I wouldn't know when to wear tights anyway.

mtg said...

LOL, you're too funny! Like San, I only wear tights when absolutely necessary. but these are so cute!

Jill, please look at my last post if you have a minute. I don't know why, but I felt like you might enjoy pictures of my ancestors from 100 years ago from Georgia and how their style reminded me of the outfit I was wearing... It's OK if you can't.
take care,
xx
maya

Shopgirl said...

LOVE the tights!! I have some similar from M&S but need to try out Tabio me thinks :)

Pearl Westwood said...

Jill your a nutter you always make me laugh! Did you see my Tabio ankle cuffs I posted they featured me on the Tabio blog in them today too, such a great brand x

jill said...

That's it, Pearly, you called me a nutter, I'm gonna sue. Yes I saw your Tabio Ankle cuffs - didn't I comment about it? Or did I dream that? Is there a Tabio blog? Lois asked me to send her the link and put it on the blog, I guess I didn't take that part in - DUH.

Shopgirl: I love M&S too for tights, socks, underwear.. and gloves of course. I just love M&S for everything actually. But they don't do displays as neatly as Tabio do!

Maya: just left you a whole reply - anyone reading this, go check out her post it's amazing.

San: thanks! You really don't have a winter skirt? You strike me as even more like me in style than I am (now that is REALLY nutter speak!). I mean, I dress kind of tom boyish, but I do wear skirts. I really admire someone who stays true to their style. Lately I'm really into wearing warm tights, warm comfortable boots, and oversized shirts so they're like skirts hanging out under jumpers. I saw it on someone's post the other day.. I think it was from Margaret Howell's catwalk..

AHA! Here it is, if anyone is reading this far, it's the 2nd shot in:
http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers_catwalk.aspx?designerid=205&seasonid=19

Is anyone? haha

LOVE AESTHETICS said...

lovely tights indeed, the color is exquisit!

btw, bree is more of a freak than monica :)

Kit said...

Awww I love those tights, I really must get their 210 denier winter tights my legs are frozen solid.

I still keep my Tabio socks from 8 years ago and they're still in good condition.

miggy said...

like the colour you chose your mou's in!! i have the cracked brown ones (they;re on my blog) - are they not the warmest things ever!?
xx

ediot said...

man i love that shredded sweater. its amazizing.!

xx

Kate said...

You look so cosy and cute in those pics! Those tights remind me of some cable knit ones I had when I was about 9. It was a sad day when I outgrew them, and they got passed on to my sister!

Chuck said...

Such good quality tights. I took to wearing 3 of their 120 deniers pairs at once when it was super cold!

SabinePsynopsis said...

See, I'm just taking a lunch break to clear my head from too much unpleasantness going on today (mustn't moan, oh no!), so I read your wonderful story about these pretty tights worn with the cosy boots I've already admired... and now I'm feeling much better! (Me myself I'm a Wolford girl, but their PR people are not nice, not nice at all, so maybe I should jump tights ship?)
xoxo

TakeitEZE said...

love the tights and the faux fur jacket! great attitude by Taibo.

TakeitEZE said...

I mean Tabio!