Mum on the Run - Stylist's Own - pieces to "lift" your Wardrobe

Earlier in the week I said that I would write a post about the items in my wardrobe which make an outfit. These are the ones to which I turn when I need to style things up a bit! They aren't necessarily wardrobe basics but that extra layer - the icing on the cake if you like - which take an outfit from being OK to great, or (on occasion) from being great to fab.  These items are collected over time and are immune to trends and fads and they generally work either due to their style, scale or colour. 

I don't know about you but often when I am reading magazines something will jump off the page at me so I scan the outfit details only to find that the necklace/bag/shoes are listed as "Stylist's Own".  So these are my "Stylist's Own" pieces.

Shoes

Bright shoes! For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you will have seen these feature on numerous occasions.  They were from Kurt Geiger last year and whenever I wear them, people always comment.  They also make me smile! In the summer I look to converse for colourful, practical shoes which are really good for running around in with the children.

Sparkly shoes - reserved for an evening out where they take a simple black dress or trousers to another level!

The classic LK Bennett Sledge shoe as worn by the Duchess of Cambridge.  I often wear these for style events.  I actually don't have a huge amount of going out shoes.  Once I had these in my wardrobe, I found that I didn't need much else.

Bags

A bright bag.  This is a Mulberry one which I was lucky enough to have for my 40th birthday but it's not the sort of thing that I have lots of in my Wardrobe.  There are lots of coloured bags around on the High Street from Primark to Oasis and Warehouse to River Island.

A coloured evening bag - I have a beautiful black Liberty one which I love as it has a great texture but I also love this one - a great buy from Reiss in the sale many moons ago. 

Belts

Belts aren't for everyone but if they are for you, they are a great way of adding interest to an outfit. These are some of my favourites;

This wide blue belt from Reiss is a real favourite and as I was photographing it today my daughter came up and said "Oh, I love that belt."  Lucky!

This again is another Reiss sale purchase - this time a skinny belt which is a classic item and which really lifts navy or black trousers or a black dress.

Another Reiss sale purchase - may favourite go to place for belts, although I haven't bought one in a while. This is a grey leather moc croc belt which again livens up a dark outfit.  I quite often wear this one back to front!

Necklaces

I love this Jigsaw necklace probably more than any other accessory in my wardrobe.  It is also probably the only thing for which I paid full price.  The LK Bennett shoes, Mulberry bag and all of the belts were sale items. 

This, when I saw it though - it was one of those moments and I bought it.  I love the shell as it reminds me of the ormer shells my sis and I used to collect as children and the other bits were just pretty and unusual.  I had a ball that evening and it gave a bit of a trendy edge to my classic Ted Baker dress.

This one sits quite close to the neck so is great for adding interest to plain tops.  Again it was a sale purchase, this time from Hobbs.  It sat in my wardrobe for a while but once I started wearing it I realised how versatile and pretty it was and so I put it with lots of things from my cable jumper to LBD's.  Yes, this one works hard for me!

It's the scale of these babies that make an outfit - they are big, very big and when wearing these I have to be mindful not to bend down too quickly as I get whacked in the face.  I still love them though - they were a Topshop purchase.

Scarves

This is my favourite Jigsaw chunky coral scarf which again I bought in the sale quite a long time ago.  It's great for brightening up darker winter coats which can really drain me, if I haven't had time to put my lippy on!

This is a long skinny sparkly scarf from Oasis which I often take to style events with me and which I could have sold 50 times over! It must be at least 8 years old now but it still does a great job.  Now I need to work on collecting some other scarves - big printed ones. I have quite a few but they are starting to look a bit tatty.  I quite like the look of the new Hobbs NW3 cat scarf....

Gloves

I have several pairs of leather gloves which really smarten up an outfit, from pink M&S ones to navy ones from H&M with a gold zip on them which I bought on Oxford Street this year.  These cause great amusement though - huge furry gloves from Miss Selfridge which my sister's dog likes to attack.  I left them at our daughter's school the other day after dropping her off.  Another little boy tried to claim them as his Mum's but our youngest was having none of it!

So, I hope that the above gives you some ideas/inspiration for bits and bobs that you can pick up throughout the year and which you can use to style your outfits and make them more versatile.  Next on my list is a yellow bag.  Yellow will be huge next season and I think that for me, a bag may be the best option.  Karen Millen and Boden have nice ones but I will keep my eyes open for more....