This post wasn't really meant to have turned out how it has but isn't that often the way with things?
What I wanted to do was to link to a top that I bought from Zara last week. The Manager was walking around the store with it in her hand and, having asked for a closer look, I promptly snapped it up, closely followed by someone else who took a look at the one I was holding. Suffice to say I can't find the flippin' thing on the site and with mine languishing at home right now, I can't snap it and post a picture.
However it got me thinking two things really. One, how often it is that I feature Zara (today being no exception). Sometimes I fear that it's a little too often but on the other hand for some things it just can't be beaten and it wouldn't feel right not to show great examples of things just because they're from Zara (again).
Personally I won't go near their trousers after having had two pairs rip on me. Fortunately the first time it happened I was in the car park of the Bullring, where I was doing a contortion act at getting a car seat strapped into a car. I nipped into Zara and they whizzed me into the changing rooms and gave me a new pair without question - so all was good but it could have been much worse. However for their prints, bright colours, blazers, shoes, bags, scarves and jewellery, they are hard to beat, especially if you choose judiciously.
The second thing that I was thinking was that it's always good to try something just a little outside of our comfort zone when it comes to clothes - even if it turns out to be a complete disaster, which chances are it won't. A few tweaks can make all the difference to a simple wardrobe and really that's what it's all about - just adding a few bits here and there to keep everything fresh and up to date.
Anything that can be put with jeans to start off with (which are generally well within our comfort zone) is a good place to start. Whether it's a bright shirt, a printed blazer or a very OTM top, pairing it with something that we feel happy in is less likely to make us leave it hanging in the wardrobe, or feeling uncomfortable and waiting for that moment that we can dash in the door and whip it off.
Whilst I couldn't find the exact top, these are similar in style and two of them have sheer panels - which for lots of us could be just that little step away from what we would usually wear. Sheer is a big trend for the season and a few months ago I showed a white skirt from Topshop which had a sheer panel running around it just above the hem. Because the skirt was midi in length, the sheer panel wasn't too revealing. Always a bonus!
This Zara sheer studio top (£39.99) has its sheer panel in a place which, whilst challenging for some, may not be for others. Not all of us have had babies, not all of us have wrinkly tummies and for those who do, the wrinkles may be further down than this! Some are blessed with absolutely fabulous abs, others work hard for them and some have them on a good day - so this could be a way of showing that part of you which normally remains hidden but which could be on show, in a subtle way. (We can still wear jeans to hide the varicose veins and closed shoes to hide the bunions!)
This Zara layered top with seam at front (£25.99) is similar to the one that I have as it has a round neck and no sleeves but mine is slightly more futuristic looking - selling it well aren't I?! I like the layered look to this top. It's simple but works well.
And for those who wouldn't ever contemplate a sheer panel any further south than their upper chest, this Zara top with sheer stripe (£29.99) could be a good option. It's in the lovely colour that I wrote about last week and would work really well with lots of trousers including navy, white, black and denim. It's a shame that the model looks less than enamoured with life but then I might if I too had to try on about 300 outfits in one day.
Just a couple of really inspiring (!) outfits from our holiday....
Oooh, so that would be jeans, a denim shirt and a Warehouse sequin jumper then...
....and this would be jeans, another sparkly top, a cream knitted jacket, Mango scarf and Zara boots. It all worked OK for our various trips to ice cream parlours, the beach, out for lunch and all manner of other daft things we have been up to though and look at that, the sun! Incredible!
