Matching your ear-rings to your jumper....

The colour yellow really deserves a post of its own but for now it's all about the yellow ear-rings. I headed into town today to try and find some yellow earrings but other than some humungous ones at Topshop (which I've featured on my insta stories for no other reason than the fact I look ridiculous in them) there wasn't a pair in sight. But then....

Well then I did what I should have done in the first instance, which was to look to a smaller brand which I know and love. So I did and there I found these yellow tassel gold hoop ear-rings from Alice's Wonders (£6)

I was after the earrings specifically to go with this lightning bolt jumper from Hush (£85) which I've sort of fallen for.

And then when I was on Alice's Wonders I saw these grey and black tassel ear-rings (Alice's Wonders £6) which I thought would be perfect for those days when I didn't fancy wearing yellow earrings with the jumper but for when I liked the idea of grey ones instead. 

I love Alice's Wonders for jewellery. Cathy has a great range of fun, inexpensive pieces which just add those finishing touches to your outfit. Do nip over and take a look here if you have a mo. 

Can I tempt you with an off the shoulder dress from Whistles?

Embroidered jersey dress from Whistles (£60 down from £99), Ear-rings Alice's Wonders (£5) Shoes Air & Grace (£99)

Phew! Today has been a scorcher hasn't it? And if it's a case of "No Vest Required" for me, then goodness knows how hot some of you must be.

For anyone on the hunt for a "not too challenging" off the shoulder dress, then I can thoroughly recommend this one from Whistles. I say that it's not too challenging because, other than its neckline, it is fairly sober in terms of its sleeve length, hem length, fabric, colour and detailing. Which doesn't make it boring - far from it - it makes it a great backdrop for lots of different looks. And if you're going to be spending pennies on something that might have a limited life span in your wardrobe (although to be fair "trends" tend to come and go less frequently than they used to - once they're here they stay for quite a while) then a black jersey number is a really good bet.

Along with this great, dress, I'm wearing these gold tribal drop ear-rings from Alice's Wonders which are £5.00 and totally gorgeous. If you haven't nipped over yet to see what Cathy stocks on Alice's Wonders, then I recommend that you do. She has some absolute gems!

And here's a close up of the dress, for anyone tempted to dip their toe in an off the shoulder style dress.  

Long may the "No Vest Required" weather continue!

A gorgeous summer dress from HUSH

Hush Magnolia Dress from John Lewis (£89) Ear-rings Alice's Wonders (£6) Shoes Jigsaw (previous season)

I love a good black dress in the summer and equally, I love a good cream or white dress. This Hush Magnolia dress is white but I wouldn't say that it's a brilliant, bright, white - it's more of a creamy white. 

I spotted this dress when I was in John Lewis at the weekend and thought that the styling of it was great, which is why I wanted to share it on here. 

OK so it doesn't have sleeves, which I know lots of women prefer but it does have a v-neck which as those of you with a bit of a curve in the boob department will know, is a good thing. The straps are wide enough to accommodate a decent width bra strap and the way it nips in at the narrowest part of the waist is flattering.

It can be really hard to find the v-neck/wide strap/ nipped in waist combo in a dress and if you do, often the skirt lets it down by either being very full in a 1950's style way, or more commonly, they are found on a maxi dress.

The skirt part of this dress isn't too full though, plus it's a great length, lending itself to heels, flats or skater trainers. Plus - just look at those pockets! For those of you who like pockets, this is a winner!

Hush Magnolia Dress from John Lewis (£89)

I love the simplicity of this dress as it's such a great backdrop for so many looks, whether it's with pom pom sandals for a casual summer day, with a black jacket for a monochrome look, with tan accessories for a typical summer colour combination or with neon brights - like this lovely ear-rings from Alice's Wonders (£6)

For anyone wondering what's going on in the hem department. it's the lining which can be seen through it, which personally I like because it makes it look a little "undone". 

And if you want to see how it features on the site (and how it's meant to look!) take a look at the picture below. 

A Finery Dress WITH sleeves AND it doesn't show your knees!!!

Benworth Lace Panel Midi Dress from Finery (£99)

I know how difficult it can be to find a dress not only with sleeves but also with a good length, so I really wanted to share this Finery dress with you. If you haven't already come across Finery do nip over to their site and take a look. They have some brilliant pieces, with great styling at good prices. 

Along with the dress, I'm wearing these Coral Cord Tassel Ear-rings from Alice's Wonders (£6). Cathy set up Alice's Wonders a few years ago now and we collaborated together right at the very start of her journey. Cathy has a great eye, she's really passionate about what she does and she has some wonderful pieces at great prices so again, I would thoroughly recommend taking a look at her site.

And it's my 9 year old photographer who's responsible for creating this shot. She wanted me to twirl. So twirl I did!

Hope that you're all having a super weekend. Beth x

My fashion confession: I want to live in jeans. Permanently.

This outfit started off with smart(ish) navy Cos trousers being worn as part of  it but by the time it was time to start the school run, I had abandoned them in favour of my new boyfriend jeans from Jigsaw. I must admit that I am finding it hard to take them off as they are sooooo comfortable. I also wore a Zara striped blazer, navy ribbed Boden top, M&S shoes and a bright pink necklace from Alice's Wonders. With a meeting followed by a session with a client it worked well but the chance to nip home so that I could swap into my jeans was most welcome!

I'm sure that as time passes the desire for comfortable jeans and trainers is starting to feature higher and higher on my wish list - that and snuggly tracksuit bottoms and soft knitwear. Sometimes the thought of heels and dresses leaves me positively quivering in my skater trainers, so I'm grateful for the whole normcore trend, which is defined in Wikipedia as "a 2014 fashion trend of stylized blandness....an understated non-descript style." Now that's a trend that I am happy to embrace wholeheartedly.  What does everyone else think?!

Double denim - with a touch of sparkle from Zara (and Boden) and hot pink from Alice's Wonders

 

After my terrible admission yesterday, today I had to wear something different. Not too different of course, we're still talking jeans but I put them with a Breton top, a denim top from GAP (£29.95) which I bought a couple of weeks ago and a fabulous bright pink solitaire necklace from Alice's Wonders (£8). The silver shoes were from Zara a few seasons ago now.

 

I'm sure that I will get a huge amount of wear out of this top. It provides a great backdrop to a statement necklace and it's such a versatile top to wear with casual, non-denim, trousers - or jeans too, if you don't mind a bit of the old "DD" going on.

Here's a closer shot of the lovely necklace which arrived out of the blue from Cathy, who runs Alice's Wonders.

For anyone after a flat glittery sandal for the summer, these Serrana sandals by Boden (£59) could be a perfect match. I have a pair on the way and I can see them being hugely versatile with jeans, khakis plus dresses and skirts. The reviews say that they come up narrow so for anyone who finds that lots of sandals are too wide, these may be worth investigating. They come in lots of colours so if looking like a Christmas tree isn't your thing, don't fret!

When I was looking at Cathy's site, this pink crystal necklace Alice's Wonders (£13) leapt out at me so I just thought that I would share it with you - it's just so lovely!

Alice's Wonders: The treasure trove of sweetie coloured statement jewellery has just had more treasure added to it!

A couple of weeks ago now, I wrote a post about Alice's Wonders a fabulous online shop run by Cathy, who I met via twitter. People were so taken with her choice of necklaces and ear-rings on Alice's Wonders that she quickly sold out. However, you will be really pleased to hear that her shop is now well and truly stocked with some lovely pieces so for anyone who missed out, now may be the perfect time to pick up a lovely sparkly number to wear in the sun. I can't promise that the pieces featured above are still available but the ones below are.

I'm loving a bit of lime right now and this lovely necklace from Alice's Wonders (£8) will look fantastic against a navy or grey backdrop or with a denim, or white, shirt.

With all things blue being such a huge trend for the season, this Alice's Wonders necklace (£8) allows you to tap into it without having to make too much of a financial commitment. Put against a backdrop of a plain white T-shirt, this necklace would really make it something other than, well,  just a plain white T-shirt!

And it would be wrong of me not to include something as lovely as this beautiful pink necklace from Alice's Wonders (£9). It's just fabulous!

So, for those of you who have been waiting for Cathy's new stock to arrive, quick, go and take a look before it all goes!

Alice's Wonders - A treasure trove of sweetie coloured statement jewellery

Alice's Wonders

 

 

After writing a post about a lovely Kate Spade necklace I had seen, I was contacted by Cathy who runs Alice's Wonders, a website which sells lovely statement jewellery in a sweetie shop selection of colours.

 

Having taken a look at the site, I fell in love with a couple of pieces which Cathy sent through to me to try. First of all I chose the blue vintage style statement necklace from Alice's Wonders (£9.75) - seen above.

 

Now, I know that I look a bit peaky in this photo below but so would you if you had just arrived for a two hour birthday party in a soft play area at 4pm on a Saturday evening. What a ridiculous time for a party. What idiot would arrange a party for that time? Oh that would be me then.

 

I really enjoyed wearing the necklace though and lots of people commented on how they liked it too. It's a fantastic price, a good weight and compares really favourably to many other pieces of statement jewellery that I own, some of which were much more expensive.

 

I also chose this statement pink necklace (£9) because predictably I fell for its colour and also its scale - it's not too chunky but substantial enough to be the right side of not too dainty - which is probably the most convoluted term ever but it describes it well!

Here I'm wearing the necklace with a very simple outfit and it just adds that all important splash of colour to it.

By way of background, Cathy is an ex City worked turned stay at home Mum to three small children. She has an avid interest in fashion and is very keen on a necklace, or two, or three. She was always looking for something slightly different to the High Street and loved Shourouk, J Crew, Kate Spade, Stella & Dot but on a much smaller budget and eventually she found a source of statement jewellery that offered just that - and so Alice's Wonders was born.

I'm also loving these pieces which you can find here. I can definitely vouch for their quality and general yumminess (that well known fashion term).

You can find Cathy on twitter at Alice's Wonders or you can contact her via email at aliceswonders01@gmail.com