My favourite printed dresses on the High Street - and what they can do for you...

 

I realise that you've seen this dress several times before but I still like wearing it and I wanted to do a run down of some nice printed dresses that I have seen recently.

Printed dresses are good on several levels. They keep the eye on the move and give a cleaner silhouette (Oh OK, let's be honest, they hide lumps and bumps) they can add colour and interest to your wardrobe and a dress in a print of the season can look so much more up to date than its plain counterpart.

This Riviera shirt dress Boden (£69) - otherwise christened "my Kirsty Allsop" dress by a lady I was working with today, is a great dress for hourglass figures. It's beautifully fitted over the bust, without any gaping, nips in at the waist and then flares gently over the hips. With nude wedges it's a really simple, elegant look.  My only advice would be to tie the belt to one side (rather than over the tummy as above) just where you have those little "dips". Also try to make the belt as flat as possible, rather than tying it in a bow which can add bulk.

The Atlanta dress from Coast (£75) has a great big bloomin' print (literally) over the upper torso, which can serve to either attract, or distract, attention from a particular area. So if that's where you want to draw attention - either because of a shapely bust or a flat stomach - or if you want to use it as a diversion away from curvier hips - or just because you like it - this is the dress for you. The colours in the print are quite unusual and I really like the pale pink which I would pick out in accessories.

 

This abstract floral print dress Warehouse (£46) is the current version of the dress that I am wearing. The model wearing the dress on the website is 5ft 10" so don't be put off by how short it looks on her. I like the grey, lilac and yellow in this dress, which would look good with a jacket such as this one from Zara (£59.99). It's a great style with a lovely pleat at the back.

This Forget me knot midi dress Great Plains (£65) is a simple shape in a stretch cotton fabric which offers support. A dress with a sleeve and a good length such as this can be hard to come by so this is a particular favourite of mine. It also comes in a different colour way.

Here's a little collage of the dresses, which I then decided wasn't as good as the individual images but it took me so long to do, that I've decided to leave it in anyway - plus the links may be quite handy!

 

Clockwise from top left:

 

Riviera shirt dress Boden (£69)

 

Forget me knot midi dress Great Plains (£65)

 

Abstract floral print dress Warehouse (£46)

 

Atlanta dress from Coast (£75)

A few lovely bits and bobs available in the shops ...and an invitation!

Up until now, despite my promise, I haven't managed to get around to bringing you the photos of some of the pieces that I took along to an event last Saturday. So today, I'm going to whizz through them. There's no time for links I am afraid but they are all still available in store - although of course sizes will be limited. Some pieces are actually new season so they should be in plentiful supply.

 

This top from French Connection is one of their new season prints. There will be a lot of pastels around for s/s '14 but the addition of black to the mint green will, I think, make it more appealing to those who don't like the idea of a top which is entirely made up of pastel colours.

 

Another new season print, this time from Whistles. As is quite often the way with Whistles, they also do the print in a scarf, which is a good way of wearing it in a way which is less expensive. It also means that you can wear it more often. There's a good length to this dress and the black panelling down the sides is really flattering - so definitely one worth investigating.

For a sunny yellow colour, this new season jacket from French Connection adds a nice touch to black, navy or grey pieces. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of yellow/green pieces around in the shops soon.

 

This coral dress from Coast is now in the sale, reduced massively to something like £35. It's a really flattering cut - not too fitted but not too voluminous either plus the sleeves are an added bonus for many.

Both the fabric and the colour of this Ted Baker jacket are lovely. It's a stretchy supportive fabric and again, nice to wear with darker pieces and also the yellows that I mentioned. This is currently somewhere in the region of £62.

This pretty pink blouse from Coast has been around for a while now and it too is hugely reduced in in the sale. The pretty collar detail is lovely and the vibrant pink certainly makes you look twice!

This is a current season top from French Connection which I chose because of its shape. A lot of spring/summer tops are either really clingy or hugely voluminous, whereas this one falls right in the middle. It has enough movement in it for it not to cling but equally it won't swap either. The vertical pleats are also flattering. It would be perfect with the trousers below...

You may recognise these from Ted Baker as they put the print on about 32 different pieces. However, given time I think that the slight "print overkill" will fade from people's memories! They would look great in the summer with a plain t-shirt and flat sandals. These have been reduced from (something like) £129 to £59.

 

Ah, I love this jumper which I featured a long time ago now. It has been reduced from £99 to £50. Great colours for a dark winter's day and then on into the spring.

These cotton animal print trousers are currently in the sale at French Connection. These too would be great come the slightly warmer weather, with something hot pink, turquoise, bright yellow or coral (see below) on the top half.

This coral jumper from M&S is their new season stock. It's around the £65 mark which is good for cashmere. The necklace is in the sale at Coast for £19.

Closer pic of the Coast necklace, which is lovely but just check that the stones are all secure.

This is a current season M&S striped jumper. It's more oversized than the one above - so not for everyone - but I was totally taken in, not only by the stripes but also by the hint of pink (so predictable) which of course you can't actually see when it's on. Doh!

Here I added a statement necklace from Topshop, which just gives the jumper a slightly different feel. More of a "jumper with a necklace" feel than "a jumper without a necklace" feel. Radical huh?!

Here's the rail of clothes in its entirety - which was actually quite bright for a post Christmas event!

Now, on to the next event! For anyone not on my email list/twitter/fb and who lives close enough to come, it would be fantastic to see you there. I am really looking forward to it - specifically to see what everyone else there (nutritionist, make-up artist, personal trainer, skincare specialist) has to say! Sorry for the fact that it's slightly oversized - no time to faff!

With a cold spell on the way let's take a look at some fur coats to keep us warm

 

As you know I like a bit of a fur jacket/gilet. This one I bought from H&M kids many years ago now, when there weren't that many of them round. This season however it's a completely different story and you can't move in the stores for fake fur jackets (and leather leggings.) I generally wear mine with skinnies and boots but they can be worn over dresses for an evening out, with leggings and a longer line top or over a jersey day dress.

Have you noticed how children quite often comment on clothes? Sometimes our youngest will approach someone and say "Excuse me...." at which I point I steel myself for having to quickly back track/apologise/hope that the ground will open up and swallow us both. Invariably though she tells someone that she likes the colour of their coat, their bright shiny shoes or their pretty dress. Whilst I was at school today, I had three 5 year old girls come up and stroke my jacket. All of them liked it because of how soft it was.

I've taken a look around the High Street and identified these as some of my favourites:

Alfine fur jacket from Coast (£125) - Coast always has a range of fake fur coats each winter. Quite often the preference for a fur coat will come down to colour, so this is a good choice for those who prefer the brown colour palette, as opposed to creams or greys. It's also a good length for anyone on the petite side as it's not too long.

H&M has a good selection of fake furs too and I like the grey colour of this fake fur jacket (£29.99). Depending on what is in your wardrobe, it may be more versatile than the one above.

This slightly longer cream fake fur jacket from H&M £29.99 has a more laid back feel than the shorter, boxy, one from Coast. This is definitely one to wear with skinny jeans and biker boots.

Sorry about the tiny images of the New Look pieces! This black faux fur jacket from New Look (£44.99) has a really good shine to it, making it look much more expensive than it is. Using interesting textures, such as fur, leather and suede can alleviate the dullness of an all black outfit.

 Obviously fake fur can add bulk to the frame but with its open collar and shaping at the waist, this nude faux fur jacket from New Look (£34.99) is more flattering than some.

For anyone who doesn't like the idea of fur because of it being too animal like in colour, this duck egg blue bomber jacket from Topshop (£68) could just get you over that particular hurdle. Some will love it, some will hate it - but anything that is different has to have potential! (Whether it delivers or not is of course an entirely different matter!) It would go really well with the duck-egg blue bag I was using today - but more about that tomorrow....

This Lux fur shrug from Topshop (£79) is really cute. Again it's quite short but with a very high strokability factor!

With a cold spell promised, perhaps now would be a good time to wrap up in something stylish to keep the chill at bay.

Daytime navy sequins and a chunky knit

As a consequence of totally ruining our holiday this half term, I have given myself a series of "punishment jobs".  So far they have included tidying out cupboards, sorting out under the stairs, securing some loose curtain hooks, attacking the ironing pile and sewing the hem on this skirt although, as our eldest pointed out, sewing the hem on your own skirt can't really be classed as a "punishment job".

 

A few days ago I commented how when I first buy something, I often wear it to death before giving it a rest. This navy Cos roll neck jumper was one such piece this time last year. It's really versatile and goes with everything but even I reached the point where I needed a change. 

The sequinned skirt I bought in the Coast sale, probably three winters ago now. I know for a fact that it sat waiting for the hem to be sewn all last winter, which meant that I didn't wear it at all - so it's nice to resurrect it again.

In truth I'm probably more likely to wear  this skirt it in the daytime rather than in the  evening, as bizarrely I would feel too dressed up in it in the evening. Others of course will feel completely the opposite and wouldn't dream of wearing sequins in the day - but I like a bit of daytime "sequinnage" whether on shoes, a top, skirt, jumper or dress - they just lighten the day. Keeping the outfit simple and just using one or two colours makes wearing sequins in the daytime a little more accessible - just in case anyone fancies giving them a try.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend - Wearing a Coast dress to a lovely event in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter

When I was first invited to a meeting to discuss the "Jewellery Quarter Lifestyle Event" in the late Spring, I have to admit to being slightly in the dark. When those present at the meeting spoke about the "BID" I didn't know what they meant. Finally I plucked up the courage to ask and realised that "BID" stood for "Business Improvement District" and that the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham had one.

 

In an area which has a BID, certain qualifying businesses pay an amount of money to the BID and that money is used to market the area, to raise its profile and to improve its appearance and profile. In a nutshell, the aim of the event we were discussing was to raise the profile of the Jewellery Quarter to other sectors of the City.

 

Now - and forgive me for those not really interested but - I have lived in Birmingham for 18 years and although I know it pretty well, I have never really paid the Jewellery Quarter much interest but oh my goodness, the talent there is incredible and I will never buy jewellery from anywhere else, ever again.

 

My role was to speak primarily with the jewellery designers and makers, to visit their premises, to take photos of their work and then (with the help of the lovely Partners at John Lewis Solihull who kindly let me have the use of their store and who lent the clothes to me for the event) to put the jewellery with various outfits for models to wear on the night. 

 

The talent within the Jewellery Quarter is unimaginable. From established jewellers working on commissions for people such as The Duchess of Cornwall, Fearne Cotton and Pixie Lott, to young women who are just starting out cutting beautiful pieces from leather and making 3D jewellery in silver and gold, to established jewellers  and gemmologists who make incredible contemporary pieces, I was blown away. Tucked away in studios no bigger than box rooms in old factories which have been divided up into units, and with room only for a computer, some machinery (and thank you cards) these amazingly talented jewellers find themselves in a catch 22 situation with not enough income for a shop but equally people don't know where to find them to buy their pieces to generate that income. So, that was the purpose of last night's event - to bring that talent to a wider audience. 

 

To set the scene, this shot was taken as people arrived at the event, which was held at the Birmingham School of Jewellery - the biggest school of jewellery in Europe. We had over 20 businesses exhibiting, about fifteen of whom were jewellers and the rest were made up of other businesses within the Jewellery Quarter. Several jewellers couldn't be present as they were collecting awards on the night, which was fantastic. 

 

I had it mind that the clothes should form a backdrop to the jewellery, which largely meant avoiding frills, print and fussy detail so that the jewellery could stand out against a background of silks, velvets, colour and texture.

I chose to wear a plain full length black Coast dress and I first wore a necklace by Glenn Campbell which I followed in the second half with drop earrings worn by Lauren-Elizabeth (no pic as yet - hope to find one from someone, somewhere!)

I found this picture on twitter which someone had taken whilst I was doing my bit!

 

This necklace by Glenn Campbell took three, eighteen hour days, to make and was made especially for an exhibition at Goldsmith's Hall called "Growing talent", the aim of which was to show the development of a group of talented young designer-makers.  For anyone interested, you can read more about it here.

 

Now that it is back in Birmingham Glenn is looking forward to exhibiting the piece here. The necklace is priced at £2700 and each individual link was shaped, flattened twice, then heavy paper was pressed into the link to give it the fine surface texture. Each link then had a hole punched into the top and was curled round and joined up. Here's a closer picture of the necklace, which was incredible to wear.

 

 

Over the next few days I hope to bring you the outfits, and the jewellery, that the two models were wearing . For some reason, which escapes me now, I forgot to ask someone to take a photo of each model before she came out, or else I would have had material for 12 blog posts at my fingertips *weeps*

 

We had an amazing team working on the event and hopefully the exhibitors will benefit from the event hugely, which we are planning on repeating in the Spring.

 

Here's a link to the Jewellery Quarter Bid and if anyone is planning on having any jewellery re-worked or commissioned, or if anyone is looking for an engagement, wedding or eternity ring - or if anyone just feels that they deserve a treat and want something special making - I would love to point you in the right direction. I need to do some shopping by proxy of I fear that things are going to get tricky at home!

Mum on the Run - How to wear Neutrals. Mixing it up with lace, linen, broderie anglaise and sparkles

When it comes to neutrals, most of us tend to have plenty of them in our wardrobe. Whether it's at the darker end of the spectrum - navy/black/dark grey or at the lighter end - cream/beige/white/soft grey (ie all the Farrow & Ball colours) it seems to be those colours that we find the least challenging, or more probably the safest, to wear.

 

There's no denying that head to toe neutrals can look uber chic, especially if the textures are mixed up a little. However accent colour such as coral, turquoise, hot pink and lime green also work well, taking them down a slightly different road.

 

The lighter neutral colours will act as a higlighter, so place those where you are happy for the attention to be attracted - or conversely, it's better not to put them on those areas with which you are less happy. A case in point being my trying on of the yellow skinnies yesterday. Whilst not exactly neutral, they were light enough to act as a highlighter in all the wrong places!

 

 

  

These are some of the pieces that I chose to take along to last week's event. I mixed cotton, linen, lace and broderie anglaise, all in creams and whites or shades thereof, with a pretty sparkly top.

 

 

Along the top row left to right:

 

Zara linen biker jacket. I love the contrast sleeves on this and it looked great when put with a coral coloured statement necklace;

 

Coast pencil skirt. This is really pretty and is shot with a gold thread. Lovely for a wedding;

 

Zara beaded top - so pretty with beaten up jeans and flat sandals for the day or with fitted trousers and a blazer for an evening out. In fact it went really well under the Zara trouser suit that I showed you earlier in the week;

 

Middle line left to right:

 

H&M cream skinny jeans, best described with a damsask pattern in them. Not for everyone but great wtih heels and a relaxed fit top for a night out;

 

Zara linen T - a slouchy, comfortable basic;

 

H&M cream tailored trousers - good quality fabric with some stretch in it and thick enough so that pants won't show through it!

 

Bottom line left to right;

 

Clarks brogues - a smarter alternative to converse an a nice change from ballet pumps, especially on slightly chillier days. These also come in other colours;

 

H&M broderie anglaise dress - this is made of 100% organic cotton and has a great length to it, so whilst it may be strapless, I can imagine wearing it on holiday without feeling as though I shouldn't be.

 

 

 Hope that you like some of the bits and bobs above. Have a great bank holiday weekend.

 

Mum on the Run - How to wear prints? Take inspiration from pieces from Zara, Coast and H&M

It seemed a shame to do all of the shopping for the style event last week and not to share some of my finds with you before returning them to the stores - well, returning most of them anyway. As you might imagine, there are one or two things which may find their way into my wardrobe. 

 

Today it's the turn of the printed pieces. There are lots of prints on the High Street at the moment from florals, to geometric, to Aztec and chequerboard.

 

 

Prints can do a great job of adding interest to a relatively plain wardrobe, working in some colour, disguising parts of us that we may prefer to disguise or drawing attention to certain areas. 

 

 

From top left, going in a clockwise direction we have:

 

Zara trainers - mad or what? I love them!

 

Zara pencil skirt - lovely with a crisp white shirt, or reference one of the other colours in it in a plain top. This print can be used to good effect to draw the attention towards narrow hips and slim legs and away from other areas.

 

Coast A-line skirt, great for those who suit a skirt with a little more fabric in it - keep the top fitted, to show off a neat waist.

 

Zara printed shirt - A fab piece for curvier ladies to wear with fitted trousers, or as a beach cover up.



 

 

Again, from top left in a clockwise direction:

 

H&M geometric print trousers - great fabric, thick and supportive with stretch in it. Lovely with a simple top, black blazer and heels for an evening out;

 

Coast dress - loving the cobalt blue and acid green in this dress - great neckline too;

 

Zara top - as the print is on the back and with the front being plain, it's a fantastic piece for those who would like to dabble their toe in the print water but are a little nervous of doing so. This would work well with cobalt blue skinny jeans (Gap has khakis and skinnies in this colour) and converse or flat sandals/ballet pumps/smoking slippers for an every day look.

 

 

Check in tomorrow - it will be the turn of the yellow pieces!

 

Mum on the Run - If the weather was warmer part 2!

Being such a total wimp, I've realised that the cold weather really doesn't have much of an impact on me at all. The reason for this is that unless it's 20 degrees outside, I still wear four layers of clothing so whether it's 4 degrees, 8 degrees, or 12 degrees, I'm still frozen.... I wonder, do you think that a bit of reverse psychology works as well on the weather as it does on (young) children? No, I suspect not either.

 

However, if the weather was a little (or a lot) warmer, I would be tempted to wear this outfit, which again I photographed having failed to negotiate the youngest away from her Barbie film. Well, if you've bothered to do your hair and make-up you've got to take advantage of it before it all goes flat/slides down your face.

 

The trousers are the Next ones I have written/tweeted about before. They are £18 and described as Harem Pants but I can assure you, there's not a drop crotch in sight. There may be a bit of bottom drooping but that's an entirely different matter and I can categorically assure you everything is where it should be in the crotch department.

 

The trousers are quite a lightweight fabric so it would need to be warmer to wear them.  Here I am wearing the navy ones but they also come in grey and black. At £18 I think that they are a great price for anyone tempted to venture into the non-harem, harem style of trouser.

 

This is a great jacket from Mango. It has a really good weight to it, so in theory it could be worn anytime soon. There are a whole host of jackets around in this tapestry/aztec print and also in this style. Zara had a good selection last year and for me they are a great way of tarting up (excuse the expression) one's jeans a little, or putting over a simple dress to take it up a notch. Jackets like this are multi-functional, sometimes a life saver and a kind of "one size fits all" piece to have in your wardrobe.

The trouble is that the image of this Topshop boucle coat (£79) which I wrote about several months ago now just won't leave me and I feel that I really need to bottom it out before too long. I know some of you will shout "yuck, granny coat" or think that it looks like something that the Queen would wear but I love the colours and the fact that the yellow on it looks as though it's there because a kiddie has gone up to it and crayoned on it. Why that should appeal I have no idea but there we are.

 

Once again, for the sake of research, I am prepared to go and try it and report back. My generosity knows no bounds!!!

On the Run - A day off for me but a guest appearance by someone else!

Today I am featuring Ceri, a really lovely lady who had several events coming up and who needed an outfit or two to wear - and this is one of them.

Ceri and I have worked together before and on that occasion, as one of her outfits, we opted for a black, v-neck style ruched  jersey dress from Coast. 

This time we decided to go for a different colour and fabric, with a hint of an Adele look about it. Ceri prefers a knee length dress, and the lacy fabric and sheer lace sleeves worked really well for her. The fact that it nipped in just under her bust was also really flattering to her figure. This dress was also from Coast.

On this occasion, Ceri put the dress with black tights and high black patent Kurt Geiger Assemble shoes, which you can see here

                                                       
                     

On another occasion, Ceri styled the dress with nude tights...

....and these amazing sparkly Anna shoes, also from Kurt Geiger, which she found really comfortable to wear when dancing away to Abba! She says that whenever she wears them, people always ask her where she got them from.  Ceri is definitely a shoe girl - the higher and brighter the better!

                                                        
  

I love these shoes - they are proper Cinderella shoes.

Ceri loves her dress, which she has said was her best buy ever - with her shoes being her second best buy ever. I love it when people have things in their wardrobe which they enjoy wearing.  I have come across several ladies recently who have cancelled a night out as a result of not having anything to wear, which is a real shame.  We all need at least one lovely outfit we can call on when an opportunity comes our way - because we never know when that may be.