Dungarees and frills...

So I've dabbled with dungarees in the past but I've never really jumped in with both feet. From time to time a pair catch my eye, as was the case with these denim patchwork dungarees from New Look (£29.99).  I put them with this frilled cotton blouse by H&M £9.99 (which is shown below) just to see what they would look like...

Initially I thought that the shirt on its own was a bit full on frilly for me but the more that I wore it with the dungarees, the more I got used to it. Being 100% cotton and only £9.99, it's a great shirt for anyone thinking of dipping their toe in the "white frilly shirt" water.

I picked up the gold version of the navy Zara shoes that I bought in the sale a few weeks ago. They're currently £15.99 - arguably a little bit bling but not so much that I feel like a rapper.

I'm trying to work out how best to describe this outfit...

A bit Dexys Midnight Runners/the Wurzels/frilly lizard/rapper/suburban Mum of 3. Hmmmm. There's a new one. Not quite sure that I'm selling it! 

The New Look Camo Shacket

Apart from wearing some blue camo GAP trousers that I've had for a really long time now, I don't have much camo in my wardrobe. Sometimes it's all a little bit too green for me and it also has connotations associated with it which mean that I'm not quite sure it should be worn in a fashion sense - a bit like wearing tribal, or religious, symbols really. It's something that I've thought about quite a lot over the years....

...but then I saw a shacket from New Look (not showing online but mine was £24.99 and is called "camo shacket" on the label. It's very similar to this one, also from New Look) and I demonstrated to myself how truly shallow I am by buying it and wearing it many times since. But then maybe it's not shallow. Maybe I was just over thinking things before and maybe it doesn't cause offence. I'm not really sure now.

Aside from the whole camo debate though, a shacket is great for this time of year when there can be a chill in the air despite the fact that it's meant to be the height of summer. It means that whatever lies beneath can peep through, without it being covered up by a jumper. Also a shacket is something that can generally be kept on all day, inside or out, so it's not like a blazer or jacket that needs to be taken off and put back on time and again (because obviously that is such a hardship!) It's more the lack of faff and just keeping on until bedtime what I first put on in the morning, that appeals to me.

Like a denim shirt but a bit of an update, a camo or khaki shacket is good for keeping the chill at bay on those Guernsey beaches that we will be heading towards shortly.

I've debated whether I should have gone for a larger size - mine is an 8 - but I like how it feels. Sometimes over sized is good - sometimes it just looks like I'm wearing someone else's clothes.

Here are another couple of options for anyone mulling the idea over. Maybe they are a little more "jacket" like than the one that I am wearing but they just provide a feel for what's out and about at the moment. Hope that you all enjoy taking a look!

H&M Cargo Jacket (£24.99)

H&M twill jacket (£24.99)

Khaki camo print jacket New Look (£29.99)

Zara military shirt (£29.99)

A navy striped midi and tan heels...

I haven't had nearly enough wear out of this Whistles navy midi skirt that I bought in the sale a couple of summers ago and now with the work on the house nearly complete, I'm trying to think a little more in outfits and a little less in terms of "let's just re-wear what I chucked on the chair the night before." Now in fairness it is an approach that works for the totally stylish Jenna Lyons of J. Crew so I'm not dissing it but when it means that there's a whole stack of clothes that aren't getting an airing - well then that's not so good. So, for the last day of term, out the striped midi skirt came.

There is also another whole stack of clothes that don't get worn because they are lurking in the very large ironing pile that I currently own. Said very large ironing pile was one thing that I took out of the old conservatory before it was demolished and the one thing I promised myself that I wouldn't return to the new utility room. Ahem. Actually it is a bit smaller. I think that I've had the ironing pile for so long that the children have grown out of some of the clothes and others have now gone right out of fashion. So there's a top tip for making your ironing pile smaller.

It's not that I don't love ironing - I do. But only really when there's tennis on or when it's really hot. Oh and also when there aren't about 20 builder in the house who think that I've nothing better to do. Anyway, I digress, the sparkly jumper that I'm wearing was one of the items that I did iron in my recent marathon ironing session, so that too had an outing.

My shoes are from Jigsaw last year. I know of quite a few of you who missed out on them so as an alternative, there are these two options...

The Tan Billie Studded Sandal from Mint Velvet (£129)

...or the Hope Sandal in natural (£49 down from £129) - they also come in black

Oh and I saw these in Topshop - the Rococo embroidered shoe in navy (£56). Although I don't need a pair I did rather fall in love with them. You know the drill, jeans and a leather jacket, green utility trousers and a cream frilly blouse/off the shoulder top, tailored culottes and a white shirt, fairly "prim" midi length dress - they could work in so many scenarios, provided that heels aren't an issue.

....and they also come in beige too. What a brilliant way to give your wardrobe (a kick up the butt) an injection of style.

Have a super weekend everyone. May the sun shine! 

It's midi, it's pleated and it hides a multitude of sins...

So what are the sins that this skirt hides? Let's think - bruises, blemishes, failure to attend to one's less than smooth legs?  So far so good. And it "wafts" beautifully in the breeze, making one feel almost lady like - although it also catches in the back of my trainers as I walk down the stairs which could, quite possibly, result in a less than lady like fall followed by less than lady like language.

There are lots of pleated skirts around at the moment. One of my favourites is this grey jersey one from Oasis (£30). It has a slightly more casual feel about it, so is good for those who don't fancy wearing satin on a daily basis.

Or for a bit of colour, there's this coral one from Oliver Bonas (£55), which also comes in blue or white. 

New Look has a great selection of pleated skirts, including this stripe monochrome one, for £27.99

The skirt that I am wearing is the satin pleat ankle grazer skirt from Topshop (£49), which also comes in a midi length (and that comes in tall and petite too.) I liked the khaki as a change from my usual grey, navy or black and they are surprisingly easy to wear - trainers, ankle boots, block heels, skater trainers, sandals - plus as I mentioned above, they hide a multitude of sins.

Lots of people have asked me whether they can get away with a pleated skirt and the answer is yes - it just has to be the right one. Some are very voluminous and they don't always work so well with flats, so the satin ones, or the ones with fewer pleats help with that. The longer ones also create a really nice vertical line, so they are surprisingly elongating even on a petite frame. So if you're tempted, go and have a good try on with some different styles of shoes and see what you think. Enjoy!

Today I was stalked by....Bardot tops

One of the best things about my job is having the legitimate excuse of spending a few hours every so often walking around the shops to see what's out there.  Whizzing from one store to the next in quick succession is a great way of spotting the trends. And today I felt that I was being stalked by blue Bardot tops. Shop after shop had them on their rails. Take a look to see what I mean....

The Bardot striped top from Whistles (£85), which also comes in white.

Zara blue and white off the shoulder striped top (£29.99) 

GAP tencel off the shoulder top (£34.95)

H&M blue off the shoulder blouse - £7.99. This one is 100% cotton and it's from the H&M conscious range.

So is anyone tempted to jump on the Bardot bandwagon, or are you more likely to give them a miss, knowing that the rest of the world could, quite possibly, be wearing them too?!!

H&M workout gear - stylish, fun and functional

Before I start, you may notice that I've had a bit of a blog tidy up. As a result there may be a few glitches along the way - no-one's fault, it's just technology. However if that is the case, just let me know and I'll do my best to sort them out (like the spacing and links for example!) And thank you for bearing with me!

Our eldest came to me the other morning. "Mum" she said "I had this horrible dream last night. I dreamt that you bought me 14 of the same workout tops and you told me that I had one for every day of the week. When I told you that there were only seven days in a week you said that I was working on a two week cycle." Lucky her - 14 new tops!

Which got me to thinking about workout tops (not about the psychological damage I've clearly done to our 16 year old, which is what I probably should have been doing).

As I'm doing quite a bit of training for the London, Marathon, I'm washing a lot of workout gear and to be honest, a lot of my tops are looking a bit tired. Many of them are from Primark and they've served their time, so I thought that it was time for an update.

Which led me to H&M. One of our Birmingham stores has quite a good selection of fitness wear which I love rifling through when I have a minute. There doesn't seem to be a link to the above sports bra which I love  (although I see it more as a cropped top to be worn over a sports bra) but I have linked to the selection of sports bras available. But to be honest it didn't love me at all. It just wasn't substantial enough to cover my less than insubstantial sports bra. Ho hum. I also picked up this 3 pack of hairbands for £1.99 because I loved the colours and my hair is irritating me right now as it's at that yucky in between stage.

I really liked this top in the shop but the thing that I didn't really like about it when I put it on the is that it looks all sweaty around the neckline (see below). Not a good look. Also, although it was £12.99 it didn't seem any better than my usual £3.99 Primark cropped tops. So that will be a return then.

But I did like the vest, below and I've worn it already. Again, it's not on the website but I've linked to the vests that are available. Everyone has really personal taste when it comes to vests but I prefer everything quite fitted, rather than flapping around.

For anyone who hasn't checked out H&M active wear before, it's great for something stylish, fun and functional. Plus there's a great selection of bottoms, jackets and accessories too - so definitely worth a peek.

This season's favourite skirt for any time, anywhere - and a Radio Programme which may be of interest

I know that I wrote about this H&M wrap skirt not that long ago, so apologies for that, but it really is a fail safe that goes with everything (a little like the skirt version of jeans really) so I thought that it was worth mentioning again.

I love coming across something that I wasn't necessarily looking for but which I fall in love with and which I then wear non-stop. It's a bit like when you've been in to Home Bargains. You come out with all sorts of things that you just hadn't appreciated you couldn't live without. Non-slip hangers, coconut oil and a new laundry bin anyone?

In the above outfit I stuck the skirt with all manner of things that came to hand - tartan, denim, a big cardi and pony skin shoes - but I did have the excuse that it was the first school run that I had to do in weeks so I was all over the place.

I'm slightly more restrained in this outfit with a Zara jumper and Topshop leopard print shoes. This jumper is another firm favourite from this winter but you see those sleeves? They've been caught up in more Deliciously Ella/Madeleine Shaw/Joe Wicks recipes that you can shake a stick at.

For anyone who is interested, this week's Radio 4 Food Programme is called "Eat to Run" and it's really worth listening to if you like that type of thing. A listener was interested to know how important diet was to running performance so she wrote in to ask - and the programme talks you through it. Here's a link (which fingers crossed will work) if not, it's available on the iPlayer. Hope that you enjoy it!

Sparkles, more sparkles and a touch of pleather...

A lady I was once working with told me how I was the shop window for my business. Well let me tell you - this particular shop window has been driven into by joy riders, smashed and grabbed to within an inch of its life and ransacked all at the same time. I caught a sight of myself in the mirror today and it was far from good. I've picked up a stinking cough and cold and it shows.

But all is not lost, for the crack team of Ange the beautician and Luke the hairdresser will come to my rescue later in the week. Ange will sort out my eyebrows, do my nails and spray me a different colour - because on Saturday we are going away for some sun. And if I ask her nicely, she might remove my grey moustache too. Or should I just leave it there? I think that it might look quite good with a bikini.

We were out at friends on Saturday night. I wore my sequin turtleneck H&M top (£29.99) for the first time and it was fab. It's lined which stops it from being itchy, whilst at the same time making it warm, so it was a double win for me. Comfortable glamour - that's what its all about. Whoever said it was the hokey cokey was wrong.

I put a little video on instagram of me wearing the top, which you can see here. I'm wearing it with some semi busted Zara jeans and sparkly Dune shoes - as if there wasn't enough sparkle already.

And whilst we're about it, I thought that I would share another H&M purchase, being this "leather inspired" (OK, plastic) skirt which cost £19.99. I'd been on the semi look out for a pleather skirt for a while and then this one caught my eye last week. It was the asymmetric hem that got me. It comes up quite small so I have a size 10 and again, there's a little instagram video here where I'm wearing it.

I must like the skirt because I've worn it twice already. I have to say, it did catch me out though. When I sit on our kitchen stools I think that I perch on them on one bum cheek and then whizz across them to get on them fully. Let's just say that there wasn't so much whizzing with this little number on. More of an attempted whizz with a sudden stop as the pleather stuck to the seat. Not a good look.

Now usually by now I've started my "12 outfits of Christmas" feature but with us going away I haven't quite got that far this year. I wonder whether I might just irritate people showing pictures of sunny climes. Although knowing our luck with the weather it will chuck it down with rain and I'll just spend the whole week wearing the same one jumper and one pair of jeans. It's been done before.

How adding a new piece to your wardrobe can inject life into older items.

H&M jacket, Topshop jumper and skirt, Whistles shoes and bag

A few days ago I was in our local H&M and this Biker Jacket (£39.99) caught my eye. I love a biker jacket and I knew that this navy one would work with lots of pieces in my wardrobe. Having bought it, it gave me the impetus to dig out this sparkly Topshop skirt that I bought a couple of years ago now.

As well as wearing a biker jacket on its own, I also like wearing one layered under a sleeveless coat. Separately a biker and sleeveless coat would be too cold for me to wear in the winter but layered together, Bob's your Uncle - plus they make a nice alternative to a more traditional coat.

Here are a couple of other shots of the jacket - just for those who would like a closer inspection.

I love how a new piece can really inject some life back into older pieces in your wardrobe. Each time I buy something I try and do a quick mental, if not physical, whizz through what it might work with and how I can use it to pull new outfits together.

I hope that you're all having a fabulous week. Are there any new purchases coming your way and if so, do you have a few ideas of how they may work with some of your existing pieces?

It's casual all the way today....

"Give me your best holiday face" said the youngest as she was photographing me. And this is what she got! As you can see I'm uber casual today - Topshop skirt, H&M t-shirt, ancient converse and GAP clutch for those million jobs that need doing before you go away.

Watch out for Mr SG's guest posts whilst I'm away, to include how to wear crocs 10 different ways and the art of dressing yourself by taking whatever is on top of the pile when you open the wardrobe. I'm so going to miss him whilst I'm away. x

Tencel trenches - a much nicer term than "duster coat" which frankly just reminds me of housework...

There's a lot been written about duster coats of late and below I've taken a look at some of the best on the High Street. I don't know if anyone remembers them from the first time around but I had a great one in 1997. Clearly I remember it well. It was from M&S and billowy and I loved it. I'm not sure what happened to that coat but I so wish that I had it now. The way to wear them now - says she being a bossy whatsit - is in a very casual way, so over the type of jeans/shirt outfit that I am wearing above, rather than over a power suit in a very 1980's way.

I was working with this Autograph tencel trench coat (£99) when I did my stint with M&S a couple of weeks ago now. Did anyone know that tencel is derived from sustainable eucalyptus trees? No, me neither. Not until now at least.

So soft white and me don't mix, as I demonstrated yesterday when I threw an oreo ice cream down myself but Autograph have this beautiful trench in soft white for £99. 

Keeping with M&S, there's this Limited tencel coat (£89) in a traditionally classic "mac" colour. 

I love the detailing on this H&M trench (£39.99). The soft draping makes it look a whole lot more expensive than it is. 

Again, rubbish if you like chucking ice-cream over yourself but if you're more sophisticated than I am, this Mango trench (£59.99) could work a treat. I like the collarless fuss free option on this coat.

The Oasis longline drape coat (£120) has a lovely wide, elegant, neckline which is flattering for balancing out wider shoulders or hips.

For a sleeveless option, this Warehouse long split side waistcoat (£65) is a great take on modern trench. I have to say that this one is probably my favourite, just because it is a little bit different. Warehouse has a great selection of duster coats which are definitely worth taking a closer look at if you are thinking of taking the duster plunge.

As much as I like the concept of duster coats, I've decided that I don't like the term.  They just remind me of housework. Urggh. 

A layered look from H&M and Jigsaw

You know me, I love a bit of layering. In this outfit I've layered tops of different lengths to create a bit of a "look" - rather than just layering lots of tops to keep me warm, which is what I spend quite a lot of my life doing. Unless you're on the leggy side, I think that it's better if the shirt layer isn't too long, or else it can make one's legs look shorter - and then to get a cropped outer layer.

The shirt is an H&M one that I bought a while ago. It was an alternative to a J Crew one which cost a fortune and which was never going to feature in my wardrobe. The sweatshirt is a Jigsaw one that I bought after Christmas in the sale.

I've received a few new things through the post recently which I hope to share with you shortly and I've also worked with some truly lovely ladies recently so there's a lot to share but for now I'm going to have to save that for another day....