The fail safe anytime, anywhere, going out outfit...

 

Today I received an SOS email from a reader whose husband had sprung a weekend away on her. Lovely as the surprise was, she wasn't quite sure what to wear to the champagne bar her husband was taking her to.

For me there's always one fail safe outfit which I have tried and tested many times over so, if you don't have a huge amount of time to shop, to suss out the latest styles, fashions and trends, this won't let you down....I promise.

So, take one pair of fitted black trousers such as the Jigsaw woven jersey riding legging (£85)...

if they are a bit tight and scary, instead go for the GAP slim cropped pants (£34.95)...

Nip to Oasis and pick up this leather trim long line ponte jacket or something similar - there are plenty to choose from..

 

Work in a plain top - either silky, or a vest top or a fine knit. Just nip to M&S if necessary and pick up a fancy vest! This slinky mesh trim vest for £5 should do the trick. Tweak it as necessary depending on your shape and size. Something less clingy or with more bust support may work better for some but you get the idea.

 

 

Then work in the fun bits. Trawl through your wardrobe and see what you can find - the sparkly shoes, the statement necklace or finer necklaces layered together, the cocktail ring, the chunky bracelet, the painted nails, the lippy and a clutch. And believe me, you're ready to go. Whether it's to a cocktail bar, a gastro pub for a meal out, a night with the girls at one of their houses you won't feel out of place. Stylish and simple with a bit of colour or sparkle as a talking point is all that you need. As they say on the Apprentice "it's not rocket surgery" (I know, the mind boggles) but it works.

 

If you need to add a few bits in, here are my tips...

 

Hit New Look for a clutch. Whether it's yellow, sparkly, embellished or plain, they have a great choice. This box clutch for £15.99 will work with lots of things. Just turn it on its side if needs be!

 

 

Dune has some great shoes for the party season. I love the Alina (£69) which comes in 11 styles to include sparkly ones, bright colours, suede, metallic snake skin and leopard. They are a mid height court, so not massively high but of course places like NEXT and Oasis have some great styles for this time of year too.

 

 

Alina leopard print...

 

Alina bright pink...

Alina sparkle...

 

And then for a necklace.  I love this one from Oasis (£10). It's not too much but it's got nice sharp lines about it.

 

 

For something a little more statement like, nip over to Alice's Wonders for some serious bling! This star necklace is £14. But equally you may prefer ear-rings and a cocktail ring to a necklace, or a chunky bracelet instead. Just go with what feels comfortable.

 

 

Don't worry about mixing silver and gold or black and navy and don't worry about getting exactly the right "shades" of black together. It's about wearing things with confidence and giving the impression that every part of your outfit is well thought out and intentional even if it's all been put together at the last minute. Seriously, if ever anyone came up to me and told me that they thought that my navy and black didn't quite go or that I'd mixed silver and gold, I quite possibly think that I would tell them to go and get a life (in a nice way of course.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outfits that make me happy and keep me warm! And a little something for my wardrobe...

 

"There's nothing worse that tights that don't fit properly" were the words of wisdom imparted by the 6 year old on the way into school this morning. And you know, she's absolutely right. I replenished her tights stock at John Lewis yesterday but clearly I got it slightly wrong. I like it when the girls have lots of new school tights. It makes me feel like a competent and organised mother.

I even looked at buying one of those gingerbread houses to make at Christmas as that would have made me a competent and organised mother but in an entirely different stratosphere. A domestic goddess no less. But then I looked at the instructions, realised that all that icing bag and piping nonsense was probably way beyond me, that it would look like a two year old had done it, that no-one would eat it and that I would finally put it in the bin mid January cursing what a waste of time it had been.  And then where would my well performing mother role be? No, sometimes knowing your limitations in life is a good thing.

I spent a huge amount of time in the shops last week and these were a couple of the outfits that I wore. They're not drastically different to one another and largely comprised of basics to include navy Whistles trousers, boots (black or navy) a jumper (sparkly or roll neck) and a jacket (Whistles: top photo, or Oasis and Zara: bottom photo).

On my rounds I came across too many things to mention but this Oasis snowflake jumper (£42) caught my eye. It's much nicer in really life - more vibrant and sparkly and the longer length will be preferred by many.

I also absolutely love this New Look fur duffle bag (£22.99), to the point that it may be finding its way into my wardrobe sometime fairly soon.

Hope that everyone's week has got off to a fabulous start!

Can I wear tracksuit bottoms for a meal out? And a few sparkly purchases...

"Can I go out to dinner wearing my tracksuit bottoms?" I asked the family last night. It was our wedding anniversary and I was taking counsel from other family members because, as much as I love going out to dinner, I like being comfortable even more. "Not unless you want to look like a chav and only if you're going to McDonalds" was the general consensus so I cheated and replicated the look in a more acceptable way with luxe track pants from Topshop and the Victorie top from Reiss (£89). Taking a photo at the end of the evening minus lippy and minus most accessories is not generally a good idea but hey ho, you know how these things go.

It was the first time that I had put the Reiss top through its paces and it did the job it was designed to do well, namely keep me warm, look slightly fancy but not too fancy and not cling anywhere that I didn't want it to. This top was way more than I would normally pay but after having a good wardrobe clear out, there was a gaping hole for tops and having tried it on and having deliberated for quite some time I concluded that it would serve me well over the years.

And here's another crappety crap crap photo but again, hey ho, you know these things go. I don't like all this clock changing business. There's just no time to get any snaps during the week. The early morning ones are blue and the evening ones - well there's no point taking any. Luckily our son's school finished at 1pm today, so that was good of them.

Anyway, the reason for the photo was to tell you about the slim cropped pants from GAP (£34.95). I've had these for longer than I can remember but I seem to recall that at one time they were too loose to wear so I put them away. Thankfully my new found addiction to M&S cashew nut butter has resolved that particular problem and now they fit really well. They are so comfortable and a great length with trainers - just enough ankle flash to work but not so much as to be cold. Best of all they are  95% cotton, 5% elastane and they are machine washable. At £34.95 they are a great price too and having felt the Joseph equivalent a few seasons ago, I wasn't convinced that there was anything in it.

And now a couple of snaps of things that I picked up today in preparation for a style event next week. First off some bags from New Look (£22.99). I love this black back pack. It's a sharp shape with simple styling and a great place to start for anyone contemplating one. It also comes in burgundy and with burgundy/claret/ox-blood being such a big trend this season, it's an easy way to tap in to that trend too.

You can't beat a good sparkly bag for the evening but there's no need to spend a fortune on one. These sparkle box clutches are also from New Look.

Finally, most converse lovers will probably know about the leather ones that they do in the winter but for those who don't, these metallic ones from Schuh (£60) are just great. They go with everything and offer a little more warmth and protection that the canvas ones. I love the returns policy at Schuh too - it's a whole year. Can't argue with that.

 

I have a house full of goodies so I will share one or two of my other fabulous buys over the next few posts.

Updating a piece from last winter with bits and bobs bought over the summer...

Jack Wills shirt, Dune boots, New Look jeans, Topshop T-shirt, Accessorise bracelets.

As I think is pretty obvious, I don't do glamour in Wales. Not that it's not a glamourous place - far from it - have you seen Catherine Zeta-Jones, or Katherine Jenkins, or Catherine Middleton? (OK so she's not strictly Welsh, in fact she's quite possibly not Welsh at all but she's married to the Prince of Wales' son and she lived on Anglesey for a while). No, it's just that a) I am always under instructions to "pack light" which means that everything has to work together and b) we tend to be walking on the beaches, lighting fires, crabbing off the pier and chilling at home, so heels and dresses don't really fit into my lifestyle over here.

Now let's face it, a checked shirt is never going to set the world on fire but checks are a huge trend this season - from scarves to shirts, to coats and even shoes. Here are a few of my favourite checked pieces this season:

Warehouse checked cape £30 which I really like as it's a relatively inexpensive way of adding something to your wardrobe which is warm, practical and which will give a lift to an existing jeans/coated jeans and boots type outfit.

This Jigsaw cropped checked shirt (£59) is 100% cotton and comes in burgundy, which is having a huge revival this season, or blue. Easy to wear with black, blue or grey, it's a nice alternative to a denim shirt for a weekend look - especially for those who aren't fans of double denim.

And at New Look there's this orange checked scarf for £9.99 which I first spotted on a friend who was out watching the half marathon. She observed that only I would notice a scarf after 11 miles, the last of which was uphill, but it was so lovely and I was so desperate for a distraction from the discomfort that it was a welcome sight (as of course, was she.)

And the orange scarf sort of leads me on to this beautiful orange sky which greeted me a couple of mornings ago, having been woken earlier than I would like to have been by the youngest.

All of which completely misses the point of this post which was to talk about how things that you may have added to your wardrobe over the summer, can be used to re-work pieces that you may have had last winter.

In the above photo I've added in my favourite Topshop yellow T-shirt and a stack of bright bracelets from Accessorize, both of  which pick out the colours in the shirt. It's not revolutionary but it's worth having a rifle through your wardrobe, taking out something that was OK last winter but perhaps not quite as it should have been and see what else you can add to it to make it work a little better - or in a different way. Just a thought for a rainy afternoon!

I love this jumper which I've seen on several people. I think that there's something wonderful about wearing a jumper with 1970 written on it....unless like me you happen to have been born in that year - in which case it's not necessarily something that I would choose to advertise.

Double denim and a statement necklace

 

[New Look jeans, Dune boots, Gap top, Boden jacket, necklace pressie from friend]

In my last post I wrote about just managing to hold things together on the home front and how I knew that, when I'd left the wet washing in the basket for so long that it went stinky and it had to be re-washed, it was time to have a few days off from blogging.

Well a friend made me feel much better because she said that they couldn't actually do any washing in their household because they had run out of washing liquid. And things weren't looking too good on the loo roll front. Glad to hear that I'm not alone.

Today I ran the Birmingham half marathon. I don't think that I was actually overtaken by the smurf but at times it was close and getting around the Sumo wrestler was tricky but do-able. I wanted to say a huge thank you once again to all of you who donated to Cancer Research UK and also to friends and people I know who cheered along the way. It all made a huge, huge difference at times when things were hard.

After the race we headed to Pizza Express to re-fuel. Mr SG had dropped in to the pub after cheering me on so was unable to drive which meant we were left with the choice of walking there: "It will be good for you, you're meant to keep moving after a race aren't you?" (Mr SGs helpful contribution to the discussion), or with me driving.  Oddly at that stage walking didn't hold any great appeal. The above shot is what I wore when we went out - flats and all manner of stretchy, comfortable things.

A grainy shot of me at mile 12 doing some bizarre hand gesture of the waving variety - I think! 

A New Look bag of the season for £19.99

I've looked at the Whistles verity backpack (£295) on many occasions but even with the pretty impressive mental gymnastic skills that I possess when it comes to justifying purchases, I still can't make it add up - either literally or metaphorically.

But the silver formal backpack from New Look (£19.99) on the other hand, is a completely different matter. For something that isn't go to be an investment purchase of one's life, £20 seems a much more agreeable amount to pay. Plus the thought of saving £275.01 (not that one would have ever spent that amount in the first place) leaves one feeling perfectly justified in making another purchase.... or two.  

The juxtaposition of a smarter jacket with jeans and trainers

Outfit: Mango jacket, Nike trainers, New Look skinny jeans, GAP clutch

 

Golly I've got gremlins in my computer today. Nothing is loading properly, things keep on crashing and it's all generally a bit of a dog's dinner but nevermind.

 

I was in town for most of yesterday working and (as usual) I wanted to be able to dash here there and everywhere.  Compared to shoes, trainers are just a million times more comfortable and I hate my speed being impeded by my choice of footwear, so the Nikes made another appearance.

 

For something similar, I really like these New Balance 574 pop safari trainers from Schuh (£70) and even more I love their year long returns policy, which is great for those who are indecisive/live a long way from town/need a while to locate their lost receipt. These trainers also come in more muted colours as admittedly these aren't for the faint hearted.

 

 

The Mango jacket that I am wearing was nearly returned several times but now the jacket and I are good pals. It doesn't get a huge amount of outings but whenever it does, people always comment on it (usually in a positive way!) It just seems to catch people's eyes and I always find those things really interesting. Whenever I do an event there are always a few things that pretty much everyone, without exception, gravitate towards. Anyway, that aside, I like wearing a smarter jacket with trainers - it's that whole juxtaposition thing that it so big right now - and more importantly a smarter jacket stops me (well almost) from feeling such a scruffy bum!

When there's a hair disaster there's only one thing for it.....a hat!

 

Outfit: Whistles Ella jacket, Hush jumper, New Look jeans, Aldo shoes (I'm sure I'll write Aldi one of these days!) Oushka bag

I think that "disaster" is probably too strong a word to describe my super short hairstyle but whenever I look in the mirror I do think to myself "Ouch, that's short." And then to top it off I decided to colour it but to pass the time quickly I blogged at the same time, leaving it on for much longer than I should have done - so not only is it slightly shorter than I would have liked but it's slightly darker too. Having said that, I did ask for it to be cut shorter partly because I seem to have to get it cut so often and also because I'm running/swimming a lot at the moment so it's constantly being washed or getting wet.

So, when it came to the blog I had two choices. First, to disappear for a few weeks until it had grown and lightened OR to share it with everyone and just get over it. I decided on the latter a) because I like blogging and b) because....actually I don't think that there is a b).

Anyway, I decided that now is probably a good time to have a hair disaster - well a couple of months time might be even better - because there are so many lovely hats around this season. From the Reiss Ava and Hattie (is that a great name for a hat or what?) (£69) to the Fedoras at Topshop, which at £28 are a good place to start for anyone heading (get it??) for the first time into trilby/fedora territory, to the Zara wide brimmed felt hat (£19.99) or the trilby (£25.99).

The Jigsaw bridget fedora (£39) is also a great choice...

as is the Jigsaw Isabella trilby (£39) which comes in a variety of different colours.

Hats really are just one of those things that you have to try on and just because one brand doesn't work, it doesn't mean that another brand won't. Often it comes down to the colour, the width of the brim, the height of the hat - and confidence too.

I saw this "Love You" beanie in Zara (£12.99) today and I think that it would look great with my New Look jumper which has "love" written across the front. It would take matchy matchy to a  whole new level.

The Hush star jumper (£75) that I am wearing is from the summer collection but they have done this winter version, for anyone who fancies having a star plastered across their chest.

I am also wearing the Ella Ponte jersey jacket from Whistles which is £45 or £95 depending on the colour. If you're tempted, do have a hunt around the site for a bargain. For anyone unsure, they do tend to come up quite large so if only the size below yours is available, don't be put off. It's a jacket that I find hugely useful and easy to wear, largely because it is made of jersey.

 

So, although it's only early I'm off to bed - I think that hair grows more quickly when you're asleep!

If you buy one thing this winter, make it furry! It's an instant wardrobe update.

I am so going to go there this year! Without a shadow of a doubt, fur, feathers, or sheepskin in muted shades is definitely the way forward. The High Street is going to be packed full of all things furry. Many haven't reached the stores yet so I would advise waiting for a few weeks, seeing what's out there and taking your time - unless of course you get that sudden beat of your heart and come out in a cold sweat because you've fallen in love with a particular coat. In that case, just buy it there and then - there's time for thinking (and possibly returning if needs be) at a later date and chances are, if you don't buy it someone else will. I predict a riot when the Whistles one is released! But for now, here's what's out and about...

Fur jacket from Warehouse (£65) - I love the colour and the length of this jacket. I've had a fur jacket a few years but it's a bit of an in between length, whereas this one is clearly a proper "jacket" length.

I love the simple styling of this Warehouse shot too. It's all very relaxed and not at all how fur coats used to be worn, which was all so glamourous. No, this is much more down to earth and accessible. Once we've got our heads around that idea and made the transition, everything else will fall into place. Skinny jeans, waxed jeans, chunky boots, trainers or skater trainers - that's the way to go with a fur coat.

Jigsaw sheepskin jacket (£395) - This is such a pretty, pale silver grey.  I'm going to road test it as against the man made fibres of the fur coat, for warmth. Jigsaw also do a sheepskin car coat for £995.

You won't be surprised to learn that Zara has a plethora of fur coats. This Zara blue fur coat (£69.99) is also on my list to be tried and twirled in.

You too can do your best Easter chick impression in this yellow Zara short fur coat £69.99. Hello to my friend out there who was after a yellow coat last year and didn't get one. Could this one be for you???

I'm aware that many will feel that a fur coat is just too bulky for their frame and that it risks throwing their proportions out. First of all, there will be some that are lighter weight and less furry than others and some will be more fitted than others, so don't rule them all out.

Secondly, there are also a variety of gilets (or vests as the Americans call them. A vest? I thought that was something you wore under your clothes) which work really well layered over a leather jacket, so you still get the warmth on your arms but without the bulk. I also quite often find that if my core is warm, it matters less what is going on with my arms.

If all of those options fail, look to accessories. This Zara furry clutch bag is a great winter wardrobe pep up and would work well against anything black or navy. There's also a variety of fur hats, scarves, gloves and skater trainers too, so it's still possible to work fur in somewhere along the way.

But back to the jackets. The Zara styling is soooo much better than it used to be. Previously the models looked like they wanted to pack up and go home. Now they may well have had good reason to look like that but it didn't really inspire people to shop in the way they perhaps would have done otherwise.

I like the simplicity of this Zara short fur jacket £69.99. I'll definitely be steering away from black. Maybe not quite to yellow but away from black. There's so much black around in the winter and this is such a great opportunity to break free from it, without looking like Joseph in his technicoloured dream coat. There are plenty of longer fur coats too - but for anyone taking a first foray into fur, the jackets are an easier option.

This what I mean by a vest. Actually it's not what I mean by a vest at all, it's what Zara  means by a vest. (Fur vest £59.99)

There's only one word to describe this coat from Marc Cain (£335). Marmite.

As to other options that will be appearing in the stores shortly, there's this coat from New Look for £64 and I've already mentioned the Whistles one which looks like a very pale lilac colour.

So will you or won't you? My instincts tell me that there are plenty who are going "no way" but as the season progresses I suspect that minds may be changed. And I only say that because I suffer from the affliction of being fickle when it come to fashion.