Happy New Year! - I know it's a little late but there's a good reason for it......

[Outfit: Hush dress, Seven Boot Lane boots, Reiss jacket, Hobbs necklace]

I wrote the following post on New Year's Eve, the Eve before I was cruelly struck down with tonsillitis. I haven't even managed to leave the house so far this year. Soon I'll be appearing on my own TV show "the woman who woke up one day and never left the house again." Actually I lie, I've been out once to go to see the Doctor and can you believe that the first money I spent in 2015 was on anti-biotics? Lucky I didn't have a no spending ban in operation. 

I could have passed this post over but I haven't written anything else, or worn anything that anyone would want to see, ever, so here goes. Hope that you are all keeping well and Happy New Year. Thank you for being such a lovely bunch of readers! 

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I should know myself by now. I should know that when ever there's a big event coming up - a birthday, the day before Christmas, the day before we go on holiday, the day before the NEW YEAR that I get this sudden urge to clean. "Oh" I think to myself, "wouldn't it be lovely to go to bed in clean bedding, to wake up to a newly cleaned kitchen and fresh bathrooms, to have cupboards that are neat and tidy and full of folded clothes." I should know that the tidal wave of needing to clean is on its way but I never anticipate it until WHAM, it arrives and then it's too late. I just have to get on with it.

Which is why I found myself doing all of those jobs this afternoon. I scrubbed the kitchen island to within an inch of its life. I even turned the toaster upside down and shook it over the sink (unwise unless you want a blocked sink), plus I emptied out the crumb trays, cleaned behind the bread maker, took all of the rubbish out, polished the kettle, washed the tea pot and wiped out the fruit bowl, all the while thinking that I needed to be ringing friends and family to wish them a Happy New Year.

We went over to some friends for the New Year and as we were walking there and as it was cold, flimsy glamour was not the order of the day - or night. I've only worn this Hush dress once but it's really warm and with a jacket over the top it gave me the warmth that I needed. OK so the boots are more practical than glam but the pavements were hideously slippery.

I should have pre-programmed a twitter message to go out and I should have written something on facebook to wish you all a Happy and healthy New Year but I didn't get around to it, so I apologise to you, as I do to all of my friends and family for not getting in touch but I'm sorry I was cleaning....

The 12 outfits of Christmas, day 12 - one to keep the cold at bay!

Given the cold and frosty weather of late, I thought it fitting to finish my 12 outfits of Christmas feature with something warm and toasty - and a ridiculous grin too but then again it was spectacularly cold!

In a post many moons ago, I referred to Cameron Diaz's outfits in "The Holiday" a film which we watched (again) on Christmas Eve. For one who was supposedly unfamiliar with UK winters, she cracked the casual/cashmere/stylish/ look with aplomb. I noticed her beautiful cable knit jumper when watching the film on Christmas Eve and then, on Christmas morning, I opened a present from Mr SG which contained this great cable knit hat - the starting point for my skiing wardrobe which is going to be a whole new area - quite possibly a disaster one at that, although I have good friends to advise me on the way. Left to my own devices I would quite happily wear a 1970's style all in one with a zip up the front but apparently that's not the done thing these days.

So on to the outfit, this is what was going on underneath, let's count the layers:
M&S vest,
M&S long sleeved top,
Warehouse lace top,
Boden Barcelona cardigan - I'm hoping that the navy one will be reduced even further in the sale soon,
2 pairs of socks - one Pringle and the outer ones are from White Company,
Whistles grey furry gloves (no longer on the site so I can't link - sorry)
North Face hat (it would be wrong to link to this given it was a pressie!)

And this is just what I wear inside! To anyone with snow, I hope that you're having a huge amount of fun in it - wish we had some. x

The 12 outfits of Christmas - Day 1, casual glamour (Clamour)

[Outfit: Seven boot lane boots, Cos jeans, Jaeger boutique jumper, Miss Selfridge scarf]

So today I've decided to start my 12 outfits of Christmas feature. It's the third year that I've done this now (I think) but I'm sure that by day 4 I will have run out of ideas and I will be asking you all to contribute - which of course you are all more than welcome to do anyway. Maybe my Mum will even let me have a photo of herself in her New Look Christmas jumper. She's just had her hair permed so I'm sure that she's feeling on top of the world right now. 

My aim is to include outfits for lots of different occasions so whilst the outfits may not all be "live"  hopefully they may give some ideas - whether they be ideas of what to wear or what NOT to wear. As with last year, I'm hoping to include a gift idea each day too. I won't lie, they will be girlie all the way! 

OK so clearly I'm not up to anything overly glamourous today but even on those days when you're doing lots of jobs and ferrying children around for their MOTs (dentists/opticians etc) there's no reason not to include a little something special. So I've come up with the term (or maybe I haven't at all but I've not heard it anywhere before) of Clamour - casual glamour - which is really your scruffs but with a bit of bling, fur, sparkle or whatever takes your fancy.

I've added this fur scarf from Miss Selfridge (reduced from £25 to £12.50) to my outfit, which I'm also using as my gift idea for the day. They come in several colours - pale pink, mint green, black and mine is the grey one. I'd been after a fur scarf for a while but all the ones that I had come across were pretty pricey. Then I saw this one and thought "that will do nicely thank you very much" and I haven't taken it off since. Although it isn't furry on the back, it has a nice satin lining so it still looks nice and it's also slightly gathered at the bottom which makes it sit well. I reckon that receiving something like this on Christmas morning could make that enforced after lunch walk a whole more appealing, especially when all you really want to do is to sit on your bum watching telly and eating chocolate. 

So anyway, onwards and upwards. Here's looking forward to Day 2.....

The 12 outfits of Christmas - Boxing Day - shiny new white converse and "Robin" the jumper

 

After wearing heels all day yesterday, and with two young nephews here for the day, there was only one footwear choice for me and that was the shiny new white Converse that I had for Christmas from Schuh. Now I know that it's really uncool to keep them white and that they should be trashed asap but I plan on keeping mine as white as possible for as long as possible - even if that means using the whitener that we used on our Dunlop Green Flash trainers when we were at school.

I've known for a while that the white converse were on their way on Christmas day, together with the nephews on Boxing day, so I asked a friend of mine if I could borrow her Robin Jumper from French Connection to wear on here with jeans and a white shirt.  As I've mentioned before, he has a definite pink breast as opposed to a red one - just in case you were wondering. As he's not mine for keeps he will be flying his way back home tomorrow though, which is very sad...

Later on in the day we headed out for an emergency battery run/let's give the boys a run, trip. So, for that I swapped the converse for Seven Boot Lane Abella boots (now £120 instead of £175), GAP hat and Whistles parka.

The thought of doing any sale shopping, either in store or on-line, just doesn't appeal right now, although my sister in law has just told me that she can get 50% off at Net a Porter all year round. Eeek, that could be dangerous!

Working the grunge look...

Inside grunge...

 

 

Outside grunge...

 

Here I'm working the grunge look, in a way which I find wearable. Actually that's a total lie - I'm just wearing a selection of clothes which happen to fit into the grunge look, as defined this time around!

 

I'm wearing grey Cos skinny jeans (I love Cos jeans for their in between sizes and slightly higher rise - definitely worth checking out for anyone who finds it tricky to get jeans to fit because they are in between sizes - see similar here), Seven Boot Lane boots , Cos pink top, Jack Wills plaid shirt (for a good selection look here, some are in the sale) Zara parka (similar here in navy or cream) and a Radley bag. I bought the bag as a nappy bag when I had our son, so it's 12 years old now but still going strong. Whenever I look at it I think "Wow, that's a great piece of cow" because it is just a fabulous piece of leather and it still smells great too.

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.

Outfit inspiration - Dusty pinks, blackberry and taupe colours

I really like seeing a casual outfit with colours from a  palette of navy, dark purple, dusty pink and taupe. In theory it shouldn't work but it does, especially if one of the colours is picked up twice in the outfit and also if the colours are pulled together in a scarf. That way the outfit looks intentional and deliberate, rather than a random selection of pieces.

I often find that women are slightly nervous of wearing colours that don't "go" which is a shame as it can make a wardrobe more limiting than it need be. I'm a big fan of mixing things up a little, wearing things with confidence and bringing everything together with a scarf. I also think that people are generally too wrapped up in themselves to really notice what others are wearing and if they had the time to tell someone else that their outfit didn't "go" - well, clearly they have too much time on their hands.

For one of the outfits at last week's event in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, I started with this Jigsaw dusty rose boat neck jumper John Lewis (£89)....

....then I added these Jigsaw bi-stretch jeans, available from John Lewis in navy and from the store in black currant (£110). These are a great jean style trouser and a style which Jigsaw repeats season after season. The bi-stretch makes them really comfortable and they have 5% elastane, for extra stretch.

The Mint Velvet waxed parka in dark blue from John Lewis (£169) added a practical touch to the outfit in terms of warmth and also because of the waxed finish. The draw string also nipped the coat in at the waist to give it some shape.

The size of the Modalu Pippa large handbag in dusk (£225) from John Lewis made it casual enough to wear with this outfit. Any smaller and it would have looked a little too work like. The colour picked up the colour in the Jigsaw jumper.

The Seven Boot Lane Abella in black (£175) worked well with the length of the jean. We left the jeans slightly scrunched up on the top of the boot for a more casual "undone" look, rather than tucking them in too neatly.

The outfit was accessorised using three different length necklaces from Helena Moss Designs. Layering smaller pieces together is a nice way to give smaller pieces more impact. Helena takes inspiration for her work from nature and here she has used fir cones and cardamom pods to create her pieces. Helena can be contacted about her designs at helenamossdesigns.co.uk

Finally I worked in the Whistles camouflage scarf, which again has the taupe colour in it. It seems to have been really popular this season, being sold out at John Lewis and Whistles - but you get the idea.

A black GAP jersey dress, Whistles scarf and Seven Boot Lane boots (for a trip to Wales....and back)

The plan for our half term holiday was this: Go to Wales today, celebrate our son's birthday there on Tuesday, go for walks on the beach, light fires, carve pumpkins, bake cakes and come home on Thursday.

 

This is what actually happened: We went to Wales to day and, two hours later, we came back from Wales. Why? Because some numpty (me) mixed the dates up so that when we arrived, the people who had actually booked to stay in the house this week, had arrived. So, 300 miles and five hour later, we are now back home. I have a lot of humble pie to eat.

 

I thought that it would be a nice idea to have an every day jersey dress to wear at the weekend and so yesterday I bought this black dress from GAP, which was £24.95 in the sale.

 

Today I wore it casually but I plan on styling it in several different ways over the next few days. Here I wore it with a camo print scarf from Whistles, which is no longer available on either the Whistles, or the John Lewis site, though there may be some sneaky ones lurking in stores somewhere.

I also wore my new Abella boots from Seven Boot Lane and a smile which, oddly, I don't now seem to be wearing!

Seven Boot Lane - A fabulous new boot brand, with a 10% offer to Style Guile readers

I really like that part of blogging where I get to find out about new brands that I wouldn't necessarily know about otherwise - and then share them with everyone!

 

Seven Boot Lane was established in 2012 so is a fairly new kid on the (boot) block. Having taken a good look at the site, and having read the about page - which I think reveals as much about a brand as anything else - I didn't hesitate in accepting their kind invitation to try a pair of their boots to feature on Style Guile. Actually that's not strictly true, I did hesitate just to double check that they were absolutely sure and after they said yes, I went ahead and chose the Abella boots in black leather.

 

The philosophy behind the brand is really appealing. The boots are made in Spain by traditional craftsmen and women using hand finished leather. The brand sees itself as an "antidote to modern throwaway mentality" and it creates beautiful boots that stand the test of time both in design and quality. Available not only online, take a look her to find local stockists

 

With slightly sore toes today and with the rain lashing down, I thought that it would be a great day to put the boots to the test. As soon as I put them on they felt lovely - and this time I did double check to make sure that there were no cardboard inserts before wearing them for a whole day.

 

Testament to their comfort comes from the fact that I still had them on until it was time to go upstairs this evening to bath the youngest. Up until then I had avoided going upstairs for any reason as I didn't want to take them off - cream carpets and rain swept boots don't work. How ridiculous is that? I know, off the scale in ridiculousness but I didn't really need to go upstairs for much other than the dirty washing and that won't be going far.

 

Like many, I am a sucker for lovely packaging and these boots were certainly wrapped beautifully - it's the small things that count! 

 

As I opened the box, the smell of leather really hit me. I even asked our son (poor boy, he's so tolerant) to come and smell them. When I asked him what they smelt like he said: "Proper boots." So they got his seal of approval.

These give a good side view and an idea of the height of the heel (flat but not dumpy feeling) and the height of the boot too.

 

This is the tan version of the Abella boot, taken from the Seven Boot Lane lookbook.

 

  

I love the Annie in charcoal leather (£175) which also come in khaki suede. They have that fantastic slightly beaten up look which works so well with jeans and a leather jacket, with tea dresses and thick tights, or with a short dress and tanned legs for a festival in the summer.  

  

  

The Alice charcoal suede (£150), which also come in sand suede are a great every day boot and are so versatile. A lovely alternative to leather, they add some texture to an outfit.

 

 

This photograph is taken from the Boots on Tour section on the Seven Boot Lane site, where people can post photos of themselves wearing their Seven Boot Lane boots, getting a chance to win a pair in the process.

 

   

The Angelica  charcoal boots (£175) offer a lace up work boot that can be worn up or down. They're a brilliant way of tapping into the grunge look, which is such a big look for the season.

 

 

See the Angelica's on tour! 

 

  

The Alabama in chestnut (£160) also come in black and there are biker boots, knee high boots and brogues too. There are so many lovely boots on the site that it's hard to choose a favourite.

 

 

For anyone tempted with a lovely pair of boots from Seven Boot Lane, there's a 10% discount for Style Guile readers, available with this special voucher below.

 

 

Happy shopping!