An event to which you are all invited - and a sneak peak at a couple of pieces I will be using....

A few days ago I was walking around our fabulous new John Lewis, taking picture of pieces that I would like to use on the models I will be working with at an upcoming event in Birmingham. John Lewis have kindly agreed to provide the clothes for the event and next Wednesday I will be going around the store with a rail selecting the clothes, shoes and accessories for the event. You know the phrase "a kid in a sweet shop"? Well I think that may well be me.

There were so many pieces that caught my eye and which will fit nicely into the twelve outfits that I will be choosing and which will range in name from "Brunch with the girls" to "Cocktail hour", "Fancy pants" and "Winter wedding".  My aim is to tick as many boxes as I can, featuring outfits which are both casual and smart, with flats and heels, which include some big trends and some micro-trends, which cover a wide price range and which appeal to a broad age range. 

The day before I go to John Lewis, I will be in the Jewellery Quarter meeting with the jewellers who are exhibiting at the event and choosing the pieces to use on the models. It's great for us that the new John Lewis has chosen six local jewellers whose stock they are carrying in a display case. I love that they want to support the City. 

This dress from Ted Baker (£199) is one of my absolute favourites. It's perfect for a winter wedding. The navy colour works so well with most skin tones, the length means no pulling down of tiny dresses, the print is bold but not overpowering and it is also well placed. The dress is just supremely elegant. There's also a skirt in this print too, which is also lovely. I like the idea of it with a cropped fur jacket. As to the lack of sleeves? Even I can manage bare arms at a wedding (and you could still sneak a vest in underneath!!)

Fur coats were a huge trend last season and the colour of this Reiss Alba faux fur coat (£350) is fabulous. I also wanted to show you a long navy sleeveless fur coat, also from Reiss, which is in store but not on the website. It was just one of those pieces to which you are instantly drawn. There was no way that I could have walked past it without giving it a stroke! 

 I also love this Hobbs jacket (£149). For Hobbs I think that it's a pretty good price and whilst clearly it isn't sheep skin, it has a sheep skin look about it whilst the navy stops it being too "1970's football manager-esque". When I think of that, all I can see is Terry Venables in a sheepskin coat. 

I could go on but I won't! As a taster though I have my eye on a LBD from Jaeger, sparkles from French Connection, prints from Damsel in a Dress, stars from John Lewis weekend, bright coats from Maison Scotch and as for the shoes? Oh don't even get me started on the shoes!!!

For anyone who would like to come along, please email mat.lovell@jqdt for a ticket. It's on Wednesday 21st October 2015 from 6pm until 8pm at McIntyre House, Holland Street, B3 1PW, which is located on Birmingham's only cobbled street, which is off a one way street - a one way street which I happened to go down the wrong way whilst looking for it the other day. Ho hum. People in New Zealand and Texas - you are excused from coming! We are hoping for 150 to 200 people and we have some great exhibitors as well as the fashion show, so do please pop by if you would like to. 

How to look good naked...but I think that I prefer these ladies with clothes on! (From Warehouse, Coast, Karen Millen, Dune, Ted Baker, Jaeger)

 

Yesterday evening I was working with the Solihull BID  at the Mell Square Shopping Centre and specifically, with House of Fraser. The photo above shows the seating area where I sat and chatted to my ladies. Put together by the interiors team, I would quite liked to have picked it all up and taken it home with me.

These were part of the team with whom I was working.  Boy were they heavy (sorry ladies). Dressing these models was so tricky - their arms kept falling off, they wouldn't bend or move in the way that I wanted them too, I kept groping their boobs (and apologising to them)!  I have so much respect for the VMs who work with them on a daily basis in the confined space of shop windows.

The models were to be dressed in work wear so I wanted to include a dress option and a trouser option, print on the top half, print on the bottom half, colour, texture, matching bag and shoes, clashing bag and shoes, open shoes and closed shoes, together with classic, and more on trend, pieces.

Model 1 wore printed trousers and a pale blue lace top from Warehouse to reference the pale blue in the trousers, a Ted Baker mac with Dune shoes and bag - very matchy, matchy - but they could easily be separated out.

I love Dune for their range of inexpensive but stylish bags. They have a lovely coral one plus some nice tan and black ones too.

The great thing about these trousers is that there are so many colours with which to work. I felt that the print of the trouser and the texture of the top demanded a simple, classic shape in a coat.

The shoes are black at the back. I like the closed toe for those who don't feel that open toed shoes are appropriate at work. Love the leopard print lining in the coat too!

Model 2 sported a little neon and black number from Coast -which almost looks like a skirt and top option - together with a softly tailored jacket, also from Coast.

The leopard print bag is from Biba. I fancied introducing a print as a black bag, whilst safe, was a bit too predictable. The patent shoes were from Kurt Geiger.

I wanted to break the neon pink up, so chose this large linked necklace from Karen Millen. I like this necklace for work. It's really versatile and has a good weight to it, with just a little bit of bling in the smaller links.

Model 3 wore a printed kimono style jacket from Yumi, a cream Warehouse top, Episode trousers, Dune shoes and a Jaeger bag.

I love the colours in this softly tailored jacket as there are so many different ones that could be picked up elsewhere in an outfit. It would also be great with jeans at the weekend. The Warehouse top has a slight texture to it and the necklace, which picks up the brown shades in the jacket, is from Ted Baker.

I love this Jaeger bag! It's as near as it needs to be to the shade of blue in the jacket and the shoes pick up the coral in the jacket. The shoes may be a bit high for work but maybe not. The trousers are a lovely fabric - nice and drapey with just the right amount of room in the leg.

Ladies, it was lovely working with you - even the ones that were rigid and not very chatty!

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!

Christmas Jumpers - I wasn't going to but I have succumbed...

"Mum, could you please get me a Christmas jumper as I need one to wear at school next week. Oh, I also need a fake moustache too." This was the message that I received from our son whilst I was in London on Saturday. So this was the result - at least on the jumper front - with the photo being superbly photo bombed by his sister. Good old Primark. And for anyone who happens to be in need of a stick on moustache, WH Smith has a pack of 6.

I wasn't planning on writing a post on Christmas jumpers and then there was a discussion about them on the Radio today so I thought that I would chuck in my two-penneth worth.

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about trying to find a Christmas jumper for our eldest. I hunted high and flippin' low, finally finding one in Internacionale, which was probably about my 10th store. And now? They are everywhere! Christmas jumpers must be a multi-million pound industry in their own right. New Look even has its own page specifically devoted to  Christmas jumpers from novelty, to Fair Isle, to even quite tasteful. I have had friends order flashing ones from Asda, Primark has a huge selection and Marcus Lupfer has some which cost a few hundred pounds. Yeah, OK, maybe not.

So here are my favourite three - and very predictable they are too!

The pale blue/duck egg blue one

It was in New Look that I found one of my favourite Christmas jumpers, this pale blue Christmas pudding jumper (£27.99). I looked at it a few times, even going back to it as I recall but I don't know - £27.99 for a jumper with a Christmas pudding on it? I'm pretty sure that on Christmas day I'll regret not buying it though. 

 

The sparkly one

 

My friend and I, we like Robin. Actually even her teenage son likes Robin and he was initially most scathing about him. I'm hoping that she might let me borrow him one day to feature on here... 

 

Robin jumper (£69) from French Connection. In real life his red breast is a really lovely pink colour - much more so than this photo would suggest.

 

 

The Fair Isle Jumper

 

I like this Ted Baker Fair Isle jumper (£99) and have had my eye on it for a while. It has a little more longevity than the Christmas Pudding one, which really does have quite a short life span each year - unless you decide to be ironic and wear it on a boiling hot beach in the summer.

 

 

Will you, won't you and if not for you, will your husband be wearing one at work one day sometime soon? Mine did under duress and I have the photo evidence to prove it but it would just be too mean to put it on here. Wouldn't it?

 

For the next five days I will be working at the Clothes Show giving Style Presentations and running Style Clinics. Whether I manage to blog each evening I am not sure. In fact I have no idea what state I will be in each evening. I'm wondering whether I will be able to take the excitement of seeing Peter Andre, Union J and all of those reality TV stars. I fear that it may be more than I can take!

Options for a night out....(there are quite a few!)

Tomorrow night I am co-hosting the West Midlands Women of the Year Awards at a fabulous hotel in the centre of Birmingham. It promises to be a glamourous affair and having the role that I do, I felt that I wanted to give some thought to my outfit.

I narrowed my options down to the following:

• Black jumpsuit and short, bright jacket;
• Long dress;
• Printed trousers and top.

My initial research on the jumpsuit front revealed a nice one in Reiss but that was nearly £200...

I had the idea of wearing it with this Ted Baker jacket, albeit in the hot pink, but with that being £179 it was going to amount to a pretty expensive outfit.

I also came across a jersey jumpsuit in French Connection (£125) but that was very low at the front, so it wasn't really an option. So that idea was temporarily parked.

Moving on to a full length dress, I really liked the style and shaping on this sequinned dress from French Connection which shaves inches from the waist. However,  at £180 it was more expensive than I wanted to pay for an outfit for one night.

 Next I moved on to the Ted Baker sparkle maxi dress (£179), which I liked in the shop but which I wasn't entirely sure about, given the poor lighting.

I brought it home and showed it to my husband on Sunday morning. Ordinarily I wouldn't ask his opinion on what I'm wearing but he does have a really good eye and so for a special event, I will ask what he thinks.

As I appeared in the kitchen he looked up from cleaning the fish (chubby, fudge and cola cube - don't ask!) and a look of terror went across his face. It wasn't so much because of what I was wearing but rather more because he was going to be put on the spot and his opinion requested.  His conclusion was that it was it was OK but possibly a bit cheap looking so, given the price, that was a "no". Having not come up trumps on the full length dress front, it was time to move on.

Next I moved on to the Ted Baker oil painting top (£89)...

and the Ted Baker oil painting trousers (£109)...

Now actually this outfit got a really positive response from Mr SG and despite the fact that it could, and really was, print overload, I really liked them together too. All was going well and he said...."it's different, fun, bright, yes I like that outfit, that will do. And then he uttered the fatal words  "It looks like a CLOWN OUTFIT." A clown outfit? I gently (after throttling him) pointed out that perhaps it wouldn't be a good idea to go out dressed in something described by someone else as a clown outfit. So that went back. As an aside, Ted Baker has over 30 items with this print and as much as I like it, now that it comes in skirts, trousers, tops, dresses, jackets, umbrellas and wellies, I'm slightly concerned about it - in a Daniella Westbrook/Burberry overkill kind of way.

So really that left me back to square one until today when I paid closer attention to this Topshop jumpsuit (£48) which I had seen last week. Not quite feeling up to stripping off and trying it on, I brought one home to try. Now what I will say about this is that it has potential. My only slight concern is that the waist it quite high, so the distance at the back from the waist, to the bottom of one's bottom, is quite big - which can make one's bottom look, well, quite big. So I'm not entirely sure on that. Actually yes I am - it's a no. I think.

In Topshop I also came across these luxe shine joggers (£42), which I have to say are a total winner. I think that I may devote a whole post to them at some point. They also come in a lovely blue and this is what I like about them - they're not thigh clinging or calf clinging for anyone who suffers from either of those problems - but they are tapered. The fabric is quite heavy too which I like for a bit of support.

I also came across this Forever 21 sequin bomber jacket (£32) and I think that the trousers would look fantastic with it - not necessarily for what I'm up to tomorrow night but for an evening out over Christmas.

 

 

I like the style of these metallic heels by Dune at Topshop (£85) to go with the above trousers. There will be less expensive options at Primark or New Look but I've included them to give you an idea.

 

Whilst on my travels I also picked up this Topshop navy taffeta skirt (£48). Actually mine is bright pink but it isn't showing on line, although the pale blue one is. It featured in the Sunday Times Style Magazine so I wanted to see it in the flesh. Again this isn't one for tomorrow's event but just something to try because I wanted to suss it out with a cami style top.

So where have I reached for tomorrow night's outfit? Nowhere really, which isn't great given that I'm busy all day tomorrow. Had I not faffed around for the last hour and half telling you all about the things I had discounted, maybe I would have moved things forward. As it stands I've drawn a big fat blank - although I did buy a Parka today because, of course, that will work perfectly tomorrow night.

As an aside, although I discounted some of these things, I hope to have given you some ideas for pieces out because they may just be right for what you're after.