A trip to London wouldn't be complete without a visit to Liberty, Cos, Uniqlo, Russell & Bromley and ...Boots!

No trip to London would be complete without a wander past Liberty. I don't always need to go inside to appreciate the store - in fact it's probably safer if I don't! For me, these beautiful flowers encapsulated the very essence of Liberty.  Aren't they beautiful?

 

It was just after I had seen these beautiful flowers, and whilst in a little dreamy world of my own, that I thought I had better check my emails. This I did, only to find one from our eldest's school informing me of an incident of nits. So that was me back to earth with a bump!

 

 

Before my visit to the Fold on Thursday, I wandered a little way down Regent Stree to Cos, before making a bee-line for Oxford Street and then one of my favourites, South Molton Street.

 

I spied these beauties in Uniqlo on Oxford Street - Orla Kiely scarves which are part of her new range for the store.  At under £10 they are a great way of adding a little bit of Orla Kiely to you wardrobe at an affordable price. She has also done a range of long sleeved T's, dresses and hoodies. You can take a look at the collection here 

Then I continued down to Russell & Bromley in hot pursuit of these leopard print loafers which I showed you the other day. I like them even more in the flesh than in the pictures...

...but they still won't be gracing my feet. It was nice to have tried them though. I took another couple of shots of them in the window of another Russell & Bromely but haven't featured them as I thought that we were in danger of loafer overload!

And my one purchase of the day. Our youngest daughter's favourite tooth paste of which we had run out. You should have seen her when I gave it to her the following morning. You would have thought that I had given her the world - or at least something from Hamley's - rather than a £1 tube of toothpaste from Boots!

Mum on the Run - A day out with the Fold in London

Yesterday I had a day out in London - and what a day it was!

 

Along with Amanda Start (the Online Stylist) and Victoria (Feathers & Frills) I was invited by Push PR, who represent The Fold, to style some of their fantastic dresses.  We were also joined by Jo and Eva - the winners of the competition run by the Fold. Greeted with champagne and cupcakes, I knew that we were in for a treat.

 

We had three looks to style: something for the weekend, power hour and social butterfly.

 

This was my something for the weekend look. The beautiful Oxford dress in coral with the Le Marais blouse in ivory layered underneath it. .

 

Accessorised with a black patent belt, black heeled Rockport loafers and a teal bag, it felt fantastic and I loved the style of the dress. Great for a cold Sunday afternoon.

Grace the photographer took lots of shots of us outside - but for this shot I turned the camera on the ladies directing us.

This was the outfit that I wore for the "social butterfly" look. It's a sample dress in a really beautiful fabric, which was incredibly warm. The style is called camelot and it's available in winter white and navy.

I accessorised the dress with velvet peep toe shoes and a bright clutch, plus a fierce necklace which I wore as a bracelet to contrast with the "prettiness" of the dress.

The neat fitted top half, three quarter length sleeves, nipped in waist plus a little volume in the skirt make it a really flattering style for lots of ladies.

 

Clearly the sign in the background is a reference to my age!

This is the lovely Leah at work - doing her best to make me look glamourous!

And here's the beautiful Amanda, looking as glamourous as you might expect! She has the most amazing blue eyes and her make-up is beautiful. Great red lips!

Here's Victoria from Feather & Frills looking sultry in the Rockefeller dress in merlot Can't wait to see the offical photos of this outfit. It will be stunning.

Here are Jo and Eva - celebrating winning the competition in style!

This is a beautiful shot of Jo, also in the Rockefeller dress...

...and Eva in the Camelot, which looked stunning on her. Such a beautiful lady!

 Now this fab lady works for Push PR and PR is her perfect job! We watched her virtually stop traffic so that shots could be taken and also charm the staff at a restaurant - persuading them to let us use their tables for a location shot. Larger than life, she flicked her hair, batted her eyelashes and charmed everyone.

 

This is Polly - the founder of the Fold. I think my best question of the whole event was directed at Polly. Still establishing who was who, I asked her for how long she had been involved with the Fold. She was very gracious in her answer!

Here we are left to right, Polly (the Fold!), Amanda (the Online Stylist) , Kathy (the Fold) Victoria, me, Kat (Push PR)

 

 

Thanks to everyone from the Fold and Push PR for organising the event. Special thanks to Kat from Push PR for all her hard work in organising the outfits and shoes, to Polly for leaving her first career to pursue her real passion and to Amanda - for asking Push PR to invite me along in the first place. So kind! And to Frankie, the whizz on Instagram, Twitter and all things that confuse me! I only hope that I haven't left anyone out.

On the Run - A very busy Mum in a lovely French Connection dress

Today I am bringing you Sarah, who is wearing the French Connection sub zero dress.  Sarah lives close to me and we often have "clothes chats" when we bump into each other in the supermarket, in the street, at ballet - wherever really!

Sarah dropped me a text after I featured the French Connection trousers in the same print, in a post in August entitled "How to choose and wear prints".  She told me that she had just bought the dress in the same print but said that she was unsure how to wear it as it was a bit short. But let me tell you, this lady has amazing legs!

Anyway, I asked Sarah to let me have a photo of her wearing her dress, so here it is. In her accompanying email she said:

 "From a mum perspective - it's a bit short so I put leggings with it as we were going to a children's party and I knew I would be clambering on the bouncy castle to assist Seb, 2.  I also have my trusty cross-body bag (crew - 2011) which has lots of room for nappies / wipes / drinks / hats / suncream - and I don't get too upset when the drinks bottle leak etc but I'm hoping to upgrade to a cross body leather satchel at some point ! A Handfree bag is essential for me !

I've got a v old navy jigsaw cardi - bought in the sale and some shoes from Dune which both my mum and sister also now own ! Mine were last year's but they had exactly the same ones in this year."

 

What I really like, is the way that Sarah has taken a dress which, at first instance, could look difficult to wear in the day time, and styled it in such a way that it works for her - clambering over bouncy castles and all. Also, the neat style and small print are great for her petite frame and I love the way that she has kept the rest of her outfit neutral so that the dress does the all the talking. Lovely! I am hoping that she might get a chance to wear it for an evening event so that we can also see it without leggings. If anyone can pull it off, Sarah can.

 

 

 

Style Guile smile - Atterley Road - THE new on-line shopping destination

When an email dropped into my inbox telling me about a new on-line shopping destination, Atterley Road, set up by Katie Starmer-Smith, formerly of Jigsaw, you probably won't find it too hard to imagine that my ears pricked up! With an exchange of only a handful of emails, it was arranged that I would speak with Katie.

Ideas for a new business often arise because what is currently available doesn't quite meet a person's individual needs - and Atterley Road is no exception.

When Katie looked in her wardrobe she found that half of it was made up of premium high street brands and that half was made up of independent labels.  However she felt that there was no one place that catered for what she wanted from an online shopping experience - a place where she could find good quality pieces from reliable, established premium high street brands, sitting alongside independent boutique labels, at a good price. And so that is how Atterley Road was born. So, brands such as Jigsaw, Whistles, Hobbs, NW3 and Farhi sit alongside independent labels such as Pyrus, Made and Bellerose. The aim is to provide stylish pieces that fit well, rather than on trend pieces which need updating each season, whether it's for the school run, a lunch out with friends or just a lazy weekend at home.

The best way that I can describe Atterley Road is to say that it sits between ASOS and Net-A-Porter. Atterley Road currently has 30 brands on board for A/W '12 with nearly another 30 appearing for S/S '13. Katie has just taken on six new Scandanavian brands with a visit to France lined up for next week to take on some independent French labels. She carefully selects the pieces that are sold, editing the collections by asking herself would she wear the piece? Who else would wear it? When would she wear it? and How many ways would she wear it?

Katie, a former designer at Jigsaw has standards - very high standards - and demands a lot from her clothes both in terms of cut, fit, quality, price and versatility. Years of working at Jigsaw, where attention to detail was everything, have seen to that - and that is what she is seeking to create at Atterley Road.

Three months of intensive market research, questioning women up and down the country, with and  without children and from different income brackets, satisfied Katie that there was a demand for Atterley Road and the first five weeks of trading have supported that.

What I think is fantastic about Atterley Road is that it gives exposure to independent labels, who may not otherwise have had that exposure.  Also, as someone who lives in a large city which has the stores with the premium labels but not the independent boutiques, I am really excited about extending my knowledge and discovering new brands which I may not have done so otherwise - safe in the knowledge that Katie has cast her discerning eye over the fabric, fit and quality of the garments first.

For those unsure of how to put the pieces together, the "Features" section of the website details the perfect pieces to include in a capsule wardrobe, how to wear stripes and three ways to wear the oversized white MiH shirt.

Katie is also passionate about good customer service and is constantly testing, checking and monitoring her procedures to ensure that nothing falls short of what she expects.

My only problem with Atterley Road? It's not real!  I would love to spend a few hours there but given that it's not, I will have to satisfy myself with browsing the site and waiting expectantly for a time when I can cast my beady stylist's eyes over the new brands  for S/S '13.

Mum on the Run - Party Party Party!

As many of you will know, we had big birthday celebrations this weekend which took the form of a 70th birthday party for my Mum. I can tell you, there's no better motivation for getting the house tidy than the thought of having lots of friends and family around Even the front step got a coat (or three) of paint!

So, in a departure from my usual posts, I thought that I would do a non-fashion post. Hope that you like it!

Our son and I made several batches of these the night before the party in preparation for afternoon tea the following day.  Freddie rolled them out, cut them out and gave them the egg wash. A greater fan of the Great British Bake-off you will not find! Wonder what Paul and Mary would say?!

This photograph was taken early in the morning of the day of the party. The bunting was borrowed from a friend and here you can see the freshly painted step!

And the tasteful (!) 70th decorations. They were limited but you have to have some, don't you?!

And just a few more!

Our youngest laid one of the tables for afternoon tea. She even chose Grandma's special mug and put the napkins and flowers out too. On the day, we used three or four beautiful table cloths that my Grandma had hand embroidered probably over 50 years ago now. We also used golden syrup tins for flowers, which we have collected over many years of baking. Note the owl cushion - where fashion goes interiors follow - except we had the cushion first!

Mum's birthday cake, as made by Caroline of Caroline's Cake Company with her beloved cat, Mia, on the top and beautiful handmade flowers. It tasted divine too.

I made this arrangement for Mum - a huge glass filled with things that remind us of her: jelly babies, liquorice allsorts, rubber gloves, hairspray, Walkers crisps, rollers, tea bags, gardening things and the all important blue eye shadow! Do you know how difficult it is to get a blue eye shadow in just the right shade of blue?!

Our eldest popped up to arrange the macaroons and pastries. Does anyone else remember Julie Walters as Mrs Overall and her macaroons on Acorn Antiques? It used to make us all laugh - and did on the day!

I think that Mum had a great time. Being surrounded by all my friends husband's seem to put a spring in her step too (as well as being surrounded by her family and friends!)

I also wanted to say thanks to Laura and Flo from the White Company for sending me this lovely box - which had something lovely in it which I will wear, and write about, when the weather is a little colder.

It arrived as I was walking through the downstairs of the house with a towel wrapped round me, having had a shower. The doorbell rang and I saw it was the postman with a very interesting looking parcel. Opening the door wasn't an option, so I called through the door to the postman and asked him whether I needed to sign for it. He must be used to this type of situation and just said, "No, it's fine, shall I just leave it on the mat?" Yes thank you Mr Postman, that sounded like a very good plan for all concerned.

Style Guile Smile - I love this jumper! (And it's cheaper than the shoes that I loved earlier in the week)!

Having had my hair cut yesterday, rather than the colour being of the salt and pepper persuasion, it is almost entirely salt, which is why I am sitting on the toilet lid in our bathroom writing this post whilst I am colouring it.

I have never really been one for having my hair coloured at the hairdressers. I have always been so annoyed at the expense, the time that it takes and the fact that I have come out looking like Paul McCartney on a bad day, that I now do it at home.  It costs me one tenth of the price, I can use my time wisely and there comes a point about half way through the life of the colour when it has golden streaks and looks as if it cost me a lot more than the £4 odd that I spent on it. I like that bit. Shame that it doesn't last for long.

Today's post is just a quickie as we have a busy weekend with our son's 11+ (well, he has. I am sure that I won't be contributing anything meaningful to the experience - apart from my support) and also my Mum's 70th birthday celebrations, which we are holding here.

So, I wanted to share with you this little gem that I found in the trend section at H&M yesterday. For what it's worth, the "trend" part is relevant because trend isn't stocked in all branches but it is worth finding out if your local branch sells it, as it has some great pieces.

Naturally, being the magpie that I am, the sparkly cuffs caught my eye. I was in need of a plain navy jumper and I liked the length of this one and the fact that it is slightly longer at the back. It is also 100% wool.

If I had seen it stocked in a more expensive store, I might have thought of buying a wool jumper elsewhere and adding the embellishment myself - ie doing a Gok - but given its £34.99 price tag I probably wouldn't save anything.

See, aren't these cuffs pretty? And they will be on display all of the time so at least the detail will be seen.

Again, it should be a really versatile piece and I think that it would look lovely with a white shirt underneath. It will go with anything from jeans, coloured or otherwise, to printed trousers and also with wide legged trousers and heels for an evening out. I know that I shouldn't think it, let alone say it, but it could even be the perfect Christmas Day jumper.

For anyone who would like to make further investigations, I have included a photo of the tag below. Note that the fawn tag denotes "trend"!

By the way, if you don't see me appearing on here for a few days it's because I am looking like Paul McCartney on a worse than bad day! Have a lovely weekend.

Mum on the Run - One mac two different ways....

I know that it looks like it but when this photograph was taken yesterday morning, I wasn't really looking to the skies, thanking the Lord that the day had come for the children to go back to school. Honestly!

I don't know about anyone else but by lunchtime (not before you note!) I really missed them. I even detoured on the way home from Homebase via our eldest's school to see if I could catch a glimpse of her.

Anyway, given it was the first day of the new term, I thought that I would give my new trench coat an outing.  I had been on the look out for a new one for ages as my Zara one was a bit shabby and I always felt a little self-conscious in it. I had looked at one in the sale in Aubin and Wills earlier in the summer, checked out the Burberry ones at Bicester and also the new season Hobbs and LK Bennett ones but nothing really grabbed me.

I then went into All Saints and found this one in the sale, reduced from £295 to £147.50. What I liked about it was the finish on it. The colour is described as Oyster and it has a slight metallic finish/sheen to it, which is better against my skin tone than a flat finish - especially a biscuit flat finish which makes me look either anaemic or slightly jaundiced. Lovely.

For this first outfit, I was wearing it with a Jigsaw skirt, Hobbs top and necklace, Topshop leopard belt, Zara shoes and Orla Kiely bag.

Number 3 (she who told our neighbours that I was out at the weekend getting drunk and that I had left her in the car on her own whilst I went to Wagamamas for lunch) was in charge of the camera today and refused to take a photo until I said "sausages" - hence the ridiculous grin.

Today I wore it with GAP cords in blue (these are the same style as the berry ones I had on on Saturday. With 30% off at the moment they come in at less than £30), Dune brogues, Ted Baker floral top, same bag!

Here you can get a better idea of the finish on the coat.

and also here too.

I can't find the trench on-line but should anyone be interested in the details, here they are on the tag. Just so that you know, they do come up quite big.

I also had a quick look in Mango today whilst in town and the suede jacket which I showed yesterday is lovely. Very heavy and nicely finished. Next didn't have the heeled loafers in and the best alternative I could find to the Russell & Bromely ones were these Andover high heeled penny loafers in Dune, which cost £75. They still aren't quite there for me but are probably the closest to be had for now.

Hope that you have all had a good day. Do let me know if you find any new season fab pieces!

Style Guile Smile - A suede Mango biker jacket in six colours and an alternative to the Russell & Bromley leopard heeled loafer of yesterday

I was going to post an outfit today...but that can wait until tomorrow because I wanted to show you this little beauty  - the Mango suede biker jacket which comes in 6 colours and costs £99.99.

As you know, I am a bit of  fan of a biker jacket. I love the versatility of them - the way that they can make a classic evening dress more edgy, they way they can be put with biker boots and layered with skinny jeans and a longer top underneath, they way that they sit so well with a lace pencil skirt. I could go on...

I have a theory behind building the perfect Wardrobe, which goes something like this: A good Wardrobe can be built in the shape of a pyramid, with three sections layered on top of one another.

On the bottom section are the basics: good jeans, black and navy trousers, white shirt, mac, lbd, day time and evening skirts, plus basic knits. These are the foundations if you like - and for some, a biker in a neutral colour, such as navy, black or brown, may fall into this section.
 

 

On the next level are some pieces to make your Wardrobe a little more interesting and up to date: coloured or skinny jeans or cords, day time sparkles, a denim shirt, stripes, lace and this could be the place for a biker jacket in perhaps a slightly more "adventurous colour" - perhaps to be added in when you already have one which goes with everything already - or just because you fancy it!

On the top layer are the on trend pieces for the season. There will generally be fewer of them and they will tap into the trends that you like - whether in terms of colour/style/shape/print and so on. Over time, some may work their way into one of the lower two tiers whilst others may have a shorter life span. This neon blue jacket, and this red jacket, would fall into this top category. They won't go with everything but they will make a real statement.

 

 

None of the above is set in stone - and some may head straight for the red jacket without having any other coat at all - just because they fancy it - and I totally get that too! But for longevity and to ensure that you have something that works with everything and for every occasion, the pyramid idea is a good starting place.

Following on from yesterday's post (and under orders from my friend to "work my magic") I have done a good deal of hunting for an alternative to the Russell & Bromley leopard heeled loafer. I haven't had a great amount of success so far but these are the nearest to anything which may vaguely work in the same way.

These are the Next leopard effect panel heeled loafer At £30 they are one tenth of the cost of the Russell & Bromley ones.  Whilst definitely less of a statement, the reviews are good so at the very least, they may be worth investigating. But I know only too well how it is when you fall in love with the real thing...