The 12 outfits of Christmas - Day 3: scruffy jeans but a slightly less scruffy top!

 

With two out of the three wise men still at school, Christmas isn't quite here yet.  So, whilst one might imagine that these particular posts should show something a little wow, today it felt like a jeans day. However I fancied a bit of print and colour in my top, as I knew that the cooker would really appreciate it as I slaved away over it.  Also our eldest had four friends over after school and whilst she would never ask me to change into something other than my Onesie, I do think that it is right to bear these things in mind (as she sits here, now in a Onesie).

So, I wore the Warehouse top which I bought in the spring, together with Gap jeans and Zara boots. And you know it wasn't wow, but the heeled boots definitely made it feel a bit more elegant, I like the jeans because they're comfy and totally worn in and the top is nice to wear. So I guess I've squared that one off in my mind and given myself permission to be a scruff bum!

To anyone who was thinking about buying/asking for as a Christmas present, the Calf hair satchel that I featured yesterday, just a word of warning. DON'T! Whistles is going into sale and the Calf hair swing satchel will be reduced from £395 to £195. 

The sale looks like a proper one to me - not a rubbishy old 10% off here and there. There are about 562 items in it to include lots of parkas and coats. There are a couple of things that I have bought/come across this season that people have liked so, just to let you know that the navy blue Ella panel trousers (£40) in sizes 6 to 14 are available, as is the Lita Leather biker (£225 instead of £325) together with the Annabel textured jacket (£95 instead of £155).  Oh golly, I fear that I may have put a spanner in the works for folks!

Now, for today's gift idea. It's this ice crush nailvarnish from Topshop and it costs £6. It is a clear glitter varnish and it's brilliant on a number of levels. You know me, I like a good cheat when it comes to looking polished (sorry for the pun) without actually making too much effort. So here's why I like it...

For a start, it transforms any plain coloured nail varnish into a sparkly one, just by whacking a coat of it over the top. It also has incredible staying power, so that your nail varnish stays on longer than the usual 5 minutes. Thirdly, it makes a less than perfect finish look great. So if you've accidentally scratched or chipped your manicure seconds after finishing it, this will totally rescue it. It's a bit like a printed dress disguising those less than perfect areas, whereas a plain coloured dress can require scaffolding for underwear to make it look perfect.

The 12 outfits of Christmas - Day 2 - Fun accessories

 

 

With one child already having broken up for Christmas but with two still at school, there are still school runs to be done. So when I got up this morning, it was more a case of putting something on that was warm and practical - and then dressing it up with accessories - rather than anything else.

As you know, I like a bit of animal print and a bit of flouro, so I used accessories to work them into my outfit. The three quarter length sleeves on the jumper allowed me to throw on a selection of bangles/cuffs in clashing colours and the bright pink Jaeger scarf allowed me to work in some colour in an even brighter way. The All Saints bag brought in some animal print, together with our lunch which our youngest and I smuggled into the cinema when we saw Frozen - which I have to say is not the best film to see for someone who is permanently cold. Our five year old looked at me like I had lost the plot when I asked her whether the film made her feel cold. I just wanted them all to put some more layers on.

So, in a nutshell, accessories are a good way of introducing a splash, pop, nod, whiff or smidge (great names for Reindeers) of a trend or colour into your outfit so as long as the rest of it is plain. Pile them high and bright!

I can't pretend that today's gift idea is a cheap one but you know, the sales are on their way and more expensive pieces can always be used as inspiration for hunting out less expensive alternatives. This calf satchel from Whistles (£295) is something I have looked at on more than one occasion whilst in Selfridges. Just because it's lovely!

Tomorrow I'll go with something a little more accessible price wise!

 

PS I do realise that in this photo my bag looks like it has feet but hopefully you can see past that - or around it, or through it. That's the problem with not checking anything in a mirror, sticking a phone in the hands of your five year old and asking them to take a photo. Ho hum!

The 12 outfits of Christmas - Day 1: The floral jacquard top

 

Today I'm starting with the first of my "12 days of Christmas" posts. It's fair to say that so far it's not going too well.  I had to abandon today's outfit (just to be sure, this isn't it) as the photos were so blurred. Having said that the outfit was pretty terrible anyway so it's not entirely the fault of the five year old and in a way she saved me. 

You will probably recognise the top from my last post. It's the floral jacquard top from Miss Selfridge and I decided to test out its versatility during a trip to visit our family. The top is fairly short so I layered another top underneath it, in a similar colour to my trousers, just for continuity of colour. I wore it with my favourite "wipe down" Primark coated trousers which turned out to be quite a good move as I managed to chuck flour down myself when rolling out pastry to put on a pie. I also wore a Next long cardi, Zara boots and a Mulberry bag.

I'm also going to include a gift idea in each post - for us, naturally! It will be something that you may like to put on your Christmas list, or buy for yourself to pep up some plainer pieces in your wardrobe or just to have as a back up as an emergency present for an unexpected guest. Naturally if said unexpected guest doesn't happen to be female, or share the same taste, they may just have to be satisfied with a box of spare chocs and you will have to keep the gift instead. Such a shame.

This is one of my current favourites and I have had my eye on it for a while - it's the Coast Kingston necklace and costs £40. This would sit really well against grey, black or navy - so it's a winner in my book.

In need of a new top? This floral jacquard top from Miss Selfridge may just work....

I am so disappointed that all the Christmas decorations available to us locally are so tasteful. Yesterday I went in search of big, sparkly, bright and if I'm honest slightly kitsch (OK, totally tacky) baubles to brighten up the tree. However all that I could find were white or silver, totally tasteful, wooden shaker style decorations with meaningful quotes on them. What's that all about and where's Woolworths when you need it?

I did manage to find tinsel though - albeit white and silver - so that was a small start at least. I'm now on the hunt for some of that cobweb spray stuff that we used to have on the tree when I was a child. How cool would that be? I can wreck the ozone layer and our lungs all at the same time.

Speaking of slightly gaudy sparkly things, I went out with some friends last night - not that they are gaudy - but this top that I was wearing from Miss Selfridge (£35) most definitely was. I didn't get a photo of the whole ensemble but thought that I would tell you about the top anyway because quite often at this time of the year we can be on the hunt for a new top to pep up jeans/black trousers etc.

 

This top is part of Miss Selfridge's Floral Jacquard collection, which contains trousers, bustier style tops and shorts. The colours in the pieces are really lovely and if you hover over the images on the site you can see them much more closely. This top has nude, pink, teal, gold and pale blue in it and it's nice to pick up on one of those colours elsewhere in your outfit. There's a zip from top to bottom at the back and the top is lined. The fabric is quite stiff - although not in an uncomfortable way - so if you're after a floaty number this isn't it but it does feel quite substantial and therefore, warm (big plus!)

I also wore these Luxe shine joggers from Topshop (now reduced to £30) which were really like wearing my PJ's but hopefully they looked a bit smarter...

 

...and these Lacey courts from Carvela now £45 instead of £85. Oddly as the night went on these shoes got progressively more comfortable but I fear that says more about my state, rather than the shoes themselves. I have to admit to feeling slightly delicate today and it's safe to say that there won't be any photos of me appearing for a while yet - although my husband kindly offered to take one for the blog this morning, which I politely declined.

 

 

Hope that you are all having a good weekend and good luck tomorrow to all you Bristol ladies who are running a10k race for charity.

Softly does it - cashmere, cable knit and tweeds in pale shades of grey, blue and taupe

 

I'm conscious that a lot of my outfits have been pretty much head to toe black of late, so today I lightened up a little. There's still not much colour going on, more a palette of pale blues, greys and taupe.

I didn't manage to get around to wearing this tweed Hobbs blazer much last winter, so as it's not too cold at the moment, I thought that it would work fine to my quick whizz into town to do some Christmas shopping. It also allowed me to revert to my default outfit of jeans/denim shirt/grey cashmere jumper, which was a nice change from sequins. Although I fear that they will be making an appearance again very soon....

Outfit: Hobbs blazer, La Redoute cashmere jumper, New Look denim shirt, Gap jeans, Zara boots, Mulberry bag, Gap hat.

Another outfit from the Clothes Show - A Tux Jacket and Panelled Leggings

 

Just a quick one tonight as now I have finished my five day stint at the Clothes Show, there is lots to catch up with at home!

I wore this outfit on one of the days that I was working. All of the clothes are from La Redoute and the outfit consists of the Jersey Tuxedo Jacket (£41.30), a black sweater (£11.50) and coated leggings  (£11.90).

I have to say that I loved wearing everything. I liked the long line lapels on the tux jacket and also the fact that it was jersey, so it was soft and not too restrictive. The front of the jumper is lovely and silky and it looks far more expensive than its £11.50 price tag. As to the leggings, I liked the fact that the panels were more like coated jeans, rather than faux leather, as I preferred the dull finish to them. Some of the faux leather ones are just too shiny and plastic looking. The other good thing about them is that they have pockets on the back, which means that (on a good day) they could be worn with a shorter top.

Here are some slightly clearer pics of the pieces that I was wearing...

The long line lapels are really flattering, creating a long, lean, line (oooh, don't you love a bit of alliteration?!)

The front of the jumper is silky, whilst the sleeves and back are knitted. This also comes in other colours, some of which have studs on the front.

I've included this picture not so that you can admire the fine tucking in of the shirt into the leggings but rather so that you can see the finish on the panels more clearly.

Really hope that everything is coming together for everyone on the Christmas shopping/wrapping presents/making mince pies front. Having briefly watched a little Jamie Oliver and Nigella, I've given up as they make me feel too inadequate. I wonder, is anyone else off to buy some mince pies and smash them up with a rolling pin and dust them with icing sugar for that home made look, as per the book?!!!!

The Clothes Show - An outfit from day 2

This is the outfit that I wore on day 2 of the Clothes Show - which seems like a lifetime ago now. It has been a whirlwind of presenting, making videos, interviewing people and watching the girls from Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model have fights, throw tantrums and cry in the loos.

As I'm working with La Redoute, they asked me to choose pieces from their collection to wear. You can find the skirt here (currently priced at £41.30). It was great to wear - really comfortable and there wasn't any sequin shedding. Here I'm wearing it with a grey, three quarter length sleeved  jumper with a collar. Although it's from one of their less expensive ranges, it's really comfortable. I'll try and give you the link to the jumper tomorrow.

It's my last day at the Clothes Show tomorrow, so I hope to bring you another outfit or two sometime soon (there's a bit of catching up to do at home!) plus some of my favourite pieces from the La Redoute range.

The Clothes Show!

Today I was working at the Clothes Show, where I wore this sequin sweatshirt dress from La Redoute (£95 down to £66.50). I really like this dress. Whilst obviously it's totally OTT sequin wise, the sweatshirt style dresses it right down, so it's perfectly "do-able" in the day time. Not only that but the style is quite relaxed so it's comfortable. And warm too. A double winner!

It was a great day, with lots going on. I even managed a quick chat with Poppy Dinsey who runs the blog What I Wore Today. I remember seeing Poppy on "Lorraine" quite a while back now and thinking how articulate she was, so it was nice to say hello in person. She was lovely - very natural looking, very down to earth and with some great views on blogging - and in particular, cyber bullying.

I also saw someone from TOWIE, or Made in Chelsea, or something like that. I only know because there were loads of girls trying to get their photo taken with him. Tomorrow will be hugely busy so that should be fun. I'm really hoping that I can catch Caryn Franklin talking with Poppy and others on the Fashion Panel. Like many, I remember Caryn Franklin from the early days of the Clothes Show on TV. She has some great views on fashion so we'll see what she has to say......

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!

Contact lenses - possibly one of the best (non) accessories of all.

Just so that you know, I wrote this review while participating in an influencer campaign by Mumsnet on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Having said that, my main motivation for writing this post was to apologise to our eldest for my lack of parenting skills (a distinct disadvantage of being the eldest is that you are the practice run and whilst I have told her already that I am sorry, if I get run over by a bus tomorrow at least she will be able to read this) to share my experiences (so that others can avoid making the same mistake) and to give our eldest an extra Christmas treat by way of slight compensation for my ineptitude.

Dear Flossie,

I am so very sorry for not listening to you sooner when, at age 10, you said that you couldn't read the blackboard at school. I know that it wasn't until you moved to secondary school and they gave you an eye test, telling you that you needed to go to the optician pretty pronto, that I finally acted on it. You see, Dad and I have really good vision and I just never imagined that you would have problems with yours. It just wasn't on my radar.

When I spoke to you last night about wearing contacts, you said to me: "When I asked you if I could wear them, you said NO straight away." I have been thinking about that all day, feeling even more guilty than I did for not taking you to the opticians immediately. Then you walked out from school with one of your shoes in your hands, dripping wet from where you had dropped it in the swimming pool and then I remembered why it was that I said no in the first place. You are, shall we say, ever so slightly, accident prone. Tripping over your own shadow probably rated up there with the best of them. You are also slightly forgetful at times, which is why you have two pairs of specs - both of which I seem to recall you left at home this morning.

Whilst you don't mind wearing your glasses (I think that you look beautiful in them) now that you also wear contacts, it has definitely made things easier for you. After some practise at putting them in, you haven't had any problems at all. You can now go to parties, to the cinema, ice-skating, for days out and to see concerts without needing your glasses - and at least once contacts are in, they stay there. You wearing contacts has even enabled us to help your friends out when they have travelled miles to hockey matches at school on a Saturday morning without their contacts and they have sent out an SOS requesting an emergency pair.

Whilst you never complain, and you appreciate all the good in your life, I hate to see you struggling to read things without the help of your lenses and how, when you put them in you say, "Ooooh, it is like someone has cleaned my eyes and I can see again." I also hate it that sometimes you're not sure who is waving to you and how you worry that people will think that you are rude for not waving back. That makes me sad and I would happily trade my vision for yours - although I'm not entirely convinced that mine is quite as good as it was!

Anyway Floss, I figured it was worth writing this post and receiving payment for it as I can give it to you and you can have a little treat* yourself.  Also, if it helps any other parent to avoid the mistake I made, that would be really good. And just because your child drops their shoe into a swimming pool (at the age of nearly 15) that doesn't mean that they wouldn't be able to cope with contact lenses.

xxxx

*Flo, if you want anything from Hollister please don't ask me to go in with you as I can't see anything in there and I fall over things. 

In writing this post, this is what I also discovered;

• Short sightedness typically develops around 8 years of age and worsens through the teen years (ooops, missed that one!)

• Many parents think that contact lenses are not a viable alternative for their children. However, a growing body of research in children’s vision correction continues to demonstrate that contact lenses provide significant benefits to children beyond correcting their vision; 

• Studies have shown that children who wear contact lenses feel better about their physical appearance, athletic ability and social acceptance compared with children who wear glasses. These children also report greater comfort with peer perception and higher satisfaction when engaging in social activities. Contact lenses can even help to improve academic confidence, especially among children who are unhappy with their glasses and may not regularly wear them at school or to study;

• Age is one factor in determining whether a child is a good candidate for contacts, but should not be the only one. Studies show that some children as young as 8 years of age who need vision correction are capable of wearing and caring for their contact lenses.

            

 

 

 

 

A classic, navy, fail safe dress courtesy of Cos

As with the past two years, this year I will be running my "12 outfits of Christmas" feature, where I will be bringing you an outfit a day for 12 days over the festive period. However, this means that between now and then, I will be digging deep into my wardrobe to wear things that I haven't worn for a while. Well, it's either that or go out and by 12 new outfits. Now there's an idea.

So today I wore a navy Cos wool dress, which I have had for about three years and which I bought as I was presenting at a conference. It is lovely and warm and I like the horizontal zip detail on it, although I am always slightly concerned that someone will come up to me and "un-zip" me. This is a good dress to have in my wardrobe - not uber trendy but more of a classic style which won't let me down. I also wore my new Topshop statement necklace and Jigsaw shoe boots.

I decided not to edit this photo as had I done so, you may have all wondered where my eyes had disappeared. The reality was that I was really laughing at my friend who was taking the photo in our local M&S as she practically had necklaces wedged up her nose at times.

Wearing a dress for a Monday, with heels and a boucle jacket...

I can't quite remember how I wore this Warehouse dress when I last featured it on here but I know that at some point I have worn it with black Zara ankle boots and an All Saints cocoon coat. Today, however, I wore it with heels in the form of Jigsaw shoe boots and a Boden boucle jacket with a Peter Pan collar. Oddly enough I have just seen someone else wearing the same dress whilst I was out running. I didn't get a chance to check out her shoes but she was wearing a cream coloured fur coat with hers - so there's the inspiration for my next outfit. Handy!

For anyone who likes the print, Warehouse also do it in a cami and a biker jumpsuit.

Happy Monday everyone - hope that you have had a good one!

A day trip to London complete with a little bit of shopping!

Yesterday our eldest and I went to London for the day. Although it wasn't meant to be a shopping day in particular, there were one or two essential purchases to make because remarkably, the person who is always freezing, didn't wear enough clothes. As observed by the eldest with a wry smile, it was one of the best excuses she had heard for having to buy more clothes. However, I knew if I didn't do something about it I would be freezing all day and as several of my fingers had already gone white, I knew it was time to act. So, a quick trip into GAP resulted in the purchase of this cable knit jumper in neon coral (£34.95 less 30%)...

...and this cable beanie, also from GAP in heather grey (£9.95 less 30%).

After I'd put both of those on, the feeling started to return to my fingers, which I took as a good sign. We headed to Covent Garden and the Royal Opera House shop, before going to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus and down Regent Street to Hollister, which was described as: "A dark, smelly, overpriced, hell. The kind of place you try and fight your way out of in a dream but can't get out of..." And that was by the person who actually chose to go in there i.e. not me.

We then took a trip to Liberty to look at the stationery and the decorations, followed by a spell in Topshop on Oxford Circus (which had slightly different "attractions" to Hollister) before battling our way down Oxford Street to Selfridges to see the window display, the Christmas decorations and the shoe gallery. Having spent quite a lot of the time in the shops we decided to do some sight seeing before heading home, so off we went to Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

But of course no trip to London would be complete without a trip to the newly opened J. Crew. It's funny because I'm not convinced that it lived up to its hype, whereas when I visited & Other Stories for the first time, I was totally impressed. The things that I really liked in J. Crew I felt were expensive, the basics weren't that inspiring and in my opinion there were some really, really, grim things too - which I know is true of any brand but I wasn't really expecting it of J. Crew.

Out of everything in J. Crew this chevron scarf (£68) in citron grey was one of my favourite things. Possibly because I was still a bit cold, more likely because grey and yellow are a favourite colour combination of mine, undoubtedly because it was really soft and I'm thinking that chevron prints are the way forward. For £68 though I felt that it would more likely be a sale purchase.

For the same reasons I also liked the chevron hat from J. Crew (£39.50) but for the same reasons, I left it where it was.

I also took a look at the highly rated Merino tippi sweater J Crew (£69.50, which comes in 18 colours) whilst I was there - just to see whether it was worth its price.

Now I think that this is a tricky one. Sometimes you set your heart on something and it becomes the holy grail of that item, to the point that nothing else seems to cut the mustard, so (within reason) it's just better to bite the bullet and buy it, rather than buying two or three cheaper versions which don't quite work.

In its favour, the sleeves are a nice length and the colours are good. I also think that the ribbing around the neckline, hem and sleeves sets it apart from others. Having said that it is really lightweight so wouldn't offer much warmth and it would need something underneath it. Maybe if I was after a specific colour it could be a yes, or if I had dreamt about owning one and nothing else would do, then it would be a yes. Otherwise, we reckoned it was worth £25, which would make it a no. For the same price I would probably look closely at this cashmere round neck jumper in Pure which comes in a wide selection of colours and with the current discount available doesn't cost much more, or to the cashmere in GAP, H&M or M&S. Having done that first, maybe then I would be satisfied that this was the one!

As an aside, after I'd spoken to an assistant in J. Crew, she told me that she really liked my necklace, which I had bought in Topshop one as a cheaper alternative to one of theirs.  I can't see it online at the moment but was £22.50 for anyone who wants to keep their eyes open, or equally tell me that I am wrong and that it is there!

Finally, I have had my eye on this pink leather clutch from Whistles (£35 less 20%), for a while. The fact that it is a different colour on each side doubles its versatility - and halves its price too if you think about it. So it was a winner all round.

Oh and the above photo was taken in the M&M shop, with the Union Jack being made entirely out of M&Ms. As to the rest of the outfit I wore my All Saints Pia dress, a Whistles jacket, All Saints shoes and a Mulberry handbag - plus on occasion our eldest's school gloves which she has had from the age of 7. Stylish!

And the final outfit for the West Midlands Women of the Year Awards was.....

 

The Topshop jumpsuit!

You may remember from my last post, that I was trying (and failing miserably) to decide what to wear to last night's West Midlands Women of the Year Awards, which Justice Williams MBE had invited me to co-host with her. Having discounted several options, I decided to give up. Also I had spent so long writing about it, I had run out of time. Luckily for my husband he was away overnight - in fact I haven't really seen him all week so I couldn't ask for his opinion. Hmmm, I'm starting to smell a rat.

Then, when I woke up yesterday morning, I'd received a facebook message from a friend saying that she liked the Topshop jumpsuit. So, after getting out of the shower, with a towel still wrapped round my head and minus any lighting because I didn't want to wake our youngest who had crept into bed with me, I pulled it back on, glanced in a very dark mirror and thought "Yep, that will do" before pulling it back off again, getting dressed and leaving the house at 7.15am to take our son to the station. So in the end it was a pretty quick decision after all.

 

The awards ceremony was a lovely affair. It was fantastic to see some familiar faces and to meet new people too. Some of the recipients of the awards had had amazing and emotional journeys, suffering great personal tragedy along the way. Needless to say, as well as much joy, there were also a lot of tears. Veronica Kumeta of Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer was awarded the Inspirational Woman of the Year Award and Georgina Moseley of Help Harry Help Others was awarded the West Midlands Woman of the Year Award.  

 

Justice Williams MBE, who is the founder of the awards, is a truly inspirational woman with a huge amount of energy, passion and integrity. In her own words, "Instead of getting a law degree, I got myself a criminal record".  Whilst in her early twenties, Justice was sentenced to a short time in prison and whilst there, she spent time in the library, looking for jobs so that she could make something of herself when she got out. On her release she volunteered at a local youth group and in 2004 she set up her own initiative to help disadvantaged youths set up their own businesses. In 2008 she became the youngest black woman to get an MBE.  After becoming a Red Magazine's Hot Woman of 2010, she felt that the women of the West Midlands deserved an awards ceremony of their own, hence last night's event.

 

Emma from fashionmommy also deserves a special mention. She was awarded the Fashion Blogger of the year award, which was a fantastic achievement. Unfortunately due to her young son being poorly she wasn't able to make it to collect her award, however it will no doubt be winging its way to her soon.

 

And of course no awards ceremony, which honoured women, would be complete without cakes!

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.

It's grey, jersey and drapey - the Whistles Selma bodycon dress (without too much of the bodycon - fortunately)

This evening I've been running a Style Event at a firm of Accountants in the City Centre. I thought that I would finish the evening by showing everyone a really sexy piece of clothing - my new padded (and unworn) socks from M&S. I know, how stylish can you get? I love them - once you've had the benefit of padding in your socks, other socks just won't do. Well, it reinforces the point that I am a very "feet on the ground" kind of stylist.

For the event I wore the Selma jersey bodycon dress from Whistles (£125) which is really comfortable, not to mention a good "blank canvas" kind of dress to accessorise. I also wore a resin necklace from Hobbs and I pinched my husband's watch to wear, just so that I could keep an eye on the time and to stop me from talking all night!  My LK Bennett grey Sledge shoes had another outing. They were an expensive purchase at the time but I don't have many pairs of heels and they go with everything, so I've got my head around that one now.

I hope that everyone's week is going well so far. I am co-hosting an awards ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday night and am just hoping that the children avoid all sickness bugs and colds that are doing the rounds until then. You know that feeling when you're hanging on by a thread and just keeping your fingers crossed? That's where we're at!

Introducing my new find.....The All Saints Pia Dress

 

My new favourite find is the All Saints Pia Jersey dress (£98) which I am wearing in ink. It also comes in charcoal and khaki marl.

Now, a word of warning about this dress - on the hanger it looks like a big piece of wonky material with arm holes at different heights and a sloping hem. On a person it looks like well.....you insert the words! No, the thing is I hunted high and low for it in store, not quite believing that the wonky tube that I was being shown was the dress that I was after, but it was.

As to my second word of warning, this dress needs to be played with - a lot! I tried on the 6 then the 8, pulled it up, pulled it down, turned it around and upside down.

I like the fact that it can be worn at any length you choose, from just below the knee to mid thigh, depending on where you make it sit on the waist. This is definitely one that I will wear out with friends, to work and all of the way through the summer, at a longer length than I am wearing it here.

This dress will go with anything from a leather jacket to a blazer or a sparkly jacket. A long cardi layered over the top will work well as does a top layered underneath. Heeled boots, wedge trainers, smoking slippers, courts or dressier heels will all go with the dress - and I plan on doing the lot. Although possibly not all at the same time because in doing so I could fall over and whilst falling over from excessive consumption of bubbly stuff is fine, falling over from trying to get too many shoes on one's feet is just stupid.