They make me feel frumpy and dumpy but boy are they comfy!

The problem with putting deeply unflattering things back in the cupboard....

....rather than getting rid of them completely....

....is that you might be tempted....

.....sometime in the future....

 

 

....to wear them again!

 

Birkenstock the only place for frumpy, dumpy, but oh so comfy shoes. Well there, together with Office, Schuh and plenty of other places that have increased their stock now that they are THE shoes of the season. Thanks for that one Normcore.

*Only joking, I know that I don't have to wear them but now that I've dug them out, their appeal on the comfort front is obvious, even if aesthetically they leave a little to be desired.

**What I can't decide is whether, way back when, when I bought these was I:
 a) way ahead of the trend (I think not)
 b) deeply uncool (more probably) and whether...
 c) I am now as fickle as the next person who has bought into the trend (quite possibly)
 d) would I wear them if they weren't trendy now (probably not) and
 e) should I just shut up? (Definitely)

And if all of that doesn't demonstrate the fickle nature of fashion, nothing does!

And here's another trend that has been written about recently - men in socks and sandals. What were they thinking? M&S schools socks and pink flowered sandals. Brave boy, that's all I can say!

Stripes, florals and a sandal for summer....

 

The husband of one of my friends came up to me this morning and said "I like your shoes and I like the coat with them. It's a nice juxtaposition. You're making a statement." I'm not sure that I managed a response - that was quite full on and fashiony for me 8.20am, particularly as I was thinking about how our eldest had gone into her exams wearing a Sponge Bob plaster, designed so that he could act as her spiritual guru if her mind went blank. That's more of the level we operate on in this family. Apparently Sponge Bob was a big fat fail because he fell off.

You've probably all seen what I am wearing many times before: Jigsaw boyfriend jeans, Boden cashmere jumper, M&S shoes, Zara parka and Kate Spade bag.  I quite liked the jumper and the shoes together - the colours were the same but the prints were different and because there wasn't too much of either, and because they weren't too close together, they didn't fight with one another.

I came across these sandals from Red Herring (£31.60) whilst on my travels yesterday and thought that I would share them with you. It has to be said that they look better in the flesh but they are really attention grabbing when you walk past them. It's partly the colour and partly the slightly retro feel about them - they reminded me of something that Orla Kiely would design - although I should add that these aren't leather, which for some will be a good thing. The block heel is really cute and they would do a great job of brightening up darker coloured trousers or jeans. Anyway, just another idea!

 

 

A smart/casual outfit for an hourglass figure from Phase Eight and Next

When I saw this outfit on a lady with a size 16 hourglass figure today, I really liked it on her - so I thought that I would share it with you. Even she said "Oooh, you can see that I have an hourglass figure now." Hourglass figures suit a more fitted shape, rather than loose slouchy pieces which just cover up the curves - but there's that balance between wearing clothes that are fitted but which aren't overly formal or too trussed up.

Whilst the Sabina top from Phase Eight (£23.20 instead of £39) looks as though it has a high neckline, in fact it has quite a scoop on it, so it flatters a fuller bust. The draping and the way that it nips in and ties at the waist makes it really flattering, particularly given that a lot of the tops at the moment are really square - and therefore completely the wrong shape for an hourglass figure.

Lots of curvier ladies steer away from more fitted trousers, especially if they are printed, thinking that they won't be flattering - but these Erica Trousers from Phase Eight (£55.20 instead of £69) look great on. Being from Phase Eight, they are cut well, with a slightly higher rise than lots of other brands. They also have 3% elastane in them, which makes them really comfortable and a little more forgiving.

These navy Next wedges £35 do a great job of adding height, whilst still being comfortable. The deep scoop at the front of the shoe draws the eye downwards, elongating the leg. They also come in a nude colour. These are quite a safe option colour wise, so the addition of coral, or pink, shoes would also be nice - but sometimes small steps are necessary and for anyone nervous of a printed trouser for the first time, navy or nude shoes may feel slightly safer.

 

I like the way that Phase Eight have styled the trousers here. It's a simple but stylish outfit for anyone who is looking for something just that little bit different - but not too way out, as the warmer weather approaches. Phase Eight currently has 20% off in Debenhams (as do Coast, starting from tomorrow) so this linen knit jumper from Phase Eight  is £47.20 instead of £59.

It's just an idea - hope that you like it!

An outfit of 50 shades of blue, plus gems from a large ironing pile!!!

And for last night's evening out with Mr SG, out of the wardrobe of blue came ..... an outfit of blue! Now there's a surprise! The plan was to walk to the restaurant but it was drizzling slightly and because Mr SG doesn't do rain, or mud, for that matter, that plan was abandoned. However at least it meant that my trainers weren't lurking under the table in a plastic bag which they would have been otherwise - classy! The reason for my open toed shoes, despite the rain, was because a friend of mine and I went for a ridiculously long run in the rain yesterday and my toes were too sore to put any kind of going out shoes anywhere near them.

The only really current pieces from this outfit are the Lena jersey jacket from Whistles (£95) and the silk front sweater from Jigsaw (£89). Other than that I wore my New Look (magically expanding to fit any shape you are) skinny jeans and Mango block heeled shoes - I've seen similar ones all over the place this year to include Clarks (£49.99)

and Boden (£99) which also come in gold, tan, hibiscus and navy. The good thing about the Clarks ones is that for anyone who is uncertain about wearing an ankle strap, depending on your skin tone, they blend in pretty well so you avoid that leg chopping off effect. But then again I do love the blue ones from Boden.

I've said it before and I'll say it again but getting to the bottom of the ironing pile (or cupboard in our case) opens up a whole new wardrobe.  Today I re-discovered all manner of things I had forgotten about so whilst obviously there's now more blue in my wardrobe than there was before, there are also some other colours too. And some things have been there for so long that, having gone completely out of fashion, they have now come back in again. Result! (I might just do a whole week of posts on outfits that I found in the ironing cupboard!)

Does anyone else like blue as much as I do?! I've illustrated the point with pieces from Whistles, Jigsaw, Boden, Hush and GAP

I have friend who refers to her Mother in Law's house as "The land of brown." Everything in it from the carpets, to the crockery, to the candlewick bedspread, are brown.

I've decided that my wardrobe should be re-named "The wardrobe of blue" because so many things in it are blue.  My love of navy arose many, many years ago - as did my dislike of brown (other than pieces that are in leather) - I blame the 70's!

As to other shades of blue, I remember buying a pale blue top from Whistles in 1998 on a hot weekend to Leeds, just days before I found out that I was pregnant with number one. That explained the weird feeling that I had all weekend! I didn't possess that many clothes then and I loved that top. It was worn and washed until it went frilly around the bottom.

Anyway, these are a few of my favourite blue things at the moment. First off, there's the Lisa dress from Hush (£60). It's just arrived and I have yet to try it on but that day will come soon. I fear that it won't look quite the same as it does on the lady below!

I treated myself to this silk front sweater from Jigsaw (£89) with my Mother's Day Gift Card (it's amazing how far that seems to be going!) I'm really looking forward to wearing this. Just need somewhere to go now...

 

Ah, now I have my eye on these - the geo print trousers from Jigsaw (£89). I think that they will work well on my hols with my Boden sparkly sandals and I fancy some wide legged trousers for a wardrobe freshen up.

Eh, you can't beat a bit of navy and when the sun comes out and the legs are a little less blue than they are now (blue legs are one thing I'm not so fond of) this navy tube skirt from Whistles (£55) will be good to go.

For a sunny day, this blue Chambray dress from Cos (£69) with its 60's neckline and neat fitted shape will be a good backdrop to lots of different accessories.

This sweatshirt top from GAP (£19.99) is also a current favourite and now you can start to see what I mean. There's a lot of blue going on right now.

 

For a beach cover up, the Birkby Liberty print dress from Jack Wills  will come into its own. By the time I finally ended up with the right size, it had been reduced to £54, down from £79 - so it was worth the wait.

Over the years I've flirted with lots of different colours. We all know that I have a penchant for pink, am mad about metallics, go crazy for coral, am nuts about neon and and I love lilac - see I'm in lilac here (it's not blue)....

...but I always come back to blue.  Some colours make me feel positively unsettled. We once moved into a house where the living room was decorated in a shade of terracotta. Needless to say it was soon changed - to duck egg blue.  I just couldn't sit in it. Other colours make me look like my days are numbered, or in this case, up completely. (Not that I don't love these cropped cashmere cardis from Boden (£89) and they do have some great colours - but you get my drift.)

Currently I have my eye on these Liberty print Nike trainers from Office (£74.99) and guess what, they're blue.

But then I also really, really, like these printed shorts from GAP - see, no blue! Maybe all is not lost. However on many other levels, it so seriously could be (aged 43, three children, legs on show hmmmm)! Maybe I'll just wear them when it's boiling hot and blame it on sunstroke....

..or maybe I'll just buy some in blue. 

My fashion confession: I want to live in jeans. Permanently.

This outfit started off with smart(ish) navy Cos trousers being worn as part of  it but by the time it was time to start the school run, I had abandoned them in favour of my new boyfriend jeans from Jigsaw. I must admit that I am finding it hard to take them off as they are sooooo comfortable. I also wore a Zara striped blazer, navy ribbed Boden top, M&S shoes and a bright pink necklace from Alice's Wonders. With a meeting followed by a session with a client it worked well but the chance to nip home so that I could swap into my jeans was most welcome!

I'm sure that as time passes the desire for comfortable jeans and trainers is starting to feature higher and higher on my wish list - that and snuggly tracksuit bottoms and soft knitwear. Sometimes the thought of heels and dresses leaves me positively quivering in my skater trainers, so I'm grateful for the whole normcore trend, which is defined in Wikipedia as "a 2014 fashion trend of stylized blandness....an understated non-descript style." Now that's a trend that I am happy to embrace wholeheartedly.  What does everyone else think?!

Gemini Fashion - A blogger "style off" in printed trousers

 

Along with Donna at I Won't Wear Sludge Brown and Jane at My Midlife Fashion I was recently approached by Gemini-Woman to see whether I would be interested in taking part in a blogger style off, using a pair of printed trousers from Gemini's Sandwich Collection. together with a top which we were asked to choose from a selection offered.

I was interested as it gave me the opportunity to try Sandwich Clothing, which I haven't investigated for a few years now. It also gave me the chance to devote some time to looking at the collection, trying things for size and checking out the quality. As part of the style off, we were each gifted a scarf in the same print as the trousers.

The trousers that we were asked to wear were the Sienna dot pants in driftwood and they cost £79.50. Being 50% cotton and 50% modal they are really soft and they hang nicely. They are also machine washable. I love the muted colours in the print, which is so versatile in that it would work with lots of shades of grey (maybe 50 or so?!) plus creams, browns and not to mention turquoise. I am wearing the XS in all pieces, all of which were quite roomy, so perhaps opting for a smaller size could be wise.

From the tops on offer, I chose the single jersey jacket in dark wood (£89). It was slightly more fitted than some of the other tops suggested which, whilst lovely, I didn't think would suit my frame. The sleeve length is also good for showing off bracelets and bangles to their full effect and I really like the asymmetric detailing.

I also chose the lightweight jersey top in bright aqua (£49) as I thought that it would contrast well against the jacket, whilst also referencing the blue in the print in the trousers. Being a bit of fair skinned, OK pale, creature - some colour is always good too.

In terms of how I styled the outfit, in the shot below I am wearing both the top and jacket, together with a blue statement necklace, two Reiss cuffs and an Orla Kiely blue bag (which I accidentally left out in the garden overnight - a crime against bags if ever there was one)! I turned the trousers up slightly for a more relaxed look and the waist band down, as the trousers were quite high waisted, which for some is both perfect and essential. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the trousers hung over my bottom - sometimes they can be really shapeless but these were fitted although without any VPL issues!

But because I loved the colour of the top so much, I also went for a shot without the jacket. For me, an outfit such as this could be worn for so many different occasions - from a night out with the girls, to lunch, shopping or perhaps to one of the many "Oh so trendy Rod Stewart/Michael Buble/Gary Barlow" concerts to which my husband I seem to be going of late. I have to say though that the main thing about these trousers is the comfort factor so if you're planning on sitting still for a long time, or eating a big meal or doing anything in which your find other clothes restricting, these trousers could be the answer.

Gemini are currently offering a 10% discount which is valid for 1 month from today on full price clothing together with free delivery on orders over £75. For now I'm sure that Donna won't mind you using her unique code -  GEMSLUDGE10. I will update with mine tomorrow!

And as this is a "style off" Gemini will be promoting it across their social media channels, giving people the chance to vote on their favourite look, which you can do via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook - however really I see this as more of an opportunity to throw a few ideas around on how to style these trousers and to encourage others to give them a go when perhaps they may not have done so. They really are very easy to wear and great for people like me who, when it's hot, don't want to show the lot!

The elusvie boyfriend jeans....not so much a need for head room as a need for thigh room!

Today's post is about those elusive/relaxed/boyfriend non-skinny, but non/bootleg, jeans for which we are all searching. Thinking about it, why we would want to look like we are wearing a pair of bloke's jeans I am not sure - but for me it is all about the comfort factor.

 

Getting a pair with the right amount of slouch, without looking like we have stacked on a few pounds, is pretty near impossible - but it's all about accepting that it's a different look.  Skinny jeans with lycra to hold you in are good for creating a leaner silhouette. However, when heading into boyfriend territory, you just have to let it go!

 

Below I have compared three pairs of jeans that I already owned plus a new pair, to see which fit the slouchy/boyfriend look the best. If, however, someone said that they all looked exactly the same, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

So the first pair are the  GAP  real straight, in a dark wash (£44.95). The size that I am wearing are a 26/32. They have the width around the ankle but are probably my least favourite pair for the slouchy look that I am after, although they are great as an alternative to a skinny jean for a bit of hip balancing. 

 

The side shot is designed to show the fit around the thighs and the room in the lower leg - just in case anyone was wondering!

Moving on to the second pair, these are the sexy boyfriend jeans from GAP (£44.95) and I am wearing a 25" (the finish has changed this season and they aren't currently stocking any like these, though that will probably change). The fit of these is slightly looser all over - definitely looser through the leg than the real straight and they taper more which is OK with heels but for some reason less so with flats. They just feel a bit too carrot shaped with flats for my liking.

These jeans are made from a soft denim, which is nice and when I bought them they were definitely better than the Topshop boyfriend style, which were just skinny, skinny, skinny on me!

 

These are my latest acquisition, the Hampton boyfriend jeans from Jigsaw (£75) which I bought with a gift voucher that I had for Mother's Day. I wasn't quite sure how they differed from the other pairs I already owned and I bought them with the purpose of trying them at home alongside these other pairs, to see whether they were worth keeping.

The thing about these is that they come up ridiculously huge - seriously, massively, huge. The ones that I am wearing are a 24" waist, which is bonkers in anyone's book other than Victoria Beckham's - and even these are a bit roomy.

These definitely have that slouchy look about them. I have it in mind to wear them with my converse or slip on trainers in a very casual way - so why I haven't styled them in that way I'm not sure! I'm not convinced that they would be terribly flattering worn like that but as I said above, it's more of a comfort look that I am after and there's sometimes a trade off in that.

What I would say though is to anyone who is after some boyfriend jeans and who has a decent thigh on them (and I include myself within that) these do have some room so you should get the "slouch" you are after. Just go down a size, or two!

And finally here I'm wearing one of my favourite pair of GAP jeans - the ultra skinny bought from an outlet on the South Coast six years ago and they are a US size 2. Ultra skinny they are not, particularly around the ankle, and although they are quite fitted I can pull them down without undoing the button - all quite random really. 

 

I'm scared that these will give up the ghost before I can find a replacement - but I'm not sure that I ever will. Having said that, these don't quite fulfil the slouchy criteria that I am after.

 

Some other good styles that I have seen are these boyfriend jeans from Hush (£75) which looked so good on a friend of mine - although her legs are very long and slim so she does have a bit of an unfair advantage in the boyfriend jeans department.

 

And whilst I haven't tried these boyfriend jeans from the White Company (£85), I have high hopes from them. With them being from the White Company they should have a decent enough rise on them so that the whole builder's bum look doesn't arise. I would also expect them to be cut with some thigh room.

 

 

I also like this relaxed style jean from Cos (£59), which they had in my preferred choice of a slightly darker wash in the store. The good thing about Cos jeans is that they come in in between sizes, (27,29,31) as well as the even sizes. These look a little bit Mom jean, and a little bit Bros (as in the "When will I be famous" sense) but don't rule them out just yet. All jeans need to be given a chance to be tried on!

 

And so it was that yesterday I tried out my Jigsaw jeans for a day of running around doing jobs and sorting out my wardrobe (oh yes the charity shop had a lot of bags come its way today). I tried them in the way that I have should really have worn them for the above pics - with converse and a fitted jumper just to test their true slouch/boyfriend effect. Having also worn them today, it looks like I'll be keeping them!

Maybe this will give more of an idea - maybe it won't.....

I could go on but I think that you will all have had enough by now, however please do share any top finds you've had in the boyfriend jean department. Maybe just pinching a pair from your husband/boyfriend would be a good, and cheaper, alternative!

 

 

Silver shoes and more silver shoes....a girl should never be without a pair.

I hadn't intended for today's post to be about silver shoes but when my friend rocked up in these at school prior to her day in the office, my plans for today's post went right out of the window.

From nights out with jeans and a nice top, to smarter wedding type events and also to work, silver shoes are a wardrobe staple - and I'm never without a pair or two. They are so versatile, and are really great for adding the final touches to an outfit, or just pepping it up a little.

As a result of taking these shots the pair of us were nearly run over in the car park but you know, it's all in a good cause and I reckon that the sooner that our six year old girls realise that glittery shoes are worth being traumatised over, the better.

I thought that a heel shot would be worth including, just to demonstrate that they are not too high. I have it on good authority from my friend that these shoes are really comfortable and I have now also seen her running in them, so I'm prepared to believer her.

The shoes featured are the dazzling heels from Boden, which are now only available in gold (£71.40) but they also do these party heels with the nearest style to the glitter ones being these which are a mixture of silver and gold. There are also leopard print and coral ones too.

THEN, and would you believe it, as another friend and I set off on our run, she told me that she had bought a pair of silver shoes from Matalan (£15) (whilst going to buy her daughters' white school socks - liking the subterfuge). She wasn't sure what, exactly, she needed them for but let's face it, we all need a pair of silver shoes in our wardrobes don't we? In real life they are much more sparkly.

And as another option, I've included this silver sandal from Next (£28). I have also included a link to all of the silver sandals at Next because they have such a good choice and at such reasonable prices.

OK so who's tempted - and who already owns a pair?!!!