What not to wear on a skiing holiday - rocking Simon Cowell and socks with flip flops!

“Mum, you look like you’re sitting on the toilet, slowly” came the words of encouragement from the 7 year old at the end of day two of our skiing holiday. “You need to work on your speed.”  And there I was, thinking that I was doing OK. Apparently not.  

There have been a few tense moments, a little bit of swearing, times when I would far rather have been at home, or anywhere else frankly but as I’ve said before, I have no choice, which in some ways makes the whole learning to ski thing easier.

Now I know that a huge amount of you will be seasoned skiers and that there is very little that I can offer in terms of suggestions for clothing, things to take and so on but for those who are just embarking on a skiing journey of their own, there may be one or two things that I can offer.  I did quite a bit of research before setting off  (ie speaking to knowledgeable friends) and this is what I’ve concluded so far….

My waist bag, which due to being known as a “fanny pack” in the US has caused considerable hilarity, is hugely useful. I bought it at H&M (£7.99) and I use it to hold the key for the locker in the boot room, a lippy, some money, chewing gum, our key card and some tissues.

I tend to start quite early to get some practice in before the lesson starts (well, for the 2 days that we have been here!) do my ski lesson, have lunch and then ski all afternoon, which means that I get fewer breaks than the experienced skiers who have hot chocolate stops along the way in the morning. So I’ve started to carry peanut M&Ms with me. Good for a sugar hit together with some protein and they don’t melt in my pocket.

I’ve rocked some pretty good looks so far too, I think you will agree…

Simon Cowell – look at the high waist band on those trousers. In the above photo I'm wearing an H&M  sports top (£14.99), which is made from wicking fabric which comes in handy when you're sweating due to being permanently petrified. I've also linked to the H&M women's sportswear, which is definitely having a moment. There are some fab tops and jackets, together with printed bottoms and some great accessories. 

And as for another look...

Flip flops and socks – the ultimate fashion faux pas but handy for wearing to the boot room.

As you can see I'm sort of, but not totally, convinced by this skiing business but I do like my new Warehouse hat which I can't link to because the wi-fi is more unreliable (and even slower) than my skiing - but it's now £5 in the sale. 

These were handy so I may as well have worn them.....and a dilemma of the very biggest order

I wasn't actually looking for these trousers when I came across them yesterday morning. Instead I was looking for some navy biker style jeans that I have but I just couldn't find them. However these came to my attention and having not worn them for a while, I thought that it was about time that I did. I appreciate, however, that others may think that was not such a good idea and that they would have been best left on the shelf - but I figured that it they were better than being "bottomless".

Anyway, I have a dilemma. In the early hours of the morning we are off skiing and my dilemma is whether I take my lap top and blog, or not. On the one hand, I am pretty sure that I will be able to come up with some great looks (!) next week. My skiing gear is by Nevica, who sponsored the GB team in the Winter Olympics in the 90's - so I can do some great 90's throwback looks.  I also have a Sweaty Betty headband which makes me look like a mixture between Hamble (from Playschool) and Olivia Newton John from her "Let's Get Physical" video. I also think that there's the potential for some good stories. Let's just say that my ability, or rather inability, may result in several embarrassing mis-haps, which it would be good to share. On the other hand I'm not sure that I can face lugging my ageing and therefore, heavy, laptop with me. One way or another, I think that that next few days will reveal my decision. If it doesn't come with me, I shall post a selection of my very best outfits on instagram. See you on the other side!

Three wardrobe basics at a high(ish) price and three alternatives at a low(er) price...

[Whistles jeans, jacket and boots, Jigsaw sweatshirt, H&M necklace, Kate Spade bag]

When I'm out and about in the shops I come across a lot of things, some of which are cheaper alternatives to other things I may have come across elsewhere. A number of pieces like this have come my way recently, so I thought that I would share them with you....

First of all, there's this long line layering shirt from Me & Em (£98) which I have looked at, and lusted after, many times over the last few seasons. The white one is currently out of stock but it looks as though it is due back in sometime soon. However at £98 for a shirt, it's not something that I can square off in my mind. 

However, this H&M longline shirt (£14.99), which also comes in white, is 100% cotton and it will do the same job. I'm liking the saving of £83.01!

For many years, I've been a fan of trousers with a side zip. Although I don't own any myself right now, they are fantastic for ladies who wear tunics as a jeans button can quite often show through them. For ladies with a bit of a tum they are a great option because this style tends to be pretty high waisted, which gives a smoother line. They also tend to be pretty slim in the leg so there's none of that "if they fit around the waist they're like sails around the hips and legs" business going on.

Anyway, J. Crew have just released their Martie pant (£89.50), which are skinny with a side zip....

....now you will have to bear with me on this one BUT M&S  do a style which is pretty similar - these high waisted skinny tube jeggings for £29.50. I asked you to bear with me on this one because any brand that calls an item a "skinny tube jegging" deserves to have them sitting on the shelves until they go into the sale. A less enticing name for a piece of clothing I cannot imagine. My stomach just clenches and then swells at the thought of them. However, the style is great and I bought them for the style party that I was doing the other night and they looked amazing on. So don't write them off either as a result of the name, or the totally awful picture. And for anyone who buys them, rather than the J Crew ones, that's £60 saved.

Phase Eight always stock a side zipped style and they have their Amina jegging (£49) in at the moment. The only thing that I would say about the M&S and Phase Eight styles are that they don't have a back pocket (unlike the J, Crew ones) which can be slightly less flattering but in any event side zipped trousers can, due to their lack of pockets at the front, create a little hint of the camel toe so from that perspective a slightly longer top is better in any event, whether there are pockets on the bottom or not.

Now this style of shoe first seemed to come on the scene later on last summer. Laura over at WIT featured this style from Isabel Marant (£315) on her blog today. Lovely as they are - and she mentioned how soft they were, which is something to bear in mind....

...there's a pretty similar style in Dune for £89, which still isn't a bargain basement price but for anyone unsure as to whether it's a style they will get a lot of wear out of, it's worth investing in a less expensive option first....

...which is where this style from New Look (£22.99) comes in. I've tried both this style and the ones from Dune and both seem pretty comfortable to me. So that's another £226, or £292.01 saved.

So, that's a little bit of cash saved to buy yourself some other sneaky purchases instead.

An outfit for any event or occasion - something we could all do with having a few more of.

[Boden waxed skinnies, Whistles boots, Kate Spade bag, & Other Stories top, Reiss jacket, Damart gilet] 

It's always the way isn't it? When I want to blog the most, I have the least time to actually do it, which is a shame as there are so many new clothes out there that I want to share with you. I've started putting a post together with some outfit ideas so hopefully I might get it out tomorrow.

This week I have been shopping for three events and the house looks like a small department store/tip!

In the conservatory I have 30 outfits for the "Camping, Caravan and Motorhome Show" which is on next week. I've always wanted to go to it as I love bijou spaces and seeing what you can get in them. I was asked to style and present the fashion/style element which is new this year but as we're away I couldn't, however I got to do the styling and shopping for it so it wasn't all bad. Shopping for 10 people (2 families of four plus two extras) has been great fun and a pretty mammoth task. I think that my longer than average arms are now even longer after all the bags I've been carrying.

At the same time I was shopping for a Style Party for seven, so that has seen me giving the shops a good going over. And at the same time as that, I was shopping for suits/work wear to take along to a talk that I gave to a group of soon to be sixth formers at a local school. The upstairs of the house is full of skiing gear as we're heading off on holiday fairly soon so although people are always welcome at our house, there isn't actually anywhere to sit.

Today has seen me undertaking various jobs from talking at the school this morning, to sorting and packing the outfits for the camping show, to preparing the notes for the presenter, doing several school runs and going to a parent's evening. I needed a "one size fits all" outfit and this one did it for me - although I must admit to swapping the trousers for Topshop tracksuit bottoms when doing the sorting, packing, crawling around on the floor and labelling all the outfits in preparation for next week.

The trick now is to find a few more "one size fits all" outfits. The boxes that it has to tick are quite long - comfortable shoes, easy to move in bottoms, warm layers but an outfit which isn't a Onesie and a pair of trainers. I think that I may have to give it some further thought.

Re-working a "not quite right" jacket...and a moral dilemma of the Primark thong variety

Whistles boots, Cos jeans, All Saints cashmere jumper, Oasis necklace, Hobbs jacket, Jigsaw bag, Tori Burch cuff, Kate Spade watch 

Oh crikey me, I feel like such a criminal. I never knew that there was such a moral dilemma to be had on returning home, only to find that you've got something in your bag that you didn't pay for - especially when the item in question was clearly put there by someone else.

Today I was shopping for an event that's coming up at the NEC in Birmingham - or whatever it's called these days. As part of that I bought a pair of wellies from Primark, only to find out when I got them home that they had stuffed, right at the bottom of them, a pink thong. Now that caused me distress on many levels. Not only, by virtue of it being a thong, did it look horribly uncomfortable but the fabric was questionable as well. So what to do? Well admittedly if I kept it it wouldn't quite be on the scale of what HSBC have been up recently but a) I don't want it and b) it's not my size. On the other hand trying to return it could prove a tricky one to explain.

Anyway, I thought that you might like to see a pic of some shoes that I came across when in Primark. Sophia Webster inspired shoes for £16. Not bad!

Loving these sandals too. I'm hoping that the shelves will be re-stocked with them very soon as they had all but sold out.

Hmmm, so there are quite a lot of things that I want to talk about in this post, which hopefully will help. First, the boots. These are the Whistles boots that I bought about two weeks ago now and which I have featured on every single post since. I could swap them boots for another pair before the photos are taken and pretend that I haven't worn them but I think that it's good to bond with new purchases without shame!

Secondly, this bag is a Jigsaw bag which is at least 10 years old and which I had fixed by the Handbag clinic. I wrote about the Handbag clinic at the time but thought that re-cap might be useful. They can fix anything, literally anything (unless anyone tells me otherwise). One friend had her Mulberry fixed by them, having been told by Mulberry themselves that it wasn't possible. So if you have a much loved bag that's seen better days, or has been completely trashed and is unable to be used but you can't bring yourself to part with it, it may be worth giving them a call.

Thirdly - the jacket. It's a kind of tweedy jacket from Hobbs which could very easily morph into a hunting/shooting/fishing type number if I wasn't careful. And a country rah type I am not! So I thought that if I paired it with more modern bits and bobs, such as a statement necklace, a chunky cuff and skinny jeans and boots, people wouldn't ask me where my horse was when I walked down the street. Try it. It can work pretty well with things that sometimes seem to be taking you down a road you don't want to go down.

Fourthly, most of us have a pair of "scale jeans" and these are mine. If I can wear them for an entire day without wriggling, feeling uncomfortable and needing to take them off, then all is well with the world. When they're too tight, that's when action needs to be taken. I try to wear them once a week. Much healthier than getting on the scales.

Fifthly, I know that I look like I'm wearing a tea cosy but it was cold and for some bizarre reason I like this hat - but not as much one Davina was wearing on "the Jump" the other night and which is now out of stock. Shame. Though not for the bank balance.

Layering up against the cold in Boden, Oasis, Primark and All Saints

Oasis leather jacket, Primark fur gilet, Boden chunky jumper, Boden coated skinnies, All Saints bag, Whistles boots

You all know what a fan I am of layering. Lots of people like to layer because it means that they can take a layer off when they get too warm. Well that never happens to me but I think that several layers can make a look more interesting (and warmer) than one or two heavy layers. 

Here I'm wearing the toasty roll neck jumper from Boden (still available in the sale for £48) plus my cream Oasis leather jacket and a Primark gilet which cost me £14 about three years ago now. This All Saints bag was bought in an outlet store a couple of summers ago now and it just kind of pulled the black and cream look together - plus it's good for carrying a small child in.

I'm delighted to report that my shopping mojo is well and truly back. Recently I have been shopping for a style party that I'm doing next week, plus the most diverse range of styling projects that I've ever undertaken in one week. Hopefully I will get a chance to share some of my favourite buys with you towards the end of the week. 

Now, on a completely unrelated note, I think that it's important to let everyone know that Wagon Wheels are totally tasteless. I've just tried a bit of one and not only that but they are now tiny! Does anyone else remember when they were so huge that it took a week to eat one? I can't work out whether it's for economic reasons or health reasons that they've made them smaller but if I was so inclined that I need more, I would just eat two. Nanny state. Pah!

A statement striped skirt - feeling a little bit nautical in the cold...

I was thinking earlier how you can have a pretty much "statement" anything these days - statement necklace, statement ear-rings, statement bag, statement wall. I haven't heard of a statement husband yet - although effectively there is such a thing as a statement wife. Just as a statement jacket is known as a trophy jacket, there's a trophy wife so maybe there will be a statement husband one day too.

Where that takes us I have no idea but anyway, today I was wearing a statement skirt which I bought in Whistles at the back end of the summer when it suddenly appeared half price in the sale. It's really pretty heavyweight so it's fine to wear in the cold and I've layered it up with a sparkly Warehouse jumper - as old as the hills as some of you who also have one will know - together with my Oasis leather jacket that's nearly as old as the jumper - though neither are as old as my face which sadly is getting more creased by the day. If anyone would like to develop a little face iron I would be happy to give it a go.

Finery - the new brand on everyone's lips. So far I'm liking it very much....

A few weeks ago I, together with millions no doubt, received an email inviting me to register my interest with a soon to be launched online brand called "Finery". The brand is due to be launched on Thursday - you may have read about it in Grazia and the Sunday Times Style Magazine - and so here I thought that I would give a sneak preview of some of the clothes that it has to offer.

Finery's founder, Caren Downie, of Topshop and Asos heritage, sees its position as somewhere between COS and &Other Stories and apparently it is aimed at the post-Topshop girl. Believing that the High Street has little to offer by way of variety - that it is boring - the aim of Finery is to "re-inspire" and to make beautiful things that people just fall in love with.  Apparently the design team were instructed to forget about catwalk trends and instead they were asked to bring in their favourite wardrobe pieces So, here's a flavour of what they have to offer....

There are 37 styles of dress varying from printed, to lace and halter neck to trapeze. This shirt dress (£65) appeals to me for its versatility and because it taps into that utilitarian/uniform look which is pretty big this season.

I'm surprised at myself for liking this pink top as I'm not a peplum fan but I love the colour and it is a bit different - plus it looks great styled with these trousers. It's a fairly accessible look to copy so maybe one to give a whirl...

I have a feeling that this 3D flower pencil skirt will be popular because it offers a good length but it allows a little bit of leg to be shown, albeit in a subtle way. It reminds me of the dresses that the A-listers are wearing the moment with the big pants underneath with a long sheer skirt over the top - but this is a much more accessible look. Over a certain age those big pants just don't work at all!

For a jumper, this sheer panel jumper (£45)  offers something just a little bit different - plus I love a wide sleeve which can do such a good job of balancing out wider hips and making arms look slimmer. I can imagine wearing it with jeans or with leather leggings and I like to think that it would be a good all rounder.

As to trousers, I think that these printed trousers (£59) would be just fab in the summer with a fine crew neck knit, a silky t-shirt or a more fitted top.

These Lotus shoes (£119) give you just a taste of what's on offer on the site. They're really different - lots of high block heels, brogues, loafers - quirky styles that could transform your wardrobe in an instant.

Much as I love our High Street and I think that there are fab things to be found, it's good to see something a little bit different (on re-reading this I think that I have used that phrase many times, which Finery would probably see as a good thing!) With a 20% discount with the code STSXFINERY and with free delivery over £50, plus free returns, I think that it's probably worth just having a dabble to see what you think.

Boden and animal print in the snow plus the tale of Mr SG's disappearing wardrobe....he's only got himself to blame.

 [Whistles boots and jeans, Boden coat and jumper, All Saints tote bag] 

I know, it's a poor photo but I like the sun and there's a slightly better photo below where, for once, I think that I look vaguely healthy as opposed to the tonsillitis infected cold ridden creature that I have been of late. My Mum will be relieved! Here I was dressing for the snow - but not in anything that you haven't seen already!

On another note, I have to say that I spent a couple of days slightly concerned as to how I was going to break it to Mr SG that I had donated a very substantial amount of his clothes (about 80% I would say) to charity, without him knowing. 

It all started because he complained that he couldn't hang his suits up as too many of my clothes were in his wardrobe and could I possibly take a look. Which I did. And my conclusion was that it wasn't actually my clothes that were the problem but rather it was his. So I bagged up the rejects and dropped them off for charity before you could say "moth eaten cashmere jumper". Efficient, I think you will agree. 

So finally I told him - but actually the fact that he hadn't noticed probably says all that you need to know. 

"You had some really minging clothes." I think is what I said to him. 

"Which ones were minging?" He asked.

 "The ones that you no longer I own." I replied. "The ones that are currently in bin bags at the entrance to Flo's school waiting to be collected for charity" I added.  To which he laughed and said:

"We both know that I wouldn't have noticed, not as long as you replaced them with something else for me to take from the top of the pile." Which is his modus operandi when it comes to getting dressed. 

So now I have bought him a whole new wardrobe. It's taken hours, I've hunted high and low and over the weekend he will have to engage in his favourite (!) activity - trying clothes on. And then if he likes them, he's going to have to wear them. No more flying under the radar in one pair of jeans, a manky old Fat Face t-shirt and a shabby fleece. Oh no, those days are SO over. Oh how he's going to rue the day that he ever commented that there were too many of my clothes in his wardrobe.

Not quite 50 shades of grey but not far off - toning prints and textures

I've had this M&S Limited Collection dress - which you can't actually really see at all, so that's helpful - for a good few years now. I don't really remember wearing it last year so it's nice to resurrect it this year with the addition of this Whistles jacket/cardi type number, which I like because I wear it when I go out and then I leave it on when I come back in - because that's the kind of lazy dressing that I like! Somehow the addition of the scarf makes the jacket feel much warmer. I have no idea why this is but no doubt there's some weird and wonderful reason for it.

Most of my wardrobe is made up with pieces that I hope to own for many years without them dating - or that's the plan anyway. Then from season to season I just update them by putting them with new bits and bobs that I've bought - well again, that's the plan. Now that Mr SG reads this on a daily basis, it's time to well and truly put my plan to the test. Yes, it's time to dig deep. I'm hoping that he's going to tire from reading this flippin' blog sometime very soon.

Something old (jeans), something new (boots), something borrowed (necklace) and something new and blue (jumper)...

[Outfit: Boden jumper, Whistles scarf and boots, Cos jeans, Kate Spade bag, Livto necklace]

I love the very tail end of the sales - the final markdowns, the proper discounts, you know those 70% off ones.

This cashmere button back jumper from Boden (reduced to £44.70 from £189) in pale blue just happened to come my way the other day. Knitwear is lovely but whatever its price, and however carefully it's looked after, compared to something like a sweatshirt or a fleece top which can be washed a million times and still look OK, it has a limited life span. For that reason I try to pick it up in the sale - as with pretty much everything I own to be honest - and then as the years pass I relegate it down the knitwear chain and finally hand it over to our 16 year old. Handy!

I thought that this jumper would go well with lots of different trousers and its slightly looser, relaxed fit works well to balance skinny trousers whilst covering parts that other jumpers just don't seem to cover!

For anyone interested, the jumper is only available in this colour in a 6 and a 16 (although I'm about to return a size 8 as I ordered a 6 and an 8 and the 6 fits me fine.) It also comes in a pale pink colour but that one costs £74.50.

Thankfully I survived the skiing. To be honest I don't have much choice - I have to keep on going so that I'm not left behind by the rest of the family but I think that one or two more accessories may make the experience a whole lot more palatable (tee-hee).

An injection of colour which should earn its keep and I have a great excuse for a whole new outfit...

I think that it's probably pretty fair to say that we all have a lot of black/navy/grey in our wardrobes during the winter months and it can get a little tiring. Equally it can be tricky to find brighter coloured things and if we do, they stand out like a sore thumb after having been worn a dozen times so we end up getting bored of them too. Which is why I thought that this scarf could come in handy in injecting some colour into all manner of darker things. It was £20, reduced from £80 in the Whistles sale (bought at the same time as the bargain basement boots) and I stuck it with this Jigsaw jersey dress which is about four years old now, giving it a new lease of life. It will also work well with an older, navy, traditionally styled Jigsaw coat that I have, together with plain jumpers - so hopefully it will be worn enough to justify its £20 price tag.

This ruched jersey dress from Baukjen (£99 down to £59) is very similar in its style to the one above and I've also linked to other Baukjen black dresses which may suit different shapes slightly better - there's a wrap one, a v-neck one, a midi length one an A-line one and a very nice leather one too!

Now, despite my efforts to wear everything that I own already without any new major additions, tomorrow I will be kitted out, head to toe, in new gear. Because tomorrow I am going to "learn to ski in a day" and for that, new gear was required.  Can you imagine it? Me learning to ski in a day that is? Although I'm pretty bendy and pretty active, I am rubbish on anything slippery. When I was a kid I only had to see a hill with some snow on it and I would sit down, which the children have told me that I must not do under any circumstances, because I will only go faster. And I don't do speed either which doesn't bode well. True, I've challenged myself quite a bit over the last couple of years - running the half marathon, doing various other forms of exercise and last summer doing the high ropes too. However, the problem is that when I'm scared, really scared, I have to distract myself and I do this by singing One Direction very loudly. I'm pretty confident that my singing is probably as bad as my skiing (will be) so I'm not holding out much hope for anyone, or anything, within close proximity to me tomorrow. Thankfully Mr SG is no longer planning on popping in to "see how I am getting on" (ie videoing me so that he can take the p*** out of me mercilessly) on his way back from a meeting tomorrow.

Possibly the perfect alternative to jeans, a toasty roll neck jumper from Boden and some bargain Whistles boots

So what is it that makes jeans so wearable? Well to start off with, the right pair can make a real difference to the length of one's legs and the size of one's bottom. Not only that but with a bit of stretch they can be very comfortable, they go with everything and they can be worn pretty much anywhere. So why would we need anything else when it comes to trousers? Well the answer is that we don't really, not unless there's a smarter work or formal event that requires them.  Sometimes though even I fancy a change from jeans and I think that I've found them in these crepe tapered trousers that I bought from Jigsaw at the end of the summer.

I had worn them once or so and for some reason I had it in mind that they were a bit scratchy but actually they're not at all. Crepe is a lovely fabric - easy to move around in and not at all constricting - a very important consideration when I need to spend a lot of time in front of the washing machine, as I do today, nor is it bulky so it's a flattering fabric to wear.  I can't believe that I'm advocating an elasticated waist band I must admit that I am - it's super comfortable and I like the fact that it means that they can sit either higher, or a bit lower (not quite of the MC Hammer proportions but getting there) on the waist depending on how you feel/the height of your heels/the occasion you're wearing them for. These trousers can either be dressed down with trainers, or up with heels, so they're pretty versatile too.

As for a couple of options for crepe trousers, there's these sporty crepe trousers Whistles (£120) - wish they were in the sale so sorry about the price! There should be a Grazia offer in February so it may be worth holding out for that if they appeal.

Or these crepe trousers are on sale at Me & Em reduced to £30 from £148 but they are only available in a size 12 - sorry can't do much about that either!

Jigsaw have these tapered leg crepe trousers for £110. I'm not sure if it's the height of the model but they look slightly shorter in the leg which is fine but it can make them a little less versatile.

And finally Cos have these tapered crepe trousers for £59. They don't have an elasticated waist band but the close up shots on the site do make them look an attractive option.

Now I must admit that despite the trousers being an existing wardrobe item, the toasty roll neck jumper from Boden (£48.30) is a new addition. My only other roll neck - which is what I like at this time of year - is a navy Cos one which is slightly short in the body and also on my gorilla like arms. And anyway if Mr SG will insist on making me go skiing, he's got to expect that one or two new jumpers will be purchased. When I first opened it I wasn't sure that it was as chunky as I was hoping for but having worn it for several hours, I'm finding it pretty warm.

And finally, I bought these Grace high ankle boots from Whistles (reduced from £185 to £55) in Selfridges last week. Some Christmas money that I had squirrelled away came in very handy for these brilliantly priced boots. I can't see them online any more but there may well be some lurking in the stores.

Now I've discovered that my scratchy trousers aren't in fact scratchy at all, I'm going to wear them lots and lots. Now there's an idea. Anything that you own that you think is a bit stiff, scratchy, tight or not quite right, how about digging it out and giving it another go? You never know you might just discover a wardrobe hero. If not, it's time to get rid!

A style staple plus Sienna Miller's hair and is it me or does Catherine ZJ look more and more like VB?

Carrying on with my plan to wear everything in my wardrobe, a pea coat is a style of coat that never goes out of fashion. It's a timeless classic and if you're thinking of investing in any type of coat, this is one that will last for years - along with a biker style jacket, a leather jacket, a trench coat or a camel coat. Other styles come and go and they are nice to own in an exciting, heart missing a beat kind of way, but as they may only last a few seasons they are probably more of a Zara/Topshop buy.

I had my first pea coat when I was about 23 and wanted to replace it after it had served me very well. This one from Reiss I bought in their post Christmas sale about 4 years ago now and provided that I don't grow out of it, it should last me for many years to come.

Now I may be a bear of very little brain but it just can't deal with this picture. It keeps trying to make it into Victoria Beckham. The similarities between her and Catherine ZJ are starting to become a bit spooky and my little brain finds is very confuddling.

Although in fairness I can't really comment about people coveting other people's looks because if I had hair that I could cut into this choppy bob, I so would. As it is it would take me forever to grow my short style out and knowing me after a few months I would cut short again so there's no point in even going there - but somehow I can't stop thinking about it which is always a bad sign.

An outfit for a night on the tiles (OK, pizza with friends) and who fancies a Primark cropped top?

[Zara boots, Boden coated jeans, &Other Stories top, Whistles jacket, GAP bag, Whistles gloves]

Crikey me it's cold. Cold in a good way, a proper crisp cold way, rather than a bone chilling damp way, so that's good but it has meant that I've had to resurrect my most duvet like coat from storage. It's not featuring today but it came out last night when I walked to our High Street to have pizza with some friends. It's good and roomy so I can layer a whole outfit underneath, such as this one above, including the jacket which I bought from Whistles last year and which serves me well on days like this. 

So I thought that I'd follow the talk of cold with the skimpiest outfits I'm likely to wear - although just to clarify in case anyone was horrified at the thought, I don't wear cropped tops without something on top of them. This lot is from Primark, which has the most amazing selection of sportswear in at the moment in all different colours. Strategically placed just inside the door and also in our Selfridges, the shopping experience is pretty good. 

I've tested out the vests and one of the cropped tops and so far so good. My temperature seems to have gone haywire when running of late - I think that my jacket has been too warm and the heat hasn't been escaping so I have felt as though I was being basted like a turkey in the oven. However with a cropped top, a vest and one of the Primark hoodies (so good that I returned the Sweaty Betty one that I had ordered and which was 7 times the price) it all seemed a bit better. Anyway, we'll see.

I should add that I've only tried one pair of the bottoms but they were just too low rise. Personally I prefer the thick cotton GAP ones as they offer more support for a bum that's heading south and thighs that are heading both east and west simultaneously - although I will try some other Primark ones but only when I can face taking my trousers off in a Primark changing room. Not that I can quite imagine when that will be.