Growing old (dis)gracefully - a blog and vlog on how to style yourself in your 40's and beyond....

Today's vlog is all about Fashion for the Over 40's. There are a lot of "rules", myths and views about what we should, or shouldn't do, once we reach 40, so I've just spent five minutes or so talking about what I've learnt during my six years as a stylist (and my 5 years as an Over 40!)

I'm hoping to follow the vlog with a series of "How to Wear..." vlogs, the first one of which is a work in progress at the moment, so do keep your eyes peeled. If you would like to subscribe to my YouTube channel you can do so by pressing the "subscribe" button on this page which will mean that you will automatically get updated as and when a new vlog appears. And if you think that any of your friends or family would be interested in my musings, please feel free to share the vlogs. Equally if you have any feedback or if there is anything that you would like me to cover, please just drop me a line. I'm also hoping to do a series of "30 second styling tips" too - so we shall see where that takes us!

I've definitely come to the conclusion that as we get older we care slightly less what others think - subject to us feeling comfortable and confident, which is something that I cover in the vlog. A few years ago I would never have posted a picture like this. I would have been too scared that someone would say something horrible. Not so much anymore - I've figured that it always says more about the happiness, or otherwise, of the person leaving the comment than it does about anything else. And anyway I have to keep the 7 year old entertained or there will be a revolt.

On Instagram people seemed to like this jumper that I was wearing today. Despite the fact that it's a good few years old, it's still available at All Saints (£78). It comes in 6 shades, mostly varying shades of neutrals/greys/black but also in terracotta too. I suppose that you could say that whilst it's on the pricey side, it does have longevity. And if that's not good justification for buying something, I don't know what is!

A bit of back detail never goes amiss!

I  Hope that you have a lovely Sunday Evening. Any Downton fans out there? I'm banned from watching it with Mr SG and our eldest due to my quips at its expense. Oddly for one who spends his life taking the mick out of things, Mr SG does not find my quips funny. Can't imagine why. Beth x

Who doesn't love (fake) fur...and stripes....mixed? One to covet, one to consider and one to own!

I remember coveting Shrimps fur coats this time last year. And some things don't change....

Shrimps fur coat (£595)

And then this Pippa Coat from Boden (£199 - currently on sale for £173.13) caught my eye and the possibility of owning a striped fur coat seemed to get a little closer...

But then when I was in town a day or so ago, I spotted the Topshop fur clutch (£32) and my heart skipped a beat. Which made me realise, it's probably just the idea of stripes and fur that I like, rather than necessarily a striped fur coat. And the possibility of owning something which ticked those boxes just got a whole lot closer.

blue striped clutch (£32)

orange and purple striped clutch (£32)

From jeans and a leather jacket, to a pleather pleated skirt and chunky jumper, or a boho dress and a cape - this will work with them all. The only question is, which one should it be? (My vote....actually I don't have a vote. I think that they're all fab!)

Other peeps out there seem to like striped fur things too. What do you think? (Images courtesy of Pinterest). The second picture brings me on to a whole separate topic of OTK boots. It's taken a while but this year, I think that I might just go there.

Does my bum look BIG in these trousers? Oh yes, it does! But at least the two cream jumpers aren't quite as bad...

One day soon I will take these boots off, I promise. But not just yet. When the rain and mud arrive, I shall pop them back in their box but for now they are just perfect for the scooter run to school.

I've just posted another vlog (which can be viewed here) in which I'm wearing the cream cropped jumper that I've featured above, plus the cream cable knit jumper which you can see below.  I think that I'm a bit jumper obsessed at the moment. There's nothing like being prepared is there?!

I'm also wearing a denim shirt (which in the end I decided to keep, despite my reservations!) and a pair of spotty trousers which, talk about "Does my bum look BIG in these?" Oh boy yes, it does! In fact HUGE would be a better description. But I think that I've tried to explain why that is and how it can be fixed. (It doesn't include surgery for the record.)

Zara cream cropped sweater (£17.99)

Zara cable knit sweater (£29.99)

Sorry, I'm going to have to scoot now. I'm trying to watch Dr Foster on catch up and keep getting distracted from typing. Isn't it fantatic?!

Have a brilliant weekend. Beth x

Time for a treat - bringing you flowers and a 20% M&S discount. Ladies, it's time to shop!!

Who doesn't love flowers? I just adore them - especially when they come ready tied so that all I have to do is put them in a vase of water. So when I was asked by Blossoming Gifts whether I would like to receive a bouquet of flowers in return for writing about them on here, I wasn't going to say no, was I? It gave me an opportunity to not only enjoy them briefly myself but also to hand them on to a lovely friend of mine, who I knew would love and appreciate them too.

Blossoming Gifts is a brand new UK based flower delivery company specialising in beautiful flowers at a low price. I'm always intrigued by new companies, mostly because I'm nosey and I like to see how they compare with those who currently dominate the market.  Interestingly there is a range of cheap flowers for under £20 and it is possible to search the website by flower, by occasion plus there is also a wide selection of personalised gifts, hampers and wine.

I chose the beautiful Sky bouquet which was made up of oriental lilies, roses, agapanthus and greenbell - but it was a difficult choice to make because the choice is so extensive. Blossoming Gifts have a lovely selection of flowers by post* and as a thank you to me, and to you for reading this post, they are offering a fantastic 33% discount offer which is available using the code BGIFTS33.

And whilst we're on the subject of discounts, as an M&S cardholder I get certain discounts as do my "Friends and Family". Well that has to include everyone who reads this doesn't it? So for anyone who would like to buy anything from M&S which falls under the category of "clothing, beauty, home and furniture" between 17th and 21st September, if you quote code SEP15A12 online, you can get 20% off. Go shop with glee!!

*The flowers by post range is excluded from the 33% discount - but it is only very small!

A winter wardrobe essential - the chunky of chunkiest cardigans, a lovely boho dress and a vlog so that you can see it all in the flesh!

With its slightly chillier mornings, September is the perfect time of year to wear a chunky cardigan - rather than a coat. This is one that I picked up in Zara last week (£39.99) which isn't on line quite yet. However fear not, it features in this new vlog post where you can get a closer look at it, plus ideas on where to find other similar cardigans together with ideas on how to style them.

Boho dresses are a huge trend this season. There's a Monsoon one which is currently getting a lot of coverage but for something which is nodding towards the boho trend without being too full on, there's this Zara printed dress (£39.99) which also features on the vlog along with the cardigan.

I really hope that you like this vlog. I've tried to include a couple of good styling tips as well as showing the clothes (on me....eeeek!) so do let me know what you think!

Bring your wardrobe up to date with the ONLY coat of the season (for now at least!) - and there's a not to miss vlog talking you through the options.

Short sleeved coats are THE coat of the season. They are everywhere in the shops and I just LOVE them. They are great at this time of year. You can flash a bit of lace as I've done above, rock a stripe, bring out some denim, show off some print - it just makes them so interesting and fun.

In the above shot, I'm wearing the Lexi short sleeved coat from Oasis (£65) which you can see in my latest vlog here where I talk about sleeveless coats and the options currently available on the high street.

The Topshop sleeveless coat in navy (£50) is another of my favourites and it's also covered in the vlog. Navy is always elegant and the lines of these coats are just so simple and stylish. This coat is a great price and a lovely fabric, so definitely one to watch. Again I've covered it in detail on the vlog.

The Topshop sleeveless coat above also comes in pale grey (£50). With wide legged trousers and trainers it looks amazing. So simple and yet so effective. It's the perfect one off investment to bring your wardrobe bag up to date for the season. It will work so hard for you and my guess is that it will do a fab job of pulling lots of different pieces together - jeans and a jumper, skirts and a blouse, a dress -  the options are endless.

I've also included in the vlog a sleeveless cardigan from Autograph at Marks and Spencer which isn't currently available on line and here is a Zara camel sleeveless coat (£79.99) that I came across after I filmed the vlog. This is definitely next on my list! Or in fact any camel coat for that matter! But that's a whole new blog post.

Don't you just love it?!

Hope that you all have a super fab weekend. See you next week (or before if I have the energy!) Beth x

Lace Skirts - for now, for the winter, and forever!

I love a bit of lace. Top or bottom, it can just make you feel just a little bit more special than an "every day" type of fabric such as denim.

I bought this lace skirt from Jigsaw way back at the start of the summer and it's now in the sale for £79, with pretty good availability too, being available in sizes 8/10/14.

Although technically it's a summer skirt, it is substantial enough for me to keep in my wardrobe for a few more weeks yet and perhaps right through the winter.

From what I've seen out and about, there will still be plenty of lace skirts in the shops over the winter. Firstly, I came across this one in Zara (£49.99), which I love styled here with the (almost) mid calf length ankle boots

Secondly I spotted this lace pencil skirt, also from Zara (£39.99), which is in THE colour of the season....burgundy. It's great that is has a top to go with it, making a whole outfit should the need arise.

Marks and Spencer has this lace skirt in Autograph for £55. It's a little bit less "fashiony" than the Zara ones and arguably slightly easier to style mostly because of its knee length which is, as a general rule, more flattering and easier to wear than midi-length skirts - particularly with flats.

There's also this gorgeous fluorescent lace pencil skirt from Topshop (£65) which is lovely and vibrant for the winter months plus the taupe background makes a nice change from the usual suspects of black/navy/grey/burgundy.

And for the petite ladies amongst you, M&S has kindly obliged and designed this lovely Rose Lace Pencil skirt, which is £39.50.

Please someone put me out of my misery and tell me that I'm not going mad when I say that I'm sure that I saw a navy blue lace skirt very similar to mine in Whistles yesterday. I'm convinced that I did. Didn't I?

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has watched the YouTube vlogs. Thank you for your views, for subscribing and for your comments. Also a big thanks to Helen for the lovely comment on the blog yesterday with pointers on things to cover. All I can say is, don't go out and buy a sleeveless coat before watching the next vlog!

Zara stripes for the autumn, a new layering find from Topshop and a short vlog looking at both of them...

For the life of me I cannot find this top anywhere on the Zara website (despite about 250 searches) but I only bought it yesterday so it should be there somewhere.

I know that lots of us love a good stripe and I like how this top is half way between a long sleeved cotton top and a jumper, making it perfect for this time of year.

Here I just photographed it quickly with a pair of old jeans (and not much make-up!) but I'm looking forward to wearing it with wide-legged navy Jigsaw trousers plus trainers, or with a navy skirt and heeled ankle boots (and a bit more make-up!)

This was my other fab find of the day, a long sleeved cropped top from Topshop for £12.

If you would like to find out more about both of these items and find out why the Topshop top is my new best friend, you can nip over to my new vlog here for more info.

Whilst talking about the vlog, I would love to hear your views. Please let me know what you would like to see, the perfect length vlog for you and what I could cover to make your lives easier when it comes to your wardrobe! I have a few ideas of my own but I'm far more interested in yours. Thank you! Beth x

I will not surrender....layering up an & Other Stories dress into September...

It may be starting to get slightly chillier out there but that's no reason to reach for the knee high boots and roll necks just yet. Nope, there are plenty of ways that we can extend the life of our summer clothes.

I thought that I would have a little play around and here I'm wearing my & Other Stories  midi length summer dress which I first wore way back in sunny June, with my current favourite Zara jumper and Jigsaw ankle boots.

I think that the longevity of this outfit is limited perhaps to the end of the month but the winter can be long! Last year I just remember being sick to death of jeans and jumpers so I'm happy to avoid going there for as long as I possibly can. One tip for this type of outfit is to get the right length jumper. Something that finishes just on, or above, the waist seems to be about right so as to keep the lines right and also to keep everything in proportion.

Do you have any ideas for stretching out those summer clothes? I would love to here them. Layering either over or under things, switching footwear, sneaky thermals in September? I'm open to suggestions!

Oooh and whilst I remember, I've published another vlog on my YouTube channel here. It's a quick pulling together of the first two vlogs with some new additions too - so I hope that you like it. Have a fab week. Beth x

Neutrals and how to wear them if, as a rule, they don't really like you that much!

Today's post is just a quick OOTD. Generally I don't wear too many outfits made up entirely of neutrals. Many neutrals just seem to wash me out and I'm better with colours which have some depth to them, just as you might expect given my dark colouring. However I really like this Boden cardi/jacket that I bought in the sale last year (similar here) and it seems to work OK with this & Other Stories printed blouse (similar (ish) here (£45). It's all quite soft and muted but I think :) that I can just about get away with it. A bit of colour from the sun probably doesn't harm either.

I carried on the "light" theme with some white Whistles jeans and pale suede Jigsaw ankle boots (available here in a size 36) - but then stuck a navy Whistles bag with it all, in all probability just because it was handy.

On this particular day I needed a little warmth but I didn't want to head straight for the winter pile of clothing. Nope, for now I'm hanging on to those lighter shades for dear life.

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday. I think that we have some sun due next week. Yipppeeee!  Beth x

Re-visiting our ribbing chat - and putting vlog no. 2 out there!

Some of you may remember that a few posts ago I wrote about ribbed clothing and how much it features on the High Street this season. In this post I'm featuring a whole outfit which is ribbed and which I bought from Autograph at Marks and Spencer a few weeks ago. These two pieces were featured in Vogue so unsurprisingly they are not now available on line but I suspect that they may still be carrying stock in store.

For some reason this outfit reminds me of Friday nights watching Friends back in the 1990's - boot cut trousers, longer line jumper - we've been there before but I don't think that this means that we can't go there again!

In my second vlog, which you can watch here I'm talking about this two piece together with Topshop jumper and Marks and Spencer ribbed dress. I would love it if you could head over to see what you think!

And as is only fit for a 1990's inspired outfit, here I am doing my best Spice Girls pose. Anything to keep the photographer happy!

Zara wrap around denim skirt - and introducing the Style Guile vlog!

Last week I had a couple of hours to myself so I nipped to Zara and, amongst other things, I came away with this Zara wrap around denim skirt (£25.99).  I LOVE denim skirts. They are so perfect for this time of year, especially midi-length ones because you can still show a little leg whilst at the same time keeping warm.

For anyone who would like to see the skirt in the flesh, together with a more detailed review of it and another denim skirt from Zara, you can head over to my first vlog, which you can see on You Tube here.

Vlogging is  a bit of a new venture for me so I would love it if you could head over and take a look. The vlog is only five minutes long but hopefully people will find it a little bit useful.  I am hoping to vlog two to three times a week, covering all sorts of things from High Street finds, to beauty buys, trends for the season and styling hints and tricks. Really it's an extension of Style Guile but I can cover so much more in five minutes chatting than in five minutes writing!

(In all honestly, I'm slightly nervous and I'm hoping that I will improve as time goes by - but as with anything new, we all have to start somewhere. Thank you! x)

A "to die for" J. Crew cardigan....(in my dreams!)

It was love at first sight. It had me at the navy, it had me at the white - but then I saw the price (£285).  

I have a shorter version of this type of cardigan which I bought from Cos several years ago but it's more of an Aspen/Wham "Last Christmas" type of cardigan than the one above, which I have fallen for hook line and sinker. I love how it's styled over a whimsical style of dress, rather than with the more traditional skinny jeans/leather leggings and boots look - although in fairness that's how I would be wearing it. If I ever owned one. Note to self: contact friend who regularly travels to the States to see if he fancies a trip to J. Crew.

Since seeing this image (courtesy of the Sunday Times Style Section) I have hunted high and low on-line for something similar. I've tried Banana Republic, Gap, Mango, Zara, Cos, Jigsaw, Atterley, Hush and even the men's section of some of those brands but the closest that I have found is this...

Topshop Starsky cardigan (£55) - which I would be quite happy to buy, just for the name. But no, these things cannot be rushed. I must wait a little longer to see what comes in the stores. For some reason I suspect that I may find one in Primark, when I'm least looking for it. And that's what I love about clothes and shopping!

Oooh and I just wanted to share this birthday present from my school friend Charlotte, over at Lottie's Interiors. It is gorgeous - THE perfect shade of pink for me (she knows me well) - but far too nice to go in the kitchen and be filled with biscuits - so instead it's keeping my beside table tidy. Seems that I need to acquire a few more bracelets. Ho hum. Life's tough.

Hope that everyone has a good day on Tuesday and that it's not too miserable to return to work after this lovely (!) bank holiday weather that we have been having. Beth x

Skinted vs minted - Topshop vs Russell & Bromley. Who is going to come out on top?

I just can't go on any longer without saying something. It's just not right.

These Russell & Bromley shoes are EVERYWHERE at the moment. They are the one pair of shoes that those in the fashion know have identified as being this season's "must have" shoes and they are in every September issue, every weekly magazine and every supplement known to man. In fact it's virtually impossible to open a mag at the moment and not been greeted by them.

These are the shoe in question - the Russell and Bromley Collisee, which are £185.  (Please excuse the image, I don't think that the folks from R&B like us using them that much and for the life of me I can't link to them either, which makes me even more suspicious).

So what is is that I need to share? What is it that I have to get off my chest? What is it that causes me sleepless nights and much angst? (OK, slight exaggeration there).

It is this. That the Topshop Jive mid heel court shoe (£46) is virtually the same as the Russell & Bromley shoe and it bugs me to bits that those in the fashion know don't also share these shoes with us. I feel that it's pretty deceitful because if I know that they are out there (and they have been well and truly out there - since January infact) then they must know that too.

OK, so cards on the table time, just in case anyone decides to pull me up on it. I'll admit that the Topshop shoes have a moc croc finish, rather than a plain finish - but personally I prefer that. Also, they're not leather - although this could be seen as a good thing, particularly for veggies. They have an ankle strap, rather than a "across the foot" strap, but the R&B strap is so high as to virtually be an ankle strap. And whilst I understand that some will prefer to pay the R&B price for an R&B shoe and that they may well be better made, for those who covet this style of shoe but can't afford them, then I think (and hope) that these offer an acceptable solution. They also come in a wine/burgundy colour, which is going to be a huge colour for the season.

Phew! You cannot imagine how much better I feel now that I've got that off my chest. Happy Bank Holiday weekend everyone! Beth x

They weren't a favourite and now they are. Fringed bags. Are you with me or not?!

When fringed handbags first came on the scene, I really didn't like them at all. They just didn't do it for me but as is sometimes the way with these things, they have steadily grown on me and now I'm on the look out for just the right one. Personally I prefer the softer shades of grey and camel - again I don't really know why that is but somehow I find them just a little less harsh than black ones.

This leather tassel hobo bag (£65) arrived in Topshop only this morning and the colour is gorgeous. The slight downside for me was that although the handle could be lengthened, it still wasn't long enough to be worn as a cross body bag. Also, whilst the fringing is 100% leather, the bag itself is made from nylon, which for its £65 price tag is not entirely surprising but I did feel a little bit conned when I rummaged under the tassels only to find grey nylon.

Now I've had my eye on this fringed suede bag from Mango (£69.99) for quite a few weeks. Today, whilst in Birmingham, I found it in our new Mango store. I gave it the good once over but decided to look a little further before making a final decision, namely at this one from....

....The White Company which is £129 (and which a friend expressly told me NOT to look at as I would fall in love with it. She may just be right.)  Although it's described as a clutch bag it also has a strap, so it can be worn as a cross body bag - and I do like having two hands free. It also comes in stone too, making it doubly lovely.

Mint Velvet has this gorgeous fringed cross body bag for £99 which is also a contender, although looking back over the photographs, I think that I prefer the ones with the flap over them.

And finally on my hit list, there's this equally gorgeous Jigsaw fringed cross body bag which is £98. I haven't yet seen this one in the flesh but I'm sure that it's only a matter of time.

So, I'll keep you posted. There are fringed bags anywhere and everywhere right now so do let me know if you spot a gem somewhere on your travels. Beth x