Tapping into this season's fur trend with a Zara top

In about an hour I am going to be collected as a few of us are off on a girls' weekend away to Dorset - so apologies if this is unusually brief. Perhaps many of you will prefer it!

 

It was my plan to wear this outfit to travel down in but not only did I decide that most of it would be superfluous to requirements when it got down there but my trousers got soaked when I did the school pick up and clammy trousers are never good. 

 

Oh the trousers! I bumped into my husband briefly in town today and he looked at me and asked whether I was wearing new trousers. He would make a rubbish PI. Not only does he not look like Magnum, which is obviously a pre-requisite of being a PI, but his powers of observation are pants. The Cos trousers are pretty much on their last legs having been worn to death. Had he gone north by 10cm though and asked whether the blue and black, leopard print fur top (ie the really distinctive top that I was wearing) was new then yes, he would have been right.

 

So, there we have it: one fur fronted, leopard printed, short sleeved sweat from Zara, which I cannot now find anywhere on the site (rel details are 0909/236/800 and it's from the W&B collection for anyone interested) Zara boots, Cos trousers. I forgot to include the blue handbag which picked up the royal blue in the top but it was raining at the time.

As to how the outfit came about, having been running, I was late leaving for a meeting, so I opted for old faithful trousers, my new Zara boots (minus cardboard inserts) which I really like and just worked upwards. The top could have just as easily been a silk shirt, a sparkly knit or a striped top. Having half an outfit to think about when you are short of time is so much easier than thinking about a whole outfit!

I know it looks a bit mangy here but really it's not!

Possibly the only dress you will ever need

I first saw this dress whilst working yesterday and given that I was still thinking about it when I woke up this morning, I knew that I had to go and investigate further. The investigation soon turned into a purchase. Let me tell you more....

The Selma jersey dress from Whistles (£125 but there's still currently 25% off with Grazia) is all that I look for in a day dress - and more. It does have the slightly off putting word "body-con" in its title, which always strikes fear into my heart but whilst it's fitted, it's not one that cuts your circulation off, makes you turn blue and fall over.

I realise that I have written about Whistles a lot recently and whilst it's really strong this season I am objective about brands. When I was working last week we rejected a Whistles dress on the basis that it wasn't lined and was see through - come on Whistles, £145 for a see through dress? I don't think so.

So, where to start with this dress? It's machine washable at 30 degrees and has a wool content of 50% (so that's the warm box ticked). It has long sleeves, a good length (apart from the maxi dresses it is by far the longest length dress on the Whistles site.) It is also fully lined with a supportive under layer which not only holds you in but also gives a smooth line - and adds warmth, so that's a double tick on the warmth front.

This dress could be accessorised endlessly, and no doubt will be over the next few months, but for this post I wanted to show it to you in its "naked" state so that you can decide.

From this side shot it's possible to see the ruching at the waist, which is always a flattering detail, particularly as so many styles are hugely wide and loose this season - which is fine if it's a jumper and you can counteract it with a fitted skirt, or vice versa, or if you are very tall and can wear heels all day. Otherwise that shape isn't always so good.

 

Whilst I know it looks as though I'm doing a "push the boobs out" shot, it's just for the purpose of showing the exposed side zip, which I also really like as a detail.

Posting a photo of one's bottom is always a risky manoeuvre, and I must admit to forgetting the VB trick of bum clenching but there we go, it was the best I could manage whilst half way through cooking the dinner so please be gentle with me!

 

As an alternative, there's this Topshop dress at £35. It still has the ruching over the front and whilst it's flatter at the back, a client I was working with yesterday was telling me about the M&S slips she wears which are like a long vest, very fitted and give a smooth line - so one of those may sort out any bra strap/pant line issues.

Topshop also has it in this colour, which may hold more appeal to some. Lovely with bright yellow, hot pink, orange or black, it's another staple piece.

Me & Em has this double layered twist front jersey dress for £98, which I have included for those who have a curvier bust and who may appreciate the V-neck on this dress.

This Jigsaw dress £69 may appeal to more apple shaped ladies who don't necessarily want the ruching over the tummy (although don't discount it, it can work really well) and who instead prefer a looser fit - something which skims rather than clings but which nips back in at the hem to provide a nice silhouette.

The Whistles dress also comes in black - although I haven't seen it. I can't wait to play with this dress and to wear it for work, at the weekend and for evenings out - with heels, flats, boots, biker jackets, bright coats, pea coats, statement necklaces, printed scarves and sparkly scarves.  In fact I fear that this may be the end of Style Guile as from now on I will be wearing the same dress all winter. It may also be the end of my friendships as I will whiff a little too.

A fail safe outfit - a little like a two and a half minute fail safe Jamie Oliver recipe!

It's not rocket science but slightly battered jeans with heeled boots worn with a nicer top always works for me as an outfit. It's like a Jamie Oliver two and a half minute fail safe recipe - but it takes less than two and a half minutes to put together. I like to be comfortable and able to move around - and there's nothing worse than watching your every move in case you mark something that's dry clean only. So the combination of jeans that don't matter but a top that does (isn't that what aprons were invented for?) works on lots of different levels.  

 

Sometimes I go with sparkles on the top half, sometimes it's a Breton stripe and a statement necklace, sometimes it's a printed blouse or sometimes, as in this outfit, it's a particular colour combination that I like.

With yellow and grey being a favourite combination, I wore a sequin striped Whistles jumper with an H&M necklace, yellow Karen Millen cuff and a Warehouse grey jacket, which also has a sparkly thread running through it. 

 

So, that's one fail safe easy outfit. A whole "recipe" book of others might be good I think!

A school run outfit of Nike, Boden, Gap and All Saints to help with sore toes!

You may remember that I mentioned that I had somehow inadvertently ended up training for the Birmingham half marathon. Well last night saw us run 14 miles in preparation for it - just to be on the safe side. The reason that I tell you this is because it directly impacted on today's outfit.

 

My purple Nike trainers were the softest thing to wear against my slightly sore toes for the walk to school this morning. Feeling the need for warmth, comfort and the clothing equivalent of a hot stew, I also wore my Boden cashmere striped jumper together with skinny jeans and an All Saints mac. The thought of a clutch also appealed more than a handbag, so I used my snake print Marc Jacobs neon clutch instead. I have to admit that I am coming perilously close to buying a onesie to wear after the event (but don't tell anyone).  

 

Having done only a few long distance runs, I can't pretend to be an authority on them but through trial and error, and taking on board what others have said, I have found a few things that help in preparation. So for anyone interested, here goes:

• An hour's nap in the afternoon is a good plan (sneaky I know but I did our last 13 mile run after a six hour shopping day and that was really, really, hard);
• Carb loading on fresh white home baked rolls and butter an hour and half before running seems to work and it is also slightly indulgent;
• Jelly babies are good to nibble after about 10 miles and are a good distraction (but they make you really thirsty and your teeth feel horrible);
• Chatting on and off makes the time go much quicker (we tried to convince ourselves that we were in our local pub, which worked to an extent but certain things were missing ie alcohol);
• The Endomondo app is good for providing information of your speed for each km run, which oddly acts as a good motivator. It also enables you to see your speed as you are running. Naturally we concluded that it wasn't entirely accurate and that the signal failed somewhere along our tree dense route so that we were, in fact, actually faster than it gave us credit for;
• Running in trainers which don't have holes in the bottom of them is probably a good idea (well, how often are you meant to check the bottom of your trainers) and good running socks are worth their weight in gold.

If anyone else would like to share their tips I would love to hear them. Anything and everything is welcome! I would particularly like to know how to convince yourself that you are running at night time (which I much prefer) even though you are running in the morning. I'm thinking about wearing sunglasses but I'm not sure that it will work.

A masterclass in how to mix your prints.

With the other Mrs Goodrham visiting this weekend, it gave me an opportunity to feature someone else on the blog.  My sister in law, who is Venezuelan (half indigenous, half Trinidadian) had the pleasure of meeting my husband's brother 14 years ago now. What lucky ladies we are!

 

Yazury was wearing a fabulous outfit in which she had mixed the prints on her top half and on her bottom half. On her top half she had a pink leopard print F&F short sleeved blouse, whilst her Next jeans were a tonal damask print. Working in a trench, Office desert boots and a Jigsaw tote, she was the epitome of early autumn chic.

 

Apparently Yazury's outfit stemmed from the fact that when she was out with friends the other day, it was noted that she was wearing black, which wasn't like her. So she made up for it by introducing some colour and mixing her prints. Working from the same colour palette, and ensuring that the scale of the prints works together, is the best way of mixing prints successfully. I love how this outfit is interesting but also subtle.

With her Trinidadian heritage, Yazury has incredibly curly hair. About twice a year, she has a Brazilian Keratin treatment which makes her hair much easier to handle - especially during the damper winter months. It also reduces the time that it takes her to dry, and straighten her hair, from around an hour, to twenty minutes. The intricacies associated with long, curly hair, are clearly something with which I am not familiar - but for those who do have styling difficulties, I thought that this might be worth mentioning.

I'll stop wittering on about Whistles soon but first just let me show you this scarf....

Remember the Whistles terrazzo print scarf that I showed you yesterday? Well here I wore it for my final shopping day of the week. Whistles does some great prints each season and a scarf is a nice way to tap into those prints without having to spend a huge amount of money, whilst at the same time updating your wardrobe.

 

Often Whistles will do a shirt/top/skirt/dress and sometimes trousers in a print - so in a way the scarf is at the bottom of the food chain but that's fine with me. I'm not averse to scurrying around on the metaphorical sea bed of a brand! But it's hardly a hardship - I love scarves for the way that they can pull an outfit together in an instant.

 

I wore the scarf with a pale green cashmere All Saints jumper which I bought from an outlet store over the summer (which has now closed, boo!) navy Cos trousers, Zara boots and a Marc Jacobs bag. My husband bought the handbag for me as a present for our 10 year wedding anniversary which was nearly 4 years ago now. Now there's a thought - do you reckon 15 years deserves another handbag? I have nearly a year to plan. Heavens knows what he deserves....

Later on in the day I swapped the cashmere jumper for a pale pink Zara knit and the trousers for khaki green Next coated jeans - for a cooler (in the temperature sense) and slightly more relaxed look. Then I got into the school run, cooking dinner and doing the washing though so no snap of that outfit. Sorry!

Wishing you all a fantastic weekend!

Making friends happy with clothes - thanks to Whistles, Gap and Boden

My "day off" today started with an hour long session with the personal trainer I have been seeing over the summer and finished with an 8.5 mile run. Somehow I seem to have inadvertently ended up training for a half marathon. I don't quite know how it happened, and how you can "inadvertently" train for a half marathon is beyond me - but anyway there it is.

In between those activities, I nipped into town for an hour. As I arrived in the car park, lots of car alarms were going off. It was as if there was some huge announcement that the Lita leather jacket had come back into stock in Whistles but sadly that was not the case. I think that the car alarm situation could have been caused by the loud music from the car in front. It was ridiculous. Didn't the young man inside realise that I wanted to listen to Woman's Hour for goodness sake?

I had a great time in town, picking up pieces that friends and clients were after and then dropping them off. I think I'm slightly odd as I get a real high from finding the "unfindable"!

Before any of that happened though the Boden Patsy heels were delivered for a friend of mine. They have a great heel height and as she last bought something similar when she was pregnant with her son who is now 8, she is delighted.

I picked up the Whistles terrazzo scarf for a friend who was at work. The 25% Grazia discount voucher came in very handy, reducing it from £45 to £33. The colours are actually much prettier in real life. It has a very pale pink and an icy blue in it.

Now there's a whole story behind getting hold of the Whistles Lita leather biker jacket in grey. In a nutshell it goes like this: A friend of mine was after one but it was sold out online and in store. Liking a challenge, I offered to try and track one down for her. Whistles customer services (who were brilliant) advised that it was out of stock but that 7 units (not quite sure what that means) were due to go on the website at some point.

After dinner this evening I checked the Whistles site and there it was. I quickly stuck it in my basket and after a flurry of phone calls and texts to said friend, during which she gave me the online Grazia discount code (my voucher with the details on it was long gone.....) it was mine. Or hers. Or mine until she has run the half marathon and then she's allowed to have it. However up until that time I will no doubt try it on and pretend it's mine, just as our eldest does with my shoes when I'm out and I come home and find them in random places around the house. 

These GAP skinny mini camo trousers which are sold out on line but which were in the sale in our local store, are on their way to Newcastle to a friend up there who couldn't get hold of a pair locally.

These GAP true straight pants will be dropped off tomorrow to a client who lives locally. They didn't have her size when we shopped yesterday but did so today. They are an absolute favourite of mine at the moment. They are amazing for anyone who is after a pair of smart trousers, which can also be worn at the weekend. They are machine washable, made of 95% cotton and 5% elastane, come in black, navy and grey, cost £34.95 and whilst slim fitting aren't skinny, which means they are more up to date than a boot cut trouser but they aren't too skinny for work. The rise is good too. Have I raved enough? One pair of trousers won't suit every shape but these are definitely worth a look and just as good as the Reiss Paris trousers which are considerably more expensive.

So all in all a good day. I like making people happy by finding them things that they like. Did I pick up anything for myself on my trip? Yes, I fear I may have done so. But more about those pieces another day...

The last hurrah of the summer maybe? A Cos skirt, bare legs and nude sandals.

Submitting to opaque tights means that winter is on its way. My steadfast refusal to wear them whilst there is any chance of a warm day means that for the last few weeks I have been wearing a lot of trousers. However, with the unusually warm weather today, I wore a skirt with bare legs - quite possibly for the last time of the year.

 

 

My favourite high waisted Cos A-line skirt is useful all year round. The length is good for me with, our without, tights - and that's quite a rare skirt length to find. With nude shoes, a cream leather jacket and a Zara print blouse with gold skull buttons (subtle to the point that I didn't realise the buttons were skulls until after I had got it home) I was good for my day in the shops.

 

Skirts are finally taking centre stage this winter. After many seasons without a great choice of skirts in the shops, they are at last featuring more in the collections. Keep you eyes open for a post about the options available!

"& Other Stories" - the sister company of Cos and H&M - and what a nice sister she is!

A couple of weeks ago the opportunity finally presented itself for me to take a good wander around & Other Stories in London. A sister company of H&M and Cos, it was so different from what I had expected I can't even begin to explain it.  

 

I don't know why but for some reason I imagined it to be dark, foreboding and full of gothic pieces. My mis-conceptions must have sprung, I think, from a few of the pieces that I had seen in the press when it launched last year. However if I'd thought about it a little more, logic would have dictated that, being Swedish, it would be sleek, chic and bright.

 

I suppose it's a little dangerous to over-egg the pudding because just in the same way that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found, if I rave too much people may be disappointed on visiting.

 

Anyway, so here are some snaps that I took as I wandered around (sorry for the lack of links to these pieces) together with images, plus links, to some others that I like. So here goes:

 

& Other Stories had a really large range of shoes, boots and trainers from the classic to the quirky so if you're on the hunt for some footwear, it's worth adding to your list. I liked these because of their rich colour and the fact that they were a little different but still very "do-able".

 

 

There was definitely more colour than I expected to find. I loved the vibrant coral colour of this bag.

 

Silver boots for anyone who fancies anything a little futuristic. I think that these are very cool in a pixie boot kind of way!

Textured jumpers are a huge trend this season and the light and pretty colours on this jumper make a nice change from black or navy. It has a slight 80's look about it but as lots of things are just a re-hash of what has gone before, if we were put off by anything that we had seen before we would soon reach the stage where we didn't wear anything - or everything that we did wear would be very boring.

Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure about the neoprene look (it reminds me slightly of a kids' Superman dressing up outfit with the extra six pack padding) but variety is a good thing...

I love the print on these shoes, which is similar to the jumper. The appeal lies in the fact that the shoes have different prints on them. These would update a plain navy or purple dress really well and would look equally good with rolled up boyfriend jeans.

I know I've featured a lot of quilting recently....but here's some more. This jumper also comes in grey and a taupe colour. This navy one is hanging in my wardrobe, patiently waiting for a chilly day.

I love the print on this pretty handbag/purse.  & Other Stories is a treasure trove for little bits and bobs like this, plus make-up, jewellery and smellies. In fact it would be quite easy to get lost in there for a few hours - it's a great place for Christmas shopping.

I tried these mid calf boots (£95) in the navy - and they also come in black and brown. I loved the stack heel, together with the lighter coloured heel and sole. Definitely one for the list!

This long sweater (£55) is beautifully thick and chunky with a huge roll neck. There was also a lovely, oversized cardigan in the store with rounded shoulders - massively huge and warm which I loved but which would have been too heavy to carry, which was probably a good thing really!

Due to its structure, this triangle pleat skirt (£45) reminded me of a Cos piece. It's just a little different from the norm without being inaccessible.

And finally I could be very tempted by this wool bomber jacket (£125). I didn't particularly like them in the summer and the varsity ones are definitely too much of a statement but this one is quite understated. Plus it's navy which is always a winner.

The fact that the store was new helped with the whole shopping experience, which reminded me more of Anthropologie than it did Cos or H&M. In fact it definitely wasn't H&M like at all, which is a good thing because although there are some gems in there, it definitely doesn't offer a shopping "experience".  Well perhaps it does - but just not the kind we might like, especially when a collaboration with a new designer has just been launched (hold on to your hats (and everything else) for the stampede that will ensue during the Isabel Marant November launch). It's also a little less stark than Cos - more colour and print and softer around the edges. So anyway, in a nutshell, if you're in London and have a while to spare, I'd definitely recommend taking a trip there.

What to wear to a black tie "Out of Africa" party? Hec, I have no idea!

The minute I saw the invitation I knew that it wasn't going to be easy. What does one wear to a combined 50th and 21st black tie birthday party which is held by an eminent QC at a Manor house, the theme of which is "Out of Africa"?

 

The thoughts that went through my head were along the lines of: "Shorts might be nice but I'll be surrounded by 21 year olds so won't go there. It would be easier to be a man as I could just wear a printed bow tie. Does the "Out of Africa" reference mean as in the film or "Out of Africa" as in a cultural sense?" Not knowing any other guests, it wasn't as easy as making a quick call to try and get a handle on what others thought, so really I was flying solo. In essence this meant playing it safe, giving a nod to theme in something that I was happy to wear again and in which I wouldn't feel too conspicuous. Equally as Mr G has known the host for over 20 years, I felt that that it was important to embrace the theme.

 

After the invitation had arrived, I spent an evening trawling the internet to see what I could come up with for an "Out of Africa" (as in the film) outfit but it proved a little tricky to fit it in with the black tie theme and there was a danger of falling wide of the mark. Having decided to adopt the animal print approach, I concluded that Karen Millen was probably the "go to" brand for something animal print inspired. With a two hour slot at Bicester that weekend off I went.

Karen Millen certainly had a good choice of animal print inspired pieces and I picked up these black trousers, reduced from £120 to £30 within 10 minutes of arriving.  In all honesty I perhaps wouldn't have chosen these trousers had I not got the party to go to but I can see myself wearing them in the future with black winter boots and an oversized jumper. The fit was also good too - close but comfortable!

This little fella was an accessory I picked up having arrived at the party. Issues of animal cruelty aside, I kept having to push to one side thoughts of how he may look as a pair of shoes, or a handbag and wondering whether his skin might be big enough for both. Perhaps that would be a bit matchy matchy though.....

As to the shoes, these too were bought at Bicester, from LK Bennett in the sale. They were reduced from £295 to £95 so clearly not the cheapest shoes in the world but definitely ones that I will wear again.

Doing double print with the shoes and trousers was again not quite me - especially given that they were animal prints - but as it was all black and white and given that it was a themed party, albeit a smart one, I figured that it was OK and only mildly OTT.

The black blazer is a very old one from the GAP and I also wore a yellow and diamond cuff from Karen Millen and a Topshop necklace. With Mr G in his zebra print bow tie, we were quite well co-ordinated - not in a Posh and Becks matching leather trousers and leather jackets kind of way I hasten to add, nor in a Kate and Wills matching African headdress kind of way - but more in a George and Mildred kind of way.

 

As an aside, you know how at a Halloween party you might tell the children that you were serving witches eyeballs, frogs legs and bat wings to eat? Well when we were asked whether we wanted to eat zebra, springbok, python or crocodile, I thought they meant that it was all really chicken or steak. It wasn't. All I can say is that the Pavlova was delicious!

 

A Dorothy Perkins grey quilted sweatshirt - just one way to wear it for now!

Earlier in the month I wrote about quilted sweatshirts which are everywhere at the moment. In fact quilted pieces in general are a big trend for A/W '13.

 

Despite the glorious sunshine when this photograph was taken, it was quite dull most of the day so I thought that my new quilt gem sweatshirt from Dorothy Perkins (£22) would be just the ticket. Here I am wearing it with GAP boyfriend jeans, Zara boots, yellow Karen Millen cuff (yellow and grey still remain a huge favourite colour combo of mine) and a Marc Jacobs handbag.

 

Here's a closer pic at the "gems" around the neckline which, predictably, increased its attraction to my magpie like personality.

My previous post about quilted pieces looked at quilted sweatshirts but for a couple of alternatives, there's this Hobbs  pearl skirt (£89), which I have seen in real life and it's really lovely....

And this quilted bomber jacket from Warehouse £48 which again I have seen in real life and that too is worth a closer inspection for anyone tempted to go down the quilted route.

Having a lot of grey in my wardrobe, and following on from my comment about liking grey and yellow together I have ordered the new Ingrid coat from Boden. For anyone still on the hunt for a pink coat, it also comes in pink too. I'll let you know how it all works out..... If anyone orders one I would love to see a picture!

One way to style the GAP camouflage jeans....

Today it was time to give the Gap camo jeans their first outing. To make them more wearable, I kept the top half simple with a New Look denim shirt and a black Zara jumper. I must admit that initially I was slightly cautious about wearing them out (signs pointing to one's thighs aren't always a brilliant idea) but I think that I am going to get quite attached to them. One day I might swap the black jumper for a yellow one - but I'm not quite ready for that yet.

 

 

Part of the deal with trousers like these, I think, is to "style them out" with some kind of heels. Some items of clothing work very well as they are, whilst others need a little bit of assistance to bring out the best in them - especially if you're not Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. So, once again, the Zara boots came to the rescue. I feel that these are going to earn their keep this winter.

Here's a link to the GAP camo jeans. For anyone interested in getting hold of some, it might be helpful to know the sizing is very generous. I am wearing a UK size 4, whereas in most stores I am a UK size 8.

Here's also a link to the New Look denim shirt that I am wearing and which is currently in store. When I first saw it, I liked it for the fact that it had a great big sticker on it saying "soft wear", which it is. I also liked the mother of pearl studs and the fact that it isn't too cow girl in appearance. New Look is always my first stop for a denim shirt. They have a great range of styles and the prices are good - this one was £19.99.

Oh, and these are what I removed from my Zara boots this morning. Remember I said that they were uncomfortable after I had worn them for a day? These could have had something to do with it, although of course the lack of socks didn't help. I did wonder though why the boots were a bit rigid at the front when I walked down the stairs. Mystery solved!