Mixing spots and stripes...

Mixing spots and stripes is a nice way of making an outfit more interesting whilst at the same time not making it too challenging.

 

You may have noticed that when I get something new that I really love, I wear it to death for the first few weeks and then give it a rest before resurrecting it. That's exactly what happened with this Boden cashmere jumper which I wore endlessly in Guernsey at the end of the summer (sadly now out of stock).

 

Today I layered it over a pink spotted shirt from GAP, jeans and Zara ankle boots £75 (now back in stock but only in sizes 3 and 7 - sorry).  It worked for our trip to the dentist (no children, you can't go on the holiday that we planned because I messed it up but you can go to the dentist instead), lunch out (success on a major scale for us as the eldest two held off from their current - and at times quite funny but I didn't say that - favourite game of insulting one another, right until the last minute) and trip to the supermarket with the eldest for Halloween treats.

Now, moving on slightly, in the Sunday Times Style Magazine yesterday, Laura Weir suggested that these boots that I am wearing above (picture below) would be perfect for a first class flight to Sydney. For anyone considering taking her advice I would say, on this occasion at least, please don't. The rest of her outfit suggestions were fine  - soft legging trousers, cotton T and cashmere jumper - but the boots? Heavens no!

The boots, whilst lovely and comfortable (once you've taken the cardboard inserts out) are not the easiest to get off, particularly if doing it in a hurry whilst at airport security, as I found out a couple of weeks ago.

Balancing on one leg, tugging at them, pulling your socks off and nearly falling over whilst at the front of a huge queue is not a good look. It also makes you a bit red, hot and sweaty too. Equally I'm not convinced that travelling for hours in fairly snug fitting boots around the ankles, or arriving in Sydney in them in the height of the summer would be such a good idea either. Having said that though, having never travelled first class I may be talking completely out of my ears - perhaps there are no queues and perhaps chairs are installed for anyone who has to remove their Zara boots in a hurry.

 

Earlier on I captured a moment of bliss in the life of our 5 year old. New Halloween outfit on, dolly by her side, pumpkin by her feet ready to carve, whilst watching a film on the ipad in a comfortable chair. Bliss!

 

Going out - A hot pink and floral outfit by Ted Baker and John Lewis, with jewellery by Alice Stewart

 

 

John Lewis own brand crew cashmere crew neck jumper in Cerise (£69)

Ted Baker Oil Painting Skirt (£129) from John Lewis

Ted Baker T clasp clutch (£99)

The above three pieces formed one of the outfits at last week's Lifestyle Event at the Birmingham School of Jewellery. As I mentioned previously, I felt that it was important to keep the top half of the outfits relatively plain, so that the jewellery could really stand out - hence the John Lewis cerise cashmere jumper.

I chose to use jewellery from the designer and jewellery maker Alice Stewart for this outfit as I felt that her pieces, which are inspired by nature, complemented the floral skirt really well. Equally, on another occasion, the prettiness of the skirt could be contrasted with jewellery with spikes or skulls!

I loved the print and the shape of the Ted Baker skirt, which is really flattering on, especially for those with curvier hips. It works best if any top that is worn with it is fairly short, stopping at the waist to show off the narrowest part on the body. It has a great length to it for those who don't like skirts which are too short. Ted Baker has used this print on trousers, sweatshirts, dresses and tops this season so if a skirt isn't your thing but the print is, there may be something else in the range for you.

The texture and colour of the bag are fabulous. It is bright pink, textured leather and comes in a variety of colours. It's availability online seems to be limited at both the John Lewis and the Ted Baker site but I picked up the one I used from John Lewis only last week, so there are obviously some still in the stores.

As I mentioned, the jewellery for this outfit came from Alice Stewart Jewellery whose work has appeared in Vogue. Her gold blossom ring, shown below, is £89.

Alice studied 3D design, specialising in silversmithing and jewellery at Loughborough University. Her inspiration comes mainly from the beauty of the English countryside and parts of her work are satin finished as well as highly polished, to give a two tonal effect which brings the pieces to life.

These butterfly ear-rings are a real favourite of mine. It's partly because that, whilst they are drop ear-rings, the hoop on them makes them more wearable for the daytime (in my little mind at least), as does the fact that they aren't heavily jewelled. Alice's butterfly earrings cost £80 and since the event she has taken several orders for these, which are proving to be really popular.

Alice designs jewellery that is both enchanting and sophisticated and which takes itself from casual wear to special occasions.  Alice's gold blossom bangle, shown below, is £150.

I hope that I have quoted the above prices correctly but please check Alice's site for up to date prices. I don't want to get myself into any more hot water right now!

A black GAP jersey dress, Whistles scarf and Seven Boot Lane boots (for a trip to Wales....and back)

The plan for our half term holiday was this: Go to Wales today, celebrate our son's birthday there on Tuesday, go for walks on the beach, light fires, carve pumpkins, bake cakes and come home on Thursday.

 

This is what actually happened: We went to Wales to day and, two hours later, we came back from Wales. Why? Because some numpty (me) mixed the dates up so that when we arrived, the people who had actually booked to stay in the house this week, had arrived. So, 300 miles and five hour later, we are now back home. I have a lot of humble pie to eat.

 

I thought that it would be a nice idea to have an every day jersey dress to wear at the weekend and so yesterday I bought this black dress from GAP, which was £24.95 in the sale.

 

Today I wore it casually but I plan on styling it in several different ways over the next few days. Here I wore it with a camo print scarf from Whistles, which is no longer available on either the Whistles, or the John Lewis site, though there may be some sneaky ones lurking in stores somewhere.

I also wore my new Abella boots from Seven Boot Lane and a smile which, oddly, I don't now seem to be wearing!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend - Wearing a Coast dress to a lovely event in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter

When I was first invited to a meeting to discuss the "Jewellery Quarter Lifestyle Event" in the late Spring, I have to admit to being slightly in the dark. When those present at the meeting spoke about the "BID" I didn't know what they meant. Finally I plucked up the courage to ask and realised that "BID" stood for "Business Improvement District" and that the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham had one.

 

In an area which has a BID, certain qualifying businesses pay an amount of money to the BID and that money is used to market the area, to raise its profile and to improve its appearance and profile. In a nutshell, the aim of the event we were discussing was to raise the profile of the Jewellery Quarter to other sectors of the City.

 

Now - and forgive me for those not really interested but - I have lived in Birmingham for 18 years and although I know it pretty well, I have never really paid the Jewellery Quarter much interest but oh my goodness, the talent there is incredible and I will never buy jewellery from anywhere else, ever again.

 

My role was to speak primarily with the jewellery designers and makers, to visit their premises, to take photos of their work and then (with the help of the lovely Partners at John Lewis Solihull who kindly let me have the use of their store and who lent the clothes to me for the event) to put the jewellery with various outfits for models to wear on the night. 

 

The talent within the Jewellery Quarter is unimaginable. From established jewellers working on commissions for people such as The Duchess of Cornwall, Fearne Cotton and Pixie Lott, to young women who are just starting out cutting beautiful pieces from leather and making 3D jewellery in silver and gold, to established jewellers  and gemmologists who make incredible contemporary pieces, I was blown away. Tucked away in studios no bigger than box rooms in old factories which have been divided up into units, and with room only for a computer, some machinery (and thank you cards) these amazingly talented jewellers find themselves in a catch 22 situation with not enough income for a shop but equally people don't know where to find them to buy their pieces to generate that income. So, that was the purpose of last night's event - to bring that talent to a wider audience. 

 

To set the scene, this shot was taken as people arrived at the event, which was held at the Birmingham School of Jewellery - the biggest school of jewellery in Europe. We had over 20 businesses exhibiting, about fifteen of whom were jewellers and the rest were made up of other businesses within the Jewellery Quarter. Several jewellers couldn't be present as they were collecting awards on the night, which was fantastic. 

 

I had it mind that the clothes should form a backdrop to the jewellery, which largely meant avoiding frills, print and fussy detail so that the jewellery could stand out against a background of silks, velvets, colour and texture.

I chose to wear a plain full length black Coast dress and I first wore a necklace by Glenn Campbell which I followed in the second half with drop earrings worn by Lauren-Elizabeth (no pic as yet - hope to find one from someone, somewhere!)

I found this picture on twitter which someone had taken whilst I was doing my bit!

 

This necklace by Glenn Campbell took three, eighteen hour days, to make and was made especially for an exhibition at Goldsmith's Hall called "Growing talent", the aim of which was to show the development of a group of talented young designer-makers.  For anyone interested, you can read more about it here.

 

Now that it is back in Birmingham Glenn is looking forward to exhibiting the piece here. The necklace is priced at £2700 and each individual link was shaped, flattened twice, then heavy paper was pressed into the link to give it the fine surface texture. Each link then had a hole punched into the top and was curled round and joined up. Here's a closer picture of the necklace, which was incredible to wear.

 

 

Over the next few days I hope to bring you the outfits, and the jewellery, that the two models were wearing . For some reason, which escapes me now, I forgot to ask someone to take a photo of each model before she came out, or else I would have had material for 12 blog posts at my fingertips *weeps*

 

We had an amazing team working on the event and hopefully the exhibitors will benefit from the event hugely, which we are planning on repeating in the Spring.

 

Here's a link to the Jewellery Quarter Bid and if anyone is planning on having any jewellery re-worked or commissioned, or if anyone is looking for an engagement, wedding or eternity ring - or if anyone just feels that they deserve a treat and want something special making - I would love to point you in the right direction. I need to do some shopping by proxy of I fear that things are going to get tricky at home!

Wearing a dress by the Fold London for an event in support of Action Cancer

Last week I was really privileged to be one of three guest speakers at a lunch at the Merchant hotel event in Belfast, which was held by Action Cancer and which was sponsored by BDO and the Bank of Ireland.

 

The charity, which doesn't receive any government funding, was celebrating its 40th year. It offers a fantastic service which includes a breast cancer screening service for women aged 40 and over - screening on the NHS starts at 50. 

 

Given that Action Cancer has been in existence for so long, I was intrigued as to why other countries hadn't followed in its footsteps, particularly given the accounts you hear of women being diagnosed with breast cancer in their 30's and even their 20's.  I realise that the density of breast tissue in younger women is an issue but the evidence clearly demonstrates that screening women at an age younger than 50 does result in the detection of breast cancer, so my intrigue remains....

 

The room looked incredible - so much hard work had gone into making everything look fantastic.

 

Shots taken during the event.... 

 

 

Thanks to Sue Wilty for taking the outfit photographs that day. Here I'm wearing the lace Camelot dress by The Fold London. It's not currently available in this finish but will soon be available in a lovely sparkly navy fabric.

This is a clearer shot of the dress but please excuse the scary eyes!

And look who's was wearing the same style dress, but in winter white, the day before - doesn't Holly look lovely?

 

 

   

   

The first shot included, left to right, Laura Jackson (BDO), me, Rachel Abbott (author and guest speaker), Sue Wilton (Director Roe Park Resort), Christine Boyle (MD of Lawell Asphalt and guest speaker), Maria McAllister (Bank of Ireland). Sadly Kerry Anderson, possibly the most stylish pregnant lady I have ever met, wasn't on the picture - she totally rocked a Zara sequinned dress!

 

Thank you to everyone who gave me such a warm welcome in Belfast. The chat and the laughter were fun and it made my first visit to Northern Ireland a fantastic one. Thank you!

Seven Boot Lane - A fabulous new boot brand, with a 10% offer to Style Guile readers

I really like that part of blogging where I get to find out about new brands that I wouldn't necessarily know about otherwise - and then share them with everyone!

 

Seven Boot Lane was established in 2012 so is a fairly new kid on the (boot) block. Having taken a good look at the site, and having read the about page - which I think reveals as much about a brand as anything else - I didn't hesitate in accepting their kind invitation to try a pair of their boots to feature on Style Guile. Actually that's not strictly true, I did hesitate just to double check that they were absolutely sure and after they said yes, I went ahead and chose the Abella boots in black leather.

 

The philosophy behind the brand is really appealing. The boots are made in Spain by traditional craftsmen and women using hand finished leather. The brand sees itself as an "antidote to modern throwaway mentality" and it creates beautiful boots that stand the test of time both in design and quality. Available not only online, take a look her to find local stockists

 

With slightly sore toes today and with the rain lashing down, I thought that it would be a great day to put the boots to the test. As soon as I put them on they felt lovely - and this time I did double check to make sure that there were no cardboard inserts before wearing them for a whole day.

 

Testament to their comfort comes from the fact that I still had them on until it was time to go upstairs this evening to bath the youngest. Up until then I had avoided going upstairs for any reason as I didn't want to take them off - cream carpets and rain swept boots don't work. How ridiculous is that? I know, off the scale in ridiculousness but I didn't really need to go upstairs for much other than the dirty washing and that won't be going far.

 

Like many, I am a sucker for lovely packaging and these boots were certainly wrapped beautifully - it's the small things that count! 

 

As I opened the box, the smell of leather really hit me. I even asked our son (poor boy, he's so tolerant) to come and smell them. When I asked him what they smelt like he said: "Proper boots." So they got his seal of approval.

These give a good side view and an idea of the height of the heel (flat but not dumpy feeling) and the height of the boot too.

 

This is the tan version of the Abella boot, taken from the Seven Boot Lane lookbook.

 

  

I love the Annie in charcoal leather (£175) which also come in khaki suede. They have that fantastic slightly beaten up look which works so well with jeans and a leather jacket, with tea dresses and thick tights, or with a short dress and tanned legs for a festival in the summer.  

  

  

The Alice charcoal suede (£150), which also come in sand suede are a great every day boot and are so versatile. A lovely alternative to leather, they add some texture to an outfit.

 

 

This photograph is taken from the Boots on Tour section on the Seven Boot Lane site, where people can post photos of themselves wearing their Seven Boot Lane boots, getting a chance to win a pair in the process.

 

   

The Angelica  charcoal boots (£175) offer a lace up work boot that can be worn up or down. They're a brilliant way of tapping into the grunge look, which is such a big look for the season.

 

 

See the Angelica's on tour! 

 

  

The Alabama in chestnut (£160) also come in black and there are biker boots, knee high boots and brogues too. There are so many lovely boots on the site that it's hard to choose a favourite.

 

 

For anyone tempted with a lovely pair of boots from Seven Boot Lane, there's a 10% discount for Style Guile readers, available with this special voucher below.

 

 

Happy shopping!

Mum on the Run - literally - and a very stylish plaid outfit from Next

At last, the day of the Birmingham half marathon dawned. Despite the initial downpour, the sun came out and as we were warming up true Brit style, complete with an instructor who was doing some serious 80's moves, it was really warm.

 

For the most part, I had a blast. The course is relatively flat most of the way and I remember having a little sing along to my extraordinarily bad play list. In fact my friend and I concluded prior to the race that if anything were to happen to me during the race, any possible street cred that I may ever have had would have gone right out of the window when they realised what I was listening to.  Hanson anyone? See, I told you it was bad!

 

OK, so I had spotted family at this point hence the inane grin but I fear that I looked like that quite a lot of the way round - other than at the evil hill towards the end but fortunately a friend was at the top to cheer me on. I just remember shouting to her "It's hard, it's really hard."

Anyway, the point of the post is to show you my lovely Next grey checked - but let's be "fashiony" shall we and call it "plaid" - Onesie, given to me by my friend as a pressie to be worn specifically after the race.  Ah, it's lovely and warm and I plan on wearing it from now until Spring.

The bobble positioning may require a little attention but you know, all in good time.

I made this last night, specifically for today as a treat on returning home. Sadly I haven't made as much of a dent in it as I would have liked but there's always tomorrow.

And to all my lovely friends, family, followers and twitter peeps - thank you for your phone calls, texts, banners, cheering, tweets, tips and belief in me, all of which meant so much. And special thanks to my hubby - amongst other things he's a brilliant chef and great taxi service. Yes, I can highly recommend him (but like lots of husbands, his jokes are still REALLY bad.)

Beth x

One fashion dilemma solved, one to be solved and an embarrassing "50 Shades of Grey" style encounter (in public)

So when I volunteered to assist the (male) yoga teacher this morning in a demonstration, little did I realise that I would be asked to do the downward facing dog, with him standing behind me, belt wrapped around my hips and him tugging on it whilst the rest of the class watched. It felt more like something that you would read about in 50 Shades of Grey as opposed to something you would witness in a sleepy Birmingham suburb. Oh the embarrassment!

Anyway, moving swiftly on, there's no outfit photo today as I stayed in my yoga gear all day. It even elicited a response from my usually fairly unobservant husband who said "Are you really going out dressed like that. What if someone sees you?" As I am in strict preparation for the Birmingham half marathon tomorrow (eating lots of pizza and running around the conservatory to see if drumstick sweets were easier to pull apart and eat than jelly babies) clothes were the last thing on my mind.

That aside, several of you have asked about the M&S slip that I mentioned the other day which does a fantastic job of smoothing lines. Yesterday my lovely client from Bristol sent me a link to it with the advice that it is definitely best taken off downwards, rather than over one's head.

Marks and Spencer secret slimming light control full slip (£25)

Nervous of committing a fashion faux pas, I have taken advice from a friend on where it's best to pin my race label. It has to be on the front but I wasn't sure whether it was best placed on the belly or the boobs. The answer came back just below the boobs but thinking about it I'm not quite sure how that's going to translate in real life. There's always a fashion dilemma in life isn't there?

Trophy Trousers - the winter wardrobe saviour!

Have you noticed how the world "Trophy" is used a lot in relation to fashion? Trophy jackets, trophy ear-rings - those pieces that are a just that little bit more special than the norm. I wonder though whether the "Trophy" in relation to "Trophy wives" has been somewhat lost in translation - because last time I checked, I'm not sure that it was a wholly positive description!

Today I'm looking at Trophy Trousers. I think that these can be a winter wardrobe saviour on many levels and here's why:

• Generally they are a cigarette shape, which is a more flattering shape than a skinny trouser;
• Given their shape, they finish at the ankle and flashing a bit of ankle can be quite sexy;
• For a smart casual event, when jeans won't quite do but a dress is too dressed up, a pair of trophy trousers and heels are a great option - think school bash, Christmas drinks with the vicar/neighbours, trip to the ballet (I just re-read "ballet" back to myself as "toilet" and clearly whilst you could wear Trophy Trousers for a trip to the toilet, it may be a bit OTT), friends around on Christmas day - you get the gist;
• With pointy toe heels, they lend themselves to a real 1950's vibe, which is incredibly stylish;
• They can be dressed down for the day with a round neck jumper, flats  and a parka, or up for the evening with a blazer and sparkly heels.

So these are some of my current favourites:

1960's jacquard trousers Jaeger Boutique (£70) - arguably these are quite spring like in their print but I think that's nice for the winter. I love the cobalt blue in these and for anyone with blue eyes, picking that colour out on your top half would look really stunning. Because these are currently on sale, sizes are limited but customer services should be able to advise which stores stock your size.

Polka Dot slim leg trousers Jaeger Boutique (£60). A dark background with a lighter accent colour is a really flattering combination. Spots are a great for those who aren't really into a floral print and the navy and green makes a nice alternative to black.

I saw these Jacquard fabric tailored trousers Jigsaw (£98) yesterday and thought that they looked like  a really good option. The grey, purple and orange colour combination actually works really well and lends itself to a whole range of different coloured tops. In fact, the crystal jumper that I bought from Topshop and which I featured yesterday would go well with these. Hmmmm, I'm liking that idea....

I mentioned these camo jacquard cigarette trousers from Topshop (£45) yesterday and here's a picture of them for you. I've fallen in love with these a little bit too. Wearing shine can be tricky on the bottom half but there's just the right amount of shine so that they are on the right side of flattering.

For a slightly more subtle option - and perhaps a good place to start for those dipping their toes into the Trophy Trousers water - these floral jacquard PJ trousers Topshop (£35) are a good option. The "navy within the navy" combo is a great one. A silver sparkly top, a white shirt, or pale knit or a bright pink/yellow/ top would work brilliantly.

 

These Jacquard cigarette trousers Next (£35) will appeal to those who prefer something other than a navy or black option. Great with cream, camel, pale blue or turquoise, they could go from work to party quite easily.

I'm quite intrigued by these Jacquard Harem trousers Zara (£29.99). They could either be brilliant or a big fat fail. Unlike most of the others, I haven't seen these in the flesh but if anyone has, please feel free to report back. If not, I may be forced to go on another research trip and frankly that's all proving a little too dangerous at the moment.

Not so much camouflage, as a jacquard skirt in a camouflage print, from Topshop

I would have felt it rude to have visited another City and not headed straight for the shops so, within less than an hour of arriving in Belfast yesterday I was in Topshop.

 

Initially I was on the hunt for a pair of shoes that I'd seen. Sadly they didn't have them in the colour that I was after but at least I could establish which size I needed and thanks to the internet they are now on their way. So anyway, instead I had a good look at the clothes.

 

I decided to try some leather panelled leggings (BIG mistake - along the lines of the "Big mistake" comment made to the shop assistant by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman). There was something else that I tried that was also so bad that it has been wiped from my memory. However the jacquard print camo skirt and crystal jumper were much more up my street.

 

I bought the crystal jumper in grey marl but it also comes in pale pink, deep berry and charcoal. For what it's worth, I think that this could be a wardrobe winner on many levels, particularly in the run up to Christmas. It would do a good "pepping up" job of a plainer bottom half, from jeans, to black trousers or a simple skirt.

 

And this is the jacquard skirt, which is in a camo print. I was attracted to the skirt by the finish and colour as much as the camo and it's the perfect camo piece - less army, more luxurious. I really like the trousers and the dress in it too - and the tiles on the hotel floor for that matter but sadly I couldn't bring those home with me.

 So, the whole outfit was Topshop crystal grey marl jumper (£46)

Topshop camo jacquard skirt £38

I also wore LK Bennett Sledge shoes in grey

 

Here's also the link to the Camo A-line dress, trousers and bomber jacket, all from Topshop .