Wearing a dress for a Monday, with heels and a boucle jacket...

I can't quite remember how I wore this Warehouse dress when I last featured it on here but I know that at some point I have worn it with black Zara ankle boots and an All Saints cocoon coat. Today, however, I wore it with heels in the form of Jigsaw shoe boots and a Boden boucle jacket with a Peter Pan collar. Oddly enough I have just seen someone else wearing the same dress whilst I was out running. I didn't get a chance to check out her shoes but she was wearing a cream coloured fur coat with hers - so there's the inspiration for my next outfit. Handy!

For anyone who likes the print, Warehouse also do it in a cami and a biker jumpsuit.

Happy Monday everyone - hope that you have had a good one!

A day trip to London complete with a little bit of shopping!

Yesterday our eldest and I went to London for the day. Although it wasn't meant to be a shopping day in particular, there were one or two essential purchases to make because remarkably, the person who is always freezing, didn't wear enough clothes. As observed by the eldest with a wry smile, it was one of the best excuses she had heard for having to buy more clothes. However, I knew if I didn't do something about it I would be freezing all day and as several of my fingers had already gone white, I knew it was time to act. So, a quick trip into GAP resulted in the purchase of this cable knit jumper in neon coral (£34.95 less 30%)...

...and this cable beanie, also from GAP in heather grey (£9.95 less 30%).

After I'd put both of those on, the feeling started to return to my fingers, which I took as a good sign. We headed to Covent Garden and the Royal Opera House shop, before going to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus and down Regent Street to Hollister, which was described as: "A dark, smelly, overpriced, hell. The kind of place you try and fight your way out of in a dream but can't get out of..." And that was by the person who actually chose to go in there i.e. not me.

We then took a trip to Liberty to look at the stationery and the decorations, followed by a spell in Topshop on Oxford Circus (which had slightly different "attractions" to Hollister) before battling our way down Oxford Street to Selfridges to see the window display, the Christmas decorations and the shoe gallery. Having spent quite a lot of the time in the shops we decided to do some sight seeing before heading home, so off we went to Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

But of course no trip to London would be complete without a trip to the newly opened J. Crew. It's funny because I'm not convinced that it lived up to its hype, whereas when I visited & Other Stories for the first time, I was totally impressed. The things that I really liked in J. Crew I felt were expensive, the basics weren't that inspiring and in my opinion there were some really, really, grim things too - which I know is true of any brand but I wasn't really expecting it of J. Crew.

Out of everything in J. Crew this chevron scarf (£68) in citron grey was one of my favourite things. Possibly because I was still a bit cold, more likely because grey and yellow are a favourite colour combination of mine, undoubtedly because it was really soft and I'm thinking that chevron prints are the way forward. For £68 though I felt that it would more likely be a sale purchase.

For the same reasons I also liked the chevron hat from J. Crew (£39.50) but for the same reasons, I left it where it was.

I also took a look at the highly rated Merino tippi sweater J Crew (£69.50, which comes in 18 colours) whilst I was there - just to see whether it was worth its price.

Now I think that this is a tricky one. Sometimes you set your heart on something and it becomes the holy grail of that item, to the point that nothing else seems to cut the mustard, so (within reason) it's just better to bite the bullet and buy it, rather than buying two or three cheaper versions which don't quite work.

In its favour, the sleeves are a nice length and the colours are good. I also think that the ribbing around the neckline, hem and sleeves sets it apart from others. Having said that it is really lightweight so wouldn't offer much warmth and it would need something underneath it. Maybe if I was after a specific colour it could be a yes, or if I had dreamt about owning one and nothing else would do, then it would be a yes. Otherwise, we reckoned it was worth £25, which would make it a no. For the same price I would probably look closely at this cashmere round neck jumper in Pure which comes in a wide selection of colours and with the current discount available doesn't cost much more, or to the cashmere in GAP, H&M or M&S. Having done that first, maybe then I would be satisfied that this was the one!

As an aside, after I'd spoken to an assistant in J. Crew, she told me that she really liked my necklace, which I had bought in Topshop one as a cheaper alternative to one of theirs.  I can't see it online at the moment but was £22.50 for anyone who wants to keep their eyes open, or equally tell me that I am wrong and that it is there!

Finally, I have had my eye on this pink leather clutch from Whistles (£35 less 20%), for a while. The fact that it is a different colour on each side doubles its versatility - and halves its price too if you think about it. So it was a winner all round.

Oh and the above photo was taken in the M&M shop, with the Union Jack being made entirely out of M&Ms. As to the rest of the outfit I wore my All Saints Pia dress, a Whistles jacket, All Saints shoes and a Mulberry handbag - plus on occasion our eldest's school gloves which she has had from the age of 7. Stylish!

And the final outfit for the West Midlands Women of the Year Awards was.....

 

The Topshop jumpsuit!

You may remember from my last post, that I was trying (and failing miserably) to decide what to wear to last night's West Midlands Women of the Year Awards, which Justice Williams MBE had invited me to co-host with her. Having discounted several options, I decided to give up. Also I had spent so long writing about it, I had run out of time. Luckily for my husband he was away overnight - in fact I haven't really seen him all week so I couldn't ask for his opinion. Hmmm, I'm starting to smell a rat.

Then, when I woke up yesterday morning, I'd received a facebook message from a friend saying that she liked the Topshop jumpsuit. So, after getting out of the shower, with a towel still wrapped round my head and minus any lighting because I didn't want to wake our youngest who had crept into bed with me, I pulled it back on, glanced in a very dark mirror and thought "Yep, that will do" before pulling it back off again, getting dressed and leaving the house at 7.15am to take our son to the station. So in the end it was a pretty quick decision after all.

 

The awards ceremony was a lovely affair. It was fantastic to see some familiar faces and to meet new people too. Some of the recipients of the awards had had amazing and emotional journeys, suffering great personal tragedy along the way. Needless to say, as well as much joy, there were also a lot of tears. Veronica Kumeta of Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer was awarded the Inspirational Woman of the Year Award and Georgina Moseley of Help Harry Help Others was awarded the West Midlands Woman of the Year Award.  

 

Justice Williams MBE, who is the founder of the awards, is a truly inspirational woman with a huge amount of energy, passion and integrity. In her own words, "Instead of getting a law degree, I got myself a criminal record".  Whilst in her early twenties, Justice was sentenced to a short time in prison and whilst there, she spent time in the library, looking for jobs so that she could make something of herself when she got out. On her release she volunteered at a local youth group and in 2004 she set up her own initiative to help disadvantaged youths set up their own businesses. In 2008 she became the youngest black woman to get an MBE.  After becoming a Red Magazine's Hot Woman of 2010, she felt that the women of the West Midlands deserved an awards ceremony of their own, hence last night's event.

 

Emma from fashionmommy also deserves a special mention. She was awarded the Fashion Blogger of the year award, which was a fantastic achievement. Unfortunately due to her young son being poorly she wasn't able to make it to collect her award, however it will no doubt be winging its way to her soon.

 

And of course no awards ceremony, which honoured women, would be complete without cakes!

Options for a night out....(there are quite a few!)

Tomorrow night I am co-hosting the West Midlands Women of the Year Awards at a fabulous hotel in the centre of Birmingham. It promises to be a glamourous affair and having the role that I do, I felt that I wanted to give some thought to my outfit.

I narrowed my options down to the following:

• Black jumpsuit and short, bright jacket;
• Long dress;
• Printed trousers and top.

My initial research on the jumpsuit front revealed a nice one in Reiss but that was nearly £200...

I had the idea of wearing it with this Ted Baker jacket, albeit in the hot pink, but with that being £179 it was going to amount to a pretty expensive outfit.

I also came across a jersey jumpsuit in French Connection (£125) but that was very low at the front, so it wasn't really an option. So that idea was temporarily parked.

Moving on to a full length dress, I really liked the style and shaping on this sequinned dress from French Connection which shaves inches from the waist. However,  at £180 it was more expensive than I wanted to pay for an outfit for one night.

 Next I moved on to the Ted Baker sparkle maxi dress (£179), which I liked in the shop but which I wasn't entirely sure about, given the poor lighting.

I brought it home and showed it to my husband on Sunday morning. Ordinarily I wouldn't ask his opinion on what I'm wearing but he does have a really good eye and so for a special event, I will ask what he thinks.

As I appeared in the kitchen he looked up from cleaning the fish (chubby, fudge and cola cube - don't ask!) and a look of terror went across his face. It wasn't so much because of what I was wearing but rather more because he was going to be put on the spot and his opinion requested.  His conclusion was that it was it was OK but possibly a bit cheap looking so, given the price, that was a "no". Having not come up trumps on the full length dress front, it was time to move on.

Next I moved on to the Ted Baker oil painting top (£89)...

and the Ted Baker oil painting trousers (£109)...

Now actually this outfit got a really positive response from Mr SG and despite the fact that it could, and really was, print overload, I really liked them together too. All was going well and he said...."it's different, fun, bright, yes I like that outfit, that will do. And then he uttered the fatal words  "It looks like a CLOWN OUTFIT." A clown outfit? I gently (after throttling him) pointed out that perhaps it wouldn't be a good idea to go out dressed in something described by someone else as a clown outfit. So that went back. As an aside, Ted Baker has over 30 items with this print and as much as I like it, now that it comes in skirts, trousers, tops, dresses, jackets, umbrellas and wellies, I'm slightly concerned about it - in a Daniella Westbrook/Burberry overkill kind of way.

So really that left me back to square one until today when I paid closer attention to this Topshop jumpsuit (£48) which I had seen last week. Not quite feeling up to stripping off and trying it on, I brought one home to try. Now what I will say about this is that it has potential. My only slight concern is that the waist it quite high, so the distance at the back from the waist, to the bottom of one's bottom, is quite big - which can make one's bottom look, well, quite big. So I'm not entirely sure on that. Actually yes I am - it's a no. I think.

In Topshop I also came across these luxe shine joggers (£42), which I have to say are a total winner. I think that I may devote a whole post to them at some point. They also come in a lovely blue and this is what I like about them - they're not thigh clinging or calf clinging for anyone who suffers from either of those problems - but they are tapered. The fabric is quite heavy too which I like for a bit of support.

I also came across this Forever 21 sequin bomber jacket (£32) and I think that the trousers would look fantastic with it - not necessarily for what I'm up to tomorrow night but for an evening out over Christmas.

 

 

I like the style of these metallic heels by Dune at Topshop (£85) to go with the above trousers. There will be less expensive options at Primark or New Look but I've included them to give you an idea.

 

Whilst on my travels I also picked up this Topshop navy taffeta skirt (£48). Actually mine is bright pink but it isn't showing on line, although the pale blue one is. It featured in the Sunday Times Style Magazine so I wanted to see it in the flesh. Again this isn't one for tomorrow's event but just something to try because I wanted to suss it out with a cami style top.

So where have I reached for tomorrow night's outfit? Nowhere really, which isn't great given that I'm busy all day tomorrow. Had I not faffed around for the last hour and half telling you all about the things I had discounted, maybe I would have moved things forward. As it stands I've drawn a big fat blank - although I did buy a Parka today because, of course, that will work perfectly tomorrow night.

As an aside, although I discounted some of these things, I hope to have given you some ideas for pieces out because they may just be right for what you're after.

It's grey, jersey and drapey - the Whistles Selma bodycon dress (without too much of the bodycon - fortunately)

This evening I've been running a Style Event at a firm of Accountants in the City Centre. I thought that I would finish the evening by showing everyone a really sexy piece of clothing - my new padded (and unworn) socks from M&S. I know, how stylish can you get? I love them - once you've had the benefit of padding in your socks, other socks just won't do. Well, it reinforces the point that I am a very "feet on the ground" kind of stylist.

For the event I wore the Selma jersey bodycon dress from Whistles (£125) which is really comfortable, not to mention a good "blank canvas" kind of dress to accessorise. I also wore a resin necklace from Hobbs and I pinched my husband's watch to wear, just so that I could keep an eye on the time and to stop me from talking all night!  My LK Bennett grey Sledge shoes had another outing. They were an expensive purchase at the time but I don't have many pairs of heels and they go with everything, so I've got my head around that one now.

I hope that everyone's week is going well so far. I am co-hosting an awards ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday night and am just hoping that the children avoid all sickness bugs and colds that are doing the rounds until then. You know that feeling when you're hanging on by a thread and just keeping your fingers crossed? That's where we're at!

Introducing my new find.....The All Saints Pia Dress

 

My new favourite find is the All Saints Pia Jersey dress (£98) which I am wearing in ink. It also comes in charcoal and khaki marl.

Now, a word of warning about this dress - on the hanger it looks like a big piece of wonky material with arm holes at different heights and a sloping hem. On a person it looks like well.....you insert the words! No, the thing is I hunted high and low for it in store, not quite believing that the wonky tube that I was being shown was the dress that I was after, but it was.

As to my second word of warning, this dress needs to be played with - a lot! I tried on the 6 then the 8, pulled it up, pulled it down, turned it around and upside down.

I like the fact that it can be worn at any length you choose, from just below the knee to mid thigh, depending on where you make it sit on the waist. This is definitely one that I will wear out with friends, to work and all of the way through the summer, at a longer length than I am wearing it here.

This dress will go with anything from a leather jacket to a blazer or a sparkly jacket. A long cardi layered over the top will work well as does a top layered underneath. Heeled boots, wedge trainers, smoking slippers, courts or dressier heels will all go with the dress - and I plan on doing the lot. Although possibly not all at the same time because in doing so I could fall over and whilst falling over from excessive consumption of bubbly stuff is fine, falling over from trying to get too many shoes on one's feet is just stupid.

Pink coats part 2 - let's see what's still left out there!

 

For anyone still on the look out for a pink coat (I know that there are some of you out there!) here's  a round up of some styles that should still be in the stores. With Boden, Jigsaw, Warehouse and M&S having sold out, stocks are quickly drying up.

First off, there's this fluffy swing boyfriend coat by Topshop (£85), which is a deeper pink, similar to the exceptionally old Benetton one that I am wearing above.

Then there's the Coast Maeve coat (£195) which comes up pretty short, so it's good for anyone on the petite side.

Moving on to paler pink coats, there's the Ted Baker Vivaine peplum hem coat (£299), which is a dressier option.  I saw this in the Ted Baker store today and I suspect that it was a web return as it was a one off. It's very pretty, with lovely buttons but probably not for everyday.

There's also the pale pink version of the Topshop coat above (£85). If I'm honest, I'm not entirely sure about the quality of the Topshop coats - the fabric and the lining both feel a bit "nylon" - but don't let me put you off. They are worth a look just to see.

Now this pink coat by Betty Jackson black at Debenhams (£111.75 reduced from £149) is a cashmere mix and it's definitely one that has come up on the inside - or is it the outside? Anyway, you know what I mean.

The web isn't showing a great range of sizes but there are lots in our local store, which had a replen last night. All sizes were available today. It's a great boyfriend style coat - straight lines, concealed buttons - very simple - definitely a winner.

Finally there's the pink wool boyfriend coat from Miss Selfridge (£85). It's slightly shorter and more fitted than the Topshop one but I think that it's a better quality and is 50% wool, so the price point is good.

 

I fear that time may  be running out on the pink coat front, so if you're still tempted, I'd hurry whilst stocks last (I've always wanted to say that. It sounds very television like!)

An outfit of sparkle, fur, snake print, crystals and heels.

I really like simple outfits. Quite often if I am only using one or two basic colours, I will add interest through texture - hence the sparkle, fur, snake print and crystals. It sounds overload but really it's not. 

I had a long, long car journey today in preparation for the work that I am doing at the Clothes Show this year. So with that in mind I wanted to be warm in the car but not bulked out, hence the Zara fur waistcoat. My Topshop lurex pencil skirt is stretchy, so really comfortable plus it doesn't crease. I also wore a grey marl jumper from Topshop, navy snake print LK Bennett bag and Jigsaw shoe boots.

Take a look below to find the pieces...

Grey marl crystal stud jumper from Topshop (£48). I love it in the pale pink too - plus the dark grey and the burgundy colour. In fact it is lovely in all colours.

Topshop lurex pencil skirt (£38) - I started off with this in a size 10 but the sizing is generous so I went for my usual size 8, which is just right. As I say, it's stretchy and comfortable - perfect for daytime or evening. It comes to just above the knee on me.

 The Zara fur waistcoat isn't on line anymore -well at least I can't find it! However...

... I think that they have updated it with this studio long vest (£129) which is lovely and a very acceptable alternative. I styled a client in it last week and it looked amazing on her. Very sharp!

I bought my shoe boots a couple of years ago now but Jigsaw currently have this updated version available (£159)

If you haven't tried mixing your textures up before, give it a go. It's a simple but effective trick to make outfits more interesting.

Have a handbag which needs a little TLC? You need to meet the Handbag Clinic!

 

Remember the bag from yesterday's outfit?

 

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Handbag Clinic. They invited me to send a handbag of my choice to them for treatment so that they could restore it, hopefully, to its former glory. I left my handbag outside for collection and when the treatment had been completed, they called me and delivered it back, all without any cost.

 

So as to put Handbag Clinic to the test, I chose a very much loved but very damaged pale duck egg blue handbag from Jigsaw. It had reached the point that it could no longer be used but equally I couldn't bear to part with it, so there it sat in the wardrobe - loved but neglected in equal measure.

 

Handbag Clinic officially launched in August 2013, however its sister company Furniture Clinic has been offering handbag repairs for several years. Managing Director Ben Staerck decided that a company devoted exclusively to handbag repair would be of more benefit to customers who owned high value pieces demanding the greatest levels of care and dedication. They work on all types of bags from designer names such as Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Hermes and Mulberry and every day thousands of pounds worth of bags arrive in need of help. At anyone time they have over £150,000 worth of handbags in the department.

 

Aside from the repairs and restoration service offered, they also offer Stain Cover. This is a so called ‘Handbag Insurance’ which starts from £4.95 a month. Should your handbag become stained, they will collect it, remove the stain and protect it for the future before sending it back. This is such a great idea for anyone with a Calamity Jane type personality, or for anyone who has lots of beautiful but delicate bags, which they would like to use without worrying about them.

 

Here are some before shots of the handbag. I know, it's in a sorry state. I think that I tried to clean it myself some years back but clearly it didn't work!

 

And here are the after shots. It is totally amazing! I can't quite believe that it's the same bag.

All of the stains are gone and it has been restored to its original beautiful colour.

Without sounding totally dramatic and hysterical about these things, I'm really happy that it has been restored and it's a weight off my mind to know that it is no longer just sitting there unable to be used. It's a bit like when you have those niggly jobs that bug you but you don't quite know what to do about them and it's only when they're fixed that you realise how much they have been bugging you. Or is that just me?!

The bag was  given a colour restoration, which involved thoroughly cleaning it. The stains were removed and the colour was matched from the inside (where it hadn’t faded and it was the original colour). A full coat of colour was applied to the entire outside, which was sealed in with a clear lacquer. The cost of a similar treatment would be around £150.

 

 

Handbag Clinic has extended to readers of Style Guile, a half price Age Defying Protection, reducing the cost from £30 to £15. The Age Defying Protection is an invisible cream which is applied to the handbag and which repels staining by providing a barrier between the handbag and anything with which it comes into contact. Should it become stained, it can easily be wiped clean.

 

Please just quote ‘BG50’ at the checkout or via email. The offer is available until January 31st. I dealt with Charlotte at the Handbag Clinic and she was lovely, so if you have any queries, do give her a call on 01207 279963.

 

So for anyone with a beautiful handbag languishing at the back of a cupboard unable to be used, Handbag Clinic may just be able to come to your rescue.

 

I should just add at this point that this is probably the one and only time that I will be in total agreement with anything that Liz Jones from the Daily Mail says. She too had a handbag treated by Handbag Clinic and loved the results. Actually, that's not entirely fair. She did say nice things about fashion bloggers. Once...