I decided that now that the children were back at school, it was time that I upped my game. I was also given the perfect opportunity this week as I am doing a style party on Saturday for 18 women, who range from 5 feet 1" to 6 feet in height and from shoe size 3 to 9 - oh, and one is also pregnant. So you see, I had my work cut out for me (hence the need for the sequinned trainers.) Armed with lists of the vital statistics of these ladies, together with their favourite brands, I headed off into Birmingham for a full day of shopping - only to return four hours later with a migraine. Ho hum! Not a great start.
Day two however was a whole different ball game. So, what did I feast my fashion eyes on and what did I think of the stores, a whole two months, yes, two months, later than my last shopping expedition?
I have to say that Zara was great, in particular, for a camel cape, camel skirt, chunky knits, a lace top, leopard print loafers and desert boots with a wedge heel. In fact, as usual, Zara covered all of the trends and the store was well set out, the hard work being done for you, particularly if you didn't really know what to put with what.
The other stores worth a mention are GAP, for their maternity clothes which, whilst basic in colour were at least stylish and interesting and also for their new range of trousers, one style of which comes in three different leg lengths. Their ubiquitous biker boot is now in store and it is priced at a reasonable £65, coming in both black and brown. TopShop was also good for its maternity range and, in particular, its range for tall women. There was a good selection of clothes and coats at good prices; although they could do with a wider selection of jeans because I am not convinced that all tall women want to wear skinny jeans all of the time. New Look came up trumps for my lady with size 9 feet and I personally like the fact that the shoes are displayed and you can instantly see whether they have it in the size that you are after. They also have a great selection of boots and I am loving my new desert wedge boot in cream (ish). The crepe heel and sole mean that they are incredibly comfortable and they are definitely a change from the converse! Finally, no shopping trip would be complete without a mention of M&S. Whilst not quite what I had expected, they had a good choice of bags and shoes. Oh, and before I forget, Accessorize had a great fake sheepskin satchel style bag in a nice colour, for £35.
I have decided that because it's a Friday, and because we are all tired (well, I am at least!) I will describe some of my purchases in pictures. This also means that if there is anything that you like, you can head off to the stores on Saturday to get it.
So, in addition to what I have mentioned above this is what I bought (and a lot more besides)! - The red dress below is from Oasis and cost £45, the purple dress is from Coast and cost £85. The printed dress is also from Coast and also cost £85 . All of these dresses are easy to wear in that they are a reasonable length and they are either a silky jersey fabric, or cotton. This means that they can be worn for lots of occasions and won't just be confined to your evening wardrobe. I also wanted to avoid too much black so the colours just add a dash of something brighter.
The draped top was also a Coast purchase and cost £60 (the picture below doesn't do it justice; it isn't as shiny as it looks), the kimono top was from TopShop Tall and cost £50 and the necklace was from Jigsaw and cost £59
The items above, from left to right, are M&S £55, M&S £49 and TopShop £28 
The above two items above are TopShop tall, £78 and New Look, £40
So, that is a brief rundown of the shopping that I have done this week. Hopefully the guests at the hen party will be in a mood to whip off their clothes and try everything on, maybe even buying a few pieces for their evening out. I can't wait to get going....I will let you know how I get on.
