An outfit for a fashion event....

I'm kind of wondering why I'm writing about this outfit, given that most of it no longer seems to be available in the stores, but it may be good as a "What to Wear" or quite possibly a "What not to wear" discussion that anyone may have going on with themselves.

So today was the event at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. To anyone who came along, thank you for doing so and I hope that you enjoyed it and that it gave some you some ideas and talking points. We had an official photographer there so hopefully I will have some shots to share in a few weeks. But for now, this is how it looked backstage when I was preparing everything and before it all started to get just a little bit crazy!

Shoes, shoes and more shoes! 

The nearest that I can find to the Whistles cropped wide trousers (or culottes) that I am wearing are these, also from Whistles. Another good option is Cos, who have similar here. I ordered mine on New Year's Eve and first wore them to the Hush press day. They are my "go to" outfit at the moment as I wore them at an event last week, and again today but I'm good with that as I need to get my money's worth, plus they're just a little different and (most importantly) they are so comfortable.

See that chair in the background? The Bobbi Brown concession from John Lewis brought it along as they did the models' make-up today. Not only that but we had Amy along, who is an International Make-Up Artist, (Bobbi's right hand woman no less) and she does the make-up for the models at LFW and NYFW. How she coped with the glamour of Edgbaston I have no idea. It must have been completely overwhelming for her.

The top that I am wearing is from Jigsaw and it's the winter version of this ivory cropped shell top, which is £89. I picked mine up just after Christmas for £23. It's a really great length for higher waisted pieces like these culottes, or a skirt. For anyone who likes it, I would be tempted to see whether it comes back into stock in the A/W collection - and then wait for the sale.

My shoes are from Karen Millen, again in the sale just after Christmas, reduced from £140 to £40. Lots of people have asked about these shoes so I'm going to have to hunt around to see if I can find similar and do a post on them. They may be in Bicester (I've checked the outlet section on the KM site and they're not there).

My necklace is from Hannah Walker jewellery. I'm hoping to write about Hannah soon as we've worked together before and her jewellery is beautiful. And my bangle is from Livto which is a favourite local brand of mine.

And I thought that I would just share a quick snap of my hair which Craig, the fabulous hairdresser from & Beauty in John Lewis Birmingham, created in about 2 mins by whizzing the straighteners through it and then doing something flicky at the ends. I still think of my hair as really short but obviously it can't be and it was lovely to have a change. I felt very glam and I'm going to go and have a master class with him so that he can show me what else I can do with it - other than relying on it drying whilst I'm eating my breakfast, or on the school run.

Until next time, I hope that you all have a fabulous week. Beth x