How to wear a slightly more challenging trouser shape....and EVERYONE should have one of these....

[Carvela shoes, Baukjen trousers, Topshop jumper, Reiss leather jacket, Paul Costelloe bag, necklace from friend]

When you're used to skinnies, getting away from them can be really difficult, especially when it's to a trouser shape that is more relaxed, printed and with a little width around the ankle. Flares? Not a problem as they're still fitted around the hips and thighs and with heels, they're a flattering style in their own right. Wide legged trousers? Again not a problem as they are classic and if the cut is good, they can be very flattering. But as for a bit of a half way house style like these? Well they are more challenging and here's why....

• They have an elasticated waist and a less sexy waistband I cannot imagine, other than maybe the ones with buttons inside like kids trousers but then no-one tends to know about those. On the plus side, when you're off out to dinner with a friend who makes the best brownies ever, an elasticated waistband is quite handy;
• The length - not ankle length but not full length either (selling them well aren't I?!)
• From the side I can look hideous in this style trouser and I should know because I've tried lots of them. Short and dumpy would be a good description;
• Quite often the fabric can be very thin, allowing for every wibble, wobble and dimple to be shown to the world. 

However, when I tried the Felsted print trousers from Baukjen (£59 reduced from £99 and which I must have had for about 5 weeks now) I quite liked them. The fabric was of a good quality and they fell well. Then I cut the label off them, meaning that I could no longer return them, at which point (of course) I became unsure whether I liked them or not. So anyway I just decided to wear them.  And having worn them, these are my conclusions/solutions:

• Cover the elasticated waistband (obviously) and no-one will be any the wiser;
• Heels will avoid the dumpy feeling - and I should know because I tried them with trainers and they looked hideous;
• Choose a quality and/or printed fabric, all of which will help with lumps/bumps/and spare bottom cheeks which seem to appear at a certain age;
• When I have time I might play with the length by rolling them up a little but the fabric is quite slippery so they would probably just do their own thing anyway.  And in the summer I am going to try a chunky birkenstock type sandal which will either work really well, or make me look well dodgy.

Personally I think that a coloured shoe would work with these trousers (wardrobe gap alert!) and having come across the Milly suede shoe at Jigsaw (£149, although the lipstick shade are £74 and I'm also sure that I saw purple ones yesterday) I think that they could work for lots of us for lots of occasions. Of course there are loads of other styles too - much trendier and New Look/Primark would be my shop of choice for those styles - but for a good staple, these are pretty impressive and the leather that Jigsaw uses is always really, really soft.

After all my hours of wardrobe construction, I thought that I would share my favourite one with you. It has some of my bags, most of my jewellery, scarves and going out shoes in it and sometimes I just go and look at it because I love it so much. When the world around me is a little chaotic, my cupboard is calm and serene. Which makes me very happy but equally a complete saddo too (but I don't care!) 

Lots of my bracelets/bangles and cuffs were from friends of mine so I take great pleasure in looking at them and thinking of my lovely friends too. I think that we could probably all do with one  of these cupboards in our lives - even if it's only a weeny one.

A glamourous Mum in a glamourous outfit from Coast, Dune, Carvela and Jigsaw

 

 

A very beautiful lady!

 

Last night we held a Glamour Evening at school and I styled the fashion side of things. It was a joint event between myself and a friend who is an Arbonne representative, plus we had a hairdresser come along to do an "up do" on one of the models, a make-up artist, a team of ladies threading eyebrows and another lady promoting her teeth whitening business - so there was plenty going on. The entrance to the event was lit with tea lights (I can't take credit for any of this) which made it look really pretty.

 

The board room was transformed - a little bit Winter Wonderland and a little bit Downton Abbey!

 

Well, what's a mantelpiece for if not for displaying shoes....

...and the odd bag?

 

During the evening we covered a number of different events that might arise during the Christmas calendar and "black tie" was one of them. A lovely Mum from school had her hair and make-up done for the event.  In preparation for the event I chose this fabulously opulent Rita skirt from Coast (was £125, now £87.50) which I knew would make the most of her tiny waist and which I hoped that she would agree to wear - and luckily she did. [They are only available in limited sizes now but if anyone is desperate for a size 10, I have a spare one - although only at the full price.]

 

 

I've displayed the outfit in the pictures below and in addition to the skirt you can also see the bag that I used, which is from Dune (Now £52 instead of £65) as I wanted to pick up the blue in the skirt elsewhere in the outfit but this could just as easily be done in some shoes or in some jewellery.

I also opted for the Coast Sunnita jacket (£85 full price though it is available with a discount at some stores) as it has a nice neat fitted shape to it and I didn't want to spoil the line of the skirt, some Stella & Dot earrings, a Coast thick gold bangle and Carvela Lacey shoes which have little spikes on the front and which were included just to add a bit of an edge to the outfit.

 

Carvela Lacey shoes - tricky to find right now, House of Fraser have sold out and the Very website has crashed but there will be some somewhere!

I also used this 100% silk cami from Jigsaw (now £35.10 instead of £39). These are fantastic for layering under jackets as they aren't too tight, the V-neck isn't too low and the straps are adjustable so they're not constantly falling off your shoulders. They come in a whole range of colours too - just in case anyone is after something similar.

I hear that Santa may be buying this outfit for a black tie event which this lady has coming up. He sounds like my kind of chap!

Mixing three (subtley) printed items with a dollop of denim - plus a Limited Collection M&S top

 

I like a nice pair of printed trousers - although I've now decided, three days after these photos were taken, that that these aren't them (which probably explains why I haven't worn them for ages). Anyway, for now, let's pretend that I hadn't reached that conclusion or else none of the rest of the post, which I also drafted three days ago, would make any sense.

I dug this pair out from the "too big to wear" pile. Except that now they are no longer too big to wear. On the one hand this is good because I can now wear them but on the other hand, it isn't so good because conversely I probably now have several pairs of trousers that need to go in to the "too small to wear" pile. That's the problem with the summer - wearing shorts, dresses and looser fabrics generally means that it's harder to notice when things are getting slightly too tight.

As well as printed trousers, I like to mix my prints and although I'm not such a big fan of wedges at the moment, I've always liked the snake print of these Carvela wedges. The star clutch, which as you've probably noticed goes everywhere with me at the moment (seriously, who has time to change their bag every day) is obviously not plain however the denim top? Plain as plain can be. A good dollop of denim always brings everything together.

Mixing prints doesn't have to scream "crazy lady with no taste." It might say "no taste" but it doesn't have to scream it.

Part of the reason for not having any more up to date photos than my three day old ones is because my Mum has been in hospital having a knee replacement. BUT one thing that I did have whilst she was in surgery was a stand up desk.

OK, so I may not have had the treadmill (seriously, those heels on a treadmill?) but my set up, courtesy of the NHS, comes a pretty close second to that of Mrs Beckham's

Now one thing that I did manage to do before my Mum went into hospital, was to order this Grafitti print top Marks & Spencer (£29.50). Mistakenly I sent it to her address but it was here ready and waiting when I brought her home from hospital - so that was quite handy. Anyway, I haven't had a chance to try it on yet but I thought that I would share it with you because I have high hopes for it with a pair of black trousers and heels for one of my many (!) nights out. I have to say, the village  I grew up in is really happening!

A Denim and Chambray outfit for a casual kind of day....

I couldn't quite get it together today. Sometimes when I start the day by doing jobs, with the result that I get showered and dressed slightly later than usual, it doesn't work too well. I started off with a skirt, or two, or three, but ditched all of them. Then, to avoid a fall out of the apocalyptic kind, I went for the simplest of simple of combinations of trusty jeans (GAP) -  a trusty shirt (GAP) - and very trusty shoes (Carvela), all of which were in a very neutral colour palette. OK to some it may be boring and lacking a certain edge but that's where the benefit of normcore comes in. A trend of understated simplicity - it's perfect for those days when you can't get it together or you can't be ar*** because the outfit can be passed off as the ultimate look.

One of our activities for the day, as well as buying school shoes and doing the food shopping, was to go swimming. Luckily the floor blended quite well with my colour scheme for the day. My lovely new basket came along for the ride and if you look carefully, it contains the bikini which I featured on here a couple of weeks ago now. Much to my surprise, it's now my swimwear of choice.

And just look at the numpty who can't even dress herself properly after the swim. Tragic!

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue - largely Ralph Lauren with a little bit of Whistles

Today's outfit all started with a bike ride. I needed a bag to put all of my bits and bobs in and remembered that I had given my Ralph Lauren backpack (a true piece of mid 90's chic) to our eldest so, in line with yesterday's shenanigans, I pilfered it back for a while.

The back pack was great for the bike ride and then I thought that about trying it for real - well, for the first time since I last used it for real, which was about 17 years ago.

I love a good midi skirt and I had my eye on this one when it first appeared in Whistles. Although it was spring/summer '14 stock, I couldn't quite figure out why, given the weight of it. When I came across it in the sale, reduced from £125 (ish) to £65, I snapped it up. I can't say that it had my name on it but it's called the "Ivy" skirt, which was my Grandma's name, so I saw it as a sign. Trouble is I seem to keep getting caught out by these "signs".

With the skirt having so much volume in it, it needs a fitted top to keep the proportions in check and this skinny rib knit from Boden did the job. Heels also work to off-set the shape of the skirt. As many of you will know from experience, although midis are great for covering the knees, they are also great at shortening the legs and widening the ankles! In the winter I will wear it with knee high boots, the tops of which will be covered by the skirt. I'm not fond of a gap between the top of  boots and the hem of a skirt (on me at least) as it creates too many horizontal lines and breaks. It just puts me on edge!

I have no idea what tomorrow will bring but I'm off to raid another wardrobe to see what else I may have given away over the years.....

The 12 outfits of Christmas (and New Year) - The Whistles Camouflage Skirt (and preparing for a gathering)

 

I think I'm coming to the end of my 12 outfits of Christmas by now. This is probably about the 14th or 15th but hey, whose counting? I have had the Whistles camouflage skirt for a few months but haven't got around to wearing it until now. I really like the blues and pinks in it as, despite it being camouflage, they are really pretty. I bought this pale blue Topshop cropped jumper to go with it as the only other one that I had seen in the right colour was in Reiss and it was ridiculously expensive. The clutch is also Whistles, the tights are M&S Autograph and the shoes are the Lacey court by Carvela. I would include links but everything is pretty much out of stock now.

Mr ...

... has declared that we're not allowed to call tomorrow's get together a "party" but instead it is to be called a "gathering". I'm not quite sure of the reason for this, other than the fact that he was ambushed with the whole idea once the eldest and I had decided that there was going to be a "gathering" whether he liked the idea or not. (Actually he's secretly delighted because for once he won't be outnumbered by women but he just won't admit it.)

In typical husband/wife fashion, we have assumed our respective roles. Mr SG has been to the butcher to buy meat for the chilli - "for the boys" - and has used a Jamie recipe he's had his eye on for a while and which takes five and a half hours to cook.  He has also been to buy beer (and the rest of the alcohol in fairness). This is what I have done so far....

I know! Impressive huh?! But, whilst we're on the subject of being fair, in fairness to me I did also ask Mr SG to buy fizz for "the girls" AND I have made a huge slab of millionaires shortbread. What more does a party need apart from fizz and millionaires shortbread? Exactly! My contribution hasn't taken five and half hours - but it was a Nigella recipe - although I didn't add any "special" ingredient that she may have chosen to add either to herself, or the recipe, to improve it.  This is Birmingham for goodness sake! 

Actually I have done slightly more than that  (I've put some crackers in a jam jar and put up some more fairy lights) but more importantly I should point out that Mr SG isn't miserable at all and is actually a fantastic host. Far, far better than I am. I've taken to putting all the food out and all the drinks in one fridge and telling everyone just to help themselves or otherwise I forget to feed or water them, which is pretty rubbish as a host. It's totally unintentional. I think that I just get distracted with chatting and doing random things like checking that we have enough toilet rolls out.

So with that sorted (I need to stay in Mr SGs good books so that the boys keep away from the millionaires shortbread) I wish you all a really Happy New Year. I hope that you have fun at whatever party (or gathering) you are attending. Here's to much more fun and fashion in 2014! x

The 12 outfits of Christmas - Day 5 - From day time jeans to a dress for a night out...

 

This evening we went round to see some friends for our annual Christmas get together, which was brilliant. I've worn this Pia dress from All Saints quite a few times recently but never in a dressed up way, so tonight it had the full on bling treatment with an H&M statement necklace, Stella & Dot bracelet, Marc Jacobs clutch and studded Carvela heels.  It made a nice change for the dress to take centre stage as usually it has something layered either under or over it - but at least it is versatile.

During the day I wore jeans, together with Zara boots, Hobbs blazer, Mulberry bag and GAP hat.

We're off to Wales tomorrow so I hope to be able to blog whilst there but if not, I will be back on Monday. With the forecast being rain, rain and a little more rain, I don't think that there will be a lot of heels, flimsy skirts and silk going on.

As for today's gift, I love this personalised iPhone case from Not on the High Street (£25). Some people think that gifts like this have had their day but I love them. Anything that is thoughtful and individual to the person receiving it gets my vote.

In need of a new top? This floral jacquard top from Miss Selfridge may just work....

I am so disappointed that all the Christmas decorations available to us locally are so tasteful. Yesterday I went in search of big, sparkly, bright and if I'm honest slightly kitsch (OK, totally tacky) baubles to brighten up the tree. However all that I could find were white or silver, totally tasteful, wooden shaker style decorations with meaningful quotes on them. What's that all about and where's Woolworths when you need it?

I did manage to find tinsel though - albeit white and silver - so that was a small start at least. I'm now on the hunt for some of that cobweb spray stuff that we used to have on the tree when I was a child. How cool would that be? I can wreck the ozone layer and our lungs all at the same time.

Speaking of slightly gaudy sparkly things, I went out with some friends last night - not that they are gaudy - but this top that I was wearing from Miss Selfridge (£35) most definitely was. I didn't get a photo of the whole ensemble but thought that I would tell you about the top anyway because quite often at this time of the year we can be on the hunt for a new top to pep up jeans/black trousers etc.

 

This top is part of Miss Selfridge's Floral Jacquard collection, which contains trousers, bustier style tops and shorts. The colours in the pieces are really lovely and if you hover over the images on the site you can see them much more closely. This top has nude, pink, teal, gold and pale blue in it and it's nice to pick up on one of those colours elsewhere in your outfit. There's a zip from top to bottom at the back and the top is lined. The fabric is quite stiff - although not in an uncomfortable way - so if you're after a floaty number this isn't it but it does feel quite substantial and therefore, warm (big plus!)

I also wore these Luxe shine joggers from Topshop (now reduced to £30) which were really like wearing my PJ's but hopefully they looked a bit smarter...

 

...and these Lacey courts from Carvela now £45 instead of £85. Oddly as the night went on these shoes got progressively more comfortable but I fear that says more about my state, rather than the shoes themselves. I have to admit to feeling slightly delicate today and it's safe to say that there won't be any photos of me appearing for a while yet - although my husband kindly offered to take one for the blog this morning, which I politely declined.

 

 

Hope that you are all having a good weekend and good luck tomorrow to all you Bristol ladies who are running a10k race for charity.

Leather leggings: How to wear them and what to put with them.

Over the last few seasons leather, or faux leather, leggings have taken over the High Street. When I was in H&M today I counted at least 5 pairs and pretty much every store has some, of one description or another.

So firstly, some tips for choosing the right ones for you:

• Are you ready to commit to leather leggings or are you just dipping your toe in the leather/pleather legging water? There are some out there for as little as £10;
• The fit is really important. Everyone thinks about leggings being too tight but equally, baggy leggings are never a good look;
• Check from all angles before buying and have a good wriggle around in them. Wonky seams, leggings that are too tight and leggings which ride up (or down) are never going to work. Oddly the crotch can also be in the wrong place too. Imagine that!
• Most leather style leggings will have panelling or details on them. Light can bounce off shinier fabrics, acting as a highlighter, so check where those panels sit on you. Panels may be best avoided on the thighs and/or bottom and confined to the lower leg, or down the side of the leg instead (see below).

To list all of the leather/pleather leggings available on the High Street would take all night, so here are a few choices at different prices;

Black leather leggings Mint Velvet (£499) - the real deal and I have to admit that they do look lovely;

Liv leather leggings Baukjen (£299) - the real deal at a slightly lower price;

Damsel in a Dress leggings at John Lewis (£89). These are made of a thick fabric and have real leather detailing down the side of the leggings. This is a really flattering way to wear leather on leggings as the vertical lines serve to lengthen the legs. Damsel in a Dress designs for a slightly more mature market too, so they sit fairly high on the waist;

Faux leather leggings Mint Velvet (£39) - these are a good mid priced option, ones that I haven't yet tried but I am planning on doing so.

So, what to put with them? Well on most people, covering the bottom will be a good idea. I have seen one woman wearing the Damsel leggings with a short fitted top from Zara and she looked amazing - but then so was her figure! There are lots of different ways of styling them so here goes!

The long shirt:

There are lots of longer line shirts available. From denim, to silk for a night out, to an oversized man's shirt or a plaid one for a rock chick look, there are plenty of options available.

I like this Ebony print blouse from Mint Velvet (£69). The Nehru collar is flattering, I like how the print is concentrated at the top of the blouse and for anyone with a curvier bust, a V-neck can be created by undoing a few of the buttons. Wear it with the shoes at the bottom of the post for a night out.

The long knit

Long jumpers and biker boots are a nice way to style leather leggings for a weekend. This Merino Kimono sleeve sweater from Jigsaw (£98) is a great jumper and one which I used for an event on Wednesday night. It's long and loose enough to give the right look, without swamping the wearer. It also looks great with a long pendant worn over the top of it.

The shirt dress

Depending on the fabric and print of the shirt dress, it could be worn either to dress the leggings up for a night out, or down, to wear them casually.

GAP has a good selection of shirt dresses and this plaid shirt dress (£35) would work well worn with ankle boots for a casual look. Again, for anyone who prefers to steer clear of a high neck, a V-neck can be created by undoing the top couple of buttons.

The Long Cardi

Long cardis work well over leather leggings, provided that any top worn underneath has the requisite length at the front, if you get my drift.

This long wrap around cardigan from Zara (£19.99) comes in several colour ways and would look good with a brighter jumper, or printed jumper, worn underneath it or with a plain top and a big printed scarf. I think that I would have to work in a bit of neon to this look.

Sweater/jumper/sweatshirt dress

Tapping into the trend for sweatshirts, a sweatshirt dress would give a very modern feel to the look and would look fantastic with a statement necklace. This sweat dress from Topshop (£19.99) would work well, as would a more traditional jumper dress. I am sure that Primark will have some lovely novelty ones in time for Christmas!

I had to include these shoes on here today. They are my current all time favourite. They are the lacey Courts from Carvela (£59 down from £85) and they would look totally brilliant with leather leggings - as they would with lots of things. They are a classic style but the spikes give them an edge, so they tick that box for when you want something stylish but also very modern.

A round-up of holiday outfits to include Jigaw, Hobbs, Zara, H&M, Gap, Next, Warehouse, Reiss, French Connection, Pied a Terre, Carvela and Sea Folly (plus others)!

Wow! It's so good to be back!

I didn't get any time to blog whilst on holiday and, after returning home, I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't blog until I had finished certain (really interesting) jobs - such as filing, sorting - you know, the usual domestic chores that get left until they reach the stage where they have to be addressed or else everyone disappears under a pile of magazines, rather like something on a poor quality TV show when the front door can't be opened because of piles of old newspapers.  Except in my case they are piles of Grazia, Red and Easy Living magazines, plus endless receipts!

We had a fantastic time away.  We stayed at the Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall which I can thoroughly recommend for families. The views of the bay were fantastic, as was the food, the rooms and the relaxed atmosphere. For the first time ever, since since we have had children, we took advantage of the childcare that was on offer and the youngest loved going to "night-time nursery" for a couple of hours.  The hotel thought nothing of people walking around in wet-suits, dripping wet having just left the pool - or anything else really, which was great.

This was the view from the pool - amazing! It was closed to children until 9am which meant a lovely peaceful swim every morning. Other than the day when there were six maintenace men cleaning the pool one morning - and only me swimming in it!

                                           

 

Anyway, having spent more time in the water than at any other point in my life, it left little time for photos, which was probably quite good on the whole as I was wrinkly most of the time with slightly red looking eyes from the saltwater/swimming pool.

We did manage shots of a few outfits, so here they are:

Dinner first night

H&M shirt, Gap trousers, Pied a Terre shoes, Reiss and Coccinelle cuffs, H&M ring (I thought that I blended in quite well with the surroundings!)

 

Lunchtime day 2 - Fifteen Cornwall

Next trousers, Warehouse knit and bag, Carvela shoes, Jigsaw necklace;

            

        
My husband was impressed that I managed to continue my birthday celebrations even a week later! Impressive huh?! This lemon polenta cake was lovely.

                                                  


Body boarding days 1, 2 & 3

Wetsuit (borrowed from a friend as I had leant mine to our daughter) and thermal vest! The waves on the last day were like nothing I've been in before. They were huge! The lifeguards were out with their loudspeakers, on their jet skis and generally doing an amazing job, and it was brilliant.

Dinner day 2

Jigsaw trousers (current and in the sale) NW3 top (sale) plus new season NW3 necklace and pied a terre shoes;

 

This is a closer look at the Hobbs NW3 beaded collar £29 (post to follow shortly on beaded collars, which we are going to see a lot of next season).

 

My first hero piece

French Connection maxi dress which was great for layering over my swimming costume on my way to the pool and then going to breakfast in afterwards.  I also layered a French Connection knit over the top and a studded belt so that I could wear it in the day time, with converse.

And the middle of these three costumes was my second hero piece.  A while ago, I wrote a post about how my swimming costume had seen better days. In fact, it was almost at the point of being indecent. Anyway, amongst others, Seafolly sent me this middle swimming costume below, to try out.

I thought long and hard about how to include it, without looking like an exhibitionist - or an idiot! Anyway, when it came to it, it more than earned its place in my Wardrobe, so it therefore definitely warranted a mention.

I wore it every day to swim before breakfast, again under my wet suit and then again in the pool later on in the day with the children. For once I loved wearing a swimsuit - not in a "hey look at me" kind of way (I still made our son get out of the pool to retrieve the ball with which we were playing) but I felt covered, held in, and respectable - more as if I was wearing clothes rather than underwear - if that makes sense. So, whilst Seafolly are more expensive than some brands, and I would never previously have spent that much on a swimming costume, I think that they are worth the investment and would do so now.

So, in the spirit of seeing what it looks like on a "real" person, here's a shot that we took in the garden before going away. 

What you lose in leg length by having the 1950's cut on the leg, you gain in decency and comfort!

Today I wore some other pieces that I took away, but which I didn't get a chance to wear:

Jigsaw khaki skirt, French Connection pale blue striped knit (same as the navy one above) Topshop blue belt, Warehouse bag, Zara shoes (excuse the bucket - the fish were having their Saturday morning water change!)

Later on in the day I swapped the blue belt for a Topshop leopard print one, and brogues for our walk in the park.

So, that's my round-up of the last week or so.  Keeping to a simple colour scheme really worked for me but being on the go so much, I pretty much stuck to the same few pieces without much time to think about what I was going to wear.

I am now looking foward to our next trip, which is a few days on a narrow boat with some friends. Altough not the narrow boat we had booked, as I have just been informed by our friend that it has sunk. It doesn't bode well! Better get that cozzie back on!