I have decided to do a series of posts this week on tops for spring. Personally I think that tops can be quite tricky. Finding ones that have some interest about them whether by way of their shape, colour, print, fabric, or design, can be challenging. There are plenty of t-shirts and long sleeve t's available but not only are they a teensy bit dull, they can also cling in the wrong places or alternatively if too big, can cover any hint of a shape. Shirts are OK but can be a bit corporate and boxy and generally they need ironing. Arggh! So finding something that is pretty but warm and a little different as I say, can be tricky.
Popular opinion is that we should all have a grey marl sweat top amongst the tops that we own and that it will be our saviour in any given situation. Whilst I don't necessarily disagree, flat grey can be hard to wear. However I quite like this Limited Collection pure cotton grey striped jumper which is quite cheeky and at £29.50 is a good price. The fact that the grey is broken up with the cream lace makes it easier for my fair (OK, pasty!) complexion to carry off.
The shoes are from Clarks and are called Trilby Hat. They cost £44.99 and also come in yellow and red. I have to say that they are very comfortable and I quite like them because they are fairly covered up and not too "naked" if you know what I mean. True, they are fairly chunky but that is definitely a good thing for those with slightly heavier legs as they can make them look slimmer whereas dainty shoes just create an imbalance. Remember when there was that whole Rachel Zoe look going on in the states when the waifs carrying the huge bags looked small enough to fit in them? Well with chunkier shoes it's that kind of idea but not quite so extreme.
Just as an aside, you can see from the above photo how the short top makes my legs look longer than they are. Raising the waist will have that effect. It is possible to achieve the same effect with a dress by layering a short bright jacket, or a bolero, over a dark dress - quite a nice trick with a work dress if you also add some heels.
Speaking of heels, they were something that I was not wearing at 4pm this afternoon when doing a substitute ballet lesson at home with our youngest, as she was unable to attend her proper lesson. To stop her tears I had to pretend to be a rabbit leaping around the kitchen, finding a carrot, pulling it out of the ground and then eating it. This expanded into me being an elephant, giraffe and finally a hippo rolling in the mud. At least she found it funny
