Working with Fat Face on their Festive Jumper campaign...

When Fat Face asked me whether I would like to work with them on their Festive Jumper campaign of course there was only one answer. I genuinely love a good, full on, Christmas jumper as do the rest of the family - well either that or they just humour me. It's not something that I like to give only a "nod" to, nor do I want to wear a jumper "inspired" by Christmas. Nope, anything with a reindeer, sparkles, snowflakes, Santa or a Christmas tree gets my vote.  

So, unsurprisingly, out of the jumpers that I could have written about, I chose the Festive Deer Roll Neck Jumper (£45). Not only do I love the reindeers across the front - and back (nice touch Fat Face) but a roll neck is so cosy too.  Fat Face has a great range of Christmas jumpers and cardigans with snowflakes, fair isle patterns and reindeers all of which you can take a look at here

I was away with friends in Wales this weekend. The weather was wet and windy (as you can see above) but my "photographer" and "creative director" were brilliant. The former kept yelling "work it, work it, look the middle distance but stop smiling because your eyes disappear" (see below) whilst my creative director made me laugh hysterically with her antics.  I'll never make a proper blogger. 

Remember the "Last Christmas" video, with the wooden lodge, George Michael, a broken heart, Christmas and the snow? Well we thought about going down that route for inspiration but sadly George was busy so I'm bringing you his photo instead.

It was a shame that he couldn't make it as I'm sure he would have loved our toasty fire and he could have enjoyed a piece of chocolate biscuit cake (we could have offered carrot cake as an alternative) and a glass of fizz.  We certainly did....

Many thanks to Fat Face for asking me to work with them and for the lovely Festive jumper which I shall really enjoy wearing. 

Wearing a little bit of Fat Face to take us into spring....

I will never forget that cold day in January 2008, two weeks after the birth of number 3, when Fat Face came to my rescue. That was the day that I started to cast aside my maternity clothes once and for all. I needed a one stop shop with easy parking, and an easy escape route, for some jeans, a few tops and some knitwear that I could wear until I shrank back to my usual size. When I left the shop that day in my new denim skirt I felt like Cinderella going to the ball.

So when Fat Face approached me to ask whether I would like to write about a couple of pieces of womenswear - which they kindly gifted to me - I was only too pleased to. As well as rescuing me from maternity clothing, I have happy memories of shopping in Fat Face in Guernsey, Padstow and Salcombe - because we all need to check out the shops on holiday don't we? (Or is that just me?!)

With Spring finally on its way, Fat Face are launching the Wardrobe Edit campaign, the aim of which is to encourage us to update our wardrobe by investing in a couple of key pieces that can be styled easily from day to evening.

A neat white shirt is a fantastic wardrobe spring staple and I selected this Ryde Broderie shirt (£28). For a daytime look I wore it with ripped Zara jeans, a Kate Spade bag and Aldo sandals. I like the juxtaposition of something quite pretty with something a little beaten up - plus a little colour and some sparkle always add interest to an outfit.

I chose to play with the blouse a little too, by layering it underneath a jumper. Sometimes there can be too much fabric in a blouse for this to work but because of its neat shape, the blouse and the jumper sat together really well without being uncomfortable, so that opens up whole set of other wardrobe options. Swapping the glittery sandals for pointed floral flats gave the outfit a slightly smarter feel - despite the rips.

For an evening outfit I opted for a monochrome look, with Hush white jeans and &Other Stories shoes plus my favourite star purse from GAP.

Another wardrobe staple is an A-line skirt and with navy and broderie being particular favourites of mine, this Claire broderie skirt (£45) was an obvious choice to make. Skirts can be really tricky to get right - on me at least. For it to be truly versatile, the length has to hit at the right point on the leg. Too short and I feel self conscious, too long and it can only be worn with heels. This one is great with either flats or heels though.

In the above outfit I have styled it semi-smart, semi-casual, with tan Jigsaw heels and a denim shirt. I had a couple of meetings the day that I wore this outfit and it worked well for me. The other great thing about this skirt is that there aren't any gathers around the waistband so it sits lovely and flat - just what's needed after that third baby that I mentioned earlier.

For a more casual look - although arguably the shirts and shoes for both of these outfits are interchangeable, a bit like outfit sudoku, I wore a cream printed silk Warehouse shirt, cobalt blue bag and the Aldo sparkly flats again

It's a while since I've had a chance to take a good look at Fat Face as a) ours is currently closed and b) I haven't been to Guernsey, Padstow or Salcombe for a while. I've always loved Fat Face as a brand for its good price point and great quality so perhaps now is a good time to pay one of my favourite destinations a visit....

Holiday packing - the why's, how's and why on earth?

Tomorrow we go away to Guernsey, for our final break of the summer. It's a while since I have done a post on packing but I always like taking a look to see what other people pack for their holidays and adopting (or adapting) their tips and tricks to make things easier.

 

For the beach/pool (I could be being ambitious here) I have a boy leg swimsuit from Seafolly. For similar, take a look here.  I also have Crew sunglasses and my bargain Asda hat, which is similar to one that I saw in Liberty a while back now. A bit of tactical ruching on a swimming costume, combined with a lower leg can make for an easier piece to wear on the beach than some I can think of.

 

I have a selection of tops which include two printed, one lace, one long sleeved, one striped, one sequinned and one neon. I like a wide variety of tops, largely to counteract the limited selection of bottoms that I take with me.

Experience has taught me that if I'm warm, I'm comfy and that if I'm comfy, I'm not grumpy. Well, that's the theory at least. So I have packed four jumpers - plus a cardi for travelling. Even I shouldn't be cold then.

From top left to right I have a coral H&M sweatshirt, mint cashmere jumper from All Saints, new Boden striped cashmere jumper and a black jumper from Zara which is a chunky cotton knit, slightly A-line with a zip up the back and pleats around the neckline.

As I mentioned, I have a simple selection of bottoms - 2x Gap jeans, 1x Joules skirt and also a pair of cut-offs. That's all that I will need for trips to the beach and to neighbouring islands.

 

We have one fancy pants event, which is my Dad's 70th birthday. It's being held at a Manor house on the island and is an evening event - but a fairly informal one. As part of it will be held outside, a flimsy little number won't do for me so I've opted for Jigsaw trousers (down to £79 from £139 in the sale) a Whistles sparkly jumper and Mango shoes.

 

 

This photo gives a better idea of the print on the trousers. I'm also going to wear a new bangle/cuff that I bought in the Karen Millen sale at the weekend. I felt that the bright yellow and diamonds would add a nice splash of colour to the outfit.

 

Are four bags excessive? Perhaps, especially when I'm only taking four pairs of jeans/skirts/shorts but here's how it works. The snake print bag holds the travel documents, which go in the Cath Kidston boat print bag, which I use as a handbag. To get around the limit of one piece of hand luggage, the Cath Kidston handbag goes into the larger Cath Kidston  bag which also holds my laptop and that counts as my hand luggage for the aeroplane. The striped bag is a beach bag into which the snake print bag goes with purse/keys/phone in it when I go on the beach. See, it all makes perfect sense!

As well as a good selection of tops and bags, I like a good selection of cuffs, so in addition to the Karen Millen one I also have the ones below, from left to right top row - Cochinelle, Cath Kidston, Tory Burch, Cath Kidston, Tokyo Jane and La La Rocks. To save on the weight restrictions I could well be wearing them all at once. Which gets me thinking, between us we have 10 wrists. Time to go and get some more to add to the collection.

I always find it really interesting to see what people use for skincare, hair care, make-up and nails.  I'm not sure but I think that I probably travel pretty light in that regard. Here's what I have:

Skincare - Boots face wipes, Estee Lauder advanced night cream (which I use in the daytime at the moment too) and Estee Lauder advanced night repair eye cream.

Hair care - VO5 styling wax.

Make-up

Bobbi Brown pot rouge for lips and cheeks in pale pink
Bobbi Brown lipstick in Wild Rose (more for the evening)
Clinique Chubby stick in curvy candy (daytime)
Maybelline "the falsies" volume express (fantastic mascara, I love it!)
Maybelline master smoky eye pencil in navy.

Boots nail polish remover pads and stay perfect nail colour in Me! Me! Me!

And here's one thing that I will NOT be taking with me. I saw it in H&M the other day in the maternity section. Imagine sporting that on your bump. Brilliant!

Mum on the Run - White flared jeans

I was off down to Worcester today recording a style slot for BBC Hereford and Worcester's morning radio show. I wasn't quite sure what the weather was going to be up to.  It wasn't warm enough to go bare legged so I decided to give my white jeans another outing. My leather jacket is warm without being bulky so I put that with lots of green for a change - and it's amazing how many people commented on how much they liked the green - even the assistant in Laura Ashley bless her!

Jeans H&M, Jacket Oasis, T Fat Face, Scarf Zara