The Topshop Floral Length Maxi Dress - fit for a ball or the beach

Topshop floral print maxi dress (£65)

I'm never very good at planning what I'm going to wear to an upcoming event. If it's a "big" do I work on the basis either that I have something that I can wear already, or that something will find me. However it works out, I don't stress too much and nor do I spend too much on something that I may not get a lot of wear out, preferring instead to keep the pennies for something that I will use and wear every day, such as a pair of trainers or my Air & Grace espadrilles 

I was in Topshop last week with a friend when this little number caught my eye. I think in my head I had a vague recollection of Kate Moss wearing a dress with a similar silhouette and on hunting the internet whilst writing this post, I think that this is what I had squirrelled away at the back of my brain....

Anyway, clearly the colour of the dress/lack of sleeves/print/neckline/person in the dress look nothing like the image above BUT it was a full length, satin, bias cut maxi so there are some similarities. Hmmm.

Along with the dress I wore some Karen Millen shoes that I've had for a few years now, a Liberty clutch that was a gift from a friend and these gold tribal drop ear-rings from Alice's Wonders (£5). My aim was to not look too formal and "ball like" and I love the spiky look to these ear-rings.

The dress was lovely and easy to wear - not tight, not short - just like a full length nightie really. And I plan on wearing it again - after I've had a couple of inches chopped off the bottom, so that I can wear it with a biker jacket and flats. For anyone vaguely tempted, I would give it a whirl. It's much more flattering than you might think on first glance. As for sizing, I felt that the 8 would have required a little too much by way of breathing in and I'm just not about that, so I'm wearing a 10.

Topshop  maxi dress £65)

The "alternative" Christmas top - because not everyone loves sequins!

I know, it's hard to believe, but not everyone loves sequins. And there's a real trend this season of "un-seasonal Christmas dressing" which frankly I'm not buying into at all. If you like them, Christmas is for sequins, feathers, frills, froth and fancy stuff and no-one is going to convince me otherwise. However for those who genuinely are on the hunt for something pretty but less obviously "Christmassy" how about a kimono inspired top?

Firstly, apologies for the slightly small images. Really if I was any good at this game I would spend ages re-sizing the images but please forgive me - I want to go to bed!

Anyhow, let me introduce you to....

..the floral print kimono top from Zara £25.99. It's a fab price, lovely with a pleather pencil skirt, kick flared jeans and heels or some tapered leg trousers. What I really like about this top is that it's not a clingy number (see below), it has wide sleeves so there's no cutting into flesh and it's just a lovely top to have in your wardrobe for those last minute invitations out.

Quite a lot of the kimono pieces are made of silk, so they can be pricier but equally they can work really hard in your wardrobe and you know, if it's the perfect piece, then it's worth the price.

This cherry blossom silk kimono from Karen Millen (£250) is a fabulous piece. I love the nod to the tux from the collar - and the longer back offers some bottom coverage where it's needed most. Layer with a pretty cami for a wafty, exotic (non-sequined) look. There's currently 25% off with KM for Black Friday.

And I love this embroidered collared jacket from Ted Baker (£249). This would be perfect, and different, for a winter wedding, a work do or equally good dressed down with ripped jeans.

There will be others out there and it's only an idea - but it's one that I'm quite fancying if I'm honest. Are the days of the sequin numbered?

Oooh and as to other deals for Black Friday, there's 20% off at Hobbs, 25% off at Whistles and 20% off at Selfridges.

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

A Quick Outfit of the Day...warm and comfortable is fine by me!

Remember the Jigsaw jumper dress and Karen Millen pleather leggings that I said I would probably wear from now until April? Well here they are again ! The outfit worked for our trip to see Joe Wicks so I figured that it would work for a Pizza Express birthday party. The gloves are from Whistles as is the bag (both sale items from last winter and last summer) and I can't remember where the hat is from but frankly I just need to wear a hat all the time right now. My hair is driving me nuts. I fear that it will be chopped again sometime very soon.

And I thought that I would share with you great insight and self awareness from the now 8 year old.

"Mum" she said "I'd love to be Sports Captain or House Captain at school and I've told everyone about it."

"Oh that's lovely." said I "Who chooses who gets to have these roles?"

"The teachers."

"Well you need to tell them too then."

"Oh, they would never choose me. I'm far too irresponsible. I mean, have you seen the state of my room? It's meant to be tidy and it looks like a pig sty."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh, offer encouragement that that wasn't the case....or tell her to go and tidy her pig sty like bedroom. It amazes me how children can suddenly become so wise and have such great insight about themselves.

I'm hoping to nip into town tomorrow for a last quick whizz around the sales. Anyone on the lookout for anything in particular?!

A Jigsaw jumper dress, Karen Millen pleather leggings and an evening with "Joe"!

Some may say that I was the lucky one, getting to meet Joe Wicks, the author of Lean in 15 and soon to be global superstar (I just said that for effect but it could be true) but actually he was the lucky one because....he got to see my new Karen Millen leggings and Jigsaw jumper dress. Honoured he was. Honoured. 

[Asking Joe a highly intelligent question? Knowing me, probably not.]

Somehow I managed to get tickets to Joe's book signing in Birmingham. I booked them before Christmas, not even knowing whether my friend and I had even the vaguest notion of getting there. With six children between us and with the book signing being at 6pm on a Tuesday it looked unlikely but the respective hubbies came up trumps.  

For those who don't know of Joe, he's the biggest fitness sensation for years. His 90 day Shift, Shape and Sustain plan has been signed up to by 90,000 people, he advocates 4 or 5 HIIT sessions a week which last for no more than 20/25 minutes, he posts his workouts on YouTube and his recipes on Instagram via short vidoes - and all of this has happened in the last couple of years. Now there's a book with two more later in the year. He is currently everywhere - on the radio, TV, magazines, newspapers. He's even been on Lorraine. What more can I say?! 

Come on guys, no need to fight it out over a"Lean in 15" book, there are plenty to go around.

The first thing that struck us about Joe is that he wasn't as big as we thought. On his YouTube workouts he looks about 6ft and very broad but he's actually quite slight. And he's not as big as his instagram persona either - in fact he seemed quite shy. Poor guy, he probably didn't know what had hit him. I have to admit that we were slightly hyper but I think that was because we were out at 6pm on a Tuesday as much as anything else. Living life on the edge again. 

So, as to an interesting interesting fact about Joe, he finished the London Marathon in 6.5 hours and was overtaken by a pair of testicles. Again, what more does one need to know?! 

Having a chat with Joe whilst he signed my book. It's weird when you've spent so much time looking at someone on a screen (I do quite a few of his HIIT sessions via YouTube) and then you meet them in the flesh. Like there's a danger that you'll be overly familiar or something. 

And here's a slightly closer/slightly blurred look at the outfit which was taken the following morning. Well, I had only worn it for a couple of hours the night before. And it's so warm and comfortable that this is it for me now until April. 

 

I don't think that I've ever been in an Instagram post with 2,384 likes before (now 4,828) - and am probably never likely to be again. Spot the grinning idiot?

How to create a fail safe outfit for an evening out....could I ask a favour please?

On Saturday night I was out at the Edward's Trust Ball. Edward's Trust is a fantastic charity which provides a wide range of support services to bereaved families and children. They don't receive any government funding despite the NHS referring children, so they really rely on charitable donations.

I've previously been to the Edward's Trust Garden Party where I saw an exhibition of the artwork done by children who had lost a parent. There were pictures painted both prior to, and having received, the support of Edward's Trust and there was no better way to demonstrate the impact that the work of ET has. Even thinking about those pictures makes me want to cry. But being a snivelling wreck doesn't help anyone does it? However running a half marathon for Edward's Trust hopefully will. So on Sunday 18th October, that is what I shall be doing - running the Birmingham half marathon for Edward's Trust.

Last year I asked if anyone would be happy to donate to my Just Giving page and I was overwhelmed with the kindness of people who supported me. So despite it making me feel slightly uncomfortable, I'm going to ask again - because sometimes doing what feels wrong, is actually the right thing to do. I hope that no-one ever needs to use the services of ET or a similar organisation but knowing that it exists offers comfort. So anyway, here's my just giving page. Just in case anyone would like to give - even just a little. (Thank you, I'll try not to let anyone down.)

As with most events these days, I prefer a slightly more dressed up/dressed down look - mostly because I find it warmer and more comfortable. So this is the look that I opted for on Saturday night and how I went about creating it.

1. Take one pair of black trousers....

I love my silky track pants from Topshop and Boden has a great pair this season, which you can see here (£69 but currently in the sale for £60.03). The reviews are actually very, very positive for Bodenites and I am tempted with the navy. Because of course we all need about 10 pairs of navy trousers in our wardrobes don't we?

For anyone looking for a slightly different style of trousers, joggers - ignore the term, it conjures up images of 1980's style shell suits and headbands - are a great place to start. They are versatile and flattering both with flats and heels, blazers, biker jackets and long coats. And not many trousers can make that claim!

2. Take one top with enough coverage to keep warm (yes there was a vest underneath, albeit silky and black) but which has enough about it so as not to look like a t-shirt or a work top!

I also wore a brocade top from Miss Selfridge which I bought last winter, just before Christmas. I've checked and I can't see anything similar at the moment but leave it with me and I'll see what I can come up with. In the meantime, Jigsaw has this cropped top (£79) which (I think) would be the perfect length with these trousers. It's not really cropped in the sense that we think of cropped, rather just waist length as opposed to hip length or below. It sold out in ivory in the summer so it's good to see it back in stock. It would be great with a big statement necklace to make it slightly dressier and it would also work with anything which has a slightly higher waistband, such as a pleated skirt.

3. Add a pair of heels- go a high as you can!

As for shoes, I ordered these from the Karen Millen sale after Christmas for £40 instead of £140. It was the first time that I wore them and they were really comfortable. High, but comfortable! They are currently on the site for £90. I would be tempted to ring Bicester!

4. Stick on a pair of chandelier ear-rings from Stella & Dot (£40) - and Bob's your uncle.

The only problem is, I don't have a gold watch. So that's my Christmas pressie sorted, which Mr SG is pretty happy about.

I have to apologise for the photo. My photographer thinks that every other photo should be of her so she flips the screen without me knowing to take a photo of herself. This leaves me with half of the photos that I would normally get. And believe me, I need more than two to choose from.

How to style wide legged trousers - and what to do if all else fails....

Whistles jeans and Topshop shoes (current), Topshop jumper and Orla Kiely bag (not so much)

So, let's talk about wide legged trousers. As Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman "slippery little suckers." OK so she was talking about snails but the concept is the same - both can be tricky to deal with.

So how to deal with the fact that wide legged trousers do what they say on the tin - namely make us look wider, and quite often shorter too? The shoes can be problematic, unless the trousers are really long, in which case heels solve a whole host of leg shortening problems.

If like this pair of jeans from Whistles (which are now apparently back in stock) they don't require a heel, then a flat with a pointed toe helps to create a nicer silhouette. I still haven't worked out why that is but it works, trust me.

Secondly, a top works better if it's fairly short and fairly fitted. The best ones are generally listed under the term "cropped" on various sites such as Topshop, M&S Limited, ASOS etc but don't be put off by that, not all of them will be designed to flash one's midriff. Failing that, tuck a top in and pull it out a little, or tuck a shirt under and knot it at the front, or even tie a vest or t-shirt at the back. All of those options will give the silhouette that you need.

Thirdly, carry a huge bag, just like this Orla Kiely one. The effect will be twofold - it's something to hide behind and its scale makes you look smaller.

Fourthly, if all else fails, chop the bottom of the trousers off and turn them into something like these Karen Millen culottes which a friend of mine has and which look amazing. Seriously though, that way you can still get a little lower leg on display which helps with the silhouette, it means that you can wear heels too and it's a good use of a piece of clothing that could otherwise sit at the back of the wardrobe. Job done!

Oh dear, now I've convinced myself that I need these too. Perhaps I need to phone a friend.

Printed trousers - love them or loathe them they have been around for a while and no doubt they are here to stay...

Trousers: Topshop, Sweatshirt: Dotty P, Jacket: Oasis, Bag: Oushka; Shoes: Next

From time to time it's quite refreshing to wear a pair of printed trousers. Like many things they can be styled up or down quite easily, depending on which shoes/jacket/jewellery they are put with.

Sometimes people can shy away from printed trousers for fear that they won't be terribly flattering but there is pretty much a print out there for everyone, whether it's floral, graphic, spotty or striped. Some have a subtle vertical print in them which can be elongating. A low grade print, where the difference between the darkest and lightest shades isn't that marked, can be easier to wear than very bright prints with lots of different colours in them. A print with a darker background can also be more flattering as can a smaller print, rather than a large bloom, plus of course a heel always helps. There are lots of printed trousers on the High Street at the moment but these are some of my favourite...

Reiss Olivia Trousers (£110) - prints are very personal things but I love this print that Reiss has this season. They also do a dress, skirt and top in this print - just in case the trousers don't appeal!

These French Connection drape trousers (£75) have a different feel to them than the Reiss ones, which are more tailored. For those who don't particularly like a floral print, this ripple effect pattern may be more appealing.

As a starting point, a monochrome look can work well and the Jigsaw tile print soft trousers (£98) are really versatile as they can be worn with brighter coral/raspberry/yellow/turquoise colours, which will also draw the attention to the top half.

Warehouse has a great selection of printed trousers, many of which are in the sale at he moment. The Warehouse Lily print trousers (£27) are a great neat style with a lovely colour palette.

And for any fans of cornflower blue, the Warehouse  Poppy print trousers (£28.50) are a real winner. Both of these Warehouse styles are fitted in the leg but not too skinny - a classic cigarette style.

So how do you feel about printed trousers? Do you love them or hate them? I agree that they can be a little bit marmite but I promise, there is something for everyone.

Bringing you the perfect lace top (and part of a fancy dress outfit!)

Whilst I think that it's fair to say that I probably wouldn't have bought these Karen Millen animal print trousers had it not been for the fact that we were going to an "Out of Africa" party, I really enjoyed wearing them today. I think that it was as much to do with the fit as anything else. They have a relatively high waist, are long enough in the body not to cut me in half, narrow enough in the leg to be fitted but wide enough for them not to catch on my calf.

I decided to stick with the monochrome scheme with a black GAP blazer, cream lace Warehouse top and nude sandals.  Here's an image of the Warehouse top, which is £30.

 For anyone on the hunt for a lace top, there's a lovely one in the Reiss sale which comes in black (£69) or off white (£79). It's a perfect going out for dinner/going to the pub type top when something more than a t-shirt is needed but nothing so fancy as your Dame Edna Everage sparkles.

I don't actually think that the model does the top justice. A little more in the boobage department definitely works well with this top, which is great as flattering tops for ladies with anything more than a little in the bust department can be hard to find.

So the moral of today's outfit?  Don't ignore those gems that you bought for a fancy dress party - you never know when they may come in handy. (Oh golly, the mind boggles. Abba outfit/80's outfit/70's outfit anyone?)

A cropped top? Seriously? Why yes. Don't look away just yet!

If I said that I was going to get a cropped top, I would imagine that everyone would think that I had lost my marbles because (surely) a cropped top equates to an exposed midriff. However a cropped top which doesn't show any midriff? Well there's a thought.

The silhouette of a fuller style skirt is often disadvantaged by the length of the top worn with it. The waistband gets covered, hiding the narrowest part of both the skirt and its wearer. So, for anyone with a fuller styled skirt in their wardrobe, I'm offering a different solution this season which will both update your wardrobe and make the skirt more flattering to wear. A little bit of imagination may be involved, that's all!

As to a couple of examples of this style of skirt, the palm tree skirt from Karen Millen (£99) is a nice option. It has a good length and the print, whilst pretty, isn't too girly.

For a more neutral option, the midi denim skirt Karen Millen (£129) is almost like the jeans equivalent of a skirt and therefore quite a safe option for anyone embracing the concept of a cropped top for the first time.

So as to tops.  Because the skirts are high waisted the cropped T-shirt Mango (£17.99) won't expose any tum but it will create a lovely silhouette and it's just a little bit different.

The cropped lace Tee Warehouse (£45), which also comes in white, is really pretty too. I have worked with this top (and very pleasant it was too) and it is definitely on the right side of cropped.

The palm leaf top Warehouse (£38) would work really well with a white midi length skirt although, as with the lace top above, both have a skirt to go with them which are worth taking a look at.

As to shoes, heels are always a great choice and I have to admit to being a little bit taken by these Glory High Shoes from Topshop (£58). If I chose to go with the denim skirt and white Mango lace T, these would be the shoes for me. Perhaps less so with the paint splatter skirt and/or palm print top - unless I was feeling very brave.

For those who may prefer something more subtle, they also come in this lovely mint  colour.

Luckily, Iva at Falling In Style has already paved the way for me by wearing this lovely outfit, in which she looks stunning. When the sun comes out, I will be happy to bear all but for now it's the parka and boots all the way for me.

How to look good naked...but I think that I prefer these ladies with clothes on! (From Warehouse, Coast, Karen Millen, Dune, Ted Baker, Jaeger)

 

Yesterday evening I was working with the Solihull BID  at the Mell Square Shopping Centre and specifically, with House of Fraser. The photo above shows the seating area where I sat and chatted to my ladies. Put together by the interiors team, I would quite liked to have picked it all up and taken it home with me.

These were part of the team with whom I was working.  Boy were they heavy (sorry ladies). Dressing these models was so tricky - their arms kept falling off, they wouldn't bend or move in the way that I wanted them too, I kept groping their boobs (and apologising to them)!  I have so much respect for the VMs who work with them on a daily basis in the confined space of shop windows.

The models were to be dressed in work wear so I wanted to include a dress option and a trouser option, print on the top half, print on the bottom half, colour, texture, matching bag and shoes, clashing bag and shoes, open shoes and closed shoes, together with classic, and more on trend, pieces.

Model 1 wore printed trousers and a pale blue lace top from Warehouse to reference the pale blue in the trousers, a Ted Baker mac with Dune shoes and bag - very matchy, matchy - but they could easily be separated out.

I love Dune for their range of inexpensive but stylish bags. They have a lovely coral one plus some nice tan and black ones too.

The great thing about these trousers is that there are so many colours with which to work. I felt that the print of the trouser and the texture of the top demanded a simple, classic shape in a coat.

The shoes are black at the back. I like the closed toe for those who don't feel that open toed shoes are appropriate at work. Love the leopard print lining in the coat too!

Model 2 sported a little neon and black number from Coast -which almost looks like a skirt and top option - together with a softly tailored jacket, also from Coast.

The leopard print bag is from Biba. I fancied introducing a print as a black bag, whilst safe, was a bit too predictable. The patent shoes were from Kurt Geiger.

I wanted to break the neon pink up, so chose this large linked necklace from Karen Millen. I like this necklace for work. It's really versatile and has a good weight to it, with just a little bit of bling in the smaller links.

Model 3 wore a printed kimono style jacket from Yumi, a cream Warehouse top, Episode trousers, Dune shoes and a Jaeger bag.

I love the colours in this softly tailored jacket as there are so many different ones that could be picked up elsewhere in an outfit. It would also be great with jeans at the weekend. The Warehouse top has a slight texture to it and the necklace, which picks up the brown shades in the jacket, is from Ted Baker.

I love this Jaeger bag! It's as near as it needs to be to the shade of blue in the jacket and the shoes pick up the coral in the jacket. The shoes may be a bit high for work but maybe not. The trousers are a lovely fabric - nice and drapey with just the right amount of room in the leg.

Ladies, it was lovely working with you - even the ones that were rigid and not very chatty!