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)

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.

The 12 outfits of Christmas day 2 - Girls' night out

[Outfit: H&M skirt, Whistles jumper, Liberty bag, LK Bennett shoes, Whistles cuff]

So today's outfit is one that I wore a couple of weeks ago now. It's just as well that I had one or two outfits up my sleeve as I twisted my ankle last night whilst running and I'm a heel free zone for now!

For anyone interested, these were my thoughts when putting this outfit together, although before we get there I think that it's worth noting that I'm generally happiest in about 55 layers, flat shoes or trainers and trousers - but I accept that's not a good look all the time. Even when I up my game during the daytime I still need warm tights and not too high shoes so for a night out it's good for me to see what else I can get away with. 

So back to my thoughts, this was the process which meant that I ended up where I did: Yep, heels are good as I won't be walking too far. As I'll be inside all evening it will be fairly warm which means I can go without tights, which also means that I can wear open toed shoes but if I lose any more clothes I'll a) be cold b) most probably asked to leave so I'll wear a lightweight knit. Equally if I wear anything short with the no tights/open toed shoes I'll look like a bit slutty/muttony so I'll wear a midi length skirt, which, being fairly demure, means that I can get away with a slightly less demure shoe. 

So that's how it came to be that the H&M skirt and the LK Bennett shoes got an outing. I had bought the cropped sparkly turtleneck from Whistles (£75 although I bought it with a 30% discount) a few days before as I've got a few things that needed a shorter knit to go with them.

Moving on to today's gift, I've looked over this Cath Kidston  purse trio (£20) on more than one occasion and I think that it/they are lovely. They're brighter in real life and just so handy to have. They're big enough to use as a bag (well that is unless you're still in that nappy stage) rather than just a purse. I have several that I take on holiday in the summer and they're nice to have when going down to dinner, or just by the pool when not too much is required. Failing that, they're easy to find at the bottom of a dark handbag!

Warehouse has this flat wrist clutch (£8) which is in a beautiful colour - great against black, grey or navy and good for those people who (if any of them do exist) perhaps don't like sparkle - perish the thought.  

Hope that everyone's Christmas preparations are going to plan. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Continuing with my shopping trip - now over to Jack Wills for a try on...

Having finally got my head around the idea of whipping my clothes off at the drop of a hat on my shopping trip yesterday, there was no stopping me! After Jigsaw I headed to Jack Wills to take a closer look at their collection of clothes made in Liberty Art Fabrics. First off I tried on the bomber jacket and whilst it's lovely arguably the blue print, when put with jeans, was just a little all to blue - even for me, the queen of blue.

I did try on and subsequently purchased, the Jack Wills Liberty Dress (£75) although it was in a smaller size than the one that I'm wearing here, which for info is a size 10. There's currently a 25% offer with Tatler magazine, making it slightly more palatable cost wise. No comments on white legs etc necessary - I'm prepared to sacrifice my dignity for the sake of the greater good of showing you the length and fit of this dress.  The picture below is probably a better example of how it's supposed to look but you know we can't all be 5ft 10" and have legs up to our armpits now can we? On the other hand I don't think that you can ever be too old, or too young, for liberty prints. They just transcend the generations.

We're going to Cornwall and Guernsey for our summer holidays this year. In both places the weather can change so quickly (usually from good to bad!) so this dress gives me the practicality that I need in terms of warmth but I really like the print and relaxed style. I can wear it with converse, sandals, slip on trainers or birkenstocks and I can also carry in my bag some leggings (not my clothing of choice but I can see their benefit on occasions) for when it gets too cold to be bare legged.

For anyone who was reading Style Guile last summer will recall, when I'm off with the children I like to be ready to do anything at a moment's notice and I'm quite happy to keep rotating just three or four (OK, one or two) outfits, so this is another one to add to my very short list!

Last year on our way to Cornwall I bought from the men's section at Asda a raffia hat similar to this one from Zara (£17.99). I'm almost certain that one that I saw yesterday had a spotted trim, so that may be working its way into my summer wardrobe too.

Of course the Jigsaw slip on trainers that I featured yesterday would also work really well with this dress - not that I'm creating a case for buying them or anything like that.

And the final outfit for the West Midlands Women of the Year Awards was.....

 

The Topshop jumpsuit!

You may remember from my last post, that I was trying (and failing miserably) to decide what to wear to last night's West Midlands Women of the Year Awards, which Justice Williams MBE had invited me to co-host with her. Having discounted several options, I decided to give up. Also I had spent so long writing about it, I had run out of time. Luckily for my husband he was away overnight - in fact I haven't really seen him all week so I couldn't ask for his opinion. Hmmm, I'm starting to smell a rat.

Then, when I woke up yesterday morning, I'd received a facebook message from a friend saying that she liked the Topshop jumpsuit. So, after getting out of the shower, with a towel still wrapped round my head and minus any lighting because I didn't want to wake our youngest who had crept into bed with me, I pulled it back on, glanced in a very dark mirror and thought "Yep, that will do" before pulling it back off again, getting dressed and leaving the house at 7.15am to take our son to the station. So in the end it was a pretty quick decision after all.

 

The awards ceremony was a lovely affair. It was fantastic to see some familiar faces and to meet new people too. Some of the recipients of the awards had had amazing and emotional journeys, suffering great personal tragedy along the way. Needless to say, as well as much joy, there were also a lot of tears. Veronica Kumeta of Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer was awarded the Inspirational Woman of the Year Award and Georgina Moseley of Help Harry Help Others was awarded the West Midlands Woman of the Year Award.  

 

Justice Williams MBE, who is the founder of the awards, is a truly inspirational woman with a huge amount of energy, passion and integrity. In her own words, "Instead of getting a law degree, I got myself a criminal record".  Whilst in her early twenties, Justice was sentenced to a short time in prison and whilst there, she spent time in the library, looking for jobs so that she could make something of herself when she got out. On her release she volunteered at a local youth group and in 2004 she set up her own initiative to help disadvantaged youths set up their own businesses. In 2008 she became the youngest black woman to get an MBE.  After becoming a Red Magazine's Hot Woman of 2010, she felt that the women of the West Midlands deserved an awards ceremony of their own, hence last night's event.

 

Emma from fashionmommy also deserves a special mention. She was awarded the Fashion Blogger of the year award, which was a fantastic achievement. Unfortunately due to her young son being poorly she wasn't able to make it to collect her award, however it will no doubt be winging its way to her soon.

 

And of course no awards ceremony, which honoured women, would be complete without cakes!

On the Run - in Liberty for Nike trainers

Always eager to try out something a bit different but comfortable in the footwear department, I was excited to receive this box from Liberty this week...

...which contained these imperial purple liberty print free 5.0 trainers by Nike.  One of several styles, you can see the rest of them here.  They are part of a range of heritage and modern Nike classics, which have been remixed with Liberty's iconic lagos laurel print. Having loved liberty prints for as long as I can remember, and being a fan of trainers too - although more often in a sporting kind of way - for me they were a match made in heaven.

The first thing I noticed was that the laces and the toe details were slightly off centre - which took a while to get used to. However, never one to be put off by things that are slightly different, I grew to like them.

Unfortunately they were a tad on the small side for me and Liberty have sold out of the next size up, so I guess that it just wasn't meant to be.  However, were they to become part of my wardrobe, this is how I would wear them - very simply with navy trousers and a breton top.

In the colder months I would also add a sleek tailored crombie style coat and a smart handbag.  They would have been perfect for the days I spend a long time in the shops - comfortable but a bit quirky.

Hopefully it won't be too long before there is an A/W collection out. This time I just need to be quicker off the mark!

Today's outfit - Cos trousers, FC jumper, Liberty trainers