One white Cos skirt worn two different ways...

Finding the right skirt for summer can be tricky but when I spied this one across the shop floor, it was love at first sight. Thick, white, cotton with a good length, pockets and a paper bag waist, I knew that this was the one for me.

Admittedly not all tops work with this skirt - they need to be the right length but that can be achieved either by tucking in, or tucking under, or just by getting one that sits on the waistband.

I don't think that I would look out of place at a jubilee party here - bring on the red, white and blue!

And here is the Cos tie waist skirt (£59)...

The other good thing about this skirt is that I can take big, proper, strides in it without it appearing too voluminous. I'm not good with skirts that restrict my movement. I take too big a stride, they pull me back, I fall over, the the skirt and I fall out and off to the charity shop it goes.

In this outfit I wore a cropped French Connection tencel shirt, M&S platform sandals and a pink Mulberry bag. Providing that I don't wreck it by chucking things down it - although it seems pretty hardy so it could probably take chemicals and a good scrub - it should serve me well over the next few months with breton t-shirts, vest tops, brighter bits and bobs or black for a monochrome look. I think that the thing now is just to wear it - lots.

I'm away for the next couple of days working with M&S so if I'm silent for a while, that's why - but I look forward to being back soon. In the meantime, have a lovely week all of you. x

Rugby matches and style. A contradiction in terms I wonder?!

Whether this outfit was a hit or miss was besides the point as its sole purpose was to keep me warm when I went to watch our son play rugby today. [I strongly recommend that you skip the next paragraph if you don't want to read my "Rugby Rant" - but better to do it here than to bore my friends - and at least you don't have to pretend to be interested!]

 

And as for this rugby business? Now I like a bit of competitiveness along with the rest of them but really? You bring your children up to share and play nicely but once they're on a rugby pitch, all bets are off. Your son has the ball and someone on the other team wants it? Well that's just fine - why don't you go right ahead and knock him to the floor and if you want to knee him in the face whilst he's lying there, that's just fine too.  And then at the end let's all shake hands and pretend what jolly good fun that was. And to continue with my rant.....snowball fights are banned on the grounds of Health and Safety, playing with conkers is banned on the grounds of Health and Safety but let's just let them kick the whatsit out of one another all in the name of sport. If that kind of behaviour occurred anywhere else it would be an assault, or a riot, or a breach of the peace. Rant over. I know I'm missing the point....

 

Anyway, as to the outfit - I wore Gap jeans, a Warehouse cable knit jumper, a French Connection scarf, a Primark fur gilet, the warmest overcoat that I own and which is from All Saints, M&S leather gloves and Cos (now very muddy) Chelsea boots, which our eldest held up this morning and said "I like these, they remind me of Harry Styles."  For once I didn't quite know what to say!

 

 

 

 

 

A little bit of subtle tartan in a Burberry scarf - and a Topshop alternative

For today's post I was going to show you the outfit that I have been wearing for the past two days but then I decided that "tax-return chic" was not a look that should be shared with anyone, anywhere, ever.  It will be heading into its third day tomorrow and then I will finally see the back of it - the outfit and the tax return that is. Hopefully.

Instead I'm sharing an outfit from late last week. I was given this Burberry scarf by my husband for Christmas a few years ago now. It is lovely and soft, with pretty muted colours in it, which work well with this Hobbs blazer that I have managed to get much more wear out of this year than last. I've also got my eye on this Topshop tartan scarf (£18), which comes in a few colour ways.  BUT ONLY WHEN I HAVE FINISHED THE TAX RETURN (just to remind myself.)

I also thought that this was a nice cheery picture to share on a January night.  When Mr SG said that he liked the idea of a new tea pot for Christmas, I was expecting him to identify something sleek, shiny and Alessi like - but what he had in mind was this Cath Kidston teapot. I've been trying for the last 19 years to break the bright green one that I bought at the same time as my first house but it's still going strong. I give this one - the one that we all actually like - a month!

And I know that this makes me really sad but I am ridiculously excited about these new side tables from Ben de Lisi at Debenhams. You know when you just see something that catches your eye and you keep going back to have a look? Well that's what happened with these. They're in the corner of the kitchen with two armchairs and my favourite cushion made for my birthday by my school friend who blogs over at Lottie's Interiors. She has just moved house with her family and is in the process of giving it a major overhaul which includes knocking down walls. I know that she will work wonders with it so it's definitely worth nipping over and taking a look at her progress - something I hope to do really soon in real life.

Wishing you all a very happy start to the week. The nights are definitely getting lighter. Yippee!

Softly does it - cashmere, cable knit and tweeds in pale shades of grey, blue and taupe

 

I'm conscious that a lot of my outfits have been pretty much head to toe black of late, so today I lightened up a little. There's still not much colour going on, more a palette of pale blues, greys and taupe.

I didn't manage to get around to wearing this tweed Hobbs blazer much last winter, so as it's not too cold at the moment, I thought that it would work fine to my quick whizz into town to do some Christmas shopping. It also allowed me to revert to my default outfit of jeans/denim shirt/grey cashmere jumper, which was a nice change from sequins. Although I fear that they will be making an appearance again very soon....

Outfit: Hobbs blazer, La Redoute cashmere jumper, New Look denim shirt, Gap jeans, Zara boots, Mulberry bag, Gap hat.

Let's mix some Primark with some Whistles, Zara, All Saints and Mulberry to fight off the chill!

It really felt like the first day of winter today, which gave me the opportunity to wrap up warm.

 

I'm a big fan of lots of things - being warm is one of them, another is being comfortable and another is wearing "cheat" items - namely those pieces that look stylish and polished but which feel like the most comfortable PJs that I own.

 

When I'm styling clients I often say that the ideal is to feel as though you are wearing a onesie, whilst looking as if you are wearing something (anything!) much more stylish and sophisticated. It's definitely something to aim towards.

 

Here I'm wearing the Whistles Annabel jacket (£155) bought with the Grazia 25% discount. Our Selfridges didn't have it in the navy (shown below) which is probably just as well really as I could quite happily own both colours. It's boucle, which makes it soft, very warm and because of it's nice shape and styling, one of those cheat items I was talking about. Given the choice I would happily wear my fleecy dressing gown jacket for the entire winter - and behind closed doors frequently do - but it's not really acceptable in public, so this jacket is a much more acceptable alternative.

 

 

Underneath the jacket I wore an All Saints cashmere jumper, Whistles camo print scarf, Primark coated skinny jeans, Zara boots and Mulberry handbag. Cold weather - I'm ready and waiting for you!

One guaranteed way to make legs look longer and hips narrower....

One guaranteed way to make legs look longer and hips look narrower is to wear a high waisted, dark rinse, flared jean with heels. Tone those heels to the colour of your jeans and hey presto, you look like you are on stilts (not that I do here; in fact this shot doesn't demonstrate the point particularly well at all but I'm sure that you get my drift.)

So what is it all about then? Well the high waist on the jeans makes legs look as if they start higher up than they do, a dark rinse is instantly slimming, the width of the flare in comparison to the width of the hips and thighs makes them look narrower (which is why tapered trousers have the opposite effect), heels obviously add height and the whole trick of toning shoes to jeans continues the lines without interruption.

I bought the jeans that I am wearing in the Jaeger Boutique sale last summer. With the trend being for skinny and boyfriend jeans, flared jeans are quite hard to find on the High Street but now and again I really like wearing them - and it means that I still haven't had to wear tights! Mango has this pair for £39.99, which should do the trick.

The jumper is going to get a post of its own devoted to it and the statement necklace is an old Hobbs favourite.

One way to style the GAP camouflage jeans....

Today it was time to give the Gap camo jeans their first outing. To make them more wearable, I kept the top half simple with a New Look denim shirt and a black Zara jumper. I must admit that initially I was slightly cautious about wearing them out (signs pointing to one's thighs aren't always a brilliant idea) but I think that I am going to get quite attached to them. One day I might swap the black jumper for a yellow one - but I'm not quite ready for that yet.

 

 

Part of the deal with trousers like these, I think, is to "style them out" with some kind of heels. Some items of clothing work very well as they are, whilst others need a little bit of assistance to bring out the best in them - especially if you're not Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. So, once again, the Zara boots came to the rescue. I feel that these are going to earn their keep this winter.

Here's a link to the GAP camo jeans. For anyone interested in getting hold of some, it might be helpful to know the sizing is very generous. I am wearing a UK size 4, whereas in most stores I am a UK size 8.

Here's also a link to the New Look denim shirt that I am wearing and which is currently in store. When I first saw it, I liked it for the fact that it had a great big sticker on it saying "soft wear", which it is. I also liked the mother of pearl studs and the fact that it isn't too cow girl in appearance. New Look is always my first stop for a denim shirt. They have a great range of styles and the prices are good - this one was £19.99.

Oh, and these are what I removed from my Zara boots this morning. Remember I said that they were uncomfortable after I had worn them for a day? These could have had something to do with it, although of course the lack of socks didn't help. I did wonder though why the boots were a bit rigid at the front when I walked down the stairs. Mystery solved!

Super shiny Zara boots and a Zara fur sleeveless coat for a day out in London

Remember the blister inducing boots? Well let me introduce you to them. Black, shiny and with a block heel, I was seduced by them the minute that I saw them in Zara. I just felt (wait for the justification) that a smart shiny pair of boots were in order this winter, particularly when working. They will do a great job of making my trousers look smarter and with a block heel, will be comfortable enough (eventually) to wear for hours.

 

 

I think that the problems with the new boots/no socks/blisters (now there's a surprise) debacle started because I wanted to wear my sleeveless coat and being dark, it looked a bit odd with lighter coloured (comfortable) boots. Although the reality was such that it was so warm in London that I didn't need the sleeveless coat, so I could have got away with the lighter boots after all (and no blisters too).

 

 

I thought that it would be nice to give the pink Mulberry an outing and also due to its design I feel that its contents are pretty safe, so I like using when I'm in really busy places.  Also the pink of the bag picked up the pink in the Boden jumper which, as you have probably noticed, I haven't taken off since I bought it. It was the same with a navy roll neck from Cos which I bought this time last year. It's so soft and warm though. Predictably I'm in Liberty here, my favourite shop in London.

 

Here's another pic of the boots, taken whilst waiting for the train.  

 

And the "official" picture of the Zara fur long waistcoat, which I am hoping to get a lot of wear out of over the next few weeks and months.

On another note, has anyone else managed to run the colours on a brand new rugby shirt so that the red from the badge has coloured the white stripes, on the black and white rugby shirt, pink? And as for those iron on labels. They're rubbish.

Mixing a little Mulberry with a little Mango and Topshop and trying to break out of the only two outfits I've been wearing for weeks!

I have found July/August to be funny months when it comes to blogging. For a start, I have only been wearing two outfits - a Joules skirt (with deep pockets for tennis balls as I never know when I'm going to be called upon for a knock about) neon t-shirt, red Topshop shoes (not for the tennis) and Cath Kidston bag; OR jeans that I found at the back of the cupboard, boat printed Joules top, with the same shoes and bag.  

 

Either outfit covers most situations that I find myself in of late but there's only so many times that you can show the same outfits in quick succession ie once, which means there's not much else to show by way of outfits for the other 29 days of the month. Only wearing two outfits does cut down on the washing though, which is good when your children are producing more dirty clothes than a rugby team.

 

The only other outfit I've worn recently is the one below, which I wore when we went out for dinner with friends on Saturday night. If the dress code is smart/casual, I don't think that you can go far wrong with some smartish trousers, a sparkly top and a pair of heels. Not only that but the trousers negate the need for perfectly smooth legs and closed in shoes negate the need for perfectly pedicured toes. I'm starting to wonder - am I turning into Waynetta slob?

The other reason that August is a tricky month for blogging is that whilst the winter collections are starting to filter through, there's just something not quite right in writing about them. Not yet at least. I just want to enjoy the summer for as long as possible. True, I can often be caught reading my mags and surfing the internet looking at what's in store but I'm not quite ready to go public with that little secret just yet.

I have also had to devote several weeks to getting the IT side of my life in order. One week was devoted to editing out all of my photos from the last few years to prevent my computer from spluttering and coming to a grinding halt. Another week was devoted to reducing my inbox from 1500 plus emails to 50 (although all I did was move the other 1450 into a sub-folder so they're still there really).

And my final reason? I banned the children from watching TV and can I just tell you that making caterpillars out of yoghurt pots/doing aqua beads/painting/sticking/gluing/spending many hours outside severely limits the time available for blogging.

So, that's where I'm at. Fortunately the photos are sorted, the emails are almost under control and having exhausted all manner of arts and crafts, I realise that the children's TV habits are so deeply ingrained that they cannot be broken entirely, as a result of which I have slightly relaxed my rules.

 

So hopefully back into the blogging world I will come, with slightly more regularity than of late.

 

Last night I was working so I was forced, kicking and screaming, out of my denim skirt/jeans combo into some Gap printed trousers, Topshop sequin T and belt, a Hobbs swing cardi and Mango shoes.

I also used my pink Mulberry handbag and Tori Burch cuff which I was given as a birthday present.

With several other posts in the pipeline and a couple of new stores and brands to write about, I hope to be able to get back to blogging with a vengeance and certainly more than once a week at least!

Mum on the Run - Outfit round up; flats to heels, trousers to errrm, trousers. That's our summer for you!

Right, I think that we'd better get straight down to it or it will be time for bed!

 

Luckily for me there have been lots and lots of ladies of late who have wanted me to style them, hence the absence on the blogging front. At the end of a long day in the shops, whilst I am buzzing with new ideas and with things that I want you to tell you about, I don't always have the capacity to do that. No doubt that will change during the summer holidays so I hope to be able to pick up the blogging a little more but for now, here's a run down of a few outfits that I have worn...

 

With photography courtesy of our five year old, things are always a little open to chance - but bless her she does really well.

 

 

The trousers that I am wearing above are similar to these silk twill cuffed trousers from Jigsaw (£95). Mine are cotton and were in the Jigsaw sale last summer. I suspect that these too will be in the sale soon. I like a bit of a cuff on a trouser. They are just that little bit different to skinnies/chinos/cigarette pants, which are the obvious trouser summer choices. They tend to have a little more room in the leg too - I suppose that they have to really or else there's nothing to nip back in at the ankle in the form of the cuff - so to that extent they are good for anyone who likes the idea of a narrower trouser but perhaps not a skinny one.

 

 

This is the Whistles jumper that I am wearing - still available in some stores but not online last time that I checked. They quite frequently do something similar though.

 

 

And this is the jacket, which I bought from Warehouse just before Christmas I think. Warehouse has a sale on at the moment and I am pretty sure that I spied one from a distance in our store yesterday on a sale rack.

 

 

I had to rely on our son taking these photos on Sunday and sending them to me as my phone was elsewhere. The colour isn't great so please excuse the anaemic look. Here I'm wearing GAP broken in khakis (these have more room in the leg than their skinny mini khakis) but the sizes are huge. I also have a Hobbs NW3 top, Miss Selfridge necklace and giraffe print converse.

Here's the same outfit but tweaked with the addition of Zara sparkly smoking slippers and my Hobbs NW3 blazer. I wanted to try the colour of the trousers and blazer together to see if they worked. I think that in real life they looked better than they do in this photo. The bag was from the Reiss sale at Christmas. Which reminds me, Reiss has gone into sale today so there could be some good bargainous purchases to be had.

 

Yesterday it was pretty cold in the morning so I decided that the Topshop spotty trousers would work just fine, together with a Warehouse sequin jumper, Oasis leather jacket, Zara boots and the same Reiss bag from the day before. These boots are great for walking around in all day long. As you all know, not only do I love a lighter coloured leather jacket but I also like a lighter coloured pair of boots too. I like to move away from black come the spring. It's one of the few ways that I can differentiate between the seasons!

Today it was lovely and warm, despite the clouds. I don't often wear cotton shirts as I find them a bit stiff and uncomfortable with a jumper over the top. However I have had this GAP shirt for a few months now so thought that it was time for an outing.

I'm also wearing GAP sexy boyfriend jeans, Hobbs NW3 shoes (from Bicester, see below), Boden sunglasses, Topshop studded belt and a pink Mulberry handbag. With 60 seconds to go before needing to leave for a meeting, I decided to paint my toes using my 90 second drying nail varnish from Rimmel. Fortunately despite the 30 second time difference which wasn't in my favour, things turned out OK.

Phew! So that's a quick whizz through a few outfits. I hope that all is well with all of you and I'm so sorry for not having responded to your comments recently.  I appreciate the time that you take to leave them and I will get back to you soon!

On the Run - A tale of two (or three) fishes with some Hobbs for good measure

A few weeks ago I told you how my husband had been out and bought some fish for the children. The three goldfish, Fudge, Cola Cube and Chubbie, cost less than £5 in total.  Last night we worked out that said fish, however, have cost us over £50 - not what Sir Alan would consider a good return on his investment. In fact, it's not a return at all.  

Not one to do things by halves (which is lovely trait of my husband's) he has ensured that these fish are living in 5 star accommodation.  They have already had three different filters, two new buckets for the water changing procedure, coloured gravel, some bizarre plant, things for them to swim through and get this, this weekend he is planning on going to buy them a lighthouse. Our evenings are spent fighting over the iPad - with us both wanting to look at various "nets" my choice being net-a-porter, his choice being fish-net.com. With all the pumps and bizarre looking equipment everywhere, the kitchen looks as though Heston Blumenthal is about to come and conduct some weird experiment.

What any of this has to do with clothes I have no idea - other than the fact that I am sure that I could find an equally meaningful way of spending £50!

I wore this outfit yesterday as I was styling a lady at home with the result that I didn't have to walk too far, so could wear heels.

I like the shape of this look - (not just here but in general, if it suits the body shape). It's quite long and lean and also forgiving, with the wider jeans balancing out hips and the swing cardi disguising a less than lean upper body.

The combination on top isn't that clear but I am wearing a cream sequinned top from Topshop with a Hobbs swing cardi over the top.

As part of my steadfast refusal to wear boots or socks, I am wearing the closed in Hobbs slingbacks which I bought from Bicester a few months ago, which are great for when the weather isn't too warm (such as when I bought them in APRIL!) 

I also decided to use my pink Mulberry, which too was from Bicester. I quite like a bit of a pink and purple mix as long as there isn't too much and there are enough neutrals to break it up.

And now on to the winner of the scarf envy Union Jack scarf - the winner, Pat, caught my eye with this entry:

I deserve to win the scarf as I'm
 

Just   Utterly   British,    Incredibly  Loyal,   Extraordinarily  Eccentric

PS I love your blog, which I discovered through W & H.  In my 60s, I'm hopeless with fashion & style, it's a real help!

Apparently the acronym came to Pat after attending a Jubilee concert at the Albert Hall - so it was all very apt.

I loved Pat's breezy, fun and carefree attitude. Whilst the compliment was lovely, I chose Pat as the winner because I can imagine that she will really enjoy wearing the scarf and that it will make her smile.

Mum on the Run - toning greys (and no I don't mean my hair!)

I had a mixture of things to do today so I needed something to cover all basis - a couple of meeting, plus some shopping and then the usual pick up and ferrying around to different activities.

There's something about wearing a white shirt that makes me feel smart.  Strangely for me, there was no navy, stripes, sequins, leopard prints or bright colours in today's outfit - and I found it quite refreshing!  I could have worked in a bright bag or bright shoes but decided to keep it tonal. 

Trousers and jumper Gap, Shoes Dune, Bag Mulberry, Shirt Welsh boutique!

Mum on the Run - Leopard and pink

My plans to shop for the Belbroughton Style Event next week were foiled by a poorly 12 year old.  So, that meant a day at home working.  Because I wasn't really sure what would be happening today (there was a chance that 2 out of the 3 were going to be home) I went for a fairly plain navy shirt dress and then added pink and leopard accessories.  
Dress Cos, Pink top Gap, Bag Mulberry, Shoes Clarks

Mum on the Run - a throw back to the 80's!

Oh what a lovely day - I was shopping in preparation for the event that I am doing at Belbroughton on 26th May but I was also just having a general browse and picking up odd bits for clients.  There are some lovely pieces out there and I could have easily bought five really pretty going out dresses, which unfortunately wouldn't serve me that well on a daily basis - so 4 of them remained in the shops.  The 5th will no doubt make an appearance here soon! 

Because I was in out and about I needed to be a little bit smart(ish) but not too smart and it was important that I was comfortable for walking around the shops.  So, on went the navy M&S peg trousers, sequin T from Topshop, Gap denim shirt, Zara navy sandals and bright blue Topshop belt. I think that this denim shirt looks like a bit of a throw back to the 80's, but I kind of like that.  I saw a woman today with a haircut that would have matched beautifully but I think that might be a step too far!

Mum on the Run - bright shoes

It was a bit of a hectic start for us this morning, which I knew it would be, so I did some pre-planning for today's outfit.  I was seeing a client first thing and this was followed by a meeting with Laura Morris from mumtomumpreneur services (http://www.mumtomumpreneur.co.uk/)  I have to say, if you are thinking of setting up a business she is the lady to go to for all sorts of advice. 

After that it was time to pick up child number three, then home, then walk to pick up number two, then home then out again to pick up number one.  Then home and collapse (after dinner, bathtime, stories etc) though not for numbers 1 and 2 who are currently watching the apprentice and hopefully learning how not to be precocious, arrogant and cocky - or maybe that's exactly what they are learning.  Quick, switch the TV off.

Outfit: Trousers and top Cos, Leather jacket Oasis, shoes Jigsaw, bag Mulberry

Mum on the Run - Modern day smart

Sorry for the lack of picture yesterday.  I was at home with our son who had been up in the night with a bug, so neither of us were looking particularly pretty!

Today I had a meeting with some lovely people.  I am so lucky with the people that I meet in this job.  Some of the people in my last job were lovely too but many of them were in prison having done not very nice things to other people which made it a bit difficult to ring them up for a chat. 

I decided to go to today's meeting a little bit "suited and booted" but in a more modern and less corporate way.  So, I put some black slim leg trousers from Ted Baker with a black Gap jacket, Alexander McQueen top, grey Reiss shoes and Mulberry bag.

Mum on the Run - the pink Mulberry gets an outing

Oh what an evening!  Our disorganisation at getting the union jack bunting for the wedding tomorrow meant that we ended up with the stuff that no-one wanted - the England flag - and now our house looks like it is inhabited by football hooligans. 

Our eldest made red cupcakes for our street party but ran out of red food colouring so they are pink.  She wanted me to take her out to get more food colouring but as I had had some gin I wasn't going to drive - and come to think of it nor was it too bright a thing to do prior to going to a yoga class.  On returning from the yoga class I had to tidy the kitchen which I swear had every bowl, implement and utensil known to man all over the worksurfaces and the floor is somewhat sticky.  Her and that flippin' balloon whisk again!

Our son had a friend round whose Grandma happened to have won Wimbledon some years ago.  On asking him whether he was any good at tennis he responded to the effect that he would be if his Grandma could be bothered to get her finger out, stopped walking the dog and gardening and taught him how to play tennis.  Well it was a concise answer I suppose.

So to the clothes - it was suprisingly cold this morning so I layered a silk printed blouse with a bow under a bat wing jumper and added navy trousers and gold wedges.  I also wore a trench coat which kept the chill out until it warmed up. Having finally braved treating the pink Mulberry it too came out for an outing.  Its size and strap length are really good when shopping.

In answer to last night's "thought for the day" I decided that I am really lucky and that I don't need either more or less of anything - but if I could only look how the mirror in French Connection (Birmingham)makes me look then I would just be a tinier bit happier.  It just stretches me out a bit! Go take a look some time.  Have a great day tomorrow.

Mum on the Run - Day 2 Spring work wear: cropped trousers and a silk shirt

Today I have gone for a silk ruffled shirt, slim cotton cropped trousers and patent high heels.  Being natural fibres, silk and cotton work well when it is warmer. I have added the coral belt to break up the "black and greyness" of it all.  A black blazer would be a nice addition to make the outfit smarter.  Alternatively the trousers could be dressed down with ballet flats, a plain white shirt and a piece of knitwear.

If slim fitting trousers don't suit your shape, you could swap them for a pair of wide black leg trousers - it's probably best to avoid the classic court shoe with a wide trouser but rather go for a stacked heel or a wedge instead.

Trousers Ted Baker, Shirt and shoes LK Bennett, Belt Joules, Bag Mulberry