The Soft White Baukjen Blazer - A summer essential

Blazer: Baukjen (current season - link below) other items all previous seasons - Jeans Gap, Shoes Jigsaw, Belt and T-shirt Topshop

It wasn't until a few seasons ago that I had a white blazer. I really wasn't sure whether I would get the wear out of it and I wondered whether I might trash it really quickly. So, I bought an inexpensive one from Zara to test the water on the basis that if it earned its way, I might invest in one further down the line.  

And then I found that I wore it A LOT. It just gave a lift to my summer wardrobe and it felt fresher than my usual navy or black. And I found it surprisingly versatile - with jeans, pleather leggings, dresses, for a night out and to a wedding (thankfully saving me from pastel pashminas) - and it made me feel pulled together.  

That was a while ago now, so when the chance came along for me to select a few pieces from the current Baukjen collection to style, unsurprisingly their Lexden blazer (£199) jumped out at me. I really wanted to see what the fit was like, as well as whether it felt any different to my considerably less expensive Zara one.

The good thing about this white blazer (and what I should have checked, and failed to do so when buying my Zara blazer) is that it is machine washable at 30 degrees. It is a soft ponte jersey fabric which is comprised of 70% viscose, 25% polyamide and 5% elastane. Whilst I used to think of viscose as some horrid fabric (wait for the nerdy comment) it is in fact structurally similar to cotton, being produced from a variety of plants such as soy, bamboo and sugar cane. So there you go!

The reviews of this blazer online are really good and I can vouch for its fit and comfort. True, I didn't keep it on for long (I didn't want to enter dangerous Ribena territory) but because it's made from ponte it isn't stiff and boardy. It's a neat shape without being too fitted (no doubt the elastane helps with this) and I found the length of both the jacket and the sleeves to be good on me - I'm wearing a size 8 so it's true to size.  Whilst it clearly is not the cheapest of blazers, it's such a classic style that it won't date. My only observation is that there wouldn't be a lot of room in the sleeve width to get much by way of another layer underneath it. But that could just be particular to me as someone who always thinks about how many layers they can squidge under something else.

As with all of these things, it's just a matter of trying them and seeing how they work for you. But if you're on the hunt for a new white blazer, of if you weren't but this one piques your interest, it could be a real wardrobe gem.

Wardrobe Update - Edgy, spiky, cool jewellery

Now I'm just warning you in advance - there are some scary and slightly too close for comfort photos coming up. Let's just focus on the jewellery shall we and not the wrinkles? I took these photos after a recent Friday night out to celebrate Mr SG's upcoming 50th. Say no more!  

We all know that there's a huge trend for huge ear-rings this season and whilst they are fabulous, as I've said before, I do feel a bit Pat Butcher in them. I'd love not to - but I do and there's nothing that I can do about it.

But I do love ear piercings and pretty ear adornments. I went and had a good look at Maria Tash in Liberty when I was last in London as she has some beautiful ear-rings and her piercings are like works of art. However with each piercing being over £100 - and without a lot of spare room in my right ear to have any more piercings, I moved away from the idea.

Having said that I still fancied some slightly edgier jewellery. Something a bit more "rock chic" than I might have had previously. So when I was invited to a Stella & Dot jewellery party, I knew that I would be in luck. As we were heading off for the weekend, my decisions were quick! I started with the Pave triangle ear climber (£32). For a ring, I opted for the winding arrow ring (£25) which I wear on my thumb. It's a S/M and it can be made smaller, which is really handy as I have quite small fingers.

The bracelets that I'm wearing are ones that I love and that I wear every day. They are from Bella Jane  jewellery and they were gifted to me by Annabel a long time ago now. I love bracelets layered up together and these are just so easy to wear as they go with everything. So to add to my collection I bought the Renegade Cluster Bracelet (£45) from Stella & Dot - which is a spiky little number. If I put it around my neck I could do my best punk impression.

As we get older and things soften around the edges soften - I'm thinking jawline, waistline, cheekbones etc - it's nice to counteract it with a bit of something slightly more angular! Or if you just fancy a change and a move away from more traditional pretty style jewellery, this could be an option - still delicate but just a little more edgy and it feels fresh too.

Hope that you're all having a lovely Easter Monday. Beth x

A glamourous Mum in a glamourous outfit from Coast, Dune, Carvela and Jigsaw

 

 

A very beautiful lady!

 

Last night we held a Glamour Evening at school and I styled the fashion side of things. It was a joint event between myself and a friend who is an Arbonne representative, plus we had a hairdresser come along to do an "up do" on one of the models, a make-up artist, a team of ladies threading eyebrows and another lady promoting her teeth whitening business - so there was plenty going on. The entrance to the event was lit with tea lights (I can't take credit for any of this) which made it look really pretty.

 

The board room was transformed - a little bit Winter Wonderland and a little bit Downton Abbey!

 

Well, what's a mantelpiece for if not for displaying shoes....

...and the odd bag?

 

During the evening we covered a number of different events that might arise during the Christmas calendar and "black tie" was one of them. A lovely Mum from school had her hair and make-up done for the event.  In preparation for the event I chose this fabulously opulent Rita skirt from Coast (was £125, now £87.50) which I knew would make the most of her tiny waist and which I hoped that she would agree to wear - and luckily she did. [They are only available in limited sizes now but if anyone is desperate for a size 10, I have a spare one - although only at the full price.]

 

 

I've displayed the outfit in the pictures below and in addition to the skirt you can also see the bag that I used, which is from Dune (Now £52 instead of £65) as I wanted to pick up the blue in the skirt elsewhere in the outfit but this could just as easily be done in some shoes or in some jewellery.

I also opted for the Coast Sunnita jacket (£85 full price though it is available with a discount at some stores) as it has a nice neat fitted shape to it and I didn't want to spoil the line of the skirt, some Stella & Dot earrings, a Coast thick gold bangle and Carvela Lacey shoes which have little spikes on the front and which were included just to add a bit of an edge to the outfit.

 

Carvela Lacey shoes - tricky to find right now, House of Fraser have sold out and the Very website has crashed but there will be some somewhere!

I also used this 100% silk cami from Jigsaw (now £35.10 instead of £39). These are fantastic for layering under jackets as they aren't too tight, the V-neck isn't too low and the straps are adjustable so they're not constantly falling off your shoulders. They come in a whole range of colours too - just in case anyone is after something similar.

I hear that Santa may be buying this outfit for a black tie event which this lady has coming up. He sounds like my kind of chap!