Mum on the Run - Lovable rogues: pieces I have tried, spied and recommend from the High Street

When I am out and about on my travels around the shops there are lots of things that, for one reason or another, catch my eye. It may be that I haven't seen something like it for a while, that I can imagine it working hard for someone, that it would do a good job from a style perspective, or a trend perspective, or just because I like it.

So, here are some lovable rogues that I have spotted recently....

There's a definite move away from platform shoes, towards single sole shoes and these Topshop pointed shoes (£58) are simple and elegant. Many, if not all, are a suede finish and they come in a variety of colours both bright and more muted. Fabulous for giving a LBD a new lease of life, or for wearing to a wedding or just with jeans and a blazer, they look the part but won't break the bank.

 

 

 

 

I have written about the Whistles Bella dress (£140) previously. It's a staple style at Whistles and comes in several colours/prints each season. It's just one of those dresses that could take you anywhere from an interview, out to dinner, to a party, to a wedding. It's a fail safe, safety blanket kind of dress, but in a good way.

 

I have seen this dress on lots of different body shapes and it is incredibly flattering. However, I would just like to make a tiny appeal to Jane Shepherdson, the CEO of Whistles, (because obviously she reads this on a daily basis) could you just add another inch or so to the length please? When a style is this successful, I think it must be worth doing it in a couple of lengths. For me it's just that weeny bit too short but if it had an extra inch to its length I'd be there like a shot, as I'm sure many others would be. With a pair of the shoes above, it would be a cracking outfit.

 

 

Each time I see this Oasis bracelet (£14) it just makes me smile. I just love the combination of colours and it also comes in a necklace. In fact this too would work with the dress/shoe outfit above.

 

 

Now, it wasn't until last summer (did we really have one?) that I dipped my toe into the water of taupe/pale grey boots. They cost £30 and in were in the Zara sale. Being suede and having had a hard winter, they are starting to look a little worse for wear and whilst I wouldn't part with them, for me they are something that I can't imagine living with out. Well I can of course - that sounds far too dramatic - but I'd rather not.

 

Having appreciated their value to me, I would be prepared to invest a little more in a pair and I really like the All Saints Jonas boots (£175) which are particularly appealing because we have an All Saints outlet shop nearby and if they're anything like my other All Saints boots which I saw in there for £50 last week, yes £50, they too will make an appearance at some point. I'm happy to wait, however long it takes. I know that they're an imitation of the Acne Pistol boot, which has been superseded by the Acne Star, which will no doubt be superseded by something else before long - but I'm not fussed about that particular fickle feature of fashion.

 

 

I first saw this White Stuff parka (£69.95) in Guernsey when I was there in March. I liked it then and I still like it now. Spring coats are few and far between and looking out of the window at the black skies now, I could really do with this. Fat Face also has a lovely navy waxed parka which is worth looking at.

 

 

I love Lily and Lionel scarves and I have included it as it's a "dreamy" kind of purchase for me. This scarf is the Lana scarf (black, £100). Lily and Lionel scarves are like works of art, some of them are scenes and landscapes which are beautiful when tied. This scarf would be great for pepping up a predominantly black wardrobe.

 

 

The Zara printed cropped blazer (£69.99) is a beauty for anyone on the petite side. I saw it on a lady last week who was under 5ft tall and it looked fabulous. The proportions were just right for her. It was neat, fitted her silhouette and both the blazer and arm length were perfect.

 

In wearing a top and trousers in the same colour, with this blazer over the top, it would have a real leg lengthening effect as it creates the illusion that your legs start where the jacket length finishes. Now I don't mind where people's legs start or finish but lots of ladies ask me how they can make their legs look longer and this is one such way.  

 

On the other hand, for ladies who find it hard to find jeans to accommodate their long legs, the Ella dark denim jeans long (£29, save £50) could be perfect. I have also included a link to the Ella sale where there are some great finds - a leather skirt, a couple of winter coats, silk shirts and a leather jacket too.

 

 

 

And finally, for those ladies like a straight jean in preference to any other style, Jigsaw have an Indigo straight leg jean (£75). I have cast my eye over them and in addition to them being a nice Indigo colour, they have a good rise on them - so there's no danger of you going way one and your jeans the other when you bend down. Straight jeans can be hard to come by so I thought that they were worth including for that reason.

 

 

 

 

We were relatively lucky with the weather today, with the rain holding off until the evening. It wasn't warm but it wasn't cold so there's no complaining from these quarters. Although I have to say, whoever was responsible for packing my clothes wants shooting. Oh, that would be me then. I kept looking at my sparse offerings today and wondering what had happened. Did I leave a pile of clothes at home? Did I put them in someone else's drawers?  I kept on looking through the drawers in the hope that some would magically appear in a drawer that I had previously looked in but sadly no, so I will have to soldier bravely on. I must have been suffering from sun stroke when packing on Sunday night.

 

So today we were crabbing from the Pier in Beaumaris (and just in case anyone thinks what a perfect Mum I am, I must say that I was actually sitting on a bench reading Grazia whilst my husband dealt with the stinky bait and our son got nipped by a crab, to the extent that his finger bled.)

 

 

Given that we weren't sure what we were doing today, I just went with the wellie option on the basis that they would work on the beach, in the town, on the pier and....

 

...when playing crazy golf. Why of course?! Just for the record, I did participate in this activity but tried to distance myself from our eldest when she hit the golf ball with the force of a hockey stick and nearly took out the whole play area.

 

I had two people ask me where I got my scarf from and one chap say to me "Bloody hell, your willies (oops, that should say wellies) make my eyes boggle." To which I said "Just imagine how they'd look after a few pints then." So that was a short, and very sweet, conversation.

 

On the Run - Oh yes, the sun is out and I will wear that new dress!

And so it finally arrived. A day when it was actually warm enough to wear a dress.

I bought this dress a while ago now from GAP, knowing that it would be a good every day kind of dress and I finally got the chance to wear it today.

It's a good length for me and the addition of a leopard print belt in place of the navy tie belt with which it came made it a little more up to date. There's enough fabric in the skirt not to limit my movement but I had to watch that the wind didn't take hold of it and reveal a little more of myself to the world than would have been good for anyone.

Whilst working on some articles at home this morning, I got a call from the BBC asking if I would mind going on air to talk about a feature they were doing on keeping diaries - blogging being the new form of diary and all that. 

Having spoken to two other guests at length (!) about the contents of their diaries, the presenter then came to me, allowed me about 30 seconds to speak before telling me that a blog wasn't really a diary at all and then cut me off.

I thought that it was an interesting idea to invite me on the show to give a different perspective and then tell me that I was talking rubbish.  I just find those kind of things so funny as it happens to me all the time - which probably says more about me than anyone else! However as my daughter so rightly observed: "That's why it's called a blog and not a diary. It's different."

So anyway, I am off to a very swish event tomorrow for Ladies' day at Ascot. The event is being held at Marco Pierre White's new restaurant in Birmingha. There is a fashion show from Harvey Nichols and the races are being shown on the screens.  Remember the My Fair Lady "Move your bloomin' arse" comment? That has my name written all over it! However I shall try to put thoughts such as those out of my mind and act with grace and decorum befitting of the occasion...