Freed of London - not only famous world wide for their ballet shoes but now also for their ballet flats...

What a beautiful sight - row upon row of pale pink satin ballet shoes. When I look at these I can smell them as much as I can see them and no doubt that's the same for many others too.

There's an amazing article in Spitalfields Life about Freed of London, the ballet shoe company which was founded by Frederick Freed in 1920 - and is a name which is no doubt familiar to many who spent happy hours in pink leotards and pointe shoes during their formative years - and who may still do so today.

In the article are fantastic photographs taken from the archives, showing how the ballet shoes were made, together with picture of the inside of the shop in St Martin's Lane, with ballet shoes in glass cases, and Frederick Freed himself.

Receiving an email from the brand development manager of Freed asking me whether I would like to try a pair of their ballet flats is up there with some of the best emails I have received. Nostalgia, happy memories, an affinity with a brand from the age of 6 - call it what you will, I was over the moon.

Knowing that I would photographing the shoes during the warmer weather, I chose a pair that could be worn across the seasons and with a variety of different colours. I really liked the combination of the patent and the snake skin, which really added texture and shine to the shoes.

I have to be a little bit careful when wearing ballet flats in terms of the whole cankle issue but the cut of these shoes at the front, together with the defined (as opposed to moulded) heel, makes them more flattering than other brands I have tried.

Here I am wearing them with an H&M t-shirt, Gap jeans, the White Company sequin cardigan that I bought from Bicester a couple of weeks ago and an Orla Kiely bag. I really like the way that the patent reflects the light and stops them from being too flat in terms of finish. They are also really comfortable too and the draw string around the top allows them to be pulled in (or let out), so the fit can be adjusted.

 

Here is a closer shot of the shoes - for those who want to see how far down the front of the foot they come. I should add at this stage that, like the shoes, these feet were borrowed!

 

 

There's a whole variety of shoes from which to choose, so I've included a link to Freed's ballet flat collection, which also includes plain colours, snake print and leopard print, together with the shoes that I have shown below and they come in sizes 3 to 8, with half sizes too. Theyare priced between £49.95 and £59.95

 

Checks are going to be huge next season, in all different sizes and colour ways. Think kilts and you won't be far wrong. I know, kilts - when were we last wearing them?!

 

If black is the order of the day, you can't go wrong with a bit of patent mock croc!

The ballet flats come in lots of plain colours but I thought that this was a really pretty colour, which would look lovely with navy/grey/aubergine as we head into the autumn.

 

 

In addition to a pair of shoes which are completely leopard print, there's just a nod to it on this pair, which again would be nice for the autumn when it's just that little bit too cold for sandals but when we're not quite ready to head into boots territory.

 

 

Finally, you can never go far wrong with a Chanel inspired ballet pump can you?!

From now on, when searching for a pair of ballet flats, Freed will definitely be on my radar. With such an amazing history in making ballet shoes, I think that it's safe to say that they probably know a thing or two about making ballet flats as well.

Something for the weekend....my favourite picks of the Boden Autumn Catalogue

Boden is always one of the first on the scene with their catalogue for the new season. When it first drops through the door I have a cursory flick through it and then, when the time is right, I re-visit it for a closer inspection.

So, let's cut to the chase, what have Boden got in store for us this Autumn?

I am always interested to see what dresses a brand has. The elusive search for that perfect dress that goes with everything, that can be layered up, dressed up or down, continues season after season. I look for something fairly plain, with a hem just above the knee, that is fitted and that has sleeves.

The Ottoman Shift (£79) could be that elusive dress. It comes in several different colours and is made of ponte, which I like for its warmth, fit and ease of care (this one is machine washable and is 100% cotton).

Another one that may fit the bill is the Alexa dress (£79). This one is textured ponte, made of cotton, polyamide and with 2% elastane it has that extra stretch which can be great for comfort.

This Printed shift (£59) falls more into the category of a dress that I just happened to like, which is slightly different from "the dress that needs to be everything to all people at all times" category. Made of cotton and modal, it will be more floaty than the dresses above but would work well with chunky ankle boots (see below) and an Aran cardi as well as with brogues, flats, Mary-Janes or court shoes.

A lace top is always a useful addition to a wardrobe, particularly for those occasions when jeans will do on the bottom half but when something slightly dressier is required on the top half.

The Alice lace top (£59) comes in a variety of colours and in addition to this one, I really like the navy one and the emerald one as emerald looks great against so many different skin tones.

Whilst not shown in this colour way in main picture in the catalogue, I prefer it to any of the others. The combination of charcoal and lime green in this Embellished ponte top (£69) is one of my favourite combinations for the winter.

Predictable I know, but the Collared Breton (£35) has to feature. For some there's no better combination than fish and chips, or chocolate and wine but for me it's stripes and a peter pan collar. They get me every time!

Oooh, a skirt snuck in here but it's a bit late in the day to move it. This Daisy Jacquard skirt (£59) works for me on a number of levels. The colour combination is different but will work well with navy, cream or black. Whilst jacquard, the shaping at the side stops it from being too formal. It's straight but not pencil and with 2% elastane again has that stretch for comfort. The hazy blue and coral pink are both nice options too. It reminds me very much of something that J.Crew would produce. Not long to wait now for their arrival in the UK. Yippee.

 A little bit of cashmere, the combination of hot pink with navy, throw in some stripes and I'm done for. The Cashmere crew neck jumper (£119) again has that J.Crew feel about it. Wear it with jeans, a pair of the bistro crop trousers or a printed skirt in the same colour way and it would look great.

For a little bit of animal print without going overboard, the Merino crew (£69) is a great option. It comes in this blue, or grey marl, leopard print and also in a range of plain colours.

Pink is THE colour for the season and whilst some say that pale pink is the way to go on the coat front, I think if you're going to do pink you may as well do it properly. For those less convinced by a pink coat the Mia Coat (£149) also comes in navy and squirrel (light brown for those not sure). It looks more like camel to me, so I find it slightly strange that it is called squirrel because last time I checked, squirrels and camels weren't really that similar in colour.

Ah, bags. Who can resist a good bag? Clutches are coming into their own for A/W '13 and the Canonbury Clutch (£59) comes in a variety of colours. I particularly like the leopard and pink ones together with the yellow and emerald. Well, there's no point going all dark just because the winter will be here in a few months is there?

For something which is a little more every day in terms of size (well, my kind of every day anyway) the Leather pouch bag (£119) is just the right side of slouchy. It comes in this lovely vibrant turquoise which would look great against a black, navy or grey coat but the fig (dark purple) is a lovely rich colour for something a little more sedate.

When it come to shoes, flats were shown on the catwalk for A/W '13 by virtually every designer. The Metallic brogue (£109) comes in half sizes and will go with everything, whilst remaining just that little bit more interesting than a grey, black or brown colour which is flat in tone. They also come in a couple of patent options and two nubuck options.

 

As for a boot, the combination of the chunky sole and solid heel work well on the Carnaby boot (£129). These could be worn with trousers, jeans or skirts and for me the charcoal would be more versatile than the black ones.

Boden's now famous Bistro crop trousers would be my choice for a pair of trousers. Preferring to keep print and colour on my top half, I would probably opt for a plain navy pair - but the animal floral, mosaic tile, jacquard and metallic ones do have a certain charm about them....

 

So, has anyone already dipped their toe in the Boden Autumn collection?! I fear that taking that initial step my result in rather more of a dunking, than a dipping.

 

Peasant tops and Kimonos, as an alternative to t-shirts, vests and fine knits

The last couple of days have been slightly cooler, which has required a bit of a re-think on the clothes front, particularly when it comes to tops. I like to use these "in between" days to wear those tops which might normally be hidden underneath a jacket or a cardi. The tops which I have featured below are also good for those who would prefer to keep covered up in the sun, whether for religious, cultural or medical reasons.

 

I bought the Gerard Darel silk shirt in the photos below from Bicester a few years ago now. It's a peasant style and being slightly looser, is one which I only really ever wear with jeans or shorts. It would also act as a great beach cover up or could be worn whilst wandering around a  European market (I'm thinking more of the Isle De Re rather than the Bullring in Birmingham but you know how it is....)

 

The Joules top below is very similar in style to the shirt above and does pretty much the same job, which is quite handy right now. This type of neckline suits most people and the fact that the style isn't meant to be too fitted makes it easy to wear.

Despite the new season's stock now arriving in the stores, there are still a couple of options around. Forever 21 has this peasant top for £16.75.

Whilst Warehouse has this embroidered smock top, which is £17 in the sale. With some coloured jeans or short, wedges or flip flops, a wide brimmed hat and gold ear-rings, you would be good to go. (Looking back at this picture I think that the model below needs a bit of tlc. Doesn't she look sad?)

A kimono also offers an alternative to the usual vest/t-shirt/shirt/kaftan option, either as a cover up from the heat, over a bikini on the beach, as an extra layer on a slightly cooler day, or worn out in the evening.

Top shop has this kimono jacket for £65, which also comes with matching shorts. Together they would make an amazing outfit for a late summer wedding, or worn separately they could offer a variety of styling options.

I also really like this Top shop bird print kimono (£55) again to wear with shorts, as in this shot, or with coloured jeans. Pretty, stylish and offering something a little bit different, they tick the boxes for me.

And finally for Helen at The Flaky Fashionista  here's a closer look at the Cath Kidston cross body bag (reduced to £28 from £40) which I featured a few days ago. Hope that you like it!

Mum on the Run - Bringing you my £4.99 bargain (OK it's a slight throw back to the 80's but it's not quite as bad as a scrunchie - which I also bought!)

If there's one thing I never imagined myself buying ever again it's a scrunchie but that's exactly what I found myself buying last week. Ahh, scrunchies - THE hair accessory of the 80's and early 90's. Consigned to room 101 of the fashion world ever since, they seem to be making a resurgence - at least in the world of trendy 14 year olds, H&M and Claire's accessories.

 

Equally - and I can't pretend that there's anything even remotely fashion forward about this - I don't think that I ever really imagined myself wearing a polo shirt again. I last wore one at the same time I wore a scrunchie - which says it all really.  I would imagine that at this point many of you will scroll away elsewhere because really a polo shirt is the staple of many women's wardrobes but not for me.

 

However that all changed last week. As is quite often the case with these things, one morning I woke up and thought "Hmmm, what I really need to acquire today is a polo shirt." Why it should happen on that particular day as opposed to any other day during the past 20 or so years I have no idea but who am I to question these things?

As it happened we were heading into town that day and I thought of the most obvious brands for polo shirts - Ralph Lauren, Jack Wills, Hollister, Lacoste, Fred Perry - all of which I decided were either a) to expensive or b) too far away from where we were.

The answer? H&M boys of course (sorry no link they don't seem to be online). I'd bought two from there for our son earlier in the summer and at £4.99 a pop I knew that one wouldn't break the bank. Whether one would go over my head (it did, just) or around me (it did, they are quite generous, mine is  age 10/12 and there's also a 12/14) was another matter.

Whilst obviously raving about a polo shirt isn't really going to cut it, for what it's worth, there is a good selection of colours (khaki, royal blue, mint green, navy, coral plus a couple more)  the fit is neat and they are 100% cotton. If I decide after I've worn it a couple of times that it's not for me, it can find its way into my son's wardrobe. Equally if I love it, he may find himself a couple of polo shirts short. How terrible is that? Stealing clothes from your children. Outrageous (but if I'm honest it wouldn't be the first time).

Mum on the Run - Birdies on our boobies and an outfit to scare a shark.

It's long been known that birds and animals are going to be a big trend for A/W '13. Whilst I don't feel quite ready to go there yet on the blog in too big a way, I must admit to really liking this Cath Kidston Blue Tit jumper (£65) which I saw the other day.

Despite being a jumper, it has a spring like twist to it. The lighter colours make it a trans-seasonal jumper, a jumper to wear before we get to the full on cable knits and roll necks. Now that's the kind of jumper that I will be able to deal with when the chillier mornings set in. Anything much more than that and I think that you might find me crying into my cornflakes.

Joules too have a Blue Tit jumper (£69.95) and with its nautical stripes, it still has a lighter note to it for when the no, I can't type the word. It's just too depressing to have to think about the (say it in a whisper) cold.

These jumpers are intarsia knits. The word intarsia didn't appear much in fashion lingo until a few seasons ago and last winter, I looked it up to see what it really meant. So for anyone interested, here goes:

"Intarsia is a technique used to create patterns with multiple colours.  Unlike other multicolour techniques such as Fair Isle, slip stitch colour and double knitting, there is only one active colour on any given stitch ..... Common examples of intarsia include jumpers with large, solid-colour features like fruits, flowers or geometric shapes." So there you go!

On a warmer note, how about this as a piece of swimwear for next summer? A friend sent the picture to me via twitter, possibly as a result of another word that I can only whisper. Shark.

 

Mum on the Run - In a birthday outfit (no, not suit)!

Yesterday I celebrated my 37th (plus 6) birthday. After reading an article in the Saturday Times about the 30 best Lidos in the UK, we headed off to Droitwich Spa Lido. I am now prepared to accept that the weather is properly hot - rather than just on the surface, pretend, hot - so even I braved the outdoor pool. I've never been to a Lido before and it was great. Loads of water hoses and fountains for the kids to play in plus a 40m pool to swim in, which was shallow at one end. I'm now on a mission to do the other 29.

 

Sadly there were no incidents of an embarrassing/wardrobe malfunction nature to report and everyone behaved. Crikey, what is the world coming to? Maybe it's because I enforced my "yes, you can have whatever you like today as long as it makes everyone happy" policy and the children were all too shocked to do anything other than behave.

 

Here's the Joules skirt that I showed to you a couple of days ago. I figured that it would work for what we were up to on the day and as you know, I am only able to wear one pair of shoes so that I don't spoil the neatly arranged (now spectacularly, messily, un-arranged) shoe basket in the hall. The t-shirt is H&M and the Cath Kidston bag was a present from our lovely eldest.

Here are a few photos from the day - I think that it's safe to say that it was a fairly pink/pastel affair....

From top left:

Pressie from a lovely friend

Droitwich Spa Lido

Macaroons (said in a Julie Walters, Mrs Overall, accent)

Flowers from hubby

Cake made by son (I'm training the boys well!)

Chocolates from hubby and children

There might be a Tory Burch cuff to show you sometime soon too - another sneaky little Bicester find.

Mum on the Run - Pictures of one or two Bicester purchases - although not the ones I'd hoped to bring you...

I can't believe it! My official (11 year old) photographer has deleted all of the photos that he took for me at Bicester. Funny how children can be so organised at editing some things isn't it but when it comes to editing other things - such as the detritus in their bedrooms - it's a whole different story. So it is with regret that there are no photos of fabulous ankle boots, handbags on so on. Oh well, better get myself back to Bicester pronto to rectify the situation.

 

So, as to the few bits that I bought whilst there, this printed top from Joules caught my eye. I'm on a bit of a nautical theme at the moment - which I know is a cliché, particularly in the summer holidays, but you can't beat a good cliché. It was reduced from £50 to £14 and I thought that it would work well with jeans and cut offs and generally when I was kicking around with the children.

 

The same goes for this skirt, which was also from Joules and which also cost £14. I seem to be spending a lot of time getting on and off the trampoline, complete with hose pipe in hand so that I can fill the paddling pool, before various small people jump into it (OK and on occasion various larger people, including me) and it's important for me that I can move around and not worry too much about my clothes taking a bit of a battering.

It comes to just above my knee and worn with flip flops or my pink scholl sandals and a vest top, I think that this will sort me out on a sunny day. I also found a nice denim skirt in Hobbs NW3 but for some reason denim skirts always seem to fit too high on the waist which results in them not being very flattering. I toyed with the idea but knew that if it was a case of choosing on any given day between the skirt above, or the Hobbs one, the one above would win. So the Hobbs one stayed in the store.

Finally I bought a sequinned cardigan from the White Company, which was reduced from £85 to £25. You know I think that you can never have too many sequins in your wardrobe! I will wear this in a very dressed down way over the summer, perhaps styling it in a slightly more formal way come the autumn.

And this is what I wore today. It was my second outfit of the day. The first one comprised a knee length dress with a navy and white spotty cagoul over it and navy and white spotty wellies with it. Talk about spot overload. I was taking my sis to the station this morning and it was throwing it down. She thought that I looked like I should be going to Glasto rather than B'ham New St. I found it quite impressive that the wellies gave me a blister when all I did was drive in them.

Later I changed into a pair of jeans that I found when trawling through my jeans the other day to find some to make into shorts. I also wore a silk Fat Face top, navy Mango bag and red Topshop shoes. Having tidied everything to within an inch of its life in the house I am resigned to wearing one pair of shoes for the rest of the summer or else I will spoil the look of the well organised shoe basket. I've said it before and I'll say it again - sometimes I despair of myself (but at least the shoe basket looks good).

Mum on the Run - Being creative (!) with denim and a trip to Bicester Village

See, I knew that it wasn't safe to go in the water in Cornwall.  Apparently a blue shark has been spotted off the coast at Penzance. Whilst usually they are more likely to eat squid, they have been known to take the odd nibble at a human and what with me doing a very good impression of a seal the other night, I have no doubt that I would have been scoffed had a blue shark and I been in close proximity.  That would have been tragic - the wetsuit wasn't even mine. Safe to say I am now about as land-locked as it is possible to be.

I'm not sure what happens when I get home but all those things that I tolerated before I went away suddenly seem to irritate me - which is why I spent Friday night clearing out under the stairs, all Saturday afternoon touching up the walls with my roller and white emulsion, why today I emptied and sorted my entire wardrobe, why I went into the bowels of a huge cupboard to retrieve a light fitting that I decided we should have put up and why I persuaded my husband to help me move a chair downstairs and a chest upstairs, all because it would look better. The family know me well and my husband quietly takes over cooking the meals and bathing the youngest whilst the eldest two just keep out of my way, lest they are allocated a job. The problem is that because the house is now so tidy, everything really echoes, which is quite dis-concerting.

Along with all of the above, my husband and I had what he termed an "arts and crafts" day yesterday. It started when I woke up and decided that I needed to sort myself out with some denim cut-offs. A rifle through my wardrobe found the perfect pair of very old, and now slightly too short (not sure how that has happened as I haven't grown in the last five years) Topshop boyfriend jeans. They need to be a bit loose to start off with - skinny ones just don't work. Anyway, one pair of sharp scissors later and voila - a new pair of shorts (apologies - I thought that I'd cropped the finger out of the photo but apparently not). For what it's worth, I found the best way to make them was to cut up the centre front of the jeans to about mid-thigh, put them on and then decide where to start cutting horizontally - leaving a bit extra for a turn up. Not being an owl, or having a willing (or able) participant, I took them off before finishing the horizontal cutting but obviously it's a personal thing.

Our proudest arts and crafts moment came after visiting John Lewis and buying some fabric which we stapled over a canvas (pinched from the eldest). We like maps in our house - we're a bit nerdy like that.

And one outfit from the back end of the holiday - the Allium B Eliza dress, this time worn as a strapless dress. I quite fancied a strapless dress but didn't have one so I undid the buttons on the straps on this one, tucked the straps down the side and all was good - well apart from when I was giving the youngest a piggy back and I realised it has wriggled its way down slightly but it wasn't anything too outrageous.

Today we also squeezed in a trip to Bicester so I will bring you photos of what I bought later in the week. Sadly it wasn't what I bought that was the problem but more the potential for what I might buy in the future having visited the new Rag and Bone store and Sandro too. Dangerous. Very dangerous (but not as dangerous as a great white shark.)

Mum on the Run - A few outfits from Cornwall, a very sunny corner of the UK!

You know how sometimes in life you have those moments when you wonder to yourself what on earth you are doing? Well I had one of those last night.

 

It was 7pm and I was standing on the beach in Cornwall underneath Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant, wearing a wetsuit (complete with cracking VPL), looking upwards whilst fastening a strap on the helmet I was wearing before going for a "stand up" paddle surfing lesson.

 

Not only had I foregone my meal in the restaurant at the hotel to engage in this activity but the chandeliers from Fifteen were twinkling at me and I just wondered what had possessed me.

 

I have  fear of being eaten alive - by anything - and having just read about a girl who had been eaten by a shark in the Indian Ocean, and having recently watched a film where three people were eaten by sharks, I probably wasn't in the best frame of mind to go out to sea on a 12 ft board with only a paddle to use as a weapon against the 30ft great white which I was convinced was going to attack me. I feared that I was about to take the lead role in my own movie.

 

Clearly my fears were mis-placed as I lived to tell the tale. All that I encountered were a few jelly fish and a sore bottom where I fell off the paddle board and hit the sand. Blimey that stuff can be hard.  

 

 

 

Being on holiday and with the weather so warm, I have spent more time in the water than out of it over the last few days. Here are one or two outfits I have worn though.

 

Above (slightly grainy I know but it's the best of a bad bunch) I'm wearing a Jigsaw silk dress, with the one necklace that I bought with me and the same three bracelets that I have been wearing for days. I hadn't worn this dress for several years but have found it really useful whilst away. It could be dressed up but I always tend to dress it down with converse or flip flops.  

 

The Boden tunic has again made an appearance together with flip flops, habitat beach bag, Boden sunglasses and a hat from Asda which I bought on the way down. You know how you get a few miles from home and think "OK, so what have we forgotten?" Well that would be a toothbrush for the youngest then, extra sun tan cream, flip flops for the eldest and before you know it you've spent £50 on essential items like fruit pastels and Barbie dvds too, just because you're going on holiday.

I wore this on the one evening that I got changed for dinner. These are the whale coloured cuff/zip trousers from Hush, Carvela snake print wedges, Marc Jacobs clutch and a White Stuff top.

 

 

 

But this is largely what I've been wearing for the past few days, together with attractive surf shoes. Helpfully my husband placed himself at the furthest end of the bar/restaurant last night so that after my lesson finished at 9pm I had to walk all of the way through it to find him to get the card for the room. Thankfully though it's fairly relaxed here though. I even spotted a little boy "Bertie" relieving himself under a table. He would have got away with it had his Dad not shouted at him for being naughty. It's always so great when you find children naughtier than your own.