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Monday 20 January 2014

A few lovely bits and bobs available in the shops ...and an invitation!

Up until now, despite my promise, I haven't managed to get around to bringing you the photos of some of the pieces that I took along to an event last Saturday. So today, I'm going to whizz through them. There's no time for links I am afraid but they are all still available in store - although of course sizes will be limited. Some pieces are actually new season so they should be in plentiful supply.
 
This top from French Connection is one of their new season prints. There will be a lot of pastels around for s/s '14 but the addition of black to the mint green will, I think, make it more appealing to those who don't like the idea of a top which is entirely made up of pastel colours.
 

Another new season print, this time from Whistles. As is quite often the way with Whistles, they also do the print in a scarf, which is a good way of wearing it in a way which is less expensive. It also means that you can wear it more often. There's a good length to this dress and the black panelling down the sides is really flattering - so definitely one worth investigating.


For a sunny yellow colour, this new season jacket from French Connection adds a nice touch to black, navy or grey pieces. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of yellow/green pieces around in the shops soon.
 

This coral dress from Coast is now in the sale, reduced massively to something like £35. It's a really flattering cut - not too fitted but not too voluminous either plus the sleeves are an added bonus for many.


Both the fabric and the colour of this Ted Baker jacket are lovely. It's a stretchy supportive fabric and again, nice to wear with darker pieces and also the yellows that I mentioned. This is currently somewhere in the region of £62.


This pretty pink blouse from Coast has been around for a while now and it too is hugely reduced in in the sale. The pretty collar detail is lovely and the vibrant pink certainly makes you look twice!


This is a current season top from French Connection which I chose because of its shape. A lot of spring/summer tops are either really clingy or hugely voluminous, whereas this one falls right in the middle. It has enough movement in it for it not to cling but equally it won't swap either. The vertical pleats are also flattering. It would be perfect with the trousers below...


You may recognise these from Ted Baker as they put the print on about 32 different pieces. However, given time I think that the slight "print overkill" will fade from people's memories! They would look great in the summer with a plain t-shirt and flat sandals. These have been reduced from (something like) £129 to £59.
 

Ah, I love this jumper which I featured a long time ago now. It has been reduced from £99 to £50. Great colours for a dark winter's day and then on into the spring.


These cotton animal print trousers are currently in the sale at French Connection. These too would be great come the slightly warmer weather, with something hot pink, turquoise, bright yellow or coral (see below) on the top half.


This coral jumper from M&S is their new season stock. It's around the £65 mark which is good for cashmere. The necklace is in the sale at Coast for £19.


Closer pic of the Coast necklace, which is lovely but just check that the stones are all secure.


This is a current season M&S striped jumper. It's more oversized than the one above - so not for everyone - but I was totally taken in, not only by the stripes but also by the hint of pink (so predictable) which of course you can't actually see when it's on. Doh!


Here I added a statement necklace from Topshop, which just gives the jumper a slightly different feel. More of a "jumper with a necklace" feel than "a jumper without a necklace" feel. Radical huh?!


Here's the rail of clothes in its entirety - which was actually quite bright for a post Christmas event!


Now, on to the next event! For anyone not on my email list/twitter/fb and who lives close enough to come, it would be fantastic to see you there. I am really looking forward to it - specifically to see what everyone else there (nutritionist, make-up artist, personal trainer, skincare specialist) has to say! Sorry for the fact that it's slightly oversized - no time to faff!

Friday 17 January 2014

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!
 
 
 
 
 


Thursday 16 January 2014

One of THE colours of the season for s/s '14


 


There's something very odd going on with the technology tonight, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet and get this posted before the whole lot crashes.  
 
Today I wanted to write about pale blue. From the palest of baby blues (as in the colour, rather than weeping and realising that your life will never be the same once a baby has arrived) through to ice blue and cornflower blue, there's a shade for everyone and I am attracted to them all. I can't go past a pale blue handbag without stroking it and I'm a sucker for a pale blue jumper or scarf.
 
The jumper that I am wearing above is one of my favourite Topshop ones. Its pale blue colour is great as it works so well with so many other colours. There's going to be a lot of pale blue around for S/S '14 so I thought that I would show you a few pieces which are currently available. Two are in the sale at Reiss, both of which I happened to stroke today. I'm sure that someone, somewhere, is going to ask me to leave a store really soon!
 
 

Zara coat (£129.99)

Zara mini city bag (£39.99)
 
Reiss  jumper down to £69 from £120

Reiss scarf down from £20 from £79

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Swapping skinnies jeans for a flared pair...

 

Today just felt like the kind of day for a flared jean and some heels. I bought the jeans from Jaeger Boutique in the sale a couple of summers ago. They are high waisted and very supportive - in fact I used not to be able to wear them as they made me feel faint, which wasn't really very good at all. They are OK now though and having done a long run today, I felt the need for clothing which would hold me upright and which would prevent me from collapsing like a jelly on the floor. They did the trick up until 7.45pm and then I gave up on clothes in favour of my Onesie.


Being of the chilly persuasion, I also wore a Cos chunky roll neck and my Primark fur gilet which is great for the school run and nipping in and out of the car. I find that if my torso is warm, I can cope without wearing sleeves and the lack of fuss and flapping of a longer coat is always welcome!


These red patent Kurt Geiger shoes, which were also a sale purchase a while ago now, made a nice change to boots and their chunky heel works with a flared jean, more so than a thinner, more delicate heel - especially in the day time.

As much as skinny jeans have a big role to play in my life, some days only a flared jean will do and there's no denying that their shape definitely makes you feel more elegant and elongated. I suspect that over the next few seasons we're going to see more of them making an appearance so get ready for them....the bootcuts will be back!

Tuesday 14 January 2014

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!

Monday 13 January 2014

Baukjen 2014 Spring Collection - First look!

When the new collections start appearing online and in the stores, sad as it may be, I must admit to getting a bit of a thrill. It's the promise that they hold - of the spring, of new beginnings and of how (we imagine) those amazing one or two new pieces might revolutionise our lives! With that in mind, and having been asked by the lovely peeps at Baukjen, I thought that I would give you a first look at their spring collection, which will arrive in February. (Please just ignore the links to pieces that aren't from Baukjen. Those sneaky little gremlins refuse to switch themselves off!)
 
Many of you will be familiar with Baukjen and the effortless pared back look that it offers. Baukjen designs with the modern woman in mind, with its aim being to take women from day to night and from work to play, with chic pieces for all occasions. (Sounds like I could do with a bit of them in my life!) 
 
This season, the collection focuses upon a relaxed pared back feel – mixing a clean silhouette with textured fabrics and beautiful layers of colour. It's minimal, only slightly more refined.  The soft colour palette of dusted blues and touches of metallic, with splashes of colour and abstract prints, reflect the mood of the collection. 
 
So, here are five style essentials to whet your appetite in preparation for the full collection - a white shirt, a leather jacket, a grey marl top, a grey marl dress and of course the ubiquitous boyfriend jeans (£95).  What a great place to start. More will be revealed in due course!
 
The Coco shirt £99
 

Ravenna Leather Jacket in Sand £389


Napoli Top £49


Napoli Tunic Dress £69



 

Sunday 12 January 2014

The tale of the TV and the new Kate Spade bag

For Christmas this year, Santa was quite good to my husband and he arranged for a Curry's van to deliver an oblong shaped item with lots of channels on it.

The problem was that it arrived 2 days before Christmas, which put Mr SG into a spin and which finally led him to the conclusion that he needed to do some emergency Christmas present shopping for me. So, armed with the eldest for inspiration, on Christmas Eve he braved the City Centre to see what he could find.

Now, as luck would have it, a couple of days earlier I had been admiring my friend's new Kate Spade bag. The eldest was with me at the time and clocked everything about it, so she led Mr SG straight to the handbag department in Selfridges and, when there wasn't one on display, she described what she was after and lo and behold a brand new one was produced from the stock room. That's my girl!

So this is what he came back with, the rather lovely Kate Spade cross body in empire grey.


I didn't want my husband to buy anything else for me, that wasn't the point of the gift to him at all*. No, the whole point of the gift to him was to redress the balance as throughout the year I definitely have many more treats than him. Having said that, I did take slight joy in the fact that once, just for once, he was speechless.

*Although inadvertently, I may have discovered a new trick for the future for securing something that one has been coveting!

Friday 10 January 2014

A favourite French Connection printed skirt


I can't believe that it's Friday all ready. It's all been a bit of a whirl - one child back to school on Monday, one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday - one had a birthday on Wednesday, sorting out a new phone yesterday evening (amazingly it worked, so far!) and here we are.

I can't even remember which day that it was that I decided to wear this French Connection printed skirt with this very warm, but quite short, jumper from Other Stories which I can only really wear with skirts or very high-waisted trousers. But at least it gets me in to a skirt on a cold day!

Hope that you have all had a great week - getting back to normal after Christmas, reading the new editions of the magazines for ideas for your spring wardrobe or even better, sales shopping!

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Some transitional pieces to see you through the next few months...

For the first time since the New Year, today I was back in the shops, shopping for an event which is on Saturday. There were some great sale pieces which I picked up, so I'll try and share those with you in day or so.

I've also taken a look online finding some new, and some sale, pieces that appealed. These are things that could be worn now and which will also go through into the spring - so nothing too dark (other than the black dress I have included!) and nothing too heavy - but rather things that can be integrated into a wardrobe pretty easily.

Still on the theme of sweatshirts which, for their warmth, I prefer to fine knit jumpers, there's this Floral jacquard sweatshirt from J Crew (£148). Quite often I will spot the things that I like and then file them away in my brain, waiting until I find a similar, but less expensive, alternative - so I'll let you know if that happens! Being a girl who has lots of navy in her wardrobe, something like this would slot in quite easily.


I love the vibrant colours on this Paisley silk T, also from J Crew (£98) which I filed in my brain only for a day or two before I came across...


...this alternative in Zara (£22.99). Granted the colours aren't as vibrant but neither are they as pale as the picture shows. Clearly the Zara one won't be silk either but it will do the same job as the J.Crew one and for a quarter of the price, it's definitely worth thinking about.


Predictably this Fluoro pink bag by Zatchels at Atterley Road (reduced from £60 to £29) also caught my eye. It's the type of bag that would work well now against darker coats but also on into the spring and summer. Being a cross body bag it's a brilliant style and great price too.


I think that it's fair to say that these metallic heeled loafers from Jigsaw (£84 down from £169) are quite "Marmitish". I look at them from the perspective of them having a heel (good) which is sturdy (good) and not too high (good) all of which works for the hours that I spend walking around town. I wouldn't wear them with skirts or dresses - they are more of a trouser shoe - but I do like the fact that they are an alternative to boots come the spring, that they are metallic and that they were designed in conjunction with Patrick Cox -that loafer designing genius of the 90's!


As you know, I currently have my eye on bomber jackets and this one from All Saints (£91 down from £228) is a good starting point. The sleeves and trim are burgundy, rather than brown, but I'm waiting to see whether it gets reduced any further.

GAP has a few bombers which are new in and I'm waiting to see their floral one too, which I think might be a hit.


I liked this dress so much that there's one on its way to me. As you can see, the bodice on the Atle dress from All Saints (£68.50 down from £98) is quite fitted but the skirt is a jersey fabric so it's soft and not too structured. For anyone tempted, a word of warning - this style comes up tiny, so it's necessary to go up a size. I have an evening out coming up soon so I am hoping that this will do the trick. It can also be layered up for the winter and then on through into the spring and summer.

 
Finally, these shoes from Faith, reduced from £60 to £30 are a really good buy for anyone after a mid height leopard print court shoe. Oh, that would be me then!


For anyone heading into the sales - good luck. The stores are marking down again so now is the time to find some real bargains. If they don't have your size, don't be put off - ask about inter-store transfers, postal sales or get friends on the case for you. Where there's a will there's a way!


Monday 6 January 2014

Let's take a peek at what Boden has to offer for s/s '14!

I was going to do a bit of a "whizz around the sales" post today but then the Boden catalogue dropped through the door and I decided to do a "whizz around what Boden has to offer" post instead.

In all honesty I haven't really paid the sales that much attention ALTHOUGH I did buy 18 walnut whips from M&S which were half price in the sale. Now that's what I call a result, although I'm not sure that they would make a very good outfit.

Despite the fact that we haven't really had any proper winter weather yet, in my head it's spring. The Christmas tree has been replaced with lilies, I have cleaned the kitchen top to bottom, bought new crisp white bed linen and in fact I'm about to open all of the windows. I fear that I may be brought back to reality with a bump when the snow appears.

The first thing that I look to do with my clothes when spring arrives (which clearly it hasn't - idiot) is to lighten up my boots, bag and coat.

So with that in mind I am looking to the Boho boot in gold (£119). However I would like to reassure you that these gold, sparkly looking, boots aren't really sparkly at all but instead they are a cracked leather. I have hovered over the online photo for a long time just to check. I like a gold boot to wear with the usual - jeans or jeans, or perhaps some cigarette trousers, some skinny trousers, or jeans - just for a change.


I love the design of this soft leather bowling bag (£139) and it comes in a variety of pretty colours. What else can I say about it? Short strap, long strap, front pocket, decent size. It works on lots of levels.


A white stripe on a navy background is a more forgiving way to wear a stripe than the other way around. The fact that the stripes are narrow also makes them easier to wear, so if you've previously been unsure about trying stripes, this Spring Trench (£129) could be worth a try. The returns policy is so good at Boden that it's always worth taking a punt on things, even if they don't end up working out and what says spring more than stripes?


Next I look to lighten my knitwear because, as you all know, I wear jumpers all year around. I like this Audrey jumper (£69) in yellow because of its 60's styling. As you may imagine, it too comes in a variety of colours so if you look at this and think "hmmm, not so sure about that one" the others may appeal instead.


I really like this Polperro jumper (£79) for when I'm sailing around the Med on our yacht drinking champagne. Oh, OK, you've got me. I'll actually be wearing it when I'm on the Brittany ferry with vomiting children going from Weymouth to Guernsey.


I love the style (sleeves/decent length) and colour of this Leila dress (£79) and the fact that because it is made of ponte, it will still have some warmth to it. It's one of those accessible/work horse type of dresses rather than a pretty, but useless, one that sits in the wardrobe. Style it with a statement necklace and a blazer for a smarter look or with converse or flat sandals when the weather is warmer. It depends where your waist is as to how well this dress fits (and as to where those babies have left their legacy in terms of a slight bump too!)


This Paddington dress in pink (£89) is a brilliant shift, with pretty detailing on the neckline. Easy to wear, you could play it safe with a darker colour but there's something lovely and cheery about the brighter colours.


I still wear a similar tunic that I had from Boden many years ago and it's great for the hot weather. It is long enough to be just about OK to wear out and about and it has enough shape and structure not to feel as though I'm wearing underwear. I love the print on this  Casual linen tunic (£69) which looks as though it should be worn in Sardinia, or Capri, or somewhere like that - but definitely not on a Brittany ferry, with vomiting children.


This year Boden has done their Chino short (£39) in two different lengths. I thought that it may be helpful for you to know about them as some prefer a longer length and knowing Boden, even the shorter ones should be long enough to stop anyone from getting arrested for crimes against fashion, or general, every day indecent exposure, type offences.


I have my eye on this soft marl sweatshirt (£45) to go with the above shorts. I'm imagining family games of rounders on the beach as the sun goes down - which we might just about manage. On a good day. Provided gin was involved.


I'm seeing these Cork platforms (£99) styled very casually with boyfriend jeans and a Breton top, or coloured skinny jeans - definitely not a low cut bodycon dress. Oooh, heavens no. That would not be a good look. Let's not go there.


Right, I'm off to open some more windows!