A superfluity of scarves

Further to my post yesterday about my White Company order, having reviewed this in the cold light of day, about 75% consists of scarves. Practical I suppose. I do wear them a lot. (Sound a bit like I am trying to make excuses...? Dead right!)  However, I probably won't keep them all.

Striped snood (reversible):

Star print scarf:

Tassle scarf:

And this cable snood from Pure Collection:

I also almost bought this navy 'flower outline' scarf, but (praise be) managed to reign myself in:

Partly because I decided it would need to be accompanied by this navy 'grosgrain trim 'jacket which my budget has not allowed for at present. Worryingly though, it is listed on the White Company website under 'last chance to buy' so I may have to bite the bullet if I want it...

(Looks better in real life I promise!)

Will report back in a future post when everything has arrived! 

And relax...

A nice day off today, even though it was the first day of half term and my normal peaceful wanderings around an almost deserted (except for smartly attired pensioners) provincial town were not to be.

I also have tomorrow off, which means that I can continue winding down rather than, at about 8pm, mentally gearing myself up for the next day.

First stop was a haircut. I seem to be gradually going shorter, which reminds me of the saying: there is only one way to cut hair - shorter... ;-)

Shorter hair for me goes against the grain somewhat, having spent a lifetime enjoying long hair. Maybe I am just admitting defeat to my hair, which is admittedly very thick, dry and fuzzy, and which really needs to be shorter and quite layered to be coaxed into any kind of good behaviour.   There is also the old adage about not having longer hair as you get older. There comes a day (and for me it was last year sometime) when longer hair just 'feels wrong' and you have to surrender gracefully to the years.  LOL - just read that back and it makes me sound about 80!  Maybe I'll grow it again.... we'll see.

Photo today is a bit blurred as it was taken by an enthusiastic but sadly not yet competent junior accomplice!

Apologies also for the odd halo effect as I was standing with bright light behind me.

Zara navy butterfly print scarf

Monsoon long cardigan / coat

Toast mid blue cotton knit tunic

Toast navy blue leggings

Primark tan Acne-a-like boots

I later went a bit mad with a few online orders. 

First at the White Company, to re-order the jumper from Saturday with the discount code... only to find it was out of stock online. Humpphhh.  That didn't stop me however - there were lots more bargains to be found. Dresses and scarves mainly. I've ordered more than I will keep on the basis that it 'doesn't count until you decide to keep it' (can't remember which blogger declared that - but it's definitely true!). Anyway, I need to try stuff on before I decide, so really I am only at the 'virtual fitting room' stage!  

Then I flicked through a new magazine, from which fluttered a Pure Collection discount brochure, and I ended up ordering a cashmere snood- with 25% off :-)  This doesn't count as a fashion purchase ;-) as it's getting cold and I need to keep warm (especially in my advancing years!)  It too, will need to pass the 'try at home' test as well though. 

A mixed bag (and why I'm 'in the navy'...)

Recently I have realised I should never have decided, or even considered, that navy was boring. I like navy and navy likes me. Just because it's dark and a fairly unexciting colour, is not reason to discount it!  I have recently seen lots of people looking nice in navy and thought - hmm that looks really good, why did I ever think it was a good idea to (while not banish entirely)  restrict navy?!

To this end (rebel that I am not) I today bought a navy jumper. A bargainous navy jumper at that.

I was in H&M looking for children's wares, and happened to pass this on the way in. It was £7.99 - yes you read right! - and frankly it would have been rude and uncharitable of me to have left it on the rail.  Even more so considering it is 50% cotton, (and 50% acrylic).  It's a nice long-line style, (tunic-like) and I know I will wear lots. Yes it's boring, but (sadly) - it's SO me!

Even better still....(oh shallow me)... they only had a size 'small' which I duly tried on, after many failures of hope over experience in the past - and it fitted perfectly!  Either the sizing was mighty generous (likely) or my half hearted diet is making progress (less likely).  Although, as an aside, and I know Sue from Susie So So is with me here - I eat far less when shopping. It just wastes valuable time. There you go - think of shopping as a work-out and weight loss activity and it's not so bad is it?!

Anyway - here's the jumper:

H & M - £7.99

Next it was back to investment buying.

I can't recall or not if I've mentioned what a big fan I am of The White Company. They completely 'get' what I want from clothes. Sometimes, not fashionable or exciting or 'on trend' - just wearable, good quality muted colours and classic shapes, updating the best sellers each season so you can buy more of what you love in a (hopefully) even better shape or colour.  I love them and could spend oodles in there. The furniture and bed linen are also divine, as are the toiletries.

Today I tried, loved and bought a beige (they call it 'mink') 'stepped hem sweater'. It's a basic relaxed fit, quite square, with nice fitted sleeves, which I think stop it looking too 'undone'.  90% wool and 10% cashmere.  £85.  Silly me, I forgot to use my 10% discount card, so will have to re-order it online and return the full price one. I've only just remembered about the discount card, such was my haste to buy this.

It will last for years I'm sure.

Today I also wore another White Company favourite, a charcoal grey 85% cashmere, with a bit of cotton and elastene I think, tunic from last year, which has cap sleeves and is great for layering. I wore over a black long sleeved Gap 'Body' t shirt (very fine, also great for layering) and Primark black cropped trousers which were about £9 or something back in the summer but are fine for all year round I'd say!  Oh, and finished off with my Topshop Millicent studded boots.

Finished the look with a sparkly black / bronze scarf which I bought in our local town for next to nothing a couple of years ago - either Peacocks or Internationale - or one of those shops which you tend to find in provincial shopping centres....was about £5 or similar and is fab. Just goes to show - investment dressing is all very fine - but never be a slave to a name or price bracket!

I mentioned my toe-nails the other day - and (just for you Avril!!) here is the rather amateur - though definitely an improvement on what they were - result.

Colour is Essie Rock the Croc:

Finally - hence the apt title of today's post 'Mixed Bag' - I must alert you all to this month's Marie Claire magazine which has a great freebie of a L'Occitane mini size hand cream. This really does sell in L'Occitane stores for £8 - so you it's well worth the £3.70 cover price. Also included is a random Dove haircare sample - which I can't vouch for - but the L'Occitane hand cream is brilliant. (I've already bought 3 Marie Claires...and counting!)

Back to 'normality'

No knives today, I'm pleased to report. A mundane, but necessary day, spent ferrying elderly parents to / from hospital appointments and breaking up arguments between same. Sheesh - toddlers have nothing on 80 year olds for squabbling!

I wore:

• Jigsaw grey a-line shape lambswool jumper
• Primark white vest
• White Company silver pendant
• Boden denim mini skirt (not so mini on me as I am a 'short arse' with even shorter legs)
• Russell & Bromley 'Chester' black patent loafers

Sorry for brevity of post. Need to repaint my nails - which have become distressingly slattern-like - before I fall into an imminent exhausted stupor.

See you tomorrow hopefully :-)

Fighting

Yes really, that's what I did today (amongst other things) - and turns out I did ok...especially with the knives - lol!!  Don't panic readers - it was only 'pretend' - realised it sounded a bit sinister!

I wasn't really looking forward to this training, but needs must - and some days my mental attitude is positive and aligns really well and allows me to focus - and today was such a day. So I'm on quite a high - although I looked decidedly un-glamourous and spent the day in less than glamourous surroundings.

No pics, comfort and practicality the order of the day.  Wore old yoga pants and very ancient Gap sweat top and converse.

Oh ok - go on then, a pic, just to make the post less boring mind - not to convey any stylistic inspiration!  Please excuse it... I look dreadful. 'Fashion' was very low on my radar today, that's for sure!  Looking rather bloated, embarrassingly, as I hadn't eaten all day and had just come home and ravenously devoured about 4 rounds of pate and toast.

Hopefully normal (whatever that is!) service to be resumed shortly.

More arbitrary acquisitions

My whimsical purchasing habits continued apace today.

Although, oddly there was some planning / forethought (not very sensible, but thought all the same) involved at the outset.

I ordered a pair of shoes from the Zara website and decided to have them delivered to the store to 'save on postage'. Erm, right - good saving!

Dear reader: please take note and learn from my stupidity - there is no P&P charge known to (wo)man which will cost more than the sum total of (a) fuel; (b) parking; (c) coffee; and (d) 'other incidental purchasing'.

Zara shoes: £39.99

My inspiration for this purchase was Sam Cam who was seen wearing these shoes recently. They looked lovely on her of course: but then, what doesn't?

I happened to be in the market for a pair of higher heeled shoes, and seeing as Sam Cam's also looked very nice with her jeans - bingo - 'versatile purchase alert' - said my inner style-o-meter.

Have tried on, and like. What exactly I will wear them with, or when, remains to be seen (apart from skinny jeans clearly) but I'll work something out....

I also checked out the silver New Look shoes further today, and while I was pleased to see that they are still available in store for the bargain price of £9, (and remember I also have a New Look credit note of £5 burning a hole in my pocket!), I was not so pleased to find that in the flesh, they are sadly like many other New Look shoes - that is unwearable for me. The platform at the front is just a shade too high for comfort (and in my personal opinion, style). Mustering all my powers of resistance after finding such a (theoretical) bargain, I left them behind.

My Earl Grey tea obsession also developed further - with the purchase of these little hand wrapped muslin teabags from Mariage Freres. At £12.95 for 30, they are not exactly 'feed and water your builder' type tea -  but at around 30p per cup, they still beat the cost of frequenting your local 'Patisserie Valerie'.

So the moral of this post can be summed up as: stay in, have online orders delivered to your home, and drink speciality tea.  It's the best my addled brain can do today!

Shimmer star jumper, it was meant to be...

Sometimes you only truly realise you love something after it has gone.

A deep statement, with far too many levels to explore fully here.

As this is a (sort of) fashion blog, I will keep it very superficial and say that I bought, then returned, this Topshop star print jumper a week or so ago, and now I miss it and want it back - doh!  Will I never learn?

('Darn, I thought I'd escaped being owned by a madwoman...')

The fuel and parking costs will have practically doubled the cost. I think I'd better order it online this time.

I feel very foolish. It is just me that has mad capers back and forth like this?  Please don't tell me I am the only mad, indecisive one here...!

I am also very confused, as it didn't seem to work that well with my other clothes when it was in my possession, but I just really liked it. I seem to remember a while back I wrote a post called 'just wear what you love...'  and I suppose there are worse ways to decide on your clothes!  But (in my case, at any rate) it has the potential for a rather haphazard - or let's be polite, eccentric - approach to dressing yourself.

As long as no readers of this blog expect sensible, level headed capsule wardrobe advice, we'll all be just fine!

Silvery stuff

Silver is not a colour I have ever worn much, or even at all, except in accessories.

But flicking through the 'More Dash than Cash' supplement which came with this month's Vogue magazine, one or two silvery items inexplicably caught my eye.

Probably just the magpie effect.... but with the Christmas season fast approaching I suppose there might be ample opportunity to wear them.

Firstly - New Look silver shoes. I thought these looked a surprisingly wearable shape for New Look. Many of the shoes in there scare me and look so unwearable - with those extreme clumpy front platform soles. These, alas, are showing out of stock online, and unsurprising as they were reduced to just £9.. (oh the bargain for anyone who snapped them up!) - but I will definitely be checking in store tomorrow, just in case... and will report back. If you live somewhere with low Vogue readership, there's always a chance I guess.

Silver double strap pointed court shoes - New Look  <PS - I checked today - Mon 15 Oct - and they are still on sale in-store for £9. I didn't buy however, as the platform sole at the front is too high for me...>

New Look - down to £9 in sale, if you can find them!

I then went to the River Island website to search for a velvet skirt which also featured in the supplement, which was actually more of a bronze colour and looked like a lovely crushed velvet texture. Couldn't find it, but in the process, I did find these two, which I really like the look of:

Grey Folied Midi Tube Skirt - £20 - River Island

Silver shimmer pleated maxi Skirt - £45 - River Island

Although I haven't yet seen either in real life, I think both these skirts would be sophisticated 'sparkly' party choices without going overboard on the bling factor.

I would style with the silver shoes (if I found them) and a plain black short sleeved crew neck cashmere top, plus this Zara velvet box bag:

Sigh....now I just need somewhere to go!

Or the studded box bag, also Zara below, might be better (the gold hardware on the above bag doesn't quite work, or am I being too OCD or silver-obsessed?!)  The studs on the bag below look smooth, so wouldn't catch on fabric (some of the other Zara evening bags look as if they would, which would drive me mad!)

Ooh look - the hinge looks a bit like an Emporio Armani logo - (naughty Zara!)

And finally, these silvery sequinned leggings look very pretty - but possibly a sequin too far (for me anyway!) and maybe unwearable in real life (i.e. when not in Paris in the company of a convenient dove)...

From new H&M Maison Margiela collaboration,available from 15 November...

Has anyone else been bitten by the 'silver' bug?

Shopping my (bargain) closet...

Why is it that the allure of the new is so great?  (If I knew the answer to this question no doubt I could save myself a LOT of money.)

Today, however,  I was determined to re-visit and re-love some old favourites.

May I present....

• Mulberry Roxanne Bag in dark brown (£....er we won't go there - OH might be reading - but it *was* from the outlet!)
• M&S snake print scarf in blush and khaki (£5 in sale)
• White Company cashmere jumper in pale green - or 'pistachio' if you were speaking fashion speak darling - £7 (or so I recall, it was super cheap anyway for 100% cashmere) from Ebay last year. I've never seen this shade in the White Company, so I wonder if someone had attempted a dye job which they didn't like?!  I'm very happy with it - and it's so snug and soft.  

So there you have it - a selection of goodies chez 'Boutique Ash'.

And here I am wearing them...

Save or splurge: hair protection sprays. (With a pheasant jumper thrown in.)

I thought I'd write an occasional post giving you the benefit of my wisdom on the subject of 'save or splurge'.  I've accumulated quite a few years' worth of experience in this area, trying various products (a) because Vogue or similar announced they were brilliant ('splurge' category usually) or (b) because I was having a few cash-flow 'ishoos' ('save' category clearly).

This time, I'm reviewing two heat protection hair products.

I have dry hair which is naturally wavy (even frizzy - aarrghhh!) so some kind of heat spray is an absolute necessity for me, given the arsenal of styling implements which my hair has to deal with.

When I got my first pair of hair straighteners many years ago, it was a dream come true for me to have smooth hair. The straightness was not so much a goal for me, I just longed to have hair which laid flat and smooth, instead of fuzzy, flyaway and wiry.  When GHDs came onto the market, I was hooked. (GHDs can also give hair curl / wave as well as straightening / smoothing... )

Since then I have also discovered the Babylis Big Hair rotating styling brush - which is excellent at giving a salon style blow dry with lots of lift and smoothness - and wave, if your hair is inclined to wave.

But before I assault my hair with a hairdryer or any heated styling tool, I always use a heat protection spray.

The 'splurge' item today is GHD Thermal Protection Spray £9.95 from lookfantastic.com (Has changed the packaging again since I bought it!)  Admitedly not major splurge zone - but still - £10 for a hair product in these times of austerity is not a small amount!


The 'save' item is John Frieda Full Repair £5.99 from Boots. (But Boots often - always...? -  have John Frieda products on a 'buy two for £7.00 offer, which is when I stock up!)

In this instance it's a winner for.......................................................................

'SAVE' - Yay!  

The cheaper product I find works best for me. I like the lighter texture, and the smell (!) more than the GHD product.  It's not that the GHD product is no good - but the John Frieda one works best (for me) and at £3.50 (as part of the 'two items for £7.00' offer) - works out much cheaper too.

The thing I also like about the John Frieda spray is that is has an element of 'styling' to it as well, so gives a bit of hold / shape to the finished look - but as far as I can tell the GHD spray is just a heat protection spray. You have to buy another product (hmmmmm...that would be £20 then, ker-ching for GHD) to 'style' your hair.

The other thing I will point out about John Frieda products is that they use them in their salons - yes really! Many moons ago, when I was single and rich had more money than now, I used to have my hair done at John Frieda on Aldford Street in London. Ahhhh... the memories. What a luxury that was.... 

I was very surprised on my first visit to see however, that behind the till, visible through the host of Prada clad customers (not me) at the cash desk, there were ranks and ranks of exactly the same products as you would pick up in Boots. So if you felt inclined to buy a shampoo or styling product which had been used during your visit, that would be '£3.99 please Madam'. Slightly incongruous when a coffee probably set me back £5 - but good all the same! 

Now, as I've never written one of these posts on a specific product before, I have no idea if I'm supposed to write some kind of disclaimer such as 'there are other products available....'?!

I must also say that I am in no way affiliated to John Frieda (or GHD!) and these are merely my own findings / thoughts as a humble consumer. :-)  

By the way, today's outfit was as below. Don't blame me for the 'pheasant' jumper. Blame Kat at 'doesmybumlook40' blog. Emboldened by Kat's post the other day about animal jumpers, I was inspired to dig out my Joules pheasant jumper which had been lurking in a drawer since last year. 

I liked it in the catalogue. It looked good on the rosy cheeked size zero model. It looked fun. 

I saw, I tried, I banished doubts, I bought!

I got home and the image (I feared) didn't quite translate, but I kept it anyway. 

Worn with Jigsaw skirt, New Look denim shirt, Russell & Bromley patent loafers

It will always come in handy for the boxing day walk... It's that kind of item, it would work really well in classic 'Joules backdrop land' with wellies, mud and frosty fields.... none of which featured in my day today - but never mind.

If anyone is interested in similar offerings, Joules have further developed their range this year - choose from deer, foxes, ducks...and maybe more - see their range here.

Armed with a credit note, into the breach I go

And my spoils: this rather attractive little bracelet from New Look (coming in at £3.99)...

New Look Gold Spike Gem Stretch bracelet....all of £3.99

Incidentally why is it, that when you have 'free' money (well a credit note, same thing) that it is so hard to find anything you actually want to spend it on?!  I still have £5.02 credit for Pete's sake....!

My new Zara coat got its first airing today.

Sorry about the appalling lighting on the photo below - see earlier post here for a better colour.

Zara down filled coat (not on website) but was in store today - £89.99

I decided to keep the 'greige' - despite returning to try on the slightly different navy style again.

Just to give you a flavour of the mental dilemma I go through when trying to choose between two coats... I will expound my reasons why I thought the navy (the version not bought, you understand) was so good.

Well yes, it is great, except that:
(a) I have so much navy already, my base layers are usually darker colours, and with a navy down jacket on top, I risk merging into one undulating navy blob; and 
(b) I am not sure I want a hood on show at all times

The greige has a hood concealed in the collar, but as I am no longer in 'walking in all weather with a pushchair' territory, I don't feel the need for a hood to be on hand at all times.  If you are in this territory however, then I would recommend the navy coat. The thing I did like with the navy was that the zip from the front simply continues up and around the hood - meaning that you can zip the front of the coat as high as you desire. (You could, in theory, zip the coat right up to the top, encasing your whole head in the hood: but unless you want to be a blind, undulating navy blob, it's probably best not to go for this look - unlike me who did in Zara just to amuse OH. Disclaimer: I am a loon!)

In all seriousness though, those of us who have braved all winds and weathers with hands otherwise engaged with pushchair / shopping / little hands etc - and who never have a hand free to yank up hood which the whistling head wind is determined to push back off of your head - the navy coat would be a godsend. You could zip up over the nose and just leave a hands-free spy-hole. Anyway, that's enough about zips and that particular navy coat which I didn't buy but can see so many reasons TO buy. (In another life.)

I also wore my new Topshop Millicent (partially) studded boots today.

(They seem to have mysteriously disappeared from the TS website but may be available in store. I got them about 10 days ago - £40.... bargain?!)

Probably not the best weather to debut a suede item... but they held up pretty well.

I see that Topshop are also now stocking a fully studded version (called Adios2) with a slightly higher block heel, but - as OH (my reluctant, uninvited style guru) advised me - these are 'too OTT'.  (Well he would say that, wouldn't he!)

Topshop 'Adios2' - £70

Underneath the greige jacket, was a Tesco navy skirt (not cord but soft cotton, will do for now) and a white swingy a-line style Jigsaw t-shirt. Mucho flattering.

Tesco soft navy pencil skirt - £14

The necklace is another Primark bargain (currently in store) and is rather good I think, ticking several autumnal, jewel-like, opulent boxes.

Primark - £4

Food not fashion

I had an unusual delivery today. There were no clothes involved :-0

A large, well padded brown box arrived from Fortnum and Mason. No - I don't do my weekly shop there(!) - but I've been using some tea which was a gift, and tasted rather special. I had a nosey on their website and was pleased to find that you can buy tea / coffee / groceries online (and by that I mean single items, rather than having to splash out £100+ on a hamper pre-filled with some occasionally rather wacky delicacies).

Amongst the goodies delivered to me today were:

Breakfast Blend Coffee (no-one speaks to me in the morning before I've had several mugs of strong fresh black coffee)... This tin looks so pretty and can be re-used:

I'm not a big tea drinker but when I do, I enjoy a cup of Earl Grey. (This was the gift tea which I've been enjoying!)  This time however, I bought a box of teabags for easy make-ability. They are all individually wrapped so would be great to use at work / when travelling etc:

I also got Piccadilly blend teabags - one of which I am enjoying right now - it's a good one to try if you drink tea black and like a delicate tea - it still tastes tea like but without that slightly stewy/bitter aftertaste you can get with normal black tea. 

I'm a sucker for a leisurely breakfast. That sounds like I spend every morning reclining with a paper, a croissant and my coffee - haha - if only!  It happens maybe 3 times a year - but when it does I need good marmalade. Enter marmalade with Bergamot extract....

And finally, as if I needed another bag - but you can probably never have too many 'bags for life' (I usually never take enough on the weekly shop) - and this F&M jute shopper is rather smart:

What I didn't buy - but which is definitely on my wish list - is this Illuminum White Gardenia Petals perfume - ah well; it lives to be bought another day....!

I love a good non-clothes delivery almost as much as a clothing order (just complete shopping addict really, even for groceries!) I am chuffed that I can order these items for home delivery - it's such a  bonus for those of us living 'out in the sticks'. Before the days of online shopping it would have necessitated a trip into London with all the associated parking / travelling / grime / crowd related stresses (not to mention expense and confusion of the 'yokel in town' variety!!)

It's got a bit late to do an outfit pic I fear - bearing in mind my pics are dubious quality at best - but I wore Boden moleskin skirt, old bottle green Jigsaw top, black opaques and the F&F Tory-Burch-esque shoes.  I really am making a go of this FrOctober (or SkOctober) idea....!

Hang on to your old clothes!

I found an old dress from Monsoon yesterday. It's a wrap style, in a soft jersey fabric. It had been relegated to the back room in one of my earlier attempts to de-clutter my wardrobe. I had 'gone off' it for some reason at the time, but (luckily, as it transpired!) didn't see fit to get rid of it.

I often seem to have piles of clothes which fall into this indeterminate category. Neither 'goners' or 'keepers' - just in a vacuum waiting for their turn again.  (I think I must be a creature of extreme moods; what seems right one day week can seem total anathema the next!)

Anyway, I was looking for new ways to style my new cardigan, and also 'brighten up' and walked into the back room looking for something else, what exactly, I don't know, but I wasn't specifically looking for this dress. However, it fits the bill perfectly. The pink in the dress is a really good match for the cardigan, and the dress still looks good - although something seems to have happened to my bust line since I last wore it - a vest top underneath is now an absolute necessity!

It's a shame that Monsoon seems to have 'gone downhill' over the last - ooh - 3 (?) years. I rarely find anything I like there now. The quality is not what it used to be.

(The hem is level in real life... Awkward 'posing' stance to blame!)

A couple of skirts and a pair of trousers

Sorry for the unimaginative title, I'm so tired this evening, no muse!

A quick post to continue from yesterday and show a couple of skirts, plus a sneaky pair of trousers that were too big a bargain not to talk about.

Jigsaw grey knee length cord skirt, Boden cropped cardigan, Primark scarf, KG black suede wedges

Boden 'modern midi skirt', Boden cropped cardigan, Mulberry scarf, Primark suedette ankle boots

Primark trousers (£5!!!), Boden cardigan, Mulberry scarf

I am very pleased with the Boden Modern Midi skirt I must say. It's a nice medium weight moleskin fabric and has a contrast seam down the front which doesn't show in my photos. See Boden website here.  Code TKNS gives 15% off plus free P&P at the moment.

The cropped cashmere cardigan was a gift from my lovely Mum who thought I needed 'brightening up a bit'. Very astute my Mum...I was delighted to accept her advice here!  The cashmere seems to be very good quality, I don't know how it will wear, but it feels softer than a similar Brora cardigan I have which was about twice the price!

The Jigsaw knee length cord skirt is dark charcoal grey and is a nice flattering shape, quite fitted at the waist and room over the hips without being too a-line..Hurrah - have just seen it's still available, and with a nice range of extra colours to boot - see Jigsaw website here. (I may have to get another one!)

Finally the Primark trousers are an unbelievable bargain for £5. They're navy, nice fit at the top with a good wide-leg shape. Impressive.

One final word on skirts, or the wearing thereof. A pair of good opaques are essential. Personally, I love Wolford Velvet de Luxe 66, as they are wonderfully soft, nice thickness (but not too woolly), and most importantly have impressive lasting and snag resistance powers. They are pricey but a good investment.

I also bought a nice lacy pair in New Look the other day with the proceeds of a credit note. (Buyer beware:  New Look doesn't refund on sale goods unless faulty, not unreasonable I suppose, but it took me by surprise. We are so used to being able to return anything, anytime, anyhow nowadays.)

Here's the link to the New Look tights (£5.99) - they feel good and are cheaper - and with a better range of colours -  than a similar offering from White Stuff.

For more on tights, see my earlier post here. 

Shoes in my pantry

Well where else would you expect to find a bargainous shoe purchase from Tesco? Now I know I've found some good buys there of late, but it's taking things a bit too far to stock my pantry with my non food bargains, I have to admit! It did make me smile, nay laugh, when I found them.

I unpacked these with the shopping, meaning to take them upstairs later, and forgot. Cue a nice little surprise amongst the groceries!

I love these - they are very Tory Burch - esque, except the decimal point has moved along a bit and the Tesco version are only £12.50.

New shoes - in situ (just to prove how mad I am!)...

And a clearer photo...

And the inspiration behind the bargain:  Tory Burch 'Caroline' flats (£190) ...