Short story

Or Shorts Story actually, that was the name.

Mentally filed away for later use.

If (like many a time I suspect) you wonder what on earth this woman is wittering on about - it's this:

OPI Shorts Story - available here from John Lewis 

(click on the 5th colour swatch, 2nd row!)

Pink - yes.
Sickly - possibly.
On my wish list - (for some unfathomable reason) - yes.

Pink suits me, I do believe. In the light of 2 x pink lipsticks and a Bobbi Brown 'pale pink' blusher, I'm hoping so anyway!


Other items on my wish list:

Jigsaw pleated skirt

Jigsaw red pom pom scarf

Whistles 'ovoid spot' scarf

Pure collection V neck boyfriend sweater 

I also have in my sights:

• Pink tweed Jigsaw skirt (there I was I hoping Jigsaw were 'finding their way' again... but no picture on website!)
• Orla Kiely pink(see the worrying trend?) and blue scarf - no picture anywhere - but it's in John  Lewis. Helpful (not).

The White Company autumn catalogue had arrived; nothing immediately grabbed me. There was nothing offensive, but just a rehash of last winter (most of which already seem to have bought!)

Having said that, I may make an exception for this maxi skirt:

White Company Jersey Maxi Skirt

A couple of recent outfit pictures below. Excuse the general carnage which surrounds me. I've momentarily lost the wherewithal and time to do anything about it.

Still surviving on a 10 (ok maybe 15) item wardrobe. (Not including accessories!)

Breton shrt sleeved top - H&M

Black capri trousers - Sainsbury's

White jersey 'biker' style cardigan - Florence & Fred (Tesco) <-- thanks to Sue at Susie So So for that tip :-)

Bag - Mulberry Bayswater

Shoes - Russell and Bromley (old)

Shirt - Musto (don't ask) (How did it survive the cull..? Double don't ask!)

Jumper - Joules (similar here)

Trousers - Sainsbury's as above

Bag & Shoes - Mulberry & Russell & Bromley as above

Back to Plan A

The 10 item wardrobe. I have wrestled so much lately to streamline my clothes. 'I have bought far too much' can be the sum total of my observations. Added to that, I have bought the wrong things out of boredom. It's always the easy way - go shopping and buy a new look (maybe duplicating what you own in the process) - rather than carefully editing what you already have and adding to discriminately. Ha - my new watchword - let's see how long it lasts!

Anyway, after a careful sort through, I applied what I am dubbing the 'smile test'. This meant that to make the cut, an item had to generate a genuine, spontaneous smile - as it 'I like it'.  Now very importantly - do not apply logic here - just go with your 'gut feeling'.

I was left with a rather odd assortment of items frankly, and for a while was scratching my head wondering if I had totally lost it and thinking how on earth I could work with them and make outfits.

Well it wasn't so hard really. A lot of the items were simple. The ones which were not simple will be an 'accent' item to lift an outfit out of plain-ness (she fondly hopes!)

My other new watchword - 'accessories are my friend'.  I didn't edit my accessories - heck no! - if I am going to survive on 10 key items (give or take a few - and this doesn't include layering t shirts / outerwear / shoes etc)  - then I am going to need to be an awful lot more creative with my accessories.

I suppose it really is that old chestnut - 'shopping your wardrobe'.  It's the start of a learning curve for me - but think today's cobbled together look is OK-ish...

(Excuse half finished demolition work / building sundries in the background!)

• Fairly recent Zara breton t shirt 
• Very ancient (poss 10 years?) black vest style Warehouse maxi dress.
• Red Clarks flat shoes (this summer in sale)
• Old Joules beige bead necklace - bought on impulse in sale ages ago as was so cheap... and have been wondering what to wear it with ever since! Similar available online for this season
• Mulberry brown Somerset hobo bag

A new lipstick, an old favourite and a lightbulb moment

Ok. There are 3 sections to this evening's ramblings.

1. Make-up is a good 'pick me up'
(a)  It is size-less.
(b)  A lipstick rarely fails to make you feel happy.
(c)  It is relatively inexpensive - good happiness ratio per £.

Bobbi Brown Lipstick - Sandwash Pink (nice natural pink)

2. Some things are classics ....
....and therefore possibly boring and unexciting and uninspiring to keep 'repeat buying'. But don't let that stop you. It's stopped me in the past. Boredom, the feeling that there must be something newer or better or more exciting out there (there rarely is).  A case in point, continuing the lipstick theme: I give you Lipcote. It is fab.  (See '1' above - extends wearage and spreads the happiness.)

3.  The happier are the less you buy (need) and the better you look in your meagre items
You can waft through life with the fabled 10 item wardrobe (I've even done a 5 item wardrobe in the past when really on cloud 9) and not get bored.

You glow and clothes accentuate that fact. They set off the person, rather than attempting to conceal or distract from the fact that the wearer (i.e. me) is in fact a bored and unhappy blob.

This leads me on to (and I am sorry if this offends anyone, that would never be my intention) weight.

We all have a weight we feel comfortable with and which feels good for us.  I am not about to preach to anyone about what they should weigh. Personally speaking however, I feel too heavy at the moment and my clothes just don't hang right. Personally speaking, I find my clothes look better when I weigh less. I find I buy less. And what I do own looks better and keeps working.

Maybe because I feel healthier and happier, I need to shop less. I need less of the boost that new stuff brings.

Sorry to have veered off into the realms of psychology slightly. It just reflects how I feel at present.

And sorry if I am spouting the blindingly obvious and you all already know all of the above. Happy you. I wish I could hang on to it!

3 (i) Footnote to the cashmere jumper
Having reviewed my post from yesterday and deciding that it was utter nonsense and that I neither needed or wanted either colour sweater, I looked awful in both :-(  - I returned the navy and actually felt good about doing so!

My navy cotton one will do fine for now.  Spending £££ will not make me feel better.  Losing the other kind of £ (lb) will.

Am I mad?  Hopefully it is a mild version of 'mad' or PMT related.

I am going to go with the flow and blog my wild ramblings.

Many a time in the past there has been no blog because I've thought 'oh I can't blog, I have no decent pictures', or 'I feel down, I can't write happy things and pretend to be happy', or ' I look cr&p, no one wants to see that'... etc.

And last year when I was in  'down' patch, many people said don't worry - just blog about what is on your mind and 'write through it'.... so here I am doing just that.

***

PS  And I still shared a new lippy with you (all is not entirely lost!) ;-)

30 degrees and buying cashmere.

I have been getting pretty disgruntled in this humid weather. I don't do hot. At least, not unless I can recline on a sun lounger with earplugs and a G&T, which sadly is not an option most days.

As if to will the autumnal days into existence, I went cashmere shopping. And if I wasn't disgruntled before trying on cashmere in a very hot, stuffy and smelly changing room - sort them out M&S - I certainly was afterwards.

However, in mitigation, the 'M&S Collection' (whatever new marketing ploy that might be) long cashmere v neck sweaters / tunics are lovely. Just what I was looking for. I bought the navy version. I need a navy long tunic, I really do, I literally live in a variation of it each autumn / winter and navy is such an investment colour. (Then again, so is beige...sigh. )

Looking at my changing room shots (as ever) however, I think the beige might have been might a better fit and perhaps even a better colour...(drat) so I will weigh up the pros and cons within the 28 day return limit and no doubt regale you with my indecisiveness in due course.

If only I could work out how to get this 'My fitness pal' app everyone keeps raving about onto my phone and manage to look slightly less rotund, the navy would fit equally well. I've just eaten too much pizza been lazy and have at least half a stone to lose (and keep off this time!)