Why I have a blog. It reminds me of clothes I'd forgotten about.

How sad is this?

Thanks to one of the 'widgets' in my blog I just spotted a denim shirt I had temporarily forgotten about (well two denim shirts actually).

Is it just me that suffers from this madness..  Am I that abnormally absent minded?  (I know I am a bit... but hopefully others have similarly vacant moments!)

And a pair of shoes I had almost forgotten about.

They were the Zara shoes seen here - but in truth I did remember about them on New Year's eve and tried them on with my red Zara dress - seen on this post - thinking it would have been a nice outfit if (a) I'd self tanned my legs; (b) had anywhere to go; and (c) was more self confident wearing just a dress without some form of outer covering.

I find I feel almost naked in short sleeves (especially at this time of year).

Notes from a shopping excursion (with snood 'tutorial')

I ended up in the city today, the plan was to have a coffee, a croissant and buy candles.

The reality was have a coffee (way hey!), a cheese scone, but no candles......

.......er but instead buy several scarves, a jacket, 3 jumpers and a necklace.  Must try harder.  In my defence I won't keep everything, I like to try it on at home before finally deciding.

Although on that note, I have a treat for you.....drum roll - decent photos!! (Well, decent-ish for me, i.e. you can just about make out the colours of the garments!)

I decided to have a little experimenting with changing room photography, the results as you'll see below, are variable. Some (changing rooms) are so dimly lit and garishly decorated you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a house of ill repute.

Whilst in one, and disrobed from the snood, it seemed a good opportunity to do the snood 'tutorial'. It's not really a tutorial. I lack finesse in many areas, and bunging a snood over my head is sadly one of them.  If it ends up looking half decent this is due either to the ingenuity of the designer or some stroke of fortune not associated with my dressing skills.

So - what do you want first - the decent photos or the snood tutorial?

Let's go with the snood - to give everyone a good laugh.

Step 1 - put snood on top of head

Step 2 - pull down over head and face - (excuse shaky photo - literally taken blind!)

Step 3 - pull down to neck and hope it looks half decent - yep that'll do. Fiddling never improves matters (in my experience). 

In no particular order a selection of photos from the day - some items were bought, some not...

New Look biker style gilet - (not bought)

White Company flutter sleeve sweater - bought but will be going back - (what was I thinking?!)

Per Una coat - not bought but liked the look of it

New Look crystal scarf - bought but then hastily returned - the crystals turned out to be skulls (which I hate!!)

M&S Limited Collection trousers - looked OK on the hanger NOT BOUGHT - good grief!!

New Look sweater with crystal decoration - looked OK on the hanger. On? Er... I think not - looks like someone's sneezed over me

River Island Molly Coated Jeggings - not bought - refuse to pay £40 for one season wonder

H&M jacket - like - bought

New Look leopard print sweater - not bought, but hmmmm, may re-visit.

So - what do you think... did I make the right choices?!

Several shades of navy

My day off today didn't go exactly according to plan (not in a bad way, just different).

Due to the weather I abandoned my plan to go to the nearest city for a bit of soggy retail therapy at the White Company, and headed even further into the rural hinterland instead.

Admittedly this little excursion did not net me any candles (or croissants actually) but did get a lovely lunch and reminder of what a beautiful part of the country we are lucky enough to live in.

Also got to spend some time with OH - which is a rarity as we both work irregular hours. We are like the proverbial ships passing in the night most of the time!

Lunch at The Red Lion.

When it looks this pretty, even I like the snow!

Today it was back to navy and neutrals, and I apologise for the photo which is another of my classic 'no matter what she's wearing it looks black' efforts....  Jacket and trousers actually navy.  (I've tried to enhance it with my picture software, but think I probably made it worse!)

Navy jersey blazer from New Look

Navy long line sweater from H&M

Navy skinny trousers from Primark

Boots from Primark (love these - and so comfortable)

Tassel scarf from The White Company 

(Code OCD20 for 20% off and free P&P at The White Company)

Remember, remember

...the 5th (or 3rd) of November...

This is a quick post before I head out to work, no Saturday night fireworks for me this year :-(

However, there is a pizza and a large glass of red (or two) with my name on them for when I get back at 1am-ish.  In truth there is more than one pizza. But I don't intend to eat both, they were on a 'buy one get one free' offer...

I've decided to return the White Company blue pin-tuck dress from yesterday - it's just too low necked for me to wear everyday and it's really not smart enough to be a 'going out' dress.

Today I wore another H&M bargain - a longline toffee coloured v neck sweater which is very baggy and yet is only a medium - I don't know what's happening with H&M sizing lately.

Also worn - 

• White Company jeans
• black / bronze shimmer scarf bought locally
• KG black suede wedge shoes.  

I guess the shoes are my version of the divisive 'wedge trainer'. I like them, they are probably not 'allowed' by some style rule of which I'm unaware, to be worn with jeans... but I doubt anyone will be inspecting me closely!!

Yesterday's outfit below:

 

• New Look denim shirt
• Old Monsoon skinny colour-stripe scarf
• White Primark vest
• M&S Woman (heaven help me!!) navy cord skirt
• Russell & Bromley / Aquitalia suede ankle boots

I'd been on the look out for a navy cord skirt for a while, call me sad but I like them.. 

This little number fits the bill perfectly and was only £22.50. It's described as velvet on the M&S website (dodgy descriptions now, as well as photos?) but is definitely a fine needle cord.

Hope everyone has fun tonight if you're off out to watch firework displays!

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?

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

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. 

Boden

I caved in and bought a midi skirt (in black) and also, for good measure, a fuschia pink cropped cashmere cardigan.

I like both, although as I am buying my usual size, rather than the (probably) size up I need, they are a smidge on the small side. I refuse to buy a larger size though. In my experience, you (I)  will always expand to fill the space you have, be it wardrobe, house or clothing. I need no encouragement, so breathe in I must while I lose the surplus pounds - and lose them I will :-)

Worn with my black suedette Primark wedge ankle boots and the New Look boucle bag from yesterday.

Spot the difference

Here's where blogging (from a reader's point of view) gets tricky. Where do you draw the line between inspiration and slavish buying?!

Exhibit 1:  Me

Has Toast denim shirt (which probably cost small fortune). Admittedly had forgotten about, but that's a separate problem...
Sees bargainous New Look denim shirt on the gorgeous Beth from Style Guile.
Prefers bargainous New Look shirt.
Buys bargainous New Look shirt.
Now has two very similar denim shirts.
Drat.

New Look (left); Toast (right)

There's nothing wrong with my Toast shirt, per se.

But the New Look version has some nice touches, like the curved side hem and pearlescent buttons (poppers). It also has a more fitted shape. 

As you can tell, the wardrobe edit is hardly going to plan. I'm meant to be weeding out duplicates and unnecessary items - not accumulating more!

Here they are on - sorry for poor photo quality, hope you get the idea:

Toast version

New Look version

In other news, I think I will have to return the Topshop star print jumper. Love it. Love the feel of it. However, it... I don't know.... it just doesn't seem to work with what I have - which as you may have detected is my new rationale for purchasing - and keeping - items.  

Actually, that's not strictly true. It did work a bit better (was less starry) when I added a gilet, but I was unsure whether or not that was necessarily a good sign. I'll leave you with the photos:

Sans Gilet

Avec Gilet (by Musto, should anyone care).

One further purchase to report today. A bag from the New Look sale.

'Bella boucle bag' - New Look

Was cheap. Looks it (I fear) - on close inspection anyway. 

I do like the boucle fabric and the big stud-like clasp (me... studs.... bags... hmm, a theme...?) 

Anyhow, the white piping around the edge detracts a bit. But overall it's OK. For £6.

I'm stuck with it anyway, as I discovered today that New Look do not refund on sale items. Although I suppose I could always get a credit note, maybe then I could buy another denim shirt - why stop at two...! :-)