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