Workin' up to a sweat!

This is one trend I am so happy to see this season! What could be any more simple than chucking on a sweatshirt, skinny's and boots for the school run. You gotta love it....it's easy peasy dressing! There are so many great ones to choose from too! There are the classic, casual ones to very dressy silky, sparkly ones.....something to suit everyone.

My obsession for finding the perfect one/ones started with this Whistles Quilted Sweat A) because it's navy.......and this season will be all about the navy and B) because having seen it with my own eyes, I knew this one would be the one to beat (hard to see in this shot I admit....you'll have to take my word for it!). On the down side though it has a 3/4 length sleeve which in deepest, darkest winter is not likely to be all that practical for me. Sorry, have I mentioned before? I do hate to be cold....so unless I can work out how best to layer it may be a no go!

 

Onto the alternatives! Found this great quilted one from Topshop. Happy to report this has already been purchased and is now residing in my wardrobe! It's a fraction of the price of the Whistles one at £26 leaving enough in the budget to fund a few more!

 

 

A hasty try on resulted in this sneaky little shot! I apologise.....the pic looks like I'm advertising a phone but you get the gist!

 

   

Right! Enough of boring you with the navy! I quite like the look of this preppy-looking one from Topshop....although maybe not with the red leather/pleather shorts?! I'm sure I can find other more flattering ways of working it!

 

 

 There are some gorgeous colour ones to be had from River Island. This one is high on the wish list.

  

 

Or perhaps you'd like some stars?? Also from River Island.

 

 

Maybe some stripes from Hilfiger Denim @ ASOS?

 

 

 

Animal print from H&M anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

Fancy a bit of lace? This one from Mango is a bargain at £14.99 in the sale...small and mediums left!!

 

 

And back to the billy basics again! Uniqlo have come up with a longer length one. This one is grey. I hope the description is deceiving me as the write up says it's 3/4 sleeves! It doesn't look that way in the photo's but have ordered.....all in the name of research of course! ;0)

 

So what will be your go-to items this season? Think my Autumn/Winter uniform is emerging. It looks like it's going to be all about the sweat, parka, boots and skinny's for me!

 

So what's been my uniform this week?

 

Play date and coffee with a friend

 

 

 Whistles Dress

Tesco's Sandals

Episode Bag

New Look Necklace

Julien Mcdonald Cuff

 

A fruitful day of outlet shopping!

 

 

T K Maxx Maxi Dress

Zara Leopard Print Sandals

Mulberry Araline Bag

Urban Outfitters Heart M Necklace

Cuff - ??

 

Another park visiting outfit.....I feel like I've spent the last 6 weeks sat in a park! Roll on normality next week.

 

 

Whistles Sweatshirt Top

H&M Skinny Jeans

Aldo Sandals

Jack Wills Tote Bag

Banana Republic Bracelet

 

What's up for discussion next then?? Another item that has been added to the ever growing wishlist?! Off investigate my latest yearning!

Be back soon ;0) x

 

















September wedding outfit dilemma!!

I have a wedding to go to! Yay! License to go to town on a new outfit! Yay!

However! Delving into the depths of my wardrobe I may have found a few dresses that have been languishing there after just one wear. They are all crying out to be worn and loved once again and it seems like utter madness to buy something new when I may already have something that fits the bill. So I've dug them out and had a little try on to see what you think....

These first 2 dresses are from the same shop which is Hi-Hi in Oxted, Surrey. A gorgeous independent boutique miles from me that I only get to once a year on a girly day out! I always come back with a fabulous dress amongst other stuff as they also sell great casual wear too!

So first up this is a Part Two dress! It's that drapey jersey that you just put on, is comfy and good to go!! I have accessorised here with M&S Snakeskin sandals and a Warehouse clutch courtesy of eBay!! In the flesh it's more of an airforce blue than navy which in looks in the picture.

 

 

The 2nd dress is S'nob de Noblesse, I've stayed with plain back accessories in the way of Zara sandals and Chanel bag as the dress deserves to be centre stage! I love this as it has a quirky little pocket on one hip and the pattern is not too in your face. It really is a seriously lovely shape!

 

Onto the 3rd choice which is All Saint's ( a total bargain from T K Maxx!!) but this one needs a belt and fiddling with and I fear I may be hoicking it up all day but then it is fab and colourful especially if we should have a gorgeous day on the weather front! Once again accessories-wise I've gone with the Zara Sandals and Chanel bag.

 

For the final look I am going for a vintage dress (I do have quite a collection of vintage dresses, this is my favourite!). Admittedly I have already worn this to a wedding albeit by default! I say by default because I managed to splash balsamic vinegar on the original option I was wearing. But such were the lovely comments I got I wished I'd worn it all day! So maybe this one deserves a second airing! I've put L K Bennett wedges, Warehouse belt and H&M clutch with this dress to bling it up a bit!

 

 

Decisions, decisions!! Which one looks the best?? Which one do you think is most suitable for a fairly informal wedding in a hotel where I'm not a principal guest?? Which one would you choose?? Would love to hear any thoughts you may have!

 

Obviously I have also have created a little wish list in case I have a last minute wobbly and feel the  need to dash out and grab something new!!

 

Starting with this little Whistles number. Love the shade of blue and the shape, because it's so simple you could really go to town on the accessories!

 

 

French Connection have come up trumps with a couple of options, first up is this gorgeous Daisy chain lace black and nude dress which I think is just divine!!

 

 

Also love this patterned number and it's rather aptly named Woodland Confetti Dress

 

 

This Reiss dress caught my eye in the store and of course it's the colour du jour at the moment being navy. I would stick with a nude shoe and bag with this look and let the dress do all the talking!

 

 

 

 

I couldn't very well not cast my eyes over the Zara website and came up with another lovely printed dress

 

 

And finally I found this from H&M which is a fab Autumnal colour, would be great for party season and of course is easily the most reasonably priced option at £34.99

 

 

So what should I go for?? Something old, something vintage or something new??

Your opinions needed please!!

 

Couldn't leave you without letting you cast an eye over what I've been wearing these past few days

 

So this was a day of shopping.....food first then a good peruse around town!!

 

 

Zara Sweatshirt T

Mango Skinny's

Aldo Sandals

Furla Bag

H&M Necklace

H&M Bracelets

 

A family party was a good excuse to dress up!!

 

 

Something more comfy for a day spent chillaxing at home

 

 

This little ensemble was for a Bank Holiday of beach fun!

 

 

Zara White Long Sleeve Top

H&M Stripe Vest underneath

Vero Modo Shorts

Superga Flatform Trainers

Warehouse Bag courtesy of eBay

 

Have you had any recent wedding outfit dramas? Would love to hear if you may have had the same dress dilemma!  

 



A tale of 2 transitional sale bargains!!

Phew!! So got the first post out of the way but was already thinking about what to discuss next!!

Talking of Next, (ha! see what I did there?!) it's not somewhere that I normally shop. Having said that over the past couple of months I have totally had my head turned!! And luckily for me the things I have purchased make fantastic transitional pieces!! I may have been a little late to the party with this grey jersey biker jacket.... I didn't even think about it until the email dropped into my inbox about the Next sale preview. And for £25 in the sale I couldn't pass it up!! If only I had known then what I know now I'd have paid full price for it!! It is so versatile!!

 

 

 

 As you can see here, I have already found a few ways of wearing it with what's in my current Summer wardrobe but I am really looking forward to styling it with some darker colours during the Autumn months hence the dressing up session further down.......

 

Worn here with

Gap Neon T

H&M Boyfriend Jeans

Aldo Sandals

 

 

And here with

New Look Top

Gap Real Straight Jeans

French Sole Pumps

Furla Bag

 

 

 

 

Now for the Autumn dressing up bit.....

 

Zara Navy Burnout T

Gap Outlet Navy Super Skinny's

Ash Navy Canvas Thelma's

 

 

 

 

 

All in all a great buy, I think you will agree!!

 

 Another savvy sale purchase I may have made was this gorgeous Zara jacket/coat. I can't wait to wear this when the weather gets a bit cooler!! Again it's another item that will be really useful for me as it's great dressed down with jeans and wedge trainers for a daytime look but would also look fantastic of an evening with coated skinny's and heels!! Not that I get out much.....but hey the option is there!! Sorry the picture does not do it any justice...it's a lot darker in real life I promise!!

 

 

 

Think it looks better here...

 

 

Zara Coat

Zara Linen T

Gap Skinny's

Ash Genials

 

I admit to buying a few other great sale bits to see me through! Gap came up trumps with some original fit and real straight jeans, both bargains that could not to be passed up! I only hope I can pluck up the courage to wear these with ankle boots this Winter but then knowing how long it took to get me with the program with the boyfriend jeans it will probably be next Spring before you see me sporting that look!!

 

There have been a few other transitional bits that have caught my eye.....all in the way of jackets as they are always the best bit of a look in my book!!

 

Love this Zara quilted red biker jacket It would inject some much needed colour into my wardrobe......question is am I brave enough for the bright red??

 

 

 

 

Keeping within my black and white comfort zone, this gorgeous Zara coatigan

 

 

 

 

 

And finally couldn't leave without sharing this little number.....prints generally scare the life out of me, like colour I generally shy away from them unless they are in tiny doses such as accessories, but once again my head could be turned by Next as I have already seen this jacket styled beautifully on Avenue 57......maybe it's about time everyone saw my wild side too!!

 

Next Animal Print Blazer

 

 

 

 Here's a little round up of what I have been wearing these past few days.....it would seem that I am subconsciously preparing myself for Autumn as casting my eyes over what I have been putting together I am being drawn to the dark side already!!

 

 

My celebratory first post outfit!!

River Island Camisole

Gap Outlet Jersey Maxi Skirt

Zara Leopard Print Sandals

Accessorize Necklace

Mulberry Cuff

 

 

 DKNY Leather Jacket Via T K Maxx

Cherry Top also T K Maxx

H&M Leggings

L K Bennett Sandals

Longchamp Planetes Tote

Reiss Cuff

 

 

Primark Cardy (so old!)

Whistles Dress - Outlet Purchase

Tesco's Sandals

New Look Necklace

Julian Macdonald Cuff - Debenhams

Jack Wills Tote Bag

 

 

Whistles Cardigan

Gap Outlet Dress

Karen Millen Belt - taken off another dress!

L K Bennett Sandals

Banana Republic Bracelet

 

So there goes another post!! What's next?? I may have a couple of sneaky hours shopping lined up tomorrow so where will I find some more A/W inspiration?? Looking forward to have a good gander....that I do know!! Have you found anything jacket wise that I have missed? Would love to hear about any of your sale bargain tran-seasonal successes.....or is there anything you wished you'd bought but are now totally kicking yourself for not going and getting?! Would love to hear from you!!

 

 

 

 

I've only gone and done it!!

Can't believe I finally got myself here!! My first foray into blogging!!

After posting my looks on Avenue 57 for the past 10 months and some gentle encouragement from one of my favourite bloggers Susie So So I thought it was about time I gave this blogging malarkey a go!!

I have learnt so much from following blogs over the past year or so. I think they have definitely enhanced my style (.....well I can live hope right??!!) So with this in mind, I felt the time was right for me to share my wardrobe, my wants and my new purchases in hope that someone somewhere may benefit from any of info that I may now bombard you with! I do love a bargain and am always happy to spill the beans about any good deals I may come across!!

There we have it!!

Onto the serious stuff!! Everyone seems to be talking Autumn/Winter wish lists at the moment, and although I intend to eek out wearing my Summer stuff for as long as possible, I do have a very modest wish list on the go!!

First up is a pair of boots that I have had my eye on for a while. They are truly gorgeous though I'm not sure if they are all that practical for me! I have seen these styled with some very cute little dresses, think festival.....not a road I'm entirely sure I should be going down but I'm sure these would still look great with skinny's

Steve Madden Janne Stud Ankle Boot from ASOS

Next on the wish list is an item I already have in my wardrobe! Last year I bought a fab brand new Whistles parka from eBay. Got it for a song, had lots of compliments on it and have been delighted with it. However it doesn't have a hood, which for those of you with youngsters will know is totally invaluable whilst doing the school run on rainy days. I also think a parka is better in khaki (Liam Gallagher, the epitome of cool in his parka, swaggering about in one always springs to mind...lol!). I shall be splashing out on this little number from H&M but may hang around and wait for a code......such is my love for a bargain especially on such a practical item!!

 H&M Parka

 

So now onto a staple that would look gorgeous under this parka! I have never bought anything from Cos and it's true I do have a few sweatshirts but having seen this one in the flesh it may be my cheeky splurge in Birmingham when I meet up with some of the Avenue 57 ladies in September!

 

 

 COS Sweatshirt

 

There must be an accessory just to top this little ensemble off!! I need another cuff like a hole in the head but I really love this one from Banana Republic and as I have a birthday coming up in October....well I'd be most upset if the birthday fairy didn't bring me this one (huge nod to the DH) as it's right up my street!!

 

 

 Banana Republic Wide Belt Bracelet

 

Going off on a tangent now....a slighty more formal item. I need a blazer. I've wanted one for ages. I've tried loads. The problem is I don't want it to look too worky.....if that makes sense?! I keep going back to this one from Zara as I like the shoulder detail which makes it seems a tad less traditional and of course in my eyes an item that could easily go from a day to evening look.

 

Zara Blazer with gathered shoulders

 

So there we have it!! The items that I want to work their way into my current wardrobe. They won't break the bank (phew!!) but they will complement what's already there.

 

What's on your want list?? Is it going to add to my woes??!! We're not even into September yet!! Which will neatly bring me into the subject of my next post.....all things transitional!!

 

Thought I would leave you a peek of what I wore today!!

 

 

 

 Zara Jacket

Topshop Camisole

Gap Original Fit Jeans

L K Bennett Sandals

Longchamp Planetes Tote

 

Think I now deserve a stiff drink.....my nerves are in bits!!

Hope you like!! How did I do?

Would love to hear your thoughts, Michelle x