I never thought I'd see the day!!

This is an item of clothing I can honestly say I never imagined seeing myself wearing but I've been completely won over by a boiler suit! Yes you heard that right....a boiler suit!!

I have my lovely friend Vikki to thank for this little purchase as we were having a conversation about dungarees when she sent me the picture above and said how about these! I headed off into Bristol today intent on hunting down a jacket I'd seen in Mango that I'd been hankering after for weeks! I wished I'd tried it on when I first saw it as I'd really built it up to be something really special in my minds eye but in reality it was a complete disappointment!! I thereafter embarked on a mission to find a peasant style top but no luck there either!! Primark ended up being my last chance saloon or else I would have been going home empty handed on payday! I decided to check out the boiler suit that Vikki and I had discussed and managed to find it so I headed off to the fitting room with 3 different sizes. I ended up plumping for the size 12 as I think it should be worn on the slouchier side!! At £17 this boiler suit is the perfect price for something that might only be worn a few times! For me this would be perfect for travelling in so I look forward to donning it when I go on my hols!!

It is so comfy....I would have happily left the store wearing it. In fact I changed into it once I got home! Must admit I was very surprised to hear that the hubby liked and the 7 year old daughter thought it looked very stylish....bless! I love it and it is the perfect outfit for these in-between Spring/Summer weather days!

As usual a few outfits from the rest of the week! The H&M thrifty top find is certainly already paying it's way! Worn here again for a birthday supper for my mother-in law on Saturday.

Whistles biker jacket (last year)

H&M top (Dorothy House charity shop)

Dorothy Perkins coated jeggings (old)

Pull & Bear boots (current c/o ASOS)

Anya Hindmarch Gracie bag (current The Outnet)

An oversize white shirt for a relaxed Sunday look

Gap shirt (current season)

Zara coated chinos (current season)

Birkenstock Arizonas (current via Amazon)

Bank holiday Monday spent in the park!

Zara sweatshirt blazer (old)

Zara stripe top (sale, earlier this year)

Gap original fit jeans (last year)

Kurt Geiger Madison espadrilles (current via Zalando)

Topshop scarf (current, sale)

Longchamp Planetes tote 

The outfit I started off in today.

Zara jacket (old)

Zara grey t-shirt (current)

H&M boyfriends jeans (last year)

Converse (ancient)

Is there an item of clothing that you couldn't picture yourself in that once you've tried has won you over?? Is this a trend you can see yourself indulging in? I know the boiler suit along with the Birkenstock Arizona's are a bit of a Marmite item that won't be for everyone....I wonder what other trends I thought would pass me by will find their way into my wardrobe this year?! Answers on a postcard please!!

Love hearing your thoughts and responding to them!

I will be back soon with the post I mentioned last time about one of my old favourite clothing haunts.....it is a work in progress as I have been in and out of the store to photograph stuff (been trying to do so discreetly) as the website pictures do the clothing absolutely no favours!

Wishing you all a good week!

Until next time!

Michelle xx

Credit where it's due!

I have made a couple of cheeky little purchases after finding some inspiration from my fellow bloggers so I thought they deserved a shout out for giving me the heads up on some glorious items which I may have overlooked had I not seen them on other posts! So without further ado.......

Thanks to Frances of School Run Style and  Annemarie of Fashion Mum of 40 (who is also to blame for the M&S caged sandals purchase too, see here!) for giving me the heads up on this fab little Mango top! I have noticed that Joanna of Poppy's Style has the cream version which is also lovely too!

And this is the other little purchase.......I saw this fab River Island leopard print cuff on Net-a-Dressers blog! It is gorgeous and it would have passed me by had it not been pointed out to me so thanking you kindly N-A-D!!

Both excellent pieces which I know I shall get tons wear out of!!

And so to the business of catching up! I have had a great week! The best thing hands down has been the chance to meet up with some of my wonderful blog friends!! Along with Marlene of Chocolate, Cookies and Candies, Sue from Susie So So, Natalie from Glamrosie, Donna from I won't wear sludge brown, Frances from School Run Style and Andrea from Cous, Cous and Cork Wedges, I was invited to a preview of My Wardrobe's Autumn/Winter 2014 collection at the Spirit of Summer fair at Olympia! Now I unfortunately don't have anything about the preview that I can share but thankfully the day turned out just grand as it meant us ladies could have a good old catch up! I am really terrible at remembering to take pictures so there is no photographic evidence but I did just want to say thank you girls for a really lovely day!

So that was on Thursday, then on Saturday I hopped on the train again to catch up with the lovely Sharon from Thrift My Style. We had originally planned to shop until we dropped but instead we wiled away hours talking, first over a glass of Prosecco and later idling away a few more hours over lunch at Cafe Rouge! The time just flew by and we didn't step into the first shop until just before 5pm!! We did a quick flit around South Kensington High Street.....no purchases to report from me but I didn't come home empty handed as Sharon had put together the most amazing goody bag I have ever seen! Sharon's amazing finds have completely inspired me to dedicate some time to checking out my local charity shops and I shall be up at the crack of dawn this Sunday to get myself to my excellent local booty sale!! Check out this fantastic haul!!

I was honestly blown away by these fantastic treasures that Sharon managed to find which were all perfect for me! I am thrilled kthe gold Birkenstock Gizeh's......I mentioned  awhile back that I was kicking myself because I'd eBayed a bronze pair back last year and Sharon managed to source these at a booty sale! The leopard print evening bag is L K Bennett also from a boot sale and how gorgeous is this Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo dress from her local Scope charity shop!!

The Birkies 

So again credit where it's due....inspired by Sharon's treasures I took myself off for a peruse around my local Dorothy House charity shop unearthed this little brand new H&M Conscious Collection t-shirt for a fiver! Apologies for the fuzzy photo!

I will definately be going back to this charity shop as they had lots of H&M and Zara, I also spied a gorgeous pair of Pied A Terre wedges which I have a feeling I will be kicking myself later for not buying!!

Right! Now onto to what I've been wearing this past week kicking off with the outfit I wore to the My Wardrobe preview at the Spirit of Summer event at Olympia. 

Pull & Bear dress (current)

Tesco sandals (last year)

Mulberry Bayswater (old but a classic!)

Topshop denim shirt (current)

Pull & Bear jeans (current)

Kurt Geiger Laurel skate shoes (current)

My outfit to meet Sharon in London on Saturday!

Whistles dress (old)

Birkenstock Arizona's (current, via Amazon)

Anya Hindmarch Gracie bag (current via The Outnet)

Whistles top (last year, via outlet store)

Pull & Bear jeans (current)

Birkenstock Gizeh (courtesy of Sharon from Thrift My Style)

Mango top (current)

H&M jeans (sale a few weeks back)

Birkenstock Arizona's (current via Amazon)

Anya Hindmarch Gracie bag (current via The Outnet)

Lastly, today's outfit with my new thrifted t!!

H&M t-shirt (Dorothy House charity shop)

Zara jeans (last year)

Kurt Geiger Madison espadrilles (current)

Anya Hindmarch Gracie bag (current via The Outnet)

Have any of your purchases been inspired by your favourite bloggers lately? If you want to take a peek at my *favourite reads* at the top of the page you can see whose blogs I follow and whose style you may see me stealing in future!! 

My next post will has also been inspired by a blogger who has re-introduced to a High Street shop that I have overlooked for years!! So watch this space!!

Until next time!

Michelle xx 

p.s I have finally got myself on Instagram so I am going to try and share my daily outfit pictures on there! x

Gracie.

Anya Hindmarch's Gracie.

Me and my Gracie's

So now you can see why I 'NEEDED' this bag! Once the lovely Sharron of Style at Every Age mentioned her Anya Hindmarch Gracie bag I have been plotting ways in which I could get my hands on one as it is my daughter's namesake!! So after a serious purge of stuff on eBay I managed to cobble together enough funds to purchase this little beauty from The Outnet for half the RRP! Needless to say I am seriously smitten with both my Gracie's!!

I do love my bags and bought my first designer bag when I got my first bonus age 18. It was a Louis Vuitton speedy that cost £140 at the time! It's one of those things that has got better with age. My next purchase was from the designer clothing store I worked in when I left school which certainly gave me a taste for the finer things in life. At the time I couldn't quite stretch to a Chanel bag so I settled for a chain handled Ferragamo until I had saved up enough to splurge on the Chanel. When I was able to eventually afford the Chanel bag I remember the experiance for all the wrong reasons as I felt completely intimidated by the assistants......I was shaking like a leaf when I paid for it......it was a lot of my hard earned cash to hand over, at £460 it cost more than my car and it's insurance at the time!! And they weren't even nice to me.....think of that scene in pretty woman, exactly how I was made to feel!

The next bag I set my sights on was a Prada tote, which I bought whilst on a trip to Milan many moons ago, then the next bag to come along was my Balenciaga biker bag which was bought on another trip, this time to Dublin about 10 years ago. I really dithered over the Balenciaga as I was also hankering after a Luella bag which was quite similar the the Mulberry Bayswater (more on those later!). In the end the likes of Kate Moss and Sienna Miller swung my decision and I purchased the Balenciaga and I have never once regretted as it as along with the Chanel it's been the best bag I have ever had as it has stood the test of time and again looks better with age.

My obsession with bags was stoked somewhat by the realisation that there were some real bargains to be had in the Mulberry factory store in Shepton Mallet which is about 40 minutes drive from where I live!! Not good for the wallet I can tell you!! I have been ever so lucky as I managed to pick up a Bayswater in oak for less than £250 and also brown Mulberry Seth messenger for the same sort of price. I have also been truly fortunate to pick up the other two bags in the photo which are the Araline and Sam messenger for less than £100 in the incredible sales they used to have where you would also get a voucher for 10% extra off on the first day of sale. Sadly, the sales are no longer that good as people bought up the stock to flog at a profit on eBay and Mulberry quickly cottoned on and so the real bargains are now a thing of the past!

Let me introduce you to my Furla family! The large tote was another bag which I saved up my pennies for and bought on a weekend away in London and a trip to Harrods! The other metallic bag with chain handle was an eBay purchase where I managed to score the bag for less than £30 when I guess it would normally retail at around £300! Last but not least is a navy snakeskin look bag which I bought from Fashion Bloodhound, whose event I went to a couple of weeks back. Again another amazing bargain (though I can't remember exactly how much I paid for it, but I think that was in the region of about £60?!) because I followed them on Twitter and managed to get a further 20% off during a flash sale!!

Last but not least, my last 2 designer acquisitions. First up is the Mulberry Dorset tote which my lovely hubby purchased for my birthday a couple of years ago! This is very special to me as he did this all by himself without any prompt from me! Also pictured here is my Longchamp Planetes which I bought on a little jolly to meet Jane of My Midlife Fashion in Birmingham.....which is lovely reminder of a fab girly day out!

So are you a bag lady too? I hope you enjoyed sharing my bag collection! A couple of ladies (V & S you know who you are!) have mentioned that they would love to see my selection of bags so I thought it would be fun to reminisce about how I acquired some of them now that I have added to my little hoard with the Anya Hindmarch bag. Which one is your favourite and have you been lucky enough to bag any real designer bargains? 

Only a couple of outfits to share since I last blogged, starting with a super casual Sunday look!

Pull & Bear sweatshirt (current)

M&S loungwear trousers (old, outlet)

Kurt Geiger Laurel skate shoes (current)

Here's an outfit that couldn't be more different as I had an interview today!

Mango Blazer (last year)

Uniqlo shirt (current)

Gap trousers (old)

H&M pumps (last year)

Mulberry Dorset tote (still available)

Off to London tomorrow for another little fashion event so will report back soon!

I look forward to hearing you thoughts and love responding to your comments!

Hope everyone is having a great week........until next time :0)

Michelle xx

My purchase of the week!

I do love to break out the white skinnies once the sun starts shining but I have been favouring my boyfriend style jeans of late and so I've been on the hunt for a white slouchier ripped up style of jean! First stop was Topshop last week to try on their 'Mum' jeans but unfortunately they weren't a good fit for me!! Then on Saturday I took myself off to track down the Mango ones I've been hearing such good things about, only they didn't have any in stock!! I was about to give up and go home then my daughter asked if we were going into Pull & Bear.....she loves this store because of the VW camper parked right in the middle of it!! Thank goodness for that last ditch attempt as I found exactly what I was looking for!! They are high in the waist (mum style), have just the right amount if the ripped effect and they were the perfect length (I have a real thing about trews being too short!!). Here they are as modelled on the website.....fear not though, I shan't be sporting mine with a crop top!

I managed to break the jeans out one day earlier in the week when the weather was playing ball! Worn with Hobbs sweatshirt and Superga pumps.

It just so happened that I went back into Bristol on Wednesday and managed to find the Mango Loni's in the House of Fraser concession. Now the Loni is an off white/cream which Mango describe as 'neutral'. Last year I purchased a pair of Primark skinnies in the same neutral shade and that I found them to be very useful so I am thinking that the Loni's could also find their way into my wardrobe too!

Here is a flavour of what I been wearing the rest of the week.

Something a tad different to what you are used to seeing me in.....but I was off to an appointment with a recruitment consultant so I needed to make a smart impression!

Whistles Blazer (last year)

Gap top (old)

Gap trousers (old)

New Look pumps (old)

Mulberry Dorset tote 

Superdry leather jacket (c/o T K Maxx, old)

Gap merino v-neck sweater

Uniqlo cargo skinnies (current)

Topshop Vamp skater (current)

Jaeger sweater (current)

Gap real straight (last year)

Kurt Geiger Laurel skaters (current)

Uniqlo shirt (current)

H&M jeans (current, sale purchase)

Topshop Vamp skaters (current)

Finally I have had the occasion to break out my bargain Mango jumpsuit for a rare night out!! So nice to get dolled up for a change!!

DKNY leather biker jacket (c/o T K Maxx, old)

Mango jumpsuit (current via ASOS)

M&S sandals

So anyone else care to spill about what they've purchased this week??

As always I love reading and responding to your comments!

Until next time!

Michelle xx

Fashion Bloodhound event!

You may recall that I mentioned in my last post that I was off to the Fashion Bloodhound Spring showcase event that was taking place in the Francis Hotel in Bath on Wednesday evening! I managed to snag myself a VIP ticket so that I could peruse the rails of their pre-loved designer items before it opened to the public at 5.30pm! Greeted with a glass of bubbly and a goody bag stuffed with Aveda samples I set about working my way through the rails to try and bag myself a designer bargain!

I was not disappointed! There were lots of amazing bags everything from Mulberry, Anya Hindmarch, Balenciaga and Gucci, some incredible shoes from Chanel, Gucci and Prada. The clothes were all hung beautifully on rails so you could merrily swish your way through! There was everything from Chanel jackets to Victoria Beckham dresses and Isabel Marant sweaters.....a cavern of treasure indeed! Fear not though you have not missed a chance to bag a designer bargain.....you can purchase from their online shop here www.fashionbloodhound.com I would recommend following Fashion Bloodhound on Twitter and Instagram also as you will often hear of any new sought after items before they go online and any special promotions they are doing.....and you do not want to miss out on those!!

Graziella is the young entrepreneur who is the brainchild behind Fashion Bloodhound and I managed to snatch five minutes of her time for a chat. She really knows her stuff, she has a great eye and is super stylish.....no wonder this business is such a success!! If you are looking to source a particular item you can contact Fashion Bloodhound, they would also love to here from you if you have items you wish to sell on.

So did I purchase! Hell yeah! I could have spent a fortune but I did have to show a modicum of restraint as I am soon to be out of a job (though hopefully not for long!!). I am thrilled to bits with what I bought and I could have bought in every colour they had!! I have heard such amazing things about Alexander Wang T-shirt's that when I saw this one I jumped at the chance to bag it for £30!! It would normally retail at £80 so I am very chuffed with my bargain!! I was so thrilled with it that I put it straight on and wore it home......I have prerty much worn it every day since too! Now I can see why it does pay to spend a bit more on such items!! I am converted! Without further ado....

Alexander Wang T-shirt 

Zara boyfriend jeans (last year)

KG Madison espadrilles (current via Zalando)

Up closer!

So have you made any designer pre-loved purchases? Could you be tempted by what Fashion Bloodhound has to offer?

Love reading and responding to your comments, as always!

Until next time!

Michelle xx