My favourite combo at the mo.....

has got to be a skirt and shirt! This is perfect combo for going bare-legged for as long as possible without having to break out the dreaded tights! I've been just chucking on a grey oversize cardy for the chilly morning school run! I'm not ready to give in and start wearing full-on Autumn/Winter stuff just yet!

Uniqlo shirt, past season similar here

Jack Wills denim skirt, past season similar here

Converse, here

Mango shirt, here

Topshop denim skirt, here

Converse, here

Mango shirt, here Zara pleather skirt, here Converse, here

Uniqlo shirt, past season, similar here

Zara pleather skirt, current here

Converse, here

This is a great oversize cardy from Mango at a really reasonable £19.99!

Mango cardigan 

Are you still eeking out every last bit of bare-legged weather or have you succumbed to the tights yet? It look as though I will be getting my pins out for the rest the week as more gorgeous sunshine has been forecast! Whoopee!!

Just a couple of outfits from the past few days to catch up on! Found an opportunity to try the DIY velvet neck tie with my Primark shirt for a lovely catch up with some friends over cocktails at Harvey Nicks in Bristol on Friday night!

Zara jacket, current here

Primark blouse, past season

H&M pleather leggings, past season similar here 

Zara shoes, past season

Topshop shirt, current here

Zara trousers, past season similar here

Converse, here

Zara bag, past season

Until next time! :0)

A'nother Style Album Steal

It's official....I am totally obsessed by those gorgeous girls on Instagram *A Style Album*! This is my third style steal in as many weeks! They just keep putting great looks together out of pieces I can shop from my wardrobe! I love this hat....but it was purely for picture purposes only!

Uniqlo shirt, past season similar here

Zara jeans, past season

H by Hudson Mirar boots, similar here

Primark Fedora

Here's the lovely Emma Thatcher from whom I stole the inspiration from again! I could not conjure up this kind of smile for my picture.......but then I'm not in such a fabulous roof top location in NYC!

Here's whats available on the High Street to replicate the look.

Uniqlo Black Shirt

ASOS Felt Fedora Hat

H By Hudson Kiver Boots (if you fancy a silver glittery boot like Emma these are fab for 30 quid!)

Topshop Jamie Jeans

Mango Quilted Bag

Here's what I've been sporting these past few days! 

Mango jacket, current here

Zara t-shirt, current here

Gap original fit jeans, past season

Converse, here

Anya Hindmarch Gracie bag, similar here

Muubaa leather jacket, past season similar here

Brave Soul check shirt, past season similar here

Topshop Jamie jeans, similar here

Converse, here

Balenciaga bag, similar here

Topshop jacket, current here

H&B Breton top, past season

Topshop Jamie jeans, current here

Converse, here

Do you have a style crush who you regularly steal style from? I would to hear who it is!

A bit more monochrome magic....

.......for me! Try as I might it does look as though I will be staying with my monochrome colour palette this season. The upside of this is that I think the more minimalist wardrobe I'm trying to achieve is more doable by keeping things simple colour-wise. However....the downside of this is that I may bore you all to death with my black and white outfits with the odd splash of grey or khaki, or maybe a bit of navy!! This Mango jacket has been on my radar for a while (Fashion Mum of 40 has featured it on her blog a couple of times) as I knew it would pull a few outfits together with pieces I've already got. So I took the plunge last week and ordered it.

Mango Striped Textured Jacket

It was love at first try....I've been itching to wear it ever since! It's the perfect smart but not too smart jacket. For the school run I can wear it with jeans, a tee and Converse, but I could easily dress it up for a lunch date with boots and my beloved Topshop Victoriana blouse or thrown it on for a night out over a jumpsuit, heels and a slick of red lipstick! It's going to be so very versatile! 

Mango Jacket, current here

Alexander Wang T-Shirt, similar here

Zara Coated Chinos, past season

Converse, here

Anya Hindmarch Gracie Bag, similar here

This purchase fared so much better than my *trends* try on! First up is the maxi dress that I had such high hopes for and which I love in my picture, however in reality the sleeves are split from shoulder to sleeve :0( and the waist is in the wrong place for me, making it almost empire line which is most uncomfortable! I do love the look though so I am currently researching others!

DKNY Leather Jacket, ancient via T K Maxx

Mela Navy Floral Maxi Dress, current here

Converse, here

I also tracked down and tried on the M&S blouse which is gorgeous....just not for me! This is a size 12 (all they had left in store) so it must be fairly true to size, I'd have bought a 10 and not my usual 8 in M&S. The fabric is quite creasy, it's a self embossed pattern but I think having a frilly neck and cuffs was just too fussy for me personally.

Marks and Spencer Limited Edition Romantic Tie Neck Blouse, current here

Anyway, not to be deterred on the blouse front after reading this blog post by the lovely The Naughty Forty Diaries and a tip off from my fabulous friend Vik (as seen on her Instagram feed here) I was alerted to this Primark version of the Victoriana blouse which is a complete steal at a tenner! 

This got the old cogs turning as I bought a similar shirt in Primark last year to wear under sweaters and so I turfed it out of storage, took myself off to my nearest haberdashery department for supplies and voila! Trend covered for 95 pence, the cost of a bit of velvet ribbon. This called for a try on.....I thought the shirt looked quite cute styled like this! I'm also going to try this with tights and boots once the bare leg weather is over!

Primark Shirt, past season with ribbon bought from Bath Guild Hall market

Dorothy Perkins Pinafore, here in black which I feel I may also need in my life!

Topshop Finest Shoes, current here

A quick word on the M&S Limited Edition suedette waistcoat....it was nowhere to be seen! On reflection as with the M&S blouse, I am sure there will be more reasonable nods to that trend around. The M&S one was a whopping £49.50.....not quite the £39.00 that is was advertised in the brochure that I found it in!! If you should have seen any others please do let me know!

Just a couple of outfits from the past few days!

Uniqlo Breton Top, current here

Dorothy Perkins Pinafore, current in black here

Converse, here

H&M Sweater, current here

Zara Pleather Skirt, here

Converse, here

Topshop bag, past season via eBay

So, have you also found yourself sticking to a certain colour palette? Or have you found the holy grail of colours that will fit perfectly in to revive what's already in your wardrobe? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Trends to try out!

Now I've got a few A/W staples under my belt and some of those great discount codes are starting to appear it's got me thinking about a couple of the trends that I've spotted that I'm ready to indulge in! After seeing this shot in a Marks and Spencer brochure.....I think I will be needing a waistcoat in my life! Luckily I have just received some Friends and Family discount vouchers just waiting to be spent so I will be happily snapping this little Limited Edition number up!

Add caption

Marks & Spencer Limited Edition Faux Suede Waistcoat

Of course this gorgeous little neck tie blouse looks amazing underneath the waistcoat so I will be giving this a whirl as I can also bag this with the 20% off. I think this will be perfect under my Dorothy Perkins pinafore too!

Marks & Spencer Limited Edition Romantic Tie Neck Blouse

I've also been toying with how I could make a bit of Winter boho work for me and after seeing a bit more fabulous inspo from another one of those *A Style Album* girls I've decided to try a floral maxi dress and try to recreate the lovely Emma Thatcher's style here......

This is the one I've ordered!

Mela Navy Floral Maxi Dress

I'm thinking the waistcoat would look great over this dress too! I might try and work this look with the accessory of the moment....the skinny necktie! Another trend box ticked!

So these are the trends I'm going to be toying with....what's on your radar as far as this seasons high fashion purchases go?

What I've been donning during these past few early Autumnal days.

Topshop Shirt, current here

Dorothy Perkins Pinafore, current here in black

Converse, here

Topshop bag, past season via eBay

Topshop Dress, similar here

Kurt Geiger Kad Sandals, past season similar here

Mango Clutch Bag, past season

Zara T-shirt, current here

Uniqlo Sweatpants, similar here

Kurt Geiger Madison Espadrilles, current here

Topshop Jacket, past season, similar here

Gap Sweatshirt, similar here

Topshop Jamie Jeans, here

Converse Hi-tops, here

Marks and Spencer bag, similar here

Gap blazer, past season, similar here

Jigsaw T-shirt, past season

Gap Original Fit Jeans, past season

Converse, here

Topshop Jacket, current here

H&M T-shirt

Zara Jeans, past season

Converse, ancient, similar here

I shall be back soon with the results of my trends trying on session!

Last word......just wanted to say a hugethanks to www.peacocks.co.uk for featuring me on their blog, Style Stories all about school run mum looks, you can have a read here! It was a lovely surprise to come across this on a dreary Monday morning!

Shopping my wardrobe for a style steal!

There is no better feeling for me than coming across a bit of inspiration that you know you have all the basic components enabling you to recreate an outfit....even better if it's the type of outfit that will be perfect for this tricky transeasonal weather (chilly mornings but roasting by school pick up) but that will still look cool for the school run! I saw a version of this outfit on Instagram and had a lightbulb moment! I can do that! I've got a maxi dress that I could layer up with a logo sweater, perfect for early morning drop off....even more perfect when I can whip the sweater off and slip some sandals on with once the temps rise! Happy days! I did jazz mine up with a leopard print bag just to ring the changes.....here's my version first!

Zoe Karssen sweater, past season similar here

H&M maxi dress, past season similar here

Converse, here

Topshop bag, via ebay

Here's the picture that inspired me! The look came from A Style Album's feed, where I clocked this outfit on @patriciaconcierge!

Here's how you could replicate Patricia's look.....or mine if you so wish!

Bella Freud 1970 sweater

Mango quilted panel bag

White Converse 

H&M maxi dress

Adidas Originals sweatshirt

Mango leather bucket bag

Black Converse

It's a very short and sweet post from me today......I'm off to scour Instagram, looking for more style to steal! I will leave you with outfits from the past couple of days!

Zara top, ancient

Gap original fit jeans, ancient

Converse, here

Zara bag, past season

Mango top, similar here

Zara skirt, currrent here

Topshop Fig sandals, sold out

Be back soon to share some more outfit inspiration! :0)

The thing I love about Autumn is.......

apart from the golden hues, the leaves crunching beneath my feet and stoking the wood burner up again, oh no....the best bit about it is that my birthday falls at the beginning of October. This just so happens to coincide perfectly with my favourite seasons stock coming in! :0) In the vain hope that my dear husband reads this post (which he has been known to on occasion) I've compiled this little list just for you David! ;0) I usually pick and purchase my own birthday pressies but this year I would love a surprise! I would be more than happy with any (or all if you are feeling generous!) of the items below.  First up, well it had to be an investment purchase. I do love my handbags and as they go on for years I'm going to kick off with this classic beauty from Jigsaw. I'm a sucker for a crossbody bag, perfect for the school run but it's the tassels on this that sells this one to me!

Jigsaw Freida Whipstitch Crossbody Bag

Next up is a bit of luxury, I don't own any cashmere yet but I have it on good authority (Susie So So and Fashion Mum of 40) that Uniqlo's sweaters are very good as well as being reasonably priced.

Uniqlo Cashmere V-Neck sweater

I would go for the navy in the sweater to go with my Topshop dark rinse Jamie jeans and H by Hudson boots and I think this Topshop belted coat would be the perfect accompaniment.

Topshop Belted Wool Blend Coat

Now onto the frivilous wish list bits! I would love to whip this out of my handbag and it's probably the nearest I'd ever get to owning any Louboutin....but a girl can dream and having this lipstick would be the next best thing!

Christian Louboutin Rouge Sheer Lipstick

Birthdays are always a good time to stock up on your fragrance, for Winter mine is Jo Malone's Pommegrante Noir

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Perfume

Ending with a silly something for Daddy to get on behalf of my daughter! 

Mango Penguin Umbrella

Cute isn't it?! She would be thrilled to give me this and it would be the cause of much entertainment on those rainy Autumn days I'm sure!

There we have it.......bit of a random list but I don't feel as though I'm being too greedy and these are all things I would love and most importantly use! Do you plan in advance of your birthday, do a reccie and compile a list for your family? Are your family really good with surprises and get your gifts spot on or are you like me and you normally take charge of the purchasing of your own birthday presents? I'd love to know!

Quick round-up of what I've been wearing these past few days!

Topshop blouse, sold out similar here

Dorothy Perkins pinafore, sold out similar here

Converse, here

Zara jacket, past season

Whistles dress, past season

Kurt Geiger Kad Sandals, past season

Balenciaga bag, ancient similar here

Primark denim shirt, current

Zara skirt, current

Converse, here

Primark customised top, past season

ASOS Maddox crop jeans, current

Converse, here