Its All about the Dress! Transitional Dressing from the High Street

Choosing print dresses for end of Summer and Autumn styling!

Hi everyone! I've noticed that on Instagram that dresses seem to be the most popular go to for effortless style and comfort this Summer! Whether it's a puff sleeve, little black dress, grecian maxi or a flowing floral number, I do think dresses are definitely on many stylish IGers and Fashion bloggers radar this current season!

I really love dresses in Summer although I do tend to gravitate towards jeans and sweaters in Winter! However, I would like to carry on wearing dresses as we leave Summer and go into the next couple of seasons and I've found two dresses that I feel fit this remit very well indeed!

So breaking away from my current Summer habit of buying plain neutrals, I've bought print neutrals which I think are perfect transition choices when heading for the Autumn season! My first buy was in the Marks and Spencer's summer sale earlier this month and with a special offer on my Sparks card too, it was just £4. 

It's a really pretty paisley and floral taupe print dress with tiers and the near maxi length is ideal for wearing with sandals, trainers or boots and also a denim jacket or cardigan whatever the style occasion as the cooler weather approaches:

My second dress was purchased this week- Primark have their new current season instore and I literally picked this up as soon as I walked in! I haven't got a leopard print dress and again, the length and style of this dress make it a perfect transition piece from Summer to Autumn- it's also an ideal Day to Evening dress simply by adding jewellery, a pair of strappy sandals and a statement handbag and I'm good to go! 

Primark do some amazing leopard print clothes every season- I wore a year old leopard print denim skirt not so long ago which is featured on my Instagram feed. If you pick well, you cannot go wrong with Primark clothes and I do enjoy styling and wearing thoughtfully chosen items that I've had year after year!

Also leopard print is such a great print to style with- adding a splash of red or gold or silver carefully curated accessories with it ensures you'll really elevate your chosen leopard print piece with style!

This dress was £15 and I'm delighted to have 2 new High Street purchases that have stood me in at less than £10 each! 

Top Style Tip I do tend to size 1-2 sizes up in Primark- sizing up on certain high street brands ensures the said item looks a lot more stylish and expensive looking and drapes better too!

I do feel that Summer is slowly slipping away- well we've had an amazing one considering it started at the beginning of Lockdown! I doubt I'll be buying anymore items for Summer now unless it's an awesome thrifted one that I will have to have for next Summer!

Will you be wearing dresses this Autumn? Are they your go to for easy styling or will you be back in jeans? I'm a denim lover anyway so whether it's a jacket or skirt or jeans, denim will definitely feature a lot in my Autumn wardrobe- and hopefully dresses will too!!

Thrift Inspiration....Autumn Classic Must Haves, The Brogue

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend and what a mix of weather we are having at the moment! The sun is out in spurts and it's really quite nice and warm- those extra layers have been held at bay for the foreseeable future. So when layers are not necessarily needed the next logical style step to think of is footwear. After indulging in some skate shoes and wearing these in between trainers and sandals, I was really pleased to find some long lusted after pair of  shoes last week which are ideal for all seasons- the classic black brogue. Here are my picks of the best this season:

Saint Laurent patent leather, £530

TODS, £270

ASOS Millionaire leather brogues, £35

ASOS brogues, £25

Here are my version- they are vintage Loakes, bought as new and unworn in my local Salvation Army charity shop for just £15. Brogues are such a versatile and stylish alternative to a trainer or skate shoe and can so easily smarten up a jeans and jacket combination too:

To what I wore one day last week for a day out in London- my newly thrifted Monsoon blouse in one of my recent posts, some Reiss skinny jeans which were thrifted last year from my local Sue Ryder charity shop for just £1 in their sale and my Primark skate shoes:

I can't believe how comfortable skate shoes can be, if I'd realised I definitely would have bought some in Spring, but better late than never, huh!

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead and I do thank you for your continued reading, support and comments- they are so much appreciated and I look forward to visiting you as soon as I can! 

Marks & Spencer Autograph Leopard Print Boots and Some Issey Miyake

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, I had planned to stay in Saturday afternoon after publishing my last post which said I didn't have anything planned, however mid writing that said post my eldest son asked if I fancied an afternoon up West and as I hadn't seen the Christmas lights I thought why not? Well returning home that evening, my bank balance was noticeably lighter, what with getting his Christmas present- a Michael Kors watch no less which he is contributing more than half to and I also treated myself to a totally gorgeous, couldn't leave the shop without it, Dune Mongolian wool shawl/scarf which left my neck naked when I put it down and walked out of the shop without it, trying to be good. 

I very rarely buy anything brand new from shops, I would say my wardrobe is 95% thrifted from charity shops so it generally takes something special from the High Street for me to part with double figure funds. I've been after one of these type of shawl/scarves every winter that goes by and as soon as I'd left the store I couldn't stop thinking about it and high tailed it back and got the sales assistant to cut the tags off so I could wear it straight away!! So that's really an early Christmas present to myself which I am so pleased with and I'll be showing it off on a post later!!

Back to my outfit post which also contains a new buy-these Autograph ponyskin leopardprint wedge boots from Marks & Spencer which I got a couple of weeks ago when they were doing 20% off- I had spied them online and the same day I was in town they had one pair in my size left on the shelf, so yes, another High Street purchase but at least I didn't pay full price!! I am also wearing my beloved vintage thrift find wool waterfall cardi-jacket by Issey Miyake which was another Salvation Army charity shop find for only £2.50 a few years ago. I love this, it makes an appearance every winter season and I also wear it over my black leather biker jacket as an extra layer:

I'm wearing my light wash thrifted Levi's jeans which are a firm favourite for me this season and here is a close up of the boots- I'm generally not a lover of high heels, but these have an insolia built in sole and are really quite comfortable as they have been designed to redistribute your weight from the balls of your feet and I just love the pointy heel and of course the ponyskin leopardprint!!

My clothes and accessory budget for this month is well and truly smashed and I really need to try and not see anything else that I love- I have been extremely tempted by Michelle at MyFashionable40s who recently got a gorgeous woolly fleece from Uniqlo which is a perfect winter style piece to have, but I just sadly can't justify buying it at the moment, not with the Car Tax due at the end of the week too ;-( 

Still, I need to start busting out what's already in my wardrobe and on a future post I'll be showing you a really fabulous thrift find from the Summer, stay tuned!!

I am linking this post to the lovely Claire Justine for Creative Monday do be sure to check out her blog if you haven't already, she's been nominated by Candis magazine for her lifestyle blog which is really well deserved!! Wishing you all a really great week ahead, whatever you are up to!!

Outfit Post: Fluffy Tartan & Leopardprint with an Unintentional Pout!

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a lovely weekend, I didn't really get up to much, but I had a fabulous lie in on Saturday morning till past 11am- indulging in some Classic FM, two red velvet cupcakes and a steaming hot mug of coffee-courtesy of my boys as my breakfast in bed, well it's got to be done every now and then!!

I've been using some of my thrift budget to get leather boots re-heeled and coats dry cleaned in preparation for Winter.  It's great to buy new or thrifted items for this coming season but it's also important to look after what's already in the wardrobe and this helps to prolong the life of existing pieces and bring to life forgotten items that have languished at the bottom of the closet waiting to be repaired or professionally cleaned. I'm on at eldest son to put aside some of his wages to take a few jackets to the cleaners at the end of the month to save him wearing other jackets over and over again. 

Anyhow, my outfit for Saturdays chores in town was as follows:

My trusty black and white tweed coat that I thrifted a few months ago has proved invaluable and I'm wearing it so much lately. I'm also wearing my newly thrifted faded Levi's jeans and a couple of new items-a fluffy tartan Primark scarf which I totally love-it's so cosy and big and was just £5. I'm also wearing some Topshop leopardprint chelsea boots that I found on ebay last month for less than £20 and are like slippers, just so comfortable and add a fun pop of colour too! My grey sweater is a fairly new thrift find too and was from my local towns British Heart Foundation charity shop for just £3.99 earlier this month.

I had to add this photo, when I saw it it made me laugh as I was really not intending to do a 'pout pose' but as it's not too contrived I thought I'd show it, lol!!

I'm linking this post to the lovely Patti at NotDeadYetStyle for Visible Monday and the lovely Claire-Justine for her Creative Monday blog hop. Do try to check out both of these wonderful blogs, they are so inspiring and regularly share so many other creative and stylish bloggers from all around the world!!

Wishing you all a great week ahead- be warned, it's getting colder so wrap and layer up nice and toasty!!

Thrift Inspiration.....Stockpiling Leopard Print this Autumn

Hi everyone!! I hope you all had a great weekend, my one was very low key due to not feeling that well but I was very well looked after and fed with favourite and healthy foods and drinks, and sweets and magazines were regularly topped up too.

For this coming season I have been having a mild obsession with leopardprint-it hasn't come full force so far as I've not bought and kept anything new or thrifted as yet this Autumn. In my mind I have a semi wishlist of what I would like- I'm holding out for 'traditional' leopardprint, rather than the coloured variations and just key pieces like the ones I have from last year, that will roll forward every Autumn and continue to be items that I look forward to use and wear.

These items are what I already have from last season and are beginning to make appearances. This Autograph by Marks & Spencer leather tote bag is already a perennial favourite that I love using at this time of the year and goes with a variety of different coats and jackets:

The gloves were also purchased last year, another Marks & Spencer item that will just always be an Autumnal favourite and hopefully not get lost!! I love the mix of red leather and leopardprint, it provides a perfect pop of colour against khaki, brown, camel or black:

The perfect accessories that go great with all my jeans are skinny and normal size belts and the bigger one is a real staple in my wardrobe- it was a thrift find from my local Sue Ryder charity shop and is real leather by Topshop. The skinny one was a bargain buy from Primark last year:

I have already an idea of newly thrifted items I would love to try and get, so watch this space as the leopardprint obsession becomes reality over the next few months!!

What style has really grabbed your attention this Autumn-will you be searching out new pieces or do you have them already in your wardrobe?

I am linking this post to the lovely Claire Justine for Creative Mondays, wishing you all a lovely week ahead!

Afternoon at Somerset House for London Fashion Week in Chanel and Leopardprint

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! As you all may be aware, it's London Fashion Week until tomorrow and although I don't have any shows to go to, I have been living the 'experience' of it through my uber stylish and talented son who not only works full time in men's fashion pr, but is a freelance photographer. He has been fortunate to attend over nine different designer's shows to shoot backstage and some front of house-his highlights being Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith for Hunger Magazine.

Being such a proud mum, I will do a round up post of his wonderful pictures later this week when he has actually finished. Anyhow, it's been great to hear and see firsthand from him the backstage adventures and front of house antics from the view of a photographer and has made my experience of London fashion Week all the more enjoyable even though I did not participate!

As the sun was shining yesterday morning, I thought I would take him for a coffee at Somerset House before he set off to do his shows and we arrived early afternoon:

My intention was for us to have a coffee, him set off and for me to have a wander around Somerset House, take some photos and then do some people watching.  I just got to the people watching after making myself comfortable when it decided to rain-hard! Still, I managed to get some photos before the weather turned:

My lovely son, who was pretending he didn't want his photo taken, hehe!!

A view of the Embankment and the London Eye

Such a hub bub of passer by's, photographers and fashionistas in the business!!

My outfit of choice yesterday was my thrifted Chanel jacket, some new to me thrifted PRPS boyfriend jeans, black wool pashmina, a new Primark tee, thrifted Clarks black peep toe shoes and my leather leopardprint tote by Autograph at Marks & Spencer. I was so pleased I'd worn my scarf, I even had a hat in my bag which went on when the rain came down!! 

The shops at Somerset House had some gorgeous items-my favourite's were the Bella Freud and Markus Lupfer jumpers which I could easily have bought all of them if money were no object and also the wonderful bookshop, where I fell in love with nearly all the bookshelves and their contents. If you're after any designer or vintage book then this must be your first port of call:

As you can see, i was very windswept, but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon-especially when I had a sneaky McDonalds before getting the bus back to Liverpool Street for the train home!!

Have you been keeping up with London Fashion Week at all? I like seeing what the designers have to show, but I am not at the point where I watch live streams or apply for tickets for shows. I'm more than happy to take a backseat and view it through my son's camerea lens, hehe!!

Wishing you all a really good week ahead!!

Thrift Inspiration, Leopardprint Style

This post follows many others to show how leopardprint continues to thrive in this and the next season to come, with D&G offering one of my favourite designer choices at Matches Fashion:

D&G leopardprint dress, Matches Fashion, £1125

The new UK Elle also showcases this forever stylish trend, popular in a multitude of colourways.

So, on my latest thrifting trip, I was pleased to find this chiffon leopardprint blouse by Star, Julien McDonalds diffusion line at Debenhams. It was only £3.50 at the Sense charity shop and I knew I just had to have it:

Is leopardprint appealing to your wild side this coming season?

Leopardprint Love and Stud overload!

Well, this was my outfit for boot sale Sunday-it was freezing and foggy early morning, so I wrapped up accordingly and this is my vintage faux fur leopard print coat that I said I would show you all!! Its quite showy, so I like to wear all black (or jeans) to dress it down!

I did really well again today-I scored 2 stud belts-the skinny one was 50p and the wider was was £1 and they are both leather too!! My best bargain has to be these black leather and suede studded cowboys boots for-50p!!! I got to the mans stall and I only had 50p and a £50 note in my purse (for food shopping later!). He saw me trying on the boots and said I could have them for a £1, so I told him what I had left was 50p, so he said I could have them!!

So, quite a productive weekend for the boot sales-thats all for now folks!!