Friday 24 November 2017

CASUAL WARDROBE STAPLES



Denim jeans and a plain white t-shirt are always a good staple basic which you can dress up or down depending on the occasion.

In the first picture, Anne C is wearing a long green cardigan from Wallis, which is useful as a cardigan or a coat for running errands, and jumping in and out of the car.  It would be easy to dress up the jeans and T-shirt combination with a dressier jacket or slip on a traditional coat and style with a scarf to create a completely different look.

The jeans are from Florence & Fred at Tesco (as are most of her jeans since she is not very tall so doesn't need specialist shops as Anne H does because of her height.)  Anne even finds that M&S jeans are often too long, and taking them up leaves a bulky hem.


She has teamed with black mock-crock ankle boots bought from Faith a couple of years ago.


This shot of Anne H was taken in the late summer hence the very brave sandals, but the cardigan is a truly transitional buy and a lovely bright mauve to brighten up any day.  It was purchased while on holiday in Kent and is from a brand called Artisan Route which specialises in alpaca, pima cotton and silk garments.  This cardigan is made from 100% Peruvian baby alpaca wool and is their Olivia design in Iris - it also comes in various others colours including a lovely petrol blue, perfect for winter.  It is a simple classic cut and flattering length and joins a number of other long line cardigans that Anne has in her wardrobe as she loves to wear these on chiller days as an alternative to a heavier jacket.




This really is the ultimate basics outfit.  Wearing the same jeans and T-shirt as in the previous photos,  this time she has styled with a black cashmere cardigan - also from Tesco. However, since Anne loves a bit of bling she took off the original buttons and bought some diamante ones to sew in their place.  The cardigan is lovely and soft and also works well with black tailored trousers.   

Being completely honest, however, it is unlikely she would wear this particular outfit styled in this way outside of the house, since she likes either a dressier or quirky look for going out. 

We have our own set of rules which we tend to follow and Anne tends to wear skinnier jeans with longer tunic-style tops, and shorter cardigans or sweaters when she is wearing wider-legged tailored trousers.  She also tries to wear the same coloured boots as her trousers to try and make her legs look longer (although in truth she's never going to match up to the other Anne who has legs up to her armpits!!)



Anne H's wardrobe staples are V neck and roll neck sweaters that can be worn with jeans and boots. Worn here is a V neck in merino wool from COS that she has in khaki green as shown here and also in black.  She likes the length of COS knitwear as it is always flattering when it goes over the hip.   She is wearing with jeans from 7 for All Mankind and boots from Uterque - both from a previous season but Uterque have some amazing boots online this year so well worth a look see - link here .


She is being very ably assisted by Daphne the cat in this shot, who is usually way too shy to be featured.




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Friday 17 November 2017

AUTUMN/WINTER COATS & JACKETS



We are looking at lightweight coats and jackets this week before the big chill sets in as our weather forecasters tell us that the winter in the UK is going to be one of the coldest for many years.


Anne C is giving her trusty M&S Chanel-style jacket another outing before the weather gets too cold.  This lovely jacket was a bargain buy in the sales earlier this year, and works well with either tailored black trousers or jeans and a T-shirt. They don't have anything similar to this style this season, though they do have some tweed-style jackets here.


Her straight-leg denims are a budget buy from Florence & Fred at Tesco, while the boots are black patent mock crock from Faith, and are a couple of years old.



Anne H has for once admitted to a bit of an impulse buy while recently in John Lewis, but then she thinks they are often her most successful buys.  It was a particularly cold day and she was drawn to looking at the various quilted style coats in stock.  She loves these for cold winter days but doesn't like them to be too bulky as it is easy to look like a Michelin Man if you are anything over a size 10.  



This one, however, caught her eye as it is in a thinner material but is still made to keep you warm in temperatures up to -13C, which will suit her fine as she is not planning to venture out if colder than that!.  It is from Ralph Lauren and comes with 90% down and 10% feather filling hence its lighter weight.  There is a hood tucked into the funnel neck and she particularly liked the two buckled waist tabs that allow for a flattering cinching in at the waist. It is lovely and warm and she has had loads of compliments since she started wearing it so she's really pleased with this impulse buy, which was not cheap at £270 but will last year after year.  She has teamed with some Ted Baker jeans and velvet boots from TopShop both of which are from last winter. 



Anne C's  camel coloured coatigan is a recent purchase from Kaleidoscope, and features a lovely waterfall front heavily trimmed with black lace.  She has teamed it with her trusty black lace top from Kaleidoscope (which she wears a lot!) and black crepe tailored trousers from Florence & Fred at Tesco (they originally had bizarre elasticated bottoms which she took out, but bought them because she liked the fabric.  Too often tailored trousers are made from limp fabric which loses shape and doesn't hang well, but these were perfect after a little alteration.)



One of the many advantages of having a daughter who is a blogger (shot from the street) is that you can raid her wardrobe when she is starting to move things out of it.  Generally Anne can't fit into her daughter's clothes as she is only a size 8/10 but she likes bigger sizes in chunky knits and coats so Anne keeps a careful eye out and was really pleased to see she was about to sell this lovely leather coat from COS.  



Obviously it had Anne's name all over it - classic styling, simple lines, great colour .... one could go on and on.  So it never made it to her Depop shopping site (link here in case anyone looking for some bargains)   It is the softest leather and is something they have not had in store for a number of years, (note to COS  - something you should re-consider as everyone loves it, young and old). 



She is wearing with some Uterque boots also handed down from her daughter and some 7 for All Mankind jeans and a merino wool polo neck from COS, both of which did come from her own wardrobe.  The other Anne better not go and look at the Uterque link as there are some very funky boots in this season's collection with lots of colour and jewels! (Note from the other Anne - thanks for the tip-off!) 



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Friday 10 November 2017

WINTER COATS



Although it is officially autumn, we've had such a lot of storms coming in across the Atlantic in the last couple of months that it often feels very wintry. Time to bring out the heavy brigade - and by that I mean winter coats.  No more coatigans and lightweight jackets, we're now in full cosy mode!


First up is Anne C who is actually wearing a lighter weight bright red collarless coat from Florence & Fred at Tesco, but she got it in a slightly bigger size so she can wear a proper woolly jumper underneath. The statement sleeves are slightly bell-shaped, so ok for this time of year but not when it is snowing and you need straight sleeves so the wind doesn't blow up them!
 

She has accessorised with an inexpensive leopard-print scarf from Dunnes stores.


Anne has teamed the coat with black Joseph Ribkoff jeans bought on a cruise a couple of years ago, which are not denim, though very stretchy so have fortunately kept their colour.The studded, heeled boots are from Office, so no longer available, but MissGuided has some similar ones in their sale here. Being truthful, the boots are fine for walking from car to bar, but very uncomfortable for shopping in.



Anne H acquired her fabulous alpaca mix coat from her blogger daughter's wardrobe.  Lizzy writes  Shot from the Street and Anne runs her Depop shop for her.  This was headed for the shop but somehow got sidetracked into Anne's wardrobe (what a surprise!) but we don't blame her!


The beautiful caramel coat is from Jaeger and is 70% Alpaca and 30% wool, so a lovely soft touch and cosy to wear.  The unusual half belt design is a real design feature and more flattering than a full belt which Anne finds can make her feel bundled up, leaving her looking like a sack of potatoes.  



It was originally an eyewatering £499 but then marked down to £250.  It currently appears as coming soon on the website, so might be one that they will re-stock.  Even at the full price, we think it is a worthwhile investment as the design is a classic that will never date and the material and finish is top quality, so she's hoping Lizzy doesn't see this and ask for it back.



She has teamed with beige trousers from Zara that she has had for an age and a striped blouse from Massimo Dutti that will feature in detail in a post soon.  Her shoes are a budget buy at only £19.50 from M&S and really go well with the trousers. 


The pretty lilac wool coat is from Mango - a shop we never normally go into, but ever on the look-out for colour, Anne spotted this as she cut through a shopping arcade on her way somewhere else! As it's new, it is still on their website, and also comes in pale blue. They actually had some very nice coats this season, but truly, she doesn't need any more!

It is such a very pretty colour and will take her right through to Spring next year.  The unusual sleeve feature includes a pearl pin on each arm.


She has matched it with an almost same colour scarf which she already had, dark indigo jeans from Tesco, and navy suede boots from Primark.





We both have quite different styles and tastes in clothes, but we both agree that you can mix and match quality items with cheaper purchases and still look good.  Not all fashion is made to last, but I think comfort is very much underrated in the fashion world.  Fashion comes and goes but style stays with you, particularly if you stick with a classic design.
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Friday 3 November 2017

ANNE C AUTUMN HAUL


Last week we saw Anne H's autumn haul of new clothes buys, so this week, we turn our attention to Anne C - me! My first buy was late Summer, with this lightweight floral sweater from Monsoon sales.  In lightweight linen, it is also fairly unusual for me to buy heavily patterned clothes, being short, they tend to swamp me. This one is in off white with a blue floral print, but they now have one in white with a black print, which is fairly similar here.



I am wearing the sweater with some new pale grey skinny jeans from George at Asda.  I am a firm believer in budget buys, since I am short (5'2") so don't have to buy expensive brands because I need the leg length, unlike the other Anne.  I did once buy some Not Your Daughters Jeans which were very good, but much more expensive and which sadly lasted no longer than bargain ones. I tend to go for just colour and fit rather than brands.



I teamed the same jeans with this pretty long-line asymmetrical top also in pale grey.  Made from stretchy cotton and cotton lawn, the A-line suits my pear-shaped body and was bought in a fabulous local boutique in Leeds called New Collection, which I have only just discovered, but which some of my friends have been raving about.  Their lovely casual collection of tops, dresses, jeans, bags, scarves and even shoes means I may have to go back again......


The boots were from Marks & Spencer in the sales last year (no longer available, but there are plenty of alternatives available, including these) and are a a perfect match to the pale grey jeans.

I like to wear one colour from head to toe where possible, because cutting myself in half with different colours can make me look shorter and dumpier than I already am.  Obviously that's not always possible, but with trousers I do try to match the colour of my footwear to the jeans or trousers so that it makes my legs look a little longer.

I don't wear much jewellery in winter since it will get covered up with cardigans, coats and scarves, so I'm just wearing a simple Emporio Armani watch and Pierre Lang earrings, neither of which are still available.  The latter is an Austrian company which used to have agents running jewellery parties, but which sadly seems to have disappeared from the UK though still available online here. I have quite a bit of this range from years ago as I fell completely in love with it, so I'm sad that it's not readily available now.






The photos were taken in Anne H's beautiful garden against a lovely backdrop of colourful Autumn leaves, and while she still has flowering pots, unfortunately mine died off during my family three-week holiday when there was no-one to water them!

This open weave sweater actually looks more blue than grey in this photo, so maybe next time I will style with blue denim jeans instead of grey.  This came from a lovely stallholder whom I see every year at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate, where I work for a few days each year.  The stallholder actually has a shop in Romford, Essex, though doesn't have a website because he doesn't keep stock in loads of different sizes.  However, I bought this last winter at a very reasonable cost of around £30, and then subsequently saw the same item while on holiday in Santorini this year, but in cream.  As I like it so much, I wanted to buy it until I saw the price tag - it was 90 Euros!  Unfortunately I think some of the Greek shops are trying to recover some of their own soaring costs through tourism.  I left it there!



I am wearing it with the same grey jeans and boots as in the previous photos.





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