Shopping, haircut and a fabulous fashionista!

What a bargain!

Eight new jackets - all stocked up for the season ahead.

Just a couple of pairs of shoes to keep me going...

And this is Denise, a fabulous fashionista I met whilst shopping.

Matthew takes a couple of snaps of his handiwork.

I recently had a little jaunt to the mainland which wouldn't be complete without a quick rush around the shops and a visit to the hairdresser. As you can see both of these were accomplished with great success and I even had the pleasure of meeting up with Denise when I was scouring the racks in TK Maxx. I complimented her on her great hat as we were standing side by side, and when she stepped back to speak to me I was bowled over by her fantastic outfit. Now this lady really does know how to put an outfit together! Denise went on to tell me that she wears the hat to protect her eyes as she has a severe degenerative condition affected by the light. When I complimented her on how wonderful she looked she told me she's 62 and says she wants to make an effort every day and how it's a shame that so many older women just can't be bothered. She wasn't sure about being photographed for my blog as she kept on repeating I'm 62, I'm 62. "So what?" I answered, "I'm 57 and clearly should be taking lessons from you." Denise dresses to please herself, and takes such pride in her clothes. She went on to tell me that the suit she was wearing belonged to her grandmother. What a wonderful lady. I hope that everyone she meets enjoys the effort she has taken just to pop out to her local shops. Well done Denise - what a pleasure it was to meet such a fabulous fashionista!

Pink brogues

Cooler days mean adding the extra layer of cardi/jacket/coat and this morning all I really needed was this lightweight trenchcoat. I love the pastel shades of yellow and pink which I've picked up in my accessories. The trench was a unexpected find in Primark. I sometimes have a wander through there when I pop in to buy work jeans for Steve. My initial reaction is often of panic as it's so busy and always stuffed full to the point that I don't know where to start. Anyway this coat was hanging on the end of a rack all on it's own so I didn't have to do much rummaging. I think it's a take on a more upmarket brand and not badly done either.

And the pink patent brogues are worth a mention too. I bought them recently from the online H&M sale and they popped up when I added something else to my basket. What a clever ploy to give you suggestions of what to wear with your chosen items! I wouldn't have gone looking for pink anything, but these just looked so cute. I thought I might take fright when I saw them in the flesh as I was worried that they might be bubblegum pink, but this is muted enough for me to wear. I've teamed them up with a couple of odd things which I've never been worn before. I class these as non outfit clothes, just-in-case casuals which are on standby when I don't know what to wear. I tried the oriental print top on and decided to mix the look up with the straight legged crops. So today I'm doing checks, stripes, flower print and accent colours of yellow and pink. It's pretty much a surprise get-up for me, a real mish mash, but I like it.

Trenchcoat: Primark. Trousers: charity shop. Top: charity shop. Brogues: H&M. Scarf: M&S. Bag: charity shop. Shell pendant: charity shop. Art deco flower braclet and ring: Dorothy Perkins. Multi colour ring: old.

Summer/autumn?

I'm sure we all get those days when you just can't find anything to wear. Well, today was one of these. The weather is just beginning to change from the warmth of a summer's morning to having that little chill in the air, and that was what threw me. Do I dress with an air of optimism, hoping that summer hasn't quite left us? Or is this the first day of me conceding that autumn is on it's way?

So after a bit of rooting about in my wardrobe I came up with this new combo. The textured top was in the H&M sale for only £4. Mustard is a good colour for my skin tone and I also bought it in a cream version too - can't really go wrong with that, can you? And the skirt was a charity shop find from a couple of years ago, but I've only worn once before. I'm never sure about midi length in skirts or dresses as I think you need to be quite tall to carry the look off. I will however, happily wear cropped trousers or culottes of the same length without these reservations. Where's the logic in that I wonder?

I suppose a midi skirt can also look a touch on the frumpy side and with this in mind I decided to throw in the wild card of the leopard print heels. These are just the thing to lift the outfit out of the doldrums and put a spring in my step. I like the mix of the geometric pattern with the pony skin leopard shoes as it's a bit unexpected, a little quirky and that appeals to me. The shell pendant was another charity shop find and it works to have a simple piece to sit against the texture of the top.

By the end of our photo shoot the cloud has blown away just in time for us to regroup and take a few final snaps with some blue sky in the background. It could almost pass for a summer's day, don't you think? Fingers crossed we might be heading for an Indian summer...

Skirt: charity shop. Top: H&M. Shoes: TK Maxx. Flower ring and bracelet: Dorothy Perkins. Brass cuff: Rose Cecil. Perspex ring: gift.

Snake in the grass

It was Polly's suggestion to title this post Snake in the grass, after these lovely snakeskin and patent shoes. There've not had many wears yet and maybe only the second viewing on the blog. I love a pointed toe, probably because I think I have wide feet and pointed shoes look so slimming. Oh no, not another previously unvoiced hang up! Wide feet - how can I cope with this terrible challenge? Yes, only joking of course. Even New Look has a range of wide fit shoes within their fashion range so I'm reassured that I must be falling comfortably into the norm after all.

The rosebud top has resided in my wardrobe for a couple of years, but it's only been out to play once before on a night out. I thought it was time for its debut to work and am delighted with the overall look today. I'm sure I wrote previoulsy about me not being a pink girl, but since then I'm acknowledging the odd shade of pink which has crept into my clothes collection. And not just clothes, I recently came across a pair of muted pink brogues when I was having an online browse and whoops, before you know it, they were in my shopping basket. To my surprise when they arrived I really loved them, although I'm loathe to describe them as anything as sweet as baby pink which they might have been described as. Needless to say I'll be styling them up soon to air on the blog so I will be keen to hear from you if you approve.

I've teamed the top with my go-to trousers from H&M. I love the straight cut and have them in lots of colours, both plain and patterned. They have belt loops and pockets and are a slim cut based on men's suit trousers which I think is a great contrast to a very feminine top. And best of all they sell them as "slacks" which for some reason really tickles me!

Top: TK Maxx. Trousers: H&M. Vest top: Primark. Shoes: TK Maxx. Rose gold bangle: Kate Spade New York. Silver ring: charity shop. Blue topaz ring: gift. Russian gold ring: gift.