Travel tales

The reality of this post is that I'm setting this up in advance in the hope that the technology works and it does in fact publish while I head off on the next stage of our holiday. On Wednesday morning, if everything works out, we ought to be sitting on the train travelling from Cornwall to London and my plan is that this is the outfit I'll be wearing. So here goes -

Travelling clothes have to be a mix of practical and stylish in my book. The jacket is practical as it doesn't crease even when I bunch it up to use as a pillow. And, yes you guessed it, the stylish element has to be these leather Chelsea boots with a bit of glittery sparkle to them.

I'm in boot heaven with these. I love Chelsea boots and I adore a bit of bling so this is the perfect marriage of the two.

These are my favourite jeans of the moment. I've never bought Gap jeans before, but the fit is really comfy and seems to be my shape exactly - I may have to look out for another pair.

As I said we're leaving Cornwall today after spending a couple of days with Sasha. I've got a hair appointment lined up as well as a facial so I hope to be looking a bit more groomed by the time we hit the bright lights of London. These posts may not be quite up to scratch as I'm feeling the pressure as we rise to a crescendo of printing off tickets, insurance papers etc as well as the packing of that ever elusive capsule wardrobe. So excuse me if I'm not quite delivering my best.

I've had this yellow tartan jacket for quite a few years now and it comes out every winter. I particularly like the cut which gives it a very feminine feel. The boots are new and came in the deluge of boots and shoes which were the result of my "influenza shoppingitis" episode and were lucky to have made the cut. Once I was well, I could see the error of my ways and was quite brutal with the returns. Only those with true merit were retained and these most definitely made the grade.  I even used these when I was trying some frocks for the cruise and despite them not being the exact look I was hoping for they were OK. Well see what you think -

This is a kind of half way house in the dressing up scale to my mind. It's not what I will want to be wearing on board our cruise but I could be taken out for a posh meal in London, say. I'm meeting up with my dear friend Bo on Friday to see the Monet exhibition and wonder if I might persuade her to stay on for a meal that evening. Well, I'm ready for all eventualities with this I think.

Jacket: Next (old). Jeans: Gap (charity shop). Cardigan: H&M (old). Blouse: eBay. Boots: River Island (sold out but these are similar). Dress: H&M.  Handbag: charity shop. Rings: charity shop.

The final countdown

Today is going to be bedlam in our house, therefore I've put this post together sooner rather than later as I think my bedroom may end up looking like the remnants of a jumble sale. At the end of the post I've finally got a few frocks to show you after all those promises, but I must admit that some would have benefited from an iron. 

Maybe the expression on my face says - "Not long 'til I'm being whisked off on my hols!"

Does this happen to you? The minute you've made the appointment to have your hair cut it suddenly looks the best it's been in ages.

Let's talk about the coat first, shall we? I bought this from a charity shop in September and whisked it straight off to the dry cleaners for specialist cleaning. It took about a month to be posted back to me and ever since then I've been trying to show it off to it's best. It's got a lovely veined effect which shows up better in a close up later on, and has a distressed look that has probably just come about through the passage of time. I changed the belt as the other was too big. 

And let's not forget the boots. New, and having their debut with these wonderful tights which my sister Sandra sent me. I fancy they're called Argyle check rather than tartan. I know these boots will obviously look amazing with jeans, but wanted to try something a little bit different initially.

The beautiful woollen shorts came from ASOS via a charity shop in Penzance a couple of years ago. I like the feature of the side zips which conceal the pockets - very nifty.

I'm a regular in most of the charity shops in Penzance, so it was a lovely surprise to find that one of them had upgraded an area of the shop into a vintage section. Not unusual elsewhere, but pretty cutting edge for us out on this far peninsula of Cornwall. In one corner an old fashioned wardrobe was decked out in all sort of finery and hanging inside I came across this gorgeous suede coat which hails from Cypress. I slipped it gently off its hanger and slid it over my shoulders. I was soon the happy owner of this exquisite piece. A bit of neglect was apparent, but nothing that couldn't be sorted by some specialist cleaning. The coat is in the running as the holiday coat, but I have others to consider.

So, on to the frock situation. These are a few that might make the final cut, but at the moment it's as clear as mud.

Two beautiful beaded numbers. The peach chiffon one is new, but marred slightly by the fact that someone said it was a bit Bollywood, hmmmm. Can I let that put me off?

I have fellow fashion blogger Suzanne Carillo to thank for leading me to discover this stunning skirt by Anthropologie. It was in the sale, (sold out now)  which did reduce the sting somewhat.

This is the green beaded dress I wore to my 40th birthday bash - truly vintage now methinks.

I wore this gold maxi dress on our last cruise. Does that mean it ought to stay at home this time?

And this maxi dress hasn't had an outing since I bought in on eBay last summer. I can imagine Melanie from Bag and a Beret wearing this to an exotic soiree, with elbow length gloves, whilst brandishing a cigarette in a very long cigarette holder. 

The gold knee length dress is lovely with the gold beaded crochet top, but again has already been cruising. And the dark green 50's frock has never been worn, but looks amazing with my black net underskirt underneath. To be honest, it seems like I've got a whole lot of trying on to do to help with the decision making. Wish me luck!

I'm scheduling my posts to continue to go live on Wednesdays and Sundays for the duration of my holiday and so dear readers it would be great to know you'll still pop by to see some new outfits. Some are from last summer which I thought might be a bit cheering during the last weeks of the winter. I hope to also post some new shots from our holiday on Instagram which is under the same name as my blog - it would be great to hear from you there too. I'll be checking my comments on both and provided I have network will respond, so do keep in touch x

Coat: charity shop. Boots: Office shoes (sold out but these are similar) Shorts: charity shop. Top: eBay. Tights: gift. Belt: Zara. Bag: charity shop. Rings: charity shop.

All of the dresses shown are old, vintage or from eBay. The striped skirt is now sold out.

My birthday jacket

Yes, this was me on my birthday, sporting the new jacket that my daughter chose and my husband financed, which is pretty much the perfect arrangement I'd say. Sasha has a great eye and knows my style, as you can see. I love the unique nature of the jacket - the colours, the patchwork and the tiny studs, all of which say class act to me. Arriving just on the cusp of our departure for our holidays, this soft suede bomber jacket will be ideal for warmer weather when I need to step out in style in Rome, Malta and Barcelona. Thank you Sasha for finding a such a perfect gift.

A week ago one of my favourite fashion bloggers, Suzanne Carillo posted an article which asked her readers to chose our style statement for 2016 (see here). Suzanne then went on to state her own, as "Artistic, unique, relevant, fun and strong". If you have time, please take a moment to visit her blog and you will soon understand how well she has summarised herself. I admire Suzanne's bold sense of dressing that isn't about following trends. As a savvy shopper she finds bargains in the sales, loves to charity shop and has some great tips on dressing as seen here. Her strong sense of self is what I admire so much and is something I recognise in myself too. 

I considered her question as to my own style statement and came up with "I aspire to inspire". Apologies if this comes across as very grand and self inflated, it's not meant to at all. The older I get, the more I feel I know myself and what suits my body shape. I've found that if I wear the right combination of colours and shapes it greatly increases my confidence. This often results in women of my age talking to me about my clothes and where I bought them, and can also create the opportunity for them to talk about why they wear what they do or why they think they couldn't wear what I do.

As we mature we all need to cultivate the older version of ourselves and maintain the individuality that we had in our younger days. It's so easy to let fashion, trends or an interest in clothes pass us by as we age, believing that it's no longer important. I disagree, hence my motto of "Let's bin the beige and have fun with colour". I like to think that my boldness may inspire one or two to step out of their comfort zone. Whether it's just to try out a new shade of lipstick, or some coloured tights or even revisit a trend they loved when they were younger. I'd like to think my blog may liberate, inspire, inject some fun or at the very least give food for thought. "Could I wear something like that?" you may ask. Well you won't know unless you try. A trial within the privacy of your bedroom is the best way to see how you feel, see if you have the right shoes, belt, jewellery to complete the look. Taking time to do this is essential. I hate the rush of changing rooms, where you feel obliged to scurry in and out so quickly, too quickly to weigh up the look at all. Take an hour at home, in the daytime, when you have good light to see the true colours and see what you can find in your wardrobe to match or compliment the piece in question. Go on, you may surprise yourself!

Before I go, I feel I must mention these boots which have lain dormant in my wardrobe for over 20 years now. I bought them in a swish boutique on Gandi Street in Exeter and they pretty much drained all of my reserves in one fell swoop. It was love at first sight. The price tag became insignificant. I knew I had to have them. I'm sure this is common to other shopaholics - the fight is over before it has begun. Give in. You know you're gonna have to buy 'em, so just get on with it. Hot sweats, racing heart, panic, all of the ensuing signals to try to stop this train wreck will amount to nothing. And so it was. And here they still are, as sensational as ever. They are by DKNY and everything about them is fantastic. From the exquisite scrolling pattern, to the staggering heel shape and the opulent purple leather lining, they are outrageously beautiful. Whimper, pine and drool over them from a distance as they won't be up for sale on my (forthcoming) eBay page anytime soon.

Jacket: KattyKitt Vintage. Dress: charity shop. Polo neck: charity shop. Boots: DKNY. Tights: Dorothy Perkins. Blue rings: charity shop.

Linking with
Cherie at Style Nudge 
Allison at Sydney Fashion Hunter 

What d'ya think?

Right, here's the rub - in less than three weeks time I'll be on board our cruise ship and the panic is just setting in. We leave home on the 1st Feb and apart from some crazy shoe shopping, I haven't done anything constructive to bring my capsule wardrobe together yet. Well that's not exactly true. I've found the most fabulous dress to wear to the Captain's party - do you want a sneak preview? Well scoot on down to the bottom of the page and I'll show you...

OK how many of you did that? The only reason I decided to show you was in case I suddenly changed my mind and it didn't get an airing til next NYE. What d'ya think? I bought this from eBay for £16.99! It's a one-off designer piece, lined, boned and beautifully made. Stunning isn't it?

But back to the main event. I thought I'd try out some maybes to see what they look like and decide if they ought to be packed for the cruise. The fake fur might be really useful if the weather is still cool. February is a funny month for weather in Europe. Steve and I went to Venice in February one year and instead of going to what everyone said would be warm or at least mild weather, we encountered the coldest temperatures that they'd had in Venice for 100 years! It was minus 10 degrees (cold enough for the Grand Canal to start freezing over) and we had to make a last minute dash to buy full sets of thermals before we left the UK. So with that in mind, the fur seems like a contender, and also I kinda like the whole romantic notion of drinks on our balcony with a fur draped around me.

The snazzy trousers and rose gold shoes might be useful too. Well I said that about the paisley trousers with the gold thread though, didn't I? You see this is my problem; I'm hedging my bets, lining up might be usefuls, but what I really ought to be doing is some straight forward trying on of frocks. Seven nights of pre-dinner drinks, dinner, cabaret and maybe a little dancing all adds up to seven frocks befitting of the occasion. What on earth am I doing? I know I won't be doing dressing down in the evenings, and trousers - with no matter how much glitter and sparkle - won't really be what I want to wear when the moment comes. But wait a minute - we are forgetting something. Before we sail off, Steve and I have a week spent between Cornwall and London where we will be going out to dinner with friends and on our own, so these dressing down trousery affairs may be just right! What a relief, cos I really like them and so wanted to justify packing them. So that's sorted. All I have to do now is spend all day on Saturday trying on dresses. And with a bit of luck you may get another sneak preview of one on Sunday...

Coat: Phase Eight. Trousers: H&M. Polo neck: charity shop. Shoes: New Look. Socks: Primark. Necklace: Dorothy Perkins. Rings: charity shop. Handbag: boutique in Gran Canaria. Sunglasses: Quay Autralia.

Linking with
Style Nudge 
Elegantly Dressed and Stylish