Ping-Pong Post no1

If you're a regular reader you may well have seen the birth of this idea way back in a December post. That's when a couple of my fellow bloggers were hugely excited by a certain offering of mine in the shape of an orange tartan jacket by Benetton as seen here. Well, over the past few months, in between Christmas, some bouts of illness and my annual holiday, we've all been working away on this idea. Today brings you the first Ping Pong Post (small fanfare please). I have a scenario in my mind where Samantha of Fake Fabulous and Ann of Kremb de la Kremb are magically transported through space and time to my home for a girlie evening where we share some wine, enjoy a few giggles and have a root around in my closet to do a bit of trying on. The fact of the matter is that it's my jacket that has done the travelling; ping-ponged from the Isles of Scilly to Hong Kong and on to Scotland before it ping-ponged home to me. So here we are sharing how we've styled up this plaid beauty in our own particular way... 

This Benetton jacket was a dream find a couple of years ago. Here's Ann with her take on it...

Ann is mixing things up big-time against this groovy backdrop. There's a bit of a cowboy look going on with these leather gaucho's, boots and hat making me want to shout "yee-ha!" but then the punch of that leopard print bag and sexy cat's eye sunnies just throws the whole thing into another styling realm. Ann lives in Hong Kong and has travelled widely, as well as having lived in many countries throughout her working life. She juggles career and family commitments with her thriving blog Kremb de la Kremb which is a fabulous mix of fashion trends, beauty tips, recipes and her creative diy projects as seen here. She has recently upped her fashion credentials with a diploma from the London College of Style. What attracted me to Ann's blog was the warmth and honesty of her writing which I find endearing. Her bubbling enthusiasm makes her a very popular blogger as does the way she puts her clothes together. 

Here are Ann's outfit details:

tartan coat--Anna's! 

black hat and sunnies--Forever 21

black turtleneck--Uniqlo

black (p)leather culottes--Zara

cowboy boots--Old West via Zappos

leopard crossover--Jaspal, a Thai (online too) boutique kind of like Zara

earrings--random HK market stall

And here's Samantha of Fake Fabulous with her spin on the same jacket. The pop of citrus yellow of her sweater is that dash of the unusual which is Samantha's signature style. Her other strength is her extensive shoe collection! When I think of Samantha, I think friendly, fresh and funky. She always adds a twist to her dressing - this zany handbag being a case in point. Samantha has already been an inspiration to lots of women with her informative "how-to" posts as seen here. Not one to be told she can't wear something, Samantha champions women to break the rules and confines of the fashion world. She and I both started our blogs about the same time (some nine months ago) and we found common ground in our passion for bold colour play as well as pattern mixing. Our other bond is my homeland, Scotland, where Samantha now lives while I've crossed the border to England where she hails from. Our love of tartan, kilts and all good things Scottish cements our friendship. 

And here's her details -

Coat: Anna’s!!

Jeans: M&S

Shoes: XTI

Jumper: Boden (teens)

Shirt: Boden (Adults this time)

Bag: M&S

We, none of us, remembered to show the back view of the jacket which is just a interesting as the front, so I've pulled this photo up from my initial post - see it here. It's been terrific fun to bring this feature together with more than a little help from my friends (sing along if you remember this Beatles favourite). We have some great plans for the next batch of Ping-Pong Posts, as well as some slight variations on the theme. Do keep an eye out for details of the next PPP which will be coming up in April/May.

My outfit details -

Jacket: Benetton. Jeans: Dorothy Perkins. Boots: Office. Blouse: charity shop. Cardigan: H&M. Necklace: old. Rings: charity shop.

I'll be linking with these lovely hosts this week

Sheela of Sheela writes 

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style 
Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Is it a tunic, is it a dress?

Sasha has done me proud with this Mother's Day gift. I wasn't sure if it was a tunic or a dress until she told me she thought it would look great with tights and brogues. And how right she was. Yes, I know it's a tad on the short side, but I did wear a long cardigan over it at work today to preserve my modesty. It was only when I looked through all of my photos that I decided it really shone without the cardi. Thanks Sash!

I love this print, it's rich and opulent, and the perfect colourway for me too.

These brogues don't come out often so it's great to have a new outfit that needs them.

This was the more demure version for work.

I've got a bit of exciting news regarding my forthcoming post on Sunday. A little seedling of an idea I had a few months ago will (hopefully) come to fruition with the help of two of my blogging friends. I don't really want to say too much a) in case the whole thing bombs and I have egg on my face and b) it's a bit of a novel idea and would like it to be a lovely surprise for you on the day. One of the bloggers is on the other side of the world and we're currently trying to synchronise our watches in a very James Bond kind of way so that our posts all go live at the same time. Please bear with me on the day if you don't see the post until later than usual. It may be the evening until we can all link up, so please do come back to check from time to time. If it works I think it'll be a neat little post. Watch this space.

Tunic: H&M. Cardigan: Fenn Wright Manson. Tights: Dorothy Perkins. Shoes: Boden. Sunglasses: Quay Australia. Watch: Michael Kors. Pendant: Noel. Yellow ring: Martin James. Bronze ring: old.

Girls just wanna have fun!

Cindi Lauper had the right idea. Girls do just wanna have fun. Sometimes it feels good to shake off the confines of the roles of mother, wife, boss, employee etc and roll back the years to when you thought of nothing but having fun. I took a break this afternoon and found a moment to have a bit of a play in the local playground. Some of the toys seemed a bit on the small side, but I did enjoy larking about in the sun with only myself to entertain.

An empty playground and lots of tiny toys willing me on to channel my inner child.

I know this is designed for four, but if I could just catch my balance...

A quick whizz around the pole...

It's not so easy to steer like this.

And this is when the school teacher was passing by with the children - just actin' natural.

Your chariot awaits madam, was what I thought, but I nearly got wedged in the teeny, tiny seat!

One final whizz around the pole before I go.

My new Michael Kors jacket is having it's first outing. 

Sunshine and blue sky. Why it's enough to make you believe that spring has sprung.

The MK jacket was a find in the Truro branch of TK Maxx last month. It's so heavy thanks to all of these studs that I had to post it home in case it pushed my luggage allowance over the limit. The leather look skirt was from the same shopping session, but I didn't really buy them as an outfit at the time. I thought they would be too rock an' roll to be worn at the same time, but when I pulled out this baby pink cashmere sweater the whole thing came together like a dream. Seemingly the look I stumbled across by chance is called Soft Rock as I've just seen in the SS16 edition of Vogue. As I've said before, I'm not a huge follower of trends, but I do like to treat myself to a women's magazine from time to time to see what's afoot fashion wise. I can see I might have more fun playing about with this new style clash. Leather jeans with a bit of lace or a ruffled shirt perhaps...

Jacket: Michael Kors (TK Maxx). Skirt: Green Envelope Los Angeles (TK Maxx). Sweater: M&S (charity shop). Brogues: H&M. Tights: Primark. Bag: Primark. Sunglasses: Quay Australia. Necklace: Noel. Watch: Michael Kors. Bangle: Kate Spade New York. Rings: charity shop.

Linking with
Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb
Patti of Not Dead Yet Style
Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish 

Did I mention I went shopping?

Well, what self-respecting fashionista could miss the chance of shopping in London? Not me, that's for sure! My favourite haunt is Kensington High Street, in particular TK Maxx. Steve had taken himself off for a walk along the Embankment while I did some last minute rushing around to gather up some bargains. And this beauty of a jacket has to be the find of the day, if not the entire holiday!

The brand is DSQUARED2 (sorry if this logo isn't quite right) and as you'll see from the price tag below it was a mighty bargain. Apologies for being so crass as to mention these figures, but a saving like this surely has to be flagged up. My regular readers may be a bit surprised at my extravagence here, but my frugal shopping in charity shops 95% of the time leaves me free to splash out from time to time on something really special, and I only wish you could see how very special this little jacket is.

I have a friend who knows one of the buyers for TK Maxx and they had a very interesting chat about brands, designers and these kind of deals. The top and bottom is this - when you buy designer brands from an outlet village the products are made especially for these outlets and are consequently made to a lesser standard and quality ie cheaper fabrics, linings, even zips or soles on shoes. The pieces which turn up in TK are direct from the designer and are end of line, or odd sizes which the main retailer couldn't house and therefore were made available to the TK Maxx buyers. My husband used to try to tell me that the price tag was just inflated to make it look like a bargain, but this in fact is not the case.

Early morning photo shoot before I head off to work.

The camera is propped on my garden wall while I dodge across the road to do a bit of posing. Quite funny as the morning rush hour (well eight bikes and two buggies) was in full flow.

Trying to look nonchalant whilst a truck goes past.

OK, and smile!

The leather is butter soft, the fit is perfect - it would have been a sin not to buy this.

Yet another of Sasha's handbags. Although I did buy this one for her. Does that make it any better?

Featuring my new Italian shoes here too.

I obviously love this jacket, but will have to make sure I don't gain another pound as it won't fit if I do. It's not a bad idea for me to have a snug jacket on board as I've been a bit lax with things since we got back from our holidays. Sea swimming has been a bit lacking due to one thing or another, but hopefully once this weekend is over, my routine early morning swim can be reinstated. Regular exercise is a bit like that don't you think? Once you've dropped out off the routine, you can find a dozen reasons as to why you can't get back into the groove. In my defence I can say that health issues have gotten in the way rather than outright laziness. Normal service will be resumed soon I promise! Oh, and on that final point I must mention the latest news from the Government here in the UK trying to ban the use of exclamation marks. Old fashioned grammar is increasingly becoming outmoded with the latest victim being my favourite. How will I add a bit of indignation, surprise, delight, anger, joy or plain sock-it-to-you punch without my exclamation marks?!!! Oh, I know. By just carrying on the same as usual.

Jacket: Dsquared2. Trousers: TK Maxx. Polo neck: eBay. Shoes: Italy. Handbag: Accessorize. Watch: Michael Kors. Bangle: Kate Spade New York. Perspex ring: gift. Silver ring: charity shop.

Linking with 

Catherine at Not Dressed As Lamb 
Jess at My Refined Style