Sunday 7 – Getting Autumn Ready

Hello!

How’s your week been?

I’ve spent most of it up to my eye balls in paint: egg-shell and the regular wall stuff… what ever it’s called?!

Oh and wall-papering.

And as such, I am very tired.

Right through to the marrow of my porous, brittle, little bones.

But there’s always time for a quick fashion scroll of an evening, not matter how bloody-shot and blurry eyes you are, right?

{Emulsion! Just remembered what the regular wall paint is called…}

Here are some Autumn bits which caught my eye this week…

7. Mango – Knitted Pattern Sweater (£39.99)

There’s an awful lot floating my boat in Mango at the mo.

Including this rather muted, understated knit (loving the styling here!)

I do think that the £39 price tag is a little steep given the artificial fibre nature of the knit… but, perhaps that just me.

The one thing that let’s Mango down for me, time and time again, is that the smallest size available in a lot of their clothing is a size S… and it’s not a stingy size small, it’s usually akin to a size 10.

However, in the case of this knit, you’d want it to be a  looser,  baggier, slouchier fit, so I suppose it’s a moot point.

6. H&M – Wide Wool Trousers (£79)

I love this look.

I love this colour.

I want these trousers.

I mean… just look:

Simply beautiful.

They are 100% wool, so perfect for the colder months ahead.

I’d wear them exactly as per the H&M styling with a knit and sneaks, but you could switch out the sneakers for any style of shoes really… I think the trousers would work beautifully with a pair of western boots.

Unfortunately, my size is sold out.

That is to say, my new size 4 status… given I was a size 6 until all the complaints from the UK about stuff being too small, so H&M have switched the sizing up and you’re meant to size down.

{How is that a fix? Surely better to cut the clothing to the correct size in the first place?!}

5. & Other Stories – Wool Blend Houndstooth Check Coat (£159)

I know… I do not need anymore check coats…

But how beautiful is this one?

It’s more of a pea-coat, and the colours of the houndstooth check are lush:

I’m going to use the excuse (for not purchasing this coat) that my size is sold out.

{But you all know I’m perma-skint really.}

4. Topshop – Plum Corduroy Crops (£42)

Perfect colour for right now and winter.

You all know by now how much I love crops, and having included full-length cords last week, I felt like I was cheating on my favourite style.

So… putting that right this week by including these beauts.

The crops are available in two lengths, both 30″ and 32″ inside leg.

Which, let’s face it… are not going to be crops on most short arses who, generally speaking have an inside leg of 27-30.

So… these could be a good option for shorties after full-length cords.

Or… I recommend you get to know your sewing machine?!

Either way – how fab would the crops look with the &Other Stories jacket?!

3. Zara – Patchwork Print Dress (Special Price £19.99)

Bag a bargain dress!

Zara had similar in last season… but at £19.99 this is gonna be a sell-out.

And whilst I rarely wear florals… it’s BIG PRINT florals I steer clear of.

I love the 70s inspired patchwork prints of the dress.

But make no mistake my lovelies, this dress *will* need altering if you’re a mini-little-titch like me.

That said, it is just a simple hem alteration….

{and another one which I think would work really well with the &Other Stories check coat – checks & florals: they’re a thing, right?}

2. Mango – Beaded Wood Bag (£39.99)

And no… this isn’t my stinker of the week: I realise this is a marmite piece, and clearly, I am in the ‘love it’ camp.

It’s so cute though!

Though it’s no doubt totally impractical, totally over-priced and probably really heavy.

I just like it: simple as that.

1. New Look – Multicoloured Block Lace Up Trainers (£22.99)

The phenomenon that is the Fugly Dad Trainer.

Was it Balenciaga, a couple of years back?

Where it all started I mean?

Either way, this style of chunker-munkers have been around these past few seasons, slowly but surely creeping into the high street more and more.

This New Look pair have a little of the Adidas Falcon’s about them…

… a pair of which, I very nearly bought!

BUT… fortune favours the skint* and as I was clearing out a mass of receipts from my wallet on Thursday, I came across a New Look Credit Note due to expire today.

So, I popped into store, thinking I’d use the credit note to pick up a basic tee or two… but I spotted these trainers.

And at just £22.99, I figured they worth trying on at least.

I immediately fell for them.

My previous stance of ‘never again, I look like a golf club’ fell by the wayside.

I’m nothing if not fickle.

Stock is limited online, but trust me, there is plenty of stock in store given how fiercely this style of sneak seems to divide.

{*I don’t think fortune does favour the skint, but you know… it sounds nice, doesn’t it?!}

So those are my 7 this week, but I’m not quite finished yet…

Stinker of the Week: Zara- Logo Print Shirt (£29.99)

So I’d clicked on this Shirt on the Zara website to have a closer look, because I liked it.

I liked the styling, the retro vibe, the colours…

But then I noticed it was a ‘logo print’ shirt, which confused me, initially.

After realising the shirt has a whole bunch of Z’s (for Zara) printed all over it… I was kind of put off.

Is that just me?

I mean, I know people buy stuff with the double-Gucci-G printed all over, but this is Zara!

Or… is that just me, being a bit of a snob?!

Wildcard of the Week: Mango Tie Neck Blouse (£39.99)

This week, it was Karen @missionstyleuk who prompted me to go and seek out my wildcard item:

The shirt.

Blouse.

Top.

Whatever you wanna call it.

I loved it on Karen.

And here it is from the Mango website:

Given I like a pussybow blouse and/or neck-tie… you might be wondering how, this ‘very me’ shirt is pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Well, it’s RED.

And whilst I do wear red occasionally, it’s not a colour I reach for very often… but with these details:

Maybe it’s time to change my red-phobic ways.

{It is available in Navy and White as well.} 

So… did I manage to style up 3 wearable looks?

Look 1 – Classic:For this look, I’ve opted for a matchy-matchy, classic colour combo: navy and red.

Starting with some straight leg jeans, these Paige Hoxton Straight Leg Cropped Jeans (£245) though pricey, having tried a pair on recently, I can confirm they really are a gorgeous fit. They were not cropped on me of course! Bu these jeans, with the Mango blouse – they’d look gorgeous.

Now you could go with any kind of footwear, whether heels, boots or trainers… but I’ve gone with the Gucci Furry Backless Loafer dupes from Dune Geness Faux Fur Backless Loafers (£85).  It’s taken me a while to come round to these, but come round I have.  And given I won’t be spending in excess of £500 on a pair of Gucci’s anytime soon, I think these Dune backless loafer are a pretty good alternative, don’t you?

The darker red of the loafer ties in nicely with this John Lewis And/Or Isabella Leather Whipstitch Large Bucket Bag (£119) – and incidentally, all of the pieces in this look (aside from the Mango Shirt) are from John Lewis & Partners.

Finally, this look is finished off with a smart, gold buttoned, navy blazer in the form of this Reiss Tally Button Jacket (£285)

I think this is probably my favourite look.

Look 2 – Work:

When I think of work, I think of the government agencies I Project Managed in… so I’m thinking bog standard office wear.

This M&S Button Detail Wrap Mini Skirt (£29.50) – though called a mini, is in fact one which comes just about the knee.

It’s available in Regular and Long lengths, so as a shortie, the regular length would be exactly the ‘just below the knee’ sort of length I’d be looking for.

The A-line cut of the skirt would work really nicely with the Mango shirt.

I’d go for some thick opaques, and these cute silver shoes, again from M&S Block Heel Ankle Strap Shoes (£29.50) which livens the outfit up a little.

(The shoes are also available in Black Mock Croc if you prefer understated.)

I’d wear your favourite long line coat over the top… and whilst the colour of this M&S Trench Coat (£99) kind of clashes with the silver shoes… who really even cares that much anymore, eh?

This is a bit of a ‘worky’ kind of tote Faux Leather Tote Bag (£39.50), and the sort of bag I’d have used back in my office days.

{Yup – a full M&S look!}

Look 3 – Play:

In danger of looking like a CBeebies presenter in this outfit… but, hopefully, you’ll get the idea!

Wear the Mango Shirt under some Toppers Slim Leg Dungarees (£49, also available in Petite, Tall *and* Maternity) and a Quilted Lock Bumbag (£25) worn either around your waist or across your chest.

Go for my latest favourite chunky style trainers – these Ciara Chunky Trainers (£39) are pretty cool.

And finally, colour clash your red pops with a pink Borg Lined Corduroy Jacket (£65.)

{yup! a full Topshop look!}

There.

What do we think?

I’ve opted for rather plain options I’m afraid… I blame my very tired brain.

Having said that, I really enjoyed writing this week’s blogpost… just what I needed to relax my mind after a hellishly physical, labour intensive week!

I’d love to hear your thoughts, as always… so please leave a comment.

{Oh, on that note I should mention that my comment notifications weren’t coming through these past couple of weeks, but I’ve fixed that now!}

Thanks for reading,

B x