Sunday 7 – Spots and Stripes

Hello!

And welcome back to my first Sunday 7 after a little 2 week hiatus… sometimes, life gets in the way, and other times, inspiration dwindles and thins out until you hit a blank.

So rather than forcing it, and being disingenuous with the blog, I take a step back at these low inspo times, and sure enough, within a week or two, I’m suddenly full of it.

Inspo I mean!

Today, I’m all over two of my favourite prints: Spots (or polka dots) and stripes… no one can ever have too many stripes.

Or spots.

Ever!

So let’s get stuck in…

7. HM – Slub Jersey T-shirt (£8.99)

I have the black and white version of this tee from last summer  – it’s really soft, with a lovely drape.

Although, the faux-pocket is a bit annoying with how it sits… you have to iron it flat, good and proper so it doesn’t look weird.

But for less than a tenner, it’s a great little tee for spring with jeans, under a blazer.

6. Zara – Polka Dot Skirt with Buttons (£25.99)

I keep seeing this skirt on various people over on Instagram, primarily on Ashley Dainty (@adaintymum) who is rocking it, complete with baby numero 4 bump and all!

I love this style of skirt, the off-set buttons, the off-set split:

This would be a flattering cut/shape on most, and the longer length on us shorties would be a bonus.

I’m a massive fan of black on white, and yellow accessories (as pictured) which have, in my view, become a bit of a classic combo.

I much prefer this skirt to the HM flounce (wrap) skirt, which though very lovely with it’s hem frill and pretty with it’s teeny-tiny-dots… is probably a fraction too girly for my tastes.

#famouslastwords

5. Mango – Cut-out Stripe Dress (£59.99)

Such a pretty dress.

That extra, pleated bit of fabric at the front, the diagonal stripe… nice, wider-opening, short sleeves… love it all.

It’s would be a lovely length on us shorties too, though if you have a higher-waist, the waist-band of the dress may not work well.

I do think the dress is a little over-priced for what it is though.

And rather tragically, I have no need of such a dress in my life.

BUT, but, but… it’s a really lovely dress.

4. Topshop – Spot Cropped Wide Leg Jeans (£42)

I am utterly in love with these!

Available in Petite and Regular.

There are two things stopping me ordering these… the first being, I think they’d be a bit of a fast-fashion-fad for me rather than a long-lasting love affair.

And second, I’m not mad crazy on the front zip.

(and actually, a minor third issue, which is a non-issue really, but – this beautiful model looks so freAkin YOUNG-young! Makes me feel exceptionally aged!!)

However, however!

They are just brilliant!

I would wear mine with a sleeveless, high neck tee, and simple black baboosh mules…

They’d also look lovely with a red knit/hoodie and of course, brilliant with anything yellow.

#sotempted

3. & Other Stories – Belted Blazer (£79)

Really cute Spring/Summer blazer…. don’t you think?

A bit dressing-gown, admittedly, especially when styled with that hint of lace cami showing though…

But, that’s not how I’d wear it.

I’d go for a white tee/vest/plain (lace free) cami.

It’s pretty gorgeous though!

Although who am I kidding?

This blazer would be long on me, like… dressing gown LONG!

I’ve been veering away from including stuff from & Other Stories: my own tiny, pathetic, little protest because their smallest size is a 34 which is akin to an 8 / small 10.

They’re really not the best for petites AT ALL!

However… they have some great pieces… and not all of my readers are extra-petite-petite like me…

Plus, I can never stop myself from looking at what latest bits are around in Other Stories.

#ILikeToTortureMyself

2. Zara – Polka Dot Blouse (£59.99)

A classic white shirt, but with black dots… what’s not to love?

I’ll tell you what’s not to love: the £60 price tag… not for a Zara shirt?!

That is… until you check out the composition of the shirt: it’s silk!

And once you realise that… you’ll know it’s a pretty good buy, and that the shirt will have a lovely drape, and feel pretty luxurious.

A wise little investment, I’d say.

1. Topshop – Striped Linen Shirt (£30)

Firstly, do *not* be put off by the ‘linen’ element!

The shirt has just 12% linen, the rest being a mix of Viscose and Nylon.

As such, having bought and worn this top – it’s not an over-creaser!

The top is a loose, boxy-jacket kind of cut, and although it’s not cropped per se, that it’s a shorter, sit-on-the-hip kind of length, does mean it’s probably not one for the taller / longer torso ladies.

I bought the size 4 rather than my usual size 6 because I could see the top had a generous boxy cut, and the 4 is about right on me.

Although, the neckline is low… kind of gapey (!) in fact, but again, I’d wear a polo-neck or a little cami under it.

How fabulous would this look with the Toppers black & white Spotty Cropped jeans  or the Zara Spotty Skirt?!

And given the shorter length, it’s definitely one I was happy to buy from the regular range rather than petite (not that the yellow is available in petite – only the white is.)

There’s a sage green/stripe version as well as a vintage looking ivory/black check option too.

If you do happen to go for the Petite White version – I should point out that it’s 100% viscose (no linen!) and a whole £1 pound cheaper as a result.

#weird

{I’ve included a couple of pics of me wearing this at the end}

Stinker of the Week: Zara Polka Dot Sweatshirt (£9.99)

The spots are just too gawd darn big.

For me.

Though I admit, the sweatshirt looks great on the model, who is no doubt tall.

And it looks pretty cool with brown.

But, the sheer scale of the print means it would very much be wearing a petite, not the other way round!

Wildcard of the Week: Spot Print and Striped Wide Leg Trousers (£45)

It couldn’t be anything else really, could it?

Not when you’ve called your blog ‘Spots and Stripes’?!

Much as I love both Spots and Stripes, and in theory, I could see myself wearing them both together in a dress or separates combo… I’m not sure I could cope with one spotty leg and one stripy one.

However… I do love me a challenge, so… here goes:

Look 1 – Failsafe Black:

A half-tucked, v-neck Uniqlo Extra Fine Merino Cardigan (reduced to £19.90), some simple black Zara Flat Slingbacks (£19.99) with a simple necklace, something like this Ania Haie Rose Gold Coins Ancient Minoan Necklace (£49) might just make the trousers work for me. The outfit would need a little life, in the form of a brightly coloured bag perhaps, but if brights aren’t your thing then a good old straw bag, something like this Zara two tone tote (£29.99) would work well. Just grab your Zara Faux Leather Jacket (with shoulder pads!) and you’re good to go.

Look 2 – Mellow Yellow:

As already mentioned, a dash of yellow plus monochrome is somewhat of a classic combo… but I’ve also peppered this look with red… why not, eh?  This little HM Drawstring Blouse (currently reduced to £8.99), and these yellow Jigsaw Paloma Block Heel Pumps (£145) with the trousers, is a rather loud, bold look, but if you’re gonna go bold, go big or go home, right?! And yet again, I’m going for a little black jacket, but denim this time.  This Topshop Black Fitted Jacket (£40) would allow for the frill/hemline of the red top to show through.  Complete the look with another zing of yellow, in the form of this Cos Small Shoulder Bag (£69) and a slick of your favourite red lippy.

Look 3 – Just add White:

Having said I’m adding all white, for the top, I’ve gone for more spots!  This Topshop Spot Print Button Down Top (£34) with the front tucked in, and these white Zara Leather Cowboy Boots (£99) with the spot/striped trousers would probably be the most wearable of the 3 looks for reserved little me, however, whilst I would normally reach for a dark jacket, I’m stepping firming outside my comfort zone with a very white Cos Tailored Coat with Belted Back (£135). I love this cute little Next FCUK Wristlet (£45 – as first spotted on Karen’s Mission Style UK Blog... currently looking for an excuse to buy it!)  And just for the sheer hell of it, to give that full-on ‘affected’ look, some white Zara Futuristic Sunnies (£15.99)

So what do we think of these Wildcard looks?

I must admit, I’m not sure I’ve quite sold these trousers even to myself, although… I’m liking them more now than I did when I first spotted them.

No pun intended!

Right, before I leave you with a couple of pics of me wearing my Toppers Yellow Linen Shirt, I wanted to go back to my 2 week hiatus: Mothers Day I planned to take off, but last weekend, even after a double whammy Friday and Saturday Night out, I had put a Sunday 7 together.

However, after an early dinner and a carb crash-out on the sofa, I woke at 8.30 and when I scanned through the blog post, it felt “meh” and wreaked of half-heartedness to me… so I canned the post.

Didn’t even recycle a single piece from it for today’s post!

The reality is, I hadn’t realised my own levels of anxiety about the Russian Spy/Nerve Agent attack here is Salisbury.

I’ve made light of it on my Instagram Stories and what not, but when Sky news dug out the old fossil of a scientist who created the Novichok nerve agent and I heard him saying that even a brief exposure to the tiniest, trace amounts of the agent could, potentially have ill-health consequences which wouldn’t be known for years, given the agent slowly builds up in the body… I was devastated.

My husband, our eldest (9 year old) boy and our much loved pooch, Sylvie were in the same pub, at the same time and (most likely, although the police have yet to confirm this to us) at the next table to the poisoned Russians.

I actually heard my own heart cracking that night and sleep has been hard to come by.

It’s taken some reflection time to set my nerves straight again, some calls to support lines to talk through specifics and to be honest, it’s 99.9% certain that my boys and our mischievous little Sylv are all in the clear.

But it’s incredible, just how much anxiety a 0.1% of doubt can cause.

A true story – though stranger than fiction.

Anyway, here’s little old ‘moi’ in me toppers shirt, with an ever trusty Uniqlo Heattech Turtleneck layered underneath, and my actual coat is just out of shot.

After all, the clocks may have gone forward this weekend, it is officially Spring…

But it’s still freAkin freezing!

And a little closer look:

So that’s it for this week!

As always, I love hearing from you – let me know what you think of this week’s 7 or the wildcard… just leave a comment & I’ll get back to you.

Thanks for reading.

Bx