Hares & Hair

I've given up on trying to get warm at work. My office has no central heating and although the little electric heater struggles mightily, it can't warm the place up till about lunchtime. Looking at the bright side, things haven't quite reached the horrific levels of a couple of years ago when it was minus temperatures and I had to wear a coat, gloves and scarf at my desk all day.

 I celebrated the (relatively) mild temperatures this week by wearing a really thin dress. It's definitely more of a spring/summer thing than a winter one but hey ho. The high heels are also kinda inappropriate but hey, they're comfy, and if there's no ice in January, that's cause for celebration!



Poor unloved frock. It's beautiful, kinda flattering and a really cute part of the #wardrobezoo, so why have I only worn it twice in all the years I've owned it? It must have some magic ability to hide behind other things in the wardrobe because I never notice it in there.



This year I shall wear it more.


Hares

Hair


Frock - People Tree
Cardi - Tu
Red shoes - Dorothy Perkins
Necklaces - Sunday Girl and Dubrovnik market

Ahoy There

Oh this weather is deeply frustrating. A couple of days ago the sun was cracking the flags and I wore this deliciously summery outfit. Today it's freezing, chucking it down with rain and I'm in jeans and a big jumper. I mean, I like the chance to vary my wardrobe but it'd be nice if I could actually pack away my winter clothing for a few months instead of still requiring it at the end of June.

Still, let's focus on the positives. We had at least one day this week where I could don a pretty frock, sandals and have almost-bare legs.



Pockets! Yay!

I love Joules dresses. There's always a high chance of finding something among the range that fits in nicely with the #wardrobezoo but this time I wasn't swayed by animals. Oh no. I found myself drawn to the lovely, cheerful boat print frock instead. Isn't it cute?


It reminds me of Rosie. It's the jaunty nautical theme methinks.





Yes, I've had my hair chopped. Yes, it's too short. I specifically said it needed to be long enough to tie back in a ponytail. Guess what? Those shorter layers are not long enough to tie back in a ponytail. Grrrr. Plus it makes me feel matronly. Hurry up and grow.



Dress - Joules 'Sennen' c/o Surfdome
Cardi - Matalan
Shoes - Irregular Choice via ebay
Bracelet - charity shop
Necklace - Sunday Girl
Ring - can't remember

I must admit I hadn't heard of Surfdome before they got in touch with me about doing a product review but their website is well worth a browse - they stock over 800 brands and have a fab range of products. Obviously the Joules frock stuck out for me but I could have chosen about 347987 other items. So much choice! I'll definitely be shopping with them again. Lovely clothes, free delivery and free returns are the way to my heart.


I'll leave you on an amusing note. I have no idea what I was doing here. Recoiling in ladylike horror from the camera? Playing invisible basketball?

I Hate Jeans Shopping

I spent last week in a variety of dresses, skirts and sandals. Well, it was glorious weather. You've got to get your legs out when the (rare) opportunity strikes, haven't you? Then I got midge bites all over the back of my thighs. Then it got cold.

I was quite happy to pull my jeans back on. Faithful jeans.



I maintain that jeans shopping is one of the most unpleasant things around. What a deeply, deeply awful process it is. Every shop and every brand are wildly different. You can't just pick up a standard size and expect it to fit. A slightly different cut or fabric, even in the same shop, can mean you need to go up two sizes just to get the buggers over your thighs. I always end up crying in a changing room, feeling the size of a hippo, surrounded by an enormous variety of jeans that all manage to make me feel and look awful. I HATE IT.

I could always rely on Dorothy Perkins short skinny indigo jeans but they changed the cut and I put on a bit of weight and suddenly, dramatically, we fell out of love. I did without for a few months, then dived into Gap on a whim, grabbed two pairs off the shelf and tried them on. Two minutes later I was walking out of the store with a carrier bag in hand and a smile on my face. Easiest jeans shopping trip ever! And they were on offer. I think that was the sort of denim-based good fortune that only happens once in a blue moon.



Woop, check out my button swapping skills. This shirt is lovely but came with revolting gold buttons, half of which were missing (it's Primark, I wasn't surprised). I bought nice blue ones instead.






Shirt - Primark
Vest top & ring - Dorothy Perkins
Jeans - Gap
Shoes - Irregular Choice
Necklace - Sunday Girl

Feeling Blue

Panic not. The title of this post isn't literal. I'm not gloomy or anything. I'm actually fairly hyper due to my usual high intake of coffee and the prospect of a day volunteering at the British Eventing competition at Kelsall Hill tomorrow. Yay, horses!

I just somehow ended up wearing many, many shades of blue. Cardi, coat, shoes, tights, jewellery..even my specs are blue! If you squint hard enough then the bag and skirt could be classed as grey-ish blue and greeny-blue. Right? Oh ok then, not really.  But considering I didn't even think I owned this many blue things, that's quite good! It's not generally a colour that appeals to me but I may be changing my mind on that point.

Did I mention yay, horses!  Cos look, they're on my top.  Yay, horses!  I bought this in Bath (tres appropriate given the Regency/carriage driving heritage) on a complete whim.  You know when you walk past a shop and your pattern radar locks in on something awesome?  It was one of those moments. I had to buy it. It's brilliant.

Top - Oasis
Cardi & skirt - H&M sales
Coat - Tu
Flat shoes - StylistClick
Bag - Accessorize, birthday present
Ring - Next Clearance
Necklace - Sunday Girl

A Few Of My Favourite Things

It's not a Sound of Music reference. Just little things about today's outfit that make me smile:

#wardrobezoo

Sparkly shoes

Messy top knots

Mary flipping Poppins

New lippy. MAC Creme Cup to be exact.

Buttons on cardis

Fun earrings

Rescuing a long-forgotten frock from the mending pile and making it wearable with a new zip.

Dress - New Look (I think...the label has been lopped off) via New Life

Handmade cardi - charity shop

Peacoat - Tu

Flat shoes-Stylist Click

Earrings - River Island

Initial necklace - Sunday Girl

Mary Poppins necklace - Etsy

Alex Has Left The Building

I call this my Sailor Elvis outfit. Cos, you know, I have blue suede shoes on. Ho, ho, ho.

It is perhaps not as exciting as the red shorts outfit featured earlier in the week but woman cannot live by red shorts alone. I love my jeans and I shudder to think what would happen if I worked in a place that had a dress code that banned them. Black trousers are just so dull. I haven't bought a pair for years and they won't be on my shopping list any time soon.

Equally I don't feel as if I should shy away from posting my slightly more mundane outfits. I sometimes feel under this unspoken pressure to bust out a new item of clothing or something a bit daring in my outfit posts. Realistically though, I wear a variation of jeans and jumper/shirt at least twice a week so why not blog it occasionally?

I'm rather pleased with this shirt all of a sudden. It was a charity shop whim purchase - it's from Zara and looks practically brand new, plus it was only about £2 or so. I've never been quite happy with it though. I think it's cut for someone a bit taller than me as I tend to feel slightly swamped by the collar and the sleeves are definitely too long. Today it just sort of worked though. Maybe it's the extra button undone? I even like the way it looks under the jacket and I really wasn't convinced it would work with the short sleeves on that.

Shirt - Zara, via charity shop
Jeans - Dorothy Perkins
Shoes - Next clearance store (how cute are the heels please?)
Necklace - Sunday Girl Accessories
Jacket - H&M sale

Green And Grey

So then, back to work again! I'm still not entirely recovered but if I'd stayed off any longer the buildup of work would have been utterly ridiculous (as opposed to today's mild craziness). To lift my spirits I got my legs out. Are shorts and heels appropriate for the office? In my world they are.

(vain I know, but I'm liking how long my legs look in these photos!)

Shorts & cardi - Gap sale

Vest top - Dorothy Perkins

Shoes - Kurt Geiger via charity shop

Necklaces - Sunday Girl Accessories (initial) & Accessorize (beaded)

Rings - H&M and Dorothy Perkins

Can't believe it's taken me so long to wear these shoes. I think it's because I'm not a fan of peeptoe shoes. You might well ask why I bought this pair then. The answer(s) would be - a) they are green, b) they're Kurt Geiger and c) they were cheap. Also d) I didn't buy them, someone else did, hence me not actually remembering the price. £5ish? Cheap anyway. And as they're such a dark shade of green I can wear them with black tights and the peeptoe isn't that noticeable. Perfect.

ps - don't know if I was quite clear with the hunky man references in the last post. The one in the coat is my all-time object of lust, Henry Cavill. Oli Townend is the one on the grey horse.

You're all more than welcome at the dream house/shop by the way!