Outfit: February 20th – Stripe Dress and Chelsea Boots

I am loving this dress! I went back to see whether they had any other colours and they did, pale grey and pale/blush pink. I already have a pale grey dress and I’m not really into the blush pink that is everywhere right now so I didn’t get a second one. Perhaps they will release some more colours later on? I’d be really tempted if they did as the fabric is lovely and thick and at just £10 a pop you can’t really go wrong. And I figure that once the ridiculous big ruffle sleeve trend is over I can just unpick the ruffles or take them off, leaving me with a classic little striped tunic dress that’s heavy enough for winter wear. Win!

The mild temperatures are continuing but over the weekend we went up to a reservoir at not quite the highest point of the M62 and had a walk around it. It was a bit fresher up there but mostly dry so great for walking. The reservoir (Scammonden Dam) was created by flooding a village and this is the second one of these I’ve come across in Yorkshire (Thruscross near Harrogate is the other one which I think is more famous). This is a concept that fascinates me because it’s not something I can see happening today, but seems to have been quite common in the 1960s. The church and school are still on the hillside above Scammonden Dam, which at first seemed a random location as there are so few dwellings around there, but after Googling the history it suddenly made sense.







I also picked up my new glasses over the weekend so this is my first post wearing them. I will do a proper post about them as my last ‘My New Glasses’ post was and remains one of my most popular.

Dress – Primark
Tights – Primark
Boots – Primark
Silver necklace – gifted
Wood heart necklace – Scope
Bangle – M&S (free on 3 for 2

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Outfit: February 17th – Cross Front Top

I am totally obsessed with tops that have crossover strap detailing at the front. So much so that I am wearing this top backwards so that the crossover is at the front. I have a couple of t shirts in this style but as it’s still February outside I wore this one today which has ¾ sleeves and is a knit rather than a thin t shirt.

It was, however, warm enough for ripped jeans! Yay! I know some people do ripped and distressed denim all through the winter, but I am old and worry about chills on my already clicky knees and also why would you want to go out with holes in your trousers when it’s freezing outside? At the first signs of spring though, out come the ripped denims and the flat shoes. Although it was raining the morning of this outfit (which wasn’t forecast) and it turns out that these shoes now leak so I had wet socks when I got to work. Gah.

Cardi – New Look Tall
Top – New Look Tall
Jeans – Next Tall (gifted and distressed)
Shoes – Georgia Rose (c/o Sarenza)
Necklace – gifted

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Outfit: February 15th – Army Green Sweater

When I had my hair done the other week one of my specifications to my friend was that I wanted it to be able to just fall and look OK, even if I had done nothing to it. Last Wednesday was the test of that. I washed my hair the previous evening, let it air dry and then brushed it out in the morning. A little spritz of hairspray and what you see here is the result.

I have read/heard that army green will be a big colour this spring, and it’s one that I’ve been trying to incorporate into my wardrobe anyway as it’s kind of a neutral, so when I saw this sweater in Primark I couldn’t resist. It has a zip in the back (and you know how I feel about zips) and is still a warmish knit whilst being in a more spring-like colour and its slightly shorter length (on me, they’re probably supposed to be full length! #tallgirlproblems) sleeves. Although the forecast was for milder temperatures, there was also rain forecast so it wasn’t quite time to banish the booties just yet. I was able to banish my winter coat though: I put on my black faux leather jacket, mindful of that fact that there will only be so many more days when I can wear the (detachable) faux fur collar that it has. I added my trusty leopard print scarf and a hat (the mornings aren’t that mild just yet!) and I was good to go.

Sweater – Primark
Trousers – F+F at Tesco
Boots – Primark
Necklace – gifted
Bangle – M&S (free on 3 for 2 offer)
Earrings – gifted

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Outfit: February 14th – Valentine’s Day

A big, cosy sweater doesn’t really say ‘Valentine’s Day’, does it? But we like to keep things low key and don’t go out or celebrate at all really. We exchange cards but that’s about it.

As I mentioned in my previous post, milder weather was on the way so another wearing of what has become my go-to sweater of the winter was definitely in order. Along with my other favourite scarf – which Timehop tells me I wore on Valentine’s last year too. A big, cosy sweater may not say ‘Valentine’s Day’ but apparently a leopard print scarf does, to me anyway!

Sweater – New Look Tall
Trousers – F&F at Tesco
Shoes – Primark
Scarf – H&M
Necklace – gifted
Wood heart necklace – Scope

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Throwback Thursday

What I wore February 23rd, 2013.

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Outfit: February 13th – Before It Gets Too Warm

After the cold, wet weekend that preceded this day, the forecast was for temperatures to rise dramatically later in the week (OK, not dramatically, but 11˚C after 1˚C seems positively tropical right now!). Fearing I might not get another chance this winter to wear my warmest-of-all-dresses dress I put it on Monday morning. The scarf was probably overkill, but I love a good scarf and this one in particular has been neglected of late, having once been practically my signature item.

What have you worn recently that you will miss once spring arrives?

Dress – Next Tall
Boots – Steve Madden (c/o Sarenza)
Scarf – H&M

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Outfit: February 10th – Friday and the Weekend (and a Rant About Sports Bras)

No time for proper pictures Friday morning – I had to get into work early as I had an eye exam in the morning that I would need to take time out for. My eyes are apparently very healthy but I do need some new glasses so I took ages picking a pair out (when you can’t see your whole face clearly in the mirror because you’re so short sighted you have to take photos of each pair of frames you try on, put your own glasses back on, review the pictures: it’s all very time consuming!) (and I know I started the day with my contact lenses in, but that was because I also had a contact lens check booked, but then had to take my lenses out for my actual sight test). By the time this post goes live I might already have received my new glasses, so stay tuned!

Friday evening I headed into the city to look for a new sports bra. I hadn’t worn my sports bras for a long time (no need when you don’t go to the gym!) so having been for a couple of runs in the past two weeks I was remind how uncomfortable the ones I had were. They do their job of holding everything down shall we say(!) but when you’re tall the straps tend to dig into your shoulders as they’re not long enough for a person who has more length between the chest band and shoulders. I also find that the straps drag my shoulders down making them ache. Clearly adjustable straps are the way forward but have you ever tried to find a sports bra with adjustable straps? They’re few and far between my friends!

I started with TK Maxx (purely because there’s one near work that I can walk to on a dinnertime) and found several there, and for a really good price. I purchased a couple of two packs, because at £9.99 you can’t go wrong can you? Erm, yes, yes you can go wrong when the bras offer no support whatsoever! Back they went and my Friday evening jaunt into town came about. Marks and Spencer came good (as I knew they would) with four styles available. I tried them all on and this was the one I purchased. And, surprisingly, Primark also delivered. I purchased one there too, because it was only £7. But really, why is it so hard to find a sports bra with adjustable straps that actually does its job? And why don’t the specialist tall retailers make sports bras with slightly longer than average straps?

The weekend was wet and cold (we were promised snow but all that materialised was a really wet sleet) but by Sunday evening it had dried up so I was able to get out for a short run (all my runs are short right now, I working on building them up…). The rest of the time was spent inside by the fire chilling out, which doesn’t happen very often on a weekend so it was kind of nice for a change.

Sweater – Bench (eBay)
Jeans – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Scarf – H&M
Boots – Steve Madden (c/o Sarenza)

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Outfit: February 9th - Navy and Burgundy

It was super cold this day and it snowed a little bit in the afternoon. I layered my cosy cardi over my striped dress, and added fleece lined tights and boots for extra warmth.

Dress - Primark
Cardi - F+F at Tesco
Tights - Primark
Boots - Priceless Shoes
Necklace - Scope

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Outfit: February 8th - Knit Dress and Over Knee Boots

I had to go into work early this day so there was only time for a couple of quick snaps in the mirror (so that I had something to put on Instagram, primarily). The weather turned cold again that week and we even had a little snow, so a cosy knitted dress and over the knee boots was the perfect combination for staying warm.

The previous day I had been out at lunchtime and purchased some new trainers. I have started running. I don't run. I have never run. The closest I ever got to running was when I used to play hockey in high school, but lately I haven't been able to get the idea out of my head. Who even am I? So I thought I should get some proper trainers and took myself off to the sports store to get my gait assessed. The trainers I ended up with are these Asics ones, which are a cool purple colour as well as being super comfy and supportive for running.

Dress - Kew 159
Boots - New Look (gifted)
Necklace - George at ASDA
Belt - Dorothy Perkins

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Outfit: February 7th – Layers

So remember how I got excited about wearing shoes rather than boots last week? And about not needing my wool coat one of the days? Well the forecast for this week is snow. Yeah. Not so much spring just yet then.

Tuesday wasn’t quite as cold though so I took the opportunity to layer up a couple of thinner tops rather than wearing a big jumper. I like how the stripes just peep out at the neck and cuffs. And if you’re thinking that my hair looks a bit different, I got it cut the previous evening. My friend L did it and she did an awesome job. She cut it dry which is something I don’t think I’ve experienced since I was a child and my grandma used to take my sister and me to her local hairdresser for our hair trimming. It meant the cut didn’t take that long to do – I find when I go to a regular salon almost half of the time is taken up with blow drying and styling my hair. Which is nice, but you pay for the privilege and you have to have the time to spare too.

Top – Long Tall Sally
Polo neck – Long Tall Sally
Trousers – F+F at Tesco
Boots – Primark
Necklace – Primark

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Throwback Thursday

What I wore February 16th, 2012.

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Outfit: February 3rd – Forgotten Boots

I was so excited to find these boots in Primark back in August, but then they got put in my wardrobe and I kind of forgot about them. Probably because it was so early in the season and didn’t get cold enough for over the knee boots for another three or four months. But I remembered them this past week (and forgot about them again a couple of times too, if we’re being honest) and finally pulled them out for casual Friday. They are a little bit browner than I would like, I was after more of a tan OTK boot, but they are light enough to go with most things so if I can remember for more than five minutes that they exist they should get some more wear before spring arrives.

Outfit Formula

I feel like I have got very lazy with my outfits recently – it’s either a dress, tights and boots or skinny jeans, an oversize sweater and boots. I didn’t set out to have such a set outfit formula, it just kind of happened. It’s probably fatigue with the cold weather too. I was so excited to be able to wear shoes in my last post. I mean imagine! Actual shoes! I did notice that day just how white the tops of my feet are right now. They are usually the most tan part of my body (probably as they’re the only bits that get any exposure to the light in an average UK summer). It’s been a long winter.

Sweater – New Look Tall
Jeans – Primark
Boots – Primark
Scarf – H&M
Necklace – Scope
Bangles – Dorothy Perkins

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