Ellie Dickins Shoes

Browsing through the classifieds at the back of Vogue this lunchtime, I was excited to find adverts for two shops/sites that stock shoes for ladies in larger sizes. Ellie Dickins has a shop in Hungerford in addition to the website. Logging back on to my computer, I entered the URL and at once my excitement turned to disappointment. Aside from the fact that the woman clearly has no idea how to use apostrophes (and I won’t shop somewhere that is badly punctuated), the site is so out of date it still states that:

“The shop will be closed for the Christmas holidays from 5.00 pm on Friday 23rd December 2005 and will re-open on Thursday 5th January 2006 at 10.00 am”

and also carries an advert for a roadshow that took place on 8th October 2006. The shoes range from basic to hideous.

But that’s just my opinion. Judge for yourself here.

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing grey – it’s my new favourite shade for Autumn
…reading Lucky magazine when it finally arrives in the UK – damn you, postal strike!
…watching Secret Diary of a Call Girl
…listening to the Bangles again probably as I keep forgetting to change the CD in my car
…eating Cadbury’s Dairy Milk – I won 9 small bars last week in a work competition
…shopping the gift guides for Christmas present ideas

Outfit: Grey Monday

It's hard to know what to wear at the moment - one day it's warm, the next it's not. And when it's still dark out when I set out for work... that doesn't help me either!

Grey wool skirt – Gap
Grey wool rib polo neck – Chain store seconds shop
Grey tights – Aristoc (Ethel Austin)
Green suede boots – River Island

Fictional Reader Mail

(Sorry Kasmira, I’ve pinched this idea from you!)
Since my readers don’t email me to ask for my advice (why don’t you do that?), I’ll answer some of the questions asked in referring searches instead, and put it in the style of a letter because, well, it’s just more fun that way.

Dear Shoegal
What are the best shoes to wear with a long denim skirt?
Confused

Dear Confused
I have a long denim skirt of my own (although I don’t wear it much, it’s hard to walk in) and I find that knee high boots work well with it, either heeled or flat, especially when paired with thick tights in winter. If the denim is not too heavy, you could try it with flip flops in summer too. Mine is a thick, heavy denim so I stick to wearing it in the winter and pairing it with boots.
Shoegal



Hello Shoegal
How do I stop my shoes and boots rubbing my poor little tootsies?
Sore Feet

Dear Sore Feet
If you are wearing your shoes with bare feet you need to get yourself to Boots or Superdrug (or the local equivalent) and buy yourself the magic green stick that is Compeed Anti-Blister. You will find it with the other foot products such as corn plasters, Scholl everything and innersoles.
For boots that rub, I suggest wearing thick socks inside them for a while to help stretch them out a bit. Do this even when you’re wearing tights: no one is going to see the socks inside your boots. If you know it is a particular toe that gets rubbed, put a large plaster on it for cushioning. I know Scholl make some sort of gel cushions for the tops of toes as part of their Party Feet range but I have not experimented with those and so I don’t know how effective they are. If anyone has tried them, please leave a comment and let us all know how you got on.
Shoegal



Shoegal, I’m really tall (6ft) and I am struggling to find tights that are long enough for me. Can you help?

Hi there,
Try MyTights – they have a section for extra-tall and XXTall ladies and offer advice on the best brands for tall ladies of the ones they stock. Tall Girls currently have a range of footless tights, if that’s what you’re looking for; personally I don’t see the point. Long Tall Sally also carry a small selection of tights but these are all by Levante (who I can highly recommend for length), who are stocked at MyTights. I am happy to buy tights in pretty much any high street store – just check the size guide on the back and the Lycra content. If there’s plenty of Lycra in them then even those tights that say they are only suitable for up to a height of 5’10” will be fine for you.
Shoegal

Outfit: Brown and Blue Layers

Layering is a great way to get some more use out of those pieces you loved over the summer, and it’s also a great way to beat the erratic weather and keep yourself at the right temperature. I loved this blue top all summer (and it only cost me £2) and now I can get a bit more wear out of it by putting it over long sleeve ts (not that I’ll need one today – it’s forecast to be 20˚C in some places today – in mid October!). Another look to try is putting your favourite summer dress over a polo neck sweater, and over jeans when it gets chillier.

Blue top – Primark
Brown top – Tall Girls
Dark skinny jeans – Topshop
Blue patent shoes – New Look

Outfit: Brown & Teal

Brown tweed city shorts – H&M
White shirt – Oasis
Teal v neck tank – Next
Teal tights – Jonathan Aston at MyTights
Brown shoes – Roberto Vianni (Debenhams)
Brown scarf – Charity shop

Outfit: Tea With the Young Man’s Parents

I don't post enough casual outfits so here's one for you from last night.

Blue top – Dorothy Perkins
White rib cami – Topshop
Dark skinny jeans – Gap
Beige flat shoes – Evans
Brown scarf – Charity shop

An Open Letter to The Gap

Dear Gap
What are you doing to me? Just as I had made up my mind to write you off with your thin sweaters, poor quality and high prices, you bring out your Fall 2007 collection and include such gems as these gorgeous sweater dresses and chunky cardi:







Yes, you are still expensive and you don’t stock your tall sizes over here in the UK, but really, what’s not to like?

Granted, some of your knit wear is still thin – I don’t care if it’s finest quality merino wool – if I can see my hand through it without holding it up to the light, it’s TOO THIN. Really. And I don’t want to have to tell you again.

But what I really want to know is why did you have dark denim (without fading) Long and Lean jeans in the sale at £19.99 today, and not have any in my size?!!!
Shoegal

Why I Love: Elle Woods From ‘Legally Blonde’

I have always seen ‘Legally Blonde’ as kind of a grown up ‘Clueless’. When we first meet her, Elle Woods is a senior in college and decides she will go to law school to win back her boyfriend who has ditched her for someone “more serious”, someone he and his parents view as good marriage material. She of course succeeds in her quest to become a lawyer and looks pretty darn good whilst she’s doing it. There’s too much pink for her to be a real style icon, but that’s Elle’s thing and it is why we love her. I only wish I had had some of her style when I was at university (some of these images are from 'Legally Blonde 2').

Why I Love: Cher From ‘Clueless’

Can you believe I didn’t see ‘Clueless’ until 1997? I think it was made in 1994. But when I finally did see it, I saw it many, many times as the video (we didn’t know what DVDs were back then) seemed to be on every time I was in the Common Room. I was 18 then and longed to dress in the cute little outfits Cher wore, though I never had the legs or the tan to pull of the mini skirts with long socks combos of which she was so fond (but wouldn't she be so on trend right now?). I loved the little suits and the fact that she was always well accessorised and co-ordinated. And who doesn’t want a computer programme that will select outfits and ‘dress me’, along with the huge, revolving closet containing her vast selection of clothes?
Here are some of the great outfits from the movie:

Wanted: Shoes from Matalan

These are just £12 and are so this season!

Outfit: Beige Wednesday

Beige cashmere v neck sweater – Benetton
Beige/brown/blue wool checked skirt – Next
White shirt – Long Tall Sally
Brown wool ribbed tights – Levante at MyTights
Tan boots - Faith

Brown & silver bangles - Dorothy Perkins

Outfit: Grey & Black Tuesday

I’m matching the weather today as it’s dark and raining.

Grey dress – Miss Selfridge
Black cotton & cashmere cardi – Long Tall Sally
Black belt – Dorothy Perkins
Grey wool tights – Levante at MyTights
Black faux suede boots – shoe shop in Stoke-on-Trent

Referral Searches

Every so often I like to look at my sitemeter counter and see who has been visiting my blog and how they got here. Clearly I am the tights queen. Do I write about tights that much? Looking at my search stats today, it appears I do. These are the tights-based searches (from the last 100 visitors) that lead to this blog:

Vogue UK October issue woollen tights
Striped footless tights
Ribbed tights at Primark
Brown suede boots natural tights
Cream shoes with black tights

My post on the Compeed Anti-Blister Stick is still popular, as is my post on the Insolia insoles, each receive regular 'Googles'.

But someone must have been disappointed when their search for ‘nude tall girls’ led to me. And then there’s always the amusing buzzfeed search of ‘Leggings for Men’ which I have yet to fathom how it decides to direct people here, but is providing me with several visitors a week so I’m not complaining.

New Template

To celebrate reaching 500 posts last week, I have decided to make a small change to the blog template for a fresher look. Also: I was bored of the old one!

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing cashmere
…reading Look magazine
…watching Ugly Betty
…listening to The Bangles
…eating Cadbury’s Flake cakes
…shopping Amazon.co.uk for things to add to my wish list

Outfit: Grey Monday

It was still dark this morning when I left for work, and drizzling, and that is the way it’s going to be for the next few months now. A bright cosy outfit was perfect for a dark, damp morning.

Red cashmere sweater – George at ASDA
Grey wool skirt – Gap
Grey tights – Ethel Austin
Red shoes – Barratts
Red heart necklace – Claire’s

Outfit: Blue Friday

Blue v neck sweater – Florence + Fred at Tesco
Jeans – Zara
Blue silk scarf – Florence + Fred at Tesco
Blue suede shoe boots – New Look
Blue & silver bangles – Oxfam

What Not To Wear

I watched the re-run last night and I was fairly impressed. When Trinny and Susannah left and Mica Paris and Lisa Butcher took over, I wasn’t sure how it would go: those were some pretty big shoes to fill. But credit to them, Mica and Lisa seem to be doing an excellent job. Last week’s show was very interesting, they had pairs of identical twins who still dressed the same (some were in their 30s) and, rather than making over a set of twins, they took one girls from each pair and helped them find their own identity. This week focussed on teenage girls whose confidence had been sapped through bullying. Apart from putting one of the girls in a jumpsuit (she was skinny but really, there’s no excuse), Mica and Lisa succeeded in making each of them look stunning and helping them rebuild their self confidence.
I didn’t see many of the episodes of WNTW last year, but this season it is shaping up to be unmissable TV once more.

Outfit: Sunny Thursday

Purple dress – charity shop
Black cotton rib polo neck sweater – Marks & Spencer
Black Argyle pattern tights – Boots
Black patent shoes – Matalan

Outfit: Black & Pink Wednesday

Black polo neck sweater - Long Tall Sally
Black cord trousers - Topshop
Pink belt - charity shop
Pink shoes - Faith

Outfit: Sunny Autumn Tuesday

Black wrap dress – Luxuriously Tall
White shirt – Long Tall Sally
Red tights – Primark
Black patent shoes – Matalan
Black necklace – Scope

Outfit – Foggy Monday

It’s October and it’s getting more wintry by the day.

Black & cream wrap dress – Dorothy Perkins
Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Black wool mix tights – Levante at MyTights
Teal shoes - Matalan

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing black
…reading the October issue of Vogue and the November issue of Company (which arrived at my house on 29th September)
…watching nothing on TV as my Facebook Tetris addiction slowly starts to take over my life
…listening to the bing bing noise on the young man’s laptop as he gets beaten by the computer at chess
…eating Muller rice puddings – Vanilla Custard and Apple flavours
…shopping my closet to create new combinations of winter outfits

Capes

Capes are going to be huge this winter and I’m not just talking about their width. I suppose we should have seen this coming really. I mean, it’s only a short step from the voluminous coats we saw last winter to doing away with the sleeves altogether and making it into a cape. I am all for this trend, especially since I have managed to ‘inherit’ two vintage capes from my mother. She has had these as long as I can remember but I don’t recall her every wearing either. I am told they both date back to the early 60s when capes were hugely fashionable. My mother, a style icon. Who knew?

She bought the green one with a matching skirt in “a very expensive shop in Harrogate. The kind of place you could only shop if there was a sale on [sounds like half the shops in Harrogate today – SG]. I queued for it and I got it”. And there was me thinking that queuing for the sales was a modern phenomenon. When she says she queued, it was only from 8am, but never the less. Both pieces were fully reversible with a blue check over laying the green on the reverse side. Sadly the skirt has been given away to charity long ago.

The red cape I can remember from my childhood. My hometown holds a Victorian Fair each year in December and all the local school children dress up in Victorian costume. I remember donning this cape to keep out the chill when singing Christmas carols in the town market place. Back then it was more of a full length cloak on me. It was less expensive than the green one, and was bought from Busby’s in Harrogate before it became Debenhams. The label says Raymond of London but extensive Googling of this name has proved fruitless.

It’s still early for the winter fashions hitting the high street but this cape coat is Oasis’s offering, however it is not yet available on their website.

And Topshop, never one to lag behind with a hot trend, have this at £75.

For a more cape-like cape, head to Warehouse where you will find this in mid-purple or black for £75.

As for what to wear with a cape: I love then over jeans or a skirt and dark tights and boots. But it’s probably best to eschew coloured tights and boots for this one; you don’t want to look like a superhero!

500th Post!!

This is post 500! It's taken me a year and a bit to get here but I feel like this is quite a milestone.

Outfit: Saturday Night

The young man and I went into Leeds to meet up with some friends for drinks and a meal.

Black trousers – Tall Girls
Black shirt – Luxuriously Tall
Silver belt – Primark
Black necklace – Scope
Black boots – Arturo Chiang (Century 21)