Outfit: Chink of Sunlight

It is another beautiful day today – almost spring if you ignore the patches of frost which linger where the sun has not been. I wanted to make the most of it although we don’t get the sun in the back garden in the morning so I ended up crouching in the small patch of sunlight there was.

I went to church to teach Sunday School, but didn’t have any children for my group so ended up helping out with the older group.

I promise I will wear some different boots and jeans next week. Maybe.

Blue cardi – Dorothy Perkins
Plaid shirt – Primark
Blue tank – Topshop
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Tan boots – Barratts
Silver bling ring – River Island
Blue necklace – Dorothy Perkins
Blue bangle – Diamonds & Pearls

Total Est. Cost £91

Outfit: Short Saturday

I finally got around to wearing shorts over tights (well, leggings actually) and I really like it. I’m not sure what the young man thinks, he’s not said anything.

I spent the morning pottering in the house – a man came round to fix our broadband connection and I did some washing, cleaned the bathroom and changed the bed.

This afternoon I had a walk up to the local retail park to look for some curtains. I didn’t buy any but did get an extension lead for my USB port – my laptop is so poorly designed that you can’t have a monitor cable and the wireless dongle plugged in at the same time as the sockets are too close together.

Black cardi – New Look Tall
Grey stripe top – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Black leggings – New Look Tall
Denim shorts – George at ASDA
Tan boots – Barratts
Whitby Jet cross – gifted
Cream & silver beads – New Look

Total Est. Cost £93

Outfit: Friday Night (And The Lights Are Low)

My sister and her hubby came over after work and the four of us headed out to a local pub for a meal. It was a lovely relaxing way to spend Friday evening.

Black & cream stripe cardi – Topshop Tall (eBay)
Black top – Tall Girls (eBay)
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Tan boots – Barratts
Turquoise necklace – gifted
Turquoise earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £67

Basse Mode – The Magazine for Real Women

You may remember a few weeks back I told you about a project I was working on with a couple of friends, and asked you to fill out a questionnaire for research purposes. Thank you to everyone who clicked through and completed the survey, you have been a great help.

I can now tell you that the project has been titled Basse Mode (low fashion in French) and the associated blog has now gone live! It is a magazine aimed at real women. When we say real women, we don’t mean to imply that some women are not real in some way – of course all women are real. What we mean is real in the sense that the spreads will feature women who have not been airbrushed beyond recognition, women who are not all the stick-thin size which has become the fashion industry’s standard for models of late. It will be more representative of women as a whole, covering a broad spectrum of shapes and sizes – tall, petite, slim, fuller-figured, and everything inbetween. It will feature wearable, affordable clothes and outfits, designed to suit real life. We are all really excited about this and hope you will be too.

The project started as a discussion on Twitter between Lauren and me about how we were sick of the expensive and unwearable items featured in the fashion shoots of glossy magazines, and I said there should be something similar to style blogs, only in magazine format. Emma chimed in with her (very welcome) opinion and before we knew it, the discussion had spiralled and become a reality. As I mentioned, the blog is now up and running and the ultimate aim is to launch an actual glossy magazine. To get to that stage though, we need your help. Please visit the blog at Basse Mode and leave us a comment to let us know what you think and whether you would be interested in contributing. If you are a business or represent a brand and would be interested in helping us with sponsorship, please get in touch.

We hope we can provide a real alternative to the magazines that are out there at present and we hope we can count on your support to do that.

Outfit: Friday!

I am so excited that it’s Friday! The sun is shining again (though it is forecast to cloud over later) and it’s a lovely day so far. I have just had a bacon sandwich (Friday morning office tradition) and tonight we are out to eat at a local pub with my sister & her husband. It is still cold out but the promise of spring is in the air. I am hopeful that it will soon be too warm for polo neck sweaters and over the knee boots so I am making the most of wearing them whilst I still can.

Black & cream stripe cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Black sweater – New Look Tall
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Black OTK boots – Priceless Shoes
Turquoise leather belt – H&M
Turquoise scarf – eBay
Turquoise ring – Dorothy Perkins
Turquoise earrings – gifted

Total Est. Cost £55

Outfit: Beware The Ides That March

Clearly I’m loving the stripes this week! It’s another lovely day (so far) and I wore my sunglasses all the way to work this morning. I get very excited when I can put my sunglasses on – mostly because it’s sunny, but also because I can put them on, as I no longer wear my regular glasses all the time. Sadly there is not a lot of warmth to go with the sunshine as yet, but I’ll take the light and the sun as it is for now.

Black jacket – Long Tall Sally
Black & oatmeal stripe top – Dorothy Perkins Tall
Jeans – Topshop Tall
Black & cream shoes – Next (charity shop)
Blue print scarf – charity shop
Cream & silver bead cluster necklace – New Look
Whitby Jet cross – gifted

Total Est. Cost £68

Outfit: Tea & Dance Practice

I did a quick change when I got in from work, snapped some pictures, and was out the door again to go buy a birthday card and meet the others for tea at Wetherspoon’s. We had a lovely time, then headed off to rehearsal.

Blue cardi – Ethel Austin
Blue & cream stripe top – New Look Tall
Jeans – Gap
Blue flats – Ethel Austin
Red beads – eBay

Total Est. Cost £29

Outfit: Raspberry Beret

I think a raspberry beret is just what I need to complete this outfit! It was finally light enough to take my pictures outside this morning as I start later on a Wednesday and Thursday. But wouldn’t you know, the man across the street was looking out of the window so for the first few shots I had to pretend I wasn’t doing anything unusual out there. I also need to put the camera straight next time!

If you look closely you can see the remnants of yesterday's snow over my shoulder in the headshot.

Tonight the drama group is celebrating a 60th birthday with tea at Wetherspoon’s before the rehearsal.

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Grey skirt – Primark (gifted)
Black leggings – New Look Tall
Pink boots – NOW Discount Shoes (gifted)
Pink beads – Dorothy Perkins
Pink belt – charity shop

Total Est. Cost £43

Outfit: I Went To My Go To

Last night we had tea with the young man’s parents and then I went off to a committee meeting for the drama group. An easy casual outfit was required and, spying my cowboy boots in my new cupboard, I decided to go for an old favourite.

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Jeans – River Island
Brown cowboy boots – New Look
Brown & silver scarf – mall market stall

Total Est. Cost £107

Outfit: More Snow

Having diligently checked the weather forecast for last night and seen that the BBC were promising clear skies all night, you can imagine my surprise when, at 6am this morning, I opened the curtains to be greeted by a winter wonderland scene. Again. Actually, I am not complaining this time – it was only a light covering and quite wet so it was already starting to melt by the time I left the house, and I did feel a little surge of excitement at the unexpected snowfall.

Obviously the faux suede boots I had planned for today were not an option in the snow so I stashed them in my bag and pulled on my trusty Merrell boots (for what I feel my not be the last time this year).

Black knit dress – Long Tall Sally (free – bought with gift card)
Purple tights – Accessorize
Purple faux suede boots – Next
Purple & silver necklace – gifted
Purple belt – Ethel Austin
Bangles – gifted
Lilac scarf – Diamonds & Pearls

Total Est. Cost £48

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing spring colours
…reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
…watching Flying Doctors, Season 5
…listening to the Glee soundtrack
…eating rice krispie cereal & milk bars
…shopping for nothing

Outfit: Dreaming of Spring

It is the first day of March and by rights that should mean it is spring. We’ll just ignore the heavy snow that’s forecast for Friday for the moment then. Today the sun is shining and I decided to put together a nautical look to celebrate the hope of spring not being too far away.

I have come back to work for a rest today – my hands are covered in cuts from the weekend and my thumb and finger ends are sore from holding shelf fixings in place. But I am pleased with how the spare room looks.

I will not be resting up for long – tonight is my gym class and then choir practice.

Red cardi – Long Tall Sally (eBay)
Blue & cream stripe top – New Look Tall
Navy skirt – Long Tall Sally
Navy tights – New Look
Red shoes – NOW Discount Shoes (gifted)
Red & cream bangles – gifted
Red beads – eBay
Red belt – mall market stall

Total Est. Cost £34