Tall Girls Purchases

My lovely little sister gave me a voucher for Tall Girls for my Christmas present so what better excuse to shop in the sale there? I ordered three items:

Jeans

Top

Boots
The jeans are fine and I am keeping them. The top is going back: it is supposed to be a fine knit but when ‘fine knit’ becomes ‘see through’ I think that’s taking a description to the extreme. I am disappointed with this as my past Tall Girls purchases have been such good quality.
The boots I love, they are super high leg so reach right up to my knees – something that doesn’t often happen with knee high boots. Unfortunately they are just a little too small so I am sending them back to exchange them for a size up. But the customer services department is moving apparently and so it might be next week before they are sent out now. Fingers crossed they’re still in stock!

Outfit: Cold Tuesday

Black pencil skirt – Long Tall Sally
Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Teal v neck tank – Next
Black tights – Morrisons
Teal boots – Faith
Teal beads – Claire’s

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing my boots
…reading the February issue of Cosmopolitan magazine
…watching Shut Up and Sing (Dixie Chick documentary) when it arrives from Amazon
…listening to Bucks Fizz
…eating caramel shortbread if I get around to making some
…shopping for nothing – need to save for a while now

Outfit: Winter Monday

It’s windy and cold and was dark and raining when I got up this morning. I could so do with being a lady of leisure on days like this. But no, I dragged myself out of bed and now the sun is coming out so it might not be a bad sort of day after all.

Brown wool mix pinstripe trouser suit – Long Tall Sally
Blue blouse – Dorothy Perkins
Blue sweater – F+F at Tesco
Brown boots – Nine West (Allders)

UPDATED: Outfit: Smart Casual Friday

I have a meeting with my manager later on today and so I wanted to look smart but also wear jeans as it is Friday. The best way to combine the two is to wear dark jeans and keep the rest of the outfit simple.

EDIT: It was so cold on Friday that I ended up wearing this blue silk scarf all day - a £6 bargain a few years back in Accessorize. So you get a bonus picture too!

Black sweater – Long Tall Sally
Dark Long and Lean jeans – Gap
Black & cream shoes – Next (charity shop)
Black O pendant – Scope

Blue silk scarf - Accessorize

Outfit: Food and Bowling

We went out for a meal and bowling last night with friends. This has become my new favourite going out top as it is very flattering and the young man loves me in it.

Lace trim cami – Long Tall Sally
Grey cashmere cardi – Marks & Spencer (ebay)
Long and Lean jeans – Gap
Grey boots – Ethel Austin
Turquoise & silver bangles – Oxfam
Turquoise bead necklace – Accessorize

Sale Shopping

Last week I bought a couple of tops in the Long Tall Sally sale. I have decided that over the course of the next year or so I want to ensure that my entire wardrobe is made up of clothing specifically designed for tall people so that means taking full advantage of the sales. No more tops that are too short in the sleeve or body, and no more dresses with the darts in the wrong places.


Black sweater £19


Clay (it’s sort of a pale greeny-teal colour in real life and has tiny beads below the lace at the front) lace trim cami £5

Confusing Fashion

Is anyone else confused by the fashion spread in this month’s ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine (January 2008 issue)? The first story is summer dresses, then there’s gym wear (OK, New Year resolutions and all that, I’ll give them that one) and finally, white shirts. Hello?! It’s JANUARY! It’s snowing outside. What use are summer dresses without polo necks and tights to accompany them and keep us warm. Actually, I’m starting to think that I should give up on UK fashion magazines altogether (but then, how would I know where to buy all the fabulous shoes?). I keep a Look Book by cutting out looks I like from magazines and pasting them into a notebook. And I am increasingly finding that, from the magazines I buy on a regular basis (Look, Company, Cosmo UK, Glamour UK, Glamour US, Lucky, Elle UK), it is the American ones which have the fashion spreads that appeal to me more. If you are a Brit who has never read a US fashion magazine, take a look at one next time you are in Borders. I find that the stories they run in the US magazines suit my style far more than some of the wacky ‘out there’ pieces shown increasingly in British magazines. It’s all just so much more wearable in the US publications. I’m not going to give up on British magazines of course, there are too many features I do read and enjoy, it’s just that I think I should give them up and read books or something instead. But there are not usually any pictures of shoes in books and where’s the fun in that?

Outfit: Snowy Thursday

After being cold all day yesterday I wasn’t taking any chances this morning. Fortunately the heating was on when I arrived today. I’m dressed in layers so I can always shed a sweater later on if I warm up. But there’s a dusting of snow on the ground and more forecast so I don’t think I will be warming up anytime soon!

Denim skirt (made from jeans) – Topshop
Grey wool rib polo neck sweater – chain store seconds shop
Grey silk & cashmere v neck sweater – Zara
Grey wool tights – Levante at MyTights
Striped socks – Topshop
Green suede boots – River Island
Silver belt – Primark
Green pendant – Primark
Black beret – George at ASDA

This Week I Will Be Mostly…

…wearing something warm for work – the heating was not on when I got here this morning and it’s still cold!
…reading ‘Shakespeare’ by Bill Bryson that I got for Christmas
…watching Pretty in Pink on video
…listening to the 101 Country Hits CDs I got for Christmas
…eating something other than buffet leftovers
…shopping with the Tall Girls voucher I got for Christmas

Outfit: Back to Work

It’s cold, it’s dark and it’s back to work.

Black & blue dress – Dorothy Perkins
Black polo neck sweater – Long Tall Sally
Blue tights – Jonathan Aston (Debenhams)
Black patent shoes – Matalan

Happy 2008!

I’m back! I didn’t take many pictures over the holidays; I decided to take a complete break from blogging and pictures. But here are a couple of outfits you missed whilst I was away.

Sunday 23rd December

Going to church then visiting friends.

Jeans – Next (charity shop)
Blue sweater dress – H&M
Black polo neck – LTS
Blue patent shoes – New Look


New Year’s Eve: Mixing My Metallics

Party at a friend’s house.

Skinny jeans – Topshop
Blue sparkly top – Dorothy Perkins
Sequin shrug – charity shop
Glitter shoes – New Look (charity shop)

Merry Christmas!

Well that's me done with work for the year! I don't know whether I will have the time or facilities to post over the holidays so I'll leave you with a picture of my Christmas tree. Have the best Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year and I'll see you all 2nd January.

xx

How This Blog Has Affected Me: An End of Year Reflection

I have been blogging here for 18 months now and just want to share a few thoughts with you. Looking at a photograph of yourself each day certainly helps you to see which outfits work and which don’t. And the same goes for hairstyles.

Then there’s the interactive element. I read a ton of blogs each day (see the links at the side) and although you clearly don’t ‘know’ each author, you do get to feel you know a little about each and every one of these fabulous individuals, be it through their sense of style, a ‘tag’ challenging them to reveal something random about themselves or just through the writing in their posts. And it’s good to leave them comments either complementing their style or simply agreeing or disagreeing with something they have said.

Which brings me to comments on my own blog. It is true that your self esteem soars with nice comments. Especially when it’s a complement about an outfit you weren’t sure about, or reassurance when you think you look fabulous but are not so sure what others will think (and it doesn’t help when you have a boyfriend who does not appreciate much of what you wear, and dislikes your new hair cut).

Outfit: Last Day of Term!

It’s Christmas! Woo Hoo!

Grey sweater dress – Tall Girls
Dark jeans – Gap
Green suede boots – River Island
Silver belt – Local boutique
Green pendant – Primark

Wanted: Silver Shoes from Dorothy Perkins

Now just £10 in the sale.

Outfit: Thrifty Thursday

Penultimate day before the Christmas holidays! This dress was only 99p in a charity shop and I think the whole outfit probably cost less than £20, shoes included.

Green print dress – F+F at Tesco (charity shop)
Burgundy cami – Dorothy Perkins
Dark jeans – Next (charity shop)
Teal faux suede shoes – Matalan

Outfit: Wednesday

I’m loving the midweek casual-ness so I did it again.

Dark Long and Lean jeans – Gap
Lilac faux fur trimmed cardi – Pilot outlet
White long sleeve top – Tall Girls
Grey faux suede shoes – New Look (charity shop)

Outfit: Playing Santa

Well it had to be the Santa boots for this particular task didn’t it? And they need a skirt to show them off hence the rest of the outfit. We went visiting my cousin and his wife with my sister and brother in law to deliver their Christmas gifts, and stopped off for fish & chips on the way.

Denim skirt – Tall Girls
Brown top – Tall Girls
Brown cardi – M&S (charity shop)
Brown tights – Next
Brown suede boots with faux fur trim – Roberto Vianni (Debenhams)

Reader Stats

I’ve been counting up where in the world all my readers are located. I did this exercise about 6 months ago and thought it would be interesting to repeat it. So today the last 100 visitors (and it does add to 100 this time) were as follows:

36 British
37 Americans
1 Israeli
3 Irish
2 Philippines
1 Latvian
2 Indians
1 Taiwanese
1 Singaporean
2 Belgians
1 Netherlander
2 Mexicans
1 Turk
3 Canadians
1 Lebanese
1 Korean
4 Germans
1 Japanese

If one of these people is you, leave me a comment and say hello!