Shades of Grey

Vintage Scarf - Oxfam Online

Top - New Look

Skirt - Originally Jackpot then cut down

Leggings - People Tree

Shoes - Spartoo

Ring - New Look

Bracelet - From a holiday in Mexico

Celtic Necklace - a pressy from my sister

 I have been looking for the opportunity to wear this scarf for a few months now, but it never fitted quite right with anything. Today with the weather being so warm and muggy, I opted for comfort in the form of leggings denim skirt and a long vest top but the outfit just needed something else. I love the way that this scarf added to the shades of grey in the top and also added more texture to the outfit. The vintage scarf is by Josef Otten, another of my little treats from Oxfam online.

I have a really fun and busy weekend planned so am now rushing around trying to get everything sorted out ready. I will share outfits etc in my posts next week. Are you doing anything fun? Hope you have a lovely weekend?

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

Pattern Mixing With My Sales Goodies

Over the last week or so I have been falling back into my old habit of dressing in grey. I guess it is because I have been super busy with some early starts so haven't had too much time to think about what I am wearing. Not sure why but grey sometimes just seems the quickest and easiest option. Today when I woke up and looked out the window, I remembered that I said 'the greyer the day, the brighter the outfit' and decided to cheer myself up by making an effort with a bright outfit. This was made particularly easy ny the fact I have just received a package of sales goodies from ASOS.

This floral dress by Mink Pink was one of my sales goodies. It has black panels in the side of the bodice (which you can't see in this picture because of the cardi) which I love because they are super slimming (just what I need after a Christmas of over indulgence) and also make it slightly edgier than just a plain floral dress (although I love those too). The cardigan is about 3 years old and from George at Asda, the hair flower from Dorothy Perkins and the hat knitted by Oranges and Apples.

I have also invested in two pairs of trousers in the sales and some cardigans and another dress from Great Plains at Coggles. Have you checked out their sale yet?, they still have some amazing bargains including designer pieces and some different labels. They have up to 70% off.

I am trying to get some versatile separates that I can use to create different outfits, I get bored of clothes quick so the more opportunites to combine the better, especially if it involves pattern mixing. I avoid shopping in the sales straight after Christmas as the urgency of getting a bargain seems to make me buy clothes that I don't wear. I find waiting a little longer until I can really consider what I want much more effective.

How do you shop the sales? and have you got any bargains?

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

A grey outfit for a grey day

Apart from an hour or two of early morning sunshine Saturday was pretty grey and rainy which was great as it coordinated with my outfit perfectly. We went for a walk by the canal but couldn't get a parking space in the car park so ended up at the park and wandering around a nearby town.

I love bright colours but I also love mixing shades of grey. I added a little tiny bit of colour with my favourite amber necklace, a pressy from Poland from my old boss. I love a little bit of orange or yellow with greys and I love the asymmetric biker detail on this grey jacket.

Jacket- Next

Dress - Something Else

Jeans - Marks and Spencers, Autograph

Shoes - Next

Amber necklace - a present

Clocks spring forward - SS10 trends floral

It's officially summer time (sort of). I was woken up this morning by a small child wanting cuddles. Before I had the chance to say it is my turn for a lie in, Mr Style Eyes, reminded me that although my clock said 5am, it was actually 6am, at which point I gave in and got up. On the down side, I have been pretty tired all day, on the plus side, I got time for a bit of early morning outfit planning. I know, very sad, but it beats watching Dora the Explorer for the hundredth time.

Anyway today's outfit was is part of my No More Wants Challenge, where I create looks for SS10 using clothes already in my wardrobe. It is however a bit of a cop out as florals are always in fashion in spring and summer. I wanted to try wearing this dress in a slightly different way to the way I wore it for the whole of last summer so I tried wearing it with snake skin tights which freak me out ever so slightly as they make my legs look like snakes. I then tried a few different cardigans/ jackets. I am not sure if I can carry off the pale sort of colours of the dress with the grey jacket and it does make my hips look even larger but I like the contrast of feminine and grey casual. I couldn't resist trying with the pink cardi, one of my favourite colours.

Dress - New Look

Tights- Next

Shoes - Marks and Spencers

Grey jacket - Next

Pink cardigan - Fenn Wright Manson

The Wang Effect

I am just sat here typing, with my Wangesque braid, considering what it is about Alexander Wang that means he can take something seemingly mundane and make it hip, cool and trendy. I would never usually even consider plaiting my hair for fear of looking like a school girl or even worse an old lady but I just can't get enough of a my lopsided plait at the moment.

Take leggings for example, I swore that I would never wear them again after the horrendous abuse of them that I witnessed in the eighties. Yet here I am a few decades on, in worse shape and living in my leggings in the name of fashion (well actually they are pretty comfy as well and go with almost anything). I have a rule this time around though, leggings are only to be worn with dresses or long tunic style tops.

Grey marl is that non descript colour that no one really took much notice of until Alexander Wang brought it back on the hip list (OK there are a few others who have been using it too like Isabel Marant). Strangely I have always had a bit of a thing for grey marl perhaps because it reminds me of my youth. Slouchy jersey another Wangism that is just about every where. For years I would never have considered wearing slouchy clothes, but when cleverly cut and layered, not only are they warm, comfy and practical beyond belief but they look pretty good too in an understated way.

Then there are crop tops. There are somethings in life that you just can't wear at my age after having 2 children. So why is a crop top (in grey marl) featuring right at the top of my must have list for this summer? Admittedly, this time around I will be layering it so there will be no midriff on show. I think I may be turning into a full time Wang-a-be.

And then there are the trackie trousers - but I won't be going there, well I don't think I will anyway!

So what is the 'Wang Effect'? Is he an exceptionally talented designer, is it just the hype or is he managing to tap into just the sort of look that everyone wants to wear? I think it is a bit of all of these. A lot of his ideas are nothing new, almost nostalgic (although probably won't be for most of the twenty something Wangites wearing his clothes) but Alexander Wang seems to be able to do comfortable, wearable and relaxed it in way that is fresh and hip with just a hint of glamour

Just out of interest, does anyone have any other Words derived from Wang to add?

Pictures from:

Alexander Wang at mytheresa.com

Sales Shopping

I haven't been out much this week, I am starting to feel like a recluse and slipping into a comfort zone of dressing for warmth and slobbing, so when my new clothes ordered from the online sales turned up, I decided to try them on to cheer myself up (I know I still look pretty miserable but that's just me). I didn't actually intentionally buy them as an outfit, I don't think, but I think they go together quite well in grungey kind of way - Isn't all that coming back in fashion again? I would like to add a little bit of colour to the outfit so am now on the lookout for some pale lime green socks, don't know why but that is what I want.

The jacket was picked up in the Next sale for £14. I wouldn't usually go near a Next sale with a 10ft barge pole for fear of ending up with a load more boring tops just like many I already have or just been squashed in the scrum. But I spotted this jersey biker style jacket on my way to the childrens section and loved the washed out colour and seam details.

I loved the dress by Australian Brand Something Else (and posted about it a while back) so it was an obvious buy when I saw it reduced in the sale. I am constantly on the look out for new patterned leggings as for me leggings are the new jeans, so these burnout lave patterned ones (again from Urban Outfitters) were perfect.

The shoes (from Urban Outfitters) were compromise after a mamouth hunt, or should I say wild goose chase for that perfect pair of wedge shoe boots was a complete failure, I am hoping some might turn up as the spring colections appear. I settled for these shoes on the basis that I loved the punched out texture, loved the colour - I have never had a pair of grey shoes before, they were cheap and flat, so easy to walk long distances in.