New Outfit of the Day

I haven't been able to do many outfit posts lately but I wanted to share with you what I am wearing today for work.

I love outfits that you can just throw on and feel comfortable it.  I particularly love my necklace today although I confess that it is a bit on the heavy side!

The attempt to look sultry but ending up Monday morning grumpy look

 
The dress is from +Very.co.uk for the bargain price of £25.00, the cardigan and sandals are from +Simply Be and the necklace I found in a charity shop.

Suits You 2

Today is the second instalment in a new monthly challenge called Suits You created by the gorgeous Leah of ThirtySomethingCurvyMe.

Every month we are given a different blogger who is involved in this challenge to style an outfit for.  Having only ever styled myself I am not sure how good I will be at this but can't wait to give it a go!  For this month I am styling the lovely Kathryn and you can check her out on the below links:

Blog address: http://www.misskathrynsmisstakes.co.uk/

Twitter: @kathroooon

Instagram: misskathryn84

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/misskathrynsmisstakes

I have always loved Kathryn's style and I enjoy her work outfits of the day pictures on Instagram as she loves dressing up for work just as I do.  She rocks both separates and dresses and has a penchant for a pretty cardigan to tie everything together.  Hope you like what I have chosen Kathryn!

Turn of the Sensory Dress from ModCloth - £38.00 in the sale, bargain!
The Owl and the Moon Necklace from NotontheHighstreet.com - £115.00 (a little budget breaking!)
Scallop Clutch Bag from Asos - £12.00
Natural's Own Bow Ballerina from SimplyBe - £25.00

Please take a moment to check out the other ladies who are also involved in the styling challenge!

Bird Printed Doll Dress

A couple of Saturdays ago I attended the +Simply Be store in the Arndale Centre, Manchester.  You can read about my visit here

I was lucky enough to given £50.00 to spend in store and after playing dress up and taking photographs with the magic mirror (which you need to try, it's brilliant) I decided on the Bird Printed Doll Dress * I had previously seen the dress on the lovely Sally from The Human Mannequin and thought that she looked gorgeous so wanted to try it for myself.

My magic mirror picture from the store.

I sized up with this dress to accomodate the boobage, but i think most people would find it true to size.

I first decided to style the dress with the office in mind (yes, I like to dress up) and so went with a chunky necklace and my black ankle boots from Dorothy Perkins.

After taking the pictures however I was going out in the afternoon so decided to keep the dress on and style it down a little by changing the chunky for three long ones and adding some black sparkly sandals, from +Fashion World .

The bird necklaces are from Primark

The red heart necklace was a bargain £1 from Ebay

I adore the print on the dress and I like the high-low detailing.  I will be getting a lot of wear out of this dress all summer and with the addition of a cardigan it will probably take me into autumn too!

* Denotes gifted item

Joe Brown Vintage Tea Dress

Hello all!

Just a quick post where I thought that I would show you what I wore on Saturday in readiness for my photo shoot with Capturing the Curves.

I wanted to wear something that would put me in a fifties frame of mind so I went with a dress that has been sitting in my wardrobe for a while but I haven't had chance to wear.  The Joe Brown Vintage Tea Dress from +Simply Be 

I bought this dress a few weeks ago now and at the time wasn't sure about whether to keep it, but now I absolutely adore it.  For me, it just needed a wide black belt to pull the look together.

Taking Shape Store Visit

I was recently asked if I wanted to check out the Taking Shape Southport store to have an appointment with their personal stylist and try on some of their pieces. 

Now to start off I should say that I can't even remember the last time that I did a shopping trip in the high street. Where I live there is nowhere that I can shop and I have been buying online for probably the past six or seven years.  I had completely forgotten what the "in store" experience was like and I confess, I was more than a little nervous.

I need not have worried.  My stylist Sharon was absolutely lovely and immediately put me right at ease.  I had a look around the store prior to my styling session and was very impressed with what I saw.   What particularly impressed me was the amount of frankly fantastic jewellery available (I would wear all of it) and the fact that many of the clothing items had been styled with a necklace or accessory to give you an idea of how it would look like on.

After a restorative coffee we headed to the spacious changing rooms which were airy and well set out.  I still remember the horrors of changing rooms from years ago, ill shutting curtains, no room to move around etc etc!  There were lots of mirrors and a comfortable sofa which made you want to linger rather than hurriedly try something on and make a quick decision.

Here are some of the outfits I tried on.  I have tried to link where I can!

Cria Dress £39.00

I have previously seen this dress on Betty Pamper and it was my first choice for trying on.  The fit was just right and I loved the leopard print touches throughout the patterning.  It has gone on my "To Buy" List!

Honor Dress £39.00

This dress has a very strong floral print to it and makes quite a statement on, which I like.  This type of dress I would probably wear for work.  Yes, I dress up for work but hey, why not!

Tropical Maxi Dress £49.00
I loved loved loved this dress.  For some clever reason I can't tell you it makes me look taller and I loved the necklace detailing to the neckline.  This came home* with me, ready for Summer time frolics!

Enchanted Lands Dress £40.00

I am gutted that we didn't manage to get a great photograph of this dress as it was one of my favourites of the day and one that I took home* with me.

Lexa Dress - £45.00

I really wanted to try this dress as I haven't worn a stripe print before and was interested to see how it would look.  I really loved the dress and personally, I loved the stripes!

Annabell Pullover £35.00
Bella Vista Trousers £29.00

This was without a doubt the surprise outfit of the day.  I NEVER wear trousers and have never worn orange before but the combination just seemed to work perfectly.  I felt stylish and yet comfortable.  Both items have also gone on my shopping list as I regretted leaving them behind as soon as I got home!

Gigli Pullover £45.00
Summer Night's Necklace £15.00
Visa Versa Trousers £39.00

After trying the previous combination I then moved on to the above outfit.  I loved the trousers which were silky to the touch and had a drawstring at the bottom in order to create different looks.

Looming Necklace £10.00
Water Colour Dress £55.00

This was such a pretty dress and the picture doesn't quite do it justice.  It was a fabulously swooshy dress, yes, that's a word :)  I just wanted to spin around and around in it.

Olivia Dress £39.00

I absolutely love a paisley print but am not quite sure I can get away with it in this dress.  What do you think?

Uninhabited Tee £35.00

One thing I do want to talk about is the lengths of the dresses.  One constant irritant of mine is that so many of the dresses that have been around for the past few seasons are at that length where tights or leggings are needed.  

All of the dresses I tried on were knee length or just below, basically hitting me exactly where I wanted (I am 5ft4).  When wearing a pretty dress I don't want to wear leggings (just my personal preference) so I could happily wear any of these dresses bared legged, as I have in the photographs.

All in all I had a brilliant couple of hours at the Taking Shape store.  The theme tune to Pretty Woman was playing on repeat in my head and I have never had so much fun trying on clothes in a shop before.

Taking Shape's clothing is all about interesting cuts, bold prints and patterns and completely works with the way I love to dress.  If I ever win the lottery, just pack up the whole store and I would be good to go!

* I was not paid to write this review of the Taking Shape store, however I was gifted two items as denoted with the * above.

Birthday Dress

Back in January I was participating in the "Just Another Blogging Challenge" and I was talking about a floral dress that I had managed to grab from +Very.co.uk for the bargain price of £17.00.

Sadly this dress is no longer available so this post is a little like "here's what you could have won".  Sorry about that!

Anyhow, this is the picture of the dress as shown by Very at the time:

This is the dress that I chose to wear for my birthday last Saturday and I can honestly say that I have not felt as good in something for ages.  I absolutely adored it.  I am wearing with purple tights from +Yours Clothing and shoes from +schuh.  I'm not sure where the black shrug is from as I have had it forever.

Cardinal Coat Review *

As a teenager and into my twenties I was never a fan of coats.  Maybe it is something to do with being a Northern girl, but outerwear and I never really agreed and I could never find a coat or jacket that enticed me to wear it.

Now I’ve reached my thirties my attitude has changed.  Quite possibly due to the number of years I have stood shivering at bus stops but these days, warm, cozy and stylish coats are always at the top of my wish list.

Today I have to show you a new grey and black speckled coat from Taking Shape.  I tend to wear a lot of different colours and patterns in my workwear and so was looking for a coat that would go with everything.

The Cardinal Coat has a large collar which keeps me warm in the cold months and the fabric is just the right thickness to be neither too cold or too warm.  The fit comes up a little bigger on me than usual but that said, I always like a little more room in my Winter coats to allow for the inevitably needed extra layers of clothing.

I am 5ft 4 and as you can see the coat falls to slightly below the knee.  There is stitch detailing to the sides and around the pockets and it has an asymmetric hemline.  For some reason every coat I have liked this season has not had pockets so it is a relief to have somewhere to put my gloves and MP3 player; essentials on a cold trip to work!

The only small downside that I have noticed about this coat is that there is only one large button to fasten it and on a windy day the coat does tend to fly open.  Also, due to my large bosom and very short waist the placement of the button doesn't sit well on my body.

I'm a firm believer that fashion should work for you, not the other way round.  I love the coat and would not let the placement of a button stop me wearing it so I decided to see what I could change.  The coat looks fantastic unbuttoned but also I found that by closing it at a lower point, this suited me much better.   As such, I have removed the button and have attached two inside press studs which close a few inches lower.

The result is as you see below.  The Cardinal coat works perfectly for me and I feel brilliant wearing it.  It goes with everything I have worn it with and have had compliments on how it looks.   

I'm sure on a different body shape the coat will look perfect off the rack, but this is how it worked best for me.  You can find the Cardinal Coat here priced at £125.00 which for at coat that will go with everything and is a timeless shape and colour, is a good investment piece.

* This coat was gifted to me by Taking Shape however the opinion and review is my own.

Kaleidoscope Dress Review

Towards the end of last year I was contacted by the lovely Sarah of Taking Shape asking if I wished to have a look at some of their pieces and of course, I jumped at the chance.

Taking Shape is a brand that has branched out from their Australian market over to the UK and I have been impressed with the range that they have available.  I am also told that they offer styling advice in each of their stores which is in a definite bonus in my book.

I chose this dress because I was immediately drawn to the vibrant pattern and the shaping of the dress which I thought would suit my shape.  I tend to be drawn towards dresses that are multi purpose and can be dressed up or down for a variety of occasions and the Kaleidoscope Dress all of the boxes for me.

I feel fantastic in this dress and have actually already worn it twice, once to a party and once dressed down a little to work (you know me, never knowingly underdressed!)

You can currently buy the dress on sale at Taking Shape for the bargain price of £19.00 so I would highly recommend that you and grab yourself a bargain!

*This dress has been gifted to me however all opinions are my own