Avidly surveying the sales... but already starting Wisely to wonder about A/W Wish Lists.

[blue2711]

New thread!

The fake tan is on (with requisite orange patches, naturally) and hair is done. I'm on countdown to Big Night Out, aware that will have to get ready whilst putting 2 DC to bed.

40bum lady is wearing my black suede Zara sandals today. I heartily recommend. She goes out a lot, doesn't she?! . I have a wardrobe full of going out clothes but not enough occasions to wear them all!

bloss is right: coats and warm jackets are the way forward. I am stupid; I have 20 odd blazers and lightweight jackets perfect for May to September but only 1 jacket and 2 coats I like for September to April. Must rectify.

Lovely t NY pin it!

And whilst lol at Pat B you are no where near.

Oh yes, forgot to mention, bought Hush PJs and skirt earlier...

Fritzi that was one of my favourite bits of the style day - it illustrated the point so well! I don't need a massive work wardrobe, but do need a couple of bits. I currently have literally nothing. Think I need to get pinning some ideas to see how things will work together.

Am in London after 2 hours in car with SE during which I don't think we once stopped talking about HoC. Oh, we did pause briefly to discuss the awesomeness of the W&A thread for a while, but that was basically it. Thank goodness we didn't have any other passengers

Adding the Pin it-bookmark to iPad, good instructions:
heresthethingblog.com/2012/03/19/add-pin-button-ipad/

Went jogging in gold leggings. DH actually liked them
and so did many ugly old men in the park
Will try to find MC Hammer' gold pants next...

Sorry, typos, too starved to write properly.
Will go raid the fridge.

Marsha thanks so much for the Marant pic!
Bloss the dress is a style departure for me too
because I normally look like Mrs Thatcher
H & SE I envy your day

marsha I am on with my real name (though may change that if possible). Initials JE and black and white pic; am following you.

Get the pin it option added to your bookmarks on your iPad and iPhone; it is then ridiculously easy to use.

hopefully and everything So excited for you about tomorrow!

I found the Marant dress for 30 Eur less than on Matches. Can someone please talk me out of it?

Ah excellent Blue. I am following you too. Lovely stuff!

Fritzi hmmm I think you should get it.

Have a great day tomorrow Hopefully and SE.

Fritzi, get the dress, just don't wear it without a bra .

Fritzi I love the dress.
So does DD1. She said so.
If you don't, you can always return it

Get it fritzi! I think it's a lovely dress, though it's so 'not me' - let me live vicariously through you.

Am seriously wondering where I could shoe-horn a bit of floral in. Was thinking not quite edgy enough for me, but MK is rocking the look...

Byeee all! See you in 2 weeks when I will put my mind to the pinning more readily! Knew you'd like that jacket Bloss. Sold out in that colour but they have it in black!

Have a great holiday rufus. Hope your DS is fully recovered.
Enjoy yourselves SE and hopefully, you're post reminded me of Thelma and Louise!
I really need to get up, still feel rotten.

Not had time to catch up properly. Busy day yesterday - took my parents to visit one of the pottery factories in Delft which was lovely. They took DH and I out for a meal last night but I cant taste a thing and didnt even feel like wine . Bloss it sounds as if we have the same thing - can't remember the last time I felt this ill for so long.

DH and DSs are all tired and grumpy - our holiday can't come soon enough. Enjoy yours Rufus.

Despite my best efforts to persuade him otherwise, DS1 is insisting on taking cake pops to school tomorrow. Think of me later coping with balls of cake mix falling off the end of sticks into melted chocolate. I vowed never to make them again.....

Oh dear - so sorry you feel rotten Bloss and Ollie.

Have a great holiday Rufus!

Hope you have an amazing day SE and Hopefully.

Loving the idea of jogging in gold leggings Dona. I am liking my Stella MacCartney Team GB ones and am trying to channel Jess Ennis whilst I am out .

May have another try at the pinning thing tonight, but under the cosh a bit at work so trying not be diverted too much. Obviously have found time for this thread and 30 mins shopping yesterday though .

Am wearing my new Zara skirt today and I must recommend again - so pleased with it! It is quite elasticated so creates curves in all the right places. Wearing with plain grey long sleeved top, nude fishnets and navy heels.

Morning all - v v hectic day yesterday with too many bodies in this house involved in superhero play, culminating in dd (accidentally) getting a black eye . Poor little thing. V swollen today so off to docs. No more playdates here for some time .

Sorry to docs hear about poorliness - get well soon lovely ladies.

Have a great time today every an hopefully - dawning of new age and all that!

Back later.

Err, you are supposed to talk me out of the dress not into buying it!

ollie Oh dear, cake pops again. So sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Having visitors is just the last thing you need when you are feeling poorly. When are you off on holiday?

bloss Poor you! Can't imagine the effort it takes to teach a class when you are sick. Doing any other job is bad enough.

My best friend from the city where marsha's brother lives is coming to visit with her DD today. They are staying until tomorrow and DD is beyond excited. Have chilled the champagne. Will show her the Marant dress and see what she thinks. And this is the last time I am mentioning it, promise!

red Hope DD is ok. Didn't you have to take her to get stitches a while ago?

rufus Enjoy your holidays with many fabulous outfits and lots of lovely wine!

We are supposed to leave for the mountains on Sunday. DH has mentioned the possibility that he might have to go on a "short" trip to South Korea while we are there. Which would mean he would be gone for three days out of the seven we are going to be there. He's having a stressful time at work so I pretended to be relaxed about it but hope they find someone else who can go.

Err, you are supposed to talk me out of the dress not into buying it!

ollie Oh dear, cake pops again. So sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Having visitors is just the last thing you need when you are feeling poorly. When are you off on holiday?

bloss Poor you! Can't imagine the effort it takes to teach a class when you are sick. Doing any other job is bad enough.

My best friend from the city where marsha's brother lives is coming to visit with her DD today. They are staying until tomorrow and DD is beyond excited. Have chilled the champagne. Will show her the Marant dress and see what she thinks. And this is the last time I am mentioning it, promise!

red Hope DD is ok. Didn't you have to take her to get stitches a while ago?

rufus Enjoy your holidays with many fabulous outfits and lots of lovely wine!

We are supposed to leave for the mountains on Sunday. DH has mentioned the possibility that he might have to go on a "short" trip to South Korea while we are there. Which would mean he would be gone for three days out of the seven we are going to be there. He's having a stressful time at work so I pretended to be relaxed about it but hope they find someone else who can go.

Sorry for double post! Never managed to do this before...

Morning all,
Notyummy pls link / pin the Zara skirt.
Will test drive my new fluoro Stella trainers tonight! (Love the barefoot Merrells as well.)

Another Marant day - just disovered that a good friend of mine in another country had purchased the very same dress on her trip to Paris about a month ago... Great minds etc etc

Day 4 of self-imposed shopping ban. Truly, I have so many things I should never ever buy another clothing item. Need to make an archeological expedition to my walk-in closet - and to my bursting-at-seams bedroom cupboard. Love the Marsha approach of buying very little but truly exquisite and unique pieces. Will try this come A/W - going completely cold turkey won't work for me.

Bloss and Ollie, hope you get better soon. Temperatures in Italy have lowered from 35C +++ to a positively chilly 29C, so one of us will probably get down with something soon...

Re: Delft, felt smug when saw this Prada dress- I've had one based on a similar idea for almost 5 years now and gotten lots and lots of wear out of it.

Zara skirt. Only a large left but stretchiness means that would cover large 10 up to small 14 IMO. I am usually a mdium on bottom half in Zara, and the large is only slightly big.

Right ladies, I need your help! It's time for me to start thinking about a work wardrobe and this is an area I have always struggled in. I have been pregnant while at work for the last 3+ years so everything I have is out of date, and anyway, I have been promoted (while on mat leave, how effective am I?) so I need to up my game a bit.

As you can see from my pinterest I am a v casual dresser, with a bit of a rock chick, edgy vibe going on (has a wankier phrase ever been typed? Apols) so I'd feel like a fraud in pussybow blouses etc. I work in professional services, so pretty formal, will be there 3 days a week, so don't need masses, but I'm starting with literally nothing, not even shoes...

What the hell should I wear?

Sorry to hear you are both ill Bloss and Ollie, hope you are on the mend soon.

Poor DD Red, ouch!

I am totally and utterly fed up with the weather, broken record I know. It is so difficult to get out with the DC's, given DS's bolting. We tried a coffee shop the other day that has a play area, but he still ran off when I was feeding DD. We are housebound!

Have a wonderful holiday Rufus.

NY great skirt. Zara sizing is all over the place...
Amber I would never wear a pussybow blouse.

A bright sharply cut blazer, T shirt and jeans work for me when it's a more informal day. I especially love combining a Chanelesque tweed or boucle jacket with killer jeans. Flares and cropped Marc Jacobs jacket can look good too. This autumn I will be wearing Marc Jacobs peplum tops with flares.

When I want to be more formal and authoritative (I have to network and negotiate a lot - usually with older men), I go for bright dresses and conservative suits (jacket & pencil skirt). Feel great in them. Try to find a great cut that reflects your style. My favorite suit is a salt-and-pepper gray one (with subtle silver woven in) that I happened to find from a niche label in a luxurious mall in Istanbul about five years ago. I also have a Day Birger Mikkelsen jacket that looks like very formal from afar but has patterns made of tiny safety pins: I love the subversive punk vibe. In summer, I might also combine a white blazer with a more playful pencil skirt.

I don't do the black skirt + blouse combo. To me it looks... well, it reminds me of secretaries and waitresses. At work, I want to convey power and authority. If I dress like I am in charge, people will treat me that way too (I was promoted during mat leave as well).

Great accessories (bags and shoes for me - and I have a weakness for big cocktail rings - found an artisan in Brazil who made me lots of them using local semi-precious jewels) help a lot. You would not have any trouble in that department .