MN vogue vol 17

[QueenCadbury]

Following on from vol 16

C'mon lurkers, come and join us and talk fashion/style bringing lots of links please...

One.. I have seen this skirt and it is beautiful.

here is a tulle strap dress that could work as a skirt with something over it. Very Carrie.

Organza skirt from TopShop

Black high waisted everyday pleat skirt

Love me a bit of Yellow

Great answers Turq. My eyes welled up reading about your DF reminiscences. Family links have been a constant throughout the quiz answers-who bought something/what occasion etc...

Mig the quiz is v interesting. The thing with prints is it's so hard to find one that doesn't look frumpy, overwhelm the garment or the wearer and that you dont get sick of after a while.The Zara floral shirt I bought earlier this season is fantastic.....I wear it a lot,goes with loads...but it's a one off, most of my stuff is plain.

Are there any books on the psychology of clothes? Would love to read that. And why women are so obsessed with their hair.?.....mine looks terrible today, whatever I do to it, I'm on holiday, it shouldn't matter, but it's bothering me.

1 first item of clothing you remember really loving?

a navy blue sailor dress from laura ashley, with a red satin ribbon trim.

1. What perfume do you remember your mother wearing?

chanel no 5 and one that was some numbers - 1881 or something like that? does anyone know what I mean?

my father never wore aftershave.

1. First designer item? i think it was my tan mulberry elgin, bought with my first bonus (and making use of a friend's staff discount!) in 2004. one of my best buys ever.

1. Children's favourite item?

DD (5) - a boden vintage party dress, teal with tiny pink/red flowers and a tutu skirt underneath which means it sticks out!

DS (2) - star print dungarees (also boden

1. Most sentimental item of clothing?

i don't think i am sentimental about any of my clothes.

1. What do you wear now that's most you?

CE cargos. i wear them so much and they are SO me.

1. Designer?

tricky. i don't know enough about designers to make the call really. tempted to say rag and bone.

1. What style does not suit you?

anything WAG like or too trussed up.

Dry I like this book by Justine Picardie. A more academic book here looks worth a browse. I read parts of this for a History course I did last year and it has some fascinating stuff in.

Foxy Think that perfume is Cerrutti 1881. I don't have an issue with Boden. They are a great success story in an industry that is one of the few with growth. I love some of their things especially the colours but their shoes are way overpriced. I have a fabulous moleskin straight coat in Loden green that I adore and bought the striped towelling beach cover ups for my niece a few years ago.

Ooh love a quiz too. Great to read all your answers.

1. What was the first clothing item you remember really loving?

Found this one really hard to answer, but probably a pair of DM boots I had as a teenager, around the grunge period. I wore my own (largely unsuccessful) version of grunge at the time.

2. What perfume did you recall your Mother wearing?

YSL Paris - really evocative, remember being left with the babysitter when my mum wore this, it was her going out perfume. I really love the smell. As an adult I really associate Angel with her. Don't think my dad wore aftershave though he did smoke cigars - a smell which I associate with him.

3. What was the first 'Designer' item you bought?

Hmmm, I think it is actually a pair of stella M sunglasses bought from secret sales. I think they may be my only designer item (apart from charity shop Michael Kors bag). I am definitely still a high street girl.

4. What is your most sentimental item of clothing/accessory?

My auntie gave me some of my gran and great gran's jewellery, and there is a necklace that I like to wear. I also have a Fatima's hand necklace bought in Egypt that I like to wear when going away, bit superstitious!

5. What is your children's favourite item of clothing?

DS likes a batik shirt my dad bought for him, and his wellies!

6. What do you wear now that feels the most 'you'/ defines your personality?

Hmmm - I like to wear tube dresses like this with ankle boots / brogues / any flat shoe. Don't wear this look at the mo though as breastfeeding still.

7. If you could dress in any designer, but only one, who would it be?

I don't know enough about designers' key styles but I am drawn to looking at Preen stuff when surfing the net, also Helmut Lang (like that drapey look) and Carven.

8. What style/type of clothing does not suit you at all?

Short skirts / skinny jeans (need to hide the legs). I don't feel comfortable in high heels / too glammed up. I like a mix of high and low, and to always feel comfortable!!

Here are my quiz answers:

1. What was the first clothing item you remember really loving?

First pair of jeans with a red and white striped fabric belt which I wore on my first plane journey aged 4. Thought I looked very chic.

2. What perfume did you recall your Mother wearing? And what aftershave did your Father wear?

Mother: Anais Anais Father: not sure, what ever he got for Christmas I think

3. What was the first 'Designer' item you bought?

I don't have many 'designer' items. Probably a longchamp weekend bag that I bought in my mid 20s.

4. What is your most sentimental item of clothing/accessory?

Jewellery from my parents - a gold ring they bought me when I was 14 and a silver bangle they bought in my early 20s. I picked both and wear them both lots. Also a gold ring that my dad was given as a child, I can still wear it on my little finger.

5. What is your children's favourite item of clothing?

DD1 (6) - mint jeggings from john lewis
DD2 (0) - no opinions on this yet!

6. What do you wear now that feels the most 'you'/ defines your personality?

Trench jackets/ coats - they have become a bit of a staple.

7. If you could dress in any designer, but only one, who would it be?

I don't wear any designers but I always really like the Isabel Marant and Marni catwalk shows

8. What style/type of clothing does not suit you at all?

androgynous/ mannish tailoring (does not work on me as a v short person with large frontish!)

Quick question - I am loving a pair of white boots

these

But really unsure what I would wear them with - any thoughts?

Amber - have you worn yours much??

oh yes those towelling cover ups are brilliant for the DCs. ours get used all the time.

i've never bought from boden for myself until this season - i got the green honeycomb knit and pointed leopard pumps from the AW preview, and absolutely love them both. am now tempted by the pepto pink cashemere but need it to be A LOT cheaper.

I like those MrsR. good as part of a monchrome look, or with v v dark ink skinnies?

And speaking of Isabel Marant, what does everyone think about wedged trainers? I was very drawn to them a year ago but had did not think they were suitable footwear for carting about newborn DD2.

Recently I have thought they are too much, the trend is over, enough.

But now I have seen these which look a bit lower than normal and I am very taken with them. (Also love the Alexander Wang bag they are styled with in one of the photos).

Tell me wise people in your honest opinion is this trend done and dusted or will it live on another season....?

foxy love those leopard print pumps and the honeycomb knit from Boden

MrsR I like that tube dress and you named Preen! I love Preen and also Negroni's Marni. My pinboards are littered with those two plus Helmut who makes the best cut pants ever.

MrsR I could never get away with those boots. They would look good with greys, maybe a soft grey pleated narrow skirt with a slouchy sweater. They'd also suit skater type skirts. I think skirts would need to be either super long or quite short to keep the lines looking sharp. A shorter tube skirt, leggings or woolly tights, blazer and slouch T or embellished top? Burgundy/grey/White boots; pale yellow/grey/white boots; bare legs/pastels with one black or grey item to sharpen it up?

Negroni I am like you in that I wonder if the moment for wedge trainers has passed. They are a nice pair though, and a "subtle" version.

Have you seen these and these from Topshop?

Negroni I think they are something you can carry on wearing especially if your other item/items are from a new season. I'm not one for throwing out the baby with the bathwater each new season. I think that if you find a 'great love' of an item, wear it all you like. The most stylish people for me are the ones who mix, match and wear whatever suits them.

Foxy that green is great. M&S have some great little leopard pumps here that are a compromise between sensible and a little bit of something, something.

For Scripsi

YMC

(Though I actually prefer the Monsoon one)

Mig I love the Topshop dress in the grey. I like the blue skirt but it's just a tad too pale for my colouring. I am the palest of the pale so anything too pastel on me makes me look so washed out.

Loving the quiz answers, though I see more people don't suit hippie/boho looks than my most hated bodycon. Am I alone in being unable to wear it?!?

One are you sure you couldn't wear it - you are very hour glassy if I remember rightly?

I don't wear really bodycon stuff because i don't feel comfortable with it all out there like that. My lifestyle and work place is not conducive to that look. i love tube skirtss. I like a tight top with a flared/ loose/ informal bottom half or vice versa or a form fitting dress with a blazer over the top or a slouchy sweatshirt. But as a total look I find it quite limiting. And of course it can attract the wrong sort of attention from idiots who judge a book by its cover.

Also inexpensive bodycon Herve Leger rip offs can look not very well made. They clutch at body parts and make the lovely soft curves of a woman rather sausage in a skin-like. The real Herve Leger dresses are very flattering but too many WAGS have worn them sadly....

BTW I like the curve of a stomach under clothes. I would find it sexy if I was a man. And I cannot imagine a little baby or child ever complaining (eyeing up my ice cream curve)...

MrsR my shape is ok, it's the c-section overhang that makes it look bad, I can't, despite my best efforts get rid of it. I can wear draped stuff though as long as it folds over my stomach in the right place

turq,i could never do office wear either!,

mrsR love your answers.,im not sure about the boots,never liked white boots.

negroni i was wondering about that too,i still see marant and many other designers doing them,i like this version but i feel its too expensive,if you like them,then go for it,or better yet, wait for the marant for h&m launch.

foxy i love both sweaters,the green looks great.

mig its a very interesting quiz, im attached to a lot of items, i could never throw away anything given to me by a loved one.i still have the small lv pouch bag,my parents gave me,when i was 15,my first lv bag,i use it as a makeup bag now.

One If you are generally slim all over with odd pockets of fat like a CS Overhang then Lipo would work (should you ever get really tired of it) but have you tried Spanx? Tube skirts I think work well if they are high lycra% as they sculpt and streamline especially if as you say, you get the drape and hem of the top right. A lovely cardigan or blazer over the top also helps draw the eye away. I personally think that little roll under clothes looks quite sensuous. I realise that to you, it is something you absolutely do not want to draw attention to but I hope you can also see that other people are less aware of it than you think.

You are right though that no exercise or diet will rid you of it. Unless there is a small hernia behind it? More common than you think and it'll make it more prominent.

Mrs R Agree that for me the moment for expensive wedges has passed but your sale links inspired me. As did Mig's encouragement. I have bought these - £30, free delivery - so have not invested too heavily in this possibly passing trend.

I form attachments too Santa. I blame it on not being able to have attachments to my parents as a child (awful childhood). I am comforted by stuff. Not on a hoarder level but I get very fond of things and think about the imaginary grandchild or other relative that might like it one day. I even kept old make up and empty perfume bottles until I made myself throw them away because No, if i hadn't taken them to eBAY/Antiques and bric a brac place by now, I never will.

I've never had it checked Mig but it is very noticeable. I generally do my best to cover it up. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm very much overweight but I'm being sent to the dietitian to see what's going on because I shouldn't be this overweight given the tiny amounts I eat