Workwear chatty thread Part 2

[BelindaAllWorkedOut]

Let's talk workwear. Maybe a little bit of non workwear fashion chat, too.

My blog is at theworkwearedit.com but our chat goes above and beyond that.

LOVE LOVE the Dune hattie

i am pleased with the boden Yella belt I got, I must say

Love those black strappy sandals. Noddy - they would look fantastic with your jumpsuit.

The geometric mini is very me!

adore the geometric skirt and little geo clutch

all the shoes are too small for me ...gah
Zara in my gaff did not have the jumpsuit

I am not a fan of those floaty little sleeves on the blue top...I'm a bit less

I hate pale blue with a passion. Nobody except newborn babies should wear it.

Unless it is faded denim, in which case I will allow it.

I love pale blue! How could you not like pale blue?

Pale blue is so flattering - I should wear it right next to my face more often. Ditto pale pink. My DCs are appalling sleepers and my love of black is doing me no favours when I am looking so knackered. No matter - I found a new concealer (Maybelline eraser one) and the TopShop BB cream in light/medium is flattering. Plus, obv much mascara and tightlined eyeliner for upper eyelid. Bright lipstick is good for when you are tired, too. Although I'm not great at applying it and keeping it topped up.

I digress... Giovanna Battaglia is an Italian stylist. She used to be a model, then got into styling (apparently there was initial about whether a model could do it), but she had been successful. Not only do I love how she looks (classically elegant, feminine, sharp, super fashionable etc), but have you noticed the lovely warm way she smiles. In some snaps, she is greeting friends and she looks so genuinely nice and cheerful.

I think every wardrobe should have some yellow accessories.

Loving the pale blue fan club.

I bought this concealer recently. It's only a fiver and the light shade is pale enough for super-pale me. I'm really pleased with it.

Belinda - do you really think no linen at work? I tried this jacket on today and it looked nice/ flattering but will it look like a dishrag after a morning at a desk and unsuitable after September. I know I should go for black crepe or something practical. Am back to work in the City after Dc3 next week and need some new clothes. Your blog is a God send, style blogs and conservative clothes are not natural bedfellows....

I did quite like this too but may have to see it in the flesh. The Whistles shirt that another returner to work linked to yesterday was really nice but a bit see through without a jacket. This might be rather more opaque.

But - I do think no linen at work. Because every single linen item I have owned has creased terribly, and it just made me look dishevelled. Being pure line , that blazer is likely to crease and look crushed very quickly, at the back, where you sit on it, and at the elbows. Cotton can be bad, too, but linen is worse. I like linen table cloths and linen sofa covers, and that's all. Having said that, if you love it, go back and scrunch some of the fabric in your hand - if it bounces back, looking fine, then maybe it's had some magic treatment and will be fine to wear? That's nice to hear re my blog - thank you!

Re the Whistles shirt, was it Melodie? I think it's a good idea to buy vests to wear under silk shirts. I love them, but the sheerness of most of them is frustrating. Jigsaw do beautiful silk camis and Primark do £2 thin cotton vests, although I'm sure there will be something good out there that's in between. Anyone else have any undergarment suggestions so that I can shamelessly add them to my blog ?

But - Zara have some lovely white cotton blazers at the moment, as well as some pale ones. Will have a think where else.

This is wool and mohair rich, and just went on sale for £179 www.reiss.com/womens/coats-and-jackets/raffa/green-mist/

I agree re linen for work or anything. Years ago I remember meeting someone at an interview. We were ages waiting. She wouldn't sit because she was wearing a linen suit that would crease. Despite her standing for ages, the suit managed to crease. Never buy a linen suit for work!

This Mango one is a relaxed fit. It won't be the same quality as, say Banana Republic, but would be a great buy shop.mango.com/GB/p0/women/clothing/jackets/pocket-square-blazer/?id=21080007_63&n=1&s=prendas.cardigans&ident=0__0_1402948681381&ts=1402948681381

I think it depends on the linen. I have two (Uniqlo 2012) linen jackets, one black, one stone, that I wear for work*. The linen is crisp enough to keep its shape and colour.

A lot of linen around ATM has a washed look, which does look more casual and it doesn't seem to keep looking good/crisp. My jackets do crease but not excessively. Uniqlo's linen is remarkably good IMHO. I also have a couple of their linen shirts which are a godsend on a hot day.

• I do work in a relatively casual place admittedly but I am happy to wear them into the City.

Massimo Dutti do a lot of linen, so worth looking there, too, if you are a linen lover.

Oh deAr, reiss sale started. That was expensive. But not as expensive as it would have been .....

I could never own anything the colour of that Reiss jacket. It has bedpans written all over it

I do agree re linen but only because it is often the haven of the clueless. I have fleetingly seen some enviably sharp linen also although wide trousers outnumber it 12 million to 1. Adore for bedding but wonder if that is also a cliche now that H&M are flogging...?
Love the Mango jacket

Belinda, did you try this jacket on in mango? It's gone into the sale.

shop.mango.com/GB/p0/women/special-prices/frayed-detail-boucle-jacket/?id=21080191_N1&n=1&s=she_special_prices&ident=0__0_1402987887222&ts=1402987887222

Can someone please explain to me what has happened to sizing on the high street? Everything's too big!
Even Top Shop petite, usually reliably small, is coming up massive in a size 10 (and I definitely haven't shrunk). And don't get me started on Banana Republic...

I keep hearing that you have to size down but if you're normal size is a 6-8 that leaves...er...children's clothes. :(

I can confirm a poly jump suit is NOT workwear.

goes back to offuce

pinkpear - I've seen that Mango jacket in real life, and it's lovely - beautiful fabric (nice lustrous weave). I take a S in Mango blazers, but haven't tried that one on. I'm quite tempted by it, esp at that price.

million - vanity sizing gone crazy. It is really unhelpful for truly petite women. I have a friend who can't wear certain brands as they don't make their sizes small enough. She isn't even remarkably small, either - it's just the brands being ridiculous.

I'm equally tempted by that Mango jacket. I think the pale one. It would do so much for the summer. I might order tonight. Did you try the pale or dark Belinda? Is the dark one anything like the probably overpriced Zara one I'm coveting?

Didn't mean to ignore the Giovanna question Karl. Missed it. Belinda answered it much better than I could. I love her style. Have a google. I know she is probably 6' tall and a perfect size 8, she looks amazing all of the time. And yet I have a little bit of me that thinks 'I could wear that'.