MN Vogue - volume 44

[shopafrolic]

There's a chill in the air as we head towards Autumn. Some of us may have jetted off to sunnier spots, some of us are lounging on yachts (kind of) but we're still going strong 44 editions in. Come and join us for fun, friendly fashion and beauty chat. All welcome, any budget. :)
Continuing on from [[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/2143017-MNV-vol-43?msgid=49041693#49041693 Vol 43)

And an ultra kind offer!

Can't beat a Jeager coat for quality.....tie styles make me look bulky though

Crikey I'm so impressed you can remember what you were wearing when you met your dhs, I can't remember at all I was on a boozy night out and was quite drunk. My style probably hasn't changed that much except that I'm a lot more casual as a SAHM and when I met him I spent a lot more money on clothes and probably wore heels a lot more.

Shop I picked up those shoe boots today, they are lovely and look great on and definitely a keeper, they make the Next ones look very frumpy. The only thing is they are a bit tight as I have wide feet but I'm sure they'll be fine with a lot of wearing, tried them on with a pencil skirt I would wear to skirt and they looked great, looked great with trousers too, thanks for the link

Am taking an interest and awaiting feedback of your leather skirts Dry think I'm after one as I've go a few nights out planned with different people and a leather skirt seems quite versatile.

Sorry if I've waffled a bit, have had lot of

I remember mine as the skirt was so crazy Betty!

Marsha no impulse buys today (well apart from the M&s handbag). dry was just sympathising with some angsting I was doing about spending on stuff I never wear.

Novice that is such a lovely coat but I'd never wear it. It's a proper theatre night coat.

I love that coat Novice. But my Jaegar dress is a 10 :(

Glad the boots are keepers Betty

Marsha ah, really can't do the 29/11, away on family weekend for df's 70th birthday. Could do the one before but guess its not really a Christmas night out then. If the 29 is what suits the majority go for it.

Good question about style changes. Like betty have no idea what I was wearing when first met dh. I remember I was (badly highlighted) blonde and fake tanned though, not a look that suited me & he said he liked me in spite of rather than because of it! In my 6th form and early student days I experimented with the grungy look of long floral skirts with dms, skinny t and second hand leather blazers but always with a swishy blow dry! Have always been interested in fashion & knew when I got it right such as 90s minimalism but some shockers too such as those jeans with the waistband cut off in the early 2000s. Think I've found my style gradually over the past 10 years or so & am definitely going for quality over quantity these days.

I was wearing a nurses uniform when I met dh (tunic and trousers)! First date I wore oasis black trousers, next blue shell top and a denim jacket. He later told me that he thought the denim jacket made me look like someone from b-wictched! Don't think my style has changed much really. Like sleep though I did use to wear lower cut tops and push up bras to show off my fabulous breasts.

I went to be at 8 tonight as this cold is killing me and now at midnight I'm wide awake!

novice gorgeous coat and a lovely offer. Sadly it would fit me but look like a dressing gown.
dry I'm assuming the phrase was Milf? Be proud!

Morning. I went back to bed thinking about how my style has changed over the years saddo. My biggest changes were moving from university to London and having dc and moving here. Lived in Chelsea so a stones throw away from kings rd/high st ken/Knightsbridge etc. so quickly felt a scruff in my uni clothes. I've always been fairly groomed (blow dried hair, nice nails) but my clothing style became more groomed/less grunge too. The town I went to uni in wasn't great for shopping and suddenly I had everything including Oxford st on my doorstep plus my wages so it was a great time. I became really aware of designer stuff although never bought it but I used to walk past the Amanda Wakely shop lusting after the dresses in the window. I also started reading ST and became obsessed with the style mag and Tara PTs column in it as she often mentioned going out in Chelsea.

When I had dd my body changed hugely initially. I saw breast feeding as a license to eat and put on weight. I was not one of those breast feeding mums where the weight just dropped off! I look at photos and barely recognise myself, not just because of the extra pounds but because I'm obviously lost style wise. I look a christening photos and could cry as the outfit is so wrong. When I had ds 2 years later the pnd set in and I compared myself unfavourably to other mums who all seemed so glamourous whilst I felt so frumpy. It took a while to get out of that mindset.

Moving here initially caused me style angst as I felt that dh's female colleagues and wives of male colleagues all looked so grown up and expensive. I used to panic at nights out with them and what to wear. Thankfully now I feel confident in my choices. Becoming a sahm then had a major impact on my wardrobe as I got rid of all the work stuff (although I wore uniform clinically I often had management days) and had to build up a casual wardrobe. The school run/toddler groups here are very boden/fatface/white stuff/casual so anything high fashion would make you stand out. Luckily I think my style fits in quite well although I often feel overdressed on nights out as people often wear the same stuff as you've seen them on the school run in. Nothing wrong with that but I like to dress up a bit but not so much that I look like a dick. Tricky getting that balance.

And apologies.....that was a huge essay but strangely cathartic

Let it all out Queen MNV are way cheaper than a therapist!

I was wearing a school uniform when I met dh - navy skirt (taken in to look like a pencil skirt), navy blazer, non regulation pink tights and pixie boots! Although when dh actually asked me out on a date was a couple of years later at a formal dinner and I was wearing a black dress with big shoulder pads and killer stilettos.

I have always been interested in clothes but didn't always get the style right and like Queen, I shudder when I look at the clothes I wore at ds1's christening in particular. Also for the 5 years in which I had 3dc's, I was at least 3.5 stone overweight and being vertically challenged, didn't carry it well at all.

Nowadays, I feel I style myself better as know what suits me and don't feel I have to wear something just because it's 'fashionable'. Have just had a quick read of the 2 frumpy threads and agree with the comments re clothes for your lifestyle. Also with getting it right in your 40's - don't want to look like mutton dressed as lamb, nor dress like I am 20 years older.

Sorry for the long post . Will catch up on all the links later - great for inspiration.

Love that QueenC - and I love how confident you are in your style now.
My tale:-
School - goofy teeth, horrible uniform, long thick hair with a very dodgy fringe. I loved clothes but was a bit geeky I think.
At 16 I got a job in a local wine bar and EVERYTHING changed. I used to rip the backs out of band t-shirts and tie them like halter necks with black leggings or leather trousers. Then I cut my hair off - a huge milestone for me, my choice, my style and not my mother's. I think it also coincided with me earning my own money so I could buy the clothes I really liked rather than something my mum thought was suitable.
This was the acid house era - hooded yin and yang sweatshirts, leggings, and those huge trainers with the dual coloured laces that you used to weave (can't remember the brand......)
Fast forward to uni and the Madchester years. Life revolved around the club scene. Lots of PVC. White gloves (yes I was that cliche), platform boots. Wonderbras under suit jackets.
I left uni after about 18 months as the lifestyle overtook my studies and came home.
Next big wardrobe era was my working wardrobe I guess. Always a suit (trouser suits as I never wore skirts back then). I was always paranoid about my legs as people always commented about how long they were and I thought it was a criticism . Only in my last 5 years in management did I embrace the power of the workwear dress and heels. I used to love how clothes could make me feel more confident in tricky meetings.
I grew my hair during that time after a big relationship break up. Shoulder length hair seemed to make me more approachable to men weirdly. And then I online dated and met DH.
I lost my style way during pregnancy and the first few months I was found in Fat Face, White Stuff and Cath Kidston (which to those who know me......well it doesn't suit)
And then just before my 40th birthday I met you lovely lot - and the rest is history.

We should publish a book - the history of the Voguettes!

Style evolutions v interesting.
Have always wondered why women change their hair after a break up Shop
QueenC has now helped me increase the leather skirt survey to 5!!!!
I will report back on all when they arrive next week.
My style evolution is predictable .

Dp has just told me that he's ordered me a metallic purple leather satchel as a 'back to school' present. Very unexpected but appreciated. Won't have in time for term start but should here by the end of the month ish

That's lovely One . Very you. When do you start?

15th of September dry really nervous now, only a week ish to go!

You'll be fine One! It will be enjoyable.

Love these vogue style stories.

I'll be back later to do mine!

Noticed a tiny, tiny hole in the Tory Burch cashmere but the type that just gets bigger as you get it cleaned etc. But going to take it to Soho invisible menders and see if they can do just that.

This is fascinating reading and I've plucked up courage to actually post. Been stalking this thread for some time now but wasn't confident enough to post but now thought fuckit, I'm 49 and I look the best I've ever looked.

I met my dh in 1987 and had thoroughly embraced the decade I was wearing a mini ra ra, a wham t shirt and white calf length boots. To be fair though, most other people were wearing a variation so though it sounds hilarious, it was normal sort of Then we got married in 89 and I had the full long hair with bubble perm. My kids put a pic on fb earlier in the year and someone I know commented "what were those bows on your wedding dress shoulders" - So once married, my style icon was prob Lady Di as I felt very gown up. In the 25 years that have followed, I've put on and lost the same 4 stone many, many times. I've had short hair, long beachy hair, asymmetrical bobs, perms. Been blonde and brunette - liked myself and loathed myself.

Now I am 49, my kids are 22 and 14 and I have stayed a fittish size 12 for 2 years. I've also found out what suits me and I wear it to death. Either skinny indigo or straightish boyfriend years, striped tops, boxy zara tops and shirts, leather skirts, shortish shift dresses etc. My legs are my best feature and as I have just realised that, I'm not putting them away yet.

I absolutely love fashion and style and read all the mags and S & B avidly. The blogs are interesting but the women whose looks I quite like spend more money than I ever would on an item and don't live the same life as me. I work in a senior role in the City but I live in rural Yorkshire but both parts of my life and look are fine and suit me. I wish I hadn't spent years agonising about fitting in.

Please can I be part of this thread

Awks welcome! Great you posted! Nice story. But do you commute from the City to Yorkshire? Am intrigued.

Welcome Awks! Your wedding dress sounds like mine, also 1989 and also with bows on the shoulder. My hair is naturally curly so the blow dry made it look like a perm (but it looked good then).

When I started uni my look was quite sloaney. I had a copy of US Vogue Teen which was full of preppy outfits, which I used as my inspiration. So, kilts, shirts (upturned collar ;) ) and lambs wool sweaters. I also had a duffel coat and college scarf.

University (and a part time job) helped change my style but I was quite chameleon -like. I met DH as a student and I can't remember what I was wearing but it was probably jeans and a sweatshirt or one of my more experimental outfits concocted from my mum or dad's cast-offs or bought from a vintage shop.

When I started work, I embraced the yuppie (remember them?) look and devoured the Next catalogue. I wish I had kept the very first one with its fabric swatches. I felt so grown up in my work clothes.

Becoming a sahm mum was, style-wise, not great. I put on weight, money was tight and I lost confidence. When I went back to work, about 13 years ago, I panicked and bought some boring outfits (badly fitting suits, skirts the wrong length, bad colours). Oh and with my hair too short, the curls made it look like I'd had a wash and set!

Nowadays, I put on and lose the same stone regularly, but I have a much better idea of what suits me. I like my work clothes: typical would be a Me& em ruched dress with jacket and shoe boots and, because I don't wear them all the time, I am happy in jeans at the weekend (and they are better jeans).

After years of straightening my hair, I am letting the curls back, but as it is longer, it is wavier and so I am avoiding the permed look. Since discovering this thread, I buy less but better e.g. more silk and less polyester. I also have more confidence.

Sorry for another long one, but I also found it cathartic.

Shop Cath Kidston

Lovely of DH One. You will be great!

Everyone wore black velvet top half and taffeta full skirts in a variety of colours for our school ball. With puff shoulders and crinkly hair.

I had one of those dresses from Laura Ashley Marsha! I wore it to a works Christmas do in about 1990. In fact, I loved it so much I kept it for DD. I think she would only wear it to a fancy dress party....

They were ace, and ubiquitous! All the school ball photos are pictures of us looking the same. Why?!

Then at university college balls it was all about the little black dress.

queen You have great style, everything you wear suits you perfectly, you look great in colours and pretty tops, and I love that you have an obsession with cardis,
shop You can rock strong looks, and you have a great figure, so you can get away with almost anything .

everyone here has individual style that works for them,

I was an only daughter,so my dad really loved to take me shopping, but he would always take me to classical sporty stores,like tods and hogan for shoes, molo , I didn't get to experiment like other girls my age, all I really wanted to wear was those strappy short floral dresses back in mid 90s,but I always felt it would be so ungreatful to tell him that.

When I moved to the uk,I wanted to emulate the English look so badly,but didnt know how.i didn't think it loved me back! I really loved how laura bailey dressed, but I couldn't do the whole lot,
Think i adapted things gradually, and was influnced greatly by london style,but i still kept some of my europeaness in me, I think I'm somewhere in the middle right now, not too classic (which doesn't suit me at all) or too trendy. think I'm normcore luxe!

topaz I think that look is called Ivy League preppy, everyone was doing it in late 90s , where I lived that is,

Welcome awk yes,I want to know too,do you do it daily?!!!

one that's a very nice thing! Please live unawrapping when you get it!

Hope you have great weekend linus

And enjoy the weddings shop

Welcome to Awks do stay

I've never been to any kind of ball but I did once go to a wedding where everyone was instructed to wear full length gowns or suits in shades of dove grey and baby pink! It was a very posh snobby wedding and where I discovered that I don't like caviar!