Cue trumpet fanfare....it's MN VOGUE Vol 50, yes, it's that old. Come and celebrate with us and wave your handbags in support [fgrin]

[Drywhiteplease]

Ok, Voguettes. Gather round. Hands out of pockets. No fiddling. Stand still. Look forward. Loud voices please.

"On the first day of Christmas Santa gave to me an exploding Chanel bag for liberty
On the 2nd day of Chrismas santa gave to me a tin of tuna in spring water for marsha and an exploding Chanel bag for liberty
On the 3rd day of Xmas Santa gave to me a red non Christmassy lipstick for the newly wintered Shop and an exploding Chanel bag for liberty"

sleep face front! One get back in the front row I can't see you. Betty stop using your sleeve! here's a tissue .

"On the 4th day of Xmas Santa gave to me some blue nail varnish for linus to piss her mother up how common and an exploding Chanel bag for liberty
On the 5th day of Xmas Santa gave to me a blingy ring and a security man to make sure she doesn't loose it for Novice and an EX CH bag for Lib
On the 6th day of Xmas Santa gave to me an exercise DVD and an S Club 7 album for Sleep because she's just too cool musically and an EX Ch Bag for liberty"

WILL you PLEASE stand up AWks!!!!

"On the 8th day of Xmas santa gave to me an AW Rocco for Amber to add to the collection and an EXP Ch Bag for liberty
On the 9th day of Xmas Santa gave to me some yellow Boden trousers that are very useful for being spotted by strangers at Kings Cross for FedUp and an Exp CH Bag for liberty
On the 10th day of Xmas Santa gave to me an enormous bag of Dairy Milk for the old times for QueenC and an exp Ch bag for liberty
On the 11th day of Christmas Santa helped me break into mara's house and steal her Hermes black wrap bracelet because they bloody won't answer the sodding phone and let me buy one for myself, and an Exploding Chanel bag for liberty

Altogether now Shop put your crown straight and stop pulling Marsha's hair!!

On the 12th day of Christmas Santa gave to me.......50 bottles of fizz to celebrate Blair's forthcoming nuptials and the fact that our lovely thread has been going for so long............and an Exploding bag for liberty

new people always welcome to this thread where we ramble on about clothes and life generally. We are friendly. Happy Christmas everyone

queenc love your board. I think I'll be wearing something old for Xmas day as it's a bit late to buy anything new now.
I do have a friends birthday in early jean and would really love to pop my no buying cherry with something for that, but I think after so long not shopping I'm a bit :/ about it, I kind of feel like it should be something really good iykwim bonkers I'd love some leather leggings but thinking maybe pleather would be a could starter. Any suggestions of good brands?

Quiet here tonight.
Chilled day pottering and getting ready.
9 episodes into H of Cards. It's brilliant! K Spacey is evil. Claire is incredible.
Have opened the mulled wine.
Amber are you alive?

Last minute prep, wrapping and list writing here tonight. must force myself to go buy pink fizz for people other than me

HoC is brill isn't it dry I love Kevin Spacey, I always have

Oh yes, fashion:

Cashmere.
Haven't got any chiefly because my workplace is so hot. But I love the look and feel of the stuff. 2 questions really;

1. Does it pull badly?
2. Does the cost determine the quality of cashmere? M and S v I and I for example?

Pill.....not pull

Course I am dry, just about to go and start getting ready for tonight!

Not sure whether to wear new Sportmax skirt or the beloved leather leggings.

Not all Cashmere is created equal dry, I find Uniqlo the best of the high street, haven't had great experiences with M&S.

Dry I have soem cashmere from Tesco of all places and I've found it good. I'm off after xmas to check out the stuff in Uniqlo so will report back with findings if you can wait that long. Also, the Oxford Street Primark does cashmere, I saw it with my very own eyes the last time i was in there!

A couple of years ago we saw Kevin Spacey in something... Maybe Richard 3rd he was amazing!!!!

Queenc great board, you have a good eye.

Dry I finished series 1 of HOC night. I quite like Russo

Amber read about your Valentiino bag on the other thread

No fashion news for me today, donned my Arctic parka and BR tartan scrarf and went for a long walk with the dc.

Dry I am no cashmere expert, but I have somehow accummulated a few brands:

• Equipment - wouldn't buy again, it's lost the most shape of any of my jumpers and pilled very badly under the arms, feels lovely though but the arms go really baggy as soon as I wear it after washing.
• Chinti and Parker - pretty nice but £££ (outnet buy), has probably pilled the least, don't wear it as much though as it's printed so can't wear to work.
• Uniqlo - as Amber says, good value and has kept its shape, pills a bit. I would definitely buy it again.
• Kirkland (Costco brand) - very very cheap, pilled the most at the front, but didn't lose shape. Relegated to loungewear!

I also have a scarf from &Other Stories and wristwarmers from M&S, which are both lovely but obviously you don't get the pilling issue as much...

1 more day of work to Christmas

Yes betty it's v annoying, Harvey Nics will sort it for me though.

Right, on way out wearing leather leggings, red plaid shirt, red Toga Pulla boots, grey fur and (imperfect) Valentino.

Other cashmere I have for dry's benefit

Crumpet - amazing quality, hands down best
Iris & Ink - really quite good for the price
La Redoute - not bad at all for the price point. Little bit of pulling.
Boden - very good.
MaxMara - SHOCKING. Pulled after first wear.
Gap - pretty good, but a few seasons old so who knows now
Brora - predictably excellent but I find the styles frumpy

Think that's it.

there was a Guardian review of high street cashmere and Uniqlo came out best. I&I has washed and worn pretty well, my American Vintage was fab. Don't think I have much more than that.....

Very informative MNV.
I went to the Pure Collection shop yesterday "dd feel how lovely and soft this is, this is cashmere" BIG mistake it all felt and looked so gorgeous. Made me think. I'd be gutted if I invested in a lovely sweater and it bobbled.
Betty Russo is fit, but so far a bit dodgy......I am reconsidering a career in politics, far to back stabby for me
Well, mulled wine followed by prosecco is a jolly combo. Feeling v Christmassy now.
Amber great ensemble. Impressed at your stamina. Is your Valentino faulty? disappointing.
shop we should try to get tickets to watch SCD in the studio next year

Quick pop in to say happy belated birthday to Amber. I've had a crazy few days...

QueenC great board, I want the fuzzy pink skirt ignores fact that I would look like the back end of a bus in it

Dry thanks for checking out the Mulberry outlet for me - I think the blue Lily bag is quite new so I'm not surprised it hasn't hit outlet yet.

Novice thanks for pm - haven't had time to check out link properly.

Tonight, finishing an essay and making gingerbread so DD and I can assemble a house tomorrow and decorate biscuits as little gifts from her to various people we are visiting over next couple of days.

Finally on home style, this weekend we did this in the alcoves of our back dining/living room. We had Ikea bookcases in them up until now. The room is transformed, I can hardly believe just how good it looks

Cashmere, one of my favourite subjects . First warning Dry, it is addictive!

Brora definitely the best but as Amber says, a bit frumpy. DH has some fantastic sweaters that have worn brilliantly. I also try and get the hoodies for the DC's in the sale, so beautiful, they have been worn loads and passed on or ebayed once outgrown.

My second best would be Velvet (by Graham & Spencer), fab quality, along with Zadig & Voltaire, just gorgeous.

Duffy and 360 are good but tend to be finer knit so need more careful handling. No experience of I&I.

High st I'd agree Uniqlo and also Gap is pretty good IME.

Dry I forgot to say I loved your opening song!

Great Xmas board Queen, I think I am going to be going with dVF jumpsuit for Xmas eve and sparkly gold embellished top with black suede J brands for Christmas Day.

liberty we refer to that storage layout as "London cupboards" in our house, possibly because a lot of our London friends have them. Love them a lot.
Sleep thanks for the cashmere feedback too....all v interesting.

And Sleep for goodness sake wear an apron on Christmas Day

London cupboards is a great name for them Dry!! They are perfect especially for small terraces like ours where storage is at a premium. What I love about them is that they really make the room feel huge. I keep thinking DH looks like he has shrunk and it's because I am suddenly aware of the amount of space between the top of his head and the ceiling! And all my cook books are on a shelf instead of squashed on top of the microwave - the little things that make me happy!

I'll add on cashmere...

Whistles, v v disappointing. Downgraded to loungewear after 3 wears - luckily I purchased in the sale.

I&I - very good.

M&S - have one cardi - few years old. Bobbles a lot but still thick despite a lot of debobbling (I use a razor ).

I have really ancient Zara cashmere cardi that lasted really well. At 12 years old it is a bit of a cats blanket now.

I own only one Brora item - wristwarmers! But I use them as a point of comparison against everything else as the quality really is good.

Check out (sounds like a broken record) TKMaxx for Theory cashmere. Only bought it recently but very impressed with it so far and they have lots of other brands.

And don't you knit Dry? Debbie Bliss does cashmere yarn which is just divine. Also I love her 'Baby cashmerino' yarn which is a blend of merino, cashmere and microfibre. I made DD a few things from it and it was so soft and lovely and washed incredibly well.

I'm pisssed . Been to neighbours Xmas do. Lots of compliments on my silver shoes. Let's of compliments for Ds (7)......

Queen!
liberty I've been meaning to look at your knitting pin board. Love knitting but the final fit is always a problem, and I'm scared to invest in expensive yarn to risk it. I do fancy knitting a cashmere cabled snood though. The merino/cashmere/micro blend sounds lovely.

Evening,

Lib great storage solution. That kind of thing makes me so happy. Dh can't understand it at all so glad to find a kindred spirit .

Queen glad you had a good night at that your sparkly shoes were appreciated. Fab board. Am so coverting something sparkly for Christmas Day but too late now. Think it will have to be an old favourite black VW dress (stretchy thus room for gluttony) with opaques and red patent ferragamo flats for some festive colour.

My P Lim dress arrived from Outnet but it's not love. Material is too heavy and medium is far too big. Will try properly tomorrow but instinct says send back.

Dry good cashmere depends on the length of the fibre (like cotton). Lots of the cheaper supermarket stuff is short fibre that will bobble quickly and not feel as soft to the touch. I'd go to tk maxx and get a £150 sweater for sub-£50 before going to M&S etc. Have a few things from Theory including a sweater dress and quality is excellent. Lots of good Scottish brands like Hawick and Johnstons of Elgin but £££ and can be frumpy as others have said. Personally am not a fan of I&I, don't think the quality is great (for anything, not just cashmere).

I've knitted loads of stuff for DD in baby cashmerino - reminds me I need to finish her scarf before Xmas!

On way home, my train is delayed. Grrr. Lovely evening with school friends I've known for over 20y. Too much red though