MN Vogue - volume 61

[shopafrolic]

Not quite sure how that went so quickly. Continuing the search for stylish bargains. Lurkers welcome - bring links and a smile :)

Here

Thanks Shop
That is one of my colours and I have debated that dress a few times lately. I am trying to get some work stuff though...

The thing I have taken from 'Into Mind' is the idea that when you like an outfit you should try and analyse exactly what it is that works about it ie textures, fibre, details of the fit etc. So for me the recurring elements are:

1. comfort, I'm not a person who will suffer pain/discomfort for the sake of fashion,
2. I like neat fits but not bodycon/tight,
3. small to medium size jewellery but not too classic,
4. good quality but not flashy or obvious labels
5. love boatnecks etc

I went shopping. I suddenly had a panic once dh had dropped me at the train station as apart from gracias I know no Spanish at all . Bought a jumper in massimoto dutti, a top in esprit and a top in zara.

hi all

very quiet here, waiting on my Dsis to move in the last of her things at the end of this week and I've some work to be doing and then next week, at the end of the week, i'll be going to london for ten days or so. Dp came this weekend for a long weekend and went home today so feeling a bit blue about him going. it's been almost a year exactly and it still doesn't feel right

YSL news

Time for that tux shop

one hope you are OK. PM me your London dates and maybe we could reschedule the coffee we had to cancel last time?

I love shopping in Spain queenc. Did you buy summer things or stuff for A/W?

Well done QueenC, I wouldn't be that brave :)

I did get called yesterday, and today it got a bit more interesting, but the whole process is sooo slow. We got sent home today at 3.30 and also had a 90 min lunch break. It's nice having an excuse to read but naturally afterwards I went shopping. Didn't buy anything as what's in the shops is really the dregs of the sales now - was mostly looking at home stuff. I went to TK maxx but there wasn't much of the DVF left although there was an Herve Leger dress for £270, but in a pinkish red colour :( (I would love one!)

Hugs One. It will feel odd having your sister there no doubt. But 10 days with DP sounds lovely and I bet you can't wait.

I had a little clearout at the weekend too. 3 bags of stuff. My wardrobes still feel full though, how does that work?!

oh, it's definitely going to feel weird having sis here, i'm not so good at having people in my space, im very solitary by nature and she's a chatter which i find hard. i try but i'm not very good at being social the way she is and she finds THAT hard about me. it's going to be bumpy no doubt.

I'll send you a pm when ive booked my definite travel dates lib

i've recently cleared out two big bin bags of clothes and two big oversize bags of shoes. the clothes were stuff i didnt wear anymore that no one wanted and the shoes were all ones i can't walk in anymore so i got rid of them as they just made me feel sad! they are from a different life i suppose, one of drinking and dancing and now my life is painkillers, netflix, my cat and wheatbags

Love me a bit of Netflix One

Evening all I survived ......

Pissed down from Monday morning when we left, to this afternoon when I left to come home.
Put tent up during 10min break in rain. No guy ropes
Then after enough champ to not be able to drive home discovered a leak in tent.
Friend had duct tape so we taped a ground sheet to the roof of my tent
Hit the pub.
bleating sheep kept me awake. When they stopped snoring commenced
Really really rained hard from 2.30am. Lay awake all night expecting to be washed away.
Dd slept like a log
I wore my Berghaus waterproof trousers over my jimmies for 24hrs
I couldn't be bothered to shower this morning too many clothes to remove
Took tent down and put it in the bin.
I stink....I did temporarily wear my Stans to drive but I did wear make up

Camping in a tiny leaky tent is not fun.....but it feels like a bit of an adventure not to be repeated

So glad to be home. About to have the best bath of my life

Waves to all of you on hot holidays

Pics were funny though Dry I've sent you a little package to cheer you up. The Dior is for your DD x

Sounds like you can enjoy it all the more now that you are home Dry. I'm sure DD appreciates it.

It was lovely to catch up with mara today at our NW mini meet-up! More house-move chat than fashion on this occasion. Loved her hair (as always).

It sounds like it could get tricky with your DSis staying One. How long will it be for?

at dry. Sounds hideous but fun at the same time.
lib the jumper is a/w and from the new range at MD. The Zara top is new but elbow length but will be worn for going out with black trousers over autumn. I don't but black much anymore but utterly adored the top when I saw it online and loved it even more in store and when I tried on. The esprit top is 3/4 length sleeves do will see me into autumn.
The young fashionable things here wear cut off denims. The shorter the better. And they do like their Michael kors. I've seen lots of real and fake bags. There's also lots of fake long champ bags everywhere. The dept store had loads of bags (long champ, Michael kors, coach etc) but they all seemed the same price as uk. Whereas esprit, Zara and MD were the same in euro as pounds the bags definitely were not. I'm glad I went shopping as probably would have regretted it if I didn't but it was pretty scary!!

It's great when you get your holiday wardrobe right, sounds like you're having a fab time QueenC

Great shopping QueenC.

Well done for surviving camping in the awful weather Dry. Bath after that sounds bliss.

I ordered this dress on a whim the other night. Arrived today and I really like it! It's a bit short but will wear tights.

Topaz - glad you & Mara had fun.

Mara - I now have serious silk pj envy.

Shop - great purchases.

Dry - glad you're able to enjoy a hot bath tonight. I'm sure you'll sleep well!

One - hope all goes well with DSis & have a lovely time with DP.

So here's a packing tip: don't decide that you're holiday wardobe needs just one more dress at 10am on the day you should be packing . All packed now (seriously overpacked but I was annoying myself with trying to edit. Last year I barely took anything as I was overweight & couldn't fit in anything. So I'm over-compensating this year. I snuck off for a heavenly aromatherapy massage this afternoon. Am now sat watching The Good Wife & trying to convince myself I'm sleepy...given I have a 345am wake up call .

topaz it's for an unspecified amount of time. The real issue is that she's very social and likes to chat and do 'girly' things like nails and face/foot/hair masks and I'm not, anti social as such, i just don't need as much social stimulus as she does. I'm hoping she'll feel okay with inviting her friends round to get a lot of her social stuff from, rather than needing it all from me. All I said is just warn them that the cat's more anti social than I am and doesn't take to be petted and/or chased haha

Keep looking at my wardrobe and wondering if anythings missign but i still have so much that its hard to see the gaps

lib ive been thinking about your into mind stuff. What works for me is:

1. Detailing (but not too much). So pintucks, lace, little collars etc
2. Neat to loose fitting but nothing that swamps me. And deginitely nothing tight or bodycon
3. No masculine tailoring. But nothing too frilly/girly either.
4. Youthfulness so nothing too grown up or mature looking
5. Small to medium jewellery
6. Small to medium scale patterns. Flowers/spots better than checks/stripes
7. An outfit consisting of 3 colours. A base colour of navy/grey/black with a coloured cardi or bag and a third colour of nail polish/jewellery/belt
8. No very open necklines and if there is a large space of skin fill it with jewellery
9. No strapless/spaghetti straps

10. Bright pink lips

Basically all of the above are what I learned at my style day and advanced style day but it definitely works for me.

Very interesting queenC
For me;
1.fitted but not clingy......simple lines.
2.masculine/Rock chic/ collars with big lapels/ volume all are NOs
3.detailing.....lace,small frills,pin tucks
4.higher necks, boat/slash/round neck/roll neck work very well and even out my top half.
5.daily I wear small jewellry but like a statement necklace or cuff too.

1. I like classic colours, black,camel,grey,red.......but wear others too
2. Prints tend to be small. I like stripes and spots but don't have any checks.
3. For going out I like to look grown up, a dress and heels is my fav look.
4. Best skirt length is just on the knee.

1. The more fitted the better. Anything loose just doesn't work, I look like a bag lady. I think this is why I never get on with boyfriend jeans.
2. Tight crew necks, v necks or slash necks. No to scoop, too boring.
3. Collars are great on me, shirts work really well
4. Detailing not good, unless studs or possibly a bit of lace
5. Halter necks are great
6. Unexpected twist is good - ie. zarita, v classic dress in v not classic colour.
7. Animal prints work well, stripes ok, spots/florals/anything twee - NO.
8. Pointy toes on shoes
9. Bright colours in summer, black, burgundy, red, grey in winter.

10. Texture good - so leather, fur, feather, sequin 11. If all else fails, put on a bodycon dress.

Grr, the bloody mosquitos still managed to eat me despite wearing repellant. I react v badly to bites and itch like a bugger so a trip to the chemist means I now have antihistamine tablets, antihistamine and antibiotic cream and extreme repellant which she promises me will work!

Love all the style talk. It's been really nice being away for 2 weeks and having a chance to think and chill rather than feeling like we have to be doing something every minute of the day. The Amanda Brooks book I read has made me really think about what I want to do with my life. She over analyses a bit in the way that Americans do but two bits of advice that have struck me are 1, turn what you love doing at weekends into a career does drinking Prosecco and shopping count as a valid career choice?? and 2, ask those closest to you where they see you in the future as they may come up with some intetesting ideas.

1. fitted but not skin tight is best, too loose and i look like i got dressed in the dark from a wardrobe meant for a much bigger person
2. prints on my dresses and tees with colourful and/or interesting pictures work for me really well
3. pastels are just a no go as is coral and yellow
4. rich, bright colours and darker colours like charcoal and black work really well for me
5. 50's shapes work well on me as they show off my smaller waist and skim over my hips
6. classic is not a style that works for me, i need drama and interest
7. my goth days taught me that i can work leather, studs and velvet well
8. though fashion law would dictate i should wear bootcut jeans to deflect attention from my big hips and 'balance' me out, skinnies work better as although my legs are big, they are a good shape

Poor you QueenC. I react badly to bites too, not nice. What's the book you are reading? If my career was doing what I enjoy at weekends it would be gossiping with friends while drinking coffee/red wine depending on time of day! I think a better way to think about it is what makes you excited?

I read an interview with Mhairi Black last weekend and she said she was loving hearing about her constituents problems and then getting stuck into reading policy to understand the issues and work out how to fix them. She said it didn't feel like work at all and it's something she really enjoys. It struck me that I love doing that too. I love the part of my job that involves working through complex problems, talking to people about them and then figuring out solutions. The hard bit is dealing with all the stuff that comes from working in complex organisations and small p politics..the process bit of working through the system to get things done - multiple reports, endless briefings, having to clarify really small details endlessly...just wears me out. and I am so deeply mired in that crap at the moment

And when I ask others what I should do they often say politics!