Looking & Feeling Fab over 40 by Twiggy

Did anybody know that Twiggy had written a book on looking fab over 40? here is a small extract to get you going, if like me you have every intention of sorting out your wardrobe but still haven't got round to it!

I like the bit where she says crop tops are not for us 40 somethings, forgive me Twigs, but you were a grown up when I was a young un, you must be nudging 60 surely?

Wardrobe maintenance

First things first: clear out those fashion no-nos lurking in the back of the wardrobe.

What to ditch:
Slogan T-shirts
Thongs There’s nothing dignified about these and they are so uncomfortable!
Culottes I’ve always hated them. How can anyone look good in them? If you’re thin, you end up looking like Weed from Bill and Ben, or it looks like your trousers have shrunk. If you’re plump, they just make you look short. Every pair should be burned.
Cropped tops Certainly not for us 40-somethings – don’t even go there.
Hipster jeans worn to reveal your tummy If you do love hipsters, team with big sweaters or shirts.
Pastel shortie anoraks
Too-tight trousers If they are too small round the waist they bunch up around the button and cause a floppy overspill. And beware the tight crotch zone!
White skintight trousers Especially ones with polyester.
Thin denier tights
Shoes you can’t walk in (Mind you, I’ve got loads of those.)
VPL knickers These must only be worn with loose garments. Basic cotton, high-leg briefs are lovely and comfy if I’m not wearing anything figure-hugging. And unless it’s for a special occasion at home with a special person, avoid frilly underwear.

What to keep:

It’s no bad thing to have a sort-out once or twice a year. It’s very cathartic, as long as you are recycling properly. Don’t be pressured into following the ‘throw everything out that hasn’t been worn in over a year’ rule. Obviously, if clothes don’t fit you any more it’s worth reassessing the value of holding on to them, but favourite pieces can serve as an incentive to eat a bit more sensibly, exercise more and shed a few pounds.

Wardrobe staples: I've been wearing cowboy boots since 1972
If you love an outfit, keep it long enough and it will come back into fashion. I have tons of old favourites from over the years that I know I’ll bring out every few years or reinvent by teaming with a recent purchase.
If you'e short on space, vacuum bags are a lifesaver. They can shrink four sweaters down to the size of an A4 envelope! The best ones I’ve found are the Stack & Vac bags from Lakeland.

Extracts taken from Twiggy: A Guide to Looking and Feeling Fabulous Over 40

New online retail venture aimed at the over 30's

Suppliers of the now defunct womenswear chain Principles are joing forces to start an online retail venture aimed at women over 30, you can read the whole article here. I was never a big fan of Principles, but I did see a gorgeous navy quilted coat in there about two seasons ago which I sadly never bought and have regretted it ever since.

Fab in your 50's

I stumbled across this article from Liz Jones on the reason why so many women look fab in their 50's, read it here. Those of us in our 40's have no excuse then!

Follow me, Follow me

I have just joined Twitter, so if you want to find me and follow my tweets, my user id is:- fabinyour40s.

I look forward to tweeting with you and if you know of anyone I should be following, please let me know.

Invest in youthful skin?

This body cream sounds like it is packed with a cocktail of anti-ageing ingredients but would you pay £95 for it? If anybody has tried it, let me know. Read all about it here.

Black Thursday - Shoe Hell

You know when the day starts off well because you have a hair appointment at 10am and that your wonderful stylist will do a great job of covering up any stray greys, will add some golden hi-lights to catch the summer sun as you move and in addition to this, she will stick in a few layers and blow dry and ghd you into something resembling a RZ hairstyle? Well that is what happened to me today and after 3 hours in the chair, I made my way home and even the sun began to break through, so all was well with the world. I got home, made some lunch, switched on the laptop and remembered that www.theoutnet.com has new stock in on a Thursday and I keep missing out on things in my size because I am not quick enough.

I have wanted a pair of Louboutins for a while now. I have other expensive shoes, but none have the famous red sole and since I decided to go for wardrobe staples this year, a pair of CL's would be the perfect addition to the basic's I plan to buy over the next few seasons and would complete any stylish wardrobe. Anyway I logged on, only to find that they had had a Louboutin day!
There have been a couple of pairs online at any one time, since the site launched, but today they had 42 pairs! I began to dribble (and it wasn't because of the cornbeef & coleslaw sarni on brown, I was eating) as I reached for my credit card holder and began to browse. No less than five minutes later, feeling utterly deflated, I had checked all the CL heels, only to find that all styles were sold out, with only flat pumps remaining - sniff. It is now a few hours, a pile of ironing and a making of a Cottage Pie later and still I feel like the world is going to end any second - what on earth can drag me out of this Shoe Depression? I don't care if house prices continue to fall, if MP's have diddled tax payers out of millions (well I do, a bit) or if British Gas put up their prices again - all I care about is that I missed out on a pair of these beauties.....

These were only £182
and these were only £122

These were £162

and these were £112

Pass me the pain killers and a razor blade please.....

Spiral Splendour - get the RZ look (or not)

Now I figured that a blog entitled "looking fab in your forties" should perhaps encompass more than just my quest to dress stylishly and should maybe, include product. Being a real product junkie is part of who I am and surely this blog shouldn't just be about my wardrobe and fashion for the over 40's.

Therefore I decided to share with you some information on the hair preparation I mentioned in my Rachel Zoe post yesterday. The product is called Spiral Splendour and it is by Loreal professionel. The information which will allow you to judge if it is worth buying, is as follows:-

Quote

Spiral Splendour
defining cream to nourish and control dry, thick, curly hair

Effect: Nourishes and defines dry curls, providing softness and anti-frizz protection without weighing the hair down.Hold factor: Light hold (2)

How to use it: Apply evenly to shampooed, towel-dried hair by twisting sections around your finger to accentuate the definition of curls. Air dry or diffuse dry.

Tips: Use spiral splendour to perfectly define beautiful curls that are light and bouncy. First, evenly distribute the product throughout the hair. Next, separate small sections and roll them in a figure 8 around the index and middle fingers (over one finer and under the next) and blowdry.
moisture
curl control
thick hair

Unquote

Writing about things that I use or have bought, may point you in the direction of something you may be interested in purchasing and although this product made me look more Woodstock than Hollywood Stylist, it may work great for you (admittedly the centre parting did me no favours at all!).

So if you want to try this out and don't use a Loreal Salon you can purchase online here.

My new obsession - The Rachel Zoe Project

I finally managed to catch up on the RZ project on new channel "Really" (sky 248) yesterday afternoon and was treated to 4 fab episodes giving an insight into the life of US celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and I now have something else to add to my trashy t.v. obsessions list! I was far more obsessed by the episodes when she was in New York for fashion week than the LA ones (well NY is NY afterall and I never dream of living in LA, I leave LA to the guys and girls of The Hills". Random Fact: Last year I bought a coral (not a colour I would normally wear) Opi nail polish just because it was called "Carbo San Lucas" which is where Lauren & Co go on holiday! - sad I know).

Anyway, I have decided, I just love Rachel Zoe, especially her hair. Last night I washed mine and I have this Loreal curl balm thing, which you put on whilst your hair is wet and twist till dry in an effort to make it look like RZ's, I guess. So I sat all evening twisting and cajoling my locks whilst watching BGT and reading Blogs, then before bed, checked out my new RZ style and was a little upset to find that I looked more like Worzel Gummidge than an LA stylist with a penchant for Leopard print- oh well.

So today I thought I would check out Ebay for her book entitled "A-Zoe of Style" because I have to have it - now! The description mentions: wardrobe staples - check, when to save and when to splurge on shoes, bags etc - check, from clothing, entertaining to home decorating - on a realistic budget - check, packing and travelling like a jet-setter - check (although not sure if Marbella counts), so you see, it has to be mine, only trouble is and reason for this post, is all the ones on ebay are 2nd class delivery, I want to buy it now and have it by Wednesday at the latest. Sometimes life is so unfair and I am, well, flaky?

Time to pass it on...

I was given this fab award from the darling 40notout and now it is time for me to actually take the time, sit down and pass it on.

Three Things I can't stand

1. I can't stand the fact that I do not own a Chanel 2.55 bag. I have other designer bags which I usually receive as combined Birthday/Xmas gifts from Hubby (I am a Saggitarius) but he seems to have an unwritten rule of not spending above £1,000 - bummer!

2. Spinach - don't ask me why as I have never eaten it.

3. Going to bed in fake tan - but I have to do it. You have to leave it to develop for 6-8 hours before showering off and I can't walk around during the day looking like I have been in a mud bath can I?

Three Random Things

1. Whats on your bedside table? - Lamp, remote control, this months Instyle and when I actually go to bed, my mobile phone.

2. Last thing I bought - A Latte from a local boutique cafe called "Frappe" yesterday when I met my friend K (not the K from my Inspiration) but K who now lives in London but was home for the weekend.

3. Guilty Pleasure - Facials - I love them! My lady does a wicked hand and arm massage whilst your mask is on and it actually makes my hands and arms feel really weak when she has finished - really nice though. She uses Dermologica products which I really like as well. I try and go every 4 weeks - oh and she gives you a free brow wax.

A question of my own - so for all you lovely people that I am going to pass this award to, can you please tell me if you could only shop online from one retailer, which one would it be?

I am tagging:-

K Line

Sharon Rose

Get Stuff Done

Make do style

Being more through having less

Little brown bird

and I really look forward to reading your responses x

And then I go and spoil it all by buying something stupid...

I started this blog in an effort to a) sort out my wardrobe (which I still haven't done) b) to become effortlessly stylish and c) dress in more muted tones that would mix and match, and to be honest, I haven't done much of that in the last couple of weeks.

Last time I went "proper shopping" (as opposed to internet) and walked past Gap, I saw this summer day dress in the window and just loved it. I went flying instore and bought it. I got home and wondered what I had done. The dress was neither in a muted shade nor was it particularly stylish, I just saw it and thought it would look great with a Tan (or with a Fake Bake to be precise).

Why do A Line dresses look so huge when laying flat? (who am I trying to kid?)

About a week later, I saw Demi Moore in a magazine in a bright yellow dress and for a few days, this consoled me, but then I reaised that I am not Demi Moore and got depressed again. Now I am asking myself if my friend K, my inspiration in looking good, would wear this and the answer is most definitely NO!

It is probably to late to return it now and knowing me, I have lost the receipt anyway, so what shall I do?

How does she do it?

Perhaps us 40 something's could take a leaf out of Marie Helvin (the 70's supermodels) book, as she gives us an insight into how she looks so great at 56, in an interview with The Times.

She says that her formula includes: slim silhouettes; 4in heels (but not higher); pencil skirts that graze the knee (“it’s not that I don’t like my legs, but I would never wear short any more, except on the beach. I like that 1950s, just-below-the-knee length”); tailoring (Antonio Berardi and the Savile Row tailor Edward Sexton are favourites); white shirts (“they make everything look smarter and you can get great ones on the high street); the best trousers she can afford (she used to go to Jane Norman, but their trousers got too short so now she goes to Maria Grachvogel); fitted cocktail dresses and her Rock & Republic drainpipe jeans.

You can read the full article here.

Girls Night Out

O.K. so it doesn't look as much like a picture from the pages of Instyle as I had hoped, but here you have it, my proposed outfit for tonight. A meal and drinks at a local pub (we really know how to have a good time!) so I was glad I bought the top from Whistles the other week, so at least I have something new to wear. Jeans are as you saw in a previous post and shoes are from Carvela, bought in the January sale in House of Fraser for £30. They kill my feet but other than that, every girl needs a pair of black high heels - right?

I really wish I was Lily Van Derwoodson........

O.K. so I know its only a programme, but I wish I was Lily from Gossip Girl, not only has she got it together (finally) with the lush Rufus, but she has a wardrobe to die for and must be over 40 surely!
In case you are wondering, I am a grown up, The Apprentice is being recorded!

I have found the watch

Buy it here.

Micheal Kors on this summers essentials

I am a bit late with this post as the article of interest appeared in last weeks Grazia, but I have only just got round to reading it! Grazia's Paula Reed meets up with Micheal Kors to come to our summer fashion rescue. Paula asks how we can work some fashion mojo into our classics and Micheal's advice is to take a classic cropped trench, great in beige: a knockout in canary yellow. A matelot stripe sweater? Beachy chic in cotton: luxurious in cashmere.

The beige mac pictured is from Warehouse and the fine stripe cotton top is from French Connection. The other items are Micheal Kors and way beyond my summer budget.

I was totally loving this page, the white jeans, the gold rimmed aviators and the chunky gold watch really caught my eye. Paula asked if we only had £150 to spend on a key accessory this year what should it be and Micheal's advice as a chunky mannish watch - its a no brainer apparently and if you have any money left over, get a pair of white jeans, he does them every season.

I do have a pair of white jeans - so shall we call these a summer wardrobe staple? I also have a pair of aviators but they are silver rimmed and from Victoria Beckhams range and were in the sale last summer on Asos, I think I paid about £55 for them so less than half price which match perfectly well with my stainless steel watch, but I have fallen in love with the Micheal Kors watch and sunglasses pictured and can't find them anywhere on the internet. OK so I may be able to live without the sunglasses but I NEED that watch!

How to wear a Mac whatever your age

After my recent ramblings about Mac's as Wardrobe Staples, the Darling RML

pointed me in the direction of an article in The Mail about Mac's for all ages and how to wear them, so a big thanks for the Blog fodder!

The Mac's range from High Street to designer in price, to see full details of the article and prices for the clothes, click here.

The teens look seems a bit old looking to me and I can't imagine my teen wearing this look at all!

I think the 20's look should be for teens, but am loving the short style trench. I think this would be good for all ages and would look great with jeans or trousers and would fulfill the "Instyle staple wardrobe guide" in my previous post as the jacket to wear with trousers.

The 30's look is cute but more evening than daytime.

If this woman is in her 40's then I want the number of her facialist! I like the look but feel that I wouldn't neccessarily go out in the daytime looking like this unless it was to a posh lunch, which perhaps readers of The Mail, attend. I don't.

The Mac doesn't really look like a Trench either, although I do like the shiny fabric which I guess is a modern twist on a classic.

Like the clutch, shoes and dress but not the way they are put together.

They need a new stylist!

I think this Trench is very traditional in style and might have worked better on the 60's look.

The 60's look is far more fitting to the ladies age and I think they have got this one right. I really like the shape of this Mac and think this one could work for any age. The scarf really pulls the look together.

I must get some scarfs. I regret selling an authentic Hermes on ebay years ago as felt it was too old for me and I thought it was only the Queen who wore them!

I have decided that I am going to keep an eye open on ebay for some of the wardrobe staples that I feel I need as don't won't/can't spend a fortune on getting some basics together.

Wardrobe Staples according to InStyle

In Style estimate that the total cost of a woman's wardrobe is £5,000. This figure may sound like a lot, but it is based on a definitive list of the 40 essential items a woman needs to create enough looks for work, rest and play. The list was compiled by In Style's fashion experts as part of a survey commissioned by the magazine to ensure women become more focused on the key elements of their wardrobe, thereby reducing the number of fashion mistakes they make.

One LBD (Little Black Dress)

One statement handbag

At least two pairs of jeans —one wide-legged and one fitted / slim fit

Several great day dresses

Long sleeved T-shirts, in various weights. Colours must include black, grey, white and navy

Two vest tops — in black and white and two short sleeved T-shirts in black and white

Two pairs of trousers — one black "man-style" with narrow legs to the ankle; one wider-legged, long and flat fronted to wear with heels

One white shirt — fitted or, for the summer it can be longer and smocky

Cashmere — at least one V-neck and one round-neck sweater, one cardigan and another ultra-light cardigan for summer

Black polo neck jumper

One colourful or embellished evening dress

One quality coat

One jacket that goes with your trousers

One light jacket to wear over dresses

A collection of fun costume jewellery —high street and vintage

Several pairs of sunglasses —including one statement pair

One pair of wild look-at-me high heels

Medium-height heels in black

Flat loafers, ballet pumps and flip flops

One pair of comfortable boots

One pair of statement boots

I would be really interested to know what other women think about this list, as I feel it has far more items in it, than I thought would be required and it doesn't mention a Trench Coat/Mac, which I always thought was the main staple of any womens wardrobe.

I can tick, statement handbag, white shirt, jeans, ballet pumps and flip flops, but little else - help!

Live and Die in Denim

Some of you may have noticed that my "items I have bought" coloumn has been updated, with yes you guessed it, another pair of Jeans. The reason for my purchase is that I have recently gone through 2 pairs at the top of the legs! I figure that "middle age spread" is not just affecting my stomach, but maybe the top of my legs are expanding as well, causing the fabric to wear away. To be fair the True Religion ones that have disintegrated denim below the crotch, were in fact 3 years old (don't worry I am not gonna do the cost per wear thingy again, although these were bought full price!).
My fav place for buying jeans is Asos, but you need to bypass the "Women" section and go straight to "Outlet" this is where I bought the Earnest Sewn ones from a while back and now have purchased another pair of True Religion for £60, more expensive than the ES ones, but on theoutnet.com they are still over £100! So if you are looking for premium denim you can't beat Asos!

Denim remains big this season but still remains a wardrobe staple year in, year out and to be honest I live and die in jeans, so need nice pairs for going out and then use my older pairs for daytime. I am going out for a meal next Thursday and intend to wear my new jeans with the Whistles top I haven't worn yet. Jeans are also a safe bet at virtually any age and I dont feel that I am trying to hard when i wear them! they look great with a pretty top and heels, or a plain t-shirt and pumps. Does anyone else live and die in denim?

P.S. When I did the list, I had forgotten that a couple of months back I had bought a pair of "by malene birger" long denim shorts with turn ups, brand new without tags for £5! I often find that buying things like this out of season on ebay, means that they won't get bid up for so much money, only thing is you might forget you have them, like I did!

Taking a look at Planet

Whilst searching the internet for blogs for fortysomething fashion, the results didn't find me any blogs but my search bought up the ladies clothing store "Planet" and I was pleasantly surprised by the clothing they have on offer.

I am totally loving this St.Kitts layer dress at £129 and the website also has a good selection of items in its sale section.

One item I particularly liked was this fab Mac, now we all know that a decent Mac should form the basis of a good basic wardrobe, but how many of us actually have one? Well at only £99 reduced from £169, it surely is a bargain not to be missed.

So overall, I have to say I am quite impressed with the range of clothing Planet has to offer. There are sections to cover every aspect of a womans wardrobe, from smart suits for the office, to a fab holiday shop section for summer. Accessories also got the thumbs up, with lovely necklaces and reasonably priced sunglasses.

Missoni Sandals = Cost per wear

This blog was supposed to be about me getting my style together and I didn't really have any intentions of showing you any of my old stuff, but RML mentioned in her comment on my Gladiator Sandal post, that she would like to see the Gold Missoni sandals I had mentioned.

So lets talk a little about these sandals which were once, real beauties and my pride and joy.
They were brought from net-a-porter in the summer of 2006 at a cost of about £350 if my memory serves me well. They were worn almost every day for 2 summers and only hit the back of the wardrobe when I bought the Moda In Pelle Gladiators last year.

As with most shoes or sandals, the uppers are still excellent and consist of some sort of gold fabric with tan leather straps, but the insoles are beginning to look well worn as they have some Missoni signature fabric inside about halfway down from the toe area and it also serves as edging around the heel area. If it wasn't for this fabric, I think they would still look really good, although I still think I could get away with wearing them. (When you look below at the sandals please excuse the white skin, it is not hot enough for me to start fake tanning yet!).

So dragging these out from the depths of the closet, got me thinking about "Cost per wear" It is a phrase I have only heard branded about since the Credit Crunch (which then turned into a full blown Recession) took hold. So on a cost per wear basis, if I said the English summer was June, July & August and knocked off say 20 days per summer season, for rain and did that for 2 years, the cost per wear would equate to: £2.43. In actual fact they probably got worn on sunny days in May and September aswell, making them even better value.

I know it seems like a lot of money to pay out initially and it is easy to say if you saved £2.50 a day, in 2 years time you would be able to afford these, but my husband has always used the saying "buy cheap, buy twice". This is not of course strictly true as I can easily get another summer out of last years sandals aswell and they were only £50! Anyway I do think those gold ones were an investment piece in a timeless style. Gladiators were being worn by Kate & Sienna at the end of summer 07 and were a "must have" last year, but there is something gladiatorish about the Missoni's isn't there?, although not so obvious. They were the right kind of purchase for someone looking to build a wardrobe full of wearable staples, only trouble was I wasn't looking to do this back then, it is only now I feel the need to do some stylish investment dressing!

The Tale of Two Gladiators

At the beginning of last summer, one of the Mums walked into the Playground in the most fantastic pair of Gladiator Sandals. She does work in her Family owned local boutique but buys a lot of her shoes from Bertie or Carvela so I just assumed this was where they were from. I couldn't contain myself and went running over to her and said "where did you get those sandals?", "from our shop, they are Moda in Pelle, but we are selling out fast". Obviously I told her to check if they had anything left in a 6 and sure enough she arrived the next morning clutching a bag containing a pair in my size in brown (she had blue) and an invoice for £50. I wore the Gladiators all summer, virtually every day, with my Haviana Flip Flops and Birkenstocks getting only the briefest of outings. They were really worth the money and still look fine on, no wear to the uppers at all

Moda in Pelle never put them in the sale at the end of the summer season, in fact they introduced a new colour. The original colours were Brown, Blue and Oyster and in the autumn they introduced Tan.


A few weeks ago, still feeling total love for these gladiators, I decided to check out ebay and found a pair in Oyster which I managed to get for £14.50 - a total bargain!


The Oyster Ones

I might need to loosen the straps a tad, as my feet look a bit fat in them with my toes resembling a pack of Walls Finest Pork Sausages!

Anyway if you are looking for a great pair of Glads that won't break the bank, you can get them at http://www.modainpelle.com/ or try ebay.

Anyway, the reason for this post is with me thinking about going a bit classy with the wardrobe, should I have just one pair of sandals in black or Tan, Bottega Veneta or something?

Oh I have just remembered I do have a gold pair of Missoni ones, lurking in the back of that mess that is a wardrobe, maybe I should show you those tomorrow and you can advise if they should be ebayed or not as they are about 4 years old but did cost a pre-recession £350 - gulp.

Wardrobe Wilderness

Whilst thinking about getting my wardrobe into some sort of order, I began to wonder about wardrobe wilderness. When in your forties, or even thirties, do you start to think about lowering your hemlines and covering up your cleavage? Does some sense of decorum take over at a certain age, when we feel it neccessary to only wear short sleeves instead of sleeveless garments? and when do we swap the Wonderbras for Playtex cross your heart?

I recently went out with a 42 year old friend, who although has a figure to die for, had on a little Lipsy one shouldered dress which was about 4 inches above her knees and although I can't say she didn't look good, because she did, but the words "mutton" and "lamb" did spring to mind!
So at what age does one decide to cover up? and is it still possible to look sexy without letting it all hang out?

You will notice that in my list of favourite shopping websites, Asos gets a mention, but can I just say it is for shoes, jeans etc and not for the grazillions of mini dresses that are so beloved of my teenage daughters! and herein lies the problem, where exactly do women of a certain age shop? and when is it the right time to swap Topshop for Jigsaw?

If you know the answers to these questions, or have an opinion on any of the above or are indeed lost in a forties fashion dilemma of your own, or know someone who is, then please let me know! I would also appreciate hearing from anyone who has managed to build a closet full of classic wardrobe staples, cause I need as much help as I can get!

Should I feel guilty?

As well as having written the list of all the things I have bought so far this year, I also know that I have something on order which is due to arrive shortly and although I haven't added everything up, its looks like it could turn out to be a few quid more than I originally thought and I am nowhere near getting the kind of wardrobe I am striving for.
I guess I should feel a little bit guilty for what I have bought but most of this has only been in the last two months when in fact, before that, I hadn't spent a penny on clothes since the summer sales, last July.
The reason I decided to start spending again is because I am no better off for not doing so. There is no wad of twenty pound notes lurking in my wallet, nor an extra few hundred in the bank, so here I am, just like the people who give up smoking and don't find they are better off, I am no better off for stopping shopping for over six months.
There, now I feel better! Justified!

The Lanvin Pumps from Ebay

I am very careful about what I buy on Ebay as I live in fear of fake merchandise. However, I feel there are some things you can trust not to be fake (unlike Louis Vuitton or Marc Jacobs bags) and I was pretty sure these Lanvin pumps were authentic, in their trademark blue box with the Harvey Nichols price sticker on the side.
Now you may wonder what I was thinking of, buying bright yellow pumps when I want to fill my wardrobe with muted shaded staples and look effortlessly stylish, well I wish I knew why as well! I do have a lightweight spring jacket in this colour, and since I bought these, have made another yellow faux paux in the form of an A Line dress from Gap (you have yet to see this).
I think the reason for the pump purchase was a. the price and b. the fact that matches fashion has this colour in for this season and they have an RRP of £289! and every girl needs some Lanvin pumps - don't they?

Where do I begin?

Oh dear its a bit of a tip isn't it? and I've just realised that I haven't taken a picture of the centre piece of the wardrobe where the shelves containing jeans are, or the drawers below containing accessories and underwear. In fact the top shelf has 3 pairs of Ugg boots on it, but as you can see from the picture above, there is an Ugg box on the top shelf of this section, empty, needless to say!

So the first step in creating a wardrobe full of stylish staples in muted shades, will actually be to sort this bloody lot out. It won't happen today that is for sure, so do check back to see how I am getting on and if anybody has any advice on how to look utterly stylish when over forty like my darling friend K (see Inspiration) then please leave me a comment.