Alaia shoes 50% off at The Outnet tomorrow!

The lovely people at The Outnet are very kindly keeping me updated of what brands will be going on sale next and guess what? Alaia shoes are coming to theOutnet.com on Tuesday September 29th (tomorrow) - hurray! Fashion’s sculptural king Alaïa’s to-die-for footwear will have 50% off! Dress your feet in exquisitely crafted stud-adorned sandals, iconic cut-out knee-high boots and gorgeous lace-decorated pumps. All hail Alaïa!
You must agree these shoes are to die for and what I wouldn't give for that pair with the studded heel!

FC v Asos Denim Jeggings

It was a bit of a no brainer really. I really wanted these French Connection Denim Leah leggings when the FC catalogue came through but I couldn't help but think that £70 for a pair of leggings or Jeggings, was a lot of money for my first purchase buying into the Legging trend.
Last week whilst at the hairdressers, the wonderful E, was singing the praises of the Kate Denim Asos Jegging at only £25. She said they came in different lengths and that she was so impressed with her first pair, she ordered more in different colours. On Wednesday I was in London (again) and whilst in French Connection Regent Street, to see if I could pick up two of those wonderful Limited Edition London Fashion Week dresses for my girlies, at only £25 each (I managed to get them!) I had a good look at the Leah Jegging. They looked pretty good but still I felt I couldn't justify that much money on them, so came home and looked online at the Asos ones. I then thought I would have a little peek on Ebay and guess what? I got a pair for £13.50! so even with p&p I saved a tenner! Sharon Rose will be proud!

Side zip, high waist to flatten the tum, can't go wrong really - bargain!
The FC limited Edition dress only 1,500 made and in other colourways this retails at £130, as worn by Frugal Fashionista's and Mrs Fab's daughters! My kids don't know they are born, I remember when my Nan used to knit my dresses!

Todays Favourite Tweets and front row pictures from London Fashion Week - incase you missed them!

So much for this Blog being about my Fashion Journey, I just can't resist this little post about todays exciting Tweets from London Fashion Week and my thoughts on them and have thrown in a few pictures and bitchy comments, well, because I feel like it! Nicola Roberts, the Ginger Ugly Duckling of Girls Aloud becomes a Swan. How beautiful does she look and so much more classy and chic than her trashy bandmates (Sarah Harding). You rarely see Nic without a Chanel Bag....Fab....

Disneyrollrgirl - Quote of the day @henryholland "First fashion show season with Twitter in full force is a friggin nightmare. Like gossip girl on crack.

I totally agree it has made the whole event more exciting for us poor folks that are interested in what is going on.

Grazia_Live - What was Alex Curran doing at Todd Lynn? She replied 'no comment' when we asked her.......ummmmm

Why shouldn't Alex Curran (Gerrard now actually) be there? She is one of the high profile WAGS with huge disposable income to spend on Designer attire and she always looks good. Unless its Angelina, Jennifer or VB, Grazia isn't interested, rarely does it feature WAGS although in the past Alex did a gorgeous shoot for Elle (I think it was Elle) and Coleen once did Vogue after Shulman spotted her in a restaurant with Wayne.

Luxury_Fashion -Donatella Versace is here!

Ah exciting, the orange coloured transvestite looking Italian graced London with her presence.

HilaryAlexandra London Fashion Week: Stylist walks out as Mark Fast uses size 14 models

Good on Mark Fast! After my post on VB and Tana in the same dress, many of you commented that the dress looked better on Vicky because of her Frame and I suppose I do kinda agree but think it would be a great idea if Designers sent all different sized models down the Catwalk, 8,10,12,14 +, you don't have to be a size zero to love fashion (or under 30) and with the majority of UK women being a size 16, surely it makes sense to cater for everybody. OK, I am not saying a size 16 would want a BodyCon dress, but all designers have pieces in their collections, which if manufactured in larger sizes, could be worn by bigger women and surely this would help to boost their confidence and make them feel fantastic.

ELLEUK Sitting behind Alex Curren at #Todd Lynn. Didn't know she was a fan?

Another tweet about Alex, she really shocked the fashionista's with her arrival didn't she?

sophynails - Anna wintour was backstage at Marios Schwabb! Most amazing snakeskin coat.

Not sure about the Coat, would make it into a bag if it were mine! I would feel creepy wearing a Snake.






ET attends London Fashion Week.

El -io-tt, Go home.....

MyFashionLife - A starry front row at Jaeger with Peaches Geldof, Tamsin Egerton, Erin O'Connor, Lisa Snowdon and Anna Wintour!
Surely Anna must have been baffled by some of her front row counterparts, Peaches and Lisa WTF? Is that the best they could do? Sit her next to these Z Listers and she definitely won't be back.

LDNFASHION First Anna Wintour sighting, at Luella. Today is going to be huge!


ELLEUK - Lorraine Kelly is in the front row at House of Holland, wearing a pinstripe suit with fabulous cleavage.
Why?

TimesFashion - Burning question:is the kitten heel ready to be resurrected? Are we ready?
Erm - NO!

Twiggy dressed more for something else beginning with F and I don't mean Fashion. Flea Market Chic? Christ, she looked better on Loose Women the other day....

One lady who really knows how to do "Glam" even in her 70's- you rock Joanie!

Sack of Shit, Sorry. Arrived late sweating like a Pig after going for a run, allegedly. Too much Cocaine in the Bog probably bought the sweats on and anyway who the fuck jogs in heels and hat?

How do you get Style?

I was pretending not to listen to Loose Women today whilst munching on a cheese bagel, but my ears couldn't help prick up, when they began to talk about Style. Carol said that she wears things an 18 year old would wear but doesn't give a damn and then I think someone mentioned something about Victoria Beckham and her style. I had been thinking about VB and her range of dresses and wondered to myself why on earth they are so expensive, is any style actually under £1,000? I mean she is no Lanvin is she? but the dresses have been seen on Elle McPherson et al, I mean they are not exactly in a Z listers price range are they, Z listers tend to get freebies from Lipsy. Anyway back to VB and her frocks. Do you think she gives them away, afterall celebs are renowned for getting freebies, just so that us mere mortals can lust after a garment we could never afford because one of our style icons has been seen wearing it.

Then, with all these thoughts buzzing round my head, I happened to be browsing online when I came across the following pictures of VB and Tana Ramsey in the same VB dress.

Now what is it exactly that makes Vicky look 100 times better than Tana? Closed in shoes as opposed to YSL open toes (which are seasons old by the way, perhaps Gordon is going Bankrupt after all). I mean if you saw it in a shop you would assume it was a cocktail dress, but then VB rocks it for daytime with Sunnies and a tote! When I look at these pictures it makes me think that she has got something, that she is one of these women who could put on a black bin bag and heels and look great and how has she managed to master the art of looking stylish when I am a fair bit older and still can't do it? Perhaps some people do just "have it". Don't get me wrong she is not one of my style icons but I have to give credit where it is due.

Now as for this "Motley Crew" WTF? and how does that Tania Brier get in on everything? I hope that 2 minutes after this picture was taken that dress fell down! Christ, I've had four bloody kids but I swear my boobs are higher than that! If you put the four of them in a sack and gave them a good shake, maybe one of them would come out looking good! I really don't know why I am being such a bitch......

Collect your award here!

I just did an awards post but because I starting composing it the other day, when I published it, it came out on the date I started doing it, so is a little way down the Posts! If I have given you an award, to save the hassle collect it here. Sorry!

Cate Blanket?

WTF? I am speechless (well almost) the normally stylish forty something, Cate Blanchett wears a rather bizarre dress the same us what our Grans used to knit back in the late sixties, early seventies! Do you wish you had kept yours? Suddenly Vintage has lost all its appeal!

Some lovely accessories for your Capsule Wardrobe

As I try and motivate myself to do some housework, I couldn't resist a quick browse on The Outnet to see what was new in today and there are some gorgeous clothes but three things stood out for various reasons....

Over the knee boots are hot this season (shame I sold a pair on ebay last year, but too be honest I would feel a bit old for this look now) so I was surprised to find a pair, as the Outnet's stock is from past seasons. I think these blue metallic patent boots from Sergio Rossi are rather delicious and being as they are flat, it is an ideal way to get the over the knee look without crippling yourself. To me, winter boots should be flat and comfortable, I can't cope with rain and sleet in heels!

Over-the-knee patent boots
Original Price £524 Now £314.40 40% off

Next up are these gorgeous black leather Miu Miu gloves. If like me you are trying hard to create a wardrobe full of staple pieces, you can't go wrong with these. Luckily I already have a pair, but these are a worthwhile investment that will last years.

Ruffle leather gloves
Original Price £166 Now £99.60 40% off

and finally....

a lovely bright scarf by Malene Birger which even the most recession hit fashionista's could treat themselves to! This will brighten up all those horrible drab winter colours we are starting to wear now and bring a bit of sunshine into those dull, dreary and freezing cold days ahead!

Salusia knitted scarf Original Price £98 Now £39.20 60% off

Not another Celebrity Handbag Line, please....

I was almost a little bit saddened when I saw a tweet earlier by Rachel Zoe, containing a picture of her designing her handbag line for QVC. Remember when JLo did her handbag range? no, thought not. Or what about Mischa Bartons which are sold on Asos or the clearance website Koodos? MB's look quite nice but when you read the description there is no leather in sight, not even a trimming, the bags are made of "soft pu" whatever that is, may as well be "soft poo".

Then on the last season of "The Hills" the most horrid Stephanie Pratt was talking about her purse collection but RZ, no, please leave the handbag designing to LV, Chanel, Gucci, Balenciaga, oh and Zagliani.....please don't lower yourself.

I would love a Zagliani and actually touched one in a shop in Puerto Banus last year and although I am petrified of snakes, I have nothing against holding a dead one over my arm in the name of Fashion, especially if it has had Botox!*

Oh and don't forget that gorgeous Muse II by YSL I posted about, I might even swap my Louboutins for that beauty. How could any celeb inspired line possibly keep up with these objects of desire?

So RZ, to use one of your famous phases "Shut it down" right now love, before they all end up on Koodos.....

*Zagliani bags are injected with Botox to make the leather ultra soft (just incase you didn't know what I was on about!).

Zagliani Python pleated puffy bag £2,265 from Harvey Nichols.

Taking a Fresh Look at John Lewis

As you ladies all know, I went shopping to Bluewater last Sunday and in my never ending quest for a winter coat, I thought I would pop into John Lewis to see what they had to offer. There were a few that I liked but they didn't have hoods and some of them were more money than I cared to spend after having just parted with £300 in Jigsaw - ouch (and that was before I came home and ordered the dress!).

One thing that did become apparent as I searched for the nearest changing room or mirror, was that the Fashion Department was undergoing a makeover. There were plenty of brands on offer and I was really liking the Barbour Padded Jackets on display but shopping would have been a far better experience had the workmen have shipped out, well apparently now they have and it is not only the store that has received a overhaul, but the website aswell.

I have been lucky enough to receive a £25 money off voucher to use online by the lovely people at John Lewis, which was a right result, as I had seen a really pretty little Top in there last week but for some reason, left without buying it and have regretted it ever since. I clicked online to see if it was there, not sure that it would be, as the last time I looked at Fashion on the John Lewis site, it was spring time when I was looking for a dress for my friends wedding and to be honest, there was not much to chose from. Luckily for me the Top is online and I have just bought it, but the thing that immediately struck me, was how long it took me to find it because of the amount of choice now online, 36 pages of tops - Wow! I checked out coats and jackets aswell and again loads of choice, 20 pages in fact! Also thrilled to see Hobbs, as there is now somewhere else to turn if the Hobbs website doesn't have the item you want. Phase Eight, Maxmara, White Stuff, Fenn Wright & Manson, French Connection and Ted Baker are all there, to name but a few.

So all in all, I am very impressed with the large range of Fashion online which I feel brings the website up in line with House of Fraser for stock quantity, but I much prefer the clean lines and easy layout of the JL site and am now looking forward to going back instore to check out the improvements and I may even get the black Barbour jacket I tried on last week, or perhaps I could have a John Lewis banner on the Blog in exchange for it.....I would happily do that!

Check out the large range of Fashion at John Lewis here.

Another Two!

I feel just like David Cameron when Titanic swept the board at the Oscars, because I have another 2 awards! This one from the lovely Leah - how exciting!

I have to list 7 things about myself, which I know I did once before because I remember telling you about my second toe being longer than my big one and about the fact I had one of my babies on the floor after a quick labour, but because I am getting old and the "grey matter" is not what it was, I can't really think of anything interesting to say, so am just going to give you a list of favourite things!

1. Season: Summer.

2. Flower: Pink Roses but I always buy Lily's for the house and adore Peony's.

3. Room in the house: Bedroom.

4. TV Programme: The Wire.

5. Book: Liz Jones is Getting Married - she gets on my nerves but the book is so funny I often pick it up and read a few pages.

6. Chocolate Bar: Peanut Butter Chunky KitKat or Reese Peanut Butter Cups

7. Song: I found Lovin by the Fat Back Band.

I would like to forward this one to the following lovely Mummy bloggers:-

Chic Mama

Metropolitan Mum

Mumplustwo

Getstuffdone

westendmum

And now this wonderful award from the lovely Sharon-Rose...

I would like to award this one to the following lovely bloggers:-

Being More Through Having Less

One of 365

Wildernesschic

Fortynotout

K-Line

Handing out Awards is so stressful, I think I need to take my heels off and have a lie down!

Awards Time

I have just received this wonderful award from Chic Mama whose plight has really touched my heart. I am amazed she would even be interested in reading my silly rantings over fashion with all that she has going on in her life at the moment, but she obviously loves nice things aswell and perhaps it serves as a bit of escapism, god knows we all need it. So it is now time for me to pass the honour on to some of my favourite reads. As lots of my wonderful blogging friends either received this award alongside me, or they already have loads of awards, I have decided to pass this one on to some of my newish followers who all have wonderful blogs themselves, so here we go:-

1. Leah - A photographer who loves life, love and Fashion.

2. The Pineapple Tart - A wonderful novelist based in the Middle East.

3. Shopaholic at Shopping in Suffolk - A gorgeous lady who shows us how she manages to look stylish on a budget.

4. Sher from Fashion over Forty - Who shows us 40 somethings, how they do it in the USA.

5. Kristin at BonBonRose - Another Hip Mama from over the pond, sunny Florida in fact!

6. and finally Whats happening at my House who helps to ground me and makes me remember life isn't all about either spending money or lusting after clothes! (although she did order a Mulberry bag last week)

So a big thanks to my new readers its great to have you onboard alongside my usual lovely blogsphere friends (who you will find on my blogroll) that have grown so dear to me, Sharon Rose, Make Do Style, 40notout, oneof365, wildenesschic, helen halme and of course the lovely chicmama who is no doubt checking her diamond encrusted Brietling as we speak, who bestowed this honour on me in the first place!

I love you all, so just put on your high heels and lipgloss and well, be Fab!

Will this help?

Who lives down a road like this? Mrs Fab of course! You can't really see the sea very well can you? It is a long road and when you get to the bottom you have about 100 steps down to the beach, but to get back on track, the picture below shows you the bottom of the garment that arrived today, its an easy guess now isn't it? I know someone who will get it - Kate where are you?

Sharon Rose guessed it, the Jigsaw dress (don't know why the pictures came out so small) and here is Make Do Style's post on it as her High Street Pick of the week back on 6th June. Hope I haven't done the wrong thing, buying this instead of a coat, I could be freezing before the week is out but such a barg with £100 off, you know me, I just can't resist a reduction!

Wardrobe Staples to Last you a Lifetime

Being as I am all about the wardrobe staple lately, I was thrilled to see this great puffa jacket make the Telegraph's list of 5 items to last you a lifetime. Shame it is £599 from Moncler but no good for me, no hood and want one a little bit longer (I just know I will end up with an M&S one!).

You can see the other items here.

Guessing Game

Wednesday - Got home from work at 1.15pm to find I had missed a parcel. The parcel I was expecting, surely wouldn't come by post, but by courier. Although I have made many purchases from this particular store, I have never used their website before.


Today - 11am. am off into town to main post office to collect parcel. Am scared it is not the eagerly awaited one, as that one may arrive whilst I am out! Wish me luck.....

11.52am. OK I am back and it is the eagerly awaited purchase! I am so excited but also filled with trepidation as I have not bought this particular garment in the correct size as they didn't have it, but often find I can go down a size in this brand in certain items, so I pray to God this will fit!
Before I go upstairs to get it out of the packaging and try it on, I am in a frisky mood and fancy playing a little game with you, naughty I know, but can you guess what it is, if I give you some clues?

1. It was very expensive for a High Street store (although all their stuff is expensive but this was excessively so). When I initially saw it, I loved it, but felt for the money I may as well have added £100 and got something more High End.
2. One of my favourite fashion bloggers, did a post on this item back in June.
3. I have a friends birthday coming up in a couple of weeks and although it is an item from the spring and summer collection, I am sure I will still be able to wear it.
4. It had £100 off in the sale. I saw it instore on Sunday but they only had a really tiny one, so I came home and checked out the site.
5. It will be a timeless wardrobe staple, great for my capsule wardrobe, I will be able to wear it next summer on holiday, to a wedding, any nights out.

Oh and I forgot to tell you I spent the money for the coat on this item, oh dear, I am naughty aren't I, spending winter jacket money on a summer .....

OK, so now I am off to see if it fits, dear God, if there is a God, please please...

Ah, there is a God, it fits! Now can you see a bit of the neckline beneath my hair? Have you guessed yet?

Getting Waisted - Part Two

I couldn't resist just having a quick look at the new Balmain arrivals at The Outnet and although everything is way out of my price range, there are some beautiful pieces. As waistcoats seem to get a thumbs up from most of you, no matter what your age, I couldn't resist showing you this gorgeous leather Balmain one.....

Embroidered leather waistcoat
Original Price £3,440.21 Now £1,720.11 50% off

When I look at it, I can almost feel how soft the lambskin is to the touch and the stud detailing means it is bang on trend for this season as there is plenty of embellisment around. It may look a bit rock chick in the picture but could be styled differently for the more mature lady I'm sure!

Knowing me, if I had the money, I would probably have to buy this one....

I was also surprised by a couple of people who said they hadn't really found one to suit as I feel they suit everyone no matter what age or size you might be. Fab on skinny girls who can wear them done up with ease, but for larger ladies, wearing one open over a t-shirt or classic white shirt, can actally hide a mulititude of sins - well mine does!

Getting Waisted....

Hey Fab readers, just a few things I would like to say today before I go and peel the spuds!

Firstly, yesterday I was buying cashmere and trying on Puffa jackets and today is yet another day of glorious sunshine and very hot! At least we can get a bit more wear out of our summer clothes, as last Thursday and Friday almost had me climbing the loft ladder with vest tops in tow! I had todays outfit all sorted as it looked warm enough to wear short sleeves and hopped off to school in a white Jigsaw short sleeve t-shirt which has rolled up sleeves, some flared lightweight dark blue Levi's all topped off with a waistcoat. I don't usually keep hold of things that have gone out of fashion as wardrobe space is sparse and I have sold and lived to regret selling many things on Ebay in the past. For some strange reason I kept hold of a grey Next waistcoat so was more than pleased to see they are apparently quite fashionable AGAIN according to one of the London papers. So if you have one, pull it out now before it gets cold again, wear it like I did today or chuck it over a pretty summer dress, combinations with waistcoats are endless but they are very much wearable for us women of a certain age!

Lastly I would like to say that I am going to add comment moderation to the Blog, not because anyone has left me a nasty comment (although I am sure that is only a matter of time!) but because I am sometimes missing comments when people respond to an older post, so please don't let it put you off, I just don't want to miss anything any of you have to say and this seems like the ideal time to thank everybody that reads my rantings about fashion and things, it appears that from some of the lovely comments I have had recently, that people are looking for someone blogging about fashion who is not in their 20's and doesn't have a clue!

The River Island furry jacket - In pink!

An unexpected shopping trip took place today where far to much money was spent on wardrobe staples in Jigsaw, no winter coat was bought (couldn't find one and Next didn't have the ones I posted about previously, instore) but I couldn't resist checking out the faux fur jacket in River Island. They didn't have it in the beige colourway and there I was getting all excited that I might actually look something like SJP if I bought it, but they did have it in, wait for it, Fuschia Pink! Yuk Yuk and double Yuk! As you can see, this is the same jacket, the same faux fur, but without the collar. Oh well at least it has bought me back to Puffa Jacket reality! Women of my age really should keep away from River Island!

This one is for Sharon Rose - sorry its more SATC!

You know that I am crazy about animal print, especially leopard, well another thing I love is Furry and Fluffy jackets. A couple of years back my girls had to drag me out of Topshop as I almost bought a cream fluffy jacket that I had seen on one of the Olsen twins! It was gorgeous though and I didn't really need the girls to tell me it was far to young for me and would have made me look really fat, of course I knew that already. This morning I saw the jacket pictured above, online it is from River Island 59.99 and again, I fell in love with the fluffy furry thing!

After a comment exchange with Sharon Rose, I was directed to the HBO site, where they show Carries outfits in Seasons 1 to 6 and whilst drooling over Patricia Fields ability as a stylist and her wonderful vintage and designer finds, I saw the coat below!

The website tells you that the coat has the ability to become a jacket and the pictures are from different seasons of the show. We can only dream of owning such an item but the River Island jacket may just do the trick!

Carrie breaks all the over 40's fashion rules - again!

I won't be able to resist keeping you updated on Carrie & Co's outfits for the up and coming SATC 2 film, where as usual Carrie breaks all the fashion rules for a lady in her mid forties!

A backless dress by Dior? Would we? I don't think so! but SJP can, why is that exactly?

OK so she has only had one kid, but midriff on display, I think not! The only way to adopt this look is by clinching the shirt at the waistband! I actually prefer Miranda's outfit.

OK we can do this one!

White Halston dress. Put a high street version on next summers wishlist now! Louboutins seem to be the order of the day so far, these sparkly ones come in at over £1,000, Yikes!

These Lemon coloured t-bar Louboutins were on net-a-porter for spring/summer in Lilac. I struggled with myself when they went in the sale at £309 and decided that it would be hard to match them up with an outfit and that I was best to wait until a) they were cheaper on The Outnet or b) could get a black pair. As you all know I did the latter, but you can bet every last buck, that the minute these go on The Outnet, Mrs Fab will have her card ready! Blue dress, yellow shoes, pink bag.....I think she has her surrogate twins on location in that slouch!

Zip it Up

It may sound a little crazy, but I was just cooking the kids their dinner, when I started to think about Zips. The reason behind this is, I was thinking back to last week when I tried on that Leopard print dress in Monsoon and the struggle I had to get into it, not just because of the draping bit down the front and I had my arm through that instead of the armhole, but the fact it had a side zip. I was getting all hot and bothered and ended up just holding the top of the dress together as I couldn't do the zip up alone (don't they always seem to get stuck around the waist area, especially if there happens to be a seam going around your middle). That also got me thinking back to last summer when one of my daughters bought a maxi dress in Zara and I couldn't do the zip up, the shop assistant couldn't do the bloody zip up - so can somebody tell me why they put stupid side zips in dresses? Now I know a lot of you will say it is because it gives a better line to the back of the dress, but can anybody honestly say that they have fitted themselves into a dress with a side zip with ease and all by themselves? Not everybody will have a Mum or a partner around to assist, in what can amount to a very difficult situation and lets face it guys, even the most glorious high end designer wedding dresses don't have side zips do they? Wedding dresses always have a back zip, if they have a zip (obviously some now lace up the back) so why have wedding dress designers realised the difficulty these entail, but other designers have either failed to see it or just don't give a shit?

If you spot a dress you love from the front, you would never discard it once you had seen it had a zip up the back would you? or would you? but maybe you would if you struggled to do it up in the changing room.

Do you find side zips a problem, maybe even going so far as to avoid buying a dress you love because of it? let me know, I would be interested to see if I am the only person who feels this way.

A lovely oversized Cardigan

Liking this oversized cardi very much only £40 from Dorothy Perkins. I will give the boots, shoes and bags a miss though, but I think I might finally buy some black leggings as they will make a welcome change from Jeans and won't be so obviously "young looking" if worn with long boots.