Imitation is the sincerest form of....

Remember fabulous Fabienne?

I''m still a few years shy of 50, but I feel a stronger desire to look like her than most of the 20 year old models that I see....

So I copied her look to a Single White Female obsessional detail!
TopShop leather jacket, butter soft and gorgeous, BCBG shoes, H&M gold jeans and long vest and bag from Warehouse.  I am wearing a structure under the vest that is meant to elongate the spine and trim the waist, I have to confess, not the MOST comfortable thing in the world, especially after a 4 hour meeting, but looking at the pics, it might work!! More on that later.

Zaggora hotpants

I posted before about these Zaggora hotpants.
The only criticism that I have of them is that they work so well that you soon need to go down a size.  I am not sure if XS has been newly added to the range as I don't remember seeing it before, but within about 4 weeks I went from the small being snug to needing to downsize.

The effect is immediate and only maintained by continuing to wear them, I gave my pair away to a friend as I wanted her to try them and I have noticed that by not wearing them daily, little pockets of fat are reappearing around the top of my thighs which is one of the areas that I put on weight first.

I was sent my pair free to try them so felt it only fair that they should be sampled by other people as they are genuinely effective, even though it goes against all of my ideals of exercise and healthy eating being the only way to get results.

Victorias Secrets

This shining example of rampant consumerism was something that I wanted to hate.  But if I'm honest I did get a little sucked in.  It is quite spectacular and not a penny has been spared in making it look beautiful and enhancing the VS brand.  Downstairs is all strip wooden floors and 'college' style cotton underwear and sportswear and each floor gets progressively more luxurious finishing in the VIP suite above where men can come with their ladies and a rail of items is prepared for them to try. It's very pretty with lovely views, but it is all a bit Disney does underwear, the books aren't real, just decorative, the 'silk' VIP kimonos are polyester.  But it undoubtedly will appeal to many people.

This murano glass chandelier with the VS pink bows was stunning.  The facade shows real costumes from the feted VS fashion shows and the Swarovksi staircase is quite spectacular.

It's definitely fun, I dread to think how crowded it will be by Christmas, but if you are in the Bond Street area it is worth a trip!

Just when I thought I would stop shopping on Ebay...

I bought these brand new rock stud ZARA boots for 99p!

I thought I would try to work the rock chick look with leather skirt that I have read elsewhere is the height of cool...

 It didn't work, I looked frumpy and yet still mutton dressed as lamb.  So switched for cream lambskin skirt and grey pullover, which is a little better.  It's for a casual dinner in 5 minutes so no time to change again!

Party attire...

London party dressing is really very straight forward, pretty much formulaic; one 'designer' piece of clothing, something from Zara, and either an expensive bag or expensive shoes, both at the same time might be a little flashy, but depends on the event.

Oxford is very different, a couple of weeks ago I was invited by a workout buddy to a birthday 'get together', no RSVP necessary, just come if you can make it.  And goodness what a get together it was, 3 bars, one room with DJ, one room with live band, a buffet marquee and breakfast served at 3am for the last of the revellers.  I had played it safe in a LBD, but most of the other outfits were spectacular, full length gowns, 1000 vault glamour, randomly someone had even come as Cleopatra.  I felt boring, but more importantly, I felt that I hadn't shown enough respect to the time, thought, effort and cost that had gone into the evening.

Saturday night was a similar casual do, but this time rather than just throw on something at the last minute, I thought I would try out some options.  I showed these photos to my husband and he chose the outfit that he thought would best suit the occasion. Standing in front of someone while they pick to pieces what you are wearing, isn't the best start to a night out. Him flicking through pics on my phone and offering a final verdict is far more amicable. 

 

I started with this TOPSHOP top which had something a little MiuMiu about it.  But I'm not sure about the grey skinnies, they should be consigned to daywear only...

I tried this Monsoon top which was a bit longer and fuller.

And topped it off with a Warehouse shrug, it was meant to by size 8, but it is teenie tiny and just gets lost in my enormous shoulders...

I switched the grey skinnies for ZARA coated leggings and Donna Karan shoes...

 And then replaced the billowy Monsoon top with an ultra long vest from Warehouse...

 I tried to break up the black by finding a way to close the shrug...

 It really didn't work, I succeeded in accentuating my thick waist and giant shoulders...
 Finally I just safety pinned the bottom of the shrug and phew, finished at last...

 The bag was reduced to £249 at Bicester when there was a supersale of all the 'skin' finishes, I bought it and kept it in the carrier bag with its receipt (in case guilt got the better of me), this was it's first outing, along with the Donna Karan shoes.  They were promptly discarded so that I could play horsey all night to a six, four and two year old.  We ended up boogying to One Direction while I spun them around like whirling dervishes. The kind of laughter emanating from spinning children, way past their bedtime is about the most contagious there is, I haven't had such a good night out in years!

What's your party fail safe when you are not sure what to expect or who will be there?

Vegetable garden...

I posted about the willow border that I bought a few days ago, it arrived and my veggie garden is finally underway, I think I may have waited 18 years to start growing my own veg.  My 'to do in life' list has always been pretty mundane!
What dreams do you have that are yet to be fulfilled? And which boxes on your bucket list are already ticked?

Dream Greenhouse...

I've been investigating various options for a spot in the garden where there is a redundant shed and broken greenhouse. I have found a very clever chap who upcycles old conservatories and greenhouses to create beautiful new garden out-buildings.  

I

What I bought last time the sun came out...

I bought a few lightweight bits in hope of an Indian Summer, this silk Warehouse dip dye tunic....

This ZARA cream sequin jacket....

Another silk tunic with Autumnal colours...

This Jasper Conran at Debenhams embroidered top to go under cardigans...

And this heavyweight linen French Connection top, a beautiful dress...on someone else...

...in my defense it was a baking hot day and I was trying to evade UV photo aging before it really is too late...but as a look, even just for dog walking, wrong in so many ways! Apparently I was too quick to put them away, it is going to be 22 degrees and above this weekend yay!

Tomorrow night we have a rural party, this is a sartorial minefield, since you never really know how to play it, you could be turning up to a hog roast and bonfire or a full on catered drinks party where everyone is in Vivienne Westwood Couture.  I asked the host (who is very glamorous) and she said that she was wearing a 'dress', I know it won't be anything like my FC one above, but I have no idea where to start!

Tapas for one and one for all...

Fiona from Av57 did a great post about tan boots that reminded me of a Clarks pair I had languishing in my wardrobe.  We were going out for Tapas with friends and the boots could do the trick.  But as usual I went a step too far with the fancy dress, ending up looking like I might be starring in an Am Dram of The Three Muskateers.  This top is YSL which makes putting it on the Ebay pile even more annoying, I have no idea what possessed me to make the purchase, it is wrong in so many ways.

Switched it for a little lace number from Monsoon and an inherited TopMan jacket from teenager who is growing like a weed!

Any one keen on Tapas will love Cambio de Tercio, it couldn't be more authentic, we went for the Tendido Cero, which is the cheap and cheerful one, Nadal is a regular and it is always full so you need to book.  Beware confusion when meeting people as all of the restaurants, although different, are within a few doors of each other.
Tapas is perfect for Thermic eating, (ie foods that require a large proportion of their own calorie energy to be digested and expelled). So it is virtuous as well as delicious, although perhaps the four bottles of Rioja were less saintly!