Xmas Dresses

Hi Readers,

So we're in December & there's only 25 days before the one day that everything is geared towards for three months.  The temperature has dropped suddenly but we still have to get to work. 

On Monday I was lucky enough to inherit a dress from my sister who has just lost 3 1/2 stone & could no longer fit into it, so that became Mondays work attire.  I would usually stay away from diagonal stripes, but as under the bust line & the waist area were cut on an Asymmetric line, it flattered the body instead of making it look wider, which is the usual rule with diagonal stripes.  I teamed it with all black accessories & a black blazer.




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Wednesday however I had a bit of a dilemma, as I could not decide on heels or Boots,  I tried it with both & they both worked so I finally choose comfort.  This is Wednesdays pic in Heels,

And this is this same outfit in flat boots.  I choose a white blouse which I found in the Miss Selfridge sales a few months back. A oxblood necklace & feathered earrings from Primark, leggings with a embellished waistband, which I purchased in Portugal a few years back.  They are really comfy & have side pockets & fake pockets on the back, so gives a pair of leggings a different twist.  I added a beige blazer, which I was lucky to find online for £10 from H&M last month. 

On Thursday I wore a Grey Blouse from Zara, with straight legged black jeans, black patent Shoes, & threw on a thick grey Betty Jackson Cardigan, which I've owned for about 9 years.  It comes out a few times ever winter & never lets me down.

I was on leave on Friday & went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde park with some of my daughters Choir, Singlolgy. then went onto The blue Kitchen Camden to meet the rest, for their Xmas party, which was advertised with the promise of a Soul band, which turned out to be a lie, but we still managed to have a really lovely day & great evening.  I forgot to take a photo of what I wore, but the day was a challenge, as it was around 6 degrees outside, so I had to layer up.  All I can say is there was layering going on every where & it definitely works.

Xmas Dresses    Xmas Dresses   Xmas Dresses

If you are one of those ladies who have lots of parties to go to & like me you like a bit of embellishment, but don't have the budget to buy clothes that can only be worn at Xmas, well there are lots out there, that you can get lots of wear out of.  If you are small or average busted then this maxi is great.  It is a little costly, but as you can see it is a bit special with all the detailing too. The Maxi retails at £120. If you fancy showing some leg, there is also a shorter version of it, for exactly half the price which also comes in black. 

   

Here's a beautiful elegant dress from French connection.  Again a little pricy, at £89 but you can wear this all year round & the quality at F C is second to none, so it will last years.


This Killer Maxi dress below is from Asos & if you have legs to die for, then its a great dress.  It's priced at £55 so a little nearer the reasonable price mark for most of us.  It is made from soft stretch jersey, so you should be very careful with the undergarments that you chose to accompany this dress

Like the model, this dress should be worn with a simple sandal & avoid any type of heavy boot, or shoe as it could spoil the whole look.  The trick when wearing anything with a split high or low, is to make your leg appear endless so do not cut it off with anything bulky.   With a lot of the embellished dresses out there, you need very minimal accessories.










Do you have a body that can rock a body con dress, but have very little to spend?  Then this might be just up your street. For those of you who are thinking size 10 & under do not be fooled.  I have seen sizes 16 & 18  ladies in a Body con, who look good in these types of dresses.              

With this one here it is totally understated, so you simply need to accessories it correctly & you will look as hot as anyone else in the room & for the grand price of £12 at Boohoo.  Go on line, you might be pleasantly surprised at what you can get for silly money on there, but I should warn it is geared more towards the younger women. 

For you ladies that like a little sophistication, Andrey Hepburn - Breakfast at Tiffany style, then this Zara dress could be the one for you.  It retails at £69. is classic & could be worn for years to come, & not just at Xmas.


I hope something you have read has inspired you today, whether in your daily work wardrobe of in the event of dressing for whatever celebrating you have coming up & for the festive season.

If you have any this week, have a great time.  If not have a good week anyway.




Stay warm



Stylish AT50






Email; Stylishat50@gmail.com
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Santa's little helper

 

Hi readers,

This week I was lucky to only work for three days.  I dragged my sister along on Thursday to support my daughter who was singing on the same stage as Kitty Brucknall (Xfactor 2011) & Alek Josh (The Voice 2011), at the Stevenage Christmas lights switch-on.  We had a great day catching up, laughing & stealing some much needed family quality time in.

So on Monday, I chose a Polka dot peplum top from H&M, a Pencil Skirt, a fitted Jacket, with Patent heels.  The only Jewellery I required were earrings & a bracelet, as the top was too busy for anything else.

Tuesday I stuck with the cream & black theme & chose a cream Shell top with a scalloped collar, from Gok Wan's for Tu October 2012 collection, teamed it with black straight jeans, Jewellery & heels.  

Lastly on Wednesday, I went for comfort as I was sat in a training room all day, so wore a black polo neck Jumper. black leggings, Black waterfall Cardigan & my old faithful Purple RI boots, which I've owned for ever, but are so comfortable, I refuse to throw away.  I wore a Gold & green necklace & gong like earrings.



      XMAS IS COMING

The rain looks like it's here to stay doesn't it & beautiful golds reds & burnt orange leaves are everywhere,  Halloween & Guy Fawkes night are both out of the way, so that can only mean one thing......., Christmas is just around the corner.

With team Christmas meals, office parties, private parties, Choir concerts & all manner of reasons to meet up with different sets of friends.  For me, that also means one other thing;  What to wear?????? 

So......  "How am I going to do this".   From this coming week, I have 9 occasions from now to Xmas eve to plan outfits for, so the question is "what's appropriate, for which occasion".  One of my daughters BFF's once told me that I dress effortlessly & I had to explain to her, that that was really very far from the truth.   So she amended it to; OK......, then you make is look effortless. 

Like everyone else I'm guessing, I do go through a process when I have that many events to attend, especially when some are straight from work.  So if you're the same,  I'm going to try to help some of you if I can.  Today we'll start with pieces. When going out for drinks straight from work & you're a more conservative dresser, but have no time to change into a whole outfit, the trick is to wear a top that you can cover up with a Jacket at work & by simply removing it later & adding a pair of heels & accessories, you are ready for your evening out. 

Oasis £30

Here's an example of a tops, that can be teamed with either cropped trousers, leather looked leggings, loose draped tie trousers, straight or skinny jeans, or......... if you prefer skirts, a pencil skirt, maxi skirt or an A line skirt, which ever suits your shape better.


The top on the right already has Jewellery built into the neck line & retails for a really reasonable price.  

H&M £14.99

£55 Dorothy Perkins

If like me you own a sequined jacket or cardigan from previous years, get it back out.  Team it with a simple vest & straight legged trousers & you're good to go. The jacket does all the work, so you don't need to. 

French Connection

 







Are you someone who doesn't fear experimenting?  Then here's an example of a fun evening outfit, if you have the body for it.  If you don't, then try putting colour on the bottom or the top like    these coloured jeans.  

For ladies who either don't do trousers, or just want to have their legs out, then these skirts are great Christmas items.  Sequins can come out in force at Christmas, without any questionable looks.  I'd probably not wear either of these to work though, as they're not only inappropriate, they're likely to be rather uncomfortable to wear all day, as sequins have a tendency to dig into your skin on occasion.  Maybe pop them into a bag & change into then when you are leaving work.   I'd probably wear the one on the left, with Opaque tights to keep the chill out.  If you add on a simple black vest & a blazer all you then need is some Jewellery, and a clutch, but keep the jewels light as the skirts do all the talking

River Island £50

Baroque velvet Pencil £25 RI

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And for those of you who think if you have shape (like most of us do), you miss out, you don't, check this out.  This lady has shape & rocks a bright red skirt with leopard print & oozes attitude, so you can too. You don't need to be sequins to stand out, It's all about confidence.  If you ooze confidence, everyone will see it. 




Another way to make a statement is to add a piece, to a simple dress or vest you're already wearing, like these.  They are inexpensive & can be used numerous times to change all manor or outfits.

River Island £28

In Silver

Jewellery at Christmas is always rather glamorous & there are lots to chose from.

If you are someone, who feels uncomfortable about dressing out of your usual comfort zone but you want to stand out from the crowd, jewellery is a great way to do so.  The pieces above are just an example of simple pieces, that you can add to a plain dress or top.  You can find cheap alternatives if you look hard enough.  Remember, you can also use scarfs for a similar effect. 

Hope some of the tips on here help you in dressing for an occasion you have coming up that is straight from work. 




Till next time.  Have a great peaceful week.


Stylish AT50






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Staying Warm & Stylish

Hi people,

Hope your week has been good.  Mine, I am always grateful for.  Had a lovely evening out with friends on Saturday & was inspired by one of my stunning girlfriends who really knows how to dress her shape.  She had that certain something that your eye is drawn to all evening, (& it really wasn't just my eyes, believe me) so I had to take a pic of her for you to see. 

effortless Style

The world is certainly a different place now & beautiful curvy body shapes are at last celebrated.

Like all families my sister & I are different in age, shape, size & height, as are my daughter & I .  Two weeks ago, something made us all go "oh".........  I'd gone off to Sainsbury's for my weekly shop & as usual, looked around the clothing area.  I picked up a few pieces to try on, took pics of myself & went on my way, equipped to enable me to decide which ones I'd return for, at a later date.  2 weeks later both my sister & my daughter send me photo's of them selves, on the same day, from different post codes & ask the question, "what do you think'?.  My reply......I sent them back the pic of myself in the same dress. Hence the unanimous reply "oh", we all found it very amusing, but not really shocked that we had the same tastes. 

Same dress different bodies & ages

As you  can see the dress is a really simple one, made of soft jersey, with leather look panels on the Shoulder, a large gold zip detail down the back & you can dress it up or down.  See here (left), my sister running errands added a small necklace, patterned tights, & black boots.  While my daughter who was off to do a gig, dresses it up with a quirky camera charm necklace, added my belt & rocks a pair of platformed shoe boots.  They are also two different shapes & sizes, but both look great in the dress.  Three women from the same family, all have the same taste.  Not bad as that's three wardrobes & some things cross over 'very' well. 


My week was a full one & with Xmas fast approaching there's lots going on.  Here's a snapshot of three of those days in pictures, unfortunately I was dressing to go to work & out straight from the office on Friday evening & was running late, so forgot to photograph my chosen outfit.

Monday

On Monday I wore a blush Gok Wan for Tu peplum jumper , with a pencil skirt & added a bronze buckled belt to create a break in the jumper.  I incorporated some blush Jewellery, a scarf, & black patent Heels.

As I was on Duty on Tuesday I was in uniform.

Wednesday

On Wednesday I choose a plain grey long sleeved T shirt,  a Grey tweed skirt & a grey fringed Cardigan from Asda.  Remember those bargain Red/Oxblood boots I told you a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to find in a River Island sale, well I put them on & matched my earrings to them.  I added my light striped coat as it wasn't as cold out there on Wednesday.


On Thursday, I wore a black skirt with a cream asymmetric blouse from H & M, sheer tight & black patent shoes,  I combined it with an old faithful fitted H&M Jacket as it was a little too chilly to just wear the blouse in the office. 

Thursday

 I find it pretty hard to look good in outta wear while at the same time keeping warm. I hate the cold, & certain parts of me have to be warm, so you will generally not see me without gloves, scarfs & a hat in the winter.

I have a few coats, but always feel like I should be purchasing another winter coat every year.  (I don't)

I like this Military style coat from Zara.  The material is luxurious, & the leather Lapels give it that trendy edge.   If you don't like the length, it also comes as a jacket, but beware if like me, you need Zara XL in some things, then leave it alone, as you would not be able to wear a jumper underneath it to keep the chill out.

Zara military

great shape.

White biker Coat Top Shop

The coat above is lovely but could probably only be worn by slim women, as it may have the tendency to make you look very bloated because of the volume on the shoulders & arms. if you are going to wear it as an everyday coat & place jumpers etc under it. It really would be something you'd need to try on to see what type of fit it is on you, before making a decision about it.  This White biker coat is very this season & it might end up in the cleaners rather often, but is a stunning coat. 


There are lots of coats out there this time of year.  I always struggle in  deciding what I want, but when I see it, I always know straight away.  Some years I never find one I like, so don't purchase one.  Coloured coats certainly brighten up those grey days, although they're probably not as practical, as they can restrict items of clothing & footwear that you want to put with it, but I still love seeing women in coloured coats like the one above.

Wrapped up warm

This coat is quite light & fine if it isn't too cold outside.  It is stylish so works well for evenings out or if you are driving, & not intending to be out in the cold for too long.  It has a great metal belt that goes with it & has gathering around the waist line which flatters a woman's figure, which in my book is always a good thing.

If you have not yet purchased this years coat, happy hunting.  Take your time if you are thinking of spending lots of money one.  Make sure you choose a timeless piece, so that you can wear it for as long as you need to.  Some investments are worth it.

Have a great week people and happy shopping.


Take care


Stylish AT50




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