Hello dear friends I’ve missed you. I have been laid low. Having not had so much as a cold for years and years I can only assume that I picked up a brutal virus in London and can hear my grandmother muttering about keeping away from filthy cities. Anyway I’m back and will respond to all your comments and emails over the next few days. Now, the post that I did a couple of weeks ago about pleather leggings triggered such a big reaction that I thought it would be helpful to research them further and find the best faux leather jeans for women over 40. Although some felt they were a step too far (and I have my fingers in my ears with regard to the comments about sweaty crotches), many more said they were planning to buy some. So here we are, a quick road test all worn with a plain black Boden jumper so as not to distract you.
Next faux leather leggings
This is the original pair. The important thing to remember is that they are leggings and not jeans which means they are skintight and have no seaming, waist or back pocket detail so you need to think about how you are going to wear them.
They have a side zip rather than a waistband which means they won’t leave any lines under clothing. The finish is quite matte and the material is very thin. It doesn’t feel or look like real leather. However they are the most comfortable of the three and probably the best if you are going to wear tunics or fine knitted tops over them.
The zip detail at the ankle is nice meaning that they are easy to get on and off. They have sold out at the moment but are apparently coming back into stock after Christmas.
H&M Imitation Leather Trousers
These were recommended by a couple of readers and are the ones that Annette from Lady of Style wears. It was she who inspired me to try them in the first place. When I first unpacked them they seemed great, they are a thick material and seemed substantial. They are low rise which means they look ok from behind thanks to the pockets that have been placed low:
BUT they are more likely to give you a muffin top at the front as you can see below (the things I do for the sake of this blog)! so for me they are a definite no. The quality of the pair I was sent was also poor with very rough stitching and a torn belt hook.
Top Shop High Waisted Leather Look Trousers
I know lots of you recommended the Wallis leggings but they are completely sold out, so for the final attempt I tried the TopShop pair that I recommended in my last post as they looked good online. These were the ones that looked most like leather. They are thick and slightly more glossy than the others.
The back pockets weren’t as good as the H&M pair being smaller and placed higher up (apologies you can see the label showing through here, I hadn’t decided if I was keeping them).
But they are such a high rise that they are a joy to wear.
These are the ones I am keeping – they are currently reduced to £20 as part of the Black Friday promotion so they’re disappearing fast. I suspect there will be a few returns over the next couple of weeks though so keep an eye on stock levels if you would like some. I’m intending to wear them mostly for nights out however the boys had been waiting a very long time to go out whilst the shots were taken so as you will see below, I quickly popped a jumper and cardigan on with them so we could head off.
We’re in full on Christmas mode at our house. On Friday we had the switching on of the village lights and like a scene from Dickens, everyone came out for carol singing around the big tree that is donated by the manor house every year. I was so disappointed that I didn’t have enough voice to join in the descant of ‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful’ which is always a big Christmas highlight. I have one more chance at the carol concert when hopefully I will have reinstated myself as a soprano rather than the growling tenor that I am at the moment. On Saturday we had the village Christmas Fair where the middle son managed to win the star prize of a litre bottle of vodka at the tombola which of course had to be claimed by me and which I promptly dropped, splattering the poor old folk who were enjoying their tea and cakes.
Today we went to a very bling retail emporium that is renowned for its Christmas displays. It’s quite a long way South from where we live, at the point of Lancashire where accents start to have a Liverpudlian twang but the women are very glam so I knew faux leather would be fine. Look at the tree in the Cookshop behind me decorated with cooking utensils as baubles:
- TopShop faux leather jeans
- Banana Republic silk blend polo neck (past season)
- RachelWears long merino cardigan
- Clarks leather shopper – available here in tan
- Bead necklace – can’t remember where this came from!
- Boden suede boots similar here
If you are somebody who loves polo necks but finds them hot and itchy then these silk blend ones from Banana Republic are amazing. They only seem to have done neutral colours this year but they’re lovely to wear and are very reasonably priced.
I don’t know whether it’s because we miss our retail days but you will discover over the next few weeks that Mr MC and I really love Christmas. I put the decorations in over a couple of weeks and then curse myself on twelfth night when I have to take them all down. Anyway today was the beginning, dressing the windows at the front of the house with lights and decorations. Here’s a glimpse of one:
and in daylight:
We’ve also been bottling the sloe and damson gin that we made back in September, we tested some as we were doing it and can declare that it’s our best ever batch:
And the boys were thrilled to find an old favourite movie, Mickey’s Christmas, on Netflix. I would have enjoyed watching the eldest’s trip down memory lane if I wasn’t aware that he should be revising for the mock A-Levels that start on Tuesday. This weekend he has been the king of procrastination, willing to do anything that takes him away from his books. My worry is that he is riding high on the success that he enjoyed last weekend when he was awarded two prizes at Speech Day for being the most outstanding 6th form student in his subjects. I think he is feeling dangerously invincible but I am consoling myself with the fact that a set of bad results now might make him do well in the summer. Anyway indulge me as his proud mum by allowing me to share a few moments of last week’s big event:
- Boden Ingrid coat
- Betty Barclay white shirt
- Whistles Trousers (past season)
- Boden Jackie Heels
- Mulberry Congo bag (ancient)
I even managed to pin down the boy himself before he whizzed off with his friends to celebrate. So, there you have it, a quick recap of the moments when I haven’t been sneezing and spluttering and feeling sorry for myself. Before I go, I must also say hello to all my lovely new readers that have found me via Lady Of Style. I was very honoured to be featured as Annette’s Lady Of The Month, do have a look at her blog, she is so stylish and very elegant plus if you like my Lakes backgrounds you’ll love her Bavarian ones. So “guten tag” to all my new German visitors, thank you for reading my blog, do get in touch and join our little community, it would be great to hear from you.
