I’ve given up – although the sun is shining in these photos, the Indian Summer doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of arriving so I’ve been busy placing Autumn orders. My Hush parcel arrived today. I like Hush but it doesn’t usually suit me. Even though I love their look, I think I’m too much of a neat freak for their clothes to work on me. However this season I received an email saying they’d been paying more attention to cut and fabric so I thought I’d give them another try and I must say I’m really pleased. This is what I ordered.

Hush jumpsuit review 2015

Hush jumpsuit. When I unwrapped this I didn’t think I was going to like it. The fabric wasn’t what I’d expected, (I haven’t checked but it feels like soft cotton) and it was very, very crumpled. However when I put it on I could instantly envisage wearing it for both work and weekends. I’m travelling around the UK a lot at the moment and it’s the sort of thing that I could wear for a long journey but still feel smart in when I arrived at a meeting. It’s less of a jumpsuit and more of a soft smart version of this summer’s boilersuit. If you want one it’s showing as low stock in most sizes so you’ll have to be quick.

As soon as I saw this scarf I had to have it.

My Hush Autumn Winter 2015 Order

Let’s test your literary skills, the quote comes from a book that must be one of everybody’s favourites… “second star on the right and straight on till morning.”

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Neverland scarf

…yes you’ve got it. Peter Pan. I love typography and this is really good, the quality of the embroidery is lovely. I also like the fact that it is on textured grey which stops it from being too twee. I know I’ll keep this for years.

And this is my final purchase. Long cardigans are a key trend for this season and as you know, I’ve been trying different styles in the aim of adding to the core building blocks of my wardrobe. This camel colour will lift black, grey, navy or burgundy and I’m really pleased with the soft wool mix which gives a lovely drape.

workwear for women over 40

Hush Nina Cardi

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

So that’s everything that was in my brown box, my only complaint would be just how creased everything was when it arrived. It’s lovely that they scent their boxes but they really need to do something to improve the packing.

You’ll notice that I’m adding disclosure statements to all of my posts. I’m supporting the drive for transparency in the blogging world. Some bloggers post favourable reviews for items that they have been gifted or write posts they have been paid for without declaring it which isn’t very honourable. So, in the interests of disclosure, I wasn’t paid by Hush for this post or gifted the items. I chose and paid for them myself and all thoughts are my own.

Moving on to recent outfits. Just in case you’ve ever wondered what I wear to go to IKEA (I’m sure you haven’t) this is what I wore last Saturday. Only a complete idiot would go to IKEA on a Bank Holiday Saturday. I must be a complete idiot. This is a much needed cup of tea when we made it home.

Nikki Garnett, Midlifechic

Johnnie B boat neck t-shirt; Wallis jeans; Boden slip on trainers; Cornishware mug (if I don’t link it someone will ask me)!

A quick turnaround and it was out for dinner with Mr MC – sorry about the light, it was getting dark by the time I summoned up the energy to leave the sofa.

Midlifechic

Whistles double faced blazer; M&S coated jeans; John Lewis shoes; Zara guipure lace top; Mulberry clutch

Feeling a bit bleary after a late night – we had a lot to catch up on – this is what I wore for lunch with friends the next day.

Nikki Garnett

Johnnie B boat neck top; Next relaxed skinny jeans (custom dyed); Jigsaw Milly shoes (this season’s colours here); Jigsaw pompom scarf (this season’s colours); Whistles Fleet tote bag (just released in burgundy these are fabulous bags)

I’ve had a really interesting week at work. I went down to London with a colleague to visit the fragrance houses and hear all about the Autumn Winter trends for 2016 (yes 2016). At least you can be confident that I truly have my finger on the pulse, I even know how you’ll be decorating your Christmas tree in 18 months’ time! Anyway it was fascinating. We learned all about the rapid changes in high fragrance that have been brought about by the West’s discovery of Oud and I sampled it in its purest form at £17,000 per kilo! Fragrances are becoming much stronger as people’s noses adapt, you could even say they’re stinky. I started off hating them but now I’ve grown accustomed to them I really like them. It’s a big move on. Anyway, they indulged us by booking us into this very lovely new hotel which is now my favourite in London and of course its name pleases me too! (Disclosure again, I haven’t been paid for the post or offered any pro bono deal by the hotel).

Great Northern Hotel review

(photo c/o Great Northern Hotel)

Regular readers will know that I love train travel and this is on the corner where St Pancras and Kings Cross stations meet so it has been given a railway theme but in the most tasteful way imaginable.

Great Northern Hotel review

(photo c/o Great Northern Hotel)

This is what the rooms are like.

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(photo c/o Great Northern Hotel)

And this is the bar which had a jazz band playing.

Great Northern hotel review

It specialises in gin so we felt we really ought to try some

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This is how they arrived

Great Northern Hotel review

We dined on steaks from Prince Charles’s estate and then had an amazing night’s sleep because the rooms were totally soundproofed and utterly dark. I forgot to take a photo on the first day but this is what I wore for day two. Perfumers tend to be French but they embrace relaxed chic so I was able to dress quite casually which made it much easier when we were travelling around by tube and train.

casual outfits for women over 40

Whistles double faced blazerCos draped neck printed shirt; Whistles Fleet tote bag; Boden superskinny jeans; Boden scallop points; Cos orb pendant necklace

The Boden diminishing discount is on again next week with 20% off from Monday until Thursday using code A8Z6 so I’m just going to remind you how comfortable the super skinny jeans are, I will be ordering the burgundy pair and/or possibly the waxed ones – the finish is more matte than my coated jeans. I must also recommend the scallop points again too – I wore them for two days and they didn’t rub or pinch. Brilliant shoes but selling out fast, I wish I’d ordered the orange ones.

So, that was my week. The boys are finally back at school and I’m actually looking forward to a bit of routine and order. Lovely though it is, I desperately need to stop being wined and dined because things are feeling tight but I’m struggling to find any willpower. Monday must mark the start of a strict regime! I’m also looking forward to a haircut. Thank you for all of your lovely supportive comments last week, I think we’re all finding it reassuring to know that the struggle for work life balance seems to be universal for women over 40. I know I’m late in replying to your comments and I’m sending a special apology to the people who have emailed me – I’m about a month behind. I will get back to you and please know that I really appreciate your words and read them all, it’s just that I like to think through my replies rather than rush them.

One final reminder, the Autumn collection of the Ines de la Fressange at Uniqlo range launched this week with lovely staple pieces and yes, I was sad enough to be logged on at 11pm on Wednesday when it went live, despite being shattered after my trip to London. I’ll show you what I bought in next week’s post but as usual, it has pretty much sold out already. Have a great weekend everyone and keep in touch.