As we come to the end of the year I'm in a reflective mood so I thought I'd share an article about a new year life audit that I read at the hairdresser's. Unfortunately because I took a photo of the pages I can't tell you which magazine it was but it was by Libby Purves and she was talking about a new year walk that she takes with her husband (she said that it was important to do it without your children to [...]
Hello everyone - I've found a quiet moment whilst my brood are in a post Christmas lull. It feels like ages since I've had time to post so here's a quick catch up with some activities (and outfits) from the crazy Christmas period. Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that the fun began for us on Friday 17th, in fact this photo sums up the mood of our Christmas. We've all been so pleased to be together again and [...]
...and I've run out of time. I had planned a post for today but sadly my brother-in-law's mum died last week so today has been her funeral. No funeral is a happy event but she was 94 and so we were able to talk about a life well lived and appreciate her. We were all together in the village church that she loved and it was yet another timely reminder about the importance of family and spending time together. Tonight will [...]
A quick and functional post from me as the Boden sale has just gone live. A lot of the reductions seem a bit mean after all the recent discounts so it might be worth playing chicken with some of these items if they're showing good stock levels to see if they go down further over the next couple of weeks. Anyway I had a good look through the site last night before it started so that I wasn't distracted by the discounts [...]
Two posts from me in two days - the sales are starting all around us so I thought I should quickly cover off my best chic buys 2015 (there are lots more but obviously I'm only going to feature things that are still available to buy). Sometimes you make mistakes when you shop and sometimes you strike wardrobe gold. This is a recap of the style staples that I've bought and worn consistently (as you will know if you're a regular reader). Most are already [...]
Well what a week we've had in the aftermath of Storm Desmond. We were stranded at home until Wednesday (much to the delight of the boys) as the schools and the roads were closed. We finally switched over from the emergency generators to the mains supply last night so life is just starting to get back to normal. It has been a strange, dark time, dark because everybody has had to conserve the little bit of power we had, so [...]
Just a quick hello from me today to thank you for all of your messages of concern over the weekend, it's certainly a been dramatic time. As I finished my last blog post on Saturday, I was telling you that all of the shops were closing in the village and the power was failing. We're based in a coastal village between Kendal and Lancaster, our house is sea facing with the canal at the bottom of the garden but luckily [...]
I don't often do beauty posts but there are a few things I've been using recently that I wanted to share with you. I don't know about you but I'm feeling like the very cliché of a midlife woman at the moment: exhausted. Work has been relentless since I came back from holiday in August. Because my department is new, there is no path to follow, so I never know what is coming next. My new girl enthusiasm has meant [...]
At last - I know some of you have been asking me to cover new brands for women with curves for a long time. The thing is that because my year has been so busy with my new job, I haven't been able to look beyond my own horizons for a while however I have two new brands to talk about today. Like most women, I've collected all kinds of different friends over the years. The fabulously fashionable ones are [...]
As the Christmas jumper continues to grow in popularity, I've had to overcome my frugal Northern ways and devise a method of getting value for money out of something so seasonal. I am therefore declaring Christmas jumpers to be fair game from 1st December along with sequins, feathers and glitter. Although it isn't officially Christmas jumper day until 18th December, if you want one you need to choose quickly because they're selling out fast. (By the way, if you're wondering about the post [...]
I had wondered about doing a 'gift ideas for men' post but I've been lucky to have the opportunity to chat to all kinds of women over the last few days. As part of my research, I've been asking them what they are buying for their husbands and they all seemed to have it planned. So I then asked them what they were hoping for themselves and the stock answer was 'oh I haven't got time to think.' And actually [...]
I should not be blogging, I should be Christmas shopping. For the last 14 years I have had it all done and dusted by the week after half term. This year is proving to be very different and my boys are starting to behave like the children in the Paypal ad - normally they know they are banned from going down into the cellar by now but the cellar is bare...completely bare. So, I sat down today to crack on [...]
A little while ago Links of London got in touch with me to see if I would join them in celebrating their 25th anniversary. I must start by saying that I felt really honoured that they had chosen Midlifechic and I see it as a sign of recognition of you - my intelligent, classy readers. Gradually I think that we are becoming known as a highly engaged group of intelligent women and the traction that we are starting to generate is partly [...]
Last week we looked at formal dresses for the lucky people who have glam parties ahead. I don't know about you but my Christmas events tend to be more low key - popping out for a meal with friends, drinks at people's houses, and a couple of trips to the theatre so I really don't need an extravagant frock. Over the last year I've developed an easy shortcut for this kind of going out and I always feel casually glam. [...]
I've had a few different emails about Christmas party wear this week which made me realise that I haven't given any thought to my own Christmas party either. I also spoke to one of my friends who works in the head office of one of our favourite store groups. When I asked her how sales were going she said that the usual trend had reversed - gifting and outerwear is down (presumably because of Black Friday and the mild weather) but [...]
I'm late this week I know but I wanted to write this post carefully and yesterday I was being scalped by a new hairdresser who, when I commented that my hair was VERY short replied 'but it just feels so nice to cut!' Oh how I wish my regular hairdresser would come back from maternity leave. Anyway we're on a mission ladies. Some of you saw a comment from a new reader, Sushma, a few weeks ago and were kind [...]
Hello friends. It's been a very busy week - I feel as though I haven't stopped talking - presentations, long shared car journeys, meetings and dinners. It will all start again on Monday (yes I'm working on Monday again - the 3 day week isn't happening)! I need to retreat into some peace and quiet to recharge my batteries for a bit. So - not as many words as usual today - I know you'll understand. Instead I'm treating you [...]
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the supportive emails and comments after my last post about the end of days, every single one has lifted my spirits. Even Mr MC came out of hiding and posted his first comment - who knew he reads my blog - not me - until now! Because we moved to the North from London when my eldest was 7, my everyday friends here are the ones that I made via the younger [...]
So that's that then. He's gone. The house feels very empty today. For 18 years I've listened out for him waking, from the early dawn snuffles in his crib to the more recent midday cacophony of multiple media devices. Today I opened the door onto an empty bedroom. The trainers, hoodies and rugby balls were all gone; just the teddy bears, sports certificates and dinosaur books that once meant so much were left behind. On Saturday he went full of excitement, bubbling over [...]
It's a quick post from me today because we are on the final countdown to dropping the eldest off at university tomorrow. I'm not going to talk about how I'm feeling now because I suspect I will be offloading on you when it's all over. Suffice to say that the letting go is yet another bit of motherhood that no-one prepares you for and boy does it hurt. In the meantime, I've had a week off; I've been doing shoulder rehab [...]
Something a little different for you today. As Midlifechic grows I'm finding that I'm being approached by lots of brands who are keen to work with me. This is immensely flattering and in another life I'd try running a hugely commercial blog and accept all of their offers. However as things stand, I just don't have time to write about anything I don't genuinely think is great so 98% of the time I take a deep breath and gently turn the [...]
So, we've looked at Boden and Hush, so today I thought I'd share a Marks and Spencer order with you. I can only apologise for the photos - my photographer arrived home late from school after a week that has been filled with rugby trials and endless homework. He was tired and most definitely not in the mood to play David Bailey but he gamely did his best. So here is a rather dark try on of my M&S delivery [...]
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 [...]
I hope you've had a good week, it's going to be a post of two parts today. First of all a style fix for those who prefer this part of my blog and then we'll move on to the next instalment of the work life balance discussion that we've been having over the last few months. At last I'm starting to get my head around Autumn 2015 style for women over 40. There's no doubt that skinny jeans and tailored crops [...]
Hello, here I am as promised with the first of my new season posts. Going forward I'm planning to look at specific categories - jeans will be one of the first because shapes are changing. I'm going to spend a day on my own in Manchester tomorrow doing a serious recce of the shops, but this week I thought I'd do a review of Boden autumn 2015, showing you my try on of the things I ordered from the new collection. For [...]
Hello dear friends - it's been a while but we're back from our holiday in Kalkan. The daily grind has resumed and before the glow wears off, let me take you with me to Turkey for a whirlwind tour of our lazy days and nights. Before we get on to outfits I must remind you that my life was so very hectic in the weeks before we went away that, unlike last year when I shopped and planned outfits for [...]
Oh it feels as though it's been a long week. Here's a quick update on what I've been doing. As you know, last weekend we went down to London to undertake the task of sorting through the belongings of my friend who died a couple of months ago. It was a very strange thing to do. If you've ever had to do this sort of thing, you'll know that you go into a very operational mode. I think it's a [...]
A superfast post from me tonight before I head off down to London. A reader, Sally, emailed me this week and said that she was missing my weekly work outfit round-ups because she finds them helpful, even if I do repeat things. So that made things easy, here goes: this is what a Head of Marketing & Creative wears for work.... Monday - late home after supper with our German agent Whistles double faced blazer; Boden blouse; Boden bistro crops; Zara shoes Tuesday [...]
Hello, I'm late posting this week, I know...and I haven't been very good at taking outfit shots but I thought I'd tell you all about the fragrance training I've been doing which, given the weather and the lack of opportunity to wear anything very Summery, is far more interesting. So, as you'll remember, I had my 'nose' tested a few weeks ago and it transpired that I have a relatively good sense of smell. This means that I've been given the [...]
It's been another mad week, I've been busy trying to get the first new ranges that I've worked on signed off so the hours have been long. Most days, in addition to my usual 11 hour day, I've been starting again after the boys have gone to bed. But there is an upside, it's meant that the good times have been precious - it's the old bittersweet thing again. So, I'm not going to bore you with my work outfits which [...]
A very quick post from me today because despite the wind...and the rain...and the cold of this non-existent Summer that we're having in the UK, we're going camping. I'm not feeling very excited about it but it's a trip that we go on every year with the same friends and I'm aware that it could be the last time that our eldest wants to come with us. We need to make some memories. We're very close to these particular friends [...]
You might want to make a cup of tea - I've got lots to talk about this week! First of all it's been very exciting to be approached by Boden. Lots of you have been commenting on their growing relationship with bloggers and how they seem to have been focusing on the younger 20-somethings who, realistically, have never been their core audience. There have been a few threads discussing it on Mumsnet with women noting that whereas most brands are making [...]
Sorry for the late post, for the last two weeks I’ve been out and about seeing clients which has involved lots of wining and dining. I’ve been getting home late in the evening, dealing with A-Level stresses, rolling into bed and then waking up early to go out and do it all again. I must face the scales tomorrow, everything is feeling very tight but I’m hopeless when faced with lovely food that has been cooked by someone else. Anyway [...]
Well I'm amazed by how much correspondence my impending Pete Tong night triggered last week (I have yet to answer the emails but I will, I promise). It seems that you were either horrified or intrigued by the thought of it and lots of you wanted to know why I was still up for a night that started at 10pm and went on into the small hours. There are two reasons. Firstly, as I've mentioned before, Mr MC, being slightly younger [...]
Hello, hope you're all having a lovely weekend, especially everyone in the UK as it's the last Bank Holiday for a while. Lots to tell you about this week so I'm going to dive straight in - I've reluctantly promised to do some planting today so the garden centre is calling. I always thought that I would find my gardening mojo when I was grown up and had a big garden. Well I have the big garden but the mojo still [...]
Another week gone already - before we know it we'll be halfway through the year. It's been an interesting week for me, as you know my day job includes the creative direction of the products that we develop and this week I've had two days out of the office devoted to beautiful things which has to be good for the soul. On Monday I was down in London at a trade show where the small, creative companies release their concepts for [...]
Happy Friday everyone, I hope you had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend and a good week. It's my favourite month, everyone around here starts to emerge from their Winter sleep and in celebration of the Spring, each village holds a special event. Sadly the dreadful Bank Holiday weather spoiled the first two that we'd planned to go to last weekend and we ended up spending Saturday hunkering down on the sofa with the boys having a popcorn and movie extravaganza. [...]
Boo! I thought I'd surprise you with an early post this week. It's actually because I'm heading off to the funeral shortly and so I'll be mostly offline for a few days. I will however be able to spend some time answering emails on the train - I do apologise to those of you who have sent messages and haven't had a reply, I'm catching up slowly. So, the nice thing about this week has been that the Spring has [...]
And I'm back. I just needed a bit of time out after the funeral I went to last week. If you aren't a regular reader, a very close friend of mine died suddenly a few weeks ago and I spent a few days either side of the funeral last weekend with his family. It's been tough; somehow even when you come back to your own life, grief clings to you like smoke and you just can't shake it off. I [...]
Well there's lots to tell you about this week and the eagle-eyed Instagrammers amongst you will know why: yesterday I was working with the BBC Breakfast show - not as Midlifechic but in a professional capacity. They've been travelling around the UK talking to businesses that have had an interesting journey out of the recession, so yesterday they came to Cumbria to talk to us and I thought you might like to know a bit about how it all goes behind the [...]
Another week over already, it’s been tough going to work and leaving everyone at home snoozing and I’ve missed the usual fun I’d be having with the boys but it's been an uneventful week and given the way things have been going recently, I'm utterly grateful for that. Thank you for all of your lovely comments and emails last week, the funeral isn't for another fortnight so I've been trying not to think about it. Before I go on to [...]
I'm back, another week over in this busy new world of mine. It's all workwear this week - I spent last weekend celebrating one of my favourite friend's 40th birthdays. Love her though I do, her idea of fun was to spend the weekend in the wind and the rain watching rugby matches (she plays hooker for Cumbria) so, given the weather, the photos were a bit of a no no! Outfit of the day: Monday Here we go, work [...]
Hello dear friends - what a week it's been, but this is effectively the start of the weekend for me. Here's my update, starting with last Saturday when I had to do all the boring things like taking the car for a service that I would previously have tucked into the week. Happily before I set off, a mystery parcel arrived from the lovely Rachel at RachelWears. I had no idea what was inside but it turned out to be [...]
Oh it's good to be back in my blogging haven - it's been a long week starting my new job even though I've only worked for 3 days. Friday is my day off which will be a luxury, I've never done a 4 day week before. So this morning I'm luxuriating in not having to set off for an hour's drive. I started on Tuesday and didn't feel nervous but did feel very unsettled, almost homesick in fact. Although I've [...]
Tomorrow is D Day for me and I'll be starting my new job so I thought I'd try a new superfast post to cover off a bit of weekend chic. This might be the sort of post I have to do for a while until I settle into my new routine. Quite a few of your survey responses (yes I have read and analysed every single one - thank you so much for your time and enthusiasm) have asked me to [...]
When I was shopping in Liverpool a fortnight ago my mission was to find the best black trousers on the high street. Many were tried, in fact so many that I could no longer see any difference between them. So, I bought a hat (as you do) and decided to order the best I'd seen and try them on in one session at home. In my old life I used to have a personal shopping session every season at Selfridges [...]
Tick tock, tick tock .... as you know I start my new job on Tuesday which means I'm going to have to be super efficient in all areas of my life. Mr MC and the boys have been a bit bewildered by my need to sort out every cupboard and drawer in the house and many bags of all kinds of things have been taken to the charity shops. It feels a bit like those last few days before you [...]
I had a surprise delivery last week. A little while ago Berghaus asked me if I would review one of their new season jackets and then I didn't hear from them for a little while so I forgot all about it. When a parcel in a black bin bag came through the letterbox I assumed that the boys and been buying from Ebay again until I saw it was addressed to me and inside was a bright Berghaus Paclite III [...]
So, whilst we wait for some of the new things I've ordered to arrive, I thought I'd take you on a trip to Liverpool. If you remember, Mr MC had booked us in to stay in the city overnight after his meeting last Friday although it very nearly didn't happen. Our youngest woke up that morning with tonsillitis and if it hadn't been for my lovely sister quickly rearranging her plans, we wouldn't have been able to go. I can't [...]
Thank you for all of your good wishes for my new venture, it's lovely to feel your encouragement behind me. You just never know what's in store for you do you? If somebody had told me on 1st January that I would be a semi-invalid for the next 6 weeks and that I would then be embarking on a whole new career I would have told them they needed a sit down! I remember being in my 20s and thinking [...]
On Friday I signed off by saying that big changes were happening in my life. If you are a regular reader you will know that since having my second baby in 2001, I have been running a small creative agency with Mr MC. It's been fantastic and we've worked for some really big clients such as Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and New Look along with countless smaller companies in the UK and overseas. However over the past year I've [...]
It's been a busy week at Midlifechic. I forgot to tell you that I was heading off for a few days on a 'Mums and Sons' trip to Edinburgh with one of my best friends so forgive me for being slower than ever to answer your comments. I really want to tell you about this lovely new Spring necklace that I'm wearing today But here's a quick round up of our trip to Edinburgh first. We've been really looking forward to our [...]
So now that you've had time to recover from culottes, I've found another look that's filtering through to mainstream from the rarified heights of the fashion cognoscenti. Flares. The fashion forward have been wearing them for a couple of years now but this is the first season that I've really noticed them in all the high street retailers which means they're officially going to be a 'thing.' Skinnies have dominated for so long and of course, they will still be [...]
It's a happy day in our house today - it's our wedding anniversary. I have more reason to celebrate than most because my life now is my very own happy ending. As with all good fairytales though, I had to go through a struggle to reach it... ...Shall I tell you the story? Are You sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... Once upon a time there was a girl who left university with her whole life ahead of her. Even though [...]
I know I'm late posting this week but I wanted to do a Finery London review as soon as my delivery arrived. If you've missed the excitement, Finery launched on Thursday and currently ships to the UK, Canada and the US. They describe their range as "design that's contemporary but forever, beautiful but accessible, for women who love clothes as much as we do". I also like the fact that they say "I think we understand that women don’t shop by age, [...]
It's a day for celebration: Midlifechic is 1 year old today, a great excuse to bake (and eat) cakes which, as you know, is one of my favourite pastimes. What a year it's been, I've loved every minute of blogging and watching the readership grow as I've undertaken my mission to travel from frump to fox. The journey isn't over but I'm certainly feeling more confident than I was a year ago. It's been lovely getting to know some of [...]
So, as you know, I'm limited as to how much I can type or drive. This is a recipe for disaster because I'm bored. I've tried watching daytime TV but I just can't do it. I was obviously brainwashed at a young age because all I can hear is 'why don't you...just switch off your television set and go out and do something less boring instead' (this is a small test that will tell me which UK readers are around [...]
I think the lack of sleep and inability to do my hair properly is really starting to show in these pictures but I wanted to do an Inés de la Fressange at Uniqlo review before I sort out my returns. As you will know if you are a regular reader, Inés is my style icon so I get very excited when a new range comes out although I still think the Autumn ranges tend to be better than the Spring. However before we start, here [...]
Hello dear friends, thank you so much for all your kind words with regard to my shoulder problem. I'm realising how lucky I've been to breeze through life with great health - I had no idea of just how painful and limiting something like this can be until now. So, as kindly suggested by Greetje, I am going to keep on posting but they will be short Winter chic pieces for a while. I've also kept my replies to your [...]
Brrrrrr! It's the only thing to say at the moment. After last week's storms we now have freezing fog and ice. It isn't my favourite season sartorially, some people look great in lots of layers but I just feel lumpy. My theory is that it's a season that suits a column shape best. Because I have relatively broad shoulders and hips I need to cinch my waist in which isn't very flattering when you have about 6 layers underneath your belt! Anyway another [...]
I should have known better. All through Christmas I kept on top of work and Midlifechic by curling up on the sofa with my laptop. During the first week my neck started to feel a bit sore, then my shoulder . In the second week it was moving into my back. I kept on ignoring it thinking it would be fine, I even thought it would be a good idea to keep going to the gym to hammer through the [...]
Have you noticed that the days are starting to get longer - they are, they are. However it's all still a bit cold and gloomy and I'm tired of grey so I've been looking for ways to add a touch of Spring whilst still dressing for Winter. I've managed to find some cost-effective easy Spring wardrobe updates (ok and two not cost-effective but gorgeously luxurious splurges). The weather here has been so bad with wild storms, that we've battened down the [...]
I always admire people who burst into the new year full of enthusiastic new year's resolutions. I don't know about you but for me, January always seems to be a time for quiet reflection. Maybe it's because of where we live, nature has well and truly hunkered down for a big sleep, nothing is stirring, even the ducks on the canal at the bottom of the garden are silent. Of course it only seems this way on the surface, deep down bulbs are [...]
As you know I've been reading lots of style books over the Christmas holiday they were definitely my most useful and absorbing presents. Actually they couldn't have come at a better time, because they reminded me that a truly chic wardrobe isn't filled to bursting with lots of different clothes, in fact it is pared down to a number of essentials that all work seamlessly with each other. So when the sales started I was far more eclectic than usual. [...]
