I'll start with a thank you to everyone who got in touch last week to tell me my site was misbehaving. Midlifechic was having a bit of a midlife meltdown - clearly letting me know that it didn't appreciate being untouched for almost three weeks over Christmas. It seems to be a problem that's only affected PCs and Androids which as a 100% Apple household we were completely unaware of. I've had people working on the back-end this week so [...]
Hello and happy Friday. I think this is when most of us try to complete our Christmas shopping so I won’t talk for long. Instead I’m bringing you a compendium of the best Black Friday 2024 offers. I’m being sent them by the dozen every day so I'm sifting out the best as I go along and I’ll add more as they keep coming in. This is what's live so far - Black Friday 2023 – best offers compendium. Black [...]
Hello, as promised the charity sale starts today raising funds for Blood Cancer UK. I sometimes get a few grumbles when I do this so I'd just like to point out that nobody who writes about clothes can ever wear all of the clothes they're gifted. They're often the compensation you're given in return for featuring a brand on your site and I only ever work with brands that I genuinely respect. However my life isn't glamorous enough to dress [...]
Another of the big sales has begun and as with John Lewis there are some great value buys to be had if you're quick. Today I'm taking you through the Boden sale and clearance - what to buy, the great value pieces that will work hard in your wardrobe. Here's my deep dive into the styles that are worth looking at. Dresses Timeless summer dresses I have this linen dress in a brighter red from last year's collection and it's [...]
It's slightly terrifying that we've reached the end of season sales already isn't it? And it's always significant when John Lewis launch theirs because they fire the starting gun for the rest of the retail industry. There's a lot to plough through this year. The bad weather may have made us all grumpy for the last few weeks but it does mean that there are great buys to be had - some are reductions but the real gems are in [...]
Hello, as promised the charity sale starts today raising funds for Blood Cancer UK. It's been over two years since I've done one so there's a lot of stuff! I often get a few grumbles when I do this so I'd just like to point out that nobody who writes about clothes can ever wear all of the clothes they're gifted. They're often the compensation you're given in return for featuring a brand on your site and I only ever [...]
Well it's back to it this week with a big happy new 2024 to you. How does it feel? Are you full of fresh starts or is it a bit like having a bucket of cold water tipped over your head? I have to say I'm in the latter camp - the dates didn't fall well this time did they? It was almost as if I hurtled straight from the sparkle of New Year's Eve into the grim reality of [...]
Hello and Happy Friday week. I think this is when most of us try to complete our Christmas shopping so I won’t talk for long. Instead I’m bringing you a compendium of the best Black Friday 2023 offers. I’m being sent them by the dozen every day so I'm sifting out the best as I go along and I’ll add more as they keep coming in. This is what's live so far - Black Friday 2023 – best [...]
Boo! I'm early this week because the John Lewis Sale SS23 has just gone live and so I'm bringing you an early edit to help you pick your way through the many great offers. We're also heading away for an extended weekend and I have lots of work to finish before we set off, hopefully we'll be leaving the rain behind - I'd got used to living in endless days of warm weather. Anyway at least it makes it a [...]
I haven't held a blogger sale for ages so there's quite a lot to get through. Just to explain quickly to new readers - I put one together every 12 - 18 months because I just don't have a chance to wear all of the clothes that I'm invited to feature on here. And I need to reduce my 'capsule' by about 50% because we're planning to reconfigure our dressing room and I have to get it to a sensible [...]
I've had a few reminders that I haven't done a beauty post for a while so now feels like a good time. This month when we all feel a bit 'peely wally' as my Scots friends call it is a great one for refreshing beauty routines - and never forget the power of a free on counter makeover, it's a great way of learning new techniques and finding products that work for you. Just pick a brand you already like [...]
Hello and Happy New Year to you - I hope you've had a really good Christmas break and avoided the wretched cold/cough virus that's going around. I had it when I left you last and only started to feel better on Christmas Day which was a bit of a shame as it meant the build-up week when the boys first came home was a bit muffled - but at least it meant we could enjoy Christmas itself. I smiled sympathetically [...]
Hello and Happy Friday. I think for most of us this is the weekend when we try to complete our Christmas shopping so I won't talk for long. Instead I'm bringing you a compendium of the best Black Friday 2022 offers. I've been sent hundreds of them this week so I've sifted out the strongest discounts and I'll add to them if/when they change throughout the day. Let's get started with a Black Friday 2022 - best offers directory... [...]
Boden June Edit & midlife lately And so my last Boden edit of the season falls just as their summer sale begins in earnest. The final full SS drop has landed and from the colours you can see the first hint of seasonal transition. As somebody who is at their happiest at this time of year it makes me feel a little wistful but the upside is that our recalcitrant summer is just starting to show up so it's a [...]
A big summer sale started last night at John Lewis & Partners with some really good clearance offers so I'm getting this week's post out to you early. I can see things are disappearing fast and so I'll pick out my highlights and then leave you to look through the rest in your own time. There are particularly good offers on some of our favourite brands including Boden where you can find items that have actually been sold out for [...]
It's been a long time since I've done a blogger sale so this is a big one. Thanks to lockdown I haven't had the chance to wear a lot of the clothes that I've been sent to shoot over the last couple of years. I always tell brands that if that's the case, I'll share my good fortune with you and raise funds for charity at the same time. This time I'm splitting the donation between two charities. First of [...]
I can't believe this is the last post of the year - I'm running out of time and there's lots I want to say to you so I'm going to crack on. I'm starting with a quick catch-up of the last few days, then moving on to a round-up of my best winter buys & 2021 over and out! Christmassy days out So let's start over in Newcastle. We had a whirlwind visit to take mum-in-law out for the day [...]
Well here we are again, Black Friday which whether you like it or not isn't going anywhere. At this particularly difficult point in global retail history there are some strong offers from retailers who need to get cash flowing; some will be watching it anxiously knowing that it dictates their survival. So I'm going to list the best offers here, I know some of you prefer to avoid it but that's not a moral privilege that's open to everyone - [...]
There are always sure signs that Summer is here aren't there? The build up to Wimbledon, strawberries starting to taste as they should, pea pods in the shops... and the start of the sales. This year they should be interesting because the world of retail has continued to be turned upside down by Covid; some categories such as garden furniture and packable jackets have sold out whereas others have a surplus of stock so it's going to be a bit [...]
It's been a very long time since I've done a blogger sale so this is a big one. Thanks to lockdown I haven't had the chance to wear a lot of the clothes that I've been sent to shoot over the last year. I always tell brands that if that's the case, I'll share my good fortune with than you and raise funds for charity at the same time - this time my donation will go to the food banks [...]
Hello, I'm a day early but the Hush sale has started so I thought I'd bring you my Hush sale top ten. I warn you, the sale site is a pain to go through because when you click on an item it doesn't usually remember where you left off so you have to scroll down to find your place again. Before I go into my top picks though I thought I'd give you an update on sales in general because [...]
I thought I'd give you some light relief from the strange days we're living through by bringing you a blogger sale. There isn't anything that I don't like, it just isn't possible to wear everything and so I'd rather share it with you. The charity that I'm raising funds for this time is The Trussell Trust. All of the Food Banks across the country are now really struggling with supplies and of course they're about to need more stock than [...]
Good morning on this busiest shopping day of the year. It's an unusual one this time because a lot of retailers are using it to launch their winter sale early. Others are trying to add a bit of excitement by changing their offers every few hours. I'm going to keep updating this list throughout the day so check back to see if I've been notified of anything new. In the meantime, here are the best Black Friday offers 2019 so [...]
I'm early this week so apologies to everyone who tells me that my post is part of their Friday wind-down routine, I'm juggling again and so it was now or never. So it's a Friday cornucopia today (on a Thursday... confused? yes me too) with a mixture of clothes, beauty - and... a chance for us to meet. At last! More about that at the end of the post. Hush mid-season sale - recommendations I'm going to start with the [...]
Here we go - as I explained in Tuesday's post, this is my way of supporting second hand September. I've cleared out a rail of both pre-loved and brand new clothes to make space for new season and support a new charity at the same time. They usually sell fast so don't delay, just a few points to bear in mind: Please remember that even if something is in your basket, it’s still available for other people to buy – [...]
Just a quick post today because I can't imagine many of you will be reading when there's glorious sunshine outside. Anyway, we're back from France and I'll tell you all about it and how the packing capsule worked out next week. In the meantime I'm whizzing through some 'summer sales - great buys' and I'll end with good news in a quick midlife lately roundup. Summer sales - great buys It's hard to think of anything other than t-shirts at [...]
Hello - I hope you had a lovely, if chilly, Bank Holiday weekend. As promised it's just a quick post today to reopen the shop with a medley of pieces I've gathered or commissioned on my travels. I still can't quite decide whether I want to build a retail venture or not - I don't really have the time to do it but I do think there's an opportunity for a new retail model and it frustrates me when I [...]
It's just struck me that we're almost at the end of April - the late Easter this year has confused my body clock. It means of course that we're in a retail hiatus because the big summer drops usually arrive in the first week of May. So, there are some good retail offers as they clear stock to make space for the new arrivals. I'll cover those later in the post but first, a round-up of spring sunshine outfits from [...]
Apologies for the lack of notice on this one but the clothes I was planning to shoot for today's post didn't turn up so I've had to pull my blogger sale forward instead. As you know I'm sent more clothes than I can ever wear and I can't think of anyone I'd rather share that good fortune with than you. All clothes are only very lightly worn or sometimes brand new and as usual, I'm raising money for the blood [...]
The blogger sale is live here! Come and see the things that are spilling out of my dressing room. When they’re gone, they’re gone. Here are a few bullet points: The shop is only open to UK customers this time - we tried until late last night to find a way of dispatching them overseas at a reasonable cost but in the end the delivery price would have been disproportionate. Do let me know if you have a low cost solution [...]
And just like that the A/W season's over and the sales are beginning. As retailers start to announce profit warnings it's clearer than ever that it's been one of the worst trading periods on record and so there are going to be some dazzling markdowns. While I've been having a clearout, I've made a point of looking at the pieces I wear on repeat and asking myself why. As part of this process, I've been struck by the fact that [...]
And good morning from the Midlifechic Black Friday hub - I feel a bit like a newsreader making stop press announcements each time a new offer comes in! Today I'm going to be updating this list every time something changes. We've never seen anything quite like this before - it's certainly an unprecedented day in retail. The newest offers will be at the top to make it easier for you. So here goes: Black Friday 2018 hub – updated Hush [...]
I can't imagine that many people are going to be sitting around reading blog posts this weekend - the sunshine is too glorious and so I'm not going to take up much of your time. There are just a few things I wanted to bring to your attention. First of all the Boden sale summer 18. There's something interesting going on at Boden - the sale's late, they haven't been doing as much discounting recently and a lot of the [...]
You have no idea what a rollercoaster ride it has been in the world of retail this summer. As I mentioned last week, in my April meetings the brands that I work with had all scheduled a summer sale 'pull forward' because of the bad weather. Since then they've been playing chicken with the weather and delaying the start dates for as long as possible. This is when the 'Ops' teams send the marketing teams to the verge of a [...]
The blogger sale is now live here. Just in case you missed them, here are the important points to remember: I use a simple storefront. This means that even if something is in your basket, it is still available for others to buy until you check out. If it is something you really want, it is worth checking out immediately and then going back into the shop to browse again. It may help to know that extra postage received from [...]
I have a few different things to talk to you about today. Firstly a capsule summer city wardrobe challenge - can I create a chic wardrobe for a month in just fifteen pieces? Then a few outfits of the day and finally, full details of the blogger sale that will open on Sunday morning 13th May at 11am (British Summer Time). Please read the details carefully to avoid any misunderstanding or disappointment. Capsule summer city wardrobe challenge I get all [...]
It's one of those medley posts today with my analysis on how to find a good hairdresser followed by a bit of this and a bit of that. Before I start though I must share some good news. With having a week away I forgot to tell you that my mum-in-law has the all clear after her breast cancer scare. It means we still haven't got to the bottom of her chest pains but at least it's not the thing [...]
Happy Easter weekend everyone. After a week of mayhem in the office (it's never good when a forthcoming Bank Holiday coincides with the end of a lot of clients' financial years), I've had some serious disruption to my schedule. So here I am, blogging on a Bank Holiday. However I will be logging off very soon and I'm going to spend the rest of today deciding how I'm going to bring some spring home updates into our house. It's hard [...]
I'm planning to do some capsule wardrobe collections over the next few weeks in the hope that Spring will at some point show its face. Jeans of course are always the lynchpin of a casual wardrobe and so I thought we should focus on where they have settled as the transition from skinnies continues. As we've already discussed, a key shape for Spring / Summer 18 jeans is the wide leg crop. I'm enjoying wearing my dark denim ones but I'm [...]
T'was the week before Christmas... and I looked at my diary only to realise that I have blithely arranged for an awful lot of festive gatherings to take place... all through our house. I'm not quite sure how that happened but I have some serious food prepping to do. So, as I will shortly be mutating from Midlifechic to Midlifechef, my last post will have to be a quick one. I'm starting with a quick winter sale edit because if [...]
Black Friday 2017 best offers. Last year you told me you found it helpful to have a simple guide to the best offers on Black Friday. So, I've done my best to arm you in advance with posts on Christmas gifts ideas and outfits (they're listed at the bottom in case you need to refer back to them). I'll keep updating this as offers go live and change during the day. Here are the discounts you need. Black Friday 2017 [...]
The blogger sale is live here! Come and see the things that are spilling out of my dressing room. When they’re gone, they’re gone. Here are a few bullet points: The shop is only open to UK customers this time - we tried until late last night to find a way of dispatching them overseas at a reasonable cost but in the end the delivery price would have been disproportionate. Do let me know if you have a low cost solution [...]
A quick post from me today because I'm busy trying to get the shop ready for my blogger sale tomorrow. I have purged my dressing room and there are nearly 100 items of autumn clothing from all kinds of brands. Everything goes on a first come, first served basis. It's a bit like an old fashioned jumble sale and those with sharp elbows will be the most successful. I'm just warning you that the majority of items were sold in [...]
I have a late addition to the summer sales for you. Hope will be opening their sale tomorrow (Saturday 8th July) and I have a VIP preview which means you can go onto the site and snap up the bargains before everyone else. In preparation for the new stock arriving, they are having a huge clearout from past seasons and a lot of items are 70% off. It's a great opportunity to buy something of high quality at an amazing price. Here [...]
Another week has flown by and I didn't have time to post on Tuesday so I'm bringing you a cornucopia today. Let's start with Hush. I meant to cover the sale on Tuesday but didn't because I was actually down with Hush in London. They invited a small group of over-40 bloggers for a sneak preview of the Autumn / Winter collection. We met at The Ned, the new and most talked about hotel opening in London. What a fantastic [...]
Let's have a quick catch up today. I say quick because I lost a whole day's work this week thanks to lightning striking the local substation. It meant that we had no electricity on Wednesday from 11am until nearly midnight. The schools were closed and, as always, at first it was fun. We played boardgames and then lit the barbecue so that we could munch our way through the melting freezer food. By 9pm though, when we had reached the [...]
Hello everyone and Happy Friday! The sales have begun so here's the first of my 'best summer sales' posts highlighting the top picks from some of my favourite brands. I've focused mostly on pieces that I have and wear a lot so that I can genuinely recommend them to you. I'll add my pictures to the brand's shots to give you an idea of what they look like on an ordinary body. Best Summer Sales: Baukjen Baukjen has definitely carved [...]
A quick bulletin from me today just to give readers in the UK advance warning. I have been having a clearout and, after taking lots of bags to the charity shop, there were things that have hardly been worn. So I thought you might like them. Tomorrow I'm going to run a 'blogger clearout sale.' I have reached the point where I just have too many clothes. They are all lovely things that are hard to part with and I can't think of [...]
As you can see, I'm talking about something completely different today. A little while ago I mentioned that I have been having some treatment for a phobia and that I would discuss it when it was completed. Well today's the day. So, let me tell you more about it. My phobia is 'ornophobia' or a fear of birds. It not only covers the idea of them flapping around me or even being in my path when I walk through a [...]
I confess that I have always struggled with the month of January. So much so that we set our wedding date for 10th February so that I would have something to keep looking forward to during the darkest month. Although I love living where I do, the absence of bright city lights is something that I really notice at this time of year. The usually stunning vista of wide open skies is bleak and grey. Now that I've been blogging [...]
Hello and Happy New Year! I know I'm supposed to be full of perky new year's resolutions but I tend to see September as more of a time to start afresh than January. For me the decorations are down, the middle son has already gone back to school and this morning, I faced the scales which led me to a moment of self loathing because I've put on half a stone. However, when I look back at the fantastic Christmas we've had, I [...]
Hello - I hope you're all having a wonderful time. I'm just popping in with a few outfits of the week as promised because by next week, sequins are going to look a bit out of place. I thought it was going to be a quiet one this year because most of our friends and family are away but actually, when I look back at Christmas 2016, I will remember it as the funny one. The boys have been on [...]
So, the discounts are starting to rain down. I'll be bringing you details of the Best Winter Sales 2016 in my next few posts. I'm starting with the ones that I know have limited stock and the opportunity for pre-Christmas delivery so that Midlifechic readers can get in there first! Best Winter Sales 2016 - Hope First of all I bring you Hope whose sale site has just gone live. As you know, there is a feel good factor about buying from [...]
The end of year sales are starting so it's time for my annual Awards, defining my chic buys of the year 2016. Being an analytical person I like to reflect on where I've spent my budget and whether it was worth it. The surprise difference for me since I started blogging has been my changing history with Boden. I've transitioned from spending most of my budget there in 2014 to spending a lot in 2015 and returning about 50% of it, to barely [...]
It's the busiest shopping weekend of the year so I'm just going to get straight to the point and give you my 'ultimate Guide - best cyber weekend offers 2016' post, an easy to use listing of all the best offers in one place. I've listed the best deals first. The links should take you straight through to the landing sites. Cyber weekend - Fashion offers Finery 30% off everything (ends midnight Sunday 27/11) Hush 25% off 25 items (ends Monday [...]
Hello, I don't usually post on Thursdays but I wanted to alert you to some great offers from Finery and Hush. This is not a sponsored post by the way, I just don't want you to miss out. I've also listed the brands that have gone live early with their Black Friday offers at the bottom of this post with the links and codes that you need to redeem the offer, I'll continue to update it throughout the day. But [...]
Just a quick extra post today on the Hush Flash Sale. It starts today and finishes on Sunday 30th. It includes a number of items from both this season and last Winter, here are the things that I think are the best buys. Hush Flash Sale - last year's stock These pieces have the biggest discounts Cashmere crew neck jumper in cloud 44% off Annabelle dress/tunic in atlantic blue 45% off 2015 jumpsuit in black or burgundy 33% off - these [...]
Hello - I wasn't going to post today but then the final reductions at Boden and Hush popped into my inbox. I've looked through them with a will of cast iron and these pieces are either new to the sale or further reduced. I think they are worth a second look. Boden - newly added to clearance My absolute number one is these Sienna sandals. Metallics are so easy to wear with anything that they're especially good for holiday packing. You [...]
I had an email last week from a reader, Sue, asking about how to have a happy family holiday with teenagers. She said “you seem to manage to really enjoy your holidays with your boys. When my two were little I used to look forward to them being bigger, I imagined that holidays would be more relaxing but actually I find them really stressful. Now that they're both teenagers they just seem to be bored and we end up having [...]
As you probably know, there is 20% off at Hush until midnight (Thursday 30th June) with code SMILE, so my hunch was that the Hush sale would start on Friday, however I have now heard that it will be Tuesday 5th July. Looking through the site, many of the items are already sold out or in a low stock position. I've been through what I think are the best buys, assessed the stock levels and I'm having a little wager [...]
Last week I shared the restrictions I impose on myself before I click on a 'sale started' link. I still stand by the suggestion that you should limit your high summer pieces to about 10% of your total wardrobe. However there is one sale that I shop a little differently and that is the Boden sale. I've found that every time I've had a conversation about Boden this season people have been suggesting that it's a brand that has lost its way. In fact it's [...]
So the sales have started early. Because the weather has been bad there is a glut of clothing that retailers need to offload and temptation is everywhere. I've been through a number of stores and picked out what I think are the best bargains but before we start, let's make sure we set off on the right track. 12 things to remember when you hit the summer sales Don't forget that high summer clothing only needs to be a very small percentage of [...]
I think summer in the city is one of the hardest things to get right sartorially. I'm casting my mind back to my commuting days, heading into the urban heat island of London and seeing the yellow haze of smog hanging over the city as the train approached Waterloo. A hot city is a harsh environment but wearing the right clothes, whether you're a tourist or a native, can make all the difference to how you cope with the day so, summer [...]
I'm really glad that you seemed to like last week's post which featured a mixture of things. Here comes another one. I've sifted through the best of the Bank Holiday sales and discounts for you and I'm going to do an unusual thing of sending this post live before I've finished it because lots of the items are selling fast. It might be worth you coming back later (refresh your browser) to see if I've found any new offers. Firstly Hush have started their [...]
Everyone I speak to seems to have had 'one of those weeks.' It makes you wonder whether all the media hype about Blue Monday brings it to fruition. I knew it was coming but my work week has been tougher than I anticipated. We have a number of big exhibitions and launches coming up on top of our usual workload and these are the times when I really miss my days of working for big corporations with large teams. As Head [...]
A quick post from me because it's a school night and I'm helping the boys with their homework which requires more and more concentration these days. However, with one eye I'm perusing the Hush January 2016 sale which started this morning and I thought I'd tip you off with what I think are the best buys. This wrap shirt is my favourite and I've ordered it to replace the Mango one that I wore over Christmas because the cleavage on [...]
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 [...]
