Hello, I’m breathing a small sigh of relief this week because the North West business exhibition that we’ve been managing is finally over. It meant that I didn’t have much time for Midlifechic last week so why I thought it would be a good time to do the sale I don’t know. As some of you gathered, there were technical gremlins galore on Friday night and I was stuck in the office on my own unable to get through to anyone who could help me because they were all on site at the expo. So, I do apologise to anybody who was frustrated by the glitches. At one point the only option I had was to remove everything from the site which means there are currently a few things left if you’re interested. In the meantime thank you to everybody who persevered, we’re busy packing all of the orders up and sending them out.

I knew I’d be madly playing catch up in the office this week and I’m often asked what I wear on a day to day basis so I decided to get a quick outfit shot most days last week. It was a busy one so I wasn’t dressing for the camera and you’ll see they’re just ordinary outfits for an ordinary working week.

Ordinary outfits for an ordinary working week

Meetings Monday

I started off looking smart because I had meetings so this was last Monday in a dress that is now on backorder. I bought it just before it went out of stock and I absolutely love it because it’s so easy to wear. I know it ticks my ‘wear it 30 times’ box because I’ll be able to layer it when it gets colder and the handkerchief hem will add drama when worn with a coat. It’s a rare foray into pattern for me but red is dominant in the print so I’m happy.

Midlifechic red and black patterned dress

Dress; Hush boots (gifted AW18)

More meetings Tuesday

Another meeting on Tuesday so I was still quite smart. These navy culottes are last season but they’re now a bargain in the sale (in fact there are some high quality satin skirts in the sale at a great price too). They’re made from fabulous quality bonded fabric which holds your tummy in and doesn’t crease. The blouse is silk but it’s past season, I wish I’d bought one of these in every colour because I wear them a lot.

https://www.midlifechic.com/road-trip-to-brighton/

John Lewis & Partners blouse (AW18); Culottes (gifted SS19); Snake shoes – some sizes still in the sale

Warm Wednesday

Wednesday and the weather was increasingly lovely – Gary was determined to be included in this photo. These are the wide-leg jeans that I loved but ruined by washing them with a yellow post-it note in the pocket. They’re now finally back in stock so I was able to replace them.

https://www.midlifechic.com/road-trip-to-brighton/

IdLF @ Uniqlo blouse (gifted as part of paid collab SS19); Wide leg white cropped jeans; Shoes (gifted SS19 – now in the sale)

Manic Manchester Thursday

On Thursday I had to rush to Manchester to sort out some production issues and sadly it was there and back with no time to even look in the shop windows. By the time I got home it was raining but this is what I wore for a mad dash through the city.

BlazerBlouse (gifted AW19); And/Or jeans (gifted SS18); Adidas Continental 80s trainers

Exhibition Friday

This is Friday evening. We’d been invited for drinks with one of our clients and after the first day of the exhibition and the technical meltdown at Midlifechic there was no time to change. I’m sorry this is almost too dark for you to see anything. I’d been on my feet for most of the day so by this point flat shoes were the only thing I could handle.

https://www.midlifechic.com/road-trip-to-brighton/

M&S navy jumpsuit (SS19 gifted as part of paid collab); Shoes (gifted SS19 – now in the sale)

Community Saturday

And this was Saturday when the exhibition opened with a community focus. I was pleased to be supporting the local Food Bank stand, its base is in sunny Morecambe but it serves a wide area and as you know, Mr MC has chosen it as his President’s charity of the year. I’m with the wonderful Annette Smith who founded it and she’s one of life’s golden people. She’s utterly passionate about what she does and I love spending time with her.

I’m just going to take this opportunity to say that demand for Food Banks nationally is at an all time high at the moment so please remember to support them if you can. I’m not being political when I state that since the introduction of Universal Credit, most people in crisis have to wait five weeks until they get a payment which is too long to go without being able to buy food. Food parcels are urgently needed and you can probably find a link to your local Food Bank here. From there you’ll be able to visit their Facebook page which should have a list of items that they’re particularly desperate for at the moment.

Anyway we’re feeling positive up here because as you can see, we’ve got Spiderman on our side!

https://www.midlifechic.com/road-trip-to-brighton/

When the doors closed, Mr MC and I took one look at each other and decided to pop out to the village pub for a quick drink in the sunshine – wasn’t it a glorious weekend? This new light knit jumper made sure I was visible at the exhibition. Pops of neon are a big trend for the forthcoming season and it’s going to be great for layering under jackets to add a flash of colour to my all-navy outfits.

I notice that the reviews for these shoes are indicating that they come up small – I haven’t found that to be the case at all and they were fine for a day on my feet at the Expo.

Midlifechic jeans outfit

Jumper (gifted AW19); shoes (gifted AW19); jeans (gifted SS18)

So, that was last week, there are just a couple of other things that I want to mention.

Lumity Life

Firstly I’ve been trialling Lumity supplements for the last month. I’ve often seen beauty journalists raving about them so when they got in touch to offer me a month’s supply, I was keen to give them a go. There are three to take each morning and three before bed. The morning pills contain a mix of Vitamins A, B, E and C, selenium (a known anti-ager), turmeric root extract and flaxseed oil for healthy cell membranes. The night time dose has a mix of amino acids which are intended to help you sleep better and for longer, as well as providing your skin with the nutrients it needs to heal and renew overnight.

Lumity review and discount

Yasmin LeBon is a big fan and everywhere you look, reviews are glowing although most of them say that you need to take the supplements for three months before you really see results. I can’t say that I can see a dramatic difference after my first month but I am sleeping more deeply and that alone is making me look fresher. I’m sufficiently intrigued to have now put my own money into it and I’ve subscribed to receive a new supply every month. I’m thinking I’ll reassess them after another two months and then decide whether to keep going. I do like their focus on sustainability, everything is delivered in recyclable packaging and refills come in plastic-free pouches.

The thing that’s always put me off trying them before is the price because they’re expensive. However, Lumity have agreed to give you a 30% discount if you’d like to try them using the code MIDLIFECHIC30 at checkout. As always, there’s no pressure from me. You can read more about the science and press reviews on the website here… over to you.

Art For Cure

One thing that I completely forgot to mention during the whirlwind summer that we had is that back in June I was interviewed and styled by YOU magazine.

YOU magazine Midlifechic

They’re running a series on women over 50 who are doing something amazing and as usual I felt like a bit of a fraud because I was there with a bunch of inspiring women who really do make a difference – curing cancer and things like that. Anyway one of the ladies that I started chatting to was Belinda Gray who, after surviving breast cancer herself has set up Art For Cure, a charity that raises funds for breast cancer research and support programmes.

Belinda organises art exhibitions for female artists, some are well established, others are emerging talent. The next event is ‘She London‘ which will be taking place next to Tate Modern at Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH from 3rd to 6th October and commissions from all sales of work will go towards Breast Cancer Now.

Art for cure

The exhibition is bringing together 30 female creatives and it will include paintings, sculpture, jewellery and ceramics focusing on the female form. I can’t go down to London next week so I’m hoping some of you might be able to go along and enjoy it on my behalf.

She London

Belinda truly is doing amazing things in midlife; she’s already raised £700k for breast cancer charities with Art for Cure and she’s set herself a target of £1 million by the end of the year.

She London

If you’re in London and you have time, please do encourage her if you can by going along to see the exhibition. You can find out more about Art For Cure here.

New drops

Today saw a new drop at Hush and a few of you have been in touch to ask if I’m going to do a focus on them because you’re feeling a bit lost. There’s been a lot of change there over the last 18 months as I’ve mentioned but I’m going to be interviewing them in a couple of weeks’ time so I’ll be able to tell you more about it. Plus I’ll be doing an edit when all of the new pieces have arrived.

In the meantime, here are the items that I think will sell out before I can cover them. Firstly I’ve just bought this dress, it’s another easy to wear, trans-seasonal item that you can pair with sandals in summer and then layer and wear with boots in winter. The shirt dress shape flatters most figures.

Hush review autumn 2019

Navy and white star print dress

And then there’s the leopard coat. Nobody matches Hush for quality in faux fur, here’s an old picture of me in the one I have one from a few years ago and whenever I wear it people stroke it and want to buy one. It isn’t an everyday piece but I’ll keep it forever and it makes a statement when I want to wear something simple underneath.

This year’s version

Hush leopard coat review

Leopard coat

You can see the rest of the new collection here. And that’s everything for today. I’m heading off to London tomorrow to wrap up the last of my Christmas projects – which may sound early to you but I’ve been working on Christmas with my various hats on since January so I’m looking forward to the brief October interim before it begins in earnest! See you on Friday – and I promise not to mention December on here again for quite a while yet.

Disclosure: Ordinary outfits for an ordinary working week is not a sponsored post

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