My best buys of AW 2019 – and thoughts for a midlife Christmas

By |2019-12-19T15:48:27+00:00December 19th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Midlife|Tags: , , , |

This is it, the last post of 2019. I've been trying to work out what would be most useful to you right now and so in anticipation of the sales starting, I've sifted through what I think are the best buys of AW 2019. They're the hero pieces in my wardrobe and so I've rounded up my personal recommendation of what to look out for from specific retailers' sales. I'll finish with a few thoughts about Christmas because it feels [...]

A Christmas midlife lately – outfits and happenings

By |2019-12-13T16:58:43+00:00December 13th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's all spinning a bit too fast at the moment, despite the fact that I declined the blogger invitations that came my way. We haven't had a Christmas as busy as this one for a long time so I haven't had time to come up with a post... all I can do today is take you along with me virtually. Allons-y! Christmas midlife lately - ordinary work day This was last Thursday (I think) when for once I had a [...]

Christmas cornucopia from M&S – things you may have missed

By |2019-12-10T10:46:18+00:00December 10th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , , , |

I don't know about you but I think I can say that I'm more or less ready for Christmas now and so for my last M&S post of the year, I thought I'd put together a 'Christmas cornucopia'. I'm focusing on the things I've found that you may have missed along with some little bits and pieces to make your time extra special. So let's go on one last virtual shopping trip together - after this one, my posts will [...]

Wrapping up Christmas – a more sustainable approach

By |2019-12-06T10:58:26+00:00December 6th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , |

Today I'm bringing you the last of my John Lewis & Partners' posts for 2019, I've loved working with them again this year. Of all of the brands on the high street, they have to be the most dynamic in their determination to find a new approach to bricks and mortar retail. As I've mentioned before, they have a whole department dedicated to retail innovation which makes them exciting to work with because they're always revealing another 'well I never!' [...]

What I’ve been wearing – for work, rest and play

By |2019-12-03T16:38:49+00:00December 3rd, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Hello, it's a short post today because I doubt any of us has a lot of spare time for reading and writing. I've turned down all Christmas blogging jollies this year because we have so much going on here - there are two more busy weeks of work lunches and dinners ahead before it all starts to quieten down a bit and become more family and friend focused. So, I'm doing my best to snap outfits as we go along [...]

The best Black Friday offers 2019 – dates and details

By |2019-11-29T16:44:41+00:00November 29th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Sale|Tags: , , , |

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 [...]

Chic gifts for women 2019 – ideas for you

By |2022-09-07T13:39:28+01:00November 27th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

It's the last of my Christmas gift posts today and I'm looking at chic gifts for women 2019, things you might like to put on your own list. I've tried to include a range of prices but a few are investment purchases because I don't think anybody's in the mood to buy throwaway stuff this year. So, let's get going because as you know, we have a dinner to travel to. Chic gifts for women 2019 The Airwrap I'm starting [...]

Thoughtful gifts for men 2019 and midlife lately

By |2022-08-04T11:29:45+01:00November 26th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas|Tags: , , , |

Today I bring you the second of my three Christmas shopping posts with 'thoughtful gifts for men 2019'. I haven't had any help on this one because Mr MC insists that midlife men tend to already have whatever they need. However I've tried to go beyond the usual slippers and socks to come up with something a little different. A lot of the ideas are completely unisex so even if you aren't buying for a man, they're worth a glance. [...]

A Christmas what to wear – Boden edit

By |2019-11-19T16:50:12+00:00November 19th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

It's the last of my Christmas 'what to wear' posts today and I'm pleased to be working with Boden, bringing you my edit of their current collection. The great news is that in celebration of their 28th birthday, they're offering 28% off almost everything including the pieces I've featured in here until Thursday 21st November with code 6T2C so hopefully I'm bringing you these ideas at just the right time. I'm operating within the Four Pillars of Festive Style that [...]

Festive dressing ideas and an evening at John Lewis & Partners

By |2019-11-15T16:47:03+00:00November 15th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

A love letter to Leeds Well what a fabulous time I had last Friday talking about festive dressing ideas at John Lewis & Partners, I hope that those of you who joined me did too. I've been on a high all week, replaying our conversations in my head and just wishing there had been more time for us all to chat. For those of you who couldn't come, let me see if I can make you feel as though you [...]

Relaxed winter chic for women over 40

By |2019-11-12T16:40:45+00:00November 12th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I'm pleased to say that today's post has been prompted directly by you. You see I had the pleasure of chatting to lots of readers at the John Lewis & Partners event on Friday and one topic was requested more than any other: 'relaxed winter chic for women over 40.' So, before we launch headlong into the whirlwind of Christmas, I thought I'd recap on the basics of elevating your winter look. What's coming up on Midlifechic? But first I [...]

Advent calendars 2019 – receive and give back

By |2019-11-12T11:29:59+00:00November 5th, 2019|Categories: Christmas|Tags: , , , |

It's a quick post from me today because I have a really heavy workload but I want to talk quickly about advent calendars 2019 and at the end of the post you'll see why I'm doing it so early. In the space of a few minutes last week I had two different emails. The first one alerted me to the fact that The Tiffany & Co Advent Calendar was on sale - for £104,000. The next one was from our [...]

Winter blue capsule from Marks & Spencer

By |2019-11-01T15:58:48+00:00November 1st, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

A winter blue capsule from Marks & Spencer And so my friends, I'm tentatively launching into the party season. I know it's early and some of you will get grumpy with me but as always my view is that it's best to get all of the planning done now so that when December comes we can just enjoy it. This way when the glossies are running features about how to avoid Christmas stress, we'll be blowing party poppers and wondering [...]

British brands – three you should know

By |2019-10-29T17:48:18+00:00October 29th, 2019|Categories: Interiors, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Something a bit different for you today because thinking we were going to be almost through to the other side of Brexit, I planned a British brand focus. As it happens we're not (why am I surprised?) but I'm going to talk about three of them anyway. Before I start though, I have an apology. One of the enquiry forms on Darryll and Bettina's website for The D'Azur failed on Saturday and so all of the enquiries that you sent [...]

A Midlifechic reader weekend at The D’Azur

By |2019-10-25T17:23:50+01:00October 25th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

And so my first proper get together with readers finally happened last weekend in the particularly glamorous surroundings of the French Riviera. A lot of new readers have joined us recently so I'm just going to backtrack a little to explain how it all came about. Earlier this year, friends in London introduced us to Darryll and Bettina and they invited both us and the boys to stay with them at The D'Azur, their villa in the South of France. [...]

What’s going on at hush and an AW19 try-on

By |2019-10-22T16:24:26+01:00October 22nd, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

It's been a while since I've worked with them and a few of you have been asking me what's going on at hush. It's a small company that has found itself growing so fast that it's suddenly had to switch its focus towards gearing up for growth in a big way. Everybody here of course has known and loved hush for a long time, but two years ago when they launched at John Lewis & Partners, they were introduced to [...]

Winter outfit ideas – John Lewis & Partners

By |2019-10-18T11:59:20+01:00October 18th, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , |

As you know, I spent some time in Leeds this week getting ready for the Midlifechic reader event next month. I love being there because it's one of my favourite John Lewis & Partners sites. It's the anchor store for Victoria Leeds, a shopping centre that opened in 2016 incorporating some of the restored Victorian arcades and I don't think I've seen a more architecturally beautiful shopping centre in the UK. The new glass buildings compliment the old iron structures [...]

Friday cornucopia and – a chance for us to meet!

By |2019-10-24T11:56:50+01:00October 10th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

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 [...]

Winter coat capsule 2019 – what do you really need?

By |2019-10-08T16:43:57+01:00October 8th, 2019|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Today's post has been inspired by a personal coat conundrum. As the weather has turned blustery so suddenly in the UK, I've found myself reaching for a coat far earlier than I did last year when I barely needed one until January. Looking at the coat rail in my dressing room, it was hard to see what I have because there are too many and being in a decluttering frame of mind, I decided that rather than needing a new [...]

A long weekend in Jeréz, Spain’s sherry city

By |2019-10-09T17:19:06+01:00October 4th, 2019|Categories: Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Oh it went so quickly, our weekend break in Spain - and well done to Jenny who was the first to guess our destination of Jeréz. We decided on this trip on our wedding anniversary in February when we were looking through the 'wallpaper roll of dreams' that we made when we were first married. Amongst other things it lists all of the places that we hoped to travel to and because we've spent so many years choosing destinations that [...]

Bumper Boden edit – Autumn 2019 (and a try-on)

By |2019-10-01T16:58:25+01:00October 1st, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Today I'm really pleased to be bringing you a bumper Boden edit - Autumn 2019. Longstanding readers will know that I've been trying to open a dialogue with Boden for years. As you've seen, since spring we've been getting to know each other by doing a small monthly edit - and during that time, from your feedback and comments they've learned a bit more about you too. For this post I've had a chance to go [...]

Chic autumn basics – transitional dressing

By |2019-09-27T17:40:52+01:00September 27th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , |

It's a quick post from me today, I don't have much time because it's Mr MC's birthday this weekend and we're going away... but I'll tell you more about that later. In the meantime I've come up with a few more ideas of what to wear as we transition from summer to autumn when the weather's still relatively warm but unreliable. I've collated some chic autumn basics - wardrobe building blocks that don't immediately look exciting but will work harder [...]

Ordinary outfits for an ordinary working week – season transition

By |2019-09-24T16:50:34+01:00September 24th, 2019|Categories: Style, Work life balance|Tags: , , , , , |

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 [...]

Road trip to Brighton – summer’s last gasp

By |2019-09-17T18:17:22+01:00September 17th, 2019|Categories: Family, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

As I mentioned last week, I have one last chapter of our 'summer of last hurrahs' to tell you about. When we got back from our teen FOMO-riddled two weeks in Turkey, I was puzzling over how to approach future holidays with the boys when Travelodge got in touch to ask if they could help me with a summer post. Immediately the idea of a road trip sprang to mind and so they suggested we [...]

Hope springs at Marks & Spencer – AW19 collection

By |2019-09-13T16:42:56+01:00September 13th, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , |

Today's post is all about M&S but it isn't just my usual monthly try-on of new styles in store, I want to talk a little about why I'm making the statement that 'hope springs at Marks and Spencer.' And yes I know the first thought that's going to come into your mind is that last week they dropped out of the FTSE 100 for the first time ever. I'm sure when that result was announced you could quickly reel off [...]

Easy ways to update your wardrobe for AW19

By |2019-09-10T17:15:57+01:00September 10th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Today, as promised we're going to look at easy ways to update your wardrobe for AW19. Hopefully since the A/W19 trends post you've had a chance to think through what you already have. This perhaps includes blazers, jumpers and jeans for a simple start, maybe midi-skirts and dresses too and a couple of pairs of wide leg trousers. Thinking back to the 'how to build a capsule wardrobe course' we did in January, I'm hoping that you're still using the [...]

Autumn/Winter 2019 – trend analysis: key looks

By |2019-09-06T16:26:42+01:00September 6th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , |

Well I've had it with Summer. It's been like a bad boyfriend, letting me down so many times that I'm over it so, let's move on to our Autumn/Winter 2019 - trend analysis. Now it isn't the easiest of seasons to get your head around this year. There are no significant outline changes as there were two years ago when we moved into the new silhouette of the midi and wider trousers. This time it's more about a mood [...]

IQ student accommodation – how does it compare to our student days?

By |2019-09-03T21:47:46+01:00September 3rd, 2019|Categories: Family, Travel|Tags: , , , |

School started again for us today and so I'm back at my desk busy working on the AW19 trends post that I'll publish on Friday. In the meantime we have a few things to catch up on. Way back in June, as the exams ground to an end, you may remember me telling you that I was making the most of one last long school break with the boys by planning in all kinds of things. Next year will definitely [...]

It’s here – Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo AW19

By |2019-08-29T07:47:16+01:00August 29th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , |

Ah the Bank Holiday... lovely wasn't it? The problem is that it's hit the Inès de La Fressange launch at Uniqlo and as a result, the warehouse just couldn't get samples to me in time to shoot them. We all know what a tight turnaround this limited release has and please take me seriously when I say that it will have mostly sold out by lunchtime today because really, it will. (For US readers it goes live this morning here, [...]

Dipping a toe into AW19 – M&S

By |2019-08-23T17:20:23+01:00August 20th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , |

I have mixed feelings about seeing the new deliveries starting to arrive for Autumn because it's hard to say goodbye to a summer that hasn't even started and yet I'm ready to give up on summer clothes. I suspect it's going to feel like a long winter for us in the UK this year, kicking off with everything Brexit but let's not dwell on that. The farmer in my genes (good job this isn't a podcast!) tells me there's a [...]

Summer holiday destinations with teens – Turkey #2

By |2019-08-16T17:32:31+01:00August 16th, 2019|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , |

Hasn't the weather been awful this week? Let's go back to Turkey! Join me in the sunshine for the second half of our holiday - there are a lot of photos so I'll try to let them tell the story without too much rattling on. At the end of the last post, I left off when just six weeks before we were due to depart, I discovered that we had nowhere to stay for the second week. Thanks to the [...]

Family holidays with teens – Turkey 2019 #1

By |2019-08-09T21:24:05+01:00August 9th, 2019|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello... it's been a while so I hope you're still there. We're back from the longest of our summer trips this year which was a fortnight in Kalkan on Turkey's Turquoise Coast. As you know it's the place where we find we can completely switch off. We first went there in 2000 when the eldest was just a toddler so we've seen it change over the years. This time I have to say it was very, very busy. Kalkan [...]

When life plays cat and mouse

By |2019-08-09T14:23:22+01:00July 19th, 2019|Categories: Health, Midlife, Project Happier|Tags: , , |

For the last couple of weeks I've been writing two potential versions of this post in my head. You see on an ordinary morning just after we got back from France, I discovered a marble-sized lump in my breast. My immediate reaction was denial. I told myself it was just the edge of a rib but then I asked Mr MC to check and I could see by his face that it wasn't. Just like that life began to spin [...]

New summer looks at JD Williams – just in

By |2019-08-08T16:06:51+01:00July 16th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , |

The warm days were so slow to arrive in the UK this year that it's been hard to get into the mood for summer clothes until recently hasn't it? Of course now that the sun's finally shown its face, most stores are heavily into their summer sales which can be too much hard work to navigate. I walked down Regent Street and onto Oxford Street when I was in London a couple of weeks ago and I just couldn't face [...]

Best nude lingerie for summer – tried and tested

By |2019-07-14T16:48:10+01:00July 12th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , |

It's another reader request today - can you tell I'm ticking off my to-do list before we go away? A few people have mentioned the difficulty of finding truly invisible lingerie to wear under things like white linen trousers and low backed dresses in the summer, especially since I featured the halternecks I wore for our French trip. So, over the last few weeks I've been calling in samples to test and I've come up with my pick of the [...]

My absolute beauty essentials – I don’t travel without these…

By |2019-07-09T07:05:33+01:00July 9th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Travel|Tags: , , , |

Today's post was prompted by a reader who wrote in a little while ago saying she'd like to know which products are my absolute beauty essentials. She described them as the ones that are so important to me that I can't travel without them. It popped back into my head when we were in France and I'd done my usual thing of packing random travel sizes of samples that I'd saved from beauty boxes and advent calendars. It's something I [...]

A long weekend with teens in the French Riviera

By |2019-07-05T17:06:08+01:00July 5th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

At last I’ve had a chance to go through the photos from our long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - we took so many that it’s going to be better for me to let the pictures do most of the talking or this will go on forever. A long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - Friday As I mentioned when I was busy planning what to pack, we were invited to stay with Darryll and Bettina [...]

Going grey gracefully – how to approach it

By |2019-07-14T16:45:28+01:00July 2nd, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Midlife, Style|Tags: , , , , |

As you know, over the last few months I've been starting the journey towards going grey with the team at the Josh Wood Atelier in London. I still have about 50% of my natural blonde and brown in my hair so I won't be completely grey for a few years yet however I'm no longer trying to conceal the transition. Instead I'm allowing the strands of silver to shine though in all of their glory. My first appointment was at [...]

Summer sales – great buys and midlife lately

By |2019-06-28T16:45:32+01:00June 28th, 2019|Categories: Accessories, Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

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 [...]

The Lake District with teenagers: The Swan Hotel & Nests

By |2019-06-20T17:13:10+01:00June 20th, 2019|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

After months of toil and tension, the exams have ended and this week our summer of last hurrahs began with the first of the trips you saw me planning - a few days in the Lake District with teenagers. We were invited to stay at The Swan Hotel and Spa at Newby Bridge which is in my favourite part of the Lakes, the Western Peninsula. The Swan has always been one of my top five hotels in the Lakes but [...]

Last minute travel buys – M&S June edit

By |2019-06-14T16:58:03+01:00June 14th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Retail Review, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I'm trying not to mention the weather but... I am finding myself glad that we have a couple of escapes to the sunshine booked (although last time I looked, it was even raining in Turkey). Anyway I'm working with M&S today and the focus is holidays. We've spent enough time on here planning holiday wardrobes so I thought I'd look at last minute travel buys, the little extras that make all the difference. I love doing posts like this because [...]

An easy wardrobe solution for a wet summer

By |2019-07-14T16:43:40+01:00June 11th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , |

It's a quick one today because it's one of those days when work has to come before pleasure. This post was prompted by a distress call from an old schoolfriend. She defected to the south years ago and messaged me last week because of the rain. You see she's been away so long that she's forgotten how to dress for a summer that doesn't turn out as expected. She needed a wardrobe solution for a wet summer; her words were [...]

Cornucopia post: beauty, menopause and midlife musings

By |2019-07-14T16:40:59+01:00June 7th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Midlife, Project Happier|Tags: , , , , , |

It's a cornucopia post today and a bit of a long one so you might want to pour that cup of tea / glass of wine before you start. I've been testing a lot of beauty products over the last few months and a few have made my 'must tell readers about...' shelf. So I'll start with those and then move on to menopause followed by a bit of a midlife melting pot. By the end of it there should [...]

What to pack for a chic weekend in the countryside

By |2019-07-14T16:38:54+01:00June 4th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

What to pack for a chic weekend in the countryside can be a far harder challenge than preparing for hot sunshine. While the rest of the country barbecued from dawn until dusk last weekend, we had a band of incessant rain in the Lake District with cold winds too - I had to stop looking at Instagram because it just wasn't fair. However, we plough on and this post is, in fact, me planning for the first of our 'summer [...]

Linen mix collection from JD Williams, Summer 2019

By |2019-07-14T16:30:13+01:00May 31st, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , |

I often receive emails from readers who tell me that they love the outfits that I put together on Midlifechic but don't have the budget for a lot of the things I feature. It gives me a real quandary because I want this blog to be relevant to all women, regardless of age or spend. However I'm also increasingly trying to steer it towards social, ethical and environmental shopping which tends to carry a higher price tag. An interesting conversation [...]

Packing for a hot beach holiday – women over 40

By |2019-05-24T18:01:13+01:00May 24th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

I'm starting to think I may have been a bit ambitious with my adventure planning this year. Summer is usually a quiet time for our business but I don't think anything's running its usual course in the UK is it? I'm definitely not complaining, I'm seeing it as a positive sign that the country is ploughing on regardless - nonostante tutto! I'm just going to have to be very organised and it may mean that I do shorter blog posts [...]

M&S SS19 – what’s new and a trying-on session

By |2019-05-21T16:15:41+01:00May 21st, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

Whenever I work with M&S the feedback you give me is that you find it helpful to be guided through their huge inventory. So, today I'm going to do a trying-on session of some of the things that have caught my eye recently and then I'll talk you through a few M&S updates. As always, they've had some huge successes and I appreciate it can be frustrating when online stocks are limited so I'll highlight when you may need to [...]

What to pack for a long weekend in the French Riviera

By |2019-05-17T12:13:18+01:00May 17th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

What to pack for a long weekend in the French Riviera: I'm killing two birds with one stone today because as I mentioned on Tuesday, as soon as the exams finish we have a few different breaks planned so I need to be organised. We're having some little adventures because I've realised it's the last time I'll be able to plan these things for sure. The middle son is hoping to go travelling next summer and I've no idea where [...]

Swimwear, beach and holiday packing with John Lewis & Partners

By |2019-05-14T16:47:47+01:00May 14th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , |

Who's looking forward to a holiday? I certainly am. As soon as the dreaded exams are over, we've decided to have a summer of fun with the boys so I have a few different things to plan for. We're aware that with one finishing school and the other graduating there may not be another stretch of unplanned time like this so we're going to make the most of it. In the meantime though it feels like eat, sleep, revise, repeat [...]

Elevated looks – easy summer style for women over 40

By |2019-05-10T17:15:20+01:00May 10th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

It's hard to imagine summer at the moment isn't it? The picture above was taken last weekend and it was freezing but the sun's going to break through next week and we need to be ready. So today I'm looking at elevated summer style, because dressing for summer in the UK can be quite tricky. There are days when you don't want to wear the classic jeans, t-shirt, blazer combo and I've chosen these pieces with that mood in mind. [...]

New for summer at The Midlifechic Boutique

By |2019-05-07T17:09:12+01:00May 7th, 2019|Categories: Accessories, Sale|Tags: , , , , |

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 [...]

Here, there and everywhere – a week of Midlifechic!

By |2019-05-03T16:33:47+01:00May 3rd, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's been a hectic week - I really wanted to bring you a nice shopping post for the Bank Holiday weekend but I just haven't had time to put it together so I'm going to whizz through what I've been doing instead. After this weekend I'm refusing to move from my desk for a while so next week I'll be going into full summer wardrobe planning mode with holiday packing posts, summer workwear and all kinds of other things in [...]

Spring sunshine outfits & new retail offers

By |2019-07-14T16:20:54+01:00April 26th, 2019|Categories: Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

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 [...]

Midlife – making the middle years count

By |2019-07-14T16:18:09+01:00April 23rd, 2019|Categories: Midlife, Project Happier|Tags: , , |

Today's post is a little bit different, I'm taking part in a writing project that was commissioned by the peer to peer lending company Zopa. To celebrate their Innovative Finance ISA, which they say “sits in the middle between low risk, low yielding cash ISAs and volatile, high return stocks and shares ISAs”, they asked a number of people to think about “the middle” and what it means to them. Of course for me, the middle immediately makes me think [...]

SS19 – what to wear now and midlife lately

By |2019-07-14T16:14:21+01:00April 18th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Happy Easter! I hope this post finds you at the beginning of a long break either at home or away. We aren't going anywhere - the boys are in revision lockdown so it's a very serious house at the moment. I am also on enforced rest. I'm going to have to rename this blog MidlifeCrock because I've now hurt my back. All I did was bend over to pick up a pizza that had slipped out of my shopping bag [...]

A Uniqlo trying-on session SS19

By |2019-07-14T16:10:02+01:00April 16th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

So many of you have mentioned your newfound love of Uniqlo in the comments recently that I thought it was time to have a look at them in more depth. Rather than focusing on a particular range like IdLF, this time I thought I'd examine their specific strengths. Before we start, I should say that this post is in collaboration with them and they kindly sent me the products I wanted to try however it is an independent review. Understanding [...]

Blogger sale now live

By |2019-04-12T17:08:22+01:00April 12th, 2019|Categories: Sale|Tags: , |

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 [...]

Spotlight on John Lewis & Partners own label collections SS19

By |2019-04-09T17:13:08+01:00April 9th, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

It's lovely to be working with John Lewis & Partners again. Rather than write a general new season review, I thought I'd have a look at their own label collections and define what each brand stands for. Then I'll move on to a show-and-tell as I try some of the pieces myself and tell you what I think. It makes sense for John Lewis & Partners to continue developing their own ranges. Traditionally, department stores have operated as a 'house [...]

Outfit ideas for graduations, weddings and summer occasions 2019

By |2019-04-03T16:57:37+01:00April 3rd, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , |

I usually do a special occasions post later in the season but I've been so overwhelmed by requests this year that I've pulled it forward. It's the things we have in common that draw us together and this year it seems that one of those things is graduation ceremonies. My friends started asking me what I was going to wear for the eldest's on New Year's Day. The ceremony isn't until July so I'd imagined thinking about it in June [...]

Outfits of the day and more thoughts about mothering

By |2019-03-29T17:28:40+00:00March 29th, 2019|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

Well here we are on 'Brexit Day' at the end of what must have been one of the craziest weeks in British history. Our business is feeling the impact. We work with a number of Sci-Tech businesses that are being badly hit by the loss of European funding, the stalling of potential global funding and the inability to get innovations passed in the absence of a governing system. As a result, some people we know are facing the loss of [...]

A Lake District Midlife Lately (and staying at The Wordsworth Hotel)

By |2019-04-03T15:13:44+01:00March 26th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

For the last few weeks I've had my nose to the grindstone, working hard to meet client deadlines for the end of the financial year which have had to include multiple strategic approaches for the potential outcomes of Brexit. I think we all knew it was going to be a rocky road didn't we so, when I was invited to review The Wordsworth Hotel back in December, I deliberately asked if I could schedule it for now. A Lake District [...]

Thinking about Mother’s Day and the gifts that you give

By |2019-03-22T12:01:15+00:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: Family, Gift ideas, Midlife, Relationships|Tags: , , , , , , |

I've been compiling Mother's Day gift posts for as long as I've worked in retail and as always, this year they're everywhere. So when Marks and Spencer approached me to put one together for them, I pushed back. But then they asked me to go beyond the clichés and do it with a difference and after spending some time looking through their site, I felt that I could. So, today I'm thinking about Mother's Day and the gifts that you [...]

A JD Williams edit SS19 – casual, night out and swimwear

By |2019-03-19T16:18:58+00:00March 19th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Hello and happy Tuesday, apologies for there being no post last Friday but as I mentioned I'm juggling madly at the moment. Anyway I have a retailer focus for you today. It's time for my JD Williams edit SS19 and this time I decided to look through their current collection for some outfits that I'd wear for my usual tasks of working from home, weekend and night out. As you know, I enjoy working with JD Williams (this post was [...]

Tweaking your wardrobe for SS19 – shoes, lipsticks and nail colours

By |2019-03-12T17:11:57+00:00March 12th, 2019|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , |

Last week we looked at the trends for SS19 and established that it's a quiet season. There are no big changes and so a lot of our clothes can carry over quite happily from last year which is good for both our bank accounts and the environment. In a season like this though you tend to find that the detail of your outfit becomes the focus. So today I want to have a quick look at some of the simplest [...]

Early spring outfits of the day – what I’ve been wearing

By |2019-03-08T09:50:30+00:00March 8th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Hello and Happy Friday! One of the most common requests from the survey feedback was for more pictures of everyday outfits so that you can see how I recycle things. I've been doing my best to remember to get them - it means they're all just iPhone shots so maybe not the best quality (although I'm sure Apple would disagree). So here you go, a few early spring outfits of the day. Liver bird This is from a couple of [...]

5 easy ways to update your wardrobe – SS19

By |2019-03-05T17:29:46+00:00March 5th, 2019|Categories: Accessories, Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

At last we're heading into my favourite time of year - Spring - and it's time to look at what's going on in the dizzy world of fashion. But actually I'm not going to do a full blown analysis of the trends for SS19. Why? Because for the first time in 26 years of absorbing trends and then trying to reiterate them in a way that's accessible, I've thrown my hands in the air. It isn't that I can't do [...]

A cornucopia: clothes, food, beauty, thoughts and good news!

By |2019-02-28T16:59:21+00:00February 28th, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I know I don't usually post on a Thursday but my schedule's a bit topsy turvy at the moment. I have some heavy marketing projects that are keeping me busy and given that we're running a business in the shadow of Brexit (or are we?) I'm not complaining! I'm also halfway through reading all of the feedback to the reader survey so in addition to feeling buoyed by lots of heart-lifting comments (thank you so much), I have some conflicting [...]

Marks and Spencer trying-on session – Spring 2019

By |2019-02-26T16:30:10+00:00February 26th, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

The sun is shining, in fact the tabloids are calling it the Moroccan Melt so to everyone who asked me to bring the weather back with me from Marrakech, you're welcome! It means that for once, the new Spring collections that are arriving feel timely. It's usually hard to imagine spring in February but this week retail sales have been booming as everyone casts off their winter layers. I'm sure we'll have another stretch of jumpers and boots next week [...]

Exclusive: Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo SS19 review

By |2019-02-21T07:01:03+00:00February 21st, 2019|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

At last we're moving into Spring and once again I'm delighted to bring you the exclusive on the new collection from Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo. As I say every time, Inès is my ultimate style icon so it's a huge honour when Uniqlo give me this opportunity to be her English counterpart. The collection launches here today at 7am in the UK and here in the US. Sorry Australian readers - I couldn't get any info for you [...]

Blogger charity sale now live

By |2019-02-19T16:58:17+00:00February 19th, 2019|Categories: Sale|Tags: , |

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 return to Marrakech – what I packed (and what we did)

By |2019-03-27T11:16:30+00:00February 15th, 2019|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Let me take you to Marrakech for a blast of warmth and downtime... it's a long post but there's a lot to say. As you know, for the Christmas before last Mr MC gave me a jar of money and a promise of time away together in 2018. We'd hoped to go somewhere in October but with the sad news of his brother, it wasn't to be. And so we made a plan to head off for our wedding anniversary in [...]

How to find the right bra for your breast shape

By |2024-02-27T16:01:56+00:00February 12th, 2019|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , |

  Please note this 2019 post has been so popular that I published an updated version in 2024 with current product recommendations - you can find it here.    Hello, I'm back - I'll tell you all about our break on Friday when I've hopefully found time to go through the photos (although you can see a little glimpse above). In the meantime I've been wanting to write about how to find the right bra for your breast shape for [...]

Happy 5th birthday Midlifechic & reader survey 2019

By |2019-02-05T09:46:35+00:00February 5th, 2019|Categories: Project Happier, Surveys|Tags: , |

Hello! Yesterday (Monday 4th February) was Midlifechic's 5th birthday.  It's been quite a journey from this rather petrified looking first ever outfit shot... ... to moments like this... I'm writing this in a bit of a hurry because we have, quite literally, got a plane to catch. But I do just want to express my gratitude for the amazing personal journey that this blog has taken me on over the last five years. I'm not talking about the glitzy things [...]

Pop of colour outfit updates to take you through to spring

By |2019-02-01T17:05:36+00:00February 1st, 2019|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Well after a month's abstinence I think it's time to have a look at the shops again and it's so cold that my mind's on jumpers (many jumpers - our heating's packed in!). I'm looking at 'pop of colour outfit updates' so let's have a think about them from a capsule perspective. I don't know about you but my body temperature has changed in midlife. Thanks to my HRT I don't have hot flushes but I definitely find myself getting [...]

How to build a capsule wardrobe over 40 – the summary

By |2019-01-29T17:39:00+00:00January 29th, 2019|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , |

We've come to the end of the 'how to build a capsule wardrobe series' and it's taken us nicely through January - didn't that go quickly?! So today I want to wrap everything up by making sure that you have your plan in one place and are ready to build a wardrobe that works for you. I've created one last download and added it to the full collection so that you can summarise all of the work you've done on one [...]

How to create a capsule wardrobe #5 – body shape and silhouette

By |2020-02-13T12:58:08+00:00January 25th, 2019|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

We're coming towards the end of the series on how to create a capsule wardrobe. A few bloggers who cover similar themes have asked why I haven't charged for it or at least collected email addresses in return for the downloads so I thought I'd explain for others who are wondering. I'm very flattered that you think it's worth charging for but there are two reasons why I haven't. Firstly, it's been a way of giving something back to [...]

How to plan a capsule wardrobe – women over 40 #4

By |2019-03-27T11:20:56+00:00January 22nd, 2019|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , |

And here we go with part four of the 'How to plan a capsule wardrobe - women over 40' series - I hope you're enjoying it. It's a short one today because I'm writing it in my London hotel room after a busy day. I've had seven meetings so my head's spinning a bit! This post is another exercise and it involves aspirational thinking. It's time to find your style icon - your dream look. It's something I did when [...]

Building a capsule wardrobe # 3 – colour and texture

By |2019-01-18T17:04:49+00:00January 18th, 2019|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , |

Well I'm hoping you're up to date with your capsule wardrobe building tasks because the next stage involves thinking about colour and cloth - both intrinsic elements of personal style. Let's start with colour, I'm going to recap quickly on how to decide which colours suit you because quite a few new readers have joined us. Then we'll move on to developing a colour palette that works for you. When you've identified this, it will give you the ability to [...]

How to build a capsule wardrobe – ageless style #2

By |2019-01-15T16:56:55+00:00January 15th, 2019|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , |

I'm so pleased by how well Part One of my 'how to build a capsule wardrobe - ageless style' series went down. As I said on the Midlifechic Facebook page, I felt quite nervous on Friday - it was like handing in an important assignment. So today I'm bringing you Part Two. I know some of you are itching to get down to outfit specifics but my experience of running courses for busy people has taught me to do it [...]

How to build a capsule wardrobe – women over 40 #1

By |2021-01-08T15:23:42+00:00January 11th, 2019|Categories: Project Happier, Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , |

...and let me start by apologising for the 'women over 40' extension on the title there. I know that a sizeable chunk of you aren't over 40 and this process has nothing to do with age, it just helps it to stand out amidst the millions of 'how to build a capsule wardrobe' posts on the internet. So, let's get started with the first part of the series that I put together over the Christmas holidays when I was working [...]

New year, new plans at Midlifechic – Happy 2019!

By |2019-01-08T16:40:51+00:00January 8th, 2019|Categories: Christmas, Family|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello and a very Happy New Year to you. I feel as though I've been away for ages which is good but I've missed blogging and it was lovely to hear from a few of you who emailed last week to say that you were missing the posts. Let's catch up with a quick look back at Christmas and then a focus on new year, new plans at Midlifechic. You may remember that my last post on Friday 21st [...]

Go to Top