Easy ways to update your wardrobe for Spring 2023

By |2023-03-24T16:42:03+00:00March 24th, 2023|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , |

At last, it's officially Spring (although the weather gods still seem to have their ear muffs on). Within the next month we'll have that first glorious day when you can feel the good times coming. So, let's talk about clothes again and easy ways to update your wardrobe for Spring 2023. With an eye on sustainability I've been keeping quiet on the shopping front for a while. I don't feel it's right to keep pushing ill considered purchases with the [...]

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Midlife beauty favourites and new discoveries

By |2023-01-20T14:18:50+00:00January 20th, 2023|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Sale|Tags: , , , , |

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 [...]

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Midlife lately – behind the scenes

By |2022-12-09T16:35:25+00:00December 9th, 2022|Categories: Christmas, Midlife, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Well I said I'd do a catch-up today and it shows how focused on Christmas prep I've been when I have photos and moments going all the way back to the end of October. As you know, I like this blog to be a reflection of a real midlife and while I've been busy getting everything ready for what will hopefully be a fun-filled Christmas, everyday stuff has been going on - as it always does. November, in particular, was [...]

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Christmassy outfits that are not just for Christmas

By |2022-11-11T20:43:25+00:00November 11th, 2022|Categories: Christmas, Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

As we're getting into the swing of Christmas now, for my last Boden edit of the year it made sense to look at what we might wear when we're in the mood to look festive. Every year, at the end of November ( for me anyway) there comes a morning where I suddenly want to move away from my autumn clothes and add a little touch of something extra to my outfits. And that's what today's post is going [...]

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Early Christmas moments – savouring November

By |2022-11-07T09:42:02+00:00November 4th, 2022|Categories: Christmas, Interiors, Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's always a bit of a shock isn't it? Over the last few years life has started to tip straight from Autumn and Halloween into Christmas. This year it's worth being organised though because we're all watching our budgets and nothing makes you overspend as much as a bout of unplanned, late and therefore frenzy driven shopping. So today I'm going to break you gently into a little bit of early Christmas prep with John Lewis and Partners by [...]

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AW22 everyday edits – Boden

By |2022-10-27T19:12:50+01:00October 21st, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's the last of my AW22 everyday edits today and I'm as pleased as ever to be working with one of my all time favourite brands, Boden. As always with them there are lots of tempting statement outfits but I'm sticking to my pledge to focus on long-lasting wardrobe workhorses this season as I suspect most of us are squeezing our budgets hard. It really has been a case of sitting on my hands, especially when I saw pieces [...]

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Autumn midlife lately – time for a catch-up

By |2022-10-14T17:05:45+01:00October 14th, 2022|Categories: Family, Health, Midlife, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

The weeks seem to be flying past at the moment so I thought it was time to take a mid-season pause and have a catch up with an autumn midlife lately. I've found random photos of various moments on our camera rolls so here's what's been going on in the background while I've been talking about travel and new season clothes. Autumn midlife lately - empty nesting Towards the end of September it was finally time for the youngest [...]

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Easy ways to build a colourful winter wardrobe

By |2022-10-07T17:14:16+01:00October 7th, 2022|Categories: Accessories, Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Today we're continuing with AW22 and I'm bringing you more ideas for making your wardrobe work hard. I think for all of us it's a season for being realistic; very few people are going to be buying into the 'everything new' mentality - instead it's a time to be savvy. So when it comes to new season, it doesn't feel right for me to just bring you a whole load of 'what's new' posts. Rather [...]

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Edging into A/W22 with White Stuff

By |2022-09-30T17:42:52+01:00September 30th, 2022|Categories: Product review, Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

And so I can't hold it off any longer, Autumn is most definitely here and I can't believe how suddenly it's arrived this year. September is often the warmest month of the season for us up here and yet I've already found myself digging out gloves for my walks with Ted. So today you find me edging into A/W22 with White Stuff . I'm bringing you my personal edit from their new collection and to go with it, you'll see [...]

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Midlife Lately – Making summer weekends count

By |2022-07-21T15:01:20+01:00July 15th, 2022|Categories: Family, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Well hello and a huge thank you for all of your comments last week - I think it's a record. Just as I was beginning to wonder if you'd stopped reading you astounded me. I usually reply to everybody individually but I have a lengthy corporate identity document to complete so instead I'm going to spend any spare blog time I have collating each comment into a report. I'll add 'noted' under each one so you know that your feedback [...]

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Summer cornucopia – outfits, travel & The Telegraph!

By |2022-08-01T12:21:36+01:00July 7th, 2022|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm popping up on strange days again - I'm early this week because we have a family wedding tomorrow which is exciting and I think it might be slightly haphazard all summer but I'll get back into a regular routine when autumn comes. As you know, retail is in full sale so rather than a focused post, it's a summer cornucopia with outfits, travel & The Telegraph. So let's get going. Welcome to new readers I'm starting with something quite [...]

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Clothing to combat hot weather & midlife lately

By |2022-07-21T15:03:57+01:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

My goodness these weeks roll around quickly when the sun's out don't they? We have a lot going on on the domestic front at the moment and I'll tell you more about that at the end so it's a catch-up post today. I'm going to start with a run through of what I've been doing and wearing, move on to clothing to combat hot weather (I think you need it more desperately in the South than we do up here) [...]

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Looking good in summer – beauty tips and outfits

By |2022-06-01T16:10:18+01:00June 1st, 2022|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And so we have a big weekend ahead in the UK with a languorous four day break for the Queen's 70th Jubilee - whether you're a royalist or not it's hard not to admire her as a woman who's shown lifelong strength and dedication. Today's post isn't about the red, white and blue though, it's the last of my summer posts with John Lewis & Partners which always makes me feel a bit sad because next time I get together [...]

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What I’m wearing at home and abroad

By |2022-05-27T17:00:12+01:00May 27th, 2022|Categories: Family, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As promised it's a catch up today with a bit of an outfit round-up. I know you've seen snippets of our short break in Lanzarote but I'll tell you a little more about that and then talk about what we did for my surprise birthday weekend. So without coming over all Foreign Office, today's post is all about what I'm wearing at home and abroad. There are a lot of pictures and I've tried to keep the writing as short [...]

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New summer basics from ANYDAY – home, fashion and a try-on

By |2022-05-20T11:07:02+01:00May 20th, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello, I hope you're enjoying this week's wonderful sunshine - dare I say that spring has sprung at last? It nearly always shines on my birthday week... as long as I haven't planned some kind of outdoor party that is and then it rains! Today I'm going back to basics and bringing you an update on some of the new arrivals from John Lewis & Partners' ANYDAY range as it heads into its first summer season. I think we're [...]

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Bright colours to lift spring outfits – at reasonable prices too

By |2022-05-03T12:45:18+01:00May 3rd, 2022|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I wonder if you can tell that I was in holiday mode when I put this post together. Our decision to head to the sunshine after the last few full-on months prompted a bit of a panic in terms of finding time to pack. And, as our departure date grew closer the weather forecast wasn't looking as good as I hoped - it was more akin to a British summer than one a four and a half hour flight away. [...]

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SS22 dresses for weddings, graduations and special occasions

By |2022-04-29T16:59:39+01:00April 29th, 2022|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I've had more questions about special occasion dressing than ever before this year. I suspect it's because we're all so glad that we can celebrate again and when it comes to weddings, some are so long awaited that they really do deserve an extra special effort. It's great to have an excuse to dress up again too isn't it? But can we remember how to do it? And with the growing creep of casualisation has occasion dressing changed? These are [...]

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Easter style and beauty – dresses, trousers, tees and tools

By |2022-08-08T15:45:54+01:00April 14th, 2022|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Well hello and Happy Easter! Isn't it great to have a long weekend ahead? I haven't actually been looking forward to it because we had meetings booked in (retailers have no sympathy with Bank Holidays) but happily they've now been moved to next week so we have an unexpected break and an almost empty diary so we're just going to enjoy the last weekend of the boys being home. It's a bit of a mishmash today, I have some try-ons [...]

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On growing older contentedly – and bold SS22 looks

By |2022-04-08T16:46:05+01:00April 8th, 2022|Categories: Midlife, Project Happier, Style, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

It's a bit of a different post today, it includes clothes (of course) but it's also about growing older contentedly. When I was down in London a couple of weeks ago I met up with Nayna McIntosh from Hope and after we'd looked through the glorious new season pieces that I'll show you in a few minutes, we got chatting about things like the true markers of success as we approach the end of this phase we call midlife. You [...]

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A midlife catch-up – what I’ve been doing and wearing

By |2022-04-01T17:10:30+01:00April 1st, 2022|Categories: Exhibitions, Family, Midlife, Style, Work life balance|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

And here we are on 1st April which means we're a quarter of the way through the year already. I'm not bringing you the post about getting older that I was hoping to because I just haven't had time to do it properly. Instead, when I was looking back at my camera roll trying to make sense of the fact that the year's going so quickly I realised that there were lots of photos on there that I haven't even [...]

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Estée Lauder – testing new products at John Lewis & Partners

By |2022-03-25T17:27:57+00:00March 25th, 2022|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

It's been a while since we've talked beauty and today I'm looking at the industry's ultimate grande dame, Estée Lauder. They came up in conversation with our friends John Lewis & Partners just after Christmas and I had to admit that while I haven't really used their products, I was enjoying a large sample of their new Advanced Night Repair formula that I'd discovered in my JL&P advent calendar. So, they suggested that I trial a few more of their [...]

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SS22 wardrobe refreshes – defining your own style

By |2022-03-25T15:06:42+00:00March 18th, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I've been dipping in and out of new season but I think it's time to declare that Spring's arrived. There are hosts of golden daffodils in the Lake District and over in Newcastle this week we've been watching the kittiwakes returning to nest at The Baltic. After two muted summers living under the shadow of Covid I'm looking forward to updating the outfits that I have in my wardrobe and being out and about again. So I thought now would [...]

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Edgar House review – a British bolthole for large groups

By |2022-03-11T17:20:48+00:00March 11th, 2022|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It's time for a catch-up and to log how much the world has changed (yet again) in such a short space of time. So before I move on to talking about a very special family weekend away, I want to acknowledge it. As you know, I write this blog as a form of diary so for the sake of record it's now two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine sending Europe and the rest of the world into a state of [...]

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Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo SS22 launches today – a quick try-on

By |2022-03-03T14:22:25+00:00March 3rd, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I have to say I was getting worried - my favourite Uniqlo collab usually comes out at the end of January and this year there was no sign of it but of course everything in retail has been upended and at last here it is - Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo SS22. This year's inspiration comes from Marrakech and we see the introduction of a red rose print along with cotton pieces with easy box pleats, designed to feel [...]

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White Stuff review – a brand with renewed direction

By |2022-02-28T16:56:09+00:00February 28th, 2022|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Today I'm focusing on a brand I haven't covered before with a White Stuff review. I've had to think hard about why I've so rarely included their clothes on here and I think it's because for a very long time I haven't felt as if I'm their customer. However, a little while ago I was contacted by the new team there which I was thrilled to see now includes some great people I know who've moved over from other brands [...]

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The best jeans cuts for midlifers – SS22 denim try-on

By |2022-02-18T16:10:50+00:00February 18th, 2022|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Well as you may have guessed from the picture above, I have something a little different for you today - Mr MC is making his modelling debut on Midlifechic... for one post only. When John Lewis & Partners wondered out loud if we might do a his and hers jeans try-on I wasn't sure how he'd react but he was thrilled by the thought of being at the other side of the lens for a change. His only stipulation was [...]

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How to make necklines work for your body

By |2022-02-11T16:57:45+00:00February 11th, 2022|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Thank you for all of your lovely blog birthday wishes last week. I'm writing this in a bit of a time-warp on Tuesday night because we've decided to act on our empty-nesters' ability to be spontaneous and head off for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We're not going very far at all, certainly not to the exotic climes that we should have been enjoying right now but we've realised that with a new project looming this might [...]

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The joy of a Christmas outfit trying-on session

By |2021-11-17T16:53:49+00:00November 17th, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Ah the joy of a Christmas outfit trying-on session at John Lewis & Partners - I loved every minute of it and I'm hoping I have a little something for everyone today because there are so many different ideas. But before we go on, let's recap. In my first post about dressing for Christmas this year, we talked about how the approach is changing; lots of retailers and consumers are trying to be more thoughtful about creating capsules that will [...]

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A different way of dressing for Christmas 2021

By |2021-11-09T17:07:24+00:00November 9th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is a gentler opening of my Christmas posts than I imagined back in the summer months when I first started planning my calendar with the retailers who do so much to support this blog. You see we're all going to find the landscape quite different at the upper end of the high street this year as we start to think about what to wear over the festive season. A lot of retailers are giving us a different way of [...]

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Midlife ups and downs – and what I’ve been wearing

By |2021-11-05T17:14:34+00:00November 5th, 2021|Categories: Family, Midlife, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

After playing catch-up on our Greek trip for the last few weeks it feels good to be talking to you in real time again. We've had lots going on and I'm going to write this post the opposite way round to usual because it has some sadness and I don't want to leave you on a downer on a Friday. So I'm starting with some midlife ups and downs and then I'll move on to happier events and what I've [...]

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Outfit ideas & 5 minute make-up for women over 50

By |2021-10-26T17:05:57+01:00October 26th, 2021|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And just in case you didn't already think this year's whizzing past, today I bring you the last of the new Autumn drops. After this it will just be what I've been wearing and then, very soon we'll be moving into the sparkly season. So if you haven't worked out how you're going to dress most days from now until (let's face it) April - it's time. Today I'm working with John Lewis & Partners and I've put together a [...]

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Trying on Boden’s latest AW21 collection

By |2021-10-17T19:08:00+01:00October 15th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Last Monday Boden's biggest Autumn drop arrived and there I was shading my screen from the Mykonos sunshine, trying to think ahead to what life might be like for us all at home over the months to come. As you know, before we went away I'd already categorised the principle lifestyle areas that I need to focus on this season: working from home with the occasional client meeting; casual weekends and relaxed nights out. I know I keep banging on [...]

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A new range of simple, sustainable basics for fashion and home

By |2021-10-08T09:51:28+01:00October 8th, 2021|Categories: Interiors, Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

A new range of simple, sustainable basics for fashion As I type this Mr MC is busy filling in our passenger locator forms and we're forcing ourselves to think about leaving the Mykonos sunshine to come home. At this particular moment Autumn feels like a million miles away but I know that in just over 24 hours it will be a reality. However at least we won't be going home to an empty nest quite yet; the eldest has been [...]

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Autumn wardrobe planning – a new start for a new way of life

By |2021-09-17T16:59:57+01:00September 17th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Autumn wardrobe planning - a new start for a new way of life I might be a bit later than the back to schoolers but I certainly have a feeling of new term butterflies in my tummy this week - a mix of worry and excitement about what lies ahead. Of course for us this season (and this weekend in particular) really is a new start as we empty nest but I'm sensing that lots of people are feeling the [...]

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AW21 trends and easy ways to wear them

By |2021-09-10T16:59:54+01:00September 10th, 2021|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

AW21 trends and easy ways to wear them Trends - do they even matter any more? Whereas designers and glossy magazine editors used to dominate the world of fashion and dictate what we'd wear every season, since the arrival of the internet and social media in particular there's been a real change in the balance of power. Now pretty much any style goes if you own it and wear it with confidence. So I almost decided against doing this new [...]

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What to wear for a wedding over 50 – and other outfits

By |2021-09-03T16:20:05+01:00September 3rd, 2021|Categories: Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Over the weekend I realised how many outfit pictures I have clogging up my camera roll so it's time for a catch up. Of course the highlight of my weekend was the wedding we went to so today's post is a mixed bag of summer and autumn outfits cumulating with what to wear for a wedding over 50. You see the last few weeks for us have felt a little more like life before lockdown especially as far as work [...]

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Exclusive – trying on Inès de la Fressange at Uniqlo AW21

By |2021-08-26T15:46:55+01:00August 26th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

And so here we are with the first post of the Autumn season and it's an exclusive - trying on Inès de la Fressange at Uniqlo AW21. I'm so sorry that it's late, the samples just didn't arrive and so today we've had a mad trip to the Manchester store to try the pieces I wanted to show you so that we could photograph them and send this post live. It's been a crazy day in hot sunshine and I [...]

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Recent midlife summer outfits – what I’ve been wearing

By |2021-06-22T17:33:55+01:00June 22nd, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I've found time for an extra post this week, just a quick one because when I did a real life outfits post a couple of weeks ago a lot of you asked for more of them so I've been trying to remember to take quick outfit shots as we've gone along. My phone's filling up so let's have a catch up with some recent midlife summer outfits - what I've been wearing and doing. Midlife summer outfits - a trip [...]

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Style cornucopia – new brands & old favourites

By |2021-05-28T16:03:22+01:00May 28th, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , |

Well here we are with a Bank Holiday weekend ahead of us in the UK and as I type this (on Thursday) it's warm and sunny - could it be that the weather has finally caught up with the date? I'm taking next week off because we're going to be in Newcastle for the final push, hopefully getting the apartment finished so I'm signing off for a while with a style cornucopia - new brands & old favourites. Style cornucopia [...]

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Summer outfit building blocks & midlife lately

By |2021-05-21T15:33:48+01:00May 21st, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

It's that cruel point in the season when the sun's barely started shining and yet it's time to start wrapping up wardrobe posts about Summer drops. Already the new season previews are starting and I find myself peeping reluctantly through my fingers at Autumn clothes. This is the last of my SS21 posts with Boden and I've been thinking hard about how to approach it because I'd usually be talking about packing for Summer holidays with wafty beach dresses and [...]

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Summer 2021 ahead – the gentle lifting of lockdown

By |2021-06-03T15:04:16+01:00May 14th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Slowly, slowly the warmer days are creeping in as the temperature starts to rise. We've been feeling impatient for it and when you think about it we were all spoilt by last year's glorious Spring because it's usually still a bit chilly in May. I know when the boys were little I always used to refuse to go camping before 1st June because although they didn't care, I wasn't keen on sleeping in a woolly hat and hiking socks, it [...]

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New season try-ons – Bank Holiday Bumper Post!

By |2021-04-30T18:14:54+01:00April 30th, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

And hurray for a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, don't you just love this time of year? It has to be said that if any month deserves not one but two Bank Holidays it's May so I hope you have plans that include at least one pop of joy. We're currently over in Newcastle starting to bring our ideas to life. As you know all we've done so far is paint the whole place white, not because that's the [...]

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The latest SS21 drop at John Lewis & Partners

By |2021-04-27T17:03:59+01:00April 27th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Well hello, how nice it is to be back on a Tuesday for a change. It's just a quick post today to tell you about the latest SS21 drop at John Lewis & Partners. As we discussed last month they're going through a style evolution on their fashion floor and we're now moving into stage 2 as more small labels arrive to augment their already established collection of brands. Their vision is to have a foundation of good capsule pieces [...]

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What I’ve been wearing as we emerge from lockdown

By |2021-04-23T15:48:03+01:00April 23rd, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It's one of those 'conversations with a friend' posts today because I had a panicky text from one who'd been told rather suddenly that her office is going to reopen for three days a week and she was dumbfounded. "It's going to mean going to bed and getting up at regular times again... and setting an alarm... and packing lunch... and getting dressed - I know you've been getting dressed all through this so tell me what to wear?!" Well [...]

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March cornucopia & what to wear for outdoor meet-ups

By |2021-03-26T16:13:00+00:00March 26th, 2021|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It's time for a March cornucopia because there are a few things I've been meaning to mention. Let's start with clothes because change is afoot in the UK with groups of six being allowed to meet outside from Monday - and of course this will soon be followed by pubs opening their outdoor seating areas on 12th April so we need to think about what to wear for outdoor meet-ups. This week I've noticed that lots of pubs are busy [...]

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What’s going on at John Lewis & Partners?

By |2021-03-23T13:53:46+00:00March 19th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Thank goodness - on Sunday we'll reach the Spring equinox and then in a week's time the clocks go forward. These are the little things that mean such a lot at the moment because they'll make a significant difference to the lives we're living. Today's post is all about new season, this time with a focus on more everyday outfits that will take us from lockdown to beyond. I'm pleased to be working with one of my favourite retailers again [...]

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Wardrobe planning for SS21 – thinking about going out!

By |2021-03-12T17:31:02+00:00March 12th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I know we've had crazy weather in the UK this week but we're turning the corner towards springtime and it feels as though it's time to start looking ahead, albeit tentatively. Today I'm working with Boden, doing a bit of wardrobe planning for SS21 - thinking about going out. Of course we'll all be emerging from lockdown at different paces but here's the roadmap that we have in England at the moment: 29th March - golf is back for those [...]

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Cornucopia – new outfits, food and Midlife Lately

By |2021-02-27T17:02:49+00:00February 26th, 2021|Categories: Family, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Well hello, how are you? Feeling buoyed by Boris's roadmap or not? I've noticed that this week has been an emotional one for a lot of people. Everyone I've spoken to seems to be swinging between elation at having a hairdresser's appointment in the diary and despair at still having weeks of limbo ahead. I feel the same and I'll have a go at encapsulating it in Midlife Lately at the end of this post because I'll be fascinated to [...]

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Launching SS21 – Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo

By |2021-02-18T17:05:31+00:00February 18th, 2021|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Today I'm working with Uniqlo to kick off the new season by launching SS21 - Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo. Like the first snowdrops, for me this shoot is always the sign of brighter times ahead and it feels particularly victorious to still be able to bring it to you this year despite the added hurdles that are impacting retailers everywhere. We're slightly later than I hoped to be because the clothes samples only arrived at lunchtime today so [...]

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7 years of Midlifechic – looking back – and ahead

By |2021-02-05T16:46:00+00:00February 5th, 2021|Categories: Midlife, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And here we are in February, a month I like because it takes us swiftly out of winter and into the beginning of spring. It's a month of love in our house because not only do we have Valentine's Day but also our wedding anniversary. First though comes Midlifechic's birthday. Yesterday this little blog of mine reached the grand old age of seven and of course in the context of the lives that we've lived, that doesn't seem very old. [...]

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Winter cornucopia and what I’ve been wearing

By |2021-01-22T17:05:02+00:00January 22nd, 2021|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Health, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Happy Friday everyone, that's the most difficult week of January over with and even I have to confess that I've found it trying. It began with Blue Monday and then we were battered by Storm Christoph - I'm hoping that none of you are in the worst hit areas, extreme weather really isn't what we need at the moment. Once again today's post is a mix of things that have caught my eye or sprung to mind while I've been [...]

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Refreshing the now – winter lockdown style

By |2021-01-25T13:42:46+00:00January 15th, 2021|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Ah your responses to last Friday's post were so interesting - if you haven't had time yet, go back and read through the comments because they give really good insight into the myriad ways we're all living and feeling at the moment. They showed me that although we remain on the same wavelength, we're all having completely different experiences of lockdown, particularly this time around. I'm going to be holding that in my mind as I write my posts over [...]

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‘Twas the week before Christmas – what I wore and a festive appeal

By |2020-12-16T09:54:58+00:00December 15th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Well how are you? Full of beans and ready for the Christmas break or limping and just desperate to get there? I confess that I'm in the latter camp. I woke up yesterday wondering what on earth was wrong with me because I felt as though every last ounce of energy had left my body. I had a flu jab on Saturday so at first I thought it must be that but then I mentioned how I was feeling in [...]

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Midlife lately and what I wore in November

By |2020-12-04T21:16:24+00:00December 4th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Midlife, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

It's been a while since we had a midlife lately catch up because I've been so busy with everything Christmas but it's starting to feel as though most of the planning is done now so I can come up for air. Wasn't November a funny old month? Even more of a nothingness than November usually is so I'm not sure how interesting this post is going to be but I suppose we're all in the same boat. As always, ours [...]

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12 days of Christmas Dressing – dressed up or dressed down?

By |2020-11-18T16:38:08+00:00November 18th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

As promised, an extra post from me this week focusing on the 12 days of Christmas dressing - dressed up or dressed down? Today I'm working with John Lewis & Partners and I've decided to look specifically at the retail approach that they've taken to the tricky proposition of Christmas 2020. As you no doubt know, when lockdown hit us all so suddenly in March retailers were pretty much at the point where they'd usually have Christmas all planned out. [...]

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Christmas 2020 Boden edit – outfit ideas

By |2020-11-13T16:47:22+00:00November 13th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

This is my last Boden post of the year and so you won't be surprised to hear that I'm looking at Christmas. Like every retailer, Boden have condensed their partywear collection this year because, of course, there won't be as many (if any) parties. However, as I've already said, there are those of us who are craving a reason to dress up and Christmas itself gives us all the excuses we need. If you follow my Instagram feed you'll know [...]

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Easy Christmas chic – what to wear for Christmas 2020

By |2020-11-09T13:26:48+00:00November 6th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

And we're off, I'm officially launching Christmas 2020 on Midlifechic with 'easy Christmas chic'. Yes it's going to feel different... but isn't that great? After all, I think a lot of us have been guilty in past years of muttering "here we go again..." as soon as November comes round. The thing about Christmas in midlife is that we often find ourselves in the position of family matriarch and as such, a lot of Christmas falls on our shoulders... [...]

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A Baukjen AW20 try-on – and new bags

By |2020-10-23T17:04:12+01:00October 23rd, 2020|Categories: Accessories, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Well the clocks go back here this weekend so we'll be officially saying goodbye to British Summer Time. Today I'm doing a Baukjen AW20 try-on, showcasing a few pieces from this tiny British brand that has continued to shine ethically throughout this difficult year. And at the end of the post I'll show you my tiny collection of new bags that have finally arrived after the hard work we did in the summer. New readers often ask me how Baukjen [...]

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Retail update – small British brands – and à bientôt…

By |2020-08-07T11:30:28+01:00August 7th, 2020|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Retail Review, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Retail update - small British brands - and à bientôt... I'm typing with my fingers crossed because if everything goes to plan, we'll be setting off on our holiday tonight. Preparing to go has been challenging because all kinds of things have kept changing. This has included our usual petsitters being offered a holiday that was too good to resist on the same dates as ours which wasn't a problem until we realised the cats' inoculations had run out and [...]

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Midlife lately and SS20 at home outfit ideas

By |2020-05-27T16:51:17+01:00May 27th, 2020|Categories: Family, Midlife, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Hello, I'm out of sync at the moment because I had two days off for my birthday last week and then tunnelled into the Bank Holiday. It means I'm behind with the comments (and everything else) but I'll crack on with them after this. First of all though, a catch-up, starting with midlife lately and then I'll move on to some SS20 at home outfit ideas because a few new drops have landed this week and they'll be the last [...]

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The future of retail after Covid-19

By |2020-05-22T17:12:49+01:00May 22nd, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Hello and first of all thank you to everyone who took the time to send a birthday wish on Tuesday. I was showered with messages from every corner of the internet and it was lovely to know that so many people had me in their thoughts, in fact I couldn't wish for anything more. I'll tell you more about what we did next week when we have a catch-up but in the meantime I want us to start thinking about [...]

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Cornucopia – beauty, books and weekend ideas

By |2020-05-15T16:09:36+01:00May 15th, 2020|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Happy Friday everyone - yes it is Friday if you've lost track of the days. Actually I've had a really busy week this week, things suddenly seem to have taken off again although I don't know for how long and I'm not complaining - but actually I am a bit, I'd got used to having an empty Inbox! While we're on the subject of complaining I'm just going to do the thing I keep telling my boys not to by [...]

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Working from home chic – new ideas

By |2020-05-05T16:00:21+01:00May 5th, 2020|Categories: Style, Work life balance|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Hello everyone, how are you? After dedicating the comments to the kindness competition last week I feel a bit out of touch with you all. Mind you we're getting used to that feeling of general disconnection now aren't we? I've had a few emails from people asking for more ideas for working from home chic, especially now that we seem (fingers crossed) to have moved firmly into a rather lovely British spring/summer. As I mentioned last week, Boden kindly invited [...]

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Trying on pieces for summer at home 2020

By |2020-04-24T13:11:57+01:00April 24th, 2020|Categories: Product review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Hello and happy Friday everyone. As promised I'm taking a break from coronavirus today and thinking about clothes instead. You see as this long spell of sunny weather continues (and I realise I've probably jinxed it now), I'm finding I don't have a lot of options in my wardrobe. I know that's hard to believe but when I thought it through I realised that my summer clothing budget usually goes in two particular directions. You see at this time of [...]

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Midlife in the time of coronavirus – more diaries

By |2020-04-10T12:54:44+01:00April 10th, 2020|Categories: Family, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

We're coming to the end of the third week of lockdown and so I thought I'd do another simple diary. As readers you will of course know what it's like to go shopping at the moment but I'm recording it here for legacy purposes. I hope that soon we'll be looking back with disbelief and I don't want to forget how extraordinary this time was. So today do please add in the comments anything that's struck you as you've tried [...]

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My capsule wardrobe for the week – smart casual

By |2020-04-09T15:39:48+01:00April 7th, 2020|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I thought we'd take a break from discussing the virus today and settle back into our happy zone of what to wear. I'm keeping it relevant because this is a personal project. On Sunday I sat down as usual to think about the week ahead and with no complex projects ahead, it struck me that this is an opportunity for a quasi-clinical test on the smart casual element of my wardrobe. So I set myself a test to build a [...]

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Lockdown outfits – keeping spirits high

By |2020-04-03T12:13:41+01:00March 31st, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Hello everyone - are you still hanging on in there? I'm delighted to be bringing you some lockdown outfits today because I'm determined we'll stay chic, even if we're all at home. I'd like to say a huge thank you to Boden who are working with me today and are the only large brand to have honoured their commitment. Occasional posts like this will enable me to keep Midlifechic going so if you want this blog to survive they're a [...]

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Supporting small brands through difficult times

By |2020-03-24T17:05:30+00:00March 24th, 2020|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Supporting small brands through difficult times Every time I start a post the world seems a little stranger and today I feel as though I'm broadcasting from a bunker. It's a concept that's quite vivid in my imagination because I've always been a bit of a living history geek. When I was at Selfridges I seemed to be the only person other than the archivist who was interested in the store's story. Sensing a kindred spirit he used to allow [...]

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Easy spring looks from M&S and a try-on

By |2020-03-13T16:48:32+00:00March 13th, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

Easy spring looks from M&S and a try-on Spring's going to be here any minute - really it is and so for my latest Marks and Spencer edit, I thought I'd look ahead to warmer days. It's been a struggle to get my head in the right place because we've had gales blowing here every day but today the sun finally shone through and I managed to get some pictures outside for the first time in months. As I searched [...]

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Spring / Summer 2020 trend update – it’s all in the detail

By |2020-03-06T16:40:34+00:00March 6th, 2020|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Spring / Summer 2020 trend update It's time to move into new season with a spring / summer 2020 trend update. Before we start, I just want to apologise for being behind with the comments, I've had extra things eating into my time this week with the demise of FlyBe (flights and claims to be dealt with) along with Coronavirus. I thought we'd be relatively insulated from it up here but after spending the last few days getting the youngest [...]

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What to look for when you’re buying jeans & a try-on

By |2020-02-25T17:05:28+00:00February 25th, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

What to look for when you're buying jeans It's another denim try-on today, this time I'm working with John Lewis & Partners, looking at their And/Or range which is good because last time I did this, I found the jeans that have been my go-to pair for the last two years. When I asked in the reader survey which looks were most relevant to your lifestyle, smart casual (jeans with a blazer) and relaxed casual (jeans with trainers) scored 82% [...]

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What to wear with jeans now, SS20

By |2020-02-18T17:10:09+00:00February 18th, 2020|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Repeat after me "I won't complain about the weather..." Grim isn't it? It's actually appropriate that my inbox is full of London Fashion Week for Autumn 2020 because spring feels a long way away. As always I've been busy saving the information that I'll need when we come round to discussing AW20 in September but actually, there are details we can take from it in advance. It's going to be a while until we start casting off layers so we [...]

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How to know which clothes suit you, spring 2020

By |2020-10-05T17:31:34+01:00February 14th, 2020|Categories: Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , |

I think this is the hardest time of the year for finding pleasure in your clothes. Between now and early April I feel utterly uninspired by my seemingly endless rotation of jumpers and boots so today I thought we'd start to look ahead to spring. I'm not going to talk about new styles or colours yet because the new season's collections haven't arrived yet. I warn you though that there isn't much to say this year. As you know, retailers [...]

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M&S SS20 – core denim try-on

By |2020-02-07T16:36:50+00:00February 7th, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

It's a retailer try-on today with my first M&S edit of the year so let's have a look at what's going on there. As we discussed back in September, there's a new womenswear team on board with a strategy to address the basics. Their view is that the marketplace is already well served with fast fashion retailers chasing the latest trends so the role of M&S should be to get the core basics right - which is something I think [...]

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Inès de la Fressange at Uniqlo SS20 preview

By |2020-01-23T07:34:44+00:00January 23rd, 2020|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , |

Here's a sign that Spring is on its way, heralded by one of my favourite posts of the season – the Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo SS20 preview. We’ve been granted an exclusive early look at the collection again but before I show you the clothes, remember that with this range you have to be quick. The online allocation often sells out by midday and just because something is in your basket, it doesn’t mean it’s yours - if [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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 29

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, [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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. [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Midlife Lately – what I’ve been doing, wearing and thinking

By |2018-12-07T17:52:15+00:00December 7th, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Family, Midlife, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It's been a while hasn't it and some of you have written in to ask why I haven't been doing Midlife Lately. The thing is that for me, this is not a job. As I've always said, I started Midlifechic primarily as a personal journal so that I could leave a record that my future great grandchildren might read. I was inspired to start writing after reading through boxes of family letters that I discovered after my mum died. For [...]

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Everything Christmas at John Lewis & Partners

By |2018-11-16T16:50:50+00:00November 15th, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Gift ideas, Interiors, Retail Review|Tags: , , , , , , |

You seemed to enjoy our last virtual wander round John Lewis & Partners in May so when I was thinking about my Christmas posts, there seemed no better place to spend a day. It has to be said that they really have become the kings of Christmas in the UK. Some of my friends now say that they refuse to even think about Christmas until the TV ad comes out - they see it as the official launch of the [...]

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Christmas Party Wardrobe Planning

By |2018-11-09T17:02:25+00:00November 9th, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

So, continuing on from this week's quick post about party tops, today I'm going to have a longer look at Christmas party wardrobe planning. Thank you for your response to my post on Sunday, it's great to know that so many people are being selective about where they shop. The high street looks very different this year however, there is one big store group that we can always rely on to do the right thing and that's John Lewis & [...]

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Best advent calendars 2018 – a chance to give and receive

By |2018-11-08T09:12:38+00:00November 7th, 2018|Categories: Christmas|Tags: , , , , |

As you know, my approach to Christmas is to get all of the preparation done in November so that from 1st December I can just enjoy the build up. So when people say "it's still too early," I understand but I can't help thinking that their December is going to be a stressful one. Of course because I work with retailers, my Christmas begins on about 4th January each year because as soon as we've drawn a line under one, [...]

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Midlifechic Christmas edit – party tops

By |2018-11-06T17:09:53+00:00November 6th, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

It's time! As soon as the blaze of bonfire night dies down, for me it's time to look ahead to the next point of light which, of course, is Christmas. So here's the plan. I'm going to bring you quite a few bitesized posts like this one today but they'll be interspersed with longer ones. They'll all be clearly headed so that even if you don't feel like thinking about Christmas yet, you can find them easily when you do. [...]

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Small British brands run by women like us

By |2018-11-07T09:28:56+00:00November 4th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I'm hoping to make this a monthly feature in 2019 because I really want to start focusing on small British brands run by women like us. Why? Well of course it fits perfectly with the Midlifechic ethos that this stage of our lives is just the beginning - especially for women who have arrived at the magical age of 50. If you're younger, keep going - your best time is still to come. However my other reason for doing this [...]

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Brands that give back – Specsavers and Kidscape

By |2018-11-02T12:45:56+00:00November 1st, 2018|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

I mentioned last week that I'm thinking carefully about how I can make Midlifechic count. Without changing things too much, I'm going to work more with charities, find brands that have good environmental and social policies and also help support small companies, particularly those run by women over 40. Today's post ticks off two of these criteria because I want to you to tell you all about what went on at a charity fundraising event that I went to last [...]

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The best ankle boots for different trouser shapes – winter 2018

By |2018-10-30T13:01:54+00:00October 30th, 2018|Categories: Shoes, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Now that the weather's suddenly turned cold, I have lots of questions coming in about what footwear works best with trousers and jeans so it seems like a good idea to write a practical post. The best solution is a pair of ankle boots but you need to get the balance right - as always, it's best to think about the body in an architectural way and understand the best part of your leg to focus on. If you have [...]

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Midlife lately and amazing women over 50

By |2018-10-23T17:18:21+01:00October 23rd, 2018|Categories: Midlife, Project Happier, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Ok, I promised we'd have a catch up and I have so much to tell you - October has been a blur but let's start where I left you last time, just before the funeral. Newcastle It was, as you can imagine, heartbreaking. When you're inside a family, you never really see the impact that your relative has beyond your immediate enclave until something like this happens. As we arrived at the crematorium, we were overwhelmed by the sheer size [...]

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Winter wardrobe building blocks from Uniqlo

By |2018-10-19T16:57:21+01:00October 19th, 2018|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Well hello, I'm back and if you're reading this it means you're still here. I thank you for sticking with me during my absence, I just needed to take some time away. Anyway, I'll update you with a 'midlife lately' next week but today I'm easing myself back in with a look at one of my favourite brands, Uniqlo. You see as I've been collating your feedback on some of the retailer-specific posts that I've done this season, the cry [...]

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Chic new bags – the winter collection from Midlifechic

By |2018-10-09T17:13:25+01:00October 9th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Just a quick hello today because as I thought, getting the shop ready for our delivery of chic new bags has helped us to keep our minds occupied over the last few days. Before I go on to talk about them though, I just want to say a huge thank you for all of your kind messages that have been coming in from every direction. I've been reading them out at the dinner table as they've arrived and we've all [...]

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New season drops… and more Midlife lately

By |2018-09-28T19:57:33+01:00September 25th, 2018|Categories: Midlife, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , |

I do find the new retail calendar weird. Mid-season sales in the third week of September would have been unheard of a few years ago but of course retailers do smaller drops throughout the season now to meet the demand for perpetual newness. So, I have two of these new drops to whizz through with you. They're both from retailers that tend to sell through quickly and in my eyes, these are the best pieces from the latest collections. Hush [...]

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Midlifechic edit – Marks & Spencer AW18

By |2018-09-21T16:48:12+01:00September 21st, 2018|Categories: Retail Review, Shoes, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

One of the things that I often hear people say about Marks & Spencer fashion is that there's just too much of it, that it's too hard to know where to begin. So I've spent some time going through the current collection identifying the particular strengths that I can see at the moment. Of course it makes sense to look at what I see as being their hero areas, however they're pretty strong on some of the new season trends [...]

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What I’ve been wearing and a midlife lately catch up

By |2018-09-18T17:00:15+01:00September 18th, 2018|Categories: Family, Midlife, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I thought I'd take a breather from the madness of new season so that we can have a quick catch up. Today I'm bringing you a post of recent outfits, try-ons and a midlife lately catch up which has ended up being more introspective than I intended but that's what happens when I have something on my mind. So, as far as the weather is concerned, we seem to be sliding quickly into Autumn here but every so often, summer [...]

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John Lewis & Partners new women’s clothing collection review

By |2018-09-14T12:21:22+01:00September 14th, 2018|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , |

In my posts about trend and colour, I included some of the press shots from the John Lewis & Partners new women's clothing collection which, it has to be said, are lovely. But then PR shots always are - so what I really wanted to do next was road test some of the styles to see how they look on a normal woman (me) shot in less than ideal conditions (the incessant rain and wind that we're experiencing in the [...]

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Key wearable trends autumn winter 2018

By |2018-09-07T16:36:42+01:00September 7th, 2018|Categories: Shoes, Style, Style Seminars|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Ok, here we go, the one some of you have said you've been waiting for - it's the key wearable trends autumn winter 2018 post. I hope you're not bored of trends already because I know everyone's been covering it. However as always, I'm coming at it from the angle of someone who's spent their retail career trying to correlate the flights of fancy of the buying teams with the sales targets of the commercial teams and the wearability demands of [...]

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How to wear Hush when you don’t do slouchy

By |2018-09-04T16:58:58+01:00September 4th, 2018|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I'm really pleased that so many of you said you enjoyed my edit of the Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo collection because I have a few more reviews of individual retailer collections planned over the next few weeks. Today I'm looking at Hush and I'm working in exactly the same way, in a collaboration where I'm free to style the clothes as I want to and talk to you about how they feel to wear. I know quite a [...]

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Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo Autumn 2018 Review

By |2018-08-31T11:00:15+01:00August 30th, 2018|Categories: Retail Review, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

It's time - I'm excited to bring you my Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo Autumn 2018 Review. Yet again they've identified Midlifechic readers as their core audience and so I've had the chance to examine some of the pieces early - I can't tell you how happy this makes me. For US readers it should be going live for you today too. Just in case you're a new reader, what's so great about this Uniqlo collection? It consists of a [...]

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Back To School for Teens – a stylish way round it

By |2018-08-09T15:14:59+01:00August 9th, 2018|Categories: Family, Style|Tags: , , , |

I know, there wasn't supposed to be a post this week but just as I was about to log off for our holiday, one last interesting opportunity dropped into my Inbox. But this time it wasn't for me, it was for the boys which made such a nice change. So often I see mummy bloggers doing posts with their little ones and wonder what it would have been like to work with mine when they were little and pliable. Poor [...]

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Midlife and the turning of the generations – plus what I’ve been wearing

By |2018-06-26T18:39:50+01:00June 26th, 2018|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

And so the world of style blogging is hitting its summer lull. As the sales are in full swing and the storybook sunshine goes on, I can feel my mind turning away from its usual fascination with retail towards the things that matter more. I'm very aware that for our family, this will be our last calm summer for a while. We have no important exam results to anticipate and when autumn comes, our status quo will continue with everyone [...]

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2018 summer sale edit – where to find the best bargains in each category

By |2018-06-22T16:47:48+01:00June 22nd, 2018|Categories: Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

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 [...]

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New bags in the Midlifechic Boutique

By |2018-06-22T16:38:43+01:00June 15th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Hello and Happy Friday - we had a surprise parcel from Turkey this morning so I'm talking bags today. This will be the last delivery for the Midlifechic Boutique for a while because my factory have had all of their capacity taken over by one of the big Bond Street brands who have high demand for their Autumn collection. It means I can't have any more made until August but I don't mind because working for this iconic luxury label [...]

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2018’s best bikinis, body creams, bras and other bits and bobs

By |2018-06-12T16:52:53+01:00June 12th, 2018|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I hope you're enjoying the glorious summer that I ordered for you - it's causing chaos in the retail world. Back in April when I met up with lots of key retailers they were all making plans to pull their summer sales forward because of the awful spring we were having. They were busy trying to order restocks of warmer clothes whilst anticipating a glut of flimsy summer layers. Of course since then, the situation has completely reversed - they [...]

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Summer t-shirts, skincare and a garden party

By |2018-06-08T17:10:20+01:00June 8th, 2018|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Interiors, Style|Tags: , , , , |

I realise that Wednesday's post was a long one so I won't take up too much of your time today. As the sun keeps shining down on us (I'm typing with my fingers crossed), I've actually got over my usual mania for madly wearing dresses before the clouds come back. This week I've found myself veering towards summer t-shirts, worn with shorts if I'm working from home and wide crops or a skirt if I'm in the office. Now this [...]

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City break with teenagers – 4 days in Valencia

By |2018-06-06T17:29:13+01:00June 6th, 2018|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Hello, I'm back. My schedule is still slightly disrupted but it's good to be blogging again. Let me tell you all about our trip to Valencia which turned out to be very simple and very relaxed - just what we all needed. This is one of those posts that is a bit of a personal journal as well as a midlife style blog. As you know, one of the reasons I write is for any future great, great grandchildren of [...]

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The best swimwear for your body shape after 40 – and a hunt for a dress

By |2018-05-25T17:00:57+01:00May 25th, 2018|Categories: Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

Wait! Before you go any further you're going to need a pot of tea. This is a long post but I'm going to be disappearing for a bit so I thought I'd leave you with plenty to think about while I'm away. Today we're having another wander round John Lewis, this time with holidays in mind. I particularly wanted to look at how to find the best swimwear for your body shape after 40. So, a couple of weekends ago [...]

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The happiest of 51st birthday weekends

By |2018-05-21T16:39:26+01:00May 21st, 2018|Categories: Family, Midlife, Project Happier, Relationships, Style|Tags: , , , , , , |

This morning I am feeling every one of my 51 years which could have something to do with the fact that I decided to party like a 15 year-old in celebration of my 51st birthday. I haven't stopped all weekend and my brain is dead so I'm going to let the pictures do the talking and share a bit of my birthday joy with you. It all started on Friday night when my sister and brother-in-law popped over with presents. [...]

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Capsule holiday wardrobe 2018 #1 – dresses as the focus

By |2018-05-15T20:59:44+01:00May 15th, 2018|Categories: Accessories, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |

Right, I've started my research and stock of high summer clothes is already looking low in some places so it's time to crack on with the capsule holiday wardrobe 2018 posts. Quite a few retailers have told me that although sales of ordinary clothing have been depressed by the slow start to spring, holiday clothes have been selling well for a while. It seems that people have found consolation in thinking ahead to their sunny holidays and it makes sense. [...]

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A capsule summer city wardrobe, what I’ve been wearing and a blogger sale

By |2018-05-11T17:20:39+01:00May 11th, 2018|Categories: Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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 [...]

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Summer 2018 at Hush and Uniqlo – a Midlifechic edit

By |2018-05-01T14:26:28+01:00May 1st, 2018|Categories: Style|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I have a big project on at work so it's a speedy post from me today but I just wanted to bring you an edit of some of the 'new-ins' now that it looks as though spring is finally arriving. Let's look at Summer 2018 at Hush and Uniqlo. Hush Summer 2018 Hush have launched their summer collection today. As always, they have included loose, flowing pieces that can be tricky to style. However they are balanced by figure defining [...]

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How to find a good hairdresser and a few reviews

By |2018-05-03T15:21:18+01:00April 27th, 2018|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Sale, Style|Tags: , , , , , |

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 [...]

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Working in London – what to wear & The UK Blog Awards 2018

By |2018-04-26T12:17:21+01:00April 24th, 2018|Categories: Hair & Beauty, Style, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Hello, it's good to be back - I feel as though I haven't blogged for ages so I'm going to make up for it with a long post. As you know, I spent a few days in London last week so I thought I'd do a "working in London - what to wear" post and of course tell you all about the UK Blog Awards 2018. By the way none of this trip is sponsored but I'm going to add [...]

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