We've made it to the end of January and I'll just say to those of you who are grumbling about me not doing enough midlife style posts, "give yourselves (and me) (and the planet) a break." I fully believe that in January we should follow nature's example and be fallow for a while, it's a time for rest and regeneration. The shops are full of stuff that nobody wants, discounted more every day and the sale advice endures - [...]
As the weather's continuing to play silly games I'm carrying on with the requests I've been having for more outfit ideas with sleeves. I've just done a huge clearout of my dressing room and I've worked out that summer sleeves are what I'm missing too. I have plenty of summer clothes for hot dreamy holidays but not enough outfits for changeable summer days which, let's face it, [...]
It's a post of two halves today, one part thinking, the other shopping, both in response to reader feedback. The thing that I've discovered over the last year is that I enjoy writing this blog more than writing a book specifically because it's a living thing. The conversations we have in the comments help me to know when there's more on something that we need to talk about - or simply when you need ideas on what to wear. [...]
I was supposed to be bringing you my Summer edit of the latest M&S collection today but sadly they're still battling with their cyber incident and we can only keep on wishing the best for them. What a nightmare it must be with stock levels, I popped into the Newcastle store to see if they'd released many new styles but I could hardly see any at all so it looks as though they're holding them [...]
58th birthday thoughts - birthdays always make you feel reflective don't they? I always think that the time around New Year is a good point for reviewing life as a couple or family and the week around your birthday is a bit more personal, an opportunity to work out how things are going for you. I was 58 on Monday and a new decade is just starting to shimmer on a still faraway horizon. It feels a bit like [...]
I haven't had the opportunity to do many retail updates this year and yet I know from the survey I did in January that it's your favourite department store so let's have a look at what's going on at John Lewis. I do have a new season try-on today as promised but first I thought I'd give you a quick update on what's been happening since Peter Ruis was appointed Executive Director last spring. I'm sure you'll remember the [...]
I don't often talk about the visible signs of ageing on here - as you know I believe we all need to approach our advancing years with a positive mindset. By midlife most of us have become increasingly aware of what a privilege it is to grow older. The years of being a 50-something are known as sniper's alley for good reason and if we make it through, complaining about looking as though we've lived feels like the biggest [...]
Broadly speaking I look for one of two emotions when I'm trying on something new, they're the gut instinct signals that tell me whether I should buy something or not. The first is the solid and more prosaic satisfaction that says, 'this is going to work really hard for a long time' and that's good - it indicates the discovery of a wardrobe lynchpin that will pull lots of pieces together. The second turns up less often and it's [...]
Wow - the sun's really out isn't it?! As promised, I have a new season try-on for you today and I'm looking at Spring wardrobe building blocks 2025 from M&S. When their big Spring drop arrived last week they invited me to pull together a small Midlifechic edit of my favourite pieces. As we saw in Friday's Spring Fashion Trends post they have a strong focus on the key colour palette of the season which is a tonal collection of [...]
At last it's officially spring, the last few years have taught me not to jinx summer by predicting a good one so I'm just going to say that if it turns out to be anything like the winter we've had up here, it would be glorious. Who knows what's coming weatherwise but new season has landed in the shops and it's time to look at the Spring fashion trends 2025. There were a lot of different looks on the [...]
I'm sure you're already aware that we're living through a period of nostalgia - it's been happening for a while, people looking back to safer, simpler feeling times. You see it with the throwbacks that are going on everywhere - in fashion, in food, in music... amongst the older generations who remember an offline era that was slower and less pressured... and throughout the younger generations too. Top of the Gen Z Christmas wishlist was a 'vintage' 90s digital camera, [...]
And just like that I'm back at my desk - it feels impossible that reality and everyday life still exists. Colombia was absolutely the trip of a lifetime and ever since we started the journey home I've been trying to work out why so that I could articulate it here. I think it's because it was so much a road untravelled. For most of it there just wasn't a tourist path and so we were immersed into everyday life [...]
Ok so that's enough of the heavy thinking posts for a while, let's take our very first 2025 look at some easy wardrobe updates. It's so lovely to see the first, very early glimpses of spring. As soon as Christmas was over we used to wait for my dad to start saying "we just have to make it through to the second Sunday in February when we'll be able to have tea at five o'clock with the lights off." And [...]
Another of the big sales has begun and as with John Lewis there are some great value buys to be had if you're quick. Today I'm taking you through the Boden sale and clearance - what to buy, the great value pieces that will work hard in your wardrobe. Here's my deep dive into the styles that are worth looking at. Dresses Timeless summer dresses I have this linen dress in a brighter red from last year's collection and it's [...]
It's slightly terrifying that we've reached the end of season sales already isn't it? And it's always significant when John Lewis launch theirs because they fire the starting gun for the rest of the retail industry. There's a lot to plough through this year. The bad weather may have made us all grumpy for the last few weeks but it does mean that there are great buys to be had - some are reductions but the real gems are in [...]
I think this will be my last post on the main SS24 collections. We're approaching the longest day so we're growing ever closer to sale season but as you'll have seen from the new TV ad, M&S have gloriously defied the traditional retail calendar with a new release that's bursting with colourful style. And it makes sense doesn't it? Summer has barely shown its face yet in the UK so there's no way that any of us want to see [...]
I haven't worked with John Lewis for ages - there's a new team in place and so today's post is going be a little bit different. I usually do a summer post earlier than this and I tend to go straight to their own brand ranges because I find they suit all kinds of different body shapes and sizes. The good thing about working with new people though is that they have different approaches and they asked whether this [...]
I've had lots of people requesting a return to the brand specific spotlight posts that I ran in the autumn. SS24 has been a bit of a juggle in terms of work, travel and blog so I haven't had time to put a consistent series together but today I'm delighted to be bringing you another one, this time it's a Me+Em review - Retailer Spotlight. Me+Em - brand background in a nutshell Disclosure: [...]
I think for a lot of midlifers the concept of summer changes, especially when you find yourself no longer bound by school term dates or even edging towards retirement. Time stretches and you can take advantage of booking a holiday earlier or later in the season and actually enjoy summer in the UK. But that of course comes with its own challenges, specifically weather because it's rarely quite as good as you imagine it's going to be. And that's where [...]
Another new season try-on today with a look at the continuing evolution of White Stuff. A few of you have been saying that you're missing the retail insight posts that I ran back in the autumn so I'm going to go a little deeper into the the brand background on this one. As you know, I've been following their progress for a while now, ever since they undertook what they called their "quiet" rebrand in 2021. As a retailer [...]
I'm busy playing catch-up and so my Boden edit for April is running a little bit late but at least it's now warmer than when we took these photographs last weekend. We were in Newcastle with a bitter east wind blowing and I've assimilated to Geordie life pretty well but not their capacity for short sleeves and sandals in sub zero temperatures so some of the outfits had to be kept inside! It's a great feeling knowing we've finally made [...]
I'm back from my travels and my head feels a bit like an old fashioned camera film - full of undeveloped moments. I need a bit of time to process them so I will write about my trip and also about the intense (and wonderful) experience of spending a week with strangers who have now become friends - but not yet. I've had a lot to catch up on this week, not helped by the fact that my brain is [...]
Now that our minds are focused firmly towards better weather I'm bringing you another new season try-on today, this time focusing on new styles for spring from John Lewis. So let's have a catch-up on what's been going on there since I last covered them in October. As you probably know it's all change at the top with the return of Peter Ruis as executive director. He first joined the store in 2005 and was responsible for the huge fashion [...]
And so it's time for us to think about our spring wardrobes. Despite the weather's grimmest efforts this weekend I'm convinced that we're going to have a good summer this year - it may be wishful thinking because we're remaining solidly in the UK but I'm sending it out there! Today I'm delighted to be looking at the new season drop from M&S. They're a brand I haven't focused on for a while - as you know that's because [...]
There are times when you settle into a flight home and wonder if you've even been away. And there are others where you've done so much that you feel as if you've completed an episode in the story of your life. That's how our journey through the Valencia region of Spain was, even though we were only travelling for ten days it felt like a month (in a good way I should add!). In a short time we experienced so [...]
Meteorologically at least it's time for Spring 24 - first thoughts about the trends. The buds are bursting, the birds are singing and the new collections are starting to drop. This winter feels as though it's been a long one and although we still have a little way to go, I'll be very glad to see the back of it. So today I'm looking at Boden's new collection which has an opening offer of 15% off with code Q2Y6 (until [...]
It's a bit of a cornucopia today - I don't know about you but I'm starting to feel the winter blues so I'm looking for spring wardrobe lifts that work now. Starting with clothes, I'm not ready to think about buying anything major yet in terms of outfits. The new collections won't arrive for a while but having seen the trends and some of the retail previews, I have a good idea of what I'm hoping to wear this year. [...]
My goodness thank you so much for all of your input after last week's post. If you haven't been back to look at the comments on the tougher aspects of midlife and how to deal with them, do take a few minutes to read through them. They show that we're living through it in a completely different way to the generations before us and so we're having to work things out as we go along - but it's helped me [...]
And so, as I warned you last week, we're heading towards the close of the SS23 collections so today I'm going to flag up some capsule wardrobe sale buys because some of the best brands are diving into summer sale already. It's been an extremely tough season for retailers; with the cost of living crisis and also the unnaturally cold weather lasting up until the end of May, people just haven't been buying many clothes. From a consumer perspective [...]
Ah summer holiday time. Those of you who follow my Instagram account know that we had a very busy but very lovely few days in France last week. I'll tell you all about it when I've had time to go through the photos but today let's think about summer and what we might wear now that the days are softening and trips away are in sight. With different kinds of holidays in mind I'm looking at what John Lewis have [...]
Today I have the great fortune of sharing another birthday post with you - my tenth one in fact. And when I say good fortune I really mean it. I've never been complacent about the sheer blessing of being alive but I'm more aware of it than ever because over the last twelve months we've lost or have worried about losing too many friends and acquaintances of our age to cancer and sudden heart attacks. And of course I also [...]
Do we dare say it? Has the weather finally turned? This has been the coldest spring I can remember but last Saturday, after a morning of heavy rain, the sun suddenly appeared. And it was hot which was lucky because we needed to take photographs of Boden's latest summer drop while we were out and about and I'd been anticipating shivering in between the showers. At the moment we don't have a big summer holiday booked, work permitting we might [...]
My goodness, another bank holiday, it's a surfeit of the sweetest things for anyone who's busy at work at the moment isn't it? I wonder how many of you have coronation plans. It seems to be very low key here, nobody we know is doing any kind of royal celebration which seems a shame and I wonder if we've just had so much pomp and ceremony over the last few years that it's lost its edge - or maybe it's [...]
Well hello! As promised it's a bit of a catch-up today and then I have a lovely cornucopia of emerging brands run by midlife women for you. With work and the boys coming home and the various bits of travelling we've been doing, 2023's felt a bit like a bobsleigh ride so far and I have all kinds of things I've been meaning to talk about here. I'm warning you now that this is quite a long one, in [...]
Despite the arctic blasts that are ripping through the garden outside my window I'm full of the joys of Spring 23 again today, this time with a look at Boden. With sustainability in mind they have a focus on 'buy less and wear more' this season and they've pulled together a useful section on their site that they're calling Spring Uniform - an edit of everyday clothes that work together and are easy to wear repeatedly. It fits with the [...]
Happy Easter to you, I hope the sun is shining where you are and that you have a special weekend ahead. All of my chicks are back in the nest so I'm looking forward to having a few days off with them. Hopefully the Easter bunny will come on Sunday despite their now advanced years (and Ted's enthusiasm for joining in any hunt - he's already swiped one pack of Easter chocolates and spent an afternoon feeling worse for [...]
Last week I talked about easy ways to update your wardrobe for Spring 2023, so today it's time for beauty because we all know how easily make-up can date you. By the end of March I'm always at my most lacklustre (probably an oxymoron but you know what I mean). This year it's worse than ever because of the crazy way my diary has panned out since the middle of January. There's been something exciting lined up for every [...]
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 [...]
Well the weather might not quite agree but as far as retail's concerned we're in full summer now. There are only a few new drops left to land and the sales will be starting soon so I'm going to be chatting about things other than clothes for a while. Throughout the year I build a list of the topics that you request most often and right at the top is how to look your best in holiday photos. I regularly [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Well I have a funny old post for you today, you see I was hoping to show you the pictures of our completed apartment but at the very last minute there was a delay on the curtains which means we're having to go over again tonight to finish things off. As you can imagine this week's been a busy one catching up with work and I haven't had time to come up with any other ideas so I'm just going [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I think it's always worth taking some time to reflect as your birthday approaches and tomorrow I'll be 54 so that's what I'm doing. I'm usually looking back over a busy year of personal achievements peppered with standout moments but this one, of course, has been a little different. It's hard to view the last twelve months with any kind of perspective because even though lockdown's starting to lift, it doesn't quite feel as though this strange time is over [...]
Style, menopause, hot sauce & books - how's that for a lead in?! A surprise mini post today because there are a few things I've been meaning to mention and one in particular that I need to flag before Friday. I do like posting on a Tuesday again though - even if it's just a quick 'hello' it helps me to feel as though life's getting back to normal which it is in a way. I had my second jab [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Well hello, I hope you've had a good couple of weeks. Ours have been busy - I never want to paint another wall again, especially with Mr MC as my foreman, he has levels of perfection that way exceed my skills (and thankfully I think we're agreed on that so I may be reassigned to something that plays more to my strengths... such as shopping!). So how has 're-entry' felt for you this week if you're in the UK? Different [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Well as you may have seen on Instagram, we had a big celebration in our house this week because on Wednesday it was our 20th wedding anniversary. And I know that immediately some of you will do the maths and think but surely the eldest is 24? And you're right. You see there's a story behind our story that I've never told but today feels like the day to do it. It isn't going to be easy to write and [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Well hello... on this day that has always been a beacon in my calendar... because it's my birthday. A friend who graduated to the same age as me last week said she was dreading it this time because all it meant was another year on her age with none of the associated fun. And I admit that I'm less bouncy about it than usual but that's because I haven't been buoyed by our usual festival weekend. I miss having a [...]
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 [...]
Quarantine - as the days roll on - Coronavirus 2020 How are you getting on? I have to admit that today is the first day when I've felt a bit fed up of all of this so I'm glad it's a blogging day. With the possibility that somebody has happened upon this post few years on from now, let me just apply some context. We're now in the eighth week of quarantine and in Boris Johnson's broadcast on Sunday evening [...]
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 [...]
Lockdown week 5 Well, here we are at the start of a shiny new month, probably not as far along as we thought we would be when when we turned from March to April but it feels like progress nevertheless. May is my favourite month of the year and of course that could just be because it's my birthday month and so it always feels as though it's brimming with promise but even so, I still believe it's the most [...]
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 [...]
Hello everyone, I'm back from my 'week off.' I hope you've all been settling into this new way of living, I thought we'd have a quick Midlife lately quarantine catch up today and then perhaps go on to look at some clothes on Friday. As this spell of good weather continues (she says, touching wood), I'm starting to think about a wardrobe for a summer that is largely, if not completely, going to be spent at home. Before that though [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Lockdown continues - how are you feeling? Hello everyone, I shot myself in the foot a bit on Tuesday with a recap on what we'd been doing so today I thought I'd focus more on how this is feeling instead. Obviously these are just my personal reflections so I'm hoping that in the spirit of social diary, you'll add some of your thoughts in the comments at the end. What I'm keen to log is: as the lockdown continues - [...]
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 [...]
Hello everybody, I hope hope you're all ok out there. We'd never have imagined a week like the one we've just had would we and who knows where we go from here? For now, I'm going to try to keep up with a weekly coronavirus update even if it's just as a kind of social diary to log how this bolt from the blue affected an ordinary family. So here we go - Coronavirus diaries - lockdown week 1. Coronavirus [...]
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 [...]
Well hello... hasn't this been the strangest of weeks? I awoke on Monday morning to our usual routine and by Wednesday it had all gone awry. As one of my reasons for writing this blog is to connect with future generations of my family, I'm going to be logging how it feels to live through these strange coronavirus days but it won't all be doom and gloom. I'll be looking for the upsides wherever I can, hoping that Midlifechic can [...]
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 [...]
It's a while since we've been away. When we adopted Teddy we decided that we'd dedicate three months to settling him in so we've been home based since January. But then an invitation to review The Devonshire Arms came in and because it isn't far away, I decided the boys could do a night of Ted duty so we had a 24 hour escape. As you know, I spent part of last week unravelling future trip bookings that have been [...]
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 [...]
A casual midlife lately Hello, it's time for a quick catch up I think with a casual midlife lately. Wasn't February grim? It really seemed to drag, I think everyone in the UK is feeling battered by the weather. We usually go away for our wedding anniversary early in the month and I really missed it - thank goodness it's March. We're surrounded by signs of spring up here - the daffodils are out, there are lambs in the fields [...]
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% [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Today's post is a little bit different, I'm taking part in a writing project that was commissioned by the peer to peer lending company Zopa. To celebrate their Innovative Finance ISA, which they say “sits in the middle between low risk, low yielding cash ISAs and volatile, high return stocks and shares ISAs”, they asked a number of people to think about “the middle” and what it means to them. Of course for me, the middle immediately makes me think [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Well here we are on 'Brexit Day' at the end of what must have been one of the craziest weeks in British history. Our business is feeling the impact. We work with a number of Sci-Tech businesses that are being badly hit by the loss of European funding, the stalling of potential global funding and the inability to get innovations passed in the absence of a governing system. As a result, some people we know are facing the loss of [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hello and Happy Friday! One of the most common requests from the survey feedback was for more pictures of everyday outfits so that you can see how I recycle things. I've been doing my best to remember to get them - it means they're all just iPhone shots so maybe not the best quality (although I'm sure Apple would disagree). So here you go, a few early spring outfits of the day. Liver bird This is from a couple of [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Right everyone - the clocks go forward this weekend, it's officially spring (whatever the weather thinks) and I have barely done any shopping this season. You rely on me to keep the inspiration coming so I've given myself a kick up the bum by doing an old Midlifechic favourite - the Boden order try on. Before I start I must point out that this is not a sponsored post or collaboration with Boden in any way. They still refuse to [...]
Thank you for all of your good wishes for my new venture, it's lovely to feel your encouragement behind me. You just never know what's in store for you do you? If somebody had told me on 1st January that I would be a semi-invalid for the next 6 weeks and that I would then be embarking on a whole new career I would have told them they needed a sit down! I remember being in my 20s and thinking [...]
