Sometimes, in a strange way, it's worth going through a tough time just to get to the point where you feel it lifting isn't it? I've had a rush of joy returning this week and so I've been deliberately savouring every small thing and we've had glorious sunshine to boot. This is my last post for a little while, I'm going to take a break from blogging while I get though my new season project work. When I come [...]
You know when you phone a friend and ask her what she's been up to and she says, 'not much'? Well it's a bit like that here today. It's about to change, I have a busy time coming up but for now I'm in that strange summer lull where everyone else seems to be on holiday. August is always an odd month isn't it? I've read a few different people describing it as melancholic recently. For me, this week [...]
We all have times like the one I'm living through now where the long-awaited freeway of summer turns into more of a twisting path. By the time you reach midlife you've had a few of them... which makes it easier in one way because you can be confident that there's a smoother surface somewhere, further round the corner. However you're also aware that misfortune will rear its discomfiting head again and so I'm noticing that as we grow older [...]
As I said last week, it's time for a midlife lately catch-up because we haven't had one since April although of course you know what's been going on. And so I've had a look through my camera roll at the pictures we snap here and there and it's telling - because you don't take them when times aren't good do you? And if I were creating a piece of art there would probably be something really symbolic that I [...]
I'm delighted to say that it's finally hot and sunny in our part of the North West. I suspect it's down to me and the fact that I'd given up on the sun ever appearing so I'd started ordering clothes for the chilly days we've been having. And have you noticed how many brands are fast-tracking into autumn (or Pre-Fall as the Americanisation creeps in) with their latest drops? The heatwave's given faster sell-through on summer [...]
Time for some retail therapy and some reader events to look forward to. Now that we're back at our desks and in a position to start planning again, I'm delighted to announce a reader trip that we've been working on for ages. Places will go on sale next Friday and there are only 17 - it's something I'm really proud of but I'll tell you about it at the end of the post. First let's talk about what's in [...]
I want to say thank you for all of the thoughtful messages that you've left in the comments, in emails and via social. Realistically I'm not going to manage to reply to you but we've read them all and they've meant the world - especially to Mal. It's only a few months since I was having a clearout and came across all the cards that I was sent when my mum and dad died. I remember it being a [...]
There's a particular kind of optimism required to style a summer edit on Newcastle's quayside when the East wind has clearly not got the memo. Linen, in May, with the Millennium Bridge arching overhead and the Tyne glowering below (the down jacket came off between shots but the goose pimples stayed put). However I'd been invited to do a John Lewis summer wardrobe edit and if anything I think the colder the shoot, the harder you dream of warmer [...]
A week with my adult children - and the small impacts I didn't know I'd had... Ok so I'm still playing catch-up. We're rewinding to the Easter weekend today and a story that I've been dying to tell you, I've had to bide my time and now it's here. For those of you who come for the clothes there isn't much to show you today - but for those who come for the meandering midlife tales there's more. [...]
This year is turning into a runaway train for us, we'll be a third of the way through it next week and so far I've spent far more nights away than I have at home. I have so many stories to tell you about the things we've been doing and life in general and I'm running to catch up so today I'm going to take you back to Mexico for the third part of our adventure there. Even though [...]
I have more new season ideas for you today - ways of updating your look as style starts to move on a little as well as some classic summer brights that are perfect for the summer months ahead. When I took these photos I had a sense of my worlds colliding because it was just as we were waiting for the last Midlifechic Retreat to begin. As readers started to gather in the sunshine they had a ringside view [...]
Today I'm doing something that always makes me happy - crunching data and bringing it to life for you. And I'm trying on a couple of completely new looks as trends are slowly starting to take a new turn. So today's going to be a catch-up with what's going on at John Lewis, Spring 26 but first I just want to say an enormous thank you to everyone who came along to last weekend's Midlifechic Retreat. Once again it [...]
Let's pop back to Mexico shall we? As I type the rain's hammering down outside and it feels as if spring has crept back into its shell. Today I want to take you to Oaxaca which you may remember was the reason that we chose to go to Mexico when we had to pivot away from Cuba rather quickly. It was the place that the well travelled midlife women I met in Thailand voted as their all-time favourite and [...]
I have a nice new season edit for you today as the big spring 26 drops are starting to land. And I, for one, am not looking back - not a single new piece of wintery, woolly cold weather clothing will enter my wardrobe... at the moment I feel like saying EVER. You know I'm not a fan of the A/W season, my heart pounds when I see the spring press packs bounding into my inbox in early January. [...]
Well hello, I'm back from what turned out to be the very best celebration we could have had for our silver wedding anniversary. We travelled our way and set our own agenda doing only the things we love. So today's post is going to include thoughts about travelling with your partner, a midlife guide to Mexico City and I'm including a packing capsule too because this was the time that I felt I really cracked the perfect city break [...]
As you know I'm away but I didn't want to leave you with nothing to read on a Friday so I'm going to do a series of very short posts on style solutions. No chitter chatter, just down to business. I'm turning the comments off because I'll see them come in and want to answer them - then Mal will remind me that we're away celebrating our silver wedding and I'll feel torn. It isn't that I don't want [...]
And so I'm back... from outer space... well not quite but it feels like it. We had an incredibly relaxing week away doing very little which is exactly what we wanted but it doesn't give me a lot to talk to you about today. I packed very light and it was a selection from my usual holiday wardrobe, almost all of which you've seen before. We did very little beyond sleeping, eating, chatting and sliding in and out of [...]
And just like that another month's gone, the last one of full summer which, for me, always feels a bit sad. I love summer... the slowing of the negative news cycle... the freedom that comes with the quiet retail calendar... the warmth that finally reaches the North on a few occasions... and just the general change of pace. People rush around less, faces are less pinched and good times pop up spontaneously. So here's my Midlife lately - August [...]
New friendships - Midlifechic overnighter 2025 Today you won't be surprised to hear that I want to talk about our Midlifechic overnighter 2025 in Birmingham last weekend. But before I go into the detail let's zoom out a bit and ask, "what's the point of these get togethers?" As you know I've been tentatively organising meet-ups since November 2019. Each time I try to take them on a step or two, stretching the time together out a little longer and [...]
This is one of those posts that is all about family and it's where my blog turns personal as a legacy that I hope to pass down. It's a long one and it will hold no interest for some - if that's you, I assure you that normal service will be resumed next week. Others though will understand how the milestones that we reach don't always point ahead, sometimes they cause you to look back along the path that's [...]
We've reached the point in the summer where there are no new clothes for us to talk about so it's just going to be me chatting to you about what I've been doing, wearing and thinking over the next few weeks - let's hope I can make it interesting! So it's a midlife lately catch-up today and we're going back to the beginning of July when we went away for a little break. In the space of ten days [...]
If you read my post on Tuesday you already know that June began as an unexpectedly sad month and yet with 'stop all the clocks' absurdity, life carried on. There were still work deadlines to be met and meetings to go to. The sun shone - or rather it didn't much here - Wordsworth would have some 'pathetic fallacy' context on the fact that we were covered by grey cloud for most of the month. With everything that had been [...]
[Please note before reading, this post talks about the pain of grief and loss] I know you weren't expecting a post today but as I've started writing my June midlife lately I feel I can only do it in two parts because it's been a very difficult month for people around me. Some of you have picked up that I haven't been my usual self - as I write this blog so openly it's been difficult to know how to [...]
And here we are, at the end of June which is officially the point where the summer season ends in British retail. You'll notice that most of the new drops coming in have long sleeves and autumn hues... my Inbox is full of December related stuff but I won't say the word yet! I think you become less tolerant of fashion's rush as you get older and perhaps find yourself more in touch with the seasons outside your window [...]
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'm back and firing on all cylinders today - if there's one thing that last year taught me it's that it's no longer worth pushing your midlife body through when you're under the weather. Of course this glorious weather helps, I know the farmers desperately need some rain but it's such a joy living in a world when every day brings sunshine isn't it? Anyway I haven't looked at Boden since before Christmas so today I'm doing a bumper [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
Colombia Guide - Coffee Plantation Visit This is the last of my posts about Colombia - I could happily write about our trip for weeks but new season is approaching so I know we need to get onto that soon. Just now though it's still to soon to be thinking about new clothes, the best is yet to arrive in the shops so let me give a different Colombia guide - the Caribbean Islands & Cartagena. You see after [...]
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 [...]
Hello, I'm back and as you can imagine I have a lot to catch up on so this is just a quick post today. Quite a few of you saw my brief appearance on Instagram while we were away and were keen to know where we were because I didn't link it. The thing is that I didn't want to share it on there because it's such a good find at such a good price that I don't want it [...]
From this week's weather it would appear that summer is completely over (9 degrees here!) and I haven't kept my blog up to date with what we've been doing. As you know, these posts are really just for me to look back on in the future so if you come here for the fashion updates, skip over this one, clothes will be back next week. Despite the awful weather, summer 2024 has been one of the least travelled but most [...]
The sun is out in the North! It is! So I can either spend the next few hours writing a blogpost which, given the number of out of office replies I get each time I send one as well as the much lower than usual number of comments, isn't feeling very encouraging at the moment. OR... I can take advantage of the fact that both of my boys are at a loose end this afternoon and are up for [...]
It's another quick catch-up today because I'm immersed in trying to write my book and it feels like time's running out - my Inbox is full of emails about autumn launches and Christmas so my quieter summer period is nearly over. I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle things over the months ahead but for now that's a September problem. So just to keep in touch, here's another slice of summer midlife lately. The weather here has gone [...]
Continuing with my series of shorter posts, here's a little summer 24 midlife lately catch-up but first I must just thank you profusely for all of the answers you gave to my question last week. I'm busy going through them and I'm so grateful to everyone who's shared so much, please know that even though it's anonymous I still feel honoured to have your confidence. I will try my utmost to pull something good from everything you've told me - [...]
I'm playing catch-up today. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that we were off for a short break as part of our summer of music project. And I'll start with an apology for the photos - we really didn't take very many because we just switched off and pottered around but I'm pulling together what we have. Our destination was Margate, it's a resort that you hear a lot about but it's a long way from a lot of [...]
Before we begin, don't worry - I haven't turned into a trad-wife. After a tightly packed few days, total meltdown on the trains saw me stranded in London last week and so I had to take some drastic measures which resulted in an experiment I'd never anticipated - the week my husband dressed me [spoiler - he didn’t do a bad job!]. This is the first of the series of shorter posts that I'm going to be writing over the [...]
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 [...]
Midlife travel solo Last month I told you all about my women only trip sailing around Thailand. That post looked at where we went and what we did but there was so much to say that I couldn't finish with what it taught me and that's what I want to talk about today. People set out on midlife travel solo journeys for all kinds of reasons but travelling without Mal wasn't something I'd ever thought of doing before and I'm [...]
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 [...]
Hello, it's just a quick post today because sadly one of Mal's aunties has died so we've been spending a bit of time over in Newcastle with the family for the funeral this week. She had a long and happy life so it's been a bit of a celebration too but obviously it's still difficult for those who were closest to her. I didn't have very long to put a post together before we left but what to wear to [...]
At last it's time to tell you about my sudden but very exciting journey sailing around Thailand - women-only trip of a lifetime. There's such a lot to say that I need to split it into two instalments. Today I'll tell you about the trip and what we did, then next month I'll talk about how it felt to travel with people I hadn't met before and the lessons I learned. So let's begin. Sailing Around Thailand - women-only [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hasn't it been glorious to have a blast of summer this week? The mid-20s temperatures up here have been absolutely perfect, just what we needed to lift everyone's mood before the season really starts to shift. The leaves are turning, the hedgerows are heavy with berries, the boughs on our pear tree are so heavy with fruit that they're almost breaking which means it's time to start adjusting to the big move on... not in terms of 'buy it now' [...]
Well hello, I hope you had a lovely bank holiday weekend. As you know we spent ours in the sunshine with Gillian and Stephen who started off as Midlifechic readers (well perhaps not Stephen) but have now become firm friends. With disrupted travel it's been a hectic week since we got home so I'm inviting you to join us for what will have to be a whistlestop tour of our midlife weekend in Porto. A midlife weekend in Porto - [...]
Hurray - we've had a bit of sunshine across most of the UK at last although looking at the long term forecast it isn't set to stay for very long. So for this month's Boden edit I thought I'd look at capsule wardrobe building with hardworking transitional pieces that work for cooler days as well as warm ones. The thing about Boden's cross-season drops is that it's easy to flick through them and think that because there aren't any show [...]
What should we talk about today? It can't be clothes because I seem to be living in jumpers and jeans so I think it has to be a midlife lately - August. I know that lots of you are on holiday, as are we usually. In fact this is the first August since 1997 that I haven't been away somewhere or other and it feels strange. We spent May, June and July constantly on the move, mostly for work or [...]
We spent the weekend before last in Cornwall, as you know. We hadn't been there for 20 years, in fact the last time was in August 2003 when the youngest was only days old. Back then I'd booked a lovely cottage in St Ives with space for both sets of grandparents, thinking that it would be a good way of keeping the older two entertained while I was getting used to having three to juggle. You see I was [...]
And so, as you'll know if you follow my Instagram feed, there was a big day for our family a couple of weeks ago. It was the middle one's graduation, a day I found myself completely unprepared for in terms of impact. It was a bit like pregnancy when you find yourself so focused on the birth that it's almost a shock when you have to take the baby home with you afterwards and you realise that in the [...]
Now I realise there's some irony to high summer outfit ideas if you're in the UK at the moment because summer seems to be having a holiday of its own and focusing all of its power on Europe. It can't be easy if you're over there in the intense heat but isn't it crazy that such a short distance away we're living through days of high winds, torrential rain and even hail? It's made it a bit tricky deciding what [...]
I'm opening this post with an apology because I said that while we were away last week I'd be over on Instagram - but sometimes you have to put the key people in your life first and we needed a complete break. Life since Christmas has felt pretty non-stop for us. I've mentioned a few times that I didn't think we were going to have the chance for any kind of proper holiday until the autumn... and I know we [...]
Boo! I'm early this week because the John Lewis Sale SS23 has just gone live and so I'm bringing you an early edit to help you pick your way through the many great offers. We're also heading away for an extended weekend and I have lots of work to finish before we set off, hopefully we'll be leaving the rain behind - I'd got used to living in endless days of warm weather. Anyway at least it makes it a [...]
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 [...]
A Boden outfit try-on today and it's always the one that gives me a bit of a lump in my throat because we've arrived at the last of the high summer drops. After the June deliveries, retailers will be moving into sale and then season transition which brings more autumnal colours and a change of mood. Anyway let's not think about that until we have to, for now we've reached the apex of clothes for warm sunshine and amazingly [...]
Today I'm going to tell you about our little French adventure. As you know we took a few days off a couple of weeks ago to go and see the youngest who is living in Dijon, studying at l'Université de Bourgogne. Of all the French unis he could have chosen, he opted for the one that's the most difficult to get to from here and with the little bit of time we could carve out from work there were [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
My week has been completely railroaded by work projects I'm afraid. I had to go down to London and then over to Newcastle for meetings which means I haven't had time to put the cornucopia together that I wanted to do. I had two choices - I could either not post at all or show you the photos from our final week in Kenya. I'm hoping it might help you to get into the mood for sunnier days and times [...]
And so I'm back from the unexpected gift that rounded off what has been a fabulous summer - a trip to St Lucia with the team from Sandals Resorts. When I left you at the end of my last post I was feeling both nervous and excited. I was delighted to have been invited but a bit surprised too because I've always seen Sandals Resorts as a honeymoon destination - so let me tell you how we found it. I [...]
Pre-script Since I wrote this we've travelled to St Lucia and on the flight over we heard the sad news that the Queen had died. It felt right not to publish this the following day but a few people have been in touch saying that they'd be grateful for a break in the sad news that surrounds them. So I hope I won't upset any of you by sending this live now. It's difficult being away and not feeling part [...]
Well how lovely it is to be chatting to you again. It's odd but life feels as though it slips through my fingers when I'm not blogging; time's tendrils gather round me and without being logged, the memories evanesce. So my next two posts will be an indulgence for me - I need to squirrel away our happy Kalkan times because the boys' lives are really moving on and I can't see us the five of us having the opportunity [...]
We're in August already - the only problem with planning a summer to remember is that time goes really fast! I feel as if I'm on a bit of a one-legged hobble now, finally on the run-up to our holiday so it's a quick Midlife Lately today. I'm whizzing through my camera roll and not exactly jetsetting but last week I had city trips to London and Glasgow and now I'm in Newcastle but I'll save that for next week's [...]
This week and next for me are all about tinsel and baubles. It's officially my 30th year in retail and 'Christmas in July'... I've been doing this for a long time! Going in and out of Christmas events on hot London days does leave you somewhat confused - it's like the feeling you get when you wake up in a hotel somewhere exotic knowing that you'll end the day back in your own bed. However, as the boys would say, [...]
It's a bit of a different post today. Since the Telegraph article I've had quite a few women get in touch to ask me how I manage to feel confident at this age when it's so easy to feel that everything's in decline. As regular readers know, back in 2014 I'd lost all of my confidence and so I deliberately decided to work on it. At the time I called it 'getting my groove back' and although that sounds cheesy, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
A big summer sale started last night at John Lewis & Partners with some really good clearance offers so I'm getting this week's post out to you early. I can see things are disappearing fast and so I'll pick out my highlights and then leave you to look through the rest in your own time. There are particularly good offers on some of our favourite brands including Boden where you can find items that have actually been sold out for [...]
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) [...]
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 [...]
We're back from our week in the sunshine and I'm so glad that we took the time while we could because we're heading into another busy few months of work. It continues to be an interesting time in retail as everyone tries to second guess the zeitgeist for AW22 - it's looking as though it's going to be a bumpy ride so I don't know about you but I'm determined to make the most of every moment as spring and [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 3 - Mykonos Today I have the final instalment of my Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping and I'm going to keep it as short as I can because I sense you've had enough of it all now. After six very laid-back days in Ios it was time to move on; the island was closing and anyway, we'd spent enough time there. We were feeling rested and ready for somewhere with a bit of [...]
Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 2 - Ios As promised, here's the next instalment of our Greek Island hopping adventure, moving on to a very different spot, Ios. I have a mixed up week ahead because I have to go down to London for longer than originally planned so I won't have time to write a post on Friday. I thought I'd let you know now because lots of you tell me that you read my Friday night post [...]
And, rather regretfully, we're back. What an incredibly reinvigorating time we've had Greek Island Hopping. I knew the work would have piled up for our return and so I wouldn't have much time to write about it but so many of you have asked for tips and information that I've been putting notes together as we've gone along. It means that this post might be a little less lyrical than I'd like it to be and I'll have to spilt [...]
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 [...]
Happy Friday! Although it already feels like an age ago, today I'm bringing you my British City Staycation - Newcastle Part 2. I left you last week as we were hit with the news of Mum-in-law's diagnosis and everyone in the family was reeling. I'm grateful to all of you who've sent advice and links to the various organisations you recommend. The doctors have told us that the most urgent thing for now is to get the LPAs in [...]
Well hello, it's good to be back and talking to you after our two weeks away. I'm wondering how this post is going to work because a few of you will already have seen the photos on Instagram but of course there was no space on there to give you the full story behind them so I hope it will still be interesting for you. As you know after various holiday cancellations we decided to spend two weeks over at [...]
It's my last post before we go away and so I thought I'd do something a bit different. Several times a year I'm asked by magazines, newspapers or other bloggers to do interviews which isn't usually as grand as it sounds, it means they send me a list of questions to answer and sometimes they publish them, sometimes they don't. It's something I never really have time to do but quite enjoy doing because I find it helps to crystallise [...]
As we approached summer this year I thought it was going to feel like a long one. Without the rush of a big family holiday to prepare for I imagined it being languid, like the summers you read about in interwar novels where people spent long, limpid days at home in the shade with a book. And of course it isn't turning out that way at all, it still feels as though time's rushing by and weeks are eaten up [...]
Midlife lately - Covid finally hits us I feel as though I've been holding my breath over the last few posts. Covid finally reached our doorstep and I felt incredibly superstitious about mentioning it until I knew we were all through to the other side. So that's the reason behind the lack of 'midlife lately' recently - you see I've found that whenever I say what a lovely summer we're having up here it starts to rain so I was [...]
It's been ages since we've talked about beauty and I've had a few people asking me recently how I keep my skin glowing in summer. Well not very much changes in my routine, I have favourites that I buy again and again because they work. I've been invited to test quite a few new beauty products over the last months and I have strict terms for accepting samples. Brands have to understand that I will only recommend their new launches [...]
There are always sure signs that Summer is here aren't there? The build up to Wimbledon, strawberries starting to taste as they should, pea pods in the shops... and the start of the sales. This year they should be interesting because the world of retail has continued to be turned upside down by Covid; some categories such as garden furniture and packable jackets have sold out whereas others have a surplus of stock so it's going to be a bit [...]
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 [...]
And at last, our city apartment is just about finished. All we have left to do is find a few pieces of art for empty spots and update the bathrooms - but that will have to wait until there's no longer a global shortage of sanitary ware or plumbers working to six month waiting lists. As we sat back with a glass of wine on Sunday evening and looked around us, it struck us both that we'd done something we'd [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Given that we've flipped back into the Narnian Winter (it's snowing again as I write) there's absolutely no point in talking about Summer clothes or outfits so it's something completely different this week. I haven't said much about our Newcastle adventure since last September so I'm going to talk about that instead and show you what's been going on there. So here's a Newcastle update - the story so far. The story so far... why Newcastle? You may remember it [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
It's been a much quieter week here this week, we've been balancing our leap out of lockdown by being home-based again in a strange kind of exposure equation. It means I don't have anything exciting to report on but I have been trying out a few new things so I'll tell you about those instead with a cornucopia including a Stitch Fix review, some honest beauty recommendations and a singalong. Stitch Fix review I'm starting with a Stitch Fix review. [...]
Hello, how are you... it's been a while. As you know I've been away from my desk for the last week staycationing in London and Newcastle which means today's post is going to be a catch-up (and it's a bit of a long one so pour yourself a drink). So what was it like to go away just as the lockdown began to lift? Staycationing in London post Covid 19 London Thursday We started our journey on a very quiet [...]
I'm early this week because today's post includes quite a few pieces that have just gone into the sale and I wanted to get them to you before they all sell out. I'm heading down to London in the morning, Friday will finally be haircut day for me and Mr MC is coming too (to London, not the hairdressers). We'll be making the most of a couple of nights away because I want to be able to walk everywhere rather [...]
Hello everyone. Well another week has gone by, the first one of relative freedom and it was interesting to read how some of you were slowly moving out of lockdown in the comments after my last post. As so many people said, it's clear that everybody has a different attitude to risk and the good thing is that so far, most people seem to be able to live alongside each other without judging. Mr MC and I are finding that [...]
This new schedule of only posting once a week is going to take some getting used to but it's nice to be back. It's going to be a bit of a cornucopia today because there hasn't been much going on here other than work which has mostly revolved around planning and strategy meetings and I can tell you, they've never been harder than they are after more than 100 days of lockdown and counting. However we are, at last, making [...]
Hello, I'm a day early but the Hush sale has started so I thought I'd bring you my Hush sale top ten. I warn you, the sale site is a pain to go through because when you click on an item it doesn't usually remember where you left off so you have to scroll down to find your place again. Before I go into my top picks though I thought I'd give you an update on sales in general because [...]
Well (and I say this cautiously) it's starting to feel as though we're coming through to the other side of the great coronavirus lockdown. I hope you've had a good weekend and that you've managed to start meeting some of the people you've missed so much. We've caught up with a few friends and clients now (although the weather hasn't been great here so some conversations have suddenly been cut short by torrential downpours) even so, it's felt good to [...]
We have a post with a purpose today, it's all about chic heatwave dresses because Meg wrote in to say "I have a colleague who's been looking effortless in the heat when we have our Zoom meetings. I'm still struggling to make the transition from office to home and I find I'm sweating in front of the camera wearing the structured ponte dresses I usually wear to work. Can you help me to find the kind of thing I'm looking [...]
Hello and happy Tuesday everyone. I'm back after a couple of days off last week when as you might remember, Mr MC and I intended to make a plan for the next few months. We wanted to focus mostly on our business but of course like most people's, our work and life is so closely interwoven that we needed to consider everything else as well. So, we sat down with coffee and notepads and after some drumming of fingers we [...]
And so we find ourselves at the beginning of June - that's more than two full months of lockdown and yet I still find myself circling back to the initial reaction of pure shock every now and then. In other ways though it's become a way of life and there's something comforting about living in a bubble where you don't have the friction of everyday life. It seems as though we're going to have to start emerging soon though and [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
As I mentioned last week, I have one last chapter of our 'summer of last hurrahs' to tell you about. When we got back from our teen FOMO-riddled two weeks in Turkey, I was puzzling over how to approach future holidays with the boys when Travelodge got in touch to ask if they could help me with a summer post. Immediately the idea of a road trip sprang to mind and so they suggested we [...]
School started again for us today and so I'm back at my desk busy working on the AW19 trends post that I'll publish on Friday. In the meantime we have a few things to catch up on. Way back in June, as the exams ground to an end, you may remember me telling you that I was making the most of one last long school break with the boys by planning in all kinds of things. Next year will definitely [...]
Hasn't the weather been awful this week? Let's go back to Turkey! Join me in the sunshine for the second half of our holiday - there are a lot of photos so I'll try to let them tell the story without too much rattling on. At the end of the last post, I left off when just six weeks before we were due to depart, I discovered that we had nowhere to stay for the second week. Thanks to the [...]
Well hello... it's been a while so I hope you're still there. We're back from the longest of our summer trips this year which was a fortnight in Kalkan on Turkey's Turquoise Coast. As you know it's the place where we find we can completely switch off. We first went there in 2000 when the eldest was just a toddler so we've seen it change over the years. This time I have to say it was very, very busy. Kalkan [...]
For the last couple of weeks I've been writing two potential versions of this post in my head. You see on an ordinary morning just after we got back from France, I discovered a marble-sized lump in my breast. My immediate reaction was denial. I told myself it was just the edge of a rib but then I asked Mr MC to check and I could see by his face that it wasn't. Just like that life began to spin [...]
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 [...]
It's another reader request today - can you tell I'm ticking off my to-do list before we go away? A few people have mentioned the difficulty of finding truly invisible lingerie to wear under things like white linen trousers and low backed dresses in the summer, especially since I featured the halternecks I wore for our French trip. So, over the last few weeks I've been calling in samples to test and I've come up with my pick of the [...]
Today's post was prompted by a reader who wrote in a little while ago saying she'd like to know which products are my absolute beauty essentials. She described them as the ones that are so important to me that I can't travel without them. It popped back into my head when we were in France and I'd done my usual thing of packing random travel sizes of samples that I'd saved from beauty boxes and advent calendars. It's something I [...]
At last I’ve had a chance to go through the photos from our long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - we took so many that it’s going to be better for me to let the pictures do most of the talking or this will go on forever. A long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - Friday As I mentioned when I was busy planning what to pack, we were invited to stay with Darryll and Bettina [...]
As you know, over the last few months I've been starting the journey towards going grey with the team at the Josh Wood Atelier in London. I still have about 50% of my natural blonde and brown in my hair so I won't be completely grey for a few years yet however I'm no longer trying to conceal the transition. Instead I'm allowing the strands of silver to shine though in all of their glory. My first appointment was at [...]
Just a quick post today because I can't imagine many of you will be reading when there's glorious sunshine outside. Anyway, we're back from France and I'll tell you all about it and how the packing capsule worked out next week. In the meantime I'm whizzing through some 'summer sales - great buys' and I'll end with good news in a quick midlife lately roundup. Summer sales - great buys It's hard to think of anything other than t-shirts at [...]
After months of toil and tension, the exams have ended and this week our summer of last hurrahs began with the first of the trips you saw me planning - a few days in the Lake District with teenagers. We were invited to stay at The Swan Hotel and Spa at Newby Bridge which is in my favourite part of the Lakes, the Western Peninsula. The Swan has always been one of my top five hotels in the Lakes but [...]
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 [...]
It's a quick one today because it's one of those days when work has to come before pleasure. This post was prompted by a distress call from an old schoolfriend. She defected to the south years ago and messaged me last week because of the rain. You see she's been away so long that she's forgotten how to dress for a summer that doesn't turn out as expected. She needed a wardrobe solution for a wet summer; her words were [...]
It's a cornucopia post today and a bit of a long one so you might want to pour that cup of tea / glass of wine before you start. I've been testing a lot of beauty products over the last few months and a few have made my 'must tell readers about...' shelf. So I'll start with those and then move on to menopause followed by a bit of a midlife melting pot. By the end of it there should [...]
What to pack for a chic weekend in the countryside 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Whenever I work with M&S the feedback you give me is that you find it helpful to be guided through their huge inventory. So, today I'm going to do a trying-on session of some of the things that have caught my eye recently and then I'll talk you through a few M&S updates. As always, they've had some huge successes and I appreciate it can be frustrating when online stocks are limited so I'll highlight when you may need to [...]
What to pack for a long weekend in the French Riviera: 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 [...]
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. [...]
Hello - I hope you had a lovely, if chilly, Bank Holiday weekend. As promised it's just a quick post today to reopen the shop with a medley of pieces I've gathered or commissioned on my travels. I still can't quite decide whether I want to build a retail venture or not - I don't really have the time to do it but I do think there's an opportunity for a new retail model and it frustrates me when I [...]
It's just struck me that we're almost at the end of April - the late Easter this year has confused my body clock. It means of course that we're in a retail hiatus because the big summer drops usually arrive in the first week of May. So, there are some good retail offers as they clear stock to make space for the new arrivals. I'll cover those later in the post but first, a round-up of spring sunshine outfits from [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
And so here we go, the last taste of high summer on Midlifechic before we move on to Autumn. That means we should talk a little bit about beach holiday style before we move into cosy jumper and boots territory. So here's my beach holiday packing post mortem. Packing for a beach holiday - conclusions As an experiment, I packed differently this year. You may have noticed that about 95% of my holiday wardrobe focused on dresses. Once I'd worn [...]
Hello, I'm back and I've already been down to London but I'm itching to blog again so I thought I'd divide our Kalkan summer holiday into two parts. You see we didn't really do much in the first week which means I have enough time to give you part one today. So, seeing as the forecast is bad for the Bank Holiday weekend, I'll bring you a taste of sunshine. Before I get to that though, let me tell you [...]
So finally we've made it - our long awaited holiday is in sight. I can't tell you how excited I am at the thought of having all of my boys to myself for two whole weeks, I'm going to treasure every minute. The housesitters are briefed and Gary is on his way to Northumberland to stay on a cousin's farm. It's been a hectic week. A while ago, thinking that this would be a quiet time at work, I scheduled [...]
We don't often talk about reading on here and yet as so many of you know, it is one of my biggest pleasures in life. Some people say I read a lot. I just counted for this post and I've read 27 books so far this year which is almost a book a week. Given that I used to have to get through four books a week in different languages when I was doing my degree, it doesn't seem a [...]
As we reach the tail-end of the summer sales, stocks are running low and autumn styles are suddenly appearing. There are only a few brands you can turn to if you still want to buy a late summer holiday capsule and one is JD Williams. I've been working with them for a year now as a member of their Colour Council which means that every so often, I pop up on their website with a few style ideas. During this time [...]
At last, we've nearly arrived at High Summer which for many is the chance to step aside from the treadmill or at least set it at a slower pace. This is the last week of grind in our house. The youngest is already on holiday and the middle son breaks up on Friday. I have my final few days of working in London for a while and so I will be able to catch my breath at last. I don't [...]
I was in a meeting with the team at John Lewis a little while ago and our conversation moved on to beauty. I explained that I always find the niche beauty brands to be the most interesting. I like the fact that they dedicate themselves to specific concerns and weight their investment towards research rather than marketing. The irony of course is that this low scale marketing makes these companies difficult to find. So my favourite part of the John [...]
It's a quick catch up on recent outfits today before Mr MC and I head off for a weekend à deux. Isn't this weather great? I know some people are getting tired of the heat but I love it. I don't know about you but my childhood summers always seemed to be like this one. I probably have 1976 on a permanent loop in my mind but for me this is how it should be. Of course after a few [...]
I can't imagine that many people are going to be sitting around reading blog posts this weekend - the sunshine is too glorious and so I'm not going to take up much of your time. There are just a few things I wanted to bring to your attention. First of all the Boden sale summer 18. There's something interesting going on at Boden - the sale's late, they haven't been doing as much discounting recently and a lot of the [...]
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 [...]
A quick one from me today because having said that my schedule was calming down, I'm now heading off to London again. The light at the end of this current tunnel of madness is our holiday in Turkey so I've been having one last look around at holiday dresses for hot summer nights before the sales start. Here's a shortlist of the best hot weather dresses I've found that still have stock available. Holiday dresses for hot summer nights Before we [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
Yes you've guessed it, we have a festival coming up so I'm thinking out loud again. Luckily for us it isn't a wet wipes / queue for revolting loos / lose your tent kind of festival. It's a taxi ride away from home so we can go along until whatever time we please and then return to the comfort of our own bed each night. So of course I'm now thinking about what to wear and imagining that it's going [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
