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 [...]
Another quick hello from me. I hope there are signs of spring in the UK - we're moving to hotter and hotter territory so I'll try and waft some sunshine your way. My toughest decision today has been which bikini to choose but I know you're probably not facing the same dilemma so, one more styling post to keep you going. This time it's a recap on 2 easy midlife outfit styling tricks for days when you're feeling uninspired. [...]
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 [...]
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 - [...]
I'm short on time today - meetings in London after a week in Newcastle, a 60th birthday with old friends tonight and then the last of our Christmas parties tomorrow. After that life is narrowing down a bit with a focus on close friends and family for December. Phew! So I've had to finish pulling this together on the train this morning and the wi-fi really isn't playing ball. However there are some Black Friday 25 offers on some [...]
I'm approaching Christmas a little differently this year. I can't believe how early the Black Friday madness has started and I don't know about you but I already feel bombarded by gift lists and discount messages. I've been chatting to some of my old Selfridges colleagues this week about how our role at this time of year used to be to create magic for people - to make a trip into London worth it. There was no discounting before [...]
Ok, it's time for our seasonal trend update and I'm short on time because it's been a busy week so I'm whizzing through them a bit. If you've had a look around the shops you may have wondered what's going on because it isn't easy to define the Autumn 25 trends so let me take you behind the scenes and give you a little context. As always, the looks you see on the high street now were inspired by the [...]
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 [...]
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'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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
By popular request it's another style tips post today - you see one of the conversations that crops up regularly during the colder months is about how to make outfits interesting. That's because so often our AW wardrobes consist of darker colours that initially feel refreshing after summer's brights but then quickly become monotonous. Of course your individual look has a lot to do with the way you wear things but years of studying market research has shown me that [...]
It's a quick post from me today because I'm chasing the sun and heading away for a few days so I thought I'd leave you with some wardrobe styling homework as there won't be a post next Friday. I'm bringing you 3 style tips for autumn outfits - they will interest those of you who enjoy a bit of forensic outfit structuring and for those who don't, there are 3 outfit combinations to help you to get in sync [...]
So here we are, this weekend brings with it the autumn equinox. As I type I'm looking out at a garden shrouded in early morning mist, the apple tree is heavy with fruit but it's been a poor year for the pears. The morello cherries have gone to the birds... again. There's a single day where the fruit suddenly turns sweet and somehow they know. As I mentioned last week, after being reminded that we don't have endless autumns in [...]
I realise that it's still quite warm and if you're anything like me, you're determined to cling on to every last drop of summer (actually it still feels like the first drops of summer but I won't go there!). However there's no denying that the evenings are cooler and it's getting darker much earlier - autumn is on its way. There will be a day soon when you suddenly realise that the wardrobe turnover is due and so today's [...]
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 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 [...]
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 [...]
With it being Midlifechic's 10th birthday a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd delve into the stats to see what my most popular post has been and ever since I wrote it over five years ago, it's been the one about finding the best bra for your breast shape. Of course it's all a bit out of date now so I thought it was time for a refresh - after all there's no point in moving on to new [...]
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. [...]
So many of you have said you've enjoyed the retail spotlight posts that I'm bringing you one more for 2023. After this, they'll be on pause until January while we focus on Christmas and all of the prep that it entails. So today as well as doing my monthly edit, it's a Boden review - retailer spotlight. Let me bring you up to date with what's going on there. Boden - brand background in a [...]
The second in my series of mini-posts in response to the reader survey. Today I'm looking at Mango which in my view is one of the best and yet perhaps most under-rated brands at the lower end of the price scale. So here we go, Mango review - retailer spotlight, let me tell you more. Mango - brand background in a nutshell Disclosure: as with the majority of blogs, products featured on Midlifechic [...]
I'm moving on with the highly requested style tips today. In the survey, 85% of you said that you were looking for advice on how to add a bit of oomph to the more relaxed end of your wardrobe. It was no surprise to hear that 49% of you are buying fewer clothes and trying to find ways of working with what you already have, adding updates here and there. Today I'm looking at easy AW23 outfit updates from [...]
This is the first in a series of mini-posts I'm planning to run in response to the reader survey. I'm going to give you the lowdown on a specific UK retailer each Tuesday and pull out their strengths. The intention is that you'll have an edit on what to buy, from where, and why. I'm starting with Cos because it's a brand turnaround that I've been watching closely. So here we go, Cos review - retailer spotlight, let me [...]
And so as summer's last gasp starts to recede, it's time to think about a more autumnal look and that's where I'm beginning with this month's Boden edit which is all about stepping into Autumn 23 - new wardrobe additions. If you read last week's post about the AW23 trends, you'll see I'm working them in little ways as I think carefully about how to expand the outfits that I already have and love. Boden's first big Autumn drop landed [...]
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' [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hello and Happy New Year to you - I hope you've had a really good Christmas break and avoided the wretched cold/cough virus that's going around. I had it when I left you last and only started to feel better on Christmas Day which was a bit of a shame as it meant the build-up week when the boys first came home was a bit muffled - but at least it meant we could enjoy Christmas itself. I smiled sympathetically [...]
As we're getting into the swing of Christmas now, for my last Boden edit of the year it made sense to look at what we might wear when we're in the mood to look festive. Every year, at the end of November ( for me anyway) there comes a morning where I suddenly want to move away from my autumn clothes and add a little touch of something extra to my outfits. And that's what today's post is going [...]
Today we're continuing with AW22 and I'm bringing you more ideas for making your wardrobe work hard. I think for all of us it's a season for being realistic; very few people are going to be buying into the 'everything new' mentality - instead it's a time to be savvy. So when it comes to new season, it doesn't feel right for me to just bring you a whole load of 'what's new' posts. Rather [...]
And so I can't hold it off any longer, Autumn is most definitely here and I can't believe how suddenly it's arrived this year. September is often the warmest month of the season for us up here and yet I've already found myself digging out gloves for my walks with Ted. So today you find me edging into A/W22 with White Stuff . I'm bringing you my personal edit from their new collection and to go with it, you'll see [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Thank you for all of your lovely blog birthday wishes last week. I'm writing this in a bit of a time-warp on Tuesday night because we've decided to act on our empty-nesters' ability to be spontaneous and head off for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We're not going very far at all, certainly not to the exotic climes that we should have been enjoying right now but we've realised that with a new project looming this might [...]
I'm going to talk about how to make winter outfits look pulled together today but first I just want to say how nice it is when a post falls on Midlifechic's actual birthday - my blog is 8 years old today. This is post number 655 and what a journey it's been. As always I've been flicking through my early pictures and my first thought is how tired I look but then I think about how busy life was with [...]
And it's a back to normal post today with 'How to pack the right clothes for a weekend break'. But first I just want to thank everyone who commented on last week's post about spiking. I've read every one but I haven't replied because keeping on going over it isn't doing me any good. However I have a call scheduled with the Inquiry Manager for the Home Affairs Committee on Monday so I'm hoping to fight back and do what [...]
I can't believe this is the last post of the year - I'm running out of time and there's lots I want to say to you so I'm going to crack on. I'm starting with a quick catch-up of the last few days, then moving on to a round-up of my best winter buys & 2021 over and out! Christmassy days out So let's start over in Newcastle. We had a whirlwind visit to take mum-in-law out for the day [...]
Hello and Happy Friday everyone. With the last few posts focusing on Christmas gifts it feels like a while since we've had a catch-up so today I bring you an assortment of outfit pictures with a bit of chat in between. It's a funny old time again isn't it? Just a week ago we went to our first Christmas party, marvelling at how normal everything felt and then within a few days there's a new named variant and we're all [...]
A new range of simple, sustainable basics for fashion As I type this Mr MC is busy filling in our passenger locator forms and we're forcing ourselves to think about leaving the Mykonos sunshine to come home. At this particular moment Autumn feels like a million miles away but I know that in just over 24 hours it will be a reality. However at least we won't be going home to an empty nest quite yet; the eldest has been [...]
Autumn wardrobe planning - a new start for a new way of life I might be a bit later than the back to schoolers but I certainly have a feeling of new term butterflies in my tummy this week - a mix of worry and excitement about what lies ahead. Of course for us this season (and this weekend in particular) really is a new start as we empty nest but I'm sensing that lots of people are feeling the [...]
AW21 trends and easy ways to wear them Trends - do they even matter any more? Whereas designers and glossy magazine editors used to dominate the world of fashion and dictate what we'd wear every season, since the arrival of the internet and social media in particular there's been a real change in the balance of power. Now pretty much any style goes if you own it and wear it with confidence. So I almost decided against doing this new [...]
And so here we are with the first post of the Autumn season and it's an exclusive - trying on Inès de la Fressange at Uniqlo AW21. I'm so sorry that it's late, the samples just didn't arrive and so today we've had a mad trip to the Manchester store to try the pieces I wanted to show you so that we could photograph them and send this post live. It's been a crazy day in hot sunshine and I [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Ah your responses to last Friday's post were so interesting - if you haven't had time yet, go back and read through the comments because they give really good insight into the myriad ways we're all living and feeling at the moment. They showed me that although we remain on the same wavelength, we're all having completely different experiences of lockdown, particularly this time around. I'm going to be holding that in my mind as I write my posts over [...]
Well the clocks go back here this weekend so we'll be officially saying goodbye to British Summer Time. Today I'm doing a Baukjen AW20 try-on, showcasing a few pieces from this tiny British brand that has continued to shine ethically throughout this difficult year. And at the end of the post I'll show you my tiny collection of new bags that have finally arrived after the hard work we did in the summer. New readers often ask me how Baukjen [...]
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. [...]
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, 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 [...]
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 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
What I wear in January, outfit ideas women over 40 Today's post is the first of a new series that I'm aiming to include every month featuring a compilation of outfits that I've been wearing for work and weekends. These posts will show you what I wear day in, day out and they should contrast nicely with the new season try-ons that I do with some of our favourite high street brands. I'm not going to patronise you by saying [...]
I'm pleased to say that today's post has been prompted directly by you. You see I had the pleasure of chatting to lots of readers at the John Lewis & Partners event on Friday and one topic was requested more than any other: 'relaxed winter chic for women over 40.' So, before we launch headlong into the whirlwind of Christmas, I thought I'd recap on the basics of elevating your winter look. What's coming up on Midlifechic? But first I [...]
It's been a while since I've worked with them and a few of you have been asking me what's going on at hush. It's a small company that has found itself growing so fast that it's suddenly had to switch its focus towards gearing up for growth in a big way. Everybody here of course has known and loved hush for a long time, but two years ago when they launched at John Lewis & Partners, they were introduced to [...]
Today's post has been inspired by a personal coat conundrum. As the weather has turned blustery so suddenly in the UK, I've found myself reaching for a coat far earlier than I did last year when I barely needed one until January. Looking at the coat rail in my dressing room, it was hard to see what I have because there are too many and being in a decluttering frame of mind, I decided that rather than needing a new [...]
It's a quick post from me today, I don't have much time because it's Mr MC's birthday this weekend and we're going away... but I'll tell you more about that later. In the meantime I've come up with a few more ideas of what to wear as we transition from summer to autumn when the weather's still relatively warm but unreliable. I've collated some chic autumn basics - wardrobe building blocks that don't immediately look exciting but will work harder [...]
Today, as promised we're going to look at easy ways to update your wardrobe for AW19. Hopefully since the A/W19 trends post you've had a chance to think through what you already have. This perhaps includes blazers, jumpers and jeans for a simple start, maybe midi-skirts and dresses too and a couple of pairs of wide leg trousers. Thinking back to the 'how to build a capsule wardrobe course' we did in January, I'm hoping that you're still using the [...]
Ah the Bank Holiday... lovely wasn't it? The problem is that it's hit the Inès de La Fressange launch at Uniqlo and as a result, the warehouse just couldn't get samples to me in time to shoot them. We all know what a tight turnaround this limited release has and please take me seriously when I say that it will have mostly sold out by lunchtime today because really, it will. (For US readers it goes live this morning here, [...]
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 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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Please note this 2019 post has been so popular that I published an updated version in 2024 with current product recommendations - you can find it here. Hello, I'm back - I'll tell you all about our break on Friday when I've hopefully found time to go through the photos (although you can see a little glimpse above). In the meantime I've been wanting to write about how to find the right bra for your breast shape for [...]
Well after a month's abstinence I think it's time to have a look at the shops again and it's so cold that my mind's on jumpers (many jumpers - our heating's packed in!). I'm looking at 'pop of colour outfit updates' so let's have a think about them from a capsule perspective. I don't know about you but my body temperature has changed in midlife. Thanks to my HRT I don't have hot flushes but I definitely find myself getting [...]
We've come to the end of the 'how to build a capsule wardrobe series' and it's taken us nicely through January - didn't that go quickly?! So today I want to wrap everything up by making sure that you have your plan in one place and are ready to build a wardrobe that works for you. I've created one last download and added it to the full collection so that you can summarise all of the work you've done on one [...]
We're coming towards the end of the series on how to create a capsule wardrobe. A few bloggers who cover similar themes have asked why I haven't charged for it or at least collected email addresses in return for the downloads so I thought I'd explain for others who are wondering. I'm very flattered that you think it's worth charging for but there are two reasons why I haven't. Firstly, it's been a way of giving something back to [...]
And here we go with part four of the 'How to plan a capsule wardrobe - women over 40' series - I hope you're enjoying it. It's a short one today because I'm writing it in my London hotel room after a busy day. I've had seven meetings so my head's spinning a bit! This post is another exercise and it involves aspirational thinking. It's time to find your style icon - your dream look. It's something I did when [...]
Well I'm hoping you're up to date with your capsule wardrobe building tasks because the next stage involves thinking about colour and cloth - both intrinsic elements of personal style. Let's start with colour, I'm going to recap quickly on how to decide which colours suit you because quite a few new readers have joined us. Then we'll move on to developing a colour palette that works for you. When you've identified this, it will give you the ability to [...]
I'm so pleased by how well Part One of my 'how to build a capsule wardrobe - ageless style' series went down. As I said on the Midlifechic Facebook page, I felt quite nervous on Friday - it was like handing in an important assignment. So today I'm bringing you Part Two. I know some of you are itching to get down to outfit specifics but my experience of running courses for busy people has taught me to do it [...]
...and let me start by apologising for the 'women over 40' extension on the title there. I know that a sizeable chunk of you aren't over 40 and this process has nothing to do with age, it just helps it to stand out amidst the millions of 'how to build a capsule wardrobe' posts on the internet. So, let's get started with the first part of the series that I put together over the Christmas holidays when I was working [...]
And just like that the A/W season's over and the sales are beginning. As retailers start to announce profit warnings it's clearer than ever that it's been one of the worst trading periods on record and so there are going to be some dazzling markdowns. While I've been having a clearout, I've made a point of looking at the pieces I wear on repeat and asking myself why. As part of this process, I've been struck by the fact that [...]
Now that the weather's suddenly turned cold, I have lots of questions coming in about what footwear works best with trousers and jeans so it seems like a good idea to write a practical post. The best solution is a pair of ankle boots but you need to get the balance right - as always, it's best to think about the body in an architectural way and understand the best part of your leg to focus on. If you have [...]
Well hello, I'm back and if you're reading this it means you're still here. I thank you for sticking with me during my absence, I just needed to take some time away. Anyway, I'll update you with a 'midlife lately' next week but today I'm easing myself back in with a look at one of my favourite brands, Uniqlo. You see as I've been collating your feedback on some of the retailer-specific posts that I've done this season, the cry [...]
Just a quick hello today because as I thought, getting the shop ready for our delivery of chic new bags has helped us to keep our minds occupied over the last few days. Before I go on to talk about them though, I just want to say a huge thank you for all of your kind messages that have been coming in from every direction. I've been reading them out at the dinner table as they've arrived and we've all [...]
In my posts about trend and colour, I included some of the press shots from the John Lewis & Partners new women's clothing collection which, it has to be said, are lovely. But then PR shots always are - so what I really wanted to do next was road test some of the styles to see how they look on a normal woman (me) shot in less than ideal conditions (the incessant rain and wind that we're experiencing in the [...]
Ok, here we go, the one some of you have said you've been waiting for - it's the key wearable trends autumn winter 2018 post. I hope you're not bored of trends already because I know everyone's been covering it. However as always, I'm coming at it from the angle of someone who's spent their retail career trying to correlate the flights of fancy of the buying teams with the sales targets of the commercial teams and the wearability demands of [...]
It's time - I'm excited to bring you my Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo Autumn 2018 Review. Yet again they've identified Midlifechic readers as their core audience and so I've had the chance to examine some of the pieces early - I can't tell you how happy this makes me. For US readers it should be going live for you today too. Just in case you're a new reader, what's so great about this Uniqlo collection? It consists of a [...]
You have no idea what a rollercoaster ride it has been in the world of retail this summer. As I mentioned last week, in my April meetings the brands that I work with had all scheduled a summer sale 'pull forward' because of the bad weather. Since then they've been playing chicken with the weather and delaying the start dates for as long as possible. This is when the 'Ops' teams send the marketing teams to the verge of a [...]
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 [...]
Hello and Happy Friday - we had a surprise parcel from Turkey this morning so I'm talking bags today. This will be the last delivery for the Midlifechic Boutique for a while because my factory have had all of their capacity taken over by one of the big Bond Street brands who have high demand for their Autumn collection. It means I can't have any more made until August but I don't mind because working for this iconic luxury label [...]
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 [...]
I'm planning to do some capsule wardrobe collections over the next few weeks in the hope that Spring will at some point show its face. Jeans of course are always the lynchpin of a casual wardrobe and so I thought we should focus on where they have settled as the transition from skinnies continues. As we've already discussed, a key shape for Spring / Summer 18 jeans is the wide leg crop. I'm enjoying wearing my dark denim ones but I'm [...]
I've finally managed to plough through the hundreds (yes honestly) of photos we took on our midlife adventure in Transylvania. There's just so much to show you that even after some serious culling there are a lot of them. So I'm going to try to make sure this Ice Hotel Transylvania review isn't too wordy. Join us virtually through the pictures... and even the occasional video. Before I start though, I just want to say that I have two pieces of fashion [...]
T'was the week before Christmas... and I looked at my diary only to realise that I have blithely arranged for an awful lot of festive gatherings to take place... all through our house. I'm not quite sure how that happened but I have some serious food prepping to do. So, as I will shortly be mutating from Midlifechic to Midlifechef, my last post will have to be a quick one. I'm starting with a quick winter sale edit because if [...]
It's hard to believe but we've arrived at the post where I reflect on my chic buys of 2017- the pieces that I've worn over and over again. It's trickier this year because I've been experimenting more. As you know when a brand gets in touch with a gifting opportunity, I try to step outside my comfort zone and play with a look that I wouldn't risk my own budget on. This means that there has been less of an opportunity [...]
Relaxed Christmas party outfit ideas. If you're anything like me, you may have one or two dressy events lined up but the rest of your Christmas will be a more relaxed affair. I think some of the best times are the spontaneous ones when someone calls and asks if you fancy popping over for a drink... which inevitably turns into three or four. So today I'm bringing you outfit ideas for when this happens. Looks that say you've made an [...]
Hush Christmas Edit. Christmas started for me with a bang this week when I went to do a talk for Hush at the “My John Lewis” shopping evening on Wednesday. My brief was to pull out my favourite Hush pieces and discuss them. So, I took lots of lovely ladies through five specific capsules that I’d created for days that are likely to crop up in our Christmas calendar. At the end so many of them came to tell me that they'd [...]
We've talked about the dominance of vivid scarlet in this autumn's colour palette but there is another seasonal theme coming through and it reminds me of the colour of toffee apples. Reds and greens are often associated with Christmas but if you think about it, they feel right now too, as we approach bonfire night. I've put together a selection of easy pieces to inspire you (and me - when I tried to put an outfit together to show you, [...]
Autumn 2017 coats. In my last post I mentioned that longer length coats were more prominent this season. However coats are an investment and I had a couple of emails from readers saying they didn't want to buy something that could be a passing trend. So, today I'm looking at all kinds of coats for autumn 2017. I've focused specifically on day coats though because we'll be going full steam into partywear before you know it. In the meantime, there [...]
Now that we're well and truly into autumn, I think we're starting to get used to the new silhouette that has come in. The midi length hemline and the move to the straight leg jean are two of the easiest styles to adopt and I've been really enjoying wearing them as you'll see from some examples below. The other key focus of course, is colour. I really like the bright scarlet that is everywhere but a lot of people have [...]
I'm following on from my post about leather leggings with a focus on a different type of trouser. You see when I was down in London last week, I gambled on not having to stand up too much in my consultancy sessions. For once, I travelled light without 'street shoes' in my bag. It misfired. I was working with a larger team than expected and so I had to stand to enable everyone to hear (and see) me. We were [...]
Wearing leather leggings after 40 - this is one of those posts that specifically addresses an email from a distressed reader. When I published my autumn trends post a few weeks ago, Victoria emailed to say "I can cope with the demise of skinny jeans but what about the expensive leather leggings that I've invested in - am I going to look stupid if I carry on wearing them?" The short answer is no. All you have to do is [...]
It's time for a catch up. I have a few random outfit photos that are cluttering up my desktop so I'm posting some everyday looks from the last few weeks. Before I do though, I just need to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported the launch of the Midlifechic Boutique. Each sale, thought or note of encouragement has really helped me to have confidence in this new venture. It has gone better than I could ever have [...]
While we were on holiday, I published a post containing the questions that I am most frequently asked by readers and journalists. A few days later I received an email from Zoe who said, "come on Nikki, you must have bigger plans for Midlifechic. You've created something special here, I can't believe someone like you doesn't have a dream." Of course Zoe was right. Niggling away at the back of my mind there is always my love for retail and [...]
At a business lunch recently, I was sitting next to a lady who was returning to her career after spending ten years at home with her children. We chatted about how it was going as you do, bemoaning the perpetual juggle of the work life balance. After a while our conversation turned to our sense of identity and how much clothes matter. At this point I mentioned that I write a blog about such things and her eyes lit up. [...]
You may remember that back in June, I had a lovely evening at The Ned in London with some other over 40 bloggers where we were shown the forthcoming Hush Autumn 17 collection. I have to say that one of the things I like most about Hush is that they are actively nurturing their over 40 customers. For a brand that feels very youthful, I believe that they genuinely want to see women of our age wearing their clothes. It [...]
It's back to school for us today which means back to work too. We need to get back into the swing of mealtimes and bedtimes, lunch boxes and shoe polishing - all of the things that don't seem to matter over the long summer break. I had a shock last week when I realised I only had one set of name tapes to stitch into uniform this year. I still have a large pack for each boy in my sewing [...]
So we're kicking off Autumn 2017 with my favourite post of the season - the launch of Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo AW17. It is live now in the UK and launches at 9pm ET in the US (although be prepared - it launched an hour earlier than advertised in the UK). I think everybody who reads Midlifechic knows that Inès is my ultimate style icon. Other than Helen Mirren, I don't think there is anyone like her in terms of [...]
It feels too early to be doing this. I made a quiet pledge not to complain about the weather but really - 2017 has been the year that summer forgot. So, I've been finding myself looking ahead to Autumn without feeling guilty. After all these are the clothes that we wear for about nine months of the year. Style-wise there is more change afoot than there has been for quite a few years so I thought I'd kick off with [...]
I have a late addition to the summer sales for you. Hope will be opening their sale tomorrow (Saturday 8th July) and I have a VIP preview which means you can go onto the site and snap up the bargains before everyone else. In preparation for the new stock arriving, they are having a huge clearout from past seasons and a lot of items are 70% off. It's a great opportunity to buy something of high quality at an amazing price. Here [...]
As a break from the summer sale madness, today I thought I'd talk to you about my new glasses. I've been aware that I need some for quite a while but, in the same way that some people dread going to the dentist, I dread the opticians - so I always put it off. The reason for this is that my mum had Macular Degeneration and was nearly blind towards the end of her life. Watching her lose her sight [...]
Let's have a quick catch up today. I say quick because I lost a whole day's work this week thanks to lightning striking the local substation. It meant that we had no electricity on Wednesday from 11am until nearly midnight. The schools were closed and, as always, at first it was fun. We played boardgames and then lit the barbecue so that we could munch our way through the melting freezer food. By 9pm though, when we had reached the [...]
Hello everyone and Happy Friday! The sales have begun so here's the first of my 'best summer sales' posts highlighting the top picks from some of my favourite brands. I've focused mostly on pieces that I have and wear a lot so that I can genuinely recommend them to you. I'll add my pictures to the brand's shots to give you an idea of what they look like on an ordinary body. Best Summer Sales: Baukjen Baukjen has definitely carved [...]
Well if the UK's future was unclear when I left you last time, it is even more so right now! However, as women over 40, we know things will sort themselves out one way or another. In the meantime after a week of unsettled news and weather, I've found myself focusing hard on the thought of escaping it all for a sunny holiday. I had an email from a longstanding reader saying that she keeps a print out of this [...]
It's all my fault. I jinxed the summer by packing away my Winter knits over the weekend. I even switched the heating off. We had a barbecue and everything was lovely - then Monday dawned with torrential rain and a temperature of 12 degrees! However, I've had a lot of emails over the last few weeks asking for a post on what to wear for Summer in the city. I then included this dress in my Chelsea Flower Show post last week without [...]
It isn't often that I dedicate a whole post to a single outfit but then it isn't often that you are approached by a brand like Winser London and invited to choose a special new outfit. It was easy for me to make my choice, I wanted to celebrate the return of the trouser suit. I showed you a glimpse of it in my last post because it is what I wore during the day on my 50th birthday. Single breasted [...]
I'm very pleased to be working with Baukjen again today. You may remember that they were the first of my brand Spotlight Posts back in February and this time they've sent some of their Spring / Summer 17 collection for me to review. As always, when I work on a Spotlight post I like to assess whether a range can work hard for me by covering my key wardrobe requirements: work, weekend and evenings out. Baukjen Spring / Summer working wardrobe Starting with workwear, [...]
I've set myself a completely different kind of challenge today. Let me tell you how it all came about. Over the last Bank Holiday weekend, Mr MC and I were reminiscing about the different holidays we've had. He asked me which was the best one and although it was hard to choose, one that really stands out is our first holiday abroad as a family when the youngest was very small. He asked me why I'd chosen that one and there [...]
Well a huge thank you from me to everybody who supported the sale on Saturday. I had no idea it would be quite so manic, nearly everything sold out in 20 minutes (the last few pieces will be live here until Friday when it closes). I have finished wrapping and dispatching everything and so it is all on its way. I apologise in advance if it smells very strongly of roses. The youngest was keen to be involved so I [...]
So, as you know, yesterday I went down to the Boden press show to see their Autumn collection. I'll tell you a bit more about that at the end of this post and show you a few pictures. Before I set off though, I thought I'd better have a look at their site so that I was up to date with their current collection. There were a few things I hadn't seen before and I ended up placing an order [...]
Happy Friday everyone. As we count down to the Easter weekend I'm hoping you can feel that Spring is in the air. Today I'm reviewing Uniqlo's new collection. As you already know, Uniqlo is a brand that I rate very highly. One of the the things I like most about them is the balance of their retail mix. They launch limited edition collections which are collaborations with brands and people ranging from Inès de La Fressange to Miffy. This means there is always something new to see. [...]
Happy Tuesday everyone. It looks as though I will be spending a disproportionate amount of time driving this week as I have meetings that range from the Scottish Border right down to the Midlands. So I am putting together a quick post with a few of the things that I have spotted recently that I think you'll like and I'm finishing off with a round up of Mother's Day weekend. Easter This is probably the last stretch of time that we [...]
My most read wardrobe posts are always the ones that focus on creating an edited collection so I thought it was time for another one. I've been working on my own wardrobe for Spring as I'm having a huge clearout and so I'm using my own plan as a basis for this post on capsule wardrobe updates for women over 40. I'm going to start with jeans because they are increasingly becoming acceptable for working wardrobes as well as weekend looks. [...]
It's great to be working with my friends at the Over4Collective again today. We've been so busy getting our website together that we haven't had time to do a project for a while so I decided it was time to introduce them to one of my favourite brands, Finery so that we could bring you a Finery Review Spring 17 . I've spoken before about how fond I am of my contact at Finery, a young French woman who never questions the [...]
I'm bringing you some quick Spring 17 wardrobe updates for women over 40 today. I spent the weekend happily packing away my winter colours (I'm tired of burgundy and dark green) and now I want to add some more vibrant accents to my wardrobe. So, let's start with casual. We've already talked about the new looser jeans shape and I'm sure that everybody is starting to see it come through into the mainstream. The dominant colour for Spring and Summer is going to be [...]
Wow that was quite a response to the last post on midlife loneliness! As I said at the outset, when I receive a cluster of emails on a particular topic, it suggests that something is going on at a wider level. I knew I could count on you to rally around Anna but what I didn't anticipate was the wonderful outpouring of empathy. I'm not going to write a long post today, partly because a power cut has wiped five hours off my [...]
So you may remember me saying that I had a couple of other new February outfits to show you from last week's deliveries. I was waiting to get some slightly more exciting photos than a trying on session because we were going to the opening of a new play. We are 'critical friends' of the local theatre and every so often they invite us along to see something they have been working on and get our feedback. This was a one woman [...]
I am very pleased to bring you the first of the spotlight posts. It's a big thank you to Baukjen for being the first brand to come on board as part of this series and I'm particularly pleased to be working with someone that I haven't featured before. I have only one Baukjen piece in my wardrobe and it is a jumpsuit that I bought in a hurry after seeing it featured in a magazine last year. For some reason [...]
This is going to be the first of a series of occasional posts where I am going to revisit the cornerstones of our wardrobes - the unsung heroes that are the building blocks of our everyday style. I'm starting with the ultimate breton top because when I was writing my Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo post last week, I caught myself saying that I wasn't looking forward to wearing breton tops this Spring. If I'm honest I've been unenthusiastic about [...]
So, I am proud (very proud) to be the first blogger to bring you the new collection from Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo. As I have said many times before, if I could align Midlifechic with any woman in the world, it would be Inès. I have been eagerly (and rather nervously) awaiting the launch of the Spring range. Why nervously? Because I didn't feel that SS16 was as strong as the Autumn ranges and I hoped that wouldn't [...]
Today's post is one of the ones that goes a bit wrong. I had initially intended it to be about the new pre-collection from Hush but when I looked through it, it wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped so the only piece I'm going to feature is the charcoal and brown sugar stella jumper which is back in stock. These jumpers are a lovely cut and they somehow make you look younger. Charcoal and camel star jumper I have one in [...]
I confess that I have always struggled with the month of January. So much so that we set our wedding date for 10th February so that I would have something to keep looking forward to during the darkest month. Although I love living where I do, the absence of bright city lights is something that I really notice at this time of year. The usually stunning vista of wide open skies is bleak and grey. Now that I've been blogging [...]
So, the discounts are starting to rain down. I'll be bringing you details of the Best Winter Sales 2016 in my next few posts. I'm starting with the ones that I know have limited stock and the opportunity for pre-Christmas delivery so that Midlifechic readers can get in there first! Best Winter Sales 2016 - Hope First of all I bring you Hope whose sale site has just gone live. As you know, there is a feel good factor about buying from [...]
The end of year sales are starting so it's time for my annual Awards, defining my chic buys of the year 2016. Being an analytical person I like to reflect on where I've spent my budget and whether it was worth it. The surprise difference for me since I started blogging has been my changing history with Boden. I've transitioned from spending most of my budget there in 2014 to spending a lot in 2015 and returning about 50% of it, to barely [...]
Hello and Happy Friday! It's ages since I've done a casual outfits of the week post but we're now in the hiatus between new season and everything sparkly so here's a dose of real life! It's been a much calmer week. For once I haven't been travelling, so I've been able to opt for a low key wardrobe as I've either been home or office based. Half term finally begins here tonight and I've been trying to get things wrapped up so [...]
You may remember that when I went to Paris in May, one of the things I commented on was that lots of Parisians were demonstrating the art of chic layering by wearing a Uniqlo quilt underneath their coat. I have since discovered that Uniqlo is a big thing in France. When they opened a new store in Bordeaux recently, the police had to be called in to control the excited crowd. Of course I'd just like to add that living in the frozen North, [...]
Just a quick extra post today on the Hush Flash Sale. It starts today and finishes on Sunday 30th. It includes a number of items from both this season and last Winter, here are the things that I think are the best buys. Hush Flash Sale - last year's stock These pieces have the biggest discounts Cashmere crew neck jumper in cloud 44% off Annabelle dress/tunic in atlantic blue 45% off 2015 jumpsuit in black or burgundy 33% off - these [...]
There comes a point each year in my blogging calendar when I notice that all of my Summer brights have given way to a dull palette of grey, camel and black. As I was looking through my Instagram feed and pondering this, it occurred to me that it is easy to wear colour in Summer when you only need to co-ordinate one or two items of clothing at a time. As Winter approaches and you pile on layers of tops, bottoms, tights, coats, [...]
I thought we'd take a break from clothes today and look at chic Autumn outfit updates to add to the clothes you already have in your wardrobe. We talked about the difference that a pair of statement shoes or boots can make a few weeks ago. Now we're going to look at affordable bags and jewellery because they make such a difference. I have lovely memories of helping my dad buy a khaki handbag for my mum, not knowing that it [...]
As the nights grow darker, my usual Autumn treat to myself is a cashmere jumper. Every year however, prices seem to climb higher so I decided to set myself the task of looking into my little indulgence as carefully as possible. When I was in London last week, I had a couple of hours to spare between meetings which gave me the perfect opportunity to compare as many stores as possible so that I could write a cashmere review. Anyone who knows [...]
Today I am pleased to be introducing you to Lotus, a small UK based shoe brand. Until they got in touch with me, I wasn't aware of them. As you know, at the moment I tend to rely on Boden, Marks and Spencer and occasionally Clarks for my everyday shoes and Jigsaw for the special ones. It's always good to add a new brand to your arsenal, especially when it's an affordable one. A little while ago we talked about [...]
I can't bring you any insight at all on Boden. It isn't just me, they don't communicate with anyone I know in the over 40 blogger world. They do seem to feature 20 and 30 something bloggers quite regularly on their site but that's as far as it goes. This means that I don't cover them as often as you might like me to however, I do have a few favourites amongst Boden's latest collection. Boden's latest collection - working wardrobe The hero [...]
Hopefully you remember that back in July, just before the schools broke up, I went down to see the new Autumn collection from Hope Fashion and spend a day with the team shooting their 'real women' campaign. There was no point in me telling you about the clothes then because they weren't available online. You can now see photos of the day on their website and they have just released the Autumn collection so it's time for me to show you how [...]
Today I'm talking about Hush, another of our favourite Midlifechic brands. I've been trying to meet the team there for a while and it has become almost a running joke between us that whenever one of us suggests a date in London, the other can't make it. In the end serendipity played a part when I went down to London for the John Lewis 'Christmas in July' event. I'll tell you more about that soon but the important thing for today [...]
I'll come straight out and say it - this is my biggest blogging high to date. Uniqlo has selected our community at Midlifechic to be the first to see their new Inès de La Fressange collection. I feel so proud that we are being recognised by brands as a group of intelligent, vocal women who deserve their attention. They are beginning to realise that just because we are over 40, we have not given up on style and Uniqlo is [...]
A mystery package arrived this week and it was lovely to open it and find that The White Company had sent me their new Autumn candle to review. As you know, Home Fragrance is really important to me and you could say that it was a brave move to send it to someone who spent last year working as a certified 'nose' for the UK's biggest home fragrance manufacturer! Industry knowledge means that I know quite a lot about The White [...]
So here we go, we're ready for Autumn. I am finding that my approach towards shopping for clothes has evolved now that I spend so much more time thinking about it. As you know I bought very little over the Summer which turned out to be absolutely the right decision. I'm not going to moan about the weather but we have only had a handful of hot sunny days in the Lakes this year. This means that Autumn buying makes much [...]
Hello - I'm back, it feels like a long time since I've posted. So - as a lot of you guessed, our mystery destination was Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands. I managed to keep it a secret until a few days before we left when I had to give the boys a small clue in case they read my last post. As it was with you, the one I chose was too easy - Hellas. In an instant they knew [...]
There is tumbleweed blowing through the streets of our village. Everyone we know seems to have packed up and gone away for the Summer... except us. When I booked our holiday, it was such a relief that for the first time in ages our dates weren't dictated by the dreaded exam results day that I planned it for later than usual. We're doing our best to have fun in the Lakes which, after all, is a holiday destination for lots of [...]
I was chatting to my blogger friends in the Over 40 Collective recently about how difficult it is to know what to blog about during this fallow period when the sales are on, especially when the weather is as mixed as it has been. We talked about paring things back to simplicity and from there an over 40 style blogger challenge arose - styling a white shirt with denim. Of course the sale period was a problem until somebody suggested Marks and [...]
Today saw the release of the Boden early Autumn 16 collection with some great trans-seasonal pieces to see you through this 'not Summer' weather. With every day bringing a new sartorial challenge, these pieces will help you to layer now and all the way through to next Spring. Soft blouses like this have been my failsafe this season, they have enough arm coverage to stop you shivering but are loose enough for you to still feel cool when the sun suddenly emerges from [...]
As you probably know, there is 20% off at Hush until midnight (Thursday 30th June) with code SMILE, so my hunch was that the Hush sale would start on Friday, however I have now heard that it will be Tuesday 5th July. Looking through the site, many of the items are already sold out or in a low stock position. I've been through what I think are the best buys, assessed the stock levels and I'm having a little wager [...]
Last week I shared the restrictions I impose on myself before I click on a 'sale started' link. I still stand by the suggestion that you should limit your high summer pieces to about 10% of your total wardrobe. However there is one sale that I shop a little differently and that is the Boden sale. I've found that every time I've had a conversation about Boden this season people have been suggesting that it's a brand that has lost its way. In fact it's [...]
So the sales have started early. Because the weather has been bad there is a glut of clothing that retailers need to offload and temptation is everywhere. I've been through a number of stores and picked out what I think are the best bargains but before we start, let's make sure we set off on the right track. 12 things to remember when you hit the summer sales Don't forget that high summer clothing only needs to be a very small percentage of [...]
I think summer in the city is one of the hardest things to get right sartorially. I'm casting my mind back to my commuting days, heading into the urban heat island of London and seeing the yellow haze of smog hanging over the city as the train approached Waterloo. A hot city is a harsh environment but wearing the right clothes, whether you're a tourist or a native, can make all the difference to how you cope with the day so, summer [...]
I don't know whether it's because of the sudden burst of hot weather in the UK or simply because it's holiday season but Summer clothes are now disappearing from the shops so I'm writing this 'what to pack for a hot beach holiday' with some urgency. In Friday's post we took a fantasy trip to the Brittany coastline for a breezy holiday with unpredictable weather. Today we're jetting off a little further so we need to pack for a hot beach holiday. [...]
I had a very busy day down in London yesterday meeting up with some of my favourite brands and gently putting our midlife views across to them. We're beginning to gain traction ladies - they're noticing the number of discussions that take place on this blog and slowly, we're starting to be taken more seriously. I'll share some of the things I learned with you over the next few weeks but first I just want to show you some pictures of [...]
You may remember that we were going to the Hacienda Classical concert on Sunday. Before I tell you a little bit about it I'll explain why I wanted to do this post. The event was going to be outside. I had planned what I was going to wear in advance and it consisted of lots of layers that I could take on and off. Then, as you'll know, the sun came out unexpectedly in the UK last weekend and it [...]
Now that the sun has finally appeared, I imagine everyone will be shopping frantically so I just wanted to show you this simple summer broderie collection from Uniqlo. Why? Because the pieces are less than half the price of broderie from some of our favourite retailers. I really resent paying £60 for a little white cotton top. Maybe it's just my laundry skills but I find that they only last one summer before they go chewing gum coloured and need replacing. These [...]
My last two posts have been practical ones, focusing on summer essentials - tailored cropped trousers and summer sandals so today I thought I'd do something a bit more frivolous. I'm writing especially with Nicky B in mind. For those who read the comments section, you'll know that she is my longest standing and most regular commenter. She has been with me since the very beginning (shortly followed by Nicola R who is also very special to me) and I [...]
I think that you have to be more careful buying summer sandals than almost any other kind of footwear. After all, you are wearing them with bare feet so they are in direct contact with your skin. Any friction is not only going to hurt your feet but it is also going to create inflamed patches and hard skin which isn't a good look. Without you really noticing, the arch of your foot starts to suffer during your 40s. This is why [...]
I've been searching for the best tailored cropped trousers for women over 40 and this is what Marie Kondo has done to me - made me super fussy. As you may know, she has developed a fascinating process known as the Konmari method and some of you have been in touch to tell me just how truly life-changing it has been for you. The interesting thing about the process is handling each item to see whether it sparks joy and if not, [...]
Last weekend I finally achieved my Marie Kondo session and decluttered my dressing room. I had felt a bit cynical about the book's title "The life-changing magic of tidying" but in fact it is gradually feeling a bit life changing. Our bedroom is now very minimalist and I'm finding I'm sleeping better as a result. I sent ten bin bags of clothes to the hospice that cared so well for my mum and dad in the last weeks of their lives. [...]
With Easter having fallen so early this year it feels as though we should be in full throes of Spring outfits but it's just a bit too chilly. This is usually the time when I fall back on a jersey breton and a pea coat but for some reason I'm just not feeling much love for them this year. I was struggling for inspiration until I received a Jack Wills email. Jack Wills are well known for the the British preppy [...]
We've had bright sunshine all week in the Lake District. The daffodils are out, the lambs are gambolling and it feels as though a new season is finally rolling in. This always makes me feel as though I have nothing to wear. Suddenly the core wardrobe of camel and grey that I've loved all winter feels dark and dull so I'm very much in the mood for some new season shopping. Last Autumn I focused on specific retailers which you seemed [...]
One of the interesting things that my new site has shown me is which have been my most popular posts over the last 2 years. Top of the leaderboard is 'chic basics for women over 40'. Unfortunately because it is now so old, most of the products are no longer stocked so today I'm giving it an update. Here are my capsule pieces for a simple Spring wardrobe, the no brainer items that enable you to look perpetually well put [...]
Hurray - I'm free! Thank you so much for your very supportive words over the last week, I'll tell you all about it in more detail soon but I'm rushing now because I'm off to spend the weekend with some of my favourite bloggers including Annette from Lady of Style and Catherine from Not Dressed As Lamb. In the meantime, two things have kept me smiling during this life changing week - your fabulously considerate comments and the thought that I would celebrate [...]
I'm very late blogging this week (again) but I have news on my work life balance and a tough midlife career decision that I can finally share with you. One Sunday night a few weeks ago, I was sitting at the dinner table with my head in my hands dreading the madness of the week to come, feeling that I was living in a very small but very fast hamster wheel. Mr MC looked across at me and asked me what [...]
Reading your comments I realise you're way ahead of me on this one, Mari Kondo's 'Life Changing Magic of Tidying' arrived last week along with 'Spark Joy' but they're still sitting in their unopened packaging. I had intended to start reading them on the way back from London but I'm still ploughing through Gretchen Rubin's 'Better Than Before'. However, even though I know spark joy is a tool to use in a decluttering sense, the words have been floating around my [...]
A quick post from me because it's a school night and I'm helping the boys with their homework which requires more and more concentration these days. However, with one eye I'm perusing the Hush January 2016 sale which started this morning and I thought I'd tip you off with what I think are the best buys. This wrap shirt is my favourite and I've ordered it to replace the Mango one that I wore over Christmas because the cleavage on [...]
A quick and functional post from me as the Boden sale has just gone live. A lot of the reductions seem a bit mean after all the recent discounts so it might be worth playing chicken with some of these items if they're showing good stock levels to see if they go down further over the next couple of weeks. Anyway I had a good look through the site last night before it started so that I wasn't distracted by the discounts [...]
Two posts from me in two days - the sales are starting all around us so I thought I should quickly cover off my best chic buys 2015 (there are lots more but obviously I'm only going to feature things that are still available to buy). Sometimes you make mistakes when you shop and sometimes you strike wardrobe gold. This is a recap of the style staples that I've bought and worn consistently (as you will know if you're a regular reader). Most are already [...]
At last - I know some of you have been asking me to cover new brands for women with curves for a long time. The thing is that because my year has been so busy with my new job, I haven't been able to look beyond my own horizons for a while however I have two new brands to talk about today. Like most women, I've collected all kinds of different friends over the years. The fabulously fashionable ones are [...]
I'm late this week I know but I wanted to write this post carefully and yesterday I was being scalped by a new hairdresser who, when I commented that my hair was VERY short replied 'but it just feels so nice to cut!' Oh how I wish my regular hairdresser would come back from maternity leave. Anyway we're on a mission ladies. Some of you saw a comment from a new reader, Sushma, a few weeks ago and were kind [...]
Hello friends. It's been a very busy week - I feel as though I haven't stopped talking - presentations, long shared car journeys, meetings and dinners. It will all start again on Monday (yes I'm working on Monday again - the 3 day week isn't happening)! I need to retreat into some peace and quiet to recharge my batteries for a bit. So - not as many words as usual today - I know you'll understand. Instead I'm treating you [...]
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the supportive emails and comments after my last post about the end of days, every single one has lifted my spirits. Even Mr MC came out of hiding and posted his first comment - who knew he reads my blog - not me - until now! Because we moved to the North from London when my eldest was 7, my everyday friends here are the ones that I made via the younger [...]
It's a quick post from me today because we are on the final countdown to dropping the eldest off at university tomorrow. I'm not going to talk about how I'm feeling now because I suspect I will be offloading on you when it's all over. Suffice to say that the letting go is yet another bit of motherhood that no-one prepares you for and boy does it hurt. In the meantime, I've had a week off; I've been doing shoulder rehab [...]
Something a little different for you today. As Midlifechic grows I'm finding that I'm being approached by lots of brands who are keen to work with me. This is immensely flattering and in another life I'd try running a hugely commercial blog and accept all of their offers. However as things stand, I just don't have time to write about anything I don't genuinely think is great so 98% of the time I take a deep breath and gently turn the [...]
So, we've looked at Boden and Hush, so today I thought I'd share a Marks and Spencer order with you. I can only apologise for the photos - my photographer arrived home late from school after a week that has been filled with rugby trials and endless homework. He was tired and most definitely not in the mood to play David Bailey but he gamely did his best. So here is a rather dark try on of my M&S delivery [...]
I've given up - although the sun is shining in these photos, the Indian Summer doesn't seem to be showing any signs of arriving so I've been busy placing Autumn orders. My Hush parcel arrived today. I like Hush but it doesn't usually suit me. Even though I love their look, I think I'm too much of a neat freak for their clothes to work on me. However this season I received an email saying they'd been paying more attention [...]
I hope you've had a good week, it's going to be a post of two parts today. First of all a style fix for those who prefer this part of my blog and then we'll move on to the next instalment of the work life balance discussion that we've been having over the last few months. At last I'm starting to get my head around Autumn 2015 style for women over 40. There's no doubt that skinny jeans and tailored crops [...]
Hello, here I am as promised with the first of my new season posts. Going forward I'm planning to look at specific categories - jeans will be one of the first because shapes are changing. I'm going to spend a day on my own in Manchester tomorrow doing a serious recce of the shops, but this week I thought I'd do a review of Boden autumn 2015, showing you my try on of the things I ordered from the new collection. For [...]
You might want to make a cup of tea - I've got lots to talk about this week! First of all it's been very exciting to be approached by Boden. Lots of you have been commenting on their growing relationship with bloggers and how they seem to have been focusing on the younger 20-somethings who, realistically, have never been their core audience. There have been a few threads discussing it on Mumsnet with women noting that whereas most brands are making [...]
Happy Friday everyone, I hope you had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend and a good week. It's my favourite month, everyone around here starts to emerge from their Winter sleep and in celebration of the Spring, each village holds a special event. Sadly the dreadful Bank Holiday weather spoiled the first two that we'd planned to go to last weekend and we ended up spending Saturday hunkering down on the sofa with the boys having a popcorn and movie extravaganza. [...]
Well there's lots to tell you about this week and the eagle-eyed Instagrammers amongst you will know why: yesterday I was working with the BBC Breakfast show - not as Midlifechic but in a professional capacity. They've been travelling around the UK talking to businesses that have had an interesting journey out of the recession, so yesterday they came to Cumbria to talk to us and I thought you might like to know a bit about how it all goes behind the [...]
Another week over already, it’s been tough going to work and leaving everyone at home snoozing and I’ve missed the usual fun I’d be having with the boys but it's been an uneventful week and given the way things have been going recently, I'm utterly grateful for that. Thank you for all of your lovely comments and emails last week, the funeral isn't for another fortnight so I've been trying not to think about it. Before I go on to [...]
When I was shopping in Liverpool a fortnight ago my mission was to find the best black trousers on the high street. Many were tried, in fact so many that I could no longer see any difference between them. So, I bought a hat (as you do) and decided to order the best I'd seen and try them on in one session at home. In my old life I used to have a personal shopping session every season at Selfridges [...]
I had a surprise delivery last week. A little while ago Berghaus asked me if I would review one of their new season jackets and then I didn't hear from them for a little while so I forgot all about it. When a parcel in a black bin bag came through the letterbox I assumed that the boys and been buying from Ebay again until I saw it was addressed to me and inside was a bright Berghaus Paclite III [...]
So, whilst we wait for some of the new things I've ordered to arrive, I thought I'd take you on a trip to Liverpool. If you remember, Mr MC had booked us in to stay in the city overnight after his meeting last Friday although it very nearly didn't happen. Our youngest woke up that morning with tonsillitis and if it hadn't been for my lovely sister quickly rearranging her plans, we wouldn't have been able to go. I can't [...]
On Friday I signed off by saying that big changes were happening in my life. If you are a regular reader you will know that since having my second baby in 2001, I have been running a small creative agency with Mr MC. It's been fantastic and we've worked for some really big clients such as Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and New Look along with countless smaller companies in the UK and overseas. However over the past year I've [...]
So now that you've had time to recover from culottes, I've found another look that's filtering through to mainstream from the rarified heights of the fashion cognoscenti. Flares. The fashion forward have been wearing them for a couple of years now but this is the first season that I've really noticed them in all the high street retailers which means they're officially going to be a 'thing.' Skinnies have dominated for so long and of course, they will still be [...]
It's a happy day in our house today - it's our wedding anniversary. I have more reason to celebrate than most because my life now is my very own happy ending. As with all good fairytales though, I had to go through a struggle to reach it... ...Shall I tell you the story? Are You sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... Once upon a time there was a girl who left university with her whole life ahead of her. Even though [...]
It's a day for celebration: Midlifechic is 1 year old today, a great excuse to bake (and eat) cakes which, as you know, is one of my favourite pastimes. What a year it's been, I've loved every minute of blogging and watching the readership grow as I've undertaken my mission to travel from frump to fox. The journey isn't over but I'm certainly feeling more confident than I was a year ago. It's been lovely getting to know some of [...]
I think the lack of sleep and inability to do my hair properly is really starting to show in these pictures but I wanted to do an Inés de la Fressange at Uniqlo review before I sort out my returns. As you will know if you are a regular reader, Inés is my style icon so I get very excited when a new range comes out although I still think the Autumn ranges tend to be better than the Spring. However before we start, here [...]
Have you noticed that the days are starting to get longer - they are, they are. However it's all still a bit cold and gloomy and I'm tired of grey so I've been looking for ways to add a touch of Spring whilst still dressing for Winter. I've managed to find some cost-effective easy Spring wardrobe updates (ok and two not cost-effective but gorgeously luxurious splurges). The weather here has been so bad with wild storms, that we've battened down the [...]
As you know I've been reading lots of style books over the Christmas holiday they were definitely my most useful and absorbing presents. Actually they couldn't have come at a better time, because they reminded me that a truly chic wardrobe isn't filled to bursting with lots of different clothes, in fact it is pared down to a number of essentials that all work seamlessly with each other. So when the sales started I was far more eclectic than usual. [...]
I was going to do this post in a couple of weeks but given that the sales are on and some of these items are heavily reduced I thought I'd give you a break from tinsel and do it now. As you know this was the year that I decided to have a major wardrobe overhaul and many of you have travelled the journey with me since I started this blog. I gave myself a budget (which has now completely, utterly [...]
After weeks of discounts you need a clear head to navigate the Boden Winter sale this year. So here it is, my Boden Winter sale 2014 edit. I've tried to make sure that there is plenty of stock of everything that I have recommended and I've picked out the best bargains. They fall into one of two categories, either wardrobe workhorses that you'll wear again and again or wardrobe heroes that will lift ordinary outfits when you need them to. [...]
Hello dear friends I've missed you. I have been laid low. Having not had so much as a cold for years and years I can only assume that I picked up a brutal virus in London and can hear my grandmother muttering about keeping away from filthy cities. Anyway I'm back and will respond to all your comments and emails over the next few days. Now, the post that I did a couple of weeks ago about pleather leggings triggered such a big [...]
A quick post from me today - everything's a bit chaotic, I'm juggling this week's party at home, next week's big Selfridges reunion in London, Christmas shopping and work along with the usual cans of worms that the boys unearth on an almost daily basis. And I know I said I wouldn't be doing any more clothes shopping for myself and I haven't but...the bloggers' favourite faux leather leggings that I ordered from Next back in September finally arrived. So [...]
Lots of people have been in touch to say they found the piece on creating a chic casual wardrobe from scratch really useful but that they'd like to include a skirt or two. So, buoyed by your enthusiasm, I've created another set. I've tried to make sure that the new pieces work with the ones from last time so that if you're in the lucky position of buying them all, the combinations are endless! The sudden cold snap has seen [...]
It takes longer than it used to to recover from a late night of merriment and on Monday I was still feeling weary. However there was no getting round the fact that the Boden van was in its way and we had been told that we would be the first people to receive the new Boden Winter 2014 range. You will remember that we were holding our party in the village Church as all proceeds will be going towards the [...]
A task driven post from me today. I love getting emails from readers who have found Midlifechic at the beginning of their journey and are just starting to feel excited about the idea of a period of transformation. The first question they ask is where to start and, in addition to urging them to begin by eating and drinking healthily and finding a form of exercise they love (which is the bit no-one ever wants to hear), I always suggest that [...]
Actually I think they're pretty perfect for women of any age but I'm discovering that there are so many ladies out there adding 'women over 40' to their search phrases that this helps them find us. So, before I start, I just wanted to apologise for (and growl at) the gremlins that removed all my carefully worded replies to your comments on the last few posts. I can't understand what happened but I wasn't being lazy I promise - I do appreciate the [...]
Well that took us all by surprise didn't it - one day we were feeling complacent about the Indian summer and the next day the North wind blew in with Autumn. So as you can see from today's pictures, in the space of a few days I've gone from blazers and slingbacks to coats and boots. Suddenly in our house we're discussing what to do for Hallow'een and bonfire night and the subject of Christmas has been raised more than [...]
What a week it's been chez Midlifechic. As if the rugby injury with its ensuing disruption wasn't enough, the dark clouds of doom have remained over us. When I first started this blog, I never thought I'd be sharing my woes like this but here we are. There have been perpetual roadworks on the motorway in Cumbria and twice in the last year Mr MC has been flashed going at 48 in a 40mph zone accruing 3 points on his licence [...]
How typical. It started to rain (for the first time in weeks) just as the youngest exited the changing rooms for his first appearance on the rugby pitch...and it stopped just as the match finished and we got back to the car. Haven't we been spoilt this summer with the fabulous sunny days that seem to have lasted pretty much since the end of June? Anyway grey skies, rugby matches, this will be my life on Saturdays until about Easter, [...]
Hello, hope you're all well. I feel as though I've hit my 'wall' this week to borrow a runners' term. I think the initial new term energy burst has worn off in our house, especially as there seems to have been a school related meeting every night that I've had to go to which makes for long days. The eldest is mid-UCAS statement and application, still not having a clue what his 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th choices will be, [...]
I'm a latecomer to leopard print. For some reason, until I started blogging, it never occurred to me to wear it. As I've said many times, I'm not keen on any kind of pattern and I think I'd lumped leopard print in that category. However, back in March I dipped my toe into the water with a pair of leopard print shoes from M&S (figuratively speaking of course). They were only about £20 and a fabric print rather than ponyskin [...]
As you know I've been culling my clothes with the aim of establishing a chic core wardrobe and, in fact, have been shamed by the number of you who have said you do it every 6 months. I vow to try this so that it won't be so painful next time. Anyway, I figured it was time for a reward by doing a bit of online shopping to find some chic core Autumn basics. I know you like a 'new items' [...]
It's time to talk about Winter coats. Even though the sun is shining and we seem to be having a lovely Indian summer, it seems that if you haven't committed yourself by the end of September the best have gone. I think it's important to look at coats as investment purchases that will last a few years. Cheap fabric shows and coats with a high proportion of man made fibre tend to look stiff and feel scratchy. Let's face it, [...]
Ok so I'm accepting that it's now September and, even though it's still feeling like late summer, we need to look ahead. One of the great things about working at Selfridges was the pre-season briefing on colour palettes that guided all our work. If you've developed a wardrobe of chic basics, it's easy to add accents of seasonal colour to stay on trend. So today I thought it would be helpful to kick off Autumn dressing by going to the [...]
I know I promised you a piece on the New Season colour palette but up North, at least, the weather has been too nice to think about Autumn so although it's nearly ready, I refuse to publish it until September (which is, after all, next week). So it's a quick round up of my week in 'transitional chic' outfits I'm afraid. It's been a 'half woman half biscuit' week - I've been juggling the boys and work in a big messy muddle. [...]
Well I hope you're all having a lovely Bank Holiday weekend. Mine is rather quiet because Mr MC has gone over to Newcastle for a karate course (we're well and truly back to normal) taking the 2 smalls to see their grandma. The 17 year old is packing in his restaurant shifts before he goes on rugby camp next week so it's just me and the cats - thank goodness for them! I thought I'd cover off the rest of the [...]
The reason I didn't blog on holiday. I don't know about you but I spend ages imagining the first day of our holiday throughout the winter months, planning it really carefully to make sure it's perfect. This year it wasn't. As you know our plane was delayed and so instead of a good night's sleep in a nice hotel, we had to force ourselves up after just 3 hours. I had barely nodded off because Mr MC, high worshipper of [...]
At last it's holiday time in the midlifechic house. As usual my list of things to do is so long that I keep sitting down with a cup of tea and wishing we weren't going but I don't really mean it. Of course it hasn't helped that the younger boys have been floored with a stomach bug which means I'm running on very little sleep. I think it's been a karmic response to last week's wanting to feel needed again. [...]
So we're here, the last few days of our primary school years. There are so many leaving events that this is going to be a quick post but fear not, I'll be back with all the detail at the end of the week. Because he goes to a grammar school and they often have to go in on Saturdays, the eldest broke up ridiculously early 2 weeks ago. He has now established a firm routine of sleeping until midday when he [...]
I know there's a heatwave in the South and if you're one of those people that is complaining about the heat I'm sticking my fingers in my ears because for the last few days it's been raining here - and it's cold - I'm wearing socks for goodness sake! As you know I've been feeling a bit shaky about the little one leaving primary school, the big one heading off to university interviews and all the change that is looming. [...]
Well I think the mini heatwave has taken everyone by surprise over the last few days - we certainly aren't used to it in the North! The weather forecasters must too scared to tell us when it's coming in case it doesn't and they're then lambasted by the Daily Mail. Anyway when it comes from nowhere it certainly gives you a problem with sunny weather outfits. I was doing a bit of people-watching in town the other day whilst the [...]
Chic boyfriend jeans for women over 40 Ok so here it is - the chic boyfriend jeans post. As you'll know if you've been following the blog for a while, I love boyfriend jeans but have taken a stand against 'distressed'. I'm not saying that I don't think women over 40 shouldn't wear them, or indeed that they don't look fab in them - it's just that, as its name suggests, the whole purpose of midlifechic is to encapsulate 'chic' [...]
Quick update today on what I've been doing. I can't believe it but my smallest boy is going to the local grammar school in September. Of course we're really proud of him for doing so well but I just can't believe that he's big enough! (He'll kill me if he reads this). Anyway, yesterday was his transition day. I quite liked the way the school organised it - he and the other members of his new form met up for [...]
I've had a few emails recently from people telling me that I don't show my necklaces well enough in my photos as they just can't see it and I also often focus on the clothes and forget to credit it. Apologies for that, I probably need to go through the pain of having more pictures taken of each outfit so that you can see it better. Anyway I thought I'd do a round up on the pieces that I wear [...]
So, last weekend was a big one for us. As I think I've mentioned, Mr MC has been training 5 days a week for a year (yes really) for a particular karate black belt grading on Sunday. So on Saturday to take his mind off it, we headed up to a family festival in the West Lakes. Glastonbury it isn't, but it does have some great music, food, a mini Chelsea-type festival and lots of other stuff going on. I [...]
Well I'm going to fail a bit in my attempt to bring you caravan chic because in all honesty it wasn't very chic. As we drove North on Friday we watched the temperature dropping by 1°C for just about every 10 miles that we travelled and when we finally got to the site it was spookily shrouded in a thick mist. It was late, it was cold, we were all tired and as anticipated there was no wi-fi. I have [...]
I can imagine that in the South, Boden parties are ten a penny, a bit like Pampered Chef, but up here there only seems to be one a year - but boy is it a good one to go to. Last year my friend and I were unsuspecting, just putting the postcode into the satnav to see where it would take us and were quite alarmed when it took us down a mile-long sweeping drive bordered by trees until we [...]
Well the weekend is here at last and it looks like it's shaping up to be rather a good one for me with a few little pre-birthday celebrations on the agenda. The actual day isn't until Monday and as there's nothing I can do about being another year older I intend to enjoy myself! Last night we met up with my brother, sister and their spouses in a burrito bar. Actually I think my brother had completely forgotten it's my [...]
It's exam week in our house so things are very quiet and serious. It somehow doesn't seem fair to be tripping about the house trying different outfits so I'm going to do a different type of post. As you know, up until now I've been focusing on reinventing my casual chic wardrobe and I feel it's finally starting to get somewhere. For a change last week I pulled out some of my older workwear to give it a whirl and [...]
Whose idea was it to ban jeans for my working week - I'm glad it had a bank holiday in it. It showed me how lazy I've become recently relying on jeans for workwear chic as well as weekends. It's just so much easier now that I've sorted a casual midlife chic wardrobe, especially when you can dress it up with heels. It's also much simpler to wear jeans when the weather's grim, as I think it has been everywhere [...]
Midlife chic Friday When I left you, I was off to Manchester for another 100 mile midlife chic haircut. It wasn't quite as drastic this time (and the roots still need doing - I have to leave something for my faithful local hairdresser). I had a lovely day mooching around the shops although there wasn't really anything that I hadn't seen the week before in London. I did have an interesting time trying lots of things on though, learning more [...]
Well it's been back down to earth this week at midlife chic after my exciting time in London - no more Waldorf or Gant or first class travel, just work, washing, cooking and mopping the brows of the AS Level / SATS revisers in the house. Sunday was another big day in the village - we like our celebrations up here. This time it was the St George's Parade with brass band and marching cubs, scouts, brownies etc right through [...]
Happy Monday everybody. I'm comfortably back in the North after my hectic time last week. So, picking up where we left off, I arrived in London with just enough time to get to the hotel and change. I knew it was pretty close to Covent Garden tube but when I got above ground Google maps wouldn't work on my phone so there was nothing else for it but to take a cab...or...a rickshaw - made me smile! So which outfit [...]
Hello All, First of all can I say thank you for all the comments / tweets / emails I've received over the last couple of days, it's been amazing and I'm really grateful. I will get back to you just as soon as the next 2 days are over. I'm writing from a lovely 1st class Virgin Pendolino on my way down to London. I have a contract with a few universities in the North to deliver lectures to businesses [...]
Well here we are, back in the land of broadband - my mother-in-law doesn't see the point in the internet, not even dial-up, so we all literally switch off when we go to Newcastle. So, starting from where I left you last Wednesday night, you'll remember that we had to delay our trip because Mr MC still hadn't hit the deadline for the ad campaign he was working on. This meant that Thursday saw us at the cinema again trying [...]
Well my last post seemed to go down well so here's part two of what I've been wearing during the Easter holidays. Just as well because my chances of going anywhere near any clothes shops during these two weeks are zero. Spring has finally arrived in the Lakes over the last few days and of course, with the daffodils out, we're all feeling very lucky and 'Wordsworthian.' Mr MC has been working like a dervish to hit lots of deadlines [...]
No I haven't been dressing up as the Easter bunny but as you know, I have been without a phone for a few days after I inadvertently dropped it down the loo at the cinema. Amazingly, after being left to dry for a few days, it came back to life - pretty amazing! So here's a round up of the last few days and what I've been wearing. Tuesday: the sun appeared briefly and friends came for lunch so I [...]
Today's post was going to be about this weekend's Boden delivery but infuriatingly I dropped my iPhone down the loo at the cinema this morning during a trip out with the boys and it had all the photos on it. Having recovered from the grim experience of having to put my hand down a toilet that looked as though it hadn't been cleaned for weeks, I'm now watching it dry in a bag of silica gel and just keeping my [...]
After the dominance of the skinny silhouette, there's a new trouser shape to try. I know it's been around at the Net A Porter level for a while, but when you start seeing it being merchandised on A-sites at places like Top Shop and Zara, you know it's time to try it out. The trouser intro at ASOS reads "this season's trousers are loosening up. Baggy is better as trouser legs get wider and slouchier." Variously called the peg, the [...]
Ok, so following on from yesterday's post about core chic, let's identify the chic basics you need as workhorses to form your casual weekend wardrobe. This little group should take you through Spring and early Autumn. Bear in mind we're looking at absolute essentials here - the fashionable pieces will be added in a later post. Here are some Pinterest pics to show you what we're aiming for - it's basically a European version of preppy. For more inspiration see [...]
I've been quiet on my blog this week because I've been spending a lot of time analysing 'chic' and, in particular, midlife chic. It is after all what I set out to do. My plan is to create the ultimate timeless wardrobe of essentials that can then have the odd fashion accent applied to them. I've been studying the women who really inspire me to try to find what it is about their style that encapsulates midlife chic - I've [...]
Last week I went down to London for a meeting with a new business that I'm getting involved with - more about that another day. Everything was very nice, great people with lovely offices in Kensington, the only drawback was that as we're a new team, we all had to have our photo taken for the bio page on the website. To start with, I wasn't confident that I'd chosen the right thing to wear. My comfort ground for this [...]
Lovely shoes – so forgiving – however big you’re feeling your feet can always look beautiful. Shoes. And coats. I have too many of both. I have piles of shoeboxes at the back of my dressing room and I know it’s one of many areas where I need to have an amnesty...but some of them I’ve hardly worn and they’re really lovely and I keep thinking the day will come when some great event will mean that I need them. [...]
I'm showing my age but I remember back in the nineties everyone having an obsession with 'Colour Me Beautiful.' They used to run sessions where they held scarves up against your face to find which suited your skin colouring best. I remember being told what colours suit me - peach and lime green which I wasn't too keen on, but they also introduced me to grey and that has remained a lifelong love affair. They do still appear when you [...]
The 2014 metallic trend is an absolute gift to women over 40, with a simple accessory from the high street you can raise any outfit from humdrum to chic. I've always loved metallics, I remember having a bright pink metallic bomber jacket in about 1982. Now they're back in a big way - the only thing about them is that they do shout "look at me" which was fine then when I was 15 but now I'd prefer to suggest [...]
Courtesy of Pinterest In the same way that many women are addicted to shoes, I’m addicted to coats. I don’t know whether it’s because it’s always so cold where we live or because I just want to cover up! The thing about a coat is that in the UK and especially in the North, you need one (or at least a jacket) for about 75% of the year. The other benefit is it doesn’t really matter what you’re [...]
