Bayswater Variety

"Just one of any style" I said. "No point in having multiple colours in the same design" I continued.

4 Bayswaters later...

Why? How?And which one is my favourite? Want to find out?

...and which one is your favourite?

Three Times a (Mulberry) Lily

I'm coming back to the 'little black dress' analogy: every wardrobe should have one. But obviously I'm talking bags (it is Thursday). In this case, a small handbag with a long (chain) strap. Blame the Chanel Flap for imposing this on my wardrobe but it's kind of a given, right? Only that I will not be spending Chanel kinda money. But Mulberry offers a comparably affordable option in the Lily: small enough to look dressy but big enough to hold your essentials and a long chain strap. Sorted. But there are so many different finishes - which one to go for? Have a look at my three Lilys:

Lily in Plaster Pink Wrinkle Patent with Rose Gold Hardware

Lily in Oak NVT

Lily in Printed Oak NVT

Take a closer look!

Which one's your favourite?

Mainly Monochromes

I didn't manage to to do my outfit roundup (or bag post) last week due to various work things, namely working late and a Christmas work do - the latter being the more enjoyable one of the two. Anyway, so here is the week before last, which was all about monochrome and a couple of pics from last week.

So let's start with the monochromes:

The challenge for this week? Monochrome! Maybe that explains the grumpy face - I'm starting to miss my colourful patterns! (Don't judge me if i break at some point during the week!)

Dress: Zara

Necklace: Stella & Dot

Boots: something Italian that I bought in Germany...

What is she doing?! I dunno, but I'm gonna stand just like her! Monochrome look number 2, with and without jacket. And I snuck a pattern mix in!

Blouse: Miss Selfridge

Skirt: Reiss

Jacket: Warehouse

Boots: Zara

Awkward pose alert! Monochrome week continues with separates - and another print. :)

Top, skirt & boots: Zara

Jacket: Warehouse

And now on to last week's "randoms"...

 The skirt is the fashionably raggedy star in this. A reference to a Dickensian street scene was made, and I then thought of the bit in Pygmalion, where she sells flowers. "Wouldn't it be loverley..."

Top & skirt: Zara

Jacket: Warehouse

Boots: Office

No outfit challenge planned but we're continuing the Victoriana theme (though one of my colleagues referenced Adam Ant yesterday). The locket is actually genuinely Victorian. It was a present from Mr G and holds a picture of little M. :) 

Blouse and jacket: Warehouse 

Skirt: Topshop 

Boots: no idea... 

Locket: proper old

Something Old, Something New

You might have seen one of my Mulberry Roxanne reviews. And maybe also my Roxette unboxing  - though I just realised, I haven't done a proper review yet, so need to do that asap! Anyway, back to the here and now: the Roxette is often described as the modern take on the Roxanne, so I thought I'd do a quick comparison video.

I need to state here that I am comparing the Small Roxette with the Roxanne, so you could argue that I should compare the Roxanne with the Regular Roxette but I don't have one of those and the Rosemary is a fair bit smaller that the Small Roxette.

Fancy having a look? Measurements for your info at the bottom!

Which one is your favourite?

Roxanne measures ca width 34 cm, depth 18 cm, height 19 cm. Handledrop is ca 22cm.

Roxette measures ca width 30 cm, depth 14 cm, height 21 cm. Handledrop is ca 10cm - but you do get a long adjustable strap.

No Prints Allowed

Apologies for the rather dark pics I improved on my video quality but I'm still on my iPhone 6, which isn't great in low light. It is winter, after all.

Anyway, this week's challenge was to still abstain from print separates, so no trusty Boden pencil skirts or Zara tops. Instead it's all about block colours - ok, including black, so uni coloured separates.

New week, new challenge. Last week was all about the print dress, so I thought I'd try a week without (!) any prints at all. Yikes! 

Top: Primark 

Skirt and boots: Zara

I'm continuing my "separates without print" challenge by adding texture again: crushed velvet in the skirt and a shiny mock-croc belt. Probably slightly over-coordinated for me with matching(ish) bag, shoes and belt! (The belt is probably over a decade old and from Jesire.)

Top: Karen Millen

Skirt: Zara

Jacket: Warehouse

Belt: Jesire

Boots: Office

Bag: VVA

Separates without print - the challenge continues! Textures help massively though and pairing pleather with this woven fabric gives a bit of interest. :)

Top: Mango

Skirt: Warehouse

Boots: Zara

Necklace: Accessorize

Another day of "no print separates". The fact that I was running late meant no time to find a necklace. I actually liked this outfit but it does look awfully plain and dark here...

Jumper and boots: Zara

Skirt: Mango

Yesterday's casual Friday outfit. Still no print separates but I added some texture again, this time with this Zara jacket.

Top: Warehouse

Jeans: Paige

Jacket: Zara

Boots: Hallhuber

22 Mulberry Bags

I listen to you guys. I really do. And when a couple of you said that the quality of my videos wasn't great (I never watch them back, so didn't realise how bad it was), I remembered that little camera I bought about a year ago.

So whilst I still have all my 22 Mulberry bags, I thought I'd re-shoot the collection. 

Not sure if I'm telling you the same stuff or new things but here we go: all my Mulberry bags in one video!

4 Print Dresses

As I've been relying so heavily on the 'printed skirt and a top combo', I decided to set a few challenges and theme my weeks. 

Last week was 'printed dress week'. 

The first two I reached for are firm favourites but I hadn't worn dress number one for quite a while.

Dress number three has never been worn, though I've had it in my wardrobe for a couple of months.

And dress four was *that* close to being chucked/donated but has now clawed its way back into my list of go-tos!

Oh, and I just noticed: all items from Boden, Zara and Topshop. Time to branch out?

Not worn this dress in aaages! Alas, I had forgotten it was the "team away day", which included bowling. Thanks to its stretchiness the dress played ball - though I was utterly useless. I might have even ended up with the lowest score in the team. Will be tallying up later! 

Dress: Boden 

Boots: Zara

PS: I had the second lowest score. Saved by somebody with a distinctly Disney-themed name.

Old dress, new boots! 

Dress: Boden 

Boots: Zara

New pinstripes! This dress has some seriously flattering rouching going on that magically gives me the hint of a waist! 

Dress & boots: Zara

Last of my week of printed dresses - this was actually intentionally to get me think about what I have in my wardrobe! I was almost going to chuck this one, as it's a bit snuck and wrinkles easily but had 4 people compliment on it. Can't be that bad. :) 

Dress: Topshop 

Necklace & boots:Zara

Next week's post: No prints - at all! Eeek!

My Mulberry Collection November 2017

Ok, so I was rabbiting on about how I haven't been around much recently - at least on my blog. So here is a look right inside my wardrobe, at least into the section that holds my handbags. 

Well, those are just a few of them - want to see all of them? Here you go!

Something Autumn

I know, I know, I'm slacking... I'm not up to date with my outfit roundups and I haven't done a bag review in ages. The truth is that I simply haven't had the capacity or energy to do anything and I've kind of fallen off the wagon. I would like to promise improvement but the truth is that once I slow down, visitor numbers fall and then I wonder whether anybody at all will still reads what I write. 

Anyway - below my feeble attempt at documenting a week of autumn outfits - though it was so cold in places, it could easily have passed as winter!

An old favourite, really, for when I fancy separates and don't know what to wear. 

Having a denim shirt in the wardrobe makes it easy but this is truly a go to combo for me. 

Shirt: Laredoute 

Skirt & necklace: Zara 

Belt: Reiss 

Boots: Office

A couple of days behind, as I was driving yesterday due to a train strike. I really like this "shirt over turtle neck" combo and I love the pearl detail at the sleeves, though I'm thinking I want another darker turtleneck and a looser fit on the shirt...

Turtleneck, necklace & boots: Zara

Shirt: Topshop

Skirt: Boden

When most of your pics are blurred because somebody is running rings around you (and you only realise after you changed out of your work clothes). These are the only 2 where you can remotely see my outfit! With and without jacket, this skirt is a recent addition from Mango.

Top: Karen Millen

Skirt: Mango

Jacket: Warehouse

Boots: Zara

Necklace: missing

And here the whole outfit! Rather poor shots of a lovely, autumnal pairing. 

I have to credit IG @kennedyflair for discovering the jumper and even the idea of wearing it with a belt!

Jumper: Tesco

Skirt: Zara

Belt: Mulberry

Boots: Office

Stripes and florals - haven't had that for a while. Actually not that sure about the print of this blouse, think it's a bit dark?

Blouse & boots: Zara

Skirt: Reiss

Old Skirt, New Outfit

Part 2 of my catchup. And another item that has been hanging in my wardrobe, pretty much unloved and close to being popped into the charity bag: this black pleather skirt has received a new lease of life by being teamed with this monochrome top and (another 'old' find) necklace duo.

Old stuff - new combo. I almost got rid of the skirt and the necklaces must be about 18 years old! Just goes to show that I shouldn't get rid of anything. Maybe I'll KonMari in my next life. *sigh* 

Top & skirt: Zara 

Necklaces: (I think) Accessorize

Boots: Office

Beetlejuice pants! I think so far I had only worn them with sweatshirts, so this feels reasonably 'dressed up'.

Shirt: La Redoute

Jeans & necklace: Zara

Jacket: Warehouse

Trainers: Converse

Bit of a leftover from a few days ago but I didn't feel very well the last couple of days and pretty much just hid under my duvet...

Dress: Boden

Cardigan: H&M

Boots: Hallhuber

Necklace: Stella & Dot

Still felt under the weather yesterday - can you tell? I felt like a right numpty with my jeans that are a tad too short. At least you can't see my pink socks in the pic. Just to show that I have off days too!

Jumper: Topshop

Jeans: Next

Trainers: Boden

Old Jacket, New Favourite

Outfit roundup a on Tuesday?! Due to a couple of busy weeks and then having been on holiday, I'm totally behind. My week in Germany involved a lot of lounging around and little sartorial action, so below the outfits from a couple of weeks ago. If I can find the time tomorrow, I'll get us up to date.

A couple of future faves: My old, yet newly discovered tweed jacket is finally being worn - and I really love it. (Do you do that? Discover items in your wardrobe that you almost discarded and fall in love with them?) Oh, and something actually new: that cosy Tesco jumper is going to get some repeat wears this winter!

I thought this outfit might be a pattern too far but I think it actually worked - and I really enjoyed wearing it! The jacket must be about 15 years old and almost every year I've held it up and thought "need to get rid of this, I never wear it" - and then hung it straight back into my wardrobe. It's a tricky one, as it's quite warm but not warm enough for proper outer wear (plus, it has elbow length sleeves and is cropped). But I thought I'd start wearing it kind of like a cardigan or blazer and voilà, it's now officially a keeper! 
Blouse & boots: Zara 
Skirt: Boden 
Jacket: River Island

I normally don't do outerwear shots. 
1. I do my ootd pic when I get home in the evening, after I dropped bag and coat downstairs and before I get changed into something that doesn't mind if I crawl around the floor building lego. 
2. I usually wear the same coat all season: a warm one in winter, a thinner one when it's warmer. Both hooded and waterproof, as I commute by train and walk bits in between. I also can't be bothered carrying an umbrella. (God knows why I have a wardrobe full of coats...) This was a day though when it was cold with no chance of rain so I dug out my classic grey coat - and I thought I'd share this. :) 
Jumper: Tesco 
Jeans: Next 
Trainers & coat: Zara 
Scarf: C&A

This is what happens when I take my 'outfit of the day' photo after coming home (no way would I have time to do this in the morning!). Little M will insist in being in a couple of pics and then we have to pose so that he "wears" my clothes. I have reams of those pics. 
Rubbish quality - but I can't quite get myself to delete them. 
Jumper: Zara 
Skirt: Mango 
Trainers: Kurt Geiger

At the weekend you'll usually find me in jeans, mainly because I will either be cleaning/tidying/pottering or climbing around hills/playgrounds/rocks. On Saturday I dragged Mr G and little M to Cheshire Oaks and (also due to the wet weather: nothing worse than jeans soaking up rain water) ended up in a dress. :) 

By the way: check out here what Mulberry had in stock! 

Dress & cardigan: Boden 

Boots: Hallhuber 

Necklace: Topshop

Late Arrival

Some bag shapes are undeniable classics. The one I'm currently thinking about is the hand held barrel style handbag. Add a long strap and you have unbeatable versatility. Think Louis Vuitton Speedy or Mulberry Small Del Rey. Or, indeed, something a bit more vintage, like this Mulberry Euston. A great size, timeless style and practical format.

But would the Euston work for you? Check out what I fit in!

Paint It Blue

I'm a sucker for the Mulberry postman's lock. Especially in brass. And Mulberry oak. Oh, give me an Oak Bayswater and I'm happy. 

This Mulberry Jagger Pouch is about as far as you could get from any of the above: blue polished buffalo leather, silver coloured hardware, no typical distinctive Mulberry features. And yet, I rather like it!

So it's a cute little pouchy bag - but what can I fit in?!

Vintage Bucket

I have a bit of a soft spot for vintage Mulberry, especially their Congo leather. Nothing ages as nicely as this - it turns beautifully glossy and multitonal over years of use. I've had a few small satchels in this finish before but never before one of these bucket bags.

Want to see more? Have a look what I can fit in!

Confidence Booster Outfit

Do you have any go-to outfits for when you need to feel confident? My favourite outfit last the week was definitely my black stripy dress with that Zara jacket. The whole combo felt so easy to wear, fuss free and cool and looks like I hadn't tried to hard. Perfect for when you have to present!

In other news: It was only a matter of time until I would wear the same print twice in a week. I hadn't even realised until I posted my second pic on Instagram! Sigh.

"Mama, stand in a silly way!" Ok... I know I wore this recently but I had to speak in front of about 100 people yesterday and even though it was just for about 5 minutes, I was pretty nervous about it. I'm neither a practiced nor confident speaker, so my outfit had to be comfy, look cool but not like I tried too hard and have nothing too silly on it that could be remembered for the wrong reasons... 

Dress: Next 

Jacket: Zara 

Boots: Office

Necklace: Accessorize

"Mama, I want to be in the picture!" (Can I just say: this is is his "I just get in my sweats after taking off my school uniform" outfit. He doesn't dress like that for the whole day!) 

Mama's Shirt: Laredoute

Skirt: Boden 

Trainers: Converse 

Little M's outfit: Mango, Next, Matalan 

How to achieve such a spectacularly underwhelming picture: 

1. Drop food at taste session on floor in the massive atrium in front of EVERYONE in the building. 

2. Realise 2 hours later that half of the tomato sauce ended up on your dress and now doesn't budge. 

3. Think that for your ootd pic you can disguise the stain by showing off the bag you just switched into. 

4. Be ridiculously ungraceful posing with said bag and make dress appear to be only half of an outfit. (I can hear Julie say: "did you forget your pants?") 

5. Think "it's either that or nothing because I really can't be arsed trying for half an hour until I get a decent shot. 

 That (amongst other reasons) is why I'm not a professional blogger. 

Dress: Boden 

Trainers: Converse 

Bag: Mulberry

Do you have any items in your wardrobe that have the same print as others?

Autumn Mulberry at Cheshire Oaks

On this rainy Saturday I dragged Mr G and little M to Cheshire Oaks and whilst my two had fun on the playground, I had fun at Mulberry!

After hearing about the recent bargain Kites (£250 in the outlets!), I was, of course, disappointed that they had their prices lifted back up. When I asked the SA what that had been all about, she kind of rolled her eyes and shrugged. It did seem like a bit of a weird pricing exercise...

Anyway - lots of autumnal and darker colours, not a huge amount that I would have been tempted by but a few lovely items!

Tempted: Small Maple in oxblood
Lovely: SBS in slate blue
Bargain: Mini Cara in Oxblood £595 

Some prices at the bottom of of this post. Enjoy the window shopping!

Alexa 
Regular Pink Polished Buffalo £880

Bayswater
Grey £795
others from £695 

Camden 
Plain £556
Studded £595

Camera Bags £325

Cara
Mini NVT (oxblood & black) £595
Regular Quilted (black, red, blue) £595

Clifton
Large from £507

Daria
Hobo £555

Effie
Tote (oak, black) £395
Satchel (black) £

Jagger Pouch
Green £199

Kite
Small £485
Large £450

Lily
Mini - didn't check many but Oak NVT was £295, I think
Regular - dto Oxblood £595
Medium - dto Taupe £695

Maple
Small (blue, black, oxblood, dune, oak) £472
Regular (burgundy, deep embossed black, green) £696

Selwood
Small from £450
Regular from £570

Small Bayswater Satchel
Neon Blue & Steel Blue £680

Small Leather Goods & Other
Long locked purse (blue, red) £205
Small Zipped Blossom Purse £112
Small Zipped Tree Purse £155
French Purse - Oak NVT £220, Patent Navy (special purchase) £190
Bracelets £50
Leather Keyrings (tassels etc) £49
Metal Keyring (just one oval signature in silver) £53

Scarves
Rectangular signature £130
Cotton tree print £115
Mulberry script £130