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 you and I’m so grateful to everyone who takes the time to comment. Knowing that I’m not just sitting here talking to myself is very reassuring and the thought of the friendships that we’re building warms my heart every day. I’m hoping to have the chance to meet up with some of you who are making intrepid plans to travel to this wuthering but beautiful part of the world this year.
Although you all see the thoughtful comments that are made after each post, you don’t read the many amazing emails that I receive each week. There are so many of us in similar circumstances. We are the daughters of the 70s and 80s who were brought up to believe we could and should have and do it all. Like good girls we worked hard at school/college/university and in our careers…and then we had children. This was the one thing that the inspiring feminist women who influenced us hadn’t prepared us for. So now we’re emerging from the vortex and wondering who that woman staring back at us from the mirror really is and, more importantly, who she is going to be. We’re preparing to go on stage for the second act of our life and that is why it is so important for us to feel that we look the part we want to play. So I just want to say thank you to you for sharing my story and to those of you who are joining in and sharing yours back.
Back to clothes – well the culottes certainly got your attention! I need to do a tally of how many people loved them and how many hated them but you certainly all had an opinion. Whatever you say, I still like them and will wear them with glee from time to time! However today the leather vibe moves on. Firstly on Friday I was thrilled to be featured with some great bloggers in Good Housekeeping’s piece on ‘how to wear leather trousers over the age of 35‘ (what a shame they weren’t doing culottes!!). Then, on Saturday morning, I popped into town as planned and tried the Dorothy Perkins jacket that I mentioned on Friday. Just for kicks I thought I’d compare the collarless one that I thought I liked with the biker and surprised myself by much preferring the biker. This was much to the distress of the 11 year old who was with me and kept running around pulling out old lady coats that he felt would be much more suitable.
Regardless, given that it was a sale bargain (£35) and I was going out to a comedy gig, I bought it. If I wear it as much as I think I might I’ll invest in a real leather one next year. I then had a quick dash home to deposit the younger boys and collect Mr MC and the eldest because, as I mentioned on Friday, we were off to see the comedian Jon Richardson (you know the one – 8 out of 10 cats…). He is a local chap and went to the same school as the boys so he was putting on a fundraiser around the coast in sunny Morecambe. We got to the glorious art deco Midland Hotel in time for a quick glass of champagne to get us in the mood (breaking dry January a day early). Here’s the jacket.
I’m looking a bit windswept because we’d had a brisk walk up the prom:
- Dorothy Perkins faux leather biker jacket;
- Boden snood
- Mango metallic jumper A/W 13
- M&S coated jeans
- Autograph ankle boots A/W 2014
Here’s The Midland in all its glory from the outside.
The show was at The Winter Gardens which was once a beautiful theatre as you can see but is now in a poor state with a lot of the roof missing. It is very rare for a performance to be allowed to be held there and it was absolutely bone chilling inside – even the Geordie-blooded, t shirt in all weathers Mr MC admitted it was cold. However Jon was great, very spontaneous, very funny.
(image from lifesaukfrolic.com)
The next day we had a breezy walk along the beach – you can see the snow on the Lakeland hills in the distance behind me. People moan about Morecambe but I think it’s beautiful even though it has seen better days. Maybe it’s a bit like us midlife ladies!
- Dorothy Perkins biker jacket
- Boden Audrey jumper (past season)
- Zara breton A/W 14
- Zara cigarette pants (past season)
- Uniqlo heatech thermals (thank goodness for those)
- Moda in Pelle patent and ponyskin loafers – in the sale
- Clarks Bag A/W14
In response to a few requests, my next post will include the key chic lessons I’ve learned – it’s taking a lot of thought! I just want to finish this birthday post with special thanks to Nicky B who has been my most loyal commenter, cheering me on in every post since last Spring, Sharon who often emails along with the regular gang of commenters who always make me smile – you know who you are. I was chatting away at the dinner table about something one of you had commented last week when Mr MC said “I wonder if these women realise they are almost part of our family now” – you see he and the boys all know you by name too. But I want every reader to know how important you are.
(Midlifechic birthday cakes which I had intended to be beautiful but they were enthusiastically decorated by the boys who could not be persuaded away from the buttercream)
If I could have a blog birthday wish it would be to invite you all round for coffee and cake for what would probably be the probably the most fascinating conversation I’ve ever had. Thank you for a wonderful year, let’s hope the next 12 months will see lots of sartorial adventures for us all…and don’t forget to stay in touch.
