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 isn’t always the case. So often I go to see brands and feel that they view us as a demographic that they have to acknowledge because they believe we hold the nation’s wealth. The difference with the Hush team is that it is led by women of our age who are working to create a distinctive but wearable look for us as their peers.
Quite a few of you often comment that you see Hush as casual only so I thought I’d show you how I made the new collection work over three days of my life. Actually I’ve decided that this real life approach is the direction I am going to take with most of my posts this season. With my day job and everything else that is going on, I struggle to find the time to go out and do magazine style shoots. So I’m afraid you’ll have to come along with me as I’m out and about, doing whatever I’m doing.
I put these outfits together from the Hush look book on a sunny Summer afternoon when Autumn still felt like an abstract concept. When the packages finally arrived, it felt as though ten Christmases had come at once. Then I had one of those strange midlife crises of confidence. I spent a week not even trying the clothes on, berating myself for veering too far away from my simple style and wondering how I was going to broach it with the team at Hush.
After a while though, the minimalist Mr MC started to express frustration at the boxes in the bedroom so I unpacked them. And when I tried the clothes on, I honestly loved everything. I had one of those moments, you know the ones – when you think “I feel 10 years younger in these clothes.” So, here’s my edit of Hush Autumn 17.
Friday – a morning in the office and an afternoon meeting
I wore this outfit for a day in the office that ended with a meeting where we could take photos beforehand. I’ve always managed to get away with these little photoshoots quite anonymously but then a local property developer came up to me at a party recently and said he’d had a real chuckle over a cup of coffee watching us do one – which made me wince slightly!
As you know, we have a small creative agency and it’s a youthful business so I try to keep my work outfits updated. Half of our clients are based in the legal or financial sector and so are quite conservative. The others are in retail and education – and this is where I often need to up the ante. I really like the contrast in this outfit between the silk camisole and Parisian cropped jacket versus…
Cropped jacket; Silk camisole; Side stripe joggers
… the chutzpah of the trousers.
I should add that the trousers made Mr MC’s day, giving him the opportunity for a stream of repartee based on the theme of “Ali G is in da office…” All. Day. Long.
As we were taking the pictures though he confessed that he did, in fact, really like the outfit – and not just for the banter value!
If you feel that these joggers would be too casual in styling for you, there is a great alternative below. Whichever pair you choose, they’re a great addition to your wardrobe because they’re an easy way to wear the new looser silhouette. They have a lot more personality than a classic black trouser and they work with flats, heels and ankle boots. Just think how simple it will be to dress them up for evenings out (I’m hesitating to mention Christmas but you know what I mean)!
A typical Saturday
Actually I say a typical Saturday but it’s all change for us this year. After spending winter Saturdays standing on rugby pitch sidelines since I was 16 (I started young – it was the only way we got to see our boyfriends when I was at school), this year I have no rugby. The eldest is away in London as you know so has no team to play for, the middle son has no intention of taking it into Sixth Form and the youngest has decided to focus on his karate. The A&E department can (hopefully) stand down from Garnett duty.
So, we’re reinventing our weekends – but Gary always needs a walk and so we invariably end up down on the shore at some point. I have a new love in my life this year – the colour yellow. I have never worn it before, you see when I was about four, my grandma bought me a flouncy yellow dress. I loved it instantly but my mum hated it and so I was never allowed to wear it.
However, my mum went into hospital for a routine operation and so my grandma came to help look after me. When it was time to visit my mum, she encouraged me to wear my pretty dress. I remember twirling through the ward only to see my mum’s stony face. Goodness knows what was going on between the two of them but I was caught in furious crossfire and since then I have avoided yellow.
Until now that is. I miss my parents terribly but, as some of you will know, there are small liberations when your parents die – and for me this is one of them. Hush describe this colour as custard and I think they’re bang on.
[Short intermission – we haven’t had any wildlife on Midlifechic for a while and this little chap was determined to have his moment, butting against the fence until I went over to him.]
If we’re lucky, the boys come down to the shore with us for a spot of boghopping which is what I was watching here (for an introduction to the northern sport of boghopping see this very early Midlifechic blogpost)!
I clearly wasn’t wearing the right shoes for boghopping. These backless mules are from Hush too and are also available in black however I’ve worn my yellow sandals so much this summer that I knew I’d wear these a lot. Yellow shoes lift so many plain outfits – they work with black, navy, grey, white and so on.
Now let me talk about the jeans. They’re not available yet but they’re due in next month and I am declaring them to be the best jeans of the season. I have always liked Hush skinnies but never got on with the rest of the jeans range because they were too low rise. However these are great, they come to just below your navel. They are a slim, straight cut but the detail on the turn up takes the attention away from your hips and thighs to the slimmest part of your leg. The raw edges nod to the distressed look but the binding on the seam counterbalances it.
They work casually with the yellow jumper but they also dress up well too – here’s a picture of how I styled them for a night out a couple of weeks ago. I suspect that as soon as they arrive they will sell out in hours like the Lonnies did so if you would like to subscribe to Midlifechic, I’ll let you know when they come in.
Hush jeans – coming soon; Blue velvet top; Sandals ( now in clearance); Clutch
So that just leaves me with a shot that you’ll have seen on a million Instagram feeds this summer – the sunset reflected in the RayBans shot. Unfortunately I can’t give you palm trees but I can offer a view of the Lakeland coastline. You can also see the texture of the jumper here. I’m not sure what this kind of soft nubby knit is called – maybe a knitter can tell us in the comments. However I did notice when I was wandering around the shops in London this week that it is everywhere, so it’s obviously a ‘thing’ this winter. Oh and if you are not a fan of this season’s on trend yellow, this jumper also comes in a warm navy.
A (very early) start on Sunday
I say ‘very early’ because I need you to excuse my morning face. You see I was catching the first train down to London so that I could spend the afternoon with the eldest. I was longing just to give him a big hug after not seeing him for eight weeks. He calls regularly but, if I want to set eyes on him, I have to stalk his Instagram where I catch glimpses of his Nike world like this:
Anyway I had booked us in for afternoon tea at Seymour’s Parlour. After reading a recommendation in Vogue, I thought that an afternoon tea that included an option of Cornish pasties rather than cucumber sandwiches would hit the spot. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to wear this maxi shirtdress. I usually only wear maxis on holiday but I am completely converted by this one because the shirt dress cut means that it doesn’t feel girly. Girly is something I struggle with.
Gold and navy maxi dress; Sèzanne sandals – past season
There was always the risk of it looking like a nightie but Hush have overcome this by adding the side splits. You do need to arrange yourself carefully when you sit down (as you can see) but it will soon be time for tights so this will matter less.
As always happens on a Sunday, the train was delayed so we had time to take pictures all over the station. Yet again I had an audience, so I gave the train driver a wave as the whistle blew…
Gold and navy maxi dress; Sèzanne sandals – past season
…and I got a wave back…
…as you can see. I hadn’t anticipated that back draught though!
So, then it was time to say goodbye to the two reluctant teens. We had winkled them out of their beds early in an attempt to kickstart their body clocks ready for school starting again. They were not very pleased…
Gold and navy maxi dress; Sèzanne sandals – past season
And off I went to spend an afternoon with their big brother who, by contrast was very enthusiastic about seeing his mum (or rather being fed by her). We had a lovely time, he’s clearly very happy. He did however tell me that his Nike team had spotted my post about student internships and that he is now on the receiving end of a merciless ribbing about it. My worlds appear to be colliding!
Hush Autumn 17 – the latest drop
So, I hope you’ve enjoyed my edit of the Hush Autumn 17 collection. New pieces have arrived this week so I’ll point out my new favourites:
‘Love’ is everywhere this season and I saw a version of it in lots of stores but this is the nicest love jumper I’ve seen. I really like the font they’ve chosen and the metallic thread.
This skirt is a great way to get into the midi. The transparency of the outer layer means that it won’t look frumpy as midi skirts can if you don’t get them right. Wear it with sandals for as long as possible and then add tights and boots later on.
Another way of ensuring your midi skirt is on trend is by wearing it with a sweatshirt (this will be supplanted by a heavy knit if the weather gets cold enough this winter). I noticed that the best window displays in London were brimming with clashing pinks, reds, oranges and burgundies this week so this is a simple shortcut. Plus of course slogans are everywhere and they’re always better in French!
The wrap shirt is back in a beautiful burgundy and simple black. Ever versatile, I wear them with tailored crops for work or with jeans and heels for evenings out.
I’m finishing with these loafers. I love the trend for integrating pearls into footwear this season but everything else I’ve seen has been black. These are fabulous,
One last thing before I go: there has been another drop of Inès de La Fressange stock at Uniqlo here so if you missed it first time, you might be lucky. And with that I will leave you to get on with your weekend. I’m going to be spending it doing a wardrobe edit in preparation for the new season – I’m getting ready for another Midlifechic sale. I’ll be back on Tuesday to tell you all about my trip to London which included meeting up with one of my best blogger friends and having dinner at Kensington Palace. I’ve had an exciting week!
Disclosure: ‘Hush Autumn 17’ was in collaboration with Hush. I thank them for the fabulous additions to my wardrobe and for valuing the attention of Midlifechic readers so highly. As always, they had no input into the photographs, words or thoughts which are all my own.
Recent posts you may have missed
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Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo – exclusive launch with Midlifechic
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