Broadly speaking I look for one of two emotions when I'm trying on something new, they're the gut instinct signals that tell me whether I should buy something or not. The first is the solid and more prosaic satisfaction that says, 'this is going to work really hard for a long time' and that's good - it indicates the discovery of a wardrobe lynchpin that will pull lots of pieces together. The second turns up less often and it's [...]
As it's still January there's nothing interesting in the shops and payday hasn't come around yet so it's another chat post today - how's your month going? I hope you've managed to swerve this week's Blue Monday mood. I know a lot of people get themselves into a pickle about it being a manufactured event but I do think there's something to it. I've noticed that a lot of the chats I've had on the canal when I've been [...]
Today is the day I've been looking forward to when the worst of my workload is over. It's a bit of an end of exams feeling by which I mean I'm not as euphoric as I anticipated, there's still a lot to be done on the home front (the big Christmas shop still only has two bottles of champagne in the basket!) but... we have a dancing weekend ahead and at the end of it the boys start to [...]
And here we are, arriving at the very last try-on post of the year. It makes sense, therefore, to do a recap of some of the winter styling tips that we've been discussing in the build-up to the low light days that have now arrived. Let's think ahead to dressing for Twixmas and the January days when the illumination of Christmas is over and we need to bring light into our lives on our own. Now is the time to [...]
Tuesday's intro post about getting your wardrobe ready for December's festivities was a long one but I hope you've managed to read it because this year Christmas comes in from the cold years of the Covid pandemic and there's a lot to talk about. Today I'm going to be referring back to the four pillars of festive dressing that I highlighted and bringing the theory to life. Feedback from the reader get together was that you're enjoying the posts where [...]
My goodness it feels like ages since I've worked on a post about getting dressed up. The Christmases since the Covid pandemic have been so subdued that at a retail level it hasn't made sense to stock a lot of partywear. Well I can tell you that it's all changed this season. I spent an afternoon analysing the London stores last week when I was down for the get together and they were like a huge dressing up box. It's [...]
Another month gone and October always feels like the most transitional month of the year - for me it began on the beach in hot sunshine and ended in full throttle Christmas prep! We'll start thinking about that soon but first let's have a catch-up with a Midlife lately - pockets of October joy. When I came back from holiday I was full of energy so until my back went I did a good job of taking the everyday [...]
It's another quick catch-up today because I'm immersed in trying to write my book and it feels like time's running out - my Inbox is full of emails about autumn launches and Christmas so my quieter summer period is nearly over. I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle things over the months ahead but for now that's a September problem. So just to keep in touch, here's another slice of summer midlife lately. The weather here has gone [...]
Before we begin, don't worry - I haven't turned into a trad-wife. After a tightly packed few days, total meltdown on the trains saw me stranded in London last week and so I had to take some drastic measures which resulted in an experiment I'd never anticipated - the week my husband dressed me [spoiler - he didn’t do a bad job!]. This is the first of the series of shorter posts that I'm going to be writing over the [...]
I think this will be my last post on the main SS24 collections. We're approaching the longest day so we're growing ever closer to sale season but as you'll have seen from the new TV ad, M&S have gloriously defied the traditional retail calendar with a new release that's bursting with colourful style. And it makes sense doesn't it? Summer has barely shown its face yet in the UK so there's no way that any of us want to see [...]
Last week I left you just before we went away for the surprise break that Mal had planned. We set off very early on the Thursday to get to Manchester airport and had a rather anxious drive there because the motorway traffic was awful so it was a rush to the gate... and just as we got there the flight was cancelled. Sudden bad weather over Europe was causing chaos. Of the many travel disruptions we've experienced this [...]
At last, I'm breathing out a bit - looking back through Mal's camera roll I realise we haven't had a Midlife lately for ages so let's have a catch-up (and I warn you it's a long pot of tea/glass of wine one). There are times when I really don't feel like having my photograph taken but in the long run, it's great that he snaps away when we're out and about because it gives me a record of ordinary times [...]
And so I find myself at the last Boden edit of the year which feels like a milestone so I just want to start by thanking them for being such loyal supporters of this blog - and for listening to what everyone here has to say. They've had a very successful season, so much so that when it came to putting a post about last minute Christmas outfits together it was a challenge finding pieces that hadn't sold out. It [...]
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What should we talk about today? It can't be clothes because I seem to be living in jumpers and jeans so I think it has to be a midlife lately - August. I know that lots of you are on holiday, as are we usually. In fact this is the first August since 1997 that I haven't been away somewhere or other and it feels strange. We spent May, June and July constantly on the move, mostly for work or [...]
I'm opening this post with an apology because I said that while we were away last week I'd be over on Instagram - but sometimes you have to put the key people in your life first and we needed a complete break. Life since Christmas has felt pretty non-stop for us. I've mentioned a few times that I didn't think we were going to have the chance for any kind of proper holiday until the autumn... and I know we [...]
Today I'm going to tell you about our little French adventure. As you know we took a few days off a couple of weeks ago to go and see the youngest who is living in Dijon, studying at l'Université de Bourgogne. Of all the French unis he could have chosen, he opted for the one that's the most difficult to get to from here and with the little bit of time we could carve out from work there were [...]
Do we dare say it? Has the weather finally turned? This has been the coldest spring I can remember but last Saturday, after a morning of heavy rain, the sun suddenly appeared. And it was hot which was lucky because we needed to take photographs of Boden's latest summer drop while we were out and about and I'd been anticipating shivering in between the showers. At the moment we don't have a big summer holiday booked, work permitting we might [...]
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 [...]
So here we are with my final post of the year, wishing you a cosy Christmas. I don't know about you but we're limping towards it. We both came back from our week of work travel full of cold and I'm running on a single cylinder so I'm signing off earlier than planned. Before I go though, let's have one last catch-up. I confess photos haven't been on my mind so I've had to scrabble about to put this [...]
Well I said I'd do a catch-up today and it shows how focused on Christmas prep I've been when I have photos and moments going all the way back to the end of October. As you know, I like this blog to be a reflection of a real midlife and while I've been busy getting everything ready for what will hopefully be a fun-filled Christmas, everyday stuff has been going on - as it always does. November, in particular, was [...]
It's always a bit of a shock isn't it? Over the last few years life has started to tip straight from Autumn and Halloween into Christmas. This year it's worth being organised though because we're all watching our budgets and nothing makes you overspend as much as a bout of unplanned, late and therefore frenzy driven shopping. So today I'm going to break you gently into a little bit of early Christmas prep with John Lewis and Partners by [...]
It's the last of my AW22 everyday edits today and I'm as pleased as ever to be working with one of my all time favourite brands, Boden. As always with them there are lots of tempting statement outfits but I'm sticking to my pledge to focus on long-lasting wardrobe workhorses this season as I suspect most of us are squeezing our budgets hard. It really has been a case of sitting on my hands, especially when I saw pieces [...]
The weeks seem to be flying past at the moment so I thought it was time to take a mid-season pause and have a catch up with an autumn midlife lately. I've found random photos of various moments on our camera rolls so here's what's been going on in the background while I've been talking about travel and new season clothes. Autumn midlife lately - empty nesting Towards the end of September it was finally time for the youngest [...]
Pre-script Since I wrote this we've travelled to St Lucia and on the flight over we heard the sad news that the Queen had died. It felt right not to publish this the following day but a few people have been in touch saying that they'd be grateful for a break in the sad news that surrounds them. So I hope I won't upset any of you by sending this live now. It's difficult being away and not feeling part [...]
We're in August already - the only problem with planning a summer to remember is that time goes really fast! I feel as if I'm on a bit of a one-legged hobble now, finally on the run-up to our holiday so it's a quick Midlife Lately today. I'm whizzing through my camera roll and not exactly jetsetting but last week I had city trips to London and Glasgow and now I'm in Newcastle but I'll save that for next week's [...]
I'm popping up on strange days again - I'm early this week because we have a family wedding tomorrow which is exciting and I think it might be slightly haphazard all summer but I'll get back into a regular routine when autumn comes. As you know, retail is in full sale so rather than a focused post, it's a summer cornucopia with outfits, travel & The Telegraph. So let's get going. Welcome to new readers I'm starting with something quite [...]
My goodness these weeks roll around quickly when the sun's out don't they? We have a lot going on on the domestic front at the moment and I'll tell you more about that at the end so it's a catch-up post today. I'm going to start with a run through of what I've been doing and wearing, move on to clothing to combat hot weather (I think you need it more desperately in the South than we do up here) [...]
As promised it's a catch up today with a bit of an outfit round-up. I know you've seen snippets of our short break in Lanzarote but I'll tell you a little more about that and then talk about what we did for my surprise birthday weekend. So without coming over all Foreign Office, today's post is all about what I'm wearing at home and abroad. There are a lot of pictures and I've tried to keep the writing as short [...]
We're back from our week in the sunshine and I'm so glad that we took the time while we could because we're heading into another busy few months of work. It continues to be an interesting time in retail as everyone tries to second guess the zeitgeist for AW22 - it's looking as though it's going to be a bumpy ride so I don't know about you but I'm determined to make the most of every moment as spring and [...]
It's a bit of a different post today, it includes clothes (of course) but it's also about growing older contentedly. When I was down in London a couple of weeks ago I met up with Nayna McIntosh from Hope and after we'd looked through the glorious new season pieces that I'll show you in a few minutes, we got chatting about things like the true markers of success as we approach the end of this phase we call midlife. You [...]
And here we are on 1st April which means we're a quarter of the way through the year already. I'm not bringing you the post about getting older that I was hoping to because I just haven't had time to do it properly. Instead, when I was looking back at my camera roll trying to make sense of the fact that the year's going so quickly I realised that there were lots of photos on there that I haven't even [...]
So many of you have told me you've been waiting for the 'Christmas gifts for teens and young adults 2021' post that I'm starting it rather nervously. As always I tasked my troops with helping me but this year the first thing they warned me was that it might be the last time. You see at the moment 'new stuff' isn't cool; when you talk to millennials and Gen Z they're all buying vintage which is great... but it doesn't [...]
After playing catch-up on our Greek trip for the last few weeks it feels good to be talking to you in real time again. We've had lots going on and I'm going to write this post the opposite way round to usual because it has some sadness and I don't want to leave you on a downer on a Friday. So I'm starting with some midlife ups and downs and then I'll move on to happier events and what I've [...]
Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 3 - Mykonos Today I have the final instalment of my Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping and I'm going to keep it as short as I can because I sense you've had enough of it all now. After six very laid-back days in Ios it was time to move on; the island was closing and anyway, we'd spent enough time there. We were feeling rested and ready for somewhere with a bit of [...]
Midlife Guide To Greek Island Hopping 2 - Ios As promised, here's the next instalment of our Greek Island hopping adventure, moving on to a very different spot, Ios. I have a mixed up week ahead because I have to go down to London for longer than originally planned so I won't have time to write a post on Friday. I thought I'd let you know now because lots of you tell me that you read my Friday night post [...]
Last Monday Boden's biggest Autumn drop arrived and there I was shading my screen from the Mykonos sunshine, trying to think ahead to what life might be like for us all at home over the months to come. As you know, before we went away I'd already categorised the principle lifestyle areas that I need to focus on this season: working from home with the occasional client meeting; casual weekends and relaxed nights out. I know I keep banging on [...]
And, rather regretfully, we're back. What an incredibly reinvigorating time we've had Greek Island Hopping. I knew the work would have piled up for our return and so I wouldn't have much time to write about it but so many of you have asked for tips and information that I've been putting notes together as we've gone along. It means that this post might be a little less lyrical than I'd like it to be and I'll have to spilt [...]
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 [...]
Over the weekend I realised how many outfit pictures I have clogging up my camera roll so it's time for a catch up. Of course the highlight of my weekend was the wedding we went to so today's post is a mixed bag of summer and autumn outfits cumulating with what to wear for a wedding over 50. You see the last few weeks for us have felt a little more like life before lockdown especially as far as work [...]
Happy Friday! Although it already feels like an age ago, today I'm bringing you my British City Staycation - Newcastle Part 2. I left you last week as we were hit with the news of Mum-in-law's diagnosis and everyone in the family was reeling. I'm grateful to all of you who've sent advice and links to the various organisations you recommend. The doctors have told us that the most urgent thing for now is to get the LPAs in [...]
Well hello, it's good to be back and talking to you after our two weeks away. I'm wondering how this post is going to work because a few of you will already have seen the photos on Instagram but of course there was no space on there to give you the full story behind them so I hope it will still be interesting for you. As you know after various holiday cancellations we decided to spend two weeks over at [...]
Midlife lately - Covid finally hits us I feel as though I've been holding my breath over the last few posts. Covid finally reached our doorstep and I felt incredibly superstitious about mentioning it until I knew we were all through to the other side. So that's the reason behind the lack of 'midlife lately' recently - you see I've found that whenever I say what a lovely summer we're having up here it starts to rain so I was [...]
I've found time for an extra post this week, just a quick one because when I did a real life outfits post a couple of weeks ago a lot of you asked for more of them so I've been trying to remember to take quick outfit shots as we've gone along. My phone's filling up so let's have a catch up with some recent midlife summer outfits - what I've been wearing and doing. Midlife summer outfits - a trip [...]
Well I have a funny old post for you today, you see I was hoping to show you the pictures of our completed apartment but at the very last minute there was a delay on the curtains which means we're having to go over again tonight to finish things off. As you can imagine this week's been a busy one catching up with work and I haven't had time to come up with any other ideas so I'm just going [...]
I know we've had crazy weather in the UK this week but we're turning the corner towards springtime and it feels as though it's time to start looking ahead, albeit tentatively. Today I'm working with Boden, doing a bit of wardrobe planning for SS21 - thinking about going out. Of course we'll all be emerging from lockdown at different paces but here's the roadmap that we have in England at the moment: 29th March - golf is back for those [...]
As promised, an extra post from me this week focusing on the 12 days of Christmas dressing - dressed up or dressed down? Today I'm working with John Lewis & Partners and I've decided to look specifically at the retail approach that they've taken to the tricky proposition of Christmas 2020. As you no doubt know, when lockdown hit us all so suddenly in March retailers were pretty much at the point where they'd usually have Christmas all planned out. [...]
This is my last Boden post of the year and so you won't be surprised to hear that I'm looking at Christmas. Like every retailer, Boden have condensed their partywear collection this year because, of course, there won't be as many (if any) parties. However, as I've already said, there are those of us who are craving a reason to dress up and Christmas itself gives us all the excuses we need. If you follow my Instagram feed you'll know [...]
And we're off, I'm officially launching Christmas 2020 on Midlifechic with 'easy Christmas chic'. Yes it's going to feel different... but isn't that great? After all, I think a lot of us have been guilty in past years of muttering "here we go again..." as soon as November comes round. The thing about Christmas in midlife is that we often find ourselves in the position of family matriarch and as such, a lot of Christmas falls on our shoulders... [...]
Hello everyone. Well another week has gone by, the first one of relative freedom and it was interesting to read how some of you were slowly moving out of lockdown in the comments after my last post. As so many people said, it's clear that everybody has a different attitude to risk and the good thing is that so far, most people seem to be able to live alongside each other without judging. Mr MC and I are finding that [...]
It's a while since we've been away. When we adopted Teddy we decided that we'd dedicate three months to settling him in so we've been home based since January. But then an invitation to review The Devonshire Arms came in and because it isn't far away, I decided the boys could do a night of Ted duty so we had a 24 hour escape. As you know, I spent part of last week unravelling future trip bookings that have been [...]
It's the last of my Christmas 'what to wear' posts today and I'm pleased to be working with Boden, bringing you my edit of their current collection. The great news is that in celebration of their 28th birthday, they're offering 28% off almost everything including the pieces I've featured in here until Thursday 21st November with code 6T2C so hopefully I'm bringing you these ideas at just the right time. I'm operating within the Four Pillars of Festive Style that [...]
A love letter to Leeds Well what a fabulous time I had last Friday talking about festive dressing ideas at John Lewis & Partners, I hope that those of you who joined me did too. I've been on a high all week, replaying our conversations in my head and just wishing there had been more time for us all to chat. For those of you who couldn't come, let me see if I can make you feel as though you [...]
A winter blue capsule from Marks & Spencer And so my friends, I'm tentatively launching into the party season. I know it's early and some of you will get grumpy with me but as always my view is that it's best to get all of the planning done now so that when December comes we can just enjoy it. This way when the glossies are running features about how to avoid Christmas stress, we'll be blowing party poppers and wondering [...]
And so my first proper get together with readers finally happened last weekend in the particularly glamorous surroundings of the French Riviera. A lot of new readers have joined us recently so I'm just going to backtrack a little to explain how it all came about. Earlier this year, friends in London introduced us to Darryll and Bettina and they invited both us and the boys to stay with them at The D'Azur, their villa in the South of France. [...]
Oh it went so quickly, our weekend break in Spain - and well done to Jenny who was the first to guess our destination of Jeréz. We decided on this trip on our wedding anniversary in February when we were looking through the 'wallpaper roll of dreams' that we made when we were first married. Amongst other things it lists all of the places that we hoped to travel to and because we've spent so many years choosing destinations that [...]
Today I'm really pleased to be bringing you a bumper Boden edit - Autumn 2019. Longstanding readers will know that I've been trying to open a dialogue with Boden for years. As you've seen, since spring we've been getting to know each other by doing a small monthly edit - and during that time, from your feedback and comments they've learned a bit more about you too. For this post I've had a chance to go [...]
Well hello... it's been a while so I hope you're still there. We're back from the longest of our summer trips this year which was a fortnight in Kalkan on Turkey's Turquoise Coast. As you know it's the place where we find we can completely switch off. We first went there in 2000 when the eldest was just a toddler so we've seen it change over the years. This time I have to say it was very, very busy. Kalkan [...]
At last I’ve had a chance to go through the photos from our long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - we took so many that it’s going to be better for me to let the pictures do most of the talking or this will go on forever. A long weekend with teens in the French Riviera - Friday As I mentioned when I was busy planning what to pack, we were invited to stay with Darryll and Bettina [...]
Hello and happy Tuesday, apologies for there being no post last Friday but as I mentioned I'm juggling madly at the moment. Anyway I have a retailer focus for you today. It's time for my JD Williams edit SS19 and this time I decided to look through their current collection for some outfits that I'd wear for my usual tasks of working from home, weekend and night out. As you know, I enjoy working with JD Williams (this post was [...]
Let me take you to Marrakech for a blast of warmth and downtime... it's a long post but there's a lot to say. As you know, for the Christmas before last Mr MC gave me a jar of money and a promise of time away together in 2018. We'd hoped to go somewhere in October but with the sad news of his brother, it wasn't to be. And so we made a plan to head off for our wedding anniversary in [...]
It's a quick post from me today because as always when we're approaching a break, I have a desk full of projects that have suddenly come in. One of them is particularly interesting and so I foolishly put my hand up for it. It's a timeline covering 1000 years of history and I've really enjoyed researching it but as a woman of many words, I'm finding it almost impossible to condense it down into a few soundbites. There are just [...]
It's been a while hasn't it and some of you have written in to ask why I haven't been doing Midlife Lately. The thing is that for me, this is not a job. As I've always said, I started Midlifechic primarily as a personal journal so that I could leave a record that my future great grandchildren might read. I was inspired to start writing after reading through boxes of family letters that I discovered after my mum died. For [...]
Happy December everyone. Before I go on with this post I just want to say to everyone who's been asking for a Midlife Lately - it's coming on Friday. There's a reason why I haven't been doing it and I'll explain why then. In the meantime, last week Marks & Spencer challenged me to look through their partywear and put together an outfit for one of my early Christmas events. The first party in my diary was a work related [...]
Another short edit from me today - this time I'm looking at party shoes. The best thing about a pair of glittery heels is that they're the easy way to instant glamour. When the phone rings with a spontaneous invitation, all you have to do is throw them on with whatever you're wearing, pick up your Midlifechic metallic clutch(!) and you're party ready. The evening is yours for the taking... after all, look at what a pair of sparkly shoes did [...]
So, continuing on from this week's quick post about party tops, today I'm going to have a longer look at Christmas party wardrobe planning. Thank you for your response to my post on Sunday, it's great to know that so many people are being selective about where they shop. The high street looks very different this year however, there is one big store group that we can always rely on to do the right thing and that's John Lewis & [...]
It's time! As soon as the blaze of bonfire night dies down, for me it's time to look ahead to the next point of light which, of course, is Christmas. So here's the plan. I'm going to bring you quite a few bitesized posts like this one today but they'll be interspersed with longer ones. They'll all be clearly headed so that even if you don't feel like thinking about Christmas yet, you can find them easily when you do. [...]
I'm hoping to make this a monthly feature in 2019 because I really want to start focusing on small British brands run by women like us. Why? Well of course it fits perfectly with the Midlifechic ethos that this stage of our lives is just the beginning - especially for women who have arrived at the magical age of 50. If you're younger, keep going - your best time is still to come. However my other reason for doing this [...]
Ok, I promised we'd have a catch up and I have so much to tell you - October has been a blur but let's start where I left you last time, just before the funeral. Newcastle It was, as you can imagine, heartbreaking. When you're inside a family, you never really see the impact that your relative has beyond your immediate enclave until something like this happens. As we arrived at the crematorium, we were overwhelmed by the sheer size [...]
I do find the new retail calendar weird. Mid-season sales in the third week of September would have been unheard of a few years ago but of course retailers do smaller drops throughout the season now to meet the demand for perpetual newness. So, I have two of these new drops to whizz through with you. They're both from retailers that tend to sell through quickly and in my eyes, these are the best pieces from the latest collections. Hush [...]
I thought I'd take a breather from the madness of new season so that we can have a quick catch up. Today I'm bringing you a post of recent outfits, try-ons and a midlife lately catch up which has ended up being more introspective than I intended but that's what happens when I have something on my mind. So, as far as the weather is concerned, we seem to be sliding quickly into Autumn here but every so often, summer [...]
I'm really pleased that so many of you said you enjoyed my edit of the Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo collection because I have a few more reviews of individual retailer collections planned over the next few weeks. Today I'm looking at Hush and I'm working in exactly the same way, in a collaboration where I'm free to style the clothes as I want to and talk to you about how they feel to wear. I know quite a [...]
As you know, I've had an ongoing relationship with Specsavers since last summer. They're a brand that I particularly like to support because of all of the quiet behind the scenes work that they do, giving back to both their local communities and the anti-bullying charity Kidscape which I discussed in my post about their fundraising awards. This season they have asked me to look at two of their spectacle ranges in more depth. The Twiggy for Aurora collection which [...]
Please note that this is a sponsored post in collaboration with John Lewis. As such, links are affiliated and upon purchase, a small commission may be paid to Midlifechic. The retailer pays so this costs nothing to readers but it enables me to continue bringing you two posts a week. Now that Midlifechic is being viewed over half a million times a month, It costs into the thousands of pounds to keep it running and loading smoothly. I thank you [...]
Hello, before I go on I must thank you for all of the fascinating feedback on my last post - it's been interesting to hear so many different thoughts about Boden. I will be replying but I'm having a crazy week (again) so please do bear with me. In the meantime, we've just had such a great weekend break that I thought I'd share it with you. Plus there's a new drop arriving at Hush today so I've shortlisted some [...]
I confess that as we head into another weekend with a forecast of bitter weather, I'm beginning to feel at a bit of a loss as to what to write about. It seems that we're living in Narnia's perpetual winter. Spring has completely stalled up here, the birds are quiet, buds are barely showing on the trees and the skies are many shades of grey. Even I don't feel like shopping when every day is just another jumper day. So [...]
We have some catching up to do. Forgive me for the fact that this includes Christmas, luckily there aren't many sequins because we did most of our partying earlier in the month. When I left you in 2017, it was the eldest's 21st birthday and he was due to arrive home from London late that night. So, we're picking the story up as we arrived at the railway station to meet him. The 21st birthday Poor boy, I don't think [...]
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 [...]
It's an exciting day for our Midlifechic community - we have come to the attention of John Lewis. Because of my day job, I don't have much time to pursue relationships with brands but I have been hoping and wondering all year if they would spot us... and they have! So it is with a feeling of great honour that I have taken my first challenge from them - to create a post about Winter Florals. Knowing me as you [...]
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 [...]
Phew - I've reached the halfway point of this week's blogging marathon! I hope you're not getting sick of me, we'll be back to normal posting next week. Today I'm looking at the best Christmas dresses for women over 40 but I've chosen ones that won't expire on New Year's Eve. Bear in mind the new silhouette that I keep banging on about. The trend for modest dressing is continuing as far ahead as we can see on the catwalks [...]
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 [...]
Marrakech in 3 days with teenagers. Before we dive fully into Christmas madness, I thought you might like to join me for a few days of sunshine. As you know, we had a little trip to Marrakech last week. It was a plan that we came up with back in the spring when we realised that my 50th birthday was going to be somewhat subdued because it fell, as it has done all of my life, in exam season. Why [...]
Although I am currently enjoying the sunny skies of Marrakech, I've been working on Christmas for a while. Can you believe that I had to put some of our Christmas lights and a Christmas tree up in our house at the beginning of October? All I could think about were the problems it would have caused if the boys were still little! However, now that we're into November it feels like it's time to talk about partywear. I'm going to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
So, as you will already know if you follow me on Instagram, last week I was invited to celebrate relaunch of Issa at House of Fraser. The venue was Kensington Palace which, of course, is where William, Kate and Harry all live. It was an especially auspicious time to go there because it was the day that Kate's third pregnancy was announced. Our event was in the Orangery but I couldn't help looking across at the Palace and feeling sorry [...]
Hello, I'm back! It's always a bit strange starting the first post after a holiday. It reminds me of the first day of term when you used to feel a bit nervous about going back to school even though you were going to be reunited with all of your friends. I hope you've had a good few weeks. I'm just going to write one post about our family holiday in Kalkan this time because I'm going away again next week [...]
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 [...]
Hello everyone. I'm just dropping in to share my simple 50th birthday celebrations with you but, before I do, I want to say a huge thank you for every single one of your kind wishes. I felt buffeted by love from every angle on Friday. Whenever I checked my phone there were new messages from different sources and I read every single one. It was absolutely wonderful and I'm so grateful to everyone who took the time to share a moment of the day [...]
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'm sure you remember the mad week before Christmas. You were desperately trying to finish your Christmas shopping and I was pestering you to vote for me in the UK Blog Awards "readers' round." Well, as you know, your kindness won me a place in the finals and the big event was last weekend. Like most people, I have been to lots of Awards ceremonies. A lot of them were during my years at Selfridges when we were in the process [...]
Just a quick hello from me today because after being preened and pampered, I am now heading down to London for the finals of the UK Blog Awards. I'm going to have a relaxing train journey and catch up with all of your recent comments. In the meantime, here's a quick 'What I Wore' from the Easter weekend. Girls night out outfit This was last Wednesday, my friends had broken up early for the Bank Holiday and were keen to celebrate over a bottle [...]
So it is with great pleasure that I bring you the second of my spotlight posts which, as you will remember are the posts where I focus in greater depth on a single brand. Today I am looking at Pure Collection. I will be honest and say that when they first got in touch with me before Christmas, I told them that I wasn't convinced that they were the right fit for Midlifechic readers. Although I knew that they made great cashmere, I didn't [...]
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 [...]
Hello and Happy New Year! I know I'm supposed to be full of perky new year's resolutions but I tend to see September as more of a time to start afresh than January. For me the decorations are down, the middle son has already gone back to school and this morning, I faced the scales which led me to a moment of self loathing because I've put on half a stone. However, when I look back at the fantastic Christmas we've had, I [...]
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 [...]
It's getting closer....Our weekend was a rush of decorating and entertaining. Here's how it went. Festive Friday I was working at home for the day but then had to go to a client's drinks party. Although they were all wearing suits because they'd gone straight from the office, I felt fine wearing a jumpsuit. It's such a saviour for things like this...not too smart, not too casual, not too dressy... Jumpsuit - this year's version; Jigsaw ponyskin heels (past season); Necklace; Earrings [...]
Hello, I hope you had a great weekend. I don't know about you but I'm getting a bit tired of reading Christmas gift articles so I thought I'd do another post on one of my real life weekends and share some of my Christmas outfits of the day. Christmas outfits of the day - Friday night So, on Friday night we had to go to a business event: the mayor's Christmas party. It was one of those occasions when I should really [...]
I don't know about you but the mad scramble of Black Friday and Cyber Monday seems to have changed the face of Christmas shopping for me. So today I'm stepping up to higher ground and looking at chic Christmas gifts, the things that you would choose for a sister, a mother or that you might pop under a loved one's nose when they're asking what you'd like for yourself. They're items that people probably wouldn't generally indulge in and I've tried to [...]
It's been lovely to have had so many people asking when this relaxed Christmas Party Outfits post is coming. I thought I'd make it the first of the outfit posts that I'll be doing before we move into the excitement of gift ideas. Don't worry, they'll be ready in plenty of time for Black Friday. Before we start though, I want to recap on the trends for this Christmas. It can't have escaped you that velvet has taken over from [...]
Well hello everybody and happy November. There's no avoiding it any longer, we're on the Christmas countdown. I'm diving in head first with another party dressing feature (there will be a few). This time we're looking at what to wear for a formal party. So let me give you a bit of background. We've had a 'save the date' in our diary for a long time. A client who has become a friend is having a special celebration in a [...]
It's the time of year when invitations start coming in. I'll be covering party dressing and black tie for women over 40 in more detail in a few weeks' time but I thought I'd show you what I chose to wear to a Black Tie event last Friday. I'd been thinking about what I was going to wear for a while. I kept looking through the barely worn cocktail dresses that hang in my dressing room, not wanting to wear [...]
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 [...]
So let's get on with the second instalment of "Kefalonia with teenagers." The first week of our holiday flew by. For a change of scene, we hopped onto the ferry that trundled into the harbour every morning and headed over towards the mainland for an afternoon. Prices were about 30% lower than in Fiscardo so we had an especially nice lunch and did a bit of kaftan shopping. The distinctive thrum of a Greek ferry engine transported me right back to [...]
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 [...]
Despite the fact that it is the UK's second city, until now my view of Birmingham has always been rather negative. The boys know it as the obstacle we have to pass before Mr MC will agree to stop on our journeys to London. I relate it to hellish exhibitions at the NEC - and to the time I got lost in my old banger on the way back to uni and ended up stuck in an endless loop of Spaghetti Junction (I was [...]
As I looked around the plane on the way to Paris, I could see lots of excited little girls dressed as princesses on their way to EuroDisney. I don't think we ever grow out of that fairytale dress dream - although perhaps our tastes become a little more sophisticated and I had the same flame of excitement burning inside me knowing that I had two special dresses in my suitcase. I am now quite often approached with offers of clothing (and [...]
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 [...]
Ta dah! Welcome to the new look Midlifechic. Mr MC has laboured hard so that it would be ready in time for its second birthday but we know there will be glitches. It will take until Saturday 13th to flush through fully in the meantime, if you're reading on Bloglovin please could you view this post directly on my blog here just this once and let me know what you think and also if there are any viewing or technical [...]
Well I'm delighted that so many of you are embracing Project Happier - everyone I talk to seems to like the idea of making small improvements rather than huge changes. The trouble is that it's hard to keep change going. We're only in the second week of January and I can already feel myself being pulled into the Slough of Despond - not the literal Pilgrim's Progress sense of guilt for my sins (I don't have much time to sin) but [...]
As we come to the end of the year I'm in a reflective mood so I thought I'd share an article about a new year life audit that I read at the hairdresser's. Unfortunately because I took a photo of the pages I can't tell you which magazine it was but it was by Libby Purves and she was talking about a new year walk that she takes with her husband (she said that it was important to do it without your children to [...]
Hello everyone - I've found a quiet moment whilst my brood are in a post Christmas lull. It feels like ages since I've had time to post so here's a quick catch up with some activities (and outfits) from the crazy Christmas period. Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that the fun began for us on Friday 17th, in fact this photo sums up the mood of our Christmas. We've all been so pleased to be together again and [...]
...and I've run out of time. I had planned a post for today but sadly my brother-in-law's mum died last week so today has been her funeral. No funeral is a happy event but she was 94 and so we were able to talk about a life well lived and appreciate her. We were all together in the village church that she loved and it was yet another timely reminder about the importance of family and spending time together. Tonight will [...]
Well what a week we've had in the aftermath of Storm Desmond. We were stranded at home until Wednesday (much to the delight of the boys) as the schools and the roads were closed. We finally switched over from the emergency generators to the mains supply last night so life is just starting to get back to normal. It has been a strange, dark time, dark because everybody has had to conserve the little bit of power we had, so [...]
Just a quick hello from me today to thank you for all of your messages of concern over the weekend, it's certainly a been dramatic time. As I finished my last blog post on Saturday, I was telling you that all of the shops were closing in the village and the power was failing. We're based in a coastal village between Kendal and Lancaster, our house is sea facing with the canal at the bottom of the garden but luckily [...]
I don't often do beauty posts but there are a few things I've been using recently that I wanted to share with you. I don't know about you but I'm feeling like the very cliché of a midlife woman at the moment: exhausted. Work has been relentless since I came back from holiday in August. Because my department is new, there is no path to follow, so I never know what is coming next. My new girl enthusiasm has meant [...]
Last week we looked at formal dresses for the lucky people who have glam parties ahead. I don't know about you but my Christmas events tend to be more low key - popping out for a meal with friends, drinks at people's houses, and a couple of trips to the theatre so I really don't need an extravagant frock. Over the last year I've developed an easy shortcut for this kind of going out and I always feel casually glam. [...]
I've had a few different emails about Christmas party wear this week which made me realise that I haven't given any thought to my own Christmas party either. I also spoke to one of my friends who works in the head office of one of our favourite store groups. When I asked her how sales were going she said that the usual trend had reversed - gifting and outerwear is down (presumably because of Black Friday and the mild weather) but [...]
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 [...]
Hello dear friends - it's been a while but we're back from our holiday in Kalkan. The daily grind has resumed and before the glow wears off, let me take you with me to Turkey for a whirlwind tour of our lazy days and nights. Before we get on to outfits I must remind you that my life was so very hectic in the weeks before we went away that, unlike last year when I shopped and planned outfits for [...]
A very quick post from me today because despite the wind...and the rain...and the cold of this non-existent Summer that we're having in the UK, we're going camping. I'm not feeling very excited about it but it's a trip that we go on every year with the same friends and I'm aware that it could be the last time that our eldest wants to come with us. We need to make some memories. We're very close to these particular friends [...]
Sorry for the late post, for the last two weeks I’ve been out and about seeing clients which has involved lots of wining and dining. I’ve been getting home late in the evening, dealing with A-Level stresses, rolling into bed and then waking up early to go out and do it all again. I must face the scales tomorrow, everything is feeling very tight but I’m hopeless when faced with lovely food that has been cooked by someone else. Anyway [...]
Well I'm amazed by how much correspondence my impending Pete Tong night triggered last week (I have yet to answer the emails but I will, I promise). It seems that you were either horrified or intrigued by the thought of it and lots of you wanted to know why I was still up for a night that started at 10pm and went on into the small hours. There are two reasons. Firstly, as I've mentioned before, Mr MC, being slightly younger [...]
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. [...]
Tomorrow is D Day for me and I'll be starting my new job so I thought I'd try a new superfast post to cover off a bit of weekend chic. This might be the sort of post I have to do for a while until I settle into my new routine. Quite a few of your survey responses (yes I have read and analysed every single one - thank you so much for your time and enthusiasm) have asked me to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I now declare Christmas to be in full swing. As you will remember, on Friday I was going out with Mr MC's university karate team - it certainly wasn't the sort of student night out I remember! I think they were at the very end of their funds because apart from enthusiastically accepting all offers of drinks that were bought for them, they otherwise earnestly sipped tap water throughout the evening. It was interesting though, it's a long time since [...]
And we're off - the first official Christmas 'going out' event. One of the karate clubs that Mr MC trains with is at Lancaster University so tonight we are going out with a group of students on their dojo's night out... now there's a wardrobe conundrum if ever there was one. I am absolutely old enough to be their mum and my one hope for the evening is that this isn't their first thought as I walk through the door. So, casual [...]
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 [...]
Well I'm back from my fab few days of London chic and I feel as though I've been time travelling. It's so strange to step back into your old life for a little while and see what's been happening there. Let me give you a little bit of context. As you know, the main reason for my trip was to go to a Selfridges reunion. In 1993, I was one of the first recruits into what they called the masterplan [...]
Surprise! I know I said there wouldn't be a post today but I was sent a request by somebody who has a jumpsuit but feels she has worn it too often recently so I've put together a couple of alternatives which of course, I now want to buy. In each set I've created an option for a more casual Christmas Day / Boxing Day drinks look along with a full on party look. In the same way that dressing for [...]
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 [...]
You may remember that last weekend's post was all about the joys of one of our normal, healthy weekends in the Lake District countryside. Well hold onto your seats because this one was completely different. As I mentioned on Friday events had conspired to enable Mr MC and I to combine a karate competition with taking the boys to see their lovely grandma thus giving us a night out on the 'toon' in Newcastle. And a night in Newcastle is never [...]
