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 [...]
Bonfire night has passed and so in the retail calendar it is now officially time for Christmas to begin. At least that was the rule when I worked in various head offices, these days it starts popping up after August Bank Holiday but we won't go there. Anyway today I'm easing you into it gently with some simple elevated outfits that aren't just for Christmas, they're things that you can wear throughout the winter season and even beyond. I'm working [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I've had lots of people requesting a return to the brand specific spotlight posts that I ran in the autumn. SS24 has been a bit of a juggle in terms of work, travel and blog so I haven't had time to put a consistent series together but today I'm delighted to be bringing you another one, this time it's a Me+Em review - Retailer Spotlight. Me+Em - brand background in a nutshell Disclosure: [...]
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 [...]
So many of you have said you've enjoyed the retail spotlight posts that I'm bringing you one more for 2023. After this, they'll be on pause until January while we focus on Christmas and all of the prep that it entails. So today as well as doing my monthly edit, it's a Boden review - retailer spotlight. Let me bring you up to date with what's going on there. Boden - brand background in a [...]
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It’s time to start thinking about the big day next month – yes I mean Christmas. And if you feel it’s too early, spare a thought for those of us who work in retail and had to start planning it in January! I’m easing in slowly today with Christmas 23 - easy outfit ideas to get you in the mood. Starting to think about whatever you have planned will help you to ease towards the festive feeling. I don’t [...]
I'm continuing with my series of easy style tips today - in last Friday's post we talked about using accessories to add new life to outfits, this week I want to look a little more at using texture with winter outfits. You see texture is a tool that you can't use as well in summer but at this time of year it comes into its own. Before we get into it though, as I go on to talk about [...]
And so, as you'll know if you follow my Instagram feed, there was a big day for our family a couple of weeks ago. It was the middle one's graduation, a day I found myself completely unprepared for in terms of impact. It was a bit like pregnancy when you find yourself so focused on the birth that it's almost a shock when you have to take the baby home with you afterwards and you realise that in the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
And just like that we're in December! I'm bringing you that last of my Christmas prepping posts today, after this we'll be back to chatting about real life until the end of the year and we have a lot to catch up on because November was a funny old month for us. However we'll talk about that soon, for now I have my final post with John Lewis & Partners for 2022 and it's all about last minute Christmas [...]
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 [...]
This week and next for me are all about tinsel and baubles. It's officially my 30th year in retail and 'Christmas in July'... I've been doing this for a long time! Going in and out of Christmas events on hot London days does leave you somewhat confused - it's like the feeling you get when you wake up in a hotel somewhere exotic knowing that you'll end the day back in your own bed. However, as the boys would say, [...]
Well hello and a huge thank you for all of your comments last week - I think it's a record. Just as I was beginning to wonder if you'd stopped reading you astounded me. I usually reply to everybody individually but I have a lengthy corporate identity document to complete so instead I'm going to spend any spare blog time I have collating each comment into a report. I'll add 'noted' under each one so you know that your feedback [...]
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 [...]
I've had more questions about special occasion dressing than ever before this year. I suspect it's because we're all so glad that we can celebrate again and when it comes to weddings, some are so long awaited that they really do deserve an extra special effort. It's great to have an excuse to dress up again too isn't it? But can we remember how to do it? And with the growing creep of casualisation has occasion dressing changed? These are [...]
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 hello - as promised a Wednesday post which throws things out a bit but life has been going at a gallop and it's the only time I can find to fit one in. Today all I have for you are snaps of what I've been wearing and doing this week - pre-Christmas outfits. Photos are never very good at this time of year when it barely seems to be light before it gets dark again, we've had miserable grey [...]
Ah the joy of a Christmas outfit trying-on session at John Lewis & Partners - I loved every minute of it and I'm hoping I have a little something for everyone today because there are so many different ideas. But before we go on, let's recap. In my first post about dressing for Christmas this year, we talked about how the approach is changing; lots of retailers and consumers are trying to be more thoughtful about creating capsules that will [...]
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 [...]
This is a gentler opening of my Christmas posts than I imagined back in the summer months when I first started planning my calendar with the retailers who do so much to support this blog. You see we're all going to find the landscape quite different at the upper end of the high street this year as we start to think about what to wear over the festive season. A lot of retailers are giving us a different way of [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Slowly, slowly the warmer days are creeping in as the temperature starts to rise. We've been feeling impatient for it and when you think about it we were all spoilt by last year's glorious Spring because it's usually still a bit chilly in May. I know when the boys were little I always used to refuse to go camping before 1st June because although they didn't care, I wasn't keen on sleeping in a woolly hat and hiking socks, it [...]
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 [...]
Well hello! How are you? I hope your 2020 ended with a Christmas that meant something to you, even if it was a bit different - and that you feel in some way restored. Hitting a new year in a state of extreme lockdown wasn't what any of us were hoping for but we'll get through it together. Today I'm going to do a quick Christmas recap for my memory bank and then I'll share the way that I'm going [...]
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, it's a short post today because I doubt any of us has a lot of spare time for reading and writing. I've turned down all Christmas blogging jollies this year because we have so much going on here - there are two more busy weeks of work lunches and dinners ahead before it all starts to quieten down a bit and become more family and friend focused. So, I'm doing my best to snap outfits as we go along [...]
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 [...]
I'm starting to think I may have been a bit ambitious with my adventure planning this year. Summer is usually a quiet time for our business but I don't think anything's running its usual course in the UK is it? I'm definitely not complaining, I'm seeing it as a positive sign that the country is ploughing on regardless - nonostante tutto! I'm just going to have to be very organised and it may mean that I do shorter blog posts [...]
It's been a hectic week - I really wanted to bring you a nice shopping post for the Bank Holiday weekend but I just haven't had time to put it together so I'm going to whizz through what I've been doing instead. After this weekend I'm refusing to move from my desk for a while so next week I'll be going into full summer wardrobe planning mode with holiday packing posts, summer workwear and all kinds of other things in [...]
It's lovely to be working with John Lewis & Partners again. Rather than write a general new season review, I thought I'd have a look at their own label collections and define what each brand stands for. Then I'll move on to a show-and-tell as I try some of the pieces myself and tell you what I think. It makes sense for John Lewis & Partners to continue developing their own ranges. Traditionally, department stores have operated as a 'house [...]
I usually do a special occasions post later in the season but I've been so overwhelmed by requests this year that I've pulled it forward. It's the things we have in common that draw us together and this year it seems that one of those things is graduation ceremonies. My friends started asking me what I was going to wear for the eldest's on New Year's Day. The ceremony isn't until July so I'd imagined thinking about it in June [...]
Well hello and a very Happy New Year to you. I feel as though I've been away for ages which is good but I've missed blogging and it was lovely to hear from a few of you who emailed last week to say that you were missing the posts. Let's catch up with a quick look back at Christmas and then a focus on new year, new plans at Midlifechic. You may remember that my last post on Friday 21st [...]
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 [...]
So here we go, it's clear that thanks to Black Friday, this has become the key Christmas shopping week in the UK. It's been interesting because last year there was a retail revolt as a number of store groups stood together and refused to run with Black Friday. However this year has seen consistently subdued sales figures. Retailers can usually rely on 'organised mums' to start their Christmas shopping as soon as the schools return after half term but even [...]
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 [...]
Well we're in full party mode chez Midlifechic. In fact as we were getting ready for yet another black-tie event on Friday, Mr MC and I concluded that it must be a sign of northern frugality that our dressiest events of the year seem to fall in October and November i.e. before venues start to add their seasonal levy! So, it seems appropriate that today's post is all about a strong northern brand that seems to be bucking the trend by [...]
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 [...]
I mentioned last week that I'm thinking carefully about how I can make Midlifechic count. Without changing things too much, I'm going to work more with charities, find brands that have good environmental and social policies and also help support small companies, particularly those run by women over 40. Today's post ticks off two of these criteria because I want to you to tell you all about what went on at a charity fundraising event that I went to last [...]
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 [...]
So you may remember that a few weekends ago I mentioned that Mr MC and I were heading off for a couple of nights on our own. We'd been invited by Warner Hotels to spend a weekend at Thoresby Hall and it was a real treat. As you know, I've been travelling up and down to London a lot recently and so we've haven't seen much of each other. At times like these we fall back on the well oiled [...]
Hello, I'm back. My schedule is still slightly disrupted but it's good to be blogging again. Let me tell you all about our trip to Valencia which turned out to be very simple and very relaxed - just what we all needed. This is one of those posts that is a bit of a personal journal as well as a midlife style blog. As you know, one of the reasons I write is for any future great, great grandchildren of [...]
Hello, it's good to be back - I feel as though I haven't blogged for ages so I'm going to make up for it with a long post. As you know, I spent a few days in London last week so I thought I'd do a "working in London - what to wear" post and of course tell you all about the UK Blog Awards 2018. By the way none of this trip is sponsored but I'm going to add [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
We've talked about the dominance of vivid scarlet in this autumn's colour palette but there is another seasonal theme coming through and it reminds me of the colour of toffee apples. Reds and greens are often associated with Christmas but if you think about it, they feel right now too, as we approach bonfire night. I've put together a selection of easy pieces to inspire you (and me - when I tried to put an outfit together to show you, [...]
As you know, I've been down in London again this week and I thought you might like to join me at the rather glamorous party I went to. Specsavers invited me to attend the Spectacle Wearer of the Year awards ceremony so that I could learn more about the fundraising they do for the anti-bullying charity Kidscape. Kidscape is an amazing organisation dedicated to helping children and teenagers who are being bullied whilst supporting their parents and teachers too. Kidscape - preventing [...]
I'm following on from my post about leather leggings with a focus on a different type of trouser. You see when I was down in London last week, I gambled on not having to stand up too much in my consultancy sessions. For once, I travelled light without 'street shoes' in my bag. It misfired. I was working with a larger team than expected and so I had to stand to enable everyone to hear (and see) me. We were [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hmm..what shall we talk about today? It's that finger drumming time of year so I thought I'd show you a few of the outfits I've been wearing recently. It will give us a chance to have a little chat about what's been going on too - I have a story that I've been meaning to tell you for a while about the trials of student internships. A school mum outfit Some of you may have seen this on Instagram. I [...]
Now, regular readers will know that there is an important annual event in my work diary. It is a summer garden party that is hosted in the shadow of Lancaster's ancient castle by one of the oldest law firms in the North. Why there? Lancaster Castle has a busy Crown Court where famous trials from the Lancashire Witches to the Birmingham Six have taken place. So, as you can imagine, a thriving legal scene surrounds it and people from the [...]
If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I spent some of last week down in London with my blogger friends from the Over40Collective. Enticing invitations have been coming thick and fast this season and if I had the time, I could have spent the summer wafting from one fabulous event to another. Sadly whenever one arrives, I have to grit my teeth and remember that I have a day job to do and an agency to run. In the end [...]
It isn't often that I dedicate a whole post to a single outfit but then it isn't often that you are approached by a brand like Winser London and invited to choose a special new outfit. It was easy for me to make my choice, I wanted to celebrate the return of the trouser suit. I showed you a glimpse of it in my last post because it is what I wore during the day on my 50th birthday. Single breasted [...]
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 [...]
May has always been my favourite month. I suspect that when I was younger it was because it is my birthday month. I anticipate birthdays a little less eagerly now but I still love May. For us, being rurally based it's the month when everything wakes up. The trees bud, the flowers bloom and people re-emerge from their houses after the dark days of Winter. Every weekend there is a fete in a different village - the time of eating of [...]
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 [...]
It's great to be working with my friends at the Over4Collective again today. We've been so busy getting our website together that we haven't had time to do a project for a while so I decided it was time to introduce them to one of my favourite brands, Finery so that we could bring you a Finery Review Spring 17 . I've spoken before about how fond I am of my contact at Finery, a young French woman who never questions the [...]
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 [...]
It's all well and good having a Cinderella moment and turning up to a party in a sparkling gown wearing glass slippers but the reality is that most of us prefer to invest in a dress that will give us cost per wear. It's a wonderful thing to have a dress or two in your wardrobe that can cover all occasions. Women will always wear these dresses better than girls because they require a certain earned elegance to pull them [...]
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 [...]
I don't know about you, but every so often an occasion crops up when I use what I'm wearing to boost my confidence. It's almost like putting on a suit of armour to help face something bigger than an ordinary day. Usually for me, it's a meeting with a tricky client but last week, as you know, I went to my middle son's school for the preview of the BBC documentary that he has been taking part in. We were only given a [...]
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 [...]
As you know, I'm really keen for my blog to help other midlife women to succeed in the second half of their lives. As such, there are certain brands that capture my imagination because they are run by women like us who have put everything on the line to follow their dreams. They include Finery, Winser, RachelWears, Baukjen, M+EM and Hope. Today I want to talk to you about the baby of the group, Hope Fashion. I introduced you to [...]
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 [...]
Given that this is primarily a style blog, I was amazed by the interest and debate that my work life balance posts provoked. There are obviously so many of us in one of two positions - struggling to maintain a career and the needs of a family or struggling to find our sense of purpose as an educated stay at home mum. I've been really touched by the many stories that you've shared with me either privately or publicly over [...]
I was very excited to be approached with my first 'style challenge' last week. Gina Bacconi asked me to look at their luxury occasionwear selection and style 3 outfits my way with Mother of the Bride /Groom in mind. Now this was good timing because I've had lots of requests from you for help with outfits for weddings, race days and even a garden party at Buckingham Palace. However, the thing that made me really want to accept the challenge [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
It's been another mad week, I've been busy trying to get the first new ranges that I've worked on signed off so the hours have been long. Most days, in addition to my usual 11 hour day, I've been starting again after the boys have gone to bed. But there is an upside, it's meant that the good times have been precious - it's the old bittersweet thing again. So, I'm not going to bore you with my work outfits which [...]
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 [...]
Hello, hope you're all having a lovely weekend, especially everyone in the UK as it's the last Bank Holiday for a while. Lots to tell you about this week so I'm going to dive straight in - I've reluctantly promised to do some planting today so the garden centre is calling. I always thought that I would find my gardening mojo when I was grown up and had a big garden. Well I have the big garden but the mojo still [...]
It's a happy day in our house today - it's our wedding anniversary. I have more reason to celebrate than most because my life now is my very own happy ending. As with all good fairytales though, I had to go through a struggle to reach it... ...Shall I tell you the story? Are You sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... Once upon a time there was a girl who left university with her whole life ahead of her. Even though [...]
A very quick post from me to wrap up the old year and welcome in the new. Our social life has continued to be stymied by the flu bug that must surely now be an epidemic. We haven't had it yet but nearly all of our plans have been disrupted by phone call after phone call from people saying they're down with it, we feel like we're more-or-less the last family standing and we're living in isolation. It's made me [...]
I hope you've all been having a lovely time. The others are out walking Gary so I've found a few moments to say hello. I've been enjoying having a little more time on my hands to play around with some old favourites in my wardrobe for a Midlifechic Christmas. Here are some outfits of the week with links attached for anything that is still in the shops: Book Club reunion chic! This was where I left off in my last post, [...]
I was going to do this post in a couple of weeks but given that the sales are on and some of these items are heavily reduced I thought I'd give you a break from tinsel and do it now. As you know this was the year that I decided to have a major wardrobe overhaul and many of you have travelled the journey with me since I started this blog. I gave myself a budget (which has now completely, utterly [...]
I'm going to give you not one but two posts this weekend which means today's is going to be a bit shorter on words than usual. A few winter outfits of the day now and in time for the 9am start on Sunday, I will bring you my edit of the Boden sale. I'll be trawling through and and picking out the best buys that fall into two categories, firstly wardrobe workhorses to fill gaps and give new life to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
As you know, on Friday night we had a little party. An old friend from the playground has recently switched from running Pampered Chef parties to 'Virgin Wines At Mine' parties (which personally I think is a much better idea) and I'd promised her ages ago that I'd hold one at our house. The tricky thing is that you need to keep the numbers to a maximum of 18 so that she can talk about the wines and get everyone's feedback. [...]
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 [...]
A task driven post from me today. I love getting emails from readers who have found Midlifechic at the beginning of their journey and are just starting to feel excited about the idea of a period of transformation. The first question they ask is where to start and, in addition to urging them to begin by eating and drinking healthily and finding a form of exercise they love (which is the bit no-one ever wants to hear), I always suggest that [...]
First of all thank you for all your lovely comments and emails after Friday's post. Your collective display of empathy and united loathing of the trials that rugby inflicts on the mothers of Britain has cheered me up no end! As did a night in Newcastle. If you've ever been there you'll know it's never dull, although unfortunately we had to avoid the more crowded bars with the eldest and his Captain Caveman cast in case it was knocked. So, [...]
Well, I'm gradually getting back into the swing of term time routine. I have to say that although I miss the long lazy days, I quite like having uninterrupted batches of time to myself again. Some of you have mentioned that you love September and the feeling of new beginnings it brings and I do agree. I think however old you are you always have that feeling of starting afresh. So, with that in mind, I've decided it's time for [...]
Well I hope you're all having a lovely Bank Holiday weekend. Mine is rather quiet because Mr MC has gone over to Newcastle for a karate course (we're well and truly back to normal) taking the 2 smalls to see their grandma. The 17 year old is packing in his restaurant shifts before he goes on rugby camp next week so it's just me and the cats - thank goodness for them! I thought I'd cover off the rest of the [...]
The reason I didn't blog on holiday. I don't know about you but I spend ages imagining the first day of our holiday throughout the winter months, planning it really carefully to make sure it's perfect. This year it wasn't. As you know our plane was delayed and so instead of a good night's sleep in a nice hotel, we had to force ourselves up after just 3 hours. I had barely nodded off because Mr MC, high worshipper of [...]
Well as you know, last night we went to the HEIST education marketing awards. They are held in a different city each year and, conveniently for us, last night they were in Manchester at the very splendid Palace Hotel. As you can imagine, I started thinking about black tie chic when I knew we'd got through the elimination rounds in April. Like everyone I have various cocktail dresses that I've only worn a handful of times but with the slender [...]
Today I'm going to show you the most beautiful piece of clothing I've ever worn and it's vintage chic. Our village school is a C of E school and each year the children have the choice to be confirmed. Along with lots of his school friends, the small one decided that he would take part and Sunday was his big day. It was a really lovely occasion and a good excuse to invite lots of great aunties and godparents, my [...]
