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 [...]
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 [...]
Hello, I'm back and as you can imagine I have a lot to catch up on so this is just a quick post today. Quite a few of you saw my brief appearance on Instagram while we were away and were keen to know where we were because I didn't link it. The thing is that I didn't want to share it on there because it's such a good find at such a good price that I don't want it [...]
It's a quick post from me today because I'm chasing the sun and heading away for a few days so I thought I'd leave you with some wardrobe styling homework as there won't be a post next Friday. I'm bringing you 3 style tips for autumn outfits - they will interest those of you who enjoy a bit of forensic outfit structuring and for those who don't, there are 3 outfit combinations to help you to get in sync [...]
From this week's weather it would appear that summer is completely over (9 degrees here!) and I haven't kept my blog up to date with what we've been doing. As you know, these posts are really just for me to look back on in the future so if you come here for the fashion updates, skip over this one, clothes will be back next week. Despite the awful weather, summer 2024 has been one of the least travelled but most [...]
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 [...]
Continuing with my series of shorter posts, here's a little summer 24 midlife lately catch-up but first I must just thank you profusely for all of the answers you gave to my question last week. I'm busy going through them and I'm so grateful to everyone who's shared so much, please know that even though it's anonymous I still feel honoured to have your confidence. I will try my utmost to pull something good from everything you've told me - [...]
I'm playing catch-up today. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that we were off for a short break as part of our summer of music project. And I'll start with an apology for the photos - we really didn't take very many because we just switched off and pottered around but I'm pulling together what we have. Our destination was Margate, it's a resort that you hear a lot about but it's a long way from a lot of [...]
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'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: [...]
I think for a lot of midlifers the concept of summer changes, especially when you find yourself no longer bound by school term dates or even edging towards retirement. Time stretches and you can take advantage of booking a holiday earlier or later in the season and actually enjoy summer in the UK. But that of course comes with its own challenges, specifically weather because it's rarely quite as good as you imagine it's going to be. And that's where [...]
Hello, it's just a quick post today because sadly one of Mal's aunties has died so we've been spending a bit of time over in Newcastle with the family for the funeral this week. She had a long and happy life so it's been a bit of a celebration too but obviously it's still difficult for those who were closest to her. I didn't have very long to put a post together before we left but what to wear to [...]
There are times when you settle into a flight home and wonder if you've even been away. And there are others where you've done so much that you feel as if you've completed an episode in the story of your life. That's how our journey through the Valencia region of Spain was, even though we were only travelling for ten days it felt like a month (in a good way I should add!). In a short time we experienced so [...]
Meteorologically at least it's time for Spring 24 - first thoughts about the trends. The buds are bursting, the birds are singing and the new collections are starting to drop. This winter feels as though it's been a long one and although we still have a little way to go, I'll be very glad to see the back of it. So today I'm looking at Boden's new collection which has an opening offer of 15% off with code Q2Y6 (until [...]
It's a bit of a cornucopia today - I don't know about you but I'm starting to feel the winter blues so I'm looking for spring wardrobe lifts that work now. Starting with clothes, I'm not ready to think about buying anything major yet in terms of outfits. The new collections won't arrive for a while but having seen the trends and some of the retail previews, I have a good idea of what I'm hoping to wear this year. [...]
It feels as though the year is slowly opening its eyes doesn't it? My grandma was an incurable romantic and she insisted that Valentine's Day was the day when every bird found its mate. Obviously nature isn't quite as well programmed as that but some are pairing off already - the owls in our garden have been busy for ages and now the herons on the canal are catching up. It does feel as if hope is there, even if [...]
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 [...]
Hello, how are you? Hanging on in there or delighted to be in the heady approach to Christmas? I'm just approaching the bridge that will take me from one state to another, I reckon I have one more week of life being ultra hectic and then I'll be able to breathe out. Thank you for keeping on reading while posts have been a little shorter, I've just about finished with my Christmas prep posts now, soon we'll be back to [...]
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 [...]
Well hello, I promised a midlife lately - October catch-up today and as I start to type I'm wondering what I'm going to talk about because life since Greece has been all about work so it's going to be a bit rough and ready. I know from the survey that there are a few of you who don't like midlife lately posts, that you'd prefer me to focus purely on clothes and retail - I do understand so I [...]
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 summer's last gasp starts to recede, it's time to think about a more autumnal look and that's where I'm beginning with this month's Boden edit which is all about stepping into Autumn 23 - new wardrobe additions. If you read last week's post about the AW23 trends, you'll see I'm working them in little ways as I think carefully about how to expand the outfits that I already have and love. Boden's first big Autumn drop landed [...]
Hasn't it been glorious to have a blast of summer this week? The mid-20s temperatures up here have been absolutely perfect, just what we needed to lift everyone's mood before the season really starts to shift. The leaves are turning, the hedgerows are heavy with berries, the boughs on our pear tree are so heavy with fruit that they're almost breaking which means it's time to start adjusting to the big move on... not in terms of 'buy it now' [...]
Well hello, I hope you had a lovely bank holiday weekend. As you know we spent ours in the sunshine with Gillian and Stephen who started off as Midlifechic readers (well perhaps not Stephen) but have now become firm friends. With disrupted travel it's been a hectic week since we got home so I'm inviting you to join us for what will have to be a whistlestop tour of our midlife weekend in Porto. A midlife weekend in Porto - [...]
Hurray - we've had a bit of sunshine across most of the UK at last although looking at the long term forecast it isn't set to stay for very long. So for this month's Boden edit I thought I'd look at capsule wardrobe building with hardworking transitional pieces that work for cooler days as well as warm ones. The thing about Boden's cross-season drops is that it's easy to flick through them and think that because there aren't any show [...]
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 [...]
We spent the weekend before last in Cornwall, as you know. We hadn't been there for 20 years, in fact the last time was in August 2003 when the youngest was only days old. Back then I'd booked a lovely cottage in St Ives with space for both sets of grandparents, thinking that it would be a good way of keeping the older two entertained while I was getting used to having three to juggle. You see I was [...]
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 [...]
And so, as I warned you last week, we're heading towards the close of the SS23 collections so today I'm going to flag up some capsule wardrobe sale buys because some of the best brands are diving into summer sale already. It's been an extremely tough season for retailers; with the cost of living crisis and also the unnaturally cold weather lasting up until the end of May, people just haven't been buying many clothes. From a consumer perspective [...]
A Boden outfit try-on today and it's always the one that gives me a bit of a lump in my throat because we've arrived at the last of the high summer drops. After the June deliveries, retailers will be moving into sale and then season transition which brings more autumnal colours and a change of mood. Anyway let's not think about that until we have to, for now we've reached the apex of clothes for warm sunshine and amazingly [...]
Ah summer holiday time. Those of you who follow my Instagram account know that we had a very busy but very lovely few days in France last week. I'll tell you all about it when I've had time to go through the photos but today let's think about summer and what we might wear now that the days are softening and trips away are in sight. With different kinds of holidays in mind I'm looking at what John Lewis have [...]
My goodness, another bank holiday, it's a surfeit of the sweetest things for anyone who's busy at work at the moment isn't it? I wonder how many of you have coronation plans. It seems to be very low key here, nobody we know is doing any kind of royal celebration which seems a shame and I wonder if we've just had so much pomp and ceremony over the last few years that it's lost its edge - or maybe it's [...]
My week has been completely railroaded by work projects I'm afraid. I had to go down to London and then over to Newcastle for meetings which means I haven't had time to put the cornucopia together that I wanted to do. I had two choices - I could either not post at all or show you the photos from our final week in Kenya. I'm hoping it might help you to get into the mood for sunnier days and times [...]
Well hello! As promised it's a bit of a catch-up today and then I have a lovely cornucopia of emerging brands run by midlife women for you. With work and the boys coming home and the various bits of travelling we've been doing, 2023's felt a bit like a bobsleigh ride so far and I have all kinds of things I've been meaning to talk about here. I'm warning you now that this is quite a long one, in [...]
Travelling to the Masai Mara - Kenya safari review Oh my goodness the weather! Let me take you to the sunshine as a reminder that it's out there somewhere and will be with us soon. So, as I ended last week's Kenya safari review post, we were having an early night before our long journey to the Masai Mara. It was a break of day start and it took all morning to get there. You may remember that we'd [...]
I'm posting early because I have an exciting afternoon ahead - it's our NW reader meet-up and I'm so glad it's here to bring light into January. So how's your month going? Chilly isn't it? I think I'd rather have it this way than just damp and grey though. There's something special about this time of year when the earth seems to be sleeping until you look more closely and see the shoots starting to come through, signs that soon [...]
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 [...]
As we're getting into the swing of Christmas now, for my last Boden edit of the year it made sense to look at what we might wear when we're in the mood to look festive. Every year, at the end of November ( for me anyway) there comes a morning where I suddenly want to move away from my autumn clothes and add a little touch of something extra to my outfits. And that's what today's post is going [...]
I have a really lovely little find to share with you today. I haven't added to my Great British Boltholes series of good places to escape to since before lockdown but now I want to tell you about a bijou hotel in North Yorkshire. It's the one we stayed in last weekend and when I say bijou, I mean it's small and personal and family run. So, I'm going to talk a little bit about it and its surroundings [...]
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 [...]
And so I can't hold it off any longer, Autumn is most definitely here and I can't believe how suddenly it's arrived this year. September is often the warmest month of the season for us up here and yet I've already found myself digging out gloves for my walks with Ted. So today you find me edging into A/W22 with White Stuff . I'm bringing you my personal edit from their new collection and to go with it, you'll see [...]
And so I'm back from the unexpected gift that rounded off what has been a fabulous summer - a trip to St Lucia with the team from Sandals Resorts. When I left you at the end of my last post I was feeling both nervous and excited. I was delighted to have been invited but a bit surprised too because I've always seen Sandals Resorts as a honeymoon destination - so let me tell you how we found it. I [...]
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 [...]
Well how lovely it is to be chatting to you again. It's odd but life feels as though it slips through my fingers when I'm not blogging; time's tendrils gather round me and without being logged, the memories evanesce. So my next two posts will be an indulgence for me - I need to squirrel away our happy Kalkan times because the boys' lives are really moving on and I can't see us the five of us having the opportunity [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Well hello and Happy Easter! Isn't it great to have a long weekend ahead? I haven't actually been looking forward to it because we had meetings booked in (retailers have no sympathy with Bank Holidays) but happily they've now been moved to next week so we have an unexpected break and an almost empty diary so we're just going to enjoy the last weekend of the boys being home. It's a bit of a mishmash today, I have some try-ons [...]
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 [...]
I've been dipping in and out of new season but I think it's time to declare that Spring's arrived. There are hosts of golden daffodils in the Lake District and over in Newcastle this week we've been watching the kittiwakes returning to nest at The Baltic. After two muted summers living under the shadow of Covid I'm looking forward to updating the outfits that I have in my wardrobe and being out and about again. So I thought now would [...]
It's time for a catch-up and to log how much the world has changed (yet again) in such a short space of time. So before I move on to talking about a very special family weekend away, I want to acknowledge it. As you know, I write this blog as a form of diary so for the sake of record it's now two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine sending Europe and the rest of the world into a state of [...]
Today I'm focusing on a brand I haven't covered before with a White Stuff review. I've had to think hard about why I've so rarely included their clothes on here and I think it's because for a very long time I haven't felt as if I'm their customer. However, a little while ago I was contacted by the new team there which I was thrilled to see now includes some great people I know who've moved over from other brands [...]
Well as you may have guessed from the picture above, I have something a little different for you today - Mr MC is making his modelling debut on Midlifechic... for one post only. When John Lewis & Partners wondered out loud if we might do a his and hers jeans try-on I wasn't sure how he'd react but he was thrilled by the thought of being at the other side of the lens for a change. His only stipulation was [...]
Thank you for all of your lovely blog birthday wishes last week. I'm writing this in a bit of a time-warp on Tuesday night because we've decided to act on our empty-nesters' ability to be spontaneous and head off for a few days to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We're not going very far at all, certainly not to the exotic climes that we should have been enjoying right now but we've realised that with a new project looming this might [...]
I'm going to talk about how to make winter outfits look pulled together today but first I just want to say how nice it is when a post falls on Midlifechic's actual birthday - my blog is 8 years old today. This is post number 655 and what a journey it's been. As always I've been flicking through my early pictures and my first thought is how tired I look but then I think about how busy life was with [...]
And it's a back to normal post today with 'How to pack the right clothes for a weekend break'. But first I just want to thank everyone who commented on last week's post about spiking. I've read every one but I haven't replied because keeping on going over it isn't doing me any good. However I have a call scheduled with the Inquiry Manager for the Home Affairs Committee on Monday so I'm hoping to fight back and do what [...]
So that was Christmas! Hello 2022 - I'm wishing a rather belated Happy New Year to you. As you'll have gathered if you follow my Instagram account, our Christmas was lovely but not quite the one we expected because along with so many others, I went down with Covid. It meant that I took last week off to recoup some of my lost time with the boys before they went back - and to recover a bit. So there aren't [...]
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 [...]
Hello and Happy Friday everyone. With the last few posts focusing on Christmas gifts it feels like a while since we've had a catch-up so today I bring you an assortment of outfit pictures with a bit of chat in between. It's a funny old time again isn't it? Just a week ago we went to our first Christmas party, marvelling at how normal everything felt and then within a few days there's a new named variant and we're all [...]
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 [...]
And just in case you didn't already think this year's whizzing past, today I bring you the last of the new Autumn drops. After this it will just be what I've been wearing and then, very soon we'll be moving into the sparkly season. So if you haven't worked out how you're going to dress most days from now until (let's face it) April - it's time. Today I'm working with John Lewis & Partners and I've put together a [...]
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 [...]
AW21 trends and easy ways to wear them Trends - do they even matter any more? Whereas designers and glossy magazine editors used to dominate the world of fashion and dictate what we'd wear every season, since the arrival of the internet and social media in particular there's been a real change in the balance of power. Now pretty much any style goes if you own it and wear it with confidence. So I almost decided against doing this new [...]
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 [...]
As we approached summer this year I thought it was going to feel like a long one. Without the rush of a big family holiday to prepare for I imagined it being languid, like the summers you read about in interwar novels where people spent long, limpid days at home in the shade with a book. And of course it isn't turning out that way at all, it still feels as though time's rushing by and weeks are eaten up [...]
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 [...]
It's that cruel point in the season when the sun's barely started shining and yet it's time to start wrapping up wardrobe posts about Summer drops. Already the new season previews are starting and I find myself peeping reluctantly through my fingers at Autumn clothes. This is the last of my SS21 posts with Boden and I've been thinking hard about how to approach it because I'd usually be talking about packing for Summer holidays with wafty beach dresses and [...]
And hurray for a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, don't you just love this time of year? It has to be said that if any month deserves not one but two Bank Holidays it's May so I hope you have plans that include at least one pop of joy. We're currently over in Newcastle starting to bring our ideas to life. As you know all we've done so far is paint the whole place white, not because that's the [...]
It's one of those 'conversations with a friend' posts today because I had a panicky text from one who'd been told rather suddenly that her office is going to reopen for three days a week and she was dumbfounded. "It's going to mean going to bed and getting up at regular times again... and setting an alarm... and packing lunch... and getting dressed - I know you've been getting dressed all through this so tell me what to wear?!" Well [...]
It's time for a March cornucopia because there are a few things I've been meaning to mention. Let's start with clothes because change is afoot in the UK with groups of six being allowed to meet outside from Monday - and of course this will soon be followed by pubs opening their outdoor seating areas on 12th April so we need to think about what to wear for outdoor meet-ups. This week I've noticed that lots of pubs are busy [...]
Well hello, how are you? Feeling buoyed by Boris's roadmap or not? I've noticed that this week has been an emotional one for a lot of people. Everyone I've spoken to seems to be swinging between elation at having a hairdresser's appointment in the diary and despair at still having weeks of limbo ahead. I feel the same and I'll have a go at encapsulating it in Midlife Lately at the end of this post because I'll be fascinated to [...]
And here we are in February, a month I like because it takes us swiftly out of winter and into the beginning of spring. It's a month of love in our house because not only do we have Valentine's Day but also our wedding anniversary. First though comes Midlifechic's birthday. Yesterday this little blog of mine reached the grand old age of seven and of course in the context of the lives that we've lived, that doesn't seem very old. [...]
Here we are at the end of January, we've made it through the year's darkest month so I think this weekend should feel like a small celebration of some kind. A glass of wine... a bar of chocolate... a new lipstick... a jumper in a spring colour, there's definitely a reason for a little treat. The buzzword for it would be 'self care' but I hate that so I'm just going to call it a personal reward for keeping on [...]
Happy Friday everyone, that's the most difficult week of January over with and even I have to confess that I've found it trying. It began with Blue Monday and then we were battered by Storm Christoph - I'm hoping that none of you are in the worst hit areas, extreme weather really isn't what we need at the moment. Once again today's post is a mix of things that have caught my eye or sprung to mind while I've been [...]
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 [...]
Well how are you? Full of beans and ready for the Christmas break or limping and just desperate to get there? I confess that I'm in the latter camp. I woke up yesterday wondering what on earth was wrong with me because I felt as though every last ounce of energy had left my body. I had a flu jab on Saturday so at first I thought it must be that but then I mentioned how I was feeling in [...]
It's been a while since we had a midlife lately catch up because I've been so busy with everything Christmas but it's starting to feel as though most of the planning is done now so I can come up for air. Wasn't November a funny old month? Even more of a nothingness than November usually is so I'm not sure how interesting this post is going to be but I suppose we're all in the same boat. As always, ours [...]
Well the clocks go back here this weekend so we'll be officially saying goodbye to British Summer Time. Today I'm doing a Baukjen AW20 try-on, showcasing a few pieces from this tiny British brand that has continued to shine ethically throughout this difficult year. And at the end of the post I'll show you my tiny collection of new bags that have finally arrived after the hard work we did in the summer. New readers often ask me how Baukjen [...]
Retail update - small British brands - and à bientôt... I'm typing with my fingers crossed because if everything goes to plan, we'll be setting off on our holiday tonight. Preparing to go has been challenging because all kinds of things have kept changing. This has included our usual petsitters being offered a holiday that was too good to resist on the same dates as ours which wasn't a problem until we realised the cats' inoculations had run out and [...]
Hello, how are you... it's been a while. As you know I've been away from my desk for the last week staycationing in London and Newcastle which means today's post is going to be a catch-up (and it's a bit of a long one so pour yourself a drink). So what was it like to go away just as the lockdown began to lift? Staycationing in London post Covid 19 London Thursday We started our journey on a very quiet [...]
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 [...]
This new schedule of only posting once a week is going to take some getting used to but it's nice to be back. It's going to be a bit of a cornucopia today because there hasn't been much going on here other than work which has mostly revolved around planning and strategy meetings and I can tell you, they've never been harder than they are after more than 100 days of lockdown and counting. However we are, at last, making [...]
Well (and I say this cautiously) it's starting to feel as though we're coming through to the other side of the great coronavirus lockdown. I hope you've had a good weekend and that you've managed to start meeting some of the people you've missed so much. We've caught up with a few friends and clients now (although the weather hasn't been great here so some conversations have suddenly been cut short by torrential downpours) even so, it's felt good to [...]
Hello and happy Tuesday everyone. I'm back after a couple of days off last week when as you might remember, Mr MC and I intended to make a plan for the next few months. We wanted to focus mostly on our business but of course like most people's, our work and life is so closely interwoven that we needed to consider everything else as well. So, we sat down with coffee and notepads and after some drumming of fingers we [...]
Hello, I'm out of sync at the moment because I had two days off for my birthday last week and then tunnelled into the Bank Holiday. It means I'm behind with the comments (and everything else) but I'll crack on with them after this. First of all though, a catch-up, starting with midlife lately and then I'll move on to some SS20 at home outfit ideas because a few new drops have landed this week and they'll be the last [...]
Quarantine - as the days roll on - Coronavirus 2020 How are you getting on? I have to admit that today is the first day when I've felt a bit fed up of all of this so I'm glad it's a blogging day. With the possibility that somebody has happened upon this post few years on from now, let me just apply some context. We're now in the eighth week of quarantine and in Boris Johnson's broadcast on Sunday evening [...]
Hello everyone, I'm back from my 'week off.' I hope you've all been settling into this new way of living, I thought we'd have a quick Midlife lately quarantine catch up today and then perhaps go on to look at some clothes on Friday. As this spell of good weather continues (she says, touching wood), I'm starting to think about a wardrobe for a summer that is largely, if not completely, going to be spent at home. Before that though [...]
We're coming to the end of the third week of lockdown and so I thought I'd do another simple diary. As readers you will of course know what it's like to go shopping at the moment but I'm recording it here for legacy purposes. I hope that soon we'll be looking back with disbelief and I don't want to forget how extraordinary this time was. So today do please add in the comments anything that's struck you as you've tried [...]
I thought we'd take a break from discussing the virus today and settle back into our happy zone of what to wear. I'm keeping it relevant because this is a personal project. On Sunday I sat down as usual to think about the week ahead and with no complex projects ahead, it struck me that this is an opportunity for a quasi-clinical test on the smart casual element of my wardrobe. So I set myself a test to build a [...]
A casual midlife lately Hello, it's time for a quick catch up I think with a casual midlife lately. Wasn't February grim? It really seemed to drag, I think everyone in the UK is feeling battered by the weather. We usually go away for our wedding anniversary early in the month and I really missed it - thank goodness it's March. We're surrounded by signs of spring up here - the daffodils are out, there are lambs in the fields [...]
What I've been wearing and doing in February Hello, I hope you're sitting somewhere warm away from the storm - crazy out there isn't it? I'm still busy poring through the survey results - it takes quite a while to read through 3000 sets of comments but as I said last week, it's fascinating. One of the most common requests that's coming up is for more general outfit shots of what I've been wearing when I've been doing everyday things [...]
What I wear in January, outfit ideas women over 40 Today's post is the first of a new series that I'm aiming to include every month featuring a compilation of outfits that I've been wearing for work and weekends. These posts will show you what I wear day in, day out and they should contrast nicely with the new season try-ons that I do with some of our favourite high street brands. I'm not going to patronise you by saying [...]
It's all spinning a bit too fast at the moment, despite the fact that I declined the blogger invitations that came my way. We haven't had a Christmas as busy as this one for a long time so I haven't had time to come up with a post... all I can do today is take you along with me virtually. Allons-y! Christmas midlife lately - ordinary work day This was last Thursday (I think) when for once I had a [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
Hello, I'm breathing a small sigh of relief this week because the North West business exhibition that we've been managing is finally over. It meant that I didn't have much time for Midlifechic last week so why I thought it would be a good time to do the sale I don't know. As some of you gathered, there were technical gremlins galore on Friday night and I was stuck in the office on my own unable to get through to [...]
As I mentioned last week, I have one last chapter of our 'summer of last hurrahs' to tell you about. When we got back from our teen FOMO-riddled two weeks in Turkey, I was puzzling over how to approach future holidays with the boys when Travelodge got in touch to ask if they could help me with a summer post. Immediately the idea of a road trip sprang to mind and so they suggested we [...]
It's another reader request today - can you tell I'm ticking off my to-do list before we go away? A few people have mentioned the difficulty of finding truly invisible lingerie to wear under things like white linen trousers and low backed dresses in the summer, especially since I featured the halternecks I wore for our French trip. So, over the last few weeks I've been calling in samples to test and I've come up with my pick of the [...]
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 [...]
Just a quick post today because I can't imagine many of you will be reading when there's glorious sunshine outside. Anyway, we're back from France and I'll tell you all about it and how the packing capsule worked out next week. In the meantime I'm whizzing through some 'summer sales - great buys' and I'll end with good news in a quick midlife lately roundup. Summer sales - great buys It's hard to think of anything other than t-shirts at [...]
After months of toil and tension, the exams have ended and this week our summer of last hurrahs began with the first of the trips you saw me planning - a few days in the Lake District with teenagers. We were invited to stay at The Swan Hotel and Spa at Newby Bridge which is in my favourite part of the Lakes, the Western Peninsula. The Swan has always been one of my top five hotels in the Lakes but [...]
What to pack for a chic weekend in the countryside can be a far harder challenge than preparing for hot sunshine. While the rest of the country barbecued from dawn until dusk last weekend, we had a band of incessant rain in the Lake District with cold winds too - I had to stop looking at Instagram because it just wasn't fair. However, we plough on and this post is, in fact, me planning for the first of our 'summer [...]
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 just struck me that we're almost at the end of April - the late Easter this year has confused my body clock. It means of course that we're in a retail hiatus because the big summer drops usually arrive in the first week of May. So, there are some good retail offers as they clear stock to make space for the new arrivals. I'll cover those later in the post but first, a round-up of spring sunshine outfits from [...]
Well here we are on 'Brexit Day' at the end of what must have been one of the craziest weeks in British history. Our business is feeling the impact. We work with a number of Sci-Tech businesses that are being badly hit by the loss of European funding, the stalling of potential global funding and the inability to get innovations passed in the absence of a governing system. As a result, some people we know are facing the loss of [...]
For the last few weeks I've had my nose to the grindstone, working hard to meet client deadlines for the end of the financial year which have had to include multiple strategic approaches for the potential outcomes of Brexit. I think we all knew it was going to be a rocky road didn't we so, when I was invited to review The Wordsworth Hotel back in December, I deliberately asked if I could schedule it for now. A Lake District [...]
Hello and Happy Friday! One of the most common requests from the survey feedback was for more pictures of everyday outfits so that you can see how I recycle things. I've been doing my best to remember to get them - it means they're all just iPhone shots so maybe not the best quality (although I'm sure Apple would disagree). So here you go, a few early spring outfits of the day. Liver bird This is from a couple of [...]
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 [...]
We're coming towards the end of the series on how to create a capsule wardrobe. A few bloggers who cover similar themes have asked why I haven't charged for it or at least collected email addresses in return for the downloads so I thought I'd explain for others who are wondering. I'm very flattered that you think it's worth charging for but there are two reasons why I haven't. Firstly, it's been a way of giving something back to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hello, its a post of two halves today because this week has taken an unexpected turn. I'll move onto that later but I want to start by telling you about the dinner party that I mentioned we were hosting last weekend. You see a little while ago I was contacted by a company called La Belle Assiette. I hadn't heard of them before but they're an online chef service. Their website covers most of the UK and it enables you [...]
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 [...]
And so here we go, the last taste of high summer on Midlifechic before we move on to Autumn. That means we should talk a little bit about beach holiday style before we move into cosy jumper and boots territory. So here's my beach holiday packing post mortem. Packing for a beach holiday - conclusions As an experiment, I packed differently this year. You may have noticed that about 95% of my holiday wardrobe focused on dresses. Once I'd worn [...]
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 [...]
And so the world of style blogging is hitting its summer lull. As the sales are in full swing and the storybook sunshine goes on, I can feel my mind turning away from its usual fascination with retail towards the things that matter more. I'm very aware that for our family, this will be our last calm summer for a while. We have no important exam results to anticipate and when autumn comes, our status quo will continue with everyone [...]
You have no idea what a rollercoaster ride it has been in the world of retail this summer. As I mentioned last week, in my April meetings the brands that I work with had all scheduled a summer sale 'pull forward' because of the bad weather. Since then they've been playing chicken with the weather and delaying the start dates for as long as possible. This is when the 'Ops' teams send the marketing teams to the verge of a [...]
Hello and Happy Friday - we had a surprise parcel from Turkey this morning so I'm talking bags today. This will be the last delivery for the Midlifechic Boutique for a while because my factory have had all of their capacity taken over by one of the big Bond Street brands who have high demand for their Autumn collection. It means I can't have any more made until August but I don't mind because working for this iconic luxury label [...]
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 [...]
This morning I am feeling every one of my 51 years which could have something to do with the fact that I decided to party like a 15 year-old in celebration of my 51st birthday. I haven't stopped all weekend and my brain is dead so I'm going to let the pictures do the talking and share a bit of my birthday joy with you. It all started on Friday night when my sister and brother-in-law popped over with presents. [...]
I have a few different things to talk to you about today. Firstly a capsule summer city wardrobe challenge - can I create a chic wardrobe for a month in just fifteen pieces? Then a few outfits of the day and finally, full details of the blogger sale that will open on Sunday morning 13th May at 11am (British Summer Time). Please read the details carefully to avoid any misunderstanding or disappointment. Capsule summer city wardrobe challenge I get all [...]
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 [...]
Well first of all let me start by thanking you for the overwhelming response to the survey on Tuesday. I've switched it off now because there were many more replies than I expected and it was getting expensive but it was worth every penny. I'm currently going through all of the data and comment fields. I will get back to you on some of the points that popped up repeatedly over the next few weeks and I'll answer the first [...]
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 [...]
I've had a great week and it's all thanks to you and the very first post that I wrote this year when I was looking for a better way to manage 2018. If you remember, I was feeling as though I was being pulled in too many different directions and not doing anything well. Since then I've been spring cleaning my life whilst incorporating some of the tips you shared and at last I'm starting to see the difference. Lots [...]
(Note to confused overseas readers - Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday is on 11th March in the UK) I've always maintained that Mother's Day is my favourite day of the year. It's better than a birthday because you don't get any older and it's a celebration of the incredible task that we undertake as we help our children grow into decent human beings. For the last 20 years I've been lucky. On Mother's Day my nest has been full and [...]
Wow - what can you say about the weather that hasn't already been said across every news channel?! As I type, Storm Emma is blowing in from the sea. There is nothing to shelter us from the coastline and so the winds are whistling around us like something from a horror movie. In all of the years that I have lived here, I have never known the snow to fall so incessantly. So, I decided it was time for one [...]
At last I have the opportunity to write one of my most requested posts - a local's guide for when the weather is iffy in the Lake District. People often get in touch to say that they love the Lakes but hesitate to come because of the rain... or that they love the scenery but feel there isn't much to do for non-walkers. So, when an interesting brief popped into my Inbox I knew this was my chance to share [...]
I've finally managed to plough through the hundreds (yes honestly) of photos we took on our midlife adventure in Transylvania. There's just so much to show you that even after some serious culling there are a lot of them. So I'm going to try to make sure this Ice Hotel Transylvania review isn't too wordy. Join us virtually through the pictures... and even the occasional video. Before I start though, I just want to say that I have two pieces of fashion [...]
It's been a busy week so it's a quick dose of real life today. I've remembered to get someone to take a quick shot each day so here's a week of winter outfits for women over 40. Winter outfits for women over 40 Library Sunday We're starting last Sunday with me in my happy zone - I had to go analogue for some research I was doing. It may be a nerdy thing to admit but I love it when Google doesn't [...]
To celebrate the end of what is allegedly the most miserable week of the year, I thought we'd indulge in a spot of retail therapy with some January casual wardrobe updates. Before we do, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your kind and very touching words after my last post. It was a difficult one to write because I just don't know how many people read my blog locally and I don't want to make anyone [...]
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 [...]
T'was the week before Christmas... and I looked at my diary only to realise that I have blithely arranged for an awful lot of festive gatherings to take place... all through our house. I'm not quite sure how that happened but I have some serious food prepping to do. So, as I will shortly be mutating from Midlifechic to Midlifechef, my last post will have to be a quick one. I'm starting with a quick winter sale edit because if [...]
So today I thought we'd take a break from Christmas because I have a few random winter outfits of the day that have been sitting on my desktop. There is no particular theme or order, they're just things I've been wearing for work and weekends. Before I start though, some of you may be aware of questions that have been raised recently on various forums (can't help thinking the plural should be fora) and social media channels about bloggers and [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Autumn 2017 coats. In my last post I mentioned that longer length coats were more prominent this season. However coats are an investment and I had a couple of emails from readers saying they didn't want to buy something that could be a passing trend. So, today I'm looking at all kinds of coats for autumn 2017. I've focused specifically on day coats though because we'll be going full steam into partywear before you know it. In the meantime, there [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
It's back to school for us today which means back to work too. We need to get back into the swing of mealtimes and bedtimes, lunch boxes and shoe polishing - all of the things that don't seem to matter over the long summer break. I had a shock last week when I realised I only had one set of name tapes to stitch into uniform this year. I still have a large pack for each boy in my sewing [...]
So we're kicking off Autumn 2017 with my favourite post of the season - the launch of Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo AW17. It is live now in the UK and launches at 9pm ET in the US (although be prepared - it launched an hour earlier than advertised in the UK). I think everybody who reads Midlifechic knows that Inès is my ultimate style icon. Other than Helen Mirren, I don't think there is anyone like her in terms of [...]
It feels too early to be doing this. I made a quiet pledge not to complain about the weather but really - 2017 has been the year that summer forgot. So, I've been finding myself looking ahead to Autumn without feeling guilty. After all these are the clothes that we wear for about nine months of the year. Style-wise there is more change afoot than there has been for quite a few years so I thought I'd kick off with [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Let's have a quick catch up today. I say quick because I lost a whole day's work this week thanks to lightning striking the local substation. It meant that we had no electricity on Wednesday from 11am until nearly midnight. The schools were closed and, as always, at first it was fun. We played boardgames and then lit the barbecue so that we could munch our way through the melting freezer food. By 9pm though, when we had reached the [...]
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 [...]
Hello - as promised, I'm back with part two of my holiday packing posts for women over 40. It has taken a very long time to put it together so I'm mostly going to let the pictures do the talking. Thank you to everyone who got in touch to say there was a mistake in the downloadable packing list. I have a junior designer in the office with a red face but really it's my fault for not checking it [...]
It's all my fault. I jinxed the summer by packing away my Winter knits over the weekend. I even switched the heating off. We had a barbecue and everything was lovely - then Monday dawned with torrential rain and a temperature of 12 degrees! However, I've had a lot of emails over the last few weeks asking for a post on what to wear for Summer in the city. I then included this dress in my Chelsea Flower Show post last week without [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Happy Friday everyone. As we count down to the Easter weekend I'm hoping you can feel that Spring is in the air. Today I'm reviewing Uniqlo's new collection. As you already know, Uniqlo is a brand that I rate very highly. One of the the things I like most about them is the balance of their retail mix. They launch limited edition collections which are collaborations with brands and people ranging from Inès de La Fressange to Miffy. This means there is always something new to see. [...]
Happy Tuesday everyone. It looks as though I will be spending a disproportionate amount of time driving this week as I have meetings that range from the Scottish Border right down to the Midlands. So I am putting together a quick post with a few of the things that I have spotted recently that I think you'll like and I'm finishing off with a round up of Mother's Day weekend. Easter This is probably the last stretch of time that we [...]
My most read wardrobe posts are always the ones that focus on creating an edited collection so I thought it was time for another one. I've been working on my own wardrobe for Spring as I'm having a huge clearout and so I'm using my own plan as a basis for this post on capsule wardrobe updates for women over 40. I'm going to start with jeans because they are increasingly becoming acceptable for working wardrobes as well as weekend looks. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Wow that was quite a response to the last post on midlife loneliness! As I said at the outset, when I receive a cluster of emails on a particular topic, it suggests that something is going on at a wider level. I knew I could count on you to rally around Anna but what I didn't anticipate was the wonderful outpouring of empathy. I'm not going to write a long post today, partly because a power cut has wiped five hours off my [...]
Hello. We haven't had a 'trying it on' post for ages so today I thought I'd show you some of the things I've been ordering. It's half term here and I've been doing my best to work from home and spend some time with the boys because I know these days are trickling through my fingers. In fact I only have 4 more February half terms left in my life. So, join me in the chaos. In the pictures below, you can see [...]
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 [...]
Today's post is one of the ones that goes a bit wrong. I had initially intended it to be about the new pre-collection from Hush but when I looked through it, it wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped so the only piece I'm going to feature is the charcoal and brown sugar stella jumper which is back in stock. These jumpers are a lovely cut and they somehow make you look younger. Charcoal and camel star jumper I have one in [...]
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 [...]
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 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 [...]
There comes a point each year in my blogging calendar when I notice that all of my Summer brights have given way to a dull palette of grey, camel and black. As I was looking through my Instagram feed and pondering this, it occurred to me that it is easy to wear colour in Summer when you only need to co-ordinate one or two items of clothing at a time. As Winter approaches and you pile on layers of tops, bottoms, tights, coats, [...]
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 [...]
I don't know about you, but when I get to this point in the season, I'm over the excitement of Autumn clothes because I've become accustomed to the new trends. It feels as though each retailer is simply offering a slightly adjusted version of the same thing and I yearn for something that stands apart. There are a handful places that I turn to for visual refreshment: Cos, Me+Em, Kin at John Lewis (not Modern Rarity - I feel like I'm the [...]
Today we're looking at Marks and Spencer fashion for women over 40. As you know, ever since I went down to the press day I've been excited about their new looks for this season. My favourite pieces still haven't been released but I think they're off to a good start. To launch the new season they are running a blogger challenge. A couple of weeks ago they gave a number of us a look book which contained about 40 different items [...]
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 [...]
Last week I shared the restrictions I impose on myself before I click on a 'sale started' link. I still stand by the suggestion that you should limit your high summer pieces to about 10% of your total wardrobe. However there is one sale that I shop a little differently and that is the Boden sale. I've found that every time I've had a conversation about Boden this season people have been suggesting that it's a brand that has lost its way. In fact it's [...]
So the sales have started early. Because the weather has been bad there is a glut of clothing that retailers need to offload and temptation is everywhere. I've been through a number of stores and picked out what I think are the best bargains but before we start, let's make sure we set off on the right track. 12 things to remember when you hit the summer sales Don't forget that high summer clothing only needs to be a very small percentage of [...]
I think summer in the city is one of the hardest things to get right sartorially. I'm casting my mind back to my commuting days, heading into the urban heat island of London and seeing the yellow haze of smog hanging over the city as the train approached Waterloo. A hot city is a harsh environment but wearing the right clothes, whether you're a tourist or a native, can make all the difference to how you cope with the day so, summer [...]
Paris is always a good idea - you'll be pleased to know that our trip was good. So good in fact that I've had to break it up into 3 consecutive posts, Paris by day followed by 2 Parisian nights. So, how do you spend two days in Paris when you already know the city well? You revisit a few of your favourite places and make the rest up as you go along. This was our weekend... When we woke up on [...]
I had a very busy day down in London yesterday meeting up with some of my favourite brands and gently putting our midlife views across to them. We're beginning to gain traction ladies - they're noticing the number of discussions that take place on this blog and slowly, we're starting to be taken more seriously. I'll share some of the things I learned with you over the next few weeks but first I just want to show you some pictures of [...]
My last two posts have been practical ones, focusing on summer essentials - tailored cropped trousers and summer sandals so today I thought I'd do something a bit more frivolous. I'm writing especially with Nicky B in mind. For those who read the comments section, you'll know that she is my longest standing and most regular commenter. She has been with me since the very beginning (shortly followed by Nicola R who is also very special to me) and I [...]
I've been searching for the best tailored cropped trousers for women over 40 and this is what Marie Kondo has done to me - made me super fussy. As you may know, she has developed a fascinating process known as the Konmari method and some of you have been in touch to tell me just how truly life-changing it has been for you. The interesting thing about the process is handling each item to see whether it sparks joy and if not, [...]
With Easter having fallen so early this year it feels as though we should be in full throes of Spring outfits but it's just a bit too chilly. This is usually the time when I fall back on a jersey breton and a pea coat but for some reason I'm just not feeling much love for them this year. I was struggling for inspiration until I received a Jack Wills email. Jack Wills are well known for the the British preppy [...]
We've been celebrating Christmas chez Midlifechic this week and it's all been a bit hectic. I'm not sure if you remember that I was disappointed in December because the impact of Storm Desmond meant that my brother and his family changed their plans to come up from London so we didn't see them. Anyway they arrived this week and we've had a lovely time. My nephews are 24 and 26 so it was a real treat to spend some time with [...]
As the weather is starting to warm up, I'm finding that I'm gradually removing my scarves and polo neck jumpers which puts the focus back onto jewellery. The bold statement necklaces that have been so popular for the last few years suddenly don't feel right. Jewellery has shifted to being more delicate and gold is back along with fine chains and pendants. I'm also really pleased to be seeing the re-emergence of pearls. By the time you reach 40, you [...]
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'm very late blogging this week (again) but I have news on my work life balance and a tough midlife career decision that I can finally share with you. One Sunday night a few weeks ago, I was sitting at the dinner table with my head in my hands dreading the madness of the week to come, feeling that I was living in a very small but very fast hamster wheel. Mr MC looked across at me and asked me what [...]
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 [...]
Just a very quick hello from me to say that after another hectic week I'm unplugging this weekend and spending some time with my boys including the prodigal son who has returned for the weekend. (wearing Boden cashmere v neck, Jigsaw dark denim shirt, Claudia Bradbury necklace and for the eagle eyed, the only reason I don't have my wedding ring on is because I've been to the gym and it's still in my bag, fear not)! No fatted [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hello friends. It's been a very busy week - I feel as though I haven't stopped talking - presentations, long shared car journeys, meetings and dinners. It will all start again on Monday (yes I'm working on Monday again - the 3 day week isn't happening)! I need to retreat into some peace and quiet to recharge my batteries for a bit. So - not as many words as usual today - I know you'll understand. Instead I'm treating you [...]
It's a quick post from me today because we are on the final countdown to dropping the eldest off at university tomorrow. I'm not going to talk about how I'm feeling now because I suspect I will be offloading on you when it's all over. Suffice to say that the letting go is yet another bit of motherhood that no-one prepares you for and boy does it hurt. In the meantime, I've had a week off; I've been doing shoulder rehab [...]
So, we've looked at Boden and Hush, so today I thought I'd share a Marks and Spencer order with you. I can only apologise for the photos - my photographer arrived home late from school after a week that has been filled with rugby trials and endless homework. He was tired and most definitely not in the mood to play David Bailey but he gamely did his best. So here is a rather dark try on of my M&S delivery [...]
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, here I am as promised with the first of my new season posts. Going forward I'm planning to look at specific categories - jeans will be one of the first because shapes are changing. I'm going to spend a day on my own in Manchester tomorrow doing a serious recce of the shops, but this week I thought I'd do a review of Boden autumn 2015, showing you my try on of the things I ordered from the new collection. For [...]
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 [...]
Oh it feels as though it's been a long week. Here's a quick update on what I've been doing. As you know, last weekend we went down to London to undertake the task of sorting through the belongings of my friend who died a couple of months ago. It was a very strange thing to do. If you've ever had to do this sort of thing, you'll know that you go into a very operational mode. I think it's a [...]
A superfast post from me tonight before I head off down to London. A reader, Sally, emailed me this week and said that she was missing my weekly work outfit round-ups because she finds them helpful, even if I do repeat things. So that made things easy, here goes: this is what a Head of Marketing & Creative wears for work.... Monday - late home after supper with our German agent Whistles double faced blazer; Boden blouse; Boden bistro crops; Zara shoes Tuesday [...]
Hello, I'm late posting this week, I know...and I haven't been very good at taking outfit shots but I thought I'd tell you all about the fragrance training I've been doing which, given the weather and the lack of opportunity to wear anything very Summery, is far more interesting. So, as you'll remember, I had my 'nose' tested a few weeks ago and it transpired that I have a relatively good sense of smell. This means that I've been given the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
You might want to make a cup of tea - I've got lots to talk about this week! First of all it's been very exciting to be approached by Boden. Lots of you have been commenting on their growing relationship with bloggers and how they seem to have been focusing on the younger 20-somethings who, realistically, have never been their core audience. There have been a few threads discussing it on Mumsnet with women noting that whereas most brands are making [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Another week gone already - before we know it we'll be halfway through the year. It's been an interesting week for me, as you know my day job includes the creative direction of the products that we develop and this week I've had two days out of the office devoted to beautiful things which has to be good for the soul. On Monday I was down in London at a trade show where the small, creative companies release their concepts for [...]
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. [...]
Boo! I thought I'd surprise you with an early post this week. It's actually because I'm heading off to the funeral shortly and so I'll be mostly offline for a few days. I will however be able to spend some time answering emails on the train - I do apologise to those of you who have sent messages and haven't had a reply, I'm catching up slowly. So, the nice thing about this week has been that the Spring has [...]
Well there's lots to tell you about this week and the eagle-eyed Instagrammers amongst you will know why: yesterday I was working with the BBC Breakfast show - not as Midlifechic but in a professional capacity. They've been travelling around the UK talking to businesses that have had an interesting journey out of the recession, so yesterday they came to Cumbria to talk to us and I thought you might like to know a bit about how it all goes behind the [...]
Another week over already, it’s been tough going to work and leaving everyone at home snoozing and I’ve missed the usual fun I’d be having with the boys but it's been an uneventful week and given the way things have been going recently, I'm utterly grateful for that. Thank you for all of your lovely comments and emails last week, the funeral isn't for another fortnight so I've been trying not to think about it. Before I go on to [...]
I'm back, another week over in this busy new world of mine. It's all workwear this week - I spent last weekend celebrating one of my favourite friend's 40th birthdays. Love her though I do, her idea of fun was to spend the weekend in the wind and the rain watching rugby matches (she plays hooker for Cumbria) so, given the weather, the photos were a bit of a no no! Outfit of the day: Monday Here we go, work [...]
Hello dear friends - what a week it's been, but this is effectively the start of the weekend for me. Here's my update, starting with last Saturday when I had to do all the boring things like taking the car for a service that I would previously have tucked into the week. Happily before I set off, a mystery parcel arrived from the lovely Rachel at RachelWears. I had no idea what was inside but it turned out to be [...]
Oh it's good to be back in my blogging haven - it's been a long week starting my new job even though I've only worked for 3 days. Friday is my day off which will be a luxury, I've never done a 4 day week before. So this morning I'm luxuriating in not having to set off for an hour's drive. I started on Tuesday and didn't feel nervous but did feel very unsettled, almost homesick in fact. Although I've [...]
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 [...]
On Friday I signed off by saying that big changes were happening in my life. If you are a regular reader you will know that since having my second baby in 2001, I have been running a small creative agency with Mr MC. It's been fantastic and we've worked for some really big clients such as Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and New Look along with countless smaller companies in the UK and overseas. However over the past year I've [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
It's a day for celebration: Midlifechic is 1 year old today, a great excuse to bake (and eat) cakes which, as you know, is one of my favourite pastimes. What a year it's been, I've loved every minute of blogging and watching the readership grow as I've undertaken my mission to travel from frump to fox. The journey isn't over but I'm certainly feeling more confident than I was a year ago. It's been lovely getting to know some of [...]
So, as you know, I'm limited as to how much I can type or drive. This is a recipe for disaster because I'm bored. I've tried watching daytime TV but I just can't do it. I was obviously brainwashed at a young age because all I can hear is 'why don't you...just switch off your television set and go out and do something less boring instead' (this is a small test that will tell me which UK readers are around [...]
Hello dear friends, thank you so much for all your kind words with regard to my shoulder problem. I'm realising how lucky I've been to breeze through life with great health - I had no idea of just how painful and limiting something like this can be until now. So, as kindly suggested by Greetje, I am going to keep on posting but they will be short Winter chic pieces for a while. I've also kept my replies to your [...]
Brrrrrr! It's the only thing to say at the moment. After last week's storms we now have freezing fog and ice. It isn't my favourite season sartorially, some people look great in lots of layers but I just feel lumpy. My theory is that it's a season that suits a column shape best. Because I have relatively broad shoulders and hips I need to cinch my waist in which isn't very flattering when you have about 6 layers underneath your belt! Anyway another [...]
I should have known better. All through Christmas I kept on top of work and Midlifechic by curling up on the sofa with my laptop. During the first week my neck started to feel a bit sore, then my shoulder . In the second week it was moving into my back. I kept on ignoring it thinking it would be fine, I even thought it would be a good idea to keep going to the gym to hammer through the [...]
Have you noticed that the days are starting to get longer - they are, they are. However it's all still a bit cold and gloomy and I'm tired of grey so I've been looking for ways to add a touch of Spring whilst still dressing for Winter. I've managed to find some cost-effective easy Spring wardrobe updates (ok and two not cost-effective but gorgeously luxurious splurges). The weather here has been so bad with wild storms, that we've battened down the [...]
I always admire people who burst into the new year full of enthusiastic new year's resolutions. I don't know about you but for me, January always seems to be a time for quiet reflection. Maybe it's because of where we live, nature has well and truly hunkered down for a big sleep, nothing is stirring, even the ducks on the canal at the bottom of the garden are silent. Of course it only seems this way on the surface, deep down bulbs are [...]
As you know I've been reading lots of style books over the Christmas holiday they were definitely my most useful and absorbing presents. Actually they couldn't have come at a better time, because they reminded me that a truly chic wardrobe isn't filled to bursting with lots of different clothes, in fact it is pared down to a number of essentials that all work seamlessly with each other. So when the sales started I was far more eclectic than usual. [...]
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'm back again with a quick update, it's been a busy weekend. When I left you on Friday we were off to Ambleside for a pizza and to see the long awaited last instalment of The Hobbit movies. If you ask me, it was just a lot of fighting but it was voted as excellent by the youngest who is a Tolkien buff so that's what matters. If you're a regular reader you'll remember Cinderellagate from a couple of weeks [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
Another quick post from me today as I reach the end of a week that has been busier than most. I'm sure we're all in the same boat with Christmas shopping adding to the general workload that we all power on with. Anyway today we're looking at workwear chic for women over 40. As I mentioned in my last post, we had to deliver a pitch for a new account on Wednesday. Because we're going in as a creative branding [...]
Lots of people have been in touch to say they found the piece on creating a chic casual wardrobe from scratch really useful but that they'd like to include a skirt or two. So, buoyed by your enthusiasm, I've created another set. I've tried to make sure that the new pieces work with the ones from last time so that if you're in the lucky position of buying them all, the combinations are endless! The sudden cold snap has seen [...]
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday As you know, the first few days of our half term were packed with our trip to Newcastle and then the Boden party which took up the whole of Monday and Tuesday. Fortunately the smallest boy was keen to help at the Boden event which meant I felt I'd at least spent some time with him. He also managed to win a £50 Boden voucher in the raffle but was most disappointed as he'd had his [...]
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 [...]
So after the electricity meltdown that was Friday, we had digital meltdown on Saturday and Sunday with absolutely no broadband. This is extremely rare in our house. Because I often like to work from home we have 2 lines, just in case, so if one goes down there's always a spare. But no, this weekend we had digital silence. So given that it was my first at home for 7 weeks, I decided to make it a mindful Midlifechic weekend [...]
Being your own boss is both a blessing and a curse. On days like today I hit Friday morning and wince at how little I've actually achieved because I've been maxing out my 'flexible working'. However I have at least been trying to dress the part. As we're moving fully towards an Autumn wardrobe now, I've been trying out a few items that are on the edge of the culling pile just to see if I still like them. Unless you're [...]
Well hello world - oh I do like saying that. Welcome to my new followers, emailers and commenters this week from Holland, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and yes, finally, the USA. It's been really lovely to hear from you and I'm amazed by how many of you already shop at Clarks - there was me thinking it was a little British brand when it's obviously already global. For those of you who have asked for a facility to subscribe [...]
Well that took us all by surprise didn't it - one day we were feeling complacent about the Indian summer and the next day the North wind blew in with Autumn. So as you can see from today's pictures, in the space of a few days I've gone from blazers and slingbacks to coats and boots. Suddenly in our house we're discussing what to do for Hallow'een and bonfire night and the subject of Christmas has been raised more than [...]
How typical. It started to rain (for the first time in weeks) just as the youngest exited the changing rooms for his first appearance on the rugby pitch...and it stopped just as the match finished and we got back to the car. Haven't we been spoilt this summer with the fabulous sunny days that seem to have lasted pretty much since the end of June? Anyway grey skies, rugby matches, this will be my life on Saturdays until about Easter, [...]
I'm a latecomer to leopard print. For some reason, until I started blogging, it never occurred to me to wear it. As I've said many times, I'm not keen on any kind of pattern and I think I'd lumped leopard print in that category. However, back in March I dipped my toe into the water with a pair of leopard print shoes from M&S (figuratively speaking of course). They were only about £20 and a fabric print rather than ponyskin [...]
It's time to talk about Winter coats. Even though the sun is shining and we seem to be having a lovely Indian summer, it seems that if you haven't committed yourself by the end of September the best have gone. I think it's important to look at coats as investment purchases that will last a few years. Cheap fabric shows and coats with a high proportion of man made fibre tend to look stiff and feel scratchy. Let's face it, [...]
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 [...]
I know I promised you a piece on the New Season colour palette but up North, at least, the weather has been too nice to think about Autumn so although it's nearly ready, I refuse to publish it until September (which is, after all, next week). So it's a quick round up of my week in 'transitional chic' outfits I'm afraid. It's been a 'half woman half biscuit' week - I've been juggling the boys and work in a big messy muddle. [...]
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 hello, we're back...shivering...blimey! Holiday chic already feels far far away as I tell myself I can't possibly put the heating on in August! Thank you to those of you who kept in touch via Instagram, it was lovely to hear from you. As you've gathered I didn't blog while we were away - there's a story behind that and it involves a very unfortunate loss of equipment but I'll come to that in a later post. So, a quick one today [...]
So here we are, it's all over. The celebrations, the tearful moments, the milling together with other mums in the same situation...all finished and I'm left feeling surprisingly flat. I worked out that of the 38 families, 25 of us were what the school calls 'farewell families' leaving primary after a sequential run of siblings so it was quite an intense week. There was less of the general joy that was there when my other two left - everything (even [...]
So we're here, the last few days of our primary school years. There are so many leaving events that this is going to be a quick post but fear not, I'll be back with all the detail at the end of the week. Because he goes to a grammar school and they often have to go in on Saturdays, the eldest broke up ridiculously early 2 weeks ago. He has now established a firm routine of sleeping until midday when he [...]
Wow this weather is crazy - Mediterranean weather last night (even here), mad wind, rain and thunder this morning. The forecast is so bad for the weekend that we've had to cancel our annual camping weekend with friends. We've braved it through so many years of flash floods, plagues of big black bugs, gales so strong that the tents have been flattened and even tents setting on fire that this year we've decided to do the sensible thing and just [...]
The plan was that this was going to be the epitome of a hot, sunny post but it's all gone a bit wrong again thanks to our bizarre weather. If you're a regular reader you'll remember the post when I was feeling sad about our friends (J&R) who are moving. These are the friends who, for 10 years, have lived just around the corner and, even though they're moving to a village nearby, it won't be quite the same. R [...]
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 [...]
I know there's a heatwave in the South and if you're one of those people that is complaining about the heat I'm sticking my fingers in my ears because for the last few days it's been raining here - and it's cold - I'm wearing socks for goodness sake! As you know I've been feeling a bit shaky about the little one leaving primary school, the big one heading off to university interviews and all the change that is looming. [...]
It's very disconcerting but suddenly everything seems to be changing around us and I hate change. We are now on the final countdown to the smallest son leaving primary school which will be the end of 14 years of school runs, nativity plays, class assemblies, handmade mothers' day cards and things constructed from cereal boxes. I apologise in advance if you hear a lot about this transition over the next few weeks but have faith, there are 17 days and [...]
Ok, so we all agreed that the culottes didn't work and they went back (the post is here in all its glory if you're a new reader). However I am still determined to diversify from jeans a bit more and so today I'm revealing a whole new trouser pleasure: loose cut, light fabric, elasticated waist(!) - what can you not love about these. Apart from the fact (for me anyway) that Mr MC definitely doesn't love them. He doesn't loathe [...]
Well I think the mini heatwave has taken everyone by surprise over the last few days - we certainly aren't used to it in the North! The weather forecasters must too scared to tell us when it's coming in case it doesn't and they're then lambasted by the Daily Mail. Anyway when it comes from nowhere it certainly gives you a problem with sunny weather outfits. I was doing a bit of people-watching in town the other day whilst the [...]
Chic boyfriend jeans for women over 40 Ok so here it is - the chic boyfriend jeans post. As you'll know if you've been following the blog for a while, I love boyfriend jeans but have taken a stand against 'distressed'. I'm not saying that I don't think women over 40 shouldn't wear them, or indeed that they don't look fab in them - it's just that, as its name suggests, the whole purpose of midlifechic is to encapsulate 'chic' [...]
Quick update today on what I've been doing. I can't believe it but my smallest boy is going to the local grammar school in September. Of course we're really proud of him for doing so well but I just can't believe that he's big enough! (He'll kill me if he reads this). Anyway, yesterday was his transition day. I quite liked the way the school organised it - he and the other members of his new form met up for [...]
Sorry - I know I said this post would be about the jeans quest but they are as elusive as the holy grail and it hasn't quite finished yet. So today I'm updating you on my 'after work drinks party chic'. A bit of background: Lancaster castle is renowned for its dark history of punishment and executions and it is still a Crown Court. Because of this there are a number of large law firms at its gates and every [...]
I've had a few emails recently from people telling me that I don't show my necklaces well enough in my photos as they just can't see it and I also often focus on the clothes and forget to credit it. Apologies for that, I probably need to go through the pain of having more pictures taken of each outfit so that you can see it better. Anyway I thought I'd do a round up on the pieces that I wear [...]
There seem to have been endless grey skies over most of the UK throughout May and I think everyone is sick of being stuck in a jeans rut. Given that summer dresses just haven't been an option I've been looking for something different to wear. At the festival we went to on Saturday there was a group of urban 30 somethings who stood out from the rest by virtue of their chic attire (they must have been tourists who had [...]
So, last weekend was a big one for us. As I think I've mentioned, Mr MC has been training 5 days a week for a year (yes really) for a particular karate black belt grading on Sunday. So on Saturday to take his mind off it, we headed up to a family festival in the West Lakes. Glastonbury it isn't, but it does have some great music, food, a mini Chelsea-type festival and lots of other stuff going on. I [...]
Well I'm going to fail a bit in my attempt to bring you caravan chic because in all honesty it wasn't very chic. As we drove North on Friday we watched the temperature dropping by 1°C for just about every 10 miles that we travelled and when we finally got to the site it was spookily shrouded in a thick mist. It was late, it was cold, we were all tired and as anticipated there was no wi-fi. I have [...]
Thank you for all your wishes yesterday, I was successful in my mission to celebrate all weekend and today I feel a bit more than one year older! When I left you on Friday, we were off to our primary school family fun night where we got together with a great group of friends for rounders and a barbecue. We're lucky because one of the playground dads is MD of a well known wine company and so donates fabulous wine [...]
Well the weekend is here at last and it looks like it's shaping up to be rather a good one for me with a few little pre-birthday celebrations on the agenda. The actual day isn't until Monday and as there's nothing I can do about being another year older I intend to enjoy myself! Last night we met up with my brother, sister and their spouses in a burrito bar. Actually I think my brother had completely forgotten it's my [...]
It's exam week in our house so things are very quiet and serious. It somehow doesn't seem fair to be tripping about the house trying different outfits so I'm going to do a different type of post. As you know, up until now I've been focusing on reinventing my casual chic wardrobe and I feel it's finally starting to get somewhere. For a change last week I pulled out some of my older workwear to give it a whirl and [...]
Whose idea was it to ban jeans for my working week - I'm glad it had a bank holiday in it. It showed me how lazy I've become recently relying on jeans for workwear chic as well as weekends. It's just so much easier now that I've sorted a casual midlife chic wardrobe, especially when you can dress it up with heels. It's also much simpler to wear jeans when the weather's grim, as I think it has been everywhere [...]
Midlife chic Friday When I left you, I was off to Manchester for another 100 mile midlife chic haircut. It wasn't quite as drastic this time (and the roots still need doing - I have to leave something for my faithful local hairdresser). I had a lovely day mooching around the shops although there wasn't really anything that I hadn't seen the week before in London. I did have an interesting time trying lots of things on though, learning more [...]
Well it's been back down to earth this week at midlife chic after my exciting time in London - no more Waldorf or Gant or first class travel, just work, washing, cooking and mopping the brows of the AS Level / SATS revisers in the house. Sunday was another big day in the village - we like our celebrations up here. This time it was the St George's Parade with brass band and marching cubs, scouts, brownies etc right through [...]
Happy Monday everybody. I'm comfortably back in the North after my hectic time last week. So, picking up where we left off, I arrived in London with just enough time to get to the hotel and change. I knew it was pretty close to Covent Garden tube but when I got above ground Google maps wouldn't work on my phone so there was nothing else for it but to take a cab...or...a rickshaw - made me smile! So which outfit [...]
Hello All, First of all can I say thank you for all the comments / tweets / emails I've received over the last couple of days, it's been amazing and I'm really grateful. I will get back to you just as soon as the next 2 days are over. I'm writing from a lovely 1st class Virgin Pendolino on my way down to London. I have a contract with a few universities in the North to deliver lectures to businesses [...]
Well here we are, back in the land of broadband - my mother-in-law doesn't see the point in the internet, not even dial-up, so we all literally switch off when we go to Newcastle. So, starting from where I left you last Wednesday night, you'll remember that we had to delay our trip because Mr MC still hadn't hit the deadline for the ad campaign he was working on. This meant that Thursday saw us at the cinema again trying [...]
Well my last post seemed to go down well so here's part two of what I've been wearing during the Easter holidays. Just as well because my chances of going anywhere near any clothes shops during these two weeks are zero. Spring has finally arrived in the Lakes over the last few days and of course, with the daffodils out, we're all feeling very lucky and 'Wordsworthian.' Mr MC has been working like a dervish to hit lots of deadlines [...]
