Thank you for all of your good wishes for my new venture, it’s lovely to feel your encouragement behind me. You just never know what’s in store for you do you? If somebody had told me on 1st January that I would be a semi-invalid for the next 6 weeks and that I would then be embarking on a whole new career I would have told them they needed a sit down! I remember being in my 20s and thinking how nice it would be to be in my 40s with a steady, predictable life. Now I find myself looking at people in their 60s thinking how nice it will be to have a steady, predictable life! These surprises come along and you just have to roll with them – as John Lennon said ‘life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.’

One of the many things that has gone down the pan with my injured shoulder has been my strict exercise regime. I’ve found this really hard to deal with because for the first time in my life I’d found something (Kettlercise) that I had stuck to for 2 years and I was feeling really fit and strong. I’m having to accept that my shoulder is probably never going to be able to cope with that kind of vigorous exercise again. Whilst I’ve been injured I’ve been doing Pilates three times a week but of course I’m now going to have far less time. I’m intrigued to know how those of you with jobs manage to fit exercise in and what you do – please tell me, I need to make a plan (which life will probably then circumvent).

So, today I’m expanding on my working wardrobe and looking at outfits that are based around trousers. I’ve included really good quality trousers rather than cheap ones because tailoring is key here. Of course you don’t have to be working to wear these outfits. You’ll see some of the items that I featured in the last post cropping up again because I’m working on a core wardrobe. I’m basing the outfits around some of the essentials that I bought last year and that I know lots of you have too. I’m starting with an early Spring plan wearing coats and then next week I’ll move into full Spring:

Work outfits for women over 40 #1

work outfits for women over 40
Quite a few of you have been in touch to say you have bought this shirt since I last featured it and have been as impressed by it as I am. If you’re looking for a really well tailored shirt, this is the one.

Work outfits for women over 40 #2

work outfits for women over 40

Jumper / Silk Shirt / Coat / Navy wool crops / Shoes / Bag / Necklace

 Now, the shoes are from Boden’s Summer 2014 collection but they’re still available in their Ebay store. I’m going to order them quickly before I post this because the necklace has sold out since I featured it so I’ve shot myself in the foot there! Orange continues to be a major colour for this season so I think these shoes are really good value. You’ll notice that most of the shoes I’m selecting have an an ankle strap, this avoids foot strain and makes them easier to commute in.

Work outfits for women over 40 #3

work outfits for women over 40

Cropped jumper / Shirt / Coat / Navy cropped trousers /  Shoes / Bag / Snood

 I’ve ordered both of these pairs of trousers from Jigsaw to try so I’ll give you my verdict next week but if any of you know of any great 7/8 trousers out there that aren’t a cotton / elastane mix please shout – I want something that doesn’t need ironing every day. I don’t think ponte would work well with the Whistles jersey blazers though – it would end up looking like a jersey suit.

Tomorrow Mr MC and I are having a hard day’s night in Liverpool. Actually I’m hoping to have a lovely day visiting the shops whilst he works and then who knows what the evening will hold. He’s booked us in somewhere for an anniversary present so we can have a fun evening and then make our way home on Saturday. Any trouser recommendations would be really handy whilst I’m shopping so please comment or tweet if you know of any good ones – I’ve heard that Banana Republic Sloans are a great fit but that would have to be an online order, there are no BRs up North.

There are lots of discounts about at the moment, here’s a summary:
  • Jigsaw 10% TODAY ONLY (Thurs 26th). A Jigsaw discount is outstandingly rare so don’t wait for a bigger one to come along as it probably won’t. Code SPRING at checkout.
  • Boden 20% until Sunday.  Code 6E5R at checkout.
  • Joules 20% off today and tomorrow (26th & 27th) code HOLS20. I’m not a big Joules fan but I’m voting their Harbour Breton the best on the high street but size down, it comes up big.
  • Hush 10% code SPRING15
  • John Lewis is price matching everything else that’s going on, so if in doubt, shop there first!

Have a lovely weekend and keep in touch.