#AW14 - La Redoute Haul

For those of you living in the United Kingdom, recognition that summer seems to have finished early will resonate!  It is August Bank Holiday weekend and the temperatures are struggling during the day and dropping almost to freezing at night.  It feels closer to October than it does summer.

Looking ahead to Autumn and Winter, I decided to make some purchases from my La Redoute catalogue.

The first items to take my eye in the catalogue - berry colours!  These two cardigans with a biker theme are ideal for the rock chicks among us.  The skinny jeans are a lovely rich red colour and are going to look great with my biker leather from last winter.

For those that have been following me on Instagram, you'll already know I have a soft spot for animal prints.  However, I do my best to avoid the 'mutton dressed as lamb' effect by keeping it subtle.  I chose these boots, flat shoes and matching bag so that I can mix and match according to the needs of the event.

The .La Redoute Catalogue originates from France and epitomises the classic French styles you come to expect from the Europeans - that effortlessness they have, but they're not massive on quirky.  So if you love slick and clean lines, I recommend you take a look at the catalogue; also on the internet.  If you love your street style, however, I'd probably keep up with the likes of Topshop and Missguided.  I like a little of both - a little of what you like does you good!

Details from the catalogue.

Patterned Jeans (p19) - item no. 828.2374 - £29
Biker Cardigan (p64) - item no 763.8159 (dark red) or 763.5915 (black) - £19
Dual Fabric Bag (p184) - item no 946.9800 (black/zebra) - £19
Ballet Pumps (p184) - item no 944.4653 (black/zebra) - £25
Boots (p184) - item no 943.6910 (black/zebra) - £39

I wear size 10 clothes and size 5 shoes from this catalogue.

Autumn Is Coming

There's been a distinct drop in temperatures here in the UK and the long range forecasts show little prospect of decent weather returning for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, it seems a good time to think about the change of seasons.

When I went shopping in Manchester, autumn and winter were definitely on my mind. I created 4 style ideas from my purchases, so feel free to take inspiration and prepare for the coming onslaught of wind, rain, snow and general greyness!

This set shows my new jumper from French Connection & my new jeans from Zara. I've teamed them up with last winter's boots from Kurt Geiger.  The necklace is from Primark and the bracelets are h&m .

This spread shows my new h&m jumper to be worn with black skinny jeans and flats from New Look.  The bracelets are from Primark, one in silver & one in gold.

This look shows my other h&m jumper and my new snakeprint scarf from Primark. This time I've teamed them up with my light River Island trousers & snakeprint hitops from h&m.

Finally, my favourite look out of the 4 I think!  The new French Connection jumper is shown with an h&m shirt inside.  This comes with skinny black jeans again, my lovely leather stud shoes from Zara & Topshop rucksack.  The necklace is from Dorothy Perkins and the bracelet is Forever 21.

I have some more purchases on their way soon - winter is coming, but I'll be ready (unlike that John Snow)

Manchester Day Out

On Wednesday 13th August I popped on a train to Manchester, England.  Manchester is a lovely city with a great shopping centre.  Chinatown is a few minutes stroll from Piccadilly Gardens, where the big wheel is currently situated.  Not only does Manchester have mainstream shops in the Arndale Centre, there are also a few smaller havens you can visit, such as Affleck's Palace, where you can buy goth, vintage, fancy dress, records, bondage and much, much, more. Visit Manchester site has lots of useful information if you'd like to visit.

For my trip, I wore a top from French Connection which I bought in last winter's sale.  My skinny jeans are from River Island and my trainers are from Zara.  The scarf is from Primark.  The photo was taken in the Zara changing rooms.

I love Zara and it's simple classic style.  I know it is only August, but as the weather seems to be turning a bit cool it seems appropriate to take a look at the AW2014 stock!  This coat felt lovely - it is fake of course (I don't do real fur) and if I remember rightly it's £89.99.  I might have to order one online later in the year.  They also had stocks of these beautiful jade green necklaces.  Another consideration for the future.

Anyways, Had a root through the sale items, as I always manage to come across quirky patterned jeans, which seem to be a staple in my wardrobe at the moment.  The bottom left picture shows a fabulous pattern, but they were more cropped that I would have liked and they seemed to grab at my thighs a bit.  However the ones on the right fitted beautifully and were a snip at £12.99.

The top 2 photos show me trying on a jumper from the French Connection sale.  I couldn't decide on the size so went for the larger of the two, figuring it would look great with shirts worn underneath in the winter.  I also picked up another jumper with lace effect sleeves.  Both items were £24.00.

This photo shows the complete haul from Wednesday (don't worry, that's my cat, I didn't buy him and bring him home on the train).  Items were also purchases from H&M and Primark.  There seems to be a theme - anyone spot what it is yet?

Until next time :-)

Welcome To The Magic Wardrobe

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog about fashion and what's hidden in my wardrobe.  I'll be sharing information about my purchases and the places I visit when I go out shopping.

Here's some background information about me.

• I am in my forties
• I've been married to my lovely husband since 2003.
• I live in North West England in the county of Cheshire.  The nearest cities to me are Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, Shrewsbury, Stoke-On-Trent and Birmingham.  I'm also only an hour away from a popular shopping centre known as the Trafford Centre.  London is approximately 200 miles away, but is only 1 hour 40 minutes by train.
• I have 2 cats - Scooby (black and white) who is 15, and Bo (tortoiseshell) who is 2 and a bit.
• I like to run and have taken part in the Crewe Air Products 10k (twice) and earlier this year I ran the Wilmslow Half Marathon.
• I love food, especially pizza, popcorn and chocolate.
• I love outer space - it is fascinating. 
• Game Of Thrones is my current best TV programme in the world.  Anyone who hasn't seen Utopia (Channel 4) - watch it, it is just plain weird!
• I work in IT for a major UK financial institution - at the moment. 
• I used to be a goth!  So my musical taste is a bit odd.  My favourite band is Sisters Of Mercy.  I also love heavy metal and rock, but because of my age I don't understand all of these rock genres - I just know what I like.

So now you know a bit about me, sit back and enjoy the fashion!

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