Gifted: part 3

In the final instalment of Gifted week (I know, a measly three posts this week, apologies, I won't bore you with my busyness), I am showcasing a pair of fab maternity skinnies, complete with biker-style knee panelling. These babies were gifted to me by AP, aka Auntie Pat (not to be confused with Nanna Pat from The Only Way Is Essex), and I'm still pretty impressed at how they fit just right. I mean, buying perfectly fitting jeans for yourself is a feat in itself. Buying jeans that fit someone else has got to be tricky, and maternity jeans, especially when you haven't seen that person in a couple of months, well. Let's just say she did pretty well indeed. So far, I have worn these tucked into long flat boots, with heeled ankle boots and also with ballet pumps, and am today trying them out with my Converse-style New Look sneakers for a bit of laid-back Fridayness. Thanks AP! x

Hoody, Primark; Tshirt, Harvard campus (check out the bumpage!); jeans, River Island Maternity; sneakers, New Look

Gifted: part 2

Today's style gift is a gorgeous woven scarf all the way from India, gifted to me by my friend's lovely mum, who picked it up on her travels. It's a mixture of white and grey and has a feel of the Eastern keffiyeh scarf about it. I love it because it's got a bit of structure to it, while most of my scarves are either quite flimsy/chiffony or too woolly/more wintry. Plus, the cool white side makes it the perfect colour for spring, so I shall be throwing it over all manner of outfits in the upcoming months and experimenting with draping, twisting, folding and belting it. Today I've kept it simple with a white cotton/linen-mix blousy shirt, waistcoat, leggings and flat ankle boots. You know how I love a bit of Comfy Chic.

Mumford & Sons-esque?! Waistcoat, Topman; shirt, Primark; leggings, Topshop; boots, Primark

Keffiyeh scarf, Topman

Gifted: part 1

I've recently been lucky enough to acquire some wardrobe goodies from some lovely people in my life, which is always a treat, especially when it's unexpected (and when you're trying not to spend all your hard-earned cash on maternity wear). One of my favourite acquirements is from my bezzie, who passed on a stretch chiffon Diane von Furstenberg wrap top that came into her life. Being more of a dress-wearer than a tops-and-jeans wearer, she thought I'd get more wear out of it. A free DVF top!! Talk about result. So I teamed it with my maternity leather trousers this weekend and some midi-heel pointed leopard print courts and, I have to say, felt pretty fabulous in it.

Top, DVF; trousers, Jojo Maman Bebe; shoes, M&S

Easy on the eye

On the train on the way to work this morning, I spotted a girl wearing a navy coat and bright coral patent loafers. The two colours looked so crisp and vibrant together, and I have to say I really appreciate an aesthetically pleasing view of a morning, so thanks to the stylish lady in the loafers.

It got me thinking about other combinations I love seeing together – joining navy and coral/orange are camel with red; orange with fuchsia and stripes with leopard print; stripes with khaki; denim with tailoring. If ever I come across anyone sporting these winning duos, I always give them a celebratory round of applause in my head (because actually giving them a round of applause would probably scare them a little bit and look quite odd on the train/street/in the shampoo aisle of Boots).


Life can be made that little bit more beautiful with a well-chosen style combo. Anyway, just thought I'd share that with you this Friday lunchtime.

Stylist Laura Fantacci, who writes the WIT blog, sports a navy blazer with a bright orange top

Me jazzing up a camel sweater with a flash of red lippy

Fuchsia clashing with orange on H&M's colour block dress, £24.99

Leopard print with stripes this winter

Khaki and stripes, from Scott Schulman's blog, The Sartorialist

Bargain spring updates

Gotta love Primarni for a bargainous on-trend update to your wardrobe. I popped by last week, just for a look (as you do), and came out with a handful of cheap and cheerful additions that should brighten up my winter separates a treat while we wait for the sun to stay out a bit longer.

A couple of £4 tunicy Tshirts, one in a coral pink colour - a fantastic shape while my waistline expands -  a floaty floral scarf, a white cotton shirt and some gold jewellery was all it took to put a smile on my face and up the style ante on my denim, knits, blacks, navy and greys. Ok, so I also snuck in a stretchy black dress, but it's a midi length, so bang on trend for the new season and très flattering on the bump. I love its simplistic versatility, as it looks great worn in the day with tights, pumps, a scarf and a long cardi, or dressed up with heels, gold jewellery and a slick of bright lippy. Winner.

Primark coral tunic T and floral scarf worn with black blazer, leggings and flat boots

Primark black stretch midi dress

Style steal!

A mini bubble of excitement swelled in my chest when I spotted a total style steal in next week's More! magazine (I'm working there at the moment, hence the preview). Missguided.co.uk has brought out a range of satchel bags that have more than a hint of the Mulberry Alexa about them, the cheeky (but genius) devils. Quick, nab one before they're all out of stock, then watch passers-by do a double-take while they secretly squint to see if the Mulberry logo's there or not...

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE:

Joanna satchel bag in Coral Red, £26.99, Missguided.co.uk

Alexa bag in Watermelon, £766, Mulberry

Palazzo pants

Right, tricky trend here, as it appears palazzo pants are coming back in a big way. Blame the 1970s vibe that's buzzing about for the new season. They're way harder to wear than flares and high-waisted trousers in my humble opinion, but if you've tried out either of those styles, you're more likely to feel comfortable dipping a toe into the palazzo waters than if you're a die-hard skinnies fan. But as the style goddess that is Olivia Palermo has given it a go, perhaps we ought to follow suit. 

I think the key is to definitely try a few styles and see if a more structured fabric works better on you than an uber-floaty culottes-style material, and if you're going for print palazzos (there seem to be a few floral pairs out there - again, blame the trend for all things 70s), keep your top half plain. Also, I think the higher-waisted palazzos are more flattering, as the wide leg cut seems to take about half a foot away from your height (as well as add it to your width, which is great if you're trying to balance out broad shoulders/a large top half/curvy hips). A higher waist will give the impression of a longer leg.

Depending on the style, either a flat or wedge shoe seems to work well with palazzos, but decide in relation to your height and how wide the trousers are. Tops-wise, simple, cropped vests and Ts work well, as do silky shirts. Personally, I would go for a more structured fabric, plain palazzo pant with either a simple Tshirt top or a slinky, lightweight blouse tucked in, à la Olivia, teamed with a wedge heel. I'm not sure if I'm totally convinced yet, but let's see what the high street decides to throw at us as the weeks go on. Might give it a miss with the bump though - as if it's not already tricky enough dressing around a new shape, fashion then decides to challenge us even further. The minx.

Olivia Palermo shows us how it's done. Damn her.

Dorothy Perkins, £32

Topshop, £45

River Island, £34.99

Boohoo, £14

New Look, £21.99

Republic, £16.99

Topshop, £36

Topshop, £40

New Look, £29.99

Topshop, £30

Topshop, £18

Olivia Palermo pic, Wire Image

Happy Valentine's!

Ok, ok, sincere apologies for abandoning you for a whoooole week. My parents were staying and I had the week off work, so we filled it with plenty of quality time and viewing lots of properties (they're moving and so are we, so it's a busy old time). And, er, yeah, I kind of got a bit lazy on the whole blogging front. But I promise I'll do my best to get a few posts in for you this week to keep you going during that bored mid-morning slump when you make a cuppa and need something untaxing to read while you're putting off work. Don't think I don't know that's when you're on here...

But for now, no pics, just a big, fat, sloppy kiss and a Happy Valentine's Day to you all. Hope you're being spoilt. Now don't let that tea get cold.

This week I've been...

WEARING Bump-clingy clothing so I look pregnant rather than just fat, comfy footwear as much as possible and a lot of stripe, for some reason (feeling Riviera-esque?).

USING Enough Bobbi Brown concealer and Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage to cover not just my own undereye shadows and determined blemishes but probably at least three other women's, too.

READING Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, last weekend's Sunday Times (has anyone ever read a Sunday paper in one go?!), Grazia, Elle and countless preggo and yummy-mummy books.

LISTENING TO Adele's new album in the office over and over again and not really enjoying it much (doesn't anyone have anything else to put on? No, not the Rihanna again, please...). Couldn't decide whether it was really depressing or just too lounge-musicy. Whatevs, just turn it off now.

WATCHING One Born Every Minute, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, True Blood, Hustle, The Tudors and new Sky Atlantic (and of course adding to my lowbrow viewing schedule with lots of news and current affairs debates to broaden my knowledge. Ahem).

MAINLINING Caffe Nero hot chocolate with whipped cream, Special K bars, Phish Food and Petits Filous. Hmm, that'll be a major sweet tooth then. Apologies in advance to my unborn son's guaranteed future fillings.

Minimalist chic

While I'm loving the idea of some colour-bright updates for spring/summer, I won't be ditching my love of simple, clean lines and go-with-everything neutrals, as sometimes a minimalist outfit can just make life easier, more relaxing and fuss-free, not to mention as chic, timeless and classic as it gets. So, in order to balance the excitement of the almost-neon colour palette that awaits, I'll still be tempted by anything that looks like it was inspired by Calvin Klein, Celine or Stella. And Cos and +J at Uniqlo still manage to pull this off with aplomb (the 2011 +J collection hits Uniqlo today, fact fans). Plus, there's nothing stopping me mixing it up and offsetting a neutral base with a splash of colour, or wearing a minimal cut that's in a bright shade. See what I did there? I know, skills.

Calvin Klein SS11

Calvin Klein SS11

Celine SS11

Celine SS11

Celine SS11

Stella McCartney SS11

Stella McCartney SS11

Stella McCartney SS11

Cos: silk Tshirt, £89, trousers, £59

+J at Uniqlo: shirt dress (in store from 3rd Feb)

+J 2011 collection in stores today!!!

Catwalk pictures: Imaxtree/Elleuk.com

Spring/summer brights

As I'm all ready to shed the dullness of winter and embrace the new season, it makes sense that I've already been looking forward to some of SS11's biggest trends, one of which is serious brights. Now I don't know if the designers were just as keen to shine some joy into the grey weather or if they were just totally over AW10's whole nude/camel vibe, but there's definitely a zingy colour palette awaiting us for the new season. And to be honest, as much as I love my camel, I'm more than ready to brighten up my wardrobe - even if it's just to throw in some splashes of colour around the maternity basics. 

Other than red, I don't actually own a lot of bright coloured clothing and am usually more partial to a minimal, neutral look, but I think it's about time for a mood-boosting  update. So I shall be taking some inspiration from the following, and making it bump-friendly where possible. What's more, Jil Sander kindly caters for my need for both brights and minimal, as well as my love of billowing maxis and a stripe - how thoughtful! Now to find the more affordable high-street versions...

Christopher Kane SS11

Marc By Marc Jacobs SS11

Jil Sander SS11

Prada SS11

Christopher Kane SS11

Jil Sander SS11

All pictures: Imaxtree/Elleuk.com

New hair

I decided my roots were definitely in need of a touch-up, so my lovely stylist Dominique came round at the weekend to sort me out. Now normally, I always say to leave the length and just do the minimal trim, as I'm quite partial to my long locks (possibly a hangover from when I was little and used to scream and sulk whenever I was put in the hairdresser's chair). I even added to my normal length with extensions on my wedding day. However - and was this pregnancy hormones taking over? - I suddenly decided I needed something a little more interesting and went instead for a choppy long bob with more shape. We even went a lighter blonde than normal, so I'm feeling uber-fabulous and ready for winter to end and spring to start. Nothing like a new 'do to clear away the cobwebs and make life more interesting again.