I’m going out dancing tonight, for the first time in aaaaaages.  And for me, the best part of going out, apart from the dancing itself and, er, the wine, is ALWAYS the dressing up. 

At the moment I’m finding myself with a penchant for suede ankle boots, crisp white shirts and messy buns.  In addition to my well established addicitons to tan belts, midi length skirts and anything floral that cinches at the waist.  I also happen to think that a vintage Schwinn is unbeatable in the accessory stakes.  So if you’ll pardon me for coming over all frivolous of a Saturday morning, here’s some crisp, messy, beautifully cinched inspiration for us all to revel in (see what I did there?)…

Images above from Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and Here.

Happy Saturday everyone.  Go forth with gusto in your hearts and smiles on your faces x

I mentioned the other day that I’m spending this week attacking the job of putting a working wardrobe together.  Given that I like to use blogging as a means of distraction/information gathering, and also just because it’s fun, I thought I would ask you guys for some tips and advice in relation to that often tricky topic that is dressing for the office (this is not an exclusive post – although I’m concerned mainly with dressing for an office environment, I welcome input from all fields!).

Before I began my first job in an office, I entertained a series of recurring daydreams about what I was going to wear.  I pictured myself swanning around in high waisted pencil skirts, tucked-in chiffon blouses and immaculately polished high heels.  I would wear nothing but ladder and fluff-free tights, my jewellery would always be well-chosen and demure, and never would a hair on my head have cause to be out of place.

Needless to say these visions were almost never realised.  I gave up wearing heels to the office inside about a week, my tights were frequently clad in washing machine fluff and my hair would usually be hovering somewhere between messy chic and utterly shambolic.  I rarely even thought about jewellery.  Don’t get me wrong: if I had meetings to attend I’d make a special effort but seriously, crawling out of bed on a Tuesday morning just to get dressed up for sitting in front of a computer was never high on my must-do agenda.  I preferred hitting the snooze button, lingering over a cup of coffee or even spending a while in the kitchen preparing a lovely lunch to brighten up my afternoon.  To put it plainly, I just wasn’t really all that bothered about the clothes.

And that was fine.  While I might not have appeared immaculate, I was always firmly on the right side of the line between presentable and scruffy.  I was also good at my job, which I’m pretty sure was more important to my employers than what I was wearing could ever hope to be.  I recently read an interview with Kirsty Wark in the Sunday Times magazine which focused on her working style.  Wark’s dry but brilliant response to being asked whether she deemed it important for women to dress up for work went something along the lines of ‘to be honest, what you wear doesn’t matter a hoot – it’s what comes out of your mouth that counts’.  Wise words I feel (and relevant to both genders!).

But despite it being your brains and not your blouse collection that counts at work, many of us are still required to dress in a certain way for it.  The office I’m going to in three weeks’ time is – from what I can gather – a little smarter than my former place, but not so smart that I’ll need to wear a suit every day (I’m deliberately refraining from using the nebulous to the point of being utterly meaningless term ‘smart casual’ in these lines).  I’m also going to be cycling to and from work every day, so whatever I choose to wear while I’m there will have to withstand being folded into a rucksack and bumped over Edinburgh’s cobbled-come-potholed streets for four miles before I spill tea/my lunch down it.

Finally, I’m on a very tight budget, so trips to Hobbs and Jigsaw are most definitely out of the question for now (I’m more like Hobbs/Jigsaw via sale rail in charity shop at the moment – I can dream, can’t I?)!

So my questions:

• What do you guys wear to work?
• Do you employ any time-saving strategies when it comes to getting ready in the morning?  If so, what are they?
• Do you cycle/run to work?  If so, how do you go from sweaty, flushed athlete to pristine office queen on arrival?
• How do you incorporate elements of your own personal style into your work wear?
• What are your thoughts on dressing up for the office (if you have an office!)?

All thoughts, ideas and musings – relevant to the topic or not – are, as always, both welcome and encouraged!

Image above from here.

I’ve committed many a crime against style in my time, and I make no bones about it.  I’ve told you all before about the time I wore one of my Barbie’s tutu skirts as a hairpiece, haven’t I?  And I used to have quite the thing for those circa late 90s sports trousers that had the popping buttons up the legs (I used to wear mine with the bottom three buttons left ‘unpopped’, as though that somehow marked me out from the rest of the popping trouser crowd).  Seriously, I could make you cringe with the tales from my bygone years style scrapbook.

Having said that, the one thing I’ve never EVER done is attempt to pass a pair of leggings off as a pair of trousers.

Heck no.

I’ve seen many girls in Edinburgh buying their way into this odd form of sartorial behaviour, but I’ve never yet seen someone make it look even mildly OK.  Firstly, it makes the wearer look as though they forgot to put the rest of their outfit on.  Secondly, it has a habit (although I suspect this might be the intention) of drawing the attention of whoever’s walking behind you straight to your ass, whether they want to look at it or not.  Thirdly – and this is why I don’t understand why so many people do it – it’s about the most unflattering thing you could ever possibly hope to do to your figure.  Leggings are effectively magnifying glasses for bumps, lumps and other undesirable conditions of the ass, no?  Even for girls with bums like Beyonce (who are still affected by reasons 1 and 2 above), would you seriously want to run into your boss/grandparents/boyfriend’s mother while wearing what is effectively an UNDERGARMENT – and an UNDERGARMENT that often turns out to be see-through at that – out in public?

Yes, I know I sound embarrassingly prudish, but it seems I’m not alone in my loathing of/confusion over this leggings-as-trousers malarky.  The above diagram (originally from here, but I found it here) has had me laughing all day.  I’m almost tempted to print hundreds and spend an afternoon afixing them to lamposts and hammering them to trees.  I love it.

If I weren’t currently engaged in a no holds barred wardrobe sale, I’d likely be found in the charity shops, rifling through the rails for some vintage versions of these pleated delights.  Aren’t they gorgeous?  And don’t you want to eat them, just a little bit?

What’s on your wardrobe wish-list?

Set created at Polyvore.

One of the reasons I feel fairly certain that I’m not destined to have piles and piles of clothes in my wardrobe is that I’m a favourites girl.  Through and through.  If I find a dress that I love I will wear it time and time and time again, completely forgetting everything else hanging in my closet.  This Summer, there are five things in my wardrobe that I’m pulling out before anything else.  If you encounter me in the street over the next couple of months (it could happen!), the chances are I’ll be sporting at least one of these…

1.  The cheaper than cheap vintage

I found this skirt in a charity shop sale several weeks ago (that’s right, charity shop SALE.  Otherwise known as HEAVEN).  To tell the truth, I felt slightly bad buying it because it cost only £1.39.  I know that’s all the shop wanted for it, but still, £1.39?  For something as lovely as this?  I still feel like they made a mistake somewhere in transit, but I’ll leave it there (my perilous financial state of the moment means I can’t really afford to be too principled about these things).  So the skirt.  Yes.  Gorgeous.  And eminently wearable.  It’s far too big for me on the waist, but where there’s a safety pin there’s always a way.  It looks lovely worn high over almost any basic top or vest and I can’t WAIT to get it dressed up with some high heels and a smattering of red lippy.  It’s already earmarked for a celtic music festival I’m going to at the end of the month.  This’ll look great with Guiness slopped down its front, right?

2.  The canine cardi

A good cardi is like a good dog in my opinion.  Trustworthy.  Dependable.  Unfalteringly affectionate.  I have three favourite cardigans: oversized black mohair; long, cable-knit gold and this: light, cream, crochet-style.  This is a great cover-up for Summer, mainly because it’s a light colour and it’s covered in holes.  I bought it last year for £22 which, for someone who thinks twice about any piece of clothing that costs more than a fiver, is pretty steep!  Having worn it innumerable times already, however, it’s scoring pretty highly on the old price per wear front and as such has probably earned its place in the wardrobe of carefully calculated ratios…

3. The church-friendly maxi

3. OK, apologies for the photography here – it was never my intention to allow the doorknob to make a cheeky appearance in the bottom left hand corner.  Ahem.  Anyway, this skirt was an H&M find, bought for going to Italy a couple of months ago.  It was the most perfect thing to travel with – long, floaty, cooling, and oh so eager to cover up all those bolognese sauce stains.  It was also a winner for visiting churches and cathedrals where bared thighs (and bared cleavages, come to that) are a most definite no-go.  Unlike many of my skimpily-clad fellow tourists, I saved myself the embarrassment of being turned away at the door and sashayed on through in this.  And now I’m home, I’m still wearing it all over the place.

4. The promiscuous denim

So named because of its propensity to want to go with absolutely every Summer outfit I put together.  It literally has no shame.  I’ve had this jacket for three or four years now, having bought it from New Look when I worked there during my uni days.  This is about the only survivor of my 50% staff discount, of all the many truckloads of clothing I remorselessly acquired when I worked in retail.  The reason why it’s still standing when others fell is simple: it’s a classic.  Girls are probably buying jackets like this in Topshops across the land as I type – it’s a Summer wardrobe staple, and it goes with EVERYTHING.  I’m so glad I hung onto it.

5. The impulsive deck shoes

And finally, the shoes.  These boating style pumps were a tad of an impulse buy on my part (it still happens, occasionally!) but I’m actually quite glad I did buy them.  They’re from Next, and are lovely and summery, with lots of ‘wear with’ potential, which is the one thing I always look for in shoes (and which perhaps explains why 90% of my footwear collection is tan).  I’ve replaced the original lighter laces with these chocolate brown ones, just to make them a little less high street and a little more me…

So there you go my lovelies.  My Summer wardrobe staples.  Now, tell me yours!