170 and 169 days to go: Dressing with the Audacity of Hope

I am keeping it uber laid back this weekend as I prepare to meet Cat's Michelle Obama Wardrobe Challenge.
In fact I got so excited about surfing through the web images that I decided to give myself a Michelle Obama Wardrobe Challenge Week.
After last week when I spent most of my days in jeans now it is time to smarten up my act.
I have five outfits planned for each day of the week and it will be a busy one.
Monday: Working from home for my PR clients.
Tuesday & Wednesday: Working in the prison, teaching and helping with the prison magazine.
Thursday: More PR work followed by Parent's Evening for my 13-year-old son.
Friday: Back in the prison for an approval meeting with the funders of our prison magazine.

This weekend I wore:

Ugg Boots
Gap Curvy Jeans

Red Zara Top
Blue Matalan Cardigan

Black long sleeve T-shirt - Dorothy Perkins
Pink zip sweatshirt - USA Pro

171 days to go: Working With Difficult Clothes

I am overwhelmed by the amount of comments yesterday - thank you.
And thanks for encouraging me to keep trying with difficult clothes.
So, why I am feeling brave I thought I'd give another difficult piece a try.
This blouse was one I picked up with the vouchers. It was reduced from £30.00 to £7.00.
And I can kind of guess why.
I am short and top heavy and this blouse can make me look top heavy.
The almost sheer fabric and the keyhole neck means for modesty's sake I need another layer underneath, adding to the blouson effect.
But I love the print.
And it was a bargasm.
So here are two options:
1. with the cardigan to pull it together.
2. with the cardigan open to see the lovely print
I am also feeling extra brave as I posted earlier this week about how I love green but it doesn't love me.
I found this velvet corsage for £1.00 and was dying to wear it.

I am wearing:
Gap Curvy Jeans (another pair, not yesterday's)
Clark's Shoes
Blouse - Dorothy Perkins
Cardigan - M & Co.

172 days to go: Third Time Lucky

I think I may have got it right with the help of all your advice and tips.
Darla suggested it may be the neckline while Imogen pointed out the way it made me look top heavy.
Before I snip the ties I thought I would just tuck them into the neck and belt it with the jeans.
For those who are concerned it may be a little smelly by now - I did wash it and leave it to drip dry overnight. The other great thing about this blouse is that it doesn't need an iron!



Boots - Dorothy Perkins
Jeans - Gap Curvy
Blouse and Belt - Asos

173 days to go: That Blouse Again

I won't give up on the blouse.
Again it's not quite right but there is something about this blouse I like.
It looks better than the last time I wore it and I do have a few more ideas.
Maybe with jeans or a knee length black skirt.
What do you think?

Boots and dress - Dorothy Perkins
Tights - Autograph
Blouse - ASOS

174 days to go: Green Day

Green is a funny colour for me.
Despite having green eyes and Celtic colouring, most shades of green make me look ill or pale.
This yellower shade of green is the only one that seems to work for me.
I bought this shirt last year from Next with vouchers I had been given for my birthday (which is coming up again very soon!).
The tank top cost £1.00 in the Primark sale last summer.
Another day at my computer writing press releases, book reviews, editing student's work and (my least favourite) writing my quarterly report.
Tomorrow my "baby" goes on holiday with the school for the first time and I am off to buy him some slippers.
I will miss him soooo much!

Shoes - Clark's
Jeans - Gap Curvy
Thermal t-shirt - Autograph
Shirt - Next
Tank Top - Primark
Necklace - Virgin Vie
Belt - Tesco

175 days to go: Back to Black (and red)

After yesterday's uncertainty I resorted to an old favourite.
It was a hanging around the house, working on the computer day with two dog walks which meant warmth and comfort.
I opted for some old familiars - a kind of comfort blanket.
But I do appreciate the comments, the nice ones and the constructive ones. Thank you.
I wore
Ugg Boots
Tights - Tesco
Skirt - Wallis
Red blouse - Zara
Red top - Primark
Black thermal t-shirt - Debenhams
Necklace - Virgin Vie

176 days to go: Not Sure?

I'm not sure about this look but decided to post it anyway.
I feel I look a size if not two sizes bigger than yesterday.

I am wearing.
Waistcoat/Vest & Boots - Dorothy Perkins
Shirt: Asos

177 days to go: Working The Wardrobe with shades of grey

The purists (Jenn) who come to this blog expecting me to only wear what I had in my wardrobe back in July may be disappointed.
I have had acquired new clothes, many new clothes since I started this experiment.
However, the title of the blog is Workthatwardrobe and comes with a pledge NOT to spend an extra penny on clothes for 365 days.
My intentions were to work with what I had but it became very clear very soon that I didn't have the right balance of clothes to keep me going for a year.
So I scoured my closet and I divided my clothes into piles - keep, charity shop, save for my daughter and eBay.
With the eBay pile I allowed myself to use the Paypal credit I gained to acquire new clothes.
Here is another new acquisition from Dorothy Perkins which is new and which I love.
And I still haven't spent an extra penny on clothes since July.

Dress: Dorothy Perkins
Boots - Whistles
Tights - John Lewis
Top - C & C
Necklace - Next

I've been tagged. Twice.

Thanks to Notsupermum and Shallow Coffee I have been tagged twice in one week, so I will combine the tagging.

The Rules: 1. Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.2. Pick the 4th picture in that folder.3. Explain the picture.4. Tag 4 people to do the same!

Right so here it is.
And it does take some explaining!
For 20 years my husband's family owned a holiday home in Cemaes Bay, Anglesey and all their summers were spent there.
It was sold in 1988 when my husband, the youngest of five children was 23.
Last summer my husband and I took our children to the resort to show them where he spent his childhood summers.
(I wrote about this for The Guardian).
We stayed in a little cottage near to his old house and on the second day we went for a boat-trip. There was just one other family on the boat and they were staying at my husband's former home.
We found out that it was now a holiday home.
A few months later my mother in law was 80 so on our return I booked it up for her birthday weekend and invited her other four children and their families to come.
However, on the way we had a bit of a mishap.
The hinges on our roofbox had rusted and when we were halfway along the M57 motorway it flung open scattering seven people's luggage to the four winds.
Luckily for us a very kind motorway patrolman had seen this and he stopped the traffic while we picked as much as we could off the road.
What a start to a wonderful weekend!

As we all tend to read each other's blogs I won't tag anyone else this time.

178 days to go: Flower Power Part Two

Darla has posted about the green shoots of spring peeping through which may explain my current draw towards anything flowery.
I love this skirt as it can easily be worn all year round. It is stiff cotton and looks fine with boots in the winter and a strappy top and flip flops in the summer.
I am getting carried away with thoughts of summer and warmer climes.
No doubt a weekend by a wet and windy football pitch will bring me back down to (the sodden) earth very quickly!

Boots - Dorothy Perkins
Skirt - Matalan
Polo - New Look
Necklace - Next

179 days to go: Flower Power

I love the large flower print on this dress.
I acquired it from eBay during last year and it arrived as if it had been made for me - the right size, the right length and the right colour.
It is not an expensive dress. The label suggests it is from Matalan. I didn't like the self tie belt which came with it but I can wear lots of different belts instead as the neutral colours are easy to mix and match.
I wore it with:
Boots - Dorothy Pekrins
Chocolate brown tights - Autograph
Belt - Tesco

Our search for a new style icon is finally over

The worldwide search for a style icon is over.
It has taken nearly 12 years - since the death of Princess Diana - and a few wrong turns (Mrs Beckham) but the journey is at an end.
Mrs Obama we salute you!
I could feel the pull back in October when a brief news item about a TV interview inspired this post and outfit.
And now the ever stylish Cat has directed me to the wonderful website which does all the hard work for us.
So what does Mrs O have that wannabees like Mrs B don't?
I think it's down to three.
1. Mrs O has a busy hands-on lifestyle which is lived in the real world.
2. Mrs O has the face and shape of a real woman who likes to look good but doesn't see it as a full-time occupation (Mrs B).
3. Mrs O looks like she is enjoying her life and good fortune (take note Mrs B).

180 days to go: Rebel Rebel

So the style gurus say you shouldn't wear a fashion item if you wore it first time around - well rules are just there to rebel against!
I wore leggings in the early 1990s - before, during and after my first two pregnancies.
They were practical, comfortable and a warm alternative to tights.
And that was the very reason I chose to wear them again today.
Come to think of it I wore a Puffball skirt last year and I wore those when I was at university in the 1980s.
And if repeating fashions is good enough for David Bowie then it's good enough for me.

I wore:
Black boots and leggings - Dorothy Perkins
Dress - Primark (eBay)
T-shirt - Primark
Necklace - Next

181 days to go: Happy Birthday Mum

It was my mum's 66th birthday and we celebrated it with a meal at my parent's favourite Italian restaurant.
It was a double birthday celebration as my dad was home from hospital in time to join us all.
For Christmas I had bought my mum a selection of lovely scarves and a book with lots of ideas on how to wear them.
Here she is with her favourite blue and pink scarf by Oscar de la Renta.

I wore: Green Dress by Next (bought in the sale 2007)
Boots - Faith.

183 and 182 days to go: Halfway There!!!

Who'd have thought back in the balmy days of July when I made a mad pledge NOT to buy any new clothes for a year that I would stick to my guns?
I don't think I was convinced myself?
But with a bit of creative engineering (selling clothes on ebay and using the credit to acquire new ones, getting gift cards for Christmas and gifts from friends and fellow bloggers (Karen!) I have eked out my not inconsiderable wardrobe.
I might not always have achieved my aim of dressing stylishly but I have had great fun experimenting.

These are the latest offerings:

Jeans - Joe Brown
Top - Dorothy Perkins
Vest - eBay
Shoes: Clark's
Necklace - Top Shop

Dress, brooch, belt, boots and tights - Dorothy Perkins
Cardigan - Primark

Saturday Evening

Our friends Jane and Dave came round for a meal on Saturday evening.
We had been trying to get together since Christmas but Jane is a very busy lady, as well as being a mum of two she is a doctor at our local hospice.
Although Jane was on call the evening went well and we managed to catch up with the news.
I wore the dress earlier this week under a jumper but liked it so much I decided to wear it again for the meal.
I think party dresses are too good to be saved just for parties. I have my eye on this one.

Dress; Primark
Belt: Tesco
Shoes: River Island
Necklace: Hong Kong Pearl Market

184 days to go - Almost halfway there!

It was dress-down Friday.
I had heaps to do. Thankfully my dad has just been discharged from hospital after almost three weeks.
And I needed to catch up.
I had short stories to edit and one to write.
I spent most of the day at the computer so I wore...
Jeans - Joe Brown
Shoes - Clark's
T-shirt - Dorothy Perkins
Caridgan - Zara.

185 days to go: Amethyst Leopard

Sheila's working the dress post is addictive.
I pulled out this Karen Millen dress which I've only worn twice.
It is very short for me and when worn alone has a plunging back and neckline (guess why I haven't worn it?)
I love the colours amethyst (too light to be purple, too dark to be lilac).
I layered it with a long black t-shirt and charcoal waistcoat.
I wish I'd had an amethyst t-shirt instead of the black but hey I had to work with what I had.
Amethyst is my birth stone (February) and this outfit gave me the chance to wear the necklace and bracelet I got from my parents and husband for my 40th birthday.

Dress: Karen Millen
Tights: Tesco
Boots, waistcoat and t-shirt: Dorothy Perkins
Scarf: M & S

186 days to go:Dressing Up

I was reading Sheila's brilliant post the other day about how to winter your favourite dresses.
It prompted me to dig this one out. Although technically not a summer dress it certainly isn't a daytime winter one.
I had won it in an eBay auction before Christmas and intended to wear it to a party.
It is a strapless little number with a boned bodice.
However, as regular readers will know Christmas (or at least the partying) was cancelled for a while in our home and I didn't get to wear it.
I decided to take Sheila's advice and work with two of my favourite items - a black polo neck and faux snakeskin belt.
Dress: Primark (eBay)
Boots: Dorothy Perkins
Sweater: New Look
Belt: Asos

187 days to go: That dress again!

I think I will have to rest this dress awhile.
I have worn it several days a week since Christmas.
But after some great suggestions I couldn't NOT have a go.
Today I'm wearing it with a lilac shirt that is a size too small for me so the dress conceals it nicely.
Here's the pimped dress parade.

188 days to go: Divine Dress

I had described this dress as purple but it it a little too light to be purple and a little too dark to be pink.
I had a trawl through the colour spectrum and discovered it was the much more exotic sounding name, Magenta.
The name Magenta took me back to the 1980s and the days of the uber-cool TV presenter Magenta Devine.
I don't recall her wearing magenta or any other colour apart from black - but I digress.
The point of this post is two-fold.
Firstly, while updating the details of the Pimp My Dress Challenge I realised I had pimped this dress quite a bit too.
Really it is a summer dress although its heavyweight cotton fabric means it is still winter wearable.
And secondly, does it look best with out without the scarf?
While you make up your mind check out the other ways I've worn the dress.







Boots: Dorothy Perkins
Dress: Ciel
Belt (from New Look Dress)
T-shirt: Primark
Scarf: Tesco

189 days to go: Just Fur A Laugh!

As I got a positive response from my stole/hat post I decided to take a chance and wear it outside.
I took my lovely doggie for walkies and although I saw several people, nobody laughed.
At least not in my hearing!



Dorothy Perkins Boots
New Look Dress
ASOS Belt
Charity Shop Cardigan (several sizes too big but as its cashmere and so warm I gathered it in with a brooch a la Kasmira)
Four Seasons Coat
Tesco "Hat"

190 days to go: An Old Favourite

I haven't repeated many outfits but this is one of them.
All of the elements are so comfortable and the red really cheers me up.

Ugg Boots
Gap Jeans
Zara Top
Primark red t-shirt
Old brooch

Where did you get that hat?

My husband was fooling around with my animal print stole the other evening.
But maybe he isn't as daft as I thought.
What do you think?