Remember that I said learning to ski was made easier by the fact that I don't really have much choice in the matter? Scrap that. It's a load of twaddle.

All I can say is that it's a good job that I didn't give up swearing for lent. Or chocolate. If I had, I would have been one big fat failure about an hour into the day. This is a picture that I took yesterday whilst sitting outside a cafe after refusing, point blank, to ski any further. There was no discussion about the matter. By that stage the skiis were off and there was no way that they were going back on until I decided that I was ready to move (I should make it clear that this didn't hamper anyone else. I was very happy to be left alone and quite frankly I'm pretty sure that they were happy to leave me alone!)

The refusal had been preceded by a pretty spectacular fall down a slope which caused a less than dignified rant at myself, the slope concerned, the skis and anything else really. Mr SG might argue that it was also directed at him, although I think that I managed to communicate through the swearing that it wasn't. Anyway, today was another day and all that but it did take a few hours, a swim and some fizz  (plus the coke and mars bar above) to convince me that I really did want to give it another go. Grrrrrrrr.


Just to reassure you, I didn't go out wearing this Sweaty Betty headband but I did promise that I would share some looks and this definitely goes down as my Olivia Newton John "Let's get physical" impersonation from the 80's - well either that or Margot Leadbetter from the "Good Life."

Aside from that I'm wearing a Primark running jacket, Adidas half zip top which is slightly thicker and a GAP running top underneath. But today it was much colder so it only just about did the trick. Back to the sweatshirt tomorrow.


Now when it comes to the Apres ski look I have kept it very understated. There was a risk that I could have brought a whole load of clothes that were completely wrong so, knowing how I prefer to dress after a long day of exercise (albeit not skiing), I just stuck to comfort. I have seen many a pair of leather trousers, a leather mini, lots of pretty tops and nice dresses with heels but that's not for me this week. Instead I'm wearing Next harem leggings, the chunky roll neck jumper from Boden, Stan Smith trainers and my favourite star purse from GAP.

And whilst no-one would covet my Apres ski look, or my Nevica (throw back to the 90's from Sports Direct skiing gear), one of our party has admitted to having fanny pack envy - oh yes the 80's are still going strong in my wardrobe. It won't be long before the funk belt, the fingerless gloves and the frosted lipstick are making an appearance.

I wasn't actually looking for these trousers when I came across them yesterday morning. Instead I was looking for some navy biker style jeans that I have but I just couldn't find them. However these came to my attention and having not worn them for a while, I thought that it was about time that I did. I appreciate, however, that others may think that was not such a good idea and that they would have been best left on the shelf - but I figured that it they were better than being "bottomless".

Anyway, I have a dilemma. In the early hours of the morning we are off skiing and my dilemma is whether I take my lap top and blog, or not. On the one hand, I am pretty sure that I will be able to come up with some great looks (!) next week. My skiing gear is by Nevica, who sponsored the GB team in the Winter Olympics in the 90's - so I can do some great 90's throwback looks.  I also have a Sweaty Betty headband which makes me look like a mixture between Hamble (from Playschool) and Olivia Newton John from her "Let's Get Physical" video. I also think that there's the potential for some good stories. Let's just say that my ability, or rather inability, may result in several embarrassing mis-haps, which it would be good to share. On the other hand I'm not sure that I can face lugging my ageing and therefore, heavy, laptop with me. One way or another, I think that that next few days will reveal my decision. If it doesn't come with me, I shall post a selection of my very best outfits on instagram. See you on the other side!

However, this H&M longline shirt (£14.99), which also comes in white, is 100% cotton and it will do the same job. I'm liking the saving of £83.01!


For many years, I've been a fan of trousers with a side zip. Although I don't own any myself right now, they are fantastic for ladies who wear tunics as a jeans button can quite often show through them. For ladies with a bit of a tum they are a great option because this style tends to be pretty high waisted, which gives a smoother line. They also tend to be pretty slim in the leg so there's none of that "if they fit around the waist they're like sails around the hips and legs" business going on.

Anyway, J. Crew have just released their Martie pant (£89.50), which are skinny with a side zip....


....now you will have to bear with me on this one BUT M&S  do a style which is pretty similar - these high waisted skinny tube jeggings for £29.50. I asked you to bear with me on this one because any brand that calls an item a "skinny tube jegging" deserves to have them sitting on the shelves until they go into the sale. A less enticing name for a piece of clothing I cannot imagine. My stomach just clenches and then swells at the thought of them. However, the style is great and I bought them for the style party that I was doing the other night and they looked amazing on. So don't write them off either as a result of the name, or the totally awful picture. And for anyone who buys them, rather than the J Crew ones, that's £60 saved.


Phase Eight always stock a side zipped style and they have their Amina jegging (£49) in at the moment. The only thing that I would say about the M&S and Phase Eight styles are that they don't have a back pocket (unlike the J, Crew ones) which can be slightly less flattering but in any event side zipped trousers can, due to their lack of pockets at the front, create a little hint of the camel toe so from that perspective a slightly longer top is better in any event, whether there are pockets on the bottom or not.

Now this style of shoe first seemed to come on the scene later on last summer. Laura over at WIT featured this style from Isabel Marant (£315) on her blog today. Lovely as they are - and she mentioned how soft they were, which is something to bear in mind....


...there's a pretty similar style in Dune for £89, which still isn't a bargain basement price but for anyone unsure as to whether it's a style they will get a lot of wear out of, it's worth investing in a less expensive option first....


...which is where this style from New Look (£22.99) comes in. I've tried both this style and the ones from Dune and both seem pretty comfortable to me. So that's another £226, or £292.01 saved.


So, that's a little bit of cash saved to buy yourself some other sneaky purchases instead.

It's always the way isn't it? When I want to blog the most, I have the least time to actually do it, which is a shame as there are so many new clothes out there that I want to share with you. I've started putting a post together with some outfit ideas so hopefully I might get it out tomorrow.

This week I have been shopping for three events and the house looks like a small department store/tip!


In the conservatory I have 30 outfits for the "Camping, Caravan and Motorhome Show" which is on next week. I've always wanted to go to it as I love bijou spaces and seeing what you can get in them. I was asked to style and present the fashion/style element which is new this year but as we're away I couldn't, however I got to do the styling and shopping for it so it wasn't all bad. Shopping for 10 people (2 families of four plus two extras) has been great fun and a pretty mammoth task. I think that my longer than average arms are now even longer after all the bags I've been carrying.


At the same time I was shopping for a Style Party for seven, so that has seen me giving the shops a good going over. And at the same time as that, I was shopping for suits/work wear to take along to a talk that I gave to a group of soon to be sixth formers at a local school. The upstairs of the house is full of skiing gear as we're heading off on holiday fairly soon so although people are always welcome at our house, there isn't actually anywhere to sit.

Today has seen me undertaking various jobs from talking at the school this morning, to sorting and packing the outfits for the camping show, to preparing the notes for the presenter, doing several school runs and going to a parent's evening. I needed a "one size fits all" outfit and this one did it for me - although I must admit to swapping the trousers for Topshop tracksuit bottoms when doing the sorting, packing, crawling around on the floor and labelling all the outfits in preparation for next week.

The trick now is to find a few more "one size fits all" outfits. The boxes that it has to tick are quite long - comfortable shoes, easy to move in bottoms, warm layers but an outfit which isn't a Onesie and a pair of trainers. I think that I may have to give it some further thought.

Oh crikey me, I feel like such a criminal. I never knew that there was such a moral dilemma to be had on returning home, only to find that you've got something in your bag that you didn't pay for - especially when the item in question was clearly put there by someone else.

Today I was shopping for an event that's coming up at the NEC in Birmingham - or whatever it's called these days. As part of that I bought a pair of wellies from Primark, only to find out when I got them home that they had stuffed, right at the bottom of them, a pink thong. Now that caused me distress on many levels. Not only, by virtue of it being a thong, did it look horribly uncomfortable but the fabric was questionable as well. So what to do? Well admittedly if I kept it it wouldn't quite be on the scale of what HSBC have been up recently but a) I don't want it and b) it's not my size. On the other hand trying to return it could prove a tricky one to explain.

Anyway, I thought that you might like to see a pic of some shoes that I came across when in Primark. Sophia Webster inspired shoes for £16. Not bad!


Loving these sandals too. I'm hoping that the shelves will be re-stocked with them very soon as they had all but sold out.


Hmmm, so there are quite a lot of things that I want to talk about in this post, which hopefully will help. First, the boots. These are the Whistles boots that I bought about two weeks ago now and which I have featured on every single post since. I could swap them boots for another pair before the photos are taken and pretend that I haven't worn them but I think that it's good to bond with new purchases without shame!

Secondly, this bag is a Jigsaw bag which is at least 10 years old and which I had fixed by the Handbag clinic. I wrote about the Handbag clinic at the time but thought that re-cap might be useful. They can fix anything, literally anything (unless anyone tells me otherwise). One friend had her Mulberry fixed by them, having been told by Mulberry themselves that it wasn't possible. So if you have a much loved bag that's seen better days, or has been completely trashed and is unable to be used but you can't bring yourself to part with it, it may be worth giving them a call.

Thirdly - the jacket. It's a kind of tweedy jacket from Hobbs which could very easily morph into a hunting/shooting/fishing type number if I wasn't careful. And a country rah type I am not! So I thought that if I paired it with more modern bits and bobs, such as a statement necklace, a chunky cuff and skinny jeans and boots, people wouldn't ask me where my horse was when I walked down the street. Try it. It can work pretty well with things that sometimes seem to be taking you down a road you don't want to go down.

Fourthly, most of us have a pair of "scale jeans" and these are mine. If I can wear them for an entire day without wriggling, feeling uncomfortable and needing to take them off, then all is well with the world. When they're too tight, that's when action needs to be taken. I try to wear them once a week. Much healthier than getting on the scales.

Fifthly, I know that I look like I'm wearing a tea cosy but it was cold and for some bizarre reason I like this hat - but not as much one Davina was wearing on "the Jump" the other night and which is now out of stock. Shame. Though not for the bank balance.

I was thinking earlier how you can have a pretty much "statement" anything these days - statement necklace, statement ear-rings, statement bag, statement wall. I haven't heard of a statement husband yet - although effectively there is such a thing as a statement wife. Just as a statement jacket is known as a trophy jacket, there's a trophy wife so maybe there will be a statement husband one day too.

Where that takes us I have no idea but anyway, today I was wearing a statement skirt which I bought in Whistles at the back end of the summer when it suddenly appeared half price in the sale. It's really pretty heavyweight so it's fine to wear in the cold and I've layered it up with a sparkly Warehouse jumper - as old as the hills as some of you who also have one will know - together with my Oasis leather jacket that's nearly as old as the jumper - though neither are as old as my face which sadly is getting more creased by the day. If anyone would like to develop a little face iron I would be happy to give it a go.

A few weeks ago I, together with millions no doubt, received an email inviting me to register my interest with a soon to be launched online brand called "Finery". The brand is due to be launched on Thursday - you may have read about it in Grazia and the Sunday Times Style Magazine - and so here I thought that I would give a sneak preview of some of the clothes that it has to offer.

Finery's founder, Caren Downie, of Topshop and Asos heritage, sees its position as somewhere between COS and &Other Stories and apparently it is aimed at the post-Topshop girl. Believing that the High Street has little to offer by way of variety - that it is boring - the aim of Finery is to "re-inspire" and to make beautiful things that people just fall in love with.  Apparently the design team were instructed to forget about catwalk trends and instead they were asked to bring in their favourite wardrobe pieces So, here's a flavour of what they have to offer....

There are 37 styles of dress varying from printed, to lace and halter neck to trapeze. This shirt dress (£65) appeals to me for its versatility and because it taps into that utilitarian/uniform look which is pretty big this season.


I'm surprised at myself for liking this pink top as I'm not a peplum fan but I love the colour and it is a bit different - plus it looks great styled with these trousers. It's a fairly accessible look to copy so maybe one to give a whirl...


I have a feeling that this 3D flower pencil skirt will be popular because it offers a good length but it allows a little bit of leg to be shown, albeit in a subtle way. It reminds me of the dresses that the A-listers are wearing the moment with the big pants underneath with a long sheer skirt over the top - but this is a much more accessible look. Over a certain age those big pants just don't work at all!


For a jumper, this sheer panel jumper (£45)  offers something just a little bit different - plus I love a wide sleeve which can do such a good job of balancing out wider hips and making arms look slimmer. I can imagine wearing it with jeans or with leather leggings and I like to think that it would be a good all rounder.


As to trousers, I think that these printed trousers (£59) would be just fab in the summer with a fine crew neck knit, a silky t-shirt or a more fitted top.


These Lotus shoes (£119) give you just a taste of what's on offer on the site. They're really different - lots of high block heels, brogues, loafers - quirky styles that could transform your wardrobe in an instant.


Much as I love our High Street and I think that there are fab things to be found, it's good to see something a little bit different (on re-reading this I think that I have used that phrase many times, which Finery would probably see as a good thing!) With a 20% discount with the code STSXFINERY and with free delivery over £50, plus free returns, I think that it's probably worth just having a dabble to see what you think.

I've had this M&S Limited Collection dress - which you can't actually really see at all, so that's helpful - for a good few years now. I don't really remember wearing it last year so it's nice to resurrect it this year with the addition of this Whistles jacket/cardi type number, which I like because I wear it when I go out and then I leave it on when I come back in - because that's the kind of lazy dressing that I like! Somehow the addition of the scarf makes the jacket feel much warmer. I have no idea why this is but no doubt there's some weird and wonderful reason for it.

Most of my wardrobe is made up with pieces that I hope to own for many years without them dating - or that's the plan anyway. Then from season to season I just update them by putting them with new bits and bobs that I've bought - well again, that's the plan. Now that Mr SG reads this on a daily basis, it's time to well and truly put my plan to the test. Yes, it's time to dig deep. I'm hoping that he's going to tire from reading this flippin' blog sometime very soon.

I love the very tail end of the sales - the final markdowns, the proper discounts, you know those 70% off ones.

This cashmere button back jumper from Boden (reduced to £44.70 from £189) in pale blue just happened to come my way the other day. Knitwear is lovely but whatever its price, and however carefully it's looked after, compared to something like a sweatshirt or a fleece top which can be washed a million times and still look OK, it has a limited life span. For that reason I try to pick it up in the sale - as with pretty much everything I own to be honest - and then as the years pass I relegate it down the knitwear chain and finally hand it over to our 16 year old. Handy!

I thought that this jumper would go well with lots of different trousers and its slightly looser, relaxed fit works well to balance skinny trousers whilst covering parts that other jumpers just don't seem to cover!

For anyone interested, the jumper is only available in this colour in a 6 and a 16 (although I'm about to return a size 8 as I ordered a 6 and an 8 and the 6 fits me fine.) It also comes in a pale pink colour but that one costs £74.50.

Thankfully I survived the skiing. To be honest I don't have much choice - I have to keep on going so that I'm not left behind by the rest of the family but I think that one or two more accessories may make the experience a whole lot more palatable (tee-hee).

I think that it's probably pretty fair to say that we all have a lot of black/navy/grey in our wardrobes during the winter months and it can get a little tiring. Equally it can be tricky to find brighter coloured things and if we do, they stand out like a sore thumb after having been worn a dozen times so we end up getting bored of them too. Which is why I thought that this scarf could come in handy in injecting some colour into all manner of darker things. It was £20, reduced from £80 in the Whistles sale (bought at the same time as the bargain basement boots) and I stuck it with this Jigsaw jersey dress which is about four years old now, giving it a new lease of life. It will also work well with an older, navy, traditionally styled Jigsaw coat that I have, together with plain jumpers - so hopefully it will be worn enough to justify its £20 price tag.

This ruched jersey dress from Baukjen (£99 down to £59) is very similar in its style to the one above and I've also linked to other Baukjen black dresses which may suit different shapes slightly better - there's a wrap one, a v-neck one, a midi length one an A-line one and a very nice leather one too!


Now, despite my efforts to wear everything that I own already without any new major additions, tomorrow I will be kitted out, head to toe, in new gear. Because tomorrow I am going to "learn to ski in a day" and for that, new gear was required.  Can you imagine it? Me learning to ski in a day that is? Although I'm pretty bendy and pretty active, I am rubbish on anything slippery. When I was a kid I only had to see a hill with some snow on it and I would sit down, which the children have told me that I must not do under any circumstances, because I will only go faster. And I don't do speed either which doesn't bode well. True, I've challenged myself quite a bit over the last couple of years - running the half marathon, doing various other forms of exercise and last summer doing the high ropes too. However, the problem is that when I'm scared, really scared, I have to distract myself and I do this by singing One Direction very loudly. I'm pretty confident that my singing is probably as bad as my skiing (will be) so I'm not holding out much hope for anyone, or anything, within close proximity to me tomorrow. Thankfully Mr SG is no longer planning on popping in to "see how I am getting on" (ie videoing me so that he can take the p*** out of me mercilessly) on his way back from a meeting tomorrow.

So what is it that makes jeans so wearable? Well to start off with, the right pair can make a real difference to the length of one's legs and the size of one's bottom. Not only that but with a bit of stretch they can be very comfortable, they go with everything and they can be worn pretty much anywhere. So why would we need anything else when it comes to trousers? Well the answer is that we don't really, not unless there's a smarter work or formal event that requires them.  Sometimes though even I fancy a change from jeans and I think that I've found them in these crepe tapered trousers that I bought from Jigsaw at the end of the summer.

I had worn them once or so and for some reason I had it in mind that they were a bit scratchy but actually they're not at all. Crepe is a lovely fabric - easy to move around in and not at all constricting - a very important consideration when I need to spend a lot of time in front of the washing machine, as I do today, nor is it bulky so it's a flattering fabric to wear.  I can't believe that I'm advocating an elasticated waist band I must admit that I am - it's super comfortable and I like the fact that it means that they can sit either higher, or a bit lower (not quite of the MC Hammer proportions but getting there) on the waist depending on how you feel/the height of your heels/the occasion you're wearing them for. These trousers can either be dressed down with trainers, or up with heels, so they're pretty versatile too.

As for a couple of options for crepe trousers, there's these sporty crepe trousers Whistles (£120) - wish they were in the sale so sorry about the price! There should be a Grazia offer in February so it may be worth holding out for that if they appeal.


Or these crepe trousers are on sale at Me & Em reduced to £30 from £148 but they are only available in a size 12 - sorry can't do much about that either!


Jigsaw have these tapered leg crepe trousers for £110. I'm not sure if it's the height of the model but they look slightly shorter in the leg which is fine but it can make them a little less versatile.


And finally Cos have these tapered crepe trousers for £59. They don't have an elasticated waist band but the close up shots on the site do make them look an attractive option.


Now I must admit that despite the trousers being an existing wardrobe item, the toasty roll neck jumper from Boden (£48.30) is a new addition. My only other roll neck - which is what I like at this time of year - is a navy Cos one which is slightly short in the body and also on my gorilla like arms. And anyway if Mr SG will insist on making me go skiing, he's got to expect that one or two new jumpers will be purchased. When I first opened it I wasn't sure that it was as chunky as I was hoping for but having worn it for several hours, I'm finding it pretty warm.

And finally, I bought these Grace high ankle boots from Whistles (reduced from £185 to £55) in Selfridges last week. Some Christmas money that I had squirrelled away came in very handy for these brilliantly priced boots. I can't see them online any more but there may well be some lurking in the stores.



Now I've discovered that my scratchy trousers aren't in fact scratchy at all, I'm going to wear them lots and lots. Now there's an idea. Anything that you own that you think is a bit stiff, scratchy, tight or not quite right, how about digging it out and giving it another go? You never know you might just discover a wardrobe hero. If not, it's time to get rid!

Carrying on with my plan to wear everything in my wardrobe, a pea coat is a style of coat that never goes out of fashion. It's a timeless classic and if you're thinking of investing in any type of coat, this is one that will last for years - along with a biker style jacket, a leather jacket, a trench coat or a camel coat. Other styles come and go and they are nice to own in an exciting, heart missing a beat kind of way, but as they may only last a few seasons they are probably more of a Zara/Topshop buy.

I had my first pea coat when I was about 23 and wanted to replace it after it had served me very well. This one from Reiss I bought in their post Christmas sale about 4 years ago now and provided that I don't grow out of it, it should last me for many years to come.


Now I may be a bear of very little brain but it just can't deal with this picture. It keeps trying to make it into Victoria Beckham. The similarities between her and Catherine ZJ are starting to become a bit spooky and my little brain finds is very confuddling.


Although in fairness I can't really comment about people coveting other people's looks because if I had hair that I could cut into this choppy bob, I so would. As it is it would take me forever to grow my short style out and knowing me after a few months I would cut short again so there's no point in even going there - but somehow I can't stop thinking about it which is always a bad sign.