The final piece of the puzzle

Before I get going today, apologies for not having posted for the past couple of days.  I was due to post on Friday night and then the most tragic events occurred in Paris.  It seemed wrong both then and yesterday to think about anything other than those poor people who lost their lives and what their families, friends and Pairs were going through. 

But life does have to go on and whilst they are still in our thoughts and prayers, to grind to a halt would mean terrorism wins.  

Which is why we did go out last night and I did don the sequins.  And today, I'm talking about the final piece of the party puzzle.

So it's not the final, final piece as I'm assuming you all have footwear... In fact, I will be doing a footwear blog shortly but today, it's the last piece of bling needed for our party outfits.  The.  Bag.

Although I'll be honest.   I tend to stick to black.  I always stick to black in fact and last night was be no different.  

As generally, if there is a lot of bling on the body, personally I prefer to keep it plain on the accessories.

However, if you'd rather keep your outfit simple, you can just transform it into party mode with the accessories.  I have a jewellery blog up my sleeve for the next week or so but today I am all about the bag.  

High or low... which way to go?  Well, for me, like the rest of my disco party outfit (which is what it appeared to have turned into...) I would go low.  For a classic black bag that you will use all year round, my preference would be to save the budget for that.  It's also the ideal Christmas present so I think it deserves an entire blog of its own (oh what a shame - I'll have to spend hours perusing luxury websites making an imaginary wish list.  Reminds me of being 8 with the Argos catalogue).

But for today I am looking at all that glitters that doesn't cost gold. 

To be honest, I got the idea last Sunday when I was watching 5 11 year olds trying on high heels in Dorothy Perkins and spied this.  It's a great size and a great price.  Looks unbelievably more expensive.

Silver Resin Box Clutch was £20 now £14




One of the main reasons that I love this is because it will go with both silver and gold, because of the shine to it - were you to wear it with gold it would reflect back into the bag.  Other options in silver that I found - this one which is larger and more casual, from Topshop.

Cuddle clutch in silver from Topshop £32



Slightly more expensive but an unusual silver suede.  I think that one has a hint of a vintage vibe.  Would happily use this.  And again, I think it's a great in between metallic - yes it's silver but it would also go well with gold tones. 

Suede Foldover Clutch from Next £45



Moving onto gold now and again at Dorothy Perkins.  I'm hoping this is a metallic tweedy weave, reminiscent of a Mulberry.

Gold glitter luxe crossbody bag was £18 now £14.40




Honeycomb box clutch from M&S £35



Have to say though I do prefer this black and gold version from ASOS. 

ASOS Studded Box clutch £32





However I think my favourite and obviously it would be one of the most expensive ones but this would last for years and years and could easily also be used all year round.  Perfect for making a plain tee, jeans, blazer and heels into a party outfit. 

Dune Eternity Beaded clutch bag in rose gold £79



They also do it in a silver version... (for me it's the rose gold that makes it really special though). 

Dune Eternity Silver Beaded Clutch £79



If you really want to let your bag do the talking then full on embellishment may be the name of the game. 

ALDO Box Clutch with Emerald Embellishment £50



You could, of course, go completely off piste with a red metallic bag.  Love.   On reflection I may prefer this to the Dune one.  I think I might.

Tassle Envelope Clutch from Topshop £25



And finishing with one that needs no introduction. 

ALDO Paris Clutch £45  To always remember.



And finishing with what I did finally wear last night.  Can't say that I was feeling in a party mood but like I said, to not go would mean they'd won.  So yes, it was sequins on and off we went. 



Sequin turtle neck - H&M
Black leather leggings - hush
Black suede stilettos - Zara
Black clutch bag - Tory Burch

Today has not been the most productive of days, it does have to be said.  That's to put it mildly.  Yes I may have indulged in one glass of Prosecco too many last night but the 6yr old just cannot shift his cough so whilst (against better judgement) he did football yesterday, it's only for an hour as opposed to two hours for rugby this morning.  Which we therefore swerved.  I can't say I was gutted.. (although it is a lovely catch up socially, it does have to be said.  And for all those I saw last night that I promised I would meet for a bacon sandwich this morning, sorry!).  There was a lot of lounging around this morning with family over for dinner this avo. 

Let the week begin properly tomorrow (and if anyone can remind me what I'm supposed to be doing as I know it's something really important which I meant to write down in my diary.. and didn't.  Or perhaps put it somewhere else in diary which has happened one or ten times previously).