There is a high chance...

... that I may end up wearing what would double as a tracksuit for the entire season.  I appear to be one step closer to morphing into Vicki Pollard as I type.

So I have been a fully paid up member of the sweatshirt club for a couple of years now but this year I have developed a snogathon with the sweat pant.  Sweatshirts from the last couple of years have been consigned to the perfect dog walking/Sunday afternoon/every evening post 7pm slob wear.

But yesterday, with a spare half hour I thought I'd have a gander in Topshop (no they didn't have the sweatpants with Go Faster stripes in a Tall which is the principal reason for me going in.  And to try on granny shoes.   I'll save that gem for another day..."gem" might not be quite the right noun to use). 

Blow me down with a feather, do I now need more sweatshirts.  The sweatshirt has evolved.  Fabrics have softened, shapes have become boxier and less typical "sweatshirt", edges have been frayed.

And the prices have come down.  So I thought I'd just try some on (and I was very very restrained and came home with nothing).  

Colour block Sweatshirt £46

And here I am in it.  I LOVE this.  It has unfinished edges and personally I would absolutely order online as the ones in the shop were all covered in other people's foundation.  Boak.  Which might be the only reason why I didn't purchase.  Oh they also come up very large.  This is an 8.. I would go a 10. Which they also didn't have.  Another reason to buy online.



Also to show how it looks under a jacket as it is a boxy oversize (perfect for over skinnies...)  This is probably my favourite as it's so versatile.  School run, rugby on a Sunday, out for dinner with leather skinnies and heels.  Just perfection. 




In a slightly different colourway with different texture panels.  This was obviously much worse than the one above for other people's residual make up... Online definitely.  

Contrast Grosgrain Sweatshirt £42



Again, this is an 8.  A 10 would be fine.  Actually maybe I'll stick with the 8 as it's the perfect top for my leather culottes...





Ok so this isn't exactly a sweatshirt, but it's a jumper.  Of which I have ZERO need.  But it's on special offer at the minute.  I defy anyone not to think this was Sonia Rykiel or Moschino or Markus Lupfer.  A steal for £25, believe me.

Heart Jumper was £39 now £25




This is a 12 (gotta love the consistency or lack of it, in the Topshop sizing).




Another jumper now and they don't seem to have the red in stock anymore but they do have the 

Stripe Zip Back Jumper £36 in navy and white (identical almost to the APC one by the way.. but with the added zip which I love). 







And now onto the main game, the sweatshirts.  I could happily happily wear any of these (the ones that work I'll just add...)  Gorgeous fabric.  Brushed, soft, drapey, lived in.  Everything you could want from a sweatshirt.  That would also work with smart trousers and a blazer.  Or, as I am inclined to do - team with another of sweats.  Come in Ms Pollard, we have been expecting you.

Brushed Sweatshirt £22



This is honestly stunning.  Gorgeously slouchy without being stiff as some sweatshirts can be.  Belies the price for sure.  This is a 12.



They also have it in the grey but they didn't have it in my size.

Brushed Sweatshirt £22 in grey 



More grey and I'm now wearing a size large.  The fabric of this is gorgeous.  As good as Wildfox sweatshirts for a fraction of the price. 

Hamptons Fleece Sweatshirt £30







I have to say though that probably my favourite was the pink version.

Hamptons Sweatshirt by Project Social T £30



I tried it on the small and to be honest, it was fine.  I personally would prefer it in a Medium but this is completely adequate.  Having tried on the large and the small I can confirm that there isn't *that* much difference in the sizing. 




And there the magic ended.  Yes I got carried away.  

Luxe Foil Sweatshirt £32



Things I learnt yesterday.  Know thy limits.  (and try and not be so freaking senile).  This is a 10 (like an 8 or a 12 would have been an improvement).  One Bacofoiled 43 yr old.




Finishing at Topshop with two that I'd seen previously instore but couldn't find this time round.  Can confirm that both ROCK.  Amazing for the money.  Topshop - you have impressed (and I don't blame you for the howlers - my fault for going off piste).


TALL Paradise Motif Sweater £26



Brushed Sweat £22




Denim Sailor Top by Boutique £75



A couple of other sweatshirts that have been on my radar (and I simply can't justify as I have enough sweatshirts to become a certified slob) are these. 

Leaf Embroidered Sweat from Whistles £75 (pre 25% discount.. @WH25SS16)




The My Cup of Tea sweat from Boden £59.50 with 20% off using the code A4QT 



And I simply adore this shade of blue (which is random as it's not really my colour at all but there is something so fresh about it).

C'est si bon sweat top £50 from hush




Can I please just finish with another big fat fail.  I still maintain that were this in a 12, it *might* have worked... But in the 10.. ok so I will acquiesce that it doesn't look that small in this pic (we can't deny that it's on the tight side = understatement of the week).  What you can't see is that at the back, the zip is undone down to my pants giving the same V to the back as it is to the front.  Wouldn't do up in a million years.  In my head I look like Barbarella.  In reality...well.  Not so much eh?  I think the bra is a nice touch.



Can I also please apologise if anyone happened to see me yesterday in Topshop causing minor pandemonium.  I had undertaken excessive children's clothes shopping (you know that moment when suddenly nothing fits anybody?) as well as a haul of Lancome (make up remover, mascara and then had obviously been cajoled into buying some other cleanser as it was "a bargain") and so had armfuls of bags. 

Was trying shoes on when suddenly I realised OMG I'VE LOST ALL MY BAGS.  Cue complete panic, back to the changing room - they weren't there.  Minor (ok so slightly major) hysteria as one member of staff called security to help.  I am flapping like a flapping thing and screeching to the point where only dogs can hear me as the security guard is radioing people about bags on the loose.  They manage to calm me down and ask me to go back through my steps.  "So where were you immediately before you came into Topshop?".

"ummm", me thinking..... "ummmmmmm".  Silence. 

"errr..... I went to put all my bags in the car". 

The.  Shame.  

The poor Topshop girl backed away with more than a look of fear on her face at dealing with clearly a complete nutter and the Security Guard kept asking me with more than a hint of pity "now are you sure?". 

I fled.  And there in lies the real reason why I didn't buy anything at Topshop.

However ridiculously happy with my outfit from yesterday.  All my favourites.  I know that most of you had snow but we had a gloriously sunny day (can't say the same today as it's pelting with rain and blowing a gale outside.  Ugh). 




Red 1970 jumper - Bella Freud
Black and white stripe trousers - Me+Em
Onyx biker jacket - hush
White Superstar sneakers - Golden Goose
Red Soho Disco bag - Gucci

We've got friends coming over for dinner and have had a lovely day going out for lunch after the smallest's Holy Reconciliation (First Confession for those of us Catholics who still deal in old money).  Hope everyone else is having a lovely weekend and are spoilt rotten.  Hug your mum extra tight if you're seeing her xx