The boys are back in town
And by boys I mean blouses. Obviously. The out out blouse. That all year round staple that comes into its own with a pair of jeans, skinnies, skirt - pick the bottom poison of your choice - these are perfect partner for making the normal, special.
They don't have to be safe at all, in fact today, I'm all about the statement side. A blouse of shirt that does all the work for you.
And I can hold my hand up and say how useful these are. The other night - total last minute panic. Out with the girls, drinks and dinner, wasn't overly dressy but we do all still like to get our glad rags on (as we are actually 75.. "glad rags" wtaf?).
So I have been trying on a lot of frogs recently. Some, if you've been watching my Insta stories over on Instagram, I thought worked. But the true test of whether you should keep something is if you want to wear it at the first opportunity you get. If you put it on and you think - meh, then put it STRAIGHT back in the bag to return.
Which was me the other day... PANIC STATIONS. Jeans to the rescue. And then the perfect blouse to go with it, followed by a pair of heels - instant, easy, no brainer outfit.
These are also perfect to wear during the day as well. For work, for just chucking about in on a normal day.
Starting with my favourite. These are definitely an investment but if you look at the cost per wear element of wearing it often for different occasions, it will pay for itself.
Lily & Lionel Kitty Sky Short Sleeved Ruffle Shirt £160 This colour way is simply too gorgeous and on my wish list. I adore it.
Or the Celeste version £160
Ruffles a plenty from M&S - £35
Printed Frill Shoulder top from M&S £25.00
Shoulder frills in a polka dot at & Other Stories £59
Print again at Topshop.
Flamingo Print Shirt £30
From flamingos to fruit. at & Other Stories £49 I love this. I TOTALLY love this!
And print onto lace at Topshop. Sublime, but my concern is that it might be on the cropped side. But it would be ideal for high waisted jeans and with waisted skirts.
Lace Embroidered Peplum Blouse £55
And now onto bows.
Geometric Print Bow Long Sleeve Shirt £25
Pansy Pussybow in Palm Shirt £215
Neck Tie Blouse at & Other Stories in dark red £59
Rather than a statement bow, there's always a statement sleeve.
Long Sleeve Wrap Blouse from Topshop £65
Sleeves on point at M&S.
Animal Print V-neck Long Sleeved Blouse £39.50
Lip print with a frill sleeve at Topshop £30
Still will look at other out out top options as I don't think you can never have too many. What's your favourite sort? Will also be tackling the thorny subject of jeans shortly as well.
Outfits from the last couple of days.
Tassel earrings - H&M
Back to work tomorrow with a dinner in London and getting the children ready for school. Huge exam for the 10yr old on Thursday (even though I don't think we even want him to go to that school but he thinks he's taking the exam and has prepared as well as he can for it, so we're going to let him take it but OMG I swear it's worse watching your children do exams than it ever was doing them yourself.... and breathe.....) and then massive celebrations on Friday.
I am going to be back with a couple of bottoms idea this week. As well as the beauty blog which I'm going to be doing monthly, once I work out how to get new pages on the template! Do we think that Summer is on its way out? Autumn/Winter specials on their way.
That M&S animal print one might be what I'm looking for. The sleeves limit it to drinks rather than eating out, as I'd like get gravy all over me!
ReplyDeleteGreat that all the family has had such a good weekend, good end to the holidays. As for weather, I'm not sure it can make up it's mind what to do here. I was out at 6am with the dog, it was 5°C, but this afternoon it was 20°C - we just managed to get home before the heavens opened and then it was stair-rods for the next hour or so, now the sun is making an appearance before it gets dark.
Must admit looking forward to proper autumn clothes, even with low morning temperatures, it's still a tad too warm for cosy sweaters!
Oh I adore the Lily & Lionel ruffle blouses. You look fantastic in your leopard print one. What size are you wearing please? I'm a size 10 & unsure which size would be best to go for. I look forward to your blog every day. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI thought this may be a subject I could enjoy but not partake of - half my wardrobe (sadly, not an exaggeration) is dedicated to tops of the 'Out Out' variety and are woefully underused. However... I received an email from Sezane this morning with their new season drops and two of the things I was most attracted to were these - http://www.sezane.com/en/product/fall-collection/lady-shirt?cou_Id=2016 and http://www.sezane.com/en/product/fall-collection/elisa-shirt?cou_Id=1922 (which is my favourite). It is sold out and, though I know through past experience for it to be futile, I have signed up for a re-stocking alert,(Sezane are THE WORST for selling out lines on day 1 of their release and never re-stocking).
ReplyDeleteBy the way (sorry - off topic), did I imagine it, or was there a hint of green leather trousers from Hush this AW?
Went to a VIP event at a local store yesterday, and possibly due to your influence, Kat, I bought an out out blouse. Lovely teal blue with oxblood from Karen by Simonsen.
ReplyDeleteI've decided if my OH complains I'll say "Kat made me buy it"! Don't worry he won't complain, he's 'working' offshore at the moment and 'considering' buying a kayak and another bike (he's already got three, not including MC's).