Does my bum look 40 in this?

Showing posts with label harem pants. Show all posts

How to survive a festival....

...when it's raining. As this is the UK and despite the fact it's Summer - or actually, even because it's Summer - the chances of it raining are on the high side.

And this weekend at Port Eliot was a total rain-fest. Whichever festival floats your boat - or even if it's just camping, I have put together a tried and tested guide to surviving without having to resort to plastic bags on your feet or fashioning a binbag into a poncho.

First up - gin. Ok so not really gin but oh my lord it helps. Plus I can testify to it not giving you a hangover. I promise.

But now, onto the practical which will guarantee you the best camping experience ever, whatever the weather (although we are talking wet here - specifically wet).

First up, the three things that totally saved my bacon this weekend.

Hat, jacket and boots.

I'm going to start with the jacket as that's probably the most surprising revelation of the weekend. What did I end up wearing non stop which was both waterproof, warm and stylish? A leather jacket.

Ok yes that sounds insane. But as someone pointed out to me over the weekend, this is what bikers wear come hell or high water. Leather is waterproof, warm and yes, practical. All makes sense now, doesn't it? And I can confirm that mine well and truly stood up to the deluge of rain that we had (constantly! Not on Sunday actually - Sunday was glorious but Friday and Saturday were slightly more than "mildly damp"...).

Onyx leather jacket £280

I did also take my black one as well.

And then of course there are the boots. I went for short Hunters. In black. The classic and the best. I can confirm that they are the ultimate in waterproof and mud proof having been well and truly put through their paces this weekend.

Black Short Wellies from Hunter Boots £80

And the hat...

So. This isn't necessarily what one would consider to be a waterproof hat but it is. It was pure perfection all weekend and I couldn't have done without it. Even when it wasn't raining, my hair was car crash, so this was utterly invaluable.

Ladies Luxury Grey Fedora in Elephant Grey £319 (10% off when you sign up to the website).

And speaking of random things that proved to be the most useful things ever - oh hello leather leggings. Ditto with regards to the leather jacket - it's the perfect weather proof item. Thomasina Miers, who did a foodie demo, said exactly the same thing - I am in supremely awesome company (she is amazing and my 12yr old was her helper on the day. Plucked from the audience and she could not have been more pleased!). Alas, the hush ones I have are sold out (this is what happens when you end up having to wear A/W stock in July!) BUT they are back in stock on the 15th of August (or the 16th.... I'm sure it's the 15th when all their new stock comes in and oh my lord, there are some amazing amazing things).

But on the first day, I wore waxed trousers which were also superb and are now back in stock at Boden for the new season.

Mayfair Skinny Jeans £60 in black wax.

Other trousers I took with me which I wore were a pair of camo joggers. For the day when it stopped raining and needed something ridiculously comfortable. These have sold out but I am back into all things comfy so will be on the hunt for similar to blog about.

Speaking of comfortable - at night, this is what I took to sleep in. These are THE perfect festival trousers. I wore them to bed and then had no qualms at all about bombing out (ok so with the volume of mud it was more squelching and sloshing) to the loo and for coffee in the morning. I will also let you into a secret, in that I often wear these to bed and then go and walk the dog and do the school run in them. MINGER I know, but I do then wash them. I have had mine for four years now and wear them every week. Wash and tumble dry and they are still in pristine condition.

Long Harem Trousers in Khaki £55

I also have them in the black £55

Not to mention the sweatshirt. The perfect off duty, loungewear sweatshirt. When I'm on holiday (and I include festival in this..) I take these with me. BUT the ones I have are sold out... Duh. So, I'm going to go on a loungewear hunt and do a separate blog on it as for me - when I'm on away (Suffolk next week for example), this is what I live in every evening and for dog walks on the beach in the morning. So hold fire on this one, I will be back.

Then we come onto the tees. I lived in tees. Perfect for layering under jumpers and wearing on their own.

This was my favourite - I know, I've worn it loads and I've featured it before but it is simply the best t-shirt I've found this summer. The perfect low scoop (but not too low) neckline, not clingy but fitted enough to sit over skinny jeans without being a nothing shape.

Organic cotton slub tee from FWP-by £28 A small is a 10.

And bag wise - oh did I have the most perfect festival bag. Cross body, supremely easy to get access to (and believe me, when you have an autistic 10yr old with mud where he doesn't want mud to be, you need to be able to get hold of those wet wipes QUICKLY!) small but randomly like the tardis.

Penshaw cross body bag - Village England £350

There were two things that I did feel though that I really hadn't mastered. How to clean your face. The wipes (and they were proper facial wipes) were horrendous. Seriously awful and I don't believe that there are any wipes that are amazing (I am open to suggestions) but there is no way I was leaving my make up on (so I guess the wipes "were" better than nothing I guess). There's no hot water so it's really hard to cleanse your face the traditional way. What to do?!

And secondly - a decent bag for all your stuff (especially relevant when you have a LOT of stuff). Because you need to carry it. For a long way. All suggestions gratefully received!

Here are the outfit photos from the weekend. Which was truly fabulous. There weren't even any tears. There may have been a couple of shouty moments but apart from that, it was a weekend of fun, frolics, fashion, films and gin. Thank you Port Eliot, thank you to everyone who came to see my talk at the hush tent and then the Blogger panel that I was also on and thank you to my fabulous friends and family for making it, yet again, an epic weekend.

This was the journey down when I ambitiously thought it might not yet rain. Ha ha ha. The trainers were changed into wellies the minute we parked. My hair stayed like for approximately 30 seconds after getting out of the car.

Rose tee - FWP-by

Mayfair wax jeans - Boden

Onyx leather jacket in grey - hush

Penshaw bag - Village England

Copeland sneakers in blue glitter - Air & Grace

Later on - in a minute when it wasn't raining.

As above but with..

Fedora - Penmayne London

Short Wellington boots - Hunter Boots

Jumper - as below.

For the next day.. delirium setting in. This was at 9.30 in the evening. You can't see that it is torrential rain.

All the same as above apart from..

Tee - Rotten Roach

LOVE jumper - hush (new season - coming in two weeks)

Berry leather leggings - hush (mine are two years old but they are coming in for new season again in two weeks).

And on the Sunday when it did stop raining. You can't get a good idea of the mud from here. But you can get an idea of how stunningly gorgeous a venue it is.

Joggers - Topshop
Que sera sera tee - hush (new season - hold your horses!).

So I hope that sums up pretty much what I found invaluable. Any other questions, fire away. I will be back tomorrow with some ideas that I've picked up over the weekend. All other pics from the weekend over on Instagram if you'd like to have a look (@doesmybumlook40).

Hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend. I have to unpack to go away again this weekend (which I am SO looking forward to) and it's more practical UK stuff... although I feel I need to do a full on last min Summer holiday blog too.

If it's good enough for SJP...

.. then it's good enough for the rest of us.

Ok so initially this concept it slightly out there but bear with me... it works. Well I think it works and I've been wearing mine all day and am completely in love with them. They're going to be the backbone of my holiday wardrobe next week - they simply could not be more ideal.

Cropped harem pants.

I see you all raising those eyebrows at the back - yes ok fine. There is a hint of the pedal pusher about them. Which, ironically, is the one style of trousers I've always said doesn't seem to have come back into fashion.

Well look at me back pedalling now. At the Met Ball a couple of weeks ago - it was SJP's outfit that was my favourite. And lo and behold, what was she wearing? Yup, that'll be a pair of cropped harems.

At this juncture I should probably point out that I do not remotely intend to replicate any other aspect of the outfit. (Note to self.. step away from the cropped top... step away from the cropped top...let alone the tulle cuffs.) This is very much a Celebrity Outfit - the kind that were a mere mortal to copy, you (ie I) would look like a tit.

And yes - I can hear you at the back, sniggering and saying I shouldn't even be going there with the cropped harems. Well too late. I'm in. I've bought. I've worn.

I bet you all naysayers have amazing knees... For those of us who were *blessed* with flobby knee syndrome, these could well be your Summer lifesaver.

No more shorts that have your knees throwing up at the bottom of them. No more dodgy fake tan round the knees. No more sitting down and trying desperately to tug your skirt over your knees to maintain some dignity (and hide the offending bulbous b*ggers).

These. Work.

Ok so there doesn't appear to be a huge following of these at the moment. My usual lust list on Pinterest turned up..... errr not a lot.

But there were a couple that made me think - these work. They really are not going to be everyone's cup of tea.. but I like.

Yes yes yes, the crop top is a total no no. Seeing as my stomach last looked like that when I was 14.

More casual now - mine are jersey and so don't have a belt and so are absolutely nothing like this... but the gist is (vaguely) the same (clutching at straws perchance...*eyes idea going down the drain but stoically refuses to be defeated*).

Anyone fancy sequin ones? I could so so go these... I can hear them scream SJP at me from here. I'm sorry but these are rather fabulous...

So which ones did I order? Well - I'm not going to lie - I don't think I would have ordered them if I hadn't been able to try them on at the hush pop up day but try them on I did and I was converted. And when I was in there, I managed to persuade another lady that they were a great idea so I know there are at least two of wandering around in them.

Cropped Harem Pants in black from hush £35 AND 10% off with the code MIAMI01

And in the khaki (I may have gone double bubble here) £35 again

Now these aren't that prevalent (I can hear the husband shouting something along the lines of No Sh*t Sherlock behind me...and this therefore going to be a swifty blog) at the moment but I've found a couple of black pairs - although they're not that much cheaper than the hush ones and personally I know their harem pants are an excellent fit for me (ie not saggy on the bum...) and a really good quality of jersey that washes (and tumble dries.. though you're not supposed to do that...) very well indeed - so I opted for the above.

But if you weren't as fully a paid up member of the cropped harem club as I am, you may want to try a lower entry model...

Pineapple Black Harem Crop Pants from Debenhams were £22 now £17.50

And these from Bonprix in the black or the charcoal.

Stretch Harem Pants in black £19.99

And in the charcoal again £19.99

Here I am in mine. You can all laugh at once. I simply don't care! (and guess where I just got a delivery from that I ordered for hols next week...)

Gold vest - hush
White linen top - hush
Black leather jacket/Summer jacket - hush
Black cropped harem trousers - hush
Superstar sneakers - Golden Goose/Glove sandals - Balenciaga
Black Haworth bag - Village England

I am so aware that this isn't going to be everyone's thing. But to me, it epitomises the perfect outfit that works for my life. The ideal transitional pieces that will take you from day to night. That you can wear on holiday in Suffolk, or for meetings in London. Or out for dinner with the family which is where we went this evening. New Bill's restaurant opened locally. Highly recommended.

I should probably write this in tiny writing but... have I managed to convert anyone? At the very least, if you try them - you will find they are so comfortable, you will never want to take them off.

When good outfits go bad

Ugh.

This was me last night in my outfit. Note to self. Even if you don't think you want to dress up for a night out and think you'd rather do "cool" than proper party - don't. As you will feel like a massive tit.

I absolutely loathed my outfit. It was our Christmas Party for school - billed as Ball but it's essentially a dinner and dance (how to make yourself feel ancient in three small words...could it sound more like a geriatric night out?). It's a fab party it was it usually is.

And I'll be honest. I wasn't really in the mood. I had organised it so I did feel obliged to go plus I know I would have regretted it if I hadn't done.

But demonstrating a spectacular lack of judgement, I thought I'd just go in something simple. Something comfortable. With maybe some "on trend" (kill me now) boots.. just because. Just because I'm a MORON.

Should probably have realised the dress wasn't the best idea as I'm 99% sure it's the one I'm going to wear to the funeral. What a bell end. Oh. And my hair looked rubbish as well. Not loving it right now but I think that's something to do with my rather random mood than my actual hair... All in all, I just felt horrible. Like nothing worked. Clearly I'd left it till the last minute (as like I said, I didn't really want to go and thought it wouldn't really matter what I wore. That is how not me I was feeling...)

However, normally this would have sent me into a tail spin and I would have huffed home or drunk a ridiculously enormous amount. But (and it's not often I'm proud of myself - which is the least self deprecating thing I've ever said, I apologise) big up me, I thought sod it, not letting it ruin my night. Had a lovely time and I didn't even drink too much which is genuinely one of the first times I can ever remember not doing that (maybe I should dislike what I wear more often - usually I simply do not have an off switch).

What better reminder though, that how you look can have such a huge impact on how you feel. Or at the very least, how you perceive you look. And It's also made me think that at the moment, I'm not massively feeling in the party mood and a sofa with my behind on it (with children and a dog ideally snuggled somewhere very near, hopefully the husband is rustling up some dinner) is what is on the agenda right now.

All I really want to wear is "loungwear" (what a horrendous word - up there with being almost as awful as moist and nipple).

And for me, I've realised, there is a very fine line - if any - between those things that I wear for chilling out (ie slobbing) round the house and those that I will happily wear for a dress down day. It's clearly only a matter of time before I'm doing the school run in my pyjamas (I should probably say regularly doing the school run. It *may* already happen on the odd occasion).

I've had a good look through some of my best slob out clothes and grey does seem to be the dominant colour. Be it pale grey, be it charcoal - I do honestly think shades of grey together make a completely acceptable outfit to bomb along to the supermarket in. I throw on my long grey Zara cardigan and a pair of either sneakers or biker boots and I'm off.

Can you ever have too many "lounge" (barf) items? Not when Christmas is coming up and you can justify them for more than merely sofa cruising (doesn't that sound far more civilised than slobbing out?). Plus there are some great offers around - perfect for emailing to your other half as he really can't go wrong buying these.

It will come as no surprise that some of my favourite outfits to adorn the sofa with are from hush and.. oh Happy Christmas, they have 15% off for the next couple of days. Off everything. Perfect for presents (yeah right). Well - presents for yourself maybe? Who doesn't love a little extra something under the tree? Code ADVENT1312 which goes on till tomorrow night I think (Monday) or maybe it's Tuesday.

Camouflage Sloppy Joe £40

Dolman Sloppy Joe in grey marl £40 I have this in the black and it's the perfect sweatshirt. I wash and tumble mine and it comes out like a dream.

This would work as well with joggers as it would with jeans and a blazer. And there in lies the beauty of these clothes.

Rib hem longsleeved tee from Whistles £55

Who says you can't wear glitter on the sofa?

Annie Sparkle Knit in pale grey £65 from Whistles

More sublime knitwear which you can lounge about in or happily venture into public wearing, from The White Company. And yes, there is an offer I can bring. 20% off on orders over £75 with the code AH661 (finishes on Sunday night though)

Notch Neck Hoodie in dark charcoal £69 (throw in a candle - with the discount, it will almost work out free. Almost. Suffice to say maths is not my strong point.)

Or a paler grey with the Funnel Neck Lounge Top also from The White Company £65

Flamingo Sweat from Whistles £75 Now I may be about to have a pink moment. You have been warned. Oh, and an animal love in. I can feel it starting in my waters... So this - a grey sweatshirt with a pink flamingo (as opposed to any other colour flamingo - duh) makes me Happy with a capital H.

On to bottoms now and this is where the looser the better in my book. As we type, sat here in my Whistles joggers from a couple of years ago. They don't sell them any more - I have the Lolas but these look amazing and currently with 30% off in their Winter offer.

Flow Harem Pant from Whistles were £60 now £42

Camo joggers from Hush £45 pre discount. These for into the Spring with a white tee, black blazer and Stan Smiths. Oh all the love. As well as for Christmas Eve for on the floor with a glass of wine and ALL the wrapping of the presents that I am coming round to accepting I will have to do. These will make it far less painful (women's logic, clearly).

Don't also forget about the harem pants from hush - I'm a huge huge fan.

Sharp inhale of breath now for the cashmere joggers from Whistles which do have 30% off as well.

Cashmere Tweed Jogger were £230 now £161 (you'd want at least that off, wouldn't you?) Who would complain about having these under the tree though? Bliss.

However if it's cashmere joggers you're after, then definitely have a look at Rosie for Autograph at M&S which are also on special offer.

Pure Cashmere Cuffed Hem Belted Bottoms were £99 now £69.30

Paler grey knitted trousers at hush for £55 pre discount.

And finishing with a bargain as I know I'm all about the grey today but couldn't not put in this black pair. Would also go fabulously with all the above tops.

Cuffed Hem Pyjama Bottoms were £19.50 now £13.65

Now here is the outfit from last night. All the rubbish. Which is a bummer as I absolutely love this dress. And the boots. Together in my head it worked, in the flesh it looked naff as. It hasn't actually put me off the boots or the dress but I will not be teaming them together. Or maybe with opaques. What a completely obvious (if not still overly exciting) option. Seriously, what a tool.

Oh and it looks a ton better with the coat on than the coat off! Alas I should just have spent all evening in my coat...

Swing Dress - Me+Em
Fringe boots - Zara
Coatigan - Ronit Zilkha
Stud bag - Coccinelle

But we learn from our mistakes and I do have at least one night out this week that I shall gear myself up for. And I shall be going all out sparkles. As one that is usually never known to under dress. Bring it on, Christmas.

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