A leathery new look....

Yesterday it was Mr Husband's Birthday.  Happy Birthday my love!  To celebrate we went to Sainsbury's during the day (like you do) and then my dear Mama baby-sat for us in the evening so we could go to the cinema to watch the second part of The Hobbit.

In honour of Mr Husband's birthday I decided to treat myself to a new skirt, bought whilst at Sainsbury's. I seem to get quite a lot of clothing from Sainsbury's, they do some great stuff. Anyway, this time I plumped for something a little different for me.  I'm used to wearing a pencil skirt and have many in different colours and fabrics, but this time I was somehow compelled to buy one in a kind of rusty red leather-type material.  It isn't real leather, in fact it's machine washable (yay) but to be honest that makes me like it all the more!

Probably one of the things I like the most about it is that it's quite slimming.  Not being a particularly stretchy fabric it can REALLY hold everything in place, in fact, I am pleased to report that despite buying this post-Christmas pig out it's actually a size 12!  My first size 12 for about fifteen years!  Yay!

Here's what it looked like on.....apologies for the slightly fuzzy picture, I seem to be having some issues with my camera at the moment - I suspect a small, sticky fingered person may have gained access at some point....

I decided to wear it with quite a simple black jumper as, in better light, it's actually quite a bold colour.  I'm really pleased with it, a bit of a different style choice for me. Mr Husband says it's quite saucy, but he's a secret perv, so we can't go by what he says....

It was originally labelled as being £22, but is currently on sale for £11, can't complain about that!

So....what do you think?  Any suggestions on colours that would go well would be most welcome!  Anyone else wear leather or leather-look clothing?  I have an image of Ross from Friends in my head, so any tips that would avoid me having to make a talcum powder paste to free my legs would be great ;)

Love, love,



P.S On an entirely unrelated note, and hence not worth an entire post, I've decided to move the buttons of my favourite blogs to give them a page of their own.  Click on the Blog Roll tab above for a little look.  If anyone is interested in a button swap, please shout!  Over and out xx

Fashions fade, style is eternal...

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, my name is Kate and I am an addict. Thankfully, my addiction is (in my humble opinion) an excellent, and completely none scary one with very little chance of wrecking my entire life. I am completely and hopelessly addicted to dresses. I would say that I spend a good chunk of my life looking at (read drooling over) dresses online, getting my fix. It's a constant and an unquenchable thirst for the next favourite frock.

I've talked before about the assumption that a girl in a dress is a girl that's made a modicum of effort. Perversely I always see dress wearing as being a fabulously easy option, I only have to choose one item to put on, what could be simpler? As a Mum if I can save minutes somewhere in my day, but somehow convince people I've spent an age planning an outfit I am going to be pretty flippin' chuffed with that!

Over some time I have amassed a small, but very much loved collection of dresses. I have different dresses that I favour for different occasions. Unfortunately for me I tend to have a favourite dress for a time, which I wear and wear and wear and then I tire of it and want to move onto something new. I am shamefully fickle with my frocks! Hence my addiction, I'm just constantly on the lookout for my next beau.

So, when House of Fraser pointed me in the direction of their Dresses Collection and asked if I would like to cast my eye, I didn't need much persuading!  In fact I pretty much threw myself at the laptop and immediately started clicking links to satisfy my endless quest for the perfect dress. Legitimate dress scouring! I've been waiting my whole life for just such an excuse!

I have long been a fan of House of Fraser, as a girl I remember it as being the big shiny shop housed in the swanky new shopping centre.  As a little 'un I thought it was the very height of sophistication.  I was also OBSESSED with watching Mary Queen of Frocks (which I believe is still available on 4oD)  I just found it fascinating that someone had spotted such an obvious gap in the fashion market and was willing to try and fill it with something a little bit different.  It was a brave step made by House of Fraser and it certainly paid off.

Another thing that makes House of Fraser appeal to me is their website.  It's so easy to navigate.  I confess I am quite picky when it comes to the kind of thing I like.  I've honed my style over the years and I know what doesn't suit me just by looking.  I love the fact that I can refine my dress options so much.  Most websites let you refine your options down to cocktail dresses or day dresses etc, but with House of Fraser's website I can even specify the sleeve length I prefer.  Now that is very cool.

So anyway; I had a wonderful evening, having a good shufty around all the fabulous dresses in the Dress Collection and came up with my favourites.  In no particular order they are:

The Ariella Lace dress £150.  I love this, the colour and the style are so flattering, I can just imagine Kate Middleton swishing about in it looking elegant.    This is the kind of dress you FIND an opportunity to wear.  It also comes in a full length fish tail style.  Mmmm yummy...

Biba Embellished Front Kimono Tunic Dress - £89.00.  Biba are such an iconic brand. They conjure up such images in my head of an amazing 60's/70's fashion house full of outrageous but fabulous clothes for beautiful young things.  I love this dress.  It's so simple, it's shape means there's no need for breathing in or big pants but the embellishment on the front is something else!

Dickins & Jones - Ladies British Check Dress - £135.00.  I am a total sucker for checks!   This dress is so classic, you could wear it for so many occasions, it'd go with heels, boots, shoes  And I love a versatile dress, they're the best  Plus there are so many colours within the check pattern my need to match everything I'm wearing would be satisfied with a lot of different colour options.  I also love the fact that this dress is described as Ladies British Check Dress - Go British Ladies!

Dickins & Jones Ladies Floral Jersey Dress - £80.00.  House of Fraser stock Dickins and Jones, I brand I love.  This jersey dress is beautiful.  I love the colours, perfect for adding the feeling of spring to a miserable day.  And that twisted front and the gathering would mean no breathing in to look slimmer.  Always a good thing!

Dickins & Jones - Ladies Pintuck Spot Jersey Dress - reduced from £80 to £40.  Another Dickins & Jones dress, this one is a classic.  I don't know a single girl who doesn't have some polka dots in her wardrobe!  I'd team this dress with some red shoes and a red necklace for a bit of extra glamour.  Again, this is such a versatile dress, it could easily be worn to work, at the weekend, or for a night out.  I do like to get maximum use out of my clothes!

East - Monica Jersey Dress - reduced from £79.00 to £55.30.  Similar to the Dickins & Jones dress above only this is slightly darker in colour.  I think what I love about this style is that it's shapely, but I' still be happy wearing it if I was having a "fat day".  The band around the the waist and the crossover style of the dress would hide a multitude of sins.  Plus the busy pattern would hide the fromage frais This Baby insists on covering me with.   I may have a small baby, but I'm certainly not ready to commit to the Slummy Mummy look.   In this dress - never going to happen!

Kenneth Cole Tux Collar Dress - £55.00.  If your jaw doesn't drop open when you see this dress there is definitely something very wrong!  The tailoring?  That collar?  The sleeves?  The colour.  I might faint.  I might actually faint.  It's by Kenneth Cole, it also comes in a tan colour and GUESS how much it is? Guess?  Nope!  It's been reduced from £110, to £77.00 to £55.00.  Half flippin price!  I wants it!

Marella -Susanna Printed Cowl Neck Wrap Dress  - £150.00. How cool is this? It's my kind of style, but I just love that beautiful mustard sash around the waist.  It's not a colour combination you often see and I just think it looks great.

The Department - Circles Dress and Cardigan - reduced from £100 to £50.  I am terrible for wanting to put a cardigan on over a beautiful dress when I get chilly.  I love the fact this dress comes with it's own shrug, matching, flattering and just right.  I love the geometric pattern, if I can distract from my wobbly bits with a strong print I'm in!

Therapy - Scallop Hem Dress - reduced from £45.00 to £35.00.  Another dress with a great combination of colour.  This simple black dress could be worn for loads of different reasons, but the pop of colour at the bottom stops it from ever looking ordinary.


Pretty gorgeous huh?  If I'm really super honest, this post serves a dual purpose.  It's my birthday before too long and Mr Husband Sir recently told me to have a think about what I would like him to get me.  In answer to your question darling ANY OF THESE!  I would dearly love them all.  Pretty, pretty please, I've been good!

So tell me, which are your favourites? What do you look for in a dress?

Lady v's Lazy

I very rarely wear trousers. In fact, within our little family I can very safely say that it's the man who wears the trousers. The man and the small children.

My Christmas dress. A sum total of £2.50 from a local Autumn Fair, get in!

I recently went to a 80's disco dressed as a member of Guns n Roses, complete with massive curly wig, ripped and faded denim jeans, cowboy boots and tattoo sleeves. Nobody knew who I was! It wasn't the wig, it was my legs. I hadn't realised that nobody had seen them as separate entities for quite a number of years. It got me thinking that it could be the perfect disguise for me, if I wanted to get up to no good under cover of darkness, I'd just have to don a track suit and I'd be able to get up to all sorts of mischief unrecognised.

My lack of trousers isn't because I'm making a grand statement against feminism, nothing so thoughtful. It's just that trousers don't suit me. They make me feel fat and uncomfortable.

Before my first pregnancy I was a jeans for every occasion kinda girl. Unfortunately when I was 30 weeks I was diagnosed with a blood clot (DVT) in the femoral artery of my left leg. It swelled up to twice it's usual size, looked like an elephant's and I could barely bend it, let alone try and squish it into a pair of skinny jeans. After a prolonged course of injections into my tummy (not fun when you're expecting) my leg eventually started to return to normal. But I think that feeling stayed with me. Wearing trousers just reminded me of that excruciatingly painful, trapped blood feeling. Yeah, given the choice, I'll pass on that one, thanks, if it's all the same...

It's strange how women associate wearing a dress with dressing up. I have outfits that I think make me look a real scruff, but because they're dresses people assume I'm making an effort. I've also had more than a couple of conversations with people who've said something along the lines of "but you always wear heels don't you?" Erm, nope! Flats, wellies, converse, I wear them all, but somehow it's just my frocks that get remembered.

People often say things like "You're always in a dress, I just couldn't be bothered" this makes me laugh every time. I'm lazy! I am so lazy I can't even be bothered to find a top and trousers that go together, I'd rather bung on a dress and its job done.

Now I'm not suggesting that (even for me) there isn't a time and a place for trousers, I'll dig out a pair if it's snowy for example, it'd be bonkers to only rely on tights for warmth in the snow. And if I'm, say, digging up my allotment, again out come my kecks. The cheeky old goat on the next allotment plot to ours once accused me of floating around the place like Margo Leadbetter. I think he thought he was being quite cutting, I couldn't have been more chuffed!

I have my comfy dresses for curling up in, warm day dresses, chilly day dresses, dresses for fat days, thin days and I hope I don't see anyone I know days. They're me. They're what I feel happiest in.

Do you have a 'go-to' item of clothing that you feel most at home in? Are you known for how you dress? What's YOUR thing?