What I've Been Wearing Lately

Hi peeps! It's all about the knitwear this week.

I could call this post "Six Jumpers and a Cardi".

For that is what it is, essentially.

So I've decided to tag this month #jumperjanuary2019 because jumpers have been pretty much my top of choice this chilly month.

If you are living in the northern hemisphere, most of you will be reaching for a jumper on a regular basis..  There is something about a jumper that makes so much sense when it's cold outside.  Even with today's cleverly insulated and heated homes, there's still a need for jumpers inside and out.  My home isn't heated during daytime so I wear either a jumper or a heavy cardi indoors.  And then all that is needed for the outdoor stuff is a coat or jacket and the woolly hat set and I'm done.  Makes life easy.

So let's see what jumperage I've reached for without a second thought.

Woolovers cashmere/merino jumper, M&S skinnies, Gabor boots , grey/taupe glass beads were a present many years ago.

I bought this cashmere/merino and it’s mate at Woolovers a few years ago and this side of Christmas I start reaching for them, each and every year.  They're long, not bulky yet warm and the collar can be buttoned up to a snug high polo neck when the going gets really cold.

Woolovers is a good source of natural fibre knitwear, though it has got more pricey in recent years.  However, the good news is they do great sales and I stalk certain items until they hit the rock-bottom price I want to pay, and if it doesn't hit that price, well me and the woolly were just not meant to be!

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M&S puffa jacket, brown fur scarf a present, black fur collar thieved from a coat, hat from NZ

I played around with fur collars, much to TP's delight.  Not.

And from my hat stash I pulled out this lovely black leather and fur beanie hat.  It's got a thin quilted lining too so it's extremely snug.  I bought it in New Zealand in 2000, from a sheepskin shop on South Island where the winters are snowy, so they certainly know how to make warm hats.

As I age, when I am about to go out of the house I remember my mum's words, that you lose a huge percentage of body heat through your head.  So I am mindful of her wise words and from December onwards tend to wear a hat.  Needless to say, I've built up quite a selection!

Next cashmere mix V neck jumper, Next coated leggings, Accessorize bag, Jones boots, charity scarf.

For a Sunday lunch with girlfriends I wore berry coated jeans, and teamed them with a berry leather cross-body I picked up in the Accessorize sale at £14.  (Oh did somebody say this was a no-spend January?!) I followed the berry through with my charity shopped berry silk print scarf.  On my head.   Yeah, wild eh?!

At these lunches we hand over any souvenirs we've brought back from our travels.  What with one thing and another I didn't really travel in 2018, so it's been a one-way flow of pressies for me - every meet-up is like a mini birthday.  Here, a beautiful silk bag from India and a useful notebook from New York.

Oatmeal cashmere mix jumper from Next, pompomed paisley scarf from The Cashmere Shop, taupe boots from Jones

OK, more wildness here.  I bought some distressed jeans! ( yeah, about this no-spend thing ...)
I'm not a fan of the distressed look (are you?) but these M&S mid-risers were the only denim around I fell for, and they're darned comfy too so I've had to bite the bullet and live with the tiny tears on each thigh.  TP told me that Bertie the Cat told him it was kinda strange that someone would pay full price for damaged goods and I have to say I sorta agree with, ahem, Bertie.

Jumper from Woolovers, East scarf, M&S skinnies, Pikolino boots.

I enjoy wearing this East embellished paisley wool shawl, a present some years ago from those same girlfriends I lunched with above.  But I was feeling perhaps not at my best, as I draped the shawl around me at home, then masked myself cowboy-style when I left the house.  There will be days when a scarf needs to be used for purposes other than warmth or colour.

Jumper from Madeleine, M&S skirt, belt and opaques, Gabor booties, fur collar a present about 15 years ago.

My sartorial week has been mostly grey, black and with touches of white.  But on this day I went totally crazy and off piste … I wore caramel!  I teamed a M&S leoprint jersey skirt with a Madeleine cashmere asymmetric jumper.  I added a belt which was thin enough IMHO to avoid looking like "a sack tied in the middle" (TP's most detested look).  Adding a fur collar and Gabor heeled booties gave this outfit a distinct 40s vibe, I thought.  

Spookily I then read Jules' comment on my previous post in which she referred to Ingrid Bergman and the whole 40s look so I suggested she check out this look.  It brings elements of our beloved 40s into a modern day outfit and is a way to incorporate a favourtie dress style into your every day.

Whaddya think, Jules?  And you, dear reader?  Do you fancy trying this look?

M&S skinnies, Woolovers cashmere/merino jumper, Gilet from M&S yonks ago, boots Gabor, Leather/suede tote bag a present (M&S), woolly hat set from local department store (Creaseys), beret from Primark.

I went a bit American here. wearing a quilted gilet over the winter white verion of the grey jumper above.  (We Brits aren't that much into vests.)  It was all I needed for the mild weather on the day.  I muffled up with the woolly hat set for a walk, then poshed myself up in beret and new tote for my mattress-buying errand.

And I came home having ordered a hopefully very comfy mattress to replace my old lumpy one of 16 years.  And a new bed.  And a new carpet.  And a whole new decorating project.  

(Oops, there are some  serious spends here!)

For having started with the new mattress, it all became a little "Don't spoil the ship for a h'penth of tar" and not wanting to let the side down, I realised the whole room needed to be brought in line with my smart new mattress.  Even though it can't be seen until  linen change day, I know it looks smart and I want the rest of the room to come up to muster too.

Buying the bed wasn't as totally outrageous as it sounds.  Old Bed has underbed storage and because it's a small bedroom, each time I do a season switch I have to shove the laden bed in different directions in a confined space in order pull out the underbed drawers.  And the bedstead is pretty enough, in brass and marble, but it rattles about each time Bertie so much as lifts a paw or tweaks a whisker.  So it doesn't make for a good night's sleep and hasn't for 16 years, yet I have lived with it.

I am counting the disrupted sleeps until the mattress arrives (as of today, just 1 !!) but New Bed will take 7-8 weeks to arrive.  New Bed is super-whizzy and I can't wait to tell you all about it.  It has underbed storage, but with a very modern twist.  That's all I'm saying right now, you'll have to wait for the reveal!

So have you found yourself doing this?  Ending up with a whole load of stuff and work when you started out needing something simple and singular? 

Gosh, how I get distracted.  What am I like?  I start out with a simple OOTD post and here I am talking about a bedroom makeover!  I'd better move swiftly on to my last outfit and let you good people get on with your busy lives eh?!

Coated leggings from Next, modal vest from M&S Limited Collection, Madeleine cashmere cardi, Gabor boots, jewellery gifted or inherited.

Here we have black coated leggings from Next, which I'll probably detail in another post as they deserve a post of their own as they're new (OK, shall we just forget about this no-spend January ...?)

The leggings and M&S modal vest are topped with a cashmere winter white cardi from Madeleine, which I bought (there's that word again!) but in the sale last autumn (phew!).  I only cut the tags off for this outing.

And here's the thing.  We were going out for a meal with a friend and I told TP he had free rein to chose my outfit.  (Yeah risky, I hear ya!).  I told him to imagine me as his Barbie doll but I don't think the cross-gender toy thing worked for him.  Or maybe it did because he came up with this combo and I think he was spot on.  It was warm, comfy and smart (IMHO).  I layered on some lovely silver pieces, added a pair of Gabor Pollyana boots and Bob was most definitely your uncle.

A reader mentioned recently liking me best in column dressing like this, head to toe same-colour underpinnings with a different coloured third piece drape.  TP found the look slimming, and I thank TP and my reader for their input, because I do really think this look works on most people and even makes me look reasonably presentable!

And there you have it, peeps, my week in outfits. You know, I started out doing these What I've Been Wearing Lately posts, thinking that they would be easy posts to put together.  You know, a few photos, a little description and  perhaps where I took the outfit, and a quick sign off.  But how many times have I said this, I get chatting with you sweeties and then end up with a post the size of a small novel!

Hope you can bear all my chat.  If not, perhaps just looking at the pictures might be an easier alternative!

I finish with a plea as I haven't done one for a while.  If you can see your way clear, how's about following me by email or subscription which is easy to do in the right hand side bar.  And if you just can't get enough of my smiley face on my erratic posts, then you can always pop over to  INSTAGRAM or PINTEREST and follow me there.  It makes so much sense not to miss a post eh?

A la perchoine,

Mary X.