Christmas wishes

My Christmas wish - among the usual good health and happiness - is that I find the time to devote to my blog in 2012. It's bloody hard carving out an hour or two every day, but the creative outlet is worth it and hopefully my personal mission to celebrate inspiring and stylish ladies in their 40s will in turn inspire others to find their inner style queen.
Have a safe and Merry Christmas everyone - I hope Santa is generous and that you have a safe and relaxing holiday. Keep stylish!

Did you know that in China Santa swims with the sharks? If my girls saw this I think they would be a little less confident about the safe arrival of their Santa bounty.

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I enjoyed this article by Paul Barry on Open Forum this week - a good look at the Christmas nitty-gritty.
Who really runs Christmas?

Weekends

"The only thing that makes it a part of your life is that you keep thinking about it."

anonymous

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I love this casual look on Stella McCartney as she leaves some ritzy hotel in Paris. The jeans are a great antidote to the skinny jeans that I see everywhere - including on myself. And the maroon blouse is perfectly nonchalant. As Stella has only just turned 40 I can't technically forty-fy her, but I can copy her casual look for myself.

Let's ask the World Wide Wardrobe what we could use to get the Stella look...

Twisted boyfriend Jeans from Just Jeans

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Bow neckchiffon blouse from Forever21 - it's not the beautiful maroon colour but it will work.

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Black shoulder bag by Ruche  - gorgeous!

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Golden strappy sandals from Betts

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I can't tell if she is wearing Wayfarers but I definitely would.

That's all it takes to look like Stella McCartney on a day out in Paris ;)

When beauty goes bad

Umm, why would Emily Blunt do this to herself ....

... when she could look like this??

There's not a hint of Nana or pulling fabric. Goes to show that even a beautiful woman can't pull off shiney purple and an ill-fitting brown skirt. Who would have thought?!

I love Emily but not when she is up close and personal with MY Ewan!!

Every girl has her limits

I like to think that in a lot of aspects of my life I have a wee dash of risk taker in me. In matters of  fashion and style I like to kid myself that the dash of risk is more like a large splash.

But there are limits! Yesterday I declared I would never wear flesh toned half socks... and I don't care who knows it! I don't think I'm alone in rejecting that fashion flash-in-the-pan, but there are other more mainstream trends that I just can't seem to embrace fully even though my heart really wants to.

Full-on gladiator sandals for one. I always think they look hugely sexy and cutting edge on other people, but I me I just can't see them working.

 Wow! While I do appreciate these heels I couldn't wear them ... but it's ok because I can get the flavour of them from these Clarks that arrived yesterday. Impractical above, practical below.

And, I can't bring myself to wear gathered or pleated skirts, as much as I love the look of them. Show me a woman who has had three children who can! I really don't need the extra yardage around my middle.

Much as I love this Portman's skirt I have to stick with sleek and uncomplicated.

Also maxi dresses... just who exactly do they look good on!? I like them in theory but whenever I put one on it swaps me and makes me look like a short-legged stump. Granted, I might not have found the right one, but I have tried and failed several times. And I've yet to see a person on the street who is wearing a maxi dress AND looking good in it.

Except for maybe Vanessa Hudgens, I suppose she looks okay.

And I guess Alessandra Ambrosio looks half-way decent. Ok, maybe it's just me.

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If I could buy one new dress this summer it would be this one from Camille .. isn't it beautiful! The colour and the detail are truly gorgeous.

I'll pass, thanks

Sorry designers at Marni, but I won't be wearing flesh coloured calf-socks this season. Thanks for trying though.

The clothes look wonderful, but are the socks the fault of one Ms Catherine Middleton? Are they some sort of mutated, half-child of her flesh stockings fad? Either way they will not be making an appearance on my feet!
That white skirt, however, is divine.

Staying at home

For some reason my kids do not like to have cushions on a sofa with them. The moment they flop down they toss the artfully arranged cushions to the ground and proceed to spread out without the encumbrance of soft furnishings cramping their style. My voice is worn out with telling them to 'pick up the cushions!' only to have them flung aside minutes later. It's really a battle not worth fighting, except that most of our cushions are white. Stupid I know, but some of them have been with me for longer than the kids!
Finally I have decided to re-cover the damned things so that being tossed on the floor will not result in them always looking dirty, despite being constantly washed.
I have bought from Funky Fabrix in the past when I made curtains for S's bedroom, but until now I haven't had an excuse to buy anymore of their glorious cloth.
So when a package arrived on my doorstep yesterday containing cushion-sized pieces of these fabrics  just waiting to meet my sewing machine, I was jumping with excitement. Yay! Aren't they beautiful... and the best thing is, I have enough left over to make a skirt for myself out of the last one. Very Orla Kiely I think.

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Wood you?
My husband is from California. I never knew it, but apparently Californians love wood - they love it everywhere from in the forest to in the house. So any time there is a choice between painted or wood Hubby always goes for wood and I always go for painted ... usually white, very adventurous I know.

But this post by The Coolhunter might make me rethink my wood issues - soft wood on wood looks beautiful in these photos, but I have a morbid fear of the Swiss Chalet look suddenly appearing out of nowhere. I don't think I have the delicacy to touch needed to pull this look off, but I do grudgingly admire it when it's well done.

Kate the Great

I love Kate Winslet in a skin tight red carpet gown as much as the next person, but for me it is when she wears casual clothes that her beauty really shines. And it's much more attainable for me!

Ater a media extravaganza of Kate in a red dress and Kate in a body hugging white and black dress and Kate in a brown dress.... its nice to see her looking so damned fabulous in a pair of shorts and a jacket. Looking at this makes me think she can finally breathe!

Look at her legs! And she has wonderful skin!

In Venice she looked great in this simple ensemble.

And not so va-va-va-voom in Madrid. I do wish she would wear her hair down more often though.