The glamour that keeps on giving

My Mister and I are going to country NSW this weekend to celebrate the combined 40th birthdays of two dear friends who live in Orange.

Initially lady-who-is-turning-40 wanted the birthday bash theme to be GLAMOUR! Just that - just large letters GLAMOUR! But she got so many phone calls from so many friends who were stumped on what glamour is that she changed the theme to Sex in the City ... which has to be said, runs parallel to the glamour theme.

I never really watched that show, for no really reason except that I was probably on my big backpacking stint around the world when it started and then never really dove into it once I stopped travelling. So I had to ask the good old WWW for some advice on what those ladies would wear to a GLAMOROUS event in western NSW... and I was impressed by what I saw.

It was obvious early on that the SITC lady I most resemble is Charlotte - because we both have dark hair... and there the resemblance sort of ends, but it's a place to start. I like her preppy, casual American look so it's a good thing we both have dark hair! :)

I noted with my eagle eye that Charlotte had a fondness for lovely dresses, so that is my inspiration. Behold -

So I will be attempting a loose tumble of gorgeous hair, demure heels and some subtle jewellery while channeling my inner Charlotte in this dress from Portmans ....

I hope I can manage to do her character justice.

Pants with flare? Or team skinny?

Are skinny pants really going out of flavour? I admit I was late to join the skinny pants craze because they aren't exactly the thing you parade around in just after having a baby. Better late than never though and now I am NOT willing to give them up.

Skinny cut jeans and pants just suit me and they allow me to wear those looser tops which I just love.

So despite the best efforts of designers and fashionistas I will not be giving them up just yet... even though they are apparently killing us!

I have been thinking about mixing up things with some patterned pants though. But I wonder if that trend it a little bit to young for this 40-something mother of three. So I've been spending some quality time with the internet trying to find more mature ladies who have been sporting this trend, and it's slim pickin's. But there is always a way to 40-fy any trend!

I'n my Uni days I was a fan of the tartan pants - I thought they gave me an English punk-rock edge. Sadly, nothing was going to give this country girl anything close to a punk-edge, but it didn't stop me trying. Oh God! I even wore Doc Martens.

Anyway, moving swiftly on. Here are some of my favourite patterned pants looks.

I really love J Brand - their pants and jeans fit me really well, so I sort of love these jeans even though I'm a little scared that the flowers could look a little granny-chic on me. But a neutral top and neutral shoes plays down the flowers nicely.

Yummy! Love these colour block skinnies from Washborn ... I am seriously tempted to buy these little beauties. They also look like they have the added benefit of being tres slimming. Yes to that!

These from ASOS are fun, but probably not for me. Cute though.

Now we are talking patterned pants that a Mum in her 40s can wear! Right? They are subtle and neutral, not to out-there and not at all granny. An oversized white or off-white jumper, or a black t-shirt would look spot on with these. I hope I can pull the look off because they are seriously foxy ;)

(And by the way, if ASOS can do free shipping all the way from the UK how come GAP charges $50 to ship a pair of jeans?)

Dress it up

For reasons I can't explain, I am more of a dress wearer in winter than in summer. Floaty wisps of summer dresses always look good on others but don't sit quite right with me.

Maybe it is the safety of being able to wear tights that makes winter dresses more appealing to me. I suppose I could embrace my inner Kate Middleton and wear flesh coloured tights in summer, but ummm, that will never happen.

As summer in Sydney has been such a disaster with lots of rain and minimal sun, my thoughts have been racing ahead to winter already. The good thing about Sydney winters is that all a summer dress needs is some tights and a cardi and you are as warm as you need to be... unless winter is going to be hysterically dreary and blah.

I'm finding Ashely Green's little red dress to be my kick-off inspiration. Black tights? Present. Pop of colour? Here! That's all I need, although I know I wouldn't be able to resist a whole arm full of braclets and rings in real life - if I don't chime and rattle like a bag of spare parts then I'm not happy!

And when it's colder, I would sling a leather jacket over this for that rock and roll edge. I need to find the perfect leather jacket for this season - one that is flattering but not too heavy and not too expensive. The right leather jacket is harder to find that the right pair of jeans.

Ashley seems to be fond of this look as well, because looky here, she's wearing another pop-of-colour dress AND standing in front of a poster of her on the cover of Lucky magazine also wearing a pop-of-colour dress!! Spooky.

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.