Phase Eight Bloggers Challenge

I'm a huge fan of Phase Eight and it's a go to brand for me when shopping with clients. So when I spotted this competition  to create the ultimate party outfit I thought I would join in the fun.

Phase Eight say they specialise in dresses and I agree however their tops are fabulous figure fixers and I'm loving their coat collection this year.

So here's my complete look...

Do you like?

I have chosen the Twinkle Jumpsuit as an alternative to a dress and I really like the sparkle detail and the draping trousers of this one.

Not everyone likes to expose their arms and us girls often feel the chill so I added the Paula Tuxedo Jacket. Not only is it a great staple item that you can wear so many different ways you will also be able to wear it throughout the different seasons too.

Then for the bling - how gorgeous is this beaded clutch! And I'm loving this rope style necklace just to 'edge' up the look.

Of course no festive outfit would be complete without statement party shoes. I have selected the Edina T Bar Shoes because as well as going brilliantly with the outfit, generally platforms and chunkier heels tend to be comfier and this girl is never happier than when combining practical and gorgeous! Also who wants cold feet when nipping between cocktail bars?

I want my clothes to work hard for me and I think this outfit does just that. You can wear it bar hopping with the girls or a romantic evening meal. A glamorous house party or whilst throwing some moves on the dance floor.

So what do you think? Do you like my party look? 

The most important dress - part 2

A few days ago I blogged about getting married and of course THE DRESS.

Well my very good friend and I (more about her later) have since been shopping. I would like to say it was a pleasant experience but in the most part it wasn't..

We had both been looking forward to our day out for a couple of weeks. We had booked appointments with a few boutiques (which is a necessity) decided on where we were having lunch and booked the day off our day jobs.

Katie, my shopping companion, is the friend I shop with. She gives a good opinion and is one of the few people who has got the stamina to shop with me, she is also on the cusp of bridezilla and since her wedding 2 years ago has had wedding withdrawals. It was my duty as a good friend to take her along.

So the first shop we were told to pull out all the dresses that we liked to try on. Faced with 2 walls of white dresses, we started ploughing through. Now nothing wrong at this point, just a feeling of being rushed. Every dress I put on the lady said how amazing it looked, now I have a problem with that. While they were all lovely, and none of them looked bad, it was obvious that some of them were not right for me. Well after our hour, which a large proportion was spent stood around while the owner answered the phone, the next client came in and my time was up. See ya then.

So en route to our next shop we decided to double check the time of the appointment "oh you are coming in today?", "Erm yes! have you double booked us?". Turns out we were not exactly in the book, but it was OK she would let us come down. Thanks, you're so kind. It was raining, we turned up at the time she requested. "I'm busy at the moment, wait outside - I'll be 5 minutes, there's a cafe down the road if you want to wait there". It was raining, we had just come from a cafe, we were discussing how customer service did not seem a priority.

To counter these 2 boutiques, Timeless Bride in Poynton was a completely different experience. Michelle sat down with me, after offering me a drink, asked me about my likes and dislikes, what my wedding was going to be like and then started to show me her stock. We chose a few to try on to start to see what direction we would end up going. One of the things I liked about Michelle, was she was honest, if something wasn't right she would say and also the reason why. It was a lovely experience and so far my favourite dress is one I tried on that day.

I often shop for outfits for guests for weddings and mothers of the bride and groom, but my experience of wedding dress shopping is limited. I am wondering what my other experiences will be like. I spend a lot of my time shopping and have great relationships with local independents and I know that their levels of customer service is a million times better than I experienced in the first 2 shops AND they're not flogging dresses for £1k+. As far as I'm concerned if you go into the business of wedding dress sales, you're not just selling a dress your selling an experience. If you go to a beauty salon, they don't just slap some cream on you, they pamper you and ensure you have a lovely time. Choosing your dress is an important part of planning your wedding and will form part of your wedding memory and some shops it seems would do well to remember this.

What are your experiences of wedding dress shopping? How many did you try on before you found the one? I'll keep you posted on the progress...

The most important dress of my life?

I'm so excited to say that on Saturday I'm dress shopping, not for a client but for me.

And this dress has got to be special. You see after the kids, the mortgage, the pets, the extension, the new kitchen etc etc, we are finally getting married.

So the dress (I want to keep roughly on the blog's topic although some wedding talk may sneak in). What do I want from my dress? Well I have curves and hey I'm ok with that, but I need the dress to flatter them. I want the dress that represents me and not a 'brides costume' and obviously I want to feel amazing in it and of course for Mr Style to like it.

There is something niggling away at me though, and here's my conundrum. Wedding dresses cost a fortune, they don't go with anything else in your wardrobe and (in theory) you will wear it for a day and then never wear it again. This goes against pretty much everything I believe clothes should be and after all we are talking about a dress.

Don't get me wrong, I am lusting after a few dresses that would make the bank manager's eyes water and I want to feel special, but hundred of pounds on a dress? - oh who am I kidding, Mr Style won't read this - thousands of pounds on a dress! There's no getting away from the fact that weddings are a dear do.

So what style do you think I'll go for? What was your wedding dress like or if you're not married what's your dream dress like?

I'll keep you posted on the dress hunt.

Can you click this for me please?

This is a shameless post requesting 2 minutes of your time.  I know it's a little cheeky, and in an ideal world I wouldn't have to ask, people would see the award and think oh yes Liz's blog deserves my click, but let's face it is that likely to happen?  Have you even seen this award if I hadn't stuck the big pink logo in your face?

So my thinking is, if you don't ask you don't get.  So i'm asking, please nominate me.

Thank you xx

BBC Radio Manchester - Retail Therapy Show

I was recently asked to appear as guest stylist on BBC Radio Manchester's Retail Therapy Show with Becky Want.  I was super excited to be asked to do it. The challenge was to conduct an almost live on air personal shop, meet someone in the morning, find out what they wanted, shop for it and then bring it back to 'base' and talk about all our selections.

So the challenge was on, I had just over an hour, a pretty specific brief and budget and the lovely Kirsty, my willing shopper to accompany me.

Kirsty's brief was pretty straight forward, she has 2 young children and a VERY busy life. She runs her own business (KJBS Financial and Office Systems), she's an active member of her children's PTA, is really involved in her local community and also co-runs a large successful networking group (Colony Networking).  She needs her clothes to work hard for her, to take her from school run to client meeting, to networking to meeting friends. Not only that, Kirsty really feels the cold and likes bright colours so this had to be taken into consideration too.

I had a look in mind for Kirsty, I wanted it to be classic but contemporary so not to age her, I wanted good foundation (capsule) pieces that could be mixed and matched and that she could add the colour to, and I wanted it to take her right through from school run to evenings with friends.  I also wanted her clothes to be durable, no hand washing or dry cleaning and no items that were going to take up her precious time to iron or look after.

First thing I wanted was a dress that would form the foundation to the look.  We selected a blue Oasis Shift Dress, this is quite a classic shape however the leather piping gives it the contemporary edge I was looking for. It is a stretchy polyester mix that will not crease during the day and can be layered a variety of ways to create different looks.

Next up came shoes, I wanted something with a heel, but not too high that they would be uncomfortable.    We chose a pair of ankle boots by Unisa, something that could be worn with different style dresses and also trousers.

From Zara we chose a gorgeous, fitted, wool blazer and a beautiful scarf that picked out all the colours from the selections.

From Zara I also selected this dress, a bargain at £35.99, again this is a versatile dress that can be worn alone with simple opaques or can be belted to add a bit of interest.

We also bought a black pencil skirt a black and white ponti top and a blue chiffon shirt.  We thought on the day that we had spent around £600 pounds (trying to add up under pressure) but it was closer to £450.  This equates to around £35 per complete outfit when you work out all the different combinations you could make.

It was a great experience and I really enjoyed shopping with Kirsty.  I have attached the clip if you fancy having a listen.  Let me know what you think.

Me, Moi, Mi

OK a slightly indulgent post, but bear with me… Over the years of working as a personal stylist the one thing that most people that use my services want is to feel comfortable with me, to feel that I will understand their lifestyle or that I won’t judge them (or the contents of their wardrobe).

It’s nice to get to know the people behind the blogs and businesses and what makes them tick.  I have recently seen this idea on a couple of blogs and I thought what a great idea (mostly because I'm quite nosey).  I would love to know your A-Z so please share …

A-Z

A. Age: 34 

B. Bed Size: King Size.  We need bigger though as the whole family piles in.

C. Chore That You Hate: Who likes chores at all? I’m not keen on any of them. Ironing though is my least favourite, it never ends in my house.

D: Dogs: 1 dog, and 2 cats

 

E: Essential Start To Your Day: Coffee and carbs

F: Favourite Colour: …. Indigo

G: Gold or Silver: Both depends on what I’m wearing

H. Height: For years I thought I was 5ft 6 but I’m actually 5ft 5, unless I'm shrinking??

I. Instruments You Play: Recorder, steel drums and Amazing Grace on the piano

J. Job Title: Personal stylist, Mum

K. Kids: Millie and Archie

L. Live: Bramhall, close enough to the country and the city.

M. Mother’s Name: Mum

N. Nicknames: Liz, Lizzie

O. Over Night Hospital Stays: 2 weeks after the birth of my daughter as she was premature.

P. Pet Peeves: Trodden down fake Uggs, short jeans and trousers, bad table manners – actually this list could go on.

Q. Quote From A Movie: Bella: How old are you?

Edward: Seventeen.

Bella: How long have you been seventeen?

Edward: ...a while.

R. Right or Left Handed: Right

S. Siblings: One younger brother

T. Time You Wake Up: About 7.30 when a child and / or cat jumps on me

U. Underwear: Perfectly fitting bras. Must try better to match with the rest.

V. Vegetable You Hate: Brussel sprouts. Mum, I really didn’t like them!!

W. What Makes You Run Late: There are many distractions – phone, kids, pets, twitter, hair, keys (not being able to find them).

X. X-Rays You’ve Had: I’m not sure I’ve had one??

Y. Yummy Food You Make: Spag bol

Z. Zoo Animal: Not really keen, they all smell.  Would rather see them in their own habitat.

TILT(ing)

I discovered something recently. TILT aka Things I Love Thursday, what a nice idea I thought, sharing the love and all. So here's mine and not all style related this time.

Wedges / platforms.

The antedote to sore feet. Thank you for saving me from pain (for a while anyway) when wearing heels. They make your legs look longer and depending on the style can make your legs look thinner too.

Control pants.

2 kids, need I say more.

Chocolate.

See above.

Nail varnish. It's my low cost pick me up. Such an easy and cheap way to incorporate the latest colour trends. Always makes me feel good having nicely painted nails.

Interior blogs (Click on the links)

Getting it Swoon Worthy

Some Bright Spark Check out the chair ;0)

Nina Elizabeth Interiors

Until next Thursday, when i'll have more time and not an hour before it turns friday... x

Welcome

Hi and welcome to my blog. Here you will find articles I have written and anything I feel needs a comment. Please get in touch if you would like to see anything else featured. Liz x