We have recently discovered Madeleine, a fashion brand with operations in eight European countries including Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Netherlands, Greece, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
Specialising in high quality garments and accessories, it is not the cheapest, but the styling is gorgeous - and if you're new to Madeleine, there is a £10 voucher off your first order.
Don't laugh, but Anne C is actually wearing a nightgown! However it is of such superb quality it is incredibly heavy, as the top is fully lined and the beautiful lace is so wonderfully crafted that she would have no hesitation in wearing it as a dress (plus she would never spend so much money on a nightie!)
(Actually I will let you into a little secret here - Anne's daughter remembers wearing Disney pyjamas as a shorts and T-shirt set when she was younger too. Anne swears that you couldn't tell it was originally PJs).
Her Mary-Jane taupe shoes match perfectly, and her accessories include her late mother's pearl necklace, and silver earrings she has had for years.
Anne H is wearing the first of her Madeleine jackets which she purchased in last years sale, so sadly it is no longer available. She would normally steer clear of double breasted jackets as she believes they make you look wider than you really are, but so liked the cut and weight of fabric in this jacket that she bought it. It is a cotton polyester mix and is the perfect longer length that Anne favours.
It is a really versatile piece to wear casually with jeans or dress with smarter trousers for an office-ready look. In these pictures Anne has teamed with flared A Pocket jeans from 7 for All Mankind which are available in the sale in black, Dune black suede court shoes, similar here, and a top from French Connection from a few years ago.
Anne C's pretty white summer top was the perfect accessory for summer holidays, and also came from Madeleine. She is wearing it with jeans here, but it was perfect with M&S white linen trousers when the weather was warmer.
Accessories include pretty pearl earrings and diamante watch from Monsoon, but bought from TKMaxx.
The second of Anne H's jackets is a single button short coat that she purchased in this years sale. This jacket is still available to buy on-line at £149 and is a perfect silver grey melange that goes with pretty much everything.
The textured fabric is a mix of polyester, cotton, viscose, wool and polyamide - pretty much everything you could think of, and is a perfect weight for transitional dressing being quite a cosy addition to her wardrobe. It is a great oversized fit to add jumpers underneath and includes drop shoulders, slanted welt pockets and a long line cut.
In the shots above Anne has teamed with Rozie straight leg jeans from 7 For All Mankind and a simple round neck jumper from COS in merino wool. Her velvet boots are from Top Shop and stolen from her daughter's wardrobe and handbag is Kate Spade.
In these final shots Anne is wearing a printed long sleeved cotton jersey top from COS which is available in these burgundy tones but also lime green for £39. She has teamed with silver jewellery, with the silver pendant from The White Company who tend to stock a wider range nearer Christmas and the floating locket necklace from Pandora.
There are still some great bargains to be had on the Madeleine site and Anne H is seriously looking at the following to add to her wardrobe for the Autumn.
As the weather turns a little chillier, it's time to dig out those jackets and light coats again as we move to a transition wardrobe.
Anne C here, and I have a staple Autumn/Winter style - usually black trousers (of varying styles), black top, black patent wedge shoes, and a colourful jacket or coat.
The red long jacket was a budget buy from Primark. I love bright colours, and next to pink, red is my next favourite. Clearly this probably won't stand the test of time, but I think this would work well with a dress too, so I think I will get my money's worth from the £18 I spent!
I have teamed it with skinny black jeggings, and a beautiful black lace top which I bought from Kaleidoscope probably 15 years ago, but they currently have a similar one here. It was quite expensive at the time, but has washed and worn and been a staple and favourite in my wardrobe for many years. I also have the same top in cream.
The shaped hoop earrings are nearly as old as the top and I can't even remember where I bought them!
Anne H's taupe waterfall duster coat was purchased from Zara last year and she particularly liked the length and flow of the material although having had it for a year now she does find it creases rather easily, it must be the 14% linen content because the rest is Lyocell (whatever that is!). There are lot of this style of coat available on the high street and on-line including from ASOS as here and Zalando here
She has teamed it flared 7 for All Mankind jeans which they sadly don't seem to stock anymore. Her top and necklace are from her favourite of all shops - COS. COS are renowned for their simple architectural styling and they have some fabulous pieces available at the moment that have taken Anne's eye including this and this and they are only £19 a real bargain.
Her chunky bangle was a gift and shoes were purchased from Dune and are the Jany block heel buckle design, still available in the sale here for £55.
Back to Anne C who has just swapped the coat, and kept the same basic outfit as before. This voluminous stone-coloured linen coat was bought on holiday this year in Thassos, and has already become a firm favourite.
With a drawstring hem (though I won't use that) and asymmetric styling, it is currently still on trend and perfect for covering up. Linen is notorious for creasing, though, and I made the mistake of wearing it on the plant on the way home from Greece. BIG mistake!
This week we are taking classic navy and white separates and showing just how different they can look - with Anne C going for a casual look and Anne H taking the same colours but creating a much more sophisticated impression.
Clearly still in summer mood, Anne C has gone for one of her favourite linen staples with a navy top which could be worn as a short dress, but she has teamed it with white skinny jeans and plain white tee, leaving the buttons undone on the top. The top is from a local boutique in Leeds called New Collection, jeggings from Florence & Fred at Tesco, and comfy white pumps from Primark - all very inexpensive!
Anne H chose an asymmetric top in cotton jersey from COS which is has a pleated front and deep V which gives a flattering silhouette. She liked it so much she also bought the lovely baby pink one as well, an unusual colour choice for her. At only £49 it is top that she will get loads of wear out of both for day and evening.
She has teamed it with Rozie jeans from her favourite brand 7 for All Mankind. The length is just perfect for her 5ft 8inch frame and she is always watching out for the sales to stock up on their jeans, whatever the colour. Having retired she finds that jeans are a real day to day staple so worth a level of investment for a good fit and comfort. Her shoes are from Dune and sadly no longer available, although they do have a similar one in the Jany design that is now in the sale at £55.00
Jewellery wise she has chosen silver tones with a necklace that was a gift from a friend, a cuff that was from The White Company and silver bangle from Pandora.
We have talked about linen quite a lot this summer, so here's one of our final posts on summer clothing - and of course if includes the ever-popular linen staples.
Anne H's beautiful inky blue top is in 100% linen and was purchased on a trip to Bali. Although long sleeved, it is really cool to wear and is such an easy piece to dress up or down, with the deep side slits making it move gracefully in the breeze. Her trousers are an old pair from Zara, also in linen and her sandals were purchased on a recent trip to Rome.
Her bangle was another holiday purchase from Italy and her Miu Miu glasses were purchased while on holiday in New York - this is a holiday outfit in the truest sense! A similar style of frame in a solid tone can be found on the SmartBuy Glasses site.
Anne C's linen dress was a summer 2017 buy from TKMaxx in a striking blue tulip fabric. In fact she loves the pattern so much that when she spotted a blouse in the same fabric - obviously from the same supplier - she snapped that up too! Both have lovely stretchy cotton side panels, so will take a little expansion!
She has accessorised with silver earrings, silver ring and her own baby christening bracelet, which she recently uncovered and found to her surprise that it fitted her! Other than family jewellery, it must be the oldest thing she owns that was bought for her!
The flip-flops are Ted Baker in rose gold, which was a present earlier this year - they were also available in gold and silver at the time.
This outfit is one which Anne H has had made, copying a design of a similar black button-through top that she purchased from the White Company years ago. She found a tailor whilst on holiday in Bangkok who make this beige version in 100% linen. Her trousers are also a Zara linen pair purchased a number of years ago.
Her sandals, just peeking through below the trousers, are from the Dune sale this year, they are the Janey design and still available at £55.
Anne C's cool, casual linen seersucker dress was a birthday gift, but bought in Spain - someone knows exactly what she likes to wear! She has dressed it up a little with a white bead necklace bought in Greece some years ago, and white court shoes with a suede wedge which are also a couple of years old. The sunglasses are Chanel - yet again, something she has had for years, as is the white fashion watch.
However, it works just as well throwing over a swimsuit or wearing with flip-flops on the beach for a versatile outfit.
I don't think it's a big secret that my favourite colour is pink - shocking pink, pale pink, bright pink, hot pink - you name it, I love it!
I've bought a couple of new outfits this summer - and of course it includes my favourite pink palette!
The dress above and below is from Hope Fashion in a bright fuchsia pink. I love the colour and the style, however, I did find the fabric a little thin and disappointing, but I am still keeping it. I have teamed with bright pink suede shoes, which came from George at Asda, and a gorgeous necklace, which I bought in John Lewis earlier this year, but is now sold out. The earrings are silver, and which I have had for ages, while the slim silver bracelet was actually my expanding christening bracelet, which I have just discovered still fits, though I hadn't even seen it for years.
Anne H has also splashed out on pink this year - even though it isn't normally one of the colours she wears - maybe my love of pink is rubbing off on her!!
She brings in the pink with some wide legged pink silk-rayon trousers from Zara that she has had for years and a cream viscose top from Reiss that she purchased from a McArthur Glen outlet. Her shoes are from Russell and Bromley and are the fuscia toned suede Display design, which look very similar to the other Anne's but at £175 are more than 12 times the price!
Her bangle on her watch hand is the Essence design from Pandora and was a gift from her daughter. The watch is Tag Heuer and the other bangle is one purchased whilst on holiday in Greece as was the pendant.
(Love that Daphne the cat has managed to photobomb the shot above!)
Back to Anne C and she is wearing a lipstick pink chiffon dress from James Lakeland, bought from Simply Devine in Tadcaster. She has the same dress in black, bought last year, and featured in a previous blog post here) and although it is no longer available on the James Lakeland website, SD still has the dress in stock in pink, black and navy, and House of Fraser has it in cobalt blue here, though sizes are limited.
It is such an easy dress to wear - either dress it up with heels and super jewellery, or dress down (as Anne has done here) and team it with flip-flops for a summer vibe.
The flip flops are Ted Baker rose gold, and were an anniversary gift this summer from her husband for their 42nd wedding anniversary - clearly he knows where her true passions lie! They are the bow detail Glamaar design which are still available on the Ted Baker site in gold and limited sizes in the rose gold are available on the House of Fraser site, both at £45.
And as seen in a previous post Anne H is wearing a pink T shirt top from OSKA which she has teamed with white 7 for All Mankind Rozie jeans, her favourite jeans brand and style. Her sandals, purchased last year, are from Dune and have been the perfect pair for walking city streets. Sadly they are now coming to the end of their life so she has found some very similar ones, also from Dune, and is hoping they will prove as comfortable. Her bangle is from The White Company and necklace from Phase 8 who can always be relied upon for reasonably priced pieces and particularly the longer styles favoured by Anne. This necklace was purchased last year, but they still have a similar style in this Penelope necklace and for just £29 it is a real steal.
It was purely a coincidence that the garden furniture matches!
