CASUAL WARDROBE STAPLES

Denim jeans and a plain white t-shirt are always a good staple basic which you can dress up or down depending on the occasion.

In the first picture, Anne C is wearing a long green cardigan from Wallis, which is useful as a cardigan or a coat for running errands, and jumping in and out of the car.  It would be easy to dress up the jeans and T-shirt combination with a dressier jacket or slip on a traditional coat and style with a scarf to create a completely different look.

The jeans are from Florence & Fred at Tesco (as are most of her jeans since she is not very tall so doesn't need specialist shops as Anne H does because of her height.)  Anne even finds that M&S jeans are often too long, and taking them up leaves a bulky hem.

She has teamed with black mock-crock ankle boots bought from Faith a couple of years ago.

This shot of Anne H was taken in the late summer hence the very brave sandals, but the cardigan is a truly transitional buy and a lovely bright mauve to brighten up any day.  It was purchased while on holiday in Kent and is from a brand called Artisan Route which specialises in alpaca, pima cotton and silk garments.  This cardigan is made from 100% Peruvian baby alpaca wool and is their Olivia design in Iris - it also comes in various others colours including a lovely petrol blue, perfect for winter.  It is a simple classic cut and flattering length and joins a number of other long line cardigans that Anne has in her wardrobe as she loves to wear these on chiller days as an alternative to a heavier jacket.

This really is the ultimate basics outfit.  Wearing the same jeans and T-shirt as in the previous photos,  this time she has styled with a black cashmere cardigan - also from Tesco. However, since Anne loves a bit of bling she took off the original buttons and bought some diamante ones to sew in their place.  The cardigan is lovely and soft and also works well with black tailored trousers.   

Being completely honest, however, it is unlikely she would wear this particular outfit styled in this way outside of the house, since she likes either a dressier or quirky look for going out. 

We have our own set of rules which we tend to follow and Anne tends to wear skinnier jeans with longer tunic-style tops, and shorter cardigans or sweaters when she is wearing wider-legged tailored trousers.  She also tries to wear the same coloured boots as her trousers to try and make her legs look longer (although in truth she's never going to match up to the other Anne who has legs up to her armpits!!)

Anne H's wardrobe staples are V neck and roll neck sweaters that can be worn with jeans and boots. Worn here is a V neck in merino wool from COS that she has in khaki green as shown here and also in black.  She likes the length of COS knitwear as it is always flattering when it goes over the hip.   She is wearing with jeans from 7 for All Mankind and boots from Uterque - both from a previous season but Uterque have some amazing boots online this year so well worth a look see - link here .

She is being very ably assisted by Daphne the cat in this shot, who is usually way too shy to be featured.