I've ordered a lot of dresses from Hush this season. A few have been returned. But I've kept a few too and so I thought I'd tell you about them here (in case you are tempted). First up the ones I loved and kept ... This is the Cerys Shirred Dress £120 in Navy. It was on delay when I ordered it and I love it! It is soft and silky and can be dressed up or down. I would normally steer away from polyester but it is so light that I am hoping it will work for warm evenings on holiday. I think this will work perfectly on holiday or dressed up at home with heels. I think this is my favorite though. Totally love it! Laurel off the shoulder dress £85, it is my first off the shoulder style. It can be worn with or without the belt and there is a 'bra shelf' inside so no worries about a strapless bra. It is really lose and flowing and oh so flattering.I think I am going to wear this at the weekend to a friends 40th birthday dressed up with nude wedge sandals. This is also a keeper. Light and ideal for the heat of the Greek Islands and perfect to throw on over a bikini. This is the Grecian dress at £45 again it can be worn with or without the belt. The straps can be altered, perfect for me! It comes in a few other colours too. I'm tempted to get another one ... This one I am undecided about. I will need to try it on again to show my daughter for her opinion. It is the Loren embroidered dress at £75 and also comes in yellow. It is quite lose and maybe not fitted enough for me? But it is lined and cotton and perfect for holidays. I had high hopes for this Santorini dress at £69 but it didn't suit me. It was a bit tight across the shoulders (so size up) and I didn't like it's unfitted style. Nice but just didn't quite work for me. This is the Magnolia dress at £89 and I chose it because it is off-white and cotton but it didn't quite work, I didn't like the shape at the hem or the fabric, too crinkled so it went back. And finally another one that just wasn't quite right. The Carla dress at £69 should have worked but I just didn't feel right in it so it got sent back too! I have a nice stock of new dresses now. I needed a clear out as many from previous years were too big and too lose in style that they were no longer showing off my shape. I think Hush has been the most successful. I only had success with one from Boden and another t-shirt style dress from Winser London which is my first Winser purchase and at only £49 in the sale was a good one to start with - this is the Parisian striped dress and it has a lovely lose fit to it (tummy skimming) and can be dressed up or down. And since writing this I decided to send the white Loren dress back. It had button fastening at the back so impossible to put on by myself and my daughter agreed I have better dresses and didn't need this one.
Today is my 19th wedding anniversary so we are off out to dinner later. Love Michelle xx
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Yesterday I attended the funeral and memorial service for my Uncle and of course these occasions often get us thinking ... Why is the weather always so awful for such sad occasions? I was all set to wear a summery dress, not too formal, not too black and open toe sandals and the wind and rain arrived and with it the temperatures dropped and I had to make a last minute change to black trousers, a silk shirt and a knitted jacket and even then I wasn't warm enough but I refused to get my winter coat back out. Do I need a funeral dress? Or does that sound too morbid? Suddenly this week when I was trying to sort out what to wear I realised I lacked a basic black dress. Doesn't even have to be black, a simple navy would work but it has to work for all weathers - that might be too much to ask! What do others do or am I just being too organised? Or is it comfortable heels that are missing? During the winter I always wear a dress with long heeled boots or short shoe boots. During the summer with open toe sandals. But what about the 'in-between' days like yesterday? Oh and I lack simple black pumps. As well as refusing to get out the winter coat I also refused to wear boots and tights. But my only pumps were leopard skin print which actually looked very nice with my outfit but still I do think simple black pumps might be a good basic. My sister had a lovely pair on - £16 from Sainsbury's! How is that possible? I never go into Sainsbury's, and I am not good at bargains but clearly I am missing a trick. And why do certain black trousers or denim attract 'fluff' but not all of them?! Drives me mad! I need to take a lint roller everywhere I go. Why do we only get together with extended family for weddings, christenings and funerals? I am going to change this. I have emailed a cousin today after seeing her parents yesterday and I am hoping to arrange a few other get-togethers too. I thought my Uncle was 'old' but in fact he was only 16 years older than me and when I was a child this seemed ancient but now that I am 50 and he was 66 I realise it was no gap at all. Finally it is nice to hear of people reading my blog and commenting on what they have bought because I inspired them. Do let me know when you do this as it is lovely to hear what everyone likes. I was also inspired yesterday by my sister's silver 'camera bag' from Accessorize which she had seen on another blogger - see how well it works!! Naomi small camera bag £15
Right I am off to get some dinner from Waitrose. My daughter is on study leave and has her last few GCSE's this week and next week so my routine is a bit all over the place and I do love a routine. MIchelle xx Every year I go on a hunt for the perfect white jeans. I love white jeans and I find they are a brilliant staple in my wardrobe. Great for chillier days but still want to look summery. Great for warmer days but need to wear something substantial. Prefect to dress up or dress down. But they have to be chosen carefully as they have the potential to make us look, errr rather larger than we are. I get very fed up trying them on and rejecting pair after pair. Too thin. Too tight. Too long. Too short. Look awful. Look fat. Look short. The list is endless. On my hunt this year I tried on various pairs in House of Fraser including the lovely Hallhuber range. I ordered and returned lots from Mint Velvet. I tried on another pair in one of their boutiques. I tried Marks & Spencer (economise I thought). Last year's pair still have some wear in them. They are French Connection rebound denim jeans and at £69 I would definitely say they are worth a try. But I need two pairs! Then I headed over to Brookes at Wendover where my friend works. Considering they are a small shop they have a huge selection of designer denim plus my friend is very knowledgeable on the merits of each style. I had kind of avoided doing this as let's be honest designer denim is very expensive. But it comes back to cost per wear and feeling good in them and for that they are worth every single penny. If I put together all the cheaper pairs of jeans I have bought, worn once and decided I hated, I'd be able to buy a few really good pairs. And I never learn, I still do this. This year I have a pair from Mint Velvet and a pair from Gap that I am not totally in love with. That's probably £120 wasted that could have gone towards one good pair. I am now the proud owner of another pair of Citizens of Humanity Rocket High Waist Crop White Jeans. And they are perfect. Ok they are not that cropped on me (but then I am very short). They are the same as my grey jeans (Rocket) and seem to be a style that suits me. My French Connection ones can be 'spare and at home' white jeans. And I have to confess to buying another pair of dark navy jeans too. These ones are from Frame and I only picked them up a few days ago as they needed to be shortened - which Brookes do free of charge. So when I wear them I will upload details to my Instagram. I wore them for a trip to Westfield with my daughter (see my moans about missing kickers here). The navy and white stripe top and scarf with yellow are both from Hobbs last year. My 'summer' boots are Pollyanna in taupe from Dune. Then I wore them again on Saturday when I went to a seminar in Bracknell. This time styled with a summer knit from Capitain Tortue and these fabulous statement slip-on shoes from Next - love them! Then finally this is a casual look with my French Connection jeans - the t-shirt is new from Jack Wills and it is lovely and soft and comfy!
Love Michelle xx Yesterday I went with my daughter to Westfield mainly to go to Victoria's Secret as she wanted some bits and I wanted some new summer underwear. Now i LOVE Victoria's Secret BUT ... and I hope this is useful feedback - why is it so difficult to find a bra and matching pants?
The shops are beautiful. They have amazing underwear sets on display. Tempting me and pulling me in. There are bra's laid with their matching pants. Easy you'd have thought? No, you are wrong! So you choose the bra. Open the drawer to get your size. If you are lucky they have the one you have chosen in your size. Then to find the matching pants. Nope they are not nearby. In fact very often they are nowhere to be found at all - and yet they all appear to be on display but the reality is they cannot be located. The assistants are really helpful and happy and merrily busy themselves to help you and find said pants. But even she gave up yesterday!!! I found plenty of size small which is what I ended up with but medium or in fact any other size were completely AWOL! I remain way longer in VS than is actually needed. I'd probably spend more if I could ever manage to put the sets together without having a complete meltdown in the shop (queue embarrassed daughter). It is the same in PINK the teenage range. Choose the bra. Now can't find the corresponding pants in the right size. Oh and the drawers are so messy. In fairness these are extremely busy stores and to keep the 'knicker drawers' tidy must be an ongoing impossible challenge. It is a challenge I will continue to face - I love their underwear and I don't want to give up but if anyone from VS Customer Service reads this - please take it on board and research ways to improve your stock availability or just don't hide it! Love Michelle xx |
Michelle ...Welcome to Fifty & Fab, a lifestyle blog to inspire you. I am a blogger with a passion for writing about health, menopause, fitness, beauty and style with a focus on the over 50's. Categories
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Hi, I’m Michelle and my blog Fifty & Fab is all about my journey into and through my 50s. I started this blog in 2016 with the purpose of helping other women at this stage of life. I’m delighted that my blog has grown to over 13k visitors per month. Visit my Work with Me page and request my Media Kit for details of product reviews, blogging services and social media content creation.
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April 2024
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