Accessories, Home, Kids Fashion, Lifestyle, Review, Womenswear

Top 5 Indie Christmas Shopping in Cambridge: A.K.A Where to send your other half

Indie & Pop Christmas Shopping

Indie & Pop style shopping : Gestuz available at Boudoir Femme. You might get a drink too 😉

A gift should be for life, not just for Christmas.

In the first part of the Indie & Pop Christmas Shopping Edits I’m shining a halo over 5 of my favourite Cambridge independent boutiques; a where to shop not necessarily what to shop because each of these retailers have such an incredible curation of pieces that you simply cannot go wrong.

So much so, it’s where Mr O goes to guarantee gift joy. This post might be one to print off & stick somewhere obvious…

Continue reading

Standard
fashion, Motherhood, Womenswear

Crop it like it’s hot: How to get more wear from your cropped trousers & jeans in Winter

 

Street Style Wide Crop Jeans

Ensure your Crop Yield continues throughout Autumn & Winter by simply adding boots & layers (SOURCE)

I’m sat writing this in a pair of wide-legged, cropped khaki cargos which have been undoubtedly one of my best purchases from earlier this Spring. Deceptively simple at first glance & with little ‘hanger appeal’ yet they gave me an entirely new silhouette that I’ve become fond of.

I’m not the biggest fan of body part exposure even when the temperature soars but ankles are something I love to flash (I’d have been the talk of the town in the 30s, eh?) & suddenly I’m finding things a bit chilly down there. What’s a girl woman to do?

Continue reading

Standard
Beauty, fashion, Food, Home, Lifestyle, Mind, Motherhood, Parenting, Review, Womenswear

The Indie & Pop Charts: A Top 10 of life enhancing stuff

Indie And Pop Charts 1

Making my world a brighter place: Business Cards / Business Card Holder / Cosmetics & similar MakeUp Bag / Neckaces c/o SWYC / Similar Notebook / Pom Pom Bedspread

This is your chance to tune in to the things that have rocked my world recently because they might just rock yours, too. A list of things to make you look good, feel good or that just DO good.

NB: Although it’s a Chart they’e not really in any particular order of preference. You can play D.J with the Mix.

Continue reading

Standard
Accessories, childrenswear, fashion, Home, Kids Fashion, Kids Style, Lifestyle, Review, Womenswear

Getting my Greens at (m)ARKET: My visit to ARKET, London

Arket Store Interior London Merchandising

It’s easy being GREEN at ARKET, the latest store launch from the H&M Group. Photo by Sophie Osborne

I can’t remember the last time I felt this excited about a new chain store launch. Hailing from the stable of one my ultimate High Street heroes, H&M (I still call it Hennes), I’ve been awaiting ARKET‘s arrival to UK shores with excitement; signing up to the Mailing List as soon as I heard the first whispers of the concept online.

I made it down to the shiny new store on Regent Street, London at the first opportunity. It didn’t disappoint. I’m already planning my visit to the newest (& even bigger) Long Acre branch.

Continue reading

Standard
fashion, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Womenswear

Inspirational Women: Mary Portas

Mary Portas Illustration

Part 2: What I’ve got in common with Mary Portas

‘Mary Portas meets Mary Poppins’ it boldly claims in my Bio. Well what have I got in common with Queen Of Shops – Mary Portas?

As foremost authority on the UK Retail landscape & hero of the High Street, I’ve not got much in common when it comes to comparing her wealth of expertise. What I have got though is the desire for change. Have you?

Continue reading

Standard
Accessories, Beauty, fashion, Motherhood, Parenting, Womenswear

Mary Poppins’ Style

Russell Bromley Roxanne Boots

Magic Carpet Boots & Poppins style accessories : Boots (past season) / Bag (vintage Celine bought second hand) / Lipstick & Cosmetic Pouch / Powder Compact / Hat / Umbrella / Veggie Percy Pigs

‘Mary Portas meets Mary Poppins’ it boldly claims in my Bio. Well, what exactly do I mean by that & how can I compare myself to these inspirational & influential women? To be taken with a spoonful of salt 😉

Continue reading

Standard
childrenswear, fashion, Kids Fashion, Motherhood, Womenswear

French Dressing: Slogan Sweatshirts with a (vive la) difference

French Slogan Sweaters

The loose definition of effortless cool. ‘Mon Cheri’ c/o Joanie Clothing / ‘Jolie’ & ‘Joie de vivre’ (old styles) Whistles

Parlez vous Francais? No, me neither. I’ve got more in common with Del Boy than Kristin Scott Thomas; more Frank than Franc but am hoping one day I’ll get an A+ for effort.

My love affair for a French phrase sweatshirt began back in the ’80s. Somewhere between the sleeves of a memorable lilac number adorned with petite fille (named ‘Josephine’ &, most notably for me, ‘Sophie’) & a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g from Ton Sur Ton. I then got a little lost in translation with The Sweater Shop & [insert any sports brand] BIG logo styles up to my early teens before abandoning anything emblazoned altogether; feeling too much like a walking billboard. Too gauche.

Continue reading

Standard
Beauty, fashion, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Womenswear

Switched On Shopping

screen-shot-2016-11-18-at-12-13-41

Have some fun as you shop this Christmas in Cambridge (Image)

With Festive events already popping up over the City & beyond, this Weekend heralds the official start of the Christmas Shopping Season in Cambridge with The Big Switch On. With so many events on offer locally, we’re spoiled for choice but, as a busy Mum, I’ve had to prioritise a few favourites. I’ve compiled my Indie & Pop picks for you with some ideas on where to shop & key dates for your Diary. One of my friends commented that my evenings lately looked ‘glamorous’ – well, they’ve all been completely FREE to attend & there’s more to come…

Continue reading

Standard
fashion, Lifestyle, Womenswear

Indie Undies

 

screen-shot-2016-11-04-at-13-11-16

The cheek of it – there’s some dirty stains in the Lingerie business. Cheekfrills is championing ethical production.

Underwear, bras, knickers, pants, vests, briefs, drawers, the lovely & chic sounding ‘lingerie’ (I draw the line at ‘panties’). Whatever you call them, I don’t seem to opt for much middle ground when it comes to my undergarments. It’s either high-end fancy frippery lace, silk & frills (read: expensive) Vs. flesh hued or black multipack basics, comfortable cottons & seam-free styles (read: boring). I realised long ago no matter your size or shape, a bit of snug shapewear is also superb for smoothing out your stuff when the occasion calls for it. A good fit is usually my number one priority regardless of garment style. We all wear them but probably don’t may pay that much attention to where they’re from let alone who made them. Have a peep now – I just checked the label on my knickers ‘Made in Cambodia’.

Continue reading

Standard