Doesn't life seem so much better when the sun shines. After a rather poor summer September turned out to be glorious and it was a joy to be out and about in the countryside.
There is now a nip in the air in the early morning and it is time to take stock of what is in your winter wardrobe. Before you start buying any winter clothes you need to assess what you actually have and what is missing from your wardrobe so that you have a list of what you need before you hit the shops.
Look at your lifestyle, has it changed since last winter? Are you working from home instead of travelling to an office each day? Have you had a baby and are on maternity leave? Have you returned to work after being at home for a few years? As your life changes so to should your wardrobe. Give yourself a couple of hours to go through all your winter clothes and decide what to keep and what to put in the charity bag. Make a list of what goes with what and keep it in the inside of your wardrobe. If you are in a hurry this is a real lifesaver.
Top tip
This tip is from my friend Nicki. At the start of each season when you hang your clothes in your wardrobe put the hangers the wrong way round so that the hook faces towards you instead of away from you. Then when you wear the item put the hanger the correct way round. Within a few months you will see at a glance what you do wear and what you don't.
New ebook cd gift cards
It can be tricky knowing which colours to wear so to help you I have just launched my cd with a range of gift cards.
On the cd you will find my book What Can I Wear? which is full of easy to follow ideas to help you create a wardrobe full of clothes you love to wear. There are tips on skincare, make-up, colour analysis, clothing, hairstyles and much more. There are also 12 colour charts one of which will suit your colouring and will be a great help when it comes to which colours you should buy.
'If the shoe fits' 'Especially for you'
'With Style' 'Shopping Heaven'
The cards with the cd book inside cost £5.99 and you can buy them from my website www.whatcaniwear.com
Winter jackets
I can't remember the last time I wore my winter coat. Living in a village I tend to drive everywhere so for me a jacket is more practical than a coat.
When it comes to looking good in a jacket the better the quality the better the fit. This does not have to mean spending a fortune. I have a jacket hanging in my wardrobe from the F&F range from Tesco that I love and only cost me £25 in their sale. As soon as I saw it I knew it was a fantastic buy. Yet only last week I spent an hour in a well known store trying to find a jacket that fitted me. I was impressed by how they looked on the hanger and by the price but not one of them fitted my shape. I am an average size 12 surely not that difficult to dress. I came away very disillusioned with the store.
I then went to Coast where every size 12 fitted beautifully but at £185 you are paying a hefty price to feel good. Or are you? The quality is superb with a high wool content so will wear really well and then there is the feel good factor. I know I would feel fantastic every time I wore it.
Here is the soft white jacket from Coast that I fell in love with. Coast tend to do classic styles that will not date.
An alternative is this jacket from Wallis on the right which also comes in black, lime, purple and orange. It is 55% wool and costs £65.
Which one you buy comes down to your budget. The jacket from Coast may actually work out cheaper in the long run as it would last a few years and being soft white would go with everything. Sometimes buying cheaper can work out more expensive in the long run as you need to replace it more often.
My new mantra is 'Buy less but buy better.'
Look out for special mega days in Debenhams where you will get 20% off from both Wallis and Coast and also the House of Fraser. Both stores often have discount days in October.
Leather jackets
You either lover leather or you don't. It took me many years to be persuaded to buy a leather jacket but the one I have at the moment I have had for 5 years. It is just so versatile.
The great thing about leather is that it takes years to wear out. You can put it away for a few years and then bring it out again.
I fell in love with the range that John Rocha is doing at Debenhams, they are just so soft and beautifully cut. This
chocolate brown jacket costs £185 and fits like a glove.
For a cheaper alternative or if you are a vegetarian Wallis
have got a polyurethane jacket which actually feels rather nice. It comes in purple, grey and black and costs £55.
Best organic skincare product of the year
www.lucyrussellorganics.co.uk may be small and only sell 3 products but what products they are.
The rose toner will cool and calm your skin after cleansing or you can use it for hot flushes. Just use it any time your skin needs to feel refreshed. It costs £18 for 100 ml.
Their cleansing balm was runner up in the Natural and Organic awards and won Miss Eco Glam's best cleanser award.
Spotlight on Truro
Until a month ago I had never been to this part of Cornwall but my daughter decided she wanted to go back to university and do a masters at Falmouth university so we had to go house hunting and find her somewhere to stay.
I know Cornwall is a popular holiday destination but I had to look Falmouth up on the map. It really is not that far from Land's End and was a 6 hour car journey from our home. It may have been a long journey but what a lovely part of the country it is.
Both Falmouth and Truro have many individual shops, I was in heaven. Truro even has an open air market on a Saturday selling a variety of goods from food to lovely jewellery.
There were also plenty of gift shops selling unusual items for the home. When it came to clothes shopping there were the usual high street brands along with yet more individual shops.
There were lots of side streets with yet more unusual shops. It really is just so nice to find that when you get away from large shopping malls there is still just so much out there. You can still have a wonderful shopping experience and be surrounded by beauty.
If you have a favourite city or town you like to visit please let me know so that I can share it with others?
Website of the month
Whether you do yoga, pilates or go to the gym finding comfortable clothes to exercise in can be a problem. I do not want something skimpy like some of the tops that gym users wear yet I want to be able to move about with ease.
www.noballs.co.uk Sells comfortable yet fashionable clothes for women who go to the gym, run or do yoga or pilates.
This red top also comes in green, black or turquoise and has a low impact internal bra and costs £35.
They also do a bamboo range. Bamboo is a very good fibre for sports wear as it lets your body breathe. It also grows very quickly so is a very green product to use in clothing.
This top has 5% elastane to help keep its shape. It costs £31 and comes in other colours.
What I am loving this month
I have been using organic shower gels for the past few years as I am trying to cut out any product with harmful chemicals in it being used on my body. I bought this shower gel from my local health shop and although it is labelled for babies it works just as well on adults. You can also buy it from www.soorganic.com It has a wonderful smell, lathers well and feels really gentle on the skin.
At £3.99 it can also be used as a shampoo but I still prefer my Korres shampoo. Speaking of which take a look at T.K. Maxx for your toiletries. I found my local store had
shampoo, shower gel and body lotion from the Korres range
starting at £2.99. It is a bit hit and miss what they have in stock but well worth a look.
After our health the most precious thing we have is Time. How often do you say 'If only I had more time' or 'There are not enough hours in the day?' Well now you can change your hair colour in just 10 minutes. I have tried every make of hair dye and this one by Garnier is one of the best I have used.
The colour came out exactly as on the box and my hair has a lovely sheen to it.
It is on offer at Sainsburys at the moment for under £5.
In the news
Part of the ageing process is the appearance of lines and wrinkles on the face and saggy jowls. Until recently the only way to get rid of a droopy neck was surgery but now there is a non surgical way of turning back the clock.
Instead of visiting a plastic surgeon you need to visit the dentist. The Oralift mouthguard is a non invasive way to help you look younger.
Wearing the mouthguard for 2 hours every 3rd day will tighten your jawline and tone your facial muscles, reducing lines around the mouth and eyes. It works by stretching the facial muscles which produces more collagen which is used to strengthen the skin. It costs from £575 - £2,500 depending on whether you need any extra dental work. For more information see www.oralift.com
Book of the month
Style Strategy by Nina Garcia
Nina is Fashion Director at Marie Claire magazine and believes that looking good does not have to cost a fortune.
She wants to show women how to keep looking stylish without spending a fortune and how to make the most of the wardrobe you have.
It costs £8.44 from www.amazon.com
Quote of the month
'A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water' Elenor Roosevelt
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Enjoy the beautiful colours of autumn.
Lilian
Last Updated: January 15, 2010