Chasing Waterfalls

August 28, 2015September 4, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Black and white – simple, flattering and VERY easy to wear.
Waterfall jackets – simple, flattering and VERY easy to wear.
Hmmm, hang on, I’m starting to see a pattern here.

I’d been looking for a lightweight duster coat/longline jacket for a while and after a bit of shopping around I went for this great waterfall jacket from M&Co. Its a fantastic piece, well made, stylish and do easy to wear. Best of all its in the summer sale!

For sizing I am wearing a size 10 but it is available in sizes 8-20. With no fastenings its a free fit but is structured on the shoulders so go for your usual size. It flows beautifully and has sleeves you can roll up to 3/4 length and large patch pockets.
For a simple, chic look I’ve styled it today with a striped breton tee, wet look leggings and black wedge sandals. Its super flattering and looks as good with jeans or a dress…I really love it.

Oh and I accessorised with a cute vintage necklace…

Currently in the sale for £24 reduced from £35, find it instore now and grab yourself a bargain! Its a piece you’ll wear again and again and always feel great in! I’m loving wearing mine and it will be great transitional piece too as we go into Autumn.

Waterfall jackets are the perfect shape for all body types. My advice is get one in your wardrobe ASAP.

Jacket – M&Co
Necklace – vintage
T-shirt – Papaya at Matalan
Leggings – eBay
Sandals – New Look

Shoe shopping

August 12, 2015 | blueskygirlie

So, I’ve been doing a bit of shoe shopping…in fact I’ve bough six pairs this month! However being the bargain hunter I am they’ve all been in the summer sales in total I’ve only spent about £50. Cost per wear thats a bargain!!!

Want to know what I’ve bought and where?

Primark sandals – pink/navy £3 (was £6), aqua £3 (was £8), white platforms £5 (was £10). All instore at Primark. You can never have too many sandals and I love them to match my outfits.

F&F girls patent t-bar shoes (available in sizes 1-6) £5.50 (from £15). Available instore at Tescos or online here. Super cute and will be great for Autumn too to wear with opaque tights and dresses.

Baby pink Vans – £36 (from £60) these were from Littlewoods Direct and are now very low on stock but can be found at many Vans stockists. These are my first ever pair of Vans! Very comfortable and they are definitely drawing me away from my huge collection of Converse!

Peacocks red flats – £4 (from £10). I’ve been looking for some red shoes for a while and these cuties will look great with denim and for £4? I couldn’t say no!

Do you love a bit of shoe shopping too? Its even better if they are a bargain! Happy shopping in the summer sales!

Featured Friday Bloggers: A Blue Sky Girlie

July 28, 2015July 28, 2015 | blueskygirlie

This week I am thrilled to be featured as M&Co.s blogger of the week. Find my interview with them here…

http://blog.mandco.com/2015/07/24/featured-friday-bloggers-a-blue-sky-girlie/

This week’s Featured Friday blogger is Sarah from Always a Blue Sky Girl. We’ve spotted Sarah styling some of our pieces fabulously on her social channels and though it was time to find out a bit more…

Introduce us to your blog Sarah…

M&Co. multiway maxi dress

July 17, 2015August 5, 2015 | blueskygirlie

A little while ago I entered the M&Co. summer blogging competition on holiday style (read it here) and came runner up. As a prize I was asked to pick one of items I blogged for a gift and I chose the Petite multiway maxi dress.
I thought it was a very wearable dress for summer – today I style it up for wearing on holiday and give my review on it. So the details – this dress is part of the M&Co. Petite range and is currently in the summer sale reduced to £16 from £29. It is available in sizes 8-18. Its made from a lightweight, silky material with smocked elasticated waist and slightly blouson top which has a tightly elasticated top seam.

The dress has multiway straps (a bit like a bra) which means you can wear it with straps, strapless, as a halterneck or crossed over. The straps themselves were a little fiddly at first and hard to get into place but once set worked well (although I found the end hooks came out of the dress a couple of times which was a little annoying). However a bit like a multiway bra, practise made perfect and I soon got them how I wanted them!
I ended up with a size 12 after the 10 was too small across the bust and had to be returned. My advice is to go a size bigger than your normal size in M&Co. (which is usually quite generous) if you’re buying from the Petite range and are quite curvy. At 5’2″, the length was just skimming the floor with flat sandals on, which is how I like a maxi dress – this range is for 5’3″ or below and I’d say just right length wise.

I teamed it with my cropped white denim jacket bought from M&Co. last season and Accessorize camera novelty bag. A perfect look for a bit of holiday sightseeing maybe?
Pinned back wavy hair, red lipstick and my favourite lucky sixpence coin necklace (£1.50 from Primark!) completed the look. All in all, I found this a versatile dress and liked it particularly as the strapless version – after all who wants strap marks as part of your holiday tan!!!

Are you going away soon? Do you plan your outfits beforehand? Let me know what your summer holiday styling looks like.

Maxi dress – M&Co. Petite*
Denim jacket – M&Co.
Necklace – Primark
Bag – Accessorize
Sandals – New Look

10 questions you ask yourself when you’re 40+ & wearing vintage.

April 3, 2015August 5, 2015 | blueskygirlie

I’ve blogged a bit about my journey to embrace vintage (see here), but still have the odd wobble. Once you are of an *ahem* certain age (OK, I’m 42), some fashion choices can get mixed up with just looking odd or people ‘not getting it’ and sometimes you find yourself standing in front of the mirror and asking some bizarre questions!

1) The item looked ‘hipster’ in the vintage store but does it look more ‘crazy cat lady’ on me? featuring a 1980’s original sweatshirt

2) Will people get this necklace is a in joke for my love of Instagram and not just a random strange charm? featuring a vintage brass camera necklace

3) Can an original Ra-Ra dress work when its not 1985? I did dream of being in Bucks Fizz… featuring a batwing 1980s ra-ra dress

4) Being a hippy is still cool, especially in the summer, right? featuring a 1970s mint cheesecloth skirt

5) Is a patterned silk scarf too ‘air hostess’ tied at your neck – it is such a gorgeous print though…? featuring a 1960s psychedelic print scarf

6) Is this batwing blouse more ‘Stand and Deliver’ than ‘Stand up and be counted’? featuring a 1980s Alexon high necked batwing blouse

7) Did I buy the dress because I like it, or because the label made me feel nostalgic? featuring a 1970s C&A fit and flare dress

8) Does that original Disneyland vest now making me look like I’m auditioning for an middle-aged version of the Mickey Mouse Club? And is 90’s fashion even vintage, I wore it the first time around?!? featuring a 1990’s Disneyland souvenir vest

9) Does having a coat with a OTT stand-up collar make you look like a super villian? featuring a vintage Cacharel tweed coat (thanks mum!)

And finally…

10) Is it ok you have no money but the contents of your jewellery drawers (yes, a mere jewellery box is too small) are worth thousands? featuring many years worth of vintage jewellery buys

All items pictured are various vintage pieces I have picked upon my travels…

So do you embrace vintage like me regardless of your age?

All photos are via my Instagram, follow me for more here

Lets hear it for coral!

April 1, 2015August 12, 2015 | blueskygirlie

The sun is shining and *sings* I’m feeling gooood!!! One of the best things for me as the weather warms up is the opportunity to wear more colour. I love bright colours and always feel confident and happy wearing them.

Todays outfit is all about the colour coral. Coral is a great colour to wear for Spring and Summer as it is bright but not over-powering, is super cute and feminine and is flattering to most skin tones. And here I am wearing a shirt, jumper & skirt combo embracing the hue.

I love a full skirt and this one with pockets from my favourite haunt Primark, is just perfect – and it’s so flattering. You put it on and feel like you should be in an episode of Mad Men, all cinched waist and shwoosy hemline. Plus it only cost me £5.00 in the sale!

I love to use a white shirt as a layering piece and think it adds a great preppy edge to what could be a ‘too pretty’ outfit. Make-up wise I wore the coral lipstick I got recently from Poundlands Make-Up Gallery (blogged here). I’m definitely loving their bright lipstick colours and its adds that extra pop of colour!

And finally, gold pointed flats from Matalan complete the look. Metallics are perfect with bright colour as wearing a dark shoe just looks odd. I’m not one for high heels so a pretty, pointed flat gives me a feminine look without the discomfort (pain is not good when you’ve got a school run to do!)

This is one of my favourite outfits I’ve styled so far this year and it got a lot of great feedback via Instagram (follow my feed here). So, what do you think about coral – hot or not? You know where I stand.

Shirt – Matalan

Jumper – Per Una @ M&S

Skirt – Primark

Shoes – Matalan

Top & Tail – 30th March 2015

March 30, 2015August 5, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Todays mini blog capturing my head and feet look via Instagram photos. Follow my daily Instagram’s here.

“Channelling Wednesday Addams on a Monday”

Todays top look

Jumper with lace collar – Primark

Todays tail look

Faux leather skirt – Very.co.uk

200d tights – Matalan

My M&Co S/S 15 top fashion picks

March 24, 2015April 4, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Do you shop at M&Co.? I popped into my local store the other day and was so impressed with the new seasons stock that I saw. Anyone who thinks this store is ‘not for them’ is missing out on some amazing fashion. If you havent heard of M&Co. they used to be called Mackays many moons ago, sell womens, mens and kidswear, are online, have an in store catalogue and loyalty card and have over 300 stores in the UK.

Priced at a mid market price level ( think Marks & Spencer ish), the clothes are all great quality, generously cut and, as I’ve discovered this season, totally on trend. The colour and print in store was amazing – zingy yellows with navy blue, fun orange with monochrome, stunning prints and great cute knitwear.

There was a lot to love but let me show you the ten items I fell in love with on my visit…

1) Nauctical print tea dress – £39

2) Yellow ankle grazer trousers – £29

3) & 4) Tropical print pompom kimono – £32 & double layer orange vest top – £20

5) ‘Love’ jumper – £29 (currently £20.30)

6) Floral print clutch bag – £29

7) Navy and white striped blouse – £29

8) Yellow jacqurad coat – £59

9) Sling back pointed shoes – £28

10) Rainbow print blouse – £29

What do you think? Some pretty amazing items right? Check out the full range online here or pop into a store – let me know what pieces you love. I think all of these would be great additions for SS15 to any fashion lovers wardrobe.

PS Being a loyalty card holder I was just sent this, so I’m pretty sure there’s going to be some of the above used in outfit posts very soon!!!

To Culotte or not to Culotte

March 18, 2015August 5, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Culottes are an odd thing – not a skirt and not a trouser. For me they remind me of being in 6th form where for the first time we didnt have to wear school uniform but as we were at a girls school we couldn’t wear trousers. Our way round it? Culottes! Every pair of Culottes in the south-east got found and bought by 16 year olds on a mission!

So are they a difficult wear? Well, to honest I’m a little undecided.

In todays outfit, I’m wearing a pair from BooHoo.com in a oversized dogtooth check print. Culottes sit quite wide and loose so a fitted and tucked in top balances out the look. They are flattering though, particularly if you are a hourglass or pear shape and this particular pair flare out really nicely with a fixed, wide waistband.

I co-ordinated it with a simple black polo neck. The print is quite overwhelming so simplicity is the way to go styling wise. Star earrings mimicking the dogtooth print and Atmosphere buckled platform flats complete the look.

All in all, I think culottes are really versatile piece of clothing to have in your wardrobe. Want to climb a wall? Go for it! Ready to dance a Can-Can? You’re set! Want to sit like a boy? Do it!