Autumnal Dressing with New Look Inspire*

As the weather cools, the first thing I do is reach for a tailored jacket - those of you who follow me on social media will know that recent weeks have been swamped with an assortment of the things!
So, when New Look asked me to pick out a few items from their autumn/winter Inspire range, a tailored jacket was always going to be high on the list. 

Regency style in a Studio 8 Mac*

A few weeks ago I spoke about my complete love lust of the new Studio 8 collection, a luxury fashion range for the plus sized woman launched by the amazing Phase 8.  
I was lucky enough to be offered a piece to review from this really quite beautiful collection and spent ages trying to decide which item I love most! The Sonia, Becky, and Pippa were all strong contenders but, with a wardrobe of pretty floral dresses, I thought I would try something a little different.  

ASOS Curve Ridley Skinny Jean in White

I bought white jeans - and I have to say, I'm in love!
I've even managed to wear them several times without spilling coffee all over them!

Vienna - The City Break Wardrobe

Just in case you don't already follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter - I've spent the past week waltzing (huffing and puffing) my way around Vienna.  The city is quite magical - albeit a little contrived with trying to retain the Austrian character from the height of Empire - so thought I'd share some photos taken from my time there as well as the minimalist, where-every wardrobe that I took with me!

Stephenplatz

A jean day ...

I rarely wear jeans for anything other than walking the dog.

The truth is, I'm not a huge fan of them.  I don't find them the comfiest of trousers (especially since leggings made a come back), they don't seem to be that practical (they're continually wearing out between the thighs), and they rarely come long enough for me to wear with my trademark heels.

Due to this, I haven't bought jeans for years - this meant that they were all dropping off me.  I've shed a few pounds recently and realised that the only thing keeping my jeans around my waist was my belt (and then there was a gaping mass of flesh where the belt loops had pulled holes through the material).

A few weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and went jean shopping ... expecting angst and despondence, I reluctantly entered Next and dragged my feet all the way to the jean section.  I figured I'd try the Lift, Slim, and Shape range as who doesn't need a few lumps and bumps smoothing away. I bought the second pair I tried on - Next evidently vanity size as the size 18's were borderline big so I dropped to a 16 which fits like a glove.

Next - Lift, Slim and Shape Slim Jeans in Intense Blue