30th November - Last non-dress day of the year!

With Dressember starting tomorrow, I deliberately avoided a dress again today!

I'm so excited to be starting Dressember, finally - even though we had our first dump of snow today!

I thought I was looking quite dapper today, but just to shatter any illusion that I am a pulled together, smooth woman, here's what I was wearing when I left the house!















Sometimes one just has to make fashion adjustments for the weather!

Just check out that big-ass bobble on my hat lol!, and those oh-so-sexy woolly mittens (fleece lined!).

Oh yes, I am a fashion goddess.

ahem.



Waistcoat and Trousers: Next
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Broach: Evans
Shoes: Wallis

Hat: Tesco
Scarf: I am
Coat: Sainsburys
Mittens: Animal
Shoes: Milletts

29th November - 2 days to go! I'm Happy!

I had just heard the Carpenters "Happy" on the radio, and my Dad was a massive Carpenters fan, so I was busy singing and dancing while I was waiting for the camera to go off!

So, even though it was -6 outside this morning, there are only 2 days to go before Dressember starts, and I'm Happy! We've also decided to try and raise a bit of cash for Refuge, speaking out against Domestic Violence, and there is a just giving page if you want to show your support.

(and Jennifer, I managed not to wear a dress!)

Tank: Sainsburys
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Skirt: Tesco
Boots: Clarks

And here's the tune, so you can be Happy too!

26th November - Shopping with my Man!

S and I had the day off work today to break the back of the Christmas (and Rhian's birthday!) shopping.

I always try and wear heels when I'm out with him, just so I don't look like a complete midget! (S is 6ft 8)

Scarf: i.am online boutique
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Blazer: Zara
Jeans: Next
Boots: Barretts

25th November - hmmmm

Went for a meal out with 26 of my work colleagues last night to say goodbye to one of the ladies who is retiring.

This is my ebay bargain dress - I liked the look of it in the mirror, but reviewing the photos now it doesn't look right around to boobage and the pouffy sleeves :-$

It was a true bargain - just 99p, and it's a Mango frock - and came with a £40 price tag still swinging from it's label. Maybe next time I'll try it with a cardi over the top to minimise the top bit?

Dress: Mango via ebay
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Leggings: M&S
Boots: Next

Top Tips for Buying a Dress

The lovely Laura from katharinebird.co.uk tweeted a fantastic list of tips for buying and wearing dresses (#Dressember, if you use twitter) a couple of nights ago.

Caroline (Sajona) has very kindly pulled these all together for ease of reading, and for any non-twitterers out there, and popped them onto her blog for everyone to see.

There is some very sensible advice there, and basically Laura is saying there is a dress for every shape and size and occasion :-)

25th November - Black, and cardigan?

We don't have air conditioning in the office - we have radiators, and we have windows.

Some people in the office are very warm blooded, and like to open the window. Others of us sit in a draft from the door, and are not very warm blooded at all.

In order to keep the peace, we wear layers! (today the cardigan was my reserve item, for when doors and windows were open!)

Had to think carefully about todays outfit, as I was getting my flu jab at work - this outfit was perfect as the dress is lovely and stretchy, and the top has a wide neck, so I could just pull them down over my shoulder.

I do now have a very sore arm though!

Dress: TK Maxx
Shoes: Wallis
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Cardi: Next

24th November - Black and Green, with yellow!

I was going to try not to wear dresses this week, in preparation for wearing them non-stop in December - but I just couldn't do it! My work wardrobe is now mainly made up of dresses, and I couldn't decide what to wear this morning, so back to the faithful pinstripe dress I went!

Dress and top: Dorothy Perkins
Belt: Brilliant Belts
Shoes: Clarks

Special Guest Spot - "Business Back to School Day"

You can go off kids, can't you.

Especially when they ask if they can borrow something for a practice interview day at school tomorrow, and they look so much better in it that you do........

and yes, she is 5 ft 9 in her stocking feet, and yes, those are my 4 inch yellow shoes

Dress: Asda
Shoes: New Look (via ebay)
hellishly tall daughter: All my own work (well, saying that, I'm guessing I had very little to do with the "hellishly tall" bit, that's come from my hellishly tall husband! Who'd have thought having a husband who is 6ft 8 would result in kids destined to tower over me!?)

23rd november - Full On Superman!

Yesterday I went for the subdued blue and red, today....... not so much :-)

Full on superman mode - I just needed a cape!

Loved the bright colours though, really cheered me up today (despite a clock throwing itself off the wall at me and bruising my arm!) Thank you Style Nation for the inspiration, and giving me the courage to do it!

Dressember is gearing up nicely - we now have 67 people on the facebook group, and dresses are flying out of the shops as we speak! I had a bargain 99p ebay dress arrive today, with a £40 price tag still swinging from it's label :D

Do take a peak at the facebook page, and the #Dressember on Twitter - there are some fabulous tips on "how to buy dresses to suit you" on there which were posted by a lady with 20 years fashion experience last night.

Jumper: M&S
Skirt: Tesco
Broach: Evans
Boots: Barretts

22nd November - Red and Blue

The style nation appears to be awash with red and blue!

Style Underdog did full on Superman (with the exception of the underpants!), and pulled it off as perhaps only she can - that woman has style skillz!

Sheila also sported a fantastic blue and red ensemble this weekend, for one of her uber organised shopping trips!

This morning I decided to tackle my own, rather subdued, version!

I was originally going to pin the red flower on the tank, but my there was a big gap on my decoutage that needed filling, and I felt that a necklace would distract from the flower. I tried another red necklace on, but it didn't work especially well, so I decided to wear the flower broach as a necklace, and pinned it through the bale on my daisy pendant!

Tank and Flower: Sainsburys
Trousers: Next
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Shoes: Clarks

Dressember Colourful

Dressember Colourful by Tatgibbon featuring a slip on dress

This post has kind of arrived here by accident - I was trying to create the new photo for the Dressember page - and I couldn't work out how to get it there, so it ended up posted here instead!

But..... as it is here: Which dress would you choose for yourself for this festive season, whatever you are doing?

My personal favourite, which I could imagine perfectly for snuggling in front of a log fire with a glass of baileys, is the crochet square dress on the top row.

Dressember Update!

Things have suddenly taken off!

I mentioned it very briefly on a forum I frequent, and suddenly we have a facebook page and currently 37 people participating in the challenge!



The group's spiel is:

"December 1st marks the beginning of 'Dressember' - the challenge for women (or the adventurous male) everywhere to shake up their wardrobe and try ditching the jeans and t-shirts.

We're aiming to wear dresses as often as possible - don't worry if it's not practical in the day, you can go for a skirt/top combo if needed, or have fun and dress up in the evening in that cockatail dress you never get to wear!

Feel free to share your photos in the group or on your own wall if you're shy, just have fun with it, and try something different for the month - plus it'a party season, so use the wall to ask if you need help deciding! ;-)

There are no rules, it's all about stretching your wardrobe boundaries, trying something different, and having fun, so just jump on in :-)"

We're also using the hashtag #dressember on twitter - and there's quite some chatter happening there too :-)

Please join us if you're interested, and spread the word :-)

19th November - Children in Need Dress Down

Yesterday was a dress down day for all the girls in the family, in aid of Children in Need. Both of the girls schools' had settled on a "spotty" theme, which was a bit tricky! Kira had the spotty cardigan, but Rhian didn't own a single item of spotty clothing! Luckily I managed to find these spotty socks!




















We didn't have a theme at work, but as the new Harry Potter film has just launched here I decided to wear my floaty cardigan - I always feel like an extra from the film, swishing about in this!

Long sleeved T-shirt: Dorothy Perkins
Cardi: Sainsburys
Jeans: Next
Boots: Clarks
















and I followed the theme too!

18th November - GOAL!

Looking so extremely pleased with myself as today the scales told me I had re-reached my weightwatchers goal! :-) (although the side on view doesn't look so good - skirt is now a little large!)

I started on the new Propoints system last week, and was amazed that I lost 3 lbs in the first week - which is quite a lot considering I didn't have much left to loose! The article in they hyperlink above explains more about the reason for the change, but I have to say that I, for one, am converted! (and given that I am a point counting advocate, that is saying something!)

Top: Dorothy Perkins
Tank and beads: Sainsburys
Skirt: Tesco
Boots: Barrets

Dressember!

It's getting nearer to December, and I'm thinking more about my self-imposed challenge!

I'm attempting to wear a dress every day in December - making it Dressember!

Personally I know I'm going to struggle at weekends and over the Christmas period when I'm not at work, as I've only really got 2 "casual" dresses - might have to try and source some more in the next couple of weeks!

So, who's up for joining me?

(and if you've got your own blog, any chance of a mention?! - ta!)

17th November - Comfy Dressing

This morning I had to leave home at 6.30 to drop S somewhere, and then I was supposed to be picking him up at 12, so I didn't think I was going to be at work all day, so I just belted the comfy dress and leggings combo I'd stuck on at 6 when I'd got up! As it was he didn't get "released" until 2, so I did more than my normal day's work, but thankfully it was a desk day, so nobody, apart from my colleagues, noticed my scruffy attire!

Dress: Next
Leggings and Belt: M&S
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Boots: Clarks

16th November - Purple and Grey, again

I added the flower to give the uninspired outfit a tiny touch of va-va-voom - did it work?

And see how pulled together I am (lol), I even had matching socks!

Jennifer made a comment on yesterdays post - and I'm working on a reply for about a week's time!

Tank and Flower: Sainsburys
Top: M&S
Trousers: Next
Shoes: Clarks

15th November - Return of the spots

Looking back through my archives the other day I realised that my spotty frock hasn't had an outing out of the wardrobe for a little while!

I decided to treat it to a day out today :-) The red belt has also been in my car for many weeks - and out of site is out of mind - so this morning I made a special effort to go out to the car before I got dressed (oh, that was truly a sight for the neighbours!) (re-reading - just to clarify, I was in my pink "grumpy but gorgeous" dressing gown and fluffy slippers!). I also dragged the red flower out of the drawer!

Dress and Belt: Tesco
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Flower: Evans
Shoes: Next

Supporting Friends

The blogosphere is a small place, and I've got a good friend Tracy Morter (she of the Facebook Rage Against the Machine for Christmas Number 1 campaign last year) who is a fantastic photographer and is launching her business. She is based in Essex, but can travel - so why not pop over to her website and take a look :-)

12th November - A little bit.... uninspired?

It finally stopped chucking it down this morning, so I decided to wear trousers, as there wasn't the risk of having them flapping wet against my legs all morning!

I'm on a bit of a self-imposed no-shopping time at the moment, and whilst I probably wouldn't have bought much, the thought that I shouldn't is making me a feel a bit glum! I think I need to admit that my name is Katie, and I'm a shopaholic!

Trousers: Next
Top: Dorothy Perkins
Tank: Sainsburys
Shoes: Wallis

11th November - Red and Black

The weather returned today, all of it! Rain and wind! bleurgh!

Skirt and Jumper: Tesco
Blouse: Next
Boots: Barretts

10th November - Purple and Black

We had a day off the weather yesterday - it was sunny, but blowy and very cold!

Skirt: Next
Jumper: Tesco
Boots: Barretts

9th November - back in grey and purple

I got several lovely comments after I posted this outfit last time, so I thought it was well worth a re-run! I'm really not sure where my curves have come from - but there's a waist there - a real.life waist!!

Dress: Asda
Top: M&S
Boots
Barretts

















and I just thought I'd share today's outtake!

8th November - weather!

Today we had a lot of weather - we had wind, lots of wind, which isn't so bad by itself, but with rain, lots of rain, it was horrid. And it was cold. Bleurgh!

So I wore the nearest thing to wellies I could!

It's also Remembrance Sunday here in the UK (is it in the rest of the world too?) when we remember those who died for us in the wars by wearing a poppy - so you'll be seeing a bit of this poppy during the week.

Dress and top: Dorothy Perkins
Boots: Clarks