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Gift guide for Him

Every year I swear it gets harder to buy for the Men in my life and I also have clients asking me to find great gifts for the Men in their lives too! So here is my roundup of some inspiring ideas to get your guy stylish this Christmas.

UNDER £100

OVER £100

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Gift guide for Her

Every year I get lots of requests from clients and their husbands for some inspiration for Christmas gifting, so I thought I would pull together a gift guide this year and this one is for you, the ladies.

I have divided them into 2 price pointed sections for ease of shopping or wish-list hunting and hopefully you can grab some bits using black Friday discounts too.

UNDER £100

OVER £100

BLACK FRIDAY DISCOUNT CODES 24.11.21

Luisaviaroma 40% off full priced items Code: BF40

Coggles 25% Off Selected lines Code: CG25

monnierfreres 30% off selected categories Code: BF2021

NET-A-PORTER 30% off Womenswear Code: BLACKFRIDAY

Matches fashion 25% off friends and family shopping event Code: 25MF

Nobody's child 20% off everything with code BLACKFRIDAY20

The White Company 20% off with code JOY20

ASOS Black Friday warmup: 20% off 1000s of styles using code: MORESTYLES

River Island 20% off site wide + free delivery with minimum spend £75 using code: HELLOBF

Warehouse 50% off the winter edit + 15% off everything via the app

Selfridges 20% off with code SELFCCE

All Saints 30% off everything

Sweaty Betty 20% off with code CHEERS

Ted Baker Up to 40% off

Office 20% off with code TAKE20

French Connection 20% off everything

Whistles 25% off everything

Mint Velvet 20% off everything

&other stories 20% off with code VIP20

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Get me out of my Jeans!

It’s probably one of the most common asks from my clients, what can they wear instead of always defaulting to jeans. Now more than ever there is a trend towards being comfortable post pandemic but whilst also looking stylish. So how do you pull this off? What trousers can you wear without looking like you are going to the office? There are a number of options when it comes to changing your jeans out for other trousers, but your shoes and the rest of your outfit also need to work with the trousers to ensure you have the whole look nailed. What I mean by this is for example wearing trainers with smart trousers, wearing chunky boots with knitted trousers or loafers with leather trousers to ensure your look is paired down, casual and perhaps the opposite of what you might normally wear with said trousers. For more styling inspiration make sure you follow me on Instagram where you can see how I pull these looks together.

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Right now there are a number of trousers that I am seeing alot of, that I want to wear and also lusting after, these are rounded up below. Think about what you already have in your wardrobe and you might own a pair of smart trousers for example and it could be all about how you style them rather than buying a new pair. But if you are looking for some newness this season then check out the best pieces there is to buy online right now.

5 trousers to own right now

1. Stirrup leggings - I often clear out many pairs of leggings from Women’s wardrobes, excluding ones you exercise in, old maternity leggings or black stretch cotton leggings are a mainstay in alot of wardrobes still. I often point clients in the direct of a fabric called Ponte Roma which is a heavier weight jersey, much more flattering, thicker and will last longer. This year a new style is becoming very popular and it might make you feel like you should be horse riding as they have a stirrup detailing at the hem of them. You can of course wear ankle boots or long boots to cover this bit up but styling wise wearing loafers or trainers are a way of updating this look for this season.

2. Leather trousers - I have owned a pair of PU cropped trousers for a number of years and a pair of leather leggings that I pull out every single Autumn with out fail and get so much wear out of them. So this year I am totally lusting after a pair of leather trousers. An investment yes but after doing quite a bit of research and knowing how much I wear my PU ones I know it will be something I own and wear for years. Leg shape is really important, a tapered leg thats high waisted is very flattering and will never go out of style.

3. Knitted trouser or legging - this is something that started cropping up last year due to the huge appetite for loungewear when we were all in lockdown. The other driver of this is the rise of the co-ord in fashion, this is when 2 separates match each other in fabric, colour or print, it’s is a co-ordinating piece. Alot of loungewear is co-ordinating so the knitted trouser just takes this to another level. It’s loungewear you can dress up, wear outside with boots or trainers and also keep warm in too. I brought a set from Zara last year and styled it very much with chunky boots and the knitted hoody, but this time I want to wear it with over-sized shirts and blazers.

4. Smart trousers - it’s funny now that we are spending less & less time in an office environment we have less need to dress up and dressing for work has become much more relaxed. Saying that the trend for smartwear, suiting and wearing smart trousers has been around for a while now, what is key is what you wear on your feet to ensure you don’t look like you are going to an office (even if you are). High waisted shapes are great, be careful about pleats at the waist as more often than not these can be vey unflattering and make you look bigger than you are, so flat fronted trousers are a better option.

5. Smart joggers - these trousers have been around for a number of seasons and are so versatile to wear instead of jeans. It’s all about fabric with this trouser, ensuring they are not in a jogger like fabric but slightly smarter like crepe or heavy jersey and they have a coloured stripe down the side seam. The shape of the leg and the hem are also key, you might want a wide leg or a tapered leg and you might not want an elasticated hem so they look less jogger like. Check out my options, there are so many to choose from but these are tried and tested trousers that clients have feedback how fantastic they are.

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Transitional pieces that you should own

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September is finally here thankfully, but it can sometimes be a tricky one for dressing as some days it’s lovely and warm, others it’s chucking it down with rain and some days it’s so cold you just want to grab your Winter coat and go. The key to transitioning is layering, jackets, sweaters, long-sleeve t-shirts, converse high tops, boots and quilted jackets are just some of the essential things you need in your wardrobe for September. I like to use as much of my Summer wardrobe as I can and layer up over the top, whilst also putting some of those high summer pieces away so I can see what I have missing to make my wardrobe versatile.

Shirts & jeans are the perfect transitional combination

Shirts & jeans are the perfect transitional combination

Wearing white jeans with Autumn blazers & converse high tops

Wearing white jeans with Autumn blazers & converse high tops

Wearing strappy summer dresses with a blazer & chunky trainers

Wearing strappy summer dresses with a blazer & chunky trainers

A breton stripe jumper, sweater or t-shirt is the perfect transitional piece

A breton stripe jumper, sweater or t-shirt is the perfect transitional piece

There are always items that are key to your style and wardrobe, pieces that never go out of fashion and work for any and every situation. These pieces become part of your style depending on your colours, how you wear them and ensuring they are constants in your wardrobe for when the season changes. I have a shopping list of pieces that I believe are the best items you can buy right now, will last you into Winter and you will pull back out again for Spring. In fact if you refer back to my January 2021 blog post “6 Spring items to elevate your Winter wardrobe”, I either mention the same items again in this post, or you will note that those pieces are still relevant and wearable right now, proving that these staples never go out of style.

Transitional pieces to buy now

1.Shirts

In January 2021 I wrote the blog post “6 Spring items to elevate your Winter wardrobe” shirts featured in the top 6 but now it seems that you can wear anything and everything with a shirt. I feel it’s moved on from the pretty collar styling even though there are still alot of them around especially removable collars, but the want for mensy stripes and oversized dressing has taken over. So top of my list for Autumn styling right now is a stripe oversized shirt, I have lived in the blue stripe one I brought back in February from Zara and I am currently lusting after a new one to update my wardrobe with.

2. Breton stripe top

An absolute classic that you can never go wrong wearing, it’s best to style it up with a twist rather than just jeans but as it’s a fail safe classic I normally advise clients to look at puff sleeves, embroidered details, sweaters or different coloured stripes for more personality. Sometimes though simple is the most understated form of style.

3. Quilted jacket

This is quite a new transitional piece but has been around for a number of seasons and it’s a great option for a transitional jacket. This season the quilting is varied, colourful and comes in lots of different lengths and shapes. The shorter version has been inspired by cult brand The Frankie shop and this has filtered down to Marks & Spencer, Hush, H&M and Zara. It’s lightweight, rainproof, stylish jacket; what’s not to love!

4. Dogtooth blazer

Two colour check blazers are a style staple in anyone’s wardrobe, whether it be a dogtooth pattern, a gingham, a prince of wales check or a tartan it all works with lots of different pieces that you already own. Dogtooth and gingham are having a seasonal moment and whether it’s a blazer or a shacket it’s a great layering piece that can be worn dressed up or dressed down.

5. Boots

This cover all manner of styles, boots are always a wardrobe staple but the ankle boot, chelsea boot length styling always look great with dresses, skirts and jeans. The slimmer slightly longer calf length became the forefront of style last Autumn and that is set to continue this season too. I love the chunky feel to them and wore mine most days last year.

6. Knitted dress

A piece I get asked for a lot, I believe this is something you buy and when you find the perfect one you will hold onto it forever. They are having a revival moment as there have been times over the years I have barely been able to find any to shop for clients but last year they came back into stores due to comfy dressing. Bag one now for transitional and then wear it with tights and boots when it gets colder, it will keep you so warm.

7. Trench coat

Way back in February I wrote the blog post “Spring’s hottest piece of outerwear” all about my quest to find the perfect trench coat. That still hasn’t happened for me yet, though I do have my eye on a Navy one to try, a trench coat is something that can be layered over knitwear, over t-shirts or coats layered over the top of them - it is a very versatile piece to own and something that will never go out of style.

8. Green

This is my ‘trend’ entry, this season there is something about the colour Green that is bubbling under online. It is a bright green, mostly warm and perfect for ‘spring’ colour palettes but it’s something that is growing stronger and is a great colour for knitwear and shirting. So if there is a colour to try in these coming weeks then look at Green, make sure the tone is right for your skintone and then give it a try.

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