Tag Archives: culottes

A forgotten store – Uniqlo

My husband was asking me the other day where he should look for minimalist, contemporary trousers for himself. He loves James Perse but their prices are not so lovely. As I wracked my brain I suddenly remembered Uniqlo. It’s a store I always forget about – probably as we don’t have a bricks and mortar store here in Atlanta. I’ve made many great purchases from them over the years – particularly their knitwear and outerwear. As I was checking out the men’s section I figured I may as well take a quick peek at the women’s section!

Firstly I had forgotten how amazing their prices are! For great quality basics they are hard to beat. In fact my son has some of their long sleeve t-shirts and I swear the cotton feels so luxurious and soft – and yet I paid $9.99 for them in NYC last fall!

These pieces in particular caught my eye.

These dresses have a built in bra. Now for summer this is perfect – even I, with a generous bust, love a built in bra in the summer – so easy and no fiddling with bra hooks when its hot. Even better – its not a shelf bra that can often be unflattering resulting in a mono boob 😉 The bra in these dresses actually has soft cups to separate and give a flattering bust line.

Uniqlo dress with bra

Uniqlo dress with bra striped bra dress Uniqlo striped bra dress

Next up culottes are always a great choice for summer – easy to wear and cool – and these have a lovely elastic waist band. They are available in navy, black, beige and yellow – more of a mustard color.

jersey culottes

Uniqlo jersey culottes

This style is slightly dressier and can double as a skirt with the convenience of trousers. Available in black, navy, pink and beige.

Uniqlo pleated wide leg trousers

I love a great jumpsuit and these are gorgeous – and JUST $19.90 right now!! A whole outfit for less than $20 and it gets rave reviews. Just perfect with sneakers during the day, then throw on a blazer or leather jacket and a pair of heels for dinner!

Uniqlo jumpsuit Uniqlo jersey jumpsuit

If you’re in the UK check out this style of jumpsuit. I’m not sure if they have sold out in the USA or if we’re waiting for them to arrive – regardless my sister has a package on its way to her that I can collect in May 😉 Again an absolute steal for £24.90! I think they are perfect for traveling – easy to pack and so versatile for sight seeing or dinner out.

So what do you think? Are you a regular Uniqlo shopper? What other items do you rate that I should be checking out?

As for my daily outfits – well last week I was on Spring Break so it was bikinis all week. If you saw on Instagram I am a HUGE fan of Athleta’s swimwear. Their fabrics are amazing quality and the tops and bottoms all come in various styles which you can mix and match – I love them! You can use this referral link and receive 20% off an item.

Jeans – H&M // Sneaker – Nike // Top – Mango (old) // Jacket – AllSaints // Bag – Coach

Top – Madewell // Shorts – J.Crew (30% off with code LOTSTOSHOP) // Flipflops – Gap // Bag – Coach

Dress – ASOS // Sneakers – New Balance x J.Crew // Bag – Balenciaga

 

 

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Marks & Spencer, an alternative to Zara?

I’m at home taking care of a ‘sick’ daughter. Not sure how sick she is as she has just demolished scrambled eggs and toast. I’ve packed her off to her room to get on with her homework. She might find struggling through a day at school is easier than hanging out at home with Mom!

This ‘blip’ in my day has meant I am still unshowered, sitting in my gym attire – so no photo from me today. However, it has provided me time to have a thorough gander at Marks and Spencer’s new season offerings. And wow am I impressed! Obviously the caveat is that I have only seen the majority if it on their website so that requires a whole lot of creative imagination to avoid being thoroughly put off my their atrocious styling. Oh my eyes…

First up shoes. Yes, yes, yes we all know I love shoes. Kat asked me share how many shoes I’d bought over the summer. I got to about 12 I think and stopped as I was starting to cringe. I may have just ordered 4 more pairs last night from M&S as I KNOW these will sell out. Plus I had my 25% birthday code from them that I HAD to use before the end of the month! Sign up with them to receive yours – it’s valid your entire birthday month. I was going to buy new bras and knickers but how boring is that!?

That Belfast Girl first got me drooling over these on her IG feed last night. Just £35 and a GREAT lower heeled version of my J.Crew shoes that WIT also has.

black lace up

So I’ve also ordered the snakeskin version too. I’ve ordered a 6 as they apparently come up narrow. Though I have these in a 5 1/2 and they fit great so we’ll see! Fingers crossed!

snakeprint lace up

Then Frances shared these on her IG feed (note to self stay clear of IG if you want to save money!). I just adore them. The perfect pointed flat to wear with cropped jeans or black cigarette trousers. They have a definite Louis Vuitton feel to them.

LE pointed flat

So I ordered them in the gray too – knowing for sure they will disappear fast. Unfortunately these only come in whole sizes but for £35 they are worth a punt!

gem grey loaferIf you like the embellishment but prefer a ballet flat how about these?

gem pumpSo what else did I see while filling my cart. Well they have some fabulous looking boots!

These are Autograph with stain away and will be great with jeans or skirts. The ‘foot’ of the shoe looks beautiful with a lovely practical heel

Autograph bootThese are just divine – so on trend and will be perfect with culottes or a denim A-line skirt. They come in black, tan or burgundy – the burgundy is beautiful.

block heeled bootAs for ankle boots you are really spoiled for choice. This Indigo pair is the perfect little western bootie. They come in black too.

suede ankle bootThere’s a beautiful ankle version of the tall boot above. Just gorgeous in berry.

square toe bootOr if you prefer a narrower heel how about these? I am considering the green version after reading Sue’s post the other day. They are LUSH! They also come in navy.

burgundy ankle bootAlways a fan of a shoe boot – these are lovely and ideal for wearing with opaques and dresses. I think I will order these in navy.

shoe bootLastly another couple of flats – the ubiquitous ghillie lace up. A steal at £29.50.

flat gjillieAnd a beautiful elegant pump similar to those that my friend Max was touting on IG. Lovely with cigarette pants for Fall. The navy patent version is gorgeous.

court shoeNow for the new clothes that caught my attention – and this is really where I think the Limited Edition line comes into it’s own. Competing directly with Zara but appealing to those of us who grew up with M&S – and also maybe making moms of teenage girls happier – assuming M&S still delivers on quality and customer service.

This jacket is in my cart. So cool.

bomber jacketThese culottes are so similar to the ones J.Crew have been selling this season, but these are a smidge of the price!

culottesThis dress is lovely and will be perfect paired with the tan knee high boots above! Yay for pockets too!!

denim dressYou’d never know this was M&S – Zara or TopShop maybe. What a gorgeous color – described as peach mix online.

fur giletThis is identical to a blouse that Zara were selling – I think Frances has the Zara version. It’s less than £30!

high neck blouseI just LOVE this cape. It comes in burgundy too – although M&S insist it is ‘dusty pink’!

hooded wrapI always laugh with Frances as I find so many items that would be perfect for her – she doesn’t need style advice but I can show her where to spend her money!

lace dressI’d wear this with a khaki military jacket similar to this.

Screen Shot 2015-08-26 at 11.11.51 AMI want this dress. It will sell out fast like the spotty number from last year.

moon print dressFinally how lovely is this mac? – Lightweight and super stylish.

trenchNow if only M&S could open a store here in Atlanta I’d be a happy girl. In the meantime they do offer free shipping to the US so it seems I may be seeing a lot of my postie this Fall!

On the same wavelength

Eve and I often send each other links and give each other advice on what to buy or not to buy (mainly the former!). We’re true enablers. We have very similar wardrobes – maybe because we have similar body types or just similar tastes. We have joked in the past how much more we could cram in our closets if we were close enough to share clothes. Yesterday we were each wearing our Mango culottes on different sides of the Atlantic.

Mango have another code right now too – purchase one item and get 30% off – purchase 2 or more items and get 40% off! Just use code 6DISCOUNT7 in the US and 6DISCOUNT in the UK. All sizes in the culottes are still available in the US!

You can click here to see Eve’s interpretation and here is mine – I was scared of chilly ankles 🙂

culottes 2 culottes 4 culottes 5

culottes no gilet

Culottes – Mango // Sweater – Everlane v-neck slouchy cashmere // Gilet – JohnnyB (last year but similar here with 25% off till Thursday midnight!) LOVING the jacket version too here! // Boots – Zara

As Eve mentions they are incredibly comfortable and fit on the larger side for Mango – though their sizing is all over the place! These are a UK 12/US 8 and fit great especially on my waist where I sometimes struggle with waistbands being too tight!

I seem to have a thing for grey at the moment and I can’t get my hands on enough grey sweaters! My new love is the Everlane sleeveless chunky knit. Being sleeveless makes it easy to wear under jackets and it’s also dressier to wear with leather pants or skirts for a night out. The knit is so soft – I am obsessed. I dug out my old favorite Diesel Fayzas – the best jeans ever.

Fayza 3

Sneakers – Golden Goose (similar here) // Jeans – Diesel Fayza jogg jeans // Sweater – Everlane sleeveless chunky knit // Jacket – Zara

I’m hoping to go for a cheeky curry for lunch with my Husband today – it better be a hot one as our Polar Plunge arrives tomorrow 🙂 Just in time for my trip to Charlotte for a wedding bbbbrrrrr!

Oh and one last note – if you haven’t already then make sure you invest in the Urban Decay Naked palettes! Mine arrived and I LOVE them! Yes they are $50 – but you can buy 5 single shadows for that price and here you get a highly pigmented, non-dusty, easy to apply, long lasting eyeshadow palette with 12 colors. I am wearing the pinkier hues here from the Naked 3 palette.

photo

Pink and gray/grey!

Grey is a word I have terrible trouble with these days – American spelling or British spelling? It seems everyone in my family struggles with American English at times. My son demonstrated his Southern accent yesterday. He is pupil of the week in class and had to write a sentence beginning with “I feel…” to articulate his emotions on being selected. I checked his work afterwards and he had written “I feel people’s buckets with water”. Yes that’s right – he read it as ‘fill’ because as a true Southerner he ‘fee-yils’ things up. Just like Poppy brushes her ‘hay-yer’.

It’s election day here in the US today and I’m ready to vote. It’s also bloody freezing so I have the big guns out for the first time this year – my new Mango coat. I took inspiration from Pinterest for my outfit. Nothing more relaxing on a Monday evening than surfing Pinterest and catching up on Homeland while the Husband watches Monday Night Football!

pink trousers 1 pink trousers 2 pink trousers 3 pink trousers 4 pink trousers 5

 

Here’s my winter version of how to wear pink trousers. These are the J.Crew wool joggers and they are fabulous – I can’t wait to wear them with my Vince Claires in the evening. They fit big and these are a US 6.

IMG_9818 IMG_9827 IMG_9835

Trousers – J.Crew // T-shirt – J.Crew // Sweatshirt – Everlane // Sneakers – Nike from J.Crew // Coat – Mango

The t-shirt can’t be seen but it’s so fun with Ostriches from a new selection at J.Crew:

ostrich tee

 

Yesterday I was in culottes – I just flipping love these from Marks and Spencers! Less than £30 too! I am in a UK 12 medium length and they fit beautifully.

IMG_9782 IMG_9798Boots – Zara // Culottes – Marks and Spencer // Sweatshirt – Mango // Jacket – Mango (similar here)

Remember to get and vote if you are in the US!