Tag Archives: Pia dress

Playsuits.

It’s hot and sunny here, and Spring Break next week, so my thoughts have turned to all things short. Quite literally. I have been obsessing over playsuits. Yes the name conjures all sorts of images from babies in onesies to some very questionable attire indeed. I, as you know, rightly or wrongly, tend not to follow any fashion code or rules based on age (as an aside Frank Skinner blew my mind yesterday on BBC Radio 2 saying ‘denim should only be seen next to young skin’). I wear what I feel comfortable, confident or even sexy in…and I will continue to do so till my time is up. As I love my legs (yes go on you can be proud of your body instead of criticizing it all the time!) I love to wear shorts. Combine my love of shorts with my love of jumpsuits and hey presto – the playsuit!

Marks and Spencer are just rocking my world right now. I have ordered the white draped playsuit seen on Rita Ora here. It’ll will look fabulous with my canvas Newburys or Ancient Greek Sandals.

These other playsuits from M&S are perfect beach attire for vacation. This tribal print is my favorite.

These simple playsuits are great for beach to bar and are great prices – the black at £22.50 and the floral at £25.

For something a little dressier this Lavish Alice playsuit is stunning.

So my only caveat is make sure a playsuit fits properly – it can’t be too tight or too short – and I prefer not to wear them with court shoes – I do think a flat or a boot balances out the flesh on show.

As for my outfits recently here’s one from last week pre-haircut and pre-soaring temperatures.

Poncho – Oak // Long sleeved tee – AllSaints (old) // Jeans – Boden // Boots – Black leather Rag & Bone Newbury boots

I love this OAK poncho – especially as I can wear it for Jedi training…

Then for this week as the sun has made an appearance so have some sandals along with my legs…

Jeans – Zara TRF // Sandals – Pons Avarcas in Berry // T-Shirt – J. Crew (25% off with SHOPNOW) // Jacket – Gap (old)

Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury (old – bought off TheOutnet.com last year) // Dress – Pia dress AllSaints

My Husband says my smile is broader and happier with my new hair:)

Back to Black.

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I have always loved leather. Real leather. I remember Mum and Dad buying me my first leather jacket while we were on a day out in Chester. I think it was from Lakeland Leather. I thought it was beautiful – a blouson style in ivory – it was the 80s remember. In sixth form I got a beautiful black, bat-winged sleeved blouson jacket (still in the 80s) from Whittakers in Bolton. I got it nicked the first time I wore it. Gutted.

My taste in leather has hopefully evolved but my love for leather has not changed. You cannot beat real leather. There are some good pleathers on the market and I have a couple of pairs of pleather leggings in my closet, but they just aren’t the same…sorry PETA.

I had a great pair of AllSaints leather trousers for a few years but with my constantly fluctuating waistline they didn’t hold their shape well. My glutes are non-existant and I always felt like I had a saggy arse in them – not a good look. They went to a good new home via eBay last year. Since then I have been looking for another great pair of leather jeans – jeans meaning they must have a button and fly, no elastic waists, plus patch pockets at the back – essential for giving shape to that saggy arse.

So, as I mentioned, I stumbled on a pair of J Brand moto leather jeans in Neimans the other day and I had to take the opportunity to try them. Thinking about them, I cannot stop (Yoda eat your heart out). I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about J Brand leather – J Brand, Helmut Lang and Theory always seem to top the lists. No wonder – they are breath takingly beautiful. I started with a 29″ with crossed fingers, holy smokes Batman they were too big! The 28″ was perfect on the waist – there is so much stretch in the leather it’s certainly worth squeezing into a size down as they will give. For the record I take anything from 27″ to 30″ in jeans depending on brand, and I’m normally a US6 in Zara trousers. Now the only issue with this style was the seam that runs across the top of the knee – sausage links sprang to mind. Still for those of you with no squidge above your knee they are stunning, and less than $1000 – my absolute limit for leather jeans, which yes is still shit loads, but think about what you can spend on a handbag.

Having fallen in love with the J Brand leather and now knowing my size I have found what I consider to be the perfect style. Fly – check, pockets – check, zippered ankles – check, zero sausage casing seam – check. Here they are – I SO want them.

They also come in grey which I think is stunning.

Compared to J Brand these AllSaints leather pants are almost cheap at $525 (all sense of reality and magnitude becomes warped when looking at items with 3 figures behind the dollar sign), but for me they don’t quite do it as they are missing that all important back patch pocket. AllSaints are well known for their leather work so worth checking out for almost half the price of the J Brand jeans.

So what do you think – is real leather a colossal waste of money or worth the investment?

As for my attire over the past couple of days I am completely in my comfort zone again – back to being a brunette – I really do have more fun as a brunette, and certainly feel more comfortable, almost radiant:) To celebrate the visit back to the salon I embraced my favorite color palette – black, black and black.

Boots – Newbury suede boots // Trousers – Zara coated chinos // Sweater – Uniqlo men’s cashmere crew neck

And the result….a very happy brunette.

Last night we went out for dinner with dear friends – totally amazing night, 4 hours of great conversation, 1 glass of champagne, 4 bottles of Tempranillo, 5 courses, 1 amaretto and a taxi cab home.

Totally chaotic in my bedroom and closet due to the ongoing packing debacle – please excuse!

Boots – Stuart Weitzman Highland // Dress – AllSaints charcoal Pia dress // Jacket – AllSaints // Clutch – Target

Leaving on a jet plane tomorrow so please continue to follow me on Instagram till I get back online with my shopping exploits in the UK – mwah!

Trying on the AllSaints haul, and spotting some Target gems!

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Oh good heavens above – I can barely contain myself. I LOVE it all. Secretly I was hoping that some of the purchases from the AllSaints sale would have to be returned, but nope, it’s all perfect, what’s more I ordered all the right sizes too! It arrived in four boxes so I felt like I was opening Christmas goodies all over again. My UPS delivery man thinks I’m nuts the way I shriek with delight at him at the door.

Starting with my favorite – the Riviera dress. I’d tried the jersey version earlier in the year but the jersey doesn’t drape as well and was far too revealing – at least on this old bird. The silk however is still sexy but a little more conservative at the front. Totally, totally love it. This is a UK12 and fits perfectly even across the boobs. All sizes still in stock and reduced from $330 to $132.

Now for the splurge – I adore this jacket. It is so heavy – such great quality leather and the oxblood is far less severe, yet equally as versatile as black. It’s a jacket to be worn and worn – the older it gets the better it will look. Reduced from $700 to $350 – and again available in most sizes – this is a UK 12.

Now the Diego Tee dress in natural marl. This comes up short – maybe too short for some – but I love it with these grey Newbury boots for the spring. A fun way to get the legs out. As a lover of suede I love the lightweight suede detailing. It wipes clean easily with a dry cloth so don’t be scared of it. The pocket is a single pocket that goes all the way through – make sense? Reduced from $260 to $104 and I am wearing a Medium.

Now I might just live in this over the coming weeks. The Verna gilet is SO soft and snuggly. This was a complete outsider when I ordered it – but I am smitten. This is a M/L but to be honest I think a S/M would have been fine too – it doesn’t fasten so it does’t need to fit across the chest. Reduced from a whopping $348 to $139.

Finally the Pia jersey dress. I love AllSaints for their classic draping – and this is just perfect. The skirt can be lowered or raised depending on how conservative/flirty you are feeling:) There are several colors still available and I ordered both the gray and navy for a change from black. It is reduced from $175 by varying amounts depending on the color – and right now it looks like all sizes in all colors are available . It’s driving me nuts going to their site as there are still so many fabulous pieces in the sale and they seem to be getting more stock online from their stores! This dress by the way is a UK 10 – I always size down in their jersey.

I’m so happy with my purchases – all will be great through spring and the Pia dress and Riviera dress can be worn through the summer too. See – forward planning!

Today the kids were out of school and I managed to nab a couple of hours to myself while they helped Daddy at work. I was in Target doing the domestic shop when I spotted these gems – Target do some great pieces at times!

A fab sequin skirt – just $29.99

A great quilted skirt with zip detailing – just $13.98 online now and available in black too. (Check out Fiona in her skirt here – she wore it Christmas day after picking it up on vacation here!)

A shift dress in a similar fabric – just $24.99 – I love this and it is also available in black.

This scuba dress is fabulous – no different from those that Zara offers – but a third of the price at $24.99!

The final dress that caught my eye was this red and black checked shift. How and why I left without it I have no idea. The cold has gone to my head. I can’t see it online anywhere but it was $24.99.

Here is what I wore today to brave the polar vortex – I went for winter white and monochrome.

Boots – 5050 Stuart Weitzman black suede // Jeans – Target // Jumper – Boden cashmere polo neck (similar here) // Cardigan – H&M (old)

Then to go out I opted to add my Marks and Spencer checked coat (similar here) and cashmere beanie hat from Nordstrom.

18 degrees Fahrenheit didn’t feel nearly as bad as I thought it would – it always helps when the sun is shining too! Stay warm folks.

Poppy's Style

My blog about fashion, family, friends and fun.

Tag Archives: Pia dress

Playsuits.

Poncho – Oak // Long sleeved tee – AllSaints (old) // Jeans – Boden // Boots – Black leather Rag & Bone Newbury boots

Jeans – Zara TRF // Sandals – Pons Avarcas in Berry // T-Shirt – J. Crew (25% off with SHOPNOW) // Jacket – Gap (old)

Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury (old – bought off TheOutnet.com last year) // Dress – Pia dress AllSaints

Back to Black.

Boots – Newbury suede boots // Trousers – Zara coated chinos // Sweater – Uniqlo men’s cashmere crew neck

Boots – Stuart Weitzman Highland // Dress – AllSaints charcoal Pia dress // Jacket – AllSaints // Clutch – Target

Trying on the AllSaints haul, and spotting some Target gems!

Boots – 5050 Stuart Weitzman black suede // Jeans – Target // Jumper – Boden cashmere polo neck (similar here) // Cardigan – H&M (old)

Poncho – Oak // Long sleeved tee – AllSaints (old) // Jeans – Boden // Boots – Black leather Rag & Bone Newbury boots

Jeans – Zara TRF // Sandals – Pons Avarcas in Berry // T-Shirt – J. Crew (25% off with SHOPNOW) // Jacket – Gap (old)

Boots – Rag & Bone Newbury (old – bought off TheOutnet.com last year) // Dress – Pia dress AllSaints

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Boots – Newbury suede boots // Trousers – Zara coated chinos // Sweater – Uniqlo men’s cashmere crew neck

Boots – Stuart Weitzman Highland // Dress – AllSaints charcoal Pia dress // Jacket – AllSaints // Clutch – Target

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Like this:

Boots – 5050 Stuart Weitzman black suede // Jeans – Target // Jumper – Boden cashmere polo neck (similar here) // Cardigan – H&M (old)

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