Tag Archives: Zara

Off to the Braves!

Not really pool weather here today so we’ve decided to head off to watch the baseball. I love going to Turner Field. It’s even more fun now the kids are old enough to sit through the whole 9 innings – as long as I take enough snacks to feed an army. I ran this morning so I’ve earned my pretzel and beers:)

It’s hot here but last time I wore shorts to the Braves game I sweated like a very sweaty thing on the plastic seats – nasty – I walked out looking like I’d had an accident…so today it’s neon jeans in an effort to stay cooler, or at least drier on the plastic seats! The planning that goes into an outfit can never be underestimated!

Jeans – Gap neon flamingo // Sneakers – Golden Goose Francy // T-shirt – Zara (old)

Before I start chanting at the Ted – as I was perusing the Boden Preview (20% off PRV3) yesterday, I thought I’d take a gander at the clearance section for this season. There are so many fabulous items currently discounted. I grabbed three sweaters that, in my eyes, are absolute bargains for the coming Fall.

This Cashmere crew neck in almond is divine – reduced from $148 to $88.80 – a bargain for cashmere. If it works out I may order more colors.

I’ve had my eye on this drop shoulder jumper in yellow all season and now it’s reduced to just $34 so I snapped up the yellow and the silver thank you very much.

Finally today is a very important day for a very dear friend – Happy 40th Birthday Mrs. School Gate Style – you’ll love your 40s I promise!

Bowie.

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There’s a bit of a theme developing here. Normally my Husband accuses me of channeling the 80s all the time – well not at the moment – I’m all about the 70s. Remember this photo of Gwen Stefani I shared the other day?

Well as soon as I saw Asos were offering 20% off over Memorial weekend I snapped up the Bowie t-shirt! I’m thrilled with it. I’ve bought more from Asos this season than ever before, and everything has been great quality, with free shipping and returns whats not to love? Right now they are offering 30% off accessories and shoes and there are some great deals!

Shoes – Isabel Marant Bobby sneakers // Skirt – Zara // T-shirt – Asos // Jacket – Zara // Watch – men’s G-shock

Unintentionally my Essie ‘DJ play that song’ nail polish was the perfect match for the t-shirt!

While the kids were at camp this morning I snook into the mall. I know I should never do this – especially when I know the sales are starting soon. I had been casually admiring this jumpsuit on the Zara site and just assumed that there was not a chance in hell that both the bottom and top half would fit. The large would be too big in the butt, and the medium too small across the boobs. Well they had a medium hanging there – new on the rack – so what the hell I tried it! OMG it was perfect – it’s a lovely crepe material – really light for the summer, and it is much more of a strawberry color than the website pic suggests. SO 1970s – so Saturday Night Fever – where’s my mirror ball and John? It’s coming on vacation with me – damn that means I need to bring a pair of heels too!

No rest for the wicked.

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I’m sneaking in 5 minutes to myself to do this post. Remind me – the other day I said things slowed down in the summer? Not so today – camp, dentist appointments for the kids, lunch, then a play date here for Poppy. Doesn’t sound too much does it, but I feel like I’ve already earned my wine. I’m telling you stay at home Moms/Dads are goddesses/gods in my eyes. I do not have the requisite levels of patience to do this every day:) Having said that I’m having much fun watching them wear each other out in the paddling pool outside.

Pants – Matalan (old) // Sneakers – Converse charcoal // T-shirt – Zara (old)

School’s out for Summer!

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Yes it is the last day of school today!!! Early here, but we go back on the 7th August, plus we always seem to finish before Memorial Day which is this Monday, and the unofficial start of Summer. The pools are open and summer camps begin – the rhythm of life changes. I love it – less routine, with far lazier starts to the day. I woke Poppy this morning to the gentle refrain of me singing ‘School’s Out’ – nothing but encouragement to get her out of bed – though, as she had lost a tooth yesterday, she was pretty spritely looking for her gift from the tooth fairy. Is it wrong that I had to take cash out of her piggy bank for the tooth fairy? That’s what I call recycling:)

Once she was up, and had written her thank you card for her teacher – she burst into tears poor thing. I thought she was going to be excited about the end of school, but it must be bittersweet. The fact she was so sad to finish 1st grade confirms we’ve had a brilliant year, with fabulous friends and a wonderful teacher. Now I just have to convince her that 2nd grade will be twice as much fun!

Shoes – Vince Nina // Trousers – J.Crew café capris // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – Zara (old)

Old friends, a birthday, a Eurovision song contest and wedding talk!

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It’s been one of those amazing weekends. I still feel on a high, though slightly weary after a weekend of excesses. Karin and Simon left this morning to head back to Stockholm but it was a memorable weekend.

Yes I did help choose the rings:) I think Karin found my advice invaluable…BUT I have promised not to share photos of it before the wedding in August. Needless to say it is a classic and stunning. The boys and girls then parted ways, as the ladies took on some hardcore shopping. Two pairs of Jimmy Choos, a Jimmy Choo clutch, a Coach handbag and a pair of ballet flats later Karin was all shopped out. And you’ll never guess what – I didn’t buy a thing!! I was having so much fun offering advice that I got my shopping endorphins vicariously through Karin.

I did however do some ‘browsing’ and I fell seriously head over heels (pun intended) for these Miu Miu jazz shoes!

Had I had 2 glasses of wine at lunch instead of one I’m quite sure this McQueen clutch would have come home with me.

Then I took some photos of a potential birthday present – I like to help my Husband out with a couple of pointers:)

As for Karin’s haul here’s one pair of the gorgeous wedding shoes – these are for the ceremony.

Naturally we had to get a pair for dancing in too:)

This is the bag that Karin walked away with from Coach. I adore the style – so slouchy and the interior design is perfect. I am lusting after it in yellow. Coach seem to have really upped their game recently and are moving away from the heavily branded C logo bags – thank goodness.

On Friday night after a tiring day of shopping we all headed out to our favorite restaurant where Simon proposed to Karin last year. MUCH fun was had. I was thrilled to wear my Ted Baker dress for the first time!

Dress – Ted Baker (no longer available online) // Shoes – Nine West // Clutch – YSL // Bracelets – Tiffany & Co // Ring – David Yurman

On Saturday it was Poppy’s birthday so after presents we went to her favorite BBQ joint for lunch. Later that afternoon she had the time of her life dancing to the Eurovision Song contest! We were SO excited that we managed to stream it live – quite giddy with excitement actually!

Yesterday we headed out for a little more shopping. You’ll be relieved to know this time I did actually leave the Mall with something. Two things in fact. I am enamored with Gap at the moment and I left with 2 pairs of jeans. The neon were in the sale in store but don’t appear to be online.

I LOVE these paint splattered skimmers. Both pairs are very stretchy and I managed to get into a 27″ in both so definitely size down.

On Sunday night we headed out for steak and fabulous red wine. Yummy – those 27″ might not fit today.

Shoes – Zara // Jacket – Zara (similar here) // Blouse – Zara (old) // Trousers – Zara // Clutch – YSL

Today it is a day for comfort and drinking lots of water. The sun is shining here again after a weekend of rain – not that we noticed it – we were having so much fun. Till next time our special friends.

Sandals – Zara // Skirt – Asos // T-shirt – Boden (similar here) // Neon scarf – Forever 21

A graduation and buying wedding rings!

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It was Hugh’s Pre-K graduation yesterday. I shed a couple of tears of pride. Where have the past 5 years gone? It’s a cliché, but true, your children grow up so fast.

Dress – Zara (sold out online but in the TRF section if you’re looking in store!) // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

The lady with the red trousers is Shirley. She adores Hugh – she cared for him in the baby room at the daycare and now babysits for us. I was so touched that she came to see him graduate.

We arrived home just in time to meet Karin and Simon, our friends from Sweden. They are visiting for the weekend. It’s a year since Simon proposed to Karin here in Atlanta, so this visit we get to chat about wedding plans and we’re off to choose wedding rings today!! Well rather they are off to choose them – but you know how I like to be involved and share my opinion. Fortunately Simon has known me for 23 years so has probably learned to accept/tolerate my interference by now:) I hope to share photos of the selected rings later. In the meantime my Husband kindly advised me to avoid wearing turquoise – apparently it could be interpreted as me trying to wear the store’s signature blue.

Jeans – H&M // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – River Island // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

Pounding the pavements.

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Inspired by Martha’s post I went for a run this morning for the first time in months. Injuries and my new love for spin has kept me off the sidewalks, but a looming weekend of partying spurred me on today – plus the weather is perfect here – blue skies and crisp air. It felt great – just a casual 4 miles – but it reminded me why I love running so much. I earned my scrambled eggs that’s for sure and Mumford & Sons gave me an added spring in my step for the last half mile.

I wasn’t sure what to wear today – I changed my mind a couple of times. Our friends from Sweden arrive tomorrow for the weekend, and I have Hugh’s pre-K graduation and Poppy’s birthday celebrations – so lots of activities and outfits to plan! In the end, after yesterday’s post, I got the legs out again. This time with the Zara skort that has been featured on 80% of the blogs I read – admittedly worn by girls half my age. I have the white too and the fabric is lovely and stretchy and comfortable. You only know they are shorts from behind – and they are short shorts so make sure that razor goes all the way up the back of the leg!;)

Skort – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-shirt – Forever21 // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker

Gwen’s love for Zara.

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My fellow blogger, Hollie, and I are both great admirers of Gwen Stefani’s eclectic rock and roll style – she always looks perfectly put together. Her make up and hair are always immaculate, even for a trip to the park with her sons. It was while Hollie and I were chatting about Gwen the other day that I realized Gwen is a fan of Zara! I have spotted her in three Zara items just this weekend – who’d have thought it? Gwen obviously embraces pairing high and lower end items – good for her!

Two of the items also happen to be in my closet – no surprise there. The first is the sarong skirt – I love how she has styled this over leggings…There’s a David Bowie t-shirt on Asos that I have been umming and ahhing about for a while now – it could be the perfect tee to replicate this look.

Next up is my jacket last worn here. Now I’m not necessarily a fan of her styling here but each to their own…though if I was Italian I’d wear that t-shirt in a heartbeat.

Finally I spotted this photo of her wearing these Zara pants heading to Chuck E. Cheeses – please Gwen how could you bear to step foot in there? I’d rather stick pins in my eyes.

These photos of Gwen always make me want to to wear red lipstick more often and I’m pretty sure images of her have influenced my choice of attire today.

Jeans – Primark (old) // T-shirt – Gap (from the sale) // Jacket – Zara // Sneakers – Golden Goose

Finally – I think my children are trying to tell me something – buying these cards obviously amused the Husband no end…I hope you all had a fabulous Mother’s Day!

Poppy’s Card (I’m suddenly ‘Joanna’ not ‘Mommy’):

Hugh’s Card:

My Mother’s Day lunch.

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We don’t really celebrate Mother’s Day in this house. Partly because I always forget about it – once I have remembered the UK Mother’s Day earlier in the year, I forget all about the US Mother’s Day. Plus it always falls around Poppy’s birthday – which as she will tell you is far more important. So my title today is a bit misleading. My lovely Husband is on his way back from the office to take me out for margaritas and tacos at our favorite Mexican, while the children are at school. Once school finishes in 2 weeks we won’t have much opportunity to indulge in a long lazy lunch without them – so I’m turning it into my Mother’s Day lunch without children – heck I might even go crazy and have two margaritas.

Top – Zara // Jeans – H&M coated skinnies (old) // Shoes – wedge heels DSW (Old – similar here) // Bag – Boden leather fold over clutch (BEST bags ever!)

Abercrombie & Fitch and Marketing 101

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Dipping in and out of the social media channels today I’ve noticed a lot of irate posts and comments regarding a recent article in Business Insider about the comments made by the Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries. Basically he has said that he only wants ‘cool, thin, beautiful people wearing Abercrombie’s clothes’. Reading the comments stirred me – but not into resolute agreement with the dissenters I’m afraid.

Before I continue I will preface with saying I am not fatist, remember? I’ve been there, and I know what it’s like not being able to buy the clothes I want. Even if the sizes were available – at my largest I really should not even have been thinking about wearing some styles from stores like H&M and A&F.

So back to what Mr. Jeffries said. Anyone who has studied Marketing 101 knows that every great (and not so great) brand has a target. You sacrifice being everything to all people in order to become niche with a certain core target. In theory all brands are exclusionary. Cartier market to wealthy individuals, Jenny Craig market to those that want to lose weight, Walmart target to those that want to ‘Save money. Live better.’, and Lane Bryant market to plus size women. Where are the complaints about these brands being exclusionary? I bet if you saw some of the white boards in those offices with the brand’s target demos, psychos and guiding principles written out, you would shudder to see who it really is they want buying their product.

I disagree completely with The Daily Mail’s summary regarding the furore – “But it might be time to change this dated business model. Plus-size, generally referring to U.S. 14 and above, makes up 67per cent of America’s purchasing population.” Let’s stop increasing this number and start addressing the problem by getting healthier America! I’ve often aired my hope that Zara doesn’t start vanity sizing for the US. Their sales are not as good here as in Europe due, it is said, to the larger average size of the American woman. Put bluntly a lot of American women can’t fit into Zara’s Large (very few of their clothes go to an XL). Keep the clothes as they are – those that are desperate to wear the clothes and can’t, can go for a run and stay away from the chocolate.

Now I do realize this isn’t just about being ‘large’. It’s also the reference to needing to be a ‘cool kid’ to shop there – and I get that. There are all sorts of pressures on children as it is – never mind them worrying about being cool enough or not to wear Abercrombie, but ‘kids that are cool’ versus ‘kids that are not’ is nothing new. Yes I have watched The Breakfast Club way too many times. As far as I am aware most high schoolers can’t afford to shop in A&F without their parents chipping in – so surely that is where a parent helps to guide them with their clothes choices? If, as a parent, you oppose the brand’s targeting practices don’t shop there.

So in conclusion to my random thoughts on the subject – I actually applaud Mike Jeffries for being open about his target market – it really doesn’t take much to work it out. I can’t see it damaging A&F, in fact for many it will become more desirable – and for those objectors there are many other places to shop.

Poppy's Style

My blog about fashion, family, friends and fun.

Tag Archives: Zara

Off to the Braves!

Jeans – Gap neon flamingo // Sneakers – Golden Goose Francy // T-shirt – Zara (old)

Bowie.

Shoes – Isabel Marant Bobby sneakers // Skirt – Zara // T-shirt – Asos // Jacket – Zara // Watch – men’s G-shock

No rest for the wicked.

Pants – Matalan (old) // Sneakers – Converse charcoal // T-shirt – Zara (old)

School’s out for Summer!

Shoes – Vince Nina // Trousers – J.Crew café capris // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – Zara (old)

Old friends, a birthday, a Eurovision song contest and wedding talk!

Dress – Ted Baker (no longer available online) // Shoes – Nine West // Clutch – YSL // Bracelets – Tiffany & Co // Ring – David Yurman

Shoes – Zara // Jacket – Zara (similar here) // Blouse – Zara (old) // Trousers – Zara // Clutch – YSL

Sandals – Zara // Skirt – Asos // T-shirt – Boden (similar here) // Neon scarf – Forever 21

A graduation and buying wedding rings!

Dress – Zara (sold out online but in the TRF section if you’re looking in store!) // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

Jeans – H&M // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – River Island // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

Pounding the pavements.

Skort – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-shirt – Forever21 // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker

Gwen’s love for Zara.

Jeans – Primark (old) // T-shirt – Gap (from the sale) // Jacket – Zara // Sneakers – Golden Goose

My Mother’s Day lunch.

Top – Zara // Jeans – H&M coated skinnies (old) // Shoes – wedge heels DSW (Old – similar here) // Bag – Boden leather fold over clutch (BEST bags ever!)

Abercrombie & Fitch and Marketing 101

Jeans – Gap neon flamingo // Sneakers – Golden Goose Francy // T-shirt – Zara (old)

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Shoes – Isabel Marant Bobby sneakers // Skirt – Zara // T-shirt – Asos // Jacket – Zara // Watch – men’s G-shock

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Pants – Matalan (old) // Sneakers – Converse charcoal // T-shirt – Zara (old)

Related articles

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Shoes – Vince Nina // Trousers – J.Crew café capris // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – Zara (old)

Related articles

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Dress – Ted Baker (no longer available online) // Shoes – Nine West // Clutch – YSL // Bracelets – Tiffany & Co // Ring – David Yurman

Shoes – Zara // Jacket – Zara (similar here) // Blouse – Zara (old) // Trousers – Zara // Clutch – YSL

Sandals – Zara // Skirt – Asos // T-shirt – Boden (similar here) // Neon scarf – Forever 21

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Dress – Zara (sold out online but in the TRF section if you’re looking in store!) // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

Jeans – H&M // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – River Island // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

Related articles

Share this:

Skort – Zara // Jacket – Zara // T-shirt – Forever21 // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker

Related articles

Share this:

Jeans – Primark (old) // T-shirt – Gap (from the sale) // Jacket – Zara // Sneakers – Golden Goose

Related articles

Share this:

Top – Zara // Jeans – H&M coated skinnies (old) // Shoes – wedge heels DSW (Old – similar here) // Bag – Boden leather fold over clutch (BEST bags ever!)

Related articles

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