Midlifechic

As always, in the interests of clarity, I want to say that this post is in collaboration with John Lewis & Partners and they invited me to to spend a day in Oxford Street to enjoy their execution of Christmas in all its glory. As you can imagine there was a lot to see so this is a long post. You may want to prepare provisions for the journey… a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits would do nicely.

Imagine that we’re wandering round the store together, chatting as we go… I appreciate that you can’t get a word in but Mr MC would say that is true to life. So here we go, shopping with Nikki. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…

Christmas decorations

Now I’m an extremely difficult person to impress when it comes to retail Christmas Halls. When I was at Selfridges, my office was next door to the team who planned ours and I used to pop in daily from January onwards just to see the latest magic that they’d come up with. So it was almost with a sense of trepidation that I approached this one which is on the third floor of John Lewis & Partners – but my goodness they’ve excelled themselves.

Shopping for decorations can be, quite literally, a headache as you find yourself besieged by a bazaar of flashing, glittering colour. So often I find myself abandoning a basket full of mismatching baubles because I’ve bounced from one display to another, picking things up randomly along the way. Not at John Lewis & Partners though – they’ve planned a careful customer journey so that you can navigate easily through the schemes, identifying your favourite within minutes. They’ve majored on colour-led themes this year: emerald, ruby, amber, gold, jet, sapphire and moonstone. Each one is visually dramatic, I can’t show you them all or we’d be here all day but have a wander round with me while I show you what caught my eye.

Emerald Collection

This is my absolute favourite. I first saw it on a blazing hot day in June and even then it took my breath away. It isn’t often that trends for home align with fashion, they usually come a season later but this, of course, is synchronising perfectly with the green that we’re seeing dominating the clothing scene.

Each section in store begins with a themed tree so this is emerald.

The John Lewis & Partners approach is to cover most of the tree in single coloured baubles that you can buy in packs of four or twenty You can see them here on the display fixture to the left, you then add feature baubles for interest. This way, if you fancy a complete change of scheme, you can keep the cost down. The emerald scheme makes me think of the jungle and the feature baubles are quite exotic. They include peacocks, hummingbirds, dragonflies and tropical leaves.

These are my favourites, they came home with me and made the youngest jump yesterday because I’d put them on the mantelpiece in the room where he has his console, ready for the tree. The detail on the glass is so intricate and I’m hoping that if they survive cats, dogs and lumbering teens, they’ll pass down through the generations. And with that I’m starting to sound like my grandma; I still have the tipsy fairy that she gave me when I was little saying, “you’ll have this long after I’m gone!”

Lizard bauble

Tree Frog bauble

Toucan bauble

And of course there are room decorations that complement the theme too such as this toucan snowglobe

Toucan snowglobe

You can buy emerald crackers, giftwrap and even beautiful peacock glassware although some of the range has sold out online so you may have to go in store to buy it.

Full emerald collection here.

Sapphire Collection

Moving on, this theme would have been my mum’s favourite. I was ten when she declared that we wouldn’t be going to the woods to cut down a tree any more because it made too much mess – we were going to be modern (it was 1977). She made a trip to Binns (the department store in Blackpool that was the height of sophistication in our world then) and bought an artificial white tree with blue baubles. When I look back at the yellowing photographs now, I have to admire her eye – particularly as my dad was ‘persuaded’ to redecorate the room to match. (And I know that as Mr MC reads this, proverbial pennies will drop…).

So here’s sapphire in its frosty whites and blues

The feature baubles have a magical ‘under the sea’ theme that would have delighted the eldest when he was little.

My favourites:

Jellyfish bauble

Glitter fish bauble

Seahorse bauble

Full sapphire collection here

Jet Collection

This would have been the middle son’s choice – in his mind it would be Star Wars on a Christmas tree. It’s obviously been popular because stock is already showing as low online but there was plenty in store when we were there.

I know lots you have teenage sons who will show at least a flicker of enthusiasm for these baubles. These are the ones that caught my eye but there are others in the space theme.

Rocket bauble

UFO bauble

Alien bauble

Again the theme extends beyond the tree with spaceman snowglobes and light up gift bags.

Full Jet collection here

Rainbow Collection

Now here’s one for anyone who’s loved the rainbow trend that has been lifting everyone’s spirits this year – a full rainbow tree. You’ll be pleased to see that it’s even dressed in proper ROYGBIV order – you can rely on John Lewis & Partners to do things properly!

They’ve made it easy to dress – you can buy rainbow multi-packs in different sizes…

Large pack; small pack

… add a few glittery ones for sparkle…

Rainbow tube

… or choose your own from this stunning rainbow wall…

…which extends to tinsel too.

Tinsel selection

A technicoloured dream-tree can be yours! Just remember that you’ll need more of the blues and violets for the bottom than you will of the reds and oranges for the top.

And this struck me as a very easy and effective way to decorate a tree – multi-coloured  berry lights and crackers. It would look lovely in a porch if you have one – you could welcome guests with a cracker and a kiss. You’d have to buy a few spares though…depending on how hospitable you are!

Coloured berry lights

These are the crackers they’ve used, The 12 Days of Christmas, each one illustrated according to the ditty (which will now be stuck in your head for the rest of the day… sorry about that).

12 Days of Christmas Crackers

We liked these crackers too, isn’t it funny how you can instantly allocate each one to somebody you know?

Sprout Dodger Crackers

Before we leave the baubles behind, I’m just going to whiz through a few more favourites with you:

From the amber theme which is all about woodland. There was a tree for each of my boys and this would have been the youngest’s choice:

Owl bauble; robin bauble; toadstools bauble

Full amber collection

From the gold theme:

Pomegranate; Pharoah; Lion

Full Gold Collection

And there are two other themes that you can see here: Ruby and Moonstone

By this point, Mr MC was ready for a break. He doesn’t share my boundless enthusiasm for Christmas decorations. As you may remember from our Easter trip, “but where would we store them” is his repeated refrain when buying… well anything really! So as we headed up to the roof garden, I couldn’t help thinking how nice one of these reindeer would look on the patio. Altogether now “but where would we store it?!” This time I suppose he has a point.

Large outdoor reindeer

Time for a break

Isn’t this fab? John Lewis & Partners have their very own roof garden. Now the rooftops of Oxford Street have romantic significance for Mr MC and me. You see when we were at Selfridges, the secret shortcut from my office to his was across the roof. It was off limits to the public and in our early days we used to meet up there for secret assignations.

So we were already off to a good start up here when we discovered that they serve hot gingerbread gin (for me) and freshly baked pies (for you know who). Happy Days! There’s even a little ice rink but we were happy with our victuals.

Blazer (gAW18); J Crew Jumper (AW18); Finery wide leg crops AW16; Autograph leather sock boots AW16; Red crossbody XL (just seen)

Are you feeling refreshed? Then we’ll move on.

Customised Quality Street Tins

How’s this for a great gift? A customised tin of Quality Street with only the flavours you like – you can pick and mix what goes into it. And doesn’t that start a debate? Mr MC is currently sitting at his desk spluttering because I’ve just shown him the website entry from the John Lewis & Partners buyer saying that in his house, only Toffee Pennies are left over. In our house Toffee Pennies have to allocated amongst Mr MC and the boys by me because no-one else can be trusted. I, on the other hand, am very fortunate because I’m the only one who likes the orange chocolate crunch. However we all usually take great delight in throwing the strawberry delights on the fire when we reach the end of the tin – did you know they make the flames turn blue for a moment?

Anyway, if you go to the Oxford Street, Trafford Centre or Glasgow stores, you can even have your tins personalised. This is how it works. You pick up a tin and complete a form saying what you’d like printed on the lid and which flavours you’d like inside.

We were given a Garnett Street tin last Christmas by our son’s then girlfriend. I still have it but let’s just say I’m not sure how I feel about it now. It didn’t make sense to get another Garnett one though so I had to think of something up to nine letters. While it was being printed, a man with superfast hands filled it according to our ticked off list (avoiding those nasty strawberry delights)…

… and ta dah, here it is… we had a few moments in the sofa department so that we could open the tin and have a Christmas Day run-through!

You can only get these tins in store – all of the details are here.

Food and Wine Gifts

Now that we were in the mood for gift buying (well at least one of us was), it was time to go to the dedicated gift department so let me show you a few of the things I found. In the food and drinks section:

lovely crackers to go with the emerald theme. These are filled with chocolates so they’d make a great hostess gift.

Christmas cracker tub

How about gin baubles on the tree rather than chocolates… or both?

Gin baubles

Or you may just prefer a whole bottle of gin and let’s face it, lavender and echinacea or rose apothecary almost sound medicinal!

Lavender and echinacea gin; Apothecary rose gin

There was a very comprehensive offering of champagne and an ice bucket that looks to be just the right size for my kind of Christmas Day.

Four bottle ice bucket

There was gingerbread, marzipan and marshmallow galore… but no fudge… ahem John Lewis & Partners… just saying!

If you don’t have a sweet tooth, how about gourmet pork scratchings? There’s an advent calendar too.

Pork crackling jar; Pork scratchings advent calendar

Games

Now as you know, we really enjoy playing games. Other than putting food on the table, we find it’s the best way to lure the boys out of their bedrooms for a while. John Lewis & Partnrs have outdone themselves on the games front this year, I’ve never seen such a good selection of games that were new to me. Here are a few of them:

Nostalgia for the parents…

Mr Benn grab 

Pot luck – you might get a charade or a song, a dare or a joke…

Lucky Dip

This looks like the perfect one for our family – something for everyone’s different skillsets…

Randomise game

Anything with a hint of ninja has Mr MC’s interest

Cobra Paw

And anything to do with words has mine

Wordsmithery

Home Accessories

By this point we were running out of time because I knew we still needed to look at Partywear so it was a quick visit to the Lower Ground Floor to see the home accessories. The first thing we spotted was this – as if Quality Street isn’t enough there’s also a gin pick ‘n’ mix!:

Gin lovers’ cups will run over this Christmas

We found sprout plates to match the crackers…

Christmas plates

Lovely chunky martini glasses

Martini glasses

Stunning peacock gin glasses

Peacock gin glass

And gold dipped champagne flutes

Champagne flutes

I finished by stocking up on these – cocktail flavoured gums – another great hostess gift

After dinner gummies

So that was a big shopping session. I’d been asking Mr MC to point out anything he might like along the way and as always he was insistent that there was nothing he needed. Only one thing made his eyes light up…

Sassy Cider

… and he insisted it would be gone before we’d need to worry about where to keep it! Even so, I think he probably deserves a little more than that after all his hard work behind the camera this year. Gifts for men… coming soon!

If you’ve made it to the end – well done – you are a truly dedicated reader, I thank you and I’m holding out a virtual tin of Midlifechic branded Quality Street to you! I hope I’ve given you some good ideas – and helped you to get ahead of the crowds. Avanti my friends… here’s the ad to get you in the mood.

Disclosure: “Everything Christmas at John Lewis & Partners” is a collaboration however all thoughts, words and images are my own.

Other Christmas posts you may have missed

Christmas party shoes

Partywear from JD Williams

Christmas party wardrobe planning

Top 10 advent calendars

Christmas party tops

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Disclaimer: as with the majority of blogs, products featured on Midlifechic sometimes (but not always) include affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase, you are helping to support the site because a small referral commission may be paid. This contributes towards hosting fees, software costs, site maintenance and other plug-ins. Midlifechic could not exist without these small payments, so every contribution makes a big difference.

Midlifechic Christmas edit – party shoes

Another short edit from me today – this time I’m looking at party shoes. The best thing about a pair of glittery heels is that they’re the easy way to instant glamour. When the phone rings with a spontaneous invitation, all you have to do is throw them on with whatever you’re wearing, pick up your Midlifechic metallic clutch(!) and you’re party ready. The evening is yours for the taking… after…

Midlifechic edit – partywear from JD Williams

Well we’re in full party mode chez Midlifechic. In fact as we were getting ready for yet another black-tie event on Friday, Mr MC and I concluded that it must be a sign of northern frugality that our dressiest events of the year seem to fall in October and November i.e. before venues start to add their seasonal levy! So, it seems appropriate that today’s post is all about a strong northern brand…

Christmas Party Wardrobe Planning

So, continuing on from this week’s quick post about party tops, today I’m going to have a longer look at Christmas party wardrobe planning. Thank you for your response to my post on Sunday, it’s great to know that so many people are being selective about where they shop. The high street looks very different this year however, there is one big store group that we can always rely on to do the…

So, let’s think about the pleasure of the countdown. Every morning when the boys have left for school I try to sit quietly for a while. I suppose I should use the time for slotting in a few sit-ups and press-ups but it seems to be the only opportunity I have for a quiet think. As I’ve already said, at the moment I’m savouring an entry from Nigel Slater’s Chronicles every morning and when it comes to December, the joy will be augmented by an advent calendar with a small moment of self-indulgence every day.

I’m never really bothered about receiving presents on Christmas Day. As a blogger I’m given a lot of lovely things all year round and there really isn’t anything I need so I like watching everyone else have a turn for once. However, I do really enjoy opening an advent calendar, particularly a beauty one. I’ve discovered most of the beauty heroes that I now rely on by buying a good one. I find it’s worth spending a bit more and getting one that contains strong brands with decent products. Advent calendars are a bit like wine – the packaging costs a lot to make and they’re expensive to mail. After my experience of working in manufacturing I’d say that at least the first £12 you spend is going purely towards that.

However, advent calendars don’t have to be about ‘stuff’ and I’ve included two other ideas I particularly like – one is about thoughts, the other is about deeds so that you can give this year as well as receive. Let me take you through what I believe to be the best advent calendars 2018.

Best advent calendars 2018

  1. The John Lewis & Partners Beauty Calendar

Let’s start with beauty. I’d done a careful audit and this one was already my choice when I received it through the post as an early Christmas surprise from John Lewis & Partners (a huge thank you to you JL&P – particularly from Mr MC who was about to buy it for me). It’s ready and waiting on the breakfast table as you can see.

John Lewis Beauty Advent Calendar

I know what’s in it (although I’m trying to forget) and it’s exactly the sort of content I love. It includes tried and trusted luxury brands as well as an edit of new things to test in sizes that are more than just a single-use sample. It comes in a beautiful, unbranded box that you can then reuse for other members of the family by refilling it the following year. Here’s a little gallery of some of the things inside, it has 5 star reviews from everyone who’s bought it so far:

John Lewis Beauty Advent Calendar

2. The Edinburgh Gin Calendar

If you’re not a beauty fan, how about gin? Mother’s ruin – just what we need to get us through December! I have this one too although it’s not sitting on the breakfast table – that wouldn’t be the best way to start the day… or would it? There are quite a few gin calendars around this year but the reason I like this one is that it’s all gin whereas quite a few of them are padded out with tonic. The other bonus is that it isn’t too repetitive. There are a number of fruit gin liqueurs inside as well and I’m particularly looking forward to trying the frankincense and myrrh flavour. Do bear in mind that it’s heavy so I’d suggest you get it delivered rather than trying to pick it up in store.

Edinburgh gin advent calendar

3. The thoughtful advent calendar

24 reasons why I love you; this is personalised and the idea is that you think of 24 reasons that are specific to the person you’re giving it to. You can either hand write your 24 reasons or have them printed – now this would be so lovely to receive. I’m not sure that there are many midlife men who would set their minds to it but it’s the sort of thing that my mum might have sent to me when I was living in London. It would also be a lovely advent calendar for a teenager or child who’s perhaps having a bit of a rough time, or someone who’s elderly and lonely… or anyone who’s in need of a boost.

24 reasons why calendar

4. The traditional advent calendar

Of course advent calendars don’t have to be about gifts. I’ll never forget the pleasure I used to get from opening the simple picture ones when I was little. I always try to remember to buy one and the person whose turn it is to open the square has to think of a carol or Christmas song that relates to the picture. The boys used to love it when they were little and they still comply… albeit reluctantly.

Traditional advent calendar

5. The stationery advent calendar

Another useful one at a decent pricepoint that’s bound to have something for everyone. It’s a calendar that’s good to share, taking turns to open it every day. And – they’ve even thought about it from an aesthetic point of view, each day there’s a new joke and you turn the box you’ve opened around until the final one completes a Christmas jigsaw puzzle.

Stationery advent calendar

6. The sock advent calendar

Now I think this is a small stroke of genius, especially if you live in a house with multiple males. It’s an advent calendar with a new pair of jazzy, cotton mix socks for each day. In terms of value it’s an advent calendar that will last all year.

  Sock advent calendar

7. The chocolate advent calendar

I had to include a chocolate one – and this comes from one of my favourite chocolate shops – the one I have to resist when I’m waiting at Euston Station which is something I do a lot. I may appear to be thoughtful by featuring the one that has chocolates for two… but in actual fact Mr MC isn’t a great lover of chocolate so it would just mean more for me!

Chocolate for two advent calendar

8. The heirloom calendar

It’s lovely to have a really special wooden advent calendar. We have a nativity one that we bought when the boys were little although it’s a shame there aren’t more characters in the advent story because we seem to spend a lot of days unwrapping sheep and donkeys! This comes pre-filled the first time but after that, you could change the treats as the years go by.

Heirloom calendar

9. The DIY advent calendar

There are so many men in my family who would love this – my grandfather was one of the first Radio Operators in the navy during the war and worked for Marconi after he left. He was always making radios so it must be in our genes. Anyway, a fun project for some for December.

DIY advent calendar

10. The reverse advent calendar

I don’t know whether you’ve heard about this idea but it’s an opportunity to give rather than receive. It was started by a small charity called One Can in High Wycombe but you can do it for any Food Bank – the best place to find one is the Trussell Trust. The idea is that each day during December you put something into a bag for life (they ask for these so that they can reuse them). It can be staples or it could include Christmas items such as Christmas puddings – and small gifts too. In fact if you open something in your beauty advent calendar that you don’t need, pop that in as well. All you have to do is drop it off – and it’s better to do it by 20th December so that the charity has time to distribute the goodies inside. It’s an easy way to make life better for someone on your doorstep whose Christmas might not be the best one. Charity at a grassroots level – always the best.

So, a few things to consider there. I hope you treat yourself, I know some people are a bit snooty about advent calendars but they can be really good value. You see a lot of brands use them as loss leaders, including their best products in the hope that you’ll love them and become a loyal customer. Right I’m off to catch up with some comments now but I’ll be back again soon with my next Christmas instalment, in the meantime, I hope you have a lovely evening.

Disclosure: ‘Best advent calendars 2018’ is not a sponsored post

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Disclaimer: as with the majority of blogs, products featured on Midlifechic sometimes (but not always) include affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase, you are helping to support the site because a small referral commission may be paid. This contributes towards hosting fees, software costs, site maintenance and other plug-ins. Midlifechic could not exist without these small payments, so every contribution makes a big difference.

Midlifechic Christmas edit – party tops

It’s time! As soon as the blaze of bonfire night dies down, for me it’s time to look ahead to the next point of light which, of course, is Christmas. So here’s the plan. I’m going to bring you quite a few bitesized posts like this one today but they’ll be interspersed with longer ones. They’ll all be clearly headed so that even if you don’t feel like thinking about Christmas yet, you can find…

It’s understandable that prices are going up. We all know about the impact of the fall of sterling since the referendum but one of the things that concerns me is the fact that as prices are being hiked, quality is falling. To be fair some brands are doing this to minimise price rises however I know of others who are doing it strategically to increase their margins at a time when overall sales are down. You’ll particularly notice it in the finish of things – the weight of the jersey or cashmere you’re buying, the quality of the buttons or the detailing on things like cuffs and hems.

I’ve worked with lots of different retailers and so I have some insight into all of this. The ones that I find myself turning away from are those who buy according to quotas. They have store and warehouse space to fill and a particular margin to achieve. Buying becomes less of an art and more of a bean-counting job as they speed through a conveyor belt of overseas suppliers who are mass producing cheap clothing with minimal regard to the environment or working conditions.

I have sympathy for buyers who are targeted on sales and long ago lost the luxury of caring about things such as the cut and cloth of an item or whether it will actually flatter the woman who eventually buys it. The blame of course lies with the retail overlords. It’s an age old story and you don’t need me to tell it to you. But as we are now in what retailers call the ‘golden quarter’ when they expect to make most of their profit, it has led me to make a couple of decisions. Of course my opinions alone won’t change anything but they may nurture a small sapling of thought that is already growing within this community.

I’ve been sitting on the fence as far as House of Fraser is concerned. I haven’t covered them since the summer but I’ve been watching their progress carefully. I’m aware that their stores are the lifeblood of many high streets in small cities around the UK so I was hoping that all would turn out well after Mike Ashley’s ‘rescue’ package. However I’m horrified by the fact that customers who had (often large furniture) orders outstanding have still not had them fulfilled or refunded and have, on some occasions, been asked to pay for them again. It’s worth knowing that returns ordered from the new website are not always being refunded either – you can read more about it here. So, I’m taking a stand and will not be including House of Fraser products on here. I’m keeping a close eye on Debenhams and Mike Ashley’s involvement there too, although I rarely cover Debenhams anyway. As The Sunday Telegraph said of Ashley today,

“The tracksuit-and-trainers tycoon is fast emerging as the high street’s bottom-fisher extraordinaire, waiting in the shadows until a troubled company has run out of options, then stepping in at the very last minute to pluck it from the jaws of death.

To the untrained eye, this is the mark of an unrecognised hero. Mike Ashley: the saviour of retailers in distress. Hardly. This is cynical opportunism, the behaviour of a trained vulture, circling wounded prey until the very last moment. The bones are picked over and the tastiest cuts torn off. The rest is left to rot. It’s an approach borrowed straight from the Philip Green school of business…”

This brings me to the Arcadia group: Topshop; Topman; Dorothy Perkins; Evans; Wallis; Miss Selfridge and Burton. I’m referring, of course, not only to Phillip Green’s business model but his management style. I’ve never worked for Arcadia but I know plenty of people who have and their experiences of bullying were similar to the ones that we’re hearing about in the press. I have rarely included clothes from any of these brands because the quality is consistently poor and I won’t be covering them this season.

I’m glad I’ve got that off my chest although I’m not telling you what to do. However I do think that as intelligent women we should think carefully about where we spend our hard earned salaries. In addition to the management issues, there are environmental factors that we can no longer ignore. If you haven’t seen Stacey Dooley’s programme on Fashion’s Dirty Secrets then do watch it. The thing that shocked me most is the impact that cotton production is having on the planet. As midlifers we often feel that we’re doing good by opting for natural fibres but it seems we’re not.

As you know I’ve always been concerned about the ethics of the supply chain in terms of the human cost. Next year I’m going to try to become more informed about the environmental issues relating to clothing production and without being too overbearing, I’ll drop nuggets of information in here and there as I go along.

So for this post I’m going to leave the big brands behind and look at some of the people who are doing retail differently. These are small businesses and so I have to say from the start that they can’t buy in volume and as a consequence their prices are higher. However if you spend with them you are spending wisely because having trialled all of their products, I can say that the quality is higher too. And of course their products stand apart from anything you’ll find on the high street because they’ve been designed by individuals who care about every aspect of their craft. I’ve asked them all to encourage you to shop with them by providing an exclusive offer but remember they’re tiny brands so the offers expire quickly.

Small British brands run by women

Harriet Cleverly of Cleverly Wrapped

Harriet is one of the women who is bringing the skills she gained working with big retailers to her own business. In her old life, she was both Operations Director for Gap and Head of Retail at The White Company. Like so many of us, she changed her life to work around her children and once they were all at school, she launched Cleverly Wrapped. She began with scarves and still has a stunning collection along with a number of scarf styling videos which are a great resource. This summer she moved into beachwear and now she’s launched her own cashmere jumpers along with a range of silk shirts with a grandad collar which are always so hard to find. Harriet also stocks other small brands and designers so you can be confident that if you shop with her, you are supporting the industry from the bottom up.

This year Harriet branched out into bricks and mortar retail so you can visit her in her Cleverly Wrapped shop in Stockbridge, Hampshire. It’s a real family business and Harriet’s children, husband and mum pop up on her Instagram. You can also follow her ongoing retail adventure in her online journal. She kindly sent me one of her own designs to review – a cashmere jumper in my favourite red.

I put it through its paces on a walk through the woods last weekend when I was trying to blow away the cobwebs of my virus.

Scoop neck pocketed cashmere jumper

It comes in one size which I would say should fit a size 8 – 16. It’s loose on me but not overly so and I really like the way that the pockets sit at the waist which adds a little structure. It was cold so I’ve layered it over a thermal here but worn on its own, it would scoop gently below the clavicles so it’s a very flattering neckline. The cashmere is of a lovely, soft quality. Cleverly Wrapped is a great place to find gifts for friends so do pop over and have a look.

Exclusive Midlifechic reader offer: Harriet is offering you all an exclusive 10% off everything on Cleverly Wrapped until Friday 9th October with code CHIC10%

Natalie Lake – Really Wild Clothing

Natalie’s background was in architectural design and her previous career was spent working for a large firm of architects in London. She loved shooting in her spare time and was a member of the Really Wild Girls’ Club at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School. Before long she discovered that most of the clothing that was suitable for outdoor pursuits was based on designs for men. She couldn’t find anything that flattered the female form so she began to design her own range and before long she had a new business on her hands: Really Wild Clothing.

I have to say that I particularly love the tweed which is sourced and spun in Scotland. Some of the garments are even made from Linton Tweeds – the Carlisle-based company that produces tweed for Chanel. You may remember that I had breakfast with Natalie in London recently and here I am in the Really Wild London Pop-Up trying on a tweed coat that I fell in love with – of course it’s red. It’s a size 10 so slightly small on me but look at the cut.

Harrington coat in scarlet

Really Wild specialises in all kinds of country clothing including boots in the Spanish riding style that you often see Kate Middleton wearing. At the bloggers’ breakfast we were extremely lucky and were each invited to choose a pair. Mine are proving invaluable for winter dog walking.

Spanish riding boots

Harriet works with Spanish craftsmen to design them and they are taller, more tapered and more refined than the average Spanish boot. I couldn’t decide whether to go for the narrow fit or the slightly wider fit. In the end I opted for the wider ones so that I can wear thick socks in winter. They even come with an extra insole so that if you upsize to accommodate fleece socks, you can still add the insole and wear them with skinny jeans when you want to. Here’s a close up so that you can see the beautiful detailing on them:

Wider fitting Spanish boots

Beautiful boots and well tailored clothes – do have a browse at Really Wild.

Exclusive Midlifechic reader offer: Natalie is offering 15% off full priced items until 22nd November with code MIDLIFECHIC15.

Agnieszka Wlodarska of Staples Stable

Now this one’s an inspiring story with a bit of a bump in the road. Agnieszka first got in touch with me back in April to tell me about Staples Stable and the small collection that she had just completed. In her words

“entirely self- funded, it had been a dream that I one day decided to just go for! So now I have this tiny collection of, I believe, beautiful, versatile pieces and I am trying to figure out how to show them to wider audience.”

I was instantly intrigued by her dresses and was keen to help her but then she went quiet until she got back in touch in September to tell me why. Her husband had been in a serious accident which left him permanently injured. That would be bad enough for most people but he was a semi-professional cyclist and triathlete. They spent the summer adapting their cottage in County Down for him and she believes that the resilience that he built up as an athlete is helping them to overcome their difficulties. They’re now looking ahead to a new and different future.

Most people would have reined their dreams in after a blow like that but I’m pleased to say that Agnieszka hasn’t. In fact she’s taken the really brave step of leaving her day job so I’m hoping that we can get behind her and support her. She trained as an historian and you can really see this coming through in the designs of her dresses. They make me think of Robin Hood and that means a lot to me. You see when other little girls were doing the Disney princess thing, my fantasies were always based on the Robin Hood story and it’s one of the main reasons that I chose to go to Nottingham University! I’ve always felt most at home in woods and forests and I loved the idea of taking from the rich to give to the poor – I must have been a closet socialist at the age of eight!

Now like all of the pieces in this post, we’re not talking high street prices but they’re not designer prices either. I can assure you of the quality and I love the fact that they are so different to any other dresses out there. I know where they’re being produced and it is by a dressmaker who also supplies a niche city brand that specialises in beautifully cut dresses.

So, here I am in the Midnight dress which I wore last week for a day at work followed by an evening at the theatre in Manchester. We went to see Death of a Salesman at The Royal Exchange:

Midnight dress

It’s beautifully cut, I’m wearing the size 12 and it felt as though it was made for me. The velvet has a beautiful sheen and a very subtle checked pattern. The ruching at the chest feels like a breastplate – I can imagine going into a boardroom wearing this dress, ready for a weighty meeting. However it was just as lovely to wear for the theatre as well.

Midnight dress

So, please help me to support Agnieszka. Even if you’re not in the market for one of her dresses, please can you let her know we’re behind her by following her on Instagram or Facebook.  She’s just getting going so let’s hold out a hand to her. 

Exclusive reader offer: Agnieszka is offering Midlifechic readers 20% off all of her dresses until Sunday 11th November with code MCHIC20. 

Claudia Bradby

Now Claudia isn’t new to Midlifechic, I’ve been a huge fan of her jewellery for a long time but I don’t think I’ve ever told her story before. Claudia’s jewellery journey began when she was given a diamond brooch by her husband when they lived in Hong Kong. He explained that he wanted her to have something that she would wear every day but Claudia just felt it wasn’t her style. She loved his idea but felt that the piece itself had no ‘heart’. So she explained gently that it was far too expensive to be so uninspiring and they returned it but she couldn’t find anything to replace it.

A friend came to stay and together they explored the pearl markets in Hong Kong. Claudia bought some pearl charms and put them together on a leather thongs. She started making them as simple pearl gifts for friends and then when she saw Sarah Jessica Parker wearing pearls with a grey t-shirt and jeans, she realised there was a place for contemporary pearl jewellery. All of her pieces have stories attached which is why I love them so much.

You can now buy Claudia’s jewellery from John Lewis as well as from her own website. I have a small collection of her pieces and I would say that I wear them at least six days a week. In fact most of my friends do too because Claudia’s site is the one I recommend when their husbands ask me for present inspiration.

I love all of my pieces but the ones I wear most often are the ‘world is your oyster’ necklace (Pippa Middleton is also a fan) and the ‘geo hoops‘:

However there is a new contender for my daily affections and that is the Mother and Child necklace.

Launched in celebration of the birth of Prince Louis, it has a lovely story behind it. You see before she was a princess, the then Kate Middleton was an accessories buyer for Jigsaw. Working with Claudia she designed the silver nugget that is the larger piece in this necklace. This forms the ‘mother’ part of the necklace and the pearl is the child. Extra pearls can be added if you have more children and so the one Claudia has sent me has three. As you know I love jewellery that has meaning and so I’ve been wearing this every day since it arrived.

Did you spot it with Agnieska’s dress in the picture earlier? The V neck framed it perfectly and I was also sporting my trusty geo hoops.

Mother and Child necklace; geo hoops

Exclusive Midlifechic reader offer: Claudia is offering 20% off everything until 23rd November with code MIDLIFECHIC20.

Nayna Macintosh of Hope Fashion

And that brings me to Hope Fashion run by Nayna McIntosh

Now Nayna doesn’t need any introduction because we’ve known each other for a while now and I’ve featured her on Midlifechic a few times. Why? Because I really respect what she’s doing for midlifers not only with her own brand but by being a high profile, vocal spokesperson with a lot of influence in retail. Plus I really like her and will take any opportunity to sit down with her for a glass of wine and a good chat!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Hope have a new designer on board this season and as the new collection filters through, I’m beginning to see pieces with more shape which is what I’ve been hoping for. Here’s an example:

Wrap dress

So if you haven’t looked for a while, do pop over to the Hope website because their style is really developing. The business model remains the same though, a very small team of mostly over 40 women; doyennes of retail who are committed to producing beautifully designed, high quality pieces in an ethical way. I have something new to show you with relaxed parties in mind. As you know, bias cut slip skirts are a big trend for this season and this one is in a beautiful oyster satin that skims the tummy and hangs beautifully.

Bias cut satin skirt

This is how it looks on me:

Cashmere jumper (size down); Bias cut satin skirt; Suede boots (g size up); soft silver clutch

Cashmere jumper (size down); Bias cut satin skirt; Suede boots (g size up); soft silver clutch; Mother and Child necklace; geo hoops

It’s such a fabulous soft shade that works with all of my cashmere jumpers. There’s something about the contrast of texture between satin and cashmere that just looks so luxurious.

Exclusive Midlifechic reader offer: Hope are offering 15% off full priced items until Thursday 8th November with code MLC15

Midlifechic Boutique run by… me

And so that brings me to my very last brand – Midlifechic Boutique, soon to be Fou de Coudre when I have time to stop and catch my breath. The final restock of bags for this year has just arrived and when they’ve all been sold, I’m going to close the shop for a while. It may seem counterintuitive at Christmas but after a nasty bout of conjunctivitis this week I’ve finally accepted that something has to give before I completely crumble.

So I have new stock of the iconic Pop of Colour in both orange and scarlet. This is my last run of these bags, I won’t be continuing them next year.

The portrait tote has had such good feedback that I’ve restocked in black, navy and scarlet. If you’re looking for a larger shoulder bag that converts into a crossbody at the flick of a wrist this is for you. I was contacted by someone who had bought one for her daughter who has twin toddlers and I was thrilled to hear that this feature alone has helped to restore her sanity when she’s out and about with them!

Yellow coat; Portrait tote

Quite a few of the party clutches had been pre-ordered so there is low stock on those – there are some available in soft gold, soft silver, scarlet and navy.

Navy velvet dress; soft gold clutch

The crossbody XL had a waiting list for the black so unfortunately that’s sold out already but there are a few available in navy or scarlet. And here I am with the scarlet which I converted to a clutch when we went to the theatre. I must just say how much I love this coat but I’m slightly annoyed to see that this year it’s been priced at £130 less than I paid for it two years ago. If you’re looking for a timeless coat in 100% wool in either navy or camel it’s worth looking at because I wonder if they’ve made a mistake!

Navy wool coat; Crossbody XL converted to a clutch

And if you prefer something smaller, the original crossbody is still available in scarlet. I find it particularly useful when I’m commuting with a bigger bag because I can keep all of my essentials to hand.

Right, I’m off because Christmas starts this week on Midlifechic and I have lots to do. Last year you told me that you found the short, regular posts that I did really helpful in the run up to December. So, throughout November I will be posting most days. My aim is to do a lot of the groundwork for you so that by the time we reach December, we can all just enjoy ourselves. Let’s see if we can make it happen!

Disclosure: ‘Small British brands run by women’ is not a sponsored post however I was sent samples of the products to review. Please help me to support these fledgling brands that are led by our peers.

Other Autumn/Winter 18 posts you may have missed

Midlife lately and amazing women over 50

Winter wardrobe building blocks

Chic new bags – the winter collection from Midlifechic

A week of two halves at Midlifechic

Coats knits and boots from JD Williams

Embracing autumn and bringing it in

Midlifechic edit – Marks & Spencer AW18

What I’ve been wearing and a midlife lately catch-up

John Lewis & Partners new women’s clothing review

Colour trends AW18 and how to work them

Key wearable trends AW18

How to wear Hush when you don’t do slouchy

Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo AW18 review

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