We all have preconceived ideas about brands, like who they are aimed at, what type of clothing they sell, what age they are for, etc… We’re all guilty of making these judgments and they can stop us developing our style and venturing outside of what is comfortable.    I’m always introducing clients to shops they wouldn’t normally dream of going into and they’re always pleasantly surprised.  Not only does it open their eyes to SO much more choice, but it also enables me to pull together a varied and hard working collection of clothes, that truly works for them.

I like to think that I’m more open minded than most and enjoy having a real mix of brands in my wardrobe, but there are a few stores I rarely visit and think won’t work for me…one of these is Fat Face.  I find their sizing a little random and rarely find anything I like in there, but a couple of months ago I was in John Lewis searching for clothes to bring to India and a spot maxi skirt caught my eye.  That's right, it was by Fat Face. So I took a little of my own advice, popped into the fitting room to try it on and ended up buying it.

I just love maxi skirts, especially when it’s hot; they’re so comfortable and cool and they look great, day or night. While I love wearing them, I’ve witnessed clients pulling them out of the wardrobe declaring they don’t know what to put with them or how to wear them, so I thought I’d illustrate just how versatile they are by pulling together three different looks, with one skirt.  

The first is perfect for a summer night out. It’s dressy yet relaxed, just right for a beautiful balmy evening.   The second look was inspired by the talented www.apair-andaspare.blogspot.co.uk I think it might actually be my favourite look, it’s so simple!  The last look has been my outfit of choice a lot recently, it’s so comfortable and I love mixing the spot print with a floral one.



1. Skirt from Fat Face.  Lace top from Topshop.  Leopard print belt from Oasis.  Shoes from Russell and Bromley. Necklaces from Warehouse and Bristol flea market.  Ring from House of Harlow. Bag from Yellow Button (Indiranagar, Bangalore)
2. Earrings House of Harlow. Belt from Topshop. Sandals from Office. Bangles from Blue Banana and Jane Kenney.
3. Top from TKMaxx. Belt from H&M. Flip flops from Gap. Necklaces from Accessorize and Asos. Bangles from India. 

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What do you think to maxi skirts? Do you have one?  I’d love to hear your favourite way to wear it, or even better if you’ve posted about this, pop the link below…I’m always on the lookout for outfit inspiration!

This post was scheduled to be up last week, but Alex and I spent the week driving around the UK saying our goodbyes to friends and family so I didn’t want to spend time blogging on my own when I could be seeing people instead.

This is the last post that will include Hendrix as we dropped him off at his new home by the sea before coming back to Bath.  It’s strange getting up and not being greated by him first thing in the morning and not having him snuggling under my desk.   Hendrix on the other hand, probably isn’t bothered in the slightest…

Dress from Zara (of course!) 1. Leather jacket from Topshop (years old), belt from Topshop, necklace from Tina Lillenthal, Ballet pups from Dune. 2. Cropped denim waistcoat from Topshop, Scarf from Miss Selfridge, Belt vintage, boots from Zara. 3. Scarf from TKMaxx, belt from French Connection, bangles a mix of vintage and Indian, boots from Zara.

I know I wax lyrical about how awesome lace is but I can’t stop myself!  It’s one of my favourite fabrics, is great for day or night and mixes so well with the other trends of the season. 

This is the dress that features in my next column for Folio magazine.  I normally buy the items I feature and take them back to the store when I’m finished, but this time I couldn’t part with it.   The shape works well on my pear shape and I love mixing cream lace with leather and studs - Courtney Love style. 

I love the shape of the dress, so I decided to keep it simple and use accessories to alter the look, but if you wanted to try something different you could swap the matching slip for another colour or layer a t-shirt over the top and tie it in a knot to pull it in at the waist.  It’s amazing how many looks you can get from one dress!

How would you wear it? Do you have a favourite dress that can be worn countless ways?

I've had such a crazy week this week (I’ve been shopping with clients in the day and sorting out their wardrobes in the evening just so I can fit everyone in!) that I almost ran out of time to do the weekly Three Was To Wear Post.  But my hubby has nipped out to walk Hendrix so I thought I'd take the opportunity to get this post up.

I’ve spotted so many dipped hem dresses and skirts around recently and, I don’t know about you, but I'm really liking them.  They were around last season too, but the fabrics were so thin and I’m such wimp when it comes to the cold that I couldn’t bring myself to wear them.  But with summer on its way there’s no stopping me.

I bought this dress back at the beginning of December and have been dying to wear it.  I’m not that keen on getting my legs out, so a skirt that’s long at the back makes me feel a little more confident about having bare legs in the summer. 

There are so many ways to wear this dress, but here are three f my favourites...

Dress from Zara   1. Tied t-shirt from Topshop, bangles a mixture of vintage and high-street, boots from Zara. 2. Jacket from Zara, belt from Topshop, shoes - Finsk from Faith. 3. Denim jacket from Zara, cropped white t-shirt from Topshop, belt from a pair of trousers, pumps from New Look. A bit of a Zara fest...as always!

My last post was all about print so I thought that for my next ‘Three Wasy To Wear’ post, I’d carry on from this and pick something in a bold print.

This jacket is from Zara…I have a kind of love hate relationship with it.  The colours are so good and the print is stunning but on the hanger, it doesn’t look great.  I spotted this blazer on the website a few weeks ago and couldn’t decide what I thought of it, so when I spotted it on a shopping trip with a client, I vowed to go back and try it on when I’d finished.  It came home with me.  I have to admit, I’m still not too sure whether to keep it or not, I do think my wardrobe could do with an injection of colour and print and I can make a whole heap of outfits with it; however it really is VERY bold!

First outfit: Jacket from Zara, stripe t-shirt from Whistles, necklace from Urban Outfitters, vintage bangles, jeans from Mimi Noor, shoes from Ash. Second outfit: Earrings from House of Harlow, dress from Tophop, belt from Topshop, boots from Zara. Third outfit: T-shirt form Evil Twin, necklace, as before, Jeans from Donna Ida, Boots from Zara.

First, I wanted to illustrate that a jacket like this can easily be worn in the day, quite casually. I’ve teamed it with a stripe t-shirt, something that’s great to have in the wardrobe.  If you’re someone who lives in white t-shirts in the summer then a striped version will just add a little more interest under jackets and knitwear. 

Next, I wanted to pull together a more summery outfit.  I can’t wait to wear this when it warms up a little more (and after some serious fake tan application too), it’s so comfortable and so me.  My leather jacket would be my usual go to jacket; however the colour of this probably does far more for me and gives the outfit a slightly different look, more boho than rock chick.

The last outfit is a little print mixing, you all know how much I like to mix my prints so you must have been expecting to see something like this one.  I think the floral jacket sits well over the skull design t-shirt, while the black skinny jeans tie the outfit together.  Sure, a cardigan would work well here too, but I tend to prefer jackets for layering as they will often enhance curves more…sometimes a long, loose, cardigan can swamp the frame.

So what do you think?  Will you be running to the shops to find a printed jacket, or sticking to block colours?

Lace dress from Oasis.

I meant to post this last week, but I was in India for the week and didn’t manage to get round to posting it…I’m not sure that the Wi-Fi in the hotel would have coped any way.  I'll tell you about India in another post, there’s lots to share with you so watch this space…

I love wearing dresses, don’t you?  They’re so comfortable and super easy to wear.  You don’t have to think about what to put with what, you just put the dress on and you’re ready to go.  This black dress is something I bought at the beginning of last season and I’ve worn it loads.  It’s a great one for dressing up and down – I’d definitely call it one of my wardrobe staples.

When I was pulling together the looks I was amazed at how many combinations I could pull together, I may have to do another post using this dress another time.  


Outfit 1.  Zara shirt, Vintage bangles, KG pumps, Zara studded bag Outfit 2. Zara jacket, vintage belt, Angel Jackson bag, Miss Selfridge scarf (I WISH it was a MQ), Dune pumps, Vintage necklace. Outfit 3. Monsoon fusion top, Topshop belt, Mulberry bag, KG heel, Accessorize ring.

For the first outfit, I’ve teamed the dress with a leopard print shirt.  I’d love to wear it tied like this over a pair of jeans but I don’t think I’ve got the guts to do that.  Tying it over this dress is far more wearable and makes the dress look more casual. 

My second outfit is definitely one to save for when the weather warms up (and for tanned legs!!) but it would work well with black tights if I wanted to wear it now. ..or maybe some floral tights!  Think I may have to get some.  I tend to wear pumps or flat shoes when I’m wearing dresses, I spend most of my time running around the shops for clients so heels just aren’t practical and I sometimes feel too smart if I wear heels for everyday, although I love the look on others.  I always wear scarves so you’ll often see them tied to my bag in case of emergency.

This third outfit is a smarter look (hence the heels).  I’ve added a lace top under the dress…I love the two laces together and have tied a tan belt round my waist to break up the sea of black. 

What do you think?  Would you like to see more outfits with this dress?

This is something that I’ve wanted to do for a while now and I hope it will become a regular feature on Hip Shapes and Bristol Fashion.  I came up with the idea when I was pulling together the post about this maxi skirt.   I mentioned then, that I will only buy something new, if I know it will go with at least three other items I’ve got back at home.  Well ‘Three Ways’ to Wear’ is an extension of this.   Some weeks I’ll illustrate three ways to wear a key item and others will focus on a particular trend.  I love the challenge of pulling together looks and outfits using the same item of clothing and proving to you that you don’t need to have an extensive collection of clothes to create countless outfits…just some imagination and a pair of fresh eyes.

As a personal stylist I’ve been through so many wardrobes and while they’re all so different from each other (one of the many things I love about my job is the variety), there are a couple of things that I see again and again.  The first is there are always at least three or four items hanging in the wardrobe un-worn with the labels still on and the other, is that some items are only ever worn a few times and in the same way.  

I want this regular feature to inspire people to experiment more with their wardrobe, to be more creative and not to be afraid to try something new.   As well as this, I’m hoping it will force me to put the time aside to regularly look at my own wardrobe, something that I’ve enjoyed doing with the challenges I’ve done, but that normally comes last after all my clients wardrobes. (On that note, I still want to do more challenges, so if you have one for me, then get in touch!).  So, what do you think? 

Well, if you like the idea then here’s my first post...
Three ways to wear a blouse.

1. Blouse from Monsoon, jeans from Donna Ida, shoes from NW3 and vintag broach 2.Blouse and jeans as before, shoes from Ash, vintage belt, cardigan from Hennes. 3. Jumper from Zara, skirt from Joy, shoes from Dune.

I’m a huge fan of blouses; I find them such a versatile item and perfect for layering.  This one is from Monsoon Fusion, a make that’s recently caught my eye.  I love the colour and the cute heart print (which surprises me as I’m not normally drawn to clothes or jewellery with hearts).  The first outfit is fairly simple, I’ve paired the blouse with a pair of skinny jeans and heels.  I love the shape of the top so I’ve kept the rest of the outfit fairly simple.  I really like the collar and the little bow round the neck so thought I’d try to make a feature of it by adding the broach. 

My second outfit is much more of an everyday look.  It’s a bit blurry, but I’m wearing my leather trainers by Ash with jeans and have tucked the top in, finishing it off with a studded belt and cardi.

And finally, I’m wearing the blouse under this crochet jumper with a skirt and flats.  The collar works quite well around the neckline of the jumper and I like the way you can see a little bit of green through the holes.  I think my favourite look is the middle one, what about you?