Hurrah! The first proper outing for my new boots (wearing them around the house doesn't count) for this month's Everybody, Everywear. I kept the rest of my outfit simple to let the boots shine :)

I'm on the hunt for the perfect pair of black knee high boots, something with a bit of a heel but not much, a bit casual but smart enough for work, slim fitting and right up to the knees, possibly with buckles… you think I'm being a little narrow in my search? Little bit?

I love these but they're £95 and not leather. I'd pay £95 for leather but not not leather.

I like these too but they don't have the same, y'know… 'thing' about them.

Anyhow, here they are my new brown boots again... just because I love them so much!




Love

Hello, it's been a while. I failed to post anything at all last week and missed Inspiration Monday and EBEW, I've been absent from Twitter and have not had a chance to read and comment on my favourite blogs. In short, life has been hectic.

Sadly, this is mostly due to work, but I have been up to some fun stuff too.


On Saturday I ran another clothes swap for a charity I'm involved with. It went really well and plans are already in place for the next one in early November. With the clothes that remained I decided, at the 11th hour, to join some friends that were going to a carboot sale on Sunday. At the end of the day I left with more than I'd arrived with, any clothes that my friends weren't able to sell were given to me for the next clothes swap.

Some items I've decided to sell on eBay as I think I can raise more for the charity that way - other items, like bobbled knitwear and misshapen t shirts and such, are going to be sold via Cash for Clothing. These will be sorted and sent to third world countries or those experiencing situations resulting in extreme poverty. Any items that aren't reusable go for fibre reclamation - I am determined not to let any item that is donated go to waste.

Now, I'd be lying if I said that organising clothes swaps didn't come with a few perks. You've probably already guessed that I pick up a few bargains for myself along the way. Whilst I'm at the swaps I don't have time to browse but when I get everything home and I'm sorting through it, I often find a few gems (post to come). Of course I pay for all of these items - I see it as a win-win, clothes for me, money for charity.

One lady at the carboot sale leant over my table, touched me on the hand and said "There's absolutely no need for anyone to look shabby, when there are so many lovely items like these to be had for next to nothing" A woman after my own heart...

Love

I have to be honest, I forgot about EBEW this month even though I'd voted and put it in my diary! A tweet prompt from Sophie (Thanks lovely) didn't even cement it into my mind... honestly my memory is dreadful!

My Dad is just as bad, he has to write notes for everything. I went to his house one day and he had a note on his kitchen table saying 'Hazel - Tart!', nice right? He'd written it to remind himself that his sister had baked me a blackberry tart. I did chuckle.

Anyway, EBEW this month in monochromatic and just by chance I'm almost totally black today (maybe I remembered subconsciously?). Okay, okay, so there's a little red, white and blue in there - can I get away with it by saying I'm feeling post Olympic patriotism?


I'm also sporting the bronze award pin that I received last night for giving my tenth blood donation. Feels pretty good. Do you give blood? You get free cups of tea and biscuits and people are lovely to you and keep saying how brilliant you are for donating and it doesn't hurt. Okay, maybe it does a little bit but only a teeny tiny bit.



There will be another Only Once August update tomorrow, I'm almost half way through now and not one unnecessary purchase has been made, I'm loving this challenge!

Love

Orange and pink. I love this combination and, you never know, it may even be bright enough to liven up this dull day?

See the other EBEWers here.

Love

Everybody Everywear this month is neon. After living through the 80's I didn't think that I'd ever wear neon again, but, as with every trend, if it hangs around long enough I'll grow to like it. So, here I am wearing neon, albeit a teeny tiny bit.



I found this necklace on eBay, it's an ordinary necklace sprayed with yellow neon paint. I sense some DIY projects coming on!

Check out the other outfits - I'm in love with several of them.

How are you wearing neon?

I love the idea of Everybody Everywear, I can spend hours looking through the entries. This time around green was voted as the theme.



I chose a simple outfit of cardigan, t-shirt, jeans and ballet flats. I can't tell you how pleased I am that it's finally warm enough to wear ballet flats and rolled up jeans again!

I love daytime sequins but I haven't indulged in sequins since the summer months. I really wanted to make a collar and smother it in sequins to wear with my current wardrobe crush - a plain black fitted jumper from H&M - but time conspired against me and the day arrived before I had a chance to find my sewing box! Luckily, my trusty sequin t-shirt was to hand.

Normally, this is worn when the sun shines so teaming it with winter clothes is new to me. I avoided the temptation to pair it with my favourite jeans but I had no choice but to layer it with two cardigans and a thick scarf as the temperature plummets.




I pinned a board of sequins for inspiration. I love how these ladies have taken sequins and paired them with different fabrics and layered them up for daytime wear.


I have also developed a serious crush on sequin envelope bags, much like this one from Asos.


See all the other EBEW outfits here.

How do you wear your sequins?

Today I'm wearing my beloved coral coloured jeans from the very first day of WIA for the Everybody, Everywear : Coloured Pants challenge.


During the summer months I teamed them with neutrals and sandals but as the weather turns cooler I'm going to need to re-think. Today I went for layering and brogues. A simple white vest top with a long sleeved t-shirt over the top was just the ticket.



You may be wondering what happened to the WIA challenge, it has waned somewhat. Work and other commitments have been keeping me busy, I have little time to take daily outfit photos and tend to grab the first outfit that comes to hand in the mornings... I'm not going to add to my load by beating myself up about slacking on my challenge. Life is busy and something had to give.

That said, the challenge is still there, lurking, in the back of my mind. I will complete the challenge and share the results with you. It'll just later than I expected.

Until next time...

Wearing It All Day 16
Mixing prints for Everybody, Everywear? That's a no-brainer for me -  stripes and florals.
With the exception of one dress florals, for me, come in the form of scarves. Stripey tops are plentiful.

Today I'm wearing my favourite jeans, yes - the ones that I stuck to my leg with super glue. This may be the last time I can wear them as the glue cracked in the washing machine and snapped the denim. I love distressed jeans but rips? They're not for me.

Day 15
Maxi skirt, vest top (both are going in the no pile - they never get worn) and grey cardigan (keep).
Later I changed into a black dress and popped this cardigan over the top. I went to a funeral. It didn't seem right to take a photograph.

Day 14
An outfit perfectly suited to pulling up floor tiles don't you think?
Stripe t-shirt (keep - stripes stay until the literally fall apart) and cargo pants. I'm not sure about these, they don't get worn a lot but are handy for 'stuff'. That said if the traces of floor glue don't come out in the wash they'll be going into the charity bag.

Day 13
The cardigan and vest top will both be going. The vest top is too low (the scarf saved my blushes on a number of occasions today). I don't like layering t-shirts that aren't fitted as I find they cling to each other and I bought this top for the fluidity of the fabric. I did try wearing a boob tube underneath but it was useless and just kept slipping but at least I had a nice warm tummy.


Later in the evening I had friends over for dinner so I changed into this red maxi dress. I've had it for over a year and this is the first time I have worn it. It's about four inches too long but I love it (and enjoyed wearing it) so it is staying, even if it doesn't get worn for another year.

What did you get up to this weekend? 
❤