I'm the first to admit that I own too many clothes, far too many. My wardrobe's rails are tightly packed and require a two handed approach on each occasion. When the mood takes me I adopt a ruthless strategy and bag up plenty to take to the charity shop but even so I somehow end up filling it back up again before long. I essentially need just a entire room dedicated to displaying all the clothes at their best (and hiding the ones that don't fit).
This year I haven't worn all that many tank tops as it's been often so cold that huge jumpers and coats have been the only option. That medium temperature of cool but not freezing is elusive. This amazing vintage top was a Christmas gift from Kezzie who is a talented present buyer indeed - it's so me! And the pretty heart necklace as well actually!
This colour combination is working for me; I struggle to know how to wear this neutral shade skirt but powder blue, bottle green and gold seem to rub along together nicely.


Eyeliner and I reacquainted ourselves at the weekend.
Here's to awesome vintage pieces!
Take care,
Sophie

 I love to wear precisely what tickles my fancy each day. Weekends and holidays of course. Much as I adore cosy knits and oversized jumpers, I wish they weren't a necessity (along with the twelve to twenty two layers beneath them to keep my warm. Vests that shrink in the wash and only reach my belly button are on my blacklist. As are tights which now seem to be a more appropriate size for someone half my stature. Let's face it, who actually has the time or inclination to hand wash anything these days?  

It's been so chilly the last few weeks that I'm practically living in this scarf as part of my permanent address. Fear not, I also went out wearing a coat, gloves and sexy bobble hat but I'm sick of the sight of myself trussed up in all that garb. The days of going out in a simple dress seem so distant.

This weekend was a bit of an uneventful one, mostly due to woeful weather. Neverthless this week has almost all it's posts started with plenty of pictures from last week and recent thoughts so there's lots to keep your eyes peeled for.
Have a great Monday,
Sophie

This black tote bag is absolutely smashing, a real gem. Not only is it the perfect size for me, but of good sturdy leather construction along with a sealing zip and inside pockets. I love this cute handle for carrying while I'm out and about, though I could pop on the shoulder strap if I want to keep my hands free. The black bag is out of stock but good news: it's still available in navy as well as a great range of handbags of which I particularly like  the blue satchel and purple clutch.


I'm a fan of a long drop necklace and this beauty is right up my street. There is such a beautiful collection of jewellery and accessories there which complement and coordinate with the selection of clothes. This jewel drop necklace is very similar to mine, utterly gorgeous and a real go-to choice piece.

If you want to take advantage of my exclusive discount code at Mandy's Heaven which gets you 20% off use STICKS20 at the checkout. Let me know what tickles your fancy!
Sophie
Thanks to Mandy's Heaven for sending me the accessories for me to feature. All content and opinions my own.

Oh hello, you've found me.

I know it's somewhat ugly to have muddy boots in shot but guess what? The ground is muddy and I didn't parachute in.

The forest is an enchanting place to be; on first glance you might think it's all dead or at least dormant but there is so much going on. Just stand very still, close your eyes and open your ears to take in all the sounds you might have missed.

Crisp leaves are covering the forest floor in a flaky carpet which is steadily rotting from the bottom up. The remnants of chestnut shells are scattered here and there with the nuts themselves long gone.

If you look carefully there is much more to see ut I'll tell you about that another time.

Wearing my vintage tweed midi skirt, old shirt, old necklace, random assortment of jewellery, thick Primark tights and yard sale boots. Carrying a smile, model's own.

Sophie

There are always a few items in my wardrobe that although look awesome on their own, seem to be a problem to wear alongside anything in harmony. I'd been feeling that way about this skirt and jumper; both bought on the recent trip to Bury St Edmunds with my charity shopping partner in crime Hazel. As with many a cherished item, the jumper was carefully folded and put on my wardrobe shelf an over the weeks ended up shoved right to the back, safely out of my short arms' reach and there it remained until the weekend. After delving into the floordrobe for a good while I was puzzled about where the possibly only unworn jumper was to be found so had to undertake the jump-and-grab technique to find out was at the back of the shelf. It was annoying to find the sleeves were that weirdy ¾ length which to my mind serves no purpose barring giving me frozen wrists as well as hands. Admittedly upon reviewing the pictures I have to concur with the designer that it does look better with cropped sleeves even if the practicality is not so high.

But back to my riveting story. Owning a good number of skirts which are likely to be duplicates of my Nan's collection means that I'm no stranger to wearing granny skirts but this one for some reason was proving to resist suiting everything else. With the cold weather at the moment a midi skirt with cosy tights is a perfect combination for maximum warmth without the risk of dragging the hem through the mud. I have to declare my love for the colour combination; the turquoise skirt is a beautiful shade and seems to sit perfectly alongside the jumper (I want to say dip dyed jumper but it's more of a transition from yellow to baby blue).

Biker boots are ideal for firm terrain, I'd be wearing them all the time in winter were it not for the mud. I'm not willing to get them mucky! Necklaces are Grandma's, assorted miscellaneous bracelets and rings.

How would you style my skirt? I'm thinking heels and a jacket, maybe a printed tee? I'm thinking a lot of things now that I'm off the starting block but I want to know your thoughts.

Sophie

Jacket – Jaeger via charity shop, blouse - Joules*, jeans and boots – charity shop

When I think about how to describe my personal style the word heritage is one that springs to mind. I'm a girl who really embraces her countryside lifestyle in case you hadn't already noticed and rather relishes a bit of tweed. This classic Shirley creme horse blouse is the perfect for wearing with my favourite jacket along with jeans and riding boots. I tend to prefer a roomy fit so sized up and I feel right at home. The blouse is particularly me; gallopy horses print, optional necktie (you know I can't resist a good bow) and lovely light material. The best thing about a good quality blouse is that it stays just as wearable whenever you choose to give it a whirl, I can see myself still reaching for this beauty in ten years time. I've beome such a convert to blouses over the past few years as they are so easy to wear - a whole post coming up on this very soon!

Incidentally these boots were a find from the great charity shopping trip with Hazel last year and I'm mortified they haen't made an appearance until now. Lovely worn in leather beauties for a fiver, what a find.

I styled it up another way just for the fun of it with my heather knotted tank and trusty JC Eriksons to show you the sleeves and the neat little collar. It gives the blouse a different feel and the necklace adds that little something.

I think this should be the year for investing in some good quality classics. How do you feel about classics?

Sophie

Thanks to Joules for sending me this gorgeous blouse to review. All opinions my own

Is it just me or do I look like like Hazel in the first shot? How confusing.

Sophie

Some may say that such an outfit is frumpy but I would disagree. It certainly got me chatted up by guy in a charity shop. The rather friendly eighty something probably eyed up my skirt and kicked off the flirt before realising I was in fact young enough to be his granddaughter, bless him. Not my type, call me fussy but I like a man with the majority of his own teeth.


Upon trawling through my folders of pictures I realised that this gorgeous NYC nail polish was the perfect shade of green to co-ordinate with this jumper. Maybe next time I can be more organised.