Who do you dress for? What men hate about your wardrobe……..or do they? From Jumpsuits and Harem Pants to Dungarees and Cloggs.

Just before I left for sunny Texas where I am now, sitting on the 39th floor in my temporary ‘office’ kindly lent by a friend as I have meetings here (and more about that anon), this article appeared in the Daily Telegraph - ‘Ten things men hate about your wardrobe’.  Included in the list are jumpsuits, harem pants, dungarees and cloggs.  Are we really susprised?

It’s an interesting piece, showing items of clothing worn by icons of screen and song, and including also leopard print, ankle socks with heels and a dress and heels and….er….granny chic.  The problem is that most of the wearers can get away with just about anything, frequently dress to be noticed and don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks.  They can be as quirky, whacky and kooky as they want and it really doesn’t matter.  The real problem is if you and I go out in most of the garments here we’re likely to look, frankly, ridiculous.  Incidentally, and just for the record I do love a bit of leopard print, a great dress, pair of shoes, bag, scarf of belt, so I’m not sure why that one’s included as I’m not convinced that it would get the same reaction as everything else.  Or is that me? 

So coming back to my question (which I know I’ve asked before but I thought that this merited a repeat)……who do you dress for?  Yourself or your man?  Personally I’m a huge believer in dressing for yourself, your style and your shape first.  I steer clear of anything that shrieks ‘fashion victim’ as although I want to look modern, it has to be in my own particular way.  I don’t believe that you should dress for the men in your life, that smacks of damping down your own personality to suit someone else which you should never do.  But it is great to receive compliments on what you wear and how you look, just as an add-on, don’t you know? 

So you can keep the granny chic, socks with kitten heels, suspenders showing, oversized shoulder pads and dungarees for starters.  Jumpsuits, cloggs and harem pants are definitely not for me, although I’m sure they suits someone and boyfriend jeans I think are extremely unflattering. But you will catch me in my All Saints leopard print dress, many times.  As I said, I love a bit of leopard…..

This is for the girls.  Let me know if you love or hate………. we already know what the men think.

 

 

I’ll be in Dallas for several days and definitely will be checking out the stores for something exciting and new.  The amount of temptation here is totally ridiculous………….

Please don’t forget to enter our competition for a Gift Voucher from Me & Em.  Just send me an email to [email protected] with the words ‘me and em’ in the subject line and you’ll be in with a chance.

Marc Jacobs, Halston Heritage, Elie Tahari and Alberta Ferretti-Rocking Ruffles and Romance this Spring

I think it has to be fairly safe to say that spring is now in the air along with this season’s ruffles and romance, so here are just a few of the ladylike looks, frills and flounces to be found at the very best of the online boutiques, including designers Marc Jacobs, Alberta Ferretti, Halston Heritage and Elie Tahari.  Love to love them all.
The trick with wearing ruffles and staying modern is, of course, all in the accessories.  Wear All Saints’ ivory silk ruffled shirt with your favourite skinny jeans and ballet pumps, Elie Tahari’s pink ruffled front dress with modern pointed toe heels and Alberta Ferretti’s long tiered dress with statement jewellery and the sleekest of gold sandals.
      
   
These clothes are all meant to be pretty and feminine with a contemporary feel.  There’s a very ladylike summer approaching, obviously………….

Seeing Red-Red Trousers, Shorts, Jeans and Capri Pants-Yes/No? and How to wear them

If there was ever a year and/or a season when you were going to carry off a pair of red jeans, shorts, trousers (not sure) or capri pants it would have to be this one.  Having said that; checking out the designer label boutiques, net-a-porter.com seems to be the only one to have seriously taken the plunge, which I suppose was to be expected.  And theirs are the height of hot.

Red dresses, bags, shoes, belts and scarves there are in abundance, but red jeans, red shorts and red capri pants (and any other kind of red bottom) are not.  At least at designer level.  Here’s my pick from designer to high street…..Boden, incidentally, have managed a pair which they call ‘radish pink’ which are pretty, but not the rich red I was searching for. 

   

 

My advice in how to wear them is to keep it simple and modern.  A white linen or cotton shirt, a simple t-shirt, some contemporary heels or sandals and a chic tote or clutch is all you need.  Anything else, if you’re wearing red, could end up looking like overkill…………. What do you think? 

Don’t forget there are just three days left to ‘Attend’ our Mother’s Day event and win a £150 Gift Voucher from Perilla to give to your mum next Sunday.  And send me an email to [email protected] with the words ‘me and em’ in the subject line to enter our competition at www.thesiteguide.com to win cashmere and luxury loungewear by Me & Em. 

We have lots of lovely new competitions coming up at www.thesiteguide.com so don’t forget to sign up on our home page and you’ll be the first to know.

The Delicatessen with a Difference-Cheese, Hams, Olive Oils, Pies, Smoked Salmon and Sticky Puddings at the Wychwood Deli

 

The Wychwood Delicatessen is an online deli with a difference, offering cheese, hams, olive oils, pies, smoked salmon, sticky puddings and more and an extremely personal service, and I’ll bet I know which of the above attracted your attention - sticky puddings?  There are very few places where you can buy great sticky puddings online and this is one of them.

There aren’t a huge number of attractive delicatessens online.  Yes there are loads of places where you can buy deli food, the most of the websites are not tempting to browse, nor do they have a friendly and personal voice, and this one does.  And……ahem…..I did help just a little bit with the design, and we’re not quite finished but I thought you could check it out first. 

What is most important here, is that you can be certain of getting great service from Chris Moreton, the owner, carefully packaged goods, and one of the tastiest selections around, which, after all, is what it’s all about.

Here are just a few of the goodies on offer.

   

 

We’ve been having quite a discussion on the Facebook Page for www.thesiteguide.com to find out which you would prefer in a hamper from the Wychwood Deli for Easter……cheese or chocolate?  And/Or sticky puddings?  Let us know, please, as soon as you can……………………………….

Nude Shoes-Do you have yours yet?

Nude shoes are an essential staple of every spring and summer wardrobe. Call them what you will - beige, natural or taupe - nude describes them perfectly. They’re what I call a kind of ‘no shoe, shoe’. Depending on the style they can elevate you to great heights, work with everything, elongate your legs and, quite simply, are the most flattering summer shoe you can wear. Best of all, right now, you don’t have to fork out a fortune to find a wearable, contemporary pair to wear with jeans, a pencil skirt, little black dress or little pink dress, for that matter. For this reason they’re perfect travel companions too.

This season there are a lot of options, some toweringly high and others mid height. Some platform and others flat. Patent, leather and suede. Sandals, peep toes, pointed toes, slingbacks. My advice, if you haven’t bought yours yet, is to set out fast, as the best ones go quickly. Here are eight of my favourites at a wide range of prices.

We have two competitions going at the moment - For our Mother’s Day Gift Voucher with Perilla, which will win you a gorgeous cashmere scarf, scented candle, organic bath goodies and more to give to your mum please click through to our Facebook Page and ‘Attend’ our event (this will take you straight to the Event link).

And please send me an email to [email protected] with the words ‘me and em’ to sign up for our competition to win a £150 Gift Voucher with Me & Em. If you haven’t yet visited their website have a look round, from cashmere wraps to soft jersey maxi dresses and palazzo pants there’s a whole lot to choose from. Also take a look at my personal favourite - the gypsy dress. Have I bought one yet? Now that would be telling……………………………..

Win our Mother’s Day Prize - Cashmere Scarves, Gloves and Bed Socks plus Furry Slippers and Alpaca Throws in our Mother’s Day Prize from Perilla.

To help you out this Mother’s Day we’ve organised a wonderful prize, which allows you to choose from the highest quality cashmere scarves in a Perilla’s exclusive range of colours and sizes, cashmere gloves and bed socks plus organic scented candles, pamperiing bath oils and lotions, furry slippers and alpaca throws. Win this prize, which only lasts for one week, and Perilla will send you a gift voucher for £150 just in time to present on the day. I can’t think of a mum who wouldn’t be delighted with this one, can you?

I’ve know Sandra Morton of Perilla for several years now, and absolutely everything she offers is unique. The quality is second to none, the colours exclusive to her and the presentation delightful. Take a look at some of her products below and then here to ‘Attend’ (sign up) for this event.

Just click here to our Facebook Event page and RSVP to say you’d like to ‘Attend’. Then you’ll be entered. Oh and ‘Like our page as well please - all our prizes, offers and news of new websites goes here, and you have the opportunity of saying what you think. We love your comments and can’t hear enough from you, particularly about www.thesiteguide.com.

The competition for our Mother’s Day prize has started today and will last for one week only! Ending on Wednesday 30th March at mid-day.

If you have any problems ‘Attending’ this Event please let me know at [email protected].

Choosing the right Sunglasses-From Designer Sunglasses to High Street Fashion-10 of the best

If you’re anything like me you wear your sunglasses a great deal, in full sun and sometimes………….er……………when it’s not quite so sunny but quite bright. Never indoors, she says quickly. And if you’re anything like me your sunglasses are an accessory that’s incredibly important, less than your bag (maybe) but more than your shoes, surely, after all, it’s the first thing that people see when they look at you, if it’s a sunny day.

There are a lot of places where you can buy designer sunglasses online and frequently at better prices than you’ll find in the stores, but the caveat to that is knowing what suits you, and balancing off fashion victim vs face shape. Buying a new pair of ‘fashion’ shades online can be quite a risk, even if they are the latest style by Dior/Gucci/Tom Ford/Oliver Peoples.

My advice is to stick to what you know already suits your face and be careful about this season’s hot hits, unless you have serious money to burn and can go for two pairs. Of course if you’re a collector there’ll be nothing stopping you going for this season’s John Lennon style round sunglasses, retro shape and seeing the world through rose tinted glasses.

One way of finding which suit you, particularly of the fashion shades is to go to a large store, try everything on, make a note of the designer and style number and get back to your pc to find it for less, because you almost certainly will. This succeeds on several different levels; 1) you’ll find exactly what you want 2) you’ll be making a saving 3) you’ll be reducing temptation by making yourself stand back from that I-want-it-I-must-buy-it-immediately temptation most of us know only too well. Helpful? O dear……….

Some of the places online where you can order sunglasses picture them on a face shape, which I think is extremely helpful. I found this at Net-a-Porter and Karen Millen. Others, such as Forzieri, Sunglasses UK and The Sunglasses Shop don’t, but their ranges are excellent. They’re all well worth a browse.

And of course if you really want to go for it don’t let me stop you putting these Bvlgari beauties on your shopping list. Surely a snip at the price? Moi? Think I’ll be giving these a miss this summer……..Oh but think how they’d sparkle??……………………….

If you haven’t yet, sign up for our Me & Em competition, to win a £150 and choose from luxurious, wearable cashmere separates, jersey dresses, MiH Jeans and accessories. This competition will close on Tuesday April 5th at midnight but sign up now so you don’t forget…

And please come over and ‘Like’ our Facebook Page. We’re having a lot of fun there and all the offers and features can be found there as well.