Frugal Frump to Fab - 2015

indiepanda

PS Having said the shopping needs to stop here... how cute are these rose gold flats? Would go lovely with my new bag...

http://www.boden.co.uk/en-GB/Womens-Shoes-Boots/Flats/AR703/Womens-Strappy-T-bar.html

lessonlearned

Indie - enjoy the wedding. Don't know what it's like in London but it is the most glorious morning here. I am going to make the most of it and get out my sun lounger and just soak up That sun :rotfl:

Loving the chat about jeans.

I went to the chazza yesterday. I am after a full length red coat. I spotted one and pounced. Tried it on and it buried me. Wahoo. Disappointing in one sense because it was a fab coat but am dead chuffed to find that I'm smaller than I thought. I still saw myself as a bit of a little dumpling but obviously the weight loss is starting to show on my changing shape.

So...... This morning put myself on the scales and another 1lb gone, total weight loss now just over 10 lbs. I had a good look in the mirror and I can now see that I do indeed look quite a bit slimmer.

I Shall be so pleased when I drop down to a 16 - I have some really nice trousers and jeans waiting in the wings. I do like a boot cut because I'm still quite tall and I do,wear them quite long with a small heel.

My chiropodist advised me against total flats because I was having problems with a heel spur. So now even my flat shoes have a slmall built up heel, even if it's just a slight wedge shape of around an inch. I find that absolute flats make my gait wrong. I seem to waddle a bit and it hurts my back.

He did tell me that we should vary heel height and not wear the same kind of shoes all the time.

A perfect excuse for lots of nice shoes......:rotfl:

maman

indiepanda wrote: »

PS Having said the shopping needs to stop here... how cute are these rose gold flats? Would go lovely with my new bag...

http://www.boden.co.uk/en-GB/Womens-Shoes-Boots/Flats/AR703/Womens-Strappy-T-bar.html

Indie, Stop tempting me!! Good reminder that I must order Boden tops before the 20% runs out and to get them delivered before I go away. I'm away from 8th October for a week.


Skinny jeans are new to me too and like you I 'graduated' from bootleg via straights. I need to get out there and start trying some on as they vary so much from brand to brand and sometimes even within a shop in the same size!


Have a great time at the wedding. I don't think you'll be too hot in your dress as although bright the sun won't be too warm at this time of year.


Completely agree that ballet flats aren't really good for feet that's why I fall back on my Sketchers when I've lots of walking to do. I'm spending the day in London with a friend on Wednesday so they'll be coming out then. We're going to see Imelda Staunton in Gipsy at the Savoy and some of the Courtauld Gallery before that so not too far apart for walking.


Football for me today. My team is playing my 2nd favourite team from my home city and then there's the rugby tonight. I'm Welsh but lived in England for years so more divided loyalties. Whatever happens wine will be consumed celebratory or otherwise.;)


So more smart casual here. jeans and I'll probably wear a jacket as it can get chilly when the sun goes down.


Have a good day all whatever you're up to:).

chanie

I love jeans. My favourite style is skinny straight legs as they lengthen my legs, but aren't super tight. Bootcut jeans are supposed to be coming back in - I think a lot of fashion shows have had them for the last few years, but regular folk have been quite slow to abandon their skinnies. I think I'll stick to straight legs for any nee purchases for now as they are classic.

I'm feeling like I'm getting my frugal on quite nicely:
Tankini - the one I bought for my holiday faded and I've just received a full refund, after contacting the company.
Body Shop - I had to stock up on some toiletries and the sales assistant helped me work out the best way to maximise the discount codes I had.
Lush - I was buying a present for my niece and got a couple of samples to try for fabbing, once the children are asleep.

Ellsbel

I did a really long post yesterday but it's gone!!!
Wanted to say a huge congrats on the job news indie ( and those gold shoes are gorgeous:))
Brilliant weight loss ll, well done!
I love the sound of your outfit maman, it's the kind of thing I'm aiming for when my legs have slimmed down a bit! I love Imelda Staunton - I think she's great in whatever she's in - you should be in for a treat:)
I'm off to the theatre on Monday evening actually, to see Three Days in The Country - I've heard it's quite good.
Well done on the frugalness chanie - I hope you love the Lush products:)
I'm feeling slightly unfab today - tired and sluggish, partly due to the tail end of my cold lingering on, I think.
Going to bed to hopefully have a nice long sleep - I feel I need it!

3forholidays

Indie Congratulations on the job - sounds like that you can have a better work/life balance now.

I hate clothes shopping - I purchased a pair of trousers (size 6) and they are far too big. I think that I need a petite size but there is no petite range and size 6 is the smallest size available. :mad:

I have a major issue with the sizing of petite ranges (N*xt in particular) as in previous years I've been able to buy the petite size 6 which has fitted perfectly but this year I've had to buy a petite size 8 (which is far too big at the waist) as I can't even get them up! To make matters worse, you need to order the petite sizes as they only have a limited range in store. Nightmare!

indiepanda

Good morning all. The wedding was good fun - lots of work and former work chums there I'd not seen for a while. Was glad I stuck to the dress with sleeves - the restaurant we went to for the evening had seriously aggressive air conditioning and it weren't for the thick pashmina I'd taken with me I'd have froze (it really wasn't noticeably colder outside when I left to get the bus home at 11pm)

Maman and Ellsbel enjoy your theatre trips - I love going to the theatre and haven't done it often enough since I moved to London. It feels like you really need to make the most of theatre / galleries / museums to justify the expense of living in London. Good thing is now I can have a bit more control over my working day I can plan a theatre trip for the evening with some degree of confidence I am going to get to it. I've tended to go more on weekends because of the job.

I love the Courtauld Gallery - it's got some beautiful impressionist paintings in which is my favourite era. I was so pleased when they opened Tate Britain because they were making use of that beautiful old building and did such a fab job of it - but the contents don't really float my boat. Give me an impressionist or pre-raphelite and I am happy. There's one in the Courtauld Gallery by !!!!aro of the old Lordship Lane station which would have been within about a mile or so of my house. You can see where the railway line used to be in the woods nearby on part of the Green Chain walk - station was demolished over 60 years ago.

Chanie - yes I've noticed boot cuts appearing in the shops again. It took me a while to persuade myself to buy some slimmer fitting one (I thought erroneously they'd make my thighs look bigger) but once I'd got some my then boyfriend used to tell me how much better I looked in them till the bootcuts got put to the back of the drawer only for use when I'd been really slack at doing the laundry. I don't think I would go back unless it was to get one dark pair of what they call slim boot cuts and only then in a length suitable for wearing with heels only. But am not sure it'd be worth it given how little I wear heels these days.

Ellsbel and 3forholidays thanks for the congratulations on the job. It's sinking in that it's happening now and I can just feel a weight lifting off my shoulders.

3forholidays good reminder being slim is no guarantee of success on the clothes shopping front. It's all about the different proportions each shop decided to cut to. If I am honest with myself, I used to have just as much of a problem clothes shopping when I was a size 10 teenager as I do now at 16. I had more choice of styles that would look good then as there really weren't any wobbly bits to conceal. However, my waist was so tiny compared to my hips getting things like jeans to both go over my bum and not gape at the waist was a nightmare. It usually took more effort to find jeans to fit then that now.

I feel for people who are petite. I am 5'4" which in theory is average height, but in most places I find I have to wear the shortest leg length, in jeans / trousers and some skirts fall at a rather frumpy part way down the calf length when they should be just below the knee. I've bought outfits in Precis Petite, which is meant for 5'3" and under, which are perfect for me - so I am not convinced would be right on someone of 5' for example.

Being genuinely short must mean seriously restricted choices or a good relationship with a local tailor or learning how to use a sewing machine. Still, I guess being really tall is just as bad if not worse - hard to find things long enough and not as easy to extend clothes as it is to shorten.

Am off to lunch with friends from the local area today to celebrate my birthday - it's not till Wednesday but I wanted to do it on the weekend and my boyfriend is taking me to Barcelona for my birthday next weekend so it can't be done then. Haven't seen some of them for a few months so really looking forward to it. And the sun is out which is always nice - shouldn't get drenched on the way to the pub. Have to decide what outfit to wear - this might be my last chance to put on some ballet pumps before it becomes boot weather so maybe build something around those...

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone. x

chanie

I'm 5ft. I buy or out trousers for work, which fit nicely. I get my jeans from uniqlo as they alter them for free. Tops, I'm generally okay with. I don't find shopping too much of a chore as I generally know what will suit me. If I know something isn't going to look right, I walk straight past it, towards something that will look good. I wear lots of Jersey materials, which I think helps.

The thing I like about straight leg\skinny jeans is that they are easy to alter, whereas with bootcut jeans, they don't look right when you take them up.

indie happy birthday.

Rose_Wood

I'm only 5 foot too and find it's not only leg lengths that are too long, but sleeve lengths too. I'm quite handy with a needle though so am quite happy to alter things - especially if its only cost a couple of pounds from a charity shop.

I'm not feeling at all Fab today as I have a cold and a cough, and my ears are hurting. I've got DGD for the whole week too so I'm crossing my fingers that I don't pass it on to her. She had Thurs and Friday off school with sickness and diarrhoea so I don't want her to come down with something else. She passed it on to DS and DDiL who spent yesterday being ill - just as they are due to go on holiday! They're not flying till tomorrow morning so hopefully will be ok.

I'm going to have a really early night and hope that the restorative powers of sleep work wonders, especially as after the school run I am at work for several hours. We have a school visit and I'm doing a talk to them so don't want to be coughing and spluttering through it.

Hope everyone else is feeling well.

Rose

shandyclover

3forholidays wrote: »

Indie Congratulations on the job - sounds like that you can have a better work/life balance now.

I hate clothes shopping - I purchased a pair of trousers (size 6) and they are far too big. I think that I need a petite size but there is no petite range and size 6 is the smallest size available. :mad:

I have a major issue with the sizing of petite ranges (N*xt in particular) as in previous years I've been able to buy the petite size 6 which has fitted perfectly but this year I've had to buy a petite size 8 (which is far too big at the waist) as I can't even get them up! To make matters worse, you need to order the petite sizes as they only have a limited range in store. Nightmare!

Two of my daughters are size 6.

They tend to get a lot of clothes, especially jeans etc. in Zara which does small sizes. Also when they go to London or big cities they shop in Bershka, which also does their size jeans etc.