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| Jumper Ochre £59, necklace £11 Tesco, sports luxe trousers M&S £29, boots £79, Dowlings of Whitchurch |
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| A stout pair of boots |
Jane is heading for the mountains and the Narnia-like scenery of Chamonix for four days, but as she is not a fan of flinging herself down a mountain with her feet tied to two planks, she forsook the more obvious 'pleasures' of the Alps for the gentler pursuits of reading, looking at the mountains, eating, and naturally shopping. So, what to wear? The glass hovered around freezing, and she knew she would need stout boots, so she invested in an end of season sale pair which were fur-lined and are possibly the most comfortable items which ever shod her awkward trotters. They are in soft leather and are from the delightful Dowling's of Whitchurch, possibly the most old-fashioned but brilliant shoe emporia on the planet.
She is currently embracing the pink phenomena which is entrancing the fashion world in her third pink jumper purchase in as many months, this one from a boutique called Aspire in Trowbridge was £59 in the sale. The trousers are from the store we love to hate, M&S, and are also right on trend in their sports luxiness.
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| Swimsuit, Seaholly £99, coat vintage La Redoute £70, hat £7.50, slippers £40 Sabatini |
While others get hot and sweaty skiing, Jane gets hot and sweaty in the hot tub sporting her Seaholly swimsuit from last year. To traverse the freezing decking and back, she tops this off with her vintage cuddly bear coat from La Redoute (and the land of Spare Oom) £70 and slippers £40 from a small father and son workshop in Italy by the name of Sabatini and available from La Bella Donna, Stockbridge.
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| Coat, as before, jumper £59 Mint Velvet, scarf £25, ski pants Tchibo (vintage) |
Another version of the pink jumper to feed Jane's fetish, this time from Mint Velvet. It has sleeves that button up the sides (not seen here sadly), which drew Jane's attention, but she has to report that after only two washes it has bobbled horribly and looks like it has come from a jumble sale. Verdict: utter waste of money, how irritating. Here, she is wearing it with a maroon scarf from At Last, Andover, and her elderly ski pants from the far off days when she thought that activity held some allure. It was cold, however, so she wore them anyway...
Naturally, Jane found time to peruse the shops in Chamonix. Dear readers, she must report that they consist of either designer stores (Chanel etc) with lovely but quite frankly unaffordable kit (she was drawn to a zipped cable cardi in beautiful cornflower blue but nearly fell over backwards at it's 440 Euro price tag), or rails full of cheap tat (and she's not even mentioning the many, many kit shops). The only shop to hold her attention and take her money was Planet Boot, where she purchased the are-they-gold or are-they-silver plimsoles you see above. This shop had every style and colour of plimsole or trainer known to woman, but Jane managed to leave the shop with only one pair: these are by Mustang and were 49.95 Euros.
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Top Shop coat £85. Zara trousers £29,
Seasalt brogues £65
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While Jane does her best to look chic in Chamonix (ha, ha, she couldn't resist the alliteration), Beryl is hi-tailing it to the wonders of sunny Sussex with a view to having jolly japes at the seaside.
Ok, Beryl has to be honest and say that this is not a triumph of thoughtful packing. The orange coat is a really good all- rounder, and is not so precious that it cannot be thrown on pub chairs or go to the beach, but she then forgot that the one thing that this coat really looks a bit de-trop with is the stripy trousers and yellow shoes. Even the handbag is slightly the wrong colour. So it seems that even clothes-obsessed divas have their off days. The inhabitants of Arundel were a little surprised, but Beryl has failed to bring a back-up navy coat...oh, the shame.
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| Navy blue Hobbs jumper bought in the sale for £70, scattered with stars |
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| Wallis jumpsuit, £45. |
Friday night and Beryl is out on the razz or as her Scottish husband calls it the 'ran dan'. A Freddie Mercury tribute band no less. Oh, what to wear? Does one try and look younger, sexier? Or is that just revolting? This is the eternal question for a woman of a certain age. What tends to happen is that many women cannot cope with this thought, so end up in a 'nice jumper'. The sweater choice, indicating that the wearer knows their lot, and has given up any hope of being seen as a sentient, sensual woman. Conversely, the too short skirt and skimpy top and high heels shout 'take me now, I am a desperate woman with raging hormones', also not good. Beryl is hoping that this jumpsuit lies somewhere in the middle-ground. Figure flattering, but not skin showing, Beryl hopes it signals a predilection to a spot of dancing, rather than cougar-esque tendencies.
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Top Shop velvet jacket, bought for £50, covered in diamante beads
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| Karen Millen shoes £120, Top Shop snakeskin clutch bag £60 |
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| French Connection jump-suit £100. |
Saturday night sees Beryl all dressed up in orange culottes £100 French Connection, because its her husband's birthday and they are
off to a curry house. She is of course hideously over-dressed, but has read that on the internet, men pick women in red more frequently on dating sites, and therefore pathetically is hoping for some attention.
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| Red bathing-suit Laura Ashley £55. |
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| Top Shop Jeans £59, M&S shoes £55 |
Sunday sees Beryl off to the spa, in her Top Shop embroidered jeans. Twenty years ago Beryl did not like things with bits stuck on, but either times or Beryl is changing, and she has taken to embellished jeans like a duck to water. Like most women of a certain age, she worries about looking like she is trying too hard, but actually is very comfortable with this look. The high cut M&S shoes also spark joy.
Monday sees Beryl walking on the beach and eating lunch in the Lobster Pot in a pink top £29 from Monsoon. The sky maybe clouded, but Beryl's wardrobe is a sunny place.
Tuesday morning and Beryl is back home for a meeting, which requires some grown up nice lady wear. This dress was bought on a complete whim out of Mandco, but is winning lots of compliments. Beryl tried on a more or less identical dress last year in Karen Millen, which really did not suit her, and was at least twice the price. Jane and Beryl have both learnt that a large expenditure is not guarantee of a garment being worn.
Next week Beryl and Jane check out the new season's supermarket buys.
Beryl and Jane go gallivanting
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