Winter Coats 2014

Coats, possibly my favourite piece of clothing. I have far too many to wear but I can never resist at least one purchase per year. Whether it be a Parka, Cape, Cocoon, Overcoat or Trench; there isn't one of these I don't own. As much as I miss the sun there is something comforting about watching the leaves change colour and fall, knowing that I will soon be snug in my new winter coat.

I keep putting off buying this years winter coat as I know what I am like; I will be desperate to wear it and I will be wishing for the arrival of Winter which isn't fair on anyone, but the high street is bursting at the seams, and my will power is being pushed to limit.

To ease my withdrawals I have been browsing on-line and the high street is full of A/W 14 trends; military, check, pastels and to get you through the awkward autumn temperatures - my favourite - the Cape.  What coats do you love and what will you be wearing this Winter???

ASOS Coat with military Detail

ASOS Cocoon Coat

Warehouse Heavy Wash PU Panel Parka

Warehouse Check Coat

Warehouse Check Cape

 

 

 

Fabulous Fulton!

It’s arrived! My Fulton Umbrella is here and it hasn’t had to wait long for its test run.

I was woken at 4am the other morning by the clattering rain against my bedroom window and it’s the first time I have even been excited to hear rain; I knew it meant I would get to christen the Fulton.

After many years of having one soaking wet hand from holding onto my Umbrellas to try and stop them from blowing inside out, being defeated by the wind and finally resulting in the Umbrellas being thrown unceremoniously into the bin on the way to work, I decided that a solid investment had to be made.

I had no idea where to start looking as I’ve always just picked up whatever I liked the look of for as little as possible. I was - like most other women out there - under the illusion that all Umbrellas broke. Good old trusted Google pointed me in the right direction and this is how I stumbled across Fulton Umbrellas . Fulton Umbrellas hold a Royal Warrant to HRH Queen Elizabeth II and are a firm favourite at Royal events, so I thought if it’s good enough for the Queen and Kate then it’s good enough for me.

 

 I decided to go for the Huntsman in black, which is typically for men, but I think they ooze style and sophistication so to hell with convention. I also needed an Umbrella would go with everything as unfortunately I have neither the money or the space to have one for each outfit, unlike HRH herself. 

After only a couple of outings I can already feel the difference in the quality of the material and this, accompanied with a strengthened double steel rib frame and genuine wood handle, makes it feel very sturdy. 

 

If you prefer something a bit smaller and feminine I would suggest Tiny-2 Blurred Blooms, or if you prefer a clear dome umbrella then look no further than the Birdcage-1 White, which has been used by the Queen herself!

I'm sure some of you out there will be dubiously reading this and asking yourself how can I be sure of an Umbrella that has only had two outings, but this is the first time in over a decade where I have been able to walk in the rain feeling confident that I my hair will still be in place and I am not going to start work resembling a drowned rat. But the best thing about the Fulton Umbrella is that it adds to my outfit; finally I have found an Umbrella that is fashionable, functional and goes with everything!

Through the Key Hole

I have a small confession to make. I no longer live in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I am now south of the water in a leafy suburb called Low Fell, which is in Gateshead. Rest assured this is only a stone’s throw away from Newcastle so I will still be keeping up to date with all things Newcastle but it is not, as my husband describes it, “a suburb of Newcastle”.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen” I hear you cry, and I couldn’t agree more! I had become accustomed to living in Jesmond, and its array of pretentious amenities; Starbucks on the corner, Bars, Restaurants, Deli’s galore (so I could gorge on sun dried tomatoes to my heart's content) and the most expensive Tesco outside of Central London. The bubble had to burst sometime as both the Husband and I wanted to buy a house. No more hearing every movement of the upstairs flat - whether this be giggling drunk girls at 4am (when we had to be up for work at 6am) or the far too familiar sound of trips to the toilet. I could barely contain my excitement!

Unfortunately our budget couldn’t quite stretch to a house in Jesmond; upwards of £300k is the average asking price in case you were wondering, and to be honest, the most desirable locations in the Newcastle area come with a price tag, so our attention turned to Gateshead. This is not somewhere I had previously considered, and trust me there have been quite a few non-negotiables when house-hunting; free reign over the décor, a pair of Hunter Wellies for my walk to the bus, and a Fulton Umbrella. Love can do funny things to you, and I'm here in Low Fell with a driveway, stairs, a utility room and a garden - things that I never thought I cared about, but now couldn’t live without.

So I thought what better way to get reacquainted with my readers than to give you a sneaky peak into my house.

NE Style Smart revamp!

I'm back!!

Well readers, if you are still there after my 7 month absence, thank you very much, but if you're not, who can blame you?  Whilst I am sure some of you were relieved that I have stopped clogging up your newsfeeds on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ with my ramblings about fashion, I feel that I owe an explanation for my impromptu disappearance to those of you who have continued to remind me that I haven’t blogged for a while, as if I wasn't aware of this.

My disappearance has been down to two things.  Firstly, I got a new job; no I did not replace a certain stony faced women at American Vogue, but it was a career goal so I felt that it deserved my full attention.  The second was that I bought a house, and for those of you out there who have gone through this hideous process, you will be able to appreciate why my blog has been neglected.
Since my life has had somewhat of a revamp in the last 7 months I feel that it is only appropriate that my NE StyleSmart should too!

My first love will always be fashion but as my life is evolving (a PC way to describe getting older!) I just don’t have the money or the time to spend every weekend buying new clothes.  I now have a house to decorate, a garden to maintain, a job that I actually enjoy and let's not forget the husband! 

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t to say that I am a nest of tables away from middle aged hell (for those of you who don't know - I wasn’t until I bought a house - these are essentially the Russian doll of the table world; smaller tables within tables) only ever to be used when guests need to somewhere to put their cup of tea! I also nearly came out in hives on a recent trip to the local retail park, where I nearly suffocated in a sea of linen trousers and ¾ length shorts. 

Fashion will still feature heavily on my blog, it just won’t be the only thing.  You can expect to see interior design, food, pubs, days out and events, but one thing that hasn’t changed and will never change is where all of this is happening and that is Newcastle Upon Tyne!

OOTD Fun on the Farm

One of the things that you may not know about me, my lovely readers, is my love of pigs.  It’s definitely not something that you assume about me, what with my love of fashion and the city, but I am slightly obsessed by them and I have been desperate to go to a farm and visit some.  Another new fact about me is that I am now a Godmother so I can have a trip to children friendly places with my beautiful Goddaughter Georgie without looking a tad out of place, so on a recent day out I was able to incorporate three of my favourite things; Georgie, Pigs, and of course Fashion.

I decided to go for farmer chic with a bit of inspiration from Made in Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh; if anyone can look stylish in the country it’s Millie. I thought she looked amazing for a visit to the farm for a Christmas turkey, although not sure if Rosie the turkey agreed.

I am a huge fan of Wellies which is ironic for a number of reason, firstly that I am most definitely a city girl; I itch if am not within a mile of a local Starbucks and I live in Jesmond which for those of you who don’t know is a suburban bubble, where there is very little requirement for wellies.  I would love a pair of Hunter wellies, however I don’t feel that I can really justify the £80 price tag to walk through sodden leaves.  I have always preferred classic green wellies and I love how these wellies are not full length which avoids the dreaded calf burn. 

The perfect trousers to go with wellies have to be Skinny Jeans or Jeggings.  To be honest it’s very rare I wear Jeggings but they work a lot better if you are tucking trousers into boots, as long as they are worn with a long top, to cover one’s modesty.  I decided to go with navy Jeggings as I wanted my outfit to be classic country with a city twist.

A check shirt is a wardrobe staple and I will defy any girl that tells you she doesn’t have one.  They are ideal for a lazy day, a cover up on holiday or in my case a trip out into the country.  What is great about this check shirt is that the tie at the back so you can either wear it loose or nip it in at the waist for a more feminine effect.

I accessorised my outfit with a fur Gillet, my loyal khaki Fedora and a navy and white check Handbag.

OOTD Disney Cool

This outfit is made up of some of my favourite pieces so it seemed fitting that I wore this for one of my favourite person's birthday night out.  I wanted to wear something that was cool, fun and not too dressy.  It was also freakishly warm so I decided to wear my white blazer for one of it’s last outings of 2013.

This year I seem to have developed a fetish for all things white.  I have bought white Jeans, white Cigarette Pants and this white Blazer with cropped sleeves form Primark for £7 in the sale, and yes I am aware of the irony of the words Primark and sale being in the same sentence.  White is so simple, sophisticated and can add style to any outfit, but be wary if you are a klutz!  A stained white garment is not a good look!

I bought this Mickey Mouse T-shirt from Topshop a few years ago and I have to admit that it was a Carrie Bradshaw inspired purchase.  I saw her wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt in the episode where she introduces Berger to her friends; yep you remember it, and I had to have one.  This t-shirt is so versatile.  I can wear it with anything and dress it up or down.  I think this would look great with dungarees and a pair of bright stiletto heels.  Now if only I could get on board with dungarees.

My Faux PU Leather Skirt if also from Topshop and this was a craze that I developed last year and if I’m completely honest has carried on until this year.  I am on the lookout for a leather dress so any suggestions please let me know!  I love this skirt!  It is cute and edgy at the same time; looking great with either biker boots or kitten heels. 

These suede black loafers from Primark are probably one of the best ten pounds that I have ever spent.  They are super stylish, comfy and go with almost everything in my wardrobe.  They are Gucci inspired but unfortunately the £300 plus price tag for the Horse Hair Bit Gucci Loafer is a bit out of my reach!

My khaki Fedora Hat from Topshop needs no introduction as I'm sure you've seen it in many of my previous posts and I'm sure it will be in many more to come as I adore it and will wear this at any opportunity I get.

OOTD Tesco Tartan

I absolutely adore tartan and I was far too excited to see it all over the Autumn/Winter 2013 trends.  I was hoping to inherit my grans tartan blazer but unfortunately this has been given to the charity shop so I had no other choice than to purchase some tartan attire myself.

I have chosen this super cute tartan skirt from Tesco's F&F range at the bargain price of £18.  It is so comfy and I really love the length; just above the knee but not too short that I can't wear it to work.

I have teamed this with a black fitted top with sequin detail on the shoulders which is also from F&F.  I bought this years ago and it has served me very well.  It is my top equivilent of the little black dress.  If I'm ever having a 'fat day' or want to dress up a pair of jeans this never fails; sequins and black are a life saver.

My boots are from New Look and these are another trusty purchase.  They can be quite painful to walk in but they are totally worth it, and the buckles on the side add to the punky vibe of the tartan skirt.

 

My leather black bomber jacket is from Primark, and I do love when trends are recycled and I can bring out old favourites; it also makes my bank balance look a lot healthier.

I really wanted to find a black bag to go with this outfit, but I discovered on my most recent shopping spree (posts coming soon) I really don't like black bags so again I've brought out an old favourite.  This velvet turqoise shoulder bag is from H&M and I think, if my memory serves me correctly, it was about £25.  Not only is the bag perfect and it fits everything in, but due to the amount of compliments I get on it and the amount of family members that have tried to steal this, it is a great mood lifter.