Little black dress that I bought in the Zara sale for the bargain price of £16 a few months back. It’s handy for evenings out and also ok for work with tights and a cardi on top. I like the simple shape with the low V-back detail:

Almost the weekend.  I’ll be swishing on Saturday and doing next to nothing on Sunday – bliss! Have a good one.

xx

A quick post to let anyone in the Borders area know about a swishing event that my friend Susan is holding in aid of The British Heart Foundation this Saturday.

Come along and swap unwanted clothes, shoes and handbags for ones that you’ll love! Bring along 2-5 items and you’ll receive fashion vouchers to exchange for things that are new to you. There’ll be beauty and jewellery stalls, plenty of raffle prizes and – most importantly – the theatre bar will be open!

Date: Saturday 19th May

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Eastgate Theatre

Ticket price: £5

Peebles is a great wee town with some fab independent shops and interesting bars and restaurants, so it’s well worth a visit. More info can be found at Swishing.com

Image copyright Swishing.com

I’ve always been a bit of a Francophile and have always loved Breton tops. I’ve owned a fair few over the years but my current favourite is from French Connection. Perfect at the weekend with jeans and ankle boots:

The red boots are from our January Take10 challenge. I dug them out again a couple of weeks ago and have been wearing them loads. It’s nice to have a bit of colour in amongst all the black, white and grey I seem to find myself in most of the time.

Top and ankle boots c/o Zalando / Jeans: Cheap Monday at Urban Outfitters / Silver necklace: H&M

Last week I decided to make the most of the bank holiday weekend by taking Friday off as well. Although the weather wasn’t great it was dry so mum, dad and I headed over to Blackford Pond where we started a walk that took us through the Blackford Nature Reserve, Braidburn Valley Park and on to Robert Louis Stevenson’s path up to Swanston Village.

Swanston Village, at the foot of the Pentland Hills, is tiny but worth seeing. It’s fairytale-esque and you fully expect hobbits to emerge from the thatched roof cottages.

After stopping off at the golf club down the road for some lunch (really good nachos) we walked back to the park and jumped on a bus to Morningside, which still has a great selection of independent shops.

I found this awesome denim biker jacket in Greensleeves - a second hand clothes shop/dress agency. I’d love to say it’s vintage but I think it’s from  Zara ’09!

Ripped, zipped, distressed – it’s all going on! Possibly the jacket that taste forgot but I love it. There wasn’t enough time left in the day for a  rummage round affluent Morningside’s great charity shops but next time…

xx

Swanston Village photo copyright edinburghspotlight.com

For this month’s Take10 challenge Debenhams invited us to pick a piece from their S/S ’12 H! by Henry Holland collection. Here’s what we chose:

The H! by Henry Holland range has some fun, quirky pieces but I think it’s aimed at girls much younger than me and I have to admit to being not all that enamoured with the semi-sheer maxi skirt I chose. I teamed it with a peplum top, ankle boots and my new orange and gold dangly ear-rings (a bit Pat Butcher!):

After taking the pic, I took the skirt into Debenhams at Silverburn, where the service has always been excellent, and exchanged it for a black and grey sweatshirt from Miss Selfridge that’s much more me.

To view the other girls’ pictures in more detail visit Jen at A Little Bird Told Me, Fritha at Fishtank Fashion, Sherin at HiFashion , Vicki at Magpie Girl, Paula at PinkBow, Ellie at Pretty Much Penniless, Lucy at Shiny Thoughts, Olivia at What Olivia Did and Harriet at Where Is Harriet?.

Thanks to Debenhams for sponsoring the challenge and Harriet for making the collage. Oh, and a massive welcome to new Take10-ers Fritha and Olivia. Great to have you on board!

Top and ear-rings: H&M / Skirt: H! by Henry Holland at Debenhams / Boots: River Island

I was cutting through TK Maxx on Argyle Street last week when this khaki patterned jacket caught my eye in the Gold Label section. Closer inspection revealed that it was my size and reduced from £320 down to £30! The brand is Edun – the ethical fashion label set up by Ali Hewson (better known as Bono’s wife).

The fit is great, the silk fabric feels lovely and the black lining provides a bit of extra interest. I’m really pleased with my bargain. Not sure if TK Maxx always has huge reductions like this or if I just got lucky this time?

xx

Jacket: Edun / Jeans: Cheap Monday / T-shirt: H&M / Boots: River Island

Simply Be sister brand Simply Yours offers a great range of plus size lingerie. They also do shapewear, swimwear and nightwear from a wide range of brands including Figleaves, Gossard, Mimi Holliday, Wonderbra and Gok Wan.

Finding the right, well-fitting underwear can be a bit of a chore so being able to order lots of different brands and try them on at home is a real bonus. Here are my favourites…

Gorgeous vintage-style lingerie:

Super-stylish swimsuits from Figleaves:

Simply Yours is well worth a look for underwear and swimwear in sizes 30A through to 50JJ.

xx

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