When you go to the Netherlands you have to bring back something orange, right? I guess I could have opted for a keyring or a pen as a souvenir from my recent Amsterdam trip but you know me and leather, and when I clapped eyes on this orange leather jacket I was instantly smitten.

I love the colour and the simple, classic shape of it (I like biker jackets on other people but not on me). It’s from Massimo Dutti, which is a Spanish chain that’s owned by the same people that have Zara. There’s a branch on Regent Street in London but none, as yet, in Scotland.

I wore the jacket with my floral blouse and black skinny trousers for my first ever dress down Friday last week:

Dress down Friday is a minefield – it’s much easier to be suited and booted! Folks who work in corporate-land, feel free to be brutally honest and tell me if I got it horribly wrong!

xx

Leather jacket: Massimo Dutti / Trousers: Gap / Blouse: New Look / Ankle boots: River Island 

I’ve been having a look for an evening dress that will be suitable for a couple of occasions – the work Christmas do, which starts with lunchtime drinks in a bar, moves to a restaurant/club and goes on til late, and a friend’s birthday dinner at the super-stylish Prestonfield House hotel in Edinburgh. Here’s the shortlist so far…

Every year French Connection bring out a variation on their ruffle dress – a simple, chic style that won’t date and would be very versatile:

This little black dress from AX Paris is a much more purse-friendly option – love the polka dots:

Alternatively, this cream dress from Ted Baker would be a pretty alternative to black:

All dresses are available from Freemans.com. Let me know which one’s your favourite.

xx

I love velvet and I love shorts, making these my dream combination. I went up a size so they sit lower on the hips and are that little bit longer.  Although I packed a ton of stuff for Amsterdam, I pretty much lived in these while we were there:

Worn this week with a floral blouse and wedges:

Hope you’re having a great weekend.

xx

Shorts: Topshop /Blouse: New Look / Wedges: Clarks Originals

This is what I wore on Monday for my first day in the new job. I decided to play it safe with black trousers, a cream blouse and smart-ish jacket. The trousers are by Barbara Bui, bought it Cruise for £125 about 8 years ago. It seemed a hell of a lot to pay at the time but the quality is fantastic and they’ve seen me through many a meeting, pitch and interview – all things considered, a sound investment.

The blouse is very plain at the front but has some nice flouncy back detail:

Tomorrow is my first ever Dress Down Friday. I’m planning on wearing orange leather – don’t judge me, it’s beyond my control! In any case, start as you mean to go on and all that!

Have a fab weekend.

xx

Jacket & blouse: Zara / Trousers: Barbara Bui / Boots: River Island / Bag: Love Moschino   

Every winter Innocent run their Big Knit campaign, whereby they add little woolly hats to bottles of smoothies and donate 25p to Age UK for each bottle sold. This year they asked some fashion bloggers to design a hat.

I wanted to do something with a Scottish theme and remembered how much I used to love The Beano when I was a kid, so based my design on this guy (I was never anywhere near as naughty as him – honest!):

Here’s how my wee hat turned out:

Innocent also sent me an adult sized hat as a thank you. Woolly hat teamed with woolly dress – v cosy indeed!

Look out for the be-hatted smoothies next time you’re in Sainsburys or Boots. You can also get involved at www.facebook.com/innocentdrinks

xx

You know Christmas is fast approaching when every other TV/cinema ad seems to be for perfume. I don’t really take much notice of them, although I loved the David Lynch ad for Gucci that came out a few years ago – Mulholland Drive style shots of the city, great music, great clothes and the perfume’s not bad either:

I also liked the Nicole Kidman ‘most beautiful woman in the world’ ad for Chanel No. 5 (even though the dialogue is incredibly cheesy):

I’ve recently discovered the website dooyoo, which is much more likely to influence my purchasing decision than an advert. It has a perfume section where you can read user reviews and also a price comparision page so you can find out where to buy the perfume for the lowest price.

My current favourite perfume is Narciso Rodriguez: For Her, which I’ve worn off and on for a few years now. It gets 4 stars (out of 5) on the dooyoo site and there’s a handy list of links to retailers who sell it (just in case anyone’s interested – hint hint!).

xx

I was given this gorgeous Biba embroidered collar as a leaving gift from my old job a couple of weeks ago (great choice Sharon and Laura!). It’s really versatile and looks great over lots of different tops and dresses:

Worn this week with a black jumper and leopard print skirt:

I was also given a House of Fraser giftcard, which I’m thinking of using to buy this Aspinal of London cuff. Orange, gold, snakeskin, studs – what’s not to love?!

Big thanks to the guys at Equator for a fab leaving pressie.

xx