Velvet jacket 3 ways

 I was thrilled to take part in one of the challenges on the excellent blog by Jodie, J Touch of Style. Jodie, a former dentist, showcases outfits for three age groups and features as models herself (50s), her step mother Nancy (60s) and her mother Charlotte (70s). The great thing about her blog is that the trio are constantly shopping their closet: finding new ways to wear clothes and adding unique little touches in the form of brooches and other jewellery, belts and so on.

We need to talk about....feet

For a long time I didn't get why older women were forever groaning about their feet and saying they could no longer wear high heels.
Surely, I rationalized, feet are our one true friend in that they stay the same size all our lives?
Well, I've been boning up on feet (sorry!) and it seems my ideas were all wrong.

Bright colourful leggings!

Yoga Leggs Love leggings with Puma trainers and Under Armour top 

I used to wear plain black leggings and tops for my yoga and sport. I thought I was too old for brightly coloured patterned garb. But then everyone at yoga and Repose Studio, all ages and all sizes, started wearing gorgeous patterned leggings from a local firm,Yoga Leggs. When I saw how good they looked on all women, I was hooked.

I'm sporting two brand new designs, limited editions: Love, above and Hibiscus below, with the blue top; plus a pair which are also still available (Mystical Mermaid),  And I recently cracked open two new boxes of trainers.

Scented storage and perfume memories

Part 1 of a new series on Perfume

The Perfume Society is keen to learn how we store our precious scents. On an art deco dressing table, perhaps? Or on a trolley, or in a glass cupboard? My solution is less prosaic: in a large shoe box under the bed.

Unusually for me, I have not been a great keeper of perfumes. It's a fairly recent development that I kept both the scent (even if I had stopped liking it) and the box.

Meet the Hollywood Browzer

The "Must Have" tool to sort out those pesky facial hair issues 

Hands up if you've ever wished there was an easy way of dealing with "peach fuzz", that undesirable aura of fine down that grows over our cheeks and along the jawbone.  Most of the time it's just there and not causing a problem, but sometimes in bright sunshine it's very obvious.

Then there's hair above the lip.....and hairs in the sideburns area that look untidy when you want to put your hair up.

Embroidered denim, double denim

Embroidered denim is having a moment, as is double denim. Fearing that I might look like a country and western singer, or at worse, a bit mutton, I thought I'd give it a go. The pretty embroidered jeans are from Marks and Spencer and already sold out, although there's a similar pair here. I wore the jeans first with a statement sleeve jumper from Lost Ink.

Colour analysis: updated

If you had your colors* "done" a few years ago, you probably spent an hour being draped in scarves before being pronounced a Spring, or other season, and given a swatch of colors that realistically you were unlikely to find in the shops.

I had my colors analysed in the 1980s as a journalist writing about this new phenomenon and I was proclaimed a Spring who could also wear some winter colors.

Style Imitating Art: Georgia O'Keefe "Pond in the Woods"

The SIA Challenge is a fun opportunity to match an outfit to a famous painting, open to anyone. This time it's based on US artist Georgia O'Keefe's "Pond in the Woods" and curated by Erin from Loop Looks.

Here's the painting, from 1922:
My outfit has the green and brown tones, plus the lighter "centre" colours in my fun pom poms - which are also circular of course.

Eye cream and night cream: worth the cost?

I used to have creams and lotions for literally every area of my face and body, but about a year ago I began to doubt whether all these dedicated products are worth it. I started multi-tasking with a few key products. I used my facial moisturizer in the eye area and on the neck, replacing two other products, and stopped using night cream altogether, just occasionally using a facial oil,

It's lace - but not as we know it

I don't really do lace. But one of the things I'm trying to do this year is break out of comfort zones and try new things.  

I was attracted by the rigid lace edging of this navy Ted Baker top. It also comes in a pretty blush colour. I paired it with New Look white trousers and I'm happily choosing the shorter length lately, above the ankle, without my old qualms.

Lose 10 years with 5 simple make-up tricks

You can do wonderful things with make-up. Here are five simple tricks I use to turn back time.