White and blue

White jeans are a summer essential for me, even though they don't deliver much value in the holiday suitcase as you can only wear them once!

Normally it takes me ages to find a decent pair. They need to have a heavyweight fabric, not too thin, and of course look flattering. I was thrilled to find that the first pair I tried, from Boden, were keepers. White jeans look nautical and summery with blue and stripes - and fab for evenings with a sheer tunic top and statement sandals.

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fashion over 50, white and blue

Mother's Day weekend in Devon

The weather finally came good for Mothering Sunday and I went down to Devon on Thursday to stay with my mum, June.

Mr Mutton didn't come as he is Marathon training in earnest for London in April, and had a big race to photograph for his club.

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fashion over 50

The scents of our lives: it's National Fragrance Day

Today (Tuesday 21 March) is National Fragrance Day and to celebrate, five lovely ladies are sharing with us the scents of their lives.

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Beauty, Fragrance, Lifestyle

Polka Dots, Pearls and Navy

I'm very keen on polka dots and I have been known to mix them with stripes (shock horror!). Here my casual outfit has a bit of a 50s vibe with the cropped jeans and wedges. Pearls work with any outfit I think, and these outsize numbers are a good companion to the polka dot circles.

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fashion over 50

5 simple ways to get a good night's sleep

It seems everyone is having trouble sleeping these days. Even school children, we're told.

There are sleep clinics, various herbal remedies (none of them work, by the way) and no end of lore on the internet on how to sleep.

I'm a lark: I go to bed quite early and I'm usually up by 6am, and I used to sleep all the way through Lately, I've been waking after three or four hours and having to read for a while before getting back to sleep.  Our ancestors used to do this, apoparently, and made good use of their waking time, doing chores and socialising. But nowadays it's frowned on.

But I am a firm believer in good sleeping habits or "sleep hygiene" as it's often called. Here are my five rules for sleeping well:

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Lifestyle

Outfits that give us confidence

We all have a couple of outfits that are our "go to" outfits when we need to feel confident. When I'm going to an event such as a conference or interview where I need to impress, I can always depend on my black jacket (above) worn with trousers which are "of the moment" - as in cropped trousers today - and either metallic boots in winter or sandals or edgy flats in summer.

The jacket is a MaxMara but was an amazing bargain. I was rummaging in the House of Fraser department store in Swindon a few years ago when, on the sale rail, I found this divine jacket. And it was reduced to £10!

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fashion over 50

Mother's Day gifts for the older mum

With Mother's Day in the UK on March 26, there will be a flood of articles very soon on gift ideas, mostly aimed at mums my age or younger.

Which is great, except that they're ignoring the older mums, the mothers of Baby Boomers.

So my gift guide is aimed at mums aged 75 and over, and is unashamedly based on what my Mum, 84, would like. I've featured her in the blog previously. 

She's very keen on buying clothes and make-up and dealing with challenges like ultra-sensitive skin and wrinkles (she says she would try Botox if she could afford it). She occasionally buys costume jewellery but doesn't care much for scent and would be quite offended if confronted with a coffret of old-fashioned, or "old lady", bath products.

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fashion over 50, Mothers Day gifts for older women

Ted's burgundy top

I may have mentioned that I have a bit of a thing for burgundy (maroon, aubergine, whatever) at the moment. It was last seen in the form of my burgundy velvet jacket. I was keen to get my hands on this top with a bow from Ted Baker.

Mr Mutton's immediate question was "does the bow come off?" (yes), but it would be a very plain top without it!

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fashion over 50

February Beauty Hits and Misses

Here's my round-up of beauty products from Feb that I loved, and some that I didn't like. First the winners, above.

February's best products

• Decléor Aroma Cleanse 3 in 1 hydra-radiance, smoothing and cleansing mousse. I wasn't expecting to find something to rival Emma Hardie's Moringa Cleansing Balm, which I love, but I liked a sample of the Decléor product and was persuaded to buy the full size product. You simply add a little water to a pearl of the white cream and it immediately turns into a thick foam, and is very easy to rinse or wipe off. It leaves the skin nicely moisturized and healthy looking.
• I'd never been tempted to try the Rosie for Autograph beauty range at M&S until I read a positive review  in the Sunday Times which encouraged me to try the Cream Blusher and Lip Shine.  How would the cream blusher fare against Hourglass Ambient blusher, which has been my go-to blusher for months? Quite well, although the Hourglass blusher stays true longer. I chose the cream blusher in romantic flush. I thought it would probably be very sheer but it's highly pigmented so I had to remove some. A nice flush but it doesn't last as long as the Hourglass.

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Beauty

Boho Florals

"Boho florals" - brightly colored florals, often in the form of embroidery, and on a black background, are everywhere. I got this dress from Marks and Spencer a few weeks ago with a view to wearing it on Mother's Day when we always go put for lunch.  M&S also have a slightly different version in separates: half-sleeve top and A line skirt.

I first tried it on with sheer black tights, thinking this would look lighter for spring, but I think the dress needs solids otherwise it looks fuddy duddy, so I added leggings, ankle boots and a cropped cashmere cardi plus a chunky necklace from Topshop. The picture at the bottom shows me wearing it "straight" with a belt, the sheer tights and Mary Janes, and I think it looks just awful. I have been mugged by flowers!

I don't feel that the boho florals look is great on me so reader, I actually sent the dress back. Now you're all going to tell me it's fantastic :-)

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fashion over 50

Aquamarine - birth stone for March

It's March! And those of you with a birthday this month probably already know that your birthstone is the beautiful aquamarine. This is a blue to green-blue variety of precious beryl, the group of minerals that includes emeralds. Let's find out more about this fresh, cool stone. 

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aquamarine, aquamarine the birthstone for March, discover the history of birthstones with Is This Mutton, Jewellery, jewelry, Lifestyle