What I'm buying for AW 17

The good news is, I have got a new job and will be back to work very soon. While being a lady of leisure has been fun for the last few months, I'm looking forward to being back in the hubbub of office life. Plus I can splurge again on clothes!
Apologies if you don't want to think about AW17 yet. I started a few weeks ago here and here! I've been creating a mood board in my office and adding some ideas to Pinterest 

How I came up with my list

The first thing I did was an audit of my existing wardrobe. What's still good to wear? What needs to go to the charity shop? What needs to be updated?

I identified a few gaps:

• A new winter coat. Always a must-have. Although they last for years, there's always a new shape and colour each winter.  I tend not to buy very expensive, classic coats because I prefer to have a more fashionable item and to buy a new one each year
• Skirts in navy and black. I always have these staples but like to get the latest cut. 
• A tailored jacket in a dark colour. Haven't seen any I like yet. They've either been too short, or not fitted. I'll bide my time on this one.
• A glamorous dress for evenings out with Mr Mutton (and a Christmas party, if my new company has one!).
• Some well-cut silk blouses. 
• Shoes and boots. 
• A wow jumper

My Coat Choice

I was very tempted by the idea of a red coat, but I wear a lot of bright pink and I don't like the two colours together. Hounds tooth, or Prince of Wales check, is a different proposition! I'm quite excited by the idea of hounds tooth because it's a long time since this was around. The coat on my mood board is from Hobbs and hasn't landed yet (£289). 

I also like this embellished wool coat, £229, from Massimo Dutti.

My Colours

When I buy new season clothes, I keep a look out for the colours which really suit me. These are not necessarily the on-trend colours that are flooding into the stores. Boden is a really good place to find lots of colours, and I've ordered this British tweed pencil skirt in on-trend Prince of Wales check (£90) to go with the pink Bernadette jumper (£65). I'll also be looking at the new arrivals from Kettlewell to find silky polo necks and scarves. 

Silk Shirts

I find silk shirts invaluable for wearing under a blazer of jacket, or with jeans. They need to be good quality with no gaping between the buttons or wrongly shaped shoulders. I find Pure Collection great for silk blouses. 

Asymmetric skirts

I like skirts to have a bit of a shape, so either a pencil or a fluted or asymmetrical bottom. AW17 looks to have some great selections.  I've already bought this black trumpet hem skirt from Jane Norman, £25.

I'm eyeing up this navy bias cut, asymetrical skirt from Marks and Spencer:

Accessories

Accessories used to be a bit of an after thought for me. It was only when I started Is This Mutton? in earnest that I realised I needed more bags, belts and jewellery.

For AW17 I've identified a need for handbags in green and red. This cross-body leather bag  from Uterque comes in both colours, plus three others. I love the embossed faux alligator skin finish.

I'd like a wide waist belt in black, as cinching my waist over a cropped cardigan makes me look slimmer  (we learn all the tricks, girls). 

For jewellery, I'm waiting for more AW arrivals at places like Topshop and Asos before I make any decisions. Cheap costume jewellery is a great way to update a look and put a new spin on last season's clothes.

I've been buying a few hats.  The Next sale brought me fedora type hats in burgundy and navy. I'm on the look out for a killer red hat. Etsy is a great place to look. 

Shoes and Boots

Here's the thing. I have to choose my footwear carefully now, because in the last year my feet have grown wider and I have a tailor's bunion on the right foot, so I can no longer wear pointed styles. I don't like heels to be too high either. The best shoes for me are Mary Janes, heeled brogues or T-bars. Heeled brogues don't seem to be in fashion in AW17, but I didn't let that deter me. I found a US retro site, Modcloth.com,  that has an abundance of the styles I love, and in GREEN, swoon. 

Green velvet block heeled shoes from Modcloth.com, $64.99

John Lewis Adaline Cross Strap Court Shoes, Pewter, £79

The Wow Jumper

I like to buy a stand-out cashmere jumper and I'm drawn to this On Stage rainbox luxe knit from Donna Ida, £250.

The Bombshell Dress

I've always wanted a Katya Wildman Bombshell dress. They are cut very cleverly with shirring at the waist to give you a hour glass figure. I have ordered the red crepe three-quarter sleeve dress, £199, as my "congratulations" present to myself! I won't be wearing it on Mr Mutton's birthday when we go to see Mickey Flanagan (!), but I'll wear it for mine in November when we go to Scott's.

Sharing this post with Wordless Wednesday at Claire Justine, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style and Dawn Lucy at Fashion Should be Fun.

Have you bought anything yet for AW17?

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fashion over 50, wardrobe planning