How to be Fashion Forward and Stay Warm
The weather outside is cold and gloomy while the shops are filling up with lovely bright spring clothes. So much of the new stock looks tempting, but shivering in your new silk dress is not a good look!
The trick is to choose a garment that you can wear now, perhaps as part of a layered outfit. When the weather is warmer, wear the item as part of a spring outfit and you can give yourself a pat on the back for achieving value for money.
The spring Boden collection has just come on-line and is packed full of tempting clothes. The striped jersey shown above gives a new twist to the classic Breton jersey with graded stripes in a pattern that would be especially flattering to those of us blessed with a pear shape. It is available in other colours, include a classic navy and white, but we like this bright blue (described by Boden as ‘delft’). The jersey is made from extra fine merino wool so should give some much-welcome warmth. As a bonus, it is machine washable.
Colour plays a big part in fashion for Spring 2011, and this cotton jersey from Joules gives a real burst of brightness. The sunshine yellow could be used to give a real pop of colour when teamed with black trousers. You could layer with a cardigan or wear it under a dress now, and then expose its full glory in the coming months.
If you can’t bear to wear anything lighter than thick winter woollies, how about some socks to brighten your look. 
These cashmere socks from MyTights cost an eye-watering £30, but they are in lovely colours and they would keep your toes and ankles toasty warm.
Fed up with black tights? The argyle tights shown below might make you smile. They come from TightsPlease and are 83% cotton, mixed with nylon and elastane for shape. They cost £11.99 and the neutral tones should go with almost anything.
Our advice is to resist temptation and leave all the pretty summer dresses and silk tops in the shop just now.
This will give you time to think about whether you really need it, and if it will work with your existing wardrobe. Who hasn't bought something on impulse, with the idea of admiring it in for a few weeks before wearing, only to wonder why you wasted your money?
In our experience this is most likely to happen when indulging in wishful thinking, such as hoping against all experience that the weather might warm up by next week, or at least the week after?
Keep warm on Long Winter Nights
One of the benefits of long winter nights is the excuse to spoil yourself you soft, comfortable clothes that are just right for sitting by the fire or lounging on the sofa with a good book.
This season we are spoilt for choice. The photo shows a selection of loungewear from Hush. This online retailer always has an excellent selection of traditional pyjamas mixed with a more modern line of loungewear. You may wish to bookmark the Hush site for your Christmas wish list!
If you need to consider lower prices, Boden offers some pretty pyjamas trousers and soft Henley-style tops. At present the Boden website also includes velvet slippers that look rather special.
Even if you choose to wear sexy satin nighties it is sometimes nice to have something cosy and warm to slip on over your nightie. It can be difficult to find something that doesn't look too frumpy.
John Lewis (as always) has a range of nightwear and loungewear. We’ve picked out this dressing gown by Cath Kidston as it looks nice and warm, as well as feminine.
Capsule Wardrobe for Autumn
Pat writes:
I sometimes wish that I had the funds to clear my wardrobe and start from scratch. The autumn collections are just beginning to appear and it is entertaining to look at the new styles and imagine a fresh start.
This is a suggested capsule wardrobe for a woman who works in a professional environment. The wardrobe basic here is a black skirt and jacket. I have added a pair of black trousers in this season’s hot style – high waist and slightly flared legs. The second skirt is slightly more casual but could be dressed up with the jacket or worn with a cardigan for ‘dress-down Friday’.
I’ve chosen 5 blouses or tops that are machine washable. My preference is for short sleeves these usually fit best under a jacket and are more versatile with fluctuating temperatures. I could not resist the lovely rose-coloured print on the Boden top (on the right), so it's in the capsule wardrobe even though it has ¾ sleeves.
The shoes include one pair of kitten heels as these are predicted to be a top trend this autumn. To ring the changes (and for practical purposes), I’ve included a pair of flats in a subtle shade of red.
The black trousers, both pairs of shoes and the rose handbag are all available from John Lewis. (I think that the bag is the best bargain at only £35).
The black skirt and jacket are from Debenhams, as well as the grey print blouse.
The pale blue and the white blouse are from Dorothy Perkins. Dorothy Perkins is an excellent source of inexpensive office-type blouses; both of these were under £25.
The grey skirt with the appliqué circles, rose-coloured cardigan, multi-coloured floral top and the rose print top are all from the Boden autumn collection.
Tights
We plan to go on wearing summer clothes for as long as possible. It is still warm enough to go without tights or socks on some days, but you won’t want to be caught out on a chilly morning with nothing. When I had a ‘professional’ job in an office, I learned to save time and stress by buying tights and pop socks in bulk. Okay, so I had a larger cash outlay at the start of the cold weather season, but I had the confidence that there was always a pair of intact tights ready in my drawer every morning. Before I started buying several pairs at the same time, I would rush to the shops during my lunch break and use the cash in my purse to buy a pair or maybe two. I would then wear these to death before repeating the exercise. Sometimes I was forced into grovelling around in the laundry basket in the morning, telling myself that no doubt my tights had freshened up during the night.
If you work in a very smart environment, and wear a suit or dress for work, I recommend buying at least 7 pairs of tights in a medium weight black or neutral colour. If you wear trousers to work consider adding some pop socks to your shopping basket. These may not be the height of fashion, but they can make new shoes more comfortable. Also, with sheer pop socks you will be more comfortable wearing ankle-skimming trousers in the winter.
In my experience the quickest and most cost effective way to buy
tights is to get them on-line. Both mytights and tightsplease have a wide selection of styles and prices.
My personal preference for colder weather is for opaque tights. Not only are these warmer, they don’t show up tiny snags as do thinner tights, so they last longer. A few tips for tights’ wearers:
· Don’t wear your expensive tights with boots with a zip on the inner calf. If you cross your legs with zip is very likely to snag your tights.
· Carry a small bottle of clear nail varnish, or keep one in your desk drawer. If you do get a snag or tiny hole, paint it with the nail varnish to stop your tights laddering.
· Similarly, keep a nail file close at hand so that you can keep your fingernails smooth. File down any snags before putting on or taking off your tights.
· Keep your toe nails neatly trimmed.
· If you are trying your hardest to look smart and are putting on brand new sheer black tights, pop on a pair of gloves and then put on the tights. It dramatically reduces the possibility of snagging the tights while you are putting them on. (It does look eccentric though.)
· Check on the packet for washing instructions. Many brands can be washed in the machine on the gentle cycle, but pop them in a wash bag to save them getting tangled with other items.
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