Style, shopping and, er, stuff.

Imagine a sad, slightly resigned face; that's my face every morning when I go to put something on. Rewind a year and I was sorted, I had a pretty smart work wardrobe that I liked, plenty of 'going-out' clothes for meals/ drinks/ theatre etc and, when the time came, I managed to buy a load of cheap maternity stuff that, being honest, wasn't the most stylish stuff but as it was only going to be worn short term so I was happy to compromise style for economy for nine months. 

But now...

Now I stand in front of my wardrobe with a sad, slightly resigned face. I seem to have very little 'casual' stuff that I actually feel comfortable in, everything seems to either be too frumpy, too impractical/ young (e.g. skirts too short) or too 'clearly fashion from 18 months ago'. Everything is just a little, well, bleh.

So, I've decided to do something about it. 

I'll keep you posted on progress, it'll be slow as I don't have bags of money, but here's what progress looks like so far:

1. Make an appointment with a personal shopper
I'm going to make an appointment with a personal shopper; I've left my contact details with the one at my local House of Fraser, though by all accounts, Debenhams and John Lewis have good ones too (they don't work on commission and are free). Hopefully the professsionals can offer some inspiration as I'm currently walking round the shops like a zombie, buying things then returning them within a few days as they don't feel like 'me'.

2. Get some role models
I'm going to try identify those who have similar body shapes to me (where I also like their style) and take inspiration from there. I discovered this part of the Vogue website recently and it's a great source of inspiration being able to see how style evolves. I have since developed a bit of a girl crush on Alexa Chung, not that we have a similar shape mind you (I happily have more junk in the trunk, and everywhere else), I just love her style.

3. Use blogs as inspiration

I love browsing at blogs such as Cupcakes and Cashmere for the gorgeous, 'put together' clothes but, realistically, they don't suit my lifestyle or budget. Occassionaly though, I'll be inspired by a blog to purchase something I can afford. Tonight I purchased this simple grey t-shirt based on a review on Buy Now Blog Later. I bought a Cheap Monkey dress from ASOS last year based on one of Laura's reviews and was really pleased with the quality. I think it's useful to find a blogger whose opinion you trust and whose style you admire, and then shamelessly steal be inspired by their ideas.

4. Sort my hair out

As you'll have noticed, I had my hair dip dyed for a couple of years and while I loved it, I was really bored of it. I went into the hairdressers and asked for this type of cut...

And this type of colour...

Well, the result was more blonde than brown (cue photo from night out stolen from Facebook)...

I am defo NOT a blonde! I looked all washed out and ill. I went back and had a brown semi put on but it's already starting to fade which still leaves me with the question, what the hell should I do with my hair???

Anyway, rant over. I'll keep you updated and hopefully I'll find my casual/ chic/ mama mojo again soon!Happy Friday. xxx