Sorry, I haven't put out a Friday Five for the last couple of weeks or anything at that. I guess I wasn't in blog mode. It happens but hey, I'm here again so let's go.

Friday Five (1 of 5) The long and Winding Road to Fashion Consciousness and Sustainability.

"I talk frequently about the impact fast fashion has on the environment & the people involved with it's production. I tried for a long time to only buy ethically but the truth is that tracing supply chains for any brand can be problematic. We think about the garment construction workers, but what about the weavers, dyers, cotton pickers, cotton & flax farmers? The transportation workers? So the approach I finally settled on was to significantly reduce my consumption, no more mindless or panicked last-minute shopping, to buy handmade, vintage & secondhand where possible & to only buy & keep items that I really & truly loved ... not just "wanted". It isn't a perfect model by any stretch but it's a start. ........ Every journey begins with a single step: what steps are you taking to a more earth-friendly wardrobe? 😊 .. "

I read Kate's IG post a little while back and thought, she's said what I want to say but couldn't quite voice. It's more the path I can tread rather than the one I should follow. I can't find everything secondhand and fit and quality is still paramount to me because of my size and how I want to present myself. And ultimately, I do love fashion and shopping. So all I can do is hopefully concentrate my purchases more around things I really like and I want to wear and keep and enjoy for longer than an Instagram post. I'm not stopping buying, but I hope to buy a little less and buy a little wiser. That's my step.

Friday Five (2 of 5) Wellness


Following on .... have you seen the Wellness collection in Primark? I spotted it this week when I went in. You can't miss it because it looks totally different from the rest of the displays in the store.




To quote Primark, "Created using organic cotton, recycled and sustainable materials, the Primark Wellness range has been designed with an environmentally friendly focus as part of our commitment as a responsible retailer." The most interesting thing was they did take on the issue of reducing plastic goods by utilising cardboard hangers - so I applaud them for this one step. You can dis them for everything else but one step is still one step and also helps to assuage my guilt for shopping there. Anyway, they did do those lovely seersucker pyjamas which I brought home with me but sadly I'm not keeping as they are designed for tall people. I settled on one of their plain cream organic cotton sweatshirts instead (first pic).

Friday Five (3 of 5) Keeping Warm

To misquote Adam Ant "I don't drink, I don't smoke, what do I do?" I do "fashion" that's what I do and it's the main focus of this blog at the end of the day. Without the fashion, I don't think I have that much to wax silly about. However, I don't do fashion in hey there "look at me in the latest and fanciest", I like to think I do fashion in I like something nice and put together and works for my lifestyle. And with that introduction, I lead you on to my latest consideration. A fleece. Yep, I did say "fleece". "Fleece, fleece, fleece". There I said it three times so you know I'm serious. Basically, when I get home, I change out of the socially acceptable clothes and don a fleece. Not a good looking fleece even, just a fleece which I'm comfortable in and keeps me warm. And now I want to take that fleece thing outside of the home and into the big outdoors. It will be cricket season soon and I always like to have something warm on stand by when it gets a bit nippy after a couple of hours outside standing or sitting around.  And this year, I'm thinking a nice cosy fleece which I can throw over a dress or my usual uniform of jeans and jumper.


I tried the H&M dark grey fleece on in store in the XS and you can go a size down or take your normal size depending on the look you want. It's definitely more a jacket weight rather than a lighter throw on one which the camel coloured one is. Both have their merits and the camel coloured one does have that nice dipped back detail which makes it feel like it's more fashion rather than ready to tackle the Dales. The green nylon bag and the pink one - I just like these little bags to throw on cross body -  I find they can really lift an outfit and look, don't they go well with those Adidas Tempur Run trainers? The colours on those are just fabulous and I love how it feels a little "dragon" with the side decal details. It's probably just my imagination but I see what I see and I see dragon. For a slightly less sporty vibe, try something like the Whistles leopard bag (seen on Insta friends Kathy and Melissa) with your trainers of choice. I've included Golden Goose here because they are my weakness and the one thing I can say is they are the one expensive item I have absolutely no regrets over as I have worn mine so much - I've had one pair re-heeled before they wore down to make sure they last. They're definitely my go to trainer and the Ball Star style is my favourite style out of them all. Last but not least - the H&M Vintage straight jeans - these are a new love affair item. I rarely see the interesting denim styles in H&M stores but for once they actually had the vintage straight ones so I had to try. And I'm so glad I did. I think they are true to size with proper hold you in properties but I do think they have just enough give so they will relax a little but still retain enough shape. I would have preferred them in a mid-rise being short but I can forgive the high rise as the leg shape is flattering and you're more likely to look at those than my tum which I will be hiding away anyway. They're also a conscious cotton but feel good and firm - not overly stretchy and are a thicker denim than some of the thin overly lycra'ed stretchy denim out there. If you haven't worked it out yet, I really like them. They give a nice skimming fit over the calves rather than the wider straight fits - very French. 😉

Friday Five (4 of 5) All White.



I'm all white. You all white? My loafers are all white. I tried some gold ones a while back, lusted after the Jonak ones and I finally settled on these white Grenson Clara dupes from ASOS. I liked the not overly chunky platform sole - I need to balance those legs of mine with slightly chunky shoes with a flash of ankle which somehow makes me feel a little more feminine and dainty. I've tried them on with jeans and even a couple of skirts and I'm liking the freshness they give to my outfits. They're just a nice alternative to my usual white trainer look. And the outfit is mainly old. I follow Martha Ward on IG and on one of her stories, she was at the airport in a simple navy and white spot shirt and jeans. She looked fabulous and put together and not in your face. I have that very combo in my wardrobe and it was lovely to pull it out and try it on again with the loafers which freshened up the look no end. You can still find the Grenson's here but I'm very impressed with the ASOS leather ones.

Friday Five (5 of 5) Weirdo

George (10) came home from school and I noticed that he only had one sock on.

"George - where's your other sock - you've only been home one minute and you've taken one sock off!"
"There wasn't another sock in the sock ball when I undid it this morning".
"So are you saying you went to school with only one sock?"
"Yes".

Couldn't make it up if you tried.


Last Note :

• I read and finished Lauren Bravo's book "How to break up with Fast Fashion" and I have to say she pitched it at exactly the right level for someone who doesn't like the hard facts in your face. It's not patronising, it's relatable and I found myself nodding many a time and finding sensible reasoning on lots of different issues. One of the things I remember is her mentioning that some of the more expensive elitist brands are less accountable than the big ones which have the media spotlight on them a whole lot more on sustainability issues and consequently are doing more of the right things. Food for thought. Food for thought.

Friday Five (1 of 5) Frugal February


Last week, I ended my Friday Five wondering whether I could manage a Frugal February. Err that will be a no and we're only in the first week of February. I didn't mean to fail so soon and to be honest I was going poo, poo pah at everything on line and feeling mighty pleased with myself and then the dresses came flying in. Bam, bam, KAPOW!


I was browsing Topshop online which I know I shouldn't do and somehow ended up ordering two dresses. The smaller ditsy brown print which I preferred was available in a 10 which is my usual size and the second in a the black print was available in an 8. In general, dresses of this style, I tend to look better in when I size down - as long as the shoulders fit, the rest generally falls in to place. And I was right, the 8 was good and the 10 made me look like a quarterback (you might not be able to tell from the pics but the Topshop dresses have gathered detailing on the top of the shoulders). Possibly I'm swaying to the black print because it looks better on because of the sizing but it does feel like a much sharper print and has a touch of William Morris about it from a distance - work that justification girl! However, at time of writing this - the brown has come back in the 8 and now I need to do a contrast and compare to decide properly. You know how it is.

And last week I ordered this H&M dress as my last purchase before Frugal February started but then it popped up this week in the floral print so I had to order it to see which one I would prefer. I think I already know which one is the winner  - the green blue black combination are just really easy colours to work in to my existing wardrobe and shoedrobe. Both the Topshop and the H&M dresses are similar shapes to a couple of my M&S dresses which I bought a couple of years ago and which I'm looking forward to wearing again when it warms up. So why don't I just keep on wearing those ones? Because I still like variety. And I do like a good chuck on dress. If I look back to last summer, I lived in good chuck on dresses. They were just much nicer to me than my ridiculously truthful jeans.
Friday Five (2 of 5) Cheeky Girl

A jumper I bought a while back in H&M went in the sale online but it was sold out in my size. I was going to return my unworn one and buy it again at the sale price so I went off in search off it in store and found it but at full price. So at the till, I asked the girl if she knew when it was going in the sale as it was half price online and she mentioned something about the online business being a whole separate entity but would honour the online price and let me have my jumper at the sale price. Fabulous. Sometimes, it's worth being a little cheeky and asking even if you already know the online business and stores operate separately to each other. You might get your jumper at half price.

Friday Five (3 of 5) Next in Fashion.


I'm currently binge watching Next in Fashion on Netflix. I got through a lot of ironing this week in three episodes. It's a bit like Project Catwalk but with Tan France (Queer Eye) and Alexa Chung so it's worth watching just to see what Alexa's wearing. I haven't watched them all yet but I know who's won (dead cert anyway) and if you subscribe to Net-a-Porter emails, you can already see the winning designer's collection - the print and colours are lovely. And there's even a bonus romance from the show. Awwww.

Friday Five (4 of 5) Ebay

About seven years ago, I started decluttering and sorting out my clothes. I would go through what (1) I wanted to keep, (2) what I wanted to give to charity and (3) what I wanted to sell on eBay. So I'd put away what I wanted to keep, I'd bag up what I wanted to give up to charity and leave it outside when the collection vans were coming round and so far so good, job's a good un but then you get to (3) those bits that you were going to eBay? Seven years on, it would appear I have amassed quite a lot to eBay as I didn't seem to get on with doing that bit. But not this year. This year, I am aiming to eBay ten items a month minimum. If you break it down in to 2-3 items per week, it's not a lot and totally doable. So I'm not aiming high, just ten things a month. I've missed January (Queen of Procrastinators here so I have to do double in February) and I started this week. If you're interested to see what's leaving my wardrobe - you can find me here or look for me on eBay under Princessting.

Friday Five (5 of 5) New Life


Oh, that's my son's Marigold which he grew from seed in autumn half term when he went to a little workshop stall in Anglesey. Me and the hubs think it looks like a weed. Admit it, it does, doesn't it? 😂