Zara Bird Print & LK Bennett Bargains!

Today the sun shone! YAY! After yesterday's hail and high winds, it finally felt a bit summery today. I even got a whole load of washing dried on the line outside. That's the definition of summer in Ireland I think! So it was the perfect day to wear my only clothing purchase from  the trip to France - Zara bird print trousers.

I fell in love the pretty pattern in these trousers when I spotted them in the Zara in Monte Carlo (surely the poshest Zara ever - and since I saw the UK price, I can confirm it's the most expensive). The base is cream and the birds are different shades of blue with pink/green/navy/grey going through them. This means they will work well with many of my tops and jackets - including denim - so although they are distinctive, I think I can create a few different looks with them and therefore they'll get plenty of wear this summer. I bought the size 40 (12)

Today I went with the nude/pink shades and wore the Boden Photographer Jacket (in a 12), nude M&S ballet pumps and my pink LK Bennett Annina bag. You may remember, I picked up this bag last year in the LK Bennett outlet in Banbridge (just outside Belfast) and what do you know, wasn't I heading there again today? To check out the LK Bennett pop-up shop that's open from 25th May - 9th June at The Outlet Village. This shop is separate from the regular LKB shop in the Village and has even more discount - up to 90% in fact.

Just look at the sight that will greet you in Unit 20...shoe heaven with prices starting at just £10 for shoes and £40 for boots.

Now there is plenty of stock though sizes are limited in some lines and as you'd expect, there are more larger and smaller sizes. Plenty of 36, 37, 41 and 42. But I was able to find enough 39's and 40's to keep me happy.

Clothing wise, the stock is largely autumn winter with lots of dresses, jackets, skirts and trousers. Especially perfect for a working wardrobe or if you're looking for some classic pieces like black trousers or a blazer/short jacket.

Finally, there is a good range of accessories though I imagine they will sell out super fast. There are some cross body handbags and dressy evening clutches that range in price from £20-40. 

All in all, WELL worth a visit. I spent £75 and got items that originally sold for a total RRP of £750 - 1 pair of ballet pumps, a pair of flat sandals, a little black dress and a handbag. I was hugely tempted by a pair of ankle boots and some cream shoes but managed to resist...for now! Lauren, the manager at the LK Bennett store in Banbridge told me that there will be more stock arriving during the sale so not to worry if you can't get down when it opens tomorrow morning. I think that made my mind up to pay another visit in the next week or so.

While I was there, I met up again with some of the other local bloggers, Louise, Ruth, Gemma-Louise and Rosanna (below) from Silver Brogues (who came to my Boden party!). Loving her neon top which Rosanna told me she got in Matalan.

Thank you to everyone at the Outlet and in the LK Bennett Pop-Up Shop for a wonderful afternoon. Here are my bags as I left the store..

I'll share what's inside soon, I promise! In the meantime, it's the weekend so enjoy! x

The Scarf I Stole Today..

I've actually started dreaming about scarves after a week sourcing, photographing, counting and posting them. But on the upside I get to feature one each day - I'm calling it 'The Scarf I Stole Today'!

Starting with today's one - which literally just arrived in the shop. The Rebellion Aztec in Orange. It's the orange version of the blue/coral one that has sold out a couple of times this week and I'm loving it for brightening up the misery of 7 degrees in May (almost June).
Wearing with the same outfit I wore on this post 2 months ago. Striped top from Tesco, skinny jeans from French Connection, navy boots from M&S and my endlessly useful Target Dry Emily parka.

Such a pain to be back into wintery clothes again. I had to hunt down the ankle boots this morning from the top of the wardrobe.
Yesterday was a bit nicer with sunshine so I wore my H&M white jeans with another of my scarf shop favourites, the Teal Escape Scarf.

White Jeans - H&M
White Long Line Vest - Kaleidoscope
Green Jersey Cardigan - Room 31 (similar here & here)
Patent Pumps - M&S Footglove (winter sale - similar)
Scarf - School Gate Scarves!

I love how it transforms a plain outfit of jeans, jersey cardigan and necklace into something way more stylish. And I'm so pleased to have another excuse to wear this teal colour as it's not one I wear enough. 

As I type, I'm wearing a hoody over my outfit from earlier and furry boots. Le sigh. Thank goodness for wine and Kettle crisps!
I'm off to the Banbridge outlets for a bit of LK Bennett love tomorrow. They are opening another pop-up shop on Saturday with up to 90% off over the Bank Holiday weekend. I'll check it out for you at this preview event and report back :) x

Holiday Outfits!

Well the kid-free break has been and gone and I'm still feeling the benefits. It was truly lovely to have a laid back holiday mooching about, taking our time over a coffee and shopping without interruption (a personal favourite!). 
Each day on Facebook, I shared my outfit and thanks to everyone for your comments and questions. Lots of people asking about some of the items and where similar can be purchased so I thought I'd show the pictures here along with some links to exact items or similar ones. As it turned out, we got VERY mixed weather so there's nothing here that can't be worn during our excuse for a summer here. Every cloud and all that ('scuse the pun)

First Full Day - Cannes
Denim Jacket - M&S (post on denim jackets here)
White Skinny Cropped Jeans - Tesco
White Longline Vest - Dunnes (similar)
Blush Lace Cropped Top - TK Maxx (similar)
Metallic Sandals - TK Maxx (similar)

Day 2 - A Rainy Day in Monte Carlo
Navy Mac - Kaleidoscope (similar here & here)
Boy Fit Jeans - Gap (similar here & here)
Cobalt Blue Vest - Next (similar here & here)
Rainbow Scarf - Uneeka Truro but not available online :(
Cobalt Blue Pumps - Deichmann (similar here & here) 

Day 2 Night Out & Day 3 - Antibes
Maxi Dress - Tesco (sold out online but in stores)
Denim Jacket - as before
Metallic Sandals - as before
Handbag - The Sac (similar)
Necklace - Cos

Day 4 - Nice & Homeward Bound
Navy Mac - as before
Boy Fit Jeans - as before
Stripy Breton - Boden
Scarf - Benetton (old)
Cobalt Pumps - as before

Day we arrived (refuses to go to the top of this post!)
Stripy Breton Short Sleeved Tee - Boden
White Skinny Jeans - as before
Navy Flat Sandals - Boden

Apart from my Tesco tankini, I wore everything in my carry-on suitcase. I came home minus the cobalt pumps, which unfortunately came a cropper in the torrential rain we had on the last day...but I did come home plus a 'significant birthday handbag'. Has been squirrelled away by Mr SGS until the actual day of my birthday. Can't wait to share then!

Before I go, I've been overwhelmed by orders and lovely messages from so many of you about my new scarf shop. Thank you! There's a delivery arriving either tomorrow or Friday, which will fulfil all of the reserved orders. Please just email if any of the scarves you want are out of stock as I can have them back in stock within a few days. Hopefully once I'm up and running for a few weeks, I'll be better able to manage my supply and demand!

STOP PRESS - I've made the Britmum's Brilliance in Blogging Finalist List! The awards are on Friday 21st June in London. I'm so honoured to make the final, thanks to everyone who voted for School Gate Style! x

A Scarf for my Orange Jeans!

This is definitely one of the perks of having a scarf shop now - I get to 'purchase' my favourites for my own use! Though my husband is less keen on that idea...not sure why?

When I saw this scarf in the wholesalers, the first thing I thought of was - 'wow, that will look amazing with my orange jeans'. 

You see, orange jeans are quite full-on and often scarves with orange in them are too or have other colours going through them and it all gets a bit too multi-coloured for me. I was looking for a scarf that had a denim colour in it - to tone down the jeans a little so I feel braver about wearing them. I also wanted a scarf that would work well with jeans generally. One to brighten up the simplest outfit of a white t-shirt and blue denim jeans.

Scarf - School Gate Scarves
(low stock but more en-route to me. Email/PM/DM to reserve one!)
Denim Jacket - M&S (last summer but other suggestions here)
Orange Jeans - H&M (similar from New Look)
Navy Pumps - Zalando
White Top - Zara

And we finally got a new door mat - from Next. Actually, my sister in law bought it for us as she got fed up looking at the one we had...it was quite tatty but you know how you don't tend to notice what you see every day? Anyway, now I can proudly do photos at the front door - thanks Carol...and hasn't Mr SGS done a great job with the pots?!

Working on the holiday photos still - sorry for the delay but I need to put quite a few links on it and that is quite time-consuming. Hoping to publish it later tomorrow.

I'll finish with a big thank you to all of you who've bought scarves from the shop to date. I really appreciate the support and I'm so glad you like what I have chosen to sell. I'll try to feature all of them over the coming days and weeks so you can see styling suggestions if you've already bought one or are interested in doing so.

Talk tomorrow! x

School Gate Style Scarves

It gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the School Gate Style scarf shop! 

We all knew about my scarf addiction so it was a logical progression for the blog I guess. But these are no ordinary scarves - they are beautifully printed, cotton, linen & viscose scarves sourced from a fantastic Scottish company and ordered via a local clothing wholesaler here in Northern Ireland. 

I've only chosen the scarves that I love and would buy myself and I've pared back costs as much as possible to make them affordable.

Please take a look at the shop on this link. 

Stock is limited but can be re-ordered within a week. 

Watch out for many of the scarves (that haven't already!) featuring on the blog in the coming weeks...