The home straight

Thanks to a mix of feeling mahoosive, tired and generally 35 weeks pregnant, a lack of posts has ensued. In order to rectify this i have done a little Instagram collage with a couple of outfits, a good bump show off and a new purchase. Seriously, my frustration at the lack anything in the least bit stylish for a pregnant woman past 30 weeks has reached new highs of late. My under bump trousers have been out of bounds since 25 weeks as they just dig in and are horribly uncomfortable. Even some maternity dresses are not cutting the mustard so i am still desperately clinging on to non maternity clothes, the floral dress i have on today is literally bursting at the seams/buttons.

To counter this i have been concentrating a lot of pent up fashion frustration on my post pregnancy wardrobe and I have a lot of love for the A/W stuff that is making an appearance is the shops. Namely Zara (obvs), Whistles and H&M and i plan on sharing my want list before the baby comes. Hang on in there with me peeps, I'm on the home straight...x Talia

Pregnant plea

 

Due to the requirement for as much sleep as i can muster at the moment, my mornings have been a silly rush where i'm lucky to remember breakfast, make up and that i am in charge of the nursery run.  So this weekend I took advantage of a more relaxed pace and took some putfit pics. I am over the 6 month mark now and am enjoying a little more jersey fabric than my wardrobe is usually used to. I had some vouchers for H&M and after a long search for something that would accomodate my bump i found this shirt & leggings. I've said it before and i'll say it again, H&M Mama range is beyond dowdy, the rest of the store is exceling at the moment, particularly with the Trend range, please let's extend this to your maternity customers Mr and Mrs Powers-That-Be!

I did go for these Mama leggings but remain disappointed as have to say do find them pretty poor quality. Either i'm stretching mine to their limits or they have that high denier tights feel when stretched, even slightly. My go-to for leggings remains to be New Look and Amercian Apperell. On the plus side, they go over the bump, which is the only comfortable option past 5 months in my opinion. Now the shirt i have a lot more praise for. It's a great mink colour and a really nice cool silky fabric. This is a 12 and it more than accomodates my 6 month bump and covers my arse so a massive thumbs up. I'm not in the habit of wearing leggings as trousers, I am 31 after all, but due to aforementioned over-bump issues, jeans are a pain and this shirt means i can just about get away with it (I hope). I opted for Primark tan brogues to smarten it all up a bit and offset the leggings...x Talia

Long lost friends

At last! A non rainy morning enabling a blog post. Sorry i am am such a slave to the weather but i only use my ipad to blog and it's photos only really work outside so i was very happy to see a respite in the rain.  I'm now 18 weeks into the pregnancy and my bump is feeling rather neat today, it actually looks smaller than a few weeks back. Either that or the rest of me has grown making my bump seem smaller by comparison. Not liking the latter option really.

As well as the weather, i am a complete slave to the skinny jean. It's a love affair that's not wholly reciprocated really as i am a big bottomed girl and they suit girls of snake-hipped origins much more. So when having a bad (read large) hip day i reverted to my first love, the skinny flare. Rachel Zoe does the flare so so well she constantly has me searching for an equally ahmahzing pair but i don't have much luck. I am tall and have zero to no options of leg length on the majority of nice skinny flares that i've tried on over the years so i was super thrilled when i discovered these first pregnancy haul Zara Maternity Jeans like some long lost friends. I got them off Ebay and i actually don't think Zara do maternity anymore, please someone prove me wrong as this is the biggest loss to pregnant women since they vetoed Stilton. They are the perfect length for me and so comfortable. Teamed with white silk Zara shirt i got in the January sales, treasured Dogeared wishbone necklace and River Island tan leather slouch bag. I've got some nude Primark pumps on but in true Zoe style have tried to cover them as much as possible with the flare. I have an oil stain on this bag (Bio Oil accident), if anyone knows a way to get an oil mark off leather i would love them forever...x Talia

Carrots and maggots

So we're in week 14 and  i'm starting to look a little more pregnant. I'm venturing back into the world of maternity wear and am generally pretty happy with what's out there at the moment with some exceptions. I do still have a few maternity pieces from my last pregnancy, such as these trousers. In my experience, it's the trousers that are always the first to feel the pinch and i have already relegated numerous jeans to my post-pregnancy cupboard as they're not going to be needed for the next 9-12 months. Damn the non stretch high waist! Disappointingly, the majority of maternity trousers for work are boot cut and generally pretty dowdy so i was glad H&M could accommodate my need for a slim trouser leg with these fronm the Mama range. However i did not have the same luck when i browsed H&M maternity last week, as per my tweet, I'm pregnant, not 65.

I'm still fitting into most of my tops so grabbed this Zara button back cream blouse with a nude M&S slip underneath and my new statement necklace from New Look. My nearest New Look branch is Nottingham and it has just had the mother of all refurbs.  I think when shopping your surroundings really can make a massive difference and i found it a pleasure to shop there with a huge shoe department and a great range of jewellry. I bagged this bright necklace which my 3 year son has advised me looks like carrots and maggots. I disagree, i think it's pretty prefect and great for injecting some colour into an outfit. I'm out for dinner and going to the theatre tonight so went for this large suede clutch which was also part of my New Look haul and i love the pastel yellow accent on it. Primark peeptoe patent nude platforms finish this little work to evening ensemble...x Talia

Bandwagon jumper

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It's officially freezing. Snow on its way and everything. As i have a little one, i would like to have a bit of snow so we can get some snowman, snowball, sledging action on the go, wellies at the ready! Until that point i will be donning flats as to avoid any leg break, ankle twist, head bang, hip smack incidents on the ice.  These brown brogues are from Primark as my budget won't quite stretch to some Grensons quite yet although i have been flashing this pair ↓ under my husband's nose for a while so you never know, a girl can dream.

While worshipping at the alter of all things Primark i have shamelessly jumped on the blogger bandwagon with the purchase of the Primark Pleated Leather skirt. What swung it for me is the god that is Karl Lagerfeld's recent Karl collection as sold on Net a Porter. This skirt was one of the standout pieces in his collection and as i have been admiring the styling out of this skirt by Lydia, Lily and Emma to name a few, i bit to bullet and headed to ebay. I know i'm really late to it and it's a bit 2011 but if it's good enough Karl in 2012, who am i to argue?...x Talia

Rainy days and Tuesdays

First blog outfit post in the rain and it was, erm, quick! Thought i'd give it a go though as i do live in England after all and these sorts of scenarios are far from rare so stiff upper lip and all that. I've also been waiting for a chance to work a bit of Carpenters into my blog titles so here it is. I've used a little poetic license though as i don't work Mondays so my Tuesday is equal to most peoples Monday.

So first day back in the office after a weekend of blog silence and it's a dress. A Primark shirt dress in a delicious raspberry colour which is a great for these not freezing but still rainy and grey days. It seems to get shorter with every wash so i buttoned it to the top to make up for the rising hemline. In my style logic, the buttoned to the top look balances out a shorter skirt.

Teamed with my Hobbs faux Ponyskin platforms and a messy topknot. I completely by accident uncovered the secret of the perfect topknot - do it the night before. A good nights sleep and a few fixing kirby grips has revolutionised this style and removed any 'Croydon facelift' paranoia...x Talia

If only...

Today was just one of those days when i was slightly uninspired by my wardrobe.  I think lack of sleep due to a chesty toddler who crawled into my bed at 1am and proceeded to cough on me all night and this horrendously grey weather.  Anyway this is the conclusion i came to and although its not the most inspiring or innovative of outfits, i wanted to blog it as we all have those days don't we? I want to include the rough with the smooth days, i've even considered blogging Sunday's 'outfit' if you can even call it that. After a morning slobbing around in bed, I decided at the last minute that Sunday would not be a pyjamas day and that i would leave hubby in bed and take aforementioned toddler to the cinema...ten minutes before the film started. Had i had the time, I would have blogged both of us because we were a hot mess.
Him - Grey marl joggers, black uggs, white long sleeved tee (with chocolate milk stains) purple AA hoody and a mahoosive fairisle bobble hat.
Me - AA leggings, jersey vest dress, boyfriend checked shirt, ambush boots and topknot.
Add into this lack of make-up, really the dark cinema was the best place for us.

So back to today's concoction. This shirt was from the Zara sale and i do actually really like it. I'm having a definite spotty moment of late so this fitted in nicely. Went for this pencil skirt as wanted something high waisted so this jersey number with deep pockets from Primark was perfect. However i was left with that funny 'if only' feeling and today's was 'if only i had some grey suede footwear.' Although not pictured, I have a grey cardigan on and really thought some grey suede ankle boots, very much like the 3 sizes too small for me pair I saw in the Zara sale, would have been lovely. Don't you just hate it when you know what would finish your outfit off perfectly and it's just not in your wardrobe? Well today was one of those days. But i settled for black suede New Look ankle boots. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to eBay i go...x Talia

Let's party

I've always been a massive fan of ebay and my friends often refer to me as the ebay queen. This was a title i was happy to adopt, until i found Twitter and discovered the work of the delightful Victoria was brought to my attention. This lovely lady tirelessly searches ebay for all manor of goodies requested from her army of followers via her Tumblr page. I would say a thankless task but she gets a lot of love for it, all completely deserved. It was through her post that i discovered the ebay seller Letsparty. They sell all kinds of stuff that is mostly 'designer inspired' for really reasonable prices. I for one have no problem with this. Sellers from Asia often come in for some stick but these guys aren't pretending to be anything they're not and have lots of nice feedback so i bit the bullet and ordered this necklace that had actually been in my basket all over Christmas. It arrived yesterday and i love it. It's a dark gun metal colour with lots of metal cubes, the pics aren't too clear of it but it's a beaut and although have teamed it with all black for the office, i can imagine it going really well with a simple grey marl jersey tee and blue skinnies for a casual look too.

Tux style trousers were picked up in the Zara sale and are really well tailored although are showing a little too much evidence of festive excess than i would like but i am working on that with healthier food choices/not eating everything in site (aka the Christmas diet). However I'm cool with being a big booty girl so am just looking to ease a little of the tension in these trews. One of my outfit posts would not be complete without a little Primark so knitted turtle neck sweater and nude heels courtesy of Primarni...x Talia

Texture me

Good morning! Well after the dreadful quality of the photos yesterday, and never being one to ignore constructive criticism, i have taken my dearest Camille's advice and strived to show more detail and have better photos. My budget isn't stretching to a SLR just yet so for now these will have to do, hopefully an improvement on yesterday. Showing off more of my January sales hoard with this over sized leather look texturised tee from Zara.  I have a little crush on over sized tees being tall and holding the majority of my excess weight at the top of my thighs, this little beauty covers that area and for this i love love love it.

Although i am at work i have teamed it with skinny jeans from Primark. I should probably invest in some non denim skinny trousers (suggestions of good finds welcome) as i have lots of tops that go with a skinny trouser that i can't really wear for work with jeans. The reason i have dared to today is that some of the office treat Friday as casual day, although not everyone. This is why i have opted with some high velvet ankle boots from New Look as i think a higher heel dresses denim up in an instant. So i have leather look, velvet and denim for a nice texture mash-up. For a touch of colour, and extra insulation, i have put a raspberryy coloured long sleeved jersey top underneath that also goes rather well with my new Zara bag that i also got in the sale. Get used to this phrase, you may be seeing it a lot...x Talia

Should auld fashion mistakes be forgot...

Happy New Year! Only five days late with my new year's wishes but the first couple of days back at work coincided with me taking over the nursery run so i have been mostly late for work. However this morning i rushed that little bit faster and had time to take a few outfit pics. I apologise for the quality of these but the app i use for the photos had mysteriously disappeared along with the lens that i usually use so they are a bit dark. Plus it was very dark this morning due to the horrendous winds and rain. If i had hatches, last night they would have been battened down as it got pretty scary.

On to this morning and this, a rare trouser wearing post.  I am currently trying to shed a few lbs i put on at Christmas and these Topshop men's waistband peg leg trousers are forgiving so perfect for January.  The shirt is from Motel Rocks and it's the perfect leopard print, big spots and a great camel toned hue. It is referred to as a boyfriend shirt but i think could do with being a little bigger and a little longer to really qualify for 'boyfriend' status, unless your boyfriend takes the same size as you.

I teamed with an old Zara blazer and, inspired by Audrey Leighton of Be Frassy blog fame, i rolled the short sleeves above the blazer sleeves as i've seen her do this and think its a really simple but effective touch, she can do no wrong in my opinion. Nude round toe heels from Primark. I have worn these to death, lucky my husband is a cobbler, but due to excessive wear the ends have taken the slight imprint of my toes which actually makes me love them even more for reminding me of Vivienne Westwood's infamous animal paw shoes. Long live Dame Viv...x Talia

The Primark Leather Dress

I purchased the Primark Leather dress on its second sighting. The first time i saw it i was a little reserved, a full leather dress was perhaps a bit much so i left it. Since then it has worked its way into my head space when outfit planning for occasions so when i went in again and saw a rail of them i thought it was meant to be. I'm really happy i got it as the leather, although faux, is very realistic and not at all pleather like. Also the shape is great i think. High neck, capped sleeves and a-line mini.

On the occasion pictured, i was going out for a posh Christmas meal with all my girlfriends. Hubby questioned the appropriateness of a leather dress at the high end restaurant but i think teaming it with classic pieces takes it well away from it's fetish roots. Blazer from Zara, skull scarf from Topshop and my old trusty New Look Ankle boots which you can't really see on this pic as my tall hubby took it so it's kind of a view from above. He's a supporter of my blogging and i couldn't have got these shots without him, albeit a little blurred and footless. First after dark shots so a little break from the norm but really wanted to share.

Nail inspiration courtesy of Emma @milkteef. Spotted the single bling nail on a twitpic she posted and thought it looked lovely so purchased a pink GSOH nail glitter, the only shade they had left at my local Superdrug which i think works quite well with my favourite mink polish which was a Nails Inc magazine freebie from the summer. On another beauty note i tried out Laurens Way fake tan after getting sick of the smell of Fake Bake. It's quite good and smells way better than fake bake but think i might head back to the St Tropez mothership when this bottle's done. Come back to what you know and all that...x Talia

It's all in the ankle boots

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  i had approximately 3 minutes to take these photos before the heavens opened this morning. It's definitely getting cold out there. Or as someone at work said when i had that 'walking out the building at the same time as them but don't know them too well' awkward silence-filling chat; "Wrap up warm, someone's turned the heating off outside." Cue polite laugh when what i was really thinking was '_'

Feeling a little bloated today so went for an old wardrobe favourite of the forgiving empire cut Peter Pan Collar dress that i got from Primark about 3 years ago. Who knew they were so quick off the mark on whole Peter Pan collar trend?! It's quite a girly dress and I can sometimes feel a little dowdy in it, particularly when i team it with a long boyfriend cardi from Gap so the only thing for it was the killer ankle boots. These are from New Look and still a little stiff so not too comfy but i'm breaking them in. There's just something about an ankle boot that can bring an outfit on trend and stop it being over girly/dowdy i think. I have a staff Christmas party this week and have every good intention of doing my first evening outfit blog post...x Talia

Girl Tuesday

Well its been a while since I last blogged due to a mix of random outfit choices that i'm still making my mind up about and just general tardiness, dark nights, rushed mornings etc.  Anyhoo, as i got a new purchase last week i wanted to give it some blogging time.  I dont work on Mondays so my Tuesdays are akin to most people's Mondays e.g. rushed, last minute with only a little pre-fall asleep outfit planning in my head, so i tend to go for the dress as it's simple and in this case, it's new and doesn't need ironing. Huuuuuuuge plus.

It's from New Look (care of Voucher Codes 20% off) and although there is an unholy abundance of lace on the high street at the moment this really stood out to me because I'm a sucker for a nude lining, especially on black lace.  Plus i like the skater style flaring (flattering on the legs), the sleeve length and the silky bow at the back which i forgot to photograph (my bad). I'm usually a pretty average 12 but this wasn't quite fitted enough for me so i cinched it slightly with a black tie off an old shirt. Faux suede platforms from Primark...x Talia

Skullduggery

Another Friday, another casual dress day at work. Once again for a good cause, Children in Need this time. We were supposed to dress as our favourite children's tv characters but that's a little on the 'zany' side for me. I'm not in the minority either which makes me even more glad i opted for my own casual attire as opposed fancy dress. After buying this shirt a couple of weeks ago I seem to have worn it at every casual opportunity i've had. It's from H&M and has a McQueen-esque scull pattern on. It is super long which i like but is a bit more flattering when tucked in. In lack of budget for J-Brands, I have teamed with the Primark skinny black jeans and my ambush boots from Topshop which i'm really glad i bought, they seem to go with everything...x Talia

Primark, Primark and Primark again.

Only now i am blogging am i realising how much Primark i actually wear. And it's a LOT. I just don't have the money to spend on expensive work wear and i think they do both the basics and seasonal trends so well. It actually makes every other shop seem expensive so i shop around and go there last to see if they're doing the same, or similar for cheaper, which they almost always do. I got this spotty jumper in October, not long after my honeymoon so still had a little tan. However now winter is drawing I'm realising this colour is not great for my skin when it's pale so i added an old ASOS shirt underneath so the camel colour didn't hit my skin near my face and wash it out. As it's quite a lose fit i teamed it with an old Primark high waist pencil skirt which i love due to the deep pockets and tulip style fit and my Primark Suede block heel platforms which you can't see here as i cut my feet off. I will find a prime photo positioning location soon...x Talia

Remember remember...

So the 5th of November brings my first weekend post (albeit only blogged on Monday)! I often get wrapped up in my weekend and forget to shoot but i was premiering my new Ambush boots which i eventually went for in Black. I had ordered the brown ones online from Topshop, along with some Baxters to see, once again, if the fit had got any better for me. Well there was disappointment all round as the Baxters remained a horrible fit, (legs too tight, waist too baggy) and my delivery note was also the bearer of bad news advising me that the Ambush boots were out of stock. Why the website couldn't tell me this prior to ordering, i don't know. Anyhoo i called customer services and they advised me that my local store had them in so i saved them and made the trek into town. I was in town for 1hr15 minutes which is how long it took me to remember why i do most of my shopping online. Teenage hell. However the upside of this hell was that i had the advantage of comparison and decided I preferred the boots on me in black. i teamed them this weekend with an old Primark Peacock print dress which is one of my favourite ever Primark pieces...Hope you all had a fun, firework-filled weekend...x Talia

Office androgyny

Since Diane Keaton donned a shirt, tie and waistcoat in Annie Hall, the androgyny trend has regularly graced the catwalk every few seasons. As 5ft 9 girl I often go for mens clothes as their long lines suit my figure much better than a lot of women's styles but I don't see that as a nod to androgyny as much a nod to practically.

However, a look i always feel embraces this trend is the shirt buttoned to the top look. I jumped on this bandwagon for my weekend wardrobe along with the rest of the country however it still feels rather 'trendy' for an office in the Midlands. 


But today I decided I would take a stand against the girly shirt brigade and have teamed this sleeveless H&M shirt with a primark round neck jumper and some cigarette trousers from Asos. I have been a fan of the cigarette pant since Carrie Bradshaw teamed said trousers with a blazer and Mickey Mouse tee. In true Carrie style i feel a pair of killer heels perfectly compliments a more masculine look - faux suede platforms, Primark...x Talia

wear it pink - do nails count?

Happy wear it pink day! Usually a pretty easily fulfilled request, thou must wear pink as girl asfterall. Well, erm no not really. When it comes to clothes, pink is probably my least favourite colour but for a cause that should be close to most ladies hearts, I opted for pink nails courtesy of No.7 in Limited Edition Sugar shade.

As it's the last Friday of the month aka fun Friday for those more zany offices, it's casual dress day. Now, this causes me quite a predicament as I'm a fan of shorter dress, skirts, shorts of a weekend which aren't entirely office appropriate, casual dress day or not. But I threw caution to the wind and went for the classic denim shorts. In an attempt to breakaway from the whole sexulisation of daisy duke  I teamed it with a loose fitting Breton stripe top (H&M) and a baggy boyfriend knit cardi (Primark).

Mai Tai's and matt gold earrings as standard.

 Donned some very old, very faithful suede ballerinas (Next) and my new River Island hobo that I finally bagged offof eBay last week for under £40. Loving the shade of the bag at this time of year, it goes with the autumnal shades, what better accent than mother nature...x Talia