Following on the heels of Gap and Banana Republic, another high street store has finally entered the modern age and introduced online shopping. Zara has finally embraced online retail...hurrah!
It’s great to have these shops online as for many people it can be difficult to get to a city and visit them in the flesh. I grew up in a small, isolated town in mid-Wales and it took 50 minutes to drive to the nearest small city...and the choice there was limited to M&S, Monsoon, Laura Ashley...and a bit of Tammy Girl, back in the day, if you were lucky!
And all three of these shops are great for your working wardrobe. One of the main items of clothing I go to Zara to buy are blazers. They really sell a great, well made, well fitting selection of blazers. And for me the days of buying a suit for work are long gone...it was always difficult to get the fit right on the budget I had.
Instead I am separates all the way. I think with a blazer it can suddenly turn clothes that you would wear at the weekend into something that is appropriate for a smarter office environment. A t-shirt, with a blazer and necklace, suddenly becomes office attire.
I do have a problem with some of the sizing on Zara clothes. Trousers can be difficult because they're about a foot too long for me and it’s difficult to envisage whether they will actually look good when taken up! And for a lot of the items they stock, I seem to be a large...and I’m a size 8-10! This makes even choosing what to take into the changing room a nightmare. So for now I’m focusing on what I love Zara for...the blazer!
Zara double breasted blazer - £69.99
Short sheep skin jacket - £59.99
Short cross over blazer - £49.99
Partridge eye blazer - £49.99
College plush blazer - £39.99
It's another exciting anniversary for me...two months of the Edna blog! I promise (eventually!) not to get excited about every month that passes but at the moment it's all so new and I'm enjoying doing something that I love so much that I feel like celebrating each month that I'm writing this!!And thank you for reading my ramblings...and for my 20 followers! If you are reading my blog and not already a follower, then please join and boost the ranks!
Back to fashion chat...
Dries van Noten S/S 2010 - photo Style.comSome days I cannot get enough of prints and clashing colours. On those days, the idea of less is more goes completely out of the window. I want layers of colours and prints and rather than following the adage of taking one thing off before you leave the house, I’m more inclined to put one more thing on! On days like this I feel like trying to channel Dries van Noten and Marni, which is weird because most of the time this is not my style and I find there is a little too much going on. But yesterday was a day for prints and colour...
Outfit is a lot of H&M: my much blogged H&M trousers, a very old (camel!) H&M jacket, yellow H&M vest, Urban Outfitters striped polo-neck, leopard print belt that was a present, Irregular Choice spotty gladiator sandals, M&S handbag, turquoise scarf in bag another present, brooches were from Gap (I think) and Mawi necklace bought on the Cocosa website with a great discount!
Knowing how much I love leopard print, my lovely sister-in-law Cathie sent me a link to a Topshop feature on the leopard.
If you’re fan of this print, then tis the season for you because the high street has gone utterly mental for it. If I was in full shopping mode, I too would be going utterly mental and stocking up on a lifetime of leopard print clothing! As the purse strings have been (sort of!) tightened, I am instead just in lusting mode.One of my inspirations and loves this season is Dolce & Gabbana and the way they have used leopard with other prints, such as polka dot. I know this sounds odd, but trust me, it works. 
(photo from www.style.com)
Back down to Topshop with a bang, this is the lust item of the week. Autumn is approaching, which means coats and the need for warmth. This green swing coat with the gorgeous leopard print collar would look great with black skinnies, brogues and a black and white polka dot top (or even a stripe!).
Leopard fur collar green swing coat - £85
The advice I am about to dispense is going to sound like something from your grandma but is actually words I heeded from Kate Phelan, fashion director at Vogue.
Wear a slip. Or petticoat.
In an interview donkeys years ago, talking about buying clothes from the high street, she said that wearing a slip underneath dresses and skirts smoothes lines and bumps and makes the garment look a lot better quality and better fit.
These are words of genius for anyone who cannot afford expensive designer clothes and for those who generally just enjoy a cheap thrill on the high street.
Obviously petticoats and slips have traditionally been used to stop the static between tights/stockings and your clothes (I learnt the hard way about this when I once discovered my skirt had crept up underneath a jacket and I’d got my tights-encased arse on display!). But even if you don’t need them for the anti-static, they are great anyway for smoothing out visible underwear lines, smoothing out any other lumps and bumps you may have, giving you an extra layer if the fabric seems a little transparent, and generally making your outfit look that bit better made.
I’m not going to inflict photos of petticoats and slips on you! There are pretty ones available but what you really need are ones that are non-frilly, good quality, in a range of basic colours. None of which are exciting to look at! My suggestion would be to visit the underwear department at M&S.
