Workwear Daydreams

I've been back in the world of office work for a month. Leaving Laney May in the nursery is slowly starting to get easier. The  midday anxiety attack and urge to sprint back to south London to get her are gradually starting to fade.

But just as I'm getting used to travelling into central London every day, there's already talk of trips overseas. It feels like a logistical feat just getting us all out of the house each day, so lord only knows how it would be possible to make it further than these shores!

In the same way that I focused on my return to work wardrobe to help deal with the anxiety of going back to work, I seem to be doing the same with the idea of business trips.

So rather than focus on the practicalities of possibly making it to China, I'm just thinking about what I'd like to wear!

Cos printed pencil shirt - £59

Monsoon suzy colour block sandy shirt - £25 (down from £35),

Mary Portas for Clarks La Contrary black shoes - £79.99
Erikson Beamon for Debenhams earrings - £20

Whistles Wren tailored trousers - £125 (not sure I’m quite ready for the full on fushia pink trouser suit though!)

A very Erdem influenced digital print shirt from Monsoon - £45 

Zara plaited shopper - £89.99 (which admittedly I see about 20 times a day in different colours!)

Preen Aldo Rise Paider heeled sandals - £62.50 (down from £125) – possibly shoes for sitting at my desk, rather than actually doing any walking!

Cos jersey tie belt dress - £59 

Mary Portas cropped draped jacket - £80 (down from £160...it shows the reduction on the main page view but when you click into the jacket it still shows £160)

Zara studded ankle strap sandal - £39.99 

Kenneth Jay Lane monkey nut pendant £16.50 (down from £40)

Clarks update

A quick Clarks update...

I saw my sister at the weekend and she'd been on a bit of a Clarks shopping bender. And I can't believe I missed these beauties in my Clarks round-up last week!

She had a gorgeous purple heeled pair of sandals which are part of the Liberty range...although it took some time to locate them on the Clarks website.

Clarks Shea Cashmere sandals - £49.99

And these sandals will be making their way into my wardrobe very soon! They looked amazing on her and are a very reasonable £29.99.

Surf Gala in black suede - £29.99

Lust item of June

Since having Laney May and breast-feeding for so many months, my wardrobe has definitely moved away from the dress monopoly and I'm much more likely to wear separates. Even now when I don't need to have ready access to my breasts (!), I haven't automatically fallen back into my daily dress routine.

And my new fashion love affair is with blouses. Whereas I used to always look at dresses first, I find myself now gravitating towards gorgeous, light-weight, printed blouses...such as this silk shirt from Oasis, my lust item of June.

Oasis silk scarf shirt - £60

It's not too girly and whimsy - I think the dark panelling stops it being too pretty and balances out the light-weight, silk fabric. It would be perfect with skinny trousers for a summer day in the office.

Summer delights from Clarks

If you’ve read Edna for a while, you’ll know I’m partial to the occasional piece of Clarks footwear...

Back to work
Clarks Originals wedges
Lust item of the week – 1940s shoes
 

And Clarks is on fire at the moment.
 

They’ve got a range in store which features a 1960s Liberty print fabric, which has been updated by Zandra Rhodes. Just gorgeous. My favourite style in the range is the purple flats with the pretty fabric on the inside...

Cavier gold - £44.99

But I also love these styles too…

 

Scent bottle - £54.99

 

Cavier gold – floral - £54.99

The current Mary Portas range for Clarks is glorious too...though a little more expensive. These are my favourites.

La Peep lime leather shoes - £89.99

 

La Minx black suede boots - £110

 

La Gigi natural snake sandals - £79.99

And if this isn’t enough, apparently they're launching a range with Harris Tweed next month. Amazing.

DVF for Gap...on sale!

A little while ago Gap launched a range for babies and children designed by Diane von Furstenberg. More renowned for her womenswear  - and especially the wrap dress – I’ve got to confess to feeling a little jealous that she chose to do a range for children rather than women!

The range is brightly coloured, full of fun patterns and, unfortunately, a little too expensive. £24.95 for a sun dress that’s only going to last a baby a couple of months is just a bit on the steep side for me. I have a feeling many others agreed because a stack of the DVF range for BabyGap is in the sale right now.

I bought Laney May a gorgeous little sun dress, down from £24.95 to £9.99 (though it’s still £12.99 online).

These are some of my other favourites. If you’re near a Gap store, it’s definitely worth visiting rather than ordering online as it’s all cheaper in store.

Wrap romper - £12.99 (down from £24.95)

Bodysuit - £8.99 (down from £17.95)

Bumblebee t-shirt - £7.99 (down from £14.95)

Printed tank - £4.99 (down from £9.95)

Diverting pencil skirts

I’m in my last week of maternity leave. I can no longer hide from the fact that this time next week I’ll once again join the throngs of commuters and be back in an office.

Aside from having an emotional meltdown about leaving my baby girl in a nursery and feeling so stressed I can barely breathe, I’m still trying to divert myself by thinking about my work wardrobe. I’m not sure it’s actually working but it’s at least helped for the past hour as I’ve been looking at my favourite patterned pencil skirts!

I think the key with any pencil skirt is fit – it’s just not flattering to have the straining creases across the front of the skirt that goes with one a little on the tight side. And if you’re a classic pear shape, then it can be difficult to get the waist and hips to both fit. I’ve found this style of skirt often works better for me if the waistband sits a little lower down nearer to hip level, so that it tends to fit my hips without gaping at the waistband.

I love the idea of updating a classic pencil skirt by wearing it with a bold print. They’d work well with something simple on the top – a white shirt, loose, draped t-shirt or a silk tank top, all tucked in.

I was going to say my favourites are the two from Cos but the insect print one from Asos is up there too.

Cos printed pencil skirt - £59

I saw this Cos skirt in store in a mint green with black mesh overlay, which I loved...but it only seems to be available in grey on the website. Cos straight mesh skirt - £49

Principles by Ben de Lisi dark peach tile skirt - £35

M&S Limited Collection palm leaf print skirt, which is now down to £15 but only available in sizes 6 and 8

Warehouse tejal scarf print skirt - £45

Dorothy Perkins blue bird print skirt - £26

And a bit out of my price range but I love this print skirt from Anthropologie - £98

Asos Beta Fashion tailored skirt by Samantha Edwards - £85

Back to Work

I know I haven't blogged for a while...I'm now two and a half weeks away from returning to work and have been enjoying the last of my maternity leave. I have such mixed emotions about going back and leaving my little girl in a nursery...and I seem to be dealing with it by trying not to think about it!

On a superficial level, what I've been able to think about is what I'm going to wear to work. As much as I've tried not to descend into tracksuits or a uniform of jeans and a top whilst on maternity leave, my day-to-day wardrobe is obviously very different to what I'd wear to the office every day. I don't tend to get vomited on that regularly in the office or have to crawl around on the floor!

So now that I'll be back in an office three days a week, I've been musing on what I'd like to wear...or at least what would freshen up my wardrobe and suit me. I have very little budget to spend, so most of this is just daydreaming...though I've made one little purchase just to cheer myself up when I go back to work...

Autograph pleat front abstract print trousers - £39.50

I'm picturing myself in these with a blouse, blazer and a pair of (comfortable!) heels.

I also have my eye on all of these...

Clarks sandals - £54.99

Autograph Open Front Jacket - £59 (this jacket feels a bit Mary Portas...a pair of skinny trousers and statement necklace would work a treat!)

Twiggy for M&S v-neck animal print pleated dress - £45

 

Autograph leather front pocket shopper bag - £79 (a bit more of a luxe alternative to my endless, slightly grubby canvas shoppers that hold my handbag overspill)

Cos print front jersey top - £49

And my 'love them but would never, ever buy at full price' lust item at the moment are these little leopard print beauties from F Troupe...at £145