Pregnancy Style 101 - In the Hood

It is my pleasure and honour to be invited into the homes and wardrobes of hundreds of women.

One pearl of wisdom I have picked up over the years of working in womanhood has been that when you have a baby you need a waterproof coat with a hood and I quote 
"for when you are out with the pram." 

For a while I did question this wisdom until I realised you can't manoeuvre a pram and an umbrella, well, you can but not easily, hence the waterproof coat with the hood. So not only have I added more flats and trainers to my wardrobe, the floor length 80's wool camel coat I call my winter coat will only be let out occasionally later this year.

In January I actually looked on the Go Outdoors website for such a coat, I even ventured into a Milletts for wardrobes sake. I spun around on my heel and left as soon as I'd arrived; the camping gear looked too menacing. On a cursory glance of the Zara website I spotted my coat. It said "WATER REPELLENT" on the item description. That was it, I was SOLD "get your coat, love, you're coming home with me," I thought. I couldn't stop thinking about said coat and if I can't stop thinking about an item of clothing that is a sure fire sign I need to buy it. I went into Zara a week later and unearthed the coat from amidst the throng of sale shoppers. I tried it on, loved it, paid for it, cut the tags off and wore it home! Like an excited kid! If you fancy purchasing one for yourself click here to be transported.

The hood is pretty frickin' EPIC. And clearly got the better of me here. Silver metallic jumper from Topshop, leather jacket old, GAP trainers, ASOS socks.

The coat is khaki, not poo brown as my photos suggest.

It has 2 deep pockets which are just the right height kind of beneath my burgeoning chest but above the hips. It's warm. Sleeping bag warm. And yes, waterproof. I wear it ALL THE TIME. I even took it out for a Wagamama's to meet my German friend Stefan, that's just the kind of classy, knackered looking lady I am.

That's Stefan hugging a tired, pregnant lady

Now this isn't my first foray into waterproof 'sensible' coats. I ordered a Parka London parka a few years ago and just couldn't find one to fit. I have ogled the Woolrich ones many a time but never committed to a purchase. So Zara it was. I'm sad that I'll have to retire the coat as the weather heats up (unless I want to sweat my way through the summer) but looking forward to the first hints of autumn when I'll dig it out again and head out, this time with a baby in tow.

Til next time...x

The Wardrobe Angel

Pregnancy Style 101 - a square cut top for the WIN!

So I'm 19 weeks pregnant and find myself amongst esteemed ladies also "with child" - maybe Beyonce wants to come to NCT classes with me? I'm pretty chuffed as I feel I've hit my pregnancy style stride: black skinny maternity jeans, t-shirt or top and a jacket. Sitting here right now I'm wearing a vintage silk Escada blouse and my trusty Helmut jacket, paired with - correct! Topshop maternity skinny jeans!

Sleeve me up Scotty!

I had a business function to attend last week: my dear friend Sue Hanson who was launching her new business Your Lamplighter and I wanted to be there in full support. Pre-pregnancy there would have been a pencil skirt and stiletto heels involved and I certainly wouldn't have worn jeans. I have only ever done a client appointment in jeans once and felt too casual so going to a swish business launch at The Mansion House in jeans filled me with trepidation. However a square cut Topshop Boutique top with a faint whiff of Vivienne Westwood about it saved the day. It's 100% cotton and fairly rigid but the beauty of it is in the side vents - they give the fabric more room to breathe around the lower torso which is where Baby Brown is starting to show now. The top also has epic sleeves which I tucked out of my Topshop longline blazer in pearly dazzling white. I felt great in the outfit and in a white blazer and shoes I really stood out in the room - not a bad situation to be in at a business event!

Side vent-tastic. A great tip to get more wear out of your clothes if you have gained some weight on your hips and your tops won't fit is to get some side vents put in. You gain so much room!

Feeling nautical. Ahoy there!

Let me tell you, I am one tired, pregnant lady and have energy for about 3 hours out of 24 a day so trekking over to Roundhay in Leeds on a Wednesday evening took a herculean amount of effort. I left promptly as the event ended and hot footed it bed to be awoken at 6am by Baby Brown making their presence felt for the first time. That natural alarm clock made my week.

Til next time.....x

The Wardrobe Angel

Pregnancy Style 101

I went shopping for maternity clothes and they were so horrible they made me weep. 

2016 was the most productive, fun and profitable year as The Wardrobe Angel and personally it has been a whirlwind stepping into 2017: one year of marriage, finishing decorating our home and now a baby on the way! This has meant a significant change to my wardrobe with two thirds of it unwearable and my heels left forlornly on their cosy shelves as I reach for trainers most days. In January I ventured into Leeds to size up the maternity clothing situation. Dire. Appalling. Nasty. were just 3 words that came to mind. In H&M the maternity collection seemed to be based on 2 assumptions:


1. That all pregnant women like wearing tight, scoop neck tops.
2. That all pregnant women like floral prints.


I never wore tight fitting tops when I wasn't pregnant so why on earth would I start to wear them now? Even the Topshop maternity selection seemed to be deep into the floral print vibe with tea dresses a plenty. Bleugh! Sorry, that is NOT by cup of decaff tea! So what solutions have I come up with instead? I have been living in my Topshop Leigh maternity jeans along with a logo t-shirt and a blazer jacket for most of January, delving deep into my vintage t-shirt stash and "borrowing" a few of Rich's t-shirts along the way. Men's t-shirts fit longer in the body so they are perfect for covering a growing bump and pair of boobs. I have 2 thigh length blazers, one white, one black, which I have been chucking over the tees to smarten them up.

San Fran life, eh?! This t-shirt is a 100% cotton wardrobe gem.

My temperature has been fluctuating over the past couple of weeks, either getting really cold really quickly (and keeping my coat on indoors!) or getting really hot really quickly which has meant that the cotton t-shirts have been a godsend. Cotton is a natural, breathable fabric and also feels great against my skin. And let's not forget the shoes - the ones in the pic above are a Topshop copy of a Celine shoe and with a tasty block heel in white leather. They are perfect for client meetings, networking events, 1-2-1's - basically any interaction I have when I'm seated! During wardrobe appointments I now remove my shoes and wear slippers: baby Brown has completely changed my centre of gravity!

More next week...til next time x

The Wardrobe Angel (and bump)