Me, my man legs and the Manchester Marathon

This month I will be mostly focusing on completing the Manchester Marathon in one piece. In the process of marathon training not only have I split a pair of skinny jeans (just call me The Hulk), gained what can only be described as "man legs" - my calves are now 14" in circumference, I kid you not, I have been forced to wear a highly unattractive high visibility vest for "safety" reasons. But this is all in the name of charity. I am running for The Birdhouse Fund, a registered charity which sits under the umbrella of the Forever Manchester charity. They are a FANTASTIC charity giving vulnerable women a much needed step-up in life. They especially help women who have been the victims of domestic violence. 

Have you ever had to go cap in hand to a charity to ask for help? No? Then please spare a thought and £5 for the women who have and donate here at my Just Giving Page.

THANK YOU XXX

How to Shop at H&M

As you may have worked out if you stop by here regularly I talk about H&M a LOT. I love H&M. Love, Love, Love H&M. I hold my hands up – my allegiance has been noted. I worked there for over 3years and I love the brand, the company and the clothes.

But it wasn’t always like that. Previously to working for them I HATED shopping in there. I owned 1 thing (a navy blue long sleeve top) from them. Purely because I didn’t understand how they laid their shops out and who their target customer was. But once I started working for them I was hooked. And I still am. I could spend hours in there.

More than half the women who have come to The Wardrobe Angel for a touch of my wardrobe magic hate shopping at H&M but once I have explained the different labels on offer there they are converted. Well, not to the same obsessive level I am but at least they have the confidence to shop there now.

So, let’s do this! H&M. Explained.

Women at H&M:

1.       Divided Black and Divided Red – the colour of the mannequins is bright, the prints are garish and the styling is a bit ‘out there’. Some shops lead in with this range (Leeds) but this depends on their target market. Targeting the teenagers among, the Divided Black range can be wonderfully weird, the Divided Red range is more casual with a proliferation of hoodies and denim.

2.       H&M – your basic range showcasing styles that are far from ‘safe’ but not exactly cutting edge. Used to be called ‘Hennes’. Most shops lead in with this range (Manchester).

3.       Modern Classic – great for suiting and classic styles of clothes.

4.       Trend – Only stocked in super awesome shops (Manchester). It has a tendency to move around on the shopfloor as it is a small department. Heavily trend lead, you can always get the latest on-trend items from this section. Last time I checked it has a beige label.

5.       LOGG – For all you comfort seekers out there this range contains the joggers and sweatpants.

6.       LOGG SPORT – a bit more hard-core, this range even has sports bras and items suitable for a spot of yoga.

7.       Shoes and accessories – Absolutely great for costume style jewellery. On-trend and chic as hell.

 Any questions? You know where to find me. Til next time...x

Spring has sprung! It's time for Oracular Beauties...

These days I don’t know many people who have a career path – one career for their whole lives – except for my parents: my Dad has always been a lecturer in Maths, my Mum has always been a teacher. Our generation is different. Many of the people I went to university with are now on their second or even third career path: banker to teacher, solicitor to nurse, VM Manager to business owner (that’s me!) Lindsay of Lunettes London is another example,

“I studied English at uni then worked for Armani instore. I saw how the brand was honed through the stock purchased and thought buying was the right route for me.”

Buying is a notoriously hard professional nut to crack and with whole categories and brand successes lying on the line of a couple of ordered ranges, the stress is magnificent,

“I landed a buying job in London and managed to stay for two years. It got too much – the stress, the hours - so around the time my friend bought an opticians, I quit my job and started indulging my passion – eyewear.”

Lunettes London sell the kind of glasses you can spend all summer searching for on the high street and never finding. They are the kind of glasses you see a really cool girl wearing at a festival and in the blink of an eye she is gone before you can even begin to open your mouth to ask her where she picked her oracular beauties from. I found them on a shopping trip with a client in Manchester in Curiouser and Curiouser, picked up Lindsay’s business card and started stalking her straight away.

Initially conceived in the form of Frockstar, re-branding under ‘Lunettes London’ made the appeal unisex and Lindsay, self-confessed eyewear addict, has now been in business for two years. Her eyewear is retro vintage and the occasional cool designer pair which she has sourced herself or has been sourced by her friend who is an optician. Handy, that.

Lunettes London has grown from a stall 1 day per month on Portabello market to a fully-fledged business complete with an online boutique, several stockists in Manchester and London and an online presence not to be sniffed at. Lindsay is “obsessive” and her long term plan is to design and produce her own range of eyewear. Currently working at her friend’s opticians one day a week learning about lenses and glasses, I think her long term plan will come to fruition very soon indeed.