Pregnancy Style 101 - Ode to The Denim Doctor

I haven't been able to stand anything pressing on my bump for the past 6 months so whilst Baby Brown has been growing I have been wearing 90's low slung jeans. The ones above are my trusty Diesel jeans from 2002 bought for £110 in the Manchester Diesel store with my second wage packet from Marks & Spencer. At the time they weren't called Boyfriend jeans but after years have passed in the fashion industry, they are now.

When they went through on the arse (the gusset to be precise!) I was mortified!! Hardly glamorous is it?! I contacted Michael The Denim Doctor with an email dripping with shame. He reassured me that was the most common area to go as it is an area of higher friction. I packed up my jeans and posted them off to him for tender loving jean shaped care. 3 weeks later they are back and I am thrilled. I have been living in my Topshop Leigh Maternity Jeans and it'll be lush to get these Diesel bad boys back into rotation. Here's the after pic:

He's done a reet good job. The mended area is a lot stiffer than the jeans themselves (it has been 'fused') but James reassured me that this will ease over time and not be so stiff in the future. No-one will be looking at my gusset so I'm not bothered what it looks like, as long as my arse isn't hanging out!

This repair cost £19.95 plus postage so £25 altogether. WORTH IT. I could easily have gone out a bought a new pair of boyfriend jeans but these have lasted 15 years and they have only needed 1 repair so cost per wear I reckon I'm gaining interest now. If you have a pair of jeans for Michael to fix or alter check out his website The Denim Doctor.

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)