Time to give 'cold shoulder'....the cold shoulder

As I said before on this blog, probably a few years ago now, I'm no fan of following current fashion trends and prefer to buy more timeless items of clothing which will not just see me through this year, but the next, and the next, and...ok you get the idea.

What I do object to though is retailers' obsession with pushing a trend at us long after it's past its sell-by date.  The other day, I went into a local clothes shop and was confronted with rows and rows of everything from party tops and dresses to polo-neck jumpers.  All very appropriately seasonal, you might think, but look again.  With no exception, each and every one of these had great big holes cut out of the shoulders.  Even the jumpers.  Really!  Jumpers with holes in the shoulders.  At this time of year.  I completely despair.

The exclusive piece of art at the top of this post is my Microsoft Paint reconstruction of the abomination known as the "cold shoulder".

Yes folks, the cold shoulder trend, which along with the off-the-shoulder "Bardot tops" is arguably the worst fashion trend forced on us since the "colour blocking" which we had to endure about 4 or 5 years ago.  Sadly it looks as if it's not going away just yet.

A few months ago I decided to try one of these tops on, but it just looked stupid so I gave up.  This is not sour grapes as I've seen many other people wearing them and every time it's been an unflattering fashion concept.  I get angry when we are dictated to by clothes retailers who foist these idiotic garments on to us.  We don't all want to buy a garment with two great gaping holes where the shoulders/sleeves used to be.

By all means, give us sleeveless tops - a must-have in the summertime - but either give us sleeves or no sleeves at all.  Just give us our shoulders back.

My new coat

One tradition of mine at this time of year is to go in search of a new winter coat.  Some years I will be after an all-weather, waterproof/quilted/padded coat but this year I thought I would treat myself to a military coat.  Now I'm not a fashionista by any means and prefer to buy more 'timeless' clothes which will outlive fashion trends, but I like this coat which I bought in Tesco this week.

Although the military style is on-trend at the moment, the minimal amount of buttons on this coat, compared to some coats I've seen, should ensure a bit more longevity for this new garment. However, in an ideal world, I'd only really want to wear it this winter and then donate it to a charity shop.  For unfortunately I have had to go up yet another size, as a result of my "expansion" due to weight gain, which I hope will be temporary in the longer term.

I haven't been dieting/weighing myself over the past month, to avoid giving myself any more stress in what is already a very stressful month, but I will get there eventually.  It's not all bad though, for my general fitness levels are finally improving.

Decem-brrrrrr.

So here we are in a new month, and it's started just as the last one ended - sooooo cold.  Even my usually cosy living room feels colder than usual, and I'm sitting here with a great big scarf round my neck, to supplement my Matalan-version-of-the-Sarah-Lund-jumper (as opposed to the original iconic garment, pictured above).

One encouraging thing I've noticed over the last couple of years is that people are finally coming round to dressing to suit the season.  Of course, it is a peculiarly British trait to be inappropriately dressed for the weather.  Check out any town/city centre on a Friday/Saturday night for evidence of that.  It may only be a fashion trend, but knitwear is back, back, back.  I'm not sure if it's due to winters becoming colder, or the nation's recent obsession with all things Scandinavian, but much to my delight the shops are now full of winter-themed knits, for men, women and children.  Even the much-reviled "Christmas jumper" is back on the rails.

Even if the nights are dark, the weather is freezing and the SAD lamp is back in circulation, we might as well embrace winter.  That's something else we can learn from our Scandinavian friends.  So with that in mind, I'm all prepared: lots of knitwear, hats, scarves, gloves, big winter boots, wellies, snow grips, snow shovel etc etc....now all we can hope for is that this country doesn't collapse into an even bigger mess than it's in already, when the first snowflakes arrive.

Retail therapy (again, I know)

Off to Matalan with mum this afternoon, and what a very productive day it was for both of us: mum was very lucky to finally get the new pair of boots she was looking for, we got some Christmas wrapping paper, oh and I bought two new coats. Not one but two. A black one and a purple one.

Now I like coats, and I like purple coats, and there are probably not enough purple coats in the world so here is another one for my collection. Although it's probably more "grape" than purple I guess.

October

As months go, October is probably one of my least favourites. It really hasn't got much going for it: the holidays are over and there's not much to look forward to, the weather gets colder, the days get darker, Christmas is being foisted on us by every high street store before it's even Halloween, the fireworks start going on sale for all the anti-social low lifes to let off every night between now and 5th November, making our streets even more of a no-go area than they are already. My mood sinks so low that I end up comfort eating, getting fat, gaining weight, getting angry that I'm getting fat. And don't start me about work...

Anyway being the optimist I am, I'm trying to think of something good about October. Then I remembered that this is probably my favourite time of the year for clothes. I might have said on this blog before now that I love autumn fashion, and that's still the same. You can forget all the trendy designer shops - my favourite clothes shop is the magnificent Matalan. Good quality clothes at reasonable prices, you can't go wrong.

One of my major autumn/winter obsessions is boots. When you live in a country with a climate as utterly dire as this one, you can't have enough boots of course. On Saturday I headed for Matalan with my birthday money and bought not one but two new pairs of boots for the winter. One of them is a knee-high dark grey pair, the other is a mid-calf brown pair (pictured above). Today was like a winter's day, so I wore the brown pair to work, and they passed the test.

Last word on my birthday - I did very well this year...two pairs of boots, a new skirt, a Father Ted DVD box set, a crystal bracelet, two bottles of red wine and still some money left to spend. Result!

The revenge of the maxi dress, and some other stuff.

I spent the early stages of this (so-called) summer on an elusive search for the maxi dress, the one which doesn't make me look like an elephant, or a 4-person tent, or a multicoloured explosion in a paint shop. Needless to say I gave up, with the realisation that they're all made for tall people and I'd have to cut a few inches off the bottom of a very, very long dress.

So it was a massive surprise today to finally meet the maxi dress of my dreams, perfect in every way. And even better, it was reduced in a sale!! Of course I bought it! Had a very nice day of retail therapy.

Now I'm no fashionista, but I do like clothes. A lot. However, why do the shops persist in trying to sell us such ludicrous "looks"? This year, it's been 'colour blocking'. Whoever thought of putting pink and red together? What were they on?

The other fashion issue which continues to irritate me: if our nation is becoming the obesity capital of Europe, then where are all the big sizes? Why do the more affordable fashion stores persist on overstocking size 8s and 10s which remain unsold? It's time the size-discrimination stopped.

Big girls want fashionable, affordable clothing too!

Unfortunately in recent years there is a generation (of all shapes and sizes) who have grown up with ill-fitting low-cut T-shirts, low-slung tattoo-flashing jeans, tracksuit bottoms and hooded tops, and those people will sadly take a bit more persuading to smarten themselves up if the opportunity ever arose. The chav style is here to stay, it seems, which is very sad indeed.

I've been off work today and tomorrow, for what I call a couple of days' "sanity leave" to (a) clear my head and (b) get things done. So far I haven't been able to achieve either of these objectives :) oh well there's always tomorrow I suppose! Right - off to bed!

You know, I learned something today.

I learned that maxi dresses are not for me: after three attempts at trying them on, I've decided it's three strikes and they're out. After losing all this weight and not thinking of myself as the fat girl anymore, the last thing I want is to buy clothes which make me look like a beached whale.

Oh, and I also learned that it's ok to eat a big Indian meal, a high-points risotto, and a great big Magnum ice-cream lolly, and stay the same weight I was last week.

Meanwhile, back at EuropeCrazy HQ...

...the main news has been my continuing weight loss, currently totalling 8lbs, and which I'm really really really delighted about! There was a brief blip, but we're allowed that from time to time, and it wasn't long till I was back on track. Still a little bit to go yet, but reaching my lowest weight for about 15 years is, as the ad says....priceless.

Of course we don't need any excuse to go shopping for new clothes, although I'm 'between sizes' at the minute, especially when it comes to trousers/jeans. Anyway I bought a couple of new coats in George (Asda) a couple of weeks ago, which are very nice indeed. Pictures courtesy of www.asda.com.

SAD-ness, weight loss and a little black dress

After having my suspicions over the past week or so, I finally threw up my hands in the air yesterday and admitted that I'm going through yet another bout of the winter blues. For a number of years I've suffered from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) as, apparently, do millions of other people in this country.

When you get to the stage when you're no longer able to function, when you're unable to cope with even the simplest task, when you just want to shut the door and never come back out of the house, when you find it 99% impossible to socially interact with your workmates and friends, then that's the time to admit it's back again. The hardest part is trying to explain it to people who don't understand, who think you're just being anti-social, or weird, or just plain "off" with them. When in fact I'm still the same old me, only shut inside this dark tunnel with everything closing in. So I know what to do to make it better...getting the light box out this week, and going to try Vitamin D (one of my friends suggested this really works).

It wasn't all bad yesterday though: I have lost 2lbs this week, bringing my total weight loss over the last 4 weeks to = 4lbs. Have also lost inches over the last couple of weeks and starting to notice a difference in my body shape.

Something really good happened today: I went shopping in Matalan and bought a fabulous little black lace mini-dress which I'm going to wear to a Christmas night out. The best thing of all was that it was in a smaller size than what I usually buy! Here it is, courtesy of the Matalan website:

She's taller and thinner than I am though :)

Duffel coat / going brunette for winter.

Bought this today in Peacocks, with my birthday money :) http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=4370121

Tomorrow I'm going brunette for the next 5 months or so. That will solve the problem of my red hair clashing with my red coat!!

New trainers

Had a really good day today, and it started very well with a trip to Sports Direct on what was a very fruitful search for new trainers. £15: job done.

(picture courtesy of http://www.sportsdirect.com/)

Rabbits, ringtones and other random stuff

Having formed such a bond with Cuddles over the past 8 days, both my mum and I now admit that we have to let go. She is not a pet after all; she is a wild rabbit and we can only hope that if and when she leaves us (most likely soon), that she move on to a place where she is happy and free to roam.

I seem to have discovered a previously hidden talent for producing made-to-order ringtones. Having done one for my own phone (this is going to be a really difficult guess, right? Clue: "I was aiming for the sky") I did one for my friend at work who wanted a specific song which was in the charts a couple of years ago, and she's very happy with it. Just call me Jamster. Only without the Crazy Frog. Brrrrr-ding-ding-ding...aha happy memories - NOT!

The diet, or whatever you call it, has completely gone off the rails this week. With about 8 weeks to go until our as yet undecided summer holiday, I still haven't given up hope. Will need to get a grip. You can tell how committed I am at the moment, so committed that I went out with faithful travelling companion to our fave local Cantonese restaurant.

The weather - everyone's favourite conversation topic - has been depressingly wet for the last couple of weeks, just call it monsoon season. The shops are still full of summer clothes, but you wonder what's the point of buying them when you're probably only going to wear them for one week on a summer holiday abroad? Thus I have hit on a credit-crunching solution. If I go to a hot country in September, as is likely, I will wear last year's summer holiday clothes, which have been unworn since last summer's holiday. And the ones from two years ago, and so on. Because I haven't seen anything in the shops which I like better than what is already in my wardrobe.

Although I don't like the winter weather, I love winter fashion more than summer clothes. I love coats and boots and winter hats and scarves and big cosy cardigans....can't really say the same for short shorts and vest tops. Or the ultimate summer wear for that matter: an anorak.

Sunshine! (Part 2)

Two dry, sunny days in a row. We're definitely not used to it :)

Unfortunately this was enough to bring out all the summer-fashion-casualties whom I witnessed whilst out shopping at lunchtime. It was enough to make me bring up my lentil soup, and bearing in mind that I wasn't feeling too great again today, then that wouldn't have taken much!

Not really much to report otherwise...I'm still having a bit of a job adjusting back into reality after my Swedish trip. Reality pretty much sucks actually, it's boring me right now, and I can't be bothered with it. I treasure my nightly escape into blog-land....

Can you be calm and hyper at once?

That's how I feel at the minute, with 10 days to go. I haven't really got my control-freak tendency into gear yet, so it's probably time I got into list-making mode and decide what clothes, make-up etc that I'm taking to Gothenburg with me.

The other dilemma: black nail polish or fake French manicured nails? Black is winning at the moment.

Really want to wear the new boots to Gothenburg too, but will have to break them in beforehand.

Having a nice relaxing night, still got all those Sanctuary spa goodies left over from Christmas so I've been treating myself to a nice little pampering session :)

But on the other hand I'm extremely hyper now, as my holiday's getting closer...I've also been on best diet-and-exercise behaviour today, which is more than can be said for the weekend...!

Purple boots!!!

I might have mentioned before on this or another one of my blogs, that my favourite colour is purple. Which is quite fortunate this year as many of the shops are full of various purple items this late summer/autumn season (my favourite time of year for clothes, actually). I'm now building up my purple wardrobe and the latest addition today is a rather fab pair of purple boots which I bought during my lunch break.

They might just go nice with those skinny jeans which I bought the other week. Yes, skinny jeans (!) I may just be having a midlife crisis as I'm more a bootcut kind of girl, but having lost quite a bit of weight over the last few months I thought I'd reward myself with something I'd never even have considered before. The only problem being that I'm not quite at the stage where they're fitting comfortably, but it's heading in the right direction.

Retail therapy

If all else fails...!

Happily, I'm coming back out of that dark tunnel which I seemed to spend most of the past week and a half travelling through. It wasn't all bad though: I had a good meal at a local Indian restaurant which I hadn't been to before, although it still hasn't dethroned my favourite local Indian restaurant; and despite a long-weekend binge and aforementioned Indian meal I managed not to gain weight this week, staying the same, which is pretty positive, considering....oh and now I'm back on stepping terms with the mini stepper and can do 700 steps in one session.

Today, in my continuing quest to try some new things this summer, faithful travelling companion and myself visited a new-ish shopping mall which we hadn't visited before. It is sales time of course, which is ok if you're a size 8. So needless to say I didn't pick up any bargains, but was lucky enough to get a very nice summery dress in H & M which has been earmarked for the forthcoming summer holiday. (Which hasn't been booked yet, are we living life on the edge or what!!).

To be continued...!

I know why they call it 'breaking in a pair of shoes'

The 'breaking' bit refers to the effect on your feet. Not literally (thank goodness) but the whole 'Achilles Heel' thing is so true for me, as every new pair of shoes results in a gaping, bleeding big circle at the back of each ankle :(

My poor little overworked feet have taken a lot over the years. Because I walk to and from work, not to mention everywhere else, I wear out a lot of soles and have to replace my shoes rather a lot, which means the 'breaking in' ritual is a frequent, and painful, thing.

And just as the shoes are getting comfortable....the soles wear out! Ha!

We're not allowed to wear trainers in the office, so can I wear slippers to work tomorrow? Pretty please?

Socks and the City

Now for a completely random post, cause that's what this ol' blog is about after all.

Whatever happened to good socks? And no, that's not a euphemism for anything else. Because I mean SOCKS. Those things you put on your feet.

Many moons ago you could buy socks and they could possibly outlive you, now you're lucky to get a few weeks out of them.

Rant over :)