It’s here, it’s here and C is for……
June 30, 2010 | Category: Finishing School
Hello there!! So, what do you think of my new home?
Thank you and massive hugs go to Yuri (@urbanvox) www.urbanvox.net for patiently designing this blog template for me, he’s a gem. This has all ended up being much more work (and stress) than I think we both anticipated as we ended up doing more than we thought we would. I really only changed my blog as I need some functionality for a future project (to be revealed soon) and it kind of progressed into a full blog redesign and photo shoot. I am never one to do things by halves! It’s been fun though and we’re almost there.
You will see my blog evolve over the next few weeks as I get to grips with doing much more on here and making it more functional for you all. Bear with me. Any suggestions/tips are most welcome.
I have a very special post coming up for this weeks Think Frock It’s Friday with many of my photographs from the shoot and some GORGEOUS outfits. However, throughout this post there are some little taster photographs. All of the photographs were taken by Yuri and my stylist was the fabulous Alice Fern Cocks who is one day going to be a name you all recognise in the Fashion World. All of the clothes and accessories in these shots were my own or Alice’s. The photo shoot proper will be revealed on Friday with an exciting discount code – woo hoo!
Just one last little housekeeping note before I get onto the workshop. Please click on the icon to the right of this post to subscribe to my posts. I have moved my blog to a different domain so you will need to update your readers. Please do this as I shall cry lots of tears if I lose anyone. I’ve only just found you all!
Today is workshop day for Finishing school. It is a bit of a cop out as I am about to republish a lot of a post I wrote a few weeks ago and from which the response inspired me to start Finishing School. However, I think it warrants a place in Finishing School.
For those that are yet to start Finishing School please feel free to join in anytime. You can dip in and out, just write your post and link up when you can. If you want to go through the previous workshops then please do. I am working on an exciting competion that those who complete 6 of the first 12 workshops will be eligible to enter – so do join in.
C is for…………
Clothes
Now you all have your well fitted bras *cough* it’s time to sort the outer layer out.
I wrote a piece a few weeks ago called ‘If I can do it you can’ that lead to the setting up of Lottie Loves…Finishing School. I am actually going to be using much of this piece in complete repetition for this workshop. It will do no harm for those that have already read it to read it again (albeit with amendments) and be prompted to follow through, and for those that haven’t seen it before it is definitely a challenge worthy of Finishing School.
I absolutely believe that if you look good you feel good. Looking good is not provocative or too sexy or too confident, looking good is our absolute right as women. We are female, we have beautiful and alluring bodies and we should look fabulous as much as possible. Looking fabulous makes us feel so much better about ourselves and is a surprising tool in our armoury of confidence.
The easiest way to ensure you look well put together all of the time is to have a wardrobe full of pieces that when chosen will be guaranteed to look good together, are figure flattering and easy to wear. You have all heard of a capsule wardrobe and that is what we shall be aiming for.
Workshop Week 3 Challenge
Today I am going to ask you to sort out your wardrobe in the next two weeks using the tips below. I would love to hear how you get on with this, what your personal challenges have been to achieving this, obstacles that you have overcome to complete this task, the finished result and how you feel about it.
If you’ve already done this task as per my previous post then do link up your historical post to here, if you are yet to do it despite reading this before then hopefully this will be the added push you needed. If you have never read this before then read on and get to it!
TIPS
- Go through your wardrobe and throw out everything that is too big/too small and that you really shouldn’t be seen in public in. Be honest about yourself. It does not matter one iota if the labels in your clothes say size 8, size 12, size 16, size 20 or any other size. It DOES matter if you wear clothes that are too small or too big for you. There is nothing worse than seeing an evidently size 16 woman squeezed into a size 14 dress or pair of trousers. Truly awful. You are kidding yourself if you are wearing clothes based on a label. You need to wear clothes that fit and flatter regardless of the label size. Sizes should be used as a guideline only, not least because every shop has a different idea of what a particular size is. A Topshop size 10 is completely different to a Next size 10 and there are various examples of this. Select clothes in the size you feel is best for you and work from there. I have clothes in my wardrobe from a size 6 to size 14. I don’t care, what I care about is that they all fit me and look good!
- If you shouldn’t be seen in public in it you shouldn’t be seen in private by your family in it either. This includes underwear and nightwear. It’s painful and hard and you may well end up with a wardrobe of three things but better that than a wardrobe full of nasty horrible clothing. If it’s not there you can’t put it on. I did this, it was painful but it felt soooo amazing to never have to look at the mountain of awful stuff I had and better still never have to put it on again. My husband LOVES the fact that I no longer wear shoddy clothes and my kids are constantly telling me I look beautiful now – that is all the assurance I need to know it is the right thing to do.
- Go out and buy basics. initially just buy cheap, Primark, Tesco, anywhere where you can fill your wardrobe full of basics for very little. Five outfits will see you through a week easily whilst you start to fill your wardrobe with key pieces. Basics should include an attractive pair of Pyjamas (this is important for you and your relationship They don’t have to be ‘sexy’ just well fitting and pleasant) a well fitting pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, a good belt, a black cardigan, a DRESS! and a couple of flattering jumpers/blouses (depending on time of year), and a skirt that can be dressed up or down.
- Stick to two or three colours initially that can be mixed and match. Try not to fill your wardrobe with black as it’s terribly dull and depressing to look upon a wardrobe of black clothes and won’t help revitalise your image or enthusiasm.
- Sit down and think about whose dress sense you admire and why you admire it. Do you like matchy matchy, do you like retro? Do you think someone looks good when they wear statement jewellery? Is there a type of dress you like? Think about it and write it down if it helps. What sort of image would you like to have? Are you a Christina Aguilera in the making or a Victoria Beckham or a Helena Bonham Carter? It doesn’t matter what image you choose as long as you are comfortable with it, it makes you feel great and you are committed to carrying it through. I am not talking about copying someone, you merely need to have an idea of how you would like to look on a day to day basis.
I have a friend who wears exactly the same style shirt, in varying patterns with a white t-shirt every day. However, the cut of the skirt and t-shirt are incredibly flattering on her and every day she has a different statement necklace. Her wardrobe is so simple yet everyday she looks fabulous. By knowing her style and sticking to it she has managed to buy and easy wardrobe full of clothes and can look fabulous every day with very little thought or effort. This is the way to go for any busy Mum. We don’t have the time of our non mummy counterparts so we need to make it easy.
- Think about which parts of your body you are comfortable and happy to reveal and which bits you aren’t. We all have parts of us we don’t like, it’s an unfortunate by product of being a women but the trick is to embrace the bits you do like and cover the bits you don’t. If you feel uncomfortable showing your legs wear long skirts, if you hate the tops of your arms wear three quarter length sleeves. By developing your own style rules shopping will be made so much easier as you won’t waste your time trying on pieces that may well look inviting on the hangar but you know you won’t really like as the sleeves or length of skirt aren’t right. Lets face it, trying on clothes with a whingy toddler or baby is no fun so the easier we make it the better.
So there you have it – hop to it girls!
When you’re done come back here and link up with Mr Linky at the bottom of this page. Do go back and look at the other Finishing School posts to see how some of my fabulous ladies are getting on. I note than only ONE person has blogged about the Bra fitting although I know there are a number of you have been out and now have well hoisted breasts. Please do link up as it really helps everyone to stay motivated and to join in. If you don’t blog please feel free to leave a great big comment to let me know how you’re doing.
Happy Wardrobe sorting. Don’t be overwhelmed, you will be surprised how easy this is once you get started and it’s soo much fun and incredibly cathartic. They say a change is as good as a holiday!
Lottie -x-
PS – do have a little look around my blog and let me know what you think. Can I draw your attention to my Get in Touch page too as I have talked a bit about who I would love to hear from for future posts xx
*all photographs by Urban Vox Photography, stylist is Alice from Katy Fern Handbags
Red underskirt – Vivien of Holloway
Gold Corset – What Katie Did (from a couple of years ago)
All accessories – mine and Alice’s
Make up and Hair – by me!
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shopaholicann
on June 30th, 2010I love the retro look and it’s easy to navigate round. Well done you!!
Tweets that mention It’s here, it’s here and C is for…… -- Topsy.com
on June 30th, 2010[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by LottieLoves, LottieLoves. LottieLoves said: Here is my new blog with C is for……. workshop post AND a few photographs from my photoshoot – enjoy! http://bit.ly/9vpBqo [...]
urbanvox
on June 30th, 2010yayyyyyyyyy!!! finally up!
glad you love it… loved doing the pics with you… can’t wait for the next session!
xoxo
Helen Ellis
on June 30th, 2010Lottie,
I love the new look of the sight, especially the banner! It’s frock-tastic!
Great clothing guidelines. I myself always wear three-quarter sleeves.
Congrats on the new, gorgeous look.
Your favorite dress-wearing Luddite,
Helen
The Running TinkerBell
on June 30th, 2010Love the new look! and what fabulous pictures!! my fave is the tea tree one!
I have done my wardrobe cluttering and got four (yes – 4) bin bags of stuff out. and just discovered that out of the stuff i saved, few bits will be added to the bin bags as they are too big. weight loss is great, but bad for one’s wallet! (not really…;-D)
Anna @Evie George
on June 30th, 2010Oooooooh!!! Loving those teaser photos and your new blog design is fab!! I did the bra fit challenge and had a good post about how different places tell you you’re different sizes but……….
My blog is on hold AGAIN… I had a stalker issue which I haven’t quite decided what to do about so I’ve just put a permission thing on it. Maybe I’ll just have a secret one somewhere- I’ll let you know if I do. xx
Anna @Evie George
on June 30th, 2010p.s. love that you had tea cups in trees!!! xxxxx
Becky
on June 30th, 2010hello gorgeous lady! fab shots, oufits and model xx
admin
on June 30th, 2010Oh no Anna that’s awful. I wondered why you had gone quiet again. Hope you are okay and you can deal with it okay. Big Hugs to you xxx
admin
on June 30th, 2010Thank you honey! I wasn’t sure at first but I rather love it now
admin
on June 30th, 2010Anytime
xx
Anna
on June 30th, 2010Love the new page. How do I use the Mr Linky thing? Should I write a blog on my website and then put that URL?
shopaholicann
on July 1st, 2010I finally got measured for a bra, change of cup size – there’s a thing!! lol NOW you want me to clear out my wardrobe…oh this is going to be soooo painful!!!
Lace and Gold
on July 1st, 2010Great new blog layout/design, and stunning photographs; you look gorgeous- I can’t wait to see the rest of them!
I had been going through my wardrobe and putting things in a charity bag for a few days, but I kinda gave up, but this post has spurred me on to keep going
admin
on July 2nd, 2010Thank you! Come on, get that wardrobe sorted!
xx
admin
on July 2nd, 2010As they say – no pain no gain
admin
on July 2nd, 2010Yes, I have messaged you x
shopaholicann
on July 3rd, 2010I’m not getting very far with my wardrobe clearout……I keep putting things back “just in case” Must try HARDER!
Rhian
on July 5th, 2010Hey Lottie,
I’ve been planning to sort out my wardrobe for ages, so this post has come just in time to spur me on! Will probably take me 2 weeks to get it done though. Will keep you posted.
Thanks again, Rhi x
p.s. Blog, photos etc – all fabulous!
Lottie Loves… Finishing School – Week 3 « Mummy musings
on July 8th, 2010[...] But anyway, I’m having a go at this weeks challenge, set by the lovely Lottie [...]
Nikki
on July 28th, 2010I have read these posts have they have come up but I am just catching up properly and wanted to comment!
You look so amazing in these photos!
your blog continues to inspire me
Nikki xx
C is for Clothes « Learn. Create. Do.
on September 10th, 2010[...] third challenge in Lottie’s Finishing School is to sort out your wardrobe. I am late in completing this for a few [...]
Jen
on January 19th, 2011Hello Lottie, just going through these, having found them somehow…This is such an excellent post! I suppose it should also go without saying that one must be careful to not wear *too large* clothing, either…I’ve lost about 16 pounds since late summer and one day realized even some of my favourite dresses were making me look a bit frumpy, as they’re hanging off! Uneven hems, etc…You don’t even want to know what I’ve done to remedy this until I’m able to make & buy new things. LOL Even my husband saw & said something must be done!
Your bra-fitting post was excellent, too. It is a shame that there’s barely a shop in the US capable of fitting bras (though I think Linda the Bra Lady has it right). If I hit the lottery I’m opening a shop! Shipping & returning things to the UK and back, especially when it’s time for a new size, becomes extremely pricey.
Lottie
on January 19th, 2011Hello! Thanks for stopping by Jen. You are right about too large clothes, any clothes that don’t fit properly look dreadful. Well done you for losing 16lbs (assuming you wanted to?). I DO want to know what you did to alter them, I’m intrigued now
Re bras, I think I shall be getting my visitors to bring bras over from the UK with them and shall definitely be doing a big stock up when I visit there.