Put a Bow On It! February’s Style Not Age Challenge

It was my turn to choose the theme for this month’s Style Not Age challenge! This month marks six years since we started this group! Initially it just me, Jacqui, Anna and Hilda; Gail joined a while later. You can see our first post here. With more than 70 challenges under our belts, it’s getting a little more difficult to find a theme we haven’t done before. I took some inspiration from one of the current trends: bows.

It seems any outfit can be on trend if you put a bow on it!

They are popping up in jewellery, hair accessories, footwear and clothing. While small delicate bows are seen as girly, I prefer the power statement of a pussy bow; a modern-day take on the Sybil Fawlty aesthetic! In fact, fashion is embracing all sizes this season, even massive bows that make up the silhouette of the garment itself. It seems any outfit can be on trend if you put a bow on it!

Unsurprisingly, the starting point for this outfit was the blouse. It’s an old one that I bought on an obscure website years ago. It’s basically a Zara dupe (long before you could just find one on Vinted!). The body as well as the sleeves are sheer so it needs a layer either underneath or on top. I decided to add a knitted vest with a geometric pattern. I tried a few pairs of trousers in different colours before settling on these old favourites.

You can’t go wrong with classic blazers (that’s what I tell myself when I buy yet another one!)

This is the first time I’ve worn this jacket; I bought it with a gift card at an event in Birmingham last February hosted by Luinluland. All attendees to that session received a Bullring giftcard and 45 minutes to run out and buy something. A group of us hotfooted it to Zara where I found this jacket on the sale rail for £49.99. I really like the longer length and the gold buttons. (I have one very similar in red that’s shorter.) You can’t go wrong with classic blazers (that’s what I tell myself when I buy yet another one!).

To break up the green I added black and white earrings and a chunky bangle, plus ivory ankle boots. I finished the outfit with a classic chain handle vegan leather bag, big sunglasses and green and gold rings.

Last week was half term but we didn’t do anything. Well, actually that’s not true. Last Monday I took Isobel and her friend to the Trafford Centre, but all I bought was a bottle of nail top coat from Kiko! The shops are a sea of grey, black, beige, white and cream, with the odd splash of red. Sooo boring! I buy most of my clothes on Vinted now anyway so a trip to a big shopping centre is no longer exciting for me.

The following day, Isobel became ill with a stomach bug and I developed a terrible cough. I’m still struggling with it, but the doctor prescribed some Codeine linctus that will suppress the cough and “knock me out” at night. I’m a bit wary of taking it to be honest! I’ll let you know how it goes!

SHOP THE LOOK

Zara jacket (similar) | Flounce London trousers | blouse (old) | Brave Soul knitted vest from TK Maxx | Next ankle boots (old) | Jennifer Hamley vegan leather bag | Jeepers Peepers sunglasses | bangle from a charity shop | earrings from Parfois | Yaa Yaa London ring on index finger | Monica Vinader ring on ring finger 20% discount with this link) | Rotary watch (PR product, 10% discount code THESTYLESPLASH10OFF)

Let’s see how my blogger friends have “Put a Bow On It!”…

Gail is wearing a preloved purple blouse from Etsy with coral three quarter length trousers and jacket. The bag was a gift from a friend and the purple boots from Amazon were a Christmas present. What a gorgeous colour combination! Visit Is This Mutton? for all the details.

Anna has teamed a gorgeous leopard print cardigan from H&M with a blouse from a charity shop (love the sleeves!). The Levis are old, but the Dr Martins are new, as are the satin laces to add more bows to the outfit. Head over to Anna’s Island Style to see more of this fabulous outfit!

Jacqui shopped her wardrobe for this challenge. Her culottes and blazer are from F & F, top from H&M and boots from Lotus Shoes This is giving me all the Spring vibes! Hop over to Mummabstylish to catch up with Jacqui.

Like Jacqui, Hilda also shopped her wardrobe and put together this beautiful look. Her trousers are by Paul Costelloe and the top is from H&M. Visit Over the Hilda to read all about it.

That’s all for this month’s challenge, we’ll be back with another fun theme on the last Monday of March…just a few days before Easter!

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