Black Friday Warehouse Wish List!

A good friend asked me yesterday, whether I was excited about Black Friday, and I have to be honest, until this year, I always thought Black Friday was Black Eye Friday.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with this, this is the Friday before Christmas when all of the factory workers finish and drink all day; resulting in quite a few Black eyes – hence the name!   

I am now aware of what Black Friday actually is; The Friday after Thanksgiving when all of the stores have sales, (excuse the use of the words stores, but I thought I would go with the theme of using Americanisms/Traditions).  Obviously, it was only a matter of time before we took yet another American tradition, so here we are, and who am I to complain about discount clothes – hell, we have embraced traditions which are a lot worse.

So I thought, what better way to get involved, than to put together a Black Friday Warehouse Wish List!!!!  Health Warning - Only participate on-line, the stores are crazy!

Khaki Textured Oversized Coat £110.00

Longline Embellished Jacket £120.00

Sequin Bandeau Jumpsuit £90.00

Statement Half and Half Necklace £24.00

Embellished Yoke Jumper £45.00

Fedora Hat £25.00

Wisteria Printer Trousers £36.00

Top 5 Winter Boots!

Ladies, prepare yourself!  Rumour has it, winter 2014 is set to be the wettest on record for 33 years; there is only way to prepare for this, and that is to invest in a pair of  winter Boots, or several, if you simply can’t pick just one.  The High Street has an amazing selection this year and there are so many different styles that are on trend.  Whether you prefer knee high, thigh high, ankle boots, biker boots, heeled, platform or flats, there really is something for everyone.   Here are my top 5 that will have you looking stylish, dry and jumping in puddles (just don't forget your suede protector!).





Next Grey Suede Over The Knee boots £120.00

Zara High Heeled Printed leather Bootie £89.99



Next Chestnut Chelsea Boot £68.00




Kurt Geiger Vanessa Black Low Heel Knee High Boots £210



Zara Fur Lined Leather Ankle Boot £89.99

Winter Coats 2014

Coats, possibly my favourite piece of clothing. I have far too many to wear but I can never resist at least one purchase per year. Whether it be a Parka, Cape, Cocoon, Overcoat or Trench; there isn't one of these I don't own. As much as I miss the sun there is something comforting about watching the leaves change colour and fall, knowing that I will soon be snug in my new winter coat.

I keep putting off buying this years winter coat as I know what I am like; I will be desperate to wear it and I will be wishing for the arrival of Winter which isn't fair on anyone, but the high street is bursting at the seams, and my will power is being pushed to limit.

To ease my withdrawals I have been browsing on-line and the high street is full of A/W 14 trends; military, check, pastels and to get you through the awkward autumn temperatures - my favourite - the Cape.  What coats do you love and what will you be wearing this Winter???

ASOS Coat with military Detail

ASOS Cocoon Coat

Warehouse Heavy Wash PU Panel Parka

Warehouse Check Coat

Warehouse Check Cape

 

 

 

Fabulous Fulton!

It’s arrived! My Fulton Umbrella is here and it hasn’t had to wait long for its test run.

I was woken at 4am the other morning by the clattering rain against my bedroom window and it’s the first time I have even been excited to hear rain; I knew it meant I would get to christen the Fulton.

After many years of having one soaking wet hand from holding onto my Umbrellas to try and stop them from blowing inside out, being defeated by the wind and finally resulting in the Umbrellas being thrown unceremoniously into the bin on the way to work, I decided that a solid investment had to be made.

I had no idea where to start looking as I’ve always just picked up whatever I liked the look of for as little as possible. I was - like most other women out there - under the illusion that all Umbrellas broke. Good old trusted Google pointed me in the right direction and this is how I stumbled across Fulton Umbrellas . Fulton Umbrellas hold a Royal Warrant to HRH Queen Elizabeth II and are a firm favourite at Royal events, so I thought if it’s good enough for the Queen and Kate then it’s good enough for me.

 

 I decided to go for the Huntsman in black, which is typically for men, but I think they ooze style and sophistication so to hell with convention. I also needed an Umbrella would go with everything as unfortunately I have neither the money or the space to have one for each outfit, unlike HRH herself. 

After only a couple of outings I can already feel the difference in the quality of the material and this, accompanied with a strengthened double steel rib frame and genuine wood handle, makes it feel very sturdy. 

 

If you prefer something a bit smaller and feminine I would suggest Tiny-2 Blurred Blooms, or if you prefer a clear dome umbrella then look no further than the Birdcage-1 White, which has been used by the Queen herself!

I'm sure some of you out there will be dubiously reading this and asking yourself how can I be sure of an Umbrella that has only had two outings, but this is the first time in over a decade where I have been able to walk in the rain feeling confident that I my hair will still be in place and I am not going to start work resembling a drowned rat. But the best thing about the Fulton Umbrella is that it adds to my outfit; finally I have found an Umbrella that is fashionable, functional and goes with everything!

Through the Key Hole

I have a small confession to make. I no longer live in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I am now south of the water in a leafy suburb called Low Fell, which is in Gateshead. Rest assured this is only a stone’s throw away from Newcastle so I will still be keeping up to date with all things Newcastle but it is not, as my husband describes it, “a suburb of Newcastle”.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen” I hear you cry, and I couldn’t agree more! I had become accustomed to living in Jesmond, and its array of pretentious amenities; Starbucks on the corner, Bars, Restaurants, Deli’s galore (so I could gorge on sun dried tomatoes to my heart's content) and the most expensive Tesco outside of Central London. The bubble had to burst sometime as both the Husband and I wanted to buy a house. No more hearing every movement of the upstairs flat - whether this be giggling drunk girls at 4am (when we had to be up for work at 6am) or the far too familiar sound of trips to the toilet. I could barely contain my excitement!

Unfortunately our budget couldn’t quite stretch to a house in Jesmond; upwards of £300k is the average asking price in case you were wondering, and to be honest, the most desirable locations in the Newcastle area come with a price tag, so our attention turned to Gateshead. This is not somewhere I had previously considered, and trust me there have been quite a few non-negotiables when house-hunting; free reign over the décor, a pair of Hunter Wellies for my walk to the bus, and a Fulton Umbrella. Love can do funny things to you, and I'm here in Low Fell with a driveway, stairs, a utility room and a garden - things that I never thought I cared about, but now couldn’t live without.

So I thought what better way to get reacquainted with my readers than to give you a sneaky peak into my house.

NE Style Smart revamp!

I'm back!!

Well readers, if you are still there after my 7 month absence, thank you very much, but if you're not, who can blame you?  Whilst I am sure some of you were relieved that I have stopped clogging up your newsfeeds on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ with my ramblings about fashion, I feel that I owe an explanation for my impromptu disappearance to those of you who have continued to remind me that I haven’t blogged for a while, as if I wasn't aware of this.

My disappearance has been down to two things.  Firstly, I got a new job; no I did not replace a certain stony faced women at American Vogue, but it was a career goal so I felt that it deserved my full attention.  The second was that I bought a house, and for those of you out there who have gone through this hideous process, you will be able to appreciate why my blog has been neglected.
Since my life has had somewhat of a revamp in the last 7 months I feel that it is only appropriate that my NE StyleSmart should too!

My first love will always be fashion but as my life is evolving (a PC way to describe getting older!) I just don’t have the money or the time to spend every weekend buying new clothes.  I now have a house to decorate, a garden to maintain, a job that I actually enjoy and let's not forget the husband! 

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t to say that I am a nest of tables away from middle aged hell (for those of you who don't know - I wasn’t until I bought a house - these are essentially the Russian doll of the table world; smaller tables within tables) only ever to be used when guests need to somewhere to put their cup of tea! I also nearly came out in hives on a recent trip to the local retail park, where I nearly suffocated in a sea of linen trousers and ¾ length shorts. 

Fashion will still feature heavily on my blog, it just won’t be the only thing.  You can expect to see interior design, food, pubs, days out and events, but one thing that hasn’t changed and will never change is where all of this is happening and that is Newcastle Upon Tyne!