Claire Richards maxi PU trim coat from Simply Be*

Howdy!

I hope your Sunday is going well!

Simply Be were kind enough to send me a coat from the new A/W range, and I picked this Claire Richards maxi PU trim coat because sometimes you need a really long coat to be all snuggly in on a cold, windy day. I've done two looks with this coat - this casual one and a more glam one I'll show you tomorrow - as this coat is very versatile and lends itself to a number of looks.

It's made from washable wool which is very soft to the touch and feels heavy enough to be a quality garment yet light enough not to weigh you down. It has military style buttons on the sleeves and PU trim around the pockets (which are sewn down and will need unpicking) and on the sleeves, and there are closer photos of these details further down.

I wanted to say thanks to Simply Be for being so accommodating. I sized up from my usual size in this coat but it was still too small. As the bronchitis still lingers and is making me avoid food (by way of being too exhausted to take care of myself) by the end of the week I received it I could just do it up, but by then Simply Be had sent out the bigger size, so I'm very grateful.

I love the big collar! The coat is a statement in itself and it doesn't feel like it needs much more, if you know what I mean? Some coats can detract from an outfit but this one definitely adds.

The round buttons on the sleeves are my favourite touch

Outfit details:

Coat, Simply Be*
Top, M&S via charity shop,
Skirt, ASOS Curve
Boots, Simply Be (a few years old)

As you can probably tell from these photos, I'm giving Casper the ghost a run for his money in the pale stakes at the moment. These bugs going round at the moment just won't seem to go, and I know there are a few other bloggers with lingering lurgies, so hugs to all feeling below par at the moment.

Come back at 6pm tomorrow to see this coat with a glam evening outfit!

Thanks for reading.

*coat sent to me for review by Simply Be. All views are my own.

Bonmarche coat OOTD*

Hiya!

I'm baaaaaaa-aaaaaaack!

I had a great holiday. It was really lovely to spend some time with my mum and step dad as I hadn't spent any real them for quite a while. We had really good weather up until the last two days so it was grand. I've got a couple of holiday posts coming up as well as some other posts once I'm back into the swing of things.


The lovely people at Bonmarche contacted me just before I went on holiday to ask me if I'd like to review one of their new lines. I've bought bits and bobs from Bonmarche before on a few occasions and often visit their website, so I was already familiar with their goodies. I chose a coat by David Emanuel, which is actually purple but photographs as pink in these photos, which were taken outside the woodland cabin we stayed at near Weymouth.

Showing the concealed zip (below.)

I'm really happy with this coat. I'd have been equally as delighted with it if I'd bought it myself. I love the colour, it's so me! Also, it's not a heavy coat. It looks and feels like wool but it isn't so it doesn't absorb lots of rainwater and become a keep-fit exercise to walk around in - you'll know what I mean if you've been caught out in a downpour in a wool coat! I wore this 2 days on holiday - both drizzly days - and didn't get bogged down.

Now, about sizing. This coat goes up as far as a size 24, so I hesitantly requested that size. Blow me down when it actually fitted me! To give you an idea, to get a decent fit around my big bum, the last coat I ordered (from Evans) was a size 32. Have I lost stones and stones? No, this is a generously fitting coat. I think it will fit someone up to a size 28 (I wear a size 26-28 in most clothes, for reference.)

Here's a photo of me with the collar up. Cosy! This is a slightly better representation of colour as well, although it's still deeper purple than this.

Coat, Bonmarche £45*
Dress, Simply Be
Leggings, Very
Boots, Tesco

Have you found your winter coat yet?

What are you waiting for?! We'll soon be in Brrrrrrr-ville in the UK.

Thanks for reading.

*Coat provided by Bonmarche for my consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.