To be honest, I think that this outfit speaks for itself. I’ve said this before, but the easiest way to dress stylishly is to pick a colour palette, and stick to it. Tones of muted earthy shades work beautifully but mix up the textures. Here we have a fine merino wool turtle neck, a mohair cardigan, with a smooth wool coat and corduroy trousers. We’ve added a pop of colour with this fabulous beige and blue check scarf but so many other colours would work too. A camel or cream scarf would look very chic, as would bright red. The Jigsaw one here is SO soft and incredibly warm. It also comes in this burgundy which would look fabulous (and tie the shoes in nicely with this particular outfit).

Speaking of shoes, the quality of these John Lewis slipper loafers is incredible for the price. It makes me SO excited to see John Lewis’s own brand creating an excellently designed item at a very competitive price. This summer the department store appointed their first Director of Design for fashion so hopefully this is a sign of things to come…..these shoes are also available in black and pale beige.

This Zara coat is a fantastic example of an affordable coat, designed and made well. If I was in the market for a smart day coat then I would snap it up!

The earrings are by a small designer called Roake, based on the Isle of Wight. Founded by Rosie, their clothes and jewellery are lovingly crafted in their small studio. Do take a look at their jewellery as I think that many of the pieces would make really wonderful Christmas gifts. You would also be supporting a small artisan and no doubt provoking a tiny happy dance when they received your order.

Here are the glasses!! Mum will hate me for drawing attention to them but hey ho, I write a fashion blog ;) This pair are by Cubitts and I cannot recommended them enough as a one-stop shop for excellent spectacles. There is a breadth of choice, on a spectrum from ‘don’t notice my glasses’ to ‘if I’ve got to wear them, I might as well WEAR them’. I LOVE glasses. There are so many amazing frames out there that you can have so much fun with. I also believe that as you get older, you should try being a bit more adventurous and make a bigger statement. I encourage you to play with colour, with size, experiment with weight and above all have fun!!

This boiler suit is by another small brand called Beyond Nine. Named as such because you can wear their pieces whilst pregnant and beyond. It’s such a clever concept. For anyone that has been pregnant, you will know that maternity wear, on the whole, is pretty punk. Also, no one wants to be buying lots of pieces that they will never wear again but as you can see here (disclaimer - I am not pregnant) Beyond Nine have created clothing that is perfect in its’ own right. They have a pretty comprehensive collection of pieces so should.a boiler suit not be for you, there are other options.

I do want to talk about this boiler suit though. The quality is really lovely and it fits very well. I can hear many of you saying, boiler suit? Great on a 40 something year old but not on me………nope! Don’t agree. The girls at Beyond Nine have very kindly sent mum one to try in denim. After the holidays, pictures of a non-40 year old will be coming your way - so watch out…..!