Sparkly shiny new things!

So you will remember that last week I reported A Very Bad Day For The Credit Card. Well, the fruits of my purchases have arrived. Read on!

Yep, I couldn't resist the pendant I was lusting after here! I also added a lovely green coloured cocktail ring to the order. Lovely.

This is the contents of the Oasis parcel: stirrup leggings - which I have been after for a while - and a fitted tunic. (I'm not 100% sure about the tunic - will have to get my sister's opinion when I'm home at the weekend.)

I will try to post an outfit post of the new look over the weekend!

Have you made any purchases recently?

How to... give thoughtful presents for your girlfriends

I don't have many birthdays to buy for at the beginning of the year but come spring and I have lots of girlfriends' birthday presents to shop for. I love shopping for other people, when I know what I'm looking for and when I have a fabulous idea. But sometimes it can be a horribly stressful experience with no clue what to get. For anyone else who has found themselves in this stress I have put together a comprehensive how to guide.


For the friend who likes to travel:

• a jewellery roll like this beautiful beaded one from M&S. And why not fill it with a few pieces of jewellery to get your girlfriend started? Like a gorgeous cocktail ring? Or a pair of chandelier earrings?
• luxury leather accessories like Aspinal of London's personalised British Travel Collection which includes two stunning Aspinal Luggage Tags, an Aspinal Classic Passport Cover and finally the Aspinal Classic Travel Wallet.
• a city guide for their next trip. Why not buy a Moleskine City Notebook and personalise with your own tips for the city of choice?

For the friend who loves to shop:

• a chic cream coloured purse like this from Smythson. And why not load it with a voucher from their favourite store?
• a Topshop Style Advisor Shopping Spree. Load up a Topshop Gift Card with any value from £100 to £300 and your very lucky friend will get the ultimate shopping experience with one of Topshop's Style Advisors in the London Oxford Circus store, as well as access to the VIP fitting rooms, free gift wrap on their purchases and be treated to lunch for two at the EAT cafe. The ultimate shopaholic's treat!

For the friend who likes to bake:

• a handwritten recipe and the ingredients to make it. Buy a lovely tin - like these by Cath Kidson - and fill it with the ingredients.
• a recipe folder - like this from Paperchase - part filled with your favourite delicious recipes and leave space for your friend to add their own.

Another way in which to make it special is to theme the gift. For this, find an old box. An old shoe box is often good as they are a good size (not too big and not too small) and have a lid. Then cover the box with some funky wrapping paper and line it with brightly coloured tissue paper. Then comes the hard part. What to put inside the box?


A girl's night box:

• a DVD. Something girly like Sex and the City or Pretty Woman.
• a mini bottle of fizz.
• chocolates. Like this rather scrumptious collection courtesy of Thorntons.
• chick lit like Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic or Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.

A sleepover box:

• snuggly sheep slippers like these cuties from La Senza.
• spotty pyjamas for a night on the sofa like this pretty pastel pair from M&S.
• pampering beauty products like a luxurious Chanel nail polish in Dragon red or a Clinique Cleansing Mask.
• a lovely mug like this Cath Kidson one from John Lewis. And don't forget to include a few sachets of hot chocolate. Very important.

I hope you have found these ideas helpful. Let me know your thoughts.


*P.S. Just so you know - none of these are sponsored links - they are there as a guide!!

London Love

There are many things that I love about London that never seem to get any less exciting, from sitting on the top deck of the bus to enjoying a drink in a hidden-away pub. I've compiled a list of all my absolute favourite things to see and do in the capital so that you can enjoy them too, and hopefully let me know what your favourite things are, the more obscure the better!

• Absolute Vintage, Hanbury Street, E1 – Masses of vintage gear to trawl through, all at reasonable prices and particularly good for shoes and handbags.


• Brick Lane Beigel Bake – East London institution which is perfect for post-drink snacks as is open 24hrs and is super cheap. Just look for the queues snaking down Brick Lane.


• Dover Street Market – Concept department store created by Comme des Garcon’s Rei Kawakubo; designer label retail heaven. The Rose Bakery offers delicious cakes for exhausted shoppers at it’s café on the top floor.
  
  



• Franco Manca Pizza, Brixton Market – These sour dough pizzas are out of this world! Best I’ve tasted outside Italy.





• Galvin at Windows restaurant, Park Lane Hilton – Grab a drink whilst looking at the breath-taking 360° view of London which is entirely uninterrupted.


• Late Night at the V&A – Once a month the V&A opens late on a Friday night with live performances, debates, displays, guests. At Late Night visitors get 15% off the fantastic gift shop.


• Liberty Shoe Boutique – A heaven for shoe lovers!





• Made in Italy, Kings Road, SW3 – Great Italian food at reasonable prices. In summer sit out on their roof top terrace and watch the people on the Kings Road go by.


• Make It Lounge, Islington – Teaching the lost generation various arts and crafts techniques from altering clothing to cake decorating and jewellery making to knitting. A really trendy and friendly place to learn all the basics with enthusiastic teachers and a beautiful studio to match.


• Notting Hill Arts Club – One of my favourite places to go out in London. Go down the stairs to a dingy student-like club where the drinks are a bargain during happy hour (although don’t take the white wine - awful!!!) music is always incredible (various styles on different nights) and the crowd cool. Great live music too.


• Pearl Bar & Restaurant – Beautiful setting, mouth-watering food and luscious cocktails.





• Soho Theatre, Dean Street, Soho – Great place to see new and established talent in all performance areas, particularly good for comedy with big names trying out new material to small crowds here. Bar is great for a drink as is always buzzing and there is a delicious restaurant downstairs which also produces the bar snacks.
  
• Spa at York Hall, Bethnal Green – Amazing value at London’s first Council run spa (now open a second in Swiss Cottage). Good facilities and only £21.50 for use of Turkish baths, sauna, plunge pool, steam room and chill out area. Not the plushest spa but not half bad either, definitely worth a visit!


• Spitalfields Market – Perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon with a wide range of fashion, art, crafts and food.





• St John Bread & Wine, Commercial Road – Unusual and traditional cuts aplenty in this canteen-like restaurant. Save room for the delicious Eccles cakes for dessert. Always full of an eclectic mix of people from city boys to eccentric artists.


• Tate Modern Members’ Bar – Amazing view from the terrace and a great atmosphere particularly on a Friday night. Great Arshile Gorky exhibition on at the moment and also the hotly anticipated Gauguin show in September.




• Vietnamese Place in Soho – (After an internet trawl, I think it’s called Viet Pho on Greek Street but not 100%) This bring your own booze restaurant really is incredible! Full of Vietnamese customers, always a good sign, and serves delicious, affordable meals.

Let them eat chocolate!

According to a BBC report, chocolate might actually be good for us! I always knew it was. Secretly. I knew that all those bars of chocolate that I just couldn't resist could not be as bad for me as everyone was telling me!!


According to the research, eating (a small amount of) chocolate can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke!


So now I don't feel too bad about the bag of Mini Eggs I just scoffed!

Tuesday's Tricky Trend: Sheer

Love it? Or hate it?


Have your say. Will you be wearing this tricky trend?


If you want some tips for this trend, try this article.


Last Friday, Times' fashion writer Alice Olins, answered readers questions on how to tackle spring/summer's most difficult trends. You can read what she suggested here.


If you have missed any other of the posts in this series you can find them here.

Monday Morning Pic-Me-Up

Is there anything more romantic than balloons floating over Paris? I think not.

Sunday Best

My dad has been staying this weekend. This morning as it was Palm Sunday, we decided to attend the morning mass at Llandaf Cathedral. And then my dad took me out for lunch to celebrate my passing my masters!!


I am wearing a Topshop floral dress, a Dorothy Perkins belt (in the sale for £3!!), coloured tights also from Dorothy Perkins (also in the sale - for £1!), New Look Mary Janes, H&M sunglasses, thrifted M&S blazer and my bargain M&S bag!


I have quite a few pairs of coloured tights in my wardrobe but don't often wear them. What do you think?


Hope you've all had lovely weekends. More soon. Love, SG

Earth hour: did you join in?

My dad is staying tonight. We decided to spend an hour in candlelight for Earth Hour.


Did you join in?

Combat Rock

That's Not My Age is loving the spécial militaire edition of French Vogue (March issue) - which in a timely fashion ties in nicely with last weekend's wardrobe workout chez nous. Tired of wearing the same Uniqlo jeans over and over, and with an assault course for a wardrobe - I sanctioned a ruthless closet cull. And Mr TNMA was my commander-in-chief. Four pairs of trainers, two dresses, three skirts, one kaftan, a linen tunic, one pair of jeans, one pair of smart trousers, a tank top, cotton blouse, quilted-down-filled gilet (taking up far to much space and I needed to make room for 'the beast' ie my leopard print coat) and two pairs of shoes have all been donated to my local charity shop. Mary Portas will be proud!

One thing I discovered during Operation Fashion Kill, was an awful lot of khaki. Perfect for this season's military look but how to wear it without looking like Madonna in Malawi? Unfortunately, I didn't uncover a Chanel jacket so for an easy daytime look I teamed an old pair of Topshop silk combats with a grey marl t-shirt, statement necklace and olive green leather kitten heels. Some people call this 'shopping your wardrobe,' That's Not My Age prefers to call it getting dressed.



In reality the daytime outfit will probably look something like this....



For a smarter look, I paired the combats with a pale gold DKNY jacket and killer shoes (these are from Tod's and I'm desperately trying not to think about cost per wear as I bought them for a wedding two years ago and have worn them, er hem, twice.) Towards the end of Operation Fashion Kill, we were feeling battle weary and my commander-in-chief was losing the will to live, hence the haphazard photos:



I noticed that the slinky silk combats are wearing thin across the backside, they may not survive another season but this shouldn't be a problem - That's Not My Age has military back-up:



So, our mission over I bring you the grown-up guide to military chic:


1. Give khaki a glamourous spin by piling on the jewellery.



2. Don't take the trend too literally, go head-to-toe and you could end up looking like this....



3. Keep hair and make-up sleek. Think well-groomed and gorgeous, not grungy (definitely a case of do as I say, not as I do!)




And if you're looking for some extras to go with your combat pants how about:








Metal chain necklace, Jaeger. Khaki t-shirt and leather bag both Jigsaw. Cork wedges, Stella McCartney at Matches and tan leather 'pistol' boots, Acne at Net-a-Porter.

Over and out.


Photos
Fashion images: French Vogue
Victoria Beckham: mirror.co.uk

LUST LIST: ASOS perfume bottle pendant

I am currently lusting after this beauty:

It's an absolute bargain at just £6!!!! I want one. Now. Roll on pay day!!

You can get yourself one here.

It Has Been A Very Bad Day For The Credit Card....

Oops!


I will be having a couple of packages arriving next week. I will show you all what I purchased when they arrive.


Until then... I hope the boyf doesn't see this!!

And the winner is...

Laura Emily of Political Style.


Congratulations!


Send me an email with your address and I'll get the goodies off to you!!

What's Hot: Brian Reyes

Number one on my wish list at the moment is anything from Brian Reyes SS10 collection. Not often does it happen that when an email pops into your inbox that you are genuinely really really excited about, but this is what happened with Brian Reyes current collection. I have fallen head over heels with these truly beautiful designs particularly the strapless floral number below.

Also very exciting, Georgina Goodman teamed together with Brian Reyes to design these beautiful shoes – however going by the size of those heels you’d just have to stand and look pretty as walking seems to be out of the question. It’s times for moments like these that I wish I had a driver or at least the loss change for a taxi now and again.

Style Icon: Jean Seberg

Jean Seberg might have been American born and bred but she was a Parisian girl at heart. She was immortalised as a style icon in the 1959 French cult film, A Bout de Souffle (Breathless). It was in her role as Patricia Franchini that she sported the cropped cut that made her a style icon.


Seberg's private life might not have been the happiest but this did not effect her icon status.


He wardrobe - for Breathless - of stripes, pumps and over-sized shirts have a beautifully timeless and French feel to them.


To read more about Seberg's life, follow this link.


If you have missed the previous style icons featured on the blog, check them out here.


Tell me, who is your style icon?

Don't be late!!!

Only a day left to get your name in the Mad Hatter's hat for your chance to win Alice In Wonderland goodies!!


Visit here to enter!

Her name is Yasmin

Last year, whilst boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight back from New York, Mr and Mrs That's Not My Age spied Mr and Mrs Le Bon being fast-tracked onto the plane. Homeward-bound after an appearance at the Met Ball, the Le Bons boarded the aircraft to the tune of No..No..Notorious, sung by cheeky ground crew.

Back at Heathrow, we were impressed to see Yasmin, Simon and a Virgin steward keeping it real at the carousel with the plebs from economy - though why SLB needed his guitar is still a mystery. After the six and a half hour overnight flight, the 45 year-old was still looking good (that's Yasmin not Simon), face practically unchanged since the Elle magazine covers of the eighties. Chic in a camel Belstaff jacket, easy trousers and low-key trainers. I admire a woman who knows that travelling in style doesn't mean tottering through check-in with a burly minder, four inch platforms and over-sized sunglasses. And with that in mind, I'm pleased to see the latest YLB for Wallis collection hits the shops next week. My favourite supermodel's venture into fashion design, is, as you'd imagine, elegant, infinitely wearable and timeless.

Available online from 30 March.

Which is your favourite YLB maxi dress?


ylb4wallis.com

Bargain Hunter: McQueen-esque Skull Scarf

For just a fiver!


When I saw this in Peacocks I just had to grab it!

What do you think?

Fashion bin

That's Not My Age was strolling past the Chanel shop on Sloane Street today, oh yes I do sometimes venture into the posh part of town, when a small hamper with the double C logo grabbed me by the throat. I stared in wonderment at this object for ooh five minutes, came to my senses and then took out my camera phone. Is this hamper for real? More to the point, is it for sale? How much does it cost? And who apart from Lily Allen would want it?

Subsequent research tells me that the rustic look was big on the straw-strewn Chanel spring catwalk, which was all fun and frolics...a good old roll in the hay! But That's Not My Age thinks this a case of the Kaiser's New Clothes. And so, the Chanel hamper has to go.

What do you think?