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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

25/6/2015

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Ch-ch-ch-changes indeed! As promised to all of you last week in my Hard Habit to Break blog, I ditched the denim and completed my 'No Jeans to Work Week' challenge. But how much of a challenge was it?

It was hard. Well, I say hard, there are, I realise, much harder things to do than getting dressed in the morning but it did take some planning due to the fact that I'm so used to throwing on jeans every day.

 
So, on the weekend before the challenge, I placed everything that was work appropriate and not denim, on my clothes rail and tried it all on. It didn't take long as I don't have a huge amount of clothes. That isn't your cue to say "aaah" because in actual fact I quite like it that way. Having too many clothes can complicate a wardrobe and it's a fact that we only wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time - which always sounds like a confusing stat to me too, so before you get your calculator out, it basically means that we're not wearing everything we own, often enough. This stat is often compounded by purchasing new clothes that steal the limelight leaving the clothes hanging nearest Narnia doomed never to see the light of day again (not in this world anyway!).

Having tried on the selection, I realised that not everything on the rail would work for my sans jeans week. One blue dress felt too short and as I've obviously not grown taller since last year, I can only blame it on my legs not being as toned as they could be. Note to self, must start running again. Also on the rail was a very nice pair of black trousers but they are better for cooler weather as they look great teamed with Converse and layered tops so, these wer
e a no go too. Therefore, I HAD to buy at least two more items to see me through the week. You could argue that I should have worn existing items more than once, which is a really good idea of course and one that I usually advocate, but for the sake of creating an interesting blog for you, I decided against that and went shopping. It was a tough call but all part of the service ladies!

Now, I may have peaked too early here with these culottes because they are, without a doubt, my most favourite purchase but I wore them on Monday and so they have to be the first picture.
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Monday Madness!
There's a back story to these. The other week I was in Jigsaw (St. Albans) and had the pleasure of meeting sales assistant, Diane. She was amazing. She knows the range, she knows her cuts and shapes (previously a seamstress) and she has flair for putting outfits together and getting you to try on different things - I was in there for over an hour and had a great time! Amongst other delicious offerings, she handed me a pair of culottes to try. I was dubious at first but then, oh boy, I fell in love with them. But long (back) story short, I had to be careful with the pennies and couldn't justify buying a dress for a special event and a pair of culottes so, the dress came home with me and the culottes stayed in the shop. Bitter sweet. 
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My Kill Bill pose...
Anyhoooooo, there I was having a mosey around River Island and I spotted these culottes. To say I was excited is an understatement. My tummy flipped, my heart skipped and my legs, cartoon stylee, couldn't get me to the changing room quick enough! Boom. Loved them. They don't have pockets and they don't hang as heavy as the Jigsaw counterparts, but they are pretty damn fine and easier on my 'must save for holiday' budget. Also, I think they are slightly shorter than the Jigsaw ones which is better for my 5'3" frame.
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River Island culottes, wedges from Clarks.
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Triffic Tuesday!
This jewel print skirt is my second purchase. I feel very feminine in it which is due to it's slim fit and that I literally can't make a full wide stride in it - which is no bad thing given that I usually charge around like a bull in a china shop! I've received lots of compliments wearing this and people are quite surprised when I tell them it's H&M! 
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White and Black Wednesday!
Some of you may have seen these trousers before as they appeared on the blog in May 2014. And my confession is that this is their first outing since then, tut tut! But, I've now fallen in love with them again and wore them twice last week! Once to work with flat sandals (above) and with a little heel to a Styled by Mel evening event (below). These are also from H&M.
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Throwback Thursday!
This is my go-to dress! So much so, that I have another brand new one hanging in the wardrobe for when this one gives up the ghost! It's from H&M (oh blimey, I'm like a stuck record) but they don't do them anymore and I can't tell you how happy I am I got me a spare one just in time! I love the billowy top half with the slim fitting bottom half. You can also adjust how long or short you wear it by simply hoicking it up or down. Dress up with heels and accessories, dress down with flip-flops and denim jacket! Who said denim?! Oops. And when it gets cooler, a long sleeve top underneath. Bam!
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Far from favourite Friday!
Friday, weather wise, was a perfect day for jeans - not too hot, bit overcast, nearly the weekend etc etc! But I wasn't allowed to wear jeans, was I....!?!?!! I nearly caved to be honest, but I dug deep and put on this ensemble, which was my least favourite outfit of the week. Though I was quite excited to wear my Topshop shoes again, but they rubbed like billy-o and made my heels red and when I saw this picture I didn't love them as much as I thought I did. Cue grumpy face. Luckily I had my reliable silver NEXT sandals with me and so snuck them on at lunch time.

So, there you have it! I did it. And I really enjoyed it. And, so far, this week, when I could have worn jeans every day if I wanted to, I haven't! I've already had two no jeans days.....think I'm slowly ch-ch-ch-ch-changing a habit of a lifetime! 

Thanks again to my work buddies and my little man for taking the pictures and before I sign off, here are a couple more outtakes for you to giggle at!

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Giggles!
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!
If you like my blog posts then you can follow me here on Facebook. 

 M x
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Hard Habit To Break...

18/6/2015

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*Stands up from seat*  "My name is Melanie and I'm a Jean Junkie"   *sits back down* 

There you go, I said it. 

I'm addicted to jeans. I wear them every day. I don't have a gazillion pairs or anything totally daft like that but I really enjoy wearing them. I find it easy to find ones that fit my body shape, they suit my lifestyle and I wouldn't want to give them up. I wear them at the weekends and because the dress code in my office is smart casual, I also wear them during the week. When it’s warm I wear them with sandals and in the winter months I switch between blue and black boots. I smarten them up with nice tops, jackets and accessories. Job done!

However, with summer coming (believe and it will happen!) I need to get my head around NOT wearing jeans at all because it gets mighty hot in my office and I will most definitely have to swap jeans for skirts and dresses at some point – sob!

It’s at this point I panic and wonder what the hell I wore every day to work last summer. But, like the daunting task of finding childcare for 6 loooong weeks, I know that it will all miraculously come together.  

Faff...
Don’t get me wrong, I really like summer. I like BBQ's and cheeky cocktails, I like the warm evening walks to the pubs, I like having drinks in the back garden with the neighbours (my name is Melanie and I'm an alcoholic!)  but I don’t like the faff that goes with summer dressing. There’s way more grooming involved in the summer (don’t panic - skirts aren’t going to be that short!). 

I’m talking about hair free legs, fake tan, painted toe nails and sandpapering the soles of ones feet so they look less like jacket potato skins. But my biggest bugbear is self-tanning! Love the result, hate the faff and really hate the smell. And before you all suggest that I don't wear fake tan and embrace the natural colour of my skin, that’s not going to happen. I would honestly resemble some kind of translucent sea creature. Some of you, who go to salons to get your nails and tan done, will wonder why I’m making such a fuss. Well, it’s because I perform all my own stunts - I’m actually good at it now and it saves me a tidy sum.

Anyway, the point of this blog post is to show you my ‘Only Jeans to Work Week’ before I embark on my  'No Jeans To Work Week' challenge, next week - eek! 

Enjoy!
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Monday. Jeans & cardie - H&M. Top - River Island. Scarf - Chloe James. Shoes - NEXT. Bag - M&S
Monday - blues, greys (and that's just the bags under my eyes!), floaty waterfall cardigan and fave scarf.

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Tuesday. Top and Jacket - New Look. Shoes - River Island. Bag - Phase Eight.
Tuesday - different day, same jeans as I knew I'd be crawling around under desks getting dusty. Not some kind of weird shoe fetish or shyness disorder - setting up computers. Oh the glamour! 

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Wednesday. Jeans - New Look. Top - NEXT. Jacket - Harpenden CRUK. Shoes - NEXT
Wednesday - a hopefully above the desk kind of day so opted for summer white jeans. Unfortunately the sun phoned in sick and a less than pleasing cloudy and blowy temp stood in. 

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Thursday. Jeans - H&M. Uber soft grey T and scarf - Chloe James. Silver Bracelet - Phase Eight
Thursday - the softest, most comfortable grey t-shirt and fave scarf. No jacket required - the sun was back!

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F-F-Friday! Jeans - H&M (I love their jeans!). Top - Topshop. Jacket - New Look.
Friday - semi smart but I'll be honest, without the jacket, I felt a bit scruffy and so although it was warm and sunny, the jacket stayed on. Rolled up sleeves Miami Vice stylee!
So, there you have it -  a typical jean junkie week for me!

I'll see you all again next week, sans jeans. As well as it being a good practice run for the long hot summer ahead (I repeat, believe and it will happen!) it’s actually a good exercise in appreciating and wearing more of the clothes in my wardrobe and shaking things up a bit – and boy do I feel a bit shaky! I don’t have a massive wardrobe – I’ve no need for one but I do own other items besides jeans and next week you'll get an insight as to what those other things are (*quickly goes online and orders other things*).

Thank you to my beautiful colleagues Gemma, Preeya and Elena for taking the photos and of course Mr. B who was roped into taking one too.

Oh, before you go, and this won't be a permanent feature, I had to share these outtakes with you - they made me laugh!
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Eyes closed and....lunge!
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Err cooee, over here love!
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Mannequin arms!
If you like my blog posts and want to follow Styled by Mel on Facebook, simply click on your favourite outtake picture and hit the like button. 

See you all next week when I will be denim deprived and hopefully wearing some skirts and dresses for a change - ooh!!!!!

Mel x
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The Winner Takes It All...

16/6/2015

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On Sunday afternoon, Styled by Mel enjoyed a champagne reception at Pendley Manor celebrating with the winners of Rennie Grove's Biggest Loser 2015.

For 18 weeks, all participants followed a nutritional programme devised by Kim Crundall at Balance Nutrition and had personal training sessions at their local gyms with the aim being to lose weight and embrace a new, healthy lifestyle. In return, each participant made a pledge to raise at least £500 for Rennie Grove - a charity that supports local families suffering from cancer and life limiting illnesses. 

With drum rolls being tapped out on the tables, the winner from each gym was announced...

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From left: Biggest Loser, St. Albans – Kristalyn McKown, Biggest Loser, Aylesbury – Nick Samuel
Biggest Loser, High Wycombe – Sonia Workman 

Each winner receives a bespoke styling session with me, a full year gym membership, a spa treatment and a hair re-style with a local salon (all prizes kindly donated).

*Nick will transfer his haircut and styling appointments to his lovely wife Angela - well, behind every great man there's a great woman! 

Here I am with the overall winner, Sonia, who, out of the 3 winners, lost the most weight - 19.4kg to be exact. That's over 3 stone in old money! 
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For some reason we got the giggles!
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And finally calm and demure.
She says, “This experience has genuinely given me a new lease of life.  I used to exercise when I was younger but had got out of the habit since I had my son eight years ago.  Now I’ve taken up cycling, running and gymnastics and I’m going to carry on at the gym.  Our Personal Trainer, Garry, has been a real help – inspiring and motivational throughout". 

And because Sonia was the overall biggest loser, she also wins an overnight stay for two at Sopwell House, St Albans, including breakfast and the use of spa facilities. 

There was also a prize for Martin Hubbard who was the biggest fundraiser raising over £1,300. He wins a spa day at Verulamium Spa, St Albans.

Well done to all the contestants, the personal trainers, Kim Crundall and of course to the amazing team at Rennie Grove who worked tirelessly to make it all happen. Director of Fundraising & Marketing at Rennie Grove, Gillian Barnett, said: “Overall, our 15 ‘biggest losers’ lost more than 150kg between them but gained a fantastic £8,000 in sponsorship.  Thanks to their hard work, that could fund 400 hours of specialist nursing care in a patient’s home.”

Whilst the pictures were being taken yesterday there was one chap that didn't want to be left out. I can guarantee, that had he been one of the winners, he most definitely wouldn't have donated the prize to his wife! Such a show-off! He kept trying to get into all the pictures and kept flaunting his plumage. He would then turn around and present his bottom to us - charming!

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I also couldn't resist some posing before we left the grounds, but I didn't do any bottom wiggling you'll be pleased to know!
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Dress Jigsaw / Bag Next  
Shoes from George at Asda and no longer available, sorry!

It was a lovely afternoon and I'm looking forward to spending time with the winners - it will be an absolute privilege to style their new body-shapes.

M x
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     Melanie has a knack of injecting her knowledge, personality and humour into every piece she writes which keeps the reader coming back for more. 


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