Run fat girl run in style!

The sad facts are the after a month of snow and freezing conditions followed by a good old Christmas nosh and drink fest, Mrs MDS needs to get trim and shed the winter (fat) layer that is threatening to take over.

Of course I will be making do and wearing quite old stuff but if you fancy glamming up your sports wear then now is the time to grab a few bargains.



Adidas by Stella McCartney run satin-jersey top now £25 at Net-A-Porter




Adidas by Stella McCartney studio lace insert leggings now £35 at Net-A-Porter


Next dig out your sturdy trainers start walking for 30 minutes a day, add in a swim and a dvd to do at home and by April you'll be ready for pedicure, fake tan and a nice summer frock. Anyone else care to join me!!

If it is in the Sale make it fabulous

Sometimes I love sales for bargains but often they hold no interest for me because I wonder am I being canny or just stuffing my wardrobe with more stuff.

I think sales really come into their own if you get an item you really wanted but at the sale price because you waited and stuck immediately. Forward planning is good but risky if you're not quick enough.

Also you could find something unexpected whilst browsing in a store. Bargain!

Or you decide to go for something fabulous, extravagant and indulgent. My money would be on this jacket from my-wardrobe

DKNY garden print sequinned jacket £431

Inject colour or quality with sale items

Now if you do fancy a flutter with an internet sale purchase then please go for colour and quality. You'll need a little pick me up for the long, dark and drab weeks of January and February.

A great jumper to wear with your jeans - Sonia by Sonia Rykiel striped bow sweater now £118

A cardigan to take you from now all the way through to the summer. Until the sun shines and the flowers spring from the ground, just wear this cardi over a skinny polo neck or over a white shirt. See by Chloe gold cropped cardigan now £181Or this neutral but beautifully pale toned tunic dress from Antik Batik now £199 is embellished enough to add sparkle day or night but easy to wear with tights or leggings layered with boyfriend cardi. Then come summer time wear with flats and a good piece of jewellery.

Sales and Fox hunting go together

image The Guardian

I have two consistent dislikes queuing for sales on boxing day and fox hunting, which was always a boxing day event. I consider both past times barbaric. The latter, fox hunting is obvious in the fact the thrill of the chase is to scare a creature out of its wits and then when eventually it dies of a heart attack or is caught, the hounds are allowed to maul the creature and rip it asunder.

I know you thought I was talking about the sales, the thrill of the chase and the grabbing of an item out of another human beings hand.

In fact it wasn't that long ago a Wal Mart employee died as bargain hungry humans stampeded into a store. The opening of Primark on Oxford St also took casualties as gathered crowds pushed open the doors because they were tired of waiting for it to officially open.

I know there will be those of you who indulge in or support one or the other. Mainly sales participation I suspect but for those of you who support fox hunting I have to say before you think I'm some lefty city dweller, I would like to point out I grew up and lived on a farm. I've pulled calves out of cows, hunted for new born lambs who's mothers have died in the night to save them and hand rear them. Equally, I've fed pigs to be slaughtered and bred grouse to be shot. It's all in a days work. When it comes to pest control i.e. rabbits and rats then the guns come out and the same goes for a fox. If the farm dogs ran off and caught something then so what. But we never ever went native and barbaric - looking for the kill, savouring the chase, riding in a wild frenzy wearing red and blowing horns, yuk! It always struck me as undignified to be a hunter in a group all brazen and vindictive pursuing just one poor lowly fox.

I don't miss living on a farm, it was a hard life in the wild west of Wales as is farming anywhere. I I do love the countryside but I cannot reconcile eking a living from the land with bunch of folk chasing a fox. It is those same folks who turn their nose up at city folk as they queue in a pack to run and bag a bargain.

Moi, you'll find me on boxing day with a glass of red wine or two, a book in hand and some family and friends. The only hunting we'll be doing is for the remote control when we've tired of conversation and eating.

Cut price military style

If you fancy a Michael Jackson moment and have £29's to spare then this cut price archive sale number from Toast down from its original RRP of £145 is a bargain statement Summer to Autumn piece. Just add skinnies and thigh high boots but leave the ring master whip at home!

New shoes!

My second sale purchase, (truly it is such a joy to buy some new items after months of nothing) were some Studio tmls orange wedges. It's official I love orange!


PS Mr MDS fixed my camera - he has his uses!

Because it's roasting...

I thought I'd suggest this sale item from Toast (roast, post, toast - it's as much as my brain can muster in the muggy heat of London)

Parasol £37 from Toast

High Street pick of the week

I'm a fairly conservative dresser with a dash of occasional quirkiness thrown in. By conservative I mean I'd salivate over Bogatta Veneta before Balmain. Would choose a Chanel jacket over any current 'must have' etc.

I prefer a chic cap sleeve tee over vests as I'm scarred by past visions of J'adore Dior vests with jeans and heels, not due to personal faux pas but being surrounded by the look at one point. However I do like a vest tee substitute to wear with jeans or shorts for a summer casual off duty look with ease and this find at Warehouse mid week fitted the bill.

Asymmetric Zip Vest £28 Warehouse

PS. The sales at Selfridges are going well as I discovered when I had my other personal styling client yesterday. If you are Halston fan then you can pick up something with a 60% reduction!

Sale info!

For those of you who've been good and have some money to spare then take advantage of the 20% off the Matches sale price.
All you have to do is enter MATCHES20 in the promotional box before checking out. The offer last only until Friday!!
If I had some spare coins and wasn't under a resolution to not spend then I'd be snapping these up!



Pierre Hardy white open toe stiletto shoes down from £350 to £96 (with 20% off that's £76.80!)

Still stuff to be had in the sales (and a rambling to boot)

Normally, I'd be fully absorbed in the new items hitting the stores, I'd have left last season behind without a by your leave. Sales, pah! Who cares about the sales has always been my mantra...but... a combination of forces, global economics (actually I'd love to be more specific and execute a rant about a bunch of ****** who played monopoly and one player failed to tip the board up to prevent the game going to far, I'm big into digressing at the moment), personal circumstances and the fact fashion went too far, or more specifically the retailing of garments went bonkers. Equally this time last year I'd be chomping at the bit for my weekly fix of Grazia and I was also fresh to blogging, I'd been reading quite a few and then decided to join the party too. Well my views on sales have changed and my life has changed due to blogging - bizarre!

On the sales front there are still plenty of desirable items to be had. Take these going out shoes in Reiss at £74.50 they make more sense than at their original £149.00 price tag.

Still at Reiss this belt at £24.50 is bang on colour for the coming S/S09 season. It is a hip belt and the leather is quite iridescent, not quite patent, but nearly. I quite like hip belts because I can pop to my little man at Bond St tube heel bar and he punches new holes in the belt and I can get more use out of it wearing it on waist or hip. He keeps telling me I can buy better hole punch pliers in B&Q and I keep telling him do I look like I want to go to B&Q!

Of course, the reason sales are better is due to a downturn in spending and also over proliferation of stores and garments in the high street. However, I will wait in future to see what the sales deliver on items that are nice but indulgent when I can spend again!

What changes have you made? Are sales more appealing than before?

PS. Plus more on my rambling later...

All the evidence suggests...

If you can hang on and save your pennies then there will be a good selection of items for sale very soon. I'm not a fan of sales - typically lots of stuff that no one wanted but this season is different. Retailers over stocked with stock and autumn trading in the UK was poor.

Mark downs usually reserved from December 24th onwards should take place around the second week of December to boost Christmas trading and clear the rails.

PS don't forget to check out my Lynku ad for latest sale information - I always forget I've got it there!

Sales are upon us!

It is starting with a little trickle but will fully blossom next week.
High Street stores such as H&M already have a few rails
On-line, Matches have already begun their sale, with new designer items being added daily all of next week.
Selfridges begins on this weekend.

Normally, I caution sales as too much stock is stuff that no one wanted ..with the exception of bags, jewellary and shoes. BUT, this time, oh there are veritable bargains to be had. There are some lovely duster coats in the DKNY concession at Selfridges currently retailing at £380, come Sunday 22nd they'll be down.

Do your research, work out your budget. Put on comfy flats and take a bottle of water. Have fun!

Planning ahead

It is debatable how much shoes are going to change next season - from the catwalks it seemend ankle boots or shoboots were still making a mark - aside from the flights of fancy ones. With that in mind I've sourced two bargin offerings from Cara London that might stand you in good stead for the rest of the year.

Here are the links -choose from biker boot or shoboot.
http://www.carashoes.co.uk/detail.asp?id=109
http://www.carashoes.co.uk/detail.asp?id=208

To sale or not to sale

Sale purchases are hotly debated amongst stylists and fashion journos. Some are for, some are against and no one agrees on anything. The for camp think you can bag some key pieces by designers at a fraction of the price, all are agreed these pieces have to have some 'classic' appeal or longevity. The against camp think why would you buy things no one wanted and save your money for the new season, buy cruise now.

I'm of the opinion that unless you are solvent, have no debts other than a mortgage, have saved money specifically for the sales - then forget it regardless of bargains and desired items. Why add to your debt, why start the new year with money going the wrong way. The next three months are key to changing habits and stemming any cash flow issues. Clear you debts first start saving second then thirdly if there is anything left over you can do with what you like.

I read the other day that a financial consultant believes you should save a percentage of your earnings based on halving your age! If you are 30 then that's 15% to go into savings, 25 then 12.5% and so on. You can do the math and you can choose to curb your spending and think credit not debit.