I wrote a post recently about the changing shapes of the forty+ and fifty minus woman and my quest to find things that do actually fit and look stylish at the same time.
A term that I captioned ‘bang on trend but still able to bend’!
I mentioned that some of my lifelong favourite stores were no longer cutting the new shape and that my quest was on for some new places that were a little more to true to the sizing and style of women like me.
Shortly after this, I attended a styling session at the newly opened Hobbs store in Barkers Arcade, High Street Kensington which was hosted by Catherine Semmens who blogs all about fashion at Not Dressed as Lamb (such a fabulous name for a blog isn’t it).
Catherine’s strap line is “Who Wants To Be ‘Age Appropriate’, Anyway?” and she challenges the rules around clothing and the expectations of what we ‘should wear’.
Many of us (myself included), have probably always associated Hobbs with formal work wear. I have to say it has been ages since I visited one of their stores but to do so fitted perfectly with my quest to find ‘my kind of sizes’ and ‘wise garments’.
It’s always lovely to walk into a store and be greeted by this.
Credit : Not Dressed as Lamb
There was an opportunity to have a good browse before the session started. The fact that I had a glass of fizz in my hand made this even more pleasurable.
There is also something very decadent about walking around such a beautiful shop.
I was really impressed with the occasion wear.
In the past, my go to shop for weddings, do’s and such like has been Coast and Monsoon where I have always managed to get some great outfits.
I would never have thought of going to Hobbs so this was definitely worth noting for the future.
My go to stores for separates and casual wear are H&M, Dorothy Perkins, Forever 21 and River Island.
Again, it was good to check out the Hobbs range.
Just time for a quick picture with Catherine and then straight on with the session.
Credit : Not Dressed as Lamb
Catherine had carefully chosen a selection of her favourite pieces and throughout the session, we were treated to seeing the lovely models in some of the great outfits she had selected in line with her theme ‘Going for Bold’.
My personal favourite of the evening was this red top. Well actually the whole outfit was pretty gorgeous.
Credit : Not Dressed as Lamb
Catherine talked about always taking something a bit random or different into the changing room as well as your usual pieces.
This was a good reminder to change things up when it comes to clothing.
We can all play a little safe at times. I know I am guilty of this and will always tend to go for a different version of the same thing.
I also find that I have more of a critical eye when choosing for myself these days due to the points around age and sizing that I raised in my previous blog.
Feeling comfortable is incredibly important to me now and there is nothing worse than feeling ‘trussed-up’ and just, well – ‘not right’.
Anyway, back to the show and next up was elegant pleats.
The outfit below really interested me as I wouldn’t have thought to tuck this style of top in to a skirt. It definitely worked though and it looked stunning.
And of course, not forgetting the accessories because, quite simply – a girl can never have too many!
After the session, we were encouraged to try on anything we wanted with the help of the marvellous store staff.
This was my green light and one of the things I was particularly keen to establish during my trying session was how true the sizing was.
I have to say I give full marks to Hobbs for this because although I was initially recommended a Size 14, I actually managed to comfortably get into a Size 12 which found me having a little grin to myself in the changing room.
Don’t you just love it when that happens.
No purchases for me on this occasion as I’m still making a few tweaks in the form of sensible eating and exercise but Hobbs is a definite revisit for me the future.
My thanks to Catherine for her very ‘stylish’ styling session. You can read more about it in Catherine’s own words here.
And thanks to Hobbs for hosting the evening in their lovely new store.
notjustthe3ofus 