The White Shirt from 9 - 5 to 5 - 9 and all the time in between

Whenever I buy something new, I get a little tingly feeling, which makes me happy, the shoppers high. ( you know what I am speaking about, lol) Plus if the item was on SALE (50% off or more, anything less is not a sale.) You need to tie string around me to keep me grounded because I will float away on joy. I work hard, and I enjoy spending my coins. At the same time,

 when I buy something I make sureeeeeeeeeeeee  I get my moneys worth. Unless a beauty item is giving me an allergic reaction, I am using that sucker down to the last drop, swipe, squeeze. In relation to clothing,

 I never by an outfit, I buy pieces. A skirt here, a shirt there, some trousers, a pair of shoes. I do not buy an item unless I can think of at least 5 places I can wear it or a few items in my closet I can mix and match it with. 

With that in mind I am putting together my new series named the White Shirt Series ( I still need to finish my MAC series but I will get to that.) Some of the photos will be old photos from blog posts before,  some of the pictures will be new and other photos I have had sitting on my computer for eons (waiting for the inspiration to arrive, or maybe the sunshine. 

Shoes - Office, Jeans - Zara, Belt - GAP, Shirt - T. M. Lewin,
Blazer - Zara, Lipstick - MAC Ruby Woo, Bag - Zara

Boots - Diesel, Jeans - Zara, Belt - GAP, Shirt - T. M. Lewin,
Blazer - Zara

Shoes - Zara, Trousers - Next, Shirt - T. M. Lewin,
Blazer - Zara

Have a great Saturday  my lovelies.

xoxo

Spring/ Summer Haul: GAP

The GAP is one of those stores, where I never quibble about paying for clothing. 

It is not the most trendy/fashionable place to shop, I will be the FIRST to admit. 

However, one thing about clothing from the GAP is that once you take care of it, it will last. I have fond memories of saving up  weeks of my paper round money and going to the GAP to buy clothes in the sale. Some of those items I still wear them today. All of my work trousers are from the GAP, and you have seen them several times in various posts. 

Trends come and go, a basic item can be stylish forever. Less is more and all that, moving onto the haul. 

Modern Boot - Irish Cream Green

Linen Shirt - White

Slim Cropped Double Weave Pants - Mulberry

Slim Cropped  double Weave Pants - Deluxe Green

Bowery Supersoft Boatneck T-Shirt - White

Pleated Print Skirt - Red/Navy

I will be putting a few looks together with clothing from this haul, along with other items from my wardrobe. Some of the clothing you might have seen before in previous posts, other items I might have never posted on the blog. 

I purchased 2 classic trench coats  from the GAP last November, they will be featured in their own W. W. W. posts soon. 

*whispers* Barack Obama was spotted shopping at the GAP in Manhattan earlier this month. What other reason do I need to love this store? lol lol 

Be Stylish my lovelies.

xx

Style File - T. M. Lewin White Shirts

Hey lovelies, if you have been following my blog for a while you know that I love a shirt. A shirt goes with, jeans, trousers, chinos, shirts, suits and over a summer sundress. These are my top white shirt picks from the current T. M. Lewin summer sale. 

Fitted White Poplin shirt - 100% cotton, short sleeves

Fitted white Frill shirt - 100% cotton, short sleeves

Fitted White Poplin Shirt - 100% cotton, button cuff, Maxine shirt

If you are a recent graduate or already a professional, these are some great shirts. Perfect for wearing as separates and under suits or sheath dresses.  

If you feel like giving any of these shirts a home, you should. 

They are great quality and 100% cotton.

Have a great time shopping my lovelies.

xx

What to Wear to Work - Sheath dress with White shirt

 The French gave us crepes, Madame Clavelle, Madeline and CoCo Chanel. I will be the first to admit, this does look a bit like uniform. However there are some days when I want an outfit that says "I am here to work"  something simple yet effective. A sheath dress is good for under layering shirts/blouses as well as over layering jackets/blazers/cardigans. 

Dress - Matalan

Shirt - T. M. Lewin

Shoes - Dune

Earrings - Pia 

"Fashion Fades, but style remains forever." Yves Saint Laurent

What to Wear to Work - The White Shirt (TM Lewin 1898)

 At the request of one of my followers I have decided to start a series of blog posts highlighting some styling ideas (outfits) for Interview/work wear for ladies and if possible I will include some ideas for men as well.  

     Kicking off we have the White Shirt, as  I explained here T.M. Lewin white shirt sale The white shirt is an investment piece. The cornerstone of any professional work wardrobe. A white shirt is versatile in its use and can be styled as part of a casual, formal or semi formal look. A white shirt can be worn with jeans, trousers, skirts, shorts, under shift dressed or thrown over maxi dresses to ward off the sun or chill. 

     Fine shirt retailer Thomas Pink has a White Shirt Bar at the Jermyn Street location, where gentleman can go to the store and have a consultation and help picking out the perfect white shirt to suit the event or occasion they are attending. In this video they go over the particulars to look for in the perfect white shirt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxQkkbe1-uk.

     My white shirt of choice is the TM Lewin White Plain 2 fold Poplin Cutaway shirt #38171. The Cutaway refers to the cut of the shirt at the neck and poplin is the type of cotton used to make the shirt. TM Lewin shirts are great quality and price wise compared to other brands they are hard to beat. If you are lucky you may be able to catch a multi-buy offer instore 4 shirts for £90 for guys, or 3 shirts for £75. Recently they even had a 1 week long white shirt sale, where all white shirts on their website were priced at £20 for a whole week. If that is not value for money, I don't know what is.  Material is the most expensive part of shirt making and TM Lewin uses 100% cotton when making all of their shirts. Unlike some other retailers who use cotton blended with polyester and other synthetic fabrics. Also the buttons on TM Lewin Shirts are sewn using 2 threads to ensure that they hold well and do not pop off after a few wears or washes. 

Packaged 

Shirt on hanger

Collar - Cutaway

The Cuff

video demonstrating the white shirt on a live model.

Fine shirt retailers can be found here 

Thomas Pink

Charles Tyrwhitt

TM Lewin

"Fashion fades, but style remains eternal." - Yves St Laurent

T. M. Lewin White shirt sale

    Last week I tweeted  my favourite shirt makers @tmlewin1898, and insisted that they should have a white shirt sale, since it is spring/summer. They replied that "they will discuss and see if it is feasible."  This morning  bespoke shirt makers since 1898 T. M. Lewin announced that they are having a white shirt sale for 1 week only online. Not only is this white 
shirt sale going on the UK website, but also on their US, AUS and EU websites. 

     As everyone knows the white shirt is an investment piece, a KEY part of any professional wardrobe. Fashionistas  you are not left out, shirts such as the one below can be styled as part of a casual or formal look. A classic white shirt is always stylish. 

     T. M. Lewin shirts are made with the finest quality poplin, are always 100% or 120% cotton (no polyester blends here). The buttons are sewn with 2 threads, to make sure that they hold and do not easily pop off the garment. They iron well, they wear well and they wash very well.

My shirt of choice is the White Plain Poplin Cutaway Fitted shirt 38171. I am now the proud owner of 2 of them.  Head on over to the T.M. Lewin website and check out the white shirt sale along with their other offerings. T. M. Lewin Remember the White shirt sale is only available for 1 week only. 

"Fashion comes and goes, but style is forever." Yves St Laurent.