June 2025 – Silver & Blonde

It’s a sunny Saturday and my daughter and I head into London as she wants to buy some clothes for an upcoming trip she’s making to Milan with some of her university friends. We go to Regent Street which is about a two minute walk from where my daughter is working as an intern. My daughter isn’t the most confident clothes shopper, although she is finding her own style, so wanted to bring me along rather than shop by herself in her five minute lunch break. She is twenty one and athletic, in other words she looks annoyingly good in everything. We went into Hollister and I spotted this oversized striped linen shirt for £29.95 and bought it (for myself) while my daughter tried on a selection of tiny clothing. We then went into Uniqlo where she found some really nice tailored shorts and I bought a black maxi skirt for £34.90. I was tempted by a similar style dress instead but I find I seldom wear the dresses I already own, a skirt is more versatile. I have a few Marks and Spencer classic fit T shirts and will probably wear it with one of those.

We then went into Zara where my daughter looked at vest tops. I bought a bottle of their Radiant Vanilla fragrance. They had a whole range of similar vanilla scents priced at £17.99. I am pleased with this impulse buy, it doesn’t give me a migraine which is always a good start.

When we got home I realised that I hadn’t bought any casual trousers so I ordered these apricot coloured wide leg trousers. from ASOS. If you read my post Wide Leg Woes you might remember that I struggle with anything other than skinny jeans. Anyway, I love these, they fit perfectly, but was extremely irked when they reduced in price by £20 the day after I bought them.

Possibly the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life is that I have been invited to join Amazon’s Vine programme. I can order up to three items a day, with no cost to me, as long as I write a review. I was beyond thrilled when I received the invitation email and immediately logged on to my account to choose my first items. So, it’s fair to say that I was a little disappointed at the selection. Tattoo moisturiser and silky bonnets are not really on my wishlist. However, after a ridiculously long time wasted scrolling through the list I ordered a tumeric clay face mask, some under eye patches and a collagen wrap mask, all from brands that I have never heard of . The turmeric face mask was a success, my face felt clean, soft and fresh after using it. The eye patches I did not like at all, they felt slimy and disintegrated on my face. I was wary of leaving the collagen mask on my face all night so tried it one my hands instead to no visible effect. Today I have ordered some luggage tags for my son and some sunglass pouches. As someone who does not like a lot of clutter, this could be a slippery slope.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

Last year I sold what few designer items I owned. I wasn’t using them and they were just taking up space in my wardrobe. My Mulberry bags I sold on a Facebook group, always a bit risky but I insisted on using PayPal Goods & Services and I sold some small leather goods on eBay. I was particularly fortunate in selling a Chanel wallet because I was sure nobody would want a huge purse anymore but I kept an eye on the Chanel buying and selling Facebook page and, by a stroke of luck, somebody was on the lookout for the exact same one. I manged to recoup almost all of my money.

So, I actually do now need a new bag. I have been using a Mulberry Anthony lookalike from Marks and Spencer but it is looking a little tatty now and I don’t like the style enough to splash out on the designer version, it’s a little masculine for me. After some online perusing I decided I’d like a saddle bag style and the Mulberry Pimlico Satchel in Black Cherry caught my eye. I managed to order it over the phone from their outlet store in Bicester for £416. When the bag arrived it was absolutely beautiful but the calf leather looked like it would scratch very easily and that’s no good for me so I reluctantly returned it. I started searching online for different options and there are many! If you happen to have won the lottery you could treat yourself to Dior’s iconic and very beautiful Saddle bag which costs £3,340. Chloe sell a style called Marcie which is very pretty at a hefty £1,490.

Then I found myself becoming engrossed in the Netflix romantic comedy Nobody Wants This with Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Bell plays Joanne, a blonde atheist who falls in love with a Rabbi. Joanne’s wardrobe is just gorgeous, although sadly too young for me, and I spotted this Claude bag from French fashion company Sezane. Still a fairly hefty price tag of £345 but the quality looks good and it comes in different types of leather. I popped into the Sezane store in Marylebone where there were lots of bags on display but I didn’t like any of them enough to make a purchase.

During a recent stroll around Covent Garden I popped into a branch of The Cambridge Satchel Company to escape the cold. They have a small collection devoted to the Wicked movie but they also have this attractive, if slightly bulky, style called The Kate for £250. They stock another quite minimalist style, simply called The Saddle Bag for £130. Barbour sell something similar, a style called Laire, in two different sizes starting at £89.95.

Next stock this non-leather bugundy saddle bag for just £34. I think it looks almost as nice at the far more expensive options although not the Dior obviously. It also comes in black. Similarly priced at £39.50 is this glossy black bag from Marks and Spencer.

I visited Hoopers department Store in lovely Tunbridge Wells where a display of bags (featured in my header photo) made by Campamaggi caught my eye. Soft, burnished leather and decorated with rivets and lacing, they retail at around £350. Also on display were the classic Longchamp Epure bags at £295. So, far too much choice for me to be able to make a decision as usual. I headed home and later on saw a Facebook advertisement for the DeMellier sale. There was a very pretty style called the Mini Venice featured at £298. In a rare moment of decisiveness I ordered one in the colour Berry, the last one in stock according to the website. I am delighted with my purchase which came beautifully boxed. The strap is a great length, the bag holds my purse, phone, keys, glasses and a small make up bag. It also has a top handle for more formal occasions. My search is over!

Thank you for reading,

Samantha