Fashion Solutions...

Since I last blogged B has learned to crawl and to cruise and I've returned to work. I'm working on a post about the latter for the work blog and when it's up I'll post a (probably much less professional) version here.

As life s now ridiculously hectic I'm looking for ways to save way-too-precious time. Getting dressed is something that actually takes me ages. For better or worse I can't be one of those women who can go all day without caring what she looks like- Unfortunately I often look like one of those women, so I'm in search of a fashion solution which helps me shop smart, formulate an amazing wardrobe wear everything can be worn together and makes getting dressed in the morning (or at midday on my days off) an absolute breeze.

On my quest I have discovered Dressipi. There's a website and an app which do slightly different things. The website attempts to give you clothing recommendations based on your body shape and personal style. It uses what you say you 'like' and 'dislike' to build a wardrobe for you. It does, however, seem quite limited and apparently out of the sites catalogue of clothes I only seem to like jumpers and designer dresses- and they keep tyring to sell e beanie hats. Not great. The app is mainly for determining what size you are in different shops- so that could be quite useful.

So far my most amazing discovery has been Modcloth.com, a US site frequented by the likes of Zooey Deschanel (who I basically want to be). I haven't bought anything yet, but it's full of gorgeous quirky vintagey clothes that I need in my life.  Its sizing guide actually seems to cover all the sizes of the clothes that it actually sells- which is novel. It also highlights any size irregularities to reassure customers.  There's a fab social element too- shoppers send in their outfits and Modclothes tells you which products to by to emulate the look. Amazing!  Even if I never by anything from them- I feel my fashion sense has benefitted.

I've also discovered Stylit. Another American site, this takes your clothing likes and dislikes and turns them into a very slick Polyvore style mood board full of lovely things to by. I've had a few teething problems with links and the seem to favour trousers, which I don't but the outfits themselves look fab.

Here's to looking professional at work and less of a mess on mummy days :)

http://www.modcloth.com 

http://dressipi.com

http://mystylit.com

B is for...Boden

Being a bit of a nerd, I do enjoy a good internet shop and, being a bit of an online marketing geek, I love a good website.

Boden is quite awesome because, not only does it have lots of lovely, Mummy-friendly, British fashion it adds lots of lovely, personal touches and tailors your visit depending on your size and body shape.

If you take advantage of the 'style advice' section, by filling in a questionnaire, the site throws out a list of recommended products, which change each time you visit.

The questionnaire is great, as it doesn't just ask you what shape you are, it takes your measurements and calculates that for you. It also asks you what size you are in different items at other stores and tells you what size to buy. It also lets you know if it 'thinks' an item will suit you when you browse through the pages according to what you've told it you like and dislike during the quiz.

The tone of voice the site uses, makes you think of it like an encouraging shopping buddy- so I didn't even mine being told that a skirt would be 'perfect for you in a size 20'. Boden obviously doesn't go in for vanity sizing and comes up a little small. 

The site also allows you to out outfits together and the clothes themselves come in classic shapes which are all available in range a prints and colours. 

The choice is so vast that I can' possibly just buy one thing- so I'm going to wait until I need a holiday wardrobe before I make a purchase!

MyFitnessPal App

You may have gathered by now that I had a baby recently.

During pregnancy, I put on two and half a stone. Granted, I did lose a whole stone in (enormous) baby and placenta but I've still got a long way to go.

I've always been a bit rubbish with knowing about calories and portion sizes and do rather like large quantities of pasta, so I needed some help. As a recent Iphone, convert I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app. It's really handy as it works out how many calories you can eat in order to reach your goal.

In my case, I get to eat 1700 calories a day as I plan to lose a pound a week. The app has a data bank of  dhop-bought foods, plus lets you add foods yourself- so if you know the number of calories in a recipe, you don't need to search all the ingredients to add it in.

It also works on the basis that you can offset any exercise you do, so I find myself going for super long walks so I can eat biscuits, but it's working.

I'm normally pretty disorganised with things like this, but I've managed to log every day for a fortnight now. Since downloading the app I've lost 5 pounds (so that's 8 altogether since having B) and I've been under my calorie goal nearly every day.

Watch this space!