Midlife Loves

"Timeless everyday style"

Midlife Loves

Great Plains Desk To Dinner

Anyone that knows me knows I love a challenge - which is probably one of the reasons I'm awake instantly no matter what the time & is part of the course for having an overactive & constant problem solving mind! Anyway I'm digressing.  I was recently contacted by Great Plains to see if I'd like to take part in their Desk to Dinner campaign.  The rules of which were simple - I was allowed to choose items up to a value of £150 & then had to style them two ways - firstly for the office & secondly for dinner.

Now I'm lucky enough to work from home so nowadays if I'm off out on a work night I'm able to do a quick change in the comfort of home but rewind many years ago when I used to work in Birmingham I can remember the dilemma of having to go straight from work to a Christmas party or a works do.  What to take, how to freshen up & more importantly what to wear & where to change & store my clothes in the day & on the evening.

One of the things I love most about challenges like this is the opportunity to be able to spend an hour or so perusing a lovely site such as Great Plains & drooling over their clothes & legitimately call it work ;-)  What can I say it was a hard challenge but hey someone had to do it ;-) 

Naturally having a huge love of clothes my first port of call was to take a peek at their winter collection of jackets - after all I can always find room for a new jacket or two.

So back to the challenge naturally I needed to pick items that could be worn for both day & evening & because of this I also thought it best to pick clothing that could be multi-tasking & most importantly mix with pieces currently in my wardrobe with a classic feel.  So what did I chose?  Well these two stunning items.

Now anyone who reads my blog regularly will know I'm a sucker for leopard print not to mention a stunning blazer so my first choice should need no explanation seeing as it features both these loves.  Plus it's machine washable & made from a lovely soft fabric with a slight sheen making it perfect for dressing up or down.  I ordered the size XS (I'm usually a UK 8) & it fits perfectly.  




Great Plains Alphabet Printed Panther Blazer


The second item I picked was these wool flannel culottes, which are also available in grey & navy too.  Now I've been sitting on the culotte fence for a while & having recently got my head round straight legged ones I thought it time I tried some that were slightly wider & more flared in the leg with a soft front pleat.  Again I ordered my normal size & the fit is perfect.  In terms of the look I'm pleasantly surprised with the pleating & flare both are lovely & subtle & don't feel too far outside from comfort zone, in fact I love them so much I'm tempted to buy the navy version too!




Great Plains Elly Wool Flannel Culottes


So back to the challenge & what to wear for the office & how to turn it into an evening affair.  To keep things as realistic as possible I've chosen to style my 'office' look for a day of styling with a client.  Naturally a day on my feet (especially at the moment) means that I need to think comfort & go with flats so I've teamed my culottes with trainers.  Layers are also important for me at this time of year so I've chosen a simple loose fit slightly cropped cardigan (easy to roll up in your bag on the evening) to wear under my panther blazer & to give the jacket a slightly more casual feel I've turned the lapels inwards.  Jewellery wise I've added a statement bracelet & a simple chain necklace.




Jacket - Great Plains
Cardigan - Zara
Bracelet - J Crew
Culottes - Great Plains
Trainers - Mango


Dressing Down Culottes


Cardigan - Zara £29.99
Bracelet - J Crew £125
Culottes - Great Plains £65


Then for my dinner look I've simply swapped my fine chain necklace for a bit more bling, changed the cardigan for a simple cami (which can easily be stored in your bag during the day) & added a statement clutch with strappy heels (bandages are optional ;-) As you can see my toes are still healing but hopefully you get the picture of how the outfit could look minus the bandages!  Although if going to a dinner/Christmas party where you don't know many people they could make a great conversation starter!!




Necklace - J Crew
Camisole - Zara
Bag - Bought in Majorca
Bracelet - J Crew
Jacket - Great Plains
Culottes - Great Plains
Shoes - Zara


Evening Out


Necklace - J Crew £165
Camisole - Jaeger £25
Bag - Dune £49
Bracelet - J Crew £125
Culottes - Great Plains £65
Shoes - Dune £85


So ladies what do you think.  Are these looks you could see yourself wearing?  And how would you solve the dilemma of desk to dinner?  Anyone got any tips they want to share?  Finally how about Great Plains, anyone clicked the button recently?  Is so I'd love to hear what you've picked.  I'm seriously in love with both additions to my wardrobe......now any chance you think that I can justify the navy version of the Elly culottes?!!!

Hope everyone has a great day.  I don't know about you but I can't believe a month today & it's going to be Christmas Day!!  If you're still needing inspiration on the present front then check out my gift guide here.

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4 comments

  1. Great choices Jane...they really do take you perfectly from desk to dinner! xx

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    1. Thanks Michelle, I just know both pieces are going to be very useful additions!
      Jane xx

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  2. I love the dinner outfit, Jane. Gorgeous! Lynne xx

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