Well here I am, in the beautiful city of Bath, getting back into the swing of things with work and generally trying to pull life back onto an even keel. (Life update here, in case you need it.) I’ve been rather slack on the whole work front, I’m afraid – I spend quite a bit of time (ie most of the day) updating my Rightmove app to see whether any new dream houses have come onto the market. I’m finding it difficult to concentrate on beauty, or fashion, or books, or virtually anything else at all, because every time I look at a candle/handbag/bottle of bath oil, I think to myself, ooh, wouldn’t that look lovely photographed in front of a glorious big Georgian window? Imagine if I had a house with glorious big Georgian windows?

House-hunting is pretty all-consuming at the best of times, but if you’re an incurable day-dreamer and fantasist, it’s an absolute brain-addling nightmare.

Anyway, some lovely Autumn fashion for you. I have a video coming up soon with these essentials displayed in full, sashaying catwalk mode, but didn’t want things to disappear from the virtual shelves before you had a chance to look at them.

The excellent chunky cardigan is one you have seen before – I bought it from French Connection here* for £110, which seemed pretty steep at the time, but I’ve worn it constantly, so on a price-per-wear basis it’s not too bad. I treat it as a sort of outdoorsy dressing gown, throwing it on over anything and everything, and my only regret is that it’s probably just a bit too chunky to wear beneath a smart, fitted coat when the weather turns colder.

The sweet little animal print blouse is from LK Bennett here* – you’ll see more of it when I do my big fashion shoot next week. It’s a smart and sophisticated print, and it’s silk, so great if you want to wear animal print to work but need it to look a little more formal. Looks as brilliant with a pencil skirt and heels as it does jeans and boots, which is always a good sign of a wise investment piece!

The jeans are old ones from a past season – Abercrombie & Fitch high-waisted skinny – and so comfy, but the scarf is a new purchase. I wanted a Burberry-esque pattern without the Burberry price-tag (because how many scarves do I lose each year?) and this muted beige-and-grey checked one from Topshop here* seemed to fit the bill. It’s not a huge, shawl-like scarf that you can get lost in (my preferred size and style!) but it’s neat and smart and looks good with a proper coat as well as with knitwear.

And then the boots! I had two comments on these before I’d even walked away from the car – I think that the colour is quite eye-catching, nice and warm and autumnal. They’re the Sancia knee-high slouch boots from AND/OR at John Lewis (here*), though they’re not quite up to the knee once the slouching has taken place. The heel height on these is actually quite high, so I did have to avoid the cobble-stones on my way to the park bench, but considering the fact that my ankles are apparently are made of crumbly chalk rather than human bone, I did quite well and was striding away through the leaves after a few minutes’ practice.

I love the tan suede against the pale denim – add the chunky knitwear on top and it’s my perfect autumn combo. What do you think? I’ll be back with more fashion bits and pieces next week (and an update on my Rightmove addiction), but let me know if you’ve snapped up any seasonal gems and I shall add them to my internet window-shopping list…

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