Styling in St Albans – It feels good to be back on the high street checking our the fashion delights for Autumn and getting our styling vibe going again! For this blogpost I am joined by one of St Albans’s personal stylists, Lisa Wisdom of Style With Wisdom.
We spent a day in the glorious city of St Albans, seeing what the best of the high street and local independents have on offer for this Autumn. Safe under Covid restrictions of wearing face masks, using hand sanitisers in every store and keeping our distance.
That’s one of the great benefits of shopping in St Albans, there’s plenty of fresh air and space when shopping in their city. Face masks were removed momentarily for photos, but if you missed my blogpost about shopping safely, then take a look at HOW TO SHOP ~ THE THREE ‘W’s TO REMEMBER
In preparation for the day, I completed one of Lisa’s questionnaire, so she knew in advance a little about me and my sizing but also that this style post would also be for YOU, in the comfort of your own home – so as many links have been included, especially of you are not local. All three stores we visited, now have their changing rooms open, so you can try-on, if online is really not your friend!
Lisa had carte blanche to style as she wished, she decided on using Autumn styling to take me through a ‘day in the life of’ theme – which I absolutely loved. Understanding how you can fit new items into your wardrobe at the point of buying really helps get that clarity of why you need to buy – rather than just shopping blind.
It’s also full on boot season now – we used chunky black boots and knee-high heeled red or burgundy boots; as these are all fairly typical boots to own, but if you don’t then black heeled knee boots will work with every outfit! (Promise).
Let the styling begin!
THAT STYLISH DOG WALK
Lisa knows just how precious my Alfonso is to me, and I do walk him daily – the early mornings may not be as glam as this, but when I do go out for the day with my hubby and Alfonso for a lovely forest walk and a stop off at a country pub lunch – then yes I do love to have a stylish, but practical outfit. I very much had the Cotswolds in my head when we were styling this, one of my favourite places for a day out.
Lisa’s chose WHISTLES in Christopher Place for these two looks!
As soon as I saw this mint green jumper that Lisa picked, I loved it! Such a gorgeous colour, it works lovely with the blue jeans and one you can easily continue wearing on cold Spring days. Lisa teamed it here with my chunky black boots, a modern cut pair of jeans and styled with this season’s shearling biker jacket for colder days.
ERICA FLECKED FUNNEL NECK KNIT – £119
FAUX FUR ULTIMATE BIKER – £195
As we loved the fit of the jeans so much we decided to a second look on the spot. We both loved, loved, loved the sheepskin gilet, at this price it’s clearly an investment piece. It was such a lovely fit, really snuggly and also I felt it’s one you can easily wear in the house at home if you need to keep a little warmer (especially if you get like me, cold sitting at your desk whilst working!).
I’ve calculated that if you wear it a minimum 30 times over the next 4 months – that investment is £15 a time; pretty much a Primark item that you’ll possibly wear just once! However this gilet will last you years…..
Lisa teamed the gilet with a dark blue top – I can’t find this one online, so you’ll need to head in store, it has glittery detail which is perfect for adding a touch of sparkle!
TOSCANA SHEEPSKIN GILET – £450
THAT BLOGGER LUNCH OR TIME WITH MY GIRLFRIENDS
Everyday dresses are a key staple in my wardrobe – it’s simplistic styling if you need to be stylish but not too fussy. We all have daytime events; whether be it a birthday lunch out, you are invited to a girlfriend’s house for a brunch date with other ladies or you are heading into a city to meet colleagues, clients or friends.
These two looks are timeless and both can easily been worn with unfussy accessories – so no thinking required or stressy dressing situations, they are great pieces to own and can be worn throughout the year.
Tapping into my love of animal print – Lisa picked this gorgeous green snake print dress, and after trying a few colourful bags – we opted for a little double snake print! This bag is classic in shape and style and will be perfect for all year round!
ERINA DRAPE RUFFLE NECK DRESS – £125
TALIN MINI HALF MOON CROSSBODY BAG – £125
I don’t normally wear blue – but I really loved this dress. It made a fab change to wearing black and it gives off a lovely French vibe I thought – I loved that we added in the navy for an alternative colour combo with burgundy.
AREITA DRAPE PRINTED SHIRT DRESS – £125 – Size true to fit
LULA MINI SQUARE RECYCLED LEATHER CROSSBODY BAG – £95
THAT UNEXPECTED DATE NIGHT
We finish with styling for that unexpected night out – aren’t they just the best! Lisa picked Chloe James Lifestyle for the ultimate glam night out – touching on non-other than animal print and a dose of lace and pleather! All key trends for this AW20!
This leopard print dress is extremely flattering with a drawstring waist-tie that you can clinch in; it’s so silky-soft too with the midi skirt having a touch of pleats giving a nod to AW20 trends. I’m wearing S/M for a 10-12 fit.
Now I don’t normally get my legs out… but with my secret to bare legs, I had the confidence too… this pleather black number was a true delight! Lisa was clever to add the little cami lace top underneath; not only to give a touch of lace, a trend popular this season but also to keep my modesty and removing any concerns of showing too much cleavage. I loved it! The dress has great balloon sleeves that really gives a statement shape to the overall look.
Culture Elona Strap Blouse – £28.50 ( already own this cami in an coral red – I absolutely love, love, love!)
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Meet Lisa Wisdom of Style With Wisdom
Lisa is a Personal Stylist in St Albans. Big huge thanks to Lisa for agreeing to this collaboration. You can find out more about Lisa on her website and Instagram.
Special thanks to for Christopher Place, WHISTLES, French Connection and Chloe James Lifestyle for having us – Styling in St Albans
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The url links for WHISTLES & French Connection in this blog are affiliate links which basically means should you click through and purchase I potentially earn a small commission but you will not be charged any extra for the product.
Love this! Where are the burgundy and red boots from?
Thanks!
Author
My red boots are from New Look about 2 years ago now. The burgundy boots belonged to Lisa and hers was also not current season. Burgundy boots are very popular you should be able to find some from your favourite boot brands, or try Office, John Lewis and ASOS online. Thanks for reading, love Lizzi x