Over the weekend I visited my old stomping ground of Stoke Newington and en route, at Victoria, I made a pit stop at House of Fraser to see what this troubled department store still had to offer.

The buzz you usually get on greeting the ground floor of premium department retailers was missing and I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the overall experience I had. Lacklustre seemed to be the customer service approach du jour I'm afraid and although I'm sure I too would feel the pressure with uncertain job prospects the customer certainly shouldn't be aware of it. 

In the Beauty section I thought there may have been a Charlotte Tilbury offer, as her new Hollywood Flawless Filter has been lauded of late and its on my wish list. No such luck; John Lewis must have beat HOF to it!

​It was no better on the ladies wear floor; sales associates clustered together, discussing fitting room cover so breaks could be allocated while daunted customers floated by. I even had to ask to pay as no tills were seemingly being manned and I was directed to the lingerie department. 

The offer in store was also very pedestrian....no surprising brands that I hadn't heard of and very much a high street bricks and mortar offer; they certainly could do with a sprinkling of edgy young or up and coming labels. I actually thought their other own line 'Linea' looked considered and offered outfit building blocks. Maybe they should cull their ladies wear and concentrate on their own brands to create a point of difference.

Layout was traditional and samey and footfall seemed accidental with no known destination. The cafe looked like a second rate wedding venue, with a Cinderella type coach plonked in the middle, more Katie Price and Peter Andre nuptials than Fortnum and Mason; too try hard.... whatever happened to less is more?

HoF Victoria Tea Terrace

Whilst I understand that Victoria isn't necessarily a weekend shopping destination the HoF store should have been busier. However when other retailers concentrate on enhancing customer in store experiences,   I wasn't at all excited by my visit, which is a shame.

With the highlight being the two HoF own line labels I've picked my top three items from the 'Linea' and "Maison De Nimes' ranges, below. 

'Linea' is good for work wear separates and 'Maison De Nimes' has some great items for a beach holiday. Whilst some items are already reduced it may be worth holding out for further markdowns, which I'm sure are imminent.

I hope HoF can sort out the issues they face and that another well established British retailer isn't going to be forced into administration. That said the future doesn't look too rosy and if my recent visit is anything to go by I won't be surprised if that will be the case.

Click on the links to shop, let me know what you love about HoF, and thanks for stopping by.

My TK Maxx haul!

I noticed the Catherine Malandrino (another US designer brand) trousers on my way through ladies wear en route to the cash desk; they ticked trend boxes, linen, wide striped, loose fit, slightly cropped....and at £19.99 a great price point. Too good to be left on the rail, so yet another gem I couldn't resist.

Unfortunately I can't find any of my wares online so you too will have to go into store if you want to source anything similar. However a word of warning you may get wanderlust whilst in there!

​Thanks for stopping by.

Now the weather is more consistently warm and sunny I've been defaulting to shorts and realised after my last post, 'Holly Inspiration', that I perhaps should invest in a couple of pairs of paper bag shorts myself! I always think that you look more together in the heat when you pair an item of tailoring with jersey separates, be it a t-shirt or jogging pant. That's why I like the tailored look of these paper bag shorts from H&M.

Since purchasing I've worn the striped pair with a grey V neck T-shirt as well as a plain linen vest, see todays outfit builder, and I will wear the white pair with a stripe T-shirt as well as an all white look pairing them with a white linen shirt.

When I ordered them I was also tempted by the oversized Linen shirt, which just felt too big and roomy, and the striped linen shirt, which when I asked the hubby what he thought he said he liked it as it reminded him of a beach towel! I agreed as the stripes are slightly too thick and needless to say both will get returned.

For the outfit builder I chose The White Company Christy's Panama Hat as I like the neutral band and it was created by a collaboration with Christy's London, renowned milliner for over 200 years. I picked a red frame pair of sunglasses to compliment the red stripe of the shorts and chose the slingback espadrilles as they are more practical than slides if you're driving on the school run.

My linen vest is from Pure Collection at John Lewis, mainly because I could click and collect it from my local Waitrose, and it is a nice fit, shapely but not clingy and the neckline isn't too low or high. It's currently on sale, which makes it better value for money.

With my shorts I wore my Gap blue Lyocell bomber jacket, old, which is a light alternative to a denim jacket. If you prefer a denim jacket then I've seen a great update from Next which has a frayed collarless neckline, click here. Here though I've shown a great jacket from Zara, a mash up of a safari and utility style, which will sit back with the natural, rustic trends prevalent this season. Whilst I was on Zara's website I always check out the 'new in' and 'trending' items so also picked this stripe handle tote.

So my shorts are a keeper; if you like this easy, off duty look click on the links to shop and thanks for stopping by.