String of Pearls

If you ever go out of the house of a morning and suddenly feel a bit naked, chances are it’s not your clothes that you’ve forgotten to put on but your jewellery. Most of us have a favourite necklace, ring or pair of earrings that we wear nearly every day. Forget to put them on one day and your neck (or finger, or wrist) can suddenly feel very cold and exposed!

Jewellery is a great way of adding the personal touch to any outfit as well as updating it or changing its feel or look. Try pairing your favourite dress, for example, with a few different necklaces and see how different the dress looks each time. Clever, no?

With that in mind, it’s important to keep your jewellery collection fresh and updated. In fact, treating yourself to a new pair of earrings, for example, is a quick, easy and cheap way to freshen up your whole wardrobe. Also, there’s nothing like new jewellery for making you feel a bit special.

No woman’s neckline should be without a string of pearls once in a while. This gorgeous String of Pearls is a single 120 cm row of genuine cultured freshwater pearls that will take you from day to night in classic style. This is a really classic choice that will look great with pretty much all of your outfits – even jeans and heels – and to put the icing on the cake they’re 25% off when you buy online!

If you’ve got a special occasion to attend, this Noemi Flower Ring is just what you need. A truly dramatic piece, it features Swarovski crystals and is rhodium plated. It’s sure to be a real talking point and looks especially great with a plain outfit, so that it can really stand out.

Woods of Windsor Lavender Talc Set

Mums are a hard-working bunch, aren’t they? They are always there for their children, whether it’s to cook them dinner or listen to their problems. And that’s on top of dealing with their own lives.

These days, mums are busier than ever before. Many mums have careers and do a full day’s work before coming home and caring for the family. How tiring! And how fitting that we should celebrate mums and all they do for us on Mothers’ Day.

There are various different explanations for the origins of Mothers’ Day. Some say it dates back to Ancient Greece. The saddest explanation we found was that it dates back to Victorian times, when children were sent away from the family home. They were allowed to spend one day a year with their parents (!), which was Mothers’ Day. Aren’t we glad that things have changed since then?

If you’re a daughter looking to treat your mum this Mothers’ Day, why not buy her a lovely present like this gorgeous Woods of Windsor Lavender Talc Set? Grab one quickly if you want it because it’s on sale, and choose our Next Day Delivery option to make sure your gift reaches its recipient on time.

If you’re taking Mum out for lunch and you want to make sure you’re dressed for the occasion, try teaming this Flower Trim Dress with a cute cardigan and a smart handbag.

If you’re a mother, you’ll be looking forward to receiving cute cards from your children and maybe even getting the chance to put your feet up. If your partner has told you that he’ll do the housework this Sunday, make sure he keeps his promise. As the day approaches, you may want to drop a few hints about how much you enjoy breakfast in bed!

Whatever you do this Mothers’ Day, have a wonderful time with your family.

Heine Rhinestone Detail Jeans

Fashions come and fashions go, which is generally a good thing, especially when you think about wearing skin tight cycling shorts with big baggy T-shirts in the 80s. Looking like Mr Motivator is not sexy or flattering.

There is one item of clothing that we’ll always be able to rely on though. Jeans are here to stay and always have been since they were invented in 1866 by a certain Levi Strauss. In those days, it was just the cowboys of the world who enjoyed these hardwearing yet comfortable denim trousers. These days you don’t have to live in the Wild West to sport a snazzy pair of jeans.

We often get into a groove with our jeans, wearing and keeping the same pair for years. Once you find a pair of jeans that you love it can be hard to wrestle yourself away from them. But the styles and body shapes of women’s jeans do change over the years and it’s worth updating your jeans collection with at least one new pair a year.

Here at Kaleidoscope we are absolutely loving these Heine Rhinestone Detail Jeans. They’ve got fabulous rhinestones on the back along with a classic five pocket design – and they’re reduced in price from £45 to £32! Available in short and regular lengths, these are especially great for going out in. Worn with strappy heels and your favourite going out top, you’re sure to knock ‘em dead!

Barrister Cream Wooden Dresser

Most of us own a fair amount of self-assembled and flat-pack furniture. In recent times, it’s become the most popular kind of furniture, with many of us spending our weekends assembling our new tables and chairs.

Unfortunately, self-assembly furniture sometimes gets a bad name for being boring or of poor quality. Here at Kaleidoscope we’re happy to say that we disagree: in fact, we’ve got some high-quality furniture for you that’s classy as well as being self-assembling. It really is the best of both worlds.

Our Barrister set is a fine example of classic, high-quality self-assembly furniture that will help to give your home a very upmarket feel. For the bedroom, we have the Barrister Cream Wooden 6 Drawer Dresser. In a cream painted finish, it boasts decorative moulding and timeless rope-style trimming around the drawers. Made from wood, as you would expect, it also has metal drawer runners and handles.

If you buy two pieces from the Barrister range at the moment you can save £50, so why not treat your living room to some elegance as well? The Barrister Cream Wooden Console Table is also in a cream painted finish with that timeless and distinctive rope-style trimming and metal drawer runners and handles. It’s practical too, with four drawers and an open shelf at the base.

Together Tiered Skirt

If you want to create a feminine look, then a well-chosen skirt is a must. Dressed up or dressed down, the right skirt gives your outfit ladylike appeal that will make you feel delightful.

Of course, there are lots of different styles of skirts you could buy – long, short (for the brave!), pencil and flowing. Here at Kaleidoscope we have some gorgeously flowing skirts that you can either wear dressed up for smart occasions or in a more relaxed way for those times when you want to express your inner hippy chick. We’ve also got more structured items too for smarter occasions.

The beautiful Together Tiered Skirt is a great choice for summer evenings and relaxed times. Its sequinned trim will glimmer in the sunlight and contrasts well with the crinkled material. Team with sandals, a vest top and a bolero cardigan.

Never let it be said that we don’t treat our online shoppers especially well – there are some skirts on the site that you won’t find anywhere else. This Heine Skirt is an unusual choice for formal occasions: it’s smart, but thanks to its diagonal lace underskirt, it doesn’t skimp on femininity. An online exclusive indeed.

Finally if you want a skirt that’s smart yet on trend for the office, check out the Apart Pencil Skirt. Available in grey or black, it’s actually on sale at the moment so you can snap one up in each colour! Great with heels and some serious attitude.

Amber Bedlinen

When was the last time you treated yourself (or your bedroom) to some new bedding? A friend of the blog told us over the weekend that she was really looking forward to using her lovely new sheets. She had last bought herself some sheets eight years ago. Eight years ago! Some of our children have grown up and left home in all that time!

Maybe it’s one of those things that we forget about – bedding is literally part of the furniture. But we should all make sure to buy new bedding at least every couple of years or so.

Have a think about what kind of look and feel you want to create in your room. Do you want a relaxed, refined feel? Think about choosing white sheets with a faint or embossed design. If you want to add vibrancy and pizzazz to the room, go for bold prints and colours.

Floral jacquard is a bedlinen design favourite. Elegant and understated, it really is a timeless choice. You can see it put to excellent use in our Amber Bedlinen. The set is attracting rave reviews from happy Kaleidscope.co.uk shoppers. Helen JW writes: “Beautiful, soft, comfortable and washes like a dream.”

At completely the other end of the spectrum is this snazzy Safari Bedlinen. Amazingly, it’s on special offer. If you buy one Safari duvet set you will receive a second in the same size absolutely free. How’s that for animal magic?

Suzy Smith Bow Trim Shoulder Bag

There are two main loves in a woman’s life. Her shoe collection and her handbag collection (after the husband and kids of course!). Most of us have quite a few handbags but seem to stick to the same one day after day. What a shame!

Change your handbag regularly to keep your look refreshed. It will also help you to keep your belongings neat and tidy – you’ll throw out all of those sweet wrappers and receipts on a regular basis as you change bags.

If you’re going to buy a new handbag, don’t just think about what colour to get. Think about the size, fabric, texture and detail as well. This Suzy Smith Bow Trim Shoulder Bag has taken a simple black handbag and turned it into a striking accessory. Amanda Puds, from South Wales, says: “You can use this bag as a statement piece with a plain black outfit or take it out to dinner. It is just so stylish yet it is fun!”

If you like your handbag to have lots of compartments, this Heine Faux Leather Bag is the one for you. In slightly structured fine faux leather it is lined with several compartments for all of your things. This is definitely one for organised fashionistas!

8 Colour Changing Solar Lights

A garden without lights is a garden that’s being sorely underused. Carefully chosen and well-placed lighting not only transforms the look and feel of a garden, but enables you to use it as a relaxation and entertaining space in summer evenings as well as daytimes.

Choosing garden lighting isn’t something that can be done quickly, though. You need to give some careful thought and consideration as to what you want to use lighting for, what the layout of your garden will allow and also whether you’re going to install it yourself or call in the professionals.

Safety and security should be your prime considerations when choosing garden lighting. Good garden lighting can help to make your garden – and your house – a safer place. You could illuminate your garden’s entrance to make it easier to access in the dark – very important if you have stairs.

Floodlights with in-built passive infrared detectors are a good idea if you want to increase security. Think about putting one near the entrance into your house from the garden to deter unwanted intruders – if anybody comes near, then the light comes on.

Fairy lights are a fun and cheap way to inject a magical lighting effect into your home. Make sure you get fairy lights for outdoor use and follow the instructions very carefully – you don’t want to set fire to your plants (or any visitors!). These are especially lovely when you’re having special parties.

Heine Leather Shoes

Choosing the right pair of shoes for work can be a confusing business. You want something comfortable, but not dowdy. In your head, you imagine yourself click, click, clickety-clicking all the way to the boardroom in fierce stilettos, but in reality you know that’s never going to happen without breaking your neck as you fall off the bus on the way to work. Very very high heels are for parties!

There are lots of options available for working women who want to mix comfort with style. There’s no excuse for wearing the same worn-out shoes to work year after year. In fact a new and shiny pair of shoes will refresh your workwear wardrobe, bringing new life to your outfits, as well as showing your colleagues that you mean serious business. Smart and fashionable shoes can’t fail to impress.

Clarks, the denizens of comfy footwear, have really come into their own in the past few years and we’ve got some of their best styles here on Kaleidoscope.co.uk. These cute Clarks Bar Shoes have a good heel on them and a trendy Mary-Jane design. Team with patterned tights and a dress.

Bring a rainbow of colour into your work shoe collection with these Heine Leather Shoes. Choose from red, blue or plum. In fact, don’t choose – this style is half price at the moment, so treat yourself to the whole collection! With a comfortable 3 inch heel and practical T-bar style, these are cute, colourful and not to be missed.

Floral Chiffon Top

If you want to stop spending money on clothes you never wear, creating a capsule wardrobe could be just the thing. A capsule wardrobe is a set of clothing – normally 15-20 items – that all match each other and can therefore be used to create numerous different outfits.  No more instances of buying a single item because it looked good on the mannequin, only to find it doesn’t go with any of your other clothes!
Have a look inside your existing wardrobe – you almost certainly already own the beginnings of a capsule wardrobe. Ask yourself which clothes you wear all the time, and which items always seem to feature in your outfits. Then use these clothes as the basis of your capsule wardrobe.

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Our top tips for creating the perfect capsule wardrobe are as follows:
• Decide on a unified colour scheme so all your clothes match each other and go with a single pair of shoes.
• Buy timeless designs to ensure your clothes do not go out of fashion.
• Choose the right clothes for your body shape.
• Select clothes that suit your lifestyle.
• Vary your outfits by accessorising with jewellery, scarves and bags.

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Don’t know where to start? Try this combination of items from Kaleidoscope, all based on a unified colour theme of green and magenta: a Floral Chiffon Top ; a Georgette Top ; a Sequin Trim Dress ; and a Ruffle Cardigan .