Hear, Hear, It's Soon the New Year.

As you can see, I was by no means joking when, in my last blog, I put "It's a lose-lose situation on how my face is going to look!"
This was taken this morning before I ran out to work.
And this is the new dress (Matalan) that I was lusting after. In the end I settled on wearing it with my grey skinnies (Criminal Damage from a friend), my knee high boots (Matalan) and to keep me decent, a white strap top underneath (Primark). I think this outfit actually works out to be a bit of a bargain.... I think all together, excluding underwear, it probably only cost about £35.

Now I just have to begin to figure what I want to wear tomorrow for New Year's. I've got work first, and I don't know what time until, but after that it's straight into London for heavy drinking - which I in no way promote kids! There have been severe warnings all over the news though, that people should wrap up warm as it's likely to be freezing temperatures... So to look good and be warm? This shall be a challenge, I haven't ever attempted that - usually I either dress up and freeze my ass off, or dress practically. Also need to figure out what I'm going to wear for the next couple of days after that as staying in London for a couple of nights - seeing Avenue Q on Friday night and shopping on Friday and Saturday.
It's going to be a good weekend. So this will probably be my final blog of the year.

It's been a speedy year - it has certainly flown by. There's been lots of ups and downs. We've hit rock bottom in a recession and started to come up the other side. It's not going to be easy, but lets try and ring in the New Year in style.
Keep stylish, and have a good evening, whatever you're doing tomorrow night.
Remember, it's the end of a decade, so party hard and look great.

Dear Diary...

A while ago, I fell in lust with a dress.
Today that dress arrived in the post. It's made me very happy.

I'll share pictures soon. First things first, I need to figure out how the f*ck I'm going to wear it to work. Not because I need to find an excuse to wear it - just there's a gazillion and one ways I can think of wearing it at the moment, and I need to figure out which is going to be best for in an office where I'm freezing about 75% of the time, and boiling about 24% of the time. That other 1% is when I'm an okay temperature. It's that much of a rarity!

Pictures tomorrow hopefully, before work with me looking sleepy or after work with me looking pissed off and tired. It's a lose-lose situation on how my face is going to look!

Only Nearly

It's only taken me nearly a month to locate the pictures in both magazines, but when I saw both of these, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself a little bit.
These magazines

This advert appeared in December's issue of Harper's Bazaar.
And then the following month, this page appeared as part of a photo story in the January edition of Vogue. The exact same dress, shot in completely different ways.

Now, admittedly, it is only an advert in one and an article in another, but I do love the fact there's a gap in the printing of the two, in two competitive magazines.

I do, however, enjoy the different takes the people creating these shoots have chosen. The top picture puts me off it slightly - I suppose as it seems so unachievable and model perfect. The latter, however, has a darker edge and seems more achievable perhaps because of the imperfect setting.

Not a lot else to say for now, back to the slog of work tomorrow for a few days, that said it is dress down for the week which'll be interesting because I'm not used to dressing appropriately for a work environment in a casual way... We'll see what the outcome is.

Tis the Season...

December is the infamous month of the pantomime. I, personally, am totally over the whole "it's behind you!" factor, and I don't believe I've ever actually been to one. Perhaps a good thing.

None the less, it is the season for them, and I have today chosen to take a small piece of inspiration from it, if somewhat accidentally.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you: Puss in Boots.
I've grown bored of just wearing the newer clothes in my wardrobe whilst neglecting the older ones because they don't have such an excitement factor. So today, I forced myself to only (or mainly) use older pieces from my wardrobe.
This jumper dress (Tammy @ BHS) is something I still remember buying. It's about 3 years old now, and I'm not really sure why I haven't thrown it away, but times like now, make me glad I haven't. It is, in fact, the item of clothing that made me decide maybe leggings weren't so horrendous and so I purchased a pair to wear with it.
The leggings, are indeed the ones I bought for this dress, but I have no idea where I got them from... it's a major frustration. I also cannot remember where the belt came from. I epically fail at this game sometimes.
The boots are my one major failing at the "older items" thing - I bought them a week ago after seeing them in a magazine as one of the "Cheap Trick" items. They're from Matalan and comfy as hell.... But on what was just a bit of an average outfit, they ended up giving it the "Puss In Boots" factor.

I hope everyone's have a good Christmas break and eating their weight in chocolate, etc.

Christmas Christmas, Bah Bloody Humbug!

So it may (or may not) have escaped your attention that I'm not the biggest Christmas fan in the world. That said, I am slowly becoming a convert (just on the quiet), as this year was a fantastic year. And it wasn't a fantastic year for selfish reasons, oh no. It was fabulous because the look on my boyfriend's face when I gave him main present from me; a remote control version of his favourite car: a Range Rover.

And here's a picture of us outside whilst he plays with it. I was dressed as practically as evernot! in my favourite skinnies (Criminal Damage from a friend), strap top (Primark), my favourite shirt (River Island), my hoody (Primark) and my new boots (Matalan) that I saw in Stella last Sunday and fell in love lust with.

For Christmas this year I also got a couple of DVDs (27 Dressed &+ Confessions of a Shopaholic); Pink's Funhouse album; a spider catcher (I have an insanely bad phobia of them); a gorgeous new watch aaaaaand a book about Vivienne Westwood. I've been drooling over the book since I got it, it's been a struggle for anyone to get me to put it down for more than 5 minutes. I got some other bits and pieces as well, and a crazy amount of chocolate that'll take me about 10 minutes to eat because I'm that much of a pig!

And now it's Boxing Day, so we all know what that means.... Eating left overs until we feel sick, and the major sales begin. I'll be the first to admit that I won't be heading out to traipse around shop after shop on the hunt for a bargain - I'm just too lazy. Also, I've grown to hate and love the sales all in one, which makes navigating them a bit of a hassle. I mean, they're horrendously bad because everyone is jostling for their post-Christmas bargains and buying pointless stuff they don't even really want, but still buy because "OhMyGosh it's only £2.50 and it does SORT of fit me!" On the other hand it's a great thing as it means that dress you've had your eye on for New Year's but couldn't justify at £40+ is now a mere £20. Then you just have to pray they still have your size.

Ahh, and whilst watching My Family on the wonderful Christmas television schedule this year (read: crappy as usual), I saw something that made me shriek out in delight (much to my brother and boyfriend's disgust). Janey, one of the characters, was wearing the exact jumper I blogged about a few months ago.
I still lust after it. Badly. However, it is now sold out. Sad times.

Anyway, won't stop for more now, no doubt I will be able to get some blogs out at some point as it's New Year's soon and there's lots of Bank Holidays around this period so I won't be in the office. Also, I'll be having to figure out what to wear for New Year's as I'm going into London for the event, and staying for the night after as well - giving me time to do some sale shopping on the Saturday. Pysched. :)

Out the Window

Okay, adding pictures to my last post has gone out the window. Instead I'll put them here. :)

So, Vogue are convinced we shouldn't be LBD-ing anymore, it's time for pastels and other fun colours. Below, this dress is the only one that may convince me to pull myself away from the LBD... but I could never afford it and I don't think I'd be able to wear it many places... As gorgeous as it is :(


Anyway, onto more current news; here's what I'm wearing today. Lots of layers for the win: long sleeve tee (primark), blue floaty top (Topshop) and skinny jeans (from friend of a friend). And it kinda makes me feel like a 6 year old for some reason. Which I guess is appropriate considering I got to decorate our Christmas tree today.And I got to decorate it wearing this wonderful halo =]. (Hoody - Primark)
In other news, I'm *hopefully* heading out to Matalan this afternoon to buy some sexy sexy knee high boots to keep my tootsies and legs warm. They look vair vair sexy, but as they were featured in Stella (inside the Sunday Telegraph), I don't hold out masses of hope for them still being in stock :(

Ooooh! And, as you may (or may not) have noticed, I've had my haircut. Finally. It's back to nice and short and manageable. It's never felt so good.
Shall be interesting to see the reaction of my colleagues who I'm working with at the moment, in an office. I think they probably thought I was quite conservative as my "smart" wear is rather bland (it's difficult when you don't own many smart things); however tomorrow I shall be in with short hair and cool make up. It's Christmas after all!
Have a good one :)

Contrasts Of Opinion

First things, first, I am aware just how appallingly kept this blog has been for the last few weeks. It's truly shocking. That said, I don't hold out much hope of the standards improving for alittle while longer yet... The temping work I'm on at the moment is great - I'm blogging from work; but my next one (which starts on Thursday and runs for 2-6 weeks); well let's just see how it goes, because I don't want to get mysekf in trouble for blogging instead of working!

Anyway, before I get into a small rant about work and temping, etc, I'll actually write about what this blog is supposed to be about; style, clothes, etc...
During the last couple of weeks I've received my subscription copies of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue (yay!) and have spent my lunch breaks of this assignment reading said magazines. When I got home last night I also flicked to the Style On Monday section of the Daily Telegraph that my parents get. The contrast between a weekly feature and a monthly magazine never ceases to amaze me.
In January's edition of Vogue we have "20 New Year Shopping Resolutions" (page85 for you other Vogue readers) which I have adored reading and flicking through. Number19 on this double page spread fabulously states "Don't Add Yet Another Little Black Dress to Your Burgeoning Collection." There's also a gorgeous dress by Christopher Kane featured just above number19. I think I'm quite possibly in love with it, although it would look ridiculous on me.
In the Daily Telegraph's Style on Monday; however; in great contrast to this item from Vogue; there is a whole article on the fabulousness of the Little Black Dress.
So, it begs the question - which is better - the LBD? Or the Anti-LBD?

Personally? I'm more of an LBD girl. The main reason for this is because I've yet to find a bright coloured dress that doesn't make me look like I'm heading off to a prom. Also, with my lifestyle, it's far easier to just own mainly black clothes as they always look smart and suitable for a work environment.
That said I maybe converted if I could find myself a gorgeous Anti-LBD that I can use everywhere and anywhere.

Anyway, I have to abandon this for returning to work. Eventually I'll get around to adding in some pictures.

Epic Fail.

So it's official, I have managed to epically fail at keeping vaguely on top of blogging at the moment.
I really don't know what is wrong with me; maybe lack of time, but that's a lame excuse considering I'm not working full time. Hmm.

Vague bit of fashion-y news though - the Affordable Vintage Fair is back in London this Saturday. Loved it last time but sadly can't get back there this weekend. Funds just won't allow it... :(

But check it, here, for more details and lush photos to wet your appetite.

Goodies

As promised, though slightly later than intended, this is the birthday blog.

If you've been paying attention to my blogs of late, then you'll know that on Wednesday, I turned 18, a much awaited milestone that I'm still coming to terms with... (I mean, Jesus, I'm gonna be 20 this time in 2011... scary!)

Being 18 does have many great advantages though. It meant I could talk (read: manipulate) my boyfriend into buying me a ring and my parents (willingly) bought me a bracelet:

I'm in love with them both. They're white gold with cubic zirconia set in them, and my, aren't they wonderful? I'm also most chuffed that they match incredibly well. That said it could have something to do with the fact I was very specific about the style of jewellery I like.
I have just realised how poor this photograph is. Not only because it makes me look like I have sausage fingers, but also it cheapens the shade of my nail varnish colour. In reality, the colour is actually a deep red, and rather lovely compared to the bright red that it appears to be here. Ahh well.

As one of my other presents from my parents, I also got The Sartorialist book, which I've been lusting after for a while now, but have been far too lazy to buy for myself (also, I was low on suggestions for birthday pressies, so shoved that on the list). I haven't had masses of time to flick through it (spent most of my week working) but finally got a chance today to continue from where I had got to on Wednesday. I took a couple of pictures of some of the pages that are jumping out at me today...
I think this lower picture just screams appeal to my inner punk that I fail to release. I'm not sure what it is about the top picture that I like so much. Perhaps how he manages to look so classy having a cigarette and riding a bike - something that even separately, a lot people look like twats doing... but together it just seems natural for him.

Not a lot else to say now. Still nursing a bit of a headache that I am adamant is not from drinking last night - I'm just dehydrated. I am certainly enjoying being 18 though, as it means I can happily go and have a drink and not feel worried I'm going to get caught. I'd like to think this new found freedom is showing through slightly in the way I dress when I'm off duty from whatever job I am doing.

Speaking of work though, I should probably finish this blog off for now as I have to try and get the bright red nail varnish off before work tomorrow. This coming week I'm covering lunches at L.K.Bennett which means I have a week of lusting after their lace pieces and the pull on boots that I adore. It's a hard life being a temp!

Today, wonderful people, it is my 18th.
I'm having a fabulous day, but won't be doing a proper blog.

Birthday blogs and normal blogging will resume shortly.

:)

Freak Out.

WARNING: this blog is one of the scattiest ones ever written to date by me. Apologies.

Today, as I blog, I am in the midst of a freak out that I am actually turning 18 on Wednesday (and therefore an adult and apparently responsible); that I may have a cold (I blame boyfriend who's just had flu for over a week and still insisted on cuddling me -_-); and finally freaking out that I can't get an appointment with my hairdresser on Tuesday because it's his day off and I desperately want my hair cut, and want it done BEFORE I'm old.

Other than that, in a fairly reasonable mood. Received my first birthday present yesterday, an orchid, from one of the guys at Ede and Ravenscroft. He's going on holiday next week, thus the reason I'll be working, so gave me a present early. Woo!

Alsoooooo, I saw Lady Gaga's video for "Bad Romance" this morning, and omgosh, I'm in love with her costumes. Those shoes she wears, I still haven't quite worked out how your feet are supposed to sit in them, but they're fascinatingly weird. I also enjoy the song, which is quite strange considering through the first few lines I was thinking "what has she done? she's RUINED her music". But it quickly grew on me and I couldn't help but be absorbed by the outfits in the music video.
Check it here:


Finally, on Tuesday, as my birthday present, fellow blogger Jennily, to see Kevin Devine. I'm massively psyched for this. :) Even if I have absolutely no idea what the hell I should wear because it's gonna be freezing outside, but warm in the venue. Bugger.

Not a lot else to say for now, I'm hoping normal blogging will eventually return to normality; but I can't guarentee when. Sorry!

Diet Coke

I've decided I love the outfits on the Diet Coke adverts.
They're absolutely gorgeous pieces that they put their puppets in, even if the "girls" wearing them are kerazyyyyyy.
That said, isn't that the best way to be?

In other news, only 8 days til I turn 18.
The day before my birthday my fellow blogger; Jennily; is *hopefully* taking me to a good old gig in Oxford. Shall be vair vair good, but I have NO idea what the hell I should wear.
I know it may be forever away, but hey, it's how I'll be bringing in my 18th, so I think I should celebrate the night before in style. Will probably either end up going for shorts, tights and top orrrrr maybe, just maybe my favourite strapless dress.
OOoooo! That or I could wear the new top I bought the other day with leggings. Argh, muchly to think about.

Anyway, not much else to say, distinct lack of inspiration at the moment. Today Ugly Betty is distracting me; damn I love that programme. But in general, there is minimal inspiration in my mind.
Also it's back to work at Ede and Ravenscroft tomorrow and until Friday; so will be back in uniform of suit and shirt.
I'm also doing Thursday night at L.K. Bennett for a charity event. So mucho busyness on the work front. Also have boyfriend home now, so have to sort things for him because he has man flu. All fun and games.

Back at the weekend biatches =]

Crazy Busy

Currently I am crazy busy. When I'm not working, I have stupidly long lists of things to do. When I'm not doing these longs lists, I'm visiting boyfriend who's grumpy. And when I'm not visiting boyfriend, I'm working.

Crazy busy, yes.

Anyway, yesterday, on one of visiting days to grumpy boyfriend, I went to Birmingham. It chucked it down with rain, I was not impressed, but we took shelter in the manic busy Bullring. It was packed full of Christmas shoppers. We, however, were looking at rings. No, we're not getting engaged, instead we were look for a ring for him to buy me for my 18th which is in a few days.
We ended up deciding that H.Samuel was best place for my ring. I'd love to show you a picture, but it's not on their website =[.
It is stunning though, and I really hope he decides to buy it for my birthday, or can get it for my birthday.
If not, here's some others I'd love:

This second ring is very similar to the one that we saw in the store and that I tried on (god, it felt so good). The only difference is that one of the two stones is blue topaz.

I'm in loveeeee with rings. And I adore my boyfriend (:

Productivity

Today I was temping back at Ede and Ravenscroft, the gentleman's outfitters. I adore working there as, bar the workwear, it's a very relaxed attitude. If there is nothing for me to do, they are quite happy to just let me perch on the edge of the table or sit on the stool and have a natter with them. Today I decided to doodle at the same time as having this natter with one of my favourites there.

I'd had this image in my mind for quite a while - at one point I was wanting it tattooed onto me until I discovered I won't physically be able to have tattoos probably (*cry*). Recently though I had been thinking of doing this image on a page of my A3 sketch pad, but kept putting it off as it would be a big project and I haven't had the attention span of late. This afternoon though, I found myself sat on the stool with a decent pencil and a scrap of paper. So I started sketching it out and watched it grow from some crappy pencil lines to the full anchor. Then I just popped in some truly horrendous pencil-line anchors. I wish I had managed to get them more equal, but no such luck.
Needless to say though, I was quite proud of this effort, and considering all in all it took me about 3 hours to do, I don't think it's too bad.
By.The.Way, only reason it took me so long was because every time a customer came in to the shop, I had to stand up, leave the drawing and stand to attention as such.

Not a lot else to say. I'm going up to Birmingham tomorrow for the day to see le boyfriend. Might even be picking the ring he's *hopefully* buying for my 18th which is in 12 days! Excited.

The Sartorialist.

So there's lots of blogs I'm crazy for; The Sartorialist being one of them that I often forget about, then re-remember and spend ages browsing it again.
I wanted to try and minimise chance of forgetting the blog, so went to follow it. Only thing is, once a blog reaches 10,000 followers, no one else can... And guess what, The Sartorialist has reached that magic number.

It's not difficult to understand why though. So many blogs, mine included - I'll admit, are focused in one direction - be it in menswear or womenswear. Rarely to they cover all ages and both genders. None the less The Sartorialist manages to achieve this; giving good and fair coverage to both male and females and a wide range of ages.
Even on the main page that I was flickering over today, there's right through from a kid to a guy who's grey haired and I'd say probably in his 50s...

Another thing I adore about this blog is that there isn't a particular style he picks out to follow. Some of the people are polished to within an inch of their life; others look like their clothes have seen better days. None the less it's a fantastic concoction of real people in real life in real settings.

After all, that's what everyone needs. Reality.
Keep it real.

Picture This.

Here are some pictures of my bag. I'm in love with it.




To be honest. I don't have a lot else to say. I'm gonna be really busy tomorrow, but I intend to try and find some time to blog about all my fabby-fab purchases from today's shopping in Reading.
I took the Jimmy Choo bag with me on the shopping trip, and oh my gosh, it just felt right. I was in heaven all day. :)

Jimmy Choo!

Dear Diary,
As I mentioned the other day, the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection was launched yesterday.
Today I ended up going on a last minute trip to London to visit boyfriend aaaaand as I was early I thought I'd have a quick browse over the shops.
I may, possibly, have ended up in one of the H&M branches around Oxford Circus.... and I may have immediately located the Jimmy Choo clothes, then may have spent about 15 minutes hunting for the bags and shoes....
Then I may, or may not, have found the bag that I had majorly been lusting after on the 13th.

Ok, so delete all the "may"s out and you have what I did today. I then realised that this wasn't a decision to be taken lightly considering this is most likely the MOST amount of money I will ever spend on a bag unless I end up super duper rich (one can hope).
So, I was faced with a difficult decision - think "sod it", buy the bag and then be stressed over money related issues and a look from my parents that said "that was a waste of money" OR not buy the bag and face regretting it for... well... ever basically. So what did I do? I rang my Mum of course! She is the worst and best influence on me. When I'm there faffing around over whether I can really justify another £20 on another shirt, she's the one who gives me the justification, or not, for it. This is why my Mum is wonderful.
So after spending a good five minutes on the phone discussing it with her; I went and bought the bag.
Best. Thing. Ever.

I will put up pictures tomorrow or something, I just felt the need to blog tonight that I actually had the bag in my hands. And it's beautiful. And it's worth every penny of the £69.99.
And I have used the word "and" far too much tonight. It's disgusting, this post is appallingly written. I'll probably look back at it in a couple of weeks and die of shame, but I suppose that is what excitement does to you :).

In other news I'm off shopping tomorrow with my mother in Reading. I need new clothes, as does she. She needs her personal shopper (that's me, in case you hadn't guessed); and I need my justification for all the pretty things I'll inevitably lust after.

Coffee and Rain

I think that it is safe to say the weather outside today continues to be truly horrendous.

So today I threw on skinny jeans (Baxter fit @ Topshop; modified slightly by moi), white t-shirt with red lines (H&M), boyfriend blazer (Florence + Fred @Tesco) aaaaaand a necklace that I picked up time ago somewhere, but do you think I know where?
It's been a nippy noodles day, so I've worn this all day, and on the one time I actually had to venture out of the house, I threw on my gorgeous boots.
Now I'm sat here cuddling a Latte Macchiato from my Dolce Gusto Nescafe coffee machine (which I love ♥) and trawling through the photos I took whilst I was procrastinating from tidying my room this morning. The one below I decided was the only worth while one to show.

The shoes above are my "work" shoes that I bought a couple of years back in New Look to wear with my suit. Much like my mother did, I thought I'd never wear them apart from for interviews, but as I adore them, I have found ways to wear them in other setting. They're gorgeous and I wear them so much. I am going to have hunt for a replacement soon though as the covering of the main part of the heel has started to peel off in both, exposing the cheap white plastic or whatever it is that forms the heels. Although I have had the shoes re-heeled, this didn't long term fix the problem of the peeling bit so I do believe I need to go on a new hunt for shoes like these.

That's about all for now; I'm going to run away and wish I could curl up in bed and hibernate. But alas, I cannot due to commitments like having to sort things in the house, and the need to stay awake to text boyfriend who is away for 10 more days.

Two in ONE day?

It's absolutely shocking, I know. BUUUUT, I just had to show you what I bought whilst doing food shop with my mum:

The perfect boyfriend blazer (Florence + Fred @ tesco), at an even more perfect price. Now, I know what you're probably thinking - an item of clothing from a supermarket? Cheapskate much? Well, yes. But when I keep seeing boyfriend blazers that I sort of like and they're £40 to £50, and I sort of like them, it's a bit much. Finally I find one that I lust after completely, and it's reduced from £25 to £18... and on top of that, 20% off. Bargain much? I think so.
I am aware that my picture makes it look bordering on velour, but I assure you it's not. It is polyester, but with the way I get bored of clothes or ruin them *woops*, it doesn't matter. Plus it's doing a fairly efficient job of keeping me warm whilst heater (a.k.a boyfriend) is away.

In other news. I just realised that tomorrow is the day Jimmy Choo for H&M is released. I knew it was this month, and in the back of my mind knew it was the 14th; but being a bit slow, I have only just realised that that means it is tomorrow. Majorly wishing I was able to be at one of the branches where it's being released, but alas this is not a possibility for me. Even more frustrating when I have fallen in love lust with a gorgeous handbag. And it's at a reasonable £69.99.
I know I say reasonable, when I regularly whinge that things are more than £30+, but for a Jimmy Choo bag, I am not going to scoff at a £70 price tag, it is much better than it being without the decimal in middle....
I am truly praying with my heart and soul that this collection will become available at stores nationwide by Monday perhaps *please please please* as I'm going to Reading for a shopping trip with my Mum aaaaaand there just so happens to be an H&M there. However, it is not a branch currently listed as stocking it for tomorrow's grand unveiling. Gutted at me.
Dear Diary; please please please let Daddy Christmas bring me some Jimmy Choo for H&M. Please.

And on that note I'm going to head off to drool uncontrollably over the clothes, bags and shoes that will become available to the lucky lucky people in the queues tomorrow.

L.K. Bennet and other pretty things.

First things first, here's what I'm wearing today:

In case you hadn't already guessed, I absolutely adore this shirt - a fab buy back in September on a shopping trip in London (River Island). Today for some added warmth I've layered it over a grey tee (primark) and added to it my black skinnies (Criminal Damage @ Blue Banana) which aren't that much of a skinny fit at the moment. Also, to make a bit of a change from my usual accessories for this outfit, I decided to pull out the pale blue stitching and lines in the check pattern by popping on a blue button bracelet and pale blue hoop earrings (Both birthday presents). Finally to keep me warm whilst I'm out, I've been throwing on the old faithful boyfriend cardigan. Yum!

Now, as I mentioned in my last post - which was forever ago, sorry - I worked at L.K. Bennet this week on a temporary assignment. Originally it was only supposed to be the one day, but it ended up being extended to 3 days. I got mixed messages about what I was supposed to wear - one email saying wear my suit (which is a dark grey), and another saying I had to wear all black and look smart. Sooooo, in the end I decided to wear black trousers and black shirt for my first day; suit trousers and a black top with white shirt insert on the second day and finally; on my third and final day I wore this dress with the jacket featured in the picture below.

It has to be said that I love this dress. I don't get to wear it that often though because it always ends up looking to formal due to the colour - but when faced with the choice of a white one or a black one in the shop, I had to go with black because our dog at the time was black haired and I just never wore white! But yes, so I decided this dress (Cult) would suffice for the last day and teamed it with a belt that I got from somewhere at Swindon Outlet Village, black tights (Debenhams) and simple silver jewellery.
The jacket featured below is a buy from New Look a while back. I love this jacket a lot, it fits me wonderfully in my opinion and always pulls an outfit together well.

P.S. I apologise for crap photography, camera did not want to play ball last night. It's being better today.

Whilst working at L.K. Bennet, I came across a problem. I fell in love with some of their clothes... which are just a wee bit out of my price range =[

The dress, called Peppa, is £395, and the top, called Darlene is a £155. Considering for the 12 hours I worked there, I only earned £72, I don't think I can really justify these yet =[
Damn.

Crazy Mad

These last 8 days have been crazy manic for me; I've barely stopped with this job that I've been doing. But it's been worth it; I've been wearing my suit to death (I love that thing) and took a couple of snapshots of the shirts I've been wearing it with, etc.



The suit (trousers and jacket) were a fabulous buy from Warehouse about 18 months ago. Up until recently it hadn't had much love, but the last few months have resulted in it being worn lots. The white shirt is a Topshop buy again, I found it nearly a year ago in the Topshop concession at Debenhams where I had not long been working. I couldn't really justify it's cost, until I got birthday cheques from my aunts, which paid for it; since then it's been difficult to get me out of it if I have an excuse to wear it. :) It's great. I adore the contrast of the black buttons against the white fabric; and the black tie belt helps create a waist that otherwise wouldn't exist.
Also, this week the temperature has gradually dropped and I was forced to pull out my winter coat to keep me warm - this gorgeous red one that I got last winter at BHS. It may be last season in buying terms, but in all honesty, despite its bold colour, I believe it is truly a classic.
Finally as the week carried on, I realised I wouldn't be able to wash my white shirts quickly enough to have them ready again, so was forced to pull out this black shirt which I wasn't sure about on it's own, but with the jacket - I think it really works. I chucked on my scarf to travel to and from work and I'd like to think it pulled the whole thing together.

So for now I am done at Ede and Ravenscroft. However, they have expressed a great deal of interest in getting me back in a couple of weeks when one of the members of staff goes on holiday for a couple of weeks, so they'll be short handed again. Wahey :)
This week I am instead doing one day's work at L.K. Bennet which could well be interesting. We'll see how that goes.

Oh, and by the way, I apologise for the lower quality of photo - please bear in mind these photos were all quickly snapped at half 7 in the morning - an hour I have not seen in a long time unless I was just waking up. It's been a bit of a system shock to be getting up at 6 and leaving not long after half 7.

Finally, the wonderful products that have got me through this week without looking like I've given away all of my blood (yes, I get very pale when I'm tired)? Well, no foundation for a start! I rarely wear foundation now-a-days. Instead it's just been a strict regime of Clean & Clear face wash morning and night, followed by Johnson's baby moisturising cream, to tackle the dry spots that the cold weather and central heating give me. Add to that plenty of Vaseline/boot's own mint lip balm and we have a refreshed face. On top of that in the morning I've been using No.7 eyeliner in brown and mascara in brown. I have also been using a bronze-y-brown eye shadow that was actually a freebie on a magazine forever ago... yet it does what I need it to by adding a bit of colour and definition.
Finally to keep my hair vaguely alive; it's been head & shoulders shampoo and tesco's own tea tree & mint conditioner (it smells gorgeous! And considering how cheap it is, it actually really works). This I follow up with a good spritzing of Tresemme heat defence spray and to finish a good sharp spray of Sainsbury's cheap hairspray. Again, despite the price, it works fantastically. The main reason I ever started using this hairspray is because I used to get through a large can every couple of weeks with the amount I used to keep the back of my hair spiked. The habit of the brand never left me. It does, though, go to show that you don't need to spend masses on product to look ok.

Won't scribble much longer; will simply say that hopefully normal blogging will return soon.

Just a quickie...

Okay folks, super duper tired at the moment as have a full on week of temp work. Thus blog is falling into neglect until Saturday, possibly Sunday depending on whether I pick up another day or not.
So, I just thought I'd pop in a quick filler blog to rid myself of the guilt a little bit, whilst I checked in on the blogs I follow.
Pictures to come of some of what my outfits have consisted off this week, what I've been doing and my round up of the current world.

xx

Gentleman's Outfitters

To date, I have never passed a great deal of comments on menswear. This is changing today though as yesterday, and all this coming week, I am working in a gentleman's outfitters called Ede and Ravenscroft.
When I was first given this temporary position through my agency, I accepted it mainly because I needed the money. Yesterday morning when I got up I wasn't looking forward to it at all as I had had a browse through their website and had gotten the impression it was a very well to-do shop.... The thought of having to be posh and properly spoken for a whole day always fills me with dread. When I got there, however, it was incredibly interesting. Although they are by no means a fashion label, their classic pieces are stunning. None of the trousers are finished off at the bottoms properly as they get sent off to be adjusted to the right length for each person. They do the gowns for Oxford university, and the parliament gowns; and also the gowns and wigs for the judges. It's absolutely fascinating. Watching the measuring be done and such like.

From this coming week they also are running a special deal on all their bespoke suits. It's truly fascinating, and I'm hopefully going to learn more as this week goes on. It's certainly something I'm keen to learn as it will help me towards my eventual goal of being a personal shopper/stylist. Exciting stuff.

In other news, major work has now begun on a business idea I came up with a few months ago. The business plan is slowly being written up, the website layout slowly designed and the savings are starting to be made to make this a feasible project. Excitement. Will keep this place updated as much as possible without divulging too much as it is still in it's highly confidential stages. Including me, there are currently only 4 people in the entire world who know about this project in detail, and that's the way it's going to stay for now.

To keep me entertained in my hour lunch break at Ede and Ravenscroft; and to also help increase my passion for this project; and finally refresh my business knowledge from GCSE level and upwards; I'm currently reading the book "Boo Hoo" all about "boo.com": a fashion store on the internet that went bust. It is a true story and is from when the internet was in it's earlier stages, as Amazon and eBay and the likes were simply start-ups and it was all a very new concept.
I've tried reading the book before but always got side tracked by other titles, so finally decided to start again on it and read it solidly. It's been in my collection for a good 3 or 4 years now I believe, so by no means is it a new book out, but I would certainly recommend it if you have any interest in business, start-up companies, internet and clothes websites.

Not a lot else to say; will hopefully try and get some pictures of my smart work outfits for the week; having to be quite controlled and non-showy. Suit trousers, shirts and polished heels. All fun things; but I'm actually quite enjoying the change from jeans and t-shirts uniform that I usually get away with wearing.

Loud.

Last night I went out down to Southampton to see a bit of live music. The bands? Jazica, Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic. Never heard of them? Neither had I until yesterday afternoon; however my brother runs a music reviewing website (There Goes The Fear) and got freebie tickets to review them. So of course, when asked, I jumped at the chance of a free night out and some new music.
Now, you're probably wondering why on earth I'm writing about this when I write about style and clothes and pretty things on this blog. Well, I was doing one of my favourite things at the gig: people watching and thinking about their outfits. So let's get down to it.
The crowd had the girls wearing skinny jeans or bodycon dresses/skirts. There were lots of racer-back vest tees as well. To accessorise there were headbands and flowers in their hair, along with a few clutches with chain handles. The boys were wearing either smart tailored shirts with skinny jeans or slogan tees. It was a typical concert type scene.

So with Jazica, it was a 4 piece group; all blokes apart from the lovely lead singer who wore a leather skirt (possibly faux, but I can't be sure); a simple white top and black knee high socks. She was setting an example to the girls in the crowd with her patent leather effect headband and had a small section of her hair tied with a feathery-flowery type thing; it was hard to be sure exactly in the lighting. The guitarist in the band had the most adorable I ♥ Dinosaur t-shirt. I'm pretty sure it was a kiddy's one because of the fit of it, but it was gorgeous none the less; and with his muscles, he could pull it off.... Adding to the cuteness factor of the top was that it also didn't say "dinosaur"; instead it had a cartoon picture of one. Beautiful :). The other 2 of the band were fairly non-descript in their outfit choices; harsh, perhaps, but true none the less for me.

The next band on were Two Door Cinema Club. My initial thought was that this is one of the least catchy band names I've heard. None the less, their style made up for it. The boys were all in varying degrees of grandad chic which also reminded me of Teddy boy styling. The lead singer was in ankle swinging smart trousers with a casual polo tee. The bassist and lead guitarist committed the ultimate sin, though, of wearing the exact same dark denim shirt; however they styled it in different ways with the bassist wearing skinnies whilst the lead guitarist wore classic fitting jeans.

The last band, Delphic, were at best, averagely dressed. There was nothing special in terms of their style; which let them down for me. They did, however, play a good show. All the bands did in reality.

Not a lot else to say for today; having a casual day in baggy jeans, vest top and short sleeved hoody.

Delays and Thoughts.

Yesterday, instead of going through my usual Sunday routine of getting up slowly, grazing all day and generally doing not a lot, I got myself out of bed early and getting myself into London. After all, yesterday was the day of the Affordable Vintage Fair. I got into London and navigated my way through the tubes (only made difficult by the engineering works), and found myself outside Old Street tube station trying to figure out which direction I needed to go. Having gotten myself lost once I returned to the tube and had the crazy idea to actually look at the map which pointed me in the right direction. A few minutes' walk later and I was at the building where the AVF was being held. Paid the very reasonable £2 and had this adorable bird stamped onto my hand to grant me access for the entire show (12-5).

It was quiet when I first got there but things soon started to get busy. Overall it was an enjoyable experience, however I feel it would have been good if there had been more space between the rails and such like because as soon as you got more than a couple of people hunting through the rails for their bargains, there wasn't a lot of space to move.

Sadly I didn't actually purchase anything this trip; but not for want of trying. In total I found 3 things that I utterly adored: a beautiful wool/cotton mix dress with cute heart buttons, however it was in a pale mint green which when held up to me made me look like I was extremely so discounted that. I am now regretting that though as it wouldn't have taken much to dye it another colour and replace the buttons with a matching colour; ahh well, hindsight is wonderful. After this find I found a skirt and a shirt that I fell in love with. Both of them, to me, screamed American 50's diner; however; neither fitted quite right, and also the skirt did nothing for my figure making my hips look huge. The shirt fitted fabulously until you got up to the bust where it was far too loose. Both were black with white and grey added into the mix in various different ways.

After spending a good hour and half to two hours browsing around, trying a few things on and generally people watching, I left the AVF and made my way around to Oxford Street where I went into a few different Uniqlo stores to try and find some of the J+ range (designed by Jil Sander) that I had fallen in love with on the website. In particular there was a sweat skirt and a pair of sweat pants that I wanted to give a try. After getting to the second store I found my size in both and tried them on. I'm glad I did in all honesty, rather than just ordering off the website as neither fitted in the way I had expected. The sweatpants were far to tight on my legs - I had wanted reasonably baggy to casually lounge around in at home as it got colder and the skirt just didn't sit right on my hips and over my curves. In the first Uniqlo store though, I had also tried on a pair of their skinny jeans as I'm always on the look out for new skinny's to try and get the perfect fit for me. I love their destructed tapered skinny jeans in light blue, however once again the fit wasn't quite right on my butt. I am going to have to find more time to have a play with the fit of their jeans though, as their size 10 is a 27" waist - something I've been hunting for for a while as Criminal Damage skinny jeans (the brand I usually wear) only come in a 26" and 28" with one being far too small and the other being far too big. Frustration!

Whilst up around Oxford Circus I also managed to find Beyond Retro which I had great fun looking around. In there I found a beautiful piece priced at an extremely reasonable £16 that was black with zips etc. It was something that I loved; but it stupidly took me until I tried it on to realise that it wasn't a dress as I originally thought, but instead a playsuit. Damn. It didn't look quite so good when I got it on, and although I knew I'd be able to carefully deconstruct the middle to make it a dress, I wasn't confident that I would look as good as I hoped.
So overall, in terms of shopping, yesterday was fruitless. I did, however, have a fantastic time and got lots of creative ideas to push me further with my own designs.

Oh, and whilst we're here. Just along from the AVF, I saw this mini. I had to stop and take photos because it is my favourite car and I fully intend to own one myself one day.

Vintage Baby.

So I'm psyched this weekend to most likely be going to the Affordable Vintage Fair in London as I previously mentioned in a post. However it sadly will no longer be with fellow blogger Jennily as work has got in the way. Instead I'll be going it alone after travelling in with boyfriend. :) So if you're going to be there on Sunday 25th, let me know and maybe we could hook up to have a mooch around together.

I have a perfect Friday evening going for me at the moment as well, in a non-fashion related manner. A roaring fire, my laptop, boyfriend, a good book and Nylon magazine.
I am aware I have pimped out this magazine slightly before, but I can't help but love it. Almost whenever I see it, I have to pick up a copy because I do find it so difficult to get hold of.

Not an awful lot else to report on fashion front. However on a DIY note, I have finally changed the zip in my favourite bag so it is officially usable again. It shall definitely be coming with me to the Vintage Fair so I can jam all my goodies in there. Excited much? I think so.

Anywho, I should go, boyfriend's going to give me a back rub in front of our fire and I do have some temporary work for tomorrow - shop work in the afternoon and babysitting in the night. Uber casual clothes required for both, nothing too fabulous but I'll still try to look like me.
Oh, but before I go, I went to Boots today whilst I was also in town getting my Nylon magazine. In boots I bought a new mascara - Natural Collection, £1.95. I quickly applied some when I got home to give it a quick test, and omgosh. It's lush. Definite recommend for this bargain buy. A decent mascara for less than £2, it doesn't happen everyday. Will be wearing it for the next few days to test it's durability. The only thing I dislike about it so far is it doesn't dry as quickly as I'm used to, so I keep ending up with black dots under my eyes - woops! I'll get used to it though hopefully.
Losing laptop tomorrow night whilst babysitting though, so I shall have to be returning to my geek-chic and read lots of books, still got about a third of "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" to read, and I'll probably take another book that I've picked up.

Getting Intimate

Checking through my various blogs that I follow, I found a reasonable cute web link through Style Bubble. So I was have a browse through the shop; Anthropologie and did my usual of looking at my favourite items at the moment: dresses, followed by knitwear, follow by intimates. Yet again though, I was disappointed to see the bras they sell only start at a 32" back.

Now, why might this be a problem? Well, it's all very good, but I have a tiny back. Try 28-30" instead. Thus it's near on impossible to find properly fitting bras in most retailers.
The ones I do find in a smaller back usually come in a larger cup, and it goes without saying that I'm not that lucky.

It's a frustrating issue, I wish more retailers would pay attention to this issue as I know so many people with small backs who can't buy a properly fitting bra. Having worked in the lingerie department and been a trained fitter, I have become very aware of the importance of having a properly fitting bra.

Rant over, I'll get over it and start hunting for a decent fitting bra. Especially in need of a strapless one, despite the fact we're going into winter.

Nailed

Dear Diary;
Whilst looking into what will be at the London Vintage Fair that I was meant to be going to (but is now looking unlikely), I came across this website:
www.wah-nails.com
Upon clicking on the link I discovered their proper website isn't really up and running yet; however it recommended you hopped on over to their blog. So I did just that; and I have to be honest, I'm lusting after their nail designs. Will have to at some point make a trek to London to get my nails done by them methinks.

Anyway, won't stop for more now as it is ridiculous o'clock and I need my beauty sleep.

P.s. Yes, I'm aware in every "Dear Diary", I am lusting after whatever is mentioned; but hey that's my whole reason for the "Dear Diary feature.

Neglect and Winter Times

So this morning I thought I'll quickly log on to check out the blogs I follow and see what's new. As I read through what must be 20+ new posts, it dawned on me that I hadn't actually logged on in a while and I suddenly realised that I haven't blogged myself for over a week, woops!
So i begin this blog with an apology for the neglect, I'll try harder now as I have some free time on my hands now I'm officially unemployed.

I think that's probably why I haven't been blogging because this last week has been kerazy with work and interviews. Ok, so just the one interview, but around work and the likes it has been a wee bit mental. Work is now over though as yesterday was my last day at that job - I'm just waiting to here back about some other jobs I've applied for. Last night I went out as well with the girls from work to celebrate me getting outta that place. Much jealousness all round from them, but hey, they're happy for me too.
As it was first night out in a while (that job sapped my social life basically), I made an effort with outfit and wore my faithful Uniqlo shirt with leggings, a belt and my boyfriend cardigan. Accessorised with 5 other girls from work and a lot of pizza at Pizza Hut and it was a fab night. I was also given pressies and a card; pressies including these socks below. They're new in at work and I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them.

They're advertised on the label as "snug as a hug" and omgosh, it's true! They're lovely and warm and perfect the winters drawing in; especially when boyfriend has to go away for tour stuff and I'm forced to survive in the cold on my own!

Also, you have to admit, the penguin is cute as!


In other news, next week it's looking like I'm heading to a Vintage Fair in London town with fellow blogger, Jennily, which should be great. Need to be on the look out for some things for winter methinks (or just need to go to Oxford Street briefly to have a quick mooch around Uniqlo for my winter clothes). Also gonna be looking out for lace, prints and draping. Hopefully will be a fab day for some bargains.
Best run now; dinner soon and I wanna climb in the oven to warm up! Also going to be reading my current book - "Living Next Door to Alice" which is a fabulous shorter book - only 308 pages. It has some decent descriptions of outfits and it's about modelling, love and chucks in a bit of comedy; would definitely recommend as something to read when having a long hot bath!
Will also be checking out Style.com which I'm currently loving - a bit late on the bandwagon I know, but hey; better late than never.

I'm so 3008; you so 2000 and late.

So this is what I wore today because it's freezing! Multi-layers for the win, most definitely.
Started with a strap top (Primark), black skinnies (Criminal Damage @ Blue Banana), Shirt (Uniqlo) - I love that thing and finally I chucked on my boyfriend cardigan (New Look) because it's so comfy and warm and lovely.
The boots are the ones I found the other week on my shopping trip to Swindon Outlet Centre; where I also got the scarf (Next) in the picture below. And I still can't remember where that blasted belt is from, but it's useful and well loved.

Now, I am aware that in this picture I look shapeless; it's the only thing I don't like about this cardigan is that it's gradually lost it's shape - I wish I had bought the size below; but I didn't because it made the bottom bit between the last two buttons gape even wider. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Am currently watching Lady GaGa's video for Love Game which I think is a pretty sick tune - but I loved her album before it was in the UK. I'm that ahead of it. Anyway, totally lusting for some of haute couture outfits. That body suit that is like blue, skin colour and I think has diamante on... that's lush. As is the white body suit. And finally, I lust for her police-style cap that she's wearing towards the end of the video. I think it's ab-fab (The nineties called - they want their lingo back!). That said, i think she has a fantastic sense of style; despite it being outrageous. Hell, Madonna always got away with it, so to me Lady GaGa is just the 21st Centuries Madonna, but like a hundred times better.
(Sorry, I don't think much of Madonna.)

After a bit of Katy Perry kissing a girl; I'm now onto Agnes with Release Me. I'm watching TMF's Weekend Starts Here feature; and it's pretty good - definitely suiting my present taste in music. All they need to do is throw in a bit of Kings Of Leon - Sex on Fire and I'm set for a fabulous evening. It has to be said; I have a varied taste in music from Dizzee Rascal through to a bit of Enter Shikari; Mindless Self Indulgence through to Cascada. I prefer to fall in love with a song than an artist though - there's been plenty of things I like by an artist; but then I won't like some of their other stuff - so it's better to go with the songs for sure.

Anyway, will stop blabbering now as my head is being filled with Boom Boom Pow which has just come on the tv.

MishMash.

First things first;
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/bodyconfidence/
Everyone should sign this because a) they can and b) I totally believe in it.
They barely cover it in schools, other than basics, but I know too many people who have had eating disorders and are obsessed with body image; myself included. The main reason for mine, and I'll admit it, is that dammit I just wanna be seen as beautiful and the models and people who are portrayed as beautiful never get spots, never have bags under their eyes, don't have cellulite, etc.
Yes, my logical side says that the photos are nearly always airbrushed, but that vain little bit of me who wants to be "beautiful" just refuses to remember that those magazine looks are unachievable.

Other things...
I'm so in love with my new winter scarf. It's just driving me mildly insane though because it smells vaguely of boyfriend and he's run away on tour =[ 6 lonely cold nights. Definitely truly need to get me some proper winter clothes. Hmmm.

Job interview tomorrow as well. If I get this job I think it'll mean lots of smart clothes in my wardrobe... So what a shame that'll require a shopping trip again. Damn. Not! I enjoy shopping far too much; even if it's frustrating to do for myself at times.

Disappointingly little else to say, have been flicking through my Harper's Bazaar which arrived yesterday along with my Vogue - I love subscriptions - I don't even have to remember when magazines are due out or making sure I have enough cash on me etc. It's wonderful.

Anyway, off I best run to do some research for my interview etc. More talks soon hopefully. :)

No Jokes.

I have spent over an hour going through my fashion-related emails to try and find the image of this top I really loved and mentioned the other day. Frustrating stuff, but I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that I might have dreamt it... Hmmm.

I've also been having a couple of issues with my laptop, so I can't guarantee that posting will continue to stay regular. Took like 5 attempt to get it to actually turn on properly this evening and it's started making an odd clicky noise when it's first switching on. Shall have to get boyfriend to look as he's like just an utter genius with my laptop. Honest.

Dear Diary; I fell into lust with an American clothes website today: I Don't Like Mondays
So this tank top is by Alexander Wang and I love it. It just looks so solid but delicate. The thing that stops me buying it? Erm the minor price tag of $79 USD. Ouchie =[.
Totally loving this top that's called "Grey Shredded Cobweb Tee" by Obesity and Speed. Argh man, I want this top badly. Even though it's completely not practical for daily wear. The thing once more stopping me from buying it? Yeah, that's right - the price tag ($149 USD if you must know). Ahh well. Still loving I Don't like Mondays.

Right, that'll do for now. I'm gonna go snuggle up in my bed on my lonesome cos boyfriend's on tour. And I'm gonna comfort myself with a hot chocolate and some window shopping on Uniqlo.

Sitting on the dock of the bay....

Driving home from work today, this song came on the radio; and omgosh it brightened my day. I love this song for forever and a day.

Regardless what the weather is doing or what the life situation is like, this song always brightens me day. I love my parents and bosses from my first job for getting me into lots of older stuff. That's where some of the best stuff is. [=

The weather at the moment, however, is annoying me. It's finally reached that time of the year that I really dislike - freezing in the morning and evenings, but stupidly sunny and warm in the afternoons - only if you've got enough layers on. Quite frankly, it's a pain in the arse because even like today, I put on a pair of skinny jeans (from a friend), boots (Famous Footwear) and a jumper (a store in New Zealand) with strap top (Primark) underneath. Quite presentable, but I was shivering as I drove to work with heating on full, gloves and a scarf on. Walking back to bus stop to get back to my car after work this evening, I was boiling cos the sun was on my back and finally, this evening, curled up after dinner watching tv, and I'm freezing cold again. There is no logic and my gosh it drives me insane.

And finally, the above picture is something I am currently fascinated by and craving for a little thingy to have my room - the jewel encrusted skull that is in my Tatler magazine to show off some watches. In all honesty; I don't give a damn about the watches, I just want to own one of those jewel encrusted skulls because I think; in the right setting; it could look truly beautiful and be a real feature of a room. *sigh*. Something to go on my "when I'm rich and know everything; I'll get these things" list.

Tatty Bye

Sat here watching Scrubs and drinking peach and guava fruit tea. What could make this scene near on perfect? Oh yeah, my current copy of Tatler. Haven't read much of it yet, but gotta love a bargain mag - £1 instead of the usual £3.90 because of a voucher. Every little certainly helps at the moment.

One thing I love to do with my collection of magazines is sit and compare certain things - mainly what the different editors have sighted as the "Hot Autumn Looks" for this year - a feature which is in both my Tatler and Vogue this month.

Not a lot else to say now. Gotta go do the food shop later :( However it does mean a quick mooch around the clothes section of le supermarket.... Might even find myself a bargain perhaps. A girl can certainly hope anyway!

Normal, decent blogging will eventually resume, I'm hoping [=