Dress Haul

I’ve gone a bit dress mad recently, particularly for skater dresses.  I love the fit of skater dresses and find them really flattering for my body type.  These are the three latest additions to my skater dress family.

The first one I bought is from New Look.  I actually own this dress in a polka dot print (insert guilty face here!) but fell in love with this rose print.

It’s bright and fun and the dark background means it goes well with grey tights, which is useful as we transition slowly into Spring/Summer! 

The next dress I chose is from River Island, which I bought to wear for my birthday.  I adore this lace dress.    

Anatomy of a skater dress

It’s a beautiful soft lace unlike some which can be quite scratchy.  The cream colour looks lovely and would be great in summer with a tan and a denim jacket!  The dress also comes in pale yellow and orange which both look really nice and pastel shades are a big trend for Spring/Summer.  It comes with a light brown belt but you could swap this for a coloured belt to brighten it up or a black belt to wear with black tights. 

The final dress I chose is also from River Island and it’s this stripey design.   

I love the nautical feel of this dress with horizontal stripes at the top and diagonal stripes on the skirt.  It comes with a blue heart belt which is really sweet but I think this would also look great worn with red to continue the nautical theme.  It could also be worn with a blazer for a smarter look. 


In other news, I also picked up this unicorn jumper from Topshop.  

I’m a bit of a unicorn fan so I was immediately drawn to this design.  It comes in light blue and I chose a petite fit as the arms were a tad long on the regular style.  

What is your favourite style of dress?

The (dreaded) fringe trim

I hate getting my fringe trimmed.  When you’re at the hairdressers sitting comfortably (or as comfortable as you can be - see hairdressing post) the stylist chats away about popping in for a free fringe trim whenever you like.  But in reality whenever you do ‘pop in’ the stylists are always fully booked and don’t have time to squeeze you in.  I suppose the fact that it is free suggests you can afford some degree of patience, and I would be if the whole process didn’t look so easy and take such little time (I don’t even take my coat off). 
 
Once I decide my fringe needs the ‘trim’ I become fixated upon it, glaring through what I can see, as it covers my eyes.  One time I even rushed out of work in order to get it done, only to find they were closing up and I had to swing nonchalantly past as if I wasn’t that fussed anyway.  I know a lot of people that trim their own fringe and I would love to become part of that blessed group.  However memories of Barbie’s ‘funky’ haircuts come flooding back and I just can’t bring myself to do it.  Ah, the freedom it must provide to be able to trim a little whenever you like, know exactly how much you want to take off etc.  Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and snip away.   

A little shopping

New year, new shopping.

Firstly I went to Forever 21.  Oh how I heart Forever 21.  I don’t always come away with lots of finds, but the extensive choice always make me feel positive that I will find something.  I bought this bright pink cardigan with a cute bow design.  

I tend to always wear cardigans open, but this one also looks really nice buttoned up, and I thought the bold colour would brighten up my outfits.

I then went to River Island where I chose this lace jumper, which on a first look can appear quite shapeless; but in fact fits really nicely.  

The tops come in a few different colours and I was going to select the red for a change, but no, I retreated to my favourite, peach.

I also picked up this long navy cardigan, which I thought would be a great basic item for my wardrobe.

Next I embarked once again on the mammoth task of finding a pair of jeans that actually fit.  I ideally wanted a pair that lived up to their ‘super skinny’ name and were in fact skinny all the way down.  The only pair I have ever found to do this are the Topshop  ‘Jamie’ Jeans, however recently they only seem to be creating fashion colours and I’m on the search for a pair of basic denim.  So I had to branch out.  I decided to take a deep breath and go into Hollister, or as it is perhaps more commonly known, ‘the dark shop’.  I have never had much success with Hollister.  One minute I’m shopping carefree as my 22 year old self, then the minute I step into the dark cave, I age 40 years.  I start to become increasingly irritated by the thumping music and the need to hold the price tag an inch from your face to be able to read it.  However I decided to go for it because, yes, that is how much I wanted a new pair of jeans.  So after spending 20 minutes peering for my size I tried them on, but no such luck as they were still far too wide for my legs.  

So I continued on my shopping quest.  Quite often I would put back on my original jeans and think ‘well they’re quite nice’ before having to remind myself that I do in fact own them already!  However I was still on the search for something new to help pry me out of my Jamie’s, or at the least serve as a back up. I believe I found the answer in River Island.   The jeans I chose are still not quite the holy grail that is my Jamie’s but they’re as close as I could get before having to delve into the world of jeggings and leggings.  Which in retrospect is why, I suppose, the concept of ‘jeggings’ was created, but I still want the greater coverage that the thicker material of denim provides.

 I chose these ‘super skinny’ dark was jeans that fit nicely on the bum and quite closely on the legs.  So a partial success, however, the quest continues...

Birmingham Trip

Last week I took a trip to Birmingham to go to the clothes show and the Bullring, neither of which I had never been to before and I picked up a few things.

My first stop was, of course, Forever 21, and blimey it didn’t disappoint.  I didn’t realise how much bigger the shop was than the one on Oxford Street and I almost hyperventilated at the prospect of three floors to peruse!  After breathing into a paper bag, I had a wander around and chose a few things.  I managed to restrain myself from trying on everything I liked the look of, as I’d never have got out of there!

I chose this lovely loose fitting knit top.  It’s baggy yet fitted in all the right places and I decided to go for this pretty green colour rather than my typical choice of cream or pink which the top also comes in.

Next I chose this adorable penguin jumper that I just couldn’t resist.  It’s a very seasonal jumper that I thought would be perfect to wear at Christmas.

I also got one of their Disney jumpers.  It’s a purple jumper with a Cinderella print, which is going to be my Christmas present from my lovely cousin, so technically I don’t know about this one :)

Onto the accessories, I didn’t see any jewellery that caught my eye despite their extensive array.  I did however go for this bright pink infinity scarf.  I’ve never had an infinity scarf before, but have always loved the look of them.  This looks great worn loosely around twice, however it can even be worn three times if it gets really cold.

I also picked up this knit hat.  Now I have a bit of a problem with hats, namely that I look ridiculous in 99% of them.  However I would like to wear one when it gets colder, so I decided that in this cute one with a bow I look fairly reasonable and for £4.75 it was a bargain :) 

Next stop was the clothes show.  I have previously been to the vitality show and loved looking around the beauty stalls but I was hoping with the addition of fashion this would be even better, and it was.  I really enjoyed looking at the different sections (categorised into, designer, vintage, beauty etc.).  Various stalls like Barry M and Rimmel were offering deals on goody bags and products during the day. 


I went for a ‘Love Cosmetics’ goody bag, which for £10, included a gorgeous smelling vanilla candle, a set of bubble baths, a face mask, lip balm and body butter.   

My cousin and I were disappointed that Nails Inc. didn’t have a stall as I was looking forward to picking up some new polishes.  I did however chose two from Barry M, ‘shocking pink’ and ‘lavender hexograms’ which is an amazing glittery purple, perfect for Christmas parties.


There were lots of lovely vintage jewellery stalls, selling my favourite kind of charm necklaces and earrings.  I bought these cute flower studs from a shop called ‘Cutiepie’,  which had a beautiful stall with the necklaces hanging on a blossom tree and rings stored in teacups :)

Lastly, I visited the ‘Tatty Devine’ stall.  I love their kitsch necklaces and on the day they were offering to make name necklaces, which you choose to your own specifications, right there and then.  I couldn’t resist and chose a pink ‘Heather’ with a dangling purple heart which I can’t wait to wear.

It was at this point that both my funds and energy had expired and my cousin and I returned home with our goodies! 

In other news, you can now buy my favourite basic cleanser, Cetaphil, in Boots hooray.  F.Y.I for some reason it’s located next to the allergy tablets!

Boots time

It’s boots time!  I love buying a new pair of boots when it turns to Autumn, and often my Autumn/Winter wardrobe is based around my selection.   This year I didn’t have anything particular in mind when I began my search.  I wasn’t sure whether I wanted knee length boots, ankle boots, laces, fur, or even what colour.   So I went with an open mind and found not one pair, but two pairs of boots that I loved.  ‘My chosen ones’, as I shall call them, came from River Island.

The first pair are these lovely grey ankle boots with both laces and fake fur (so perhaps I didn’t quite make a decision).  They have a small heel but are comfortable enough to wear all day. I think these will look great with grey tights, but also can be worn with skinny jeans, slightly bunched up.

My second pair are these calf length ‘antiqued’ brown boots which I like to think are distressed from all my time kicking up dust in the Texas Panhandle.  They have a fake fur top and a buckle on the side.  They look great with skinny jeans tucked in, or paired with a floral dress to ‘toughen’ it up.

Also both pairs of boots had money off, score :)

Forever 21 Haul

I finally managed to get a chance to go to the new Forever 21 on Oxford Street last week and picked up a few things.  I was so excited to finally see a real life version of the popular US shop and was impressed with the store.  My first thought was just how much stuff they had there; it seemed to go on forever (21 haha).   I loved the layout of the different collections and the clothes grouped by colour, which made it much easier to find things.  As for the design of the shop itself, it was as if somebody had emptied the contents of my head, all bright colours, sparkly chandeliers, and an ice cream van at the top!

However, what I was most excited about was the jewellery, which didn’t disappoint.  It was like an Aladdin’s cave of all things sparkly but without the expensive price tags.  By the time it came for the jewellery shopping it had got quite busy, so it was quite manic, but again it was really nicely laid out to make things much easier to find. 

So onto the ‘haul’, please excuse the creases, I wouldn’t say the shop assistants are the best packers in the world!


I chose this lovely purple lace top.  I haven’t yet decided what to layer this over as it is see-through so obviously needs a base layer.  I thought silver, black or white would be nice to show off the lace pattern, but you could also match the colour with purple or pinks.  

I bought this lovely flowy patterned top, it’s longer in the back, so sits really nicely and looks great over skinny jeans.  I would wear this with a pink vest underneath, and maybe slightly off the shoulder. 

I also chose this lovely blue tunic top.  I loved the cut-out back detail of this top, it could be paired with jeans or leggings. 

I got this purple flecked jacket which is simple to throw over a casual outfit and comes in lots of colours.

I bought this simple floral skirt which comes with a belt and looks great worn high-waisted with a top tucked in either with or without tights.

Finally I chose this simple silver and gold toned heart necklace, a bargain at £2.40!

I tried to resist some of the bright floral dresses as I realised that Autumn/Winter was too fast approaching to justify them.  The prices are all quite reasonable so you have to hold yourself back somewhat before all your ‘£13.75’s’suddenly become ‘that’s £250.75 please’!  In other news, I tried Pinkberry for the first time, in Selfridges, yum!

New Collections

Yes, I know it’s early, but I just can’t resist looking at the new season collections arriving in the shops.  Although my summer clothes barely got an outing, it’s already time for Autumn clothing.  I perused the new season collection in Zara and saw some lovely things.

There were lots of cosy jumpers in camel, cream and gold, and I chose this lovely cream knit jumper with gold threaded through.  It’s quite a baggy fit so would look great over skinny jeans or leggings. 

Topshop also had some great jumpers like this ‘&’ one:

And squirrel design:

I also picked up this pretty feather print top in Zara.  The latest feather hair extensions trend seems to have made its way into clothing, with lots of tops having feather designs.  I love the bright colours in this top and again it would look great with skinny jeans or even over a high waisted skirt.

Zara had some lovely lace tops and dresses in cream which would be perfect for both day and night.

Although I’m a huge fan of bright summer print dresses and skirts, I always get excited when the autumn boots, jackets and jumpers hit the shops.  Has anyone else ventured into Autumn shopping yet or is just too early? :)