Thursday 21 June 2012

That Touch of Mink Polka Dots.

Good evening lovelies. At this moment, I am tucked up under a blanket with a warm ribena trying to gain my voice back - this is the first day off since I returned to work after my operation and I'm so frustrated that I had to take it! Alas, trying to control kids at school with mime discipline would not go down quite as well as shouting 'Be quiet!' a hundred times a day, so I camped out at home and thinking what a perfect time to blog!

A little while ago I bought a gorgeous dress from H&M as a treat and although I have posted about it in  my Work Week Outfits in Instagram posts, it didn't quite express my sheer adulation for this dress. 



Dress: H&M
Tights: M&S
Pumps: Primark
Belt: New Look.

So what is it that I love so much about it? Well, being a woman on a budget my dresses generally need to be quite versatile so that I can wear them to give the illusion that I have more outfits in my wardrobe than I do. It is also the 'create a whole different look for the weekend' idea that makes it necessary for them to be versatile, because sadly my work & weekend wardrobe seem to be merging more and more at the moment.This dress has that. With the neutral mink colour and cream/white polka dots, it goes perfectly with browns, pinks, navy, cream cardigans & pumps. Perfect! 
It was also the whole design of the dress, going for the vintage feel with the cute mini dress style and full skirt, with the mix of polka dots and capped sleeves - pretty much combining everything I want in a dress into one adorable package. 
Price wise, I couldn't complain - it is made of quite thick material so it's not a thin summer dress and I will easily be able to wear this in winter with black tights (as shown in the picture), along with no tights in summer. For £19.99 it was quite the steal in my opinion as I have seen similar dresses in other stores that are charging at least £25.

However, the dress is not perfect (but it is preeeeetty close). The only thing for me where it could be improved would maybe be the length, to have it around half an inch longer, but its not a huge issue for me (as shown by buying it). What the good thing is about the skirt of the dress is that its longer in both the front and back, with it being a little shorter on the sides. The back of a dress is an issue with me as it tends to come up shorter making me paranoid everyone can see up my skirt - something Miss Manners would not approve of. 

Well that's it, my review for one of my top favourite dresses. I'm going to try and get a couple more posts done tonight as I should be away this weekend for my three year anniversary with the boyfriend, so want to get my blogging in now :)

Do you like to have dresses that work both for winter & spring, or do you like a whole seperate wardrobe?

Love,

Sunday 17 June 2012

The Work Week's Outfits in Instagram #4 & Aussie Surprise!

With this week’s weather being as indecisive as I am at the MAC lipstick counter, my outfits have once again been dictated to by the threat of rain more than just what suited my mood that particular morning. With the breezes from Siberia and random downpour, the winter wardrobe was dragged back out, but with trepidation I tried to style it a little differently – shorter dresses/tunics with leggings, rather than just my usual tights. I have to say that I am actually liking the mix of shorter dresses/tops with leggings rather than just wearing plain old tights with dresses, it gives my outfits a bit more of a relaxed feel but still smart enough for work. I also debut my new Dorothy Perkins floral dress this week which was another eBay bargain that has sparked my eBay addiction all over again. 

(From top left to right) 1) Dress: Vero Moda, Cardigan: H&M, Belt: New Look, Leggings: New Look, Pumps: H! by Henry Holland. 2) Dress: Next, Cardigan: New Look, Belt: New Look, Pumps: Primark. 3) Dress: Vero Moda, Cardigan: New Look, Belt: New Look. 4) Dress: Dorothy Perkins, Belt: New Look, Cardigan: New Look.

In other news, with trepidation, I have began wearing heels again at work. By no means are they my sky-scraper heels that I wore when working in London, but it is nice to not be wearing pumps constantly and give myself that bit of added height - always helps when a Year 8 student is at my eye level. 

Finally, I came home on Friday after a strenuous day at the salt mines, to the most gorgeous surprise from the lovely ladies at Aussie:


It arrived at the perfect time and I felt truly grateful/spoilt to be an Aussie Angel! I have already begun using the Leave-In conditioner to soften my hair, plus make it smell heavenly and have plans for the mini Aussie bottles for weekends when I am staying at the boyfriends. Unfortunately, I am unable to get involved in the Aussie Summer Sizzle Party this time as I'm swamped with work and disappearing across Ireland & Yorkshire, but cannot wait to see the other entries!

Last note - I am selling two pairs of lovely shoes that I sadly do not wear - one pair is brand new from Dorothy Perkins in its box, and one is almost new from New Look. If you fancy having a peek, click HERE.

How do you feel about leggings? What sort of shoe style do you go for - pumps or heels? And what do you think of the Aussie Summer Style?

Love,

Sunday 10 June 2012

My First Primark Haul: Shoes Galore!

I know the title of this post must come as a shock to most - a blogger who is not a regular Primark visitor?! Blasphemy! But it's true. I have never really found anything that appealed to me in Primark, and apart from buying a mini skirt and a brown bag quickly before going on holiday last year, I just haven't felt the need to make it a regular shopping destination. This was until one of the besties came back with the cutest pair of pumps I have seen around for a while and at the bargain price of £6. Well, that was it for me! I hurried off to Primark and instead of just buying one pair of pumps, I have now bought three all for £18 - I'm swayed. 



These pumps are softly padded and its pretty much like walking around in slippers (although the grip on the soles leaves something to be desired, not sure I want a repeat performance of my spectacular slipping over at Stratford Station) and the wide range of styles for such a low price caught my attention. I have opted for plain black for work, baby pink that seems to go with everything, and a cute tan coloured pair with a bow as I couldn't not have a pair of pumps without a bow! 

For £6 each, I'm not sure how long they will last without falling into pieces or cracking, but I'm hoping that my cynical nature will be proved wrong and it will be a New Look pumps miracle where I still wear a pair from when I was 16!

Are you a Primark addict? Have you tried their pumps?

Love,

Saturday 9 June 2012

Jubilee Outfit #2 - Red, White & Blue Ribbons & Leeds Castle Celebrations.

Good evening my lovelies, as promised here is my second jubilee outfit (and sadly, my final, as I didn't manage to take pictures of my third!). I wore it for my girls' day out trip to Leeds Castle to watch an open air screening of Grease, Fireworks, & a montage of Her Majesty's 60 years as Queen, with the besties:


Dress: H&M
Belt: M&S
Cardigan: New Look
Tights: M&S
Shoes: New Look

Eek! Sorry for such awful, awful pictures but I was in a rush as I was already running late and these were the best pictures I could snag before leaving! I went for this ribbon pattern dress not only because it had the red, white, and blue colour scheme but also because I just thought the pattern was quite fancy & festive in itself!

For make-up I went golden with 'Half Baked' for a touch a of royal glamour myself:



I also went for the fifties flicked eyeliner, and a little bit of 'Smog' eyeshadow on the outer corners to emphasise my eyes a little more. I've found myself quite regularly using a lighter and darker colour on my eyes now to make them pop a little bit more on the weekend, not a huge contrast that is saved more for special occasions or going out, but just that hint of smoky eye look to get a little bit more of a wide eye look.

And just as a throw in at the end, some pictures from the Leeds Castle Extravaganza! It was an awesome day exploring Kent, and even though it was cold & rained, watching Grease on a massive screen with your best friends and a picnic (including Baileys Hot Chocolate) made it an ideal way of celebrating!







What did you do to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee? Did you try and style to match it?

Love,

Tuesday 5 June 2012

The Work Week's Outfit in Instagram #4

Evening lovelies, how have you all enjoyed the Diamond Jubilee extra long bank holiday weekend? I have a couple more Jubilee OOTDs coming, but as I am now at the boyfriend's for a couple of days they are going to be delayed being published as the pictures are on my laptop, so instead I am posting last week's work outfits including a new addition to the wardrobe:

1) Dress: Vero Moda, Tights: New Look, Cardigan: New Look, Belt: New Look. 2) Dress: H&M, Belt: H&M, Tights: New Look. 3) Dress: ASOS, Belt: Boohoo, Cardigan: H&M. 4) Dress: Dorothy Perkins, Cardigan: H&M. 5) Top: New Look, Skirt: New Look, Belt: New Look, Cardigan: Dorothy Perkins. 6) Hair Flowers: H&M.

I have been very H&M/New Look dominated this week in the wardrobe department, which includes a brand new mink & cream polka dot mini dress from H&M (2) that I fell in love with about a week ago. It took going to about five different H&Ms to find it in my size, but I finally did and just had to wear it at my school's non uniform day on Friday with my Alice-theme white tights to go for a sort of white rabbit/lolita style look. For £19.99, it easily goes into one of my top dress purchases for the past couple of months as its a nice thick material and length which means it can be worn with or without tights, and the cute colouring is perfect for a summer or winter wardrobe - which with English weather is always a good thing to have. I also wore my cute new pink & cream ballet pumps from Primark (£6!) which are padded and feel like wandering around in slippers, I am currently on a mission now to buy a pair of black and brown pumps to sort out all my summer footwear needs. 

The rest of the week has been a mix of dresses & skirts, and I have tried desperately to avoid having the same outfits churned out over and over again, but then with the weather its hard to break out the summer collection fully! 

Finally, I have been trying to style my hair a bit more than just having it down all the time or just tied up in a loose bun - as I am trying to tone down the dying addiction I wanted to at least make it look a bit more adventurous! I went for a round-the-head plait and tucked it up a couple of white flower clips, and actually really like this sort of Shakespearian hairstyle - more to come I think!

Have you bought any new items recently? Are you a hair adventurer as well or do you like a particular style to stick with?

Love,

Saturday 2 June 2012

Saturday's OOTD - The First of the Jubilee Outfits!

Hello my lovelies! With the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in full swing, my wardrobe decided to join in with the festivities, starting with a very red outfit:




Dress: Vero Moda
Cardigan: New Look
Tights: New Look
Navy Pumps: H! by Henry Holland
Belt: New Look

I managed to fit in all the colours today (even if it was more focused on red than an equal smattering of red, white and blue) with the white stripes and navy pumps - quite impressed at that! I have been looking for another occasion to wear my red tights without looking too superhero-ish, and thought this was the perfect time! Once again, it just shows how this dress goes with absolutely everything and looks stunning - best buy ever!

On a different note to the outfit, in these pictures I've just clicked how long my hair has actually got which makes me smile as I have been trying to grow it out for ages and has finally begun to get to quite a decent length so woo! 

Here are also some Jubilee themed things going on today:

 The Royal Mint Frappucino with Gold Coin.

Fancy bunting!

Tomorrow, the Jubilee celebrations continue with a Besties outing to Leeds Castle in Kent  to see an outdoor screening of Grease, Fireworks Show & Jubilee Pageant screenings - I have a very British themed dress for such a special event!

What have you got planned for the Diamond Jubilee weekend? Are you styling your fashion to suit it?

Love,