Satchels & Swans - Outfit of the Day.

I have to admit that I have been a bit of a shopaholic this year - especially in the past few months! I don't know why, but I have just been going on continous spending sprees which has made both my debit and credit card weep. However, my wardrobe thanks me for the recent contributions which has resulted in mostly more dresses which there is no space for!

One of my new additions is this cute Swan Wrap Dress from ASOS:

 Dress: ASOS, Jeans: Dorothy Perkins, Satchel: Cambridge Leather Satchel Company, Shoes: Deichmann, Ring: Tiffanys & Co.

 

I've worn this dress both as an actual dress, and  as a tunic with some skinny jeans for when it is a bit colder! It has easily become one of my favourites for several reasons:

1) It is a wrap dress which automatically gives it the 'ballerina' feel which appeals to the ballerina inside me (which was betrayed by my lack of co-ordination and grace as a child). 

2) The detail that goes into the swan print - the swans have shading and a detail in colour which just shows the extra care that has gone into the design of the print. 

3) With a wrap dress, it cinches in your waist which is always a plus in my opinion!

4) It can be dressed up or down for any occasion, making it well worth its' cost (£18)!

As you can see for this post, I dressed it down for a 'day look' with some deep purple skinny jeans, my beloved satchel, and some neutral pumps - perfect for a bit of shopping - but dressed up a little with my new Tiffanys ring which will be the topic of another post. 

Do you have a lot of multi-purpose dresses? Do you have a favourite print? 

Love,

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,

The Work Week's Outfits in Instagram #3

For this evening's weekly sum up of work outfits, I have tried to be fancy with the old phone and put them into a photo grid with an app. It looks quite good, but that is on a small-ish screen so if the pictures are not as clear as previous posts I'm sorry!

1) Skirt: New Look, Top: New Look, Shrug: New Look, Pumps: H! by Henry Holland. 2) Dress: H&M, Shrug: H&M. 3) Dress: ASOS, Cardigan: New Look. 4) Tunic: Dorothy Perkins, Leggings: New Look, Cardigan: H&M. 5) Dress: Red Herring.

It has been a real mix for me this week wardrobe wise, especially with bringing out all of my summer storage! I'm still too cautious to bring it all down and pack up the winter wardrobe, but have now made it slightly more accessible so that when the boyfriend isn't here I can actually reach it! The pictures are a little backwards as the week's outfits start with '5' then go to '1' as the week warmed up. I opted for a mix of skirts, dresses and even leggings which I haven't donned in a long while and tried out my new Dorothy Perkins tunic that I got on eBay.

I think, for me, the favourite outfit this work week has been a tie between the broderie anglaise nautical skirt look and the ribbon dress from H&M, both quite summery dresses that really brighten up my work wardrobe! For me, white is something that makes up quite a lot of my summer wardrobe and therefore I just associate it with sunshine/happiness! 

I'm hoping the hot weather stays and I don't have to go back to the winter wardrobe again this week, booohooo! 

Do you have any dedicated summer colours or outfits?

Love,

The Work Week Outfits in Instagram #1

Hello my lovelies! I am so sorry for my abscence from blogging pretty much all this week, it has been one hectic week and everytime I got home from work I just wanted to sleep! Firstly, some exciting news to share with all my lovely readers that I found out on Thursday...

I have gained a place on a History Graduate Teacher Program!! Eeeeeek! I'm incredibly excited about this as the competition was ridiculously high for history this year and from over fifty applicants to this particular training provider, only two places were being awarded, and I was one of the lucky two to get a place. I start in September, and so by 2013 I shall be a qualified teacher! I'm nervous about the year to come with all the extra work & studying, but cannot wait to begin teaching my own lessons and only working in history!

Anyway, during the week I don't really get the chance to take outfit pictures in the morning as I always want those extra ten minutes in bed and then end up rushing around to get out in time - this is where Instagram has come to save the day! Literally just before I am heading out, I take a quick picture of my outfit to where I look, you know, respectable and not dishevelled which is how I end the day. So here is this week's work outfits:

1) Friday's Frock! Dress: ASOS; Belt: New Look; Cardigan: New Look. 2) Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Cardigan: Abercrombie & Fitch; Sequin Pumps: New Look. 3) Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Cardigan: H&M. 4) Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Cardigan: New Look. 5) Dress: Vero Moda; Cardigan: Hollister. 

 It shouldn't really be a surprise to any of you that my entire work wardrobe is 98% made up of dresses and cardigans - considering generally when I go shopping I will come home with more dresses than anything else, despite not having any more room! It has once again been a winter week and so haven't really managed to get out of the black tights - bah! But on Friday I did, and went for the favourite ASOS midi dress with the striped skirt that just makes it feel like Spring for me!

I also got to debut my new Dorothy Perkins dress (3) this week which I snagged in their sale for £20, and absolutely love! The mix of nude base colour and then ink polka dots just means it can be matched with so many different cardigans and has now given me the excuse to go nude wedge shoe shopping to go with it! 

How do you dress for work in the week? 

Love,

Sunday's OOTD - Adventure is out there!

So, the Bank Holiday comes to an end and it has all gone by way too fast! Although I am loving the fact that it is going to be only a four day week before the next weekend though - woohoo! 

Anyway, after forgetting to take my camera wire down to the boyfriend's this week I have only just managed to upload my pictures from my adventure in Twickenham! We went to the York Gardens which was a little treasure all hidden away but well worth the wandering to find. It had a wonderland-esque feel with hedges and alot of little paths & bright flowers - loved it. What better location to try for some sneaky outfit pictures, eh?

Coat: H&M

Cardigan: H&M

T-Shirt: Hollister

Skirt: ASOS

Tights: M&S

Shoes: H! by Henry Holland

Leather Flower Bag: Next

Albeit, not my finest photos or outfit but I quite liked the casual look for an adventure day and the matching of the lipstick to the t-shirt! I love wearing this ASOS skirt on this weekends as its too short for work and gives me something that is especially for the weekend, something when the majority of my wardrobe has been taken over for work is nice to have something just for chilling out in. I have become so attached these H! pumps, it is definitely the striped bows that have won me over to try and fit them in with whatever outfit I can! 

Anyway, here are some pictures from York Gardens:

The Squirrel and I having a stand-off...

What did you lovelies get up to over the Bank Holiday weekend??

Love,

Down The Rabbit Hole - Monday's Outfit & The Royal Ballet's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'.

Bonjour mon petite poulets! Yes, I did just call you 'my little chickens' in horrific french, and I'm not really sure why, but there you go... Also a big hello and thank you to my new followers, you guys really have no idea how much it means to me that people actually want to follow my ramblings!

Anyhoo, today I was a very lucky girl and got to go to the Royal Ballet's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' at the Royal Opera House. To be honest with you, only a few months ago I could not imagine myself being a fan of ballet - the idea of hours with no talking and trying to grasp a story through skinny girls prancing about did not appeal to me. This was until I saw The Nutcracker at the ROH last December with my mother, and that was it. I was hooked. So when 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' was listed in their Spring Season, I was determined to get tickets to one of my all time favourite stories. After over a three hour queue online to try and grab any tickets going a few months back, I was booked in some mighty fine seats, to go see Alice on stage!

 My high expectations were not disappointed, neither were anyone elses. It was spectacular with the music, the props, costumes and choreography that just emulated the hours of work put into it - everything worked perfectly and stayed true to the Lewis Carrol's story, that even had the audience laughing! If my glowing review wasn't enough, this should confirm it to you: even the boy loved it, and he is NOT a ballet man. 

Here are some pictures I sneakily took (sneakily meaning like a tourist):

The Big Egg Hunt in Covent Garden

One of the things I love about going to the Royal Opera House to see the ballet (and one day, an opera) is that it is one of the few places where the audience still dress well when they visit. I will never turn down the opportunity to dress up when going out, and love that everyone else makes the effort as well - I'm an old fashioned girl at heart. So I took this opportunity to take the new ASOS dress out for a twirl:

Dress: ASOS; Belt: New Look; Tights: M&S; Pumps: New Look; Jacket: H&M

As you can see from the bottom picture, the rain had hit and I am being swept away by the wind of the Amphitheatre Balcony - but it was such a pretty view from up there! Anyway, I have really fallen head over heels for the midi length dresses now and lost all inhibitions that they make me look like a pale oompa loompa. This dress I think is one of my all time favourite dresses even though its a newbie, it just completely embodies the 1950s look I adore with its bright red fabric, high neck and full skirt that when you twirl around in it spins out and makes me feel like a ballerina hehe! 

Anyway here's some more pictures from today's rainy day out:

 Have you ever been to the ballet? What are your thoughts on midi dresses?

Love,