Wedding Outfit Ideas #2

♥ Dress - Chi Chi Georgia Dress (honestly, Im'm in love) - here

♥ Shoes 1 - eBay - here

♥ Shoes 2 - BooHoo Helen Cuffed Ankle Two Part Heels - here

♥ Shoes 3 - Faith Litchfield Navy Metallic Heeled Sandals via ASOS - here

♥ Shoes 4 - eBay - here

I've already spoken about the two weddings I'm going to this summer. I've posted my ideas for the first wedding here, from when I bought my dress in the ASOS sale earlier in the year. Honestly, since then I've been looking for the dress to wear for the second wedding on a weekly basis. The first wedding was relatively easy to plan for as it's a conventional, inside, sit down dinner, disco / band later on, hometime wedding. However, the second is Nick's brothers, it's in a garden in the middle of summer and I'm going to the registry office with them at 10am in the morning and will be in said wedding outfit until I go to bed at around 1am that night. That's a 13 hour outfit!!

So far, it's been one of those occasions where I know exactly what I want, just, sadly, no one's made the dress yet! I had my heart set on a long, navy dress (which would be practical and pretty for an outdoors wedding) with something going on that made it a little different from just a 'long navy dress', maybe a sneaky slit up the skirt, or maybe it would be backless, or perhaps it would have a few delicate bits of sequining on the arms. My inspiration is Kate Middleton, who I personally think wears long, formal dresses perfectly. She doesn't look OTT, like a celebrity at a film premier trying to break any fashion ground, she always has a certain air of relaxed glamour and she is just effortlessly classic. Please see below for pictures evidence...

(Disclaimer: obviously I would never look like this because she is perfect)

I thought there would definitely be a market for this sort of dress as K-Middy is England's national treasure. But no! I couldn't find anything. I'm sure if I had Kate's budget I'd be able to find the perfect dress but as I'm a poor(ish) gal it's not going to happen.

So I changed tact and, I still wanted navy but opted for knee length instead, I wanted a skater style dress but chiffon skirt rather than anything with structure. And I found this lovely dress from Chi Chi London. I've not heard of them before but I came across some of their other designs on ASOS, they do a lot of similar dresses in a range of colours so if you're looking for an occasion dress then I'd check them out. Although, I've not actually ordered and tried it on yet so I can't comment on the fit or quality but for £75 I'd hope for it to be pretty good.

Now the decision is just whether to go for rose gold or navy sandals.... argh!

Until next time :)

Valentines OOTN 2015

Valentines Day can divide opinion and although Nick and I aren't massively into celebrations we do always go out for a meal, and we always go to a little Italian in York called Del Rios (if you're ever in York I would highly recommend it!), it's in an old cellar which makes it uber cosy and perfect for a valentines date. So yes, we're not huge romantics on the 14th of February but I am always more than happy to have an excuse to dress up!

I wore a dress from Joy, which I got in the sale a couple of weeks ago. It's still available online, here. Its such a flattering cut for anyone with a figure like mine (small waist, massive bum) and ticks the collar box so gets the thumbs up from me! The kitty bag was a Christmas present from Nick, I believe from TKMaxx. And I wore my trusty Primark boots which I always think dress down outfits for occasions like this. Although I didn't want to be casual, I also wouldn't have worn proper 'heels' with this dress as I think it would just push it over to the 'dressed up' side of things.

Anyway, I'll leave you with some pictures of the evening and say goodbye now!

♥

Cheeky BooHoo order...

I may have just placed a sneaky BooHoo order.... 

I fell into the usual trap - I watched a couple of haul videos on YouTube earlier which just made me think 'aaaah clothes, aaaaaah internet shopping', and now here we are. I added over one hundred pounds worth of items to my BooHoo basket before taking a step back and putting my thinking cap on and realising this was a bad idea. Mainly because there's that thing coming up... what's it called??? Oh yeah, CHRISTMAS! Which means I need to be sensible with my monies. So I removed quite a large portion of my basket and stuck with these three:

1. Grace Deep Plunge Velvet Skort Playsuit - I'm thinking this will be perfect for a night out at the weekend. Plus I have some killer new boots which will look awesome with this. I would recommend the old trick of ordering two sizes of playsuits on BooHoo. When I've bought playsuits before I've fit sizes ranging between 8 - 12 on there so it's always good to order an extra just to see.

2. Ellie Pom Pom Trim 3/4 Sleeve Swing Dress - I just love paisley prints, which is my only justification for this. I could do without the pom poms but I suppose you can't win them all.  

3. Anne Embossed Velvet Smock Dress - And this one is sorting me for Christmas day! 

I know I've bought two items in berry red velvet which is normally something I would stop myself from doing, and when I was having my 'basket cleanse' I would've made myself choose just one. BUT in this case I really liked the red velvet and thought that since the playsuit is very much a 'going out' outfit which I would only wear for a proper night out (not just a meal / drinks), it would be ok to get a more casual dress in the same material that could either be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. 

As I said, I had much more in my basket that I got rid of, but two dresses worth an honourable mention are:

1. Penny Peacock Print Smock Dress - Really cute pattern here which I think could be quite versatile and wearable both in and out of work which is always good. The only reason it didn't make it into the final basket was simply that I only wanted one patterned dress (the embossed flowers on the velvet dress don't count!) and I preferred the paisley one above! 

2. Una Fox Print Pleat Front Skater Dress - You know how we talked about my cat collection? Well I also have a pretty significant fox collection too and I can't resist things with foxy patterns on like this adorable dress. However, I feel this would be one of those purchases where it's all fine and dandy and cute until I actually try to wear it. I feel like I would end up looking like a small child. Also, I've just bought a fox print scarf (so that will have to satisfy my fox print needs for the time being).

Until next time :)

Wardrobe Overhaul #2 : The Colour Palette

One thing I did before beginning my wardrobe overhaul was read a few other blogs and articles on the topic. The one I found most helpful was this one by Audrey at Putting Me Together. I hadn't come across her blog before but when I was looking for help via Google, I felt she provided the most relatable guide. A lot of the advice given on other blogs were more aimed at people wanting to make their wardrobe more "on trend", which I felt wasn't solid enough for me. I'm not looking for a more 'fashionable' wardrobe, I'm to build up a wardrobe full of staple pieces that of course, can support trends, but with a backbone that I can rely on regardless of what ever the seasons key looks are.  

Before now, I never really thought of a wardrobe / fashion as being a conscious decision. I mean it never crossed my mind to go into H&M for example, and pick something up that I liked the look of but then put it down because it wouldn't fit in with my style. I don't want to be too prescriptive but I think it's a good way to start for me because I'm sucker for just buying things I like without actually thinking it through. Audrey gives great tips in her series but what really stood out to me was the idea that it's ok to have a pre-defined colour palette that influences your fashion choices. Obviously if you see something you fall in love with that's out side of that colour palette you can (and should!) still buy it. But the idea of having structure is one thing I'm loving.

So as we're now coming up to the colder months my colour palette is very much geared towards winter. When spring rolls around, I think I'll be developing a summer palette as well but for now the  colours I've chosen are winter appropriate (and will probably come as no surprise what so ever)...

Audrey talks about how to chose your colour palette in quite a lot of depth so if you are interested then I suggest reading her series thoroughly. Basically she says you should chose a couple of neutrals and two or three "accent colours". I cheated slightly and chose three neutrals because I'm just that wild. My accent colours are ones I'm naturally drawn to, and would happily wear throughout the year if it were more appropriate but if I did I would be immediately outed as the winter lover I am!

So, I now have a bzillion items of clothing for sale on eBay and I'm ready to start rebuilding my wardrobe! There's probably more things I will get rid of as and when I start buying more new additions - if I got rid of everything I didn't want to keep at this stage I would probably only have about five outfits left.

Until next time :)

OOTN: Casual Drinks

Nick and I went out for drinks with one of our favourite couples to double date with on Friday (Tish and Katie - you may remember them from this post) and this is what I wore! It was one of those occasions that I am finding oh so difficult to dress for at the moment due to the fact I hate everything in my wardrobe, so I nabbed this shirt from Nick's mums collection - score! I love the berry red colour, and I there's nothing I love more than a polka dot print!

I wore this with black Joni jeans and suede chelsea style boots. And I wapped on my £4 Primark rain coat because it is England after all, and I also really like khaki green with the berry colour.

(OOTN - the details: New Look shirt (last year), Topshop Joni jeans, Primark raincoat, London Rebel suede Chelsea Boots via TKMaxx, Tesco rose gold watch, Accessorize sterling silver infinity necklace - similar here)

Until next time :)

The Cat Collection #4

The next instalment of my cat collection comes in the form of this Topshop dress. I bought it a good year ago and to be quite honest I haven't worn it as much as I should have for the money it cost! If I remember rightly it was around the £30 mark, which if you ask me is pretty steep for what is essentially a cheaply made jersey dress.  But - I'm not going to lie - I bought it purely for the kitty cat on the top half. And as with my previous cat collection post, I really did try and resist this one. I saw it numerous times in store before I finally caved and bought it. I think it was when I went in one day and noticed it wasn't in its usual location that I got a bit worried that I'd missed my chance, so when I saw it had just been moved around I jumped at buying it. I almost wish that cutie pie face were on a cushion because I would get more use out of it! 

Anyway, I did actually wear the dress the other day - I found it lurking in my wardrobe when I was having a clear out and decided I wasn't ok with getting rid, so made a promise to myself to wear it. I just wore it for a casual day shopping with my friend, and that's definitely what it's perfect for. Thumbs up to Topshop on this one!!

Until next time :)

Wardrobe Overhaul #1

We all know the feeling of opening your wardrobe doors and feeling completely disenchanted with everything staring back at you. It happens. It's normal. And usually it's not really a big deal in the grand scheme of life. However, at the moment I feel completely uninspired every time I open my wardrobe. 

I don't know what to wear when I go out for a meal with Nick, I don't know what to wear when I go for casual drinks with my friends, I don't know what to wear for nights out, and I don't even know what to wear on a day to day basis (and by day to day, I mean weekend to weekend as I'm surprisingly ok for work wear). 

So I'm on a mission - a wardrobe overhaul mission. I've already started putting things on eBay so now I just need to start thinking about what I want my new wardrobe to look like. I've been mentally making lists of reasons of what specifically is making me feel like this about my current wardrobe and I've come up with the following:

- Too many patterns: Seriously, there are patterns everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I loooove patterns (mainly florals) but it's got to the stage where nothing compliments each other, and there's just too much going on. When I open my wardrobe I'm just confronted with a mass of colour and patterns that just don't go together and it's overwhelming! I also think that patterns can sometimes make you look a bit childish. I know this isn't the case all the time - and I'm definitely not giving up my florals, but it is something that I need to be wary of.

- Sale items: I'm a sucker for a sale. I used to be a firm believer in shopping mainly in sales purely because I didn't have much money and the thought of buying one really nice dress for £40 when I could get 4 for £10 each in the sale just didn't compute. I don't know whether it's just because I'm a bit older and have the luxury of earning a decent wage, but now I'd much rather have the one dress for £40 and know it was going to be a long standing addition to my wardrobe. Having said that, I do still automatically go to sales racks and obviously you can find some absolute gems on them, but I really need to only buy sale items that I know I will actually wear and that will ultimately compliment my wardrobe. 

- Lacking separates: I would confidently say that about 75% of my wardrobe is made up of dresses. Don't get me wrong, I am a dress lover but in the past this has been somewhat down to the fact I just didn't want the hassle of thinking about what skirt/trousers to wear with what top/shirt/jumper. I want to start buying more separates that will give me more options. I'm in no way going for a "capsule" wardrobe, but you can mix and match separates which obviously creates so many more options when it comes to outfit planning. 

- Lacking in sophistication: I think this point is basically the conclusion that can be drawn from the preceding three points. I want a more grown up wardrobe. When I go out, I want to feel comfortable and confident. I don't want to lose the core of my style - which is florals, polka dots, floaty dresses and pretty collars but I want to make sure that when I buy something I feel confident and comfortable in it (and not like a child), and also be certain that I've got a number of options for that item. 

The next 'instalment' of this series will be about the colour palette I'm going to be going for and what sorts of items are on my list of 'must haves'.

For now, I will leave you with three women who I feel mix cute, girly yet sophisticated to perfection:

Who are your style inspirations?

Until next time :)

OOTN: Sun flower co-ordinates

 (OOTN - the details: sunflower co-ords, by Hearts and Bows, bought via ARK clothing - shorts, top)

I have been coveting this co-ord set for months. I found it online somewhere before my holiday and had it book marked to buy once I got paid. But then pay day came and the shorts had sold out in my size :(

But the other day I went for a good ol' mooch around York, popped into Ark and saw it staring back at me. It was co-ord fate. Although I am disappointed that I didn't get to wear it on holiday.

Anyway I gave it its first outing on Saturday night to a friends going away drinks/night out. I would quite like to forget the evening as I drank far too much vodka and, although I didn't do anything embarrassing per se it's always awful waking up and having to work out whether you did anything stupid the night before. Luckily it only happens to me about once a year, phew. But at least my outfit looked good!

I paired it with thick tights, black boots and a small cardi because it rained all day and night yesterday and I needed practicality! I didn't wear any jewellery apart from rings because the sun flowers do all the work themselves!

(FOTN - the details: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in True Ivory (100), Soap and Glory Trick and Treatment concealer, Me me me highlighter in moonbeam, Rimmel professional eyebrow pencil in dark brown (001), Elf baked blush in D33, Collection fast stroke liquid eyeliner in black (1), Maybelline Coloursensational lip liner in pleasure me red (547).

PS. I promise that at some point in the near future I will learn how to take good outfit shots on a camera that isn't my iPhone. Promise.

The Cat Collection - #1

There's something you should know.... I am obsessed with cats. 

So far, I haven't let my obsession spill onto this blog. However, the time has come to slowly introduce this aspect of my life to the internet (although, having said that, it's all over my Facebook and Instagram). I have quite a few items of clothing, and accessories either in the shape of cats, or with cats on them so I thought that I would make a feature of them :)

Recently I ordered these shoes off eBay. Now, I know they are extreeeemly similar to a certain pair of designer shoes, which sadly I cannot afford. I don't like to think of these as "knock offs" (as they are not claiming to be the designer version), I would use the more conscious/pocket friendly term "dupe". 

Anyway, I bloody love these shoes and cannot wait to wear them! They are quite snug but I think that as I wear them more, they will get bigger. Also, from an initial feel and wear, they seem relatively good quality. I mean I doubt they'll last for years to come, but for the price, you can't complain. 

If you, like me, feel there is a cat shoe shaped hole in your life, you can buy these from this seller. This isn't the seller I bought mine from (they have disappeared off eBay - always ominous) but the link above is to a listing that is exactly the same! You may be able to find some from a UK seller, but may have to pay more. They did take quite some time to arrive from China, but I wasn't in any particular rush for them so it didn't matter to me.

Until next time :)

I love an Urban Outfitters sale (plus a discount code!)

(L: Cooperative Knitted Dress in Daisy Print - R: Cooperative Pleated Dress in Gingham)

I just wanted to share this with the interweb because I bloody love OU but sadly I hardly ever buy anything from there because it is so darned expensive! I've been eyeing the gingham dress up for an age and I was watching Faye from FayesFix yesterday (Sunday is a great day for lazing around and watching YouTube, isn't it?) and she featured this dress in her haul, which just trigged all my memories and the feelings came rushing back. Then she said it was in the sale and I was immediately on the OU website ordering it. Then I thought, 'ooh I'll just have a little peruse and see what other delights are on offer' and I saw the daisy print dress. I'm not sure how it'll be on, but I thought it might be quite good for work in the colder months. I sometimes struggle with work wear because I want to look smart but I also don't want to look like every other person in the office, or older than my years. Which is the effect more traditional work wear can have on me (granted this is partly due to the fact I look about 12). But I thought this was a respectable length but still quite young and fun (and at £20, you can't really complain).  

Also, UO currently have a discount code floating around the internet for £10 when you spend £60 (the code is LETSFEST if you're interested). These two dresses didn't quite make it up to £60 (in fact the order was bang on £50) so I decided to see what else I could find to bump my order up to £60 so I could get the £10 off. Basically I was looking for anything that I quite liked for £10 so I could feel like I got it for free, which is always great. I ended up getting this phone case, which I really enjoy. It got the price up to £62 so I got my £10 and only actually spent £52. Yay! I mean for OU that is pretty good. The full price value of the two dresses was £97, so I got them for almost half price.

What are your favourite OU picks at the moment?

Until next time :)

OOTN: Gig outfit

This eve I am going to a gig/concert and I just thought I'd show y'all my planned outfit. As before, I'm still too much of a novice to work out how to take a good picture of me wearing the above outfit so I'm going to stick with this format for now!

1. H&M smock dress - or the "crinkled" dress as they call it. It is in store and online now and at £15 is a total steal. It's going to be great for summer :)

2. Thomas Sabo Bow Charm necklace - I looooove Thomas Sabo charms. I have a fair few (there was a couple of years where all I got for my birthday and Christmas were Sabo charms). I love wearing this on a long silver chain. So dainty and cute! You can view it online here.

3. Topshop Frilly Socks - So I know these are everywhere and are kinda cliche at the moment but they are just so darned cute! I do normally just wear them round the house or when I'm running errands but as I am going to the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield tonight, which is basically an ice rink, it gets freezing in there! So I'm wearing these bad boys under my boots, but over my tights! You can get them from pretty much anywhere at the moment (Primark is the cheapest, obv), but mine are from Topshop.

4. Lace up boots - the picture above is just one I found on Google because the actual boots I have are from Primark and they are last season so there is no chance of me finding a picture anywhere! They are just really comfy, and great for making a feminine, floral outfit a bit more masculine.

5. Rose Gold New Look watch - again this is old season, so I'm afraid I can't link you. But this is my actual watch. It was a present from Nick for Christmas :) I love it!

6. Military style jacket - the same one I mentioned in this post. This has become my staple jacket and looks great with everything (in my opinion). I think I might try and find a similar style, but shorter version for the summer months but at the moment, I'm very happy with the above.

I always find gigs kind of tricky when planning an outfit because although I have the voice in my head telling me I should make an effort because I'm essentially going on a night out, I have another voice telling me that it's going to be dark, either really cold or really hot and no one is going to see me!

Whats your favourite kind of gig/concert outfit?

Until next time :)

ASOS Wish List - Spring Sale Dresses!

1. ASOS Skater Dress With Wrap Back In Peacock Print (Was £28/Now £19.50)
2. ASOS Skater Dress In Paisley Jacquard (Was £65/Now £19.50
3. ASOS Dress In Textured Knit (Was £42/Now £21) 
4. ASOS Shift Dress In Spot (Was £32/Now £19)

So I got a lovely email from ASOS the other day saying that they were doing an offer to have extra 20% off sale items. I promptly got excited and then immediately forgot about the email until mid-week when I decided that I might fancy a new dress to wear at the weekend. Of course I went straight to the ASOS sale pages and filled my basket full of dresses, I then whittled it down to these 4 and went on to the checkout... only to realise my code had expired.

Worst.Feeling.Ever.

I can't quite justify spending £79 on 4 dresses I was only going to buy because I had a 20% off voucher so I am just going to stare at the above picture and imagine that I have bought them. 

Although having said that, I really, really enjoy numbers 1 and 2 so they may well just find their way into my wardrobe at some point soon. Maybe towards the end of the month when I don't feel quite so guilty about spending?

Whats on your spring wish list?

Until next time :)

Amsterdam haul time!

(L-R - Pimkie black polka make up bag €7, Heineken glass €free!, Monki phone case €6, Six phone case €6, Flormar Matte nail varnishes €3, Hema lasting finish nail varnish €2.50, Van Gough mirror €2.95, Van Gough tray €7.95, Hema Kohl Eyeliner in black €3, Hema Longer Lasting lipstick €4)

(Monki kitty hat €7)

I wanted to show the world the things I bought in Amsterdam (a post about the tip will be up shortly) because I am a essentially, a haul junkie. 

I'd just like to point out, I bloody love shopping on the continent, it is awesome. The clothes shops are great, mainly because we don't have the majority of them over here and it is a refreshing change (although Amsterdam did have about a billion H&M's). And the beauty shops are amazing, they have entire shops dedicated to brands I have never heard of and everything is so reasonably priced! 

The above beauty products were both bought from shops that only stocked that make - why oh why can't they both come to the UK?! The amount of nail varnishes available in Flormar blew my mind, they had everything you could ever want, I could have stayed in there all day but was quite aware that I had already dragged a very patient Nick through numerous beauty shops so I refrained. But then I found Hema and had exactly the same experience! So cheap, so well merchandised, and such a selection. Aaah just thinking about these two shops makes me feel very happy (lame but true).

Six is probably my favourite shop I have discovered in Europe, it is accessory heaven on earth. I first went in Brugge in October and then when I found it in Amsterdam too I thought they must be a really big company (which they are) and was convinced they'd deliver to the UK, but alas, sadly they don't :( they don't even have an online shop! Come on Six, get with the times!!

The mirror and the tray were both bought from the Van Gough gallery, which we went to feeling we should try and be at least a little cultured, but I must admit it was pretty dull. I'm not really "into" art (and neither is Nick) so I'm not really sure why we spent €15 on going to an art gallery?! So anyway, I just bought things in the gift shop instead. These two are my favourite designs from his paintings, the mirror is in 'Butterflies and Poppies' (with a name like that, what's not to love?) and the tray is in 'Almond Blossom', which I actually really enjoy. 

The Monki buys were so good, that shop is just great. I know we have them in the UK but as far as I'm aware, there are none anywhere in the vicinity of where I live so I only go when I'm in London. I love cats and when I saw the phone case I totally had to have it! The top kitty reminds me so much of Buddy (mine and Nick's little fluff ball) that it made my heart hurt with cuteness and love so I couldn't leave it. Plus I am a sucker for phone cases. The hat I don't even think needs an explanation. It is quite possibly the best thing I have ever bought. Ever. So lets end this post on a picture of me wearing it in all its glory.

Until next time :)

OOTN: Casual Date Night

So this is a bit of a cop out, I admit it! This is a kind of, sort of, maybe Outfit of the Night.

I do actually plan wear them this outfit out of the house tonight, on a casual date night, so I am partly there. But I can't guarantee that this post will contain any pictures of me actually wearing said outfit. This is mainly because I don't currently have the time to figure out how to take blog acceptable pictures, however, if there is an opportunity throughout the evening to take an iPhone outfit shot then that may make its way into this post as an edit.

1. Military style jacket - I bought this baby from eBay this week and already I'm loving it. It's great for a casual date night due to the fact it is actually a substantial coat (I like to be warm), yet is still on trend. Plus, I think this is a classic addition to my wardrobe.

2. Primark floral smock dress - I have a feeling this is the Primark 'it' dress from the Spring collection (I have already seen it on numerous blogs/YouTube channels). And I can definitely see why! It was a steal at £8, it's bang on trend and it's super flattering for people like me (not much up top with plenty of junk in the trunk).

3. H&M shoulder bag - now this one is not actually the exact same as the H&M bag I will be using tonight but a simple black bag is ideal for a date night. It's plain enough to go with the busy dress, it's sophisticated and has enough room so I can fit my all my handbag essentials in (and also, of course, take the various things Nick will ask me to carry around all night).

4. BooHoo statement necklace - Again, this is not the exact necklace I plan to wear as Primark don't have an online shop for me to take the picture from but this is very similar. 

5. Cut out boots - mine are from eBay and are a staple in my ever growing black boot collection. They are a steal at £21.99

What is your favourite type of look to wear on a casual date night?

Until next time :)