Wedding bells

I know its a bit of a cliche but the wedding was just lovely, the dress was beautiful and I know people always say that (mostly because they don't want to offend) but this time it genuinely was beautiful, granted I had seen pics of it before the big day sometimes things look so much better in the flesh. Although the weekend in general wasn't without its dramas for example having to go dress shopping the day before the wedding as I found out, even at 26 I'm not too old to be told very firmly by my father 'you're not wearing that!' on the plus side I did get a new dress and new shoes out of the deal so really can't complain about it! The next drama was the hotel, we phoned the hotel that I was SUPPOSED (and yes capitals are needed here) to be staying for 2 nights, only to find out that they hadn't booked me in, even though it had been booked months ago when the happy couple first got engaged. After much postering and phoning back and forth the hotel in question found me a room in a bed and breakfast called the white horse http://www.whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk/ which not only was cheaper but actually a nicer place to stay in general, I only stayed there for a night though and lucked out with my next hotel room at a place called the railway inn, http://www.hostearms.co.uk/Railway/Accommodation.asp the bathroom can't be seen in this pic but it had the biggest shower head I've ever seen and a beautiful big brass sink, it might seem odd describing a sink as beautiful but it was like a work of art. Also not seen is the semi private sitting room and the 42inch plasma TV that adorned the wall opposite the bed. Although I dispute what they consider to be good value, they did do a deal for the room as it was their mistake. In total this weekend I have stayed in 4 different beds, taken one coach trip, one bus trip, numerous car journeys and three train rides, all for a family wedding!    

Vintage

After what feels like an eternity I finally have the internet back up and running properly, now one the key trends that has caught my eye, is the wide leg trouser and most have prints on them as well and one my favorite pairs is by topshop, they look elegant and could be warn both during in the day and in the evening too, this particular pair are made from 100% silk and the pattern is etched on and are part of the edited collection which is picked weekly by Jaqui Markham. Generally I like the wide leg look, but I think if its done wrong could end up looking a bit clown like, for example this red pair from River Island are right on the edge of that.    

Another spring trend that I loved last year as well is lace and I know its not new but you can do it so many different ways, whether its a subtle touch of lace on the cuff or collar of a shirt/blouse or full on lace overdose, vintage or new. Personally I think vintage is best and I've spent hours trawling the internet searching for the very best vintage sites and what they have to offer and I have to say that I was a little bit disappointed by the sites that I looked at and what people pass off as vintage, I don't know about others but I when I think of vintage I think of the 1920's-1970's, and certainly wouldn't class the 1990's as vintage yet.

However I did find a couple of sites that I liked the first of these is http://www.lovemissdaisy.com/ which offers a wide choice of vintage clothing and homeware as well, the site is easy to navigate and has sub headings for each category, if you don't want clothing you can also buy vintage haberdashery items from the site. The stock is reasonably priced, which I believe is a major draw as sometimes you end up paying over the odds for vintage pieces, for example the bags on the site are priced from £15 - £40. Overall I love the feel of the site and the stock is varied.

Next I looked at http://www.hummingbirdvintage.co.uk/ the sites homepage looks a bit boring, unless you don't mind a whole page of writing about hummingbird vintage and I think alot of people could be easily put off, also the tabs to gain access into the site are small and when in the main area of the site, knowing where to shop the collections could be clearer. also once through to the main marketplace it takes you through to asos marketplace, which makes me think whats the point of having http://www.hummingbirdvintage.co.uk/ in the first place?. One major advantage for me though is the recycle your wardrobe feature that they have on https://marketplace.asos.com/ so you can sell youand r clothes through the website,To list the item costs nothing, there is a selling fee of 10%, in c omparison to ebay where you have to pay both listing and selling fees.

The next site I looked at I stumbled on by accident really as I was looking at the site in general and didn't realise that it had a vintage section, the site in question is http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop and they clothes from four different decades the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. The site is easy to use and very well laid out, showcasing pieces from that era and as each piece is unique they are unlikely to have more one, so the pieces are truly one offs.

Ttfn xx

Swap Shop

Today I had a bit of an epiphany, ok, so epiphany may be a bit strong but it was definately a lightbulb moment, I decided that I would do my bit for the planet, so rather than buying a load of new clothes and spending money I don't really have, I'm going to host a clothes swapping party, heres the dilemma though do I try and make some money out of it or I do not? Afterall I'm not entirely sure how much I'd make anyway.  Does wanting to make money out of what is essentially charity make it less of a worthy thing to do. When I do organise it I'll put the pictures on the blog.

Apart from my lightbulb moment this morning I've spent today getting stuff ready for next week as I have two really important events taking place next week, on monday I start a new job which I'm kind of panicking about really as I don't have ANY nice office clothes so major shopping spree needed and the other really important thing is my brothers wedding, I'm so looking forward to it and will put up suitable pics of the weekend when I return, I can't wait to see the wedding dress. So today I went window shopping for new office clothes and got very depressed as I realised that since I last bought anything I've gained about 50billion stone! Ok so I exaggerate ever so slightly. It always puts a dampner on trying anything on though and I usually give up and go home, but because the weathers been so good today I couldn't mope around for long.

Ttfn xx 

"Skinny Love" - Birdy

I can't believe the girl singing this Bon Iver cover is only 13! Just beautiful.

In Hot Water

As many people will now know that Jack Wills has landed itself in hot water today and for the apparently 'overtly sexual' nature of some of the images in the new catalogue, I don't what other people think about this, but I just don't get whats wrong with the images, as far as I can see they are done in taste and frankly people should stop being so prudish, what do they think happens at university (besides learning) and it begs the question whats the difference between these images and those seen in newspapers like The Sun and The Daily Star, people complaining about the images are worried that young teenagers will see these images. As a nation shouldn't we be more worried about the images of topless girls in the affore mentioned papers adding to the idea that its ok to objectify women as sex objects and these papers are available on newstands up and down the country, whereas Jack Wills put in place measures to make sure that over 18's only get to view the catalogue and I think they should be given credit for that. 

Personally I couldn't care less whether Jack Wills publishes nearly naked photos or if they don't, afterall they are just doing what every other fashion brand is trying to do, which is sell their clothes and it's commonly known that sex definately sells, whether people like it or not.  

I'd love to know what others think about this,

Ttfn xx

Shoes Glorious Shoes

My favourite season of the entire year is just around the corner and not just because the weathers nice (sometimes) and you can wear some lovely clothes, but because of the shoes - flip flops, sandals, wedges and high heels, let’s face it we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to summer shoes and 2011 is no exception, personally I’m not a massive fan of shoes with loads jewels or embellishments for  one reason really, I just think they make a perfectly good pair of shoes look cheap and tacky – even if the price of that pair of shoes is anything but cheap!  

A gorgeous pair of shoes can make a bad day instantly better whether they are a pair of Louboutins or from Topshop. The new season’s shoes are just to die for, bold colours and prints and higher heels than before. I can’t wait to dig out my gladiator sandals for yet another season, they are like an old friend, you know what you get when you wear them but they won’t be disappointed if you momentarily flirt with another pair of shoes. The bold designs of the Louboutins will complement many (if not all) of this seasons key fashion trends, however if you don’t really want to take out small mortgage just to get a pair of killer heels, then the high street is a must, these gorgeous Topshop Espadrilles are a snip at just £70.

I sometimes think that shoes are slightly underrated and designers of shoes don’t always get the media coverage they deserve, as shoes definitely turn a look from great to stunning, for example when fashion week comes around all we really hear about are the clothes or maybe I’m not paying enough attention, in which case the phrase could do better certainly springs to mind. One thing that we can be certain on is that shoes always have and always will be bold in design and style.  

 Looking at these all these lovely pairs of shoes is making me excited for the summer and what it has instore, I just want it to hurry up and get here. 

Ttfn xx  

http://us.christianlouboutin.com/miss-america-specchio-laminato-15528.html#product-detailed-view

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogNavigationSearchResultCmd?catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&langId=-1&viewAllFlag=false&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208542&parent_categoryId=208492&beginIndex=1&pageSize=20&intcmpid=W_INT_SH_UK_HEELS

I need Therapy

When I say that I need therapy I Should make it abundantly clear that I mean the ratail kind not the (sit on a couch and pour my heart out) kind! and because at the moment I'm feeling particularly lazy I can only be bothered to carry out this retail therapy online, this however is slightly dangerous as the temptation to just have a quick look on the topshop website or the sale that house of fraser might have on is a very slippery slope. We've all been there at some point the innocent 'quick look' can quickly descend into the self destruction of your bank account or credit card! Especially with a large glass of white wine in hand, we know its dangerous but we do it anyway because there's nothing more satisfying than seeing the small mountain of shoes and clothes arrive on your doorstep the next day.

If your anything like me though the majority of the stuff you buy end up either going straight back because you don't resemble the straight up and down model on website or if like me they just end up shoved in the bottom of the wardrobe with tags still attached never to see the light of day again!

On my radar this time are brights and sunglasses (purely in the optimisim that the good weather will stay put)
below are some of my faves:

Same old, same old!

While doing research for my blog I thought I’d look at the websites of some of the designers that are ‘hot’ right now and the first one that popped into my head and don’t really know why was Alexander Wang and I looked at his Ready to Wear Collection. Ready to Wear is a bit of an odd name for collection really, sorry for pointing out the obvious, but aren’t all clothes Ready to Wear when you buy them. Although my idea of ‘Ready to Wear’ is somewhat cheaper than hundreds of dollars that Alexander Wang charges for example $325 for a tank top that looks like it’s only half finished! I know that designers  don’t always seem that they live in the same world as the rest of us non-designer folk but isn’t it about time they started, after all isn’t fashion about reaching people that wouldn’t normally get to wear clothes by designers as most the population don’t have access to a bank account that resembles a bottomless pit.   I certainly don’t know of that many people who can afford to throw their hard earn cash at something that they not only can get cheaper on the high street,  but also one that would look better too. Also part of the collection is an oversized shirt – which after however many seasons feels like its been done to death, aren’t designers supposed create new trends not just rehash old ones and isn’t that just a little bit lazy, just because you make the sleeves short doesn’t make it new. Shouldn’t designers do what they are paid to do and design. 

Ttfn J

http://www.alexanderwang.com/shop/ready-to-wear/tops/

Wedding outfit blues

I think I may have found my wedding outfit after many trips to the shops and , all I need to do now is lose about 2 stone in 10 days! it may be time to start wrapping myself in clingfilm and drinking my body weight in maple syrup! Heck if its good enough for beyonce then its good enough for me.

http://www.warehouse.co.uk/vintage-floral-bandeau-maxi-dress/Dresses/warehouse/fcp-product/303991 

All I need now is shoes, a jacket and a bag! oh and to make the cakes that I promised I'd make, the things we say when we've had a few too many!

Ttfn xx

To shop or not to shop?

Hi guys,

Today I wanted to go shopping, but the weather has put paid to that so I decided to do some web browsing instead, which can be extremely dangerous as I don't always have the very necessary restraint to buy everything I click on or see, which is why I stayed away from ebay! Although I am panicking slightly as  I'm going to a wedding in less than 2 weeks and still have nothing to wear, at the moment I'll be going in my birthday suit which is not a pretty site I can tell you! hopefully by april 14th I'll found something to wear even if it is just a fig leaf to cover my modesty!

I just love these sunnie g's

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay

If only I had any money, I will get them soon :)

Ttfn xx

I found this pic while doing research for this blog and just had to share it! couldn't help but think that she looks like a giant avacado, I mean who would actually be seen in public wearing this or something similar? The only person crazy enough to wear this in broad daylight is Lady Gaga!

Ttfn x

Welcome to my blog

Hi peeps, If like me you love fashion but are a bit clueless when it comes to styles and all the jargon that designers and fashion reporters through at us via the vastness that is the media, then hopefully this blog will make us less clueless and more clued up when it comes to the big bad world of fashion and beauty. For example the term 'jorts' which are jean shorts why not just call them exactly that? The world of beauty is possibly more guilty of throwing jargon at us surely isn't it just a waste of words that could be used to describe more meaningful things going on in the world. Don't get me wrong I love clothes and all things associated but the jargon is just plain confusing and would make life simpler for everyone who isn't a designer 'darling' or a really 'special' top model to use normal language (I feel like I'm ranting slightly now). Ttfn xx P.S. if beauty jargon baffles you then take a look at www.thebeautybrains.co.uk