I've moved

I have decided to move this blog to wordpress as it allows me more freedom in way the blog looks and its content, if you still want to follow me just click the link http://stylemecool.wordpress.com/ I won't delete this blog yet, I just wanted to say a thanks to the people that have followed this blog and I hope you will follow the new one.

Its been a while

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been very busy starting a new job etc but now I'm back and more focussed than ever to make this a successful blog.

Beth

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