Look of the Day: Tough Girl....but bad hair day!

 

Yay! I got Look of the Day again on FabSugar. Thanks guys - really appreciate all your support! Wore this outfit for work on Wednesday and haven't had a chance to post it here yet. Check out the Look of the Day:  post here. You can check out my original post here. I entitled it "Florals and leather...they go together like Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel", a quote which I saw and loved on Vanessa Jackman's blog because that is so true!

I've posted the original pics below as well though. The FabSugar pic tells you where all my clothes etc are from. So glad this look was chosen because mixing florals with unusual pieces in my wardrobe is one of my fave way to style myself. That dress is over a year old but I still think its so cute and really flattering. When I first bought it I went through a stage of wearing it with a small black cardigan and patent Mary-Janes but now that I've had in my wardrobe for a while now I thought I'd bring it up to date by adding my military-style leather jacket (nod to Balmain!) and fierce platform ankle boots. You can't see it on these pics but there is a gold zipper that runs up the back of the heels which is the kind of detailing I adore!

If you look back you'll see this isn't the first time I have declared my love for florals (see my Fierce Florals and As the leaves fall... posts). The only problem is I really hate my hair here...I really need a haircut! Any suggestions for new hairstyles greatly appreciated!

Anyway, I'd better be off - all my ASOS stuff arrived and I've got to plan my outfit for tonight - another Girl's Night Out - I love them! Thanks once again guys and have a great weekend! 

xxx

Neonism

My love affair with Ashish started when I spotted his beautiful leopard wedges that he did for Topshop last year (see Major Shoe Crush! and Mannequin posts). Soon after I saw Pixie Lott and Lily Allen in these sequinned Ashish dresses and my love for Ashish was confirmed. He is a man after my own heart, as I sure you are beginning to appreciate I love animal prints, sequins and one shouldered dresses. But there is another thing that I love, and it may not be totally fashionable, and is probably a relict ingrained in me from my 80s childhood and teenage adventures at Gatecrasher and Sundissential, but I unashamedly love most anything if it is neon!

Just to prove my point, here's a few of my neon adventures from 2008 and 2009. Mostly I only feel liberated enough to wear neon during raucous occasions such as festivals (e.g. Exit, Serbia) and during afterski (e.g. Hemsedal, Norway) where it is almost a HSE requirement that you stand out or you risk being lost in the crowd. However, when I was in Miami last fall I felt it was the perfect backdrop to bring a little neon into my daywear, which is represented by my neon green shades and hot pink bikini top peeking out from under my blue AA skater dress. I am sure you are wondering how the black and white prom dress fits into this all - these pics are from NYE just gone, and even though the dress is monochrome, I was armed with my beloved neon face paints and set about spreading a little neon love amongst the crowd of Get Loaded in the Dark (see Mannequin post). This was also a good time to post these pics and show you what I wore for NYE. I said I was going to wear my neon splatter AA dress but after one too much supersized dinners over the Xmas holidays I felt this Topshop striped prom dress was more forgiving. I did recreate the make-up from the Mannequin post though, or at least I attempted to. It wasn't as crystalline as I would have liked but it still looked pretty good. I'm going out in London again soon and will try something similar but more intense then. But I digress....

I just found that gorgeous Ashish dress that I spotted on Lily Allen on net-a-porter.com with 60% off!!! It was obviously a sign, since even though I love that website I never spend as much time on it as I would like (probably because it is pretty close to torture when I can't afford most of the things I fall for on it). But with 60% off how could I resist the dress I have been coverting for so long? So I bought it!! It's currently in England being looked after by my mum until I visit her in a couple of weeks! I really hope it fits!!! I have the exact occasion I want to wear it for all planned out in my head...but I am keeping that a secret...I don't want to spoil the surprise ;)

Oh, and before I go, if anyone out there wants to donate one of these fabulous Blumarine dresses from last season to me....I would be eternally in their debt. How gorgeous are they? Love the crystal gladiators as well...swoon...

xxx

Insecticide

I am developing a thing for insect jewellery. I’ve always loved massive statement jewellery but I usually stuck to chunky pearls and/or massive gems. That was until I went to Miami last November where I was strangely attracted to this twinkling spider ring. I put it on and showed my boyf – I expected him to revolt in horror, not least because he hates spiders, but because of its sparkly jewelled form. But to my surprise he quite liked it too which meant that I had to buy it. I thought I’d be the only one to like it since most people I know also have a fear of spiders and I imagined that me wearing one immortalised in crystal on my finger would be horrifying to them, but I keep getting compliments on it from the most unusual places.

So that spurred me on to search for more glittery insects – and that’s when I found this gorgeous Stephen Webster 'Malaria No More' Mosquito Ring on asos.com. I think it is just fabulous and the perfect addition to my ring collection. This ring is an absolute bargain at £50 and what makes this ring even better is that these rings have been commissioned by the Malaria Awareness Campaign to raise awareness of malaria among UK travellers. So fashion for a good cause – doing a good deed never looked so fabulous!! I wish I could just scoop it up now but my poor credit cards are already hurting from the drive buys I did on asos and hm.com last week (their sales are too marvellous!!!) so I’ll have to wait a while :(

In the meantime, I have taken this one step further and I have spent many recent EBay trawls looking for bargain crystalline octopuses and snakes – yes I know these aren’t insects – but I am strangely drawn to the sparkly, beautiful irony of them as well.

Watch this pics for more crystal creepy-crawly treats!

xxx

Follow my blog with bloglovin

I've finally figured out how to add Blog Lovin' to my blog. Of course right now I don't have any followers....but watch this space!

If you like what you see, please follow me and feel free to leave comments along the way.

xxx

Cage me up!

I’ve always had a thing for strappy shoes, not as in little delicate shoes with dainty straps, but as in shoes with lots of straps. Take for example, the YSL cage boots, I know they are from last year but I still love them. The intricacy of them is so appealing - delicate and industrial at the same time. I don’t know what inspired them but every time I see them I think of the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Gherkin in London. Unfortunately, everywhere I look they are completely sold out so it seems I must continue the hunt for the next best thing.

I am also still lusting after the Givenchy birdcage shoes from 2008, as seen on Vanessa Hudgens above. The longevity of my lusts is probably why I called this blog My Style in My Time – I wish I had the money to buy these works of art when they come out the first time but instead I have to hunt high and low for them on EBay or wait for the high street to copy them. But alas I never found anything close to these beautiful birdcage shoes – the closest I came is my “gladiator” shoes that I blogged about in my Fierce Florals and The first step to happiness…the little black dress posts. I love those shoes despite the zip at the back scratching part of my leg away!

I think the ultimate in cage shoe loving is wearing them for your wedding, à la Taylor Tomasi Hill. I first caught sight of her in these beautiful cream Alaia cage shoes on The Sartorialist (see Blogger style post) and saw them on her again when I was looking through Jak & Jill Blog. She wore them to New York S/S 2010 Fashion Week last year. Both times I was so drawn to them. Taylor Tomasi Hill is one of my major style crushes anyway and whilst trawling through wedding sites with my girlfriend who is getting married, I came across TTH’s wedding pics and saw her wearing the exact same Alaia cage shoes! I think they are her look absolutely fabulous with both outfits and if I ever get married, maybe I’ll have to bust out some caged beauties under my gown!

xxx

p.s. If anyone out there is willing to donate any cage shoes to me, I promise I will love (the shoes and the benefactor) and look after them forever!

Pics from: The Sartorialist, Jak and Jil Blog and http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/2008/12/15/Real_Weddings_Taylor_Tomasi_and_Chase_Hill.aspx?page=1&gpage=1#articlegallery

ASOS Obsessed

ASOS are having a sale and I cannot stop looking through their website trying to snatch up anymore bargains. I have already purchased the bottom four beauties, although they have yet to arrive (1971 Reiss Blackjack Pocket Detail Tank £39 NOW £20; ASOS Leather And Suede Mix Skirt £65 NOW £29; Whistles Asymmetric Zip Skirt £85 NOW £34; ASOS Oversized Seam Back Top £16). And I am now drooling over the top three pieces (ASOS Strappy Back Long Sleeved Dress £35 NOW £16; ASOS Pocket Detail PU Skirt £30 NOW £13; Supertrash Pocket Jersey Bubble Dress £70 NOW £35).

God, they are such bargains, I’d be a fool not to snap them up as well, don’t you agree?

I am loving anything leather-looking, a look I am glad is still going strong in the spring collections, so I reckon these pieces will be great additions to my spring wardrobe. Think the grey tone suede and leather skirt is especially great (partly because it was an absolute steal!) and I can’t wait to rock loads of neutrals for spring. Clearly, I am drawn to anything black but I also love red, hence the Supertrash bubble dress – what a great graphic colour and such a fab shape. I can layer it over tights and leggings in the winter and wear it with bare legs and wedges in the summer. Oh, and it would look so fab with this grey biker jacket I bought a few months ago from Primark.

Oh dear, I think that by typing this post I have just convinced myself to buy the rest – hope they look as good on me as they do in my head (I’ve already started visualising them with all my accessories!).

God help my bank balance.

xxx

Blogger style

I'm very new to the world of blogging, mainly because after years and years of being a student I've finally written my last thesis and now have more time to indulge in my passion for fashion. Since discovering the world of blogging about 6 months ago, I have well and truly had my eyes opened - there are literally millions of style icons just a mouse click away. And I'm not talking about supermodels or celebrities with armies of stylists, I'm referring the the fashionistas of the blogging world. My favourite way to spend my downtime used to be curled up on my sofa trawling through my beloved glossy fashion magazines, and now, whilst I still love to do that, I also now spend many a happy hour (or five) devouring the style of  "real" people. To be honest, I am more fascinated by fashion bloggers and the looks they create than by celebrities anymore. The fact that these guys are all self-styled and without million dollar budgets makes them so much more appealing. So here is a collage of my favourite looks of the past few months which I have gathered from numerous blog sites, which you can find links to on my site.

Check out these and more fab looks at Late Afternoon, The Sartorialist, Carolines mode, Lookbook.nu, Fyndigt by Frida, Sea of Shoes, Style Scrapbook, WhoWhatWear.com and the other blogs in My Blog List.

Keep up the good work bloggers - you are my greatest source of inspiration.

xxx

Shiny New Year

Happy New Year everyone!! I'm so sorry that it has been such a long time since I have managed to blog anything but my camera broke over the holidays and I had to wait until my fab friend Heidi managed to send me her pics of our festive celebrations. Here are some pics of from one of my Christmas Girl's Nights Out - I was channelling a 50's pin-up girl via Alice in Wonderland. Got my red dress from Primark about a year ago and never quite found the perfect occasion to wear it - until this Christmas of course! My beautiful mum let me raid her wardrobe whilst I was at home and I swiped her gorgeous fur coat which my grandmother bought for her when she was a teenager. Kept me lovely and warm on the frosty streets of London. Finished my look with my new obsession - heart patterened tights, and some cute ballet flats, both of which I bought on my last trip to London from Topshop.

Needless to say, Santa hats and reindeer antlers were obligatory.

Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas holidays as well! xxx

Mannequin

Not since watching Kim Cattrall in Mannequin have I ever been so jealous of a shop dummy but when I spotted these gorgeous models in Topshop, Oxford Circus I fell in love. I love the neutral yet sparkly pallette of their clothes contrasted against the rainbow glitter and smokey eyes of their make-up. It's all so crystalline and enchanting. Their fluffy feather accessories just make the whole look so fun. The perfect christmas attire I say! Topshop is one of my most favourite places - I could literally spend hours in there, and I did. As well as scooping up the Ashish wedges I have been lusting after, I picked up these gorgeous Aggie boots (below) and tonnes of gorgeous statement jewellery and fab patterned tights (some of which I'm wearing below). I even got my eyebrows shaped and my nails done at the beauty bars there! My nails are now this uber cool sparkly red courteousy of Nails Inc (Apsen overlain with Petticoat Lane) - very Christmassy.

I'm going to Get Loaded in the Dark @ Brixton Academy (http://www.getloadedinthedark.com/) for New Year's Eve so I'm going to try and recreate the make-up from the Topshop models and team it with my American Apparel neon splatter dress that I bought when I was in Miami (http://store.americanapparel.co.uk/rnt46p.html?cid=29) - neon and glitter, the perfect raving combo. When in London, there is no point in being understated, which is why I miss it so much.

xxx

Christmas is coming and that means party time!

I expressed my love for all things one shouldered in my Happy Hallowe’en post but I also have a massive thing for leopardskin (see my Major shoe crush! post). Theoretically this should be a recipe for disaster but this dress shows that sometimes it can be a match made in heaven! What makes it even better is that this dress was less than £20 from Primark!!

This dress obviously took inspiration from the beautiful dresses and tops from Ellie Saab (centre top), Dolce and Gabbana and Chloe’s A/W 2009 collections (see Working Girl post). The one shoulder on this Primark steal is structured and padded for extra emphasis. After falling in love with the asymmetry and statement shoulders of these collections, this dress was a real no brainer – it’s perfect for this party season. And after seeing collections such as Jason Wu's S/S 2010 (left and right top), I know I am onto a winner for next season as well with such an opulent colour. Could this dress be anymore perfect?

Taking inspiration from Blair Waldorf as well as the aforementioned collections and their statement accessories, I added a little adornment in the form of an embellished headband from Accessorise and some gorgeous rings I picked up from a store called So Good in Miami and proudly wore this look to my first official Christmas party of 2009!

I finished my look of with my newest pair of Jimmy Choo shoes (swoooon!) and wrapped up warm with a faux fur shawl I bought at the bargain price of $30 (on sale) from Bebe in Miami.

It was the perfect start to the Christmas party season and I felt like the belle of the ball. xxx

And again! :-)

I was lucky enough to get another one of my looks picked for FabSugar's look of the week. I love this look so much since it contains some of my most treasured items - my beloved Chanel bag and my Alexander McQueen scarf plus breton stripes, with which I am slightly obssessed. I wore this to work one day but I think you could easily swap the shoes for over the knee boots and take it shopping, or keep it as it is and wear it to dinner with your lovely boyfriend or girlfriends!

I had to include some other pictures to really show off the iconic scarf and bag. I just a bit gutted that the gorgeous brightness of the blue shoes didn't come out very well. I really need a better camera! Hint hint Santa!

To see the whole look and where I got all my clothes go here.

It seems someone out there likes my style...

No sooner have I blogged that I got picked again for FabSugar's looks of the week than I go and get the look I blogged about in my "As the leaves fall" post picked for today's Look of the Day. Lucky me! Thanks again FabSugar - this is so encouraging!

I recently enrolled in a sewing course and am busy attacking thrifted clothes with my scissors and a sewing machine....hopefully my new creations will go down as well. I'm really looking forward to posting them as soon they are finished.

Check out my look of the day here.

And if you want to see where I got all my items from, check out the original post here.

Have a great weekend! After a small hiatus on my blogging, I can't wait to get back on it! xxx

FabSugar: Looks of the Week

I've been away on holiday in Miami for two weeks without a computer so I've just been checking through all my favourite sites and seeing what's been going on while I was lying in the sun - seems that another look of mine got picked up by FabSugar, this time for one of their looks of the week! Thanks FabSugar - I love that website esp as they say that my outfit is the the most fab!

That look is kind of based around the same principles that I showed in my "As the leaves fall" post - getting the last few wears out of my summer dresses before the leaves are gone and the snow falls.

For these looks of the week see here.

For the original look, and where all my clothes are from, see here.

Thanks again FabSugar and all of you that "liked" my look.

xxx

Happy Hallowe'en

I am having a bit of a gothic moment - it must be the autumn air with Hallowe'en just around the corner. Topshop is currently providing the perfect playground to indulge this whimisical fashion craving. I've just bought the Aggie metal insert heel boot (top left, £80), the black Lace and Velvet Playsuit (3rd down left, £60) and the grey Leather Duffle Cross Body Bag (top centre, £55) from there. Plan on wearing the playsuit with the boots and perhaps with my new black Henry Holland Mock Stock tights that I got from ASOS (£10, not shown). The Lace Tiered Bolero (top right, £38) is a work of art and would look great with a skinny black top and leather leggings. I'd of course top the look off with chunky jewellery and my new Aggie boots. The grey Britany Leather Thigh Boots (2nd down, right) would also look awesome. These Britany boots are the only over the knee boots that I have been coveting this season - grey is softer than black and stops me from looking like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. I think they will also look great paired with the cream Vintage Inspired Lace dress (centre, £45), which I am desperately waiting to come back in stock.

Christopher Kane is a genuis who is kind enough to design some fab pieces for Topshop so that some of us with not so great bank balances can purchase some of his creations. His black One Shoulder Lace Dress (2nd down left, £50) is not only absolutely gorgeous (I get weak knees around anything with one shoulder) with beautiful lace detailing but is a bargain! Getting anything designed by Kane for such a small fee is an absolute steal. The dress is a modern classic.

The black Lace Waistcoat (3rd down right, £25) is just a great piece to add your wardrobe. Dress it down by layering it over a white tee and jeans and pair it with the Britany boots and grey Leather Duffle Cross Body Bag. Wear it to work belted over a fitted dress or out in the evening with some skinny leather leggings or short shorts (Lace Shorts, bottom right, £35), a simple vest top and smouldering black make-up. Drape it over a beautiful satin evening dress to bring your right look up to date.

As much as I love lace and all the soft tones in this pallette I also crave colour and sequins and that's why I want the Ultimate Jewelled Jacket (bottom centre, £200). I have a beautiful blue floor length 70's gown that I thrifted and I think this would look superb over the top for my work Christmas party. But this jacket is too good to save until then so I'll take it on the town with a tiny tee, lace shorts and Aggie boots. Divine!! To top all my outifts off, since it is soon Hallowe'en, the sequin devil mask is perfectly playful and unique. If you don't want to feel claustrophobic, then place it in your bedhead hair as a cheeky take on this season's hair accessories.

Happy shopping and have a wickedly wonderful Hallowe'en!

Major shoe crush!

I am majorly lusting over these Ashish for Topshop wedges. The Leo in me is craving the leopard print ones. I've been coveting them for so long but they don't seem to be available on the Topshop website. The longer I wait it seems the more people that are wearing them. They are so gorgeous. I must have them - the hunt continues.....

FabSugar: Look of the Day - Wild Rose

V. excited! My look got selected as FabSugar's Look of the Day! Thanks FabSugar. A lovely and very happy surprise! They kept the name I chose for the outfit as well: Wild Rose. Congrats to me!

Jugding by the comments, it is a bit controversial and that just makes me like it even more.

Check it out at here.

xxx

Working Girl

Look at this amazing dress I bought from Ebay for the bargain sum of £20 (with free P&P)!! I just love it – love the textures, the splash of green and the great shape – it reminds me of that dress that Melanie Griffiths wears in Working Girl when she goes to that party and meets Harrison Ford for the first time. I idolised her in that movie when I was younger so I just had to have this dress (although I am still on the look out for one like hers with the diamete studding and net underskirt). With all the Christmas parties coming up I think this will be the perfect season to debut this fabulous party dress. This dress is a vintage 80s dress that has been redesigned and I think the shoulders echo those that Dolce and Gabbana showed for this autumn. The emerald green sash adds the “icing on the cake” colour pop that many of their outfits displayed and the velvet top just reminds me of this season’s Chloe one-shoulder jumpsuit that I have been lusting over ever since I first saw it.

I’m going to wear it with massive black platforms and a slick of hot pink lipstick (although I haven't found the right occasion too just yet).

(Check out the Ebay shop “DRESS LIKE A KING VINTAGE”; all catwalk pics taken from http://www.coutorture.com/)

Fierce florals

Ironic that yesterday I was writing about getting ready for autumn and now I am planning my spring 2010 wardrobe - but I am a planner and I like to be prepared! I spent a glorious day today drooling over the 2010 spring collections from Milan, Paris, New York and London (again!). As always though, one collection has really stayed with me - Dolce and Gabbana (see the collection here). I've always loved the opulence and feminity of their designs, which this collection has in abundance. These guys know how to dress women and make us feel sexy! The fabrics, shapes and prints really caught my eye. Leopard print and florals with lace trims constructed into beautiful corsets and lantern skirts are simply works of art! These guys know how to create masterpieces season after season (I can also highly recommend the D&G spring 2010 collection - divine!).

The stinger for me though is that, as yet (I’m working on it!), I can't afford those pieces sashaying down the runway so I'm all about the improv! After a short while rooting around in my wardrobe I came up with this Dolce and Gabbana inspired look…I layered a lace body from Topshop under a red leopard print body that I actually stole from my boyfriend’s mum – an 80’s original! I haven’t worn it yet despite owning it for a year but now I have the perfect reason. My skirt is also from Topshop, I tried looking for it online but couldn’t find it but I know it is still in store. The finishing touches are my fabulous bargain Matalan gladiator heels and a slick of red lipstick. I think next time I’ll add my favourite Butler and Wilson pearls as well for a little extra gilt and glamour!

I think I did pretty well, in fact this outfit is too good to save for the spring...don’t you agree?

(picture from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/milan-fashion-week/6236994/Milan-Fashion-Week-Dolce-and-Gabbana-springsummer-2010-collection.html?image=4)

As the leaves fall....

Even as the days getting shorter and the amount of rain increases, I find it hard admit that summer is over and find it even harder to let go of my summer wardrobe with all its brightness and frivolity. I don't want to move towards the darker, warmer and generally more practical part of my wardrobe to protect myself from the elements. I don't want to be practical, I want to look and feel great!! So I have discovered the art of transitioning and this outfit is one example of this. Admittedly it's not a particularly colourful outfit but it shows how simple it is to take a simple summer dress and make it wearable as the days get colder by just adding a pair of leggings and boots topped off by a boyfriend blazer. Boyfriend blazers are so on trend right now, the shops are full of them - by adding one to your outfit you'll provide a much needed extra layer as the hours of sunlight decrease and you'll bring the look bang up to date. They are also a blessing in disguise as they can be used to hide a multitude of lumps and bumps. This blazer is actually one that I have had for about 7 years - I bought it when I thought I was going to work in an office that required such attire but that never happened. The jacket was so nice though that I couldn't throw it away. I've tried a few times over the years to incorporate it into my wardrobe but with no success - it has shoulder pads and up until recently they have been a big no-no, relegated to the 80's. But as Balmania dominates the catwalks and the high street, it seems that "the bigger the better" when it comes to shoulders right now, so I can safely bring my jacket back. I just rolled up the cuffs to make it more "now" and voila! I kept the accessories simple - just some chunky pearls and my beloved mock croc Mulberry Bayswater. This outfit puts a little sunshine into my increasingly darker days!

The first step to happiness...the little black dress

With first post out of the way I thought I'd get straight to it and showcase one of my favourite looks of the moment. I love this look because it incorporates so many of my favorite fashion elements; the little black dress is of course a wardrobe staple for all self-respecting women and this one is great because it's also a prom dress, which for those of us with ample hips is a godsend! I especially love this dress as it is one of my beloved Ebay bargains which I snapped up for a mere £20! I've seen similar dresses retailing from £50 to £200. Over my LBD, I layered a little cream shrug which I bought about a month ago from Topshop. This shrug is so cute because it has a beaded trim and scalloped edges which gives a great vintage feel. Layering it over my dress stops the outfit from becoming yet another boring LBD and it's also great for those of you that want to cover up your back or upper arms.

My accessories are all about statement pieces; some might say that you should just stick to one, max two, statement pieces but I disagree. If worn with confidence, more can most definitely be best! Here I have my current favourite necklace a Butler and Wilson chunky pearl cluster that I spied in the window of an Edinburgh boutique over the summer and begged my boyfriend to buy me as a birthday present. It looks so expensive but was actually very reasonably priced although I do think such timeless pieces are priceless. Pearls are most definitely one of my best friends - they are classic, reliable and never go out of fashion. My belt is recently purchased from Zara - I think for only £20. I love peacock feathers and the colours on this belt are just great. It adds another dimension to the outfit by cinching it all together and creates a waist. No matter how great the pieces, drowning in your clothes is never a good look. My ring is House of Harlow 1960 - another gift from my fabulous boyf. I am a huge fans of rings and the bigger the better if you ask me - I just can't get enough of this ring.

As for my shoes, well some of you might not agree with my choice and possibly think that a nice black court shoe would have gone better. For a while I thought about wearing such a shoe, but I like to be unpredictable and thought that these gladiator heels added a more modern touch to an outfit comprising such classic pieces. I love these heels, with a zip at the back they are easy to wear and so glam. Plus, like so many of my other pieces - they were an absolute bargain at less than £20 from Matalan!

This look shows that you put together relatively inexpensive and classics pieces and create a fresh, original and very wearable look. I think it has a real air of vintage decadence to it. With a simple slick of red lipstick this glamorous look is complete.