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