feeling festive!

I love fairisle and would wear it all day, everyday during advent! Unfortunately, uni has made me broke. So I am looking slightly less festive than I would like.

Need some Henry in my life.

I’ve been a good girl Santa, I promise..

They should call me the bargain hunter.

Now this was the beautiful dress that I had been lusting after for a long while, before finally I received it for my birthday, off my wonderful girlfriends! I'll admit I wouldn't have bought it myself, as personally I think £45 is far too expensive for a dress intended for purposes purely consisting of alcohol, partying and Blackpool. -Yes that is my town of choice for nights out.. not for much longer mind. Anyways, the point of this blog is not the exact dress you see above. It is however about the fact that I got the same dress in a brilliant shade of orange! Although may I please take a moment to point out, that this is completely unrelated to the fact that Blackpool FC play in this particular shade. I managed to snag this latter dress for the bargain price of... wait for it...

SEVEN POUNDS! Yes, seven!

What an achievement on my part. I am aware that I have probably earned full rights to the name bargain hunter by now. Maybe I should just go by that from now on? I mean, it's like what I'm best known for, (well, almost best known for) within my friends anyways.

Most. Perfect. Collection. Ever.

I would like these Leboutins to reside in this closet… in my house. If this could be arranged? S’il vouz plait.

Primani shunned the non believer in me.

I’ve been searching for a new handbag for about forever and a day. I have been hounding the poor women who come into Starbucks demanding info on the origin of their handbags and have still been, much to my dismay, grossly unsuccessful. So I grudgingly took the advice of a good friend to give up the search and trust that it will miraculously appear when I least expect it.. yes I am a non believer. However I decided today to brave the carnage that is Primani for the sake of my boyfriend and low and behold this little beauty is sitting on a shelf calling my name. All for the bargain price of £8. Yes I know. I am brilliant.

Hello toe cleavage.

I finally bought these shoes this week- after staring at them sitting in the window of Dorothy Perkins for about 2 months. Although, be under no illusion; I only got them because they were reduced to the enticing price of £17 from £38! Staying true to my reputation of never paying full price. Ebay and Amazon are actually my best friends. Anyway, they look a little funny in this picture (like some warped picasso-esque pic) but they are beautiful, perfectly match one of my favourite clutches and make my feet look pretty. - If thats even possible?

Hello toe cleavage!

We ♥ Nails Inc

Nails Inc and Diet Coke have teamed together to give us free polish! Hurrah! There are four colours, each based on a fashion capital. London is an in vogue nude, Milan a fiery red, Paris is a pinky purple and New York a hot pink. So today dragged myself away from the election coverage- yes I am that sad. I popped down to Boots and bought myself 4 bottles of diet coke bagging the Paris and London shades. I have a sneaky suspicion that the Milan is just a rebottled Victoria and Albert shade that I have acquired already, and that the NY is the colour that was given away with Confessions of a Shopaholic movie tickets. Anywho Who am I to turn down free polish? I mean it cost me less that five pounds for two shades that retail at over £10.50 each! So hurry up and grab the bunch before they have all gone..

Halston Heritage > Topshop.

Wow Topshop already have Halston Heritage copies in their stores and SATC2 isn’t even out yet! Plus the Halston originals aren’t even available in the UK until May 10th with some coming even later! I have to say the copies are lovely but don’t have a patch on Halston’s dresses!

homemade hairmasks aka baby sick

ok so this morning I woke up to the most beautiful sunny day! It put me in such a great mood because basically it feels like summer. Pretty weather, no worrying about coursework or uni anymore, with the best of carcrash telly on the way. What more could we want? Then I looked in the mirror..

It all began on wednesday night when I was making myself beautiful for my boyfriend who was taking me for dinner and a movie. My sister has put a stop to my constant abusing of her shiny new, verging on broken (due to overuse) GHD's and I had to revert back to ye old faithful pink brandless straighteners. After an hour no less of constant tugging and unavoidably ripping out of my lioness mane I was left with a great big stonking (tres dry) afro.. Not that i'm opposed to afro's (on beautiful men). I decided in the same mindset as Obama that it was indeed "time for a change". And as of 8pm last night a pair of gorgeous paisley limited edition precious GHDs were allllll mine! This indeed solved the problem of my unruly mane however, the issue of it being as dry as the bloody sahara was still predominant. My hair appointment is still over a week away so I decided to take things into my own hands.. literally.

So after an hour or so of trawling the wonderful thing that is the internet I was fully armed with a wide (as wide as an hour could get me) knowledge of homemade hair masks! Full of optimism, promise and hope off i trotted to Tesco to get myself an avocado. However they were out of this such exotic food.. This is where I realised it might be a little harder than I first had thought. Although low and behold (on the good advice of my boyfriend) I found a little fruit shop which sold me my avacado at the ridiculous price of 90p! Is this expensive for one item of the fruit/veg variety? In my uneducated healthy food mind it is. Anyway.. after collecting the ingredients of;

-an avocado
-2 eggs
-mayonnaise
-olive oil
-honey

I wacked it all in a blender and we were off.. I admit it looked a lot like baby sick but still optimistic I heated it slightly and along with a roll of clingfilm I ascended the stairs to the bathroom (probably best). Head over the bath I slopped it on thinking maybe texture-wise it'd be slightly thicker than conditioner.. something along the lines on a face mask? Lovely and smooth, soft soothing? WRONG.. it looked like someone had actually been sick over my head. Green, chunky, stinky everything I wished it wouldn't be and more. My sister walked in and probably thought I was recovering from a scandalous standard thursday night out.. unfortunately not. Anyways I persisted rubbing the whole bowl in and wrapped my head in clingfilm until I looked like a giant green sicky condom head. Beautiful!

So now I guess you'll be thinking after all this time and effort and research that I relaxed for 30 minutes, rinsed it out and had shiny gorgeous hair ever after. Well, not exactly.. It took me an hour and a half to get the crap out of my hair, it was so smelly and i well and truly destroyed the cardinal rule of haircare. Do not brush when wet. After all that I dried it (with much difficulty as a brush wouldnt go through it) and it is no more moisturised than it was before. What a load of rubbish! I think I shall stick with the lovely Katie who no doubt will fix my mane on friday :)

Burberry knows what i'm taking about.

Can I just say… Ages and ages and ages ago (possibly my very first blog) I was talking about the recession and how pastels were the way forward…

Told you so! :)

Cath, Marry me?

I love Cath Kidston! And have just purchased this beautiful bedding she did for Ikea. I love the feel of her ranges, it reminds me of a happy childhood. Makes me feel at home again. That reworked cottage feel so warm and loving and cosy. Christmas with a real fire. Big stove with warm cookies or a big chocolate cake in it. Someone please take me back?

Also genius idea.. Cath Kidston clutches! Not only do they impress us die hard fans but maybe they’re be adopted by all those vintage addicts out there. Come on jump on this bandwagon already.

Dogeared.

I love these bracelets by Dogeared! I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them.. I think it’s their elegance and simplicity. Although considering they’re about £50 a pop, and the fact that I already have a beautiful pandora bracelet I didn’t indulge. However today is my birthday and my boyfriend being as amazing as he is picked me out this Hope necklace with a sparrow and a peace sign on it. It’s now my favourite! It’s so difficult to find a nice necklace that you like soon as everything is all highstreet costume jewellery now. Anyways, I shall now be tailoring my dress for tonight around this necklace. Yes, it’s that special.

Kei who?

I was at an interview this week for a very highly respected fashion course when I was asked about my favourite designer. I started to tell them about how much I liked Gareth Pugh until I realised how I was probably about the 206485764th student to go on about him so I then dropped Kei Kagami into the mix.. to which I got the response; “A who now?”

Seriously, I thought I was the one being interviewed to gain a place on YOUR course?

Anyways, I came across this Japanese designer when doing a project on the human body and how it can be translated into or depicted in clothing. He is most famous probably for his collection inspired by the Saw films.. all the chains and spikes reminiscent of torture instruments. He began studying as an architect which isn’t surprising as there are clear structural qualities in all of his designs. He skilfully embodies all that is shape depicting it in a different way in each design.The “waterdress” that he created is probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!

Okay kids, lesson over.

Lea Michele.

16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.


Golden Globe Awards.


Fox All Star Party.

Ok so i know Lea Michele is possibly the most annoying person on television right now but seriously, this girl has a bangin' stylist! Move over hollywood veterans. This girl is all hits and no misses.

Lea.. can I please have your wardrobe? I am crazy jealous.


Glee Mall Tour in LA.


52nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Remember.

I love this picture. It never fails to remind me of something I am frequently forgetting..

Ideally it would have a place above my bed in a room full of pastel shades, Cath Kidston fabrics, white furniture and bunting. With a big old bunch of Gerbera daisies by the window.

best of a bad bunch?

January 17th saw the annual throwdown of the gowns at the Golden Globes and to be honest, I am not very impressed. Most infact were pretty hideous! These in my opinion were the best of a bad bunch...

Toni Colette wore this stunning gold sequined Carolina Herrara dress.



Emily Blunt was uttely beautiful in a Dolce & Gabbana layered tulle and chiffon gown.



Lea Michele looked like a princess in a sweetheart neckline, and a full feathery styled skirt by Oscar de la Renta.



Jane Krakowski worked the purple trend in this one-shoulder J. Mendel dress.



Whilst Fergie followed suit in a grecian light purple gown by Elie Saab.



Jennifer Aniston's black Valentino gown was simple, classic and sexy. Eat your heart out Brangelina.

Halston Heritage..

Halston Heritage, sister line of Halston is being launched this month and i'm already in love! The original line is so timeless and glamourous yet still easy to wear. Although the price tags are enough to put anyone off.. well anyone who like me is a student with limited funds. But hurrah! Halston Heritage is more affordable and is already being snapped up by net-a-poter.com. It perfectly captures the energy of the disco era with classic jumpsuits, sequined disco dresses and ultra-glam maxi-dresses in colours that pop.. Possibly my favourite aspect of the range. Although unfortunately a shortie like me finds it hard to get away with the beautiful maxi styles!

These dresses are so fabulously girly and floaty. Someone buy me one.. or both?



I think this is so innocent and elegant. It reminds me of a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Glena the good witch (wizard of Oz.)



Also, Sarah Jessica Parker recently being named as a new senior designer for the brand can't hurt. Just think of all that publicity! She has already been wearing a bunch of their gorgeous dresses in the new SATC movie.. Roll on may! Plus, her own range Bitten has done really well. Hopefully she'll bring some of her success to Halston.

New year...

New diary! This is my choice for 2010..



This is the Victoria & Albert museum's 2010 desktop diary which i think is absolutely gorgeous! I love all things V&A because they're so elegant and feminine. Plus all of the facts and pictures included are so interesting and useful (especially for us fashion students.) I find that i retain all of the random facts easier when they're just scattered on different pages. And yes, I know i'm a nerd..

I also have this other V&A chinese blossom journal which I use as my 'Aide Memoir'. It is my favourite design I've seen the V&A do! Beautiful.

RI gone mad?

What on earth are River Island playing at? I went in the other day only to be bombarded with handmade posters claiming "an extra 50% off sale prices" Are they in trouble.. or just going completely nuts? Maybe sales are down because people are finally realising that most of their clothes are well, basically a pile of poopy- to put it mildly. Don't get me wrong I do own River Island things (mainly from the discount i was rewarded with for working in hell for a year..) I like the knitwear and the overpriced shoes, maybe a couple of items from their evening wear range but in all seriousness, it's geared towards obnoxious pre-teens. Diamontes and rhinestones, neon colours, bleaches jeans? What are they thinking!? No one in their right mind over the age of 12 would wear that! And some of that jewellery.. Do not even get me started. Mr T anyone??

Although however biased I may be in the hatred toward River Island stakes, I shall try and attempt to balance it out and give a fair arguement.. Here are some ways in which river have redeemed themselves (however slightly so)..

Alex Monroe.

I found this jewellery which i think is so beautiful! This one ring reminds me of Louise from St Louis and the SATC 'Love' storyline. Its so artsy and far more interesting than your average ring. Usually I'm not a big fan of gold jewellery because a lot of it can look extremely tacky but this is very elegant whilst still keeping that young chic vibe.
There is also this lucky four leaf clover ring which I like. I'm a sucker for all things superstitious and 'meaningful'. if there's a reason behind a design it makes it that bit more special, valuable and of course desirable. The designs are so striking that the fact they are a solid gold colour escapes me. There is no need to litter them with gemstones, as their simplicity is the strength and beauty to it.

resorting to polish?

So I've just started a new sketchbook on how recession is affecting fashion.. yes ever so slightly depressing I know. But I have realised that the outcome of this 'economic crisis' as it's being advertised as isn't affecting us in the fashion stakes as much as originally thought. Personally I cant see my shopping habits changing much at all, although I have always been the most thorough bargain hunter know to mankind. The fashion student who refuses to ever pay full price, yet has an armful of designer bags? Yes, present! You can see however the old pastels trend coming around again, not that i'm complaining! Not only do I LOVE pastel shades, but they are so easy to mix and match that you can have a kazillion different combinations of outfits you have never discovered before! New outfits for no cash is always a winner and with this weather the colours look so cute! like straight out of a vogue fashion shoot... almost. What else I noticed is that instead of cutting back completely, stores are pushing accessories. Polish, bags, shoes, tights, jewellery anything to get people to buying. Magazines have a ton more make up adverts in them also. I guess all in all, it's about reinvention during recession! How creative!? (for once)

Hallelujah!


I love this shade of lilac too. Its sophisticated and yet.. playful?

Also..

I would like some of these to warm my tootsies up! The pattern is cute and makes me feel like i should be in a log cabin situated on a ski slope somewhere. Sat on a white fluffy rug, next to a roaring wood fire with my Starbucks abbey mug full of hot cocoa and a ton of marshmallows. Mmm a girl can dream..

snow inspired..

This weather has got me feeling extremely British! All the snow and freezing cold has encouraged a new approach to fashion on my part. Having barely ever encountered snow it took me all of about 3 minutes to realise that UGG boots are in fact not the solution to every footwear indecision.. they are in fact pathetic snow wear! I am therefore currently on the search for a pair of Hunter wellies! They are stylish and functional, just need to decide on a colour. I predict the season of Hunters is upon us. Just how long will it take for all the die hard UGG fans to cotton on???



Also, such weather calls for a change in handbag. Because no, i do not appreciate the contents of my bag to be soaked wet through by rain, sleet, snow and any other type of wet weather form. Luckily, Cath Kidston is an absolute genius! oilcloth bags are the way forward, and they come in the beautiful floral patterns. The difficulty is deciding between your favourites!