Sailor Girl

As you might already have gathered, I have a love of all things nautical and sailor (did anyone else see the pearl stranded necklace from Topshop with black anchor detailing- divine!) and one of my favourite bits from the recent Sweeny Todd movie was when they were at the seaside (Johnny Deep looked adorable in his all in one striped suit!), so when I spotted this dress today in between essay writing, it was an instant attraction! Not only it is blue and white striped (the ultimate in nautical chic), it has a collar (I have a thing for collared dresses especially black dresses with white peter pan collars a la Wednesday from The Adams Family), large button up front AND a bow in the back! Personally the belt shown does nothing for me, the colour is all wrong and distracts me from the dress, I'd either go unbelted or try something more subtle (maybe pick out the shades of the dress) or go completely nautical and go down the rope belt avenue! I'm imagining my trip to the seaside to eat ice cream in it already (whilst wearing my anchor necklace of course!)

(Dress available from ASOS www.asos.com)

Why?

Now I get it- Chloe Sevigny's kooky and quirky and alittle bit different yadda yadda (Take MK Olsen- I love her and even when shes wearing things I wouldn't personally wear- shes working it and owning it and looking fierce and you know people are going to be copying that at home) but for the love of god, who gave her a fashion line and whos going to buy it?

Don't get me wrong, I admire someone with individuality and breaks the rules and I sometimes find myself thinking she looks good but her clothing line called 'Opening Ceremony' looks like someone threw up the 80's/Clueless wardrobe department on her! Since when did women look in their wardrobe and think 'you know what I need- floral high waisted pegged jeans and a matching too short bustier top (oh and I'll team it with leopard print heels just to offset the look)'- I for one do not! (although I am all for leopard print heels!) As for the floral bustier detail dress over a t-shirt- has she ever heard of Luella Bartley (who does it so much better!) and the sleeveless tucked in blouse with super high waisted check skirt and leopard leggings and shoes- firstly sleeveless blouses don't appeal to the majority of women (bingo wings anyone, although Chloe obviously has never heard of them judging by that picture) and for those with breasts tucking shirts in is just a no no. As for the high waist under the bust skirt, how many real women have a waist so slim they could do that and not look like a barrel or a large uni-boob (I'm a size 8 and I'm pretty sure not even I could pull off that look!) and don't even get me started on the leopard print leggings/check/knee length skirt/leopard heels look- its just WRONG

See now if they gave Selma Blair a fashion line, then we'd be talking........................and in a good way!

Warehouse

Now I'm not a huge lover of the high street store Warehouse- in the past I've had a few good buys including my favourite skirt (it was their full greyish colour wrap skirt a few years ago) and my favourite top (which i sadly ebayed awhile back and have regretted since so if anyone have a warehouse tiger print v neck top with flutter sleeves and tie back in a stretchy cotton and wants to sell it- contact me!) but lately I've felt everything has been too expensive and too trendy and just not me but not anymore! While online tonight, I had a peek out of curiosity and fund some divine dresses and had to share them!


Up first is this red poplin 3/4 length sleeve shirt dress- this is such a classic piece and would work well through out the year, for any occasion- for summer, I'm imagining it with my beloved gladiator sandals and through winter with thick thick black tights and patent ballet pumps *sigh*, bliss (try pairing it with the patent ballet pumps from New Look)

Next up is this floral prom dress- i posted recently about florals being huge and this prom dress ticks all the right boxes and is very Luella (and nothing is better than a homage to Luella except Luella itself)


This linen full pleat dress is just scrumptious and is very Bottega Veneta and just gorgeous for summer with sandals and a little cardigan and will remain fashionable for seasons to come (even better as it means more money for other items!) and would look fantastic with New Look's burberry style snakeskin sandals in both gladiator and heeled variety


Dip dye (the new term for tie dye) is set to be huge this summer and this dress is very Kate Moss- I can just see her wearing this with gladiator sandals (and for us mere mortals over skinny jeans!)


The return of the full skirt means alot of prom dresses and retro styling and this dress is head above the rest for its retro style and fit, great detailing and amazing feel good factor- an instant classic!

(all items http://www.warehouse.co.uk/)

Ahoy me hearties!

As always Nautical is going to be big again this Spring/Summer (and yes for the likes of me that does mean dressing like is officially fashionable so time to don your eye patches and parrot) and as always I'm on hand to provide you with alittle style inspiration ranging from high street to alittle bit more high brow but all with a common nautical theme!

For a casual nautical style, nothing beats tops and here are a few of the alternate options to your standard stripes



Both tops are from ASOS and the one of the left is a fitted cotton top with V neck collar and bow with double button front design and a concealed zip fastening (perfect with jeans), while the other is a low cut cotton vest top with eyelet and rope detailing (pefect again with jeans or full skirts and sandals)

Another way to capture the trend is to opt for a dress- these two dresses are very different but both capture the nautical trend



This on the left is a Paul & Joe sister dress from ASOS and is a stripe silk wrap dress with frill sleeve detailing (perfect for anyone wanting to throw themselves fully into the deep end of the nautical theme), while the other is the Milly Doris V neck dress with contrast banding (this classic styling of white and navy just subtle screams 'at the yacht club' and is perfect for anyone wants a stylish, but on trend dress)

For nautical inspired skirts, then look no further than this Milly Terry Newport skirt-its a white drawstring skirt with gold eyelet and rope detailing and is th, e perfect casual skirt this summer



And a super easy way to channel this trend is the Warehouse stripe belted mac- its white with navy stripe just looks the nautical part- pair with jeans and wedges for a stunning summer look



And finally what round up of nautical fashion wouldn't be complete without the usual stripy jacket and this one from Topshop is perfect as its 'boat stripe' name implies it captures the essence of the nautical trend but is subtle enough to be able to through on over dresses and jeans alike and not feel stupid or too try hard




(Items from http://www.asos.com/, http://www.net-a-porter.com/, http://www.shopbop.com/, http://www.topshop.com/ http://www.warehouse.co.uk/

Lady Luck Rules Ok!

Next up on my top places for fun and unusual accessories is Lady Luck Rules Ok and is the place to go for all things brightly coloured, fun and funky!





I love this Raygun enamel necklace with a mini lightning bolt on it- the black is just sparkletastic and it even has matching earrings! Unleash your inner superwoman and get those baddies!




Staying with my new Spring approach and embracing all things springy, I've found this apple acrylic ring- I'll be throwing this on with my black skinny jeans and plaid shirts and will fondly recall spring everytime i look at it...............




Ok so its not the most practical of purses, but its pink and has cherries and duckies on it! Retotastic to the max, this little number is the perfect pary purse and for all those times when you only need cash or change on you (alternatively I'd use i)t to stash all my 'feminine' goodies like tampons etc- its not pretty or fun, but its nature and it happens so why not make it mildly amusing?)




These purple glasses just instantly make me smile- I hope they do it for you too!




This cutie pie dress reminds me of a really cool 80's disco dress and I'm ashamed to admit I love it! I'm off to don my pixie boots as we speak.............




And this is the perfect summer dress to wear with your flirty heels for an ice cream by the seaside (or in my case 2 clotted cream chocolate ice creams and going bare foot)


(All items http://www.ladyluckrulesok.com/)

New Look

See now I'm good but apparently I missed the fact that New Look now has an online store (i know I too am disgusted at myself!) but thanks to our divine fashionsta Sam, we are now fully aware and ready to shop! Here are a few of my current online favs:



I have a thing for bows and this pencil skirt is just fab (plus at £18 such great value even if you only wear it one season and then donate it to me)- I'm imagining it with green snakeskin heels (they have some in black court style available) or these black patent peep toe heels and a white tank top (i like the contrast between smart and casual)



I love this pleated shirt dress- it ticks almost all my boxes (if it was in plaid then it'd be perfect but we can't have everything!)- its black, its pleated, its a shirtdress (which never dates) and has a 40's vibe which I just can't get enough of- just add mary janes and watch those envious glances roll in!



This check bomber is just so me- I can just see me now wearing it with my black skinny jeans and suede ballet pumps and my new turquoise bag which I'm obsessed with- I'm almost a little teary eyed at the thought!



And just because everyone should own something leopard print is this leopard print tank top in the sale which would be perfect over a black short sleeve shirt and a pencil skirt or over a t shirt and jeans

Patent, check, brogue, check, shoeboot, check, 20s vibe, check- what more does one want from a shoe? They're the perfect shoe and combine so many trends they cant fail to impress! (a huge thank you to Sam for putting me onto these babies- if you do buy them be sure to post piccies!) Now all I need is a flapper dress and I'm all good for the 20's.........

These patent flats are a Chloe lookalike at a fraction of the price and are simply scrumptious and also come in a dark cherry red- sex in a shoe me thinks!

These patent sandals have a touch of Burberry about them and for that alone means you have to buy them, let alone the fact they're simply gorgeous!

I'm a totally gladiator sandal addict and have been for the past 3 summers and these are my ultimate as not only are they gladiator style but are black snakeskin which makes them even more covetable

This cross over bag in black snakeskin might even be better than my new turquoise bag- now if only they'd make it 10x bigger!

(All items http://www.newlook.co.uk/women/store.aspx)

Tis the season to shop like its going out of fashion

After a very successful campaign of eating everything in sight (supervised by my gp of course!) and putting on half a stone in three weeks (a grand stone in all!), my clothes have officially begun to be too tight (so much so i wriggled into a pair of jeans yesterday only to have a 5" gap between the button and the buttonhole- i spent the next hour trying to remove myself from them!) so therefore i now have the perfect excuse to go shopping!

After a short trip the nearest Mall (Cribbs Causeway if anyone is interested), a few hours of shopping and lots of snacking and eating later and I now have 2 new dresses, 2 new tops and a bag to add to my wardrobe (also as i type this im currently buying 4 pairs of jeans online!)

Strangely they're all from H&M- now im not a H&M hater, its just the store is always so cluttered and overfilling with stock that everything gets all messy and stained (or lives on the floor) and its full of 'young adults' and lots of cheap through away fashion or things that are so indecently short that they could be belts (i am allowed to say this given I am 20 and managed to look like mutton dressed as lamb!)

Well today H&M has been REBORN- there was a new layout- no clutter, no mess- everything had a place and you could actually get to the racks and they werent overflowing with stock. There was no blaring music- you could actually hear yourself speak andyou could actually try clothes on because there weren't massive queues and for once the clothes were gorgeous (i admit there were still lots of bonkers 'trend' lead bits but there was also a hell of alot of smart, yummy looking clothing!)

And so without further ado here are my new clothes (with awful photos taken by my own poor photographically skilled hands):

First, we have the wrap over ruched blue and white striped shirt- this I just grabbed on the way to the tills as an after thought- it looked cute, i thought 'why not' and I'm glad I did as I love it. The puff shoulders are adorable, the ruching on the neckline adds oomph to my tiny ta tas and makes me feel just that little but smarter and more grown up (i was wearing it with skinny jeans and black suede pointy ballets and a black top so not quite sure if i looked that grown up!)

Next is the black shirtdress with ruched panel detailing on the waistline to give the waist more emphasise (and a slimmer look) by creating volume at the bust and hips for a curvier figure- i loved this and wanted one in every colour as it just felt good on, fits gorgeously and is so comfy- the perfect sling it on and look fantastic dress!

Staying with dresses, this white and black striped shirt dress has a gathered waist giving in that cinched in tiny waist look and a flared skirt giving you shape in all the right places (which on my boyish frame isnt easy!) and its just a complete winner in my books (the pictures dont do it jsutice at all- it looks fab on- I might even try and get an 'action shot' to prove it!)

Then is a top my mum picked up for me- its a blue and white striped (spot a theme for H&M) top with button down neckline and drawcord empire line style waist that allows for a more fitted style. The sleeves (or lack of) are really interesting too as the cut adds definition to the shoulder area and highlights toned arms (i wish!)

Finally its this delicious turquoise leather bag with pleat detailing- i saw this and instantly had to have it given my wardrobe is made up of mostly blacks, indigos and greys- i just loved the pop of colour especially against something as stark as the outfit i was wearing (all blacks, navys or leaopard print!) and for £9.99 whos complaining!

The jurys out on this one.............

From the front a stunning candy coloured shift dress (its adorable isnt it- just imagine that on a gorgeous spring day contrasting with my pale pasty skin and freckles!)

But from the back a whole other story:

Now part of me wants to like it (part of me does like it- the weird, quirky side of me who likes bustles and bows and the way helena bohnam carter dresses so much so i actually want to be her) but the majority of me is thinking WHAT (especially when i see the price tag of £2,045) £2045 for actually making your bum (and upper back) look bigger- since when did (most) women want their bums to look bigger? Well i suppose at least if you ever need a sit down you've got a built in cushion ready and waiting for you?

Come on guys, what do you think of this Isaac Mizrahi creation: mad genuis or just mad?

Cold winter blues

Given the current weather in the UK (grey, rainy and all round miserable) and the fact the stores are currently full of gorgeous spring and summer wear (for which its mainly too cold to wear) I thought it was time to find a few pieces to brighten up the dull cloudy days and put a smile back on my face (nothing raises a girls spirits like shopping, well almost nothing!)

To start with (and just because I'm a ballet pump addict) I've spotted these tres chic patent ballet pumps from the La Redoute (http://www.redoute.com) catalogue to brighten up any outfit and chase away the bad weather blues. They're an absolute steal at only £9, range from sizes 2-9 and come in a fabtastic 8 colours (including yellow, blue and green to name a few). They're also available in wedge and court heel versions. What more could a girl ask for (except one in every colour)?

What better to go with some new shoes that a wardrobe staple: jeans! A girl can never have too many pairs of jeans (especially when they fit like a glove) and these babies fit the bill to a T. Made by Cheap Monday, these tight grey skinny jeans have a fantastic fit, come in a wide range of sizes and are only £40. They also make skinny jeans in various other colours (available from Urban Outfitters as well as a host of other online stores)

An essential for the coming months is a summer dress and this nautical beauty is called the Bon Voyage starburst dress from the Red Dress Shoppe (http://www.reddressshoppe.com/). The cotton eyelet starburst dress is cut in a sailor style with a V neck, A line skirt with a 'sailor' style flap embroidered with 'bon voyage' and a front collar tie. The heart applique is also actually a fully functional pocket. The perfect dress to bring a smile to your face and some fun to your wardrobe and its on sale!

Staying with dresses, is this Heaven & Earth leopard empire line dress with a frilled bib and long blouson sleeves from ASOS (http://www.asos.com/) Its a show shopper in itself and needs nothing more than a smile to get heads turning!

And just because every girl wants to feel like a sex kitten, there's this stunning dress from Danger Dame (http://www.dangerdame.com/) Doesn't Veronica Varlow look positively smoking hot in this little number! Its made from a stretch leopard fabric and has black lace trim on the bust and can be worn on and off the shoulder- get ready to set some hearts abeating ladies!