Sunday 28 April 2013

Ted Baker S/S 2013 Blogger Competition

When I found out that Ted Baker were doing a blogger competition, I leapt at the chance! All you have to do it pick three items to create a look for spring/summer 2013, with a chance to win a Ted Baker voucher. You can get the details here! I'm currently doing a buying and merchandising unit on the brand and am really enjoying it! Their clothing is just so lovely, sophisticated, and their quirky attention to detail makes them really different from any other clothing brand. I've officially been 'Teducated' (as they call it!),  and here are my top 3 pieces I chose! 

I'm quite a neutral girl with my style, and these pieces caught my eye. This cute summer top just screams summer picnics, walks in the park, and cocktails for me, perfect for any Ted woman. The print, like many of Ted's pieces, is so gorgeous and girly. Quite a basic shape, this top would definitely hold it's place in my wardrobe, and would even be great till autumn.

White is a perfect colour for this upcoming season, and this Ted Baker bag is stunning, I am in love with it! The simple design, thin straps and quality detailing make this sophisticated bag perfect for any occasion, not to mention the adorable bull dog lining! 

Finally, these leather sandals would be a great basic for any summer outfit, and come in black, pale pink, and a gorgeous neon green. I almost picked the green, but for me, black shoes are the basic that will match and outfit. The stiletto shape is bang on trend, but with a chunkier heel would probably be ten times easier to walk in. Perfect! 

I hope you liked my picks! What do you think? Are you going to enter? :)


Friday 26 April 2013

Payday Treats

So today is finally payday for me, and it couldn't have come soon enough! I cheekily headed off to town today to see what the shops had to offer. I didn't have anything in particular I wanted but I managed to try on nearly the whole of Primark, they have such nice summer pieces in there! With the weather warming up and sunny days ahead, I was majorly keen to add summer and holiday pieces for my wardrobe. I thought I'd share with you what I bought! :)


Cami Tops - £5 each.

These lightweight cute cami tops seem to be popping up everywhere recently, and with the warmer weather approaching they are perfect basics for day or night. They have a really lovely blouse texture, which makes them fall really nicely. I picked up this colbalt blue one as it's really on trend at the moment, and this lovely white one with a black trim. The only weird thing is, I am a  size 8/10 usually.. but these I had to get in a 14 for them to drape nicely over my collarbone/chest area! I have a smaller bust, and I thought this was really weird! But still, they look lovely on, and I can't wait to start accessorizing! I think the white one will be great for my next night out.


Dress - £13

This dress caught my eye, I'm all up for anything monochrome and aztecy! The style of it is quite loose, and the waist hangs around the waist rather then being fitted.. If i'm explaining that very well?! Which I kind of like as it gives it a casual feel, and will be great for my holidays. Tight fitting dresses in 30 degree heat is never good! The t-shirt style will be perfect for daytime with some sandals and gold necklace.



Dress £15

Now, this photo does this dress no justice! It's a gorgeous bright red or 'coral' as it says on the label, and has a really cute laser cut detailing at the top. The shift dress style floats down to just above knee height, and it kind of looks like a really nice long floaty tee for those lazy summer days. Red is really bold for me, but I just really loved it! Maybe I'll upload a better photo of it on at some point, it looks so cute on, trust me..


Bangles £1 Necklace £3

Bangles, a girl can never have enough, especially for £1. I fell in love with this neon necklace, I had a similar one from H&M a while ago but returned it, but am so glad I found this cheaper replacement! I'm going to be honest, it feels really tacky and cheap, and half of them on the shelf were broken already, but I think it looks nice. If it falls apart I'm heading straight demanding an exchange. I never have the best luck with jewellery!



Models own nail varnish - 2 for £7.50 
Vo5 - 2 for £3.99
Natural Collection Blusher - £1.99
All from boots

I knew for pay day I wanted to buy this neon yellow models own polish as I've been wanting it for a while. When I saw them were on offer for 'buy one get one half price' at boots, I couldn't resist and picked up this scented pastel green one too! I am too excited to have these colours now (I'm sad aren't I?!) and they're both painted on my fingers and toes already! Reviews coming soon! And finally just some basics I needed, my vo5 shampoo and peach melba natural collection blusher, my favourite.

Hope you enjoyed that little payday haul - Hope you all have a lovely weekend! :)



Tuesday 23 April 2013

OOTN 21/04/13 - 21st Antics

Hey guys and girls. Hope everyone had a great weekend! After working most of Saturday I couldn't wait for one of my best friend Becky's 21st birthday on sunday! Since meeting in halls back in september 2009 we've been really close, and I couldn't wait to decorate the living room, set up presents and party, and make it really special for her! :) For the evening we planned to have some friends over for a mini party, then hit the club (Cafe Parfait to be precise, It's so good in there on a sunday in Southampton!).

For my outfit I bought a new skirt. For some reason I'd really been wanting a printed skirt as I've seen alot of them round recently, something I could dress up or down for summer, and this one fit the bill. It was a bit of an impulse buy, as it was quite bright and crazy for me, but the longer I had the more I liked it!  Whilst in there I saw this gem of a statement necklace (I'm obsessed at the moment!). I teamed it with my black crop top from Topshop and black H&M wedges and metallic clutch! Excuse the dodgy photos!


Top - Topshop
Skirt, bag and necklace - Primark
Shoes - H&M
Nails - Mint green by Barry M

I nabbed this nail varnish from my friend, I LOVE pastel nails at the moment and need to invest! It was the first night out of the year I had my legs out, as I wanted to look a bit more dressy! I felt a bit naked as I've got too used to big jumpers and leggings, but it was great for it for feel a bit warmed outside. I love this necklace, it was only £5, a good buy if you ask me. Here are a few fun photos we got from the night. It ended with everyone very drunk, with appropriate hangovers, memory loss, and a state of a living room the next morning!!





 

Happy Birthday Becky!
Still feeling hungover today, not getting to bed till 5am will do horrible things to you! It's a gorgeous sunny day, so I think we're planning a BBQ to continue the fun! Can't wait! Hope everyone has a lovely day in the sunshine! :)



Thursday 18 April 2013

Spring shoes

If you've been on Topshop's website in the last 2 months (of course you have!), you will know that jelly sandals are becoming a huge trend for this spring/summer. They're so much fun, I remember wearing them when I was little! And now I can imagine they're great for the beach as they're waterproof and would be really easy to wear in the sand on holiday.
(All from Topshop) I really love all the colours and glitters! So much fun.
So yesterday me and a couple of my friends hit town. I was very good in fact, I could have bought twice as many things as I did, and great restraint was neeeded! After buying some essentials I needed, a browse in the tiny Topshop sale shoes section was majorly worth it. I saw these little turquoise jelly sandals on their own, with a sale sticker of 'Now £3' on them. I was like.. wait, what? £3? that's £2.70 with student discount?! -grab-

They were a size 7, and I'm usually a 6, but I grabbed them anyway, knowing I couldn't let this bargain go! Surprisingly they fit quite well, with hot feet they're perfect and stay on. Also I don't think you would want jelly shoes too tight.. sweaty feet! I don't think I would have gone out and actually bought any jelly shoes myself for £20 or over which is how much alot of them are on the website, but for £3, if I only wore them on holiday it wouldn't break the bank! The main reason I got these was last summer in Italy my auntie got a nasty sting on her foot from going in the sea and treading on some sort of weird fish! She was in such bad pain for hours, and this has majorly scared me into treading into the sea.. these jelly shoes are perfect for going in safe on holiday this year!!




(There are some strange pen/ink marks on them, but for £2.70 with student discount I didn't have the cheek to ask for more off!)


I really love the colour, and they're just really cute, and I am so happy they were such a bargain!

It was a bad idea to go on the Topshop website this morning to have a browse, as I saw their sale had stated! Is anyone like me when they see the sales on and scroll through the items as quickly as possible to spot the gems?! Go look NOW!! They have some amazing bits on there! I haven't got that many nice summer shoes, and I've really been wanting some heeled sandals. Somehow these beauties (still available in my size, wahoo!) got into my bag and I accidently paid for them. oops. It could have been worse, could have spent hundreds..


They're so lovely! ..and from £48 to £20 (total, got £2 off with student discount, then £2 delivery to my local store) were SUCH a bargain! I'm so excited to pick these up! They're real leather too which means hopefully they'll last and be very comfty.

So it looks like I'm sorted for summer shoe wise! Have you picked up any bargains at Topshop recently?!


Tuesday 16 April 2013

Summer Dreams


Good afternoon everyone!  Hope you are all good. It seems like spring has finally sprung in Southampton, I can finally go out in just a jacket and not worry about being cold, and seeing our new house for next year makes us excited to have a garden for bbqs this summer! Woop! I'm being very very good so far (well, one week in!) with my loan, and trying to save as much as I can. Come summer I have rent, plenty of travel and holidays to save up for. I haven't bought anything new in so long, and now seem to find myself online shopping and lusting over certain bits I really want recently! 

I just came across this skirt on the Topshop website and I really love it! I'm not sure what it is about it, it's rather crazy and colourful for me! I can imagine it with a black top and statement necklace for a night out, or just a white tee and flip slops in the summer. Oh dear, I can tell I've already mentally bought this and tomorrow I may be rushing into town to find it!

I'm loving the neon trend for this summer, and a this bright bag (the best cambridge satchel dupe I've seen!) would add a much needed splash of colour into my life. I usually wear quite neutral outfits, so this bag would just be perfect for me. I want it so much, but it's more than I'd usually spend on a bag (all my bags are from primark..ha). But I'm not sure. I think I might be tempted in the next few weeks..

Watches are coming back on trend, and all the designer ones are everywhere! You lucky people! I can dream of the day I could own my very own marc jacobs watch, but this one from next is really really nice! I like the simplicity of it and the dials, and hey, nobody will know  the difference, right? With my staff discount I'd get a cheeky £5 or so off this too.

The sandals are also from next, at a reasonable £22 for real leather ones. Last summer I threw out some beloved Topshop sandals I'd had for about 3 years, and wore them till I fell apart! I'd definitely purchase real leather ones again, they seem to last forever and are really comfy! I fancy getting white ones this year, just for a bit of a change, and these ones are perfect. I've seen them at work and they're really nice, so when the time comes for me to buy some these might have to be the ones!

I've seen pinafores and dungarees everywhere recently, and I can't believe they're back on trend! Last time I remember wearing one I was five.. anyway. I'm quite a girly girl with my style, and I really don't think I could pull off all these really great distressed denim dungarees I see going on recently, but this black pinafore would be a perfect addition to my wardrobe. It's basic so I could dress it up and down with loads of different tops, or just wear a strapless black top to go underneath in the summer. 

I must have over 50 or 60 nail varnishes, but I don't have any nice pastel ones! I really need to invest, and I've wanted this neon green models own one since it was released. These are definitely the perfect nail colours for this season! 

I hope you enjoyed my summer wants! Now it's just a matter of time before I go on a crazy looking at all these amazing things and start adding to my basket.. oh no.



PS!! If you haven't already, could you PLEASE fill in my survey?! It'll take one minute I promise and will help me out alot! Thank you :)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HC5WRTX

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Puggy!

 

Okay, so you might be wondering why there's a photo of a pug at a laptop. Who doesn't love a pug dog?! aww look at his smushy face. Kind of looks like me when I'm knackered and trying to get this uni work done! 

Anyway, the point of this post is that I need your guys help!

 I'm doing a piece of work where I need to have some primary research, and I've done a survey, and would love love love you so much if you could literally spend 30 seconds filling it out for me! I need at least 50 responses, and I thought this would be a great place to get fashion blogger's feedback! It's all about fashion blogging and trends, and is really really easy I promise.


Thank you so much!


 











Saturday 6 April 2013

Jumpsuit Joy

If you may have seen my last post, I featured this lovely floral jumpsuit from Primark which I really wanted to get my hands on: 

Primark Summer 2013 Black Floral Jumpsuit 
It seemed the perfect summer go-to piece in my wardrobe, that I could dress up or down, and would be great for my holidays! You can imagine my awe when I popped into primark for a quick browse and saw it amongst the maxi dresses. It was just as lovely as I thought it would be, and I had to buy it now before it sold out or went anywhere! I didn't try it on and grabbed a 10, hoping it would fit, and to my excitement it fits perfectly!! 

 I've recently downloaded a self time app for my iphone, why did I never think of that before?! SO hopefully I can take lots more outfit posts! For the photos I quickly styled it with a statement gold neckace (also primark) and some black heels from New Look, which is probably how I would style it for a night out, or just a smart evening look. 

It's really lovely light fabric, has an elasticated waist, and does up on one of the shoulders, where you have to take it apart to get it on, then just button it up. It came with a brown belt too, but it's one of those really cheap nasty ones and I think it looks better without it! I could put so many different belts with it too I think. The length of it is a tad short, I have quite long legs though! But with the ankles rolled up, or I might even make them runched by putting elastic round them, I think it'll look fine.

I'm so excited with building up my summer wardrobe, and it's looking more and more like spring in Southampton with bright sunshine all day it's just a shame the weather isn't warming up much!
Get yourself down to primark for some really good summer bargains! (can you tell I really love primark/it's the only place I can afford clothing at the moment!?)



Tuesday 2 April 2013

Hurry up now summer!

Hi all! Hope you all had a lovely relaxing easter bank holiday weekend! I haven't really been up to much, just  still slowly but surly getting through a list of uni work and spending time with my boyfriend. It's my last week off so I'm enjoying being at home still with my mum, but I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things next week and catching up with everyone when I'm back to uni!

I'd just like to say a massive thank you to all my followers, I've now hit 100! When I first started my blog I didn't think I'd ever get so many readers, it really is a massive compliment so thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy my blog! :)

I've been running out of money recently, since Christmas I've been trying to save my earnings and extra grants from uni to put towards rent/a holiday/something nice in the coming year! I've done pretty well and saved up a few hundred, but my loan well and truly ran out a few weeks ago, oops! Obviously hadn't stuck to my weekly budget.. this means I've been sparse with my money over easter, I want to keep my savings, and have only bought one clothing item in about 3 weeks (for me that is hardly anything!). Saying that, it's a summer dress which I probably won't get to wear properly for another few months! What was I thinking..?!

With the sunny mornings and lighter evenings, it's easy to believe summer is on it's way, although it's still FREEZING outside, this still calls for wooly scarves and coats. The shops are now filled with sandals, bikinis and summer dresses, most of which I want to stock up on early, but I have to restrain myself knowing it's still below 5 degrees most days in the UK right now, and my holidays are at least 4 months away! booo!

On a bored good friday I had a wonder into town to see what they had to offer. I came across this dress in primark and fell in love with it. 


Apologies for the dodgy phone photos! The dress is back in my flat in Southampton and I'm doing this post from home, and only have a couple of quick snaps of it! I came across this similar denim one on look magazine's website, and fell in love with the denim and polkdadot combo. This 50's style one with a cut out waist I could just imagine wearing to the beach in the summer, on holiday, or just chilling in the sun or a beer garden with sandals and a cute little bag. It's really lightweight so it won't be too hot and heavy if I take it on holiday, and it fits really nice. I wanted to get it now just incase it sold out or I missed out on getting it, It's the perfect summer dress! £15 is quite alot for something in primark, but I really wanted it :)
I think it might be a bit difficult to style with the cold weather still about - my sides might get a bit chilly, but with some tights and leather jacket I might just get away with it.

Here's a compilation of my favorite bits from Primark's spring/summer new collection, they have so many amazing pieces, and I'm sure come summer I will be broke with all of this in my wardrobe!

I am in love with this playsuit, the white tasseled bag, and the simple blue cut out dress, I want it all so desperately! Take a peek at the rest of the collection here! I seriously need all of it. Hurry up summer so I can buy all these lovely things and wear them!!