What I Wore Today: 25/11/09

photography by my lovely photog buddy Rachel!

Jacket: Miss Selfridge
Dress: Miss Selfridge
Tee: Old I Am Ghost tour tee cut up
Tights: Primark
Boots: Fryes
POF: Adoring Miss Selfridge's new stuff and trying to avoid the gloom from this horrible weather!

I've noticed that many people are completely against calf-length boots with skirts/dresses: personally I think it depends on the boot as well as height of the wearer. Love my Fryes though. ♥

10 Fabulous Gifts for Stylish People

I cannot believe it's nearly Christmas again. Are you ready for it this year, or will you be rushing around madly the night before making gifts out of cereal boxes and parcel tape? Probably not the best idea.

One of the best things about Christmas is the increase in the number of gorgeous, cute gifts available online, therefore I have compiled a list of 10 super-fabulous gifts for anyone else who loves to give pretty things as much as I do.

1.

B 'Ding Dong!' Gift Set - £49.50

B products are some of the most sumptuously glittery, luxurious treats around, so why not treat someone who's been extra-nice to you this year? This is like a mini treasure trove for makeup lovers. In addition, they're closing down soon (sadness!) so stockpiling your favourite B products is a must before their gold sparkly doors are closed.

2.

Decoupage Bangles - DIY them yourself!

A great way to create a more personal yet fun accessory. Decoupage a plain bangle with magazine cutouts, wrapping paper or even newspaper looks good - such a wonderfully versatile gift!

3.

FredFlare Sprinkle Heart Ring - $11/~£7

Possibly the cutest, most mouth-watering ring in existence. Usually I try to avoid giving people jewellery as a gift as it's much more of a personal item, but this is much too cute for anyone to pass up.

4.

Lomography Fisheye Print Ryan Camera - £45

Being a photography student I get to spend hours playing around with interesting and fun lenses/cameras and the fisheye ones have got to be my favourite: everything looks cooler in fisheye form. A fabulous grown-up toy in pretty, limited edition casing.

5.

Matt & Nat Hendrix Vegan Handbag - £90

Shamelessly rock & roll, one of the vegan-loving Matt & Nat's newest handbags is a perfectly versatile accessory for both day and evening use. This particular bag is made from 4 recycled bottles - can you believe it? I can attest to their durability and general lusciousness as I own the extremely useful Camden bag in magenta. Did I mention it's also available in pink?

6.

Next Union Jack Clutch Bag - £25
Next is a rather unexpected choice when it comes to pretty things, but I'm sure you'll agree with me on this one. A perfect evening clutch, covering two of the best trends in recent months - sequins and the Union Jack. Super-versatile as the greys mean it will go with just about anything.



7.

Parisian Toiletry Bag - £13.50

Probably the prettiest method of storing your makeup and beauty products that there is out there. Great for travelling as well as looking beautiful on your bathroom countertop, this beats toting your cosmetics around in freezer bags.

8.

2010 Calendar - £12

From the same place as the above item, the irresistable Lapin and Me, this is one of the most adorable little desk calendars I've seen. Forget boring office-issued editions, this super-sweet 3D desk piece will be sure to brighten up your workspace all year round.

9.

Topshop Multi Space Dye Palmwarmers - £8

These look absolutely PERFECT for cold times at the bus stop and walking/shivering around town. I'm in love with the bright colours and unusual shape next to the masses of gloves out there - these look like a must-have essential for anyone this winter.

10.

Warwick Avenue Crystal Nail Polish - £15

Anyone who tells you that things don't look 100x better covered in sparkly crystals is lying. A perfect way to add extra glamour to your makeup bag and look like a celebrity whilst painting your nails. Why isn't everything encrusted with sparkles?

What's your favourite item from this list? What are you asking for this year?

TFT #8

FredFlare Bookworm Bookmarks - $7 (~£4)


Everything at FredFlare.com makes me literally wow with excitement. If you are an avid reader like myself, you'll probably have half a dozen different bookmarks consisting of till receipts, paperclips, schoolwork, etc. These cute phrase bookmarks are wonderfully unique, stylish and modern as well as marking your page without causing any damage to your book or other miscellanous property you may happen to stash between the pages in frantic moments.

Playsuit Love <3

I bought this gorgeous Topshop playsuit a while ago, but had no idea how to make it suitable for casual wear, or whether it would suit me. But I kind of had to have it.

This:


How I wore it:




[excuse the just-got-out-of-bed hair]
I wore an old Bring Me The Horizon tee with the neckline cut out over the top and with the old black semi-opaque tights underneath so I could wear it for school. Plus it looks like a skirt, so no getting in trouble for wearing 'bad' shorts, haha.

How do you/would you wear playsuits?

Miss Selfridge Buys

Lately I have been addicted to some of the rather fabulous Miss Selfridge pieces - their general appeal really has stepped up in the last couple of seasons thanks to some rather lovely irresistable pieces.


Yesterday I bought this:

I managed to run into an old primary school friend of mine who was working in the fitting rooms due to getting a rather fun job; turns out we're both applying for the same uni courses! Scary but rad, no? Anyway, I spied this beauty and had to try it on despite having aversions to the following aspects: jersey bodycon-style fits (not great for jelly bellies in denial like me!), low neckline, very short hemline and low back.
Turns out it's not a bodycon fit at all despite its appearance on the rack: it has a kind of hidden pleat coming from the waist skimming over the stomach which nicely hides any excess chub and looks good with both darker tights and worn as a long top with shorts underneath. Great for school worn with tights and boots, as it's a dress (no shorts allowed!). The neckline doesn't come up quite so low when worn; however the back is lower..I can easily hide this with a blazer or jacket. Additionally, I got away with buying a size 12 to fit better to my waist rather than a 14..how's that for a self-esteem boost?!


This week I got what I thought was a beret from the Miss Selfridge website using my free shipping code..how wrong I was! It's one of those long droopy hats that looks great on some people, but makes me look like an estranged member of the Seven Dwarfs..shame really, as the soft knit texture is wonderful. Needless to say, I'm returning it as it is absolutely huuge.
I also picked up a copy of Teen Vogue which I'd spotted in WHSmith, since it gave me an instant happy flashback to days of holidaying in the US with a copy of the magazine in my backpack. Good times indeed! Is 18 too old for teen magazines?

Since I hadn't bought anything for a while previously, I was delighted to finally be able to spend some of my long-saved cash on awesome stuff.

TFT #7

Crime Scene Scarf - £9.99



This edition probably would have been more appropriate for the week of Halloween in case anyone wished to dress up as a crime scene, though how awesome would it be to have one for everyday wear?

Inspired: November Edition

gorgeous photo from here.

Welcome to the second edition of Inspired, fuelling you with ideas and motivation for an unusually chilly November.

1. Organise your winter wardrobe. It's about time you sorted out all your scarves, hats, coats and other winter paraphernalia. Take down those boxes, rearrange those draws and sort through those hooks - does it still fit in with your current style? Is it clean? Does it still fit well? If not, take the appropriate action and get sorting!

2. Treat yourself. October and November are when some of us, especially those with SAD, feel our lowest. Make yourself some hot chocolate, buy yourself a brand new umbrella, make plans to see a local band (why are all the best gigs in the middle of winter again?). Darker nights and colder weather shouldn't be able to bring you down, so why let it?

3. Choose a brand new winter coat. Although we probably have at least one coat that's lasted for the last few winters impeccably, it's always fun to experiment with new trends, or pick out a new piece that's completely different from our others, but which we love just the same. I tend to end up buying a few new coats every season - doesn't it make sense, particularly as you'll be wearing it nearly every day this winter? Click here for inspiration!

4. Start choosing Christmas presents now! The high street is already bustling with eager Christmas shoppers: beat the December rush and grab the most coveted gifts for family and friends before someone else does. If you're completely stuck for ideas, Amazon or Lush are good places to start! Don't be left in a panic on Christmas Eve and just go for it - you have just over 6 weeks left!

5. Pick charity Christmas cards to send to friends and family. Be extra-generous this year and buy Christmas cards which donate a percentage of the profits to your favourite charity. I already have these adorable cards which donate 10% of the proceeds to the Pets at Home charity to help abandoned pets. These cards from Topshop are also super-cute!

6. Discover your new favourite band. As previously mentioned, October and November offer the best gigs - why not take advantage of that and go listen to some new music? Google your nearest venues and check out who's playing over the next few weeks.

7. Write someone you love a letter and post it to them. None of this e-greeting stuff for me please! Less and less people are sending real, pen-to-paper letters to their loved ones, which is a great shame. My friend Sarah and I send each other letters about general stuff and about what's happening in our lives; even though we only live 40 minutes apart it's still fun! Better yet, check your calendar for near birthdays and make someone's day by sending them a birthday card in the post.

8. Take your camera with you everywhere you go. Mobile phone cameras don't count, by the way! My Photography teachers were really onto something when they came up with this rule - there are so many of those moments where you wish you'd captured some missed inspiration or something amusing. Autumn and winter photos are the most visually compelling, so call your best friends up and stage your own outdoor photoshoot, or capture all the little things that mean something to you in your everyday environment.

What's inspiring you this month?

Buy my stuff please :)

Apologies for the lack of TFT and Inspired posts lately - it is true that blogging is the first thing to suffer when the real world gets busy.

I wanted to let you know that I am listing some gorgeous clothes on Ebay over the next few weeks: these are nearly all my own items, which I only put online every 6 months or so. All are in great, wearable condition and only being sold because they either don't fit me or don't suit me.

Click here for sales!

I will be listing more over the next couple weeks, so if you don't see anything you like just yet, there'll be more up very shortly.

Thanks for reading! ♥

I Heart All Saints Knitwear..

If there's one item I cannot have enough of, it's the beautiful All Saints cardigans. Beautifully gothic-styled, yet completely un-tacky, classic and absolutely gorgeous.

I Heart All Saints Knitwear by Superbeckyy featuring All Saints

Style: Grown-up goth queen meets estranged girly florals and glitter.