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Saturday 22 June 2013

Coast's little black dress in "A Day At the Races"

I absolutely love the clothes at Coast, so was inspired when they asked bloggers to style a dress from their range of LBDs for a day at the races. I've never managed to get to Ascot (although I did get to the Grand National last year), but its one of those dreams for anyone who loves dressing up. The challenge was to choose one of three little black dresses from their current range and using only Coast accessories style it for a day at the races; not as easy as it seems when all three dresses are gorgeous and the accessories this season are all so easy to wear.

I went with this striking maxi dress which at £220 for a fully lined dress with such a beautiful cut is a great price. I thought purple accessories would lift the dress for a summer day. I already own the shoes, (although I've got them in black) and they are so comfortable that I could quite happily wear them around a race course all day - they also make my ankles look fabulous!

Coast Little Black Dress in a day at the races.



The jewellery is classy and sophisticated and allows the dress to do the talking.  The fascinator complies with dress rules if you need to wear a hat, but aren't really a hat person (like me!). The wrap, is a necessity after all it is summer and although I'm determined that it will not rain, that doesn't mean it won't be windy or chilly.  I am definately of the opinion that  you can never have too many bags, and this bright purple clutch caught my eye, big enough to hold all my essentials but small enough that I'm not going to be weighed down by it all day.  A handy strap means that I can keep my hands free when I get too excited or want to hold my glass of champagne.

If I was lucky enough to win a few bets, this outfit would quite happily take me out for the evening to a nice resturant and certainly won't fall foul of the too short skirt brigade if I get invited into the Royal Enclosure. 

If you want to try and style your own outfit, then you can find all the details here .

I couldn't finish this post without showing you the other two dresses as well. As you can see choosing between the three lbds was the hardest part of this challenge!

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Wellies needed...

Wellies needed...

Wellies needed...


With festival season looming; is it really only ten days til I leave for Glastonbury? I am on the look out for my festival gear. The annual hunt for a new pair of wellies, (this is Glastonbury remember) led me to Charles Clinkard, who have a lovely little competition to style a festival look for their range of Hunter Wellies.
I love the classic blue hunter wellies as they go with anything. I need new wellies each year as after festival season is over, they become my mainstay down at the yard for the horses. The horses aren't really that keen on bright pink wellies, even if I quite like them.
I've chosen these lovely shorts from Bank, which I put together with a lacey top from TopShop, so that should a miracle happen and it actually be sunny, I'm sorted. I love the bright orange bag pack from Asos, which should make me stand out in a crowd if I get separated from my friends, the bunny ears are used for a similar reason. Holding out hope the sunglasses from TopShop are fun and quirky. The parka from Primark, will probably, alongside the Hunter Wellies, be worn every day and will go with any outfit.
 
Hopefully with this kind of outfit, no matter what the weather decides to throw at me, I shall be comfy and dry and as long as my feet are dry, I can handle anything!

If you like the boots as much as me you can buy them from Charles Clinkard here.

Saturday 15 June 2013

Budget Summer Dressing

Budget Summer Dressing

Dress £25.00 - axparis.com  Denim Jacket £22.00 dorothyperkins.com  Shoes £8.00 -bankfashion.co.uk   Bag £9.99 - Newlook.com    Sunglasses £4.90 - forever21.com, Jewellery £10.00 - bhs.co.uk  Total: £79.89


 
Inspired by  www.myvouchercodes.co.uk to create a summer outfit for under £100, I've put together the look above.  I'm a huge fan of dressing cheaply and hunting out bargains.  I love this dress, which can take you from day to night with a quick change of shoes, and jacket.  These pretty ballet shoes from Bank, add just a touch of fun and as I'm styling this for a british summer, the jacket is a must have.  The Sunglasses are admittedly hopeful but at only £4.90 I thought I could afford the risk. 
 
If you think you can style a summer look for under £100, take a look here and have a go, I'd love to see what others come up with.  #StyleSaversChallenge
 
 

Thursday 13 June 2013

Summer Festival Look

Summer Festival Look

 
I love summer, I love music festivals, I do not love rain, so I'm banking on a lovely summer this year for my festival going.  I'm off to Glastonbury in a fortnight and am determined that year I will not need my wellies, poncho and a boat.  I'm insisting on buying suntan lotion, after sun and sandals.  So above I've produced my dream Glastonbury look, without a welly boot or pac a mac in sight.   
 
I've gone for these denim dungarees, it's a huge look this year and very comfy.  I like the embroidery on the pockets of these.  I'm also a big fan of all the aztec prints that are showing up on outfits this season so plumped for this one from urban outfitters. 
The tights, add just a little touch of fun to the outfit and I adore butterflies.  I know how dreadful the ground can be underfoot but as I'm on an anti -welly crusade, I've gone for trusty converses, rather than sandals.  I'm also a great one for pony tails at festivals.  I have bum length hair which suffers from a lack of decent washing facilities so ponytails are the way to go, but I have invested in several of the hair jewels on Asos this season to bring my hair on trend.
Last but not least is my trusty rucksack for carrying all that sun tan lotion in.  I am so in love with this spider back pack from Surfdome.  I know it comes with a rain hood, (which I won't need), but I'm counting on it being my spider bodyguard and scaring away all the real ones when I'm asleep in the tent at night.  Hopefully, they will take one look at the massive spider in the corner and run away.
 
I created this board from things I found on Shopstyle, which is truly one stop clothes shopping paradise and am pleased to say that not only did I get a chance to get some last minute goodies for Glastonbury, I also get to enter their great competition which is hosted here by Natasha from Girl in the Lens to build a festival look for under £200. 
 
My entire outfit comes in at £155, which leaves me £45 emergency cash for an umbrella, wellies and a raincoat should the worst happen....

Thursday 6 June 2013

Laura Ashley Spring Room Refresh




 
 



My daughter has a rather empty room waiting for her...


 
At the moment she thinks the only thing it is good for is for performing cartwheels as ably demonstrated.  It has great storage, but not a lot else. It is cold and unwelcoming and desperately needs some furniture. She's turning into a teenager who doesn't want to spend her time in her room doing cartwheels, but would rather relax in a more grown up room.  
 
So onto her vision... blues and purples and a comfy day bed.  Warmth and light to get out of the drudge of winter and rain with somewhere cosy to sit or lie while she dreams. 

Laura Ashley Spring Room Refresh


I am going to ignore the fact that she also wants to add lots of Justin Bieber posters as decoration to her beautiful room.

This bedroom design was prompted by the lovely Annie Bean, who has a bloggers competition at the moment here to refresh your room with items from Laura Ashley.  Luckily Laura Ashley happens to be M's favourite shop of the moment in honour of it's butterfly curtains.

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Cocktails in New York

Cocktails in New York



For Cocktails in New York, I've gone down the classic little black dress route, but I loved the cut out detailing on this Top Shop dress, which makes it just that little bit different.  I've then added colour with these amazing shoes from Asos and the lovely earrings.  I think the outfit could be worn anywhere, be it a really posh upmarket wine bar to a hotel ball room, without looking out of place.  I have to admit to ordering the shoes myself because you can never have enough shoes, even if I don't get to wear them in New York.

Travel Supermarket have got a great little competition where you have to publish a Worldwide Wardrobe post on your blog including an outfit and accessories for the five different destinations, explaining why you chose each look. You can enter just one of the categories to be in with a chance of winning a holiday to that destination or enter an outfit for all five categories to be in the running to win all five holidays. - See more at: www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/worldwide-wardrobe/

Sightseeing in Paris

Sightseeing in Paris



Travel Supermarket have a great little competition running on their website to publish a Worldwide Wardrobe post on your blog including an outfit and accessories for the five different destinations, explaining why you chose each look. You can enter just one of the categories to be in with a chance of winning a holiday to that destination or enter an outfit for all five categories to be in the running to win all five holidays. - See more  here

This is my entry for Sightseeing in Paris:

For a day out sightseeing in Paris, I've gone for practical.  Jeans and a T Shirt, are wear anywhere clothes, which will cope with the dirty streets and hard graft of a day seeing the sights.  Much as I'd love to romanticise about Paris, it is in reality a grubby dirty city full of pickpockets and a lot of walking.  I've therefore, chosen a bag which has lots of buttons and an inner zip, and shoes which have lovely flat heels - although I couldn't resist these quirky little cat ballet flats from Asos to add a touch of style to the outfit... it is Paris after all.  Which despite my calling it dirty and grubby is my favourite city in the whole world and one which I love wandering around in discovering all the little side streets and cafes where I can sit and watch the world go by.




Clubbing In Ibiza

Clubbing In Ibiza

Travel Supermarket have got a great little competition where you have to publish a Worldwide Wardrobe post on your blog including an outfit and accessories for the five different destinations, explaining why you chose each look. You can enter just one of the categories to be in with a chance of winning a holiday to that destination or enter an outfit for all five categories to be in the running to win all five holidays. - See more at: www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/worldwide-wardrobe/

For Clubbing In Ibiza, I followed the Neon Trend that has really caught my eye this season.  I have to admit that I thought I'd never be caught dead in a bright neon sweatshirt, but that is exactly what I am wearing as I type this 
blog.  This beautiful dress from Jane Norman caught my eye, especially when you consider it's only £35.00, which left me enough in my budget to indulge in these amazing shoes from New Look.  I'm absolutely certain that they would kill me by the end of the night, but it would be oh so worth it and who needs shoes in the day time on the beach -  the blisters can then heal all day!  With open toes shoes like these, you'd need a good nail polish.  I'm torn here between sticking with the pink theme or opting to clash with the bright yellow, but whichever would be sure to make a statement with the rest of the outfit and I'd certainly be hard to miss in the a nightclub... just have to hope that I didn't sunburn to match.

Shopping in London

Shopping in London

Shopping in London 

Travel Supermarket have got a great little competition where you have to publish a Worldwide Wardrobe post on your blog including an outfit and accessories for the five different destinations, explaining why you chose each look. You can enter just one of the categories to be in with a chance of winning a holiday to that destination or enter an outfit for all five categories to be in the running to win all five holidays. - See more at: www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/worldwide-wardrobe/

This is my entry for the Shopping in London category.

London is at the best of times a wonderful vibrant city, at the worst of times, it's a miserable wet grey kind of place.  So I plumped for yellow touches in my outfit.  It's either going to fit right in or brighten up a dreary street, whichever its a win win.  Of course this is London so the obligatory umbrella is in there, who knows it may even be needed to ward off the suns rays and I am ever hopeful with these wonderful quirky top shop sunglasses.  

As London and shopping mean, for me anyway, lots of walking, pushing my way through crowds and standing on the underground, I went for comfort dressing, with this great t shirt and joggers from Top Shop.  Comfy and unlikely to crease, these should see me through a heavy day shopping and would be easy to whip on and off in changing rooms.    I love these bright Vans which should stay nice and comfy for a long day on my feet and the duffel bag hopefully would keep all my new purchases safely stored.

Thailand Full Moon Party

Thailand Full Moon Party

Thailand Full Moon Party 

Travel Supermarket have got a great little competition where you have to publish a Worldwide Wardrobe post on your blog including an outfit and accessories for the five different destinations, explaining why you chose each look. You can enter just one of the categories to be in with a chance of winning a holiday to that destination or enter an outfit for all five categories to be in the running to win all five holidays. - See more at: www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/worldwide-wardrobe/


This is my entry for the Thailand Full Moon Party.

I'm not a great one for partying in my swimming costume or bikini.  So I opted for these really great shorts.  The pompoms on the bottom look really fun, although I do worry how practical they will be, but who says you need to be practical on holiday.  I love the bandeau top from Jane Norman,which is in a lovely bright colour.  Matching the denim shorts, I've gone for a hardy little back pack to carry all my sun tan lotion, aftersun and mosquito repellant.  I love the hair jewels that Asos and lots of others are doing this year and I think that would look great worn in the evening and really suit Thailand.  The necklace looks fun and matches the outfit beautifully and the coral sandals from New Look, give you the height you need at a party, without being so delicate that you'd ruin them on the beach.  All in all a look that you could have worn all day but will slip seamlessly into a night out.