1 Dress 2 Looks.

The first of many i hope!

I got this dress around new years in a charity shop in london and i didn't really like it at first because i wasnt too sure how versatile the print would be. I' a huge fan of loud garish prints but it's always too hard to find accessories that don't clash, so my idea was to keep it simple classic and fresh.

My trusty denim jacket my mum gave me from the 90's. That's real vintage for you! I'm thinking of acid washing it but i'm too much of a sentimental old fart to touch it. 

Those black leather calf  boots are probable the best thing i've ever brought from primark, They've lasted me longer than probably everything else i've brought there and longevity and quality materials are not something high up on my list of expectations for the place.

I thought i'd welcome my new cashmere coat into the family in style, i swear you could through this thing on over a potatoe sack and you'd look like Carine De Roitfeld. The tan leather clutch used to be some sort of laptop case but i felt it really deserve more of a life than that, i bought it at a car boot sale and haggled my little arse off and manged to take it home for pennies.

 

Floral turtle neck body con midi dress - Second hand shop £8

Tan leather clutch - Car boot sale 50p

Faded denim jacket - Mothers hand me downs (BEST STORE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!)

Black Court shoes - New Look Sale £10

Black buckled boots - Primark £15

My New Cashmere Coat

Nothing excites me more than a new addition to my wardrobe! I was out perusing the local charity shops with my wife (common law - i should clarify) and we both fell in love with this, so much so that we went halves on it and flipped a coin to decide who should get it. I don't even know who won the coin toss but we both sighed and gasped like a couple of old biddies in a pet shop full of puppies when i tried it on so the rest was history. I haven't actually paid her back so i guess it's still kind of hers in a way but she will have to pry it from my cold dead fingers before she can have it! 

It's a wool and cashmere blend which is a rare find in charity shops these days especially for £20.

Feeling like a straight G. haha!

The "thigh high boots" trend

Thigh high boots are my new thing these days. They seem to be making a come back and with all this crappy weather i am honestly relieved! I found these boots as well as the little Topshop mini skirt in a charity shop in Kentish Town where i used to volunteer when i was in my teens. These boots combine two of my great loves - Tanned leather and keeping my feet dry and warm in the rain - and for £18.99 i really couldn't resist. They're real leather and all!

I guess leather t-shirts is another one of my obsessions this season, i seem to have started to grow a quite a collection. This one has lazer cut outs and mesh inserts and an exposed silver zip at he back. I bought it from a little indie store on Albert road in Pompey and i happened to wander in during their 25% off RRP sale! SCORE! So i bagged myself a steal for £9.

Ay Caramba!

I was watching an old re-run of "Goks fashion fix" the other night and i was appalled at some of the final prices for the high street looks (£345 for an outfit? Girl bye!).  I did however pick up a few handy tips on investing in statement pieces.

I usually shy away from really long coats because of my height, but i managed to (radomly) find one - in a junk furniture shop on the one rack second hand clothes that they had - that was "petite" enough not to drown me completely. The jumper is a testament to my youth and well, it speaks for itself really...

Retro Bart Simpson jumper - Fonthill rd £8

Blue pea coat - Second hand shop £2

Ripped jeans - New Look £7

Blue shirt - My little brothers old school uniform rejects pile

Pointed court shoe - Primark £13

She Wins!

The "collarless coat" Trend

I was in London recently and obviously had to hit my old haunts on Fonthill road. People tend to think it's full of tat that's fallen off the back of a van - which is true for the most part - but i always manage to find a gem or two and wangle myself a few deals.

I'm a huge fan of the "collarless coat" trend this season and it was almost destiny when i found this one lodged between some sparkly leggings and a plastic dress.

Lace collar shirt - Asos/Fonthill rd £5

Pink love heart pom-pom jumper - Preloved £2.50

Collarless coat - Fonthill rd £8

Acid wash high waisted jeans - Primark £10

"Nude" pastel pointed court shoes - Debenhams Sale £9.95

Holographic silver bag - New Look Sale £10

70’s surrealism dinner party hosted by Marie-Hélène de Rothschild.

I found this post on the Miista site while drooling over the new season lookbook. At first glance, the pictures almost looked like oil paintings produced by an artist who was clearly on some hallucinogenic or other but it turns out this is just how rich people liked to party back in the day! The hostess - a wealthy french heiress - was apparently known for throwing top secret and ultra exclusive shin-digs for the upper echelon of paris, but this is one of the only events where a guest was permitted to take photos.

“Marie-Hélène de Rothschild of the high society, ultra-wealthy Parisian banking family, took it upon herself to throw a dinner party unlike any other. The dress code? “Black tie, long dresses & Surrealists heads.” And the invitation? Well that was printed up backwards — forcing invitees to hold it up to a mirror in order to read. The momentous event was held in the iconic Château which Rothschild outfitted with amber spotlights that swept along the building, creating the illusion of a roaring fire. Upon entering guests were immediately confronted with a staircase lined with servants dressed as kitty cats. MeOW!”

I went out for milk and came home with five new pairs of shoes...

Yes. That really happened to me. 

It's both a blessing and a curse living 5 minutes from the high street. I never miss a sale but i pretty much live in a shoe box now.

left to right:

"Nude" patent court shoes - Debenhams £16.50

"Nude" pastel court shoes - Debenhams £9.60

Gold plate chunky heel sandals - New Look £10

Holographic silver sandals - Debenhams £39

Cut out boots - New Look £16

Nude shoes for black girls.....FINALLY! - Christian Louboutin takes a stand against racism.

I FINALLY found them!

So i've been obsessed with getting  pair of "nude" heels since i saw Christian Louboutin's collection of pumps. We all know nude heels are meant elongate your legs and give you that extra little lift without taking any attention away from your outfit but these days, most high street shops define nude as a peachy-pastel-pinky colour. A pair of "nude" pumps designed to blend with the colour of a white woman's skin only contrasts against black skin cuts you off at the ankle rather than turn you into Naomi Campbell.

The collection entititled "Les Nudes" is designed to match a range of skin tones – from the familiar traditional "nude" to a rich dark brown, with five hues ranging from a 'fair blush' to 'rich chesnut'. They even have an app for matching you skin colour!

"This collection offers a spectrum of nude, re-imagining the perception of the color as a pale blush, and introducing it as the color of flesh, which ranges well beyond this traditional reference," 

 - Christian Louboutin

Seeing as i don't have a designer budget, i set out on a one man mission to find the perfect nude toned patent pumps, that would suit my skin tone on the high street. I found these in the Debenhams blue cross sale and they are by Jasper Conran. They originally retailed for £55 which is still a bit of a stretch for me but much better than the £400 i'd be forking out for a set of red bottoms. They're a nice nude colour that doesnt look too much like "brown" so they match my choclatey feet just nicely!

And the best part........They were 70% OFF!!!!!

Perfection.....

Guinness goes out in style - Sapologie is blowing up!

So i'm BEAMING with patriotic pride after i saw this advert for Guinness today!

This is the last television ad campaign that Guinness will ever do and in my opinion they couldn't have chosen a better set or cast. The advert features a group of Congolese men slogging away at their respectively difficult and laborious day jobs then, at the end of the work day they all head home and transform into the slickest-O.G-looking-mother-f****rs i've ever seen. La Sapologie is something i've grown up with and it's more than just a fashion movement in Bacongo. It is a sub-culture that has been around for years and is almost regarded as a tradition for some.

"Through their attitude and style they demonstrate that no matter the circumstance you can always choose who you are," - Stephen O'Kelly

One of the funnier moments in my life was when i brought my irish boyfriend to my sisters wedding. He looked around at all the guests and said

"Why are there so many bright shiny suits?!"

Next time i'll just show him this video and say it's in our blood!