Monday, 28 April 2014

5 Key Summer Pieces xox

When the season's change, stocking up on key pieces is ESSENTIAL! Like the 'winter coat' you hunt down in November, now's the time to start your Summer wardrobe!

THE SMOCK DRESS
The smock dress is a must, it's so versatile; it can be dressed up, dressed down and worn with boots, sandals or even heels. A summer essential!

Topshop Tiered Crinkle Chiffon Smock Dress

£40.00

Topshop Polka Dot Washed Denim Smock Dress

£34.00

Topshop Folklore Print Dress

£39.00

Dahlia Elsa Pink Floral Embroidered Smock Dress with Button Cuff
£68.00

ASOS Daisy Street Jersey Smock Dress£15.99

Dahlia Kristen Monochrome Printed Smock Dress with Lace Shoulder
£55.00

The White Pepper Bib Frill Smock Dress Ivory

£38.50

The White Pepper T-Shirt Smock Dress Pink Check

£55.00

House of Hackney Palmeral Chailey Dress

£295.00

Heart Cotton Shirt Dress by Boutique

£55.00

BIRKENSTOCKS

Birkenstocks can be a bit daunting on first glance - the first time I saw them I was half in love and half, erm I think my Dad used to have a pair similar? Yeah they look cool but will I be able to pull them off? The answer is YES. Like the smock, Birkenstocks are so versatile and really do go with everything. Plus they're super comfy and will make any outfit. My favourites are the two-strap mule.

JEANS

Whilst you need your collection of skirts and shorts in the Summer, as we all know, UK weather can be pretty depressing, so make sure you have a pair of on-trend jeans at the ready! Ripped at the knee are currently my favourite style. Obviously the usual go-to for jeans; MOTO, Cheap Mondays, Levi, ASOS. Pull & Bear, Monki and The Ragged Priest are also really good at the moment.

THE CO-ORD

Co-ords and cute suits are perfect for summer and there's some gorgeous ones around at the moment.

Motel Tropical Print Crop and Skirt

£56.00

Maison Scotch Hawaiian Shirt and Shorts

£154.00

ASOS Reclaimed Vintage Floral Top With Open Back and Skirt

£67.00

Motel Crop Top and Mini Skirt with Pockets

£67.00

The Laden Showroom X Salle de la Lune Cherub Mesh Sweatshirt and Skater Skirt

£110.00

ASOS TALL Crop Top and Skirt In Tropical Floral

£34.00

ASOS Blouse with Curved Hem and Shorts in Giraffe Stripe

£60.00

The White Pepper Twin Set in Floral Print

£80.00

Never Fully Dressed Knit Cord

£49.00

SUNNIES
Need I say any more?! A good pair of sunglasses can sharpen any outfit (and can be shoved on when you've had a few too many summer cocktails the night before!).

TOPSHOP WARREN CHECK SUNGLASSES

£16.00

TOPSHOP ROUND BROW SUNGLASSES

£16.00

TOPSHOP 90'S METAL INSERT SUNGLASSES

£16.00

wildfox BEL AIR FRAME SUNWEAR

£196.00

WILDFOX TWIGGY DELUXE

£176.00

WILDFOX JULIET FRAME SUNWEAR

£196.00

ASOS Cat Eye Sunglasses With Metal Nose Bridge

£12.00

ASOS Embellished Flower Detail Retro Sunglasses

£18.00

Warehouse Round Metal Frame Sunglasses

£16.00

ASOS Filigree Top Round Sunglasses

£15.00

River Island Kelly Sunglasses

£13.00

ASOS Tort Mixed Frame Round Sunglasses

£10.00

Whistles Bridgette Round Sunglasses

£60.00

Minkpink High Beams Sunglasses

£33.00

Quay Asha Mirrored Sunglasses

£27.00

Jeepers Peepers Star Sunglasses

£16.00

Dolce and Gabbana Cateye Floral Print Sunglasses

£176.00

Minkpink Love Aesthetics Round Sunglasses

£39.00

HAPPY SHOPPING XOX

Thursday, 17 April 2014

Rebounds and rose tinted glasses - the consequences of a rebound

She told me afterwards she always knew that one day, he would break her heart forever, that everything they had and everything she had tried her best to ignore would erupt in front of her and she would be left wondering who she had spent the last two years with and whether it had been real or whether it had been one big waste of a couple of prime years.

Two weeks later and she was seeing a guy who was irritating, averagely attractive and uses Lynx Africa body spray.

I often think that when you leave a relationship, especially if you’re still head over heels with that person and you haven’t initiated the break up, you’re left with a mixed bag of feelings: upset, fear and the massive amount of love you felt for them; love which somewhere along the road, they lost for you. You don’t know how and you don’t know why but theirs is gone and you’ve still got yours and that’s not a nice feeling.

So what do you do with it right? Your girl columns will tell you to ‘throw yourself into a new hobby or sport’ – what does that even mean? They’ll tell you to go out and have a cocktail, let your hair down hun - you deserve it. You did that though and it didn’t make you feel better. I mean yeah, it was nice for a while but after a few too many your mate is peeling you off the toilet floor and prizing your mobile out of your hand – ‘cos you nearly just rang him for the 27^th time and somehow, 26 sounds a whole lot better than 27. You still wake up the next day feeling horrendous – you’re just as heartbroken as before but now you’ve got the hangover to contend with too.

Lets cut to the chase – we all know the only thing that makes you feel slightly better after a break up is attention from someone else. It cures a whole host of things really – insecurity (he must have broken up with me ‘cos im fat/ugly/didn’t shave that one time ‘cos I cba), loneliness and actually just plain boredom.

So you latch onto the first bit of male attention you find. Your friends are exchanging very odd looks when you tell them who your new fella is.

That’s ‘cos he isn’t just punching babe, he’s reaching for the stars and you can do better. And, really, we ain’t just saying that.

Here’s how a rebound works: you’ve got all those feelings (for your ex) but you don’t know what to do with them, so much so that you can’t see clearly, hence the rose tinted glasses, and you make silly decisions, hence Mr Linx Africa.

It’s all fine and dandy till it’s a friend of a friend’s birthday night out - you’ve got confirmation he’ll be there and Mr Linx is worried – he knows about the 27 phone calls last time. Sorry, 26. You tell him and your mates you don’t care, you’re happy with Linx – he might not be the best looker but he treats you like a princess and isn’t that what every girl wants? But as you’re stressing over your outfit and taking an extra half hour to apply your mascara, you get an inkling you just might have made an extra special effort. You’re listening to Drunk In Love and your mind’s going crazy, imagining all kinds of scenarios – you walking in – stunning- him feeling like a fool ‘cos he let you go. You try and prove to yourself that you don’t care so you only put on one layer of fake tan – if you cared and really wanted to impress him, tanning up would be essential.

After one glass at pre-drinks you mention it to your mate and she says what you both know – if you’re thinking it sober, you’ll be doing it drunk. Before you know it you’re on the patio and your ex is all over you like a rash, telling you everything you want to hear and oops – yep, you’ve kissed him.

The thing with a rebound is that once you start to see clearly again and realise what’s happened and what you’ve done, once those glasses come off – you’re the bad guy. You’re not the poor girl who’s been finished, that’s old news now. Mr Linx has fallen for you, he thought you had something real but with all this ex kissing and mixed emotions you start to realise that maybe you just need some time alone, time to be you. But the damage has been done, and you’ve got a serious case of bad relationship karma on your hands. Even your ex is ringing you up telling you, ‘you aren’t the girl I fell in love with’. It’s fair to say it’s been a grim couple of weeks.

The problem is that rebounds seem to be essential, it’s like we need someone there or we’ll go insane, but the consequences are real and people get hurt. You wouldn’t have wished how you were feeling on your worst enemy, but now, without meaning to, you’ve crushed an innocent bystander. Everyone’s guilty of a rebound but if possible, I say avoid – you’re just gonna end up back in the same place anyway and at least you’ve not got that bad relationship karma to look forward to.

Friday, 11 April 2014

8 names I would never give my baby

Today an article found its way onto my newsfeed about baby names which are uncommon, unique and at the same time very adorable. Ahhhhhh, I thought. This will be cute. Since my boyfriend's sister has just had the most beautiful baby girl, Ive been very mushy over babies, so I thought this article looked worthy of procrastinating over.

I'm not going to say much else about the article except for the fact that it helped me gather eight names which I would never name my baby.

1. DOE

I can just hear the playground bullies... Doe a deer a female deer...

2. PIKE

Really? Pike? As in PIKEY? Why would you name your innocent new born baby after this?

3. ASHLAND

To mean 'land of ash trees' - well that's perfect for any baby, right?. It reminds me of the word, 'wasteland' which is just as inappropriate.

4. BRIGHTON

Why? I don't understand why?

5. VALKO

This isn't cute, it sort of sound like a mix between 'hulk' and 'Volkswagen'.

6. DOBRY

Anyone else just think of/misread this as Dobby from Harry Potter?

7. GANNON

Reminds me of the word 'gammon' and that's reason enough.

8. BURGER

Errr...burger? So has this originated from that Sex and the City episode when Carrie was dating that guy who broke up with her on a post it note? Cos he was actually called 'Berger' with an 'e' and also it was his last name...

The New Zara Lookbook...

So the new Zara lookbook has arrived and I was so stunned I almost spat a mouthful of caramel latte all over my little Mac. That's a good first impression alright (albeit I did nearly break my laptop).

Not being pushy but, HAVE A LOOK NOW. Not having a look would be like walking past a pair of Kurt Geiger's that you've wanted for ever, and they're in the sale, and they're in your size - stupid, irresponsible and something you most definitely will regret. Forever. I'm even going to put the link here. Now will you look?

If you still haven't had a sneak peek, maybe these favourites will persuade you...

The only frustrating thing about this is, that gorge jumpsuit worn by the lady on the right in the first photograph, is no where to be seen. I'm guessing it's not in stock yet, but most of the other items are linked and detailed on the website.

xox

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Girl crushing on...

EDIE SEDGWICK

Heiress, socialite, actress and fashion model, Edie Sedgwick was labelled 'The Girl of the Year', 'It Girl' and dubbed by Vogue as a 'Youthquaker' - a fun, spirited and youthful fashion icon who regularly graced the cover of numerous Vogue issues. Plagued with ongoing eating disorders from a young age, followed by drug addiction and difficult relationships, Sedgwick had a troubled life, that's for sure. But one thing is certain, she was an impecable style icon with a winning smile and an air of eccentricity. She epitomised the sixties style with exaggerated eye make-up, false lashes, fur, stripes and t-shirts worn as dresses. Over-sized chandalier earrings and a platinum blonde bob became her signature look and has been inspiration to Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent and recaptured by the likes of Courtney Love and Agyness Deyn.