"Real Women"

Not a full post, I just wanted to share this link in case anyone hasn't seen this.

http://www.hanneblank.com/blog/2011/06/23/real-women/

It's wonderfully eloquent, and I think an important read for anyone who has ever been told they're not a "real woman" because of their appearance.

Alpines

Agh I have such an obsession with anything that reminds me of old-fashioned tennis uniforms at the moment, and my new Primark skirt certainly ticks the box:

Top - Topshop
Skirt - Primark
Shoes - H&M

I had something planned to say about this but my mind has gone entirely blank now I'm trying to write something and so I can't think of anything. This is the skirt I mentioned yesterday, the one bought with the money from returning the ill-fitting Topshop dress.
As much as it pains me to know that dress will never be mine, I suppose this is an almost fitting substitute.

As I said, part of the reason I love it so much is because pleated skirts like this remind me of old fashioned tennis uniforms and that's something I have a weakness for.

photos from http://www.flickr.com/photos/37090329@N07/sets/72157624970084471

I don't play tennis, I can't play tennis (one of my favourite bands is called Tennis, but that's another matter), but I'd still love to be there, dressed like that with those girls in those photos. They look so lovely!

One a final note, can I just post this video because I am entirely in love with Alpines at the moment. I saw them playing live in May and they are absolutely stunning, as is this video:

enjoy!

Nerves

I have a dress from H&M that I bought last year. The first time I ever wore it I managed to get a biro stain on it, and it still has not budged. Really quite disheartening

Dress - H&M
Shirt - Primark
Sunglasses - Primark

This happens to be the dress with the unfortunate stain.
I remember when I bought it I made a resolution that I would have to wear it to a beach one day, and that day still hasn't arisen - but one day it will! I swear.

An unfortunate thing has happened. I have had to return that Topshop dress I posted a few posts back. I had accidentally picked up the wrong size (such a rookie error!) and mistaken a normal size 6 for a petite size 6. This one small error meant the dress was entirely unwearable and so I had to do something about it.
The problem is I am so useless talking to people in shops and get so nervous about returning things that the conversation went a little like this:

“Um hi I bought this yesterday, or erm not yesterday the day before, no wait not the day before maybe um… recently, no it was the day before yesterday or whenever Sunday was. But yeah I bought this then and I picked up the wrong size and I wondered if I could… um… return… it.”

“Has it been worn?”

“No, no, um there are tags and everything well obviously I wore it once to see if it fitted but then it didn’t which is why I’m bringing it back because I mean I thought it would fit but it was er yeah. No I’ve not worn it.”

“Um ok… well did you want to exchange it?”

“No, no just a return because er… yeah.”and I just rambled on being nervous, shy and ridiculous.

I did manage to return it though. Spent half the money from its return on a Primark skirt I've had my eye on for a while, and the rest (all £7...) has been saved for an emergency. (Although I am not really sure what emergencies would only require £7. An emergency McDonalds trip perhaps.)

To finish this post off, I just wanted to share more of my wall.
It's one of my favourite background touches of my photos for here and lookbook, and mostly consists of NME pages with a few Vogue pages thrown in for good measure. I have a stack of things to add to it but I've run out of blue tack at the moment (perhaps this is when the emergency £7 could come in handy.)

Until next time! x

Super Monkey Ball

As promised yesterday, one of the Topshop sale purchases!

Shirt - Topshop
Skirt - Topshop
Shoes - H&M

This skirt, auuuugh! This skirt!
I don't think I can possibly express my love for this skirt.
To paraphrase Animal Farm, although I love all my skirts equally, I do love some more equally than others.
Turns out this skirt isn't a lucky charm for Super Monkey Ball, however. Met up with a friend and the boyfriend today, it turned into a mini Super Monkey Ball tournament and I came only 9 points away from last place. (So I could optimistically say I came second, but really I was only 9 points from losing entirely.)

And as an added point of interest because I'm afraid this post wasn't very long, I am completely in love with this photo taken by my boyfriend's sister:

Isn't it just the most gorgeous thing?

Shopping!

Such gorgeous weather today! It's been too chilly recently for my liking, so it's nice to actually have some sunny weather for once!

 Striped dress worn as a top: H&M
Skirt: New Look
Brogues: Primark
Scarf: Accessorize

This dress (/worn as a top here but it feels weird calling it a top) always reminds me of old fashioned English seaside holidays, and beach huts, piers and ice cream! Hasn't really been warm enough to wear it recently, which is a shame, because it hasn't had many outings yet.

Despite the practically tropical weather today, the boyfriend and I kept up our plan to go shopping today. I needed to peruse the Topshop sale and he needed to check a few charity shops. I can't usually afford to shop in Topshop unless there is a sale on - Primark is more my price range -  but luckily there is currently a sale and so I was able to shop and not just stare at items of clothing wistfully.

I actually managed to find some amazing bargains:

This skirt. Was £32, now £12! When I got home my mum said it reminded her of an old woman's sofa, and that just made me love it more. Personally I see it as more a carpet-bag in skirt form and therefore I love it.

I've had my eye on this dress for so many months, but have never had the money spare to justify buying it. In the sale I managed to buy it for £15!
I kept seeing it in a size 10 or a size 12 which was rather disheartening because both would be massively too large on me. However, after persistent searching I found a size 6! Day = Made. I love this dress far too much. It reminds me of 1930s tennis players and other lovely things.

Also in a sale, but not a Topshop sale, were these wonderful little shoes from H&M. Whilst waiting for my boyfriend to finish trying some shorts on, I took myself and my final £5 around H&M's sale to see if anything would fall into my price range, when a massive red "£3" caught my eye. Under the sign lay these little shoes which were, much to my amusement, all in my size! Being a ridiculously small person, I have ridiculously small and narrow feet. The problem is a size 3 always feels slightly too small and a size 4 always feels slightly too large, so I usually just settle on buying whichever is the least uncomfortable of the two for a specific shoe when footwear shopping. Bizarrely, all of these were a size "3.5". And when I say all, I mean around 15 of them. Oh, and one lone size 4 sitting by itself.

Next stop on the shopping trip was my favourite charity shop in Swindon. It's not great for clothes, but it is wonderful for bizarre nick-nacks. It is brilliant for searching for old, rubbish vinyls in so here is a quick selection of the weird and wonderful vinyl sleeves found today:

Underneath the boxes of vinyls was a crate full of old cameras. The boyfriend bought me an old disposable camera with film that expired in 2003 in it! I'm tempted to go back for the polaroid cameras in there (they all cost under £3!).

Final purchase of the day was by the boyfriend.

Casette tapes, for some bizarre reason! Turns out he actually has the means to play them and apparently fully intends to.
Excuse my poorly painted nails in the second picture there. That coat of peach melba has stayed on so long that it's growing out before it chips!

Hopefully will have pictures of me wearing at least one of the new sale purchases tomorrow. Until then, have a nice rest-of-Sunday!

Finishing for summer!

I've officially finished college for summer now! Had my final exam this morning.

I'll start off this post with a quick small piece of  what I wore yesterday:

Shirt: Topshop
Jumper: My gran's wardrobe

Nothing special, just an outfit for a day of revision/seeing the boyfriend.
Note the brilliantly kitsch sofa cushions behind!

Onto today!

Shirt: H&M
Blazer: H&M
Jeans: Primark
Brogues: Primark

I've realised that these jeans are the exact same colour as Jigglypuff. That pleased me a lot, that did.
As I said earlier in the post, had my last exam today. Two-and-a-half hours of English! Agh. So worn out after that.

I'm off to a small party/"gathering" later as an end of exams celebration and the perfect outfit jumped at me as I was rearranging my bedroom to take lookbook photos earlier (and when I say rearranging, I mean moving the horrendous mess of everything off my floor and radiator and putting it to one side on my bed).

Both the dress and shirt are Topshop.
I doubt I'll have any photos of me wearing it that would be blog appropriate from tonight though! But if there are any where I don't look too much of a state I might upload them. I'm sure they'll be disgracing my facebook anyway.

A new beginning!

I've deleted my old posts because they're so old now I didn't feel they were up to a standard I'd like! So call this a fresh beginning around 5 months after I abandoned this thing.

Sorry about that - the abandoning this blog for 5 months, I mean! I actually feel very guilty about that seeing as how there are so many looks up on lookbook now that I've been unable to talk about on here!
Shame, but nevertheless I've decided to fix it and start blogging again.
Largely, actually, because I've finished college for the year now so I'll have more free time rather than worrying about revision.

So here it is, a round up of my latest lookbook looks!

Jumper: New Look
Dress: Topshop
Bag: Primark
T-Bars: Peacocks

I was actually ridiculously surprised by the feedback this received! I was contacted by a French Fashion magazine asking if they could use it in a streetstyle moodboard!
I have such a love for collars at the moment, I do not own enough clothes with collars on them. I might invest in some more when I have the money.
I'm also in love with coral/salmon shades at the moment as you can tell from my nails. That's a shade called Peach Melba by Barry M and I am absolutely obsessed by Barry M nail polish. I swear it just doesn't chip. I've been trying to find a lipstick in a similar shade and failing, but realised I own a cream blusher in the right colour so I've been using that until I find the right lipstick!

Jumper - Borrowed from my Gran
Shirt - Topshop
Trousers - Topshop
Brogues - Primark

Ignore the socks! I have a lack of sensible socks to wear with things like this, it's something I really ought to buy more of.
As I said before, I have such a love of collars and coral at the moment and managed to find a way to combine both here! (Or Topshop found a way to combine it for me, but the sentiment remains.)

Breton top - River Island
Pink Jeans - A gift from my Gran (but I think they were primark)
Headscarf - Accessorize
Sunglasses - Primark (£2!)

I've been wanting a pair of pink jeans for so long, and then yesterday my gran bought me a pair as a gift after she heard I was planning on pulling out bleach and pink dye on a pair of blue jeans in my frustration at being unable to afford any at the moment! She really is quite lovely!
Turns out they're actually capris, but I'm so short they fit as full length jeans - although rolled up here because... well because I could, really. Because rolled up jeans and brogues are a good look in my opinion!