Amour for accessories

You will have to bear with me as I'm using the iPhone for blogging until my laptop returns (fixed I hope) and I'm not sure if it'll work but here goes...


I finally decided to part with some cash on a Ted Baker purse. Now I've been lusting after one for years but could never decide which colour to pick and at £65 i wanted it to be something i loved in a few years time. Purple is usually a favourite of mine but i wasn't feeling the Ted Baker lilac-y shade. I wanted something bright that would instantly cheer me up and would go with most of my handbags already. I spotted the orange colour on the website and was very tempted to buy especially when a discount offer appeared in my inbox but i held off until i visited my nearest John Lewis. I reckon the shop assistants must have thought i was stealing it after umming and aahing for 30 minutes - oh yes indecisiveness is one of my traits.

Here it is alongside two new purchases...

There are variations of this purse on the website (patent/glitter/mock-crock etc) but the one i bought is called Anitah.

The other items in question are a Hermes-esque bag from Miss Selfridge's Purist collection £39 and a straw trilby from Peacocks £7. The bag, I've been a little unsure over only because I'm hoping it doesn't look like one of the cheap bags off those stalls in the middle of shopping centres (you know the ones with the fake Chloe Paddington's), but I really needed a new bag for work that's deep enough to fit everything in Mary Poppins style-e.

The hat i saw somewhere before but can't remember, I'd been after a panama type hat which i was going to buy off the market but i kind of remember seeing this Peacocks hat and i managed to get the last one in the shop. I was going to wear it only when my hair's curly but i took a quick iphone pic and it does a good job of hiding my bed-hair.

I hope it suits me, hats don't usually, what do you think?

A quick note: i may be absent from blogging for about 2 weeks until my laptop returns but i will try and post if i can get access to Internet.

What I've been wearing

Just a simple post of what i've been wearing recently...



Accessorised with a bingo pen - we were off to Gala to win some money - didn't happen!

Shirt - Asos

Jeggings - Dorothy Perkins

Shoes - Dorothy Perkins

Jacket - Topshop

Belt - Marks & Spencers



Mardy face no.1



Grey Vest - Warehouse

Trousers - Dorothy Perkins

Lace Jacket - Warehouse

Shoes - River Island



Sneeky pic! But i did buy both these items :)


Crop top - Miss Selfridge

Navy Trousers - Miss Selfridge

 

Mardy face no.2 - taken in staff changing rooms ooh the glamour!



Purple Ruffle Blouse - Topshop

Navy Hareems - Topshop

Brown Leather Jacket - Topshop

Shoes - Faith

Bag - River Island

Watch - Michael Kors



Mardy face No.3 - my only excuse is they were both taken at 6.30am!



White vest - Warehouse

Camel Hareems - Topshop

Black Waterfall Jacket - Warehouse

Leopard print Scarf - Oasis

Shoes - Office

In hair news, i've been toying between curly and straight but the curls are winning at the moment....

Oh yes wait a minute Mr Postman!

I indulged in some very naughty pre-payday purchases last week and look what arrived yesterday?

Hmmm, i bet you recognise that polka-dot packaging!

And take a look at what's inside parcel No.1 from Topshop (of course!)



Camel Hareems £20

 

Ah yes, you may notice i already have these in navy but i have a bad habit of buying the same item in different colours!

Rust Tapered Leg Trousers - £20

 Another peg-leg trouser to add to my massive collection! I really should wean myself off this shape and embrace the old-school boot cut - or maybe not.

Mink Shirt - £20

The hanger really doesn't do this shirt justice, it kind of looks like those cheap polyester shirts bank cashier's wear but on it feels likes silk! I'm not overly keen on the 3/4 sleeve or the shape but the colour is delicious, as it doesn't fit properly i will be returning this.

Brown Leather Jacket - £60

This was what i was most excited about receiving! A real leather jacket from the limited edition collection reduced from £120 - ah i'm so happy!!! I didn't realise that it's from the tall range but i prefer my jackets longer so luckily those extra few cm's really help on my 5'5" body. I predict my Topshop PU aviator jacket may get sidelined from now on. Hopefully this will be one of those pieces that gets better with age, showing signs of wear for that vintage-looking feeling.

Topshop clutch - £30

I had my eye on this at Christmas as the perfect clutch to compliment my work party dress but at £50 full price it was a little steep for my budget. I've had it in my favourites ever since waiting for it to be reduced and the other was my lucky day. I used to be obsessed with embellished clutches and have a few from Accessorize but they have seen better days now. This jewelled clutch is the perfect accessory for any night out, i just can't wait to show it off!

Parcel No2 from Miss Selfridge....

After debating over whether i could afford my Topshop order i discovered Miss Selfridge sale had just started. I was only going to have a quick look not intending to buy anything just adding items to my basket just in case.



Blouse £17.50

This does look a bit maternity to be honest and i think i could get away with a smaller size but it can be one of those tops i can wear to dinner and have a good meal without fear of a muffin top appearing! I'm a little bit hit and miss about this because of the volume, but decided combined with skinny jeans it would balance it out. This season we are seeing a lot of sheer blouses and shirts and in a really wearable blush-pink it ticks all the boxes.




Grey lace oversize shirt - £17.50



 This is one of my favourite pieces from today's haul, although it's described as grey, it's more of a spearmint colour in real-life not quite shown in this pic though. I love how it's oversized for a masculine feel but the lace detail on the arms adds a touch of feminity. Ideally i would wear this with wet-look leggings or leather trousers, i love the soft against the hard-ege feel. Both tops seem to have a 80's inspired shape to them with the bat-wing sleeves, but on the shirt this really works.



Black heeled loafers - £20



These are going to be my work shoes from now on, recently i've been wearing my Office pantent square-courts but i want to save them for evening. I have a few Primark black suedette heels but they don't really mix with driving - pedal marks and scuffs! I like the reto feel these have with the tassels and have seen some v.similar in Marks & Spencers (Limited Collection - you know the "fashion-forward" range!) 



Nude patent high heeled loafer/brogue - £25



I've seen shoes like these on River Island, Topshop and French Connection selling for around £70+ so  £25 seemed a good price to me. I was worried the patent might make them look cheap but actually they don't, again they don't look as good here but believe me they do look nicer on! I don't own that many nude shoes and these certainly fill that gap in my collection. The block heel does remind me of Abba but worn casually with my new Topshop trousers will hopefully remove that image! Suprisingly they're actually comfy, they look v.high but the platform heel makes tthem easy to walk in and unlike some patent shoes they're not too hard so don't cut into your feet. I say that from walking around the house, the real test will be a day's shopping.

In all honesty i didn't think i would like half the items i ordered but sod's law there's only one thing going back! Ah well, thats my monthly shopping done before April is already here. I'm determined not to visit any shops online to avoid temptation and the Outfit card may have to be cut up too. I still have the Groupon voucher for Asos to use but that's already paid for. Wish me luck for the rest of the month...

I only went to return a jumper!

I've just had a very eventful afternoon of shopping today. I only went to return my Warehouse camel sweater and ended up with bags of shopping - eek! V.naughty!

The purpose of this visit was to try and exchange my camel jumper for another colour. I did buy mine online and the colour just seems to wash me out so i was hoping i could sneakily do an exchange in my Outfit - simple eh? Oh no, unless you don't mind a little bit of embarrassment don't try to con/lie to a sales assistant they always seem to catch you out - damn! Tried to say i had lost my receipt and do a quick exchange for the purple colour, even though it still had the labels attached the sales assistant was having none of it. "You can't return items to concession stores blah, blah, blah. Looks like a trip to the post office is in order.

The camel jumper is question... ...you see looks very nice online, but in the flesh the colour has more of a gold tone to it - definitely not great for my complexion, but love the gold buttons - thumbs up for detail. The fabric is ever-so soft as well - cashmere it is not, a viscose blend.



 
I couldn't do the exchange but still bought the dark purple jumper as an ideal winter piece.
 

I am a little disappointed this colour didn't have the gold buttons, as i do love gold accessorising, but the grey/black still work. The belt was a sale bargain from Miss Selfridge only £12, i had my eye on this before but £25 was a bit steep for belt. This will probably become my LBD's best friend.
 
Now i have a thing for black trousers, i love them, whether its jean, jeggings, leggings, harems, chinos - i don't care but i do live in them. Warehouse and Dorothy Perkins both have some great sort of soft suede trousers in at the moment which i am loving. Ever since harem became en vogue for summer, i have been embracing my inner MC Hammer and working them to death. I was torn between two pairs, i went with Dorothy Perkins because they were a little cheaper and look a bit smarter so i can just add heels for work.
 

You can't really see the detailing clearly in the picture, but they come with a tie belt and have low slung pockets and a tight ankle.
 
I reckon that's tomorrow's work outfit sorted.
 
I've been after a new make-up bag for ages but I've been looking for some pretty ones that will add some glamour to my office desk. I've been using the free Topshop one up until now but as it's cream I'm struggling to keep it clean not to mention the pen marks that seem to keep appearing!
 
Ted Baker is usually my fail-safe and i headed to Boots to pick this one up.
 

I'm not usually one for florals but purple is my favourite colour and i love the bow - v. pretty. Best of all i used my Boots points so if didn't cost me anything!

I've been determined to turn into a gym bunny especially before the onslaught of Christmas with all the parties and meals going on, not to mention the amount of chocolates and biscuits appearing daily in the office, so i was in need of some stylish gymwear that will distract from the day's make-up sweating down my face. A quick nip into Sports Soccer and I'm £65 lighter but two sports bras, two sports tops and a pair of tight fit trousers/leggings heavier - all set for Wed, Thurs and Fri gym sesh. Pre-gym OOTD's to follow soon.

My final splurge was a cheap one courtesy of Barry M and Saskia The Style Fairy - saw it their first. I have to rave about their new nail paint, Instant Nail Effects £3.95 which is a top coat that creates a nail art effect on top of your already painted nails. Hard to explain but have a look - this is definitely the future of nails.

I've only painted the little finger nail as you can see - it was hard to pick up on camera but i tried, see below.
 

I love it - so I'm off now to paint the rest - what do you think?