black, pink and cold.

big huge jumper, dress (worn as skirt) & loafers - topshop, bag - vintage, lookbook.nu - here

i'll start by declaring my love for this jumper and how really mega warm it keeps me (well, every part of me except my collarbone - silly baggy necked knitwear!). i think everyone should own at least one giant jumper, i couldn't survive winter without one! luckily, the temperatures in england (or the east of england, at least) have finally risen above freezing, so it's not quite so horrid taking outfit photos outside!

i've had a bit of a haircut, and i really like it. i always dream of long, wavy hair but it's just not achievable for me, so shorter hair it is! have taken to wearing a bow in my hair too! short hair can often seem boring, so putting a bow in it makes it seem like i'm doing something interesting with it.

unfortunately, i didn't find a single thing in the sales the other day - is it me or are the sales awful this year? and much to my immense dissappointment, the topshop sale was rubbish. there was clothes all over the floor and falling off the hangers, as if it had turned into primark!

a forest.

cardigan - UO, dress - topshop via ebay, bag - vintage, loafers - topshop (christmas gift)

i hope everyone had a fantastical, amazing christmas! i'm sorry for not posting at all in the last week, but you know how it gets with christmas and family etc. but now i have a whole week off from work, so expect a fair few posts!

say hello to my new favourite cardigan (yes, i know i said that my navy cable knit one was my new favourite about two posts back; but i'm so fickle that as soon as i get something new, the old one stops being my favourite anymore. i'm such a child with my clothes.) i'd had my eye on it for a while, the colour is so beautiful, but it was a bit pricey, so i hunted on ebay but nothing compared to this one, so it's my christmas present to myself. i did find this dress on ebay though, it's originally topshop, and weirdly i remember not being that blown away by it when it was in the shops, but it seems nicer to me now.

i'm heading to norwich tomorrow for some hardcore sales shopping, and i can't wait! i'm hoping to bag me some bargains, ahh i love this post-christmas fun with chocolates, sales and time to just relax and do absolutely nothing.

navy, cream & bear.

faux fur coat, cream dress & boots - ASOS, cardigan - topshop

blimey, a lot of ASOS stuff again! i really am being very loyal since they chose me for the stylish competition, haha. this coat is something i'd wanted for a while, but was never sure it would suit me. (it's actually an item i chose for round 3 of the competition, which i have to shoot soon). i think it swamps me, but i won't stop wearing it, because of how ridiculously warm it keeps me! it's just what i need for the horrible cold weather england is having. my boyfriend kept refering to me as a bear the whole time i had it on!

after buying this dress, i realised what would make its plain cream-ness more interesting would be a black ribbon bow tied round the collar; however i didn't have any so navy had to do (it makes the outfit far too matchy-matchy!). i'm going to find some chunky black ribbon for future wears of it though, i'm quite excited for how that will look!

round two.

all ASOS except the scarf (vintage) and hat (h&m).

well, this is my entry for round two of the ASOS future stylist competition! the theme for it was 'whatever the weather', or basically a winter outfit. it took me a very, very long time to decide on my outfit and even now i'm not totally sure about it. i do like how the scarf is so big, i managed to fashion it into a cape!

i guess this is the part where i ask for you to pleeeeease pleeeease vote for me again! but i really would be so grateful, in this round only 4 of the 8 entrants go through! to be able to vote you first have to 'like' the ASOS facebook page, then you can 'like' my look. here is the direct link to my look. thank you!

bobbles.

jumper, shorts & boots - asos, bag - vintage

accidentally wore all ASOS things, completely unintentional and has nothing to do with the fact i'm in the stylist competition! (which by the way i'm through to the second round of, thanks you guys! will post soon with details and my photo for round two soon.)

the shirt i'm wearing underneath is a topshop one, which is real difficult to wear, so i decided just to utilise its peter pan collar! this is quite a plain look, but it was very comfortable and this jumper is ridiculously warm and cosy.

coat!

hat and coat - h&m, boots - asos, bag - vintage

a few of you had been asking me whether i was freezing in my previous posts' photos, and whether i could do a post showing how i dress in winter. well, to answer you guys, i take all my photos without my winter coat on, but as soon as the photos are taken i throw on my coat! and yes, that does mean i'm bloody cold in the photos!

so here is what i look like when i'm not posing for blog photos, and am just doing normal things like walking around the city etc. this coat is really warm, i bought it this time last year from h&m for 50% off! at first i wasn't sure about the fur collar but now i think it's great, keeps my neck nice and warm. i alternate between this coat and a new one from zara which i'll have to show you guys sometime soon. i almost always wear some kind of hat these days too, they are not to be underestimated in how warm and toasty they keep your head and ears! i always wear 2 layers of tights too, and gloves.

photos of what i was wearing underneath the coat to come later!

burgundy&navy.

cardigan & skirt - topshop, headband - h&m, shoes - asos, playsuit worn as top - clubcouture

when i was contacted by clubcouture, who asked me if i would wear a few of their things on my blog, i was a little hesitant. i've never been approached for anything like that before, and i don't want to become one of those bloggers who will advertise any old crap on their blog. it didn't help that when i went to check out their website, the colours and logos really put me off - they're kind of tacky. but as soon as i had a look through their clothes i changed my mind - they had some really 'me' things! one such thing was this playsuit, which i'm wearing here as a top (the playsuit was kind of short and it was faaar too cold to wear it out). i love the striped collar, i think it's really different. be sure to check out their website if you have the time.

on a sidenote, i must really love the furryness of this headband - in all the photos i took, i was touching it in all of them!

navydotsfursnow.

cable knit cardigan & dress - topshop, furry headband - h&m, shoes - asos, bag - vintage

more excellent headwear! this furry headband keeps my ears SO warm, but sadly the top of my head is constantly freezing.

these red patent boots are the closest i'll probably ever make it to wearing doc martens, which i imagine would make my feet look huge. but these are great, so comfortable and surprisingly warm. the navy cardigan is from topshop and is something i wanted for a long time, but at £48 it would be probably the most i've ever spent on something that wasn't a winter coat or shoes. but i know i will wear it all the time, it goes with everything, so i went for it and bought it! and it is so snug and warm.

i think the snow makes my photos a lot better! the amount of snow in these photos is the full extent of the snow we've had here in norwich, i feel kinda bad about that because the rest of the UK seems to be completely snowed in!

warning - soppy blogger time! i want to say thanks again to all you guys for taking the time to read my posts and comment and even vote for me in my competition. this is such a great community to be a part of. and i'm going to make much more effort to check out all your blogs and comment on them, because i admit that's something i'm not always on top of! but really, how nice you all are really puts a smile on my face.

POMPOM

jumper and shorts - topshop, boots - asos, bag - vintage

before you ask me whether i was freeezing here - 1, yes i was, but 2, i had a coat standing by to throw on right after these photos! because obviously you guys don't wanna see photos of me just standing in my coat. (i would also like to point out i had 2 layers of tights on here too!)

i love this hat, i've been getting seriously cold ears lately so am quickly expanding my hat repatoire to prevent this. this hat was one such addition, and the cute pompoms on the end and on the top make me feel about 5 years old, but that's fine by me! any clothing that makes me regress about 15 years is good.

thanks for all your support with my ASOS stylist competition, i'm doing pretty well so far! if you want to vote for me, then you can do so here. thanks!

ASOS future stylist ?

i have a huge, huge favour to ask you guys. a few weeks ago i was contacted by ASOS (!!) to take part in their 'future stylist 2011' competition! i had to style a look on the theme 'christmas party looks (steal the show)' using ASOS clothes. the above photo is the outfit i chose. now, this was super tough for me as i pretty much never dress like this! but i'm up against some big bloggers who are already running away with the competition, and to make it to the next round i need some more votes! all you would have to do is go to the ASOS facebook page, 'like' it, and then go to my photo and 'like' that too.

i don't like to ask you readers for favours like this, i never have done before, but i would really appreciate your support on this one.

here is the direct link to my entry. thank you so much!

furgundy.

midi skirt - topshop, furry headband & top - h&m, leather jacket - topshop, boots - asos


something tells me that this length of skirt isn't very easy to pull off, or particularly popular? but i saw it and fell in love with the colour and the pleats and, surprisingly, the length. i'd seen other bloggers wearing midi skirts and they looked great, but i knew it wasn't something i'd be able to wear very well. i still wanted to try though. and, despite the length making me look even shorter and stumpier than i do anyway, i really enjoyed wearing it! it's so girly and i couldn't stop swishing it about. as soon as i saw it, i had pictured it with stripes. i actually quite like the outfit, even though i think it would look better on someone a lot taller than myself.

i'm off to london tomorrow to see the national at the O2 in brixton, is anyone a fan and/or seeing them tomorrow? i'm excited, and i hope to sneak in some christmas shopping too, and of course some shopping for myself.

these are a few of my favourite things

cardigan, dress worn as top, shorts - topshop, boots - asos

i'm wearing 3 of my very favourite things in this outfit, and you've seen them all before so i'm afraid it's nothing new. but sometimes, when i get stuck in a fashion rut, the easiest thing to do is just grab your favourite things and go.

also trying out red lipstick here, i'm not really one for overdoing it with make-up, particularly lipstick as i'm just not sure it suits me! i do think it goes quite well with this outfit though.

new lengths.

coat - zara, jumper - topshop, skirt - vintage, boots - asos

i'm pretty sure this outfit isn't very much in keeping with my usual style (whatever that actually is...), and i think it's kinda out of proportion, what with the skirt length and coat length.. something just doesn't quite 'go'. or is that just me?

either way, i'd been wanting to wear this skirt for ages, but was despairing over what to wear it with! it's such an awkward length to style. in the end i went for this plain jumper, but decided to keep my new (amazing, navy and velvet..) coat on for the photos, as it was SO COLD. the typical english weather we get over here is well and truly setting in.

vertical.

striped dress - vintage, cardigan - topshop, boots - asos

this is a pretty simple outfit (and infact a pretty cold one, too). seem to have added another obsession to my list.. burgundy. it's such an autumnul colour and i can't wear enough of it! realised i hadn't worn this striped dress in the longest time, so decided to give it an outing. i love how the stripes are vertical rather than horizontal (isn't that supposed to be slimming? or is it the other way around?).

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend, i'm going to spend mine hunting for christmas presents and making my own christmas cards! i really love this time of year!

RED

jacket and dress - topshop, boots - asos

knew i had to take these photos against the red background, because my outfit is ridiculously black and white! i love this lace dress, it has its own peterpan collar but i decided to add my own black velvet collar to it instead. it was probably a little too cold for this outfit, i should really have worn a coat, but i hate neglecting my favourite clothes just because of the stupid weather!

i did an interview with the lovely phoebe from phoebedoes, check it out here!

rain, rain, go away

cardigan - thrifted, blouse & shorts & boots - topshop

polka dots again, but i will not apologise! they're too good not to wear in every single outfit. i don't have much to say about this outfit - there isn't really anything exciting about it at all!

i might have some pretty exciting news to tell you soon, that seems too good to be true. but if it isn't, i might need some help from you guys!

the return of the stripe

hat and cardigan - h&m, blouse and shorts - topshop, boots - asos

sorry for my blogging absence, but i just haven't been able to take any outfit photos.

this blouse is such a lovely colour, but it's pretty sheer and low cut, something i'm not used to! and i felt the need to wear this cardigan again, as i've been neglecting stripes lately. i used to wear stripes a lot but lately, as you know, they've been rejected in favour of lots and lots of polka dots. but i thought it was time to bring some stripes back into my life.

i'm having a bit of a shopping lull lately, i can't seem to find anything i like enough to buy. i'm hunting for a fairisle/christmas jumper and a great pair of wedges but i just can't find any!

goodbye october, hello november

everything topshop except asos boots and h&m hat

i really like the way the sunlight looks in these photos, and despite it being preeetty much november, i was surprised at how warm it is today. i was able to go out without a jacket and not entirely freeze myself to death.

i really like this outfit, especially how the polka-dot blouse adds just a tiny bit of pattern to an otherwise simple outfit. i really must apologise, this blog has become all about polka-dots, this hat and these boots. but i really feel no outfit is complete without them! especially the hat, i think rather soon i'm going to have to have it surgically removed from my head. i almost bought the same (or very similar) one in grey, but wasn't sure it'd look quite right.

happy halloween everyone! i've spent my day making pumpkin pie (which i'd never eaten before, and after tasting it decided i definitely don't like it...), creepy crawly cakes and bat biscuits. i might post photos of them later! i haven't dressed up this year, but if i did i think i'd know what to be.. from the comments i got on my last post, i think i'd make an excellent wednesday adams! (which is by no means a bad thing!)

wasting time, hanging out

dress - asos, cardigan - topshop, hat - h&m, shoes - office

i pondered for ages whether to get these shoes. i really like them, but i'm not sure they're very 'me' .. and when i don't think something is very 'me' i can take hours to decide whether to get it. in the end i went for it (the fact they were 50% off had nothing to do with it of course...), and i'm glad i did. sooo pointy. still not sure i can pull off leopard though.

i was in a good mood this day because my hair was being good for once. it never goes naturally wavy like this, but for some reason this time it did. haven't managed to get it to do it since. sigh, being a girl is tough.

and another outing for this dress, which i really love. i love how the collar goes all the way around the neck so you can wear it flopped over things.

also apologies for my inane paleness here, the winter cold combined with the retarded flash on my camera means im going to look pretty damn ghostly in the coming months.

polka dots and purple.

cardigan - ebay, top - top part of playsuit, shorts & boots - asos

i bagged this cardigan for cheap on ebay, but as it's a size L i wasn't sure what it would look like, but i think it's just the right size. i don't really like tight clothes at all (except jeans). i'd been looking for a top or cardigan with this type of polka dot print for a while and am so pleased to have found something. polka-dots are just the ultimate pattern to wear and style!

and as for the hat, in what is probably its 900th appearance on my blog, i'm finding it very difficult to not wear it with every single outfit, it's just the perfect finishing touch to everything i end up wearing. someone needs to take it away from me, it's like a drug.