Passion for Fashion

A few weeks ago on the lovely Lily's blog I read about this fab 'Passion for Fashion' competition being run by Money Supermarket. You can read all about the competition here, but in a nutshell the aim is to create your dream looks for autumn/winter for under £200 each.

Now it's no secret that I both love a bargain and love putting outfits together, so I thought I'd give it a go!

I think the looks are all very 'me' - or at least how I'd like to be! There were 5 categories in total, and I found some easier than others to create looks for. I'm always dazzled by party dresses and my wardrobe consists of far too many, so I was spoilt for choice here, whereas I'm far more of a snuggle under the duvet in winter kind of girl than brave the elements, so the outdoor task was more of a struggle!

I'm really pleased with what I came up with though, and I really would like to wear all of the outfits. For under £200 each they're not bank braking either. Although I have to say, I didn't find keeping within the price restrictions too difficult - there are so many good buys on the high street at the moment that with a bit of savvy shopping you can easily create expensive looking outfits for less.

I hope (my technology skills permitting!) that you can click on each of the images to make them bigger.  I've included where all the items are from so you can take a look if you like them, and have also tried to explain the looks I was going for and why I made some of the selections I did.

I hope these outfits show my 'Passion for Fashion'. It was certainly a lot of fun putting them together. Why not give it a go yourself?!

xx

30 Day Challenge (Post 2) 'Your Favourite Shirt'

Hi all!

Hope you've all had a great weekend :-) I had a great night out on Friday (no photos were taken unfortunately) which meant that due to a combination of alcohol and tiredness, yesterday was pretty much a write off! I've had a good day today but now it's Sunday night and I can't believe how quickly Monday comes around.

Anyway, moving on, here's the second part of the '30 Day Challenge', which is...

2. Post a picture of... your favourite shirt.

I've taken 'shirt' to mean 'top', assuming this tag started in America. So, here it is. I am just loving this top from Next at the moment, which I got a couple of months ago, I think for around £28. The colours are really rich and gorgeous, which I think you can see from this photo. It's also got a lovely silky feel, so it feels nice to wear.

The reason this top is my favourite, and not just a top that I like lots and lots, is that it is really versatile. I can wear it with a maxi skirt, shorts or trousers to create different looks, and it can be made to look really casual or really dressy. It's so nice when you buy something you totally fall in love with which I did today when I bought a new handbag, but that's a whole different post!) :-D

That's all for now girls, and enjoy the last few hours of the weekend!

xx

Snippets from the Sales

Hello lovely ladies!

As promised, as a follow-on from my last post which showed all my recent bargainous beauty buys, here's a peek at some of my clothing and accessories purchases from the good old January sales :-)

First up is this beautiful evening bag from Next...

I love that it is a clutch, but it also has a strap which can be tucked inside if its not needed (because 90% of the time I take a clutch bag out with me, and by the end of the night when I'm giving it my all on the dancefloor I wish I didn't have to hold my bag!). The colour should go with anything too. I'm having a bit of a clearout at the moment and am discovering I own way too many cheap going out bags (mainly from Primarni) which I want to get rid of, and just have a couple of really nice bags instead.

This little beauty was just £8, reduced from £18 :-)

I'm really into scarves recently, as I seem to be wearing a lot of plain outfits and then adding colour or texture with a scarf. This was from River Island...

It was £24.99 reduced to £10, and is a mix of white, greys and black, with some velvety-feel parts, and some see through sections. Scrumptious!

Everyone has to get PJs for Christmas or in the sales don't they?! It's like an unwritten rule! These were from Dorothy Perkins, reduced from £20 to £12...

The trousers are full length but I folded them to get them all in the picture. I particularly like the top, as on the front it is plain black, but on the back it has the same floral pattern as the trousers - this means that from the back I look like I'm wearing an all-in-one! I can't wait to snuggle up in these :-)

Probably my favourite purchase has to be this jumper from the Signature collection at Next... (even though my mum says it looks like I have ferrets on my shoulders)...

I had wanted it when it was full price at £40, so I couldn't resist when it was marked down to £20 :-)

There's cute button detailing on the back too...

It reminds me of something I saw Frankie Sandford wearing in a magazine. It isn't exactly the same top, but I'll probably wear it in the same way (but won't look as good!).

FInally I got some shoes (of course!). A girl can never have too many black heels right?! Again, these were from Dorothy Perkins...

I love that they will go with everything that a normal pair of black heels would, but are a bit more 'interesting', with the zips and silver heel and platform. The fact that they were reduced from £40 to £10 just makes them even better!

And that's pretty much it :-) I still plan to head in to the sales once more this week, probably in Birmingham, to have a final look for some last minute bargains.

Let me know if you managed to get anything good in the sales. Even better, if you've done a blog post on your bargains, just post the link below - I really want to discover some more good blogs!

xx

The Big 2-3 - My Birthday!!

I've had a lovely few days of celebration this weekend because it was my birthday on Saturday! I hit the big 2-3 which I'm finding very scary since it only feels like two minutes ago that I was 18. However, a day out in London helped take my mind off my rapid ageing, so I thought I'd just post a few little piccies.

We headed down early in the morning to queue for tickets for Wicked at the Apollo, and luckily we managed to get our hands on some. Before the matinée started we went to Covent Garden. I know it's really touristy, but it's still one of my favourite places to go to in London.

While we were there we saw a Pearly King collecting for charity. I just had to grab a picture as he looked so dashing! (and of course I added my donation to his collection box).

The street performers were all out in force as usual. I think the human statues are brilliant, but I never stand at the front to watch because I find them a little bit scary!

At 2.30 we headed back to the Apollo for the show...

I knew very little about the show before we went, and was surprised (and very pleased!) to find out that the talented (and a little bit gorgeous!) Lee Mead was in it...

I can't praise the show highly enough - it really was amazing. The set was stunning and the voice of the lead character in particular blew me away. If you happen to be in London I can't think of many better ways to spend a few hours.

After the show we headed to the Waldorf for cocktails, and then on to an Italian back in Covent Garden for dinner. A lovely day finished off with my favourite meal...

All in all I had a fantabulous day - a very happy (and lucky) girlie :-)

Now, to find some wrinkle cream and my Bonmarché vouchers...

xx

Dressed for Success!

I've just got a really quick outfit post for you on what I wore for my interview in London town today.

I went for a much different look to the outfit I wore to my last interview (you can see my post here). Last time the company had no dress code and was quite a young, fresh company, so I wore something quite 'me' but still appropriate for the day.

This time round though, I didn't know too much about the company's culture/dress code. However, I did know that they are hugely successful, a market leader and that they deal with some of the biggest banks, law firms, investment companies etc in the country (actually, in the world)... all very impressive stuff! So I though it was best to go for something very profesh! I would much rather be over dressed than underdressed at an interview, so this is what I went with...

I am aware that my hair looks slightly red in these pictures, which I find a lil strange...

Blazer - New Look

Blouse - Next

Skirt - Tesco

Bag - Primark

Shoes - Asda

I've gotta say I felt very professional, and.. dare I say it... grown-up, walking past all the tourists wearing this! (I'm 22, so I know it shouldn't feel strange to feel grown up, but it does!)

I've got my fingers crossed I get through to the next round of interviews, and I'll let you know when I hear. If I do, that means another outfit to plan :-/

Hope you all have a lovely weekend :-D

xx