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

The Wanderer Returns

Hello strangers..!

It's fair to say it's been a while since I last blogged - over 16 months to be exact. 

A lot changed in my life back at the start of 2011 - I moved to London for a new job and was thrown into a new, exciting world. This meant blogging took a back seat as I explored a new city, made new friends and tried to find my feet in a new industry.

I actually don't regret abandoning the blog, as I never wanted it to become a chore, which is how I think I'd have felt about it if I'd forced myself to keep writing. But recently I've been itching to get going again. I've still been following my favourite blogs all this time, and over the past few months have been feeling the urge to get reacquainted with my keyboard!

I don't have any master plans about how often I'll blog, or what I'll blog about, but we'll just see how it goes.

I thought about deleting all my old posts and starting from scratch, as I feel like I've changed a lot in the last year or so, and I'm not sure my old posts are still 'me'. But I then remembered how much work I put in to them and I don't want that to all be wasted.

So that's it - I'm back!

It feels good to once again by writing under 'Wings To Fly'.

xx

30 Day Challenge (Post 3) - 'A Gift'

Evening ladies,

Hope you're all good and have already got that Friday feeling in anticipation for tomorrow - I have, and can't wait for the weekend!

Last night I had a very exciting evening, as I went to the National Movie Awards at Wembley Arena :-D Typical me, I forgot to take my camera, but my friend who I went with had hers, so I'll share some pics as soon as I get them from her! There might even me the odd snap of a celeb or too, but I'll keep you waiting...

Anyway, back to business - this is the third post of the 30 day challenge, and the challenge is to post a picture of 'A piece of clothing or jewellery that was a gift'

To be honest, I thought this would be really easy, but when I looked through my stuff I really struggled to find anything that was a gift. However, then I remembered this cute necklace that I got from a friend in a not-so-secret Santa.

I'm not sure where it's from but I really like it and wear it quite a lot :-)

I do have some really 'special' jewellery that's been passed on to me, but I'll save that for another post in the series.

That's me for now, and as I said, hopefully I'll be able to post up some pictures of my glamorous evening over the weekend :-)

Take care all and have a good Friday!

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

30 Day Challenge - Post 1!

Hola chicas,

I said last night that I really want to become more consistent with my blogging again. Up until a few months ago, I was blogging really often and really enjoying it, but recently I seemed to have lost my way a bit.

So, when I stumbled upon a tag on Selina'a blog I though it would be something that could help me get my mojo back!! (You can find her blog at flyingsaucer.typepad.com - check it out, its amazing!) It turns out the tag was originally meant for tumblr, but like Selina I'm going to give it a bash on my blog. The idea is that there are 30 posts you do in 30 days (I'm going to admit right now that I might not quite do it in 30 days, but I'll do them all as quickly as possible).

So without further ado, here goes!

1. Post a picture of... Your closet.

Ta daaaaa! This is my wardrobe. I got it from Ikea quite recently and it was a bargain at about £80. It's only small, and isn't quite the build in double wardrobe I have at my mum's house, but it get's me by!

On top of my wardrobe I have these two baskets I got from Tiger Tiger. They are perfect for all my bags....

And here is inside my wardrobe (it's quite tidy so I'm rather proud of myself!). I have most of my clothes hanging up, and then on the top shelf have plain vests and t-shirts, and my gym clothes. On the bottom are my hoodies, and shoes that I don't wear very often (I have the shoes I wear more often on a separate shoes rack). As you can see it's a tight squeeze so I have to keep it tidy really, else it would be ridiculous!

And there we have it - my wardrobe :-)

See you tomorrow (hopefully!) for post number 2!

xx

What's In My Bag?...

I love watching 'What's In My Bag' videos and toyed with the idea of making one myself. But seeing as I've gone off the idea of seeing my own mug on YouTube, I thought that writing a post on it may be a good compromise. It's not quite the same I know, but at least I can still show you 'what's in my bag'.

So first up, the all important bag. This is the baby I'm carrying round on a day to day basis at the moment...

I got it from Accessorize for a bargainous £8.40 in the sale. My mum bought the same one - we match! I love it because it's big enough to fit everything I need, but is still pretty light. I don't know about you, but I find some bags are just so heavy before you even put anything in them, so once you have got all your things in it, they're just ridiculous.

Here's what I have in my bag at the moment. I didn't realise I carried so much 'stuff' around with me all the time - and this is on a good day!

So I have some random essentials - I usually keep these in the little pocket on the inside. Tissues, hairbands, chewing gun, paracetamol, lipgloss and lip balm. I love cute little packets of tissues like this one :-)

Then we have the three items I never leave the house without - my Accessorize purse, iPhone and keys (complete with Tesco clubcard!). I literally couldn't live without my iPhone - I don't know how I used to function without it!

My iPod and pass holder with my Young Persons Railcard and Oyster card are always in my bag. I always need them on the tube/train/bus, so rather than have to remember them everytime, it's just easier if I always have them with me.

Looking in my bag it seems I'm prepared for all weathers! I've got my leopard print umbrella which I got in my goodie bag at The Look Show, some fingerless gloves from Primarni and sunnies from Dorothy Perkins. Come rain, cold or sunshine, I'm ready!

Last but not least, I might have been a little bit naughty as in the front pocket I appear to have a half eaten packet of Skittles (better than an empty packet I guess!).

So that's what I have in my bag :-) It's pretty tidy for me - no random receipts or half empty water bottles like there normally are! I might do another one of these posts in a couple of months time if I change things up at all.

If you've done a 'What's In My Bag' video or blog post, link me up :-D

xx

I'm Feeling Forever 21

When I went to Birmingham recently to meet a friend for dinner and a few cheeky drinks, on my way from the station I couldn't help but pop in to Forever 21 in the Bull Ring. I went to uni in Birmingham so for four years the Bull Ring was my second home, so it felt good to return :-D

As it was only a very fleeting visit I didn't actually try anything on or buy anything, but I did do a bit of exploring.

My main observation is that the store is MASSIVE!! Three floors of goodness :-D The ground floor is some mens and some womens, the middle floor is all women's clothes, and upstairs is mainly accessories, underwear and sleepwear. There's even a Costa inside the store, so you can stop for a bit of a rest after you've shopped 'til you've dropped!

The store is really nicely decorated (if that's the right word!) with big chandeliers, good lighting and lots of glittery-ness. I thought it was a really great shopping experience, as everything was well spaced out, well displayed and tidy (a nice change if you are used to Primark!).

As I say, I didn't try anything on, but a quick peek at the price tags suggested everything was pretty affordable - I'd probably say about New Look prices.

The top floor was my favourite - a treasure trove of jewellery, belts, hair accessories, bags, purses and belts... I wanted everything :-D I'm pretty sure if I was after a necklace to go with a specific outfit, I could have easily found one in there.

Look how these accessories are displayed - on cute tiered cake stands! I just think showing things off like this makes everything seem more expensive than it actually is, so you really feel like you're buying something special :-)

I'll definitely be making another trip to Forever 21 next time I'm in Birmingham, when I'll hopefully have more time to peruse the rails (and not just take some rushed photos!).

Have any of you managed to visit Forever 21 yet, either in Birmingham or across the pond in America? If you have, what did you think? Did you buy anything?

xx