Category Archives: outfits

When Jeans met Dress

16th January 2017
It’s a long time since I last wore jeans and a dress together. The combination reminds me a bit of when trouser skirts were a thing (hello year 9 school uniform) anything similar since. I was browsing on the Monki website the other day- as I frequently do and happened across my last Christmas money purchase styled over a pair of skinny jeans and loved how it looked so I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a go myself.

Dress: Monki (some sizes still in stock) | Jeans: New Look ((this style)) | Boots: Sarenza | Necklace: Hello Harriet

It’s not often I remember to take a photo of my jewellery, or actually remember to put any on for that matter but this necklace from Hello Harriet is totally worth sharing. I featured Harriet’s shop on the blog in the run up to Christmas and santa must have been reading because on Christmas day I found this necklace hiding in my stocking. It pretty much sums up how I feel about certain things right now but mostly I just love jewellery/clothing/anything with a touch of sarcasm and attitude. I so badly want to get Mae a matching collar tag, but her track record at keeping hold of a collar and it’s tags is poor to say the least and I can’t bear the idea of getting her one of these only for it to turn up squished out of all recognition in a nearby road like the last one did!

Oh, and this dress was a complete bargain by the way- £8! The Monki sale remains my favourite as I picked up so much for so little. New season stock is arriving fast and my wish list is at least as tall as I am…I just loved their oversized pieces and minimal aesthetic. I think it’s probably the one shop that completely sums up my current style and as soon as I’m back at work I’m planning a “well done” spree for getting to my goal.

Which shops sum up your style right now? Did anyone else fall victim to the trouser skirt? (Or am I completely showing my age here?!)

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Posted in brands I love, fashion, jewellery, outfits, shopping

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What’s New Pussycat?

13th January 2017

The sales have been pretty kind to me this year- not only did I score some complete bargains but I also managed to snap up a couple of items I’d had on my wish list full price and resigned myself to not being able to afford.

The cat print dress in this post is one of those finds. First bought to my attention by the wonderful (and ever so stylish) Laura a couple of months ago I knew straight away that I wanted this but at £45.99(ish) it was way out of my price range. After a quick online browse of the Zara sale I was excited to see the dress had gone down to £26.99 but still assumed I wouldn’t get it but left it in the hands of the shopping gods and decided that if the Bristol store had it in stock in my size I would buy it- but because I didn’t technically NEED another dress I wouldn’t order online.

Someone was smiling down on me the day I ventured in to the sales (and the Zara sale is one I tend to avoid because it gets so chaotic and often vicious in store!) as there was one cat printed dress left hanging there all alone. A size up from my usual but I tried it on and decided I didn’t care, I like the sloppy look and so I happily trotted off to pay.

Dress: Zara | Boots: Office (similar)

These ankle boots are the third pair that have recently come in to my possession, but as my most worn flat black pair as starting to give up the ghost and I had a gift card from work I figured they were a worthy investment especially as they were reduced from £72 to £32. I’ve been after a pair of lace up ankle boots for a while and whilst the exact pair I got aren’t on the Office Shoes website any more I have linked to a very similar alternative for anyone else on the hunt.

This is probably one of my current favourite outfits. I’m a massive fan of longer length over-sized dresses at the moment and anything with a cat print on it is always going to be a winner in my eyes. I’ve already worn this dress several times so on a cost-per-wear basis it’s probably in the minus figures by now.

Thank you for all of the well wishes for my occupational health appointment, they were very much appreciated. It didn’t go exactly as I’d hoped- I suppose I thought that if I could get myself mentally a lot better I could somewhat overlook the physical side of things (and my first experience with occupational health seemed to confirm this). Alas this wasn’t the case so now I must face my biggest fear and hurdle in recovery and put on some weight before I can resume the job I love so much. I suppose I’m writing this down so I can’t back away from it. It’s so easy to get swept up in the disordered thinking of “well I already look healthy” but using my blog as a perspective I can see that I’m a way off looking like I did when I was last at a healthy weight (in this post for an example) and I’ve just got to man up and get on with it. I always struggle through the process of weight gain and seeing my body change but I know that when I get there I feel so much happier and more confident in myself- and the rest of my life becomes a lot more fun and fulfilling as a result. That has got to be worth toughing it out for. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I’m at a level where I can return to work, it’s so hard to know that the only thing holding you back from the one thing you really want to be able to do is yourself and yet you’re trapped by an illness that does it’s best to stop you achieving anything resembling a happy and healthy life.

Anyway, enough of that… tell me about your top sales purchases this year- or I suppose end of last year really!

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Posted in life, life stuff, outfits, recovery, shoes, shopping

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Rose(gold) Tinted

09th January 2017

Over the last couple of months three new pairs of ankle boots have somehow made it in to my posession. I say somehow, I do actually know how- of course I do but I am pretending to plead ignorance because I really had no need of even one pair, let alone three!

The rose gold pair in this post were a Christmas present and I just couldn’t resist them when I first saw them in River Island. Much like with my pewter pair I was attracted to how shiny they were. That and being a typical blogger and loving all things rose gold of course! I gave them their first outing paired with a floral dress I picked up in the M&S sale. It was so nice to mainly have money for Christmas and then to be able to indulge in some guilt free sales shopping for once, especially as my income is severely lacking whilst I am still signed off from work.

Dress: Marks and Spencer (similar) | Boots: River Island (available on ASOS)

I’ve been trying to make a bit more of an effort with how I dress lately. I spent a large part of last year living in the same pinafore dresses and black ankle boots and generally not feeling like myself. Thanks to some saving up and some sales shopping I’ve managed to make some modest additions to my wardrobe that are much more “me” and as shallow as it might sound I am feeling better for it.

This is probably the first January in a long time where I haven’t felt resigned to “January blues”. Things might not currently be how I want them- I’m not yet back at work, I’m fighting a huge mental battle with myself each and every day and it’s sometimes overwhelming just how many changes I need to make in my life. But I have hope, for the first time in a long time I have hope that things are going to change for the positive. I have goals and direction, tangible goals at that- not huge big dreams that would be near impossible to achieve.

The first step will be a second occupational health appointment this week after the first one turned out to be well, a disaster for various reasons. I’m hoping this will set the wheels in motion for getting back to work and from that the rest is bound to follow, slowly but surely. I know what I need to do and it’s just a case of working out how best to get it done now.

It’s not all sweetness and light. A year ago today I was in the midst of moving to my flat and starting what I thought would be my new forever and of course that does get me down at times but I’ve found now that I can brush it off, remind myself of the bigger picture and muddle through the days with a smile on my face for the most part.

How are you finding January so far? And on a sartorial note how would you style up the rose gold boots?

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Posted in life, life stuff, outfits, shoes, shopping

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Monki See, Monki Do

22nd December 2016
A couple of weeks ago, having cashed in the contents of our piggy bank (saving up all of your silver coins pays off, trust me!) Mum and I headed in to Bristol for a bit of self-indulgent retail therapy. I already knew exactly where I wanted to spend my cash and made a beeline for Monki as soon as we were off of the bus- well, after a coffee stop of course.
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not that Monki opened their second UK store in the fair city of Bristol. Already borderline obsessed with the brand the arrival of an actual store has ramped that up a notch and my wish list is out of control. Thankfully I managed to exercise some self restraint and left with just a couple of the many items I have my eye on- the rest I have earmarked for a Christmas money spend up!

Dress & Jumper both Monki | Boots: Long Tall Sally

I almost didn’t try this dress on. On the hanger it just looked a bit shapeless to me but I loved the print and with a bit of convincing I added it to my bundle for the changing room (and oh what changing rooms, nice job Monki!). The second I slipped this on I knew it was coming home with me, far from being the shapeless sack I had envisaged this dress drapes beautifully and I loved the midi length as well.

I also picked up this jumper which was an absolute bargain at £20. I intended both pieces to be separates but it turns out they also look pretty awesome layered up which means I’ve essentially bought three outfits for £45 as both the dress and jumper work well alone too.

I predict living in this outfit over the festive period, it’s warm and cosy and the dress has plenty of room for the inevitable festive food babies that will be occurring…the first of which is likely to be today as it’s Mum’s birthday and we’re off to an epic farm shop/restaurant for a celebratory lunch. Happy Birthday Mum!

Are there any shops that you’re currently obsessed with? I’m afraid you’re going to be seeing a lot more Monki on the blog in 2017!

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Posted in brands I love, bristol, cabot circus, life, life stuff, outfits, shopping

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Keeping Cosy with Bows Boutiques*

15th December 2016
I don’t do things by halves, it appears I’ve gone from posting pretty much no outfit posts in ages to bringing you one today that has three separate looks in it. I do love dressing for winter weather though, there’s something about layering up and keeping snug that is infinitely appealing and thanks to some new arrivals in my wardrobe from Bows Boutiques I’m keeping cosy in style.

Coat c/o Bows Boutiques | Skirt: New Look | Boots: Long Tall Sally

I think this might be the warmest coat I have ever owned (and that’s saying something as I currently own a lot of coats!) It’s taken me a while to embrace parka style coats but right now I can’t get enough and this one is just perfect. It’s super padded and has lots of faux fur details to make it extra snug and the quality is amazing. I’ve been wearing this non-stop since it arrived- my other coats are starting to feel quite neglected but my loyalty currently lies with this one.

Cardigan c/o Bows Boutiques | Jumper: New Look | Skirt: New Look | Boots: George at Asda

My friends and family call me the cardigan queen as it’s very rare I’m seen without one. I’ve been a little un-inspired by the high-street’s offerings this season though, especially when it came to finding a new black cardigan. This studded cardi from Bows Boutiques ticks all of the right boxes for me- decent length, super warm, pockets and something to make it stand out in the form of the silver stud detailing. This comes in one size suitable for sizes 8-16 and it hangs like a dream, it comes in three colours (grey and khaki) and I’m tempted to buy one of each come payday.

The skirt and jumper are both fairly new acquisitions from New Look- the skirt has become yet another wardrobe essential for me- a more subtle way to embrace the velvet trend with it’s quilted texture and I really like how it looked paired with these over the knee boots that I admit I forgot I owned, oops!

Jumper c/o Bows Boutiques | Jeans: New Look (old) | Boots: New Look (now half price)

I’m not usually one to share my more casual outfits on the blog, there isn’t often anything exciting to show when I’m slobbing around in jeans and a baggy jumper but I make exception for this jumper as it dresses up my one and only pair of jeans perfectly. I’m a big fan of oversized knitwear especially when I’m struggling with my body confidence and feel the need to hide. The embroidered detail is bang on trend and the jumper itself is so soft and snuggly that I just want to live in it. Again it’s a one size fits all (8-16) piece that just hangs like a dream. It comes seven different colours and I’m starting to think that one for every day of the week might not be a bad idea. I actually really like how this outfit turned out. The pewter boots finish it off wonderfully although I am slightly resentful that they are now half price at £14.99.
This post has been my introduction to the brand Bows Boutiques and I have to say I am seriously impressed. It’s hard to know what to expect when you’ve never experienced a company before but I can hand on heart say I’ll be shopping with them from here on out. The quality far exceeds that of many a high-street shop and the prices are very reasonable (£85 for the coat, £31.99 for the cardigan and £28.99 for the jumper). Watch this space for more pieces arriving in my wardrobe very soon- well, once I’m back at work and have had a chance to recover from the expense of Christmas that is!

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P.S. sorry the photos aren’t very exciting. The one and only opportunity I got to take them and the weather decided to chuck a sudden downpour at me!

Posted in brands I love, fashion, life, outfits, review, shoes, shopping

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