The one where I actually get dressed!

Sick leave has made me lazy when it comes to getting dressed. Most days I just chuck on a pair of jeans and a slogan tee, or my trust denim pinafore and call it job done. This might be practical but doesn’t always lend itself to feeling confident so on the days where I know I am seeing someone or going somewhere I do push myself to make a bit of an effort!

Dress c/o Lilac Rose | Tee: New Look (old) | Converse: Schuh

This Emily and Fin dress is one of my favourite dresses and I don’t wear it nearly often enough. It’s one of those that just flatters and fits. I instantly felt so much better when I popped this outfit on, hence the outfit photos which I am slowly trying to get some confidence back in doing.

As much as I love sandals and dainty shoes I couldn’t break away from the call of my holographic Converse to pair with this outfit. I know casual trainers and girly dresses has been done to death but I love it and probably always will!

I’m going to be staying with my parents for a couple of weeks now and I have been selective in my packing (leaving the jeans behind!) so with Mum on hand I’m hoping to get back in to blogging properly…I’m not expecting miracles though, that denim pinafore of mine is verrrry forgiving!

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Summer Sandals on the brain*

Apparently yesterday was the first day of Summer. The pouring rain and fresh wind did nothing to convince me of this and neither has the fact I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn anything other than converse or ankle boots lately. Still, in the spirit of the season and in the hopes it might encourage some brighter weather I’ve been browsing around and have put together (another) wish list of women’s sandals. Why not eh?

lace up flats | pink embellished | colour block | pom pom | patent black | the showy pair

I really cannot justify purchasing any shoes right now, especially when I have a whole host of as yet unworn sandals tucked away waiting for the sun and warmth to break through. Have any of these caught your eye? I’m dangerously tempted by all of them but none more so than the fabulous pom poms!

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The Making of a Shoeaholic

My love of shoes goes way back, some of my earliest memories involve footwear and over the last 29 years I have fallen in and out of love with countless pairs of (usually highly impractical) shoes so when a website called Shoeaholics got in touch asking if I’d like to share my shoe obsession story (and pick out a pair of sandals) I was more than happy to oblige.

It’s a fond family tale, that time I threw a tantrum in the middle of our local Clarks shoes store. My Mum, my Nan and myself were shopping for school shoes- not easy when you’re blessed with feet more like flippers and were severely limited in choice. I had tried on a pair of red shoes, fallen in love with said red shoes but I believe red shoes were either deemed to be not a good fit or not what the adults had in mind for me. No other shoe was good enough for me and I threw a pretty epic tantrum (I should point out I had only just started school here) and you know what? I might just have won that battle as there were some photos knocking around at some point of me wearing red shoes with my school uniform.

Shoes were actually a key feature in many of my childhood photos and if I was better organised I would have dug some out for this post. There’s the ones of me attempting to walk around the garden in Mum’s fuchsia kitten heels, one of me in my first ever pair of (red now I think of it) wellies and one quite hilarious one of me sporting my Grandad’s walking boots when I can only have been about two years old. I also went through a phase of being obsessed with jelly shoes and it still saddens me now that I could never quite squeeze my flippers in to a pair like these.

Dress: H&M | Carvela sandals c/o Shoeaholics

If there’s one thing I love more than shoes then it’s a pair of bargain shoes so Shoeaholics is pretty much my dream website as it stocks brands such as Carvela and Kurt Geiger (to name just two) at up to 75% off their original price. You’ll also find handbags for sale- hugely tempting- and you can get an extra 15% off of your first order when you sign up to the newsletter.

I really am kicking myself now for not having photographic evidence of my childhood shoe escapades but I’m pretty sure there are plenty more to come in my future. Are you a shoeaholic? Make sure to share your memories with me in the comments, or on social media with the hashtag #imashoeaholic.

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Kate Spade & Space Cats

Despite owning many, many watches there has up until now been one designer who’s wrist wear I have been on a mission to obtain. Call me a blogger cliche but there is something about Kate Spade’s watches that makes them instantly covetable so when WatchShop.com got back in touch and offered to send me one to say I was over the moon would be a hell of an understatement.

Watch c/o WatchShop.com (get it here) | Dress: Cutie | Trainers: K Swiss (available here)

Polka dots and rose gold (artfully matched to my trainers, of course) are two of my favourite things so it was a no brainer that I went for this subtle statement piece. Everything about it is just perfect, from the beautiful packaging to the size of the dial. I am pretty sure I say this about every new watch I get but this really is a new favourite and will barely be leaving my wrist.

I thought it would be fun to do a couple of outfit photos as well, making the most of an overnight stay at my parents’ place and having mum willing to play photographer. I’m not really doing much in the way of outfit posts at the moment, not until certain areas of my life improve but there’s gonna be the odd exception and I had to make one for my favourite Space Cat print dress and new rose gold K Swiss trainers that are so ugly that they are beautiful (and I just had to have them).

Are there any watch designers that you’re seriously coveting right now? I feel like I’ve ticked a major box on my “things I wish I owned” list with this one and I shall be forever grateful to WatchShop.com for hooking me up.

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Simple Stripes

Along with the dungarees from Monday’s post I was also sent a dress by Wearall that I’ve practically lived in since it arrived. My wardrobe has lacked a simple striped jersey dress since the beginning of time so I was really excited to find one that not only did I like the look of online but that lived up to expectations in real life too.

Dress c/o Wearall (get it here) | Boots: Banana Republic

Honestly this is probably the most comfortable item of clothing that I currently own and for £20.00 you really can’t go wrong with this dress. It comes in a couple of other colour combinations which I am putting serious thought in to, perfect for chilling out in especially when the weather is so bloomin’ temperamental!

Given that the weather has been dodgy at best I paired the dress with my new ankle boots that I picked up in the Banana Republic sale on my birthday. Reduced from £129.99 to just £34.99 I couldn’t leave these in the store, I was planning to put them away for the autumn but just couldn’t bear to. Banana Republic isn’t a shop I’ve ever been overly familiar with but as I was lucky enough to win a gift card I had a good nosy around their store in Bath and was smitten with the quality and quantity of fantastic pieces they do. A bit out of my price range, but the sale was excellent so I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for further bargains!

For a more summery look the dress would look equally good with a pair of chunky heels like this pair from Jones Bootmaker. I really don’t need any more shoes (how often do I say this?) but I do feel my collection is lacking on the simple sandals front…

What do you think of these simple stripes? I love how the zipper detail on the front stops a classic edging in to the boring territory.

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