A Little TARTAN Addiction...

Oh crikey - photographing items of clothing is a right task and a half sometimes, isn't it? Fashion bloggers - I don't know how you do it. You deserve a medal.  I often throw a clothing post into the mix... As obsessed by beauty as I am, I also have a love for retail therapy and at the start of each season I do tend to add to my overflowing wardrobe with some new bits and pieces.  This year,  I have a little bit of an obsession for tartan - clearly.  I must admit I do find it quite hard to style sometimes and I have to be 'in the mood' to wear it - but I've become quite drawn to it since I've seen it popping up in shops.  It's won me over.  I thought I'd give you a little insight into my tartan collection and how I'll be styling these pieces through Autumn/Winter.  I've written about them in order of how they appear in my photograph so hopefully you can pick and choose certain sections if you don't wish to trawl through my dribble. Without any further rambling, let's get cracking!

1 | Scarves / White Tartan - Primark / Black & White Snood - Tesco / Red Tartan - PrimarkOne of the first things I bought when I knew tartan was going to be 'in' this season was a tartan scarf.  I've wanted one for quite some time as I think they look amazing with a parka style coat and a simple outfit.  I usually just wear mine thrown loosely around the neck and I like them to be quite long in length - the warmer and snugglier the better.  The white tartan one is perfect for those days when red looks a little 'clashy' - and it's the thicker of the bunch making it perfect for the colder weather.  The black and white snood is perfect for wearing with my leather jacket and is perfect for those days when I'm feeling a little 'monochrome'.  I'm currently on the lookout for an oversized, wooly version of my red primark one - It's served me well up until now but now that the clocks have gone back, I know I'll be in need of a thicker one.  I have my eye on an oversized one from Urban Outfitters... Oh dear - someone has a scarf-buying problem.


2 | Pyjama bottoms / Purple Shorts and Red Tartan Trousers - both PrimarkOh Primark you little devil, you.  Every year you get it spot on when it comes to cosy PJs and I find myself at the till with a basket full to the brim of new-news. Okay, so the purple 'cheeky' shorts aren't exactly practical for the winter but I really, really loved them and I thought I'd get my wear out of them somehow?  I'm completely in love with the red tartan pyjama bottoms though - they're slightly fleecy and are just so unbelievable soft and comfortable.  I've been wearing these around the house to lounge around in and l love them to bits.  They even have a little holly pattern on the inside of the waistband - if that doesn't scream 'festive cosy-ness' to you then I don't know what will.

3 | Skater Skirts / Red Pleated - New Look / Black and Grey - Primark

You can't beat a skater skirt! They're perfect to throw on with simple black and white tops and camis and for tucking jumpers in to. I've been wearing these with my fluffy white jumper and a simple black belt and they look lovely - they cinch you in at the waist and just look so girly and simple. The red pleated skirt is a classic tartan print - and the pleats around the front give it a bit of structure.  I've been wearing the black and grey version with slouchy jumpers and simple black and white cami tops - it also looks nice with my blazers.  It was a complete steal at £8 from Primark and gives that 'school geek-chic' vibe without being too OTT. The shape of it is also lovely - it's not to flouncy or bulky and I find it so flattering to wear - I sometimes struggle to find skater skirts that I like the shape of - but these two are just right.

4 | Collared Smock Dress - River Island via ASOS

If it has a peter pan collar and a cute print - I'll 'av it! This dress is from River Island's 'Chelsea Girl' range and sold out pretty quickly to say the least! Apologies for not getting a full photo of it but hopefully you get the jist of how pretty it is.  It's a babydoll/smock dress but it isn't so loose that it doesn't create shape - it's possible to grab a belt to cinch you in at the waist should you fancy a more fitted shape.  The colour of it is beautiful - a reddish purple hue with lines of yellow, white and deep purple making up the tartan print.  It falls an inch or so above the knee and is the perfect length for wearing both with and without tights.  The white peter pan collar just makes it for me.  So cute and girly!

5 | Tartan Shorts - River Island via ASOS

I bought these a while back and I must admit I haven't actually worn them yet.  They're harder to style than I first thought due to the length! They're quite...cheeky, shall we say? At 23 I can't really get away with short-shorts of a daytime any more. However, never one to give in, I'm planning on styling them with my trusty opaques and a slouchy top/jumper to contrast with the slightly tighter fit. I will probably 'business' it up a little with a black or white blazer as well. Shove a blazer over any outfit and you'll go from casual to office professh in seconds...

Have you been loving tartan as much as me this season? How have you been wearing it?

Summer Haul | New Look, Primark & H&M

So. I promised myself that I would not go shopping until late August.  I'm trying to save the pennies for a rainy day and just recently I haven't exactly been to kind to the purse strings. However, that little promise to myself flew well and truly out of the window when I decided one morning last week to have an innocent little mooch around town.  5 hours and 2 achy feet later and I found myself back in my hallway, a little dishevelled, surrounded by an array of shopping bags.  Oops.  When I was on holiday, I spent a great deal of time sat on a sun lounger, pouring over magazines and reading blogs on my iPhone.  Of course, this is never a good move when you're trying to be kind to the ole' bank balance is it? I practically burst out of the aeroplane doors, brimming with new outfit ideas and a shopping list as long as my arm. Here's the results of my naughty little shopping mission...

First things first - welcome to my back garden! Wheyheyhey! The sun was out in force, it felt like I was melting and the last thing I fancied doing was manoeuvring myself around my house attempting to get good photographs of clothes. The garden seemed a very appealing place to take some blog photographs - much to the fascination of my neighbours - never before has a washing line and a rockery been so handy!  One of my favourite purchases is this gorgeous office bag from H&M.  A while back, I treated myself to the ever-popular Zara Office City Bag in Tan, and it's been glued to my arm ever since.  As soon as I saw this black tote bag in H&M I dashed up to the shelf to grab it.  It was love at first sight.  It has the exact same finish to it that the Zara bag has, and is pretty much the same size, just without all of the sections.  As much as I love my Zara version, I figured that a black one would come in very handy for when autumn/winter roll around - the style is so classic and simple.  For £24.99 it's so worth the money and I cannot wait to wear this to uni with my blazers and midi skirts - very 'office chic'.  Of course, a trip to the shops is never complete without a scout around jewellery sections, and I picked up these two necklaces before I went away on holiday to go with various outfits.

It was my lucky day, as when I walked into New Look I discovered it was the first morning of their sale. Fat kid in sweet shop comes to mind... I spent ages trawling through the rails, and grabbed some lovely things (everything above from New Look wasn't anymore than £9!) I bought the white cropped jumper to wear with my maxi skirts when it's a little chillier, or to sling over my summer dresses and skirts. It's one of those lovely loose fitting ones that are so easy to style - I almost spent £36 on one in Topshop so I was really chuffed to find this one! Next I picked up the dungaree skater dress.  As much as I love the denim dungarees that seem to be everywhere right now, I've never seen them as quite 'my thing' - so when I saw this pretty little skater dress/pinafore I snapped it up.  It's a girly little nod to the trend and I will be wearing this over my cropped tshirts throughout the summer - I adore anything with daisys on it! I've also been after a black midi skirt for what seems like forever now!  I'm quite petite and struggle to find midi skirts that actually fit me and flatter my pint-sized little frame. This one is just the right length - finishing at the knee rather than a few inches below it - so it doesn't make me look like a hobbit and yet still looks classy.  

Primark have really been banging out the summer skirts this year! I stocked up on some lovely midi/pencil skirts before I went to London last month, and went in there with the purpose of finding some more maxi skirts for my wardrobe.  It occurred to me on holiday that I only have 2 maxi skirts - both of which are quite dressy, and I wanted something a little more casual for the daytime.  The spotted skirt is one of my favourite buys - I'm in love with anything polka-dot at the moment, so I rushed over to pick this up before anyone else got their mitts on it!  I will most definitely be wearing this with the New Look cropped jumper when the weather cools down a little - with a little flowery headband I think it will be the perfect outfit!  The black tube maxi is another lovely skirt for the daytime.  It has a split up one side but only to the knee so it's perfect for the daytime and more casual wear - it's a very versatile little piece to have in my wardrobe.  Last year, Primark bought out some lovely little summer dresses in a variety of colours and I got so much wear out of them on holiday.  When I spotted they had a similar version in green this year I snapped it up.  They're perfect for wearing over bikinis on the beach as you can whip them on and off really quickly! The colour is just so beautiful - the camera doesn't pick it up as well but it really is the most intense green - I can imagine it will look amazing with the tan I'm sporting right now!  And last but not least, I picked up this aztec pencil skirt from H&M.  It's not long enough to be a midi but it hits just above/at the knee - it looks really flattering on and the pattern is really on trend this season.  Again, it's such a versatile piece and I can see this lasting me well into winter.  You can never be without a little pencil skirt in your wardrobe!

And so there we have it. A little haul for you to sink your teeth into ;) I really don't have an ounce of willpower whatsoever, but I'm so pleased with what I managed to pick up.  I left the shops feeling rather chuffed with myself to say the least - a dose of shopping really does help to take post-holiday blues away, doesn't it?

What have you found in the summer sales this year? Any of these things float your boat?

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Fantasy Shopper | Shopping Inspiration

As a bit of a self-confessed shopaholic, I'm constantly looking online and taking inspiration for new outfits and eyeing up key pieces for the season. I regularly online shop, and spend many an evening trawling the shops for the right thing to buy - sometimes I have something specific in mind and it can take me ages to find the right item. So, I thought i'd let you all know of this wonderous little tool that might just become an asset to your online shopping habits. Fantasy Shopper is a fashion and style website which allows you to build up a 'wardrobe' of your most wanted items and pieces on your wishlist. If you're after something specific you can type a word into the search bar and it will bring up hundreds of pieces from a large list of shops - this list can be narrowed down further using the drop-down menus on the sidebar which is really handy if you have something you're searching for that you've seen in a particular shop or if you're after a certain colour. You can simply click a little button to add the item to your online wardrobe to save for future inspiration, or click to find out more information and link to that item's website to make a sneaky purchase... This fabulous little online closet can also be sorted into categories - which i find rather satisfying (i like my real wardobe to be organised so i'm not about to let my online one slip, am i? ;)).

What I love about this website, is that it allows you to view items from shops you would never have thought twice about looking in before - I have pieces in my online 'wardrobe/wishlist' that I never would have found before. It just gives you a wider perspective of whats out there, and if you're after a quick online shopping fix, it saves you the time of looking through individual websites.  I must admit, I use this more for inspiration more than the actual shopping side of things at the moment; i just find it more useful for collecting images and gathering ideas for outfits with items that are actually available to buy (as much as I love Pinterest..sometimes i get a little disheartened when I can't find a similar outfit anywhere!). There's so many different things to explore on here - it has been recently launched so I keep finding new things that have been added - you can follow people and add your friends to give you feedback on outfits and give you help if your struggling to find something. All in all I just find it a little bit addictive! There's a really fun side to the website too which allows you to unlock badges and challenge yourself a little bit - it also totals up how much you've 'spent'. Put it this way, if i'd actually bought everything i've added to my online wardrobe I would be a few thousand pounds poorer ;) It puts a little twist on the whole idea of 'online shopping' and if you fancy having a nosey then hop on over www.fantasyshopper.com, and do let me know if you sign up - I will hop on over and follow you!

Have you tried Fantasy Shopper? Is this something you would use? 
 ♥