Velvet

I'm here with an outfit post as promised even if it does have very few photos (my younger brother took them as quickly as he possibly could!).I bought this dress last week for £16 from a vintage shop. I've been wanting a velvet dress for ages and I'm happy with the one I've finally chosen. The dress was originally very long so I cut it and I'm going to use the extra fabric to make a skirt (watch this space!). I am aware I've been wearing this necklace a lot in my outfit posts but it goes with so so much and I don't actually have many necklaces (this length at least). I kept this look quite simple but I think this works well, especially since the velvet fabric stands out so much. I never really thought about silver velvet (I was planning on the typical red or blue) but I love how this looks. It has a really cool effect to it too.

 dress - vintage

necklace - River Island

Shoes - Office (see here)

Rediscovery

I had a lovely day on a visit to London today. Me and a couple of friends went over to Covent Garden in the morning. I bought a velvet vintage dress which I'll show you all at some point. I've wanted something velvet for ages so I'm so glad I bought it! We then went over to the Valentino exhibition which is currently on at Somerset House. The exhibition includes 137 of Valentino's most incredible evening dresses. We were all amazed by the incredible quality and design of all of the dresses (literally every single one!) and I'd definitely recommend going to visit the exhibition if you get the chance. On to my outfit. This is a variation of what I wore today. The jumper was from a family member and is perfect for wearing tucked into a high waisted skirt. The fur gillet, I actually rediscovered yesterday. I'd completely forgotten I had it (I bought it a couple of years ago) but it's actually really great to add to an outfit and is really great for the winter (It's just a shame winter is nearly over!).

skirt - Primark

fur gillet - Birmingham clothes show

necklace - River Island

jumper - old 

tights - Bora Aksu

shoes - New Look

What do you think of this look? What items have you rediscovered recently?

Call it what you want...

Just to let you know, I've joined Lookbook (I'm obsessed with the site now!) so if you want to follow me on there feel free to!

I'm so glad it's got warmer (as in no longer freezing) recently. It means I no longer have to wrap up in loads of layers and I only wore one pair of tights today - record! Anyway, I'm wearing my favourite jacket of all time - I've practically lived in it this winter. It's from Vero Moda and was about £60, a real bargain I thought. The top was my Dad's and the skirt I bought on ebay for around about £5. 

Jacket - Vero Moda

top - old

necklace - River Island

skirt - ebay

shoes - ebay

Walking in a winter wonderland...

Hello! I hope those of you who have it, are enjoying the snow at the moment and the days off school/work (I've been using the time productively - not). As many other bloggers have done, I decided the snow was the perfect background for my latest outfit shoot. I do love the way the snow looks - it's so pretty! Anyway, I 'm wearing my plain white shirt (everyone needs one of these) that was one of my Dad's, my spike necklace again (it's now my favourite as it makes every outfit better), a skirt I got on eBay (originally from Miss Selfridge, I think I bought it for around £5). I made the cropped jumper myself. I saw the fabric in the shop and couldn't resist it - I just love the print so much! My shoes are a new purchase from ebay (£25). I'm still not sure about them (I think everyone goes through that stage where they're unsure whether they actually like what they bought). I think it's the pointed toes - I'm not used to wearing this shape but I guess I'll get used to them over time!

shoes - ebay

skirt - ebay

necklace - River Island

jumper - homemade

Roses are Red

An outfit post for you today. I went to the sales at Westfield yesterday with some friends and managed to find a few good purchases. The two in this post are this really lovely red dress and some silver heels. The dress is from Urban Outfitters. I saw it about a month ago when it was full price, so was really happy to see it was reduced to £25. I just couldn't resist this dress. The fabric is amazing and I love the print as well. It's also very versatile and can be worn in a variety of different ways. This is actually the first thing I've bought from this shop but I've always loved their clothes (even though they're a tad overpriced). I've paired this dress with some shoes I bought from New Look. I didn't go out with the intention of buying another pair of heels but these were only £8! which I thought was a real bargain. I'm also wearing my spike necklace (see here). It's a very simplistic outfit (quite unusual for me) but I really love it! Sometimes wearing one simple garment can look the best.

What were your best sales purchases?

Best Fashion Moments of 2012

I can’t quite believe 2013 is nearly upon us. I swear 2012 went by extremely fast – faster than it has before. I hope everyone had a good year and next year is even better for you! Lots happened in 2012 – from the Olympics to the Diamond Jubilee to London Fashion Week...again. Anyway, I've compiled a list of the best fashion moments of 2012 (in no particular order). So here goes...

On the red carpet...

One of the most famous carpets in the world, of course and it holds some of the most wonderful dresses and outfits to ever be seen.  I was looking through some of the events and selected a few of my favourites from this year. Obviously this isn't all of them but these are definitely some of the best.

Kristen Stewart - Not a fan of her or Twilight but love this dress.

 Alexa Chung in Marc Jacobs - Never fails to impress.

 Jessie J in Falguni and Shane Peacock - I discovered this designer from this outfit and love the designs! 

Krysten Ritter in Christian Dior -  Love the sheer vs opaque

 Blake Lively - She always dresses so well - watch out for a post on her in the future. 

Sofia Vergara in Marchesa -  Marchesa is amazing!

 Taylor Swift in Maria Lucia-Hohan - Being so tall, Taylor Swift can wear the nicest midi dresses.

A truly amazing dress. 

Studs, studs, studs!

One huge trend this year has been studs and spikes. Look around any clothes shop and you will see at least 20 items or so with some form of stud or spike on it. I love this trend (you can see my spike necklace here). It's not something I would have gone for last year but it's definitely grown on me. 

Ballgowns

There was an exhibition on at the V&A this year celebrating British Glamour since 1950 and showcasing some of the most wonderful ballgowns. I was lucky enough to visit this and the dresses are even more amazing in real life than you see in photos. If you haven't been yet, try and go before the exhibition closes because it's well worth the visit. The great thing is there is a whole section downstairs with dresses from 1950's onwards - all spectacular of course -  then you go upstairs to the current ballgowns and Oh my God! The only downside is you're not allowed to take photos. 

Decorating your nails

OK, I don't know whether this is a thing for everyone but I've noticed (especially within my group of friends) everyone has got in to the obsession of painting their nails. I personally never paint my nails but it seems to have become a trend this year. One of my friends even has a blog devoted to nail polish (check it out here) and another also does regular nail posts! (see it here). The problem is whenever I try putting nail polish on, it never seems to turn out as good as these...

Kelly Osbourne wins Ultimate Style Award

I've never really liked Kelly Osbourne - she's only famous due to her parents and I don't like either of them as well - but I'd say this award is well deserved. She recieved the Ulitmate Style Award at the Cosmopolitan Women of the Year awards. What makes her stand out from the rest is probably the huge transformation from her frumpy, goth look to stylish, elegant and fashion forward. Below are some of her best outfits and a before and after shot (you can really see how much her fashion sense has improved).

Before...

After...

Top button done up

A huge trend that continued from 2011 into 2012 was the collar trend - one of my favourites and fingers crossed it stays with us for the duration of 2013.

  

And GB win again...

Who could forget the most memorable Olympic games of all time? The Opening Ceremony, all of the Gold medals; Not to mention the GB kit designed by Stella McCartney...

London Fashion Week

LFW was of course here again for another two seasons. I was very impressed by all of the collections this year - they all seemed to have stepped up a level - and my favourite three were probably Erdem, Bora Aksu and David Koma. 

 Erdem

 David Koma

Bora Aksu

Sarah Burton recieves OBE

Very well deserved. She keeps the Alexander McQueen brand alive with her incredible designs plus she created the brilliant Royal Wedding dress for Kate Middleton last year. 

They're my favourite - what were your fashion moments of 2012?

Happy New Year!