My ultimate shoe wishlist

I love shoes. I am pretty obsessed with them. Although I can't actually walk in heels so I wind up buying these gorgeous pairs and then only wearing the same pairs of flats day in, day out. Still, I like having them around. It's like living in a shoe museum. I'm ok with that.

So, in light of this, here is my ultimate shoe wishlist. I planned to showcase 10 pairs but I got a bit carried away. Nevertheless, get ready for my 13 dream shoes, from oh-go-on-then to I-blooming-wish!

Miss Selfridge- £20

I'm obsessed with animal print lately. A few more print shoes will appear later. I love this pair because of the dash of red. It's so tacky, so wrong but oh-so-right!

Dorothy Perkins- £23

Black patent shoes are my staple item. The block heel and round toes gives this pair a lovely little mod feel.

Iron Fist Wolfbeater - £30

I've loved Iron Fist ever since I was obsessed with Gerard Way due to their weird creepy details. This Wolfbeater pump is perfect for me. It's flat- so I'd actually wear it- and it has the gory fang motif. Pretty cool, huh? The cute little bow on the side keeps a girly twist. I've wanted these shoes for about 4 years now and I still haven't bought them. I should probably work on that soon.

Scribbe at Miss Selfridge- £50

Hooray! More animal print! We should all know by now how much I love dalmatian print and these shoe boots are no exception. They're so sweet!

Iron Fist Jacked Up- £70

More Iron Fist! I couldn't decide between this pair and the Wolfbeaters so I went for both. I love sequins. They're tacky, brash and out-there: Everything that I love! I also have a huge penchant for the Union Jack, as well as the patriotic colours in general, so these are just perfect. I can't work out what the darker patch on the front is. It's not a shadow as it's in the photos of every angle. It looks like a blood stain to me. I can work with that.

It could also be a cutting commentary on Britain's bloodied past but we won't go into that...

Irregular Choice- £85

Irregular Choice shoes are so sweet. They have the cutest little details, including floral soles, and I love the birds and roses on this pair. Plus they're red suede. You can never go wrong with red suede shoes.

Underground- £89

Now for two pairs of Underground Creepers. Both dalmatian print. These Wulfrun ones are my favourites. I'd wanted a pair just like this in leopard print but when I saw that they came in dalmatian, I melted. They are stunning.

Underground- £105

However, you can't deny that these are pretty spectacular. Dalmatian print pony skin creepers. And is that a glittery sole? Oh my!

Kurt Geiger- £220

I cannot get over how pretty these are. They're so sweet that my teeth ache just looking at them. I love how they're so chunky and 70s-tastic in design but then there's this totally contradictory sugary pastel palette. Plus, they're called Geldof which is just pretty awesome all round.

Alexander McQueen- £295

Time to bring out the big guns! They're suede. They have adorable little skull motifs. They're flat. They'd go with anything. They're Alexander McQueen. Do I need to elaborate?

Charlotte Olympia- £468

Hey, don't knock the price tag! The Orient Express boots are in the sale reduced from £935. I don't know about you but I think £367 off is pretty good! Just look how melodramatic they are. The drama! These are certainly statement shoes!

Gina- £475

Well, these Ginnie shoes are certainly adorable! Just look how darling they are. Polkadots, peep toes, bows, monochrome and that pop of neon pink. Get on my feet now!

Miu Miu- £550

Let's wrap things up with Miuccia's finest. These Miu Miu shoes are spectacular. They're sequinned, they're block heeled and they have bows on the toes. What's not to love?

Prada Rocket Blasters

Finally, we have these Prada beauties. Some say they're tacky. Hah, if we learned anything through this blog post, it's that Becky loves tacky! Look at them! They have rocket ships coming out of the wedge! They have flames licking up the ankles! They're pastel perfection! It's like the Jetsons have materialised in shoe form. Want, want, want!

29th January 2012

Today Rich and I went for a meal with his family. I wore my new skirt which I call my Sherlock Holmes skirt due to the fact it looks like his cape.

My favourite part is the pockets. How awesome are they? I didn't even know they were there until it arrived. A lovely surprise!

It goes perfectly with my Topshop coat here.

I completed the look with my Kurt Geiger velvet shoes and Etsy necklace. These shoes nearly broke my heart. I wanted them for months and when I finally went to buy them, they were half price! Yet they only had a size 3. I looked everywhere but that was the only size I could find and try as I might, in true Cinderella style, I just couldn't squeeze my feet in. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I cried a little. Then, eventually, I found a pair online at John Lewis. They were only stocking the size below me but I took a risk and they fit me perfectly. Hooray!

The necklace is from an amazing Hong Kong based seller who sells these stunning necklaces that are absolute bargains. I have loads of them.

My bag is vintage and my top is Primark.

Right, after that little procrastination, it's time to get on with my planning.

My pick of couture Spring 2012

It's that time of the year again: Spring Couture time. I love the spring collections. In the depths of winter, when it's at that horrible time after Christmas yet only getting colder, it's so exciting to gaze at the fresh, breezy collections in awe.

Then, of course, there's the glamour of couture. The detail, the drama, the extravagance. It's awe-inspiring.

So, in light of this, here are my top 3 picks of the couture catwalks.

Dior
I posted my thoughts on the toile preview last week and the reveal has not disappointed! The collection embodies the 1947 New Look in a way that it hasn't for years. The silhouettes are stunning and the delicate embroidered detail, contrasted with oversized bows, are perfection.

Valentino

I love pretty clothes and this lacy beauty is no exception. That lacework is just lovely and the detail stops it becoming too bridal. Gorgeous!

Jean Paul Gaultier
The corsetier's couture collection was inspired by Amy Winehouse and with a designer twist on her trademark beehive, it certainly encapsulates her style. I would totally rock this pink one. The dress is great too. The shocking pink peeking out from underneath the black lace is fantastic!

Sock it to me

I don't wear socks. Ever. The last time I wore a pair was a good couple of years ago when I was dressing up as Alice in Wonderland. I think... although Alice doesn't wear socks. Maybe it was someone else. I don't know.

Anyway, I wear tights every day. Whatever the weather. Black opaque tights for winter and sheer nude for summer. It's predictable and boring. Especially when I find myself enamoured with socks. I love cute little detailed ankle socks. Yet I can't work that trend without looking dumpy, cutesy and, frankly, a little odd.

So, to combat my growing frustration (or maybe to make it worse), here is a catalogue of the most adorable, most beautiful, most wish-I-could-wear-them socks.

Topshop is the ruler of mouth-wateringly delicious ankle socks. These are just adorable. The peachy tone, the delicate cable knit and that gorgeous ruffle are all divine. I love them!

These lovely floral socks are from Accessorize. Aren't the just darling? The polkadots and floral detail is perfectly set against the minty shade. Peppermint perfection!


On a sillier note, take a peek at these cuties! I'd certainly keep my little piggies cosy in these New Look novelty socks. I love pigs. They've been my favourite animal since I was a child and anything with a piggy motif is guaranteed to make me turn to jelly.

Ok, these are baby socks. I just can't resist adding them to my list though. From the Flower Stork, these little delights are shaped just like a cupcake. Yum yum. Other varieties come in cake and rose varieties. So adorable!

My Top 5 Style Icons

In response to my list of style icons that I just don't "get", it seems only logical to create a list of the people who I do find inspirational.

These are pretty eclectic. There isn't really a running theme or sense of cohesion about them. Unless you count "I like them" as a theme, of course. My style icons are usually just every day people so it's difficult to compile a list of famous folk who fit the bill. Nevertheless, I'll give it my best shot.

So, counting down in reverse order:

5. Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan is so adorable with her little pixie hair and demure face. Her style is no different- it is so quintessentially cute. Her penchant for Prada is perfectly in keeping with this image- iadylike frocks and Miu Miu shift dresses capture an innocent yet intriguing effect. Off duty, she contrasts black skinny jeans with dainty details to create the ultimate balance between sweet and sexy.

4. Emma Watson
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan but I'm not a massive fan of Emma Watson herself. I'm not a fan of Daniel Radcliffe either but that's a tale for another time! However, I absolutely love her wardrobe! From floaty vintage dresses to cheeky lace numbers, she always looks so sophisticated yet retains that sense of fun that should come with being young. She seems to have a playful approach to style yet she always looks classy, rather than looking like a kid who's been let loose in their mother's wardrobe.

My favourite look of hers is this. The frankly stunning Alexander McQueen tartan dress (which I want with all my heart) has this amazing puffball skirt but, teamed with a leather jacket, it's given a slighlty tough-girl twist. Give it to me!

3. Helena Bonham Carter
I've written an article on why I love her right here so I don't think I need to elaborate any further. Basically, she is awesome. Fact.

2. Twiggy

This is so cliched. It almost hurts me. I can't leave her out though as she was my first style icon when I was aged 14 or so. I've always loved the whole 60s aesthetic. I was obsessed with mod style when I was in my mid teens and bought my first Mary Quant-esque (read: New Look) shift dress aged 15. It was black with white semi circles on each side. I wore it to a classmate's birthday party with silver circle drop earrings, white tights and black Mary Janes. Everyone else was there in their bodycon skirts and exposed clevage whilst I looked like I had just rolled out of 1966. It was a great little outfit. I still own it though I have no hope of fitting into it!

1. Gerard Way
Yes, he's a man. Aged 16 to 18, he was the most important man in my life. I had met him, which might make that a little less creepy, although that effect is probably undermined by the fact I only met him by hanging around the Brixton Academy stage door for hours on a freezing November night aged 17, resulting in a missed train and an overnight stay in a Waterloo doorway...

Anyway, his style had a huge influence on my teenage wardrobe and has left a lasting legacy. Gerard Way is all about the image and every single detail that it entails. No visually honed stone is left unturned in his quest for art direction perfection. When I was 17, I followed his style to the T. I scoured charity shops for months on the hunt for a black velvet blazer, until my mum found me one in Peacocks in time for Christmas 2005. I smeared red eyeshadow around my entire eye socket every day, after sending an email to Kerrang! begging them to tell me where I could find some (it was published and I still own the clipping). I even went so far as to asking him in person where he had bought his bat belt (ebay, if you were wondering) and then buying my own one. I was, to all extents and purposes, a black-haired, 17 year old, female Gerard Way.

These days I'm a little more subtle. There is an amazing quote of his which inspires me in every aspect of my life: Be whoever you are extremely loud. And be completely fearless when you do it.

This doesn't mean going all out there and being a freaking crazy dresser. He goes on to talk about being fearless in whoever you are, even if that means a fearless accountant. Just be who you are, whoever you are, to the full. I aim to live like that in every direction of my life, including my wardrobe.
Now he looks like this. Hmmm, I've already told you about my love affair with stripes. I love monchrome too. I guess that desire to emulate his wardrobe didn't end with my teenage years.

Dior Spring/ Summer 2012 Haute Couture

If you follow Dior on Facebook, like the little New Look obsessed girl I am (that's the 1947 New Look, not the slightly tacky clothes shop), then you may have spotted the preview they have posted of one of their haute couture toiles.

It. Is. Beautiful.



It's just a toile! How can a toile look so much like a wedding dress? The show is tomorrow and I am super excited about it after seeing this.

That leads me to wonder what actually happens to toiles when they're finished with. Does anyone know?

I also love that dressmaker's dummy. It makes my beloved Doris look like Nora Batty.

5 style icons that I just don't "get"

You know the ones. They pepper the pages of every glossy magazines. They are papped in a plain t shirt and jeans yet still hailed for their "effortless chic". They have designer bags, shoes, hairstyles named after them. Everyone is starry-eyed for this chicas. Yet you're sat there thinking "What's all the fuss about?".

Well, I have a number of these. Let's start the countdown... (Insert Countdown ticking here)

5. Olivia Palermo

Yep, she's pretty. She seems a very nice, sweet girl. I have absolutely nothing against her. I just don't understand what the big deal is.

Take the photo above. This is the first image I found of her on a Google image search. To me, that is a rather bland- even unsightly- shapeless dress teamed with a distinctly so-so bag, forgettable shoes and unexciting accessories.

It's not that I don't like her style, it just doesn't excite me.

4. Dita von Teese


Ah, Dita. Beautiful Dita. As a rule, I actually love her clothes. However, I'm looking at style icons and, to me, that means the whole package. My problem with Dita is her face. That sounds a lot meaner than I planned. Let me explain: She is a burlesque artiste. Burlesque should be fun, flirtatious and comedic. Dita doesn't exude any of these things. She is very graceful, very poised, very elegant and just very...blah. With her perfectly coiffed hair and immaculate lipstick, she feels a bit bland. I like my style icons to have a bit more spunk.

3. Kate Moss

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's the whole "effortless" thing getting me again. Effortless appears to be a synonym for "this is quite a boring look, and one that millions of girls can replicate using items already existing in their wardrobes, but because this one is famous, we'll pretend it's incredible". It's not thate there's anything wrong with her style, there's just no substance to it.

2. Lady Gaga

So now we swing in the complete opposite direction. Yes, I like kooky. I like girls who take a risk with their style. I like people who wear what truly represents them... but a lobster stuck to your face? Is that truly who you are? Did anyone really walk around school aged 15 and lament the fact that societal rules state you can't wear an entire solar system sprouting out of your barnet?

It just seems a little desperate to me. Make waves with your talent, not your ability to don a whole toy shop. At least she's never boring...

1. Alexa Chung

Ok, I admit it. I'm holding a bit of a grudge here. I can't get over her frankly disrespectful Popworld piece on AFI. (You can watch it here but I won't join you as it makes me so angry I want to throw the laptop across the room).

There is more to it than that, though. Alexa Chung is praised fashion-world-wide as the poster girl for casual-indie-festival style. Yet I can't help feeling I've seen it all before. The ombre hair, the pretty dresses and parkas, the ankle socks... It's all very Brick Lane. I'll accept that I do like some pieces she wears but, on the whole, it's just very emulated. Maybe she started it, I don't know. But when there are a thousand other girls jostling you out of V Festival with their parka-adorned elbows and denim-shorts-and-wellies combos, it's time to shake things up a bit. Crawl out of that rut and make an impact. It's getting boring.

So, there we have it, my 5 top style icons that I just don't get. I will balance this out with a post specifically about my fashion icons. I think you'll have already guessed that these are mostly ladies (and a gent) that like to make a statement without raiding a rubber chicken factory. Until next time.

Wishlist: Topshop Parrot Stripe Jumper

I need this jumper in my life! I can barely breathe, I am so in love with it.

I have loved pirates for years. Pirate Parties at my local rock club (The Agincourt, if you're in the Hampshire/ Surrey area) are legendary. I have a homemade pirate costume upstairs, in my fancy dress box (I kid you not- I can't get enough of fancy dress!), that I made aged 17 for a Pirate Night. One of the first things my fiance and I did as a couple was swashbuckling-on-up at one of these pirate nights.

Pirates rule.

In the event of a lack of pirates, anything nautical will do. Sailor chic is right up my street.

The other thing I love is stripes. Stripes and spots. I don't know what it is about them but I just turn to jelly when I see them. Albeit, a jelly with my debit card outstretched. I think's it the fun factor- If stripes were a person, they'd be an overexcitable weirdo approaching their mid-20s who thinks Disney World Florida is The Best Place on Earth and still leaves a mince pie out for Santa, even though they don't like mince pies. In a word, me.

Extending on with this theme, I like crazy quirky details. When I was 14 I had a pair of jeans from Asda (woohoo!) that had blue and pink sequins cascading from the waistband, down to the thighs, scattering more freely as they travelled downwards. I bloody loved those jeans. Even when all the sequins fell off and I was left with a variety of little white thread hooks peppering my crotch, I would wear them most days a week. In the end, the fabric of the gusset wore out and ripped. As much as I loved those jeans, crotchless denim wasn't going to be a great look until Christina Aguleira appeared in them a year later so they had to go.

We've already established that I love red, white and blue. Those three colours combined are magical. They make me want to jump up wherever I am- on the bus, if needs be- and start shouting out the National Anthem.

So imagine the heart palpitations I had when I saw this:



I don't know what to do. I can't concentrate on anything else. How am I going to get my marking done when I am just thinking about how much I want to run to Topshop right now, try this baby on and sit in the changing room crying because it's still 17 days until payday?

Roll on the 31st...

Jewellery Storage

I'm not one for accessories. As much as I try and try and try until I... well, until I give up, really... I just cannot incorporate them. I really do give it a go. I will get dressed, choose an accessory, put it on and then decide that, actually, it's detracting from my wardrobe. Then away it goes, never to be seen again, or at least until next January when I make it my resolution- again- to wear more accessories.

Nevertheless, despite my lacking penchant for embellishment, I have a backlog of jewellery, hair accessories, belts, scarves and Lord knows how many ribbons. I can't throw them away- I might actually manage to wear them one day!- and yet they are clogging up my dressing room (Yes, I have a dressing room. No, I do not have a pony. Or a swimming pool. Or even an upbringing free from council estates).

So I need to develop some pretty ingenious storage solutions. Having moved only at the beginning of December, my room is not perfectly developed yet. I have a pretty spectacular idea for hanging my jewellery but, at least until payday, this is what I'm working with at the moment.

Part one: How I store my jewellery

The mannequin in the corner there is called Doris. She is wearing a corset from What Katie Did and a petticoat from Beyond Retro.

My drawers are from Ikea and you can also see- left to right- a WHSmith's storage box with a small case on top that was a gift. In those, I store my perfumes which I will do a post on in the future apart from my DKNY Be Delicious that you can see next to the box. Beside those is a little Miffy tin that I bought in Amsterdam's Schipol Airport. I love Miffy more than a 23 year old should! My plasters live in there so they are easy to access if I need one to protect my tootsies in tight shoes. Right on the end is my antique jewellery box that you will see more of later.

A close up of my necklaces. All of these ones are from Etsy. I also have necklaces from Past Times, Accessorize and a gift from my Grandma on here. Hanging up on my dressing table drawer knobs are necklaces from the Hot Topic that I visited in Florida, charity shops, Claire's Accessories and other less exotic locations. Only my prettiest necklaces get on Doris! I also have a few bangles that I think were a gift from my Mum when she visited Turkey.

Here's my jewellery box in its entirety. I found it in an antique shop in Eastbourne about 3 years ago. It was far too expensive for its quality- with its cracked, dirty mirror and splitting wood- but the musical mechanism works perfectly and I was absolutely desperate for it. My fiance very kindly bought it for me and I'm very, very glad he did.


The main compartment of the box. The section on the left is cushioned and on the right is a raised platform, although I'm not sure why as the space underneath is unused.

From left to right: A pair of sapphire, gold and pearl earrings that my fiance bought from an antique jewellers for my 21st birthday. The rest are from my Grandma: a green and silver-coloured charm bracelet from a local boutique jewellers for my 21st birthday (in the silver bag); a jade necklace (in the red bag) that my Grandma bought in China a couple of decades ago and a jade and black pearl bracelet that my Grandad bought her for their 25th wedding anniversary in 1980. This bracelet has never been worn by either of us as we both have tiny wrists but it has a matching necklace that Doris is wearing.

These are the two top compartments that swivel outwards to reveal the main compartment.

From left to right: Left compartment: A dolly mixture charm bracelet that my mum bought me for my 22nd birthday, made by her friend's Mum; A pink earring that I bought in H&M aged 15 in 2003 and vintage yellow clip-on earrings from Etsy.

Right compartment: Black ear tunnels that I bought in Hot Topic in Florida; a floral bracelet that my Mum bought me in Turkey; a mechanical pocketwatch from the same Eastbourne antique shop that the jewellery box came from; turquoise and silver dreamcatcher earrings from my Grandma, bought for her by my Grandad in America a couple of decades ago; a silver and cubic zirconia ring that my fiance bought me as a temporary engagement ring when my original one broke (90 minutes after he proposed, it was a fairly traumatic event but now I have a beautiful antique one that is much better than the original).

These are the little drawers either side of the box at the bottom. Clockwise from top left, starting with the left drawer.

A faux pearl vintage brooch from ebay; An embroidered brooch from ebay; A button that should really be in my sewing box; Another faux pearl brooch from ebay; Another button that shouldn't be there.

One of a pair of vintage red clip-on earrings; White vintage clip-on earrings; the adorable little key to lock the box; two pairs of vintage yellow clip-on earrings; A badge from 2005 that I should get rid of; A red anchor earring from Beyond Retro (the other one snapped in half a couple of years ago); A crystal ring from Peacocks.

So, there we have it. That's not even all of my jewellery. When I get another sunny day, and therefore a nice natural light in my dressing room, I will show you how I store the rest of my jewellery, my sunglasses, hair accessories and so on.

I can't wait to get my new storage solution and to show you that!

8th January 2012

My favourite band of all time is The Mamas and The Papas. I've loved them since before I can even remember. My Dad had their Greatest Hits on CD which he copied onto casette and we would sing along in his car duet-style, he the boys and I the girls. We got pretty good at it, even if I do say so myself.

Back then, aged 7 or so, my favourite was Michelle Phillips. Mostly because she was blonde and pretty and because that's what 7 year old girls are drawn to. (Now I appreciate that Mama Cass was the soul of the band but she just didn't have that Barbie-esque quality to appeal to a young girl).

Michelle, sadly the only remaining living member of the band, was something of an inspiration for me then. I loved her looks, her style and her voice. So today, I have decided to pay homage to her.

I found this photo a few years ago and it has always inspired me. Well, aside from the cigarette part but we'll pretend we can't see that!

I love monochrome, I love the French influence in this outfit and I love how gosh darn chic she looks.

Admittedly, my figure is a bit curvier than Michelle's (maybe Cass would have been a more figure-appropriate inspiration!) but I think I did a pretty good job really.

I love this skirt. I bought it on ebay for a bargain price but unfortunately it's a little too short for work so I'll have to get a longer one. It's prefect for sunny Sundays like today though. It came with a cute little patent belt aswell which is adorable.

I got this beret in the River Island sale. I am obsessed with damlatian print right now and I thought this print would give my outfit a little something quirky. I like it a lot although I have absolutely no idea how to wear it- it kept popping off my head!

I straightened my hair hurriedly this morning so that it would curl at the ends and I've applied a liberal dose of black pencil eyeliner.

Maybe next week I'll tackle a Mama Cass look. In fact, thinking about it, I have the perfect vintage paisley shift dress...

7th January 2012

Happy Saturday! I survived my first week! It's been so so tiring but amazing at the same time. I can't believe I'm an actual, real, fully fledged teacher. I can already feel it infiltrating my home life. I wonder how long it will be until I accidentally threaten my fiance with detention if he doesn't listen to me?

Yesterday, the little girl who liked my dress on Thursday said to me "You look very nice today, Miss!" What a sweetie! Here's the same dress that she liked the other day, I'm cracking it out again today.

Hat: Accessorize
Anchor earring: Beyond Retro
Round earring: Vintage
Dress: Dorothy Perkins
Shoes: Dorothy Perkins


I love red and blue. It's one of my favourite colour combinations. So bold and striking plus it has that retro/vintage feel to it. I'm mega patriotic (please do not confuse that with nationalistic! I think multiculturalism is one of the greatest things about Britain) so I think my love of this combo is also influenced by the Union Jack.

I'm snuggling up in my Topshop dalmatian coat again too today. I love it!