16th February 2012

I visited my Grandma on Sunday as she's been away for the entire month on an Arctic cruise. My Grandma is obsessed with clothes. She has 6 wardrobes and 6 chests of drawers (whole chests, not just drawers) filled to the brim with clothes. Seriously. As well as being obsessed with quantity, she favours quality. The great thing about this is that she'll often hand me down her unwanted clothes. Among others, I've ended up with a Chloe blouse, a lace blouse from 1960s and an adorable little Zara dress (ok, so that last one is hardly bank-busting but it is super cute!).

My latest acquisition is this amazing leopard print coat. It's faux fur- so hold your red paint!- but it is the softest, warmest material I have ever felt in my life! I absolutely love it!

This is only with me on loan throughout winter so I need to make the most of it!

Baftas 2012: The Red Carpet Best

It's that time of year again. The red carpet has been lovingly rolled up and stored away for another year, the dresses are being returned to their designers, bloggers are typing away furiously and the A list are frantically pulling out the newspapers to see which dress list they have appeared on. Yes, it's the Baftas. Like the Oscars, only in England... and not as pretentious.

I've pored over the red carpet photos and scrutinised the outfits on show. Now all that's left is to tell you who has made my best dressed list.

We'll start with the obvious one. You all know by now how much I love Helena Bonham Carter's style and this year's look is no exception. I adore the petticoated skirt on this Giles Deacon dress and the shimmering navy against black looks glamorous. The ruffles on the skirt add a vintage feel yet Helena's cheeky bag stops her outfit looking stuffy. The outfit is completed with a pair of simple black heels and a black bolero to stop those February goosebumps (although how warm that actually was, I'm not sure...).
Holliday Grainger's Valentino dress is beautiful. She looks like a fairy princess in this stunning golden tulle and sequinned number. The elegant draping of the back adds a youthful twist whereas the golden sash and bow retains the fairytale effect. This is the dress that dreams are made of!

Gold was the colour of the evening and Jessica Chastain wore it beautifully. This Oscar de la Renta gown captures the current adoration for pleats and metallic yet turns them into an elegant ballgown. The detailing around the waist gives a heavy nod to Grecian style whilst showing off Jessica's stunning figure. What's more, the golden tone compliments her red hair perfectly.

Michelle Williams has set the internet alight by wearing a beautiful gown from H&M. Now, I have to admit, I've never seen anything like this in my local branch but, hey, they must exist! The understated elegance works perfectly with Michelle's cropped hair and the flower corsage adds just the right amount of flair. My favourite part of this outfit is her kooky book clutch bag. Clever, huh?

Now, I love Bonnie Wright's Prada look here. I'm not quite sure if it's right for the Baftas but, hey, I'm still waiting for my invite. What do I know? Bonnie is wearing my favourite colour combination of red, white and blue, I adore polka dots and, as a black tights fanatic, I love that she is rocking the opaque legwear on the red carpet. Plus, those red suede wedges are to die for!


Do you agree with my choices? Or do you have a differing opinion? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Oh, and I'll leave you with this awesome photo of Miss Piggy looking incredibly glamorous in Louis Vuitton! What a diva!

Catwalk Copycat: Miu Miu

I adore Miu Miu. I love the playful kitsch present in so many collections. Spring Summer 2012 took a darker route with a 1940s goth horror effect.

So how can we recreate this look using items exclusively from the high street? Let's take a look.



The black wrap front blouse with blouson sleeves is surprisingly distinctive. Yet this £18 Oasis top, teamed with a black stole or pashmina such as this Star by Julien MacDonald one (£22), will create a similar effect with a more casual twist.


The real show stopper in this look is the slightly iridescent A line skirt. The blue Asos skirt above (£50) creates a similar mood with its shimmering effect, flared silhouette and modest length.

The vintage-look accessories pull this look together with velvet ankle boots and frame clutches. Recreate the textured style with these £60 River Island ankle boots and a £60 Debenhams handbag.


The Miu Miu look would not be complete without a liberal smudge of red eyeshadow. After my emo obsession in 2005, I am quite the expert on red eyeshadow (even if I do say so myself!). I can vouch for Barry M Dazzle Dust in Red Cherry. At only £4.59, It is super pigmented and has great staying power. Just be careful with the pot- this stuff is extremely loose and has a tendency to leak everywhere. And, whatever you do, do not drop it on a gold carpet. My grandma's will never be the same again!

So there we have it. A complete head-to-toe Miu Miu inspired look for £214.59. Lovely jubbly!

11th February 2012

I'm off to see Brand New tonight. I'm leaving in about an hour and I am very excited. I've seen them twice before- both times at Reading Festival- and the setlist was awful. I've seen some of the setlists from previous shows on this UK tour and they have been incredible so I'm extremely excited about tonight's.

The problem with gigs in the winter is that my instinct in this weather is to wrap up warm and cosy. Of course, that will cause issues when I'm sandwiched between 3299 other people in a very hot and very sweaty room. Yet I don't want to be waiting outside in minus degree weather, slowly watching my extremities turn blue and drop off.

My solution today is layers. Layers that can be easily removed and shoved in the cloakroom.

Layer 1:

An Elvis vest top from Reading Festival. It's a little nod to my favourite Brand New song "Me vs Maradona vs Elvis" which has been listed on the setlists. I'm telling you, I will sob.

Layer 2:

Bung on a cheap Primark cardigan so I don't have bare arms under my coat all day.

Layer 3:
Add my trusty Topshop dalmatian coat.

My bobble hat is also Topshop (I love it!) and my jeans, brogues and bag are all New Look.

Treasures: Versace for H&M Cruise Collection blouse

I promised I wouldn't do it. Back when the first Versace for H&M collection came out and absolutely everyone took to the streets in a piece, I swore I wouldn't fall into that trap. It looked silly, people decked out in identical pieces left, right and centre. Not me, I said.

Then I checked the H&M site to see if they had any cute blouses that I could wear under my strappy dresses in summer... and I saw this:

It's covered in little fruit! It's so kitsch and adorable. I needed it and by God, I was going to get it. Never mind the fact that the biggest size they had was a 14 (which, by H&M standards, might as well be an 8!) and my disproportionate measurements mean I can never, ever buy button-up shirts. I will wear it open with a vest top underneath. Or just do up as many buttons as possible and stick it under another top to get a cute collar-and-sleeves thing going on.

I wanted the cropped cardigan since I wear cardigans every day without fail and I know the girls in my class would fall over themselves when they saw it but, unless I can squeeze my arms into a 6-8, it's not going to happen.

I can't wait for this baby to arrive. So I can sob when I realise I can't even shoehorn my little finger into a sleeve.

Monochrome Magic

There's not much more striking than a combination of black and white. It's so simple and classic yet so eye catching too. It can be styled to look sophisticated or edgy. I love it!

Here are my top picks of monochrome on the high street.
Topshop sleeveless shirt. I love this. I'd team it with skinny black jeans and killer heels (at least, I would if I could wear killer heels!)

River Island blazer. This would look amazing with a plain black t shirt and a bright red skater skirt. So Parisienne with a twist!

Boohoo dress. Nothing but white tights, patent Mary Janes and a heavy slick of eyeliner to go with this dress.

River Island crop top. I hate leggings. I hate Grease. But I really want to team this with skin tight leather-effect leggings Olivia Newton-John style. (I also really want to have the figure to get away with that look! I don't think mine quite cuts the mustard!)
Topshop dalmatian bag. We all know I love dalmatian print. This needs no elaboration.

Topshop tunic. (I have 3 of these in different prints. I still want more. I just can't get enough!)

River Island heels. I think I could literally eat these. And, yes, I do understand the full definition of "literally". That is how much they make my mouth water.

River Island dalmatian shoes. If my feet could reproduce, they would have babies with these shoes.

It looks like River Island is the place to go for my monochrome fix!

Catwalk Copycat: Louis Vuitton

I am head-over-heels in love with the Louis Vuitton SS12 collection. Pastel colours, oversized Broderie Anglaise, princess prettiness... It's adorable!


However, I'm a teacher. I don't have a spare few grand to spare on buying entire outfits from the collection and, if you're anything like me, you don't either.

So I'm taking it upon myself to create the looks I love on the catwalk for a fraction of the price and, as keen to educate as I am, I've decided to share my ideas with you. You're welcome!

This Asos dress is a perfect little number to show off the textured influence and at £45, it's a tiny fraction of the price.


Just look at the £60 Topshop Gilmore2 heels. They are the spitting image of the Vuitton metal heeled pairs and in pastel shades that perfectly pick up the tone of the Vuitton collection.



Finish off the look with an Accessorize alice band and Fiorelli croc bag for a total of £58 and your princess look is complete!

All for the grand price of £163. How amazing is that?