Friday Sunshine

Today feels like a good day. My eBay bargain Dorothy Perkins dress actually fits me (!), I got paid (yay!) and the sun is shining. What's not to love? I'm a little sad about my tights though, as per usual they aren't long enough so I'm having to wear cycle shorts to keep them up. The things I do for cute clothes. I hope you have a lovely sunny friday too.

dress: dorothy perkins via ebay // tights: dorothy perkins (sale)

cardi: new look // flats: elite c/o spartoo // nails: essie mojito madness

Shoe Picnic: Skechers Grand Jams Unlimited

Even though the weather is still hot (I even wore flip-flops the other day!) I'm really looking forward to autumn-winter; I like layering and I'm fed up of having to sleep next to a fan every night because my tiny room gets so warm. Skechers have got a really good A/W collection out and these are one of my favourite pieces;

The Grand Jams are great for colder or icy weather. Not that there's ever a huge chance of snow or ice in the SW by the sea but when I do visit Stoke there's always a chance of snow as it's so much further up the country. These boots have a great combination of grip and warmth whilst still being nice to look at.

Grey when it comes to shoes is one of those colours that's very neutral and universal; it would look equally good with white tights and a colourful dress or with a monochrome outfit of black skinnies and black jumper. I could definitely picture myself stomping around in these! 

Mojito Madness

I finally caved and bought my first essie polish, after all the hype! I'm a bit late on the bandwagon but whatever, I can safely say this new polish is a firm favourite and will get a lot of use. I picked 'Mojito Madness', which is my favourite colour, a creamy punchy green with a lot of yellow in it. It reminds me of spring.

In terms of the polish itself, the consistency is really good and the drying time is absolutely brilliant. I've only tried one shade so I can't generalise to the whole brand but this one really does tick all the boxes.

Playing Dress-Up

Though I normally stick strictly to the realms of girly fashion (with frills and pastels and circle skirts a specialty), I am aware that there is an ever-growing market for male fashion too. I know for a fact the boyfriend may not be hugely fashion conscious but he does follow the basic trends; chunky shoes, thin jumpers and chinos are staples of his wardrobe. I decided to further investigate these thoughts by taking a look at men's clothing site Red Square Clothing, and what I found really surprised me. 

some examples of items from the Red Square Clothing site.

The site stocks a large amount of brands and styles and I would liken it far more to the female-centred fashion sites than others I have seen before. There's a much bigger variety from preppy to vintage to street and everything in between such as this Pretty Green Union Jack T-shirt and I kind of want to buy everything and just play dress-up with it on my boyfriend! Not sure he'd appreciate it, but I'd have a good time :p

The Doctor Who Experience

It's not a secret that I am an absolutely huge Doctor Who and Torchwood fan so when I had a chance to go to see the Doctor Who Experience and exhibition in Cardiff I jumped at it! There were so many wonderful original pieces from the show to look at and the 20-minute 'experience' at the beginning (that took you through an actual TARDIS set! ahhh!) was brilliant too, with Daleks and Weeping Angels and all sorts.

Weekly Wishlist #009

I'm super sorry for the lack of posting lately guys, I've been letting things get on top of me between working/driving lessons/getting ready for final year uni. Regular blogging will be back soon, and it makes me really happy to see people are still visiting my blog anyway. Thanks for the support~!

This week's wishlist theme is denim. Now autumn is coming in and the weather is turning from warm and muggy to cooler and crisp (autumn is my favourite season!) denim is more appropriate for incorporation into outfits. It's great there's so many shades and patterns of denims out there these days too.

one: biker jacket // two: button skirt // three: adidas pumps

four: pink shorts // five: 50s style dress

Shoe Picnic: Hush Puppies Racey Heels

As a general rule, I'm of the belief that when it comes to heels, I really can't do low heels. It's either over a certain height or completely flat. I find generally with my overly huge feet (size 8 or even 9 sometimes in smaller sized brands) a low to mid heel can very much make your feet look larger than flats or higher heels could.

Irrational or not, this belief generally kept me away from low shoes but this cute pair, named Racey, have turned my head. They manage to combine shoes that look incredibly comfortable for walking in, which is a problem with higher heels, but are still quite chic and not-huge-looking in the curved shape of the upper and the heel.

These heels from Hush Puppies come in a white, black and brown but personally I'm a fan of the white as combined with a cute colourful dress and black tights it could look very retro-chic. The inner print adds something as well, making it a little less staid and more playful in design. The brown would make great workwear also.

Sunglasses Weather

Wow, this weekend is really ridiculously tropical. Way too hot and soggy and I spent all yesterday at Thorpe Park absolutely baking under the sun as I'd made the mistake of wearing multiple layers! Luckily you could cool down by standing next to the water rides and getting a little bit of spray. Today is just as hot and despite this I've chosen to wear all navy, to tie in with my new dress.

dress: gift // jeggings: new look // cardi: new look

shoes: draven // sunglasses: c/o smartbuyglasses

Weekly Wishlist #008

This week I'm opting for the punk style with lots of leather, studs, and a little bit of tartan thrown in. I'm longing for autumn when wearing this trend will be much easier than the humid weather we're suffering at the moment. Think grungy tank girl!

one - combat boots // two - skull necklace // three - black studded shorts

four - leather bag // five - grunge USA tee

Shoe Picnic: Dr Martens 1460 Grey

Right now, it's chucking it down outside the window and I have absolutely no idea where the lovely summery weather of yesterday disappeared to. Earlier in the day the boyfriend and I took a trip to Cribbs Causeway in Bristol and you seriously couldn't see out the car for the rain, ridiculous! It was like a monsoon. And as everyone knows, for wet weather you need wet-weather shoes.

I treat my Dr Martens like far more expensive (and fashionable) wellies in wet weather, especially when it comes to my patents; with a little treatment they can fare mud and wet and horrible storms and come out clean after a wipe with a cloth. Not to mention your feet stay super-comfy and dry as I find some wellies to be a wee bit narrow for me with thick socks.

These grey boots caught my eye for two reasons; one is the dramatic flash of yellow stitching against the monocrome - even the normally yellow 'airwair' logo is in subdued grey - and also because they would be the perfect base for an outfit of any colour due to their neutral nature. You could just as easily pair them with black and white as you could with neon rainbow; the ultimate in versatility!

Playing With Fire

...quite literally, in this case! When I went up to Stoke with the boyfriend we managed to cram quite a lot into the two days we were there with lots of visits and activities. In the first evening we went slacklining in the park nearby. If you don't know what it is, slacklining is kind of like tightrope walking, but a bit more elastic. It's fun! There's no photo evidence of me thank goodness as I can't even get from one end to another. Here's a couple older pictures of previous slacklining days, as well as a video of the boyfriend trying out Poi, which I was too much of a wuss to have a go on but it looks amazing at night.

Kitchen Chic

I've spent the weekend up in Stoke with the boyfriend, as he needed to hand in a resit essay and we had some visits with a few of his friends too. More on that in a later post, but here's an outfit post to tide you over for now. The photos were taken in his slightly grotty student kitchen, hence the title! I love, love this dress, it's very versatile and great to just throw on with shorts in warm weather though you do need a top under it due to how low it is. Great for a sunny afternoon in the park.

dress: h&m // tank top: gap // cardi: select

jean shorts: dorothy perkins // pumps: adidas c/o spartoo

Weekly Wishlist #007

This week I'm all about cute and colourful patterns. I find it can really make a simple outfit when you add something geometric or floral into the mix, especially to freshen up denim jeans or shorts. Here's my picks to mix and match as you please; 

one - car print dress // two - aztec backpack // three - bunny top

four - daisy peplum skirt // five - lime dogtooth skinnies

Shoe Picnic: Swedish Hasbeens Lace-Up

Swedish Hasbeens is a company many know for their brief fame when the 70's wood soled sandal came back into fashion; they produce expensive but high quality pieces and I for one love the variety of nude and primary colours their shoes come in.

These particular boots caught my eye as something a little different from the rest of their range; sort of the winter version of their sandals. What I think I like the most about them is the continuation of the sole from other designs, there's something super 70s about the shape and curve of the heel as well as the height.

Personally I feel that these shoes would go with a lot of outfits currently in the high street, and 70s revival (altered to be skimpier and more high fashion, of course) has been big for a while with tie-dye and crochet making a comeback. These boots are just the right side of modern that they could also work with a simple winter outfit too and would make a lovely contrast against black skinnies or leggings. 

Longleat Safari Park

Yesterday I went with the boyfriend, my dad and my sister to Longleat Safari Park. I've never been before and it was a lovely day out, I'm falling for my telephoto lens completely as it takes great photos even through a tinted-glass window on the car and when moving. I'm really happy with the photos I took, and here's a small selection of them;