day to night.

Hurrah!
A pair of boots came for me the other day from eBay (yes, I know its almost Summer, but the weather is pretty darn dodgy here!). Thankfully, they were as described unlike poor Char's item! Its so cheeky how people think they can get away with misrepreseting an item people pay money for. It is extremely unfair to the buyer who is only innocently shopping online, not harming anyone! Some eBay sellers really chance their luck and they are just mean!!!!

Whilst the postman was ringing the doorbell for me to answer, I was babysitting my mum's friend litle boy. OMG he was the happiest, cutest, lovely-est (SP?!) baby ever. He wasn't all crying and screaming, he was so fine with us watching him and was always laughing. His name was Ethan and he had this uber cool sleeping bag thing his mum had packed for him as he was at his dad's the night before! It looked so cosy but I could not fit in it to try it out as I'm a tad taller than the average 13 month old haha!
I got some cute and gorgeous pictures of him but I'd feel weird posting them on here! But take my word for it, UBER cute!
So yeah, the boots! I wore 'em like this during the day;

(Starting to think I need a photographer for these damn pictures lol)
Grey cardi; H&M. Navy sweater; American Apparel. Blue tee; Primark. Jeans; Superfine. Scarf; Primark. Bag; vintage. Boots; eBay!

Then at night time, I considered the boots again, but wanted to be a bit more dressed up to meet Char for drinks - which then led to the spontaneous decision of going to see Sex and the City movie - SQUEE.
So this is what I wore;

Black tee; H&M. Lace blouse/top (I wore this back to front to make it look like a little cardi-esque garment) ; Topshop. Black tights; New Look (I think). Black skirt; Primark. Black patent belt; Dorothy Perkins (came with a pair of black smart trousers - woop!). Shoes; Topshop.

I loved the film, it was really quite a tear-jerker I thought. Although, I missed a really good bit as I bought a bottle of water and gulped it all down and I thought to myself; "I can hold it in until the film finishes...I must...I need to!". But I ended up giving in and rushing to the loo almost spraining my neck and walking backwards in an attempt not to miss too much as I wandered to the loo haha.

Just another outfit I came up with to go with the boots;

(Rubbish picture again, apologies!) Just a quick outfit I rustled up!
Black tee; H&M. Grey dress (worn as a skirt); Zara. Tights; Topshop. Knee high socks; Topshop. Bag; Warehouse. Necklace; Primark. Boots; eBay!.

Right now however, I am looking forward to this (as I'm feeling really ill and missing out on a high school friends' engagement party *sob*) ;

Sea x.x.

Pearls of wisdom

Hey there!

I've been thinking a lot recently about my humble jewellary collection, that's what working in a jewellers does to you! Almost all of my jewellary is costume, I have very few "real" pieces and what I do have is mainly inexpensive silver bangles, nothing really unique. I want to invest in a few good pieces, nothing crazy-expensive but I think that before I turn 21 I should own some decent jewellary! Today whilst serving a customer (and simultaneously window-shopping for myself, I'm getting good at that!) I decided I want a pearl necklace and bracelet. Something similar to the one below, from Absolute Pearls, but with a more secure clasp. A while ago, fellow blogger Curella Says posted about affordable pearls from a site called Pearl Necklace Jewellary.

The process of how a pearl is made is fascinating to me, to think that it begins life as an irritating substance which bothers a gross-looking sea creature and becomes a thing of beauty amazes me! wikipedia has some good information on pearls, the different types and how they are made. My job has taught me a lot about caring for pearls; they don't like contact with water but should not be left to dry out either (a crazy contradiction), contact with perfumes or alcohol is to be avoided and peals should be laid out straight not wrapped up in circles.

I have a string of faux pearls which I wore here. I find them difficult though since they are quite large, I want soemthing smaller, more delicate. Though my fake pearls have a truely divine catch which I haven't seen on any more authentic necklaces!

I also want something (likely a pair of studs) with tanzanite, this beautiful stone which I admit I hadn't heard of until I started my job. It's just such an awesome colour, not quite purple or blue, but I can't afford a massive one or anything with diamonds just yet! Tanzanite is quite expensive because it's very rare and found in only a few places around the world, also it tends to be set in gold or white gold rather than silver which racks up the price.

Jewellary, like designer handbags, are something I consider an investment. Something I'll pass on to my daughters and wear throughout my life. I aim to be one of those weirdly stylish older ladies, in a chanel suit and pearls, my grey hair in a bun with a bow (think Bunny MacDougal from SATC, but fewer ducks and dust-ruffles!). As much as I love cheap, almost disposable fashion I also like the idea of something which lasts.

Speaking of SATC, Sea and I finally saw the movie last night, squee! We both agreed that it was much sadder than expected but I still enjoyed it immensly, and the clothes were devine! Carrie wore pearls quite a lot too, like in the picture below, which proves my inkling that they're about to become fashionable again. It's a good time to have access to discounted jewellary!

Also, today was the fith day in a row I walked past the perfect wedges on my way to work, I like them more every time I see them! I have searched for so long for a good pair of wedges which aren't too high to be worn during the day, yes New Look I'm talking to you...the New Look wedges are nice and a good price but all way too high and slim in the wedge to be viable. Where are the delicious shoes from? Barratts (a fairly boring shoe shop, usually I'd walk right past), at £35 the price isn't too bad so when I get paid I'll be heading down there. They also come in black (meh) and tan (yum).


Char x x x

Beware the bad ebayer...

A cautionary tale.

Remember the pretty pink tuxedo dress I purchased a while ago? How excited was I when it finally arrived today! I say finally, but it obviously wasn't going to get here any sooner since they only posted it yesterday ie over a week after the auction ended...and I know 'cause it says on the parcel. That's not even my beef with these people. This dress, advertised as in "good vintage condition" and as having "no flaws" is covered in stains, the type that will not wash out and also full of holes! I mean really, don't lie about it, if it's in rubbish condition say so. I definatly wouldn't have paid what I did for this mess. I tried to photograph the dress but it doesn't work too well, you'll have to take my word for it! Oh and the hem, which they described as "unfinished" has been wonkily cut with blunt scissors and is frayed to within an inch of its life, pffft!

Char x x x

Work it out

Hey!

I've been playing around today with more casual ways of wearing suit jackets, as promised! Another Olsen-suit-outfit appeared before me today on my beloved fashion is spinach, you too can feast your eyes here. I won't post the photo here as I feel that two Olsen posts in a row is a bit much, I like how they dress most of the time but let's not get crazy. So my own way of "dressing down" the suit, god I hate that expression, are here.

The "I heart NY":

I heart NY t-shirt - New York duh (I actually wear this more as PJs, to be honest!), pinafore - vintage via ebay, tights - Tesco, ankle socks - tightsplease, shoe boots - Some shop in NY (not an intentional theme, I swear!), suit jacket - H&M

The Olsen inspired

Suit jacket - H&M, t-shirt and skirt - H&M, tights - Tesco, shoes - vintage Carvela via ebay.

Let me know what you guys think! I prefer the second one for sure, it's just more flattering, the first one looked better in my head...

Below is a truly shocking picture of the outfit I wore to my Mum's last night for dinner, I put the photo up anyway 'cause I liked the outfit even though it's hard to see here. And yeah, I know, leggings are sick (not the good kind) but I was too hot for tights and too hairy for bare legs, deal with!

Shoes - Debenhams, Leggings (ew) - New Look, Dress - vintage via ebay (I think it's handmade, there are no labels and it has this awesome 80's pattern of tiny red, green and blue dots. When I have a new washing machine again I'll re-wear it and get a good photo!). Belt - H&M, Green top - asos, about a million years ago...nowt interesting on my wrist, hair bobbles! So I said I went to my Mum's for dinner last night (we had chinese, score!) because my younger brother (who everyone calls "lil bruv" since he used to work with us) just got back from Morocco, he was away for like a month and had a proper adventure etc etc. Jelous, moi? He brought me back a present, it's so sweet, observe for yourself...

It's a charm bracelet thing with three Hands of Fatima on it, and a tiny bell which jingles when I move, it's obnoxious and that's why I love it, my keys do the same thanks to a Hello Kitty charm. According to the source of all my knowledge on everything, wikipedia, the Hand of Fatima offers protection from the "evil eye". That might be neccessary in some Edinburgh clubs, I tells ya!

Recently many of my objects of lust have been t-shirts, which is unusual for me since I'm not really a "jeans and a t-shirt" kind of girl. I love t-shirts on other people but for some reason I always tend to look/feel scruffy! Maybe it's 'cause I don't iron. Ever. I went to work yesterday in a cotton shirt, unironed, it was not pretty. In fact it looked like it had been slept in. Cast your eyes on these etsy bad-boys:

Yeah, that's the awesome American Apparel tri-blend, it's a men's one but I think the slouchiness would work. They have lady's too, find them here.

This is love! I really like deer for some reason (and no, it's not bambi 'cause I don't think I ever saw it as a child...) but yeah, this rocks. I also like how they've styled it, especially the legwarmer/socks. Find it here. There are similar legwarmer/socks at tightsplease.

I am so getting these when I get paid, they shall replace the ski pants which, sadly, were too short for me! Gutted, but I actually might like these even better! In black though, I think, to begin with anyways...

it's been a long one!

Char x x x

More than just 9 to 5...

Hey!
I've been searching for ways to make my suit jackets (of which I now have 4!) more casual so that, after my summer of hard work, they won't be totally useless garments wasting precious wardrobe space (my wardrobe already has an overflow carpark in the form of a clothes rail).

I'm actually loving Ashley Olsen's entire outfit here, frugal fashionista suggested recreating it with this grey sheer jumper thing from asos which I am officially in love with. I love most grey things and almost all sheer things...This would also make good use of the skirt I can no longer wear to work as I was told twice last time that it was "too short", pah!
I'm certain this would look a million times bettter without that hideous necklace too...

Char x x x

A new favourite

Hey!

Whilst doing my usual rounds of other blogs, I remembered my deep-seated love for modcloth and decided to check it out again, a bad idea considering I'm trying my hardest not to spend any money! One thing that caught my eye was this awesome swan top, by Motel.

Of course, I've heard of Motel before and maybe even seen some of their stuff in shops but somehow it never really registered on my radar before now. I wasn't even aware that it was actually a British company. We can safely say that once I have money and am allowed to spend it, I'll be buying this bad boy. On a whim, I then checked out the Motel website. There I found a feast of lust-worthy items, behold!


According to the website, Motel was born from a trip thrifting up and down the West Coast of America, what an awesome story and totally a vibe which I think they've captured in their clothes. When I get paid, I am definatly going to purchase something...

Also, I'm going to add a list of online shops, any suggestions?

Char x x x

ps My washing machine has been broken for over a week, I'm running out of clothes! A new one arrives on Thursday, thankfully.

It's been a while...

Hey!
Sorry for the distinct lack of post-age around here at the moment! Sea and I are both working a lot, which means no outfit posts and very little in the way of inspiration, sad but true. It does, however, mean that money and therefore purchases lie on the horizon (damn challenge!). I'm also feeling a bit constrained by the strict dress code at work, I was told twice t'other day that my skirt was too short...I mean it's long compared to many of my others! Ahh well.


Today I went with some friends who were getting tattoos. Nope, I didn't get anything but I am considering it as theirs both turned out ace. I like the idea of leaving an interesting corpse, slightly morid though it may be! This is what I wore today, yes heels during the day! A very rare occurance for me, I just don't have the stamina. I actually have very weak feet, even flats mess them up, grrrr! I don't know why I look like I'm frantically waving in this photo...

Dress - H&M (it makes me look at least 4 and a half months pregnant, 8 and a half without a belt). Shoes - Vintage Carvela via ebay, trousers and belt - H&M. The first appearance this year of my naked pale legs, a nerve-racking time indeed...

On Saturday, Sea mentioned we had been planning to go and see Sex and the City. It was the nicest day ever though so we ended up at a friend's with cider and I think that was actually a better plan. Definately this week sometime though, I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't seen it yet! This is what I wore:

Dress - ebay (some Japanese store) Grey t-shirt (underneath) - whisper it...Logo. Now shake off the nasty feeling that gave you. Tights - tightsplease, socks - Topshop sale! Shoes - ancient Topshop, they're wrecked, bangles - various.
Tiny ballerina necklace - Topshop (I heart this necklace, I used to dance too so it's appropriate!), Pearls (faux, unfortunatly) - vintage via ebay. I like pearls but I can very rarely wear them without looking very yah.

Hopefully normal posting will return soon!

Char x x x