A stylish walk through London

Remember in my last post that I mentioned having gone a bit over the top with my clothes shopping at Next? Well, the two main garments in this outfit is the result of that shopping trip. 

I recently spent a weekend in big ol' London, and I wanted to dress up for the occasion. Not too much, but enough to feel stylish whilst walking around this fashionable city, but comfortable at the same time. Therefore, I opted to wear my light pink super skinny jeans, matched with my new white oversized sheer shirt with stud details - both from Next.

You've seen my bag before - it's from Accessorize and I featured it in my post about bohemian inspired summer fashion.

Other accessories Iäm sporting with this outfit is a silver bracelet from Links of London with 3 charms (I thought it was highly relevant for the occasion), and mint coloured nail polish from Barry M.

With some dusky pink/purple makeup as well, I think I've done a pretty good job with this look ;)

The cherry on top are these glitzy pink champagne drop earrings with Austrian crystals, which I got from Glitzy Secrets - a fab jewellery shop online with affordable collections. 

Oh, and let's not forget about my 80's style Tom Cruise look-alike sunglasses! These were actually free at Superdrug when you bought 3 makeup products. When I first got them I looked at them and laughed, and didnät think more of them. But when trying them on during our walk around London I realised they look quite cool and retro. I'll definitely bring them on my next holiday!

Blogger event: The One Where They Watch Friends

Ah, how I love summer evenings.

Going for strolls through the city centre, drinking coffee, just hanging out with some of my favourite people…

…and showing off my newly purchased lilac top with sequins and a pleated back, from Next! 
(I went a bit over the top at Next last weekend, splashing out on all sorts, including this top)

However, this particular evening was not like any other evening, but the reason I wanted to wear my nice new top is because I was invited to a blogger event! 

Last Wednesday, me and a bunch of other local bloggers were invited to the Everyman cinema in Leeds to enjoy an evening of laughter. Simplyhealth was running a campaign called #shhealthysmile, and had rented out a private screening room at this luxury cinema to show the first 4 episodes of Friends – meaning that a night with friends, watching Friends, and having a good laugh, is good for your health. Well, you know what the old saying is; ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. I won’t disagree with that ;)

Or like Simplyhealth themselves are saying in their latest article; ‘Humour has great health benefits. It can strengthen your spirit, make you smile and change your perspective on life whilst bringing you joy and filling you with positivity.’

 I brought my dear man along with me to this event, and we were welcomed by Simplyhealth with a drink and a goodie bag including cinema snacks, a Friends mug, as well as items that will help you feel more confident when laughing and smiling, as well as improving your healthy smile – lip balm, mints, and chewing gum. Great idea!

We had a great time at the event, and mingled with some of the other bloggers, including some that I already knew; Dasa from Mode Lily, and Kristina from Mode of Style.

Thanks to Simplyhealth and Joe Blogs blogger network for inviting us!

Dressing up for the races

A couple of weeks ago I visited York Racecourse with a group of friends, including fellow fashion blogger Kristina, to watch some horse races.

Nah, who am I kidding!?! We didn't watch any horses run! We were just there for the atmosphere, the people watching, and of course the Pimm's.

OK, I might have watched one race, but I haven't got a clue who won, as I'm not into betting.

I did actually place one bet just for the sake of it, but I chose the horse solely based on its name rather than its odds, and I actually won my money back. The horse was called Mulberry something, which made me think about handbags, so I obviously had to choose that one ;) I'm such a girl sometimes!

The real reason people go to the races is to dress up, and I was no exception. I squeezed into a short, light pink, lace bodycon dress from Boohoo for the occasion.

As I didn't want to go full-on girly girl though (that's just not me), I added some black and silver accessories which are a bit rock inspired. The black leather bag with studs was a present from my family, and the bracelet is one of my favourite pieces of jewellery - I found it at Camden market in London a few years ago.

Women who go to the races usually wear absolutely ridiculous fascinators, but I just couldn't bring myself to do this! I think it's just so silly, and it makes you look like a stuck-up bitch :P

Instead, I opted for a few simple fabric flowers of pink and black, which I got from H&M.

Back to the Pimm's! For my international readers who might not know, Pimm's is a typical British drink that people tend to drink in the summer. Me and Kristina ordered in a pitcher, which we enjoyed on the lawn.

Cheers!

Kristina and I had a lovely day at the races, even if we didn't go for the horses, but just for the company and the atmosphere. If you haven't been to a day out like this, I can really recommend it - even if you just go there to laugh at all the extreme and silly fascinators!

The day I met Princess Diana's wedding dress designer

I went down to Cardiff with work a couple of weeks ago for Bonmarché’s store opening event in St David’s shopping centre. It was an enthusiastic crowd outside the store on the day of the grand opening, and they all joined in with the countdown. In less than a minute after the ribbon had been cut the store was buzzing with people. As well as looking at all the new fashion they were all there for one reason – to meet the living legend, the designer of Princess Diana’s wedding dress; the one and only David Emanuel. 

David has a solid fan base, and with him being a household name thanks to his royal business connections people recognised him even outside of the store, and stopped him to shake his hand or to take a photo with him.

Those who hadn’t met him before were pleasantly surprised by his genuine personality and charm. One could say he hasn’t forgotten his roots!

Even though his hand must have been cramping after all the handshakes and the autograph writing, he was still chirpy and shared his great humour with his fans. 

The overall atmosphere at the Bonmarché store opening event was very positive, and many customers expressed how impressed they were with the new store, which they described as having a ‘boutique feeling’. The dressing rooms had a bit of a boudoir style with a lovely antique looking vanity table and mirror outside, decorated with beautiful glass pieces and books. 

I later went for lunch with David and took the chance to ask him about his collection at Bonmarché, and his designs in general. He said that the cuts of fashion really goes around in circles, and that he focuses more on the patterns and colours. 

To the question of where he gets his inspiration from he said that it’s about seasons and on-trend colours. But not any colours! David likes his clothes to stand out from the crowd – the more bold the better! When walking through the shopping centre after lunch he grabbed hold of a skirt in another store and burst out “This is dull!", pointing out that dull colours make you look dull, and that you would have to make a real effort to pull off wearing such a garment. A minute later he pointed at a bright orange top and expressed “That colour is fabulous!”

David Emanuel’s collection at Bonmarché isn’t quite as bold as that orange top, but you can see where he’s coming from. He explained that he usually uses black or white as a base, but that he loves a pattern with a colour that stands out. 

The focus on this season’s clothes seems to be on the colours of bold purple and dark turquoise, or almost petroleum green. And one garment that kept coming back in numerous colours and patterns was the classic tunic.