Under The Sea Printed Playsuit

Playsuit AX Paris* | Rings T:S | Nails - Essie (Fifth Avenue)*

Artwork by me. Image source Style.com

A few weeks ago, I did a blog post on one of S/S 12 trends 'Under The Sea' over on Modern Girls Guide as the trend was seen on the catwalk last year and is fresh on the high street this summer. It is a new twist on the typical sea life/nautical trend which usually focuses the obvious detailing such as stripes, shades of blues and reds, ropes, boats and anchors. This new summer trend sees heavy use of sea life with new colours, textures and bold prints inspired by sea creatures such as starfish, sea shells, fish, coral reef and even mermaids. I think it is a fun trend! Anything that reminds me of the beach or summer holidays abroad is always a good thing!

This playsuit is from AX Paris and it has a really lovely "under the sea" print, and it is actually the very first playsuit that I own. It is certainly different to anything I own such as florals, polka dots and stripey prints. I am really drawn to anything minty green or aquamarine (that was always my favourite Crayola pencil colour!) so this felt like the perfect choice for my first playsuit!

White Floral Dress

Dress c/o Pop Couture / Jewellery Temporary:Secretary / Blazer Topshop / Shoes Miss Selfridge

 Last week, I introduced clothing brand, Pop Couture and here is another dress from the same brand. I have been wearing it recently with a chunky cardigan but it will be a great dress to wear in Spring/Summer. I like making the most out of my clothes, I'm not one to wear for "one season". Makes me sound so economical, but truthfully, I am such a hoarder! I hate throwing or giving away clothes! I try to keep them all forever! I'm wearing the white floral dress here with my trusty old white peter pan collar vest as an extra layer for warmth. The neckline of the dress is quite high so the collar looks like it is part of the dress. (stylish and functional! I just wish it was vest was thermal as well!) 

Year of The Dragon

Dress Pop Couture / Jewellery Temporary:Secretary / Nail Polish 17 Boots (mint choc chip)

I don't think I own a red dress, but I do now thanks to Pop Couture! I find it difficult to find a nice and suitable red dress. Thankfully, Pop Couture sent me this dress and I really like it but I have rolled the sleeves up as it was too long and flappy for me! It's perfect for Chinese New Year for when it is traditional to wear red as the colour represents prosperity, luck and fortune (yeah, I totally just googled this! Gee, I should really know more about the culture my parents come from). Do you own any red dresses? This red one also comes in black and orange but I thought I'd may as well go for red as I already own far too many clothes that are black.

Chinese New Year is tomorrow and traditionally lasts 2 weeks; honouring something different each day of the holidays. Honestly, it is really bad how little I know, I haven't really embraced it. Embarrassingly, I'm on wikipedia right now reading up on it. We're not so traditional here in this household, you see. We don't even go to see the dragon/lion dances anymore. Although, when I was little, the combination of loud drums, firecrackers and the dancing dragon used to scare me and make me scream, then I'd eventually cry hysterically!! I am still a big wimp! No surprises here but I'll be lacking in Chinese New Year photos - I don't think we have any plans - so I probably won't be blogging about it, but I know Winnie from Diamond Canopy won't let me down! I really like her food posts! I trust she'll have some good CNY blog posts in the next week or so!

Silk Blouse from Lavish Alice

Blouse Lavish Alice / Jewellery Temporary:Secretary / Nails Boots No.7 (Minty Fresh)

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Dahlia Fashion: Ann-Marie Dress

Dress Dahlia / Jewellery Temporary:Secetary / Jacket ASOS / Nail Polish 17 from Boots

A change of scenery today. I'm wearing the Ann-Marie dress from Dahlia, the dress doesn't actually come with a collar, this is the same white top as I'm wearing in the previous post. My 2nd blog post for Dahlia is now on the website so please pop over to their blog and check it out when you have a spare moment!

Another thing to let you all know is that one of you who are reading the blog now may receive an email from The Fairy Hobmother soon! The Fairy HobMother is from a website called Appliances Online. She stopped by my blog and offered me £50 voucher to spend on Amazon. The only catch is that I have to mention this link for Washing Machines. Those who are unfamiliar with The Fairy HobMother will find it very random. I guess this is just like an advertised link for an appliance company and I wouldn't normally do this.... BUT she will be reading the comments on this blog post and has promised to pay a visit to one of your blogs and grant you a wish, this may be vouchers which I think is nice as you can treat yourself to something to beat the January blues!

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Coral Jumper

Clothes TopShop

You'll probably notice that when I blog, I often say that I bought something ages ago or even years ago! I am not one of those bloggers who are on the ball with the latest trends and the newest collection that the high street has to offer - I haven't got the money to keep up! I always feel bad when someone asks me where I bought something, knowing that they want to go to the shops to check it or maybe even buy it, and I will end up telling them eg. "River Island...... in 2008". Well, here's another outfit that's not available to buy anymore (I am so last season). I bought all of this outfit with a TopShop gift card. I'm wearing a white crochet Peter Pan collar top underneath the chunky knit 3/4 length jumper (I'm still feeling festive?!) and a pair of polka dot burgandy shorts. My nail polish here is Pink Grapefruit by 17 from Boots. Both the nail polish and the coral red jumper was difficult to photograph, they're so bright!

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New Year

Coat Topshop / Jewellery Temporary:Secretary

Firstly, Happy New Year everyone! Hope you're all wrapped up! The coat I am wearing in the photos above was one I bought a couple of months ago. Being so short, I find it difficult to find nice coats that don't dwarf me. I love coats from Topshop as they seem to be the perfect fit, but they're so expensive! This one is the right length. However, the sleeves are a tad too short! Awkward. The velvet necktie comes with the coat. I don't think they stock it anymore but have seen a green one on the website. 

I am thinking of ways to improve the blog, so let me know if there are anything that you'd like to see on the blog this year. Maybe I will try to feature more of my illustration work on the blog. I must've said that loads of times before! I have been meaning to start drawing again! If it isn't for a project, I never feel the need to do it! Maybe that can be my new years resolution! I think there's so much pressure for this year to be the best year yet. Does anyone feel that too? x

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New Look Lace Dress

Dress New Look / Jewellery Temporary:Secretary, Jon Richard, RubyGold / Nail Polish 17 Cosmetics

Hope you've all had a lovely Christmas! What presents did you all receive this year?

I bought this blue lace dress a couple of months ago and it is very similar to this but I am more comfortable with sleeves. I wanted it in a different colour but so many dresses that I want recently are blue (Kate Middleton effect). This New Look one is not as tight as the River Island dress, there's no way I am ever going to wear a bodycon dress on the day of an epic dinner! After failing to find something new to wear for Christmas, this New Look lace dress was what I chose. I don't know why I made a big deal out of my Christmas day outfit, because by 8pm, I ended up changing into something baggy and comfortable anyway!

What are everyone's plans for New Year's Eve? I'll be back to blog once more before it's 2012. This year has gone really quickly!

Scalloped Collar Blouse

Shirt Lavish Alice / Skirt Topshop / Shoes Kurt Geiger / Nails No.7 Minty Fresh 

I remember seeing a picture of Fearne Cotton in a similar blouse from Lavish Alice so when I saw this sheer blouse (pictured above) as part of their new range, I really really wanted it! The buttons are on the back so I find it difficult to fasten them myself! Admittedly, everytime I've worn this, I have worn it back to front (with the buttons at the front!)... No one has noticed yet.... or at least they're too polite to say anything!

The shoes pictured above are the ones I got from Kurt Geiger. Definitely an early Christmas present to myself! I had wanted a pair of Allegra Chelsea Platform Boots from Topshop but I'm reluctant to buy TopShop shoes because they always hurt my feet. The Kurt Geiger pair are my alternative to Allegras! They give me the height I so desperately need!

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Pleats and Bows

Dress Paprika / Jewellery Temporary:Secretary / Nail Colour: Rimmel

I have seen lots of cool black pleated skirts lately and I want every single one of them! I'm always buying black skirts in all sorts of styles, they go with everything! This dress is from Paprika and it is also available in cream and white. I like the girly details (pleats and a bow). I thought I'd choose black as it's probably the easiest colour to wear during winter. The dress arrived a couple of days after I ordered it (with a voucher), such quick delivery. When I first tried it on, I felt a bit "Morticia" in it. Especially when I had my hair down at the time! I tried it on again but with lighter make up and hair in ponytail. Once I start wearing dark colours, I find it difficult to wear brighter colour again! Will try stay out of that rut. It will make a nice change to wear darker colours now anyway, I keep standing out like a sore thumb with the autumn florals and bright fabric that I've been wearing recently

I have had some emails and tweets enquiring about what camera I use, what lens I use, and how I get my photos looking bright during a dark day without using flash. I use different equipment for different things (namely blog, webshop, and landscape) but I do usually take a lot of outfit photos all in one go mid week, I pick a day that is bright. I'm not sure how I go about doing a tutorial as I'm not a professional. Far from it! I know how things work but I don't know how to explain them, technical things like aperture/f.stop, depth of field, all the different lenses, shooting format, etc. At uni, we had a few photography modules but I wasn't interested at the time, I didn't think it was something that would benefit me (after all, how would I ever afford a DSLR after uni! I was getting on just fine with my little silver point and shoot) Everything I've learned with DSLR is typically either self taught - by that, I mean turning all the buttons and pressing *everything* until I get it right!

Basically, in brief: For the blog, we both shoot with Nikon D90 or D40 and generally use a 50mm lens for overcloud. This is because you can set a lower f/stop and this will let more light in to the lens - which gives you brighter images. Our preference is to shoot in RAW format, which allows you do adjust the exposure, white balance and brightness with more versatility. For instance, on a gloomy day (overcloud), if you shoot in RAW, you can correct the white balance and exposure afterwards. Pop over to Gem's blog because she is a professional photographer, she knows what she is talking about (unlike me!) and this tutorial that Gem posted is really useful. 

Cat Dress

Cat Dress H&M / Rings from Temporary:Secretary / Nail Colour: Boots 17, Sea Breeze

I think everyone knows by now that I am a cat lady! Loud and proud! I know a lot of you are fellow cat fans too! However, my real life friends will burst my bubble and tell you how scared I am of animals but I do like cats! When I saw this dress with a repeated cat print, I picked it up in my size and went to pay for it as quick as possible. I wanted to own this dress! It's about £15.00 from H&M and I bought it last month so I'm unsure whether it will still be in stock. Snap it up if they still have it, we can all wear it and start a cat club............!!! 

Floral Blouse

Blouse Paprika Fashion / Skirt H&M / Jewellery Accessorize & Temporary:Secretary / Nails Rimmel

I've not heard of Paprika Fashion until recently and it is nice to have another fashion website to shop at besides the usual ones that I've bookmarked. They are an affordable brand who promises to provide stylish designs at an affordable price. You may have spotted Paprika's designs on ASOS or New Look. Recently, I received £100 voucher (via Look Magazine) to shop at Paprika and this floral blouse was one of the items I chose. Paprika's customer service were extremely friendly and you receive a response so quickly and efficiently! I wanted to treat you all to something too so I purchased a few extra things for a giveaway. I got so many awesome prizes sent to me recently, I feel greedy for keeping *everything* and I really wanted to spend some of it on you guys! Ideally, I'd love to buy something for each of my readers but since that isn't possible, I bought some clothes in a few different sizes and I'll have a big giveaway at the end of the year.