Tuesday 25 May 2010

Hiding on the high street.

Um. What the HELL, Marks and Spencer?

We all know that you are the kind of sensible, lovely shop that sells nice, well-made but slightly out of my high-street-budget clothes that your boss probably shops at. You do GREAT sandwiches and your chicken laksa noodle soup is pretty damn amazing although where the hell has it gone because the chicken ramen noodle soup is just not the same and honestly why do I always end up talking about soup, GOD.

But. But!

BUT!!!


And so many bags! So many lovely, lovely bags!


And dresses! Wedding outfits everywhere, sorted! Hurrah!


Yeah, consider my opinion revised. And my feet in those peep toes.

(Sorry for being such a bad blogger this past week! I had a crazy week at work that passed in a flash, but I'm back now, hurrah! And I have my camera back too, so expect lots of photos to come in the very near future...)
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Friday 14 May 2010

Girlcrush: Emma Pillsbury (or You Can Never Own Enough Cardigans)

I've commented before about how in love with Glee I am. Sure, it's not the show it was at the start - it's lost most of the dark humour - but I'm a sucker for musicals. They just make me HAPPY.

Whenever I've seen her in shows before, I've fallen a bit in love with Jayma Mays (Heroes! Pushing Daisies! How I Met Your Mother! And even though she played a bitch in Ugly Betty, she was so cute! And got to make out with HENRY. Oh, Henry.).


But it took the adorable, obsessive compulsive, impeccably turned out Emma Pillsbury to propel her to full-blown girlcrush.


I know a lot of people criticise matchy-matchy fashion, but I've always been a sucker for it. Plus, the accessories! You never see Emma without a cute necklace or vintage-inspired brooch. And you NEVER see her in trousers. My kind of girl, basically. She's my new workwear inspiration.

LOVE that green blouse and the PPQ-esque cardigan.


I wish I could make my hair do this:



I wish I could pull off yellow:


But mostly, I wish I had her entire wardrobe. I'm in love with her cardigan collection.


Oh, and her coats.


And hats.

This scene still makes me squeal.

How adorable are these chain brooches? I WANT THE OWL ONE.


And finally, I wish I had the hips to pull off a red pencil skirt. God, she accessorises it so beautifully. I love how that flower brooch brings together all the colours of her outfit, especially. Plus, I'm unnaturally fond of TV characters who wear the same thing more than once,
just like real people.


And really finally, unlike that fake finally a second ago, I want this wedding dress.


And to be a redhead.

(Oh, and it's unanimous - the full fringe returneth! Appointment is booked for next week.)

Screencaps from toxic_caps, rawr_caps and killmotion.
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Tuesday 11 May 2010

A deep and serious matter.

Friends, I am engaged in INNER TURMOIL right now. And OUTER. And the source of this turmoil?

My hair. Or, more specifically, my fringe.

See, for YEARS I debated getting a fringe, and held back, mostly because my hair is thick and wavy and unpredictable and I had no idea if it would work or not. Eventually, one day, I threw caution to the wind, and armed with
this photo of Anne Hathaway, visited the hairdresser and received a rather nice sideswept fringe (actually nothing like the picture I brought, but still nice!).

Anyway, I never looked back, and my fringe got thicker and thicker until last year, I had it cut into a blunt, full fringe, which I loved.

(I also really, really love that nail polish.)

But it grows so damn fast, and looks messy so quickly, and I kind of hate going for fringe trims (is it just me who would rather they charged a flat fiver for it rather than saying they're free? It opens up a whole world of confusion about tipping and stuff), so after my last cut, I let it grow, and am now in possession of a sideswept fringe again.

But with another hairdressing appointment imminent, I am faced with a debate. Sideswept or full?

What do you think?
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Thursday 6 May 2010

Primark: a crippling and ethically unsound addiction.

Minutes after taking this photo, my tripod fell over. And that is why my camera is in a camera-coma awaiting a lens transplant.

I've noticed lots of my fellow bloggers claiming to have kicked the Primark habit lately, and every time it makes me say; 'No, they are right. Primark is BAD FOR THE SOUL. Their clothes are not ethically sourced, and are often badly made. I should, instead of buying three £15 dresses, purchase just one, well-made dress. THAT IS WHAT I SHOULD DO.'

Unfortunately, when I pop into town at lunchtime to buy my beloved Moroccan Chicken soup from M&S (OH MY GOD IT'S THE BEST SOUP EVER IF YOU ARE A VEGETARIAN I AM SAD FOR YOU), I have to walk straight past Primark. And, while it's very easy to resist Primark at the weekend (crowds make me rage), on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, it's much harder. Doesn't help that the knowledge that Tuesday is new stock day is indelibly etched into my brain. (It's also new magazine day!)

And, it's as if Primark KNOW that I'm trying to break the habit, because nestled in between all the chavvy tube dresses and unflattering (to me, okay) boyfriend jumpers are my one (ha) weakness:

Tea dresses. Floral. Tea. Dresses.


And when the average price of a dress is £13, do you see how I cannot break the habit? Do you see? That gorgeous little navy roses number at the end there? Cost a POUND. (I think I picked up a lucky return, because if I'd seen it before, I would have totally paid full price on it.)


Help me, readers. How do I break the Primark habit? And, really... should I?
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Monday 3 May 2010

A rootin' tootin' carbootin' Monday.

I've been meaning to do some carbooting for a while, especially ever since I've started reading lots of your lovely blogs! All your fantastic finds are so inspiring.

Anyway, once the rain had stopped this morning, my friend and I headed off. The sale we went to is on every Sunday (from midday onwards - gotta love a non-early start!), and we actually sold there once last year. I wasn't really sure what to expect, as it seemed really mixed the last time we went, but I was pleasantly surprised, and picked up some lovely things. I did, however, leave behind a stunning black and gold vintage typewriter (the person manning the store was aware that it was worth around the £70 mark - shame!) and a set of Keypers that I wanted desperately when I was 7. I was also wondering if I would run into a
fellow blogger on my travels - unfortunately we just missed each other!

At the very first stall, I found this...


I have a bit of a thing for vintage suitcases, and this cost just one shiny pound. And the lady I bought it from told me it's from the 1950s. So cool.

I then, in quick succession, purchased these two vintage cameras.


The Nikkorex was £5 (steep for a carbootie, but I fell in love with it), and the Kodak Brownie was a bargainous £1.50. I can't wait to try them out... if they actually work, that is!

I left this sewing box when I first saw it, then came back to it about ten minutes later to find out the price. £2!! I can keep so much stuff in it. If there's one thing I have a lot of, it's BITS.


This stack of over fifty Puddle Lane books cost me a fiver. I am currently my niece's favourite person as she wades through them. I debated this purchase, but I couldn't leave them - they were my favourite books as a child, and we'll keep them forever.


I wish Penguin would repackage all their books in this style. These were 25p each (I don't think the stall owner realised how cultish the covers have become). I actually really like that they're battered.


And finally...


...always going to come in useful. 10p.

God, I love carbooting. All that, and change from a twenty pound note. AMAZING. I sense the start of an exciting new addiction.
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