ASOS

Mirror Mirror

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I fell for this dress the moment I put it on. It’s the kind of dress that makes you love every bit of your body the way you should. The bold yet intricate print is cleverly designed to draw attention to the body’s curves in just the right way.

However, while the mirrored print is bold, the colour palette is understated – which means you can be very flexible when choosing accessories to pair it with. I stuck to neutrals for this post but it works equally well with metallics and pastels.

I have been meaning to photograph it for ages. Sadly I left it a bit too late and this dress is no longer stocked on the ASOS website. However I did manage to find some similar options here, here and here.

Dress: ASOS
Shoes: Next (Similar here)
Bag: H&M (Similar here)

Cinderella

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One of my earliest memories is of Cinderella. When I was little my Grandma would often mind me while my Mum and Dad were at work, and sometimes – if I was lucky – I’d get to spend the weekend there too. It was the weekends I looked forward to the most. My grandma knew my favourite movie was Walt Disney’s Cinderella, but she’d only rent it from the VHS shop as a special treat for the weekend. My love for the film has stayed with me (and yes I’ve seen the live action remake and it’s wonderful).

When I pulled this outfit together I couldn’t help feeling it was pulling more from the ‘Drizella’ colour palette than Cinderella’s. Then when we were shooting this post the BEST thing happened.

This path is one of my favourite routes to walk and it’s usually fairly deserted. However, I’d forgotten about the Easter Hols. We were soon passed by a family of 8 (including a muddy and excitable dog). There were two little girls (about the age I was when I discovered Cinderella) with their Dad at the back of the procession…

“Go on just ask her.”
“No don’t Dad”
“Just ask, she won’t mind.”
“Don’t it’s embarrassing.“
“Excuse me, the girls would like to know if you’re Cinderella?”

I should have been cooler about it. I really should have been. But that family totally made my week.

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T-Shirt: Mango (Similar here and here)
Skirt: Vintage (via The Vintage Emporium at Pear Mill)
Clutch: ASOS (Similar here)
Sunglasses: F&F

Photos by @RachelOrritt (see www.rachelorritt.com)

All Black, Everything

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Way back when I was a student, I spent most of my spare time binge watching ‘The Hills’ and desperately wishing I could move to LA and get a job working with LC and the gang. Then they brought Kelly Cutrone into it and I changed my mind – I wanted to be a tour de force like her.

I’ve always thought her ‘all-black’ dress code at fashion week was a stroke of genius. It’s smart, yet unobtrusive and it’s quick and easy to achieve.

I love this shirt dress from New Look Tall at ASOS. In fact ASOS is doing a stellar job lately of catering for us leggy lovelies.

However, if I’m going to be honest, this is one ‘tall’ item that falls a little ‘short’. In the tall blogging community I’m a bit on the short side at only 5’10” – and this dress only just fits me. But it does fit. Just.

Yay!

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Dress: New Look Tall via ASOS (exact one here)
Tights: F&F
Boots: XTI via ASOS (exact ones here)
Four Leaf Clover Necklace: Orelia
Earrings: borrowed from my mum (sorry mum!)

A Green Thing

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Dress: ASOS | Belt: Oliver Bonas
Tights: tightsplease.co.uk | Boots: Faith

The fashion world goes crazy for fall, but I’ve always been more of a spring/summer girl. I’m learning to love it this year though – and it doesn’t hurt that the sun has stuck around, so I can actually get out and enjoy the scenery as the colours change.

I’ve been spending lots of time with the two critters below – but unlike me they don’t appreciate hot weather. They’re both mountain dogs and they’re much more at home in the cold.

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The Pretty Dress Guide to Packing for a Beach Holiday

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It’s surprising how much goes into packing for a holiday. I’m not one of those people who can just throw a few things in a bag and go, I like to plan.

Lets start with the shoes: One pair of trainers, one pair of nude-goes-with-everything heels, one pair of wedges, one pair of sandals and one pair of flip-flops. I nearly always end up sticking to sandals and flip-flops once I’m there, but I like to know I’ve got all the bases covered.

The easiest and best way to pack shoes is using a plastic carrier bag. I usually line the bottom of my suitcase with shoes and then pack smaller items around them, leaving a relatively flat surface for the clothes to lie on.

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Converse trainers from BrandAlley

The next staple is the little white dress – dressed up with wedges for the evening or down with sandals in the day.

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Dress: Topshop | Wedges: ASOS

I like outfits that can go from day to evening just by changing up the accessories. (Small hard-case clutches are great for hols as you can also use them for transporting jewellery – or anything else that might get damaged in transit). These are also some of my favourite combinations…

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Dress: Zara | Sandals: Oasis | Clutch: Next

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Playsuit: Jovonnista | Shoes: H&M | Clutch: Textile Federation via ASOS

At the beach I prefer light dresses that you can just throw on/off – maxi dresses are great but the best thing I ever bought, I got years ago from Orion. Their kimono dresses are incredibly light and the material doesn’t wrinkle so they can be chucked in your beach bag with no fuss.

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Orion

I love getting out on the water in a boat (motorboat that is… I can’t sail but I like to pretend I can by looking the part) so I’m a big fan of breton stripe tops.

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Top: F&F | Shorts: Warehouse | Sandals: F&F

And lastly: The Bikinis. I live in these things on holiday. You can never have too many right?

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Clockwise from top left: F&F | George | F&F | ASOS | South Beach via ASOS

Longer Length

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Jacket: Zara | Scarf: Purchased at a craft fair | Dress: ASOS
Tights: tightsplease.co.uk | Boots: Debenhams
Unimpressed Cat: Not for Sale

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The tall blogging community recently got very excited when ASOS launched its tall range. A lot of brands associated with ASOS followed suit and there’s now a great range to choose from. Just before the range launched ASOS drip-fed some items into it’s stock and I spotted this longer-length dress – it really is the perfect length for me. Usually I have trouble finding waisted items that sit right with my body proportions – but no such issues with this dress. If you’re 5’10” or over I’d definitely check it out. My cat might not have been too impressed but I was.

 

Swift

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It’s no secret that I am a bit of a swiftie. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to see her live in London. I’d been mooching round the city in the daytime, and had worn the dress below. It being the ‘Red’ tour though, everyone else at the concert was dressed to match the description (and accessorising with fairy lights!) … Anyways I was bemoaning my lack of Taylor-appropriate attire to my sister, when she quite rightly pointed out that I hadn’t missed the boat at all – I was wearing swifts.

So now I love this dress even more. Here’s how I dressed it up recently for a family meal out.

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Dress: Warehouse (Via ASOS) similar here
Tights: tightsplease.co.uk
Shoes: Next
Clutch: Textile Federation via ASOS

And the concert? It was pretty incredible.
Here’s short clip I filmed of Emeli Sande performing ‘Next to Me’ with Taylor Swift.

 

Winter Rocks

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This has got to be one of my favourite places in the world, and only a few minutes drive from where I live. Though strangely, I don’t visit it that much. It’s such a spectacular view that I think if I went too often, I’d stop appreciating it as much.

But every now and again I’ll just jump in the car and go. Luckily, this time around I had my sister with me who very kindly took these photos – it was so windy I think the tripod would have blown over if I’d tried to self-shoot!

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Coat: George at Asda | Jeggings: Marks and Spencer | Boots: Debenhams

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Quilted Jumper: ASOS

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Bag: Aldo

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Last of the Summer Florals

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I meant to post this in August but, with one thing and another, I’m only just getting around to it. I love a good playsuit in Summer and this one fits perfectly. Sadly I had to cancel my summer hols when I fell ill earlier this month, so I’ve not been able to wear it this year… I tried making it work for winter by paring it with tights but the design and texture of the fabric didn’t really work for winter layering. It’s definitely a summer staple for next year.

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Playsuit: Glamorous
Ring: ASOS

Bows, Buttons and a new Bag

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Photography is still a bit of an unmastered art form for me – I have a fancy camera and every intention of learning how to use it but life/work keeps getting in the way. Added to which I nearly always self-shoot for the blog and rely a lot on the self timer. So I was really pleased with how some of these photos turned out. (Just wish I knew how I did it!)

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I wore this outfit to work this week. The shoes are from Dorothy Perkins – sadly they don’t stock them anymore but they do have something similar. The white vest top is from Primark, the sunnies are from F&F and the skirt is one of my favourites – I bought it from Mango a couple of years ago. It’s wrap-around so the waist always fits perfectly and it looks really pretty with the bow detail at the side.

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I wore it with my old favourite – my topshop denim jacket (which goes with everything) and I accessorised with my shiny new bag! It’s by Pieces and I bought it in the ASOS sale. I love the rafia look and feel – it’s by far one of the best bargains I’ve found in the summer sales.

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Savvy Shopping: ASOS now stock Primark – so if you can’t be bothered treking into the town centre (and it is a bit of a trek from my place) then you can now get it delivered to your door for free!