Red Organza Hem Dress - John Mayer Live at The O2! (Insert girlish squeal here.)

  Click through to item; Dress: ASOS. Shoes; Zara - similar here. 

Hello all!

How are you? What have you been upto? I'm in a talkative mood and no one ever replies to these kind of questions in blog posts. I'm being deadly serious - let me know! (That sounds much more threatening than I meant it to...)

Now, music, concerts or 'gigs' as the cool kids call them aren't really things I've ever mentioned on here before. I tend to stick to things I know. Don't get me wrong, I love music, but I wouldn't say I have particularly 'good' or 'individual' taste. I'm raising this because I'd had my eye on this red, organza dress for a few weeks but held myself back because I had nowhere in particular to wear it and no real need of it. However, when the John Mayer concert came along I knew the time had come. I always dress up for John. We're on a first name basis now. In the sense that I know his but he doesn't know mine. 

My friends in real life know that I have a borderline-peculiar love for John Mayer and have done since I was about 12. I've seen him live 5 times and I've also stalked him just a bit. Just casually, you know. Casual stalking. The kind you probably can't get arrested for. He came to speak at The Oxford Union a while ago, which is a kind of 'club' in Oxford where notable people come to talk and there's a chance I hysterically chased followed him to his private room, waited outside like a lunatic and got his autograph. It may have happened. I also may be mildly ashamed but also proud. We'll move on now. 

Essentially, I decided it would be the perfect time to pounce on this dress, and if I may say so myself I felt quite lovely in it. I was definitely the most dressed up person there, but you know me, I often am and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. (Also, I had to make the effort for John. What if he had somehow seen me in the crowd, decided he must have me as he wife and we eloped right then and there? It was crucial for me to look good in case the moment arose. A girl can dream..)

Here's What I'm Wearing...

White Shirt / Longline Waistcoat with Fur Detail / Leather Trousers - A Trip to Columbia Road Flower Market

 Shirt & Waistcoat: Zara. Trousers: Topshop. Shoes: M&S. Sunglasses: Miu Miu.

Hello all!

Photo spam alert. Last Sunday I visited the world renowned Columbia Road Flower Market with my friend Bianca, which is tucked away in the East End of London. The usually rather average looking street comprised of cafes, pubs, antique shops and galleries is transformed into an unimaginable rainbow of colours and noise, with flowers piled high everywhere you turn! So, for this reason I hope you'll forgive me for the slightly unnecessary number of photos. (It was an instagrammers heaven I'm slightly ashamed to say..) I'm also extremely glad I remembered to take my hayfever tablet or it may have turned into a rather unpleasant, sniffly trip. Before visiting the market I also learned that interestingly, the market itself has been running every sunday since 1896 - how incredible is that? 

I saw several people buying bunches of flowers wrapped in brown paper, strapping them into the basket of their bike and cycling off! How I would've loved to be one of them - the cocktails that awaited me that evening meant that any flowers I may have bought would have had to survive through the rest of the day & evening, and would've possibly be left on the bus/tube after a drink too many..  

My outfit was perhaps a bit lacking in colour for the occasion, but the weather man had assured me that it was going to be a rather dull and drizzly day! Although as you can see, the sky turned blue for our rooftop cocktails above Trafalgar Square where our two became four when we were joined by the lovely Maggie and Emmy. We then headed to The Diner where we consumed a shameful amount of cheesey fries. Such elegant behaviour, as always..

I feel my outfit served me well that day - it's rather hard to dress appropriately for a visit to a market followed by drinks later that evening. I think I managed it though, I didn't feel too ridiculous at either ocassion which can only be a good thing.

Have you ever visited Columbia Road Flower Market? If so, did you enjoy it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Tile Print Jacket / Fine Pleat Midi Skirt / Kurt Geiger Sandals - Coast's A/W Press Day

 Top: c/o Missguided. Jacket: Topshop.  Skirt: ZARA. Shoes: Kurt Geiger. 

Hello all!

Now, I'd like to give you a proper introduction to one of my absolute favourite brands for statement pieces, particularly statement skirts (and don't we all know how shamefully large my midi skirt collection is?). I'll be honest - a couple of years ago, Coast wasn't a brand that filled me with excitement. It mainly conjured images of bridesmaid dresses, and not having been a bridesmaid since I was about 8, I didn't really consider it relevant to me. However, around the end of the year I'd spotted a certain black and gold skirt in a few magazines, which turned out to be by Coast. After seeing this skirt, I knew it HAD to be mine. There was no question about it. It was everything I loved in a skirt; it was full, decadent, midi-length and perfectly over the top! I ended up wearing that skirt to London Fashion Week in February and you can see that post by clicking here. It really opened my eyes to how much Coast, as a brand, had moved on.

Ever since, I've been hooked on Coast skirts. Hooked on the designs, hooked on the flattering waistbands and hooked on the rustly sound they make when I walk. I now have four of their skirts, and you can see my wearing another one of their more colourful, floral skirts by clicking here. I also wore one of their evening dresses to the ballet a couple of weeks ago which you can see by clicking here! I feel like I've said the word 'skirts' too many times in this post but I have no intention of stopping. Skirts. Despite their prettiness, I fully appreciate that £65+ for a skirt isn't what at lot of people would call inexpensive. However, and I've said this before, the quality is SO fantastic, and the fits are so flattering that I really feel like they're worth the money - whether you splurge, save up for one or ask for one for a birthday present.

Happily, the lovely (and very friendly) ladies at Coast invited me down to their A/W Press Day a few days ago. I'm being completely truthful when I say, I've never been to a more beautiful or enjoyable press day! The venue was beautifully decorated, with a flower stand filled to bursting with real flowers and faux autumnal leaves scattered all over the floor, to keep to the A/W theme. As you can see, I've slightly spammed you with photos - I hope you don't mind, it was just all SO beautiful I wanted to share it with you! There are definitely a good few pieces I have my eye on for the upcoming months, I can't wait until the new pieces are released!

I should also mention that despite my clear obsession, this post is not sponsored by Coast. This is my own genuine recommendation, to you!

White Pleated Skirt / Ruffle Crop Top / Checked Jacket and Miu Miu - A Day in Notting Hill

Top: c/o Missguided. Jacket: c/o BooHoo (I think..) Skirt & Shoes: ZARA. Necklace: H&M. Earrins & Bag: Chanel.

Hello all!

These photos were taken a little while ago on an absolutely beautiful day in London, when I'd gone out for the day with one of my favourite friends Bianca. Let's just take a moment to gaze at these images and pine for the sun that has now sadly left us. I hope for us all that it will return soon. I should probably address something that to me, seems horribly wrong with these photos. I look quite tanned. This is some unrequested camera trickery, I have not recently popped to the Caribbean or basked in any kind of sun. I'm my usual shade of TRANSLUCENT. Not that there's anything wrong with being tanned, of course. It just doesn't suit me. I once had a spray tan when I was 15 in an attempt to make myself seem cool (it didn't work) and as I was leaving the salon a small child pointed at me and asked her mother 'Mummy, why is that girl so orange?' I looked like I'd rolled in mud - NEVER AGAIN.

In regards to the outfit, I do hope you like it. I feel like sometimes I look so prim and 'prissy' (I'm not even sure I know what prissy means but we'll go with it) and on occasion I wish I could be like one of those people who go around in ripped jeans and trainers looking all 'cool' and like they regularly go to the kind of concerts where there are no chairs and you have to stand up. That kind of thing. Then I remember I hate jeans and trainers make me look like an extra in Kevin & Perry. Do you ever wish you could pull off a style that doesn't suit you? Please let me know!

Oh and p.s. if you'd like to, and if you enjoy my blog & instagram, I'd be so happy if you took a minute to nominate me in the Company Style Blogger Awards for 'Best Personal Style Blog' There's a link to it in my sidebar - I've never made it to the Company Blog Awards yet so I'm hoping I might get there this year :) 

Double p.s. You might also notice that I'm now 'arabellagolby.com' rather than 'arabellag.com', so now all of my social media usernames match, and I always felt like 'arabellaG.com' conjured up images of me as some kind of 'gangster' which is, let's face it, quite far from the truth.. 

London Fashion Week Day 1 // Black and Gold

Hello all and Happy London Fashion Week!

What do you think of my new 'big photo' format? As you can tell by my use of technical language, my technological knowledge is extensive. 

I suppose by now your blogger, instagram and twitter feeds are likely full of all things hashtagged #LFW, and it's only the end of day 2 (is hashtagged even a word?). This is what I wore on the first day, where I met up with several of my wonderful bloggy / YouTube friends and also made some new ones! As usual, I spent the week approaching the start of London Fashion Week panic buying almost every item of clothing on the internet - only to try it all on the night before and declare that I despised it all. I was having a mild nervous breakdown. Eventually, I turned to my pre-exsiting collection, rejecting all new purchases and put this together and I loved it. What a joyous moment of relief that was! My mother had been saying to me the entire week 'stop buying clothes Arabella, wear something you've already got!' It turns out she was right, as not one item I wore was 'new' (in the sense that I've owned everything here for about 2+ months). She then enjoyed basking in the fact that she was right.

You might be able to tell by the appearance of the umbrella, it RAINED. SO. MUCH. Imagine the windiest day ever, the most rainy day ever and then combine them. Then double it. That was Friday's weather. AWFUL. You can see from my shoes in the last photo that my feet were SOAKED and absolutely frozen beyond all belief. The only plus was the fact that some rather lovely (BLOODY FIT) men had been hired to escort people around Somerset House, holding ginormous golf umbrellas to keep them dry. At one point one of them approached me and asked if there was somewhere I needed to get to, I said no, but you can walk me around for a bit anyway... and so he obliged and we did a few laps and I just stared at him. He said he thought I was funny but I think he probably meant 'a bit mental'.

(Top & Shoes : ZARA. Earrings & Bag : Chanel. Skirt : Coast. Belt : H&M. Hair by Toni & Guy.)