An Afternoon at Upton House / Lavish Alice Oxblood Co-ord

All Items Linked Below - Top: c/o Lavish Alice. Skirt: c/o Lavish Alice. Sunglasses: Prada. Shoes: Kurt Geiger.

Hello All!

How are we today? Well I hope!

So, the other day I paid a visit to the the home of Lord and Lady Bearsted, otherwise known as Stately Home, Upton House. It's no longer their home, clearly... if it was, they probably wouldn't have let me in. Luckily for the public, the marvellous sandstone creation was eventually handed on to The National Trust for the likes of us to enjoy, and I'm very glad they did. How else am I going to pretend I'm in Downton Abbey?

I spent the afternoon wondering around the 1930s-style house, roaming the gardens whilst admiring the impressive cedar trees, and pretending not to be out of breath after walking up and down the terrace a few times (there are a lot of steps..ok?) We also ate a considerable amount of cake, which is in my opinion a necessity when visiting a National Trust Property. I think it might even be the law. The garden is incredible when in bloom, but the house itself is a treasure trove of art, vintage furniture, silverware and porcelain, carpets and a multitude of interesting objects  it's like stepping back in time!

Regarding my outfit for the occasion, I saw the visit as a perfectly timed chance to wear and photograph this charming co-ord from Lavish Alice. I'm very impressed with it - it's well cut and fits flatteringly, which is exceedingly important when one plans to, what's a nice way to phrase this... scoff lots of cake. Not only does the skirt move beautifully, but the co-ord kept me perfectly cool all day and in my humble opinion, looking rather stylish too (I try!). In fact, one of the curators of the house even told me I was 'looking elegant', fancy being told that in the house of an actual lord and lady. I'll take that. I could be a happy lady, I'm sure. Lady Arabella. Seems legit...

(Oh, and I'll admit - despite being an avid heel wearer, I admit I changed into flat shoes after the photographs. Thin, pointy heels and lawn do not mix...)

And here's what I'm wearing!

Popping to Paris - Duck Egg Midi Skirt by The Eiffel Tower

Click to item; Skirt: c/o Coast. Top: Topshop. Shoes: Kurt Geiger. Bag: Zara. Sunglasses: c/o Sunglasses Shop. Earrings: Chanel.

Hello all!
Quite the change of scenery - no classic London street or back garden for me this evening.  Last week I hopped on the Eurostar and headed off to Paris for a few days of devouring lots (and lots) of pastries, crepes & carbs, making the stereotypical visit to Laduree and a bit a lot of prancing about, speaking french badly. 
Before I left for Paris, the ever-lovely ladies at Coast had this skirt sped over to me by special delivery in time for my trip (thank you again, Chloe!) and honestly, what can I say? What do I need to say? Just look at it. Gaze upon it. Just, BEHOLD. You'll be able to see that this was a very wet day - the photos were a struggle but I couldn't not take the opportunity!
You may already be aware of the attachment I have to Coast's 'Rita' skirts, after I wore the black and gold version to the last London Fashion Week (click here to see that post if you'd like) - they've released it in a few different colours and I'll tell you now with a slight tinge of shame, that I now own them all. YES. Shun me. Sometimes I wonder if I own too many midi skirts, but then I laugh and realise that's impossible. I think of them as my version of jeans, in the sense that I wear them frequently and they just go with everything. (Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against jeans, they just look horrendous on me.)
Back to the skirt - I appreciate that this is an undeniably more 'formal' piece, but if you're like me and simply don't care about the odd look (how does that man staring quizzically know I'm not going to a ball.. hmmm?) I'd be totally happy, and quite honestly feel like a princess wearing this in the daytime. Life is short, so wear whatever makes you happy (or what the young ragamuffins these days say, 'YOLO'). Although that said, I've already planned how I'm going to style this for the evening; with a little ruffled black bralet to make it a little bit more.. flesh exposing? There's probably a nicer way to say that. Sexy? Evening-appropriate? You get my drift. & here's what I'm wearing! (or similar...)

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...

Graphic Paint Print Midi / Ruffle Bralet / Bouquet of Peonies (which are a completely appropriate accessory...)

Click to item; Skirt: Karen Millen. Top: c/o Missguided. Shoes: Kurt Geiger.  Sunglasses: Miu Miu. Earrings: Chanel. 

Hello all and Happy Friday!

Another midi skirt. I know, I know. I'm sorry. As if I needed another one. Do you ever see visions of yourself wearing an item somewhere and think 'I must make this vision a reality!' or even 'when I have this skirt my wardrobe will be complete.' Well, I tell myself all kinds of stories to justify a purchase I probably shouldn't make. I often try and talk myself out of it but in this case I was unsuccessful ...Oops!  Although, to be fair I have been a Lizzie McGuire style outfit repeater and worn this numerous times as I adore it beyond words. Although it's quite a statement print, I also think it's timeless and not obviously from anywhere in particular - in the sense that you don't look at it and think 'that's obviously from Topshop/Zara' which is nice for a change. 

I wore this for a perfect Sunday outing with my friend Bianca. First we headed to Columbia Road Market to peruse the flowers, and we both picked up a couple of bunches of peonies (so stereotypical blogger/so original) Then we made our way to the rather well known hipster haunt The Breakfast Club for brunch. Here is where I should be a good and professional blogger, by presenting you with copious photographs of pancakes laden with fresh fruit from several different angles. However, when the obligatory instagram photo had been taken I couldn't quite stop myself from devouring them like a wild animal, all before I'd had the chance to take out my camera. Oops again. Must try harder next time.

P.S. You might notice I've added a rather snazzy new 'Shop The Post' feature below, which I really hope you'll enjoy! I think it makes things a lot easier if you feel compelled to search for an item I've featured. 

My HD Brows Experience - Tinting, Waxing and Shaping

Something a little different this evening. I've been working on this for a while and have been so excited to start experimenting with beauty blogging! Here I go... 
So, eyebrows. As a rule, everyone has them. So, they seemed like a pretty apt topic for my first beauty related post! You'll probably have already noticed that over the last few years or so, brows have become a BIG DEAL. Like, a super big deal. I still remember the day I realised that eyebrows were something you could change/tamper with, besides plucking. I didn't know that putting make up on your eyebrows was a thing until I was about 18/19...  truly!  Since my magnificent and life-changing discovery (being somewhat dramatic here) that you could FILL IN your eyebrows, I'd never had them professionally done. Although, when I was younger my mother would occasionally chase me around with a pair of tweezers. However, when JH Hair and Beauty, a beauty salon local to my parental home offered me an HD Brows experience to review, I was intrigued and so accepted.
As you'll see below, I photographed two appointments on two separate ocassions. The first was the full HD Brows treatment including tinting & the  second was the HD Brows shaping/waxing. 
The full HD Brows Treatment & tinting process; The first appointment I had was the full HD brows treatment, that's shaping, waxing & tinting. The first set of photos are of the tinting process (when the tint went on things got a bit Miranda Sings). Honestly, the tinting wasn't for me. I feel it was a bit too 'dramatic' for my taste, and I really don't need it as my brows are very dark already - however, it would be fantastic for someone who has lighter brows and prefers them to look darker, or even just for someone who doesn't like having to fill them in every morning. It's also a great treatment to do before a holiday or special occasion if you don't want to have to maintain it constantly!
(It feels a bit odd sharing SUCH close up photos as it really shows up bad skin patches and wrinkles which is delightful for you all to see, but hey, we're all friends here!)

    The Full HD Brows Treatment

Shaping & Waxing Shaping & Waxing; Now is where I can really start praising the process. I adore how my brows look after they've been shaped and I can hardly believe that I went so long without trying it! Somehow, every time I have them shaped now, I feel as though the end result looks thicker despite the fact that hairs have been removed. How does that work?! I'm hooked for life.
My conclusion; I'd reccommend the full HD Brows treatment to anyone who has naturally lighter hair than me, sparser brows or even someone who just prefers a stronger eyebrow look. If that's the case - the tinting is for you! As you'll be able to see, the second set of photos demonstrate my usual look much more accurately and it's now become a part of my usual routine. I'd recommend the HD shaping/waxing process to anyone who has eyebrows. So basically everyone..

  Thank you to Jay from JH Hair and Beauty for inspiring me to do this post.  I so hope you like this post, and please let me know if you'd be interested in me continuing creating posts on beauty related topics!

Lace Bralet / Lace Pencil Skirt / Stella McCartney Sunglasses

Bralet & Skirt: Topshop. Sunglasses: Stella McCartney c/o Pretavoir. Shoes: c/o Daniel Footwear. 

Hello all!

It's a quick lace on lace outfit today! I was struggling initially to choose what to pair with this pencil skirt, and in the end I thought well.. why not a bit more lace? I'm rather happy with the result. I'm not sure if I'd wear this in the day, as the bralet is a little more skimpy than I'm comfortable with for day-to-day attire, but I'll certainly wear it on a warm evening this summer! 

This skirt is surprisingly comfortable and un-restrictive (is that a word?) thanks to the slit up the back (really, how ugly is the word 'slit'... but what else can I call it?) I also added a pair of beautiful pointed courts from Daniel Footwear, which I must say are supremely comfortable. I've started calling them my 'adult' shoes as they remind me of something you might wear to work in an office. That makes me sound terribly childish doesn't it? But honestly, who hasn't ever bought something and dubbed it their 'date dress' or their 'grown up shoes' - I feel like it's just a way of making what might be considered more 'basic' items seem more fun! 

I finished off the outfit with these beautiful dappled sunglasses by Stella McCartney which were very kindly sent to me by Pretavoir. I'd had my eye on them ever since seeing them on Miranda Kerr. Obviously I put the usual logic into practice; if I have the same sunglasses as Miranda Kerr I will likely become Miranda Kerr. Still waiting..