A Sunny Day and A Fringed Necklace

What difference a bit of sunshine makes to a photograph. It seems like ages since we have had bright sunshine and todays picture looks so much clearer and brighter than some of my recent photographs. I am sure if I actually worked out how to use my camera I could find a way to counteract the effects of poor light.

Todays outfit features a fringed necklace which I bought for about £5 in the Oasis sale just before Christmas. This is the first time I have worn it but I have a feeling it will be getting much more wear in the spring and summer (even though I can't stop thinking that it makes me look like I have a hairy chest!). I am also wearing some old tops from New Look and Dorothy Perkins and a pair of leggings with tiny multi coloured hearts from Topshop. The boots are by Po-Zu.

Despite the beautiful weather today, I am struggling to keep myself feeling sunny this week for a few different reasons:

1. I have just found out that Vintage at Goodwood is no longer going to be happening, instead there will be a vintage festival at the South Bank Centre arranged by Wayne and Geraldine Hemmingway. Whilst I am sure this is great news for Londoners, for many others including me it is not! We had invested in an old VW camper van partly so that we could transport kids and vintage outfits to camp for the whole weekend this year. It just wouldn't be the same for us in London, no camping, expensive hotels, no fun for the children, trains and tubes to get there.

2. I seem to be having huge problems buying clothes in the sales. I had some money for Christmas and decided to look for something designer that would be a good investment. So I looked at some different retailers/ websites to the ones that I  usually use. First I chose and tried to order some clothes on Coggles only to be told that they couldn't take my card payment online and I had to ring instead. After the discovery that the delivery was going to cost me nearly £10, I decided not to bother

3. Next I found something that I really liked on Liberty (A Helmut Lang top), I ordered and paid and waited but received nothing except an email saying the item I had ordered was out of stock and they couldn't get hold of any more so my order had been cancelled, then referring me to the T  & C's.

4. So finally today I found something I liked  (or actually 2 items) on the Outnet. When I went to place the order, I thought that tax was to be added on afterward - Thanks to Trying to Look Fab in Your Forties for pointing out in the comments that the tax is shown in the break down but not actually added on top of the prices. What a relief I can now place my order afterall.

I know in the scheme of things, not going to festivals and buying clothes is not the end of the world but I just felt like a bit of a moan. Why does buying designer clothes online have to be so difficult? I never seem to have these problems with the likes of Oasis and ASOS.

Hope you having a good week and I have not bored you too much with my whingeing. Any suggestions on good places to buy designer clothes online for the future would be appreciated.

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

Christmas Outfits And Pressies

First of all, I would like to apologise for a distinct lack of Christmas wishes on this blog before Christmas. I came down with flu a week before Christmas and what with everything else going on and work I needed to finish I just didn't have the time or energy to post. I hope that you had a lovely Christmas and the chance to relax and celebrate with family and friends.

Christmas was pretty much ruined by not being well but I just about managed to keep going for some of it. Here is my Christmas.

I have always wanted to make on of these gingerbread houses for Christmas, This year we go one. The gingerbread is ready made so all the children had to do was put on the icing and sweeties. The only problem being it looked far too good to eat.

Christmas Eve we had family to dinner and I cooked mushrooms with stilton breadcrumbs,  fish pie and a great big fruit salad. I wore the Traffic People top that treated myself to a few weeks back, pencil skirt (from a second hand/ vintage shop), hair clip - Dorothy Perkins, shoes by Bronx. 

I didn't manage to get a picture of my Christmas Day outfit which was a red dress from People Tree (a Christmas present from Mr Style Eyes). I will be wearing it some time over New Year though so will get a picture of it then hopefully.

Boxing Day - I went to my Mum and Dad's in Cardiff and also saw my sister and family. I wore this old Monsoon Dress, I love the flowers round the botton with a cardigan by Matthew Williamson at Debenhams and a flower headband which I got a few months ago in the Dorothy Perkins sale. 

For Christmas, I go some beautiful earrings from my girls, a brooch from my sister, a Black Eyed Peas CD from Mr Style Eyes and lots of goodies including bath bitsa and these two scarves (I picked them out at a recent vintage fair) from my Mum. I also got quite a bit of money some of which I have already invested in some skinny cargo trousers in the sales at Oasis, a weekend bag from Cath Kidson and lots of plates and cups and stuff from Cath Kidson for our VW camper van. I am still on the look out for lovely floral clothes perhaps a cardigan or top.

Have you managed to find anything good in the sales yet?

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

Summer Sale Treats

I have been finding it quite difficult to work over the last few days with all of the emails about sales pinging into my inbox causing a huge distraction. I am not usually a big fan of sales as I seem to get tempted into buying stuff that I don't really need but this year the summer sales seem so early, summer has barely started and I haven't even been on holiday. When I spotted a few items reduced that I have been on the look out for some time reduced, I couldn't resist.

I have quite a few accessories but the one thing I am really lacking in is clutch bags for slightly smarter outfits or nights out. I have had my eye on a black and white straw one in French Connection for a while but when I went over to check if it was in the sale, I spotted this green leather one which I liked even better.

I also spotted this larger size cream clutch in Dorothy Perkins which I really liked.

Last but not least, I have been wanting a white lace dress with an empire line all season, for that romantic sort of look. I don't like synthetic fabrics much but have been struggling to find one that isn't synthetic and that I like but when I spotted this cream broiderie dress at Dorothy Perkins in the sale, it was the perfect alternative.

Also it is coming up to Mr Style Eyes birthday soon and I have noticed a distinct lack of casual shirts in his wardrobe. I spotted this Fahri by Nicole Fahri linen shirt in the My Wardrobe sale and I couldn't resist, it looks so cool and comfy (I hope he doesn't read this or that's his surprise ruined).

Have you spotted anything that you like in the sales?

Sales Shopping

I haven't been out much this week, I am starting to feel like a recluse and slipping into a comfort zone of dressing for warmth and slobbing, so when my new clothes ordered from the online sales turned up, I decided to try them on to cheer myself up (I know I still look pretty miserable but that's just me). I didn't actually intentionally buy them as an outfit, I don't think, but I think they go together quite well in grungey kind of way - Isn't all that coming back in fashion again? I would like to add a little bit of colour to the outfit so am now on the lookout for some pale lime green socks, don't know why but that is what I want.

The jacket was picked up in the Next sale for £14. I wouldn't usually go near a Next sale with a 10ft barge pole for fear of ending up with a load more boring tops just like many I already have or just been squashed in the scrum. But I spotted this jersey biker style jacket on my way to the childrens section and loved the washed out colour and seam details.

I loved the dress by Australian Brand Something Else (and posted about it a while back) so it was an obvious buy when I saw it reduced in the sale. I am constantly on the look out for new patterned leggings as for me leggings are the new jeans, so these burnout lave patterned ones (again from Urban Outfitters) were perfect.

The shoes (from Urban Outfitters) were compromise after a mamouth hunt, or should I say wild goose chase for that perfect pair of wedge shoe boots was a complete failure, I am hoping some might turn up as the spring colections appear. I settled for these shoes on the basis that I loved the punched out texture, loved the colour - I have never had a pair of grey shoes before, they were cheap and flat, so easy to walk long distances in.

Post Christmas Sales

After much waiting, some how with the bloating and lethargy that follows the post Christmas sales, I managed to miss out on those Emma Cook shoes that I so badly wanted from Topshop. By the time I visited the Topshop website on Sunday there was just ine pair of size 5 left, unfortunately too small. To make matters worse, not only had they been reduced to a mere £60 but I also spotted them on Ebay for £250. I like them very much, but not that much!

I am stil dithering about what to buy in the sales with the money I recieved for Christmas. No doubt by the time I make up my mind, everything that I want will be gone in my size as usual.

Goodbye Brittique

Playsuit by Louise Amstrup

I was a little sad today to receive an email from Nicole at Brittique to announce that Brittique is closing. Although I have never quite managed to save up enough of my pennies to afford anything from Brittique, I have always hoped that I might one day be able to. Brittique is jam packed with some of the coolest designer labels including some hot new talents. It will be a serious loss to the world of internet clothes shopping but I completely understand Nicoles reasons for closing the business (2 young children). It just seems a real shame that there is no one to carry on her good work at Brittique of supporting up and coming British designers. As they say though, every cloud has a silver lining, so don't forget to check out the 50% off everything closing down sale for some super duper designer bargains but hurry up as doors close at the end of October.

Inspiring accessory sale - some great discounts

I am always on the look out for a bargain and even more so for gorgeous accessories to turn one of my boring outfits into something special. When you put the two together, I find it almost impossible to resist a spend up. I have been on the look out for some quirky accessories that would look great and add a bit of a statement to a plain old pair of jeans and a t shirt or something equally lacking in imagination.

Yummi Glass Jewellery

Hacie Sandals by Faith

Suzy Smith Yellow Bag

Anya Hindmarch Clutch - My Wardrobe

Messy Chain Necklace - Urban Outfitters

Beaded Feather Hairband

Silk Stud Necklaces - Urban Outfitters

Summer Sales - The Little Black Dress

Summer sales are great for getting a bargain and if you follow the advice of just about every fashion editor, you should opt for timeless classic pieces to ensure a real bargain and help you get full value for money in these recession stricken times. I say Pah to the recession (i'm getting so bored of not buying new clothes) but perhaps the fashion editors have a point, quality, well made and classic clothes are usually very versatile, which makes it so much easier to justify the spend.

One of the most key and classic pieces in any girls wardrobe has to be the little black dress. This term encompasses a huge variety of styles but almost all share the same qualities of looking great for all sorts of ocassions. Here are my favourite investment little black dresses:

Black One Shoulder Dress by Designer Remix

Nathan Jenden Black Slim Fit Dress

Osman Yousefzada Chiffon Dress

Osman Yousefzada Draped Dress

Hannah Marshall Leather Strapless Dress

Philosophy Di Alberta Ferretti Strapless Dress