Surania Custom Swimwear

Surania are an online Spanish swimwear brand who offer their customers the opportunity to design their own swimsuits or bikinis. They make swimwear for men, women & children in hundreds of different styles so you can choose something entirely unique to you. A little while ago they asked me if I would like to create my very own bikini & I jumped at the chance! I was immediately intrigued by the concept of their website as I've often struggled to find swimwear that I like & that looks good on my body. Surania kindly sent me a gift voucher so that I could try out the website for myself & design my dream bikini.



After looking through all the different styles available I decided to order the bandeau balconette flounce bikini top & the high waist fixed bikini bottoms. Coming up with your own unique design is the best part! It's so much fun & I could spend hours playing about on their website. They have so many different colours & patterns to choose from, the possibilities are endless! To complete your design you just click on a section of the bikini template & then click on your chosen fabric. As much as I wanted to design something bright & colourful, I figured I would be more body confident in something monochrome. I fell in love with the pretty floral design of the Vitoria fabric so I used it all over with a couple of black & white accents. After finalising your design you need to choose the sizes. Surania's swimsuits aren't just designed to your specifications, they are tailor-made to fit your exact measurements! Buying swimwear off the rack can be nightmare because most of us will need a different sized top & bottom. They tend not to accommodate for large boobs or bums either so Surania is a great place to look if you want something that will fit you perfectly.




I had to wait about three weeks for my bikini to be delivered. They provide fast shipping all over the world using DHL but of course you have to wait for your custom bikini to actually be made. Once it arrived on my doorstep I couldn't wait to see how it looked in real life! This is my bikini set & it's everything I was hoping for. It's so cool to see something you've designed become a finished product. I wanted a top with an underwire & I love the cute flounce trim. High waisted bottoms are great if you have a bit of a flabby tummy & they hide my laparoscopy scars. I'm really happy with the styles I chose & the fabric looks lovely too. It's really thick & fully lined so it helps to hold you in. Best of all the fit is spot on! Surania offer a perfect fit guarantee so if you didn't measure yourself correctly, they'll happily exchange your order within 30 days of receipt. It might be a bit more expensive than the average bikini but this is no average bikini. Swimwear of this calibre is worth every penny.




Bikini - Surania* / Kimono - eBay / Sandals - New Look / Hat - River Island / Sunglasses - Quay Australia
I never thought I would be posting bikini pics on the internet but here I am! I've spent most of my life hating my body after being bullied over it at school & even though I lost a lot of weight I was never happy with myself. Over the last year I've gained a stone from not exercising enough & eating whole share bags of chocolate buttons in one sitting. August is the worst month for me food-wise because I always pig out at the Huddersfield Food Festival & have a few indulgent meals for my birthday. I'm currently the biggest I've been in a long time but I'm just tired of being down on myself for it. I'm planning on joining Slimming World when Chloe goes back to school on Wednesday but in the name of body positivity I decided to take some pictures of my current beach body. As you can see the Surania bikini is such a great fit on me & the style is flattering on my shape. Wearing it definitely makes me feel more confident in my body & I'm not ashamed to go out in public like this. To go with the monochrome design I paired it with some black & white accessories. I bought this kimono from eBay & it's a fab beach coverup. I adore the tassels on the sleeves & bottom edge! I also wore my white New Look sandals & black straw fedora from River Island. I've bought so many pairs of sunglasses from Quay Australia this Summer! These are the Invader sunglasses & I love their cut-out cat eye shape.

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Anyone Who Had A Heart

Jacket - Warehouse* / Shirt - Urban Outfitters / Skirt - H&M / Shoes - eBay / Bag - Whistles
Necklace - Urban Outfitters / Watch - Shore Projects* / Ring - Urban Outfitters

This is probably my favourite outfit that I've put together lately. It's a little smarter than what I would normally wear but still with a few cutesy things thrown into the mix. This soft pink jacket from Warehouse is such a great transitional piece. I'm not ready to don a Winter coat yet so a light jacket like this one is perfect for the current weather. It's very comfy & casual yet helps to dress up an outfit. I'm so glad that I've finally found a nice jacket without shoulder pads because god knows I'm broad enough as it is! I got this blouse from Urban Outfitters last year, it has the cutest crochet collar! Whenever I want a shirt with a pretty collar, UO is the first place I look. This H&M skirt is quite old too but it's still a firm favourite in my wardrobe. I've gone a bit shoe mad lately & bought these Charlotte Olympia kitty flat knockoffs from eBay. I don't think I could ever blow £500 on a pair of shoes no matter how cute they are so I'm quite happy with these dupes. They were only about £8! Although they look amazing, they smell revolting. I got them a few weeks ago but I've not really been able to wear them until now because they just had such a bad chemical scent. They're okay now that I've aired them out though, just beware if you're planning on buying some!

I wore this outfit on Friday to a Macmillan coffee morning. I am definitely not the kind of person who goes to regular coffee mornings as they are basically my idea of hell. It wasn't too bad though as I got talking to some mums from Chloe's new school & it was all for a good cause anyway. I'm trying to spend as little time in the house as possible at the minute as we currently have some wasps living in our ceiling lights! There's a nest next door but the neighbours won't get it treated as it's supposed to be the end of wasp season, ugh. They have been driving me crazy for months & I am starting to question my sanity(!) Filling my living room with Raid every day certainly isn't helping matters. It's been so hard to get any blog posts done as I'm having to kill wasps in between taking photos. So if the quality of my blog has taken a nosedive recently I'm really sorry & hopefully the wasps will leave me alone soon!

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Gotta Be Fresh

Dress - Red Label* / Jacket - Primark / Sandals - eBay / Bracelet - Black Tied / Rings - ASOS & Regal Rose

Although I'm normally quite happy to stick with my mainly monochrome wardrobe, I can't resist a super bright dress like this one. Neon clothes probably don't look as good on me as they would on someone with tanned skin but I like to rock them anyway. I was sent this amazing lime green skater dress by Red Label. It only costs £15 but it's such good quality and that colour is a real stunner. This dress is really comfy and absolutely perfect for Summer. It's great to wear during the day or on a night out. The neck trim is detachable but I kept it on as I think it makes for a gorgeous faux necklace. Sometimes I wish I had a proper leather jacket but I'm pretty glad I have my cheapy Primark one at the moment. It's light enough for this weather & makes all my girly dresses look a little more badass. Still loving my gladiator sandals from eBay! They're all I've worn lately as they pretty much go with everything.

I wore this outfit when I went out for a meal with my friend last week. I always look forward to finding out which street food carts are setting up shop in the Trinity Leeds Kitchen each month & I really wanted to go to Tacochu. They sell taco rice which fuses together two of my favourite cuisines - Japanese & Mexican. It was so delicious! My roots look really bad here but I've had my hair done since then and it's a lot shorter & pinker toned now. These pictures are making me wish I hadn't cut it but my ends were getting far too ratty. I miss having proper pink hair though so I might get a bit dye happy very soon!

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Summer Stylin'

Jumpsuit - George* / Denim Jacket - George* / Sandals - eBay / Necklaces - Kukee & Urban Outfitters

During the Summer I get stuck in a cycle of pretty dresses & denim shorts. In an effort to shake up my Summer wardrobe I decided to take part in George at Asda's Summer style challenge. I chose a couple of pieces from their new collection & threw an outfit together. I love wearing short playsuits but I'd never actually tried a full jumpsuit before. I'm only 5'4" so most jumpsuits are far too long for me. This one is the perfect length & it is so incredibly comfortable. I feel as if I'm just wearing my pyjamas! I wear a lot of monochrome clothing so this pattern fits in quite well with my normal style. The material is thin & loose so it's perfect for hot days like today. I never thought I'd be able to pull off a jumpsuit but this one might have convinced me otherwise.

My wardrobe has been lacking a decent denim jacket and this one fills that gap nicely. It's very lightweight, soft & stretchy. I think it's a great colour too. I hardly ever wear jackets in the Summer but denim ones are light enough to slip over a dress without making you too hot. I sometimes get a bit self-conscious of showing my arms so a denim jacket is a good investment if you've got bingo wings like me. I'm obsessed with my new chunky gladiator sandals & thought they would go well with the jumpsuit. Loads of shops who stock wholesale clothes such as Ark, Boohoo & Lavish Alice have these exact ones on their website but as usual you can find some of their items cheaper on eBay. I love how they look with my neon pink pedicure. These are actually pretty comfortable too, chunky heels are always so much easier to walk in. As the jumpsuit has quite a busy pattern I decided to wear minimal accessories. I simply finished off the outfit with a couple of silver cross necklaces. I'm so ready for Summery weather & fashion, if only the random deluges would stop now!

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Black Dahlia

Playsuit - Fashion Union* / Shoes - All Saints / Necklace - eBay

I'm a bit late with this but here is what I wore on Valentine's Day. I absolutely love this floral playsuit from Fashion Union. I was lusting after a similar one from Topshop for ages but this one is just as lovely & a lot cheaper too. Playsuits are always a great choice because I think they're really flattering on my figure & they're comfortable enough for some effortless chic. This one has a really cool cutout detail on the chest for flashing a sly bit of cleavage haha. I just paired it with this heart selector necklace & my trusty snakeskin brogues from All Saints. They're a bit battered now but I still love them.

I ended up having a a pretty amazing Valentine's Day. I wasn't expecting anything other than a card so it was so nice to be treated to a couple of presents, a box of choccies & a home cooked meal. I do the cooking all day every day so it was lovely to have a night off for once. I felt really special & very lucky to have such a brilliant boyfriend. Guess who had to do the washing up though!

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Glamourween

Dress - F&F* / Tights - F&F* / Backpack - F&F* / Boots - Topshop / Floral Crown - Crown & Glory
Necklace - Kukee / Bracelet - Black Tied / Rings - Topshop, The Bohemian Collective, Kukee, Regal Rose
Nails - eBay & Barry M 115 Red Black* / Lipstick - Illamasqua Magnetism*

Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year and god knows I do have some gothy dressing tendencies. So when F&F Clothing asked me to take part in their Glamourween competition, I jumped at the chance. The clothes at Tesco are surprisingly good quality and I have often bought clothes for myself & Chloe from there. Fifteen bloggers have been asked to create an 'urban witch' look. We were all given a voucher to buy some F&F clothing and a little black cauldron full of sweeties & beauty goodies.

When you think of witches you probably associate them with the pointy hatted, green & warty look that many sport at Halloween. However for my look I took inspiration from some of my favourite onscreen witches. I have a mild obsession with the awesome 90's film The Craft. Nancy Downs was such a badass crazy witch so I decided to dress how she would today if she hadn't ended up in an insane asylum. I'm also loving the outfits on American Horror Story: Coven. I love Jessica Lange and her character seems really interesting. She looked so chic in her little black peplum dress with the umbrella when she took the girls on their field trip.

I thought this F&F dress was especially witchy with it's classic shift shape, floaty sleeves and collar. I've been after a cool little leather backpack for ages and this one is perfect. It looks really nice for something that's not real leather & has lots of room inside. I paired it with my good old Topshop boots which I've always thought of as a bit witchy and my black Whole Lotta Rosie floral crown from Crown & Glory. My accidental purple & blue hair definitely adds to the look, so maybe it was a good thing?! I've also wanted to have some pointy nails ever since Rihanna had pointy lilac nails in her What's My Name video. I finally bought some off eBay and they're definitely more trouble than they're worth. I've had to take them off to type this or I would still be writing this next week! No witch outfit would be complete without a pentagram necklace. I got mine from Kukee and I think it looks cute peeking through the cut out detail in the dress. Anyway I hope you like my 'Glamourween' look! I can't wait to see all the other entries.

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Object Of Desire: Shoes

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Shoes are something I always covet. Like most other girls, no matter how many pairs I own I always want more. Unless you're buying from Primark all the time they can get pretty expensive so heres a list of some of the ones I'm lusting after at the minute. Hopefully I'll be able to resist buying them all!

01. I went to Leeds the other day and couldn't resist nipping into the awesome new Topshop there. Almost every sales assistant was wearing these heels & they look bloody amazing in real life. I'm sure the staff discount definitely lessens the pain of the £85(!) price tag.

02. Victoria posted about these in one of her recent eBay posts & it was love at first sight. I love chunky black boots & the buckle detail looks so cool. They look like something you'd find in Topshop for 80 odd quid but these are only £27 including postage! I can definitely see myself ordering a pair of these.

03. Jeffery Campbell make some absolutely stunning shoes. I'd love to get my hands on some Litas but they're way out of my price range. These have been reduced to a more reasonable £55 in the sale and would look killer on a night out.

04. I may have already ordered these gorgeous studded flats from Barratts! I really like that they have both gold spikes & crystal gems. I like a lot of embellishment on my shoes so these definitely fit the bill.

05. The studded platform on these Topshop shoes looks so cool. I've drooled over these instore and they seem like they would be fairly easy to walk in despite the massive heel.

06. I recently bought Chloe a pair of yellow Hunter wellies & they look so cute on her! Its made me really tempted to invest in my own pair but in the more classic glossy black colour.

07. I really love these nude suede shoes from Republic. I wear a lot of black clothes so I think its nice to wear something contrasting on my feet. I like the chunky heel & the big platform makes them look like they'd be really comfy. Perfect for dancing all night long in.

08. I'd love to get my hands on any of the Vivienne Westwood x Melissa shoes but these are such a nice colour & are exactly the kind of thing I go for during the day.

Sparkly Jacket

Jacket - eBay / T-shirt - eBay / Jeans - Topshop / Necklace - Primark / Watch - Michael Kors 5055

I can proudly say I've never watched Made In Chelsea in my life. I haven't a clue who the people are other than Millie Mackintosh. And pretty much all I know about her is that she goes out with Professor Green & owns one of these awesome sparkly jackets. As soon as I saw the pic of her wearing it, I knew it was something my wardrobe desperately needed. I love anything sparkly & gold so while I might've looked cooler with one of the leather sleeve khaki jackets, my inner magpie compelled me to buy this one. Apparently Millie ordered hers from Missguided but being the bargain hunter that I am, I found the exact same one for just £30 on eBay. The seller I used has sold out now but if you're after one have a look on eBay. Theres so many wholesale fashion sellers on there who can save you a few pennies.

My t-shirt is also from eBay and is by a company called The Happy Shack. I saw Alice wearing this on her blog & thought it was amazing! I'm such a huge Smiths fan, I even have a picture of Morrissey with a cat on his head as my iPhone background. I used to wear band shirts all the time but kinda grew out of it. Now I just like throwing them on when I'm not doing anything particularly exciting.

Pink Plaid

Top - Topshop / Jeggings - Topshop / Scarf - Ebay / Necklace - Urban Outfitters

I've had a pot of pink dye sitting on my dressing table for a couple of months now and today I finally took the plunge and pinkified my hair. I used a bit of Directions Carnation Pink mixed with some Directions Lilac and lots of conditioner. I really like how it turned out as I didn't want anything too bright or in your face. Gotta incorporate Spring pastels into my look somehow so it may as well be through my hair. I went to Topshop the other day fully intent on buying lots pretty pastel clothes to freshen up my wardrobe. I came out with a bag full of grey things instead, epic fail. This top and jeggings were two of my purchases. I never thought I'd be seen dead in jeggings but I was really drawn to these ones for some reason. They go with nicely with loads of stuff and they definitely look more like jeans than leggings. After all the sunshine I thought I could get away with going out in just this but it was freezing out so I had to thrown on a coat & scarf on top.

I've been really busy today trying to sort out everything for Chloe's birthday on Wednesday & organising all my stuff. I'm baking her a four layer pink ombre cake with buttercream icing so I had to go get all the ingredients for that. I really hope it comes out okay, its been ages since I've made any cakes! I also went to Homebase to buy some new makeup storage. I only bought one set because I really need to cut down on how much I have. My lipstick collection is actually a bit insane. How many pinks does one person need?! My dressing table is looking a lot neater now & its nice to finally have all my nail polishes in one place rather than scattered round the entire house. Next I need to tackle all my jewellery, but that should be a doddle compared to all my makeup!

Jingle Bell Rock

Blazer - H&M / T-Shirt - eBay / Skirt - American Apparel / Belt - Primark / Hairbow - Beauxoxo
Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! This is what I wore on Christmas day. I was planning on wearing my cat onesie all day but I couldn't find it anywhere, sad times. Instead I went for something red in the form of this American Apparel skirt & I added some sparkle with red glittery nails & this silver glitter hairbow. I got this Sonic Youth t-shirt from eBay a few years ago, I'm all about the 90s alternative rock ;) I bought this blazer from H&M last week. Its really thin & silky so its perfect just as a light jacket.



The highlights of the day were probably the epic Christmas dinner I made & watching Chloe play with all her new toys. I hate most Christmas food like turkey, sprouts, mince pies & Christmas pudding so we had chicken & veggies with tons of pigs in blankets & stuffing balls. Then we had mini chocolate cupcakes for dessert. Chloe got a million new toys so my living room is currently a bombsite. Check out her awesome Dear Zoo pyjamas! I'm pretty glad Christmas is over with now, its always a bit of a let down to be honest. Anyways roll on 2012!