Dolly & Dotty

Dress - Dolly & Dotty* / Jacket - Primark / Shoes - Office / Necklace - Mhoho Jewellery*

Vintage fashion is something that I have always loved to look at but I've never really felt that I could pull it off myself. I used to spend hours trawling through vintage stores in London but it was rare that I ever came away with anything other than accessories. My favourite eras for fashion are the 1950's (rockabilly), 60's (mod) & 80's (new romantic). It's such a shame that our current fashion styles will never be remembered with the same fondness that we have for past decades. I never had much luck with finding real vintage clothing but luckily there are now quite a few clothing brands that take inspiration from these old styles & make vintage fashion accessible to everyone. Dolly & Dotty specialise in vintage inspired clothing with a modern flattering fit. Their range of dresses is insane with tons of different retro styles in every colour & pattern you could possibly imagine. Their clothing comes in size 6-24 which is lovely to see, especially from a smaller brand. All of their dresses are designed in Brighton by their in-house design team. They kindly offered to send me one of their dresses & I figured this would be the ideal time to see if I could actually rock a 1950's swing dress.

This is the Sophie rockabilly 1950's style dress in white with black polka dots. They don't seem to do this exact colour way anymore but you can get it with a black belt & halter neck tie instead. This dress is unlike anything I've ever worn before so I wasn't quite sure how to style it. I decided to wear it with my Primark leather jacket & some T-bar wedges. I actually took these photos a little while ago so tights were definitely needed that day but it does look better with bare legs. It'll be perfect for the Summertime! This retro dress is made from soft cotton, features an elasticated back & fastens with a concealed zip. It's a little bit too long for my taste as I think this style makes me look shorter than I really am even though I'm wearing heels. Plus I like to show off my legs! I either need to get the hem taken up a bit or buy a tulle petticoat to give this dress that perfect 50's silhouette. Otherwise the cut of this dress is very figure flattering & definitely enhances my curves. I absolutely adore the sweetheart neckline! I wish they were easier to find on the high street. I hardly ever wear halter neck tops but this feels very comfortable & the tie doesn't come undone throughout the day. The Sophie dress is so beautiful that I didn't feel overly self-conscious about exposing my arms & back for once! No 1950's vintage look would be complete without some winged eyeliner & red lipstick. I'm wearing Magnetic Melon* by Saturated Colour which is super bright & makes me feel fabulous!

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Well Thought Out Twinkles

Dress - George* / Bag - George* / Boots - Public Desire / Belt - Primark
Necklace - Lisa Angel / Bracelet - Lisa Angel / Watch - Michael Kors

A quick look through my previous outfit posts will show you how much I love dressing up. I don't feel the need to wait for a special occasion, I simply feel far more at home in a pretty dress or skirt. I find dresses to be infinitely more flattering on me than jeans & a T-shirt so wearing them makes me feel happier & more confident as a result. Ignore the chronic bitch face I have going on in these photos, this dress brings me so much joy! A black skater dress with a white collar is something that I will never get bored of. I already own several dresses with some kind of variation on this style but there was something about this one from George at Asda that set my heart aflutter. I completely & utterly adore it. I think it was the crochet collar with pearl beading that clinched it for me. George make so many lovely dresses & they have something for every occasion. Personally I would be totally happy to wear this particular dress both during the day & on a night out. You could even wear it to work & just make some small adjustments to take it from desk to disco. All you have to do is change up your accessories. It's incredibly versatile!

To break the dress up a bit I added this gold chain belt from Primark. Black & gold is my favourite colour combination so I used that to tie together the different elements of my outfit. I've always wanted a bucket bag so I chose this one from George. The bag has both a long strap & a handle strap depending on how you want to carry it. I think it's the perfect size because it can hold all the stuff you need during the day but it's not so big that it'll get in the way when you're propping up the bar later on. Recently I've been looking for really dainty pieces of jewellery & I struck gold when I found this little star necklace & bracelet from Lisa Angel. Whenever I really like something I always want to get it in every colour so I'll probably end up buying them them in silver too.

I think that shoes are one of the most important parts of your outfit. They can completely change the tone of what you're wearing. To make this dress more casual I would wear it with some Vans. In fact I did just that when I went to the doctor's last week. This is more of a night out look so I paired it with these huge platform boots from Public Desire. I suck at walking in heels but platforms are a lot more manageable, especially when they have cleated soles. I missed out on buying the Topshop Allsorts boots that everyone in the world seems to own so these are a fab alternative. Do you like to dress up every day or do you save your best clothes for a special occasion?

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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!

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Fall At Your Feet

Dress - Urban Outfitters / Jacket - Primark / Shoes - Vans / Necklace - Notonthehighstreet* / Bracelet - H&M
Rings - Topshop / Watch - Michael Kors / Brooches - Helpless Romantic & Stolen Thunder

Last Sunday I travelled down to Sheffield for an event I've been waiting ten whole years for - MCBUSTED. In all honestly I probably haven't listened to either Busted or McFly during that time but both bands will always hold a very special place in my heart. I'm sure I've mentioned my teenage stalking of them many times before. I even went to see James' musical Loserville in Leeds a couple of years ago. Nothing can compare to seeing them all live on stage together again though. Gotta admit, I did miss Charlie a teeny tiny bit but the show was completely amazing! They played so many good songs & I was happy that the ratio of Busted to McFly songs was in the former's favour. I especially liked the UFO performances because it was right near our seats. I had such a blast & I cannot wait for the much promised McBusted album. I was quite tempted to get a tour book but I ended up just getting a wristband from the merch stand because I spent most of my money on booze. £15 for 3 drinks?! I thought we were in Yorkshire!

So this what I wore for the concert. I spotted this dress in Urban Outfitters in Leeds a couple of weeks ago & snapped it up right away. I loved the combo of different sized gingham patterns & the collar adds such a cool 60s vibe to it. I go through phases of loving everything in Urban Outfitters & then not liking a single thing. At the moment I want so many things from there. I found this dress by Little White Lies on their website that Kay Hanley from Letters To Cleo wore on an episode of Parks & Rec. It's such an adorable vintage style Summer dress that's a bit 90s Courtney Love-esque. I'd best get saving my pennies for it! The Sheffield Motorpoint Arena was absolutely boiling inside so I'm glad I only took my thin leather jacket from Primark. This is one of my favourite items of clothing ever. It only cost me £10 & I've had it for yeeeeears. I decided to wear my Vans because I wanted to be comfy with all the dancing & jumping about. I'm pretty sure I spent most of the concert jumping up & down. It wouldn't have been right if I hadn't done a Busted-style jump or two!

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Winter Is Coming

Vest - Topshop / Cardigan - H&M / Skirt - Primark / Boots - Topshop
Brooch - Ginger Pickle* / Necklace - Galibardy

It seems like it's been ages since I've done a proper outfit post! I've been desperately trying to get my hair fixed before doing my usual posts. There's only so many reviews you can write without having to show how something looks on your face! Most of the colour has gone now but there's still a light blue/green tint to the lengths. It makes me sad, I just want it to look normal again. My hairdressers were rather confused when I went to get my roots done last week. I'm just glad they didn't feel the need to bleach the rest of it. Anyway this is what I wore out today, with my cosy new Zara coat on top of course. Chloe & I just went shopping & had a little KFC treat on the way home. We were both too poorly to do anything more exciting. I absolutely love my burgundy heart print skirt I got from Primark. I think button through skirts are really cute & my wardrobe was lacking in them. It's kinda like the Burberry heart print shirt that everyone has some version of. I've actually just bought myself a dupe from New Look. It's just such a lovely print. I've been wearing some variation of this look a lot lately, I think I've become a bit of a lazy dresser. At this time of year I'd rather be warm than anything else!





The lovely Jade from Ginger Pickle kindly sent me this amazing Game Of Thrones inspired brooch! So excited for season four, the purple wedding is gonna be epic. It was created by illustrator Kate Rowland. I really love what I've seen of her work. Anyone who makes TV themed jewellery is cool in my books. Ginger Pickle currently have a 15% discount off everything on their website with the code WINTERTREAT so now is the perfect time to check out all the goodies they have on offer. It's valid until this Wednesday. I'm rather tempted to get this Breaking Bad brooch too!

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Collar & Cuffs

Dress - Missguided* / Jacket - Primark / Flatforms - ASOS
Badges - Stolen Thunder, Helpless Romantic / Rings - Regal Rose, Kukee, ASOS

This is what I wore out last night for a few cocktails in Revs. I can't remember the last time I wore a bodycon dress or skirt as I'm a bit on the lumpy side these days but for some reason I was drawn to this one from Missguided. I just adore the leather collar & cuffs! It's knitted so it was surprisingly comfy & warm. I can never resist going for a few drinks when there's a bit of sun even if it's actually freezing outside! I paired it with my trusty old leather jacket from Primark and my ASOS flatforms.

As you can see I also dyed my hair pink! I've been itching to dye it a pastel colour again for ages. I was gonna go for mint green this time but when I got my roots done last weekend I just asked them to mix a bit more pink into my toner. It's faded a lot already so I think I'll have to get some Directions Carnation Pink to top it up soon. I'm really happy with it though & I think it looks even better this time as my hair is a bit longer now. Maybe I'll do green next time eh?

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Daisy Daisy

Dress - Lashes Of London* / Belt - Urban Outfitters / Shoes - Topshop / Socks - Topshop
Headband - Primark / Necklace - Primark / Bracelet - H&M

Couldn't resist yet another neon outfit! Along with pinafores its definitely my favourite fashion trend so far this year. This dress is from Lashes Of London and is so perfect for Spring. Underneath the girly white embroidered exterior lies a bright neon yellow layer which gives it a nice twist. Its quite loose fitting so wearing a belt with it is essential but I really like the smock shape. Its really comfy too so I'm sure I'll be wearing it all the time when the weather picks up a bit. I paired it with a really old floral headband from Primark & my Topshop Kerb2 T-bar shoes. I've been looking forward to putting these shoes on again for ages, they're my fave Spring/Summer pair. I feel like a bit of a schizophrenic when it comes to fashion. Sometimes I just wear a variation of black jeans, boots & a shirt for weeks on end and other times I can't get enough of super girly dresses. At the minute I'm completely embracing that school girl vibe. I even ordered this pinafore from Topshop last night. Maybe having to dress a toddler is rubbing off on my own fashion sense!

After years of doing outfit photos from my knees up and separate shots of my shoes, I've finally found a setup that lets me get in a full body shot. The lighting is a bit rubbish and makes my face look about ten shades darker than my legs but they are the same colour really! Do you prefer this format? I think it gives a better look at my whole outfit so I think I'm gonna try to do my photos like this from now on.

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Dreaming Of Another World

Vest - Primark / Top - Warehouse / Disco Pants - American Apparel / Jacket - H&M / Scarf - eBay
Necklace - Urban Outfitters / Ring - Regal Rose / Bracelet - H&M / Watch - Michael Kors

Today I wore this outfit for a quick trip to the post office & a mooch round the shops after Rhyme Time at the library. I got this lovely peter pan collar lace top from Warehouse about five years ago and its something I've never wanted to part with. Its so pretty & jazzes up any otherwise plain outfit. I probably shouldn't wear tight high waisted trousers as they just accentuate my huge hips but I still wear my Disco Pants all the time. I bought this little denim biker jacket from H&M last week. I just thought it was cute and makes a nice change from my leather jackets.

If I look a bit moody in these pictures its because my camera was refusing to focus today. All of the functions are controlled via touch screen rather than buttons so I think some settings got changed by accident! I've not really been up to much lately either. I spent pretty much all of last week packing up and posting the forty items I sold on eBay. I ended up making over £300 by selling my old camera, clothes & shoes so I think it was worth all the hours of hell. I did get worried about making a profit after spending over £130 just on postage but luckily it all paid off. Its a pain listing everything rather than putting stuff up on a blogsale but at least you can be sure that things will sell right away, even if its only for 99p. The rest of the time I've been marathoning every season of Rupaul's Drag Race. I am so obsessed with it. I wish I could be as half as fabulous as these fierce fishy queens. I kinda fancy trying out a drag makeup look, is that weird? I have so much respect for their extreme contouring skills. I even got up early today so I could watch the episode shown in America last night. Does anyone else watch it? I'm backing Jinkx Monsoon to win this season. She was brilliant as Little Edie!

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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.

Let Me Take You Out

Top - Topshop / Skirt - Primark / Coat - H&M / Watch - Michael Kors 5055

I'm terrible for holding on to clothes that no longer fit me. I bought this top right before I found out I was pregnant with Chloe when I was at my lowest weight. Its a teeny tiny size 8 and up until now I haven't been able to wear it. It still a bit tight & that probably shows but I've missed this top! I adore the detailing. Peter pan collar & lace - whats not to love? It makes me feel a bit princess-y & that can only be a good thing. Sometimes its nice to hunt through your wardrobe for long forgotten about pieces & its cheaper too.

I think I'm doing pretty well with my new year's resolutions! I've been eating really healthily and *shock horror* not one bag of crisps nor one bar of chocolate has passed my lips. Thats a pretty big deal for someone who used to have at least one of each every day. I don't even miss my multiple weekly visits to Greggs! It seems to already be paying off as my face doesn't look half as bloated as it did last week. I've spent this week going to loads of different baby groups as its good for Chloe and it helps take my mind off more stressful things. I've bought a couple of new beauty bits because the offers were too good to resist (oops) but otherwise all my money has gone on food & bills. Hopefully I can keep this up because I feel pretty proud of myself right now!

Autumn Attire

Dress - H&M / Jacket - Primark / Necklaces - Primark & Urban Outfitters

Berry colours are quite possibly my fave Autumn trend. Maroon, burgundy, oxblood, cranberry, whatever you wanna call it, I am obsessed with it. I spotted this lovely dress in H&M and knew it was the perfect piece for Autumn 2012. I think the little leather peter pan collar is such a gorgeous finishing touch. Its probably more of a tunic than a dress though because its ridiculously short! My lipstick is Illamasqua Magnetism, I love that it matches the colour of my dress perfectly. I've been wearing this all the time recently. I love my gold 'C' necklace from Primark too, such a bargain at just £1.50!

I don't normally like to get too personal on my blog posts but I am having what is quite possibly the worst week of my life and keeping things bottled up is only making it worse. On Saturday my fiance of three years decided that he doesn't love me anymore. He took a bin bag full of clothes and moved into his mums house. All my attempts of reconciliation have been put down. I feel sick constantly. I can barely eat or sleep and I've cried all week long. I've wanted to blog to take my mind off things but it was hard to do any outfit or makeup posts with puffy eyes from crying so much. Its bad enough that he's left me but it breaks my heart that he's left Chloe too. Looks like I'm joining the ranks of the single mums. Any tips on how to get over a big breakup? Could really use a hug right now :(

This Night Has Opened My Eyes

Dress - Glamorous* / Shirt - New Look / Jacket - Primark / Hat - Topshop / Boots - Topshop
Bolo Tie - Galibardy / Rings - Regal Rose, H&M, Kukee

Today I'm wearing this dress that I was sent by the lovely people at Glamorous. They describe it as a vest on the website but its definitely long enough to be worn as a dress. I really like the dip hem & anything with a cross on is alright by me! I wore it with a chiffon shirt underneath mainly so I could wear my bolo tie with it. I am obsessed with this tie. After my years of searching for one on ebay, Galibardy came to my rescue with this classic buffalo skull one. I could only ever find really tacky ones meant for cowboy fancy dress costumes so I'm really happy with this purchase. I'm also wearing my witchy boots! I bought these from Topshop a couple of years ago and I totally forgot I had them. Think I'll be having these as this years A/W boots.

I've spent most of today running about trying to get everything organised for Andy's birthday tomorrow. I'm making him a chocolate Smarties cake and it smells so good! Can't wait to decorate it and eat it. Still need to pop out to Sainsburys again when the sponges have finished cooking as I've forgotten to buy him a card, whoops!

PS. First blog photos taken on my new camera, ooh exciting haha!