Adrift in the blogosphere

Suspended animation

2008-07-12T14:35:00.002+01:00

Hi people.
I'm afraid I won't be posting anything on here for a while. My personal life has just gone totally into freefall and fashion is no longer a high priority. I will be back, because you guys make me feel connected to the outside world, and because writing here stops my brain from turning to gloop. See you all later,
Love,
Adri.

Just me again

2008-07-10T16:28:00.002+01:00

One day there will be things on here other than pictures of me, promise! At the moment I am madly busy and have just about got time to put clothes on, but not to make any helpful observations or to formulate coherent thoughts about anything.

Shrug Bay, top H&M, skirt Ebay, sandals New Look, necklace Topshop.

Alterations

2008-07-08T13:16:00.003+01:00

Yesterday, this dress had little puff sleeves. They were cute but so tight that I couldn't raise my arms above 45 degrees! No good for typing, driving, or much at all. So I unpicked the seams and took them off, thus creating a much more wearable dress, yay!

Dress, tights, and shoes New Look, long-sleeved top H&M, pendant Topshop, bracelets no idea.

The tights are 120 denier and have a fantastic slimming and firming effect on the legs. They're a lot like the tradional pink ballet tights I used to wear to classes years ago, except without the tendency to cut off the circulation when you sat down!

Nothing witty springs to mind right now

2008-07-07T18:55:00.002+01:00

Skirt, top, cardigan H&M, shoes New Look, necklace Topshop probably.

Tag, you're it

2008-07-07T09:03:00.007+01:00

5 things found in my bag
1. Very old denim purse that I will replace when I find one with the combination of pockets that I like
2. Pink phone
3. Keys with kitsch cat+Eiffel Tower keyring (present from boyfriend)
4. Shopping lists (I have turned into my mother!)
5. Passport, because despite being many years over the age requirment to buy alcohol, I still get ID'ed

5 things found in my wallet
1. Not a lot of money
2. Old train tickets
3. Proof of posting slips for Ebay sales
4. Donor card
5. AA breakdown card (for car, not alcohol problem! Very important as car is basically rust with wheels.)

5 favourite things in my room
1. My computer
2. My clothes
3. My pink Mathmos ball light
4. Books
5. 'Furious Cat' print (though actually that is now on the wall downstairs)
And actual cat who has just wandered in

5 things I want to do right now
1. Now that the shower is working again, dye my hair
2. Eat breakfast
3. Scratch the insect bite on my knee (aaaaargh, must resist!)
4. Read Elle
5. Inherit millions from the will of a mysterious stranger

5 things I'm currently into
1. Blogging (well duh!)
2. Shopping
3. Scrapbooking (I am a very sad person)
4. Animal Crossing - Wild World (as above!)
5. Baking

5 impressions of Annah who tagged me
1. She is very creative
2. She has lovely hair
3. She's so young, oh to be 18 again :-(
4. She takes/creates beautiful dreamy photographs
5. She finds nice dresses and looks great in them

I tag Andrea (a cat of impossible colour), Tavi (Style Rookie), and Amber (History books).

I may have been looking at stills from The Edge of Love

2008-07-05T22:14:00.006+01:00

Dress and locket Topshop, cardigan Primark, boots Dorothy Perkins, bag H&M. ION, my hair has gone insane and really needs cutting :-(

Shopping...the results

2008-07-04T15:09:00.005+01:00

This is what I got in the Topshop sale:

Floral tea dress from one of those random Topshop concessions (£22). I actual didn't get this originally, I couldn't justify another flowery dress, but I was still thinking about it this morning, so I went back and bought it. How sad am I :-)
The Kate Moss t'shirt I liked when it first appeared but thought was overpriced at £25 (now £15).
And skinny flare jeans in black proper denim look (as opposed to solid black), because you just can't turn down decent jeans at £15.

I also got this gold baubley thing because I have been looking for some long gold things to hang round my neck (I blame Alexa), and gothy necklace for winter which I love because it has little skull beads. I might change the cross though as I always feel a bit odd about wearing the symbols of a religion that is not mine. And I got two new shades of nail polish, but not from Topshop, and now have turquoise toenails, yay!

Shopping!

2008-07-03T16:04:00.002+01:00

Topshop sale starts today in stores and sort of online (they've been putting things up gradually but the final category, dresses, is available today)! What I bought will be in the next post.

Jeans & top New Look, Bag H&M (I love this bag because it looks so 70's), sandals Topshop, earrings possibly Topshop but have had them for aaaaages so no idea really.

Topshop do Prada

2008-07-02T23:06:00.003+01:00

ION, I remember a blogger talking about Topshop doing their version of the Prada fairy bag. I can't remember who it was but on the off-chance that they read this, or that someone else who reads this knows who it was, it is now available on the website:

Topshop painted suede bag £45.

Styled by a north easterly wind as usual

2008-07-02T22:40:00.003+01:00

It's possible I was in a silly mood when I got dressed this morning!

Long sleeve top and skirt H&M, vest and necklace Topshop, belt and sandals (which don't really go but the lawn was muddy so I needed shoes) New Look, tights Celeste Stein.

Oh I hate decisions

2008-07-02T10:22:00.003+01:00

My list of blogs I read everyday is getting out of control. It's even longer than the blogroll on here because there are also newish blogs that I'm waiting to make sure they keep going before I add them, and non-fashion blogs, and friend's journal-type blogs. It's got to the stage where I can only do half the list each day and have to make sure I start at the top one day and the bottom the next or I would never get to Thrills and Frills at all. So I'm going to have to prune the list, maybe to things to read everyday and things to try and catch up on at the weekend. The blogroll list on here will stay as it is, but may have to be renamed "daily reads if only I had the time"!

For one day only...summer!

2008-07-01T13:44:00.002+01:00

The sun is out today so I took the opportunity to leap into this dress as it is probably my favourite and last summer was so awful that I only got to wear it once.

Dress and sandals Topshop, vest New Look.

Sniff

2008-06-29T21:12:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have an icky cold and have been devoting myself to sleeping and taking vitamins rather than fashion. I can however give you a mental picture: I am currently wearing a woolly cardigan, one of my boyfriend's t'shirts, and leggings *hangs head in shame*. I hasten to assure you that I would not leave the house in this outfit, it was just the closest thing to pyjamas!

Glastonbury weekend? That explains the rain then!

2008-06-26T20:00:00.002+01:00

Jacket Topshop, T'shirt Realitee at Topshop, jeans New Look, shoes F&F at Tesco.

Music to something or other by

2008-06-26T12:20:00.008+01:00

I've been tagged by Annah of Fashion, art and mess to do that 7 songs you're into thingy. This is going to make everyone think that I am a) old and b) weird but here goes:

"That's not my name" The Ting Tings
Great song that oddly sounds better coming out of a radio or the lousy speakers in my car than it does on the fancy amp and speakers in the livingroom.

"Let me think about it" Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand
I don't generally do dance-type music but I do play it when I'm exercising or attempting to psyche myself into doing housework. This one is guarranteed to make me bounce around.

"Pour some sugar on me" Def Leppard
Probably my all time favourite song. I've been a fan since the 80's. I love rock music, but only if I can still hear the words and they don't have up-their-own-bottoms 5 minute guitar solos (yes Van Halen, I am looking at you!).

"Mistress Mabel" The Fratellis
New song from the Fratellis that is being played a lot on the radio. I like their music because it is upbeat and retro sounding.

"Time Warp" Rocky Horror Show cast
Love this film. Go watch it! Then find a singalong/stage show and go in costume!

"Psychosis safari" Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster
I don't even know how to describe this one. High intensity rock maybe? Anyway, mad band with strange songs.

"The Carny" Nick Cave
Another weird one. This is a very creepy atmospheric song. I wouldn't say I liked it as such but it is oddly very compelling.

I tag:
A cat of impossible colour &
Cheapskate chic because everyone else I would have picked has already been tagged.

Good grief

2008-06-23T22:15:00.003+01:00

And this is why I need to sell things on ebay!

That tiny 6 inch wide section on the left is for my other half's clothes. Poor boy :-)

Shameless advertising

2008-06-21T22:23:00.004+01:00

I have a few ebay auctions running, including:

I believe Agathe of Style Bytes included the same net skirt in some of her outfits but obviously I can't check :-(

Also some really random things that we do not need hanging round the house any more. Check here if you're interested.

2008-06-20T19:35:00.002+01:00

I look unnaturally angelic in today's picture!

Jeans New Look, top H&M, shrug thingy Bay Trading, sandals and pendant Topshop.

Ooh, something good I noticed the other day that I thought I'd share; many of the bangles in H&M's Divided jewellery range come in two sizes. I am very happy about this as I have silly little hands and wrists and so solid bangles tend to fall off when I wear them.

The necessity of shoes?

2008-06-19T23:09:00.004+01:00

Today I gave up battling the wind and went back to the conservatory:

Top H&M, vest Topshop, skirt some market stall in Harlow about 10 years ago, boots New Look.

If you look really closely, you can see the 'real leather' tag on one of the boots! I mention this only because it links to a post on Painfully Hip where Amber expressed her dislike of Wardrobe Remix pictures where the remixer is not wearing shoes. I suggested that if your outfit is only intended to be worn around your house, you might not include shoes in the ensemble and that doesn't mean it's not a valid, fully thought-out outfit. So the question is, should you add shoes, bags, jackets etc. to an outfit that you're not going out in, just for the pictures?

I add shoes if I'm taking the photos outside, for obvious reasons, but I also do it for indoor pictures if I think the outfit is improved by them. I don't add a bag if I'm not actually going to carry one, or a jacket/coat, unless I'm taking outdoor pictures and it's cold. Conversely, if I've put on extra, less than stunning, clothes for warmth, I take them off for the photo. So my outfits are the actual ones I wear, but the best possible version, rather than the absolute truth. And one day I might actually make my mind up about those boots and take the tags off!

2008-06-18T12:39:00.005+01:00

Today's outfit pictured in another howling gale!

Dress and top H&M, jeans and sandals New Look, necklace Miss Selfridge.

2008-06-17T23:48:00.004+01:00

Photobucket has been hacked by Turkish people and all my picture links have stopped working properly :-( Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly.

Edit: Yay, working again!

Do I dare...

2008-06-17T13:40:00.003+01:00

...go out in public like this?

Skirt H&M, jacket and vest Tesco (oh dear), boots New Look, flower Topshop.

Edit: Hee hee, I did it! I went to the post office and the supermarket. People stared. But tough, I am fabulous...well a little bit maybe?

Do I give a fig?

2008-06-16T13:53:00.004+01:00

When I got up this morning it was warm and summery. But now it has returned to the usual cool, breezy, and showery, boo :-( The whole stereotype of English people talking about the weather all the time is so true! But in our defense, we do have a LOT of weather, often all in the same day.
Anyway, here is my outfit as I originally intended and how it ended up being when I had to go out:

Top Miss Selfridge, jeans and black shoes New Look, jacket TKMaxx, sandals Pierre Hardy for Gap. The pattern is apparently a fig.

ION, my first in-real-life friend has been told about this blog and so is about to find out how deeply shallow I really am :-) Hi Katy!

Style inspiration

2008-06-15T10:20:00.004+01:00

This week's style inspiration is Alexa Chung. Many of my choices are people who's look I admire, but don't necessarily aspire to, or that I have no hope of looking like in a million years! Alexa however is a true inspiration who gives me ideas for new things I want and new ways to wear things I already have.

And today's outfit, which unsurprisingly has turned out rather Alexa-ish:

Dress H&M, bag Primark, Shoes New Look, pendant Topshop.

Oh dear I've been shopping again

2008-06-14T21:23:00.013+01:00

The boyfriend is away so the compulsive shopper will play :-) Plus he owes me a present and shopping with other people's money is always fun! My haul was the usual selection of things I'm not sure about and thinking of returning. I'm sure it would be easier if I had someone to go shopping with, I might be able to make decisions before bringing things home if I had another opinion. Excuse the dark pictures, I didn't want to run up and downstairs for every outfit change so had to take pictures upstairs where the light is not so good.

First of all is a pair of shoes I am definitely keeping. I've wanted a light-coloured pair of cute shoes since I saw a girl wearing cream shoes with black tights. I already have these in tan, and then found this beige/cream pair in the New Look sale for £10, result!

Next are a couple of belts from Primark. The first is black and quite easy to wear as it is only a little wider than a regular waist belt:

The second is brown and very wide. I'm not sure if it works on me, but it cost £3 so isn't worth returning even if I never wear it (the second picture is my Sienna Miller impression!):

Now we get to the tricky stuff. This little skirt is very cute, but...I already have it in a different floral print, I will only wear it with tights (issues with the way my upper legs look sans tights), and I'm concerned by the time tights time comes back again in Autumn, it will be totally out of style:

And finally, another bandwagon I have leapt upon. This is the H&M kids skirt that about 8 million other bloggers have. Again it is fun, but will I wear it? It's quite short, and again tights are required (though that bothers me less as I think it will work ok in Autumn), and ultimately, am I too old to get away with it?

So, any views?

Oh look, winter again

2008-06-13T14:43:00.002+01:00

Well we had 3 days of summer, but now we're back to winter again. Today's outfit picture was taken in a brief gap between rain showers. You do however get to see a different bit of my garden though, thanks to the tripod I got for my birthday.

Dress Primark via Ebay, jumper and shoes H&M.

Is it me, or does my head look a bit big in that picture? I hope it's just the angle I had the camera at and I do not in fact have an enormous head and have never previously noticed!

2008-06-12T13:51:00.002+01:00

I got the Pierre Hardy for Gap 3 strap sandals :-) It would seem they have not been as popular as anticipated since they are now on sale for £35 (£20 off!!!). They are surprisingly easy to walk in given how high they are, I guess because the platform is really deep so your foot is only at the angle it would be with a 2-2.5 inch heel. I love how blocky and weird they look!

Dress very old Richards, shortened by me, cardigan and tights Dorothy Perkins, bag M&S, sandals Gap.

I'm back!

2008-06-09T09:52:00.003+01:00

All week I have been running around doing fun things like cleaning and gardening, which do not lend themselves to sartorial elegance. Then I spent the weekend in a field wearing wellies and with a hairstyle created by dust, grass, and the effects of standing behind 20 hovercraft (do not even ask), of which I will not allow there to be any photographic evidence. Thus the total lack of posts. But soon, there will be outfits, yay! In the meantime, here are my fabulous sandals:

These are £15 from Topshop. They also come in tan (which I may get as well just because they will go with everything), shiny red, fushia pink, silver, and bronze, but I liked green best. I wanted galdiator type sandals because many bloggers have been looking fabulous in them lately, but didn't want to look exactly like every sheep on the street, thus the choice of green, which judging by the number left in the shop, have not been universally admired! So either I have fabulous taste, unappreciated by the masses, or yet again I am the weirdo!

Stalker!

2008-06-03T21:28:00.002+01:00

I was very excited to discover that Fashion Robot is back! She now posts on Chictopia as thefashbot. I have missed her random poses :-)

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-06-03T00:02:00.002+01:00

It was my birthday on Saturday. So obviously I went shopping :-) Having done the favourite catwalk look challenge, I found I was thinking about Autumn looks, and we haven't even had summer yet! Anyway, this is what I got:

Navy blouse from Topshop, with old jeans from New Look and shoes from Debenhams.

Dress from Miss Selfridge, £20 in the sale, yay!

Tagged!

2008-05-31T17:01:00.016+01:00

Last week tavi tagged me to pick my 3 'perfect life' catwalk looks. It has taken a while because although I keep an eye on what's happening in the designer world, I don't monitor obsessively or follow any particular designers as I know that such things are so far from my life that it can only lead to an appearance of the green-eyed monster! Also, once you start to look, there's so much of it.

Here are the rules:
1. Choose runway pictures from ANY season you like and choose 3 outfits for Day, Evening & Party.
2. Briefly explain why and state the name of the designer & which season the outfit is from.
3. Tag 3 other bloggers once you are done and let them know by posting a comment on their blog.

So first of all, I'm going to cheat! I'm going to pick several looks for each and then maybe nominate a favourite, and secondly I'm going to limit myself to recent seasons, because otherwise I'll be there for years!

Day:

These are Chloe AW 2008, Luella AW 2008, Chloe AW 2008, Topshop SS 2008, H&M AW 2008. Typical me, I prefer the H&M one over the designer ones!

Evening:

These are DKNY AW 2008, Luella AW 2008, Chloe AW 2008. I am loving the combination of navy and black for next season. I can't pick a favourite because I am torn between something close to my regular style (the first one) and what I'm thinking about for the future.

Party:

These are DKNY AW 2008, Chloe SS 2007, DKNY AW 2008. I love cute little mini-dresses, despite rapidly approaching the age when I can no longer pull them off. I think the red one is my favourite because of the colour and the lovely shape.

I tag:
The Clothes Horse
Camille (Childhood Flames)
Annah (fashion art and mess)

Shopping trip outfit

2008-05-31T11:07:00.002+01:00

Jacket & vest H&M, skirt Topshop, boots New Look.

ION, I wish the weather would make it's mind up, we're getting several seasons in one day now!

It's possible I have too much time on my hands!

2008-05-30T00:03:00.004+01:00

June/July 08 issue of french Vogue or new Bounty advert?!

I shall now go and offer penance for taking the p*ss out of the sacred text. Sorry Camille :-)

A whole 8 hours of summer!

2008-05-29T17:27:00.002+01:00

It was sunny today so I took the opportunity to jump into a summer dress when I came back from my daily try-to-prevent-bottom-from-taking-over-the-world walk. Please ignore strap marks and tanlines (I am so classy!).

Dress vintage.

Still no sign of summer :-(

2008-05-28T11:47:00.004+01:00

Cardigan Primark, Skirt ebay, vest and tights Topshop, Shoes New Look, bag River Island.

BTW, does anyone else's brain do this? My brain insists that I have items of clothing that I do not and have never owned. It helpfully suggests these non-existent pieces when I am pondering what to wear. The most common misconception is that I have a short slightly military style grey jacket. I have a green cropped jacket, and, somewhere, a pale pink one with pockets and those shoulder strap thingies (sale shopping mistake!), but no grey one. Where did it get this idea? Maybe I tried one on once and the clothing memory area of my mind got fixated on it? I don't know, but it's very annoying!

In other news

2008-05-27T22:05:00.003+01:00

I can definitely keep the lovely pink ballerina-ish skirt I was musing about returning due to lack of funds, as I sold the Kate Moss dress I was less keen on in real life on ebay and made a small profit :-)

I have also now discovered that Queen Michelle of kingdom of style has the skirt too, so how could I possibly return something made even cooler by that association?!

Latest style inspiration

2008-05-27T17:34:00.002+01:00

This is Portia Freeman, a 19 year old british model. I think her style is really fun and I wish I was young and funky enough to dress like this!

Return to civilization

2008-05-26T22:51:00.003+01:00

I am now back in the real world of shopping and gossip :-) This was my outfit on Friday. I was trying to look respectable as I was going shopping for the bank holiday weekend, which included lots of beer for the boyfriend and his pals. I am way, way over the legal age for buying alcohol but I've been asked for ID loads of times recently and always forget to carry any. Unfortunately the outfit has more than a touch of department store shop assistant about it!

Dress old Topshop, cardigan Primark, sandals New Look.

And for anyone confused by the last post, the wearing of orange in the field is not a fashion choice but a health and safety requirement. I was being a marshall at a sporting event the boyfriend was taking part in. My outfits for the weekend consisted of muddy jeans, layers of fleece, wellie boots, and an orange padded coat the size of a hot air balloon, lovely!

2008-05-23T16:00:00.001+01:00

Byeeeeee, I'm off to wear orange in a field for the weekend!

An exercise in anti-shopping

2008-05-22T08:49:00.002+01:00

On tuesday I went shopping. On wednesday I got my credit card bill. So I am looking at what I bought and trying to convince myself to return things. First is a grey marl dress, that is actually meant to be nightwear. It's basically a very long t'shirt, nothing special but might be a useful basic. There is also a grey vest underneath that again is an unexciting basic:

Item number 2 is this pink/nude skirt. I have this in black as well that I'm saving for A/W and I was thinking of this version for summer. I do love it, but I wasn't sure how I would wear it, especially given that I do not do bare legs above the knee (not a pretty sight!). So I tried to think of summery ways of wearing it, kind of hoping that I wouldn't come up with any and so be able to return it without regret. This is what I came up with, they do all involve tights and so would have to be for chillier summer days, which there are a lot of here in the north east UK:

This has backfired as I now like it even more! It has a knackered ballerina air and makes me think of Degas' Little dancer.

Maybe I should return the black version instead? What d'you think?

Yesterday's man

2008-05-21T10:42:00.003+01:00

Or at least yesterday's outfit:

Jacket, long sleeve top, pink top, shoes H&M, jeans New Look, pendant Top Shop. Very unsummery today but it was freeeeezing here :-(

And a very random grey marl dress I saw in the Topshop sale. Not one for me, but I know one or two bloggers who could rock it:

Kate Moss collection update

2008-05-20T20:32:00.010+01:00

I have now seen most of the new Kate Moss for Topshop range in real life. I think the quality is generally better than some of the previous stuff, and it was a more cohesive collection than the earlier ones, but I was still a little disappointed.

The pansy dress is pretty nice and the fabric is fine, my only complaint being that it is a little short, and I'm 5'5" so a tall girl wouldn't be able to sit down without flashing her knickers (it's also less orange than it appears in the photo):

The vest I showed in my previous post is less nice in reality, it's more purplish and a little tacky looking. It would still be cool as part of a rock chic type outfit, but I don't think I could pull it off. They didn't have the ruffled blouse.

The biggest disappointment for me was this dress, which I had actually ordered from the website first thing this morning and would have been the subject of a separate post:

The cotton is quite thin and see-through. The colours are not as intense as in the pictures, there are little sequiny things along the trim, and the, very thin, straps have beads all along them and so are not adjustable. It would be nice as a little beach cover-up but doesn't seem worth £45 to me.

The surprise hit for me was this T shirt:

The fabric is very thin but I like the shape and the embroidery is very neatly done and there are no tacky shiny bits. I still didn't buy it though because £25 for a thin T shirt is still a little excessive, especially as I rarely wear T shirts anyway.

Thinking about it some more, I think my feeling of vague disappointment is because I always expect more from the Kate Moss range than I do from Topshop as a whole. Which is partly because I admire Kate Moss's style and so expect something fabulous, but also partly because Topshop hype it so much and put the prices higher than their regular stock. If the prices were the same, I would be happier about only liking 20% of it. Of course really they should design a collection just for me :-)

Happy Kate Moss Day!

2008-05-20T08:50:00.009+01:00

The new Kate Moss Summer collection has arrived at Topshop. I think the collections are getting better, there are a few things I would be happy to own this time whereas usually there is one thing I love and everything else is meh. Although I have so far only seen it online, and last time much of the disappointment was with the quality of the materials. So here are some highlights from the website and I will update when I have been to the shop later:

	A classic Kate teadress, £60
	This is obviously a nod to her white Chanel floaty blouse, £40
	There are always some embelished vests in the collections, but I tend to feel the price is a little high for what is, after all, just a vest, and usually in quite thin fabric, £28.

Oooh, pretty!

2008-05-19T16:55:00.004+01:00

Although sunny, it is pretty windy and cold today so I took pictures in the conservatory, where it is nice and warm. Yesterday I spent a very frustrating afternoon trying to take Ebay pictures outside in the wind and did not fancy repeating the experience.

Yesterday's outfit:

Top and skirt Topshop, cardigan Primark. As a note to anyone planning to buy this skirt, I usually take a UK 8 in Topshop skirts but I had to buy this in a 6 to get it to fit at the waist, where I think it really should be, rather than on the hip.

And today's (rather dull) outfit:

Top Topshop, Jeans New Look, belt Dorothy Perkins. Also note little pussycat face at bottom left :-)

Should I sell this skirt?

2008-05-19T10:01:00.009+01:00

I bought this skirt on Ebay a couple of months ago. When it arrived, it didn't look like the picture and I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I stuck it in the back of the cupboard and forgot about it. I took it out again with the plan of putting it back on Ebay, but when I put it on and styled it for the pictures, I quite liked it (this happens all the time, I should just stick to taking pictures of things on the hangers!). It's got a rock 'n' roll fairy kind of vibe done like this which I quite like. But on the other hand, it's still mad and the fact that the lining could have done with being an inch or so longer bugs me slightly. And I could do with the money. But it's unlikely to make a lot on Ebay anyway (sadly I am not a super-popular seller like Rumi). So what do you think?

Jacket TKMax, vest and skirt H&M, boots Dorothy Perkins.

Rebel without coordination

2008-05-15T21:18:00.003+01:00

I'm sure I'm committing a style faux pas by combining brown and black leather (or pleather in the case of the jacket) but hey:

Dress Topshop, top and boots H&M, jacket some random brand from TKmax.

New discovery

2008-05-15T08:57:00.004+01:00

A girl named Tavi left a very sweet comment on a previous post, so I went to check out her blog, Style Rookie. It is fab! Great writing style and adorable pictures:

And then I realized that I recognized her and that she is the friend of Stephanie of Fashion Robot's sister who featured in that lovely photoshoot:

And she's 12!!!!!!! How does anyone get to be that cool at 12?! When I was 12, my mum still bought all my clothes so I looked like a little 45 year old woman in coordinating separates from Marks and Spencer! I am full of admiration, but may also need a little lie down to come to terms with the fact that I am old enough to be her mother!

2008-05-13T19:29:00.003+01:00

Today I had thought about writing a post explaining that contrary to appearances, I do not shop all the time, that I have bursts of shopping corresponding with my sporadic income as a freelancer. However, I realized that this is not in fact the case. I just change the type of shopping, highstreet, particularly Topshop, when I get paid, Ebay when I have little money, stuff for my other half (with his money) when I am completely broke. My name is Adri and I am a shopaholic :-)

Jeans and tunic Topshop, jacket and sandals New Look.

The jacket has cute little touches like this embroidered patch on the back:

Finally, an outfit post

2008-05-12T13:15:00.004+01:00

Today's ensemble:

Dress Topshop, jacket vintage (well, old), sandals New Look, palest legs in the world mine!

The dress is this one (and isn't it irksome that Topshop.com have switched to Flash animations that you can't copy or link, I had to do a printscreen and edit it):

And a bonus one recreating an outfit from the weekend, in which I went to a nice restaurant and had crème brûlée for the first time, yum! I didn't take outfit pictures at the weekend because my in-laws were visiting and I didn't fancy explaining why I needed to take pictures of myself. They think I'm odd enough as it is!

Dress Kate Moss for Topshop, jacket Topshop, green tights Dorothy Perkins, sandals as before.

Although it is sunny here today, it is also quite windy:

Lookylikey

2008-05-10T17:53:00.003+01:00

I realized yesterday that my new haircut is pretty much Katie Holmes hair. Which is amusing because my boyfriend has been told several times that he looks like Tom Cruise (which he doesn't, he just has a big nose!). Where's a celebrity costume party when you need one?!

Picture from http://cocosteaparty.blogspot.com/

New hair!

2008-05-07T16:41:00.002+01:00

I got my hair cut:

T shirt Topshop, jeans New Look.

I knew there was a reason I never throw anything away!

2008-05-01T21:09:00.003+01:00

Dress Topshop, top underneath, bag & sunglasses H&M, boots New Look, jacket vintage (it still counts as vintage when you've just had it for 15 years right?!).

2008-04-29T21:24:00.002+01:00

I'm a little bit in love with this bag from River Island. Is that wrong?!

Topshop sale purchase

2008-04-28T20:20:00.003+01:00

This is the jacket I got in the Topshop.com sale. You can't really see from the pictures but it's blue, white, and thin red striped. What I like about it is how you can button the lapels in different ways and so get several different looks:

Top H&M, jeans ASOS narrowed by me

I fell in love with THE Topshop blue and red striped blazer when it appeared (you know, the one that was in all the magazines). I even bought it. But although I loved it and it fitted really well, I just couldn't wear it. I have quite a long torso so cropped jackets and long jackets look ok, but ones that hit right on the hip make me look out of proportion, particularly if I wear them with trousers. I tried the jacket with everything in my wardrobe but nothing looked right and I eventually, sadly, returned it. This one seems better, I think because I can wear it open (the original one didn't hang right open) and so not have the line across the hips which causes the proportion problem.

ION, I really need a haircut!

Product review - Max Factor Beyond Length mascara

2008-04-28T10:27:00.007+01:00

Beyond Length mascara, called Vivid Impact in the US, is a two stage mascara. It has two sections, each with their own brush, one with black lengthening mascara, and one with a coloured topcoat. You apply the black first, wait for it to dry, and then brush the highlighting colour onto the ends of the lashes. In the UK it so far comes in three shades, blazing black which is pink, moonlit black which is silver, and tanned black which is coppery. I believe there are two more shades in the US?

Image courtesy of an ebay seller

I have the tanned black version. When I first applied the black coat, I was surprised how spindly my eyelashes still looked. I don't think this is a flaw in the product, I'm just so used to volume building mascaras rather than lengthening ones. The brush was pretty good and gave good separation. When I added the topcoat I was a little disappointed that it didn't show up more, but it was pretty close up. The second time I tried it, I used an eyeliner of a similar colour and the two worked well together. The mascara stayed on well considering it's not a waterproof one and came off easily with eyemakeup remover. Overall I would say it's a quality product but with only a subtle effect. And I personally would be wary of the pink version as I fear it would have an albino rabbit effect on fairskinned people like myself.

I am not paid to write reviews and did not receive any free samples, boo!

Which way did the 70's go?!

2008-04-25T15:02:00.002+01:00

Flared jeans and tunic top Topshop

There are also wedges under there somewhere to make me look tall.

Wow, third post in a day!

2008-04-24T19:37:00.007+01:00

Dress random brand from TKMax (why don't you ever see them anywhere else?!), cardigan Primark, sandals New Look last year or the year before, dragonfly brooch on cardigan Ebay, bracelet Topshop.
Also featured is the usual North East Coast wind :-)

Topshop sale!

2008-04-24T10:17:00.003+01:00

Topshop.com have just started a mid-season sale, yay! As usual, quite a few things are already sold out in the smaller sizes (but such items are also often reduced a little more so a bonus for the more curvaceous). There's lots in the sale though and much is still available in the 8/10/12 sizes. Including these few on-trend pieces I have selected for your delectation:

And sadly no, I don't get paid for promoting Topshop, I'm just a big fan :-)

Thoughtful (warning, goes on for ages!)

2008-04-24T09:35:00.000+01:00

bitsandbobbins has posted a thought-provoking post about why we wear what we wear. It's an interesting topic because people's reasons are really variable and wide-ranging. I think my main motivating factor is that I would like my sense of style to be admired by people whose sense of style I admire. The type of style I admire is creative, quirky, a little arty, a little trendy (but not sheep-like adherence to fashion), and most importantly, not boring. Sadly, I feel I usually fall short of these ideals myself (note tendency to repeat shortish skirt & tights combo). However, I also don't want to get stared at by the rest of the populace. It would also be nice if my other half liked what I looked like, but he's really not into clothes and sometimes refers to my ensembles as bizarre, so I really don't focus on his ideas (ultimately I think he would prefer I looked 'normal', which seems to mean bootcut jeans and a fleece top *yawn*).

Oddly, I seem to be mostly dressing for imaginary people because where I live is so not fashion central! Typical day wear consists of sportswear or light hipster jeans and a hooded top (with obligatory 3 inches of stomach in between) and nighttime wear of the smallest, tightest, sparkliest thing you can find. The nearest city does have students though, and emo kids, and many of them are cool-looking (but so young *sigh*). When I pick my outfits, I am thinking of all the stylish people in blogland, but then I go out in the real world and spend the day feeling self conscious. The day I wore mustard yellow tights is a good example, would have blended right in in blogworld, in real life I apparently looked like "a f***ing chicken"!

One constant in the responses to bitsandbobbins' post was that people dressed to disguise bits of their bodies that they dislike. I am always trying to minimize my wide-shoulders and not reveal my knobbly knees (ok with tights, baaaaad without). I have also banned myself from most jeans without a long top because my upper thighs have totally gone to pot recently. I like to accentuate my waist but get very annoyed with people who tell me I shouldn't wear loose-fitting things because I have to "show my teeny tiny waist". Well yes, sometimes, but a side-effect of showing my "teeny tiny waist" is often highlighting my NOT teeny tiny bottom and thighs!

Generally I am grateful that in western society we have such freedom of dress and that almost anything is accepted to some degree. Even chicken costumes :-)

Where'd the sun go?

2008-04-23T19:23:00.002+01:00

This was an outfit born of necessity, the necessity of not getting wet.

Coat Primark, Jumper, skirt, & shoes H&M, tights Dorothy Perkins

I'm noticing a short skirt, coloured tights theme going on. Must try to branch out!

Here comes the sun?

2008-04-22T21:55:00.001+01:00

This was my attempt to introduce a bit of summeryness despite it still being quite chilly and windy here in the North East.

Dress H&M, bag and tights Topshop, sandals New Look

In the picture you can also see the shutter release cable which is my new best friend! My, rather old, camera has the most infuriating timer ever. You have to select the timer from the menu, set it, and focus every time, which means lots of running back and forwards to get a shot I'm happy with. With my squeezy bulb and tube, I can do 20 shots in a minute or two and then pick the best one afterwards. From using this, I have learnt two things:

1) I can look good in photos. Generally I hate all photos, particularly those that I don't have control over, because I look bad in them, so this has been a revelation.

2) This is only true if I DO NOT SMILE! If I smile, I look like Cleetus the slack-jawed yokel at best, an escaped loony at worst!

Oh denim doo-be-do...

2008-04-20T14:40:00.001+01:00

When I saw this picture of a Gap denim dress in Grazia (excuse picture quality, the one in the magazine was very dark and hard to get a good scan of), a little lightbulb over my head went ping.

My lightbulb told me that I had a long denim dress from about 10 years ago stored in the attic. 2 hours (including about 45 minutes to find the flippin' thing) and some cutting and sewing later, voila:

No outfit post for yesterday or today as I have mostly been gardening which involves wearing very old jeans and a green duffle coat I have had since I was 14, not pretty :-)

Shameless advertising

2008-04-19T20:18:00.001+01:00

If anyone is interested, I'm re-selling a few of my unsuccessful Ebay purchases here. Including this rather nice jacket:

I always blur my face in Ebay pictures in case of scary stalkers!

Ooh look, light!

2008-04-17T19:22:00.001+01:00

And this is what the dress from this post looks like in real life. I tried it with a belt but I didn't have one the right colour (both black and brown looked wrong) and it just went bunchy. Anyhow, I think it works as it is, although it's basically a tube, it's not a very wide tube and it's thin fabric so it drapes nicely over curves.

Dress Mina from ebay, wedge sandals New Look, tights no idea.

This is an outfit from a day or two ago, which I didn't get round to photographing at the time but which I then reused to style a blazer I'll be selling on ebay (this is me if anyone's interested).

Jacket & top H&M, skirt Topshop, tights BHS, boots Dorothy Perkins.

Adri does brights

2008-04-16T17:27:00.001+01:00

Todays outfit, with scary-bright tights:

Jumper and skirt H&M, tights Topshop, shoes New Look.

I'm not sure the shoes go, but I couldn't resist the idea of coral-red toes. The skirt has beautiful pockets which I have tried to show here:

In other news, I have now bodged a 'tripod' by attaching the camera to a stepladder, so future pictures can be taken outside with actual daylight :-)

2008-04-15T21:25:00.001+01:00

Excuse the terrible picture, the light was bad so they all came out blurry. This dress was one of the things I bought on my shopping trip. £10 in the sale, yay! Believing the 'hot iron' instruction on the label was a mistake though, the denim fabric was fine but they've used synthetic thread which melted all over my iron >:-[

Dress and tights H&M.

Ooh look, a bandwagon leaps

2008-04-11T19:38:00.001+01:00

Today's outfit (except that at the last minute I switched to black jeans as I thought the grey made my thighs look fat!):

Jeans New Look, top & scarf H&M, blazer Ebay with badges & shiny buttons added by me.

Today I went shopping and bought pretty things. Pics in next post.

And this is what I look like

2008-04-10T16:33:00.001+01:00

Today's outfit:

a>

This is all from H&M, but not intentionally.

A search for the impossible?

2008-04-06T14:08:00.001+01:00

Since reading an article about the resurging tunic/smock trend in Look (I know, all the other bloggers are reading Vogue and Lula, I'm such a chav!), I have been looking for one. This has proved harder than I thought, probably because I had quite a long list of requirements. It had to be colourful and patterned but not loud, long sleeves (because it's still pretty cold in the UK, and because I wanted to wear it under my blazer and elbow length balloon sleeves, which were everywhere, are a nightmare under jackets), have a wide round neck or V neck, and be long enough to actually be a dress rather than what Mina and the like tend to try to convince you is a dress (I'm looking at you 30 inch long "Fairytale Fantasy dress as seen on Sienna Miller"). A search of the highstreet produced nothing, or nothing that I could afford, so I turned to Ebay. I have now bought this:

>

But I'm interested/worried about what it will really look like since the images all look quite different (presumably due to lighting). Wait and see I guess...

An expedition to the south

2008-04-01T11:09:00.001+01:00

So I went to London yesterday. Which involved getting up at 6.30am to get to the station and do the 3 hour train journey in time for lunch. I met my friend from Australia (yay!), ate tuna salad (yummy, and without olives), went to Topshop (oh the colours), and New Look (disappointing for what is apparently a flagship store), and then flopped on a sofa in Vauxhall before the 3 hour journey back. People-watching in the bright lights big city would suggest that skinny jeans are not over, black is the new black, and you can wear anything in Topshop and no one, apart from us gawping out-of-towners, will bat an eyelid. Black boots, gold leggings/tights, tangerine coat, yellow hair in many-plaits construction, cool but mad.

I also saw this ruffled vest in Topshop:

Very Stella, non?

So, what does one write in these things?

2008-03-30T19:11:00.000+01:00

I guess I should write a little introduction just in case anyone ever actually reads this. I'm writing this blog for several reasons. Firstly, I read a lot of blogs, particularly style and fashion ones, and love them. Recently I have felt the urge to communicate back the other way, I have thoughts, I have questions. Online blogs are also, at the moment, substitute friends. A year or so ago I had to move from the south of England to the north east. This meant leaving my job and all my friends, and the environment I was used to, as I have always been a softy southerner. I've found it a bit of a culture shock as I've come from a wealthy and pretty part of the south to an area that is quite deprived and in some ways a little backward (the panini is the new big thing here!). Blogs have been a lifeline as they've allowed me to feel connected to nice people who are interested in the same sort of things as me.

And me? I claim to be 27 (which is a lie, but not a big one!), I'm a freelance researcher and desperate housewife, I have a partner who drives me round the bend, and a cat likewise :-) I am creative, neurotic, compulsive, and love cats, shopping, and books. And now you know everything you need to know.

2008-03-26T17:13:00.000Z

Hello World!

Adrift in the blogosphere

Suspended animation

Just me again

Alterations

Nothing witty springs to mind right now

Tag, you're it

I may have been looking at stills from The Edge of Love

Shopping...the results

Shopping!

Topshop do Prada

Styled by a north easterly wind as usual

Oh I hate decisions

For one day only...summer!

*Sniff*

Glastonbury weekend? That explains the rain then!

Music to something or other by

Good grief

Shameless advertising

The necessity of shoes?

Do I dare...

Do I give a fig?

Style inspiration

Oh dear I've been shopping again

Oh look, winter again

I'm back!

Stalker!

Happy Birthday to me!

Tagged!

Shopping trip outfit

It's possible I have too much time on my hands!

A whole 8 hours of summer!

Still no sign of summer :-(

In other news

Latest style inspiration

Return to civilization

An exercise in anti-shopping

Yesterday's man

Kate Moss collection update

Happy Kate Moss Day!

Oooh, pretty!

Should I sell this skirt?

Rebel without coordination

New discovery

Finally, an outfit post

Lookylikey

New hair!

I knew there was a reason I never throw anything away!

Topshop sale purchase

Product review - Max Factor Beyond Length mascara

Which way did the 70's go?!

Wow, third post in a day!

Topshop sale!

Thoughtful (warning, goes on for ages!)

Where'd the sun go?

Here comes the sun?

Oh denim doo-be-do...

Shameless advertising

Ooh look, light!

Adri does brights

Ooh look, a bandwagon *leaps*

And this is what I look like

A search for the impossible?

An expedition to the south

So, what does one write in these things?

Sniff

Ooh look, a bandwagon leaps