Spring watch

We were invited to a black tie event and I have worn all of my cocktail dresses to the same do in the past so I wanted to (obviously) get something new but without breaking the bank.  I gave myself a strict budget and told myself if I couldn't work within it then I would have to wear something a second time - if it's good enough for K Middy!

Turquoise pleated sweetheart maxi dress

Anyway I found this beautiful blue maxi and it was an absolute bargain :-) £65 with 25% off on the day so a steal at £48 - I was well chuffed!  However I have found it very hard to come to terms with where said dress came from...  Jane Norman can you believe!!  I have never bought anything from there before and have not been able to admit it until now.  I was really quite surprised at the quality of the dress - especially for the price - and the aqua colour is exquisite.  It was just perfect for a Spring time ball. 

Even the skinny belt that came with it is quite cute and I decided to work on that colour basis for the accessories - silver gold best describes it.  Personally, I don't particularly like strappy sandals with a heel.  For a start they are never very comfortable (yes heels can be comfortable thank you L.K.Bennett and Russell and Bromley) and it's very hard to find a pair that don't look like something your Granny would wear.  Luckily I'm a reasonably tall girl at 5ft8 and so decided to go for these simple flat sandals from TOPSHOP that were the perfect colour match and I was extra happy as they only cost £16.  Besides, I prefer flats with a maxi.

HAVANA Metallic T-Bar Sandals



Now I come to think of it, most of my other recent purchases have been from Topshop:

Florida Simple Buckle sandals £38
Manor scalloped edge loafers £30
Love asymmetric midi dress £42
Lightweight tweed swing coat £70

...and a few things from elsewhere:

I bought a gorgeous mint green chunky knit from ZARA and although I can't find a picture of it anywhere I'd say it was a good purchase as it's also featured here on cocosteaparty blog and chictopia.

I also bought this dress from Kiki's Boutique which is by Emily and Fin.  It has quickly been added to my work staples collection - fun and individual but formal enough to still look professional - and looks great with the scallop loafers.

Elsa dress - blue swallows £59

P.S. Did anyone notice the Alex Monroe swallow on my banner?  I'm a big fan!

Top 5 sale dresses ❀

We went to a Birthday bash last weekend and I decided (despite having at least 2 unworn and various others) that I would like a new dress.  That's a girls prerogative surely?!  Luckily for me that coincided with the start of the Spring/Summer sales :-)

There were sooooo many to choose from but I'm quite a sensible shopper really.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mind spending money (!) but two things are really important when I make a purchase: 1) the overall quality of said garment and 2) consideration toward 'price per wear' (and that my friends is a whole other post just waiting to happen!).

So, where do I head during the sales?  First of all I check out NET A PORTER and MATCHES.  Only to be hit (hard) with the realisation that although I don't do badly, my disposable income really isn't going to stretch that far!  I adore this Flower print, silk chiffon dress by ISSA (sold out now I'm afraid) it has the most beautiful print and one can just imagine it fitting perfectly!  Oh - that's number 3 - it has to be a good fit.

During the sales I tend to check out Whistles, Karen Millen, Ted Baker & French Connection.  These are the kind of establishments that offer really good discounts during the sale period and if you're very lucky and hold out until the bitter end you can grab yourself a great bargain i.e. I once got a full length black evening dress for £30 from French Connection in the January sales.

This time around, these were my pick of the bunch...

Mirror Print Dress KAREN MILLEN - £140 reduced to £110
Dotty Tweed Dress WHISTLES - £195 reduced to £95
Chora Printed Dress TED BAKER @ House of Fraser - £139 reduced to £70
Rebecca Beads Dress FRENCH CONNECTION £140 reduced to £56

The first number is cut very well in terms of shape but for some reason I have to go up a size in Karen Millen (I'm normally a 10).  I love love love the Whistles dress!  The yellow is cheerful - not garish - and the leather look piping adds a quality feel but unfortunately they had sold out in my size (the usual 10 thank you!) I am gutted as I've had my eye on this number since I tried it on back in March. 

The other two dresses are a bit more girly.  Although they make my top 5, I wouldn't actually buy them because it would go against my most basic rule - it must suit/flatter/do something for you - so as much as I can appreciate them, I had to say thanks but no thanks.  I think these are the kind of pretty dresses that would best suit a more petite frame.

Gusadi Dress TED BAKER - £139 reduced to £70  

After much deliberation I finally decided upon this blue dress.  At first I thought it might be a little too conservative but then I considered this a positive attribute - I do love K Middy after all!

It ticks all the boxes for me - cap sleeves, nipped in at the waist, not too short and a beautiful colour.  It is also quite versatile with great 'price per wear' potential :-)

Tie-Waist Dress ISSA - £298 reduced to £178

I then realised it is quite similar to another ISSA dress I have been admiring available at MATCHES:

Inspiration

As I said in my last post - I love to read magazines...

I have two regulars that I buy and absorb from cover to cover; Grazia and Marie Claire. I have come to the conclusion that these are my favourites because they have the most extensive coverage of realistic fashion i.e. affordable, and also have suitably interesting articles that don't take up half the magazine (not mentioning any names - OK!).

Rachel Gilbert Ashliegh Dress
Image found at http://www.eveboutique.com.au

This interest came about when I realised that often, when I was lusting after something I'd seen in the shops, I would then flick through a magazine only to see my thoughts were 'bang on trend'.  For example, when I was in Australia I had to buy an outfit for a cocktail party (bearing in mind all I had taken with me was shorts and flip flops - this really was a necessity for once!) and my friend recommended I visit a little boutique in Manly.  I ended up purchasing a beautiful (if not extremely short) silk dress.  Despite there being a preferential exchange rate at the time, this was still an expensive purchase but I couldn't resist the luxurious LBD with its beautiful detailing. 

On my journey home I bought Heat magazine (not something I do often - I prefer fashion, not gossip) and low and behold - THERE WAS MY DRESS!!!!  It is by none other than Rachel Gilbert  who is best known for her embellished evening wear.  Her collections are now sold on the biggest online designer store NET-A-PORTER. 

That was back in 2007 - on special occasions I still choose to wear that dress and people always comment on it.  I truly believe it was an 'investment piece' and I continue to covet the designer's amazingly beautiful dresses.

Unfortunately I didn't keep the clipping from that magazine and I really wish I had - so now I keep a scrap book.  It serves many purposes; I often create mood boards to show my students how fashion can be influenced by previous design movements e.g. the Lulu & Co Jonathan Saunders dress inspired by Bauhaus.  I also use it as a source of inspiration for my own creations, whether it be a piece of jewellery I can take inspiration from when silver smithing (more on that another time!) or simply an outfit idea.

I think this scrapbook page illustrates my own preferred style.  Don't get me wrong, I do like to mix it up every now and then but I think it's really important that one recognises what suits them and try to make the most of it. 

What's next for the scrap book....

I've been hankering after a couple of dresses lately and then low and behold they are featured side by side next to each other!  I do however think if I were to actually try the French Connection dress on it probably wouldn't suit me - I tend to prefer a nice little cap sleeve!  It is beautiful though - I love embellishments as you may have guessed already!

 

GRAZIA (25 June 2012) 'Dresses that do it all' pg.32

So I thought I'd maybe give the Warehouse one a go - only to find it's not on the website?  Sold out perhaps :-(  Not to worry though, I always think if something's not available anymore then it isn't meant to be. 

Then I stumbled upon this pretty blue midi which is in the sale - and it has cap sleeves...definitely meant to be! x

What meanies...

One of my favourite ways to relax is reading magazines (I save the trashy romance novels for holidays).  So there I was, winding down on a Friday evening (feeling very proud of myself having figured out how to design and add a banner to this blog!) only to come across an article in Grazia that confirmed my worst fears.... creating a blog and 'putting yourself out there' is going to open the door to potential abuse.

I'm not just talking criticism either - I mean FULL ON nasty comments.....

I'd like to say I'm shocked - but I'm not really.  It saddens me that there are so many rude and nasty people in the world with nothing better to do than upset others.  However I have to say, through my own experiences as both student and teacher, there is nearly always some underlying reason for individuals behaving in this way. 

I am not naive to the awfulness that surrounds us but I have wised up to the fact that I should just ignore it and enjoy my own life.  So - what will I do if this happens to me?  First of all direct them to this post and then delete...delete...delete!

I love CPD...

I knew this would happen...I'd finally get around to starting my blog only to get bogged down with work and not have much time to update it!  Anyway, I'm here now so lets share some positivity...one of my favourite aspects of teaching - CPD (Continuing Professional Development).

In the last week or so we have had two staff training days (although you are still at work it is quite honestly the simplest of treats to sit down at lunch time and actually get to catch up with other staff for once!) and I went on a course in London.  I got the opportunity to stay with an old friend from University (and reminisce about when all we had to worry about each day was what the waves were like!) and also went on a training course for teaching A Level Product Design. 

For me, the best thing about courses like this (apart from the one hour lunch break, 3 course meal and a nice sunny walk in Hyde Park) is how they reignite your passion for a subject and can be a great source of inspiration.  If a course is delivered well, delegates get the chance to share good practice and it also gives you the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with skills you may have forgotten you had. 

These sketches for a shelter at a nature reserve took only a few minutes.  As a result, I am going to deliver a project based on 'the built environment' and encourage students to enter this competition.

I have also been inspired to start thinking about my own personal projects.  My boyfirend and I both have backgrounds in Design (he is superbly talented with an MA from the RCA) and would quite like to create our own Garden room...

GARDEN ROOM Found at http://www.gardenstudios.tv/

Feeling a bit blue

I'm not normally a trainers fan.  I literally haven't worn them for years since I was into skater style ones at Uni (oh dear!) and had a pair of VANS.  That's quite ironic really when I think about how all the kids at school wear VANS these days and in my head I'm screaming "be an individual !!". 

I usually favour trusted ballet pumps or sandals at this time of year - but this weather is a joke and it's STILL not guaranteed to be warm enough for either.

So...the solution....Superga

I have wanted a pair of Superga for some time now but never indulged.  Why you might think when they only cost £40? (well worth it by the way).  Well, truth is they come in such a wonderful array of colours and I am indecisive at the best of times so it has taken me until now to purchase a pair!  Ridiculous I know, as come pay day I'll probably go and get the Dark Bordeaux ones too! 

The Blue Iris ones above were just the thing to cheer me up on a miserable rainy day :-) Thanks Superga! x