Frills 'n' Spills

Teeny bags are truly my kryptonite, I absolutely love them but with the amount of junk I lug around on a daily basis, they are just too impractical. This Brit Stitch half pint satchel is teeny but I can just about fit my phone, bloods stuff and a few cards. The colour is really unusual and it may not be practical, but it sure is fun!

Where do you find your basics? Could you ever have a capsule wardrobe? 

Another day, another summery outfit! I bought this stripy dress in the Gap sale a while ago and have been waiting for the weather to be warm enough to wear it. Summer workwear is a tough one, especially if you have a stricter dress code than I do (I certainly don't tend to be this smart at work usually) but crisp dresses and bright accessories are a pretty safe bet. They feel professional but still fun and this outfit ticks all the boxes for me, I can't be dealing with fussy outfits when it is warm outside! I am impressed that I managed to keep this clean for the entire day when I wore it, no mean feat when you are as clumsy as I am! Gap's shift dresses can be a bit hit and miss on me, they can look a bit sack-like on me and the waist often hits me in completely the wrong place but this one is surprisingly flattering. It is loose enough to be comfortable in a hot office but the tie waist helps me feel less shapeless. Don't get me wrong, I love oversized pieces but I just look and feel awkward when I try and pull them off! 

I couldn't resist wearing these shoes either, they are just such a good colour and you can't help but smile when you have such a cheery pair of shoes on your feet!

How do you dress for work in the summer?

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I am a massive fan of supermarket clothing. I have found some of my favourite clothes alongside my shopping and this dress is my latest favourite. It is such a lovely length and it will be perfect for when the weather warms up again. I sized up as I wasn't sure of the fit (and annoyingly the changing rooms were closed) and it is almost like a smock shape on me. I'm not 100% convinced is flattering but it sure is comfortable!

Although I'm a stripes kinda gal, I love this polka dot print and the monochrome makes it perfect for wearing in the office. I haven't worn this belt for ages but it added just enough colour to make it interesting and also cinched in my waist which hopefully makes the dress slightly more flattering. I really admire anyone who can wear an oversized silhouette but it makes me feel far too self-conscious...

These shoes are another supermarket bargain. I love Mary Janes but wearing heels all day is just not practical on a day to day basis so that is when these shiny wedges come in. They are from the 'Sensitive Sole' range and are both shiny and ridiculously comfy, what more could you ask for?! My legs also look super tanned here, I guess my legs aren't the shade of 'natural' that Tesco expects ;)

Have you ever found any sartorial gems in the supermarket?

P.S. I will be sharing proper pictures of my new hairdo soon (eek!) I just need to get Mark to take some outfit pictures for me!

How do you get out of your comfort zone? Any tips on how to style up my DMs?

What are your favourite bad jokes?

 I love a good prom dress, especially if it has a swooshy tulle skirt and this spotty little number from Tesco looks really fancy but isn't the slightest bit uncomfortable - a winning combination in my eyes! The best part though was that although it looks pretty expensive, it only cost £25 from Tesco. I would be more than happy to pay that for a dress this pretty but I was lucky enough to win the lovely Sarah's giveaway a few months ago and this was one of the things I picked up with my voucher. I wore it for my third (and final) day of Christmas and it was perfect; the layers of tulle managed to hide my food baby and I felt really happy in it. I have resolved to really focus on my health this year and as I plan to (eventually) run a 5k with my boo Claire I have started my running up again. It is slow work but I hope that I will feel even more confident this year once my health improves even more!

I never know how to style my hair with a high neckline, a bun just looked strange and my usual side sweep of curls was far too busy looking so I decided to experiment with my hot brush and ended up with a bouncy cheerleader ponytail. Paired with winged eyeliner and a bright lipstick, I looked as chirpy as I felt. I think you can see from these photos how much I loved this outfit, now I just need Tesco to make a version of this dress in every colour!

What are your goals for 2014?

Picking a Christmas outfit is always tricky, you have to be able to eat insane amounts of food (I can't be the only one to have eaten 10 tons of cheese over the past few days, right?!) but still look (relatively) dressy. My family have always dressed up for Christmas and Boxing Day but Mark's family are always slightly less OTT so this year I had to tread the line between smart and casual which I always find really difficult. I had been planning on either wearing this dress or this dress but when Mark and I were in town on 23rd, I spotted this lacy beauty in one of the charity shops in Tewkesbury (yes I may have a bit of a thing for lace dresses!)

I was originally a little unsure of the colour as pastels can make me look really washed out but with the black belt and strong make-up, I think I managed to pull this blush pink/ lilac colour off. I really love the lace overlay and it was an outfit I felt really comfortable in, even after eating my own body weight in mince pies.

The dress was originally from the Debut range at Debenhams and I think it shows in the cut and fit of it, this was clearly designed for a special occasion and it made me feel really elegant when I was wearing it- a very strange feeling for someone as clumsy as me!

I imagine this would look really lovely with nude tights or bare legs come the warmer weather but the single digit temperatures convinced me to wear my trusty black opaques instead. These cosy tights were a Tesco bargain and I have been wearing them non-stop. 40 deniers just don't cut it in this weather but unless I am outside for a prolonged period of time, the Primark fleece lined tights are just too warm for a radiator like me so these 60 deniers are perfect!

When it comes to party dresses, I am pretty fussy, it has to be comfortable enough to wear all day (and night), not be too short or revealing, have some kind if interesting detail and it HAS to make me feel like a million dollars. If I can also dance in it, then that is just the icing on the cake! When Marks and Spencer got in touch recently about featuring a party look, I was ecstatic, "good old M&S" are one of my favourite brands and they certainly know how to make a fantastic party dress! I chose this beautiful lace dress but strangely I chose the black version rather than the red - definitely an unusual choice for me! Although I loved the red, I agreed with Mark that 4 (!) Little Red Dresses may be excessive and actually I thought that the black looked much more elegant (does this mean that I am growing up?!) I actually wore this dress to my work's Christmas do last week and not only did it manage to pull off the infamous work to bar switch, it got so many compliments- definitely a winner in my eyes!

As soon as I saw the gorgeously detailed lace and slightly higher Victorian inspired collar, I was sold. Although the dress looked relatively short on both me and the model, the high neckline meant it didn't feel at all revealing. Not to sound too smug but I think I have pretty nice legs and this dress gave me a chance to show them off! It was really difficult to try and get a photo of this but my tights are actually a dark charcoal grey rather than black, much more interesting than my usual 40 deniers but not overpowering... I was originally going to wear heels with this but actually I think it looks better with flats, another plus for me! 

I wanted to show off the sleeves and collar so I kept my hairdo simple and fuss-free; a messy bun only looks better as the day wears on! I decided to attempt liquid eyeliner which was a total success despite it being about 5.30 in the morning and paired it with a glossy red lip, simple but still suitably festive! 

I kept the rest of the accessories simple and as I didn't have a chunky collar necklace to wear with this (any recommendations?) I added this skinny gold belt to break it up a bit which matched perfectly with my nails (Angel's Fire by Max Factor FYI)

For me, Autumn is all about cosy textures and warm colours and I am always really pleased when I can dig out all of my darker coloured accessories- I love wearing the colour brown but it just doesn't look right in the summer! This beautiful orange/red dress is from Tesco (where else could it be from?!) and I bought it at the same time as my lovely tweed skirt. Unlike the skirt, it is still available on the website although it looks much shorter on me than it does on the model, I was planning on wearing the dress with nude tights and some ankle boots but I think it would have looked a bit indecent!

How are you easing yourself into Autumn?

I have to say though, I was nowhere near as impressed with this mannequin as I was with my 'M' lamp. You can see here how sloppy some of the glue is and where the fabric has worn through after rubbing on the side of the box. If I had paid full price for this I would have been really disappointed, it doesn't look like a lot of care has been taken with it :( 

There's nothing better than playing dress up and luckily I have been able to disguise most of these things with a few well placed accessories ;)