Frills 'n' Spills

Originally Mark and I had planned to head to the Turf Tavern for dinner when we were in Oxford (another great recommendation from Kat) but by the time it got to dinner we couldn't be bothered to leave the hotel again (yes, we are super lazy!) and so we decided to try the brasserie downstairs instead. You know I will take any excuse to get all dressed up and this Whistles dress is one of my favourites (so much so that I actually have it in another colour too!) Despite wearing it quite a lot, I have never managed to get any pictures so this is its first outing on the blog. Unfortunately these photos came out a little bit bright but hopefully you can see how pretty the dress is and how chuffed I look to be wearing it, haha! It is that wonderful combination of dressy and amazingly comfy- there's nothing worse than feeling constricted in an outfit. 

One of my favourite things about it is the gorgeous navy jacquard print and the contrast with the sheer black panels on the shoulders. Little details like this make a big difference and navy and black are a long term love of mine. I paired this outfit with a navy smokey eye and my favourite nude lipstick: Barely Peach, Julianne's nude from L'Oreal. I did originally plan to straighten my hair but I actually like it wavy, it looks much less 'done'...

 I think this photo shows off just how excited I was, look at that cheesy grin! I treated myself to a couple of Mac lipsticks from Debenhams on World Lipstick Day when they had £5 off and I am loving them so far. This is Lady Bug and is a really nice day time red  for pale skin which I have been wearing a lot recently- you will definitely be seeing more of this one on the blog! I wasn't sure what to do with my hair here as it desperately needed cutting but I found this fake plait from Primark when I was packing which jazzed it up nicely. You would never know it was fake, the colour matches perfectly!

Have you been to many hen- dos? What did you wear?

This dress is such a lovely fit and it was so nice to style it up in a more fun way than I would usually would. It is a work staple but usually black tights and a cardigan are as exciting as it gets so bare legs and gold accessories are much more interesting! I'm not sure why I look so grumpy in these pictures, I was actually grinning my head off when we took these pictures!

I picked up these gold sparkly shoes in the Topshop sale a few weeks ago for a mere £7 and they are my favourite shoes at the moment (no word of a lie, I am seriously tempted to get the monochrome pair too!) There's nothing like a pair of gold sparkly shoes to cheer you up! 

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)

Unusually for me, I went for a slightly edgier colour with my nail varnish. You are most likely to see me wearing classic reds or pinks on my nails but this Chelsea, 'Rouge Noir' inspired shade, from Nails Inc is a deep blackcurrant purple that adds a nice contrast to an otherwise twee coloured dress. The clutch I am using is my Monki wash-bag (as seen here) as the colour went almost perfectly...

A close up of that gorgeous collar detail and my make-up. I went for a soft peachy look as the dress called for something quite delicate and spring-like. I have also found my perfect peachy coloured lipstick too, Max Factor strike again with the Max Factor Colour Elixir lipstick in 'Pink Brandy' and I am in love, I really can't see me wearing anything else for the foreseeable future! 

All in all, a very spring-like outfit, let's just hope we get some warmer weather now!

What are you hoping to wear this Spring? How would you spend a lottery win?

I desperately need to get my hair cut, I think if I have it any longer it will look a bit silly and be too difficult to manage, what do you think? I treated myself to some new make up recently and bought another of my beloved Max Factir lipstains in a lovely dusky pink, the perfect neutral shade!

Originally I was going to wear these shoes but my grandparents' house (where we spent Christmas) is by the river and it was flooded so I had to pair this with my wellies to wade through the water, not quite so glamourous! 

I couldn't believe how well it went with the curtains in our living room, this really takes matchy matchy to a whole new level but you heard it here first, outfits that match your soft furnishings are the next big trend dontcha know... I can't wait to wear this top to work, I think it is going to be a hard-working member of my wardrobe. 

I decided to revive my trusty bodycon skirt (I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I last wore it!) as the loose fit and high neckline needed something to contrast with so the fit was perfect...

Even my nail varnish matched perfectly! Max Factor Max effect mini nail polish in dazzling blue is the perfect summery turquoise. It always makes me think of mermaids!

This ring was also a complete bargain, £2.50 for a bit of (fairly tasteful) bling.... BARGAIN!

OMNOMNOMNOM gotta love party food! These are the ideal party essentials in my opinion!

What are your party essentials? Have you tried anything that's not your usual style?

Even from the back they looked OK, I find some high waisted things make you look like a sack of potatoes so I was glad to see that this wasn't the case!

Mark commented that it looked like the waistband was a simple 'cut and paste jobby' and I think he's right!

My updated version of my classic nude flats. My old Dorothy Perkins one had really suffered enough so I thought it was more humane to replace them before they completely fell apart. I wore these to the Aussie party and didn't hurt my feet at all, despite trekking round London, definitely a win in my book! 

Do you replace old favourites? What outfit is a no-brainer for you?

 

♥ Cake glorious cake ( I know it's a blogger cliché but I do like cake, especially if it's glittery. I think these have become a necessity at blogger events now, you gotta eat cake!

♥ Glittery cake

♥ It's even better if it is pink too!

♥ More more more was the motto of the day with more food, more fun and more fashion (the perfect combination!)

♥ The gorgeous Dani, Stephie, Tabitha, Lily and two bloggers (who I don't actually know the names of, sorry!) on FRow

♥ Missing Laura :( 

♥ And Sherin! :(

♥ Snacking on popcorn during the show, the food is always  fantastic at Aussie events and this was no exception

♥ The catwalk at The Future Gallery 

♥  The gorgeous Christina [my ultimate girl crush at the moment] with me stuffing my face in the background. Standard.

♥ Me, Hayley and Harriet: two of the most lovely bloggers I have ever met. 

♥ Typical bloggery poses here!

♥ 3 lovely ladies... I have been planning to meet up with Dani And Stephie for such a long time now and real life interfered every time we tried to organise something. Luckily Aussie finally bought us together!

♥ Holly looking like she was up to no good ;)

♥ Shelves of shampoo (this is the dream one day folks!)

♥ Pink champagne, so good when you are dying for a drink although I drank way more than I thought. OOPS

♥ Gorgeous hair and clothes (from Mink Pink and Evil Twin)

♥ The gorgeous Reena who was FANTASTIC as a model... doesn't she look amazing?

♥ More cake

♥ Papped on the red carpet, wearing River Island Dress, Office shoes and New Look clutch bag.

I always feel incredibly lucky to be an Aussie Angel, they are a brand that not only have a great product but a fantastic PR team and I have made so many friends thanks to their wonderful events. Unfortunately my visit was short but sweet but I hope to see everyone soon! I met some lovely bloggers like Faye but unfortunately I don't have any pictures! 

What would you have worn on the red carpet? Do you like blogger events?

 

P.S. I stole the majority of these photos from Aussie's Flickr page as I stupidly left my camera SD card at mark's house... DOH!