Luella Bartley; "Luella's Guide To English Style"

Having heard about this book earlier this week I became very excited. Since 2004 I coveted a Luella piece and, upon hearing she was having to cease production of said beautiful pieces I did manage to purchase one of her handbags (thank you uni loan/birthday money) and achieve my want. However it still made me sad that such a good designer was no longer making clothes.

Fast forward a few months and imagine my surprise and happiness to find out that although she is not making clothes (that I know of) at the moment Luella Bartley has in fact been writing a book entitled "Luella's Guide To English Style". A review I read (obviously a preview one) said that Luella guides us through English style guides and looks at how us English girls tackle style. So it's not simply a 'how-to' guide for achieving English style but more of an examination of it. Which is the kind of thing I absolutely love. So I've pre-ordered my copy and wait patiently for this book to hit the stores.

Taylor Swift "Mine"

Having just logged onto youtube after a hectic weekend I've had the oppertunity to check out a certain Miss Swift's video to her new song "Mine". I loved the song already and this video is ultra cute. Plus Taylor looks beautiful in the various white dresses and other outfits she wears in the family shots. I adore the wedding dress the most though. The cut and the detailing on the top is stunning and the belt goes well, although in theory it probably shouldn't.

Plus a guy looking dapper in a suit is always a plus. Men + suits = ♥

Work Wear Woes: resolved

A while ago (approximately a month ago) I posted a little complaint about my work uniform situation. A little bit of research and a gradual build up of wardrobe pieces (one conclusion I came to is that, regrettably, maxi dresses/skirts do not look good on me) later and I have my work wardrobe, consisting of some great pieces that I can dress down for uni as well. I've picked a couple of my favourites to share with you lovely readers of mine.



Firstly I have my 'girly-injecting' pieces. Due to the fact that over the past year I've developed a slight aversion to trousers, I've managed to get a skirt, a dress and a tunic top into my work wear. The first picture is the tunic-top from New Look, it can be worn as a dress with leggings but those are banned at work and it would be deemed too short by itself at work so this is teamed with a pair of bootcut work trousers. The dress is knee length and from Asda. I usually team it with purple tights and have colour in the form of cardigans and accessories. Finally is the skirt, which I bought from the Dorothy Perkins sale. This is knee length, gets teamed with black or purple tights and a plain vest top with a cardigan thrown on over the top. The best bit about this skirt is the fact it has pockets. I love skirts with pockets, they're brilliant.

Next up are jumpers/cardis. Both items below are from Primark, the cardigan is the more recent of my purchases and tends to be one of my default cardigans right now, I love the blue piping against the oatmeal colour of the cardigan. This jumper is great worn with long tops underneath, and although grey might seem a boring colour to have as a top half the multi-coloured hearts liven it up a lot.

And finally, onto accessories. I usually wear a headband of some sort, such as the one below which I like to call my "Blair" headband (from New Look). I can just see Gossip Girl's Blair in it, and it definitely livens up a simple outfit. I vary between my button bracelet (previously blogged) and my Taylor Swift 'Love Love Love' band from her Fearless tour. My default necklace is a recently-acquired Scrabble tile necklace from Rock'n'Rose (rocknrose.co.uk). I opted for their silver chain one with N and it definitely gets a lot of comments when people see it for the first time. Lastly if I'm not wearing a headband I tie a headscarf around my hair so it's not just hanging there. The square of material you see pictured below is actually a scarf from a vintage shop near my work called Flo's Place and I just scrunch up the material and tie it in a knot at the nape of my neck.

So there you have it, my work wear woes have been resolved. Hurrah for the high street!

The green,green grass of...my nails

Bit of a short update, I'm hoping to get my camera sorted soon (it needs batteries,poor camera) so I can get pictures of some new clothes (darn lack of Primark website!) and my new,short haircut (ooo-err!).

So for my short update I'm giving you a little looksie at one of my new nail varnishes. Last week I bought five new nail varnishes (I blame Boots with their special offers!).The colour I've put on tonight - literally minutes ago - is Rimmel's "I ♥ lasting finish" varnish in 260 Green Grass. I wasn't too sure about this colour at first, usually being a pink/purple/blue kind of girl but two coats of this is brilliant. I'd recommend two coats as one coat isn't as striking colour wise - two coats make the colour really pop out, which I like in a varnish.As the picture below shows, the more you put on the bolder the colour!

(Image taken from femaledaily.com)

New Addition: Vintage Purse

Last week my mum went to visit my grandma and enjoy some well-deserved time off work. Unfortunately I had to work so I wasn't able to go. However upon her return my mum passed on a gift from my grandma; one of her old purses.

Now, before you get all judgemental and start thinking "ewww,old people's stuff" let me tell you this purse is beautiful. As was the huge wallet-like purse she gave me last year which is my main purse. My grandma might be old, but she's got fashion in her.

This purse is a camel/light brown colour with a zip on the back for coin and a popper flap for notes/cards/etc. There's a little designer stamp on it and, although it's faded a bit with time I think it says Mundi. So I did some investigating and turns out the brand is over 20 years old and still makes purses and wallets. It's an American company so I'm not sure if they stock in the UK.

I adore getting fashion pass-downs like this. It's happened a few times with bags and a purse or too and they've always been little gems which people see and ask where I got it from, commenting on how nice they look. This, I think, will be the latest of such items. The bonus is, it's big enough for stuff I need but small enough for when I have a smaller bag (e.g. on nights out/short uni days) something which I was beginning to have a problem with. Hurrah for grandma!

A/W Trend Haul: Shearling

One of my main Autumn/Winter wants this year was either a pair of shearling boots, or a shearling jacket. I spent yesterday afternoon in research and found a gorgeous pair on Asos for £55. The only downside being their heel height (4inches makes me taller than my boyfriend plus I'd probably do myself damage on my uni's cobble slope) and the fact they were a bit expensive.

ASOS: Trecker Shearling Boots, £55

So I ventured over to my fail safe shop - New Look. I didn't find any shoes to take my fancy but I did spot this beaut of a jacket for £39.99 which, I was informed in the New Look near my work today, comes into shops next week. I'd gone in to see the jacket properly and try it on so I was disappointed it wasn't there.

New Look: Aviator Jacket, £39.99

However my friend and I spotted these boots on display and I instantly wanted them. Thankfully they go up to my size (they stock up to size 8s) and had my favourite boot colour of grey (although they are also available in brown). The rubber sole and chunky heel make them perfect for my uni walks, even when it's snowing/icy and I have to venture down the cobble slope, the shearling keeps my feet lovely and snug and I can wear them with another A/W trned - knee high socks.

New Look Shearling Boots: £35