MyStyle......My Choice of Dresses at Phase Eight

 

Hi everyone! The 'C' word is drawing ever nearer and if thats not an excuse for a new dress, then I don't know what is!! I love how at House of Fraser there is such a fabulous range of these Phase Eight dresses which are not only party dresses, but also some gorgeous day, evening and cocktail dresses that suit all budgets, tastes and styles!

 

Here is my virtual shopping list of my favourite six dresses, some of which would be perfect for a smart daytime to evening look with the addition of heels and jewellery.

 

Each dress here is completely on my style radar-black lace, midnight blue, winter florals, ruched jersey-whats not to love with these choices and not only are they ideal for Christmas, they will seriously work as year round dresses with that forever timeless style factor that each of these have!

 

More Phase Eight dresses can be seen here and a lot of them have some seriously high reductions-do check them out!

 

This Rhona lace dress is reduced from £99 to £59 and is a perfect choice for a transitional day to night outfit.



 This midnight blue Ema silk cape dress is half price-now £44.50



Digital prints and winter florals make this Kara print dress a perfect choice for this season, now reduced to £59

 



This is the perfect style dress for Christmas Day-Side ruched jersey dress, £79 will still look fabulous after that gigantic Christmas dinner!!

 



 

I adore winter floral prints and this will certainly take you into Spring, Secret garden cowl neck dress now £65

 



 

My perfect style of cocktail dress- Harriet dress £160

 

 

What style of dress will be on your shopping list for Christmas? I hope these choices have given you some gorgeous dress inspiration what ever you decide on!!

Tim Walker Exhibition at Somerset House

Hi everyone!! Sorry for not getting over to you and leaving comments-I'm very much the 'blogger lurker' at the moment in that I am visiting your blogs to read, but not leaving comments-naughty I know, but still very self indulgent and enjoyable!!

 

Last month saw a visit to the Tim Walker exhibition at Somerset House which was made all the more enjoyable as it was with the lovely Mrs TNMA. We enjoyed a fabulous chat in Fernandez and Wells before viewing the exhibition. I will let the pictures do the talking-all I will say is its a free exhibition and is on until 27 January, so if you are in London check out the link above for more information and do try and stop by for a visit:

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you are all having a great week-I'm currently still not a well bunny so have nothing more than rest and recouperation on the menu!!

Blogger Inspiration......My Autumnal Thrift Must Haves

Hi everyone!! Style and fashion wise, I have been so inspired by my lovely blog friends these last few weeks- From the lovely Mrs Thats Not My Age whose love of French Chic, current crush on midnight blue and Burberry trenchcoats has inspired me big style. Not forgetting the wonderful Vintage Vixen who is a constant style inspiration with her never ending awesome jumble sale finds and her love of faux fur.

So based on these lovely ladies style loves, it was easy to create my Autumn Thrift Essentials List- the concept of which is currently being posted by Atlantis Home here and here and which gave me the inspiration to share with you my favourite finds this year and last year which have made my top picks for this season:

First are these black cowboy boots that are by New Look that I found earlier this year-they were only £2 and with cowboy boots firmly back on the style radar this Autumn make these my footwear choice this season-perfect with black skinny jeans:

This next find was a few weeks ago-its a mens slightly oversize v neck merino wool sweater by Gant in this seasons favourite colour of wine. It's a great layering piece-a great alternative to a sweatshirt and was found in the Salvation Army for just £3.99. It's also my take on getting into this colour trend without going up the coloured jeans route-not to say they aren't great but a mid blue shade of jean is my current style choice for Autumn:

Of course a v neck will require a couple of different style blouses and my next find is one I've had for a couple of years now-it's a midnight blue vintage crepe de chine pussy bow blouse by Aquascutum which was another bargain from the Salvation Army for just £2.99. A pussy bow blouse is a perfect Autumnal style as it means a scarf is not required with your chosen outfit:

My next find was from the summer boot sale and is an oyster silk shirt (originally a shirt dress, but shortened by me as the bottom was too tight!) by Equipment- a total find for £2 and perfect for under v neck sweaters:

My most recent find was this vintage mens trenchcoat- I was drawn to it as it is a perfect knee length and just slightly oversized if I want to wear a chunky sweater or layers underneath-its a fine example of trench coat tailoring and was £14.99 from the Barnados charity shop:

My last find was a total Vix find in that I found it from my one and only jumble sale of this year for a rock bottom bargainous price of £1.50! It is a faux fur gilet by the Debenhams brand 'Maine' and I've worn it twice already, making it a current cost per wear of 75p!! I love how its a size bigger than my normal jackets so I can wear it as a layering piece over my favourite black leather biker jacket and the collar is a high one, making it soo cosy and the colour is perfect-a mix of light and dark grey:

So thats it!! What bloggers have inspired you for your latest buys this Autumn, I'd love to share your current style crushes! Thanks for all your well wishes-along with my current regime of R&R, they have made me feel so much better emotionally if not quite physically, lol!! All your comments are so much appreciated and I hope you're all having a great week so far!

Leopardprint Tote bags: Designer v High Street

Hi everyone!! Just as I got back in to blogging, life and health issues came to the fore and I had to put blogging on the back burner yet again! So as I am currently having to rest as much as possible due to health reasons I thought I would try and get my blogging mojo back on track.

I've always loved leopardprint and in a wardrobe cull last month a couple of leopardprint items were pensioned off which meant there was an opening for a potential new purchase. I didn't really want any clothing, such as a coat or blouse, so I when I browsed my favourite style of bag-the tote- recently, I was suitably inspired to get something that featured leopardprint.

Here are my favourite style inspired bags, all currently available: 

Alexander Wang Prisma tote bag, £960

Mulberry scotchgrain leatherprint tote bag, £495

Marks & Spencer Autograph leopardprint tote, £99

Zara leopardprint shopper, £59.99

Having been using a Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote bag solidly for nearly a year for work, I was already convinced that this was the style I wanted in my next purchase and if  I could have leopardprint as part of it then it would prove to be a smart buy. My lovely DH treated me to the Autograph leopardprint tote a few weeks ago and although it seems a pricey purchase at first, on a cost per wear basis and how many different occasions it can be used for, it really was a worhwhile style investment.

Leopardprint never dates and the Autograph tote has three compartments-1 middle zipped one and two either side, an inner zipper smaller back compartment and a phone and little inner front compartment. The zippers on the outside could even be used as mini compartments! It really is a fabulous bag and I'm sure is one I'll be using for a long time to come.

Is leopardprint back on your style radar this season, how will you be wearing it?

Thrift Inspiration....Loving Liberty London this winter

Hi everyone!! This time of year is when I really enjoy going through my scarf collection to see what ones I will still keep and wear and also determine what will be this seasons new purchase for myself.

I have adored Liberty scarfs forever-not only are they super stylish and timeless, but they are certainly an investment buy which will last for decades too.

For inspiration, I browsed Liberty London's scarves section and immediately fell in love with this black winter fruits wool silk scarf which is massive enough to wear draped as a shawl or spun round to form a more everyday scarf. In fact Liberty have made 2 great video series on  'how to tie a scarf'. Do check it out, my favourite is of course the oversized scarf video which is exactly how I intend to wear my newest purchase.

 

Liberty London black winter fruits print wool mix scarf, £195

Unfortunately the scarf  above is way out of my budget, so I put my thrifting skills to good use and I found this wonderfully large Liberty Veruna wool scarf  a liitle while ago from a vintage seller on ebay for around a fifth of the cost of the ones currently in Libertys:

 

The print looks like it could be from the 80s and the scarf is in excellent condition-I have already worn it and its proved to be a cosy and stylish addition to my scarf collection. As a lover of all things floral, this is a perfect winter accessory that will stay in my wardrobe for years to come.

What winter accessory will you be adding to your collection this season?