New Look Mini Haul

November 4, 2015November 4, 2015 | blueskygirlie

I love New Look and popped in the other day…and left with a carrier bag full of bargains! Want to see what I bought?

Camel boxy jumper – £7.99 This jumper has been used in a lot of New Looks adverts as its at such a good price. I wanted a simple jumper in this seasons big colour, camel, and this one was perfect and a total bargain. Its nice a roomy and a size small will easily fit anyone 8-12. It is also available in sizes medium and large.

915 glitter Mary-Jane block heel shoes – £6 (from £19.99) Ok, they’re not the Boden ones but if you have feet size 6 (EUR 39) or smaller then the 915 teen range has some amazing fashion shoes. I will team these with opaque tights and party dresses this winter for a festive fun look.

915 metallic silver brogues – £6 (from £19.99) How nice are these? A perfect way to jazz up an outfit of jumper and skinny jeans this winter. Again smaller feet = fab bargain shoes! Hoorah!

Leopard print skinny scarf – £1 (from £4.99) I am going to use this as a pussy-bow for blouses and fitted jumpers.

Orange slice novelty bag – £3.50 (from £12.99) I loved this in the spring when it came out but couldn’t justify buying another novelty bag (I have a few!) but at 70% off? It would of been rude not to!

I love a bit of New Look! What have you bought lately – I would love to know…

Desperately seeking Pearl

October 28, 2015November 2, 2015 | blueskygirlie

We were invited to the wedding reception of our friends Sally and Christian a couple of weeks back and jumped at the chance to dress up and have fun while celebrating the fact a fantastic coupled had got hitched!

I had been searching for a particular ‘dream’ dress on eBay for ages…a Pearl Lowe lace dress that had been produced by Peacocks back in 2010. At the time I bought a couple of the dresses (they ranged in price from £30-£60) but they were only in a few top stores and sold out really quickly, then Peacocks went into administration and the range was stopped. I was also a size 18 at the time so those dresses I did get ended up going to the charity shop and my search for a size 10 version of the most press loved dress began.

After a few months I finally found one and I’m so glad I did! It is a gorgeous dress and doesnt look like a high street product at all – in fact it made me feel like a million dollars!The dress itself has a fitted lace body with satin slip underneath. Its tight fitting on top and flares out into a lovely full skirt. The long sleeves show the detail of the lace off beautifully. It really is a beautiful dress and its such a shame they no longer produce the range. My bag was a vintage 1960s box bag. Its a lovely piece with gold chain and gold studded frame…and you can fit quite a bit in it! One of the things I love about vintage is you get a unique piece – who wants to turn up somewhere and someone else has exactly the same thing!I’m really fussy about shoes. I don’t like really high heels and I like to dance so they need to be comfortable. I came upon these Emilio Luca satin beauties purely by chance and they matched the colour of my dress perfectly…plus the kitten heel was comfortable enough to wear all night. Make-up was a dark red lipstick to match my dress, smoky eyes and winged eye liner. I also had my normally curly hair professionally blow dryed as I’m useless at doing it myself. We had a wonderful time and I got to hang out with this fantastic fella – I cannot wait till it’s our own wedding we’re dressing up for…

Dress : Pearl Lowe at Peacocks (via eBay)

Bag : Vintage

Shoes : Emilio Luca

Monday Mantra

October 26, 2015October 25, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought –

Source – my Pinterest

Love to be creative? Is there a piece of art, a story, an idea or project bubbling inside you? Let the sky (and beyond) be the limit…

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

Whats your Autumn Uniform?

October 21, 2015October 28, 2015 | blueskygirlie

In this weeks styling tips blog I show you my third ‘uniform’ to make dressing easy this autumn…

Todays uniform – shirt, jumper and jeans.

What you need in your wardrobe –

Crew neck jumper
Button down shirt
Skinny or slim fit jeans
Plimsoll type casual shoe

This is a great, easy to wear outfit for days when you want to feel comfortable yet still a little dressed up. Great for running around; wearing plimsolls and jeans is always a winner and the addition of a smart shirt under a jumper makes this look a little more dressy without any extra work.

Pick a blouse or shirt with some pattern on. I’ve gone for a H&M blouse in a star print which is everywhere at the moment…

This look works with any casual flat shoe but I personally love a pair of Converse All Stars as they go with anything. When a leather version of their iconic black trainer came out I had to have a pair…they are a mixture of casual and smart and can be worn whatever the weather! If Converse aren’t your thing, just replace with any plimsoll type shoe.

Find my blogs on creating uniforms 1 and 2 here and here . Look out for my final blog on creating easy to put together outfits this Autumn next week.

Jumper : New Look

Shirt : H&M

Jeans : Dorothy Perkins

Shoes : Converse

Monday Mantra

October 19, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Todays thought –

Source – my Pinterest

I’ve always been a bit ashamed of being so emotional, wearing my heart on my sleeve, my wild nature and my heart over head mentality. But this clever quote makes me remember hearts are meant to be like that. My heart will never be tamed!

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

The thing I fell in love with this week

October 17, 2015October 17, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Love and Misadventure (RRP £7.99) and Lullabies (RRP £9.99) by Lang Leav – Amazon I first discovered the work of Lang Leav when I saw this romantic quote on Pinterest…

Lovely eh?

After that I looked for more quotes and fell in love with her wistful, romantic, heady work. I love to read a few poems before bed to relax and always have her books sitting in my reading pile on my bedside table. I find her words very true from a female perspective for all who have been in love, lost love, are looking for love, or are lucky enough to be deeply in love and loved back.

I recently added her second book ‘Lullabies’ to my collection and her new book ‘Memories’ is out now and will definitely be on my Christmas list.

What have you bought recently that you love?

Inspired by Pinterest

October 14, 2015October 28, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Sometimes you wake up and want to look a bit quirky. I’ve been on Pinterest quite a bit lately and have seen a lot of great blogger styling shots of maxi skirts and statement necklaces. Comfortable to wear and easy to style, maxi skirts can be dressed up or down and worn in any season and the addition of this fabulous necklace takes the outfit to another level. sourced via my Pinterest boards

I recently found a fab 1980s top in a local vintage clothing shop and loved its cute quirky wide stripes. Tucking it into a Very.co.uk petite range maxi skirt balances out its strong pattern too. A maxi skirt is a great wardrobe staple and just because you are smaller doesn’t mean you cant have one. Check put Verys petite range – it is rather good! For sizing this one is a UK10 and you can find similar here.

This look is very much about white accessories and the white bubble necklace (one of my favourite type of accessories – I blogged about them here) and a wide belt work together perfectly. A bargain pair of Peacocks flats (£4 in the sale) carries the red through.

What ideas on Pinterest have inspired you lately?

Top – Vintage
Necklace – eBay
Belt – New Look
Skirt – very.co.uk
Shoes – Peacocks

The thing I fell in love with this week

October 10, 2015October 11, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Iwako Japanese rubber sets – £6.75 Paperchase

Rubbers…boring huh? Well not in Japan. In Japan they are AMAZING!!!

You know sometimes you don’t need something but you just really want it? Well this was one of those times. Iwako erasers are unbelievable in their detail and can be collected singularly or in sets. They come in every variation you can imagine and if you like a quirky bit of design (and maybe are a child of the 80s when rubber collecting was big) you’ll love them.
I now have the fast food set sitting on my desk…on its own tray! They are sort of too beautiful to use! I’m a total nerd I know…

Look out for my blog next Saturday on what else I’ve fallen in love with.

BOB by DOP Pop Up Shop

October 8, 2015November 2, 2015 | blueskygirlie

When I heard the Dawn O’Porter was launching another BOB pop up shop to tie in with Septembers London Fashion Week I jumped at the change to visit. Last season when it was in Seven Dials I hadn’t been able to get into London and had been really disappointed I had missed it.

The shop is located on Newburgh Street just off of Carnaby Street.

As well as her BOB range (new and last season items that are now in the sale) there’s a fantastic range of handpicked vintage clothing ranging from around £40 up to over £500. If you’re wondering what £500 buys you it buys the most AMAZING designer Courreges cream floor length cape that I looked at in awe… And then there was my dream skirt – the ‘Jane’ paper planes skirt. It has a print featuring stationary, Fab lollies, paper planes and Wotsits!!!! Do you remember I blogged about it back in December? Even though it is utterly wonderful, at £180 I just couldnt justify the cost while I am at home with my son and not earning much…

But as it was last season its now in the sale and with 70% off noless! In the shop they only had a small and large and even though I managed to squeeze myself into the small it was very tight – I’d say the small is a size 8/10 whereas the medium is more a 10/12. Dawn was really helpful and suggested I ordered it online and the next day I did just that! With delivery charges it came to £59.50.

It arrived beautifully packaged in tissue paper and in this gorgeous black box…Here is a close up of its brilliant Karen Mabon designed print – perfectly observed if you attended school in the 80s/early 90s…

And this is me in the skirt I’ve coveted for far too long… The newer designs of this skirt are now sized in generic dress sizes 8-14 which I think makes it much easier to find your size. Find the new designs here.

When I visited Dawn was in store and greeted me with a cheery “Hi! Ooh I LOVE your skirt!” (I was wearing a long leopard print maxt skirt) She was lovely and really helpful and chatty. I had to get my photo taken with her too – I love her TV shows and follow her avidly on Instagram. She is wearing the BOB ‘Kirstin’ dress here – the Toucan filled tropical print is adorable and you can buy it via the website here.