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

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

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?

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.

Get down there quick before it shuts its doors till next season…

BOB boutique: 8 Newburgh Street, London
Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm

The thing I fell in love with this week

October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Heart shaped scouring pads £1.00 (per pk of 6) – Tiger Stores

Ah, its the simple things…I couldn’t resist this cute variation on the dull old dish scourer by great Danish company Tiger.

In a pack you get three pink and three green sponges all with a red heart scourer front…they almost make me love doing the washing up! And here one is by my sink…I love how they’ve taken something so boring and mundane and given it a quirky twist.

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

Whats your Autumn Uniform?

October 1, 2015October 6, 2015 | blueskygirlie

Last week I shared my first easy to wear outfit for autumn (see blog here). Today see my second easy to wear cosy combo…

Todays uniform – a long jumper/cardigan, leggings and knee high boots What you need in your wardrobe –

Roll neck jumper
Longline cardigan (or jumper)
Leggings
Knee high boots

This look is all about proportion – a long cardigan or jumper teamed with leggings is a very flattering easy look to wear. A layered look keeps you warm too.

A cosy look for a chilly day, the roll neck jumper underneath creates a more elegant look but if the weather is milder replace it with a long sleeve t-shirt instead.

Knee high boots complete the look and always work great over leggings.

And for hair and make-up? For an outfit like this I like to keep it natural with brown and bronze eyeshadows, a brush of bronzer and neutral lipstick. I like to keep my thick wavy hair more natural in the winter and not straighten it too much so curls are the way to go for me!

Find uniform number 1 here. Look out for my next blog on creating easy to put together outfits this Autumn next week.

Cardigan : TU at Sainburys

Jumper : M&Co.

Leggings : Primark

Boots : Topshop

London Fashion Weekend 2015

September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 | blueskygirlie

At the weekend I was lucky enough to go to this years London Fashion Weekend having won a pair of silver tickets from Very Exclusive.

So what is London Fashion Weekend? Following London Fashion Week, London Fashion Weekend is a fashionista extravaganza taking place straight afterwards, letting everyone experience the fabulous world of fashion. The Saatchi Gallery is transformed into an exclusive fashion experience, brimming with designer catwalk shows, pop-up shops, hair and beauty areas and days of educational panels and talks.

The beautiful location of the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea had been cleared of art and filled with lots of rooms of pop up shops plus a huge catwalk area on the top floor. The sun was shining and it was teeming with bloggers, fashion lovers and creatives.

I wore a simple, yet (hopefully you’ll think) stylish outfit of a black jersey roll neck from Select and a Primark pleated animal print maxi skirt with leather heeled boots from Next. Instead of a necklace I tied a chiffon scarf around my neck to create a pussy bow effect and added a fab studded belt I have from Warehouse which always creates the most flattering silhouette for me. All high street clothing too!

I took one of my favourite people in the world, my friend Ciara, who also loves fashion. Once there we were booked in to see the AW15 trend show by Very Exclusive which showcased key looks for the season in 4 fashion stories. It was hosted by fashion write & stylist Angela Scanlon and really filled me with inspiration.

Here are a few of my favourite looks…

A Modish colour pop dress with a retro vibe:

A stunning red statement coat:

A laid back Boho smock dress:

Luxe trousers with a berry leather biker jacket:

And the finale… My only real critism of the show was the models were so thin and there was no mix of age. In all this talk about plus size and more ‘normal’ models there wasnt a girl over a size 6/8 and no girls over about 21/22 years old… There were quite a few young girls there with their parents and you have to question what message it sent – I’m a size 10/12 and watching them made me feel enormous!We then went around the venue looking at all the different brands most of which had special offers and discounts of between 20-70% off.

Heres my top 5 favourites…

Wolf & Moon jewellery: The Cambridge Satchel Co.’s collaboration with Vivienne Westwood:Wooden Prada sunglasses: In fact I fell in love with a lot of sunglasses! These are Prada and Mui Mui respectively and its clear that theres definitely going to be a lot of fun OTT oversized styles coming out next season. Frends ‘Taylor’ headphones in rose gold coloured metal & white leather: Helene Berman London coats:

It was great fun and I’m looking forward to reading the official magazine and deciding what pieces I cant live without for AW15!

Whether it’s shopping for your new season wardrobe or experiencing the atmosphere and drama of the catwalk or a VIP experience like no other – London Fashion Weekend is a great event. To be the first to find out when tickets go on sale for the February 2016 event, sign up to their newsletter here.

Monday Mantra

September 28, 2015September 27, 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

Cecil Beatons note to self encourages us to not be ordinary, to not be afraid of being different…in fact to revel in it. Being very creative and all that comes with it can be hard, many people dont understand it at all, but personally I wouldn’t want to be any other way.

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