The most special memories I will take from this year are threefold:
- London Fashion Week; feeling inspired by the shows and excited to be a part of something that I think is so important. Within days i'd even forgotten about how tired I was and how much my feet hurt, and I can't wait to do it all again in February!
- Working with Aussie; The Angels project has been one of the best and most well thought out blogger-projects I have worked on. The 1000heads team have put loads of thought into making it special, and the project has also enabled me to meet lots of bloggers I wouldn't have otherwise met and make some great friends too!
- Discovering twitter! Who knew that you could share so much in 140 characters, and I have found that twitter is the best and easiest way to engage with a vast community of bloggers and readers!
On a personal note (because it can't all be about fashion!) finally moving in with Mike, graduating from my Masters degree and watching my baby sister graduate from her BSc were all highlights too!
The end of 2009 has also seen me make a realisation I probably should've made a long time ago: that loving fashion doesn't have to mean loving shopping and bankrupting myself for it, so that's something that will change next year. I'm looking forward to the new challenges that will bring, and experimenting with the wardrobe I already have.
Sorry if this has seemed a little self indulgant, but I think the New Year is the perfect time for self-reflection. I hope you like what i've been doing too, and that you have a wonderful New Year!
2009: The fabfrocks stats
Posts written: 266
Competitions run: 7
Fun had: Plenty!
Love, Tor xx
I love this little polka dot jacket, a bargain for £12. Its also a good kind of piece to buy in the sales at this time of year because it can be worn like a cardigan now and as a jacket come Spring/Summer, when polka dots will still be in vogue. 
This top is another example of something you can wear now that will still be of use in the summer; that's generally what I try to look for in my sale items, so i'm getting as much wear from them as possible
Check out the mince pie belly! yuck! These 2 jumpers are perfect examples of on the hanger it looked pretty good - on the body not so much! They just didn't flatter my figure! The material of both was lovely though, and I do have to point out that they were a bargain at £10 each!
My favourites were the dark grey "bonjour" one, and the slouchy plain nude. I also loved this stripey long-sleeved tee, despite its flabby tummy exposing properties: 
That's a whole load of untoned flesh on display! However layered upon layers I think it could really work! There were also acres of sequinned dresses and blazers, and impressive shoe display, and they already had a lot of their Spring/Summer stock in store. I would say that New Look is a lot like Topshop, only cheaper!
Now in its 3rd season, the show will feature collections of some of the most talented new designers in the industry from across the globe, and the best part is - a small number of exclusive tickets are available to the public!
The range is already available to buy from House of Fraser and i'm a big fan of all of the T-shirts, but especially this slightly 80s, tracksuit covered one! 
So I thought what better to give away this Christmas (the perfect time to go to the ballet, especially if the Nutcracker is being performed) than tickets to the ballet. And the
(The floral and heart print knee socks above are both from Topshop for £8 - a small price for toasty legs!) 
It is the Boots offer of the week (less than half price) and it is just £20. For that you get the pretty carry case, 11 full sized products and the pouff and cotton draw string bag as well. I dont want to sound like i'm promoting Boots here, but to put that into perspective, another gift pack with 2 full size products and a shower cap comes in at £15: this is the best bargain i've bought for ages! Here is a close up, so you can see what products are inside:
It all looks and smells so delicious that I wish I could use it all at once! According to the lady who served me in Boots this morning, this has been their most popular offer of the week to date, and they anticipate having run out of the sets completely by tomorrow, despite the offer running until Thursday (Christmas eve) The bf bought me this one, but its such a good deal i'm thinking about going back to get another: that way I have replacements for when this one runs out! 
A mohair coat with a silk lining (just like my mums!) reduced from £100 to £60 in the pre-festive sales. I was yet to buy a winter coat, and relunctant to relagate my boyfriend blazer back to the wardrobe. If i'm honest, I was also trying to hold out for the January sales! This solves both issues, as it is a boyfriend blazer style coat, with wonderfully pointy lapels and beautiful double breasted buttons as a fastener! After initial concerns that it was a little masculine, I twirled around in it three times and promptly fell in love! And I think for the quality received, it was a bargain too!!
Today I am sporting my grey and black aztec leggings (topshop) with a crazy textured suedette dress from primark, my winkle picker boots from Office and the obligatory hair bow: a subtle black one from topshop. And because it is a trend I am noticing the bloggosphere over, here is the apparently obligatory jumping shot!
Isn't he adorable? His tiny little robot face is so expressive, and he's practical too! And a bargain for just £9. Paperchase have a whole range of robot goodies in store at the minute, and I think they make a great present!
From paper dresses to dresses in the paper, today's designer is Barbara Hulanicki (predominantly, this is about the Biba of the 1960s and 1970s) I say dresses in papers because Hulanicki and Biba had a start in life that many modern designers would perceive as decidedly unhip: she started selling her designs by mail order in the back of middle class British newspapers such as the Daily Express. In fact, it was from here that she got her big break; a pink gingham dress sold in the back of the Daily Mirror which enabled her to start up Biba properly.
I love Paris;
A selection of coloured and patterned tights 
A 
My incredible crafty and talented little sister Lucy made this necklace just for me. It is silver and the beads are glass; each bead is a slightly different colour and shape, making it even more unique. She is making a range of increasingly bautiful and complicated jewellery in her back bedroom, and I anticipate her gifts with glee.
She also made the festive little box the necklace was presented in. Although she doesn't sell her jewellery (I keep telling her she should!) you can check out more of Lucy's crafts on her fairly new blog, 
If men designed bras....
They're looking so pretty, and are making me feel really festive! I've even started taunting Mike by leaving wrapped presents under the tree! The second exciting thing is that I fit into this dress:
A couple of months ago the boyfriend kindly ordered me this dress from ASOS. I loved it, especially the unusual panels. However I was devastated when it was too tight and it just didn't fit.