Holidays: Packing for Paris in the Autumn

Hi guys,
I know this is a pretty niche post, but I really struggled to decide what to pack for our trip to Paris last week. Some forecasts said it would be warm, some that it would be cold and rainy. In the end, it was both! The weather was really changeable. So what did I pack for Paris in the Autumn? And what pieces would I recommend?

When I'm in Paris I always like to be as comfortable as possible (we walk a lot, rather than take the Metro when possible because that way you see so much more) and I also try to blend in with the locals rather than stand out as a tourist (It decreases the likelihood of having your purse stolen!) so I keep things muted and (dare I say it) chic. Lots of neutral colours, sensible but stylish boots (these are my Vagabond ankle boots from Sarenza) and a comfortable pair of jeans are what I would consider essentials.
We've been to Paris in October a couple of times before and the weather is different every time, so I try to prepare for every eventuality which means only one thing: lots of layers! I also packed vests, chiffon blouses, a heavy cardigan, my leather jacket, and a couple of scarves for extra warmth (if needed) and style. Of course, I also slipped in a Mickey Mouse tee too, for when we had our photos taken with the big man himself!
My suitcase came with lovely matching cotton bags, which I've used to pack my toiletries and my underwear separately. I always pack much more underwear than I need, because changing your pants and socks is an easy way to freshen up before you go out for the evening without having to fill your suitcase with lots of extra outfits!

Other Parisian essentials? My sunglasses, a couple of necklaces (to take black chiffon blouses from day to night) and of course my slimmed down make up bag, which contains my foundation and powder, a mascara, and a lovely bright red lipstick. It's worth noting that (because we travelled with the baby) we didn't doing any fancy evening dining: if you are heading to Paris and you will be enjoying evening activities, you will need to pack something other than jeans, in my experience. Leather trousers or a slim-fitting pencil skirt would be my first choices!

What do you pack when you travel to Europe at this time of year? Do you have any hints or tips to share?

Love Tor x

Daily Wear: One night in Paris

Hi guys,
This is my last Sarenza post (I promise!) but I had such a good time in Paris, I have so much to write about! After much twitter chatter with Jen and Reena about what we should wear to the Sarenza "What's Hot!" party, I opted to overdress rather than underdress: my motto is any excuse to put on a pretty frock! And given the theme of the party was "hot shoes" how could I resist the chance to take my D&G wedges out for a date?! Here's what I wore:



Dress and belt: H&M, Cardigan: Topshop, Bag: Marc B, Shoes: D&G.

I love this dress, and was excited to have a chance to wear it: it was only £14.99 from H&M, but I think it looks so much more expensive. It matched perfectly with my D&G shoes, then I scruffed it up (because thats what I do!) with the lace cardigan and the tan and gold belt. Also: underneath the dress I am wearing the Panache strapless superbra: it comes in sizes D-H, and is genuinely the best strapless bra I have ever owned. My boobs stayed in place all night, and they had a good shape too! Overall, I was pretty happy with this outfit!

Love, Tor xx

The Sarenza trip to Paris

Hi guys,
As I mentioned on Tuesday, on Wednesday afternoon I headed to Paris with Reena from Fashion Daydreams and Jen from A little bird told me, to meet the lovely Sarenza team and go to a party to celebrate the launch of the new "What's Hot!" section of their French site (which will be coming to the UK site soon!) The Whats Hot section basically showcases some of the best shoes they have on the site: there is a Jeffrey Campbell tapestry pair on there right now that i'm totally in love with ! We had such a wonderful time, that i'm going to give you a blow-by-blow account of the trip. This is going to be a pretty image heavy post: we just couldn't stop taking photos!

By Night:
We arrived in Paris and headed to our hotel to change, then it was straight to the party! Several French bloggers had been out taking street style photos, and we had to choose who's style we liked best: all the guests voted, and the winner gets a massive 5000 euros worth of shoes! Once the serious business of choosing our favourite street style was over, we got on with enjoying ourselves. Yummy cocktails, great canapes, hotdogs, and gorgeous shoes: what more do you need from a night out?!








By Day:
Following our party night, we had a leisurely day planned for the rest of our time in Paris. We met the Sarenza team for a delicious brunch, then headed to several vintage shops for a good rummage: I had no idea vintage was so cheap in Paris! I picked up a full skirted dress and a sequinned top for just 15 euros. The rest of our time was spent meandering through tiny streets, and sitting outside cafes in the sun. It was a wonderful day!






Whenever i'm in Paris admiring the little things (like the graffiti or the shape of a tree!) it makes me want to come home and look at London with fresh eyes too: I think it's easy to miss all that stuff in the city you live in, but admire it when you're away. Nonetheless, Paris is beautiful, and I have such fun everytime i'm there. It was such a wonderful break, so big thanks again to Sarenza for organising such a great trip!
Love, Tor x

Daily Wear: Heading to Paris!

Hi guys,
This afternoon I am heading to Paris to join Sarenza for their 'What's Hot!' event: I knew being one of their brand ambassadors would lead to fun! I'll be wearing a fancy frock and my D&G wedges to the event, but for the train journey over to Paris I wanted something cool but comfortable. Here's what I ended up with:


Jacket: River Island, Blouse: Topshop, Jeans: Topshop, Wedges: ASOS, Hat: Clothing at Tesco, Bag: Debenhams.

I hate the way my legs look in jeans, so I rarely wear trousers, but I just couldn't resist the comfort of my black jeggings for the journey: I can curl up like a cat in these with no digging or irritation you get with so many other jeans (well, I do anyway!). The hat was a last minute addition, as it started raining as I left the house, but I didn't want to bring an umbrella: ditto the jacket. The wedges are so comfy, but it was impossible to balance on then and carry my big bag, so i'm now wearing my trusty pumps! Comfort over style all the way!

I can't wait to get to Paris, and share all the pics from the Sarenza event with you guys!
Love, Tor xx

Sarenza high heel race - a weekend in Paris

Hi guys,

I want to start by saying phew, what a weekend!! About a month ago I asked you guys to vote for me to go to Paris to take part in the Sarenza high heel race. Well you voted, and this weekend we went! On Friday morning Mike and I headed to Paris with Amy from Wolfwhistle (and her lovely mum Sue) Reena from Fashion Daydreams (and her gorgeous pal Mariana) and eleven other UK teams. Twelve British teams took on twelve French teams in the ultimate high heel battle. Now I don't want to get your hopes up: our team didn't win. But on the bright side, we didn't come last either!!

To really build up the rivalry (and encourage our national pride) we were asked to race in costume. The theme for our costumes was English eccentrics: we decided to go for a very English Alice in Wonderland theme. Reena dressed as Alice, Amy dressed as the Mad Hatter, Mariana dressed as the Cheshire Cat, and I was the White Rabbit:

We saw the event as a bit of fun, but the French teams took the race incredibly seriously: we were talking to some teams who had been training for months, and many of the teams had strapped their shoes to their feet with masking tape. I couldn't believe how big the race was: there were several film crews and more photographers than I have ever seen before.

The event was held at the Piscine Molitor in Central Paris, which is this incredibly cool building covered in graffiti (as you can see in the pics) that used to be a swimming pool. I couldn't believe how many people had turned up to watch the race, and hearing everyone cheering as you ran really built up our competitive spirit, even if I was frightened my shoes would fall off or I would fall over! There were a couple of falls, and one poor girl had the heel of her shoe come off as she was running: ouch! It was a fun night though, and the perfect way to start a weekend in Paris (even if the journey did take nine hours from start to finish, because of the wretched snow and I was blighted by 'flu!) We went to the Christmas Market on the Champs Elysees, The Louvre, and the Galeries Lafayette to see the Christmas decorations:

Thank you to Sarenza for an incredible weekend!

Love, Tor xxx

Most important vote since the general election!

The time has come for people to vote on the Sarenza competition I told you about last week. I don't want to give you guys voters fatique (the general election, the bloggers trip to Paris, how many more important decisions can you be asked to make!?) But I would really really appreciate it, and insist on your being lavished with rewards in the kingdom of heaven, if you could vote for me to win the Sarenza Continental fashion findings competition.

All you have to do is click here, which takes you directly to my entry, and then click vote: they ask for your email address but this is optional; you can just click submit and go on your way! I would really appreciate the votes, but as this isn't a dictatorship, then I should also say that some of the other bloggers look beautiful, and you can vote for whoever you like without making me cry too loudly!

Here's the link again: click here to vote for me! The competition is open for 10 days, and you can vote once a day, so if you're feeling really generous, vote for me more than once (you can't do that in the general election, that's cheating, but hey! I don't make the rules!)

I'm going to go now, and start preparing my acceptance speech - thanks to my mum, dad, everyone who believed in me, and you guys for voting! Now, to cry (like Gwynnie) or not to cry?!

Love, Tor xx

Fabfrocks goes to Paris!

Lovely boyfriend has organised us an impromptu day out to Paris on the olde Eurostar on Saturday: very short notice, but i'm ridiculously excited! He's never been to Paris before, so i'm sure we will be visiting the old faithfuls like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, but i'm hoping there will be time for a little bit of shopping too (as well as plenty of eating - the diet can go out the window!)

The problem with impromptu trips like this is decided what to wear: i've been a household slut this week and almost all of my clothes are in the laundry basket (or as I like to refer to it, the bottomless pit) Obviously I will be opting for comfort with a little style (flat shoes and an umbrella are essentials - sadly they've forecast rain) but whilst I excite myself planning a loose itinerary, i'm also looking at some Parisian street style for sartorial inspiration. Here are some of my favourites:

I'm not French or especially stylish (Although I do like to wear a lot of black, which comes as standard) so I won't be oozing a single ounce of this effortless glamour, but i'm hoping my wardrobe will assist me in channeling a little chic: whilst still allowing room for a pastry or two!

Love, Tor xxx

Fabfrocks loves Kenzo: A rare glimpse at a menswear collection

I don't normally closely follow the menswear shows (it's my secret shame!) but when I saw the new Kenzo collection on Saturday I realised it's probably time I paid a little more attention! This is exactly how I would love the man of my dreams to dress: The collection is very 50's inspired, I love the pairing of the Doc Marten boots with the more tailored suit trousers. Skinny ties are a particular favourite, and I love the cherry red leather in both the boots and the gloves. It is the perfect masculine but attention grabbing accent colour for the variety of shades and patterns of grey.


I love the long double breasted blazers, but the soft grey zip up biker style jacket is also versitile and wearable. I also think it's quite androgenous: I would love to wear that myself! It also helps that the models are very beautiful: this definitely holds my attention to any collection!

The overall looks are very strong but there are aspects here that could be incorporated into any gentlemans wardrobe: I can see a pair of cherry red leather gloves going straight onto the boyfriends birthday present list! This has also reignited my love affair with D Martens.

I think I might make a belated new years resolution to get more involved in the menswear shows - yum!

Love, Tor xx

My dream weekend away: in Paris

I love Paris; especially in winter. The chill in the air, the romance, and the chic Parisian winter style! If my boyfriend was feeling particularly romantic (and flush!) then I would love a trip to Paris in my Christmas stocking. Chic French stockings: of course!

I would start in Colette trying on shoes; I would probably waste a great deal of money buying some too! Then I would stroll along the Champs Elysees window shopping and watching the chic and well-heeled women of Paris wander past. There is a certain style about French women that you just don't get in our quirkier British variety! The women of Paris are also skinnier; perhaps that's because they, unlike me, wouldn't spend whole hours devouring French pastries and drinking rich creamy hot chocolate!

Whenever I get the chance I love vintage shopping and how exciting it is to find vintage when you're abroad (and how impressive to show off when you get home!) So we'd had to go to the Puces de Vanves for some flea market rummaging to find vintage jewellery and my old favourites; beaten up leather bags!

I know to some it's "touristy" but I love the Eiffel tower: an architectural masterpiece. I'm also keen to point out that you can buy the creamiest soft pistachio ice cream from a vendor under the tower - I can almost taste it, as well as the pastries i've just devoured in my imagination!

Shops, galleries, antique markets, yummy food, and beautiful people: in my minds eye I can see myself in my pointy boots and swing coat having the time of my life. Now I just need a Christmas fairy to wave a magic wand!

Ahhh, a girl can dream!

Love, Tor xx