Sale shopping: Embellished jelly sandals from Primark

Hi guys,
The summer sales are popping up everywhere: today I got two gorgeous dresses from Oasis (pictures to follow) and a cheapy top from Peacocks (because I have no summer clothes for my holiday!) . But my biggest bargain purchases of the day were from Primark: two pairs of embellished jelly shoes for just £3 a pair.

They shoes came in five different colours with five different animal embellishments. Black or yellow with a bumble bee , coral with a toucan, mint green with a butterfly, and neon pink with a flamingo. I got the yellow ones purely because they didn't have the black in my size, and I love insects, and the coral ones because my bikini is coral, and they'll be perfect for schlepping around the pool in:
Thanks to Melissa shoes, jelly shoes are hugely popular at the moment. And although normally I will only wear leather shoes, they're surprisingly comfortable and perfect for wearing around swimming pools and beaches because they wipe clean and dry so quickly. I currently have my toenails painted black, so they bumble bee sandals look incredibly effective against them at the moment - I'll be wearing them with skinny jeans and a silky black tee tomorrow.

Have you had any sale bargains so far? And are there any summer sales you're looking forward to starting? I always like to keep an eye out for the Topshop and River Island summer sales: perfect for when you're taking sunny holidays later in the year!

Love Tor x

Daily Wear: Sale shopping at Westfield London

Hi guys,
On Thursday I went for my final sales shopping trip to Westfield London: and there were still plenty of bargains to be had! It was also my first trip into London with Wilbur, and I would say it was a very successful trip all round! I love Westfield, so it was great to be shopping there again: regional shopping to good, but you really can't beat London shopping, can you?

I hit up all of the usual high street stores, and after toying with a Balmain-style jacket in Zara, I picked up this coat, reduced from £95 to £50 in Topshop:

Coat and boots, Topshop. Jeans, Miss Selfridge. Hat, Urban Outfitters sample sale. Satchel, car boot sale.

I fell in love with the super-soft fur and the pleats at the back. There's a lot of fabric in this coat (it's soo heavy!) so it was a damn bargain! I also picked up a dress and some towels in Debenhams and two Little Marc Jacobs outfits for Wilbur. Westfield London hands down has the best selection of children's clothes shops I have ever seen: definitely worth the drive down just to dress the little man. And definitely worth it for my new coat: I love it!

Have you had any final sales bargains this weekend? If you're nearby and looking for something to do, I heartily recommend a trip to Westfield London. I'm hoping to get down again before the sales are over: I didn't get to check out nearly as many of the stores as I wanted!!

Love Tor x

*I received a gift voucher from Westfield London to help me write this post


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The River Island sale starts today!

Hi guys,
The title says it all really: the River Island sale starts today! I love River Island, so I'm always very excited on the day the sale starts. I cleared my schedule this morning and made a beeline for my local store where I picked up a gorgeous Chelsea Girl leopard print dress, peach sequinned jumper, and irresistible but thoroughly impractical silver blazer!

Possibly because my local store (Norwich) isn't very large, there is considerably more available on the website than I found instore. I'm sure this is a completely different story in the larger London stores though: thank God I'm heading into town on Saturday! But luckily I'm not adverse to online shopping. If you're not either then you're in for a treat! Here are my picks:

Brown leopard print peplum dress, £10
Grey sequinned biker jacket, £35
Brown and gold lace dip hem dress, £15
Red embellished t shirt dress, £15
Black peep toe stud wedges, £30
Leopard print block heel boots, £35

I'm always dubious about mid-season sales, and half expected to see a pile of left over summer season stock. But actually there was plenty on offer from the new autumn/winter collections, and even some glitzy dresses and tops that would be perfect for saving for Christmas, if you like to plan ahead. Everything I saw was at least 50% off: some things were considerably more.

Have you checked out the River Island sale? Have you picked up any bargains in your local store? I'd love to hear all about it, especially which stores the shopping is good in!

Love Tor xx

January Sales 2011: Miss Selfridge and French Connection

Hi guys,

Another day, another visit to the sales! This time I popped to Miss Selfridges and French Connection to try on impractical party dresses that I don't need: my favourite impractical things to buy! I haven't been massively impressed by the sales so far, but I haven't hit any of the big department stores yet: i'm sure as soon as I do i'll be regaling you with tales of armfuls of lovely stuff bought (well, here's hoping!) Until then though, here's what I tried on in Miss Selfridges:

The nude dress had been reduced to £20, the metallic T-shirt had been reduced to £8. I loved the nude dress, especially the detailing around the shoulders and the ruffled capped sleeves. But boy, did it make me look top heavy! I ummed and ahhed over it for a little while, but decided it probably showed a little too much boob for me.

Like the magpie I am, I was attracted to this dress because it was shiny and sparkly. The sequins were gorgeous, and it was reduced from £100 to £45: bargain! But it isn't exactly flattering on my wobbly mince pie belly, so this one ended up back on the rack for somebody else to find and love!

I loved this dress from French Connection, which had been reduced from £190 to £50, and even came with a matching bag that was reduced to £25. However I was put off by my shopping partner (aka Mike) who pulled that face when I came out of the changing room (complete with slightly wrinkled nose) and put me right off!

Love, Tor x

Mid-season sales: Extra 20% off at Warehouse

It's officially mid-season sale time: the River Island sale started today (more of that to come!) and then I got an email letting me know that the Warehouse.co.uk sale had an extra 20% off sale prices: and there's also a code for free delivery! Obviously I had no choice but to check out their site and bring you a list of my favourite and most bargainalicious pieces!

Green embroidered dress, now £10. Rose print blazer, now £15. Silk shirt, now £15. Biker jacket, now £80. Crochet jumper, now £20. Stripe dress, £30.

I loved the green dress and couldn't believe what a bargain it is, especially given its 100% cotton and the original price was £45. There were lots of prom shaped type dresses on the site, which would be perfect if you have a fancy Christmas party to go to (i'll be having a couple of pints in the pub!) and a great selection of fine knits, which I always find much more convenient than chunky ones for wearing around the house, and under coats. Speaking of knits, I couldn't resist that crochet jumper, which would look amazing contrasted against a floral tea dress, or worn simply with panelled leggings. My favourite piece though is the stripey dress: i'm addicted to dresses (note the name of the blog!) and that one would be perfect for taking from work to play!

There is a lot of left over summer stock in the Warehouse sale, but also some great bits to see you through the winter: personally i'm delighted to see all the summer stuff in store, at it means I can pick up some bits and bobs for my honeymoon, but at bargain prices! To Save your extra 20% off all Sale items plus free standard delivery, follow the big ugly link, and then put FREEDEL1 in at the checkout. I'm being good and saving my pennies at the moment, but i'm not sure how long that will last with so many great sale offers around....

Love, Tor xx

Mid season sales: Warehouse picks!

I didn't even realise the mid-season sales had started, because i've been so busy over the past couple of weeks (too busy to scour the shops, can you imagine!?) However on Saturday, after the Skinny Cow swap shop my sister and I popped into Debenhams for a stroll and a cup of tea (I realise that makes me sound like Bridget Jones mum!) and I noticed that a lot of the concessions were sporting sale signs, with the biggest selection coming from Warehouse. My need for tea and cake was too great for a proper look, but when I got home I went straight to my computer to see if it was worth a re-visit. The verdict? Definitely worth checking out!

On the website there are 87 items in the £10 or under section, including some basic cotton tops, lovely denim skirts, and a massive selection of belts, scarves, and jewellery. I always worry with mid-season sales that you'll only be wasting your money on clothes that it will quickly get too warm to wear, however there are some really versitile pieces that could carry you all the way through to Spring/Summer.

I can't wait to hit the highstreet and try some stuff on, but in the meantime here are my picks of the sale from the website:

Everything pictured comes in at under £30. I love the pleat fronted city shorts (which also come in black) they would be great with tights for now and with sandals for in the summer. I love the belt which on the surface is very simple but which reminds me of an aeroplane belt: utility cool. The jewellery is pretty cool too (and each piece is reduced to £4 - bargainalicious!)

Are there any other mid-season sales you guys have been checking out? Whilst i've been rushed off my feet and neglecting the shops (sob!) what have I been missing?!

Love, Tor xx

Saturday morning shopping haul

So yesterday morning I spent an hour in possibly the ugliest of London's shopping centres; externally at least. Inside it's quite nice, but outside it makes my heart sink everytime I drive passed it. Yes, i'm talking about the eyesore that is Brent cross. I only really popped in on my way to the supermarket so that I could go to Topshop and check out the sale. And to be honest I found it pretty disapointing; on the website there were loads of dresses that I wanted but in the brent cross store they didn't seem to stock anything in a size bigger than a 10. So sadly I will have to go to the mayhem of the oxford street store to pick them up. However I did get some stuff. (Don't I always!?) And here it is:
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Topshop




Skirt £15, Headband from £8 to £4, Necklace from £15 to £7. I love the pattern on this skirt which fits incredibly well; skulls and skeletons dressed to look like pretty ladies. Yum! The bow headband is another for my growing collection; more subtle than the rest. However the piece that I am most impressed with is the necklace. Only last week I mentioned how much I love cameos and you can have no idea how much it excites me to have this oversized one dangling from my neck!

River Island



Reduced from £34.99 to £12. This tunic is a funny length between a top and a dress but i'm going to style it with leggings and worn over a slightly longer line vest.
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There are sales everywhere at the minute, I just wasn't really feeling like shopping this morning (I know, not like me!!) and so I only went into two shops and was in and out of the mall within an hour. However anyone smart who likes to plan ahead should be thinking about their Christmas presents whilst the prices are reduced. Thats my advice anyway! You can guarentee they won't be in December and the half price topshop jewellery really will make great gifts for girlfriends!
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While I'm talking about Christmas I was disconcerted to hear today that my sister has now finshed her Christmas shopping. Finished! I haven't even started yet. How are you guys getting on with yours? Or is it still too early to think about it?
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Love, Tor xx

Forget the summer solstace, it's time for the summer sales!

Today's post comes to you courtesy of this evening's London Paper, where I saw an article so useful, I felt the need to repeat it here for my non-London dwelling readers viewing pleasure.

First though - what do you think of the new site design? There are still a few tweeks to make and the header isn't quite finished, but basically, this is it. I rather like it. It reminds me of the inside of a Victorian ladies knicker drawer.

And now back to the important business of today's news which is, of course (the clue is in the title!) about the summer sales.

The London Paper produced a comprehensive list of when the main sales are starting, and what kind of discounts to expect. As I can't find this online, my summary is below:

SALE NOW ON

Liberty - Up to 50% off
Faith - Up to 50% off
Banana Republic - At least 30% off
Anne Summers and Knickerbox - Up to 70% off
Ben Sherman - 30-50% off
Donna Karan - Up to 50%
Luella - 50% off bags, 30% off womenswear and 40% off knitwear
Netaporter - Discounts undisclosed
Selfridges - Up to 75% off

24 JUNE

Christian Louboutin - Up to 50% off

27 JUNE

Chanel - Discounts from 30%
John Lewis - Up to 50% off

17 JULY

Alexander McQueen - Up to 50% off

Sadly, I don't get paid until Friday, and so am sat in my pajamas hoping that everyone else is as broke as me until their respective paydays, meaning there will still be some bargains to be had. I truly am going to try to stick to the mantra of "quality not quantity" this month.

Love, Tor xx

Rigby and Pellar warehouse clearance sale

Well, I know where i'll be going for my new summer bikini; these discounts are totally unbelievable!Rigby and Pellar are having a warehouse clearance sale, and I for one will be at the front of the queue with my elbows sharpened!



VENUE: 20th Century Theatre, 291 Westbourne Grove, LONDON, W11 2QA

16th April 12pm – 9pm

17th April 10am – 8pm



There is an all stock must go policy, and as they're running into the evening as well, you don't even need to take the day off work: bonus!!



See you there!



Love Tor x