Shoes: My New Chunky Black Sandals

Hi guys,
I've made a slightly biased choice for this month's pick of the shoes, because I've actually already been and bought these gorgeous chunky Jonak sandals, and I'm delighted with them! Yes, I know they're ugly. But ugly shoes are a key trend for this summer: the chunkier the sole the better. In fact, these remind me a little of the chunky buckled sandal/shoes on the catwalk at Proenza Schouler. I'm not sure I'll be going the whole nine yards and wearing these with a girly frock, but I do think there's a time and a place for an ugly shoe, and these are mine:



I've had a couple of pairs of Jonak shoes before so I knew they'd be comfortable, and they definitely haven't disappointed so far. Although, word of warning: the black leather stained the back of my feet and it took days to get it off!

Dirty feet aside, these are my new go-to shoes for throwing on with my rolled up jeans and sheer chiffon blouses. Want to get your hands on a pair of your own? You can pick them up for £74.99. When you think about that on a cost-per-wear basis, I'm pretty sure I'm now only paying around 10p every time I put them on my feet!

Are you on board with the chunky, ugly shoe trend? What will you have on your feet this summer?

Love Tor x

*Post written as part of an ongoing partnership with Spartoo shoes

Year in Review: My Favourite Shoes of 2013!

Hi guys,
The New Year is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the previous twelve months- so expect a couple of these Year in Review posts!! In 2013 I made some sartorial decisions I was proud of. I also made some decidedly dodgy choices too. It has definitely been the first year I've worn jeans more than I've worn dresses, and flats more than heels. Shoes will always be my first love though (whether they have a heel or not) and here are some of my favourite shoe purchases of 2013:

1. Minna Parrika Bunny Shoes 

I was delighted when Minna Parrika came to Sarenza, and immediately ordered a pair of the sensible but super-cute bunny shoes. On reflection, these are hands down my favourite shoes of 2013 and they get a hell of a lot of wear. Because they're black they go with almost everything, and I've even worn them with opaques and a little floral dress to a low-key wedding!

(The heeled version of these have gone into the sale, and currently have 20% off)

2. Topshop Studded Boots

These were my first shoe and sale purchase of 2013, and a bargain at just £20 from the Topshop sale. Until I got my Sol Sana boots recently, they are the shoes I have worn most in 2013. I love the stud detailing, and they make the most simple outfits (like jeans and blouses-my staple) look a little more interesting.

3. Jonak Summer Sandals

How tan do my feet look in these sandals?! It's enough to make me long for summer (as I stare at my currently very pasty white skin!) I love feeling the air between my toes, so sandal season is a great one for me: and these were my favourite pair from this summer, combining both leopard print and pony skin: two of my favourite things. They were also endlessly comfortable, meaning I wore them all day without so much as a twinge in my feet. Result!

4. Heart Cut Out Detailings

Mike calls these suede Mellow Yellow shoes my hippy shoes! I suppose they do have a slightly 'crunchy' feel: they remind me of the school shoes I used to wear in the nineties! I'm a big fan of Mellow Yellow shoes, which cleverly combine sensible shoes with unusual detailing: and the shoes are always great quality too.

5. And Finally, A Sneaky Pair of Heels!

Finally, I had to throw these in, because they are the only pair of heels that have had any wear in 2013! These Steve Madden heels surprisingly comfortable, and I have worn them to Wilbur's and both of my neice's Christenings. Because they are built up so much at the front it doesn't feel like you are teetering on heels: and I have such happy memories of wearing these shoes!

Could you pick your favourite shoes from 2013? And if you could, which shoes would you pick? I'd love to hear your choices!

Love Tor x

Shoes: My perfect summer feet!

Hi guys,
Well I'm going to state the obvious and say that it is scorching!! I am currently alternating my time between hiding inside in the shade (the perfect time to go to an air conditioned shopping centre!) and sitting under a parasol in the garden with my feet in the paddling pool - ahh, the joys of freelancing!

Keeping my feet comfortable in this weather is a daily challenge: not glamorous I know, but my feet tend to swell in the heat. I still want to look good though (obviously!) so I need sandals that look amazing paired with simple cotton sundresses, shorts and leggings, but still keep my feet comfortable and give them room to expand at will! I have found the perfect solution: these super-sexy Jonak sandals from Sarenza.
These are the most comfortable leather sandals I have ever owned. The leather sole is slim and flexible and the pony skin leather upper is so soft: it's like wearing butter on your feet! Because the straps are adjustable and the sides are open it doesn't matter whether my feet are swollen (there's that glamour again!) or their normal size: the shoes still feet comfortable and look great. I promise you, these are like the holy grail of summer shoes!

What are you wearing to keep cool in the heat? And do you have any tips for look sleek and put together when inside you feel like you're melting? I'd love to hear them! I'm not sure I'm keeping my composure at all this week!

Love Tor x

*I am a Sarenza Brand Ambassador

Shoes: Beaded sandals for sunny weekends

Hi guys,
It's time for a collective hurrah for the sunny weekend! If you're in the UK you'll agree that this weather has been a long time coming! We're headed to visit my folks for the day, and I will be taking Wilbur to the beach: an occasion that requires a simple, casual outfit. And of course, the perfect shoes! Which is why I'll be wearing these ones: These gorgeous Eden sandals cost just £52 and you can get a pair of your own right here. I was immediately attracted by the mix of the turquoise and orange beads: they have a lovely bohemian feel. Like you got them when you were on a far-flung exotic summer holiday. (There's no need to tell anyone you got them online, not in a dusty street market!)

I plan on teaming them with a simple jersey maxi dress and a floral chiffon kimono. Simple, beachy, and comfortable enough to sit on the beach building sandcastles in: perfect!

What are your plans for the weekend? Are you doing anything nice? And will you be wearing fabulous shoes whilst you do it?

Love Tor x

*I am a Sarenza brand ambassador

Daily Wear: Like a preppy bumble bee!

Hi guys,
The title of this post is what my husband said when I asked him how I looked today! I'm pretty sure it wasn't intended as a complement. Nonetheless I'm quite happy with this simple but sunshiney outfit, which is just perfect for looking stylish, but not like I've made too much effort when I pop to the shops this afternoon:
The jumper is from Gap (Just £13.99 in the sale: total bargain!), the jeans are Topshop, and the blouse is H&M. The dainty flower necklace is from Cath Kidston. The heels are Steve Madden via Sarenza and the bag is via Hotter.

I usually shy away from bright colours because I'm not sure how to wear them and, truth be told, I don't really like drawing attention to myself which you're bound to if you wear a jumper like this. But this vibrant yellow looks great with my trademark black and new love of denim. And wearing heels helps too: it forces you to carry yourself tall and adds outfit confidence!

How to you wear bright colours? What's your comfort zone, and how do you force yourself to step outside of it sometimes? I'd love to hear your tips!

Love Tor xx

Latest on Fabfrocks at Home: My dream bedroom created by Laura Ashley

Shoes: Wild about white sandals

Hi guys,
White sandals have a bad reputation. When you think about white sandals you probably think of cheap pleather and Essex girls. But actually, white shoes are about to have a white-hot fashion make over. And it's a trend that I am definitely ready to get on board with!

Head to toe white is a big trend for this season (let's face it, it's a big trend nearly every summer) and where your dresses go, your shoes are sure to follow. White is perfect for summer: it emphasises your tan, keeps you cool in the sun, and looks great teamed with warm summery colours like coral and turquoise.

I love to wear white when I'm on holiday: white and gold is my favourite summer colour combo. White maxi dresses and white linen trousers teamed with delicate gold jewellery are my favourite beach-holiday outfits. But finding shoes to team with them is difficult...

Enter these gorgeous heeled sandals, which are the perfect solution, and will look great with any white outfit. With their coral, turquoise, and snakeskin geometric panels, they add colour and interest to the simple white sandal. They also make a shoe that could look cheap look and feel very classic and expensive.

These Chie Mihara sandals cost £218.99. If you want to get your hands on a pair of your own then you can find them here.

How do you feel about this season's white trend? Would you wear white sandals, or is their Essex-girl reputation enough to put you off?

Love Tor xx

*Post written as part of a new partnership with Spartoo shoes

Shoes: Comfort soles for the soul!

Hi guys,
When it comes to weddings, parties, and anything that involves drinking cocktails, I am definitely a heel girl. But when it comes to everyday summer days I prefer foot comfort! Summer to me means picnics in the park, strolls along the beach, and walking everywhere: why drive when you can feel the sun on your shoulders?

With that in mind I want sandals that look good but are so comfortable that I'm not thinking about my feet whilst I'm enjoying the rare British summer. Enter my latest picks from Sarenza: these comfort sole 'soft sole' Clarks sandals with their stud detailing. I always associate comfort sole shoes with old ladies on buses wearing pleated skirts and pulling shopping trolleys. But these aren't those shoes.

Yes, they're so comfortable you can walk in them forever without any rubbing or blisters. But they also look great: the on trend stud detailing is perfect with the black leather and metallic gold combo. And because of my obsession with gold jewellery they go with everything in my wardrobe, making them the perfect shoes!

Have you bought your new summer sandals yet? And have you gone for style, comfort, or a little bit of both?

Love Tor xx

*I am a Sarenza brand ambassador

Time to get your feet ready for summer!

Hi guys,
Yesterday in lovely Norwich it was 20 degrees and sunny. I spent the afternoon in the park, and even abandoned my beloved boots in favour of gold pumps. This got me thinking: it's probably time to remove that nail varnish that's been on my toes forever, give myself a pedicure, and get my feet ready for sandal season: it's nearly here! The first step was to remove my nail varnish and trim my toenails. I like mine short, slightly rounded, and neat. Then I soaked my feet in warm water for 20 minutes (very relaxing!) and scrubbed away at them like I've never scrubbed before! I use the Carnation foot scrub. Finally, I moisturised them then painted my toenails a nice vibrant red.

My advice from now until Autumn is to start moisturising your feet everyday. It will keep them soft and supple, and prevent the need for any extensive hard skin removal: after all, prevention is better than a cure! I use Soap and Glory Heel Genius foot lotion: it smells and feels fantastic.

It's also the perfect time to stock up on some preventative solutions for those blisters and sores that come with the first month in sandals. Unlike with boots, the leather straps on sandals can rub and dig in, making the first time you wear them particularly painful. I protect my feet by rubbing Carnation anti blister stick underneath the straps on new sandals - it really helps!

Are your feet ready for sandal season? If not it's time to get to work- it doesn't matter how nice you're new sandals are if you're putting them on ugly feet!

Love Tor x

Shoes: Is it Spring yet?

Hi guys,
Last week in my post about why we should all be wearing neon, I mentioned that I had ordered a pair of neon sandals from Sarenza to bring a little neon into my summer wardrobe. Well, they've finally arrived, and I like them so much that I can't wait for Spring to arrive so that I can get my toes out and put these babies on! These are from a brand I'd actually never heard of before called Sole Society. They have a great selection of summer sandals, particularly neon ones so look out for them if you want to shop the trend. They're called the Sammy sandal, and would set you back just £63. I know they're bright (like, you have to wear sunglasses to look at them bright) but I really like them. And whilst I definitely wouldn't recommend putting them on with a neon pink dress and neon green jewellery (because this isn't the Eighties!) with jeans and a crisp white shirt they would look on trend but still sophisticated and age-appropriate.

I think if you want to dip your toe into the water of any new trend but are feeling unsure about it, trying it on your feet is the best way to go! Your feet won't make you look fat no matter what you put them in and neon shoes won't draw the attention on the street that a neon frock would! So if you're colour shy (like me) or set in your ways and don't want to verve too far from styles and shades you know suit you, get adventurous with your shoes instead!

When I slipped then on to take these photos they were so comfy, and it was so nice to feel the air around my feet, that I didn't want to take them off! I suspect that you'll be seeing these in a lot of outfit posts this summer!

Have you bought any Spring/Summer clothes yet? I've already started planning some Spring outfits and had all my favourite blazers dry cleaned: I can't wait!

Love Tor x

Competition: Style Havaianas sandals and win!

Hi guys,

It's here, it's finally here! I've seen sunshine this week, I've worn sleeveless dresses, and I'm feeling excited! Tomorrow I head off on my summer holidays - could life be better?! I haven't stopped wearing sandals all week, I've packed two pairs in my suitcase, and the sandals I'm wearing are my new Haviainas.

Flash, Freedom and Grace are the three new sandals from Haviainas, and they aren't like the usual flip flops you would expect from what is arguably the nations favourite flip flop brand. Frankly, they are very very cool. They come in pastels, metallic reflections, comfortable soles and exquisite straps. And they're all available from the Havaianas store.

Haviainas sent me three pairs from the new collections (one in each style) to try out for myself, and I really haven't taken them off since they arrived. They're so damn comfortable and they go with almost everything! To prove it, I created a video for Haviainas showing me styling my favourite pair of my new shoes:

Which leads me very nicely to the competition portion of today's post. Because it's competition time! You could win three pairs of Haviainas sandals of your choice from the espadrilles, sandals, and flip flops collection.


To enter all you have to do is send a photo or mood board showing how you would style a pair of Haviainas sandals to me (tor@fabfrocksworld.co.uk) by Wednesday 8th August. You could style them for the office, a shopping trip, or a casual summer BBQ. The choice is yours! The contest will be judged by me and the Haviainas jury, and  the winners will be announced on Friday 10th August.


I'm really excited to see your entries: Good luck!!!


Love Tor x

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Shoes: Magnificent Michael Kors sandals

Hi guys,
As soon as I saw these gorgeous Michael Kors sandals on the Sarenza website I knew I had to have them. Yes, I admit that I can hardly walk in heels and I'll probably only wear them for sitting down events (dinner and the theater anyone?) but when has that stopped me from indulging in a little shoe porn?!

Actually these are surprisingly comfortable: normally when I try on new heels I can't wait to take them off, but I wandered around the house breaking these babies in without an ounce of pain: fingers crossed they stay that way over longer distances! They'll look gorgeous teamed with flowing long maxi dresses during summertime day events, and my favourite LBDs for summer nights out:



Zebra print soles, brown leather upper, and gold hardware. The perfect mix of canvas, leather, and a platform heel high enough I can actually walk in it. These are everything I could possibly want in a shoe! Want a pair of your own? You can get them here.

Love Tor xx

Mini post: These are not October feet!

Hi guys,

Today Mike and I went to the zoo. It was so hot that our ice creams melted before we'd eaten them, and we both have brown noses, despite wearing sun tan lotion. After nearly a month in my boots, I can wriggle my toes in sandals again.Our summer clothes, which I had packed and stored under the bed, have been taken out again and all my lovely Autumn/Winter clothes are hanging untouched. Most still have the labels on.

Tomorrow we're taking advantage of the weather (again) and washing the car. So you can imagine how bizarre it felt, when popping into Morrisons on the way home to pick up ice, to wander down the Christmas aisle and talk about the presents we would have to buy, and what food we needed.

If you too, like to save a little money on Christmas by planning things early, then Morrison's have their £10 tins of Quality Street, Roses, Heroes and Celebrations for the better-than-half-price price of £4.49. We picked up two tins, and I have stashed them away in our Christmas supply cupboard. The offer ends tomorrow though, so if you want to get involved get in quick! The offer is limited to 6 tins per customer, but frankly, who could eat that much chocolate?

There are only two paydays left until Christmas. I'm talking about where to buy my very first turkey from on the same day as eating zoo-cooked BBQ. Has the world gone mad?!

Love Tor xx

Shoe show off: three new pairs of lovely shoes!

This is definitely going to be one of those self-centred "look at all the great shoes I have" posts, but i've made my peace with that!

You may remember that back in April I went on a tour of the Dr Marten factory and as well as it being a fascinating day, they also said that they would send me a pair of boots of my choice. Four months later (and completely out of the blue as i'd forgotten all about it!) and I finally have my hands on these beauties:

The pattern on them is a Victorian rose, and the detail I love most is the pink stitching: it's interesting to add a girly slant to what is essentially a masculine boot. They also come with pink ribbons that can be used to replace the laces. I have no idea what i'll wear these with, but I can't wait to give it a go!

Next on my list of lovely shoes are these sandals from the Topshop sale: leather and studs and lovely gold. What more could you look for in a sandal!? They were in the sale for just £12 (as you can see) and I actually got these to save for my honeymoon: I don't own any sandals or flipflops that don't have hundreds of straps, and I know for our trip i'll need something simple and slip on, and these fit the bill perfectly.
Finally, whilst I was on my mamouth trip to New Look last week, I picked up these heeled desert boots: they will be my new winter staple shoes. The picture isn't very good (because the boots are on my feet!) but that's just testiment to how comfortable they are! New Look actually had a really big selection of reasonably prices winter boots (both flat and heeled) that I think would be well worth checking out if you need a new pair.

I know this was a bit like "show and tell" at school (only with legos!) but I had to show off my wonderful new foot fashion!

Love, Tor xx

The topshop sale has started!

For all of you topshop addicts, there's good news: the sale has started! However when I popped into my local store it was the non-sale stock that I was looking for- I really really needed some new sandals!

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This week has been a really good shoe week; three new pairs in one week has to be some kind of record!

However it isn't all good news: my favourite gladiator sandals that I got in Florida lst year have been afflicted with shoe mouth. And not once, but three times. Everytime I repair them, they start talking again!

Hence my need for new sandals, and I needed sandals that would fill multiple roles; comfy for work and shopping but fancy enough for a night out (I dont always like to wear heels!) Here are the ones I chose:

It is so hard to photograph your own feet!! Both pairs were £40 each and both are 100% leather. I've never owned white shoes before, but I thought it would make a nice change for wearing with summery dresses. The black ones are exactly what I wanted in terms of the day to evening look.

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What do you think?

Love Tor x

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PS- I will be heading to topshop to hit the sale running at some stage this weekend, so that post will come soon!