A Style Evolution!

Hi guys,
Style is one of those things that's constantly evolving. One day your hair is long, the next it's short. One day your a little girl who wants to wear everything pink, the next you're a surly teenage in a Nirvana tee. But I think my biggest style evolution has happened recently, when I became a mummy.

Before Wilbur I had all the time in the world to paint my nails, shop for exactly the right dress and visit the hairdressers. How I looked every day was an important part of determining how I felt. After Wilbur, I give my hair a quick brush and throw on my jeans, ready for a day of playing and running around after my energetic little man. My appearance comes secondary to his happiness and well being. Style is still really important to me, and I love any opportunity to get dressed up, but it isn't an important part of my day to day life any more.

So here it is. The evolution of my style. We start with a little girl in white socks and T bar shoes who loved costume parties, travel through the questionable hair of my university years, make a stop via the curls and beads I sported seven years ago (has it been that long?) at my first ever blogging event, travelling through some of the happiest years of my life, living in London, and ending up here. In my own little corner of the world. As a mum that stills loves fashion, but that wears jeans more than frocks. And things have never been better. I wonder what my next style evolution will be!

This post has been written to celebrate Zalando's 3rd Birthday, and the evolution of their style in the three years since the site launched, and the three years I've been a regular Zalando shopper. How has your style evolved over time? And how do you feel when you look back at pictures of yourself from yesteryear?

Love Tor x

Christmas Wishlist: Who's That Girl?

Hi guys,
Christmas is coming, the geese are fattening up, and I am starting to think about what I'll be finding in my Christmas stocking.

The new series of New Girl is starting soon, so the complete second series on DVD is going to be one of the gifts on my wishlist. And because it's been 12 months since I've been to the cinema there are a dozen other DVDs I'd be glad to unwrap on the big day too. Mostly though, I'll be asking for things for our new house and fashion-y things for myself. Now to decide exactly what bits and bobs I'll be asking Santa Claus to pop under my tree. To give him a helping hand I've created my perfect Christmas wishlist from the Zalando website: I've covered a range of price points from stocking filler to 'wow that's expensive'.

1.Ted Baker classic blue wool coat, £245
2. Pad purple cushion cover, £21
3. Michael Kors brown and leopard print boots, £190
4. StyleR by Post turquoise necklace, £38
5. Vivienne Westwood purse, £80
6. Set of two stag decorations, £14
7. Rosantica ring, £130

What do you think of my picks? And what will you be asking Santa for? I'll be making gift guides and wishlists from lots of other stores over the next couple of weeks: here's hoping Santa is watching!

Love Tor x

Object of Lust: Wooden tusk necklace from Black Lily

Hi guys,
Black Lily is a Danish accessories brand. I'm becoming more and more obsessed with Scandinavian style lately, both in terms of fashion for myself and for my house. The brand was founded in 2007 by Inge Kindberg and June Marie Stevn.

When the two first met, they knew that they could create something exciting together. With their creations ranging from luxurious scarves, spectacular bags and beautiful jewellery, Black Lily plays with contrast, creating imaginative designs.

I stumbled across the brand when I was looking for a necklace to wear with my French Connection dress for Wilbur's Christening on Sunday. I wanted a necklace that was brown and gold (to go with the new gold and brown Marc Jacobs dress watch my parents got me for my birthday) and this one definitely fitted the bill:

I picked up my necklace from Zalando and it was a bargain: reduced from £34 to £19. Zalando is well worth checking out if you want pick up some reduced pieces from Black Lily: they have bags, purses and scarves from the brand (as well as my lovely necklace!) all with discounts of between 10%-46%.

Do you have anything from Black Lily? Have you tried or seen anything from the brand, and what do you think of it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Love Tor x

Latest on Fabfrocks at Home: In love with Rob Ryan

Happy Birthday Zalando!

Hi guys,
I'm a big fan of Zalando: the shopping site, and I've worked with them several times since they launched two years ago. I was a particular fan during my pregnancy, because cool maternity clothes are so hard to come by. And now that I'm a busy mum, it's my special occasion saviour. The nature of the site, pulling together all the best items from the best brands and stores, means that it's so much easier to find what you're looking for. Perfect speedy and easy shopping when you want something fast.

This week Zalando are celebrating their second birthday. And in honour of that, I am showcasing some of my favourite purchases from the site:
Warehouse monochrome dress from Zalando.
Mamalicious zebra patterned maternity top from Zalando
Full circle blouse from Zalando

Warehouse isn't a shop I normally go into when I'm shopping in the city, but I just can't get enough of this Warehouse dress. It looks great for casual wear with leggings and boots but can be dressed up with heels too: winner! And the Mamalicious and Full Circle blouses were regulars in my maternity armoury: I wore them both at least once a week!

If you want to celebrate Zalando's birthday too then create your own birthday image for the brand and tweet it using the hashtag #zalandoturns2 - there's a £300 voucher to win if you do! Find out more here.

Love Tor x

Daily Wear: Mad about Monochrome

Hi guys,
Monochrome is everywhere at the minute. It's a key trend for this Spring/Summer, and the perfect one to try when the weather is as cold as it is today too. Never one to miss out on a trend, my outfit today is all about monochrome. I wore this to brunch with Mike and Wilbur this morning (I threw my big leopard print coat over the top to keep me warm) and was very excited to be wearing a dress and not a blouse and jeans for a change!
Dress: Warehouse c/o Zalando. Boots: Topshop. Bag: From a market in Turkey. Bracelets: Accessorize/Topshop.

I love this Warehouse dress, which has a super-soft jersey lining and is made from a lovely chiffon, and which I got from Zalando. I really like big shopping sites like Zalando, and Sarenza (for shoes). They're great for comparing lots of big brands at the same time, all in one place with no fuss.

Unfortunately this outfit didn't get much wear, because it was so cold and miserable outside that as soon as we'd had our brunch we scurried straight back home to snuggle under a blanket and watch films: definitely a pyjama affair!

What have you done with your weekend? Have you done any shopping (if so, do tell!) or just been hibernating away from the weather, like me?

Love Tor x

Daily wear: Just another shopping Saturday...

Hi guys,
Over recent months I have acquired quite a collection of button-up blouses. They have very nearly overtaken dresses as the item I own most of in my wardrobe. And today I took my latest acquisition to the collection out for a spin.

We went to the Christmas craft fair at the Assembly House in Norwich (it's on today and tomorrow, and if you're Norwich-based, it's definitely worth popping in) We picked up some felt Christmas decorations, bags of homemade fudge - most of it eaten already - and some delicious freshly baked bread. The yule loaf, which is stuffed full of sage and onion stuffing and cranberry sauce, comes highly recommended.

Anyway, enough about my stomach, and on to the outfit:




The blouse is by Full Circle, c/o Zalando. They have a great selection of blouses on the site. I fell completely in love with the bright bird print on this one, whilst still being a completely wearable grey - you guys know how I feel about animals on clothes!

I've teamed it with my Red Herring maternity jeans (again!), and Miss Selfridge leather sleeved coat. On my feet are my heeled Clarks brogues (c/o Sarenza) which perfectly matches the Pucci bag I seem to be carrying everywhere at the minute.

This sort of outfit seems to be my uniform at the moment: A pretty blouse and jeans is low maintenance and easy to throw on. It means that I look reasonably well put-together, even when I don't have the time or the energy to think creatively about what I want to wear.

Love Tor xx

Daily wear: Dressing up jeans

Hi guys,
I've been wearing jeans a lot more lately. They're just so easy to throw on, which is important when you only have 20 minutes to get ready and run out the door. They're also super comfortable: especially these ones with their elastic waist: I'm never going back to zips and buttons!

I used to only ever wear my jeans on lazy Saturdays, teamed with flip flops and slobby tees. But now I'm wearing them with chiffon blouses, fitted tops, and smart blazers. I actually couldn't imagine my wardrobe without them:



Jeans from Debenhams, Monochrome top from Mamalicious c/o Zalando (whose summer sale has just started) Heels Michael Kors c/o Sarenza, Marc Jacobs bag, See by Chloe bangles, Dial bracelet c/o Debenhams and I made the headband myself.

I wore this outfit for an afternoon of shopping followed by an early dinner. I really love this top, which is a super light cotton that feels light and airy but still looks super-smart. And the simple monchrome pattern means it goes with everything! I wore this with flip flops during the day, then added the heels and a slick of lipstick to dress it up for dinner.

What are you wearing today? And are you a jeans wearer, or recently converted to wearing jeans again? I'll say it again, but I really don't know where I'd be without mine!


Love Tor xx 

The return of the Christmas jumper!

Hi guys,
It's beginning to feel alot like Christmas! My family are arriving from 'tup 'North over the next couple of days, all my presents are wrapped and under the tree, and I've already eaten my body weight in mince pies! I cannot wait for the big day to arrive!

Even my outfits are taking a Christmassy turn. Today I am wearing my new Louche Gnome jumper from Zalando (Pictured above: although personally I think the gnome looks like Santa and so I refer to it as my Santa jumper) I've become slightly obsessed with online shopping lately (what's the point in going outside to get wet and cold when you can shop from your PC?) and Zalando is a new favourite! I also have a red santa apron, red jeans, and an army of red tops and cream knits to keep the festive theme going!

I've always loved Christmas jumpers, being the Christmas obsessive I am, but I've also always accepted that they're a bit naff. Sartorially speaking though, they're making a bit of a comeback this season. Christmas jumpers are everywhere!

-Vibrant snowflake jumper (£24) from ASOS
-Snowman jumper (£50) from Topshop
-Snowman jumper from Atom Retro (Vintage shops are great for Xmas jumpers!)
-Reindeer jumper dress (£31) by Anna Field.
-The reindeer sweater is also by Louche (£65) from Zalando
-Knitted snowflake jumper (£65) by Free People.

Do you have a special Christmas jumper, or are they just not cool, no matter what anyone else says? In which case, what will you be wearing over Christmas? And my final (very important) question is this: Can I wear my gnome-but-really-Santa jumper after Christmas, or will I never get away with calling him a gnome?

Love Tor xxx

Zalando's Fashion Frenzy

Hi guys,
I've written about Zalando before, and right now they're running a pretty cool competition for fashion bloggers.To enter, all you have to do is choose your dream outfit from their shop and post it online. This has been running all month (trust me to be late to the table!) and will end on 30th September.

The prize is £300 a month to spend on clothes for 12 months: quick maths tells me that that's a £3600 new wardrobe! But don't worry: for the non-bloggers out there, there's also the chance to win a £300 shopping voucher over on their facebook page.

Zalando are a big comparison site (you've probably seen their shoe ad on the TV at the minute!) and they stock thousands of fashion lines from hundreds of different brands. So picking my dream outfit was pretty easy:

All outfits start with a good pair of shoes, so I started with these Jonak brogues. I love the jazz era two-tone brogues (definitely on my must-have list!). To these I added a floral tea dress from Vera Moda and a chunky yellow cardigan (which looks vintage but isn't - I need this in my wardrobe!)

And because I'm an accessories addict, I just had to add a belt, bag (by Sonia Rykiel and beautiful!), scarf, and yummy bangle! OK, at this point I've spent far too long on the Zalando website, and need to win this competition before I bankrupt myself!

I know this isn't a particularly fashion forward outfit (no new season trends here!) but it's exactly my style: a little bit vintage inspired, focused on a lovely frock and lots of gorgeous statement accessories all piled on top of each other. I'm sure someone did once tell me less is more, but I didn't listen!

What would your dream outfit for this winter be? Are there any pieces you're coveting right now?

Love, Tor xxx

Slightly obsessed with heels (No surprise!)

Hi guys,

Well so much for my talk of lovely weather on Saturday: it looks like the rain in back with avengance, and set to stay, which might well make today's post obselite. I've been looking for a pair of shoes for summer that are fancy enough to wear with dresses for evening events, but comfy enough that I can wear them to work all day first, without having aching feet! (my sarenza clogs are perfect, and so comfy, but a bit too chunky to wear for evening events)

I decided what I needed was a low heel with a peep toe (for comfort) with some embellishment and detailing (for style). A harder shoe to find than you'd think! My search led me to Zalando. Here are my shortlisted shoes:

Gianni di Firenze red shoes: £114.95, Paco Gil tan shoes: £179.95, Vagabond wedges: £59.95, BF leopard peep toes: £110.

And why am I so keen to find these magical glamourous-looking low but comfortable heels, I hear you ask? Because my hen 'do is less than a month away (We're going to see Pricilla Queen of the desert, then food, then a night of dancing and drinking in my favourite cocktail bar) and because it is a day to evening affair (culminating in dancing the night away) I want to shun my usual killer stilettos in favour of cute summer shoes that won't leave my crying half way through the event (and ruin my night/feet). It all sounds perfect, and idealistic. And I really hope I find the low heels of my dreams. But knowing me, i'll end up throwing on those killer heels that look so good and dancing around my hand bag in them anyway: using the well-known anaesthetic of cocktails to ease the pain!

Love, Tor x

*This is a sponsored post