New Look press day: Accessories lust!

Yesterday was the New Look press day and it was the accessories (especially the shoes!) that had me going weak at the knees. There were some incredible chunky wedges that I wish I could get my hands on now, loads of faux fur, lovely velvet, and lots of lovely nudes (again).

I love the chunkier more masculine style shoes in tan and camel and the tapestry bag in the very bottom picture is already on my "must-have" list: it's the perfect faux-vintage look. The jewellery was a little garish for my personal tastes but again explored the faux-vintage theme. The feathered head scarf below is gorgeous:it looks really luxe, but with the added bonus of knowing it will come with a New Look price tag! I will definitely be heading to New Look for my accessories fix need autumn/winter: there is a nude fur deer stalker with my name on it!

I don't really have much more to say but in this case, I think a picture says a thousand words!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and if you're in the UK - bank holiday! Woo!

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...Agyness Deyn at Uniqlo

Hey guys,

Uniqlo have announced an upcoming collaboration with British-born supermodel and fashion icon Agyness Deyn (Or Aggy to the British press!) and her sister; Emily Deyn, owner of the Hussaindeyn brand. Obviously this could go two ways (given its Uniqlo): jeans or t shirts. I'm sure you can't take the suspense anymore, so the answer is, it's Tshirts. I actually really love them: the shapes, colours, and especially the images are great!

The collection takes inspiration from the punk era, using retro Polaroid photos. My two favourites are the "life in the fast lane" and the" more to life than cake" ones, although I prefer the Tshirt shape that comes with the sleeves than the vest shapes. I will refer to the "cheese" one as the fashion bloggers Tshirt: perfect for the narcassist in all of us!

I have written before about how bored I am with designer collaborations, but this is one I think I could really get behind: especially given the Tshirts are only £12.99 each. I suspect my casual summer stylings just got a little easier, these would look fab teamed with leggings or shorts. The Tshirts land in stores on the 1st May and given that I love the fit and feel of uniqlo tshirts (so soft, yet they hold their shape) I suspect there will be an orderly queue outside of the stores to get their hands on these: I also bet that i'll be at the front!

Love, Tor xx

Dorothy Perkins and Faith: time to bag a bargain

I don't think the mid-season sales this season have been anything to write home about, and the Dorothy Perkins sale seems like a prime example of this: with just four rails of sale clothes in the store (and this is the big Oxford street store) there was more sale jewellery available than there were sale clothes.

I really like the peachy flats (although at £20 the original price was only £25, so it's not a massive discount!) and there were some great earrings on the jewellery racks: I think the best bargains can be found if you're looking for new costume jewellery. In terms of the clothes, knitwear was well represented, and if you like Dorothy Perkins jeans you have the potential to pick up a pair very cheaply! There were also some lovely soft cullote type shorts in various colours and patterns: these were the best buy for wearing for the coming season, and came in at just £12.

On Friday the news was announced that Faith had gone into administration: the latest victim of the recession we're slowly coming out of, this is more bad news for the British high street. However in the short term it can be good news for your wardrobe and especially good news for your feet:

The window grandly declares discounts of 50%, however in reality there are only about 8 designs which have 50% off (their normal seasonal sale) The rest of the stock in the store has 10% off: this is still a decent discount if you were looking to buy new shoes anyway, but if not then my advice is to do what i'm doing: wait and see if the discounts get bigger!

I don't really need any new shoes, so i'm only buying them if they're an absolute bargain, however there are so really gorgeous sandals in store so it's definitely worth checking out if you need new season shoes! You have to do into the store though: because the store has gone into administration the website has been suspended.

Have a great day!

Tor xx

Exposure press day: Wellies and jewellery galore!

Hey guys,

I've been pretty lax in writing up my press days, but i'll get there in the end and lets be honest, winter is a long way away, so we're in no great rush (this is my excuse and i'm sticking to it!) Next up is Exposure: this isn't a comprehensive look at all the brands they represent, just the things that held my interest enough that I took pictures of them!

Claire's accessories: once home to plastic jewellery for pre-teens (and the place I had my ears pierced when I was 13) Claires is now making a move to become a contender in the high street costume jewellery market and their a/w collection is not disimilar to that you would see in Topshop or H&M. And the price points are so much lower! Only time will tell on the quality front, but it definitely looks like it will be worth checking out:

Hunter: I'm not a wearer or owner of wellies, but I think if I were going to a festival a quilted, wedges or crocodile print pair from Hunter would be at the top of my list. They actually look comfortable too! The quilted ones below are cut at an angle so they would look like riding boots:

Globetrotter: If I were a millionaire that could travel the world I would be doing it with Globetrotter luggage. That's all there is to say about that really: it's truly beautiful!


Exposure also represent a host of beautiful luxury fashion brands, but these really deserve a post of their own. I have more press day highlights to share: but so far I predict that it's going to be a very stylish autumn and winter next year!

Love, Tor x

When two tribes go to war...

Part one of the Aussie Angels experience came to an end last month, and all the angels were asked if they wanted to take part in part two: I love being an Angel, so it was clear to me the answer was yes! For part two we have been asked to divide ourselves into tribes depending on our hair type: obviously it was the colour mate tribe for me: i've been colouring my hair all the colours under the sun since I was a teenager!! My first adventure with my tribe happens at the beginning of August but yesterday a lovely goody bag arrived containing everything I need to keep my hair in tip top condition: coloured shampoo, conditioner, and three minute miracle especially for coloured hair (I didn't even know they made this!) There was also a comb (for detangling) mirror, tribe badges and a yummy square of chocolate (immediately eaten)

Of course I couldn't wait to try my goodies out so I jumped straight in the shower. The arrival of the pack couldn't have come at a better time, as I recoloured my hair last week! My hair now smells amazing; I know this is an integral part of the Aussie experience but it smells especially good! The coloured products come with peach extract (apparently the oils are good for dry hair) so I smell like a yummy cocktail: peach schnapps is my favourite drink!! My sister noticed my new shampoo immediately and said I smelt "really sweet" which I like, but if you don't like sweet fruity smells it might not be for you. My hair also feels incredibly soft: because of all the bleach I put on it my hair generally feels really porous but today it feels soft and sleek. I was really impressed! Also, aren't the new bottle designs nice? They were inspired by Australian designers and are much prettier than the usual, fairly functional, packaging.

Speaking of tribes, we went to the Belmont animal farm yesterday to play with the animals (we couldn't find any children to take, so we went by ourselves!) It was a very fun hour out, and they have more animals than your average farm: as well as the aminals you would expect there are also llamas, kangaroos, ostriches, and birds of prey. My favourites will always be the humble goats though, who have such lovely little faces and are so comical when they're fighting for the food! Our trip was followed by some pub grub and an afternoon in the beer garden enjoying the sunshine: heavenly!!

I hope you guys have had good weekends too!

Love, Tor xx

Topshop sale: My shopping picks!

The Topshop mid-season sale started yesterday, andI got straight in there to see what I could find! I actually got really lucky because alot of the stuff had been wrongly priced on the tills (according to the guy serving me this happens on the first day of every sale) and so I got a top for £5 (today it's £25) a top for £10 (today it's £20) and a pair of black leggings for £7. Leggings never normally go in the sale and I wear them every single day so I was chuffed with my bargain there!

Here is a quick outfit shot of the top I got for £5. I'm wearing it simply with the black leggings and a long line black vest teamed with my ASOS wedges. With hingsight the top makes me look broader than I am, and really needs a belt!

There are still loads of bargains to be had from the Topshop sale: if it wasn't the week before payday I would be going crazy! Here are my picks of the top five bargains from the sale that are currently available on the website:

Moths and bugs print blouse, was £35 now £15 (I loved this and tried it on but it cut too high on my bust)
Mesh tunic, was £28 now £12. (This has massive layering potential and is something you could do so much with whatever the season)
Horse sweater, was £28 now £12 (They didn't have this in my size or I would've snapped it straight up!)
Danielle Scutt dress, was £50 now £25
Shoes, were £22 now £3. Yup you read that right, now £3: and they're 100% leather. How much of a bargain is that???
Belt was £25 now £12. If nude tones don't really suit you this would be the perfect way to jump on the massive nude trend without having to go overboard. Plus it's really cute!

I know I normally do my sales reviews from the shop but it was madness yesterday and I didn't even queue for a changing room - just threw the tops on over my dresses on the shop floor! Now all the summer sales are starting to get into full swing I will do some more proper reviews over the coming weeks: it's a good excuse to hit the shops!

Love, Tor xx

PS -Tadaa! Above is the inadvertant unveiling of my new hair colour - i've had lowlights put in to take away some of the harshness of the blonde. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I do think it suits my complexion more. It is weird to be darker whilst everyone else is going lighter for summer though!

Painting my nails: D.I.Wah

Inspired by Gem Fatale's post on how to paint your own leopard print nails, and missing my vibrant WAH creations (but lacking the scratch to have them done properly) I decided to give it a go myself. Rather than going for Gems vibrant blue and red versions though, I went for a more "natural" print using nude, hot pink, and brown. Here are the results:

Given that i'm naturally cackhanded, I don't think I did too bad a job, however you can see wobbles and they obviously don't look as good as they did when I had them done professionally. These ones were free though: there's pros and cons to everything! You can use any three colours to create your own leopard print, although obviously the base colour has to be lighter than the two you put on top.

I used: Bourjois so laque in beige glamour for the base, No 7 long wear nail varnish in hot pink for the spots and Barry M in chocolate for the very top detail.

If you'd like to have a go at releasing your inner animal then you can follow Gem's tutorial here. Hopefully you'll have steadier hands than me! And if you'd rather trust the professionals then WAH have opened a concession in Topshop Oxford Circus, meaning having your nails done won't need to interfere with your shopping!

Love, Tor xx

Etsy obsession of the week: Mysilverpie

The etsy obsession comes a little late this week and I was going to give it a miss, but when I stumbled across these family necklaces from my silver pie in a relaxing trawl across the site last night (it's fast becoming one of my favourites!) I knew I had to share! My boss has one of these necklaces with the names of her children on it, which is why the listing caught my attention, and I realised what a sweet way it was to honour your family whilst still being fashion conscious: much better than the seemingly obligatory mum/kids name tattoos!

Mysilverpie makes bracelets, necklaces and even rings which can have names or any other words you choose added to them. All the pieces are handcrafted from silver in the sellers home studio. Each piece is made especially for you once you place your order, so you can have whatever words or names you like, no matter how unusual! My mum will only wear gold jewellery (because she has very sensitive skin) which is a shame, because this would be a perfect present for a mummy and something really thoughtful to give a friend who's just had a baby (am I the only one that seems to have a lot of those lately!?)

.

The Topshop sale starts today and a quick peek at the website shows massive discounts on some really pretty stuff: I'm heading down there this afternoon to have a proper look, and obviously I will be taking my camera with me to share the best bits with you guys!

Love, Tor xx

Daily wear: Layers and lace

Hi guys,
Sorry for the post gap yesterday: my new job keeps me soo busy, and it's taking a while to get into the groove of my new routine! However I have post ideas ready (all written down and everything, i'm practically a pro!) for the rest of the week, so I promise it won't happen again - I feel like a naughty schoolgirl!

I'm really enjoying the new wardrobe possibilities brought by the changing weather: that's a fancy way of saying isn't it great not to have to wear boots and coats any more?! It's still cold in the mornings though, so layering is my new best friend, but I have stopped wearing thermal black tops under everything, which i'm finding strangely liberating! Today I am wearing:

Lace dress and cardigan: from the TKmaxx haul. Belt: River Island. Leggings: George at Asda. Shoes: Faith sale. Bag: Betsey Johnson. Necklaces: Various.

This is my favourite bag, which is why I don't use it too often: I realise that doesn't make much sense, but I don't want the leather to get damaged. My hair is a crazy mess: i'm having it cut and coloured next week, but I can't decide whether to grow the fringe out (see above mess!) or have it cut back in again: any suggestions are very welcome! Does the summer make you want to do something different to your hair? I can't shake off the feeling that the changing seasons demand a new style!

Love, Tor xx

Crazy spending spree: TK Maxx

Would you say that spending four hours shopping in TKMaxx was a productive or an unproductive way of spending a Saturday afternoon? I'm hoping the answer is productive, because that's how I spent the integral hours of my weekend!

As a thank you for taking part in their dress challenge, TKMaxx sent me a lovely note and gift card, and so obviously I went out to spend it: guilt-free shopping is my favourite kind! However what started as a browse with intent turned into a major shopping spree! I ended up buying: 3 dresses, a Moschino t shirt (which i'm totally in love with!)two cardigans, a Moschino cheap and chic silk scarf, a pair of crazy clog shoes, six pairs of Betsey Johnson socks (for my holiday), Betsey Johnson sunglasses, Mickey Mouse pajamas, underwear, House of Holland tights, some T shirts and socks for the boyfriend, a present for my dad (it's his birthday next month) and a very cute leather purse. And here are pictures of some of the pieces to proove it:



The Tshirt looks really simple but its so soft and it fits like a dream: I think i'm going to slouch it over a nude skirt. I also love the shoes: these will be my nod to both clogs and double denim (teamed with either jeans or my denim jacket) this summer. I was also really pleased about buying the two cardigans; cardigans were on my list of things I definitely needed, and now I have plenty!

I'm aware that this is a bit of a vapid self obsessed post, but I had such fun on my shopping spree that I just had to share! I haven't photographed the dresses because they look better on than laid out flat, but I will point them out in future daily wear posts!

Love, Tor xx

Oasis A/W10 press day: Dress and shoe lust!

I know it seems a bit weird to be thinking about what we'll be wearing next winter when we've barely had a chance to get our Spring clothes out yet, but that's exactly what i've been doing this week as the A/W10 press days are in full swing!

On Thursday I went to see what Oasis have come up with, and was pleasantly suprised by the textures and quality of all of the collection, most notably the evening wear and the shoes. I've never really thought of Oasis as somewhere to go looking for shoes or boots before, but some of the lace covered evening boots and the embellished pumps were particularly attention grabbing.

It's no secret that I am a dress addict, so it stands to reason that it was the evening dresses on show that held most of my attention. The key trends seemed to be lots of maxi length, lace, and gothic vampire-inspired black. Those Twilight films seem to have a lot to answer for! The evening collection was very dramatic and I really liked the attention to detail, such as buttons on sleeves and underwear inspired lace embellishment. There was one very simple black jersey maxi that I can't wait to get my hands on!


I'm also pleased to report that the popularity of black gorilla furs isn't going anywhere so everyone who got one last winter (and some days it feels like that was everyone in London) won't have to shell out for a new coat this coming winter. It's bizarre to be looking at winter coats whilst my hayfever is in full swing (if anyone has a cure i'd be eternally grateful) but i'm already starting to get excited about my next winter wardrobe: I just need to find some room for it!

Lots of love,
Tor xx

National bra fit week: Are you wearing the right bra?

Until yesterday, I hadn't thought that much about bras - they were the slightly irritating things that I put on underneath my dresses. Sometimes you want pretty ones, sometimes you want sexy ones, but most of the time you just want one you can't see under your clothes!

However yesterday, in honour of National Bra Fit Week (19th April - 9th May) I was invited to Debenhams to find out more about the structure of bras: how they're made, how the designs are chosen, and ultimately I was fitted by a wonderful professional who showed me how you can tell if your bra is fitting right or not.

It was a revelation! I didn't realise how many components a bra is made up of (more than twenty, and some much more!) and I didn't realise how wrong my bra size was: i've gone down two back sizes and up three cup sizes. To be honest, I had no idea how much thought went into making bras at all: the lead time for a collection is over 18 months and the mood boards that lead to the design creation are beautiful!

The gorgeous prints above are the patterns for the next drop of Floozie by FrostFrench, based on the theme of the "staycation" (Who knew my home town of Skegness would provide inspiration!). I wish they came in bigger cup sizes because i'm obsessed with the carousel pony pattern! I also saw an incredible Wonderbra strapless bra that is shaped like hands to lift you up: such a great idea and it looked really cool too: if anyone has this i'd love to know if it works or not!

Because next week is National bra fit week, and because 80% of women are wearing the wrong sized bras, i'm going to be tell everyone I know (including you guys!) to go down and get fitted: it makes such a difference! I have constant deep red marks on my shoulders from the weight of my boobs, but it turns out this is simply because my back size wasn't tight enough: your shoulders shouldn't be taking the weight of your breasts, it should be dispersed evenly around your back etc too: we all have little niggly bra issues, and most of them can be fixd by wearing the right size or shape! I know it can be really embarrassing getting fitted but it does make a difference: and you have to remember that the fitters see about a hundred pairs of boobs everyday - so they won't think there's anything special about yours!

I'm a convert: I think i'm going to spend most of my weekend underwear shopping!

Love, Tor xx

Post-clearout: Identify gaps and fill

The best thing about a wardrobe clearout is that, aside from being able to open your wardrobe without things falling on you, it enables you to identify gaps in your existing wardrobe that need filling. So this is exactly what I did last night, and I was suprised by how little I felt I needed!

Things I definitely do not need:

Coats/Jackets - Jackets are my addiction. Whenever i'm out shopping they're the first thing i'm attracted to. I have far too many of them, but can't seem to stop myself buying more. But I will. I don't need any more jackets!

Evening dresses - Every time I went on a night out I complained I had nothing to wear. One major wardrobe clearout later and it turns out that I have more than 10 really lovely dresses (most of them black, alot of them sequinned) that would be perfect for just about any evening occassion. The obsession with fancy dresses has to stop now!

Heels - It's got to be a fact proven somewhere that when you're out shopping for shoes, heels are more exciting to buy than flats. Which probably explains why I have more than 50 pairs, despite the fact I rarely wear heels. I'm going cold turkey: I will not go in a shoe shop, I will not go in a shoe shop. And repeat ten times!

Necklaces - How many long chains does a girl need? Not as many as I have! If you can think of an emblem then I have it on a chain. I like having lots of jewellery, it's great for mixing and matching your wardrobe, but I now have plenty.

Things I definitely do need:

Cardigans - Ironically, I thought I had plenty of cardigans. However having whittled out the ones with holes in the sleeves or that I had shrunk in the washing machine, it turns out I only have two: and one of them is red and has a sequinned cat on it. Which is fun, but not exactly practical! So I ordered these two cardigans with a voucher I was given by Tesco:

At £14 and £16 respectively and made of 100% cotton they were an absolute bargain: I can't wait for them to arrive, I just hope the quality feels as good as it looks!

Bras - My strapless bra has lost it's elastic and all of my white bras are looking decidedly grey: I haven't noticed this all winter long because I generally only wear white underwear in the summer. Time to have a big underwear clearout!

An oversized ring- I'm tired of wearing costume jewellery that turns my finger green. I'm too old to have a green finger every night: surely this should stop at some point?! I've decided that point is now. I intend to invest in a lovely oversized silver (i'm too realistic to think I can afford gold) ring with a beautiful stone in the middle of it.

I'm thinking, with the summer approaching, turquoise would be the perfect choice! But love this malachite one from etsy which comes in at $162. I saw a beautiful silver and amber ring on Camden market at the weekend for £50: might be worth a look!

Black pumps - For someone who owns so many pairs of shoes, I really ought to own a pair of black ballet pumps! I think the reason I don't is that I love feeling a breeze around my feet, so I generally try to migrate from boots to sandals, and then wear the sandals as long as possible until it's time for the boots again. So last night I picked up a pair of black suede pumps in the sale at Faith (just £17) with a nautical anchor detail at the front: very cute!

Vest tops - Summer dresses I have plenty of, but summer tops are something I own very few of: I'm hoping this will be vectified before I book my summer holiday. I will also have to sort out my swimwear situation: something I dread doing every single year!!

Do you know what your wardrobe is missing? Do you think about the missing pieces when you shop (I don't but I intend to!) or do you just buy whatever you think is pretty? I'm interested to hear about your shopping habits and how this affects the dynamics of your wardrobe!

Love, Tor xx

Reebok Easytones: Week one

I mentioned about a month ago that I was taking part in the Reebok Easytone trial. The Reebok Easytones are trainers that are supposed to work harder to tone your bum and legs as you go about your daily business. Well my trainers finally arrived last week, and I got them straight on and gave them a go! Here are my thoughts so far:

- They look good. I mean, they look like trainers not Louboutins, but as trainers go they're quite nice looking and I don't feel unattractive when I walk to work in them (I've taken to wearing them to work and back - every little helps!)

- They're a little tight. I ordered my normal size (a six) but feel like a half a size bigger would have been more comfortable. They have loosened off a little as i'm wearing them, but I still think the sizing is a little on the small side; I would recommend sizing up.

-I think they're making a difference; the back of my legs feel a little firmer. Of course, this could be psychosymatic because I think they're working and it could be because i'm walking more than I normally would (well, when you have new walking shoes it would be rude not to!)

- They have built in odour control; now i'm not saying I have smelly feet, but the fact that they're smaller than I expected means I can't wear them with socks and usually trainers and no-socks is trainer death. Not so with these ones with their built-in odour controlling magic. Or at least not so far...

I'll let you know how i'm finding them in another month or so - it's hard to tell how they're working when i've only been wearing them a week, but so far i'm impressed! I feel like another four weeks will enable me to give a more rounded opinion. If only there were trainers that could tone your stomach and upper arms as well!

Love, Tor xx

Pauls boutique: Yay or nay?

Hey guys,

They have installed a massive display of Pauls boutique handbags right at the front of the entrance to Fenwicks since the last time I went in: I don't go in very often because i'm really not that big a fan of Brent Cross: there are only ever about 5-6 shops I want to go into! It's certainly an eyecatching and colourful display (I noticed it straight away and got my camera out!) but I can't decide how I feel about the brand:

They're very kitsch bags (something I usually like) and on the plus side the shapes are classic and usable. I just don't enjoy the excessive branding and the overuse of neon pink. These aren't cheap bags, but they looks and feel very cheap: they remind me of hubba bubba bubble gum packets: I used to love that stuff when I was a kid! I think this is a teen brand but the prices seem to be more target to twenty-somethings: I certainly didn't ever have enough pocket money to buy a £80 bag when I was a teenager! I also can't escape the feeling that you could do this yourself: the badges, charms and ribbons would be so easy to create and attach to any old bag. So effectively all you are really paying for it a brand.

What do you think of Pauls boutique? Would you ever buy on of these bags? Interested to know where you'd place the brand too, as I can't decide where I think it sits!

Love, Tor xx

Welcome to my world; the brooch collection

At the weekend I showed you my new owl brooch, and mentioned that I have a reasonably extensive brooch collection. I've been collecting brooches since I was a teenager: It started with picking up pretty pieces for a pound or two from car boot sales and turned into spending a little more on pieces, but buying them less frequently.

I think because I enjoy wearing so much black (and always have really) I turned to brooches as a way to bring some diversity and an interesting twist to my outfits. When I first started my collection almost noone was wearing brooches and they were perceived as being really old fashioned, which only increased there appeal to me really. Mostly the collection is costume jewellery, but I have a couple of really fabulous collectable pieces too. My parents gifted me the most amazing oversized swarovski piece for Christmas a couple of years ago. These images show just under half of my collection.
Recently i've started focusing the collection on animal brooches. This has happened mostly because i've seen a lot more animals around: the collection is really organic in that regard, and anything can take my fancy. My most favourite brooches though are cameos: initially they all look similar but it's the different facial features that hold my attention and I love the rich pale colours against the gold.

Which is your favourite piece? And do you collect anything? I find it really interesting what people choose to start collecting and why!

Love, Tor xx

Etsy obsession of the week: Devaniweaver

The "etsy obsession" feature is one of the few features i've started on the blog and managed to keep up every week. I think it's because I love the excuse to spend Sunday evening trawling through etsy and fantasy shopping: you never know what you might find, and some of the shops are so unusual!

This weeks etsy obsession is devaniweaver chosen exactly for that reason: the clothes are so unusual that seeing them made me smile! It isn't to everyone's taste (I'm not even sure if all of it's to mine) but I love it anyway. And each of the pieces are made to order, so you know what you're getting is good quality and handmade (one of my favourite things about etsy!)





The one piece that drives me crazy with delight is this oversized cameo dress: I really want this to wear to my birthday party! It works out at about £80. I've looked at it about 5 times and i'm so close to ordering: what do you guys think??

I also really love the cupcake dress. My sister is thinking of having a cupcake themed wedding: can you imagine how wonderful it would be if I rocked up wearing a version (with a longer skirt) of this dress?! Aso, the pony dress has real hair that you can plait and put clips in; it's a grown up girls dream! All the pieces are very pink, very girly and very cutesy. It's definitely a very youthful etsy shop and I know that if I saw someone walking down the street wearing any of the pieces I would stare and then smile: which is surely the point of having fun with fashion!?

Love, Tor xx

Spring time wardrobe clearout: bag a bargain!

Inspired by Make do Kate (or rather, feeling guilty because she's so efficient and i'm so disorganised) I've spent most of the day organising my wardrobe: separating winter clothes from summer clothes, putting the things that need repair/alteration to one side to work on this week, and ruthlessly removing anything that doesn't fit/doesn't look as good as it should: i'm forever buying things and wearing them once, realising they don't really suit my shape, then leaving them sitting in the wardrobe. I've only done the clothes so far (I still have shoes and accessories to go) but this is the massive cull pile so far:

Kate's list of what to do and how is more comprehensive than anything I could put together, so if you're looking to have a clear out of your own I would recommend reading her posts. Before I send all this to the charity shop I've decided to add it the Fabfrocks shop for a fortnight: nothing will be more than £7 (plus p&P) mostly its all a fiver, and there are some really nice bits including a 100% silk jacket from topshop, a lovely lace dress and a gorgeous panelled dress from ASOS too. The prices are so low because I just want it out of the house really- it's refreshing to be able to see all the clothes I actually like, and will make getting dressed in the mornings so much easier! So if you see anything you fancy just drop me an email!

I can't believe how wonderful the weather has been this weekend: I hope you've all had fun and made the most of it!

Love, Tor xx

Daily wear: Shopping and gelato in Camden

Well, the title of the post seems to say it all: yesterday I went to Camden with my sister. We wandered around the market admiring some of the jewellery (and I brought a hello kitty toothbrush for my bathroom - result!) then we went to Marine Ices in Chalk Farm for gelato: or at least that was the plan; then we smelled their awesome food and ended up having dinner there first. Peppered steak and rosemary roast potatoes: It was lovely! Here's what I wore:

My first vaguely summery outfit of the year- how exciting! I'm wearing the black dress I picked up from river island on Friday with my primark belt and denim jacket, vintage bag, bracelet from topshop, various necklaces and shoes from office. I've had these sandals for about 5 years but I still love wearing them; they were a really great investment. I'd also like to draw your attention to the brooch on my jacket, which is posing with my new toothbrush:

The other half brought me this a fortnight ago from the vintage jewellery section in John Lewis, and I have worn it every day since; such a great gift! I love brooches (I keep meaning to post my collection!) and birds, so it's the perfect combination. And here's the piece de resistance:

My icecream sundae: yum yum! So indulgent; I had three scoops: ferrera rocher, pistachio and tirimisu, with hot chocolate sauce, biscuit pieces, fresh cream and wafers. All of the ice cream is freshly made with double cream and so delicious! I didn't eat it all but I gave it a damn good shot - what a great way to spend a Saturday!

Love, Tor xx

River Island: Mid-season sales review

Hi guys,

The mid-season sales are in full swing and I haven't had a decent try on session/review session for aages, so I thought it was time to reignite the old format and show you my five of the best from the River Island sale. I've turned into a real River Island fan of late - I love their cuts, their patterns, and their attention to detail. I also love their sales!

Floral jumpsuit, £20

Chartreuse evening dress, £20

Star print playsuit, £15

Black studded frill dress, £15

Nude and black t-shirt, £8

I especially loved the black dress and the floral jumpsuit: the dress would be really versatile for almost any occassion and the jumpsuit is just plain fun: teamed with stack heels it would look so seventies! The playsuit looked great too, but it wasn't long enough in the crotch, causing weird ruching. Similarly the evening dress had design errors: it looked good from the front but had absolutely no support in the back!

The river island sale is always great; reductions of 50% and more (usually more) also mean it's a good place to make bigger purchases like leather jackets, winter boots and jackets: they had a massive selection of lightweight spring/summer jackets that I would definitely recommend checking out!

Love, Tor xx