Happy Halloween!

Hope you're all having a suitably spooky weekend! Mike and I carved these pumpkins this weekend (he did the Hello Kitty!) and are on our way to the London dungeons for their "hell-oween" experience: i'm wearing my skull scarf and pumpkin orange nails for the occasion! Have a great day!

Love, Tor xx

River Island sale part two: The changing room edition

Hi Guys,

This morning Mike and I popped to Brent Cross to get his hair cut, and whilst he was being primped and pruned how could I resist another pop into River Island to check out the sale? (last week I went to Oxford Street, so I reasoned the stock might be different) And I was right: it was! The extra half price off sale ends tomorrow, so if you're interested in checking it out you're running out of time! Alot of the clothes in the sale are summery, but that's a bonus for me as I need supplies for the honeymoon. There's also a lot of stuff perfect for Christmas parties if you're looking for something new on a budget.

Here's what I tried on:

Sequinned jacket: original price £59.99, price today £12.50

I really loved this jacket (yes, I bought it!) as it's the kind of thing you can throw over a plain boring cotton dress, such as above, and turn it into a party look: it jazzes up anything! I also liked the matt-ness of the sequins and the soft cotton lining.

Embellished dress: original price £49.99, price today £10

Loved this beautiful dress with the embellishment on the waist. It fit beautifully and had great gold thread running through it. (Yup. I got this one too!)

Blue dress: original price £34.99, price today £7.50

I had such high hopes for this Alice in Wonderland blue dress, but it looked awful on: it was far too short, and tight on the boobs: as soon as i'd zipped it I had to unzip it straight away. A shame, as it was a bargain!

Leopard print dress. Original price £34.99. Price now: Still £34.99!

OK, so this wasn't in the sale, but I liked it so much I had to try it on! Loved the pattern, the skater skirt, and the fact that it had sleeves. This would be the perfect dress for my work Christmas party, which is a lunchtime affair: you can't throw on your finest party frock for lunch!

Have you checked out the River Island sale yet? What did you buy? Tell me all about your bargains!!

Love, Tor xx

Shopping haul: The River Island sale

Hi guys,
The River Island sale has just gotten even better: until Sunday there is an extra 50% off all sale prices! I am on a self-inflicted shopping ban throughout November and December (apart from for Christmas presents of course!) so I decided to have a last fling in River Island, and even managed to pick up a couple of gorgeous party dresses!

Here's my haul (more pics to be added shortly!):



Grey seude shoes (were £59.99, reduced to £25, I paid £12.50)
Black one shoulder party dress (was £39.99, reduced to £20, I paid £10)
Peg leg trousers (were £29.99, reduced to £15, I paid £7.50)
Shoulder padded space cardigan (was £34.99, reduced to £17, I paid £8.50)
Pink floaty dress (was £39.99, reduced to £20, I paid £10)
Black gypsy dress (was £44.99, reduced to £15, I paid £7.50)

So if we do some fun fashion maths, that means I got six pieces worth £249.94 for just £56.

The shoes, black dress, and cardigan all look great together, giving me a perfect Christmas party outfit for less than I would have normally spent just on the dress. The pink dress will be teamed with my tough black wedges and trusty leather jacket giving another festive outfit: I love having new things for special occasions, so this is the perfect way for me to make that an affordable option.

These prices are considerably cheaper than Primark, but of course the cuts and quality are better! If you're thinking of checking it out remember the sale ends on Sunday! There's plenty of stuff on the River Island website, but in my experience, there's lots more variety of stuff in store than there is on the site.

Happy shopping!
Love, Tor xx

Halloween costume ideas

Hi guys,
With Halloween just a few days away, everyone is talking about what costumes they are going to be wearing. I love Halloween (we will be spending ours at the London Dungeons) and I love dressing up, but I hate unimaginative slut costumes: what exactly does a playboy bunny have to do with Halloween? My thoughts exactly! A costume party is the perfect opportunity to express yourself: do you really want people to think the inner you is a stripper, or worse still, that you have so little imagination you think its OK to dress as a witch? (again!)

So if you still haven't decided what you're going as and you need a costume quick, here are my picks of the best ones to be had:

Of course there was bound to be a Lady Gaga costume or two in the mix. And lets be honest, the Lady is pretty scary! This has all the aspects needed to be a great Halloween look! For around £40 you can buy the two official lady gaga outfits. But lets be honest, the quality is unlikely to be great, and for that money you could buy a dress you might actually wear again! Why not just invest in a couple of cans of coke to wrap in your hair, throw on a pair of fishnet tights with either a black dress or black leotard (depending on how daring you are!) and then add a black studded leather jacket. The one in the picture is from Topshop.

Corpse bride: I have weddings on the brain at the moment, and the corpse bride costume is a nice easy one to do! Tesco's had an amazing corpse bride costume on their website (it's now sold out online) However with a little time this is a costume that can look great on a budget: buy an old wedding dress or long white dress (the older the better!) from your local charity shop. Tear it and add either streaks of dirt or fake blood. White out your face with facepaints and your hair with talc and you're ready to go. Easy as that!
Speaking of my wedding (were we? again?) Alice in Wonderland characters make great costumes (especially if you team up with a group of friends) and are so popular they are no 2 on the list of 100 most popular homemade costumes. From Alice and the Queen of Hearts to the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit, these would be super-easy to buy, and easy to make too (especially the hatter and the rabbit) The Alice dress shown is available from etsy.

Other great ideas for fashion lovers include: Marie Antionette, a 1920's flapper girl, Anna Wintour, and my personal favourite: Karl Lagerfeld.

I can't wait for the start of the witching hour: i'm making jellies with spiders in, and am even attempting orange cake pops (I want to make them look like pumpkins!)How will you be spending your Halloween? What will you be dressing up as this Halloween?

Love, Tor xx

The Shoe Wheel: A story in pictures

Hi guys,
Storage is always a massive problem in our house; we live in a reasonably-sized two bedroomed flat full of shelves and cupboards, but we still have piles of stuff everywhere because we have nowhere to put it. So I was delighted when I was asked by Tszuji if i'd like to try a shoe wheel: i'd seen them in the press, and always thought they looked like a brilliant idea, plus it could solve the irritating shoes-all-over-the-hallway issue. We weren't diappointed.

What follows below is the pictorial story of the shoe wheel: building it, using it, loving it!

Of course, I always prefer it if things are built already, but the shoe wheel came flat packed, so I roped Mike in to do the building. From start to finish the shoe wheel took about 20 minutes to build: I think it will take considerably longer to choose my favourite shoes to put inside though! The spin mechanism is great, and the shoes are easy to get in and out: the outer cage is made of thick elastic, so you just pull it aside for access.

I think this is such a clever invention, a storage space saver, and a handy way to choose which shoes to wear in the morning. The only small con to it is that it is taller than you'd expect, and was slightly too tall to fit into my wardrobes, which meant I had to find the floor space to store it: still, better than having shoes all over the floor!

Love, Tor xx

Cowshed lifestyle: A quick peek!

Hi guys,

This is just a little post, but during the week I went to the launch of Cowshed's new lifestyle range, and I wanted to tell you lovely people about it!

The collection featured a selection of lifestyle products including lounge wear, make up bags, some lovely leather notebooks, and the gorgeous cashmere sets shown above. Cashmere is, of course, incredibly expensive, so the prices of the sets were wince-worthy; nearly £300 for the travel set! Having said that, if I were lucky enough to have a jet set lifestyle then this is exactly what i'd want to have in my travel bag. It felt so soft, and looks super-stylish too: this would make a great gift! It seems a shame to waste good cashmere on babies though: in my experience, they'd only be sick on it! Much more reasonably priced were the gorgeous leather notebooks, which came in a range of colours and catchphrases, and were £40; I want the one that said 'grumpy' on it!

I love the smell of Cowshed products. I have a couple of their scented candles in my bathroom, and light them when I have a bath after a long day at work! I'm not sure that's enough to make me want to buy a pack of Cowshed branded knickers, but if you're a massive fan of the brand then this could be the range for you; I can testify that the quality of everything I saw was fantastic!

Love, Tor xx

Early Christmas Wishlist: Part One

Hi guys,

I know it's early to be thinking about Christmas, but yesterday I spent the day with my sisters starting our Christmas craft projects: we were making cards, gift tags, and felt Christmas tree decorations! The problem with crafting is that the more you do, the more you think you can do: I've even starting drawing designs for personalised Brierley-family Christmas T-Shirts!

Because i'm a girl that likes stuff, thinking about Christmas got me thinking about presents. So I thought now would be a great time to write my Christmas gift list (part one!) I'm sure this is a list that will change several times before December!

-The coat is from Miss Selfridge. I don't need a new winter coat, but this one taunts me: every time i'm in Miss Selfridge it's there, looking all gorgeous and tempting when I know I shouldn't buy it!

-Chanel and Dior make up. I am a very lucky girl, as this is actually what mum and dad are buying me for Christmas! I am doing my own make up for the wedding, and I will be doing it with the finest of products (I find this really exciting!)

- I love Disney couture accessories, and for me, this is the best piece in the new collection! It is a sharks jaw necklace from The little Mermaid.

- Sigh and drool all over this Marc Jacobs watch I found on Asos. It will be mine!
- I would love a new computer. The best thing about writing a fictional list is that you can get really unrealistic, and I would love a notebook so that I could blog on the go!

- Also on the unrealistic gifts list are these Alexander McQueen heels. It was absolutely love at first sight! I really want to wear red designer shoes under my wedding dress and these could be the winners - please let them go to half price in the January sales!

With all of these gifts on my Christmas list, I suppose it's time to start saving for the January sales!

Love, Tor xxx

Sneak peek: Florence and Fred Spring/Summer Collection

Hi guys,

Last night I went for a sneak peek of the Florence and Fred collection for next Spring/Summer. I know it's a little early to be thinking about next Spring when it's just starting to get cold and icy, but now i'm looking forward to it already! For me next summer immediately equates to my wedding and honeymoon, so I get really excited when I see summer clothes, and mentally pack them in my suitcase!

I loved the navy mid-length full skirt (shown above) and they had a great range of crazily affordable accessories, including some really pretty peach sandals, which were gorgeous! And i'm definitely going to be picking up that straw boater (also above)

Below are two of the pieces I really liked! They aren't the most fashion-forward dresses that were in the collection, but they looked and felt lovely: great patterns, gorgeous soft fabrics, and nipped in waists. Yum:

Other pieces I loved were some wide legged almost sheer floral trousers, and a selection of amazing patterned shorts. The leg wear was awesome! There was also a great range of floral dresses with a 50s flare that would be a curvy girls dream!

The nicest sideline of going to events is getting to hang out with other lovely bloggers. It was awesome to see Gem (of Gem Fatale) and Amy (of Wolf Whistle). It was also awesome to drink yummy cocktails and eat yummy canapes. I know they're laden with calories, but I am a girl who likes a canape. Go figure!

Whilst checking over the collections we also got to see the Autumn/Winter Limited collection, which is going online shortly. It featured some Christmas dresses so gorgeous that i'm going to give them their own little party feature next week!

Love, Tor xx

Daily wear: Fur hat and thermal knickers

Hi guys,
I know the whole country is going on about the weather (well, we are British!) but it's just turned even colder! I very foolishly decided to wear a light jacket today, and layer it up with a cardigan and winter accessories, and I have been left feeling like an icicle! At least i'm wearing my thermal underwear: thermal vest, and two pairs of tights. Check out the frost on the ground, as well as what i'm wearing:

Hat: Urban Outfitters, Dress and clogs: Topshop, Belt: Primark, Jacket: River Island, Snood: H&M, Bag: Joy, Necklace: theremedi.

Yes I do wear that Primark belt a lot: I would go as far as to say it is one of my wardrobe staples! And those topshop clogs have been my best Autumn/Winter investment: having taken a while to break in they are now the comfiest shoes I own, and are perfect for smartening up an outfit or going from day to casual night!

The bargains of this look though are the jacket and the hat. I got the jacket this time last year (ish) in the River Island sale for just £5. The hat was from an Urban Outfitters sample sale and cost just £3. Here's a closeup:

I just wish i'd thought to throw sunglasses in my handbag, because it may be freezing cold, but it is also really sunny!
Love, Tor xx

Christmas Party Time: Girl Meets Dress

Soooo, your Christmas party is approaching? Check. You want to look better than all the other girls in the office? Check. (noone will admit this but it's true!) You wish you could afford a designer dress, but you know you can't? Check. This is my own personal Christmas story, but i'm pretty sure I speak for loads of you when I say that it sucks to wear Primark when everyone else will be wearing Prada!

But I have just discovered Girl Meets Dress. Or as I will be referring to it from now on, The Solution. Girl Meets Dress is a site that lets you hire dresses for any event, at a fraction of the cost they would be to buy. And it's much easier than I thought it would be: you don't have to be a member to hire a dress, whatever you pick is sent to you before your event, and you even get a try-on option, and they even send an returns envelope with the dress so sending it back is easy peasy too! The site is like designer dress heaven: for a couple of nights at a time, all these dresses could be yours!

I have spent ages trawling the site choosing gorgeous dresses to wear to my Christmas party, and a series of imaginary events to (dinner on a yacht, a celebrity wedding, the list goes on!) Here are the three dresses I wish I could wear to my next big event:

Mark Jacobs frill dress, Haute Hippie ruffle skirt dress, Phillip Lim ballerina dress.

Dress hire from Girl Meets Dress starts from £39: admittedly you could buy a dress from Topshop for about the same, but if you really want a showstopping designer dress for a special ocassion then this is the affordable way of doing it: hiring a dress from here could be the most satisfactory one night stand you ever had!

Love, Tor xx

PS - As a girl with curves myself, I wanted to point out that they don't just stock sample sizes! You can search for your dress by size, and they go up to a size 16. xx

Dailywear: Dolly dress and fur

Hi guys,
The weather has turned, and it is cold! Not dig out your gloves and stick a hat on your head cold, but definitely winter coat and boots cold. Luckily this is my favourite time of the year: I love wearing layers, I love wrapping up warm, and I love having the chance to dig out my vast collection of coats! Here's how i'm protecting myself from the elements today:

Dress: River Island, Jacket: Carboot sale find, Boots: TKMaxx, Bag: Joy, Belt: Primark, Necklace: River Island

The outfit would have looked better with either my tan clogs or wedge boots, but I just wanted to be comfortable! I love this jacket, and it was a bargain, as I picked it up on a car boot sale for just £5. Also a bargain was my necklace, which I picked up from the River Island sale for £3 (reduced from £14.99) The dolly dress is a little short, and i'm constantly pulling it down, but I just loved it's little lace collar. Here's a close up of it, and the other details of the outfit:

Underneath the dress I am wearing a thinsulate vest, and on my legs are very thick leggings. My office is pretty icy, so I wish i'd thrown a cardigan in my handbag for extra warmth too. How are you keeping warm today? Any tips on looking stylish and warm, without resorting to the wooly jumpers?

Love, Tor

PS - Have you completed the fabfrocks user survey yet? Not only will you win my eternal love, but you could also win a great prize too!!

More prizes with the Fabfrocks Reader Survey!

In an attempt to fulfill my very early (or very late, depending on how you look at it!) New Year's Resolution of making this blog a better one, i've started a reader survey to find out what you guys like, what you do, and who you are!

There are only 15 questions, and it takes less than 3 minutes to complete: I can't promise it will be fun (surveys are never fun!) but I can promise i'll listen and you'll see the results, and the changes I make based on them!

As an added incentive to fill in the survey (and make my day!) one of the questions will ask for your email address (but you don't have to provide it if you don't want to!) All of the email addresses I do receive will be added to a big old box and one will be randomly selected to win the fabulous prize above: my way of saying a big massive thank you for taking part!

The prize is a selection of goodies i've received through the blog over the past month or so, and includes:
- A 30ml bottle of DKNY "Be Delicious"
- A very cute button bracelet
- A can of Batiste "diva" dry shampoo
- A Trafalgar Hotel faashion cotton bag
- A Melvita organic facial wash

Click here to take the survey. Thanks in advance for helping a girl out!

Love, Tor xx

Giveaway: DKNY Be Delicious Perfume!

Hi guys,
DKNY Be Delicious perfume is 5 years old. And to celebrate, I have a 30 ml bottle, and a matching make up bag to give away!

It's a great looking perfume: i'm a big fan of a gimmick, so I love the apple label on the bottle, and its apple shape. Of course, before I could give away a bottle to you, I had to have a little bottle to try myself, and I am wearing it right now. It smells Delicious, if you'll excuse the obvious joke! Its very fruity and sweet: I would say it was a youthful fragrance because of it's sugary overtones, which are noticable but not overpowering. It's definitely a day time perfume, as I like more depth in my evening ones, but it's perfect for days in the office, and its smell reminds me of summertime!

To win all you have to do is follow the blog (see the big follow box to your right!) and leave a comment below letting me know what your favourite perfume is. The winner will be chosen at random next Monday (25th October) Good luck!

Love, Tor xx

PS - In addition to my fab competition, DKNY have also launched a competition on their Facebook page with a trip the New York City to win. Entrants have to design their own Be Delicious bottle and Donna Karan herself will select the best design and the author of the creation will win the trip as a reward! Definitely worth checking out!

Online Survey Software

PPS - Please take 2 minutes to take the Fabfrocks Reader Survey. This will really help me make the site better, and everyone who enters will be added to a prize draw to win a fabulous fashion and beauty prize (which includes another bottle of DKNY Be Delicious Perfume!)

WIN My ultimate style experience with Ford Ka and Toni and Guy!

I was very excited to be approached by Toni and Guy and Ford Ka, to take part in their latest project! Ford Ka and Toni & Guy have teamed up with four top UK fashion bloggers (that's us above!) to find the four most stylish people in the country!

I was asked to come up with my ultimate style experience and the lovely folks from Ford Ka will make it happen for one lucky winner. So if you win my "Simply Fabulous" experience you'll be treated to lots of pampering, shopping, and other fashionable treats!

You can enter the ultimate style competition by simply uploading your photo or video on the Ford Ka Facebook Fan Page explaining why you think you are the most stylish person in Britain! To find out more about the competition, watch my cringe-worthy appearance in the video below:

As you can see, there are four great style experiences to be won. The 20 competition participants with the most Facebook ‘Likes’ will be entered into the final round of the competition, and the four of us will pick four stylish winners. Each winner will be sent on one of our ultimate style experiences, and will be loaned a Ford Ka for two months.

You can view another video of me explaining all the details of my "Simply Fabulous" style experience by clicking here.

Throughout October and November, shoppers will also be able to enjoy a free hair styling consultation at various shopping centres around the UK and walk away with a 15% off Toni & Guy voucher. Participating shopping centres include:

Newcastle Metro Centre 15th-16th October
Birmingham Bullring 22nd-23rd October
London/Kent Bluewater 29th-30th October
Manchester Arndale Centre 13th-14th November

If you can make it to any of these locations you can also enter the competition there and then, as there will be pods to upload your pictures to facebook as soon as you've had your hair done! I'd love it if one of you lovely readers won, so even if you can't get to the shops to have your hair done, don't forget to enter here!

Love, Tor xx

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hi guys,
Reading stats like this makes you feel frightened and grateful it's not you (honest but true): Every year nearly 46,000 people receive the devastating news that they have breast cancer. This month alone, nearly 4,000 people will be told they have breast cancer and another 1,000 people will die from the disease.

We're exactly halfway through breast cancer awareness month today. We all know someone who's been affected by cancer, and breast cancer is the cancer than occurs most in women under 35: that's women like us! I'm not about to start preaching at you all to remember to check your breasts, but fondling yourself every now and again isn't too hard, is it? It could save your life.

So now it's on the inevitable "show you support" bit! Don't worry, i'm not about to attempt to run a marathon (i'd bloody kill myself!) or sit around in a bath tub full of jelly. There's no sponsorship required. Supporting breast cancer awareness is so easy this month: all you have to do is shop!
You can visit the breakthrough breast cancer website to see the big range of pink products they have available, which big chunks of the product cost going straight to the charity. Every single penny makes a real difference to the lifesaving work this charity does.

I'm wearing my pink ribbon on my jacket. You can pick them up from just about every highstreet store and supermarket. I am going to call them this months ultimate style statement! Are you wearing yours?

Love, Tor xx

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

Clothing at Tesco: Post it on!

Check out these shoulder pads!? I was very excited when Clothing at Tesco asked me to take part in Post it On (basically, bloggers tag!) and even more excited when the dress I chose to start my game of post it on arrived this morning! Post it on is celebrating the new Autumn/Winter collection currently instore/online from Tesco: it was actually hard to choose just one item, as there was so much on the site I wanted (especially from the F&F Couture range, which looks 10 times better this season than it did last!) But enough of that, lets look at the dress I picked!!

The dress is from the new A/W Florence and Fred Couture range, and these pictures really don't do it justice as they make what are in fact soft velvet details look rather shiny! It has buttons up the cuffs, and tiny Victorian style buttons all the way up one side of the dress. It has draping across the hips, an assymetric hem, and those show stopping shoulder pads: i'm nuts about this dress!

The dress is so dramatic that it speaks for itself, so I styled it pretty simply with chunky wedge boots and a skinny black studded belt, to draw in the waist of the dress a little. I was worried it would make my boobs look too big (I never wear anything with a high neck like this) but I didn't think they looked too bad to be honest!

The blogger i'm posting this on to (randomly chosen by pointing my finger at my links page!) is Harriet of Where is Harriet. In playground parlance, I believe i'm supposed to hit you and scream "Tag!" Can't wait to see what you pick!

Love, Tor x

A/W10 at ASOS: Or things my heart desires

I know everyone is raving over the ASOS sale, and there are some great bargains to be had, but as the seasons have changed, all I care about right now is wrapping up warm in glorious winter layers. And when scanning through ASOS today pretending to look for sensible flat winter boots, I couldn't resist looking at some of their snuggly winter clothes. And I was amazed by how great some of their accessories looked: I want to buy them all!

(Knit headband £16, Fur snood £35, Rabbit ear hat £26)
Who could resist a fur trapper hat, complete with bunny ears!? I love faux fur accessories, which means i'm very lucky as they're everywhere this season! The contrast between the fur and the knit in the headband is great for the heritage trend, and is incredibly versitile: perfect for dressing up or down.

(Bright patterned snood £20, Fur cape £50, Knit snood £16)
The bold aztec pattern on the snood looks lovely, and would be a great focal point for a plain outfit or jacket. I love snoods both because of their modern style and their practicality; they're great for keeping out a draft and can be used to cover your head and your neck if you have a lack-of-hat emergency!

Sadly I don't need anymore winter accessories: in fact, i'm prepared to admit that my hats and scarves box is so overloaded I probably need to cull some so that it'll fit in my wardrobe. But it's such an easy way to update your winter look without having to buy an expensive new coat! My Isabella Oliver winter coat from last year is still in really good condition, so i'll be adding a snood and furry hat to it, and noone (except all of you, of course!) will ever know....

Love, Tor xx

It's wool week at Selfridges

They say you learn a new thing every day, and I just learned that today is the first day of wool week (which runs 11-17 October) Wool week is a brand new initiative backed by the Prince of Wales to promote the British wool industry. And it couldn't really come at a better time as I (and I suspect half the country) am obsessed with wool at the moment, and can only think of interesting knitwear!

Selfridges are really throwing themselves behind wool week, which lots of events in store this week: i'm really hoping i'll have time to pop down and check at least one of them out! There will be a yarn bombing event with various locations around the store being covered in knitted wool. And (the most exciting bit) you can actually help create a knitted house, a work in progress throughout Wool Week. You’re invited to join in creating the knitted cover for the house, as well as decorate it, with wool kindly donated by Rowan and Coats.

Of course you can also buy a wide range of knitwear (as usual) and the store will also be launching a Scarf on a Roll – simply tell the scarf folks how long you want your scarf to be (one, two or three metres), they'll cut it to size and you pay for different lengths. The unique 100% wool knit, knitted in Scotland, means that it won’t fray.

In honour of wool week, I am going to try and wear lovely knits every day this week, and if I don't run out of steam by tomorrow, I'll document my efforts in blog form at the weekend! Join me!?

Love, Tor xx

Geektastic: Debenhams launches iphone app!

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to have a preview and a play with debenhams new iphone app, which launches tomorrow. Because I am a big old geek who loves her iphone, I was suprised at how much I loved the app: it's so intuative, and I couldn't think of anything extra I would've added to it.

There are lots of features you would expect: one touch searching and shopping, wishlists (perfect for Christmas shopping), giftlists, and a store finder, which uses GPS technology to help customers navigate the high street, locating their nearest Debenhams store as well as linking to Google maps to provide directions. There's also a ‘My Debenhams’ tab which narrows down the selection of items displayed by your preferences: type, brand, colour, price and size.

But the really exciting bit is the barcode scanner: it's the first time this has been done by a highstreet retailer, and means you can use the phone’s camera to snap product barcodes, automatically checking pricing and reviews. Aside from all the practical implications (never getting to the till and not knowing the price again!) it's also a lot of fun to use: when I got to play with it I was literally scanning everything!

It's free app, so definitely worth downloading and having a play with if you like to shop on the move, or you're just a big geek like me!

Love, Tor xx

Fabfrocks Reviews: Blank necklace from theRemedi.co.uk

I'd never heard of theRemedi.co.uk until last week, when they dropped me an email asking me to check out their site and (even more excitingly) choose a piece from the site to review for you guys. Obviously I said yes, and hotfooted it over to the site to find out what it was all about: I was pleasantly surprised to find a unique website stocking gorgeous items you really wouldn't find anywhere else. Nothing on the site is mass produced, and some of the pieces are even one-offs!

After much prevarication amongst the many pages of beautiful things, I chose a necklace from Blank London, and was massively surprised (in a good way) when the necklace turned up the very next day!

I was so excited when the necklace arrived: It came in a beautiful box, which made it feel especially luxurious, as I hardly ever have jewellery that doesn't come on a plastic hanger which says Freedom @ Topshop on it! But I was even more excited when I opened up the box: the necklace is beautiful! It smells of leather, it clinks satifactorily when you move it, it's heavy and it looks great. I love chunky oversized jewellery, so for me this was an instant hit.

There were only two of these necklaces available on the site, and it makes me feel really special to know that I am wearing something that is such a limited-edition, there is only one other person in the world I can bump into that would have it: unlike shopping in topshop or primark, where you'd have to walk down the street with your eyes closed if you wanted to avoid seeing someone else wearing your new top!

I love this site, and my new necklace: I can see it becoming my go-to piece of statement jewellery this winter. More pictures of this are coming shortly, as I wore it yesterday when I was filmed for a very special competition that's coming soon. And I love it so much i'm wearing it today too!

Love, Tor xx

AW10: Primark's coats and boots

Hi guys,

Looking through my stats and site traffic yesterday, I couldn't believe how many people were finding the blog by searching for new season Primark boots or coats. But actually, my Primark winter posts are from last winter, so those poor souls won't be able to buy whatever they find! So being the selfless lovely person that I am (ha!) I popped down to Primark armed with my camera to seek out the best of this seasons winter wears: what the people want, the people get!

Primark still don't allow you to take photos in store, and the staff are getting particularly vigilant about enforcing the rules, so apologies if the picture quality isn't great but I had to take these on my iphone:

The camel coat on the top right is the most expensive thing I have ever seen in primark: this cashmere mix coat is £49. I can testament that it feels beautiful though, and it looks great on! The black coat on the top right is exactly the same except that it is a wool mix, and is therefore cheaper at £29. There were lots of military details on coats too, and if you still need protecting from the Autumn showers, they still had all their rain macs and lighter weight coats in store too.

Ahh, the ubiquitous faux Mulberry Alexa, as seen in nearly every store on the high street this winter! The Primark one costs just £9, and they also comes with a matching purse. It's actually a good sized bag, and not bad quality, given the price.

If there's a trend on the high street then you can guarantee that Primark have come up with their own cheaper version of it! The boots instore today were replicas of so many other boots i've seen: cowboy boots, heeled clog boots, biker boots, and traditional knee high boots. There was also the best pair of Gareth Pugh replica-style chunky black wedge boots that I fell absolutely in love with, but sadly I couldn't take a picture!

Another thing worth mentioning is the pajamas! I'm a self confessed pajama addict, and I had a field day in the pajama section of the store where all the winter PJs are out in force, and you can even buy an adult onesy, complete with built-in feet! You can guess what i'll be wearing when the cold nights draw in!

Love, Tor x

In the Changing room: At Debenhams

Hi guys,
More winter wears, this time from Debenhams, where my coat obsession went into overdrive! I let myself try on my two favourite coats, then I tried on a couple of winter wardrobe staples, all from Red Herring (Debenhams has so many departments that I had to limit myself to one at a time!) Here are my picks:

Oh coats, how I love thee! The military green coat with the fur trim had lots of Russian influence, and was a great fit, although the double breasted style doesn't really suit my shape, and this was further emphasised by how many buttons it has! My love of all things sailor meant I had to try on the second coat! It looked great from the front, but the swing shape meant it was massively oversized at the back.

Loved this oversized blanket-cardigan, which had a great pattern, a great fit, and super-soft knit too: what more could a girl want!? The tiered hippie-style dress looked lovely, and I was obsessed with the wide sheer sleeves, but it was so short that I had to bend my knees slightly to protect my modesty, and i'm not tall! It would look great over jeggings or skinny jeans though.

I always get so excited about the Designers at Debenhams stuff when i'm in Debenhams that i'm guilty of overlooking Red Herring, but I think it's definitely worth checking out, particularly if you're in the need of new outerwear!

Love, Tor xx