Daily wear: An ode to my new winter coat

Dear coat,

Thank you for finding your way to the French Connection outlet and being so resilient: it must have been difficult being sent to a second-rate shop and hanging there for so long, knowing that noone wanted you. It must have really hurt to have only badly fitting dresses and odd leather goods for company, knowing you didn't deserve to be there.

I'm so glad I found you: I knew as soon as I saw you sitting alongside the mustard coat I thought I wanted that I would make you mine: I knew I could make you happy. I'll take you out and show you the world (well, North London, anyway) i'll play with you in the snow. I'll look after you and repair you if you ever get hurt.

I love that you're so versatile: I can style you with tan vintage accessories at the weekend and get a fab retro look, but you also look smart and sleek with black accessories for meetings and trips to the office.

Today I teamed you in vintage style with a big belt, a couple of old brooches, a patterned scarf and my cozt fur hat. You've protected me from the snow and you look great. Thank you!

Love, Tor xx

Christmas wishlist: Stella McCarney hat

Today's Christmas wishlist item is in honour of the snow falling over almost the whole country, leaving everyone with the day off chirpy and everyone who had to trudge into work (like me!) a bit grumpy. It's also in honour of Stella McCartney, who announced the birth of her fourth child today: it's a Stella McCartney hat.

I love it's slouchy oversized shape and its subtle leopard print. I like grey as an alternative to black in the winter (where it's black coats and hats everywhere you turn) so this would be a nice wearable alternative that you could still wear everyday. It costs £155 from Net-a-porter.

Love, Tor xx

Sample Sale alert: Twenty8Twelve and Monsoon/Accessorize

Hi guys,

I seem to be obsessed with discount shopping this week: first a post about Bicester village and now i'm talking about sample sales! Still, it's the clever way to do your Christmas shopping, and you end up with much more for your money than you would if you hit the high street.

Here are two sample sales i'm really excited about that are starting this week:

Twenty6Twelve sample sale

Wednesday 1st December 2-6pm

Thursday 2nd December 12-7pm

Friday 3rd December 12-7pm

Saturday 4th December 10-6pm

Address: 99c Talbot road, London, W11 2AT Cash and credit card only.

Monsoon/Accessorize sample sale

Friday 3rd December 8.30-7pm

Address: The American Church in London, 79a Tottenham Court Road, W1T 4TD

This is a cash and cheque only sale. £1 admission, which goes to the Monsoon/Accessorize charity trust.

At this rate i'm going to have a wardrobe full of party frocks, and no money left to spend on partying! Still, who isn't a sucker for a bargain-a-licous pretty dress?

Love, Tor xx

Christmas wishlist: French Connection coat

Hi guys,

In honour of my lovely new coat (which I picked up yesterday from the French Connection outlet and am completely in love with!) today's wishlist item is this fab coat from French Connection.

I love it's 80s style shape and slight bat wing sleeves. Personally, i'm too heavy busted to wear a double breasted coat, but on someone smaller up top, I think this coat would look amazing: it's a versatile piece that would look rock-chicky teamed with jeans and ankle boots, but really sleek over a little black dress.

At £190 it definitely isn't the cheapest coat on the highstreet, but it is a great shape and classic colour that means it will last you winter after winter: after a couple of heavy snows the cost-per-wear of this coat means it will practically pay for itself!

Love, Tor xx

Day out: Christmas shopping at Bicester Village

Hi guys,

Today my sister and I went Christmas shopping to Bicester village (although we ended up buying a few treats for ourselves whilst we were there!) This is my third trip to Bicester, and I really like shopping there; it's an outlet village just outside of Oxford. According to their website they are just a 60 minute drive from London, but from my part of London it is more like an hour and a half. Still, we just popped the radio on and enjoyed the ride: it was worth it! Here's what I picked up:

The Cath Kidson outlet was one of my favourite shops. I picked up a pair of Christmas mugs for someone's stocking for £8, a much-needed Oyster card holder for £3.50 and refreshed my kitchen with new tea towels and a replacement oven glove. This shop had everything: the bed linen, the sewing kits, the crockery... I had to be held back from blowing my savings on the lot! And all of the staff were so helpful and friendly too: that always makes a shopping experience so much nicer!

Bicester is mostly high end stores, but there are a number of high street favourites too, and these are much more in my price range! I got this great bangle for £2 and these flip flops for my honeymoon for £2.40 from Accessorize! The Accessorize is attached to a Monsoon store which would be the perfect place to go if you're looking for a party frock: they had a massive selection of dresses with up to 70% off RRP.

Finally, I got myself a new coat for £65 from the French Connection outlet. I was surprised they had so many coats with such great discounts at this time of year: The original price on this was £150, and I think it's classic enough that it will last a good few years. I'll show you what it looks like in a daily wear post in the week!

I also picked up a few Christmas presents that I can't write about - the blog has ears! Bicester is such a lovely place to walk around, and has such a great atmosphere. If I wasn't busy buying presents for everyone else (and paying for a wedding!) then I would have picked up a gorgeous Vivienne Westwood bag, some lovely bits from Crabtree and Evelyn, an Alexander McQueen scarf.... the list goes on. And the discounts are incredible: lil sis fell in love with a pair of gold Jimmy Choo shoes that had been reduced to £99.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? If not, when do you start? I've never understood people that can leave it until Christmas eve, so i'd love to know your present-buying rituals!

Love, Tor xx

Christmas wishlist: Union Jack tea cosy

When I think of Christmas, or any other special present-buying occasion, the delights of etsy are never far from my mind. So when I saw this gorgeous Union Jack tea cosy, I knew it would have to make it on the list: my house is full of this kind of kitsch, and it's patriotic to boot! Some may say it's a little tacky - I say it's cool.

With the Royal Wedding never far from anyone's lips I predict this kind of thing will be really popular this Christmas, and a great thing to have as a conversation piece when the wedding does finally arrive next year. And besides, what's more English than a nice cup of tea?
This is from lovely Etsy seller, Diane Tubb Designs and comes in at $25 (approx £16)

Merry Christmas!
Love, Tor xx

Previous wishlist items:
Topshop beaded collar
Sam Edelman boots

Christmas wishlist: Sam Edelman boots

See shoes, want shoes, lust! Today's wishlist item is these Sam Edelman boots. They're exclusively available in Harvey Nichols (and on their website) and these babies have just about every detail a rock chick boot could feature: a concealed heel, zip fastenings, contrasting quilted leather panel with buckle fastenings and a branded sole.
They come in at £176.

Merry Christmas!
Love, Tor xx

Previous wishlist items:
Topshop beaded collar

Mint Velvet press day for S/S11

Hi guys,
Earlier today I popped over to the Mint Velvet press day to check out their new collection for next year. It seems weird to be writing about Christmas one minute and next summer in the next, but it's exciting to look at sheer silks and floaty fabrics when you're wearing your drab winter coat. And seeing what everyone will be wearing next summer also gives me some ideas of how I can inject those trends into my look now.

Overall I was impressed with the new collections, and saw lots of great, versatile pieces. I was left immediately wishing it was a bit warmer, so I could pop on one of their leather jackets straight away; for me the leather pieces were absolutely the stand out ones! Before I rabbit on more, lets check out some of the looks:



It was a very grown up collection, but then, Mint Velvet is a very grown up brand, and that's why I like them: their pieces are great for forming good quality bases, then building up more fashion forward pieces around them. The colours were pretty neutral, apart from the tangerine, which really stood out and looked great next to all the tan leather.

My favourite pieces were the seventies ones: I am ready for the return of indigo denim teamed with tan leather, and oversized floppy hats. There were also lots of trousers: pajama-style ones in silk, peg legs in black and brown and tons of denim. I'm not really a trouser-wearer, but i've seen so many variations for next year that I might have to start easing myself in gently. Mostly though, I just want to team all my favourite floaty dresses with that tan leather jacket.....

Love, Tor xx

Christmas wishlist: Topshop beaded collar

Hi guys,
Now that we're just a month away from Christmas, and everyone is starting to feel festive, I thought I would bring you an extra mini-blog post every day (as well as my usual rambling ones!) The extra post will be a suggestion for your Christmas wishlist, which will probably be something I saw and fell in love with, and put on my Christmas wishlist! Either way, it will be a Christmas wishlist, and it will feature things that are fashion-y, cool, and because i'm putting it together, some stuff that is just plain weird!

Today on the list is this cream antique embellished collar from Topshop: it is one of the five "online exclusives" pieces Topshop just added to their site, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be mine! Apparently numbers are limited, and some of the other five pieces already have sizes sold out, so if you're fancying this, send it to your santas and their elves sooner rather than later. It costs £32, which is expensive for Topshop jewellery, but when you consider how it will change the look of all the tops and dresses in your wardrobe, it's definitely worth it!

Merry Christmas!
Love, Tor xx

One for the bloggers: On sponsored posts

Hi guys,

I often get asked whether blogging is my full time job, and how I make money from it. Well the answer is that blogging isn't my full time job, and although I'd love to make my living from it, I don't (well not yet, but a girl can dream!) But I do make some money from it (a little bit!) and I do that in a couple of ways: the first is the advertising you see all around the site, the second is occasional sponsored links, and the third is in sponsored posts (yup, like this one!)

I was reluctant to get involved in writing sponsored posts for ages: they have a really bad reputation! I had concerns about legitimacy, relevance, and transparency: even though there aren't as strict rules about blog advertising in the UK as there are in the States I didn't want anyone to feel tricked, or not realise what they were reading was sponsored And frankly, I didn't want you to get bored of reading about stuff that isn't relevant to my usual fashion-y goodness and go away! So when I did decide to go down the sponsored post route (initially as an experiment) I decided to do it with ebuzzing. Ebuzzing have a really strict code of ethics, and always require full disclosure, which was exactly the kind of company I was looking for. You can also say exactly what you want, and unlike other companies they never give you the text you have to post. You can choose which campaigns you want to get involved in (so I only choose fashion or lifestyle ones) and they work with some great brands. My dream brands to work with would be ASOS or Topshop: I write about them so often that those are the kinds of sponsored posts that write themselves- more a girl can dream moments!

A good rule of thumb if you're thinking of writing sponsored posts is to have your own code of ethics:if you know what you are and aren't prepared to do then it makes it much easier to decide whether to accept or decline a campaign. Here are mine:

- I only write about brands I would genuinely endorse.
- I always tell the truth, even if there are negative aspects to the review.
- I am always fair. If I don't have anything positive to say about the brand at all then I don't except their money for the sponsored post.
- I always disclose that the post is sponsored, even if the advertiser doesn't ask me to.
- I write what I want to. It's my blog, and I wouldn't accept a sponsored post where I was told what to say.

Ebuzzing is a brand that works with my code of ethics, because it is very similar to their own! Find out more on ebuzzing.co.uk or register to start using the site.

Do you accept sponsored posts on your blog, and if not, why not? Do you have any rules for sponsorship, and what are they? I'd love to hear your guys thoughts on this!

Love, Tor xx

Sponsored Post

Whats in the window: Diesel

Hi guys,
We all know I love nothing more than a good window display (Maybe in a former life I was a window dresser!) so when I was sent these pictures of Diesel's Christmas window displays, how could I not share?



My immediate reaction was that it was a very pagan and dark take on Christmas: not a Santa Claus or bauble in sight! I loved the climbing trees though, which reminded me of a scene from one of the darker fairy tales: think Little Red Riding Hood. According to the press release, it is "a seething mass of eldritch foliage which imagines a pagan journey to the temple of Diesel Black Gold" These pics are from the New Bond Street store.

I know everyone is talking about the Lanvin collaboration today, not window displays, but sadly I don't have a success story to share. Whilst everyone and his dog was joining the endless queue on Regents street this morning I had to be sat in the office, just a torturous 50 yards away. Do people take time of work to get their hands on these designer collaborations, I wonder, or are they only bought by freelancers, bloggers, and students who don't have somewhere to be at 9am on a Tuesday? If I had been able to get anything I would have liked the Tshirt dress with the ruffled collar, the yellow dress, and some of the jewellry. I'll be popping down later to see what's left over, but I won't be holding my breath!

Love, Tor xx

Coats: A new, old obsession

Hi guys,
As you probably all know, I love coats, but this week everything that could go wrong with my collection has gone wrong! Firstly, I got a bit drunk and tore the lining of my Isabella Oliver coat to shreds. Then I wore my red military coat with an across-body bag over it, and the movement of the bag has ripped half the buttons off (half of them never to be seen again!) My leopard print coat has 1/2 length sleeves, so half of me is toasty warm and half of me is freezing. And my mohair coat from Warehouse is malting so badly that i'm leaving a trail of hair behind me where ever I walk: it's like all my coats decided to give up at the same time!

I can't really afford to replace my coat right now (I hadn't budgeted for needing a new one!) but in fantasy-shopping-land that doesn't matter: in fantasyland, all these designer coats could be mine!

Oh yes, orange Oscar de la Renta with fur trim. Yes! I love this coat with its vintage feel and heritage styling: it's more ladylike than I usually look for, but it could be so versatile. The shaggy Fendi fur is more obviously me, and has a real rock chick edge. I love the green/orange colour combo of the Kinder Aggugini cape/coat and the military detailing: will military coats ever stop being cool!?

In the real world for my replacement coat I will probably turn to trusty ASOS or Topshop. Here are my ASOS picks:

The military and fur trends seem especially easy to replicate on the highstreet: there are lots of great brass button details in almost every store. The fur and wool mix, especially with the vibrant colour too, is much harder to come by. my faves from above are the rich brown shaggy fur and the navy blue double breasted coat with the brown belt detail: I like a coat that draws into my waist.

I'm going to Bicester Village on Friday, to finish my Christmas shopping. I'm hoping that I might stumble across the perfect coat whilst i'm there!
Love, Tor xx

It's that time again: Selfridges Christmas windows 2010

Hi guys,
I'm starting to feel really festive: the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is open, i've bought loads of my Christmas presents, and i've seen the Coke (Holiday's are coming) advert on the TV! So I decided it was time to indulge in one of my festive rituals, and yesterday lunchtime I popped down to Selfridges to check out their Christmas window displays.

I wasn't as impressed by this year's windows as I was by previous years. There was no real stand out window, and there didn't seem to be any consistent theme, which there has always been in previous years. Unless you count the lollypop headed people as a theme, which I don't! Maybe it's a nod to our more austere times that the windows are definitely more understated, although I would've thought when times were hard you'd need good windows to entice people in.

Anyway, enough of my chatter. What you really want are the pics and here they are:





Although it's very premature, this is the last weekend Mike and I have without plans between now and Christmas, so we will be spending it sitting down and writing all of our Christmas cards. Present wrapping and tree building will have to slot in around work. I needed this to get me in the Christmas spirit!

Love, Tor xxx

Dailywear: Black tie in a hurry!

Hi guys,
As I mentioned yesterday, I went to a black tie 'do last night (the Mother and Baby awards for work) What I didn't mention though was that the event started at 6.45 and I was in the office until 6pm, meaning that I definitely didn't have time to go home and get changed: in fact I got ready in the dodgy office toilets in less than 10 minutes! Considering that, i'm pretty happy with how the outfit turned out!

Dress: New Look, Jacket: River Island, Shoes: Kurt Geiger, Necklace: Warehouse, Clutch: Car boot sale.

I went for a really classic black look: nothing show stopping, but enough to make me feel comfortable and interesting. The skirt looks a bit shorter than it is, as I hadn't noticed the underskirt had ridden up when I took the pic! It was a great chance to dig out my fashionista shoes and wear some of my fancier jewellery. (The ring was a gift from my nan and the bracelet was a 21st birthday present from my sisters) Bargains of the outfit? Well the clutch, which was 50p was a massive bargain, but I think the biggest bargain is the sequinned jacket, which I picked up in the River Island sale last month for just £10!

Make up wise, I wore red lipstick and red nail varnish, so that my red clutch matched in with something. And that's just about it! Overall I was pretty pleased with the outfit. What do you guys think?

Love, Tor xx

Ready for Christmas: The perfect clutch bag

Hi guys,
Tonight i'm going to a black tie dinner, which meant last night was a panic of digging out a suitable black dress and throwing together some accessories. I'm wearing a beaded dress from New Look with the Kurt Geiger fashionista shoes I had for my MA graduation two years ago. So far so good! The thing I struggled to find in the wardrobe though was a bag to go with my sleek black outfit: all my clutches are brightly coloured! So I decided to embrace the colour and just glam it up.
Here's the clutch i'll be carrying:

I picked the bag up from a car boot sale for 50p, and then pinned on the brooch centrepiece: a vintage brooch that was a gift from my parents last Christmas. I know i've said it before, but I love brooches and the versitility you get with them: you only have to add one to just about anything to make it look much more glam.

My clutch struggle made me realise I should invest in a black one before my plethora of Christmas parties though. So I indulged in my favourite pass-time of fantasy online shopping to find the perfect, detailed, show-stopping black clutch:

Left to right: River Island, £29.99, Dorothy Perkins, £24.50 , Asos, £26, Topshop, £65.

I know it's a massive rip off of the Alexander McQueen, but I really love the River Island knuckle duster clutch: it's the only way i'm going to get my hands on such an iconic piece, even if it is just the highstreet version! The Topshop one is expensive for what it is, but the embellishment on it is amazing. The DP bag has been reduced from £35, and I love the brooch style detailing on it, and I just had to include the feathers, as they're everywhere this season!

I think it might be time to hit the shops and buy some accessories!
Love, Tor xx

Bonfire night on the London Eye with Aussie

Hi guys,

Sorry for my absence- i've been at wedding planning HQ (aka my mum's house in Skegness) to organise wedding things, and check out all the exciting crafty stuff mum's been working on for the wedding: it was an amazing few days!

But now it's time to get back to business! I know bonfire night seems like ages ago, and we're all officially thinking about Christmas (the Coke advert has been on the telly, so that must be true!) but nonetheless, here's a recap of the amazingness that I got up to on the night:

Aussie had invited us to the London Eye to celebrate bonfire night with them, combined with the launch of their new take the heat range. I had never been on the London Eye before, so it was especially amazing for me: London looked beautiful, and I kept saying over and over how awe inspiring it was that this city is where I live! I just wished my camera was better, because every time I tried to take pictures the flash bounced back off the thick glass! The only bad thing about the evening was that I couldn't stay longer and hang out more with the other Aussie Angels: we had to head to Norwich at 6am the next morning to make a 9am appointment, which meant no late nights or drinking for me because of the early drive. Boo!!

Here's what I wore for the occassion:

Cardigan: Miss Selfridge, Dress: Topshop, Belt: Primark, Shoes: Topshop. I fancied this up (very slightly) from a work outfit to an evening one by piling on masses of jewellery!

As I mentioned before, we were challenged to wear our very best hair, but the rainy day meant that mine had fallen flat before I arrived at the event. Still at least I liked my outfit. Head to toe in black might not be the most flattering colour combo, but it will always be my favourite!

Love, Tor xx

Fabfrocks reviews: Silk scarves from Betafashion.com

Hi guys,
I am an accessories addict, so I was delighted when betafashion.com got in touch and asked if i'd like to check out their scarves. Their look book looked beautiful: full of unusual modern designs. I picked my four favourites from their extensive collection to take a closer look at:
The scarves arrived a couple of days ago, and I am delighted: If possible, they are nicer in the flesh then they looked in the pictures. The designs I chose are called (from top to bottom): Urban Jungle, Skulls, Tokyo, and Interstellar dust. I wish I had a crazier fashion sense, because I think they look amazing stacked together like this, but i'd never wear anything that clashed so much! The scarves are soft, almost sheer and incredibly lightweight. The sheer-ness (is that a word?) means the colours don't look as intense as they do on the site, but they are just as beautiful.

The reason the designs are so eclectic is that Beta Fashion have an open call to artists around the world to submit their scarf designs and contribute to its collections, sharing revenue with those whose designs are selected for production. The scarves are printed on high quality silk and cost £35 each. Contributing designers range from graduates of Central St. Martins to independent artists from all over the world. It's just a shame that when you're shopping on the website it doesn't let you know who has designed each scarf. Here are the full designs on each of the scarves I chose:

My mum loves silk scarves and wraps one round her neck every day, in a sophisticated way I could probably never replicate. I've mentioned before that i think alot of fashion-behaviour is learnt from your parents, and so I have a little scarf collection too. The thing I love about scarves is how versitile they are: tie them around your neck, in your hair, or, my personal favourite, use them to brighten up your favourite handbag. What looks like a bright splash of colour from afar becomes a beautiful intricate pattern up close: I love the madness of the scarf below, where skyscrapers sit alongside flowers and flying dolphins. (I took a close up so you can see the detail)

I couldn't resist tying each scarf to my bag and posing in front of the mirror, like a girl! They're much bigger than you think and leave lots of lovely fabric trailing along your bag, or a big ruche of fabric at your neck. As you can probably tell, i'm a little smitten!

Love, Tor xx

PS -I have one more image of the scarves to add (me actually wearing one!!) but stupidly left my camera cable at the office! I'll update tonight!

Topshop outlet in the changing room: November edition

Hi Guys,
Thanks to some ill/well planned holidaying (depending on how you look at it!) I have a lot of leave to use, and am only working 3/4 day weeks between now and Christmas. This meant that on Monday I had the perfect opportunity to head to the Topshop Outlet whilst it was quiet, and try a few things on:

Excuse my terrible hair in these pics, I had been wearing a hat! The first dress was silk and chiffon and a bargain for £15. The floral top I wasn't so fond of, but again it was the bargainalicious price of £7, and would be perfect for summer holidays. It isn't all just summer clothes though. There was also some great outerwear to be had:

The leather sleeveless jacket was a bargain: originally £160, it was in the outlet for £30. The other jacket is from the Ashish diffusion line and was £80. Bare in mind that you get a BOGOF with these prices, so that effectively halves them. Because I have the two expenses of the wedding and Christmas to pay for, I resisted the lure of these lovely jackets (and believe me it was hard!) But then I was faced with something I couldn't resist:

These great khaki harem trousers were £5 (making them just £2.50 when you factor in the BOGOF) They're exactly what i've been looking for to wear on the plane/at the airport enroute to my honeymoon- yes, I am that organised and I do plan that far in advance! I plan on wearing them with a black vest, snake skin sandals and long line super-light grey cardigan: completely covered up but still lightweight and cool. For my free item I picked up a beach kaftan (also for a fiver) to wear over my bikinis.

I've said it before and i'll say it again (because I don't want anyone to be disappointed on my account) but the shop is small and the stock is hit and miss: some days I want everything, some days I can't find a single thing to buy. However if you're in the neighbourhood it's definitely worth checking out!

Love, Tor xx

Sarenza high heel race - vote for me!

Hi Guys,

Finally i've found a sport I might be good at: Sarenza is organising a High Heel Running Race. This is the third year they've run the event but the first they've opened it up to British teams as well as French ones: they're pitching it as a battle of our two great nations!

Can you believe that 79 French teams have entered, compared to just 10 British teams!? I decided to even the balance and enter my own team: Fabfrocks on Foot! Please click on this link and vote for me: I would love to give those French teams a run for their money! In total, 12 French teams and 12 English teams will be selected to take part and will have the chance of winning £2,500 of shoes in the High Heel Race Grand Final.

The French team and the English team with the highest number of votes will each receive a place in the Grand Final. Whilst their supporters will have the chance to win a year’s supply of shoes: yes, there are shoes to be won if you vote for me - don't say I don't know my bribery!

Here is some footage of last years event: looks amazing!

How fun does that look? And although i'm no Olympic sprinter, i'm a dab hand at running in heels: years of practice on the cobbles of Norwich have made me an all-terrain heel runner! I think I could definitely give those French girls a run for their money! So please vote for me using this link! All you have to do is click to vote and then click another link in a confirmation email - it will take less than a minute! And that ends my boring begging post...

Thanks guys!

Love, Tor xxx

Win more than my salary with Paypal!

I pay for nearly everything using Paypal: it's frightening really! And when Zara started accepting Paypal payments I knew the situation could get dangerous....

So I was really excited when they got in touch letting me know that you can win £40 000 (Which is more than I earn in a year, despite them calling it their year's salary competition!) What would you do with 40 grand? I know what I would do! Obviously once i'd bulstered the wedding fund up a bit (yep, predictable again!) I would hit the shops for a serious spree. It would be a challenge to spend £40,000 in one day, but I think I could do it! I work on Bruton street, so I have to walk past Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson every single day...how amazing it would be to be one of the ladies exiting the shops laden with bags!

To be in with a chance of winning the big £40,000 prize all you have to do is buy anything using PayPal, and the more times you buy, the more chances you get. (It’s a weekly draw). That was just the quick version, but you can find out more about the competition here. That means (if i've got this right!) that I can treat myself from ASOS (my new addiction since their press day!) and potential win my money back plus about 100 times more: as if I needed more incentive to shop! Speaking of ASOS (aren't I always!) here are my latest lust-have items from the site:

Embellished collar dress £46, Embellished crop top, £60, and Encrusted shirt dress, £36. All yummy embellished items perfect for Christmas. Sigh!

Never mind buying it all to win 40k. I'd have to win 40k before I could afford it all! Still, a girl can dream! Enter now for your chance to win

Love, Tor xx
PS - If you do win don't forget you heard it hear first, and you have to share the wealth with me!

Sponsored Post

25% off everything at Dorothy Perkins!

Hi guys,
I'm a big fan of Dorothy Perkins: It's not as fashion forward as Topshop but the fit is better and more figure flattering (if you have boobs at least) and the price points are lower too. And this week they're offering 25% off everything on their website!

When there are discounts to be had, I always think it is the perfect time to stock up on things you need that you know you won't get in the sales anywhere else (until January at least) but that you need right now. Given the weather at the minute, that means warm coats and winter accessories! 25% is a good discount to get off your winter coat at this time of year, especially if last years is reaching the end of it's life. Sadly mine isn't, which is a shame as I really fancy a new winter coat! Here are my four faves from the DP website:

Stone coat, £75 (£56.25 with discount) Buckle front cape, £65 (£48.75 with discount) Cream patch fur coat, £85 (£63.75 with dicount) and camel cape, £65 (£48.75 with discount)

I've added a couple of capes because just about everyone I know is going crazy for them at the minute! Personally, I have a massive heart-quickening lust for that patchy fur coat. The pattern is beautiful and I love its grown up and simple shape.

To get your hands on 25% off everything use this link and code: DPVIPE at the checkout! This offer ends on 14th November, so get in quick!

Love, Tor xx

Day out: Christmas shopping and afternoon tea

Hi guys,

Sorry for the long absence: I have been busy-busy-busy with wedding planning stuff. But i'm back to business now! Last week mum, little sisters and I headed off for our annual Christmas shopping trip to Harrods. Their Christmas world has now been open for more than a month, and is as amazing as ever:

I picked up a Christmas tree decoration shaped like Hello Kitty (of course!) and mum got me a gorgeous vintage decoration with a picture from a 1959 bauble on it. The theme of the world this year is Peter Pan: there is a huge pirate ship full of decorations in the middle of the room! We also spotted a set of 6 Christmas crackers for £1,250: oh how the other half live, eh?If you're in or heading to London between now and Christmas then it's definitely worth a trip to check out!

After we'd had our fill of Christmas wonderland, the food hall, and the new pet spa (there's actually a treadmill for dogs!) in Harrods the four of us headed to The Cadogan Hotel for afternoon tea. We were having such a good time we didn't think to take any pictures until the plates were empty:

We enjoyed champagne, pots of steaming tea, multi-coloured finger sandwiches (the bread of each was flavoured with either basil, beetroot or cardimon seeds to make it a different colour), scones with clotted cream and jam, mini pastries, and cupcakes. It was truly delicious and all for £15 each: afternoontea.co.uk have some amazing deals which make afternoon tea a very affordable treat. I just wish we could do this every week: it was a lovely day out!

Love, Tor xx

ASOS S/S10 Press day: Prepare to lust!

Hi guys,
Today was the day of the ASOS S/S10 press day. I'm a big fan of ASOS (as you know) so I was excited to see what they would come up with for when the warmer weather returns. There was a really strong seventies theme throughout a lot of the collection, lots of burnt oranges and mustards that I immediately associate as being seventies colours. Longer hemlines were all over the place, however so were the short ones (so you can pick your favourite and still be on trend!) How's that for a non-sentence: you can buy both short and long skirts at ASO. Anyway I digress. Texture and embellishment featured much more heavily that patterns, which were minimal, and there were lots of sheer fabrics too.

My highlights were the shoes (lots of high heels, wedges, and chunky detailing) and ASOS Black collection, which had some great oversized embellishments on gorgeous white and nude dresses. I say enough of my rambling now though: let's let the pictures do the talking! Prepare for lots of pictures (*some images now removed):






The white dress is absolutely stunning, and I love the vibrant coloured handbags. Looking at all these amazing summer clothes made me long for Spring already: I love winter layering, but I really love spring/summer colours! Oh, and I have to have those cocktail sunglasses for drinking cocktails on the beach....

Love, Tor xxxx

Daily wear: Knits and Minnie Mouse prints

Hi guys,
As quickly as the weather turned icy cold, it has turned back to a milder and more clement temperature. This makes dressing difficult: it's warm as you walk to work, but pretty cold when you trek home after dark. Of course, I used the same solution to this that I use to all things: I wore lots of layers! Here's what i'm wearing today:


Top: River Island, Cardigan: Vince, Shoes and scarf: Topshop, Pleather skirt: Matalan, Bracelet: Gogo Phillips.

I love this pleather skirt, but this is only the second time i've worn it: it ruches around the waist adding bulk, which makes it difficult to wear. I am looking for a leather skirt, but i'd like just a simple and classic A-line one. I call this my Minnie Mouse top, for obvious reasons: I thought it would add a pop of colour, but looking at these pics I worry it makes me look top heavy. I love the contrast of the heavy gold jewellery against it though. And check out my gorgeous new Gogo Phillips bracelet. The lovely Amy from Wolf Whistle sent this over and I love it: its really chunky, but incredibly light! It's a really bright gold, and it's stretchy, meaning I can position is much higher up my arm too. Check out the website if you get the chance: gorgeous jewellery photographed really well (the photography is yummy in fact!)

I'm not sure if this is an outfit fail or an outfit success: I think a wider skirt would have balanced out my bust more, and made me feel much more comfortable! Thoughts?

Love, Tor xx