Fashion for good: Monsoon collaborates with Burts Bees

Hi guys,
I always love fashion for good. It makes me feel a little bit better about my out-of-control shopping habit if my purchases occasionally help charity! So this morning I went to the launch of 'Bee Mine', a collection that Burt's Bees have launched with Monsoon.

The special partnership has been formed to help raise awareness of the plight of the honey bee in the UK and the work of the British Beekeepers Association and the Adopt A Beehive project.




The collection is formed of two pieces: a cute bumble bee jumper and the "Bee Mine" playsuit, which has a beehive pattern, and tiny honeybees all over it. Instead of a standard label, each piece has a wild seed flower packet from Habitataid attached to it: the seeds inside have been specifically chosen because they are good for honey bees. And, if you buy either of the two pieces (or both if you're feeling especially spendy!) you get a Burt's Bees honey lip balm added to your order for free at the till.

Cute pieces, free lip balm, and the chance to do something for the greater good? You really can't lose!

Love Tor xx

Daily wear: Spring stripes and vintage shades

Hi guys,
I hope i'm not jinxing anything, but can you believe the incredible weather?! I can't believe it's only early April! Fingers crossed this holds out for the impending double bank holidays.

This is just a quickie post to show off what i'm wearing today. My first truly summery outfit of the year definitely needs to be documented-even if I did put footless tights underneath my dress for a reassuring burst of added warmth:

I'm wearing a stripey midi dress, that I picked up from the Monsoon outlet in Bicester village on Friday. I actually got this for my over bikinis on my honeymoon but I think it's perfect for hot days in the city too. The suede wedges are from River Island, the bag is from Debenhams (I haven't stopped using this since I bought it!) and I picked up the sunglasses from a car boot sale yesterday for a bargain 50p! They are original 70s one which a lovely old lady was selling because "they're too modern for her now." Love it!

I'll show off more of my Bicester buys in another post later today: I got plenty of great summer buys from the Monsoon/Accessorize outlet that I can't wait to share!

Love, Tor xx

Daily Wear: Getting ahead of myself!

Hi guys,
Sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days: working a full time job, planning a wedding, and keeping this blog up to date has been a massive task I just haven't been able to keep up with this week. Time for a big tick in the 'must try harder' box, methinks!

Yesterday I combined wedding tasks with fashion, and tried on my outfit for our big family dinner, which we're having the night before the wedding. I'd ordered those Dolce and Gabanna shoes from Brand Alley specifically to go with this outfit (they match the gold beads in the dress) but hadn't gotten round to trying it all on together until last night. Please excuse my lack of make up, and unstraightened weekend hair:


The shoes are D&G (from BrandAlley) and the dress was a bargain in the Monsoon sale about 6 months ago: I saw it, knew it would be perfect for the ocassion, and have had it hanging impatiently in my wardrobe ever since. I accessorised pretty simply with a black and gold Marc b bag, a skinny black belt, and my Timex watch (timekeeping and watch wearing are going to be pretty essential on that day, of all days!)

I love this outfit: its fairly simple and easy to throw on (which suits my low maintanence dressing style) but it has sequins and glitter and gold to appease my inner ten year old. My instinct is to add a bigger waist-cinching belt and an oversized necklace (this is always my dressing instinct) but I think the dress is so eyecatching it just doesn't need anything else. What do you guys think?

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

My favourite sale bargain...

I promise this is the last post I will write about the summer sales, but i've had so many incredible bargains in them that it's hard to resist showing off! If I had to pick the one bargain that I can't stop thinking smugly about, and can't wait to have an opportunity to wear, then it would be this:

This dress from Monsoon was originally £85, but with the 70% discount I paid just £25.50: I'm absolutely in love with it! It looks incredible on, it's really heavy because of the hand-embellished sequinning, and you can do so much with it! With my trusty high heels and chunky jewellery its perfect for a night on the town. Pare it down with pumps or sandals and a slick of lipstick and its perfect for dinner with friends and family. I love sequins for daywear, so I would even add my black gladiators and wear it out and about during the day!

And here is the obligatory self-taken picture, complete with un-brushed morning hair: don't I look yummy!? At least it gives you an idea of how the dress looks on. I am a seriously smitten kitten with this dress! Have you had any amazing bargains from the sales? Share them, and make us all jealous! (because surely that's one of the secret pleasures of bagging a bargain!)

Love, Tor xx

The Monsoon sale: A quick pick!

Who knew Monsoon on Oxford Street opened at 8.00 am?! Perfect for a quick fashion fix when you get into town a little earlier than anticipated! I've never been a massive fan of Monsoon; a brand I usually associate with eccentric teachers and middle aged women. However finding myself with early morning time to kill, I was suprised to find lots of stuff I liked.
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Here are my favourite three dresses from the sale: The skirt on the first dress was so wide and stiff, but despite the fact it would have been impossible to walk in, it was certainly a princess gown! I loved the second dress and couldn't photograph it well enough to do it justice; there were tiny bows up the back in the same fabric as the skirt, and the stiff brocade of the top was very flattering! The green dress: I am definitely not a big fan. But still, two out of three ain't bad! And the price point in the sale was very reasonable indeed given the quality of the dresses: they were all fully lined and had handy details like hidden hooks and fasteners to ensure an even better fit.
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Definitely a shop that is now on my radar!

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Love, Tor x

PS - Don't forget my Mink Pink dress competition ends on Friday, so get entering now!