Our Blog Sale - What to expect

As most of the readers of this blog will know, some of us are holding a blog sale on Sunday 1st August starting at 11am. 
If you didn't see the details and would like to take part by either selling or buying some items, click here for all the information.
You can expect to see a range of Clothing, Shoes and Accessories and even some childrens clothes so do make sure to have a look.  Personally I am selling quite a large range of garments and sizes.  Apart from personal items of my own and my daughters, I also have some stock from a boutique closure that I have been intending to put on ebay but haven't yet got round to, so this is the perfect opportunity to offer them for sale.
There will be some Full Circle, Pink Soda and Diabless, a very expensive Parisian brand which used to sell in Whistles and at certain department stores.  There are a range of sizes in these items but some of my top picks are this gorgeous pale dusky pink Broderie Anglais Diabless dress to fit a size 12, originally retailing at £100, on the Blog for £12!

From our personal collections you will find some designer, lots of high street in a range of sizes from an 8, which 2 of my daughters are, and they are big fans of getting me to buy them things that they never wear like this River Island dress

and this River Island Jumpsuit

and then sizes 12 and 14 from the other daughter...like this lovely Zara Maxi dress she wore once...

and from me some size 16, like this Linea silk top which was worn by Yasmin Le Bon for their add campaign last year, which I have given up all hope of wearing even though I adore it...

and I have also decided to part with my size 6 Castaner Wedges I bought from Matches last year, as I still haven't worn them

As you can see there will be something for everyone in my sale, young and old and all sizes.

On the day of the sale, everybody taking part will put links up to all the other sales taking place that day, so you are sure to find something to suit your size and budget.  We would all appreciate it if you could help us out by perhaps posting a link on your site or giving the sale a mention on twitter, as it has taken all of us a lot of time and effort to get stuff photographed and listed so it would be lovely if we could actually sell some of it and with your support, I am sure we can!

My sale will be taking place at http://www.shopwithfab.blogspot.com/ and if you add yourself as a follower, you won't forget!

Buy, Sell, Have Fun!

Bargain of the Day - a dress for all seasons

There is nothing nicer than a sparkly sequin dress to wear at Christmas.  The only problem is by the time you have bought everybody else's presents and scheduled in your spending money for nights out and Christmas Parties, you are often only left with enough money to pick up a poorly made frock from Primark!

Fear not, Fashionista's! French Connection's amazing sale has even further reductions and sees a range of dresses with original prices as high as £230, all now reduced to £45 or less.

On that basis, a bit of forward thinking sees me choosing this Little Black Party dress as my bargain of the day, this could become a real wardrobe hero and as this style of dress hits the shops every winter, it will see you through many a festive season....

Was £160 now £45! French Connection

Olivia covers Asos Magazine

I don't normally fight my daughters to get a peek at the Asos Magazine, but when it arrived in the post yesterday and I saw Olivia Palermo on the cover, it was a different case entirely!  As you all know by now, Olivia is the girl I love to hate.  I love her for her effortless style and the way she can make clothes from Topshop look expensive just by slipping them on and I hate her because of the way "she is" on "The City".  What do you mean it is edited to make her look like the Elle villain?

Anyway, back to the magazine and Olivia's shoot.  I had already seen the Camel cape but of course it looks a thousand times better on her ......and if you are in the market for a new winter coat, make sure its Camel, as it is a huge trend for Winter.  I did a post about a camel coat shortly after Fashion Week and it was on sale, I realise now I was a fool not to buy it and be more forward thinking, something I am always telling my readers to be, but fail miserably myself....

Olivia's guide to her favourite places in New York will be ripped out of the magazine and kept in case I ever get there!  My daughters are insistent we should go in 2012 and if I am gonna go, I need to do it "Olivia Styleee"

Apart from being enthralled by the Olivia shoot, there were a couple of looks I adore....

the leopard print skirt gets my vote as does the draped top....

This look screams "laid back luxe" and is probably my favourite.  I love the jeans with the full length zips and the whole outfit reminds me of what my darling friend K would wear and often looks like, except hers wouldn't be from Asos!

The other good news from the magazine is that new this season, they will be stocking See by Chloe, Halston Heritage and Barbour so another destination to buy these great brands.

What did you think of the magazine? and are you lusting after a camel coat or cape?

Green with Envy

I wouldn't really think about putting green pumps with a little white summer dress, but I may have to think again after seeing Frida Pinto sporting the Lolette flats by Rupert Sanderson.

You can snap these up on sale now at Rupert Sanderson along with many other great styles.

Bargain of the Day - forward thinking purchases

Maybe the reason I prefer dressing in summer is because it is cheaper!  The cost of coats, boots and jumpers far exceeds the cost of a simple summer dress or shorts and boob tube, it therefore makes sense to think ahead and pick up a bargain for the coming season, if your summer wardrobe is now complete and the fact that I am still harping on about Maxi Dresses is boring you to death.

Bring on the Over the Knee Boot.  Yes ladies, this Boot is still around and has been re-worked by many designers.  Last season I felt it was a trend to be avoided by the over forties, as I handed over £45 in New Look to purchase a pair for Claudia, but it has grown on me and I may give it a go without investing too much money, so in a spree v steal type of post, firstly I bring you Joseph.....

Suede over the knee boot £595 from net-a-porter

but the bargain of the day has to be this black faux suede pair

Were £90 now £19 from Moda in Pelle

and the boot bargains don't just stop there.....

I also spotted these on NAP

Guiseppe Zanotti £715 at net-a-porter

but you can get the look for a fraction of the price with these.... 

Were £90 now £25 from Moda in Pelle

For those of you who are not familiar with Moda In Pelle, they make great quality shoes often similar to designer styles, but at a fraction of the price.  There used to be a shop in Bluewater, which sadly closed but I have bought many pairs from this brand as they are stocked in a small local boutique.

Still not sure whether Over the Knee Boots are for you, then take inspiration from these NAP images....I'm convinced!

Are you?

Bargain of the Day - yes I am getting obsessed with current season reductions...

and the reason being - they are so good!  With lots of sales having already finished, the ones that are still going, are offering great reductions of up to 70 or even 75% off! 

The good old British High Street  may look like a jumble sale of reduced stock but at least online you get to view each item clearly and don't have to knock other shoppers out of the way for that "killer" bargain!  So as long as these sales continue, I shall continue with my top picks of the best reduced items currently on offer.

We are supposed to be a country coming (or already out) of recession, but everybody I speak to is still feeling the pinch, which for the shopaholics amongst us, is like being caught up in a fashion drought! But do not fear, even if your pennies are severely pinched (as mine now are) you can still afford this fab Maxi Dress from Great Plains...

the dress also comes in red and is reduced from £55 to £16.50 Great Plains

For those of you that don't know, Great Plains is the slightly more grown up and slightly cheaper sister of French Connection, so you can expect the same quality.  Sadly a lot of things (including this dress) are sold out in an XL, as it is obviously a site which is popular with the size 16 fraternity and I don't blame them, I could list so much from this brands summer collection that I love and would buy, but you skinny chicks will be OK.  As its Jersey, I am seriously tempted to send for the Large!

There is a gorgeous navy and white stripe jersey dress also £16.50 which sits amongst other pretty and colourful summer dresses and some more lovely really cheap Maxi's.  If you are looking for wardrobe basics, they have Jersey Harems at £10.50 and ruched ankle leggings for £6.00! 

This is one brand which will be right up there on my fashion radar for future sales purchases, I am gutted I didn't look at it sooner. The whole collection is on sale at Great Plains do check it out.

Have you bought anything from Great Plains before, are you familiar with the brand? I bought a dress from GP ages ago, I think from House of Fraser (I never wore it, it is up for my blog sale) but I am desperate for this Maxi, so if anyone has seen it instore in an XL, please let me know!  I have even looked on ebay and guess what? Some sellers have this up for Buy it Now at £27!

Bargain of the Day

Firstly apologises for the crap pictures, I couldn't copy the larger ones from the site which show this Jersey Jumpsuit in all its Glory, so please take the time to click on the link and view it properly!

Jumpsuits for me are way off my fashion radar for my own personal wear, but thats not to say that I don't love them on others, I do.  I was actually quite shocked (but in a pleasant way) at the last day of terms school production and prize giving event, when my 44 year old friend (you know the one who wore a white dress for her wedding last May) wore a blue jumpsuit, not too dissimilar to the one pictured and carried it off brilliantly (mind you she is a size 8 and doesn't have any wrinkles as yet).

So my bargain of the day, for all you ladies that have been thinking about investing in one and my younger readers who will all look fab in this, is this slinky number by Full Circle.

70% off was £75 now £22.50 from Fullcircle (Sizes 10 & 12 instock)

You know the story, heels and clutch for evening, gladiators and tote for day, as versatile as a dress but more fashion forward with its harem style. Great for holidays as jersey will travel well and just visualise how cool you will look if you top this off with a Trilby or Panama and Jackie O style sunglasses.

I shall be hiding the laptop today for fear of teenage daughters begging me for it!

Net-a-Porter launches free App for ipad

I haven't even got an iphone let alone an ipad.  A situation that will be remedied when my mobile phone contract comes up for renewal in December, but thoughts of an ipad have been met with immediate disinterest by myself until that is, I heard about the launch of the net-a-porter free magazine app.

The newly released app allows you to read the weekly magazine, plus buy all of the looks featured in the shoots. You can also watch exclusive video coverage of runway shows and interviews with leading designers.  Read, Watch, Shop, wherever you are, sounds good to me!  I can just visualise myself in the hairdressers when SnowyStylista offers me a magazine and I say "no thanks I have one on my ipad" - how cool is that!

To transport your ipad in style, net-a-porter will be selling ipad cases from designers such as Burberry, Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Marc by Marc Jacobs with prices starting at £35. 
They are already selling cases for iphones and when I get mine, I shall be surrounding it in Fendi loveliness with this cute little logo case ....

Fendi iphone cover £35 from net-a-porter

Seriously how cute is that? and what a great stocking filler! It is going on my Birthday and Xmas list, forthwith!

Will you be downloading the free net-a-porter ipad app?

Project D

I am truly Bored, Bored, Bored with Celebrities designing their own Fashion Lines, so the news that Danni Minogue and her best friend and designer, Tabitha Somerset Webb, had joined forces to create a range of glamorous, purse friendly gowns for grown up girls called Project D, didn't sit too well with me to begin with, although on closer inspection, I have to admit to being very impressed.

With an affordable price point, the collection consists of classically designed, slinky jersey and georgette dresses, all with embellishment or sequin detailing, giving the range a real "grown up glam" but easy to wear feel.
Inspiration for the range most definitely comes from the kind of clothes we so often see Danni wearing on the Red Carpet or the X Factor, where unlike Cheryl, she never looks as though she is trying too hard, which can only lead me to believe that unlike some other Celebs, Danni actually did have some input in the designing of the range. 

My favourite piece has to be the column dress  (pictured centre) at £390, just add heels and a sparkly clutch to look a million dollars at the Christmas Party.

The perfect little black dress (pictured left) in Crepe with Diamante Belt costs a very reasonable £220, and will take you from the office (remove diamante belt, add a leather one and slip on a little cardi) to Cocktails, by adding Louboutins and chandelier earrings. 

I wonder what pieces Kylie would choose!

The collection is available at Harvey Nichols, instore and online.

What do you think of it?

Bargain of the Day

You all know by now how much I love a bargain and I fell in love with a gorgeous pair of shoes that I had seen on a fellow Blogger. 
Ree of Really Ree bought her Bertie wedges in the Selfridges sale and each time I have seen her in them, in various posts, I have fallen for them a little bit more.......

They are available in black or brown and are reduced from £90 to a bargainous £27 from the Bertie Website.  Don't you just love them?  I swore I wasn't going to spend any money now that we have booked our holiday, but I don't know how I am going to resist!  Yet again, this is another item that I wouldn't have given a second look at, if I hadn't seen them on another Blog, so thanks for sharing these with us Ree!

God knows I need one!

Finally, we have booked our Summer Holiday.  We are going last week in August, back to my beloved Puerto Banus for the sixth time in a row, Gangsters Paradise as I like to refer to it, or "Bond Street, but with a Beach".

Many arguements have taken place over the booking of this holiday as I struggled with finding accomodation for our preferred dates and then with flight prices going up twice in the 48 hours before we finally booked them Thursday night, it often looked doubtful.  The flight price for our preferred departure date was showing as only £5.99 per person unyet the whole booking for 5 of us, came in at £858.00!  How the fuck does that work when we didn't even pay to choose our seats, book our insurance with the flight company, fail to include inflight meals and only paid for three suitcases between the five of us?  Since when did Monarch charge for baggage, who do they think they are, Ryanair?
With only three suitcases between us, Packing space will be at a premium and I will really have to make my holiday wardrobe work for me this year, no taking clothes that I never wear, like I usually do and shoes which can be clumpy and heavy will be restricted to just one pair.

So its save, save, save for us now, no more impulse buying whether for more last minute summer pieces on sale nor any forward thinking Autumn must haves...although I have seen two tops in the net-a-porter sale I hadn't spotted before and really want for my suitcase........

All Dressed Up, Ruffled jersey tunic Was £135 Now £54 net-a-porter

Alice by Temperley Sleeveless striped tank Was £76 Now £38 net-a-porter

The Sale ends tomorrow so I haven't got much time to convince OH that I won't be able to go if I don't have these two versatile beauties to wear.  I've bought enough sneaky things on the side without him knowing lately, I don't want to push my luck otherwise he will notice the discrepancies on the Bank Statement if too much is missing!

I also need to drum up a few new clients, things are quieter than usual this summer (for those of you who don't know me, don't worry I am not a "Lady of the Night") and I am making nowhere near the amount of money I have in previous summers, which is worrying and another reason why OH was "kicking off" about us going.
Then to top it all, when flights were booked and the deposit on the accomodation paid, Little Man said "oh Mum I think my passport has run out, I was looking at it in the kitchen drawer the other week".  I rushed out to take a look and sure enough, it had expired in June, so another bloody headache and more sodding expense along with the worry about getting it back in time even if we use the Post Office's check and send process!
Then to top it all, some friends have short memories.  A dear friend of mine since I was 16 and also a beauty therapist had me working on a Sunday to do all her pre-holiday treatments before she departed on the Tuesday.  I rang her yesterday saying that I wanted to come in on the Tuesday (we go on a Wednesday night) either before or after my hair appointment - only to be told, she is fully booked!  When I told OH he went fucking ballastic and muttered all sorts of things about people having short memories and how I went into my salon to do her stuff when I had overslept due to being up all night because my daughters went on holiday and we were up for ages, seeing them off and then couldn't get back to sleep etc etc.  I only had time for a quick shower and left for the salon with no make-up on and wet hair so as not to let her down.  I realise it is a day she normally works (she is only part time) and doesn't want to turn away paying customers for me, as we do each others stuff for nothing, but come on, surely she could do some rearranging or something.  Oh well I won't forget it, thats the trouble with me, I may forgive, but I never forget.

Have you just any last minute things to purchase for your holiday?

Maybe I should have waited.....

It seems I was a little bit hasty doing yesterdays Leopard print post, for two reasons.  Firsty, because I was waiting on something to be delivered from the Next Sale which I was convinced was never going to arrive (judging by past Next Sale online experiences) and then loo and behold, very late this afternoon, I had a lady at the door with a Next bag.
Whoop Whoop
and inside were these.....

Oh I know they are naughty, but at £15 I really couldn't resist! and secondly, Browns Fashion has now devoted its website homepage to the Love of Leopard ......

 

These images have me purring like a Kitten (I adore the dress) and with my new shoe boots, I really am the cat who got the cream!

View all the gorgeous Leopard print on offer at Browns here