Give up Clothes for Good!

Hi guys,
Earlier in the month I was invited to a private dinner hosted by TKMaxx for a sneak peek of their latest charity campaign: Give up Clothes for Good! The campaign is being run in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, and will support and help fund research on kids cancers.

The basic premise of the campaign is pretty simple. You take a bag of clothes to your local TKMaxx store next time you pop in for a shop of bargain hunting. They give the bag to Cancer Research UK, who sell it in their charity shop. Each donated bag could raise up to £30 towards vital cancer research. Easy peasy!

Check out the video below to see what I (and all the other bloggers at the dinner) donated to the campaign, and our key picks from TKMaxx's new Spring/Summer collections:

It really is a great cause, so why not combine having a good old Spring clean of your wardrobe (something I recommend every year!) with filling a bag of clothes to take to your local TKMaxx for donation, and supporting their campaign?

Because, let's face it, it feels good to do something good! And any excuse to pop to TKMaxx to 'replace' all that stuff you just gave away, right?!

Love Tor xx

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

What's your clothing confession?

Hi guys,
It's that time of the year again: time to put all of your summer clothes to the back of your wardrobe, pull out your tights and jumpers, and have a complete wardrobe overhaul! Two weekends ago, Mike and I even went to Ikea to buy a new chest of drawers so I could turn my floordrobe into something almost resembling order. Sadly I haven't actually filled it yet!

Ahead of London Fashion Week, and because it's wardrobe clearout time, Weight Watchers are raising money for Tommy’s charity with a ‘Clothing Amnesty Initiative’, whereby supporters can donate unwanted clothes via the clothesforcash scheme – and raise £10 per bag!

They're also asking the public to get behind the amnesty by telling them their Clothes Confession - that item that you’ve bought but have only worn once - via their new Facebook app. And in return for this Clothes Confession, Weight Watchers will donate 10p directly to the charity.

And because I can't ask you to do something I wouldn't do myself, here's mine:

Shoes are my weakness: especially shoes with high heels! However sadly, I also have really sensitive feet. Which means I am the proud owner of an army of shoes I love to look at, but can never wear (unless I'm prepared to suffer blisters and bleeding which, let's face it, just isn't sexy!)

I'll never throw them away (they're just too pretty!) but my clothing confession is that all three of these pairs of shoes still have the labels on, because I've never actually worn them and got out of my front door! Am I a tad ashamed? Yes! Does this mean I'll stop buying my beloved heels? Definitely not!

Love, Tor xx

It's tea party time for everyone!

Hi guys,

As you know doubt already know (I talk about it enough!) the theme of my wedding is Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatters tea party. We're having flowers in tea cups, tea pot favours, and all manners of other whimsical things. Which is why Marie Curie's new "blooming great tea party" campaign resonated so much for me.

Marie Curie are asking people to hold tea parties to fundraise for Marie Curie nurses who provide free care for people with terminal cancer and illnesses in their own home. Tea parties big and small will make a difference in helping terminally ill people spend their final days at home. Every £20 that's raised will pay for an hour of nursing care. 1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by cancer (either themselves or someone they love) so I think caring for those people is something we all think about/know about.

The best thing about throwing a tea party or getting involved in the campaign is, this only has to be as much hard work as you want it to be! Your tea party can be everything from a vintage high tea (the fashion bloggers dream) to agarden party, our just a cuppa and a cake in the office with colleagues. The ‘official’ tea party season lasts from June 12th to July 12th but people can register to hold one any time up to 31st July. My wedding is on July 15th, and I think i'm going to register and hold a party in my office for the week before that: that way I can celebrate my big day with my work friends that can't make the wedding, and save some money for a good cause too.

Will you be throwing a party? What theme will you have? Wedding planning has turned me into a party planning addict, so i'd love to hear all about it!

Love,
Tor xx

Kick your shoes off and make a difference!

Yesterday whilst strolling down Carnaby street I was confronted by a marching army of shoeless youths. That is because yesterday Toms didn't want us to wear any shoes, to raise awareness of, and money for, the millions of people around the world that spend every day of their lives walking without shoes.

Shoes can prevent infection and disease, and in general make life easier and more pleasant. According to the website, many children must walk barefoot for miles to school, clean water and medical help. Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection, and often children are not allowed to attend school if they do not have shoes. In Ethiopia, one million people suffer from a disease cause by walking barefoot in volcanic soil, that is completely preventable with basic foot hygiene and shoes. I wish i'd known about this event before it was happening, I didn't really see it publicised anywhere which is a shame, as it seems like a really good cause.


A quarter of a million people participated in other 1600 events around the world though, so they must have found out about it somewhere - they were probably much more observant than I am! If the idea was to raise awareness though it certainly worked - everyone walking down the street was staring and taking photos, just like me!

Hope you guys are looking forward to the sunny weekend!
Love, Tor xx

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer: Check out the goods!

Yesterday was the launch of this years Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign. I thought the Mario Testino pictures looked fantastic, especially the one of Kylie, who looked gorgeous and healthy: I think she is the perfect choice to front the campaign! Last night I went to the launch party for the event to see the products that are available from all of the retailers involved, and I was really impressed with what I saw:



The pieces I especially love are the striped cardigan from Whistles (in the second picture) and the ruffle sleeved top from Warehouse (picture one) but it's fair to say they've come up with something for everyone from the Laura Ashley twin set (second picture) to M&S T shirts to underwear sets: I think the Superdry hoodies are a great addition to the FTBC family too, because they're a youth brand, and the younger someone is when you make them aware of breast cancer the better.

At the event last night I heard a really shocking statistic; 120 women a day are diagnosed with breast cancer in this country. I think hearing the numbers really brought how important the campaign is home. It was a really interesting event that gave me food for thought as well as the chance to look at some great clothes: every piece is really wearable and not obviously a 2010 chairty piece meaning you could still wear it again year after year. I was never really a big fan of the target T shirts - when would you wear them!?

Why not check out the pieces and do your bit whilst you're out shopping this weekend?! Oh, and if these pieces aren't to your taste then don't forget to buy your pins and bracelets (find out more about these here!) They're subtle but pretty: I have my pin on my red mac!

Love, Tor xx

Wear your support: Fashion Targets Breast Cancer

On Monday this years Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) campaign will be launching, and I am lucky enough to be going along (as usual expect a full report!) This year Mario Testino will be supporting the campaign along with three of the "worlds biggest stars" from film, fashion, and music. They won't say who these mystery supporters are though, so we will have to wait until Monday to find out.

This year the campaign is called "wear your support" and its all about showing your support for FTBC by wearing a special design for the charity from one of your favourite UK brands: M&S, Topshop, River Island, Coast, Warehouse, Laura Ashley, Superdry,Whistles, Melissa Odabash and my-wardrobe.com are all getting involved. I love it when you can go shopping and feel like you're doing something to help people at the same time, and given the brands involved i'm hoping the FTBC designs will be pretty wearable too.

As well as the big money items (lingerie from M&S and a dress from Coast for example) there will also be pins (£1) and bracelets (£2) which you can buy from River Island, Topshop and Superdry and travel card wallets from M&S. I know these have been out there for years but I think they're such a good idea: not only do they show your support they also remind other people of the charity and hopefully they will want to get involved too!

It only costs a pound or two to show you care, and with 1 in 9 women developing breast cancer at some point in their lifetime you never know when you or somebody you love will need the support (although obviously I am touching wood that this dreadful desease doesn't affect any of you!) I really like the FTBC campaigns: I think its great to see the fashion industry use its powers for good rather than for evil!

Love, Tor xx

PS - I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this but please make sure you all stay healthy and have a good fondle of your boobs every now and again! Wow, I hope that didn't sound too Trinny and Susannah! :)

These are a few of my favourite things...

Close your eyes and think of a few things that are really really nice. Fashion, obviously, is top of the list. Next comes sexy boys who play guitars, puppies, and helping charity: A nice thing that makes you feel good at the same time.

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Well, those clever folks over at Ben Sherman have come up with a clever way of combining all of these nice things. Well, apart from the puppies. If only they could've done something with the puppies! This week Ben Sherman have announced the VIP, that's Very Important Plectrum, online charity auction on behalf of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy. (Doing something for charity - check!) The plectrums are presented in a lovely frame with artwork and authenticity from the band, and are perfect for anyone interested in music. Or sexy boys in bands.

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Bands such as Razorlight, Kings of Leon and the Klaxons have contributed their plectrums (sexy boys who play guitars - check!) and you can find them on eBay from 11th October for a three week period. The auction will also be promoted in 30 Ben Sherman stores across the globe (that takes care of the fashion -final check!)
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The charity partner for this project, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, uses live musical improvisation to help improve the quality of life for children and adults isolated by conditions such as learningdisabilities, autism, mental health problems, neurological damage or serious and terminal illness.. It's a worthy cause, so if your looking at this and thinking my boyfriend/sister/dad/(insert relevant person here) would love that, then be sure to check it out on 11th October.
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Love, Tor xx