Dorothy Perkins Floradita : Florals for everyone!

Hi guys,
Yesterday I popped down to the Dorothy Perkins showroom for a little peek of their new summer collection: Floradita. As you can no doubt guess from the name, this is a beautiful collection of dresses covered in fantastic floral prints, and inspired by big blousey summer blooms:


This dress was my absolute favourite (by a long way!) I loved the beautiful tea stained colour of the fabric (which makes it look genuinely vintage) the lace overlay, and the delicate floral pattern. I imagine this dress would look incredible with curves, and it really wouldn't take any work to wear: just add heels or sandals and go!


As soon as I saw the Floradita range I immediately thought of summer weddings and garden parties (has anyone ever been to a garden party?? There are so many dresses aimed for them, but I don't know anyone that holds them!) These dresses are just begging to be dressed up with heels and clutch bags and yards of jewellery. But the beauty of them is I think they'll also look great dressed down for a trip to the park or lunch in the sunshine.

This collection of pretty floaty flowery frocks had my name written all over it: Obviously i'd have to toughen it up with leather accessories and tougher shoes, but I can see myself wearing every single on of the dresses I saw. It's just a shame we now have to wait until the beginning of June before we can hit the shops and buy them all!

Love, Tor xx

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

Wrap up for winter at Dorothy Perkins

Hi guys,

I love this time of year, when winter is in full force in every shop. I love buying coats (I actually have a small addiction to buying coats!) and I love wearing layers and wrapping up warm. This is probably why i've gotten into the habit of taking pictures of coats in every shop I go into at the moment! Here are some of the winter displays I snapped in Dorothy Perkins:

I can't resist a red Paddington bear coat, and they are on offer for £65 in every colour! The new heritage trend, full of paisley patterns and knitted oversized jumpers and cardigans is my favourite trend of the season: so comfy and cosy and with acres of layering potential! Finally, the evening fur coats in matt black and nude look great with the trilby hats: i'm giving serious thought to getting an evening hat, such as the kind ladies wore in the "good old days"!

On their website Dorothy Perkins have 20% off a massive selection of coats, but this offer isn't in store, so if you're looking to buy a new coat, and one of these has taken your fancy, it's worth checking out!

Love, Tor xx

Dorothy Perkins and Faith: time to bag a bargain

I don't think the mid-season sales this season have been anything to write home about, and the Dorothy Perkins sale seems like a prime example of this: with just four rails of sale clothes in the store (and this is the big Oxford street store) there was more sale jewellery available than there were sale clothes.

I really like the peachy flats (although at £20 the original price was only £25, so it's not a massive discount!) and there were some great earrings on the jewellery racks: I think the best bargains can be found if you're looking for new costume jewellery. In terms of the clothes, knitwear was well represented, and if you like Dorothy Perkins jeans you have the potential to pick up a pair very cheaply! There were also some lovely soft cullote type shorts in various colours and patterns: these were the best buy for wearing for the coming season, and came in at just £12.

On Friday the news was announced that Faith had gone into administration: the latest victim of the recession we're slowly coming out of, this is more bad news for the British high street. However in the short term it can be good news for your wardrobe and especially good news for your feet:

The window grandly declares discounts of 50%, however in reality there are only about 8 designs which have 50% off (their normal seasonal sale) The rest of the stock in the store has 10% off: this is still a decent discount if you were looking to buy new shoes anyway, but if not then my advice is to do what i'm doing: wait and see if the discounts get bigger!

I don't really need any new shoes, so i'm only buying them if they're an absolute bargain, however there are so really gorgeous sandals in store so it's definitely worth checking out if you need new season shoes! You have to do into the store though: because the store has gone into administration the website has been suspended.

Have a great day!

Tor xx

Daily wear: Like a spring-time cowboy

I was feeling feminine and wanted to inject a little spring colour into my outfit this morning: Although naturally my base colour is black (predictable much?!) It feels a little cowboy-like though: the ditzy floral, the ruffle of the skirt and the boots all add a country and western feel!

I just realised that this outfit was an absolute bargain: the whole thing only cost £25.50p!!

This is the first time i've worn this little cropped jacket: I got it in the primark sale at the end of last summer for £5, and it has sat in my wardrobe ever since. It's cute though, and I think it will get a lot of wear in upcoming months. The dress was also in the sale from Dorothy Perkins for £10. The ring is from primark for just £1 and although originally I believe from Miss Selfridge, I got this bracelet from a carboot sale for just 50p: over the Easter weekend (when car boot sale season starts up again) i'm going to write a piece about carboot shopping, because it really is where I get all of my best bargains! Finally the cowboy boots are from George at Asda and were £9 in the sale: if Betsey Johnson is bringing back the cowboy boots then who are we to argue?!

I'm not wearing any make up (I left the house in a slow rush having mildly sprained my ankle last night) so I look and feel very washed out, but overall I quite like this outfit: I just don't think I would wear it with the boots again to avoid the obvious cowboy feel!

Love, Tor xx

Party dress week. Day 2: Dorothy Perkins

On the recommendation of Make Do Kate, today's picks of the party dresses will be from Dorothy Perkins. Like Kate, i'm a big fan of Dottie P's and although it doesn't have a reputation for being as fashion forward as its trend-led sister Topshop, I think the tables are turning. Dorothy Perkins nods at the trends without sacrificing the important things, like how the garment will fit on the body of a real woman.

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For those of you that liked Monday's little history lesson (I really am a geek when it comes to anything from the 60s!) here are some Dottie P facts. Dorothy Perkins was founded in 1909 and named after a rose. In the 1960s, Dorothy Perkins was controlled by the Farmer family and was best known for its underwear, tights and PJ's (like the M&S of the 90s, some might say!) The stores never really got to grips with sixties boutique culture. Author Margret Geraghty who worked there for a while in the late sixties remembers that all the sales staff had to wear nylon uniforms: 'They were cerise with a zip up the front. Forget dolly birds. They looked more like canteen assistants.' The exception was the store manageress, who was allowed to wear her own clothes.

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Leap forward half a century and Dorothy Perkins is a different proposition altogether. Here is my pick of their Christmas party dresses:

No trying on today, as I simply haven't had the time because of lovely mummy coming to stay. But I will be back to trying on tomorrow (I already have some pictured lined up and ready for editing)! As you can see, I have chosen dresses with sleeves today, for ladies (like me!) that aren't especially keen on showing off their upper arms; you can cover up and still be ready to party! Dorothy Perkins seem to be sticking to the Arcadia group's festive mix of sequins and jewelled embellishments, and electric blue is a key colour on their pallette, complimenting the obvious choice of black.
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Definitely a stongly contending collection from Dorothy Perkins. Tomorrow I think I will step away from the Arcadia group (although Topshop will get a mention as well!!) Where would you like to see me go now?

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Love, Tor x

If only: Fashion Thursday at Dorothy Perkins

Morning guys,

If only I were feeling better you wouldn't be able to stop me from getting down to Fashion thursday at Dorothy Perkins, in association with Look magazine.

If you spend more than £40 (which will be easy given the 20% discount!) then you receive a goodie bag containing make up, chocolate, and an exclusive Daniel Merriweather CD. There will also be hair and beauty advice and make overs courtesy of Benefit and Toni and Guy. And if that's not enough, there will also be a chance to win a years worth of shoes and free drinks flowing all night. And for once, this isn't just happening in London, but in 10 stores across the UK, so everyone has the chance to get involved:

Sadly I expect it will be far too crowded for me incase my arm gets bashed. But it's not often you get something for nothing, and the chance for a girly fun night out. So if I could be there then I would!


Love, Tor xx

You: the fashion jury!

So, in less than a month I will return to Norwich for my congregation: I will walk across the big old stage in a silly hat and collect my Masters certificate, This of course requires a very specific outfit: black trousers and a white shirt to be precise. (yawn!)

I have a lovely shirt from BCBG Max Azria that I picked up from the US, but am really struggling to find the perfect trousers. I toyed with harem pants (I’ve been toying with buying a pair for a while) and thought they could bring a much needed element of fashion detailing to the look. That was, of course, until I went to Dorothy Perkins and tried a couple of pairs on:

Looking at these I suspect I just don’t have the harem pants kind of body; the first pair look like normal trousers that are just too baggy around the waist (giving me unsightly fat-lady crotch) and the second pair look like a nappy skirt worn over leggings, and leave me looking far to wide. So that’s a no on the harem pants then; at least the ones from Dorothy Perkins; I think the next step is to try a pair with a slightly more pronounced drop-crotch.

Whilst on the black trouser hunt in DP’s I did find another thing I quite liked however;

This is another thing on the list of things I have been looking for (well, nearly!) I wanted a black jumpsuit with longer legs, but really liked the ditzy white pattern printed onto this cotton number. It’s comfy (it felt like wearing PJs) and I think it looks good. But before I got to the check out I had a crisis of confidence; cropped legs and oversized jumpsuit device on someone of my height and width? I would definitely normally advise against this kind of thing. Which is why it’s over to you:

What do you think? Am I pulling off the crop legged jump suit? Or should I put it back on the shelf and save my money for something equally ridiculous from the Selfridges sale on Friday?

My life (or at least £40 of my hard earned cash and my dignity if you feel I look ridiculous) is in your hands.

Love, Tor

Daily wear

Hi Everyone,

The sun is shining and my garden is starting to bloom; I actually ate my first strawberry this morning, straight from the plant, and I grew them from seeds! To celebrate this rare blip in standard British summertime gloom, I decided to wear something bright and floral to work today:

Dress; dorothy perkins, Ring; Topshop, Headband; Accessorise, Necklace; A gift from the bf, Sunglasses; Rayban

And when I wasn't watering my sadly drooping flowers (they looked fine yesterday! I don't know what i've done wrong!) I was working hard writing some very important newsletter copy. This, of course, required shoes and a handbag:

Handbag; vintage from bootsale, Shoes; Irregular Choice

Aren't these shoes the best thing you've ever seen? They have an inverted stack heel and the softest leather fringing. It's so rare to find a pair of shoes that are comfortable to walk in for hours and hours, and these are it! I thought the unusual accessorise gave a quirky twist to the prim and proper Dorothy Perkins dress.

I felt pretty. Oh so pretty. And on that note it's time for me to go back out in my garden and enjoy the beautiful sunshine a little more.

Love, Tor xx

Dorothy Perkins: 20% off!

Hi Guys,

I speak to you having spent some money in some shop! I realise that the big highstreet stores make reductions in times of crisis in order to trick gullible consumers into heading to their shops, spending money they don't have on supposed "bargains" because they have a massive discount. Well, I am one of those gullible consumers, and until 9pm this evening, if you want to get 20% off everything in store and be one too, just head down to Dorothy Perkins.

Officially marketed as the "Summer Event" now is the perfect time to get anything you need for you're summer holiday, transitional pieces that will carry you into next season, and in my case, stuff you've coveted for a while but not enough to buy!

The discount is not just on clothes, it's on everything in store. That includes the shoes and the jewellery, which I took as a perfect opportunity to stock up on brightly coloured trinkets!

As usual, here is my pick of the best:

I've written about coral before, that tassled waistcoat is to die, and the utilitarian details are on trend enough to almost rival topshop. forAnd the best dresses:

Is anyone noticing the floral theme in these dresses? Summer comes and all I want to do is wear pretty summer dresses in bright colours. I know Dorothy Perkins isnt ever going to be anyones "go to" shop for innovative style, but for pretty summer dresses that fit well, I think it's definitely a place to stop as you're walking down your local highstreet. I went for the first dress on my montage, but in black with a higher hem. And i'm really liking it:

Get thee to Dorothy Perkins and do it quick! There's only 4 hours to go! What says you Karl?

Ah. Not the response I was expecting!

Love, Tor x

We've been Goked!

Hey readers,

I love Gok Wan (like the majority of the TV watching female public) But it seems that lately, where ever you go, a picture of Gok Wan is never more than a heartbeat away! The presenter of 'How to look good naked' has been popular with the ladies since the very first series of the show. But now he's everywhere! He's totally saturated the fashion market!

How to look good naked (A show I really loved 90% of the time) has been replaced with Gok's fashion fix: A show I enjoy in spite of myself and its inaccurate mission statement. I even went to New Look on Friday to look for a dress i'd seen on the show on Thursday night (sadly, I couldn't find it). What I love about Gok is that unlike Trinny and Susannah and NHJ (God I hate her, and who thought it was a good idea to contract her name?) he actually seems to like women: he makes them look good by building their confidence, not humiliating them.

But i'm beginning to wonder if Gok has gone too far. Gok has been on every single chat show, he even had the honour of presenting the Friday Night Project. You can buy underwear endorsed by Gok on simplyyours.co.uk, he has his own fashion tip section and endorses certain products for Dorothy Perkins, and I just heard on the olde telebox that this week he has been given his own column in Look magazine. All good for Goks bank balance. But is it good for us? How many of his endorsements are genuine? And how much Gok is too much Gok?

Call me cynical, but my love (and it is a genuine love) of the Gokster declined dramatically when I saw the tripe they were putting his name on in the Norwich branch of Dorothy Perkins. He let them do that! Gok is a super stylist: he knows that polyester doesn't look good on anyone. So why is his grinning face hanging to the hangers of this stuff? Dear God why?!

I'm heading out to buy my weekly Look fix this afternoon. I just hope this column avoids the "if your boyish wear this, if your curvey wear this" cliches and brings something new to the table.

Or my remaining strands of respect for the man who "brought fashion to British women" will be gone. All gone.

Love

Tor xx