January Sales 2011: Miss Selfridge and French Connection

Hi guys,

Another day, another visit to the sales! This time I popped to Miss Selfridges and French Connection to try on impractical party dresses that I don't need: my favourite impractical things to buy! I haven't been massively impressed by the sales so far, but I haven't hit any of the big department stores yet: i'm sure as soon as I do i'll be regaling you with tales of armfuls of lovely stuff bought (well, here's hoping!) Until then though, here's what I tried on in Miss Selfridges:

The nude dress had been reduced to £20, the metallic T-shirt had been reduced to £8. I loved the nude dress, especially the detailing around the shoulders and the ruffled capped sleeves. But boy, did it make me look top heavy! I ummed and ahhed over it for a little while, but decided it probably showed a little too much boob for me.

Like the magpie I am, I was attracted to this dress because it was shiny and sparkly. The sequins were gorgeous, and it was reduced from £100 to £45: bargain! But it isn't exactly flattering on my wobbly mince pie belly, so this one ended up back on the rack for somebody else to find and love!

I loved this dress from French Connection, which had been reduced from £190 to £50, and even came with a matching bag that was reduced to £25. However I was put off by my shopping partner (aka Mike) who pulled that face when I came out of the changing room (complete with slightly wrinkled nose) and put me right off!

Love, Tor x

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: 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

I am the woman. This is the dress.

I love the new French Connection campaign (Though admittedly not as much as Fi from Save our Shoes) The man is strangely, and remarkably, attractive! Today however, not only do I love the campaign, I now love this dress!

I can't remember the last time I tried on a dress and felt so immediately gorgeous: it nips in my waist and skims my hips, covers my arms but shows off my cleavage! It's very slightly tight on my boobs (sadly most dresses are!) and it's also £125, which is more than I would usually spend on a party dress.

But I think it's so versatile that I will wear it again and again: i'm trying to justify it to myself on a cost-per-wear basis, and with the party season approaching I could accessories it very differently and wear it over and over. I think by the end of the weekend, this dress will be mine!

Love, Tor xx

Daily Wear: Back to Black

Whenever I have a wardrobe crisis or I don't know what to wear I turn back to my trusty black. Its my favourite colour to wear, I love the contrast it makes with my hair, and I know it isn't really, but it feels slimming to me.

Today I am playing with proportions. I have a naturally pronounced hourglass figure (big boobs and big hips and bum but with a narrower waist) but I find it really hard to dress, especially when I spend most of my time trying to minimise my bust! However today I decided to play with my bodies natural proportions: this dress is from French Connection (I got it from Bicester last week) and has a wide cinched in waist and heavy sleeves which emphasise my hourglass. I further emphasised my waist by adding my pony belt (I got this from Primark from £3 - I'm really impressed as it looks like much better quality than that!) Finally I added two necklaces in an attempt to elongate my upper torso.

Do you have a part of your body you love to show off? Or is there a part of you your always trying to minimise which prevents you from trying new things? I find other peoples relationships with their bodies fascinating!

Anyway, I think i've bigged up what is actually a really plain and simple looking outfit, so i'll finish it off with the sentence that would have done instead of all the fluff: this is what i'm wearing today!

Love, Tor xx