Sneak peak: Primark S/S12 Collections

Hi guys,
It's cold. In fact, it's colder than cold. The sudden drop in temperature means that not only am I wearing a hat, scarf, and gloves, I'm also wearing a coatigan under my coat and tights under my leggings! But that doesn't mean I don't want to indulge in a little 'when it's warmer' fantasy, and look at some gorgeous S/S collections....

Whatever your stance on Primark, they always make their look books look amazing. The clothes are always bang on trend, massively wearable, and affordable too. Although I have noticed an increase in prices throughout the store: dresses that would have been £10-12 are now £17. It's still not a massive amount of money for a new dress, but I do hope as prices increase the quality continues to as well.

Here are some of my favourite pieces from their S/S collection, all of which will be landing in a store near you very soon:

Spotted blouse, £10, Yellow chinos, £11, Skinny belt, £2. Court shoes, £10.
Colour block shift dress, £17.

Bird print shift dress, £13
Contrast sleeve floral blouse, £12. Coral trousers, £12. Court shoes, £10.

Floral dress, £17. Rope belt, £2. Bag, £8.
Green shirt dress, £17.

I have been very good at sticking to my resolution not to buy faddy trends or make impulse buys of things I don't need. And I know I can resist the plethora of pretty dresses, as my wardrobe is already full of them. Nonetheless, I know that spotty blouse will be mine.....

As well as having an amazing selection of women's wear (who can argue after seeing the pictures above) they also stock gorgeous menswear, homewares, and kids' clothes too. I'm slightly obsessed with buying clothes for my niece at the moment, and often pop to Primark. I also love Emma Bunton's new kidswear range for Argos - particularly her girls clothing - and H&M have a too-cool-for-school selection too.

Have you had any great Primark purchases lately? And what are your thoughts on the upwardly shifting price tags?

Love Tor xxx

In the changing room at Pepperberry

Hi guys,
A couple of weeks ago I went to the launch of Bravissimo's new clothing line, Pepperberry, and I promised you guys I would go back once the stores were open, to try on some of the range and write a proper review. Well, a promise is a promise, so here it is!

I picked up four dresses and headed to the changing rooms (which like Bravissimo changing rooms were refreshingly massive, and had plenty of mirrors) I couldn't decide whether I would need a 14 RC (Really curvy) or a 14 SC (Super curvy) so I took a mixture of both.

The Pepperberry range immediately solved my often-whinged-about sizing problem: It was so amazing to feel the dresses nip in nicely at my waist without squashing my boobs: normally I have to size up for boob comfort, but the payoff is a wide and gaping waistband, and clothes that don't really fit properly. With the Pepperberry dress my waist was cinched in, my boobs had room to breath, and the dresses skimmed my hips, creating really flattering hourglass shapes: If you want dresses that will give you a 50s movie star figure, then this is the shop to go to!
Another problem the Pepperberry range solved was the under-the-boob issue. In dresses that have panels which are supposed to fall just under the boobs, I usually find the line sitting half way across the fullest part of my boobs looking unslightly: if your slightly fuller busted then anything on an empire line from the high street is a massive no go. The spotty dress in particular surprised me: the panels fit perfectly and the waist started at exactly the point it should, creating that much-longed-for hourglass shape.

Pepperberry very kindly gave us a voucher for one item of clothing when I went to the launch event. I immediately chose the blue full skirted dress: I loved it on the night, and I loved it even more once i'd tried it on. I'm going to wear it in a seventies fashion with retro wedges, replacing the sash with a tan leather belt, and slinging a vintage satchel over my shoulder.

I could've quite easily opted for any of the four dresses I tried on though: they all fit incredibly (In the RC not the SC variant, if you're interested) and i've got a feeling I will be visiting this store again soon!

Love, Tor xx

Maaike Mekking: Lusting after the Look Book

During fashion week there aren't enough hours in the day to attend all the shows you want to attend/are invited to. So you have to pick and choose. But sometimes, after the event, you see the images of the show you chose not to go to and feel like you made a mistake. This happened to me this morning when the Maaike Mekking look book arrived.

It feels like this collection was designed for me, or for the me I am in my head: lots of unstructured dresses dressed down with leggings and brogues. These dresses vie for attention alongside structural trousers and skirt and top seperates. The colour pallette is blacks, greys, neutrals and flashes of mustard (my favourite colour to wear when i'm not wearing black, grey, or neutrals) and in each image I find something I covet. The camel and denim dress with the cut outs is a stand out piece, and I wonder how it would look worn like a coat with pretty florals underneath, peeking through the holes.

The whole collection is very wearable with a sporty utilitarian twist. I love the long sheer dress over the nude/black tattoo-style body suit, but the piece that most makes me go gooey is the simple grey and cream dolly dress with the zip front. The sleeves and shoulders give this piece a very uniform feel, and I love clothes that on the surface appear simple, but have interesting twists.

The more I see the more I want. It's a testament to the designer that the collection can be unusual and visually inspiring but crazily wearable as well: I think I might make a piece from Maaike Mekking my next non-high street purchase!

Love, Tor xx

Run rabbit, Run rabbit, Run run run!

Phase two of "Topshop Edit" launches on the 14th March, and they are adding a new brand to the mix - Rabbit on the Run. Rabbit on the Run is a Croatian label and was founded by Julie Thevenot in 2008, starting with hand-printing and dye-testing in her custom-built silkscreen studio. Its aesthetic is the result of experiments and research in large-format cutting and folding techniques, developing an unexpected symmetry. The feel of the brand is jubilant, playful and futuristic.I'm a big fan of monochrome for Spring, so the collection immediately grabbed my attention. The collection has a very tribal primative feel to me (most openly articulated in the jacket) I love the cut of the trousers but find the print overpowering: they would be wonderful for someone a little more fashion forward than myself though, and the pleats around the waistband would lend to a really flattering fit.

The piece that I liked most (and would be most likely to add to my own wardrobe) is the T shirt with the geometric print on it. The print reminds me of medeval body armour, and would look great with leggings and tough studded gladiator sandals for a relaxed summer look.

I don't know how big the range will be, but there were only four images (above) of the collection released yesterday. I hope there will be more to come though - it's so hard to get a feel for a range on such a small taster, and I feel like Rabbit on the Run has the potential to be a great addition for Topshop! I also think its great that Topshop supports up and coming designers by giving them this kind of massive opportunity: its a win-win situation.

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Love, Tor xx

ASOS Curve: ASOS dominate the world!

ASOS have launched a new plus sized range called "ASOS curve" aimed at curvy women sized 20-28. I can't review the fit or the quality because the collection isn't aimed at me, but I can say that i'm glad that ASOS have decided to grow their brand in this direction (doesn't this mean there is noone left that can't have ASOS in their wardrobe? Their domination of the online shopping world is complete!)

Things I love about ASOS curve:

• That the plus sized clothes are actually being shown on the body of a genuinely plus sized model. I hate it when you see a size 14 girl modelling for Evans (they do that alot) How is that inspirational for a plus sized woman?
• The price point is the same as for the ASOS mainline range. I know that plus sized clothes require more fabric (and this is used as explanation) but always thought it must be awful to have to spend so much more than anyone else for every item of clothing you buy.
• As you can see from the pics above, the clothes are genuinely fashion forward. They are young and trendy and versitile: there are pieces here that could be worn by any plus sized woman of any age.

The collection is quite small at the minute (only a couple of pages of stuff) but i'm sure as people start buying it it will grow and grow! A perfect incentive to get involved in what I like to call "online shopping Friday!"

Love, Tor xx

ASOS Black Christmas range launches on Monday!

After yesterday's rant about the new Kate Moss Christmas collection, here is a preview peek at a Christmas collection which is set to be anything but boring. The ASOS Black Christmas range is set to be beautiful, glamourous, and unusual. Here's the promised peek:

It launches on Monday, so sadly you can't leave me here sharing my thoughts to pop over and buy it now. But if you are planning to log on to click-and-buy on Monday, please form an orderly line behind me. I want that cage skirt! And to those of you wondering how practical it is, think on this: you're standing in a bar trying to get a drink. Drunken christmas party goers are crowding around you getting lairy. As you're friends jostle and groan whilst elbows hit their ribs and drunks step on their shoes, who is having the last laugh? Why, it's you with your instant personal space creator (ie the cage skirt) of course! I am aware that it could also be a hinderance to sneaky snogs under the mistletoe, but I say you're too pretty for kissing non princes anyway!
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I also adore the feather cape which I am already slotting into my wardrobe as I type. I envisage wearing it over layers of black, and throwing it over my coat to add volume (and a little extra warmth) for the above mentioned glam nights out. Don't let it be said that you don't get practical tips from me!!
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Monday can't come fast enough for me - and I just got paid too!

Love, Tor xx