Sales assistants: A good one can make your day

I know that sales assistants often get a bad rap: the stereotype is of surly youths with attitude or stuck up older types who don't want to help. So when I was given exceptional service on Sunday I thought it only right that I share it with you, especially given that it came from a rather unlikely source. I wasn't in a boutique or a designer shop or even a more high end highstreet store: I was in Peacocks rifling through the sale rails with my sister!

We took our purchases to the till (nightwear for the sister and the shoes below for me) but Amie's didn't have a price on. She asked how much (as you do!) and was given the price. Then the assistant standing next to my sister said "I can give you an extra 40% off that if you like" "How?" asked my sister somewhat suspiciously. It turns out that the staff are given a certain number of friends and family promotion cards and that the "Spring" ones expired that day. She had some left and wanted to do something nice for us: we were total strangers! And who says human kindness is dead!

We gladly took her up on her offer and my shoe boots which had been £28, then reduced to £14 actually cost me £8.60! I wish I had taken the girls name, because I want to say thank you to the sweet girl who served me in the Edgeware branch of Peacocks! Going the extra mile, being helpful, personable and friendly all make the difference between a good shopping experience and a bad one. In my opinion, good sales people are worth their weight in gold! (Whether they give you great discounts or not!)

If you're a great sales assistant who knows their fashion and style and secretly dreams of being a super stylist then Elle have the perfect competition for you! Elle are after the high-street heroes who style the nation. If you work in retail and want to be an ELLE stylist, they're offering you the chance! ELLE is launching a nationwide search for talented shop girls – and boys – who have what it takes to become an international stylist.

The winner will get the chance to style a shoot for ELLE, plus an internship on the magazine and expert mentoring from ELLE’s fashion director, Anne-Marie Curtis. You can find out more and enter here.

I'd love you to let me know if you enter - it makes me wish I worked in retail!

Love, Tor xx

Still dreaming of Balenciaga Blazers.....

Last night I went to sleep with a head full of quirky blazers and chunky shoes with wooden heels. This morning when I woke up I was still thinking about blazers. The blazer is a wardrobe classic. It adds style to the most casual of outfits and has American preppy overtones when teamed with jeans.

The Balenciaga blazer has been everywhere this winter: Vogue has hailed it an 'IT item' and it's been worn by a bevvy of celebs. And I can see why. The cute contrasting coloured trims, the shiny buttons, the unusual lines: what's not to like? Well, the £1240 price tag is probably not to like if your bank balance looks anything like mine, really! But they are amazingly lovely to look at.....

The good (for us, bad for them) thing about the Balenciaga blazer, is how easy the highstreet have found it to copy. According to IamFashion, Zara made a blazer that was such a good replica it had to be taken off the shelves because Balenciaga threatened to sue. And although it's thick velvet fabric isn't to my taste, even Primark made a black velvety replica for the small price of £12.

Schoolboy blazer, Topshop £60

In Topshop on Monday I coverted this 'inspired by' grey jacket: especially the cute anchor buttons and anchor embroidered on the pocket. (I have a bit of a sailor obsession going on at the moment) However this week my budget dictates that a £60 price tag is as out of my range as a £1,240 one and so I had to leave the store minus a satisfyingly heavy carrierbag.

This afternoon I popped into town to get some pizza and chicken from Iceland (I know, my life is soo glam and fashion ) and decided to have a wander round the shops: anything to spend another hour away from my damn incomplete essay! I am pleased to report to you all that New Look have reduced their sale items even further, and you can now pick up a wide variety of loveliness for a mere £1. I picked up a fully lined grey apron shift dress, a puff sleeved black cardigan, a brodiere anglaise salmon pink dress and a sponge bob square pants boobtube. And I had change for a fiver! Result!

I then popped into Peacocks (their 70% off, more prices slashed signs were compelling) and lo and behold, what should I find but this:

Admittedly under normal circumstances I wouldn't team it with my pajamas, but there it is. A lookalike Balenciaga blazer all of my very own. The fit is really lovely, the cut very flattering and I'm really impressed with it! And how much was it I hear you cry? Well my friends, it was the bargain price of just £5. Yes, just five pounds. And it comes in grey/black (shown above) black and white, or khaki and red. I can't remember the last time I felt so fashion-happy......