Sarenza shoes: All that's gold and studded!

Hi guys,

The more I shop on Sarenza the more I enjoy the experience: it's so easy and hassle free! My deliveries always arrive on time, and there are so many options to choose from: it takes me literally hours to pick between all the lovely shoes on the site!

This time I opted for two pairs of shoes: an entirely impractical pair of studded wedges, and a more wearable (wear-to-deathable probably!) pair of gold pumps. I love anything gold and shiny: can you sense a theme!?

The studded wedges:


It was love at first sight when I saw these Carvela wedges. I actually got them to go with the French Connection dress i'm wearing to my hen do this weekend. However the extreme heat has caused my feet to swell (as you can see from the picture below) meaning I can't give a decent report on how these shoes fit: it hurts to get them on right now! They look sooo pretty though! Swelling feet is a curse I suffer every summer, sadly. So I think I will be putting these beauties to one side, and bringing them out when Autumn comes....

The shiny gold pumps:


I opted for these Valensi pumps because last month Jen from A little bird told me got the red pair, and they looked fantastic on her: she also documented their comfort. I have only worn them once so far, but I have to agree! These are great looking, vibrant, and very comfortable pumps! I went with gold because I always wear gold jewellery, so no matter what dress i'm weairng these shoes will always match: making them perfect for throwing on in a rush!

The Sarenza sale is in full swing, with up to 50% off hundreds of pairs of shoes: my beloved Moheda clogs. have 40% off. Could it be time to pick up a black pair?! Even better, returns and delivery are still free, even if you've only bought a pair of sale shoes for a tenner! No hidden charges + bargain priced shoes = ultimate win!!

Love, Tor xx

It's sale time!

Hi guys,
The mid-season sales have officially started, which means if you have a holiday, wedding, trip to Ascot or any other special event coming up this summer, then it's time to hit the shops! (Of course, you're welcome to hit them shops if you're a shopaholic with no event too!)

-The Selfridges sale started on Monday (poster above) and I will be checking it out this evening.

- If you're London-based, the Harrods summer sale officially opens on Saturday 18th June (that's this Saturday!) Prepare for a scrum, because it's always chaos, but there will definitely be bargains to be had.

-On the highstreet, the Debenhams sale is in full swing, with half off almost everything: definitely worth checking out!

-For summer parties, the French Connection sale has started: up to 60% off skirts, tops, and dresses with an amazing selection that would be perfect for summer events, but at great prices.

-Finally, if you haven't been on your summer holiday yet, check out Warehouse. They have up to 50% off on their summer sale, with discounts on bikinis, sarongs, sun dresses, and everything else you'd need for a red hot beach break.

Basically, the whole high street has a sale on. And if it doesn't now it will in a couple of days, because sale season has officially begun! I can't wait to hit the shops and get bargain hunting: let me know of any really great sales you stumble across on your money-saving travels!

Love, Tor xx

My favourite sale bargain...

I promise this is the last post I will write about the summer sales, but i've had so many incredible bargains in them that it's hard to resist showing off! If I had to pick the one bargain that I can't stop thinking smugly about, and can't wait to have an opportunity to wear, then it would be this:

This dress from Monsoon was originally £85, but with the 70% discount I paid just £25.50: I'm absolutely in love with it! It looks incredible on, it's really heavy because of the hand-embellished sequinning, and you can do so much with it! With my trusty high heels and chunky jewellery its perfect for a night on the town. Pare it down with pumps or sandals and a slick of lipstick and its perfect for dinner with friends and family. I love sequins for daywear, so I would even add my black gladiators and wear it out and about during the day!

And here is the obligatory self-taken picture, complete with un-brushed morning hair: don't I look yummy!? At least it gives you an idea of how the dress looks on. I am a seriously smitten kitten with this dress! Have you had any amazing bargains from the sales? Share them, and make us all jealous! (because surely that's one of the secret pleasures of bagging a bargain!)

Love, Tor xx

It's the end of the sales: there are bargains to be had!

The summer sales are coming to an end (for now at least, no doubt there will be more at the actual end of the summer) and this means there are massive discounts to be had, if you're prepared to rummage for them. Granted, a lot of stuff let in the sales at this stage is mostly rubbish, hence it being left on the shelf for so long, but if you're a non-standard size and prepared to put the work in, you could bag some bargains and save yourself a fortune.

-The Debenhams sale is now buy one item get one free, instore but not online. One of my cousins had given my nan a Debenhams gift voucher, which she asked me to spend for her (as she doesn't live near a Debenhams) I got her 6 tops for £20. All of the summery Henry Holland stuff in the sale is also included in this 2 for 1 deal: definitely worth checking out, especially if you live out of central London, where the sales have been very picked over. I was in the Milton Keynes store yesterday, and there were 3 rails full of Henry Holland sale in a big range of sizes.

- The River Island sale now has an extra 25% off all sale prices. I'm a massive River Island fan anyway, and always get a large proportion of my wardrobe from their end of season sales, so this offer was too tempting to miss out on! Since the extra discount was added i've picked up a top and three dresses: the top is for wearing now and into the Autumn. The dresses are being stored and saved for my honeymoon: we need to dress for dinner in our hotel, and I don't really own any dressy clothes, so I thought i'd pick some up while they were in the sale! I'll take proper photos later but for now here is my pick from what's left of the sale on the website.

- OTHER SALES: The House of Fraser sale ends today, and has an extra 25% off all sale prices. The Oasis and Warehouse sales are still one, with further reductions, although stock is now limited. The vast majority of the Monsoon sale is now 70% off, and if you're one to plan ahead they have a great selection of sequinned and little black dresses perfect for Christmas parties.

If you're stuck for something to do this afternoon then hit the shops before the sales end: we're in the last few days now, and you're bound to find some hidden treasures!

Love, Tor xxx

River Island sale: Maximum ten items

The problem with online shopping is that you can't be 100% sure what you're buying until it arrives. Will it fit, will the quality be nice, how much am I going to lose on postage charges if I have to send it back? All considerations of the average online shopping experience.

This is made much easier if you can try things on it store and then buy them online, but why would you bother? If you're already in the shop and you have the garment in you're hand, why not buy it there and then and leave the shop with it! So, despite the fact the River Island sale started online two days ago, I waited until it hit stores today before I went bargain hunting!

You can only take a maximum of ten items into the changing rooms at River Island; it's important to remember this, because you will want to take in about thirty. Stock was going fast, and you had to queue round the room to get to the tills, but i'm giving the River Island sale two thumbs up. I wanted nearly everything I tried on.

The casual T shirts and vests selection was great and started at £6, with lots of Parisian influence (speaking of which, please remember to vote for me and send me to Paris) I love the middle, Parisian themed top, which would be a lovely transitional piece to take you through to Autumn. They also had a big selection of rock and punk inspired logo tops, as well as stripes and polka dots: anything a T shirt loving soul could desire, really.

As well as the clothes, there is also a massive shoes and accessories sale: leather heels starting at £20, flats and sandals starting at £8. I'm a big fan of River Island accessories and I think, quality wise, that they are some of the best on the high street. There were two handbags I loved but at £75 each they were still a little rich for me; a big discount from the original £150 price tag though! They also had hundreds of pairs of very cool Spitfire sunglasses reduced to just £5: I couldn't resist, and picked a pair up!

I've written several times about my love of all things River Island, and if you're a River Island fan too, I definitely recommend you check out the sale. If you're not a River Island fan, it's worth a peek for the shoes: some of them are incredible, and I had a five minute "shoe heaven" moment!

Love, Tor x

Note; please excuse my 'I really need a hair cut' hair do, and the hurried lunchtime photos; this post is for illustration purposes only!

M&S underwear: Like an old faithful friend

The Marks and Spencer sale started today, and within minutes, all of the underwear on the website was out of stock. This was two things: 1) Irritating because it meant I would have to pop to the store to pick up some cheap knickers and 2) A testiment to Marks and Spencers reputation as an underwear retailer that women would go so crazy so quickly to pick up some discounted goodies. Not that it's expensive in the first place: a bra and knicker set for around £20-25 is a bargain as far as i'm concerned!

If I can help it, I always wear Marks and Spencer underwear. It fits well, it washes well, it's good quality and it looks great. You can't really ask for more than that! It has a reputation for being a bit old fashioned (a lot of people use the phrase "granny bras") but I don't think that's true at all: some of it is pretty/sexy - it's just functional too! I went through a phase of wearing La Senza bras, but found they don't cut so well for a larger bust, and within a wash or two the wire was poking through and ready to pierce my chest. Not a good look!

So this morning I sprinted to the Oxford Street M&S, hoping that there would still me the pieces I had spotted on the website available in my size. There was still a mixed bag of sizes available but I couldn't get all five of the sets I wanted: I contented myself with these two from the sale, and a further two at full price. I had mentioned earlier in the week that I needed to buy new underwear anyway, so really this was a case of right place, right time:

There were about 8 stands of the size above containing "pretty" everyday, and slightly fancy underwear, and all but two of the bras had a large selection of sizes in the matching briefs or thongs. The bras started at £4, the briefs at £3. There was also a large stand at the other side of the lingerie section containing more practical underwear such as functional strapless bras and a massive selection of sports bras in all sizes starting at around £7.

Of course the Marks and Spencer sale has lots of other things going on: fashion, mens and childrenswear, and home wear too. But for me, it's all about the pants!

Love, Tor x

PS - If you're still waiting to get your sale fix then you'll be pleased to know that the Selfridges sale starts at 8am on Monday morning, both instore and online. Elbows sharpened ladies, and i'll race you to the shoes!

Fabfrocks picks from the New Look sale

Hi guys,

The New Look sale started at the end of last week, and my sister and I popped in and picked up some absolute bargains. However I didn't have time for a big try on session to share with you guys until today. Today there is certainly less stock, but still lots of great picks especially if your planning a summer holiday or obsessed with the peach and nude trend, and all of it half price or less.

I loved these two very prim and proper 50s style dresses, though the boob area on the pink one was pretty perculiar! The fit is perfect for body shapes like mine: all nipped in waist and flared skirt with a fitted bust. I'm also a sucker for polka dots, so both of these dresses had me at "hello." For a wedding/garden party/any other smart summer occasion both of these dresses would be perfect, and their so cheap you could splash out on a really great pair of shoes to wear with them: the pink dress is just £12 and the blue one is £15.

See what I mean about the abundance of peaches and nudes? (are we still allowed to call them nudes? That's a can of worms i'm not opening!) New Look must be predicting that the nude trend is going to go out of Vogue very quickly. I still really love it though, trend or not, and will be rocking nudes for a little while longer yet: there perfect for summer and look amazing with a tan. If you agree with me then the new look sale is the place for you: all of the tops above are less than £15 and they all look and feel fab!

NB: Please ignore my horrible hair in all of the photos above. I went for a swim before work this morning but forgot my swim cap, so I swam anyway and left my hair a tangled chlorine-stinking bush!

I would recommend that if you're looking for sale bargains and you're a New Look fan then get there sooner rather than later. The stock seems to be disapearing really quickly (in the Oxford street store at least) and the items you're looking for might not be there for long. If you're wardrobe is missing a casual jacket, hareem pants, super soft sweatshirts or raincoats then you should run to New Look: these are the highlights of the sale.

Love, Tor xx

PS - Don't forget to enter my competition to win two tickets to the Fashion Maketh Woman debate next week.

River Island: Mid-season sales review

Hi guys,

The mid-season sales are in full swing and I haven't had a decent try on session/review session for aages, so I thought it was time to reignite the old format and show you my five of the best from the River Island sale. I've turned into a real River Island fan of late - I love their cuts, their patterns, and their attention to detail. I also love their sales!

Floral jumpsuit, £20

Chartreuse evening dress, £20

Star print playsuit, £15

Black studded frill dress, £15

Nude and black t-shirt, £8

I especially loved the black dress and the floral jumpsuit: the dress would be really versatile for almost any occassion and the jumpsuit is just plain fun: teamed with stack heels it would look so seventies! The playsuit looked great too, but it wasn't long enough in the crotch, causing weird ruching. Similarly the evening dress had design errors: it looked good from the front but had absolutely no support in the back!

The river island sale is always great; reductions of 50% and more (usually more) also mean it's a good place to make bigger purchases like leather jackets, winter boots and jackets: they had a massive selection of lightweight spring/summer jackets that I would definitely recommend checking out!

Love, Tor xx

The River Island sale

Hi guys,
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There are benefits of being a big girl in a slim city (London is the slimmest city in the UK): despite totally missing the boat on the river island sale, three weeks on and all of the sale stock they have left is in my size or bigger! I didn't go in store expecting to find any sale stock left (to be honest i'd forgotten all about it!) but found a treasure trove of lovely dresses:

I loved the bird patterned one shoulder dress with the big purple bow belt (which came with!) I thought it was the perfect day to evening dress for those impromptu weekends where you have no idea what you're going to end up doing! £15

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The black and white stripey dress (£10), whilst emphasising my figure and making my waist look tiny, made me too much of an hour glass I think; I felt like an all boob version of Betty Boop! The floral strapless number (£15) was lovely, and if I had a wedding or a garden party coming up it would have been perfect; sadly I don't, so it stayed on the rail!
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My favourite of all the items though was the aptly named "vamp" floral playsuit (£20). I don't know if you can see very clearly, but above the belt it buttons up and darts, creating a gorgeous shape, and I love the flare of the collotes. Thats why I bought this and smuggled it home with me; all these sales are going to get me in trouble!!

.

I would suggest if you are a size 14 or up that you get to the river island at OXford Circus promto to pick up some bargains!

.

Love, Tor

The Monsoon sale: A quick pick!

Who knew Monsoon on Oxford Street opened at 8.00 am?! Perfect for a quick fashion fix when you get into town a little earlier than anticipated! I've never been a massive fan of Monsoon; a brand I usually associate with eccentric teachers and middle aged women. However finding myself with early morning time to kill, I was suprised to find lots of stuff I liked.
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Here are my favourite three dresses from the sale: The skirt on the first dress was so wide and stiff, but despite the fact it would have been impossible to walk in, it was certainly a princess gown! I loved the second dress and couldn't photograph it well enough to do it justice; there were tiny bows up the back in the same fabric as the skirt, and the stiff brocade of the top was very flattering! The green dress: I am definitely not a big fan. But still, two out of three ain't bad! And the price point in the sale was very reasonable indeed given the quality of the dresses: they were all fully lined and had handy details like hidden hooks and fasteners to ensure an even better fit.
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Definitely a shop that is now on my radar!

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Love, Tor x

PS - Don't forget my Mink Pink dress competition ends on Friday, so get entering now!

The topshop sale - a few picks!

I'm afraid this is the last offline sales post you will get for the next five days, whilst i'm stuck in quarantine. But luckily on Saturday, before all the drama, I went to the Topshop in Brent Cross to check out the sales.As much as I love the Oxford Street topshop (I sometimes call it the motherland!) I generally avoid it like the plague when the sales are on. It's too busy, too crowded, to difficult to find what you're looking for, and in my experience I can never find what I want in the size I want, and I always end up with an elbow to the ribs! So when the sale begins I make a beeline for any other large topshop store; in this case Brent Cross (The topshop in Norwich comes highly recommended if you're anywhere near: half the store is turned over to sale stock!)
So here are my picks of the sale. The oversized Barbara Hulanicki shopper bags have been reduced from £25 to £12. I'm kicking myself for not picking up the coral one for my swim kit; I might have to see if the boyfriend will run down and get it for me!

And now to the changing rooms:

Obviously because it was the summer sales the theme of the day was lots of pretty florals and cotton dresses: perfect for summer holidays and sunny days in the park! Most of the dresses were a little tight and cut too short on my bust, but the fit of all of them wasn't bad at all! I LOVE the top with the rivets, but with those leggings? Only if I want to look like a floral hippo! I think you'd have to be a very skinny minnie to wear these without a skirt or dress on top!

I was in such a rush on Saturday that I didn't have the time to stand in the queue and pay for anything and now i'm stuck in the house for a week - I hope there is still some stock available when I finally get out!!

Love Tor

PS - Don't forget to check out my competition for your chance to win a gorgeous Mink Pink dress!

A quick peek at... the House of Fraser sale!

I love department stores. I love that you can lose hours and hours in one big shop which contains lots of little compartmentalised shops. And, as i'm sure you can't have failed to notice, I love sales. So the House of Fraser sale is like a dream come true. Which is why, earlier in the week, just after payday, I went and played in the changing rooms. Here are my picks:

Grey zip-up jersey dress, Miss Selfridge, £10. This dress looks amazing with a tshirt underneath, but awful without. I can imagine it looking lovely with a black and white stripey tshirt and a big red bow in my hair!Zip detail denim dress, Therapy, £15. I really hope there sizes are wrong because I couldn't have shoe-horned myself into this if I wanted to! Too short, too tight, and too inflexible! I think just the thought of this dress made me stick out my rump and think myself big!I loved this dress off the hanger. Miss Selfridges, £18. The colour was great, the ruffles, the vintage pattern: all theoretically yum! But on I thought it made me look very frumpy; and not the good kind!

And finally this raw silk dress, Warehouse, £30. I brought this one to wear to my graduation and I wish I had gotten a better shot of it! It has a gorgeous scoop neck and great ruffles falling from a fabulous waistband; love!

Tomorrow: the topshop sales. I hit the Brent Cross store this morning, and it was looking good!

Love, Tor x

Liberty, Liberty: Liberated

You know the next best thing to a sale? Why, it's an online sale of course! Liberty is my favourite London department store. It is a eclectic mix of fashions and it has such an amazing atmosphere; whenever I have an hour to kill in central London it is the first place I think to go (after my beloved Topshop of course!) So imagine my delight on browsing their website this evening and finding their online sale? It's like all the fun of shopping in Liberty but without the commute and with the added bonus of being curled up on my sofa wearing my Pjs (pink ones with unicorns on if you're interested!!)

When released from my prison of poverty, I intend to shop... so that this time next month I find myself locked inside another prison of poverty! Ah well, three out of four wonderful weeks a month ain't bad! And if left alone in Liberty for an hour or two, I suspect I will be coming out with a massive credit card bill and one of these:

Vivienne Westwood red iris crepe full dress, £178.50 (was £255)
Red Batik Silk Satin T Dress, Peter Pilotto £311.50 was £445
Coral bow front dress, See by Chloe. £238, was £340

Grey Duchamp Silky Tea Dress, Acne £136.50 was £195

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It's always dresses with me isn't it? I didn't even take the time to look at the seperates! I love the shape of the VW dress which would be really flattering on my figure, I can't get enough of the pattern on the Peter Pilotto dress despite it's awkward length. It's like waves crashing against a wall of asian spices. But the dress that sends my pulse racing (and which I will be running down to Liberty to try on tomorrow) is the beautiful dove grey Acne dress. The beautiful layering, the ruffle details and the cutout shoulder; perfect (sigh of delight!)

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Dear lord, I love the summer sales!
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Love, Tor

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PS- Vivienne Westwood fans might be interested to note that it seemed there was a lot of the grand dames garments scattered throughout the sale. Probably worth a look!

Forget the summer solstace, it's time for the summer sales!

Today's post comes to you courtesy of this evening's London Paper, where I saw an article so useful, I felt the need to repeat it here for my non-London dwelling readers viewing pleasure.

First though - what do you think of the new site design? There are still a few tweeks to make and the header isn't quite finished, but basically, this is it. I rather like it. It reminds me of the inside of a Victorian ladies knicker drawer.

And now back to the important business of today's news which is, of course (the clue is in the title!) about the summer sales.

The London Paper produced a comprehensive list of when the main sales are starting, and what kind of discounts to expect. As I can't find this online, my summary is below:

SALE NOW ON

Liberty - Up to 50% off
Faith - Up to 50% off
Banana Republic - At least 30% off
Anne Summers and Knickerbox - Up to 70% off
Ben Sherman - 30-50% off
Donna Karan - Up to 50%
Luella - 50% off bags, 30% off womenswear and 40% off knitwear
Netaporter - Discounts undisclosed
Selfridges - Up to 75% off

24 JUNE

Christian Louboutin - Up to 50% off

27 JUNE

Chanel - Discounts from 30%
John Lewis - Up to 50% off

17 JULY

Alexander McQueen - Up to 50% off

Sadly, I don't get paid until Friday, and so am sat in my pajamas hoping that everyone else is as broke as me until their respective paydays, meaning there will still be some bargains to be had. I truly am going to try to stick to the mantra of "quality not quantity" this month.

Love, Tor xx