Party dress week begins: with a word of warning

There is just a month to go until my office Christmas party, and with this in mind it seemed like the perfect time to start my annual party dress hunt: I will be going into a different high street store every day over the next week and trying on and reviewing the best dresses on offer. Usually I do this on a £30 budget, but as the cost of clothes on the high street has crept up dramatically I will be working to a £50 budget this year.
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But before they week of lovely dresses begins, i'd like to think about why we feel the need to go out and buy a new dress, just because it's Christmas. If you have the money then great, but if not then why the stress and worry? Why not save yourself the heartache of looking at dresses you cant (or would rather not) afford and shop your own wardrobe? I know that's what i'll be doing!

I got this dress in April to wear for my birthday party in May, and then decided to wear something else instead: it still has the tags on! I've teamed it with the Kurt Gieger shoes I wore for my graduation and a gorgeous French Connection angora shrug; all I need is big hair and lots of jewellery and i'm ready to hit the town!
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Christmas dresses are generally black, sparkly, and this year the trend is for sequins. If we're honest, party dress trends don't vary so often that your dress from last year (or the year before, or the year before that!) will look out of date. And a new bag, make up or jewellery can make the difference between an outfit that looks years old or bang up to date.

This week's Topshop newsletter said that cameo prints and jewellery will be big this Christmas, so I have thrown on an oversized cameo necklace with the black dress I wore for New Year's eve two years ago. Despite the dress not being new, I think the outfit looks modern and sexy (if you ignore the Sunday night hair and no make up!) and could take you to the party for the cost of a new necklace!

Here I have taken a normal black dress I wear for work at least once a month (i've had it for about 18 months)and thrown on a sparkly necklace I got in the topshop sale for £1 and a t shirt from primark for a fiver; the sparkle makes it perfect for post-work drinks (or a more casual party) and the shoulder detail is "this season's key trend". Everyone has a plain black dress in their wardrobe, and instead of shopping for its expensive replacement this season why not look for a sparkly clutch, chandelier earrings or gorgeous nail varnish? That way you have that special "this is new" feeling without the expense of buying a whole new outfit.
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I'm not saying that you shouldn't go out and buy a new dress if its something you always do and enjoy, and can afford, of course. I'm one of the biggest consumers I know - it would be silly for me to tell people not to go shopping! I'm just saying that maybe we should question why it is such an integral part of our December ritual, particularly this year when money is tight for so many people. I'm pretty sure noone is going to judge (or even notice) if your dress doesn't have a brand new topshop label hanging off the back! I have a wardrobe full to the brim with party dresses, and I definitely won't be buying a new one for this Christmas - leaving me much more money to spend in the sales in January!

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Having said that, party dress week starts tommorrow - all the best party dresses on the highstreet right now. I can't wait!
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Love, Tor x

What's in the window: Selfridges Christmas edition

I have had some feedback that not all of you like the "what's in the window" feature. Well actually, one specific person doesn't like the "what's in the window" feature. But I don't feel like other people should be in a position to choose what you do or don't write about, otherwise all blogs would look the same, and that would defeat the object of writing a blog altogether. I also don't see what people thing they can achieve by being nasty about a blog; haven't they got better ways to fill their days? It's a matter of personal taste. And I happen to like shop windows.

There are no shop windows I like more in the world than Selfridges, and my love of them doubles at Christmas time. This year the theme is a pantomine one, with a different panto represented in every window. One of the first things I noticed is that there is something by Vivienne Westwood in every single one; it's not really suprising though. Her style lends itself perfectly to the panto theme.

Each of the windows is trimmed with a lighted garland, like in the last photo. My overriding feeling is that the whole thing is very tongue in cheek. I am especially fond of the bold flashing slogans accompanying every display. And i couldn't believe it when I read that the dress in the third picture is by Alexander McQueen; it's so over the top and opulent that I assumed it had been "created" by the window dressers with yards of fabric and chicken wire! Oh, and what you can't see in the picture is that in the fourth window the cows trousers are pulled down to reveal stockings and suspenders.



This series of displays is my favourite so far, because although it doesn't have the extravagant "wow factor" of last year, you find more little touches and jokes to chuckle about the more you look at it. I am slightly disturbed by the pervy-creepy santa in window six though!

Its definitely worth a walk down Oxford street this month, even if you're only going to view these windows!


Love, Tor xx

Daily wear: that horrible inbetweeny weather

Yesterday evening my sister, the boyfriend, and I had dinner together, followed by a walk down Oxford street to view the festive window displays (Selfridges-wow!) and check out the Christmas lights, which were turned on on Tuesday.

Despite the cold, I wasn't wearing a coat. Why, I hear you ask? Well, quite simply, because the weather is so confusing it's hard to know what to do for the best! When I leave the house at 8am it isn't that cold. When I pop out for my sandwich at lunchtime it's warmer still. But leaving the office at 5.30 and the resturant at around 7 it was freezing. Here's how I braved the cold:

I am wearing a long sleeve black lycra top with a sparkly topshop cardigan over it (layers are key!) with topshop leggings and day of the dead skirt. Then for warmth I threw on my crop sleeve leather jacket. To make this snugger for the evening I added my black H&M snood (which is draped rather than wrapped) and my primark leather gloves. They're real leather and only cost £7; I was tempted to buy them in every colour. I didn't wear any jewellery (laziness!) but had my studded duffle bag from Miss Selfridges and my studded winkle picker boots from Office for a little bit of bling!!

Speaking of my boots, they're new; I got them on Monday! They were reduced to £45 and the cream coloured version were only £25. Office has a shoe sale on, and unlike lots of other retailers they've reduced some of their boots as well as the outdated summer stock; definitely worth checking out! Oh and on the subject, some of the sale stock isnt on the sale rack, but stored with the normal stuff. Just to confuse us! I picked these out and was suprised to find they were in the sale when I turned them over to check out the price!

Love, Tor xx

PS- I read in the paper this morning that H&M will be handing out wristbands to "prevent rioting" at the Jimmy Choo launch next week, and that they are expecting people to start arriving at midnight the evening before. There isn't anything from the collection I want bad enough to spend a night in the cold for, but if you're desperate to get your hands on some Choos then start planning now!