Outfit Of The Day

Feeling very fulfilled after the boxing day sales but now definetly need to ease off the buying for a year or two to make up for the money I've spent. New look was one of my favourite shops this year in the sales and I got the navy blue satin skirt for a fiver and the boots for £12! Also can't part with my vivienne westwood necklace for more than an hour so obvs it had to go with this outfit. For an evening version team with platform heels and wear the bralet without the shirt (and no tights if you can brave the cold). Hope your sale scouring was as successful as mine!

End Of Year Sale Finds

Cape Shirt- £5 Primark, Skirt £5 New look

Jumper- £12 New Look

Shirt- £12 primark, Bralet- £10 Motel

Shoes- £12 New look

Vivienne Westwood choker

I think everyone needs a bit of designer somewhere in their wardrobe and my fix is this gorgeous pearl choker with vivienne westwood original orb logo. Excuse the out of focus photo but wanted to show how it can be worn with anything from collared shirts to simple tee's. Simply amazing- sorry for the cheesy Trey Songz quote there.

60s Vintage Skirt - Outfit Of The Day

Skirt- £3, charity shop, Clock necklace vintage, Tee- topshop £8, Denim Jacket- New Look £15, Heels- New Look

Homemade Christmas Tree Decorations

These cute decorations are so simple to make. Buy some dissolvable fabric (available from most fabric shops) then collect scraps of materials. Cut a square of dissolvable fabric bigger than you want the decoration to beand arrange the scraps onto it. Next place another square of dissolvable fabric on top of the scraps and pin it all together. Then either hand sew or free machine stitch on the sewing machine to keep the scraps together and to create the shape you want. After that put your piece under the tap to dissolve the fabric then cut away the spare scrap material so that you're left with the shape you stitched. Finally sew on a ribbon to hang it from the tree. Beautiful and a great, cheap gift!

If you prefer to buy your decorations then these ones from notonthehighstreet.com are fab but a bit pricey at £14

Glitter Nail Varnish

Models Own- £5, 

Tear

Add An Underskirt

To add shape to my floral skirt I have layered it with my ballet skirt. This gives a cute edge to the simple, cotton skirt and keeps it casual whilst still being girly and fun.

Skirt- Topshop £42

This version from topshop is similar to mine but has the net on the outside. The colours are quite warm and suitable for winter yet the floral pattern makes it appropriate for the summer too. Its not cheap at £42 but worth it as you can wear it all year round.Team it up with a white shirt, aviator jacket tights and boots for a 'school girl' on trend outfit.

Pleated Space Dye

This technique is so simple and so interesting and eye-catching. The dying part is much simpler than tie-dying as you don't have to fiddle around with the elastic bands. I have used cotton but it would work on many materials, eg. jersey, cotton, first you have to soak the material in a sodium solution to keep the dye from washing out. You then simply put the material in a microwavable container and sprinkle the powder dye (I used dylon) across the material where you want it to go. Finally, microwave for 2 minutes then wash off and leave to dry, viola! I have then pleated the material for a different finished look.

ASOS Pleated Skirt In Space Dye-£12 sale

If you're short on time- or, like me, are too impatient to wait till you've made the skirt-you can get this beautiful and stylish skirt for only £12! The material and colour scheme make it perfect with the trends this winter

Vintage Brooch

Brooch- vintage £5 

This vogue cover shoot from the 60's is just beautiful and I've fallen in love with the brooch on her turban. I found my own version in a small vintage boutique for just £5 and plan to wear it with my collared shirts instead of the usual choker necklace. If there are no vintage shops/ charity shops near you or you prefer to buy a new one then this Topshop brooch is so elegant and perfect for adding glamour to a plain silk shirt. wear with a pencil skirt and killer heels for any christmas party

Clothes Show Live

Dress:£5, Belt:Vintage 

Dress: Oh My Love £7.50

Playsuit: Goldie £5

Leggings: Oh My Love £15, Top: New look sale

Shirt:Oh My Love £7.50

With a whole new wardrobe and a very light purse: my trip to the clothes show this year was a huge success!(I also now have a never ending supply of perfume samples free in the goodie bags so that saves a Christmas pressie or two). I was overwhelmed when I got to the NEC; The main halls were jam packed with an amazing selection of boutique stalls and high street brands, all with endless bargains! And of course there was the catwalk show which was themed 'day in the life of a fashion magazine' and had over 200 beautiful outfits and many gorgeous models, topless male ones may I add! The outfits weren't even all ridiculously expensive, some were high street affordable too! Check out the 'Oh My Love' website, their stall was one of my favourites of the day and was a lot cheaper than most of the high streets brands. I definitely recommend you check out the clothes show live next year, the ticket price may seem a bit high but trust me its worth it!

The Winter Coat

Coat- Debenhams

The oversized faux-fur collar gives a super on trend look to this coat; which can be removed when the weather starts to improve. It's quilted with silk on the inside which makes it really cosy and perfect for chilly winter days. It also has surprisingly cute embellishments like faux-leather cuffs and seams and a subtle glittery sheen to the main body which makes it stand out from other coatt. This coat is bought a few sizes too big to make it more casual and adds structure to any outfit.

Outfit Of The Day

Shirt- £5 New Look sale, Shorts- £7 New Look sale, Jumper- £10 Topshop sale

Just bagged this stripy shirt from New Look for a fiver!! And Its so versatile! It can be worn casually with shorts or jeans, goes well with warm wooly jumpers and would be perfect for a night out with my wet look leggings and heels. Bargain.

One Tee 4 Ways

Cropped Tee- £8 Topshop

Left: Jeans- Topshop sale, Right: Skirt- Miss Selfridge

Left:Shorts- Urban Outfitters sale, Right: Leggings- Topshop £22

Charity Shop Gem

Ballet Skirt- £1

More techniques for clothes

Cut and Slash: sew two or three layers of material together either in particular shape or in lines then cut slits inbetween the sqaures of sewing revealing the material underneath. When complete looks very affective and could be stitched onto plain clothes to give them a unique twist

Here I have used strips of organza, in two different colours, to do finger knitting. This small section of the technique is a sample for my textiles folder as I will be using green and gold organza for a belt on one of my designs.

 Stencil printing: This technique is very easy and all you need is some card for a stencil and acrylic paint for the printing. You can print onto many materials but it works best on cotton.

Outfit of the day

Disco inferno- Vogue inspired

I was so happy to see an article in Septembers Vogue magazine called 'Disco Inferno' as I love the flamboyant colours, sequins and crazy fashion statements of the 70's. So after reading the article i created my  own 'disco inferno' outfit complete with wedge boots and amazing pink cat eye glasses. With top designers, such as Jeremy Scott, creating rainbow sequin dresses and, Jimmy Choo, re-inventing the high wedge boots everyone is getting into the psychedelic groove. 

1 skirt 4 ways

Top left: Top- Topshop sale, Belt- Primark, Socks- New Look. Top right: Dress- Topshop sale. Bottom left: Jumper- Topshop 'Tea and Cake', Tights- Topshop sale. Bottom right: Bralet- Miss Selfridge sale

This simple white skater skirt from Matalan may look a bit boring on the hanger but when it is with the right clothes it looks great. For the first look I added my grey knee high socks and floral top for a easy daytime outfit. The second look is more of an evening outfit as I layered it over my sequin dress with heels. I added my plum tights and cropped swallow jumper for look three and I feel the skirt makes a great base for this look without overcrowding it with patterns and colours. For the fourth and final outfit i added my tutu under the skirt to make it more puff-ball and then paired it with my denim bralet for a simple look that could be worn anywhere from shopping to the beach.

PONCHO

So excited for it to be cold enough for me to wear my poncho. The black background contrasts well with the bright Aztec pattern making it easily wearable; I've chosen to pair it with my panelled wet look leggings for a, stylish yet  cozy, winter outfit. Unfortunately I bought this in the urban outfitters sale last year but similar ones can be found in many shop and i'm sure there are some great bargain ponchos available on eBay.

Vintage Rucksack

This rucksack is perfect for carrying around all my junk as it is strong yet stylish. I love the aztec print band on it as it gives it a fun edge. The colours mean that it goes with most outfits too

Making your clothes your own

Topshop dress- Sale £25, Matalan bralet- Sale £5

Topshop dress- Sale £10, Belt vintage

 You don't have to spend lots of money on boutique clothing or be particularly skilled with a sewing machine to own clothes that no one else has. For the above outfit on the left I didn't like the midi lengh of the dress when I originally bought it and so decided to make into a dip back dress. This was simple as the material does not frey and therefore didn't need a hem. I then added my vintage belt to make it extra sparkly. You don't actually need to change your clothes to make them individual, you can just add an item of clothing with it to create something unique. This is what I have done to the above right outfit by adding a bralet on top of my skater dress.

Making Winter Warm- Outfit of the day

Topshop dress- £15 sale, Necklace0 Primark, Topshop Jumper- £15

I hate the idea that we should put away 'summer clothes' in winter and pile on all the chunky layers. Simply adding winter items to your summer clothes can not only keep you warm but save you buying more clothes just for the winter months. I love this Topshop dress and have added my boots, thick socks, wooly jumper and necklaces to complete todays outfit.

Investment clothing

Aviator jacket- Topshop

I bought this aviator jacket a couple of years ago in Topshop and wear it almost every day! The collar and lining means it is suitable for winter and the simple brown leather makes it easy to wear with most outfits.

Sale Size Solutions

Blue lace back maxi dress,  £15 Topshop maternity sale

Sequin dress, £10 Topshop sale

We've all been there; when you find an amazing bargain in the sale and are heading straight for the till when you realize its not your size or is damaged! But don't let a little sewing scare you off. The blue dress above was a size 10 maternity dress but with some simple re-sewing of the side seam it now fits me perfectly. The sequin dress had a broken zip that could easily be fixed to become as good as new!