Zebra Print

I have fallen for this gorgeous Zebra print blazer from Zara's new collection. This piece is great to wear with your skinny jeans or some rolled-up chino pants with a simple basic t-shirt or tank top or in the better weather ditch the jeans and get on a neutral shade of tailored shorts. 

Way back in 2008, Balmain featured the Zebra print blazer as part of their fall collection:-

Rhianna was a fan!

Credit: Zara

A fun filled trip to London

My birthday trip to London last week was brilliant! I had 3 full days & 2 nights to shop & explore the wonders of London.

I took some snaps when I was out and about (pics are not great as was taken with my I-phone)!

Eating Out:

First stop - Cafe Rouge for a yummy breakfast

Guerilla Burgers - The best burger Joint (so good, we went twice!)

 mmm, the best treat from my mum. Chocolate covered strawberries from Selfridges foodhall

Vintage Shopping:

 I love anything from highstreet to designer to vintage and boy did I have the best time hunting through just some of London's many amazing vintage stores.

(I was so impressed to see the fashion wallpaper I have in my dressing closet in a vintage store. I love these bowler and top hat lights!!)









Notting Hill:

I love Notting Hill. It's such a cool place to wander around. I was dissapointed I missed the Portobello Road market though when I was there, I went on Thursday and it finished at 1pm so I missed it :-(
I love fashion magazines and need my monthly Vogue Fix. My mum was going into a small newsagents in Notting Hill to buy some sweets and when I wondered in behind her I couldn't believe my eyes................I have never seen as great a selection of fashion Magazines in the one place!! I ended up having to be guided out of the shop by my mum having stood in awe for ages gazing at all the magazines! I did get an Italian, Paris and Spanish Vogue though, all August issues which I will keep  to rememeber my 30th Birthday.

 
One of the most thoughtfull gifts I got for my birthday was a vintage Vogue magazine from the year I was born! My dad & my brother went away to hunt for this whilst me and my mum spent the day trying on wedding dresses! What a lovely and special gift that was!



Desginer & High Street boutiques:

Bond Street, what can I say. It's just magical! Being on 'wedding mode' I resisted the calls from the designer bags and shoes! I did treat myself to another Alexander McQueen skull scarf which is in a nice chocolate brown with sage green skulls so it's perfect for the winter months. 

High Street - I got two cute dresses (one is an Aztec print mini dress that's patterend with nice chestnut brown, cream and black shades and the other is a body-con style dress in a vinrant mustard yellow!) & jewellery from the Forever 21 store on Oxford Street, this store was amazing. It was like Topshop & H&M rolled into one. If you have't already been in, then get in there now!

As well as my birthday gifts my brother had already got me (the stripe Bella Freud Jumper and Alexander McQueen ring) he treated me to a pair of gorgeous black lace-up ankle boots from Selfridges ..... I have the best brother :-)

Quirky London:

When you are wandering about London you see some wacky and wonderful things!

Selfridges & Co  - by far had the best window displays. Each theme was totally unique, fun, colourful and made you stop and stare.

Halcyon Gallery

Amazing tiny photographic images on the floor in Selfridges. These were made up from these quirky, retro looking Lomography cameras. The cameras were as light as a feather and available in all different fun designs (a great christmas idea).
Check out  their website:-
http://www.lomography.com/


Bridal Boutiques:

Well, when I was in London I tried on some wedding dresses which was great fun!
After falling in love with a wedding dress on a website, when I tried it on I was told my face fell with dissapointment :-( Not to worry as after more searching, I found my dress!!! 
I have to admit I was feeling pretty nervous about trying dresses on, but I had a lovely time with my mum that day. It just goes to show how you think you have found the perfect dress then when you put it on it can look totally different. I can only describe the feeling as feeling deflated when I put on what I thought was the perfect dress and looked in the mirror.

I decided I wanted to look for my dress in London as opposed to Glasgow as felt I would see something totally unique and different from here and I did just that! Now all I need is to find the perfect Louboutins to wear with the dress.
What's great is me and my best pal / Maid of Honor Gillian get to fly down to London again soon to shop for my shoes and all the bits and bobs, yippeeaa! Any excuse for a trip down to Bond Street!!

Cannot wait for my next shopping trip to London. Already have on my shopping list these gorgeous black Louboutin shoes I saw last week and some very special accessories from McQueen that I fell in love with! Perfect way to spend my birthday money :-)

The Kate Middleton Reiss dress

Take one highstreet dress (Reiss "Shola" Dress at £175):-

See Kate Middleton wearing the dress:-

and voila.................a highstreet sell out in minutes!

I personally wouldn't wear this dress but it does look perfect on Kate.

It's amazing the influence that someone in the public eye has on us all. I myself have purchased things seen on some celebs. Take the Bright Blue J Brand Jeans, I first saw them on Kim Kardashian and thought they looked stunning on her so got a pair myself!
It's nice to get some of your influences from others although try to add your own stamp into the mix and make the look your own, after all it would be a boring world if we all looked the same and we are all unique!

Designer V High Street - The cut-out ankle boot

The Giuseppe Zanotti cut-out ankle boot has been seen on many celebs including Kim and Khloe Kardashian as pictured below:-

For a pair of these beauties, don't expect any change from £500.

For the savvy high street shoppers, check out these almost identical ankle boots from Aldo:

I actually got a pair of these and with them, I even got change from my £50!!

These boots look good with dresses or skirts or with more casual jeans or turned-up combat  trousers.
 

Topshop Personal Shopping Launch in Glasgow

I've just got back from attending the Topshop personal shopping launch event in Glasgow and  what a fun filled night me and my best pal Gillian had! 

On arrival we were welcomed with Cocktails & Champagne which we thoroughly enjoyed whilst wandering around the store to check out what gorgeous pieces they had in. We then watched the catwalk show where the stunning models showcased the current must-have trends. 


After getting some inspiration from the catwalk collection and armed with a 15% discount for purchases on the night, we hit the rails. 
With a Trip to London, the Fashionistas paradise,  I was very good and only purchased one top (i'm trying hard to save my pennies for London in the hope of finding some unique gems). Gillian however, got some amazing things tonight including a stunning vibrant coral maxi skirt and a vintaged feel floral crop bra top. Gillian must have been a stylist in a previous life as boy is she on the ball and is great at throwing amazing looks together! 

Our mission one day is to set up our own fashion business together where we can put our passions and talents to work!


Anyway, overall the night was a great night and we would strongly recommend booking in with the personal shoppers. Wether you are looking for a complete overhaul to your current look or are simply stuck for the perfect outfit idea for an up and coming party then book an appointment with the Stylists, they really do know there stuff!!


Enjoy   x

Best Buys

With my holiday to the sunshine only a few weeks away I've been hunting for some cute holiday outfits and managed to pick up some gorgeous things this weekend! I really don't need anything new however it's always nice to treat yourself to some nice, new holiday things plus the things I picked up were too good a bargain to pass up!!

Here's some of the cute things I picked up:-

H&M shorts and top ~ I was instantly drawn to the vibrant pink shade of this top and you can never go wrong with animal print so though these pale blush pink shorts were just adorable. This top looks amazing tucked into these high-waisted shorts and will be a good day or night time outfit for my holiday. 
 
Zara platform shoes ~ I tried these shoes on ages ago and at the time I decided not to get them. As usual, a few weeks passed by and I wished I had got them. I had put the shoes to the back of my mind until I popped into Zara on Friday at lunchtime and found the last pair in my size and even better, to my delight, they were half price...............result!
I'm not sure how high these shoes are but lets just say know I know what it's like to be a few inches taller and the same height as my gorgeous fiancee!! These skyscrapers went out for a test run last night at a friends engagement party and I'm delighted to say my feet survived through a whole night of throwing some moves down on the dance floor and not an injury was had....excellent!

H&M Sandals ~ I saw these today and had to have them. This picture really doesn't do these sandals justice. These are comfy, stylish and are in such a fun bright purple. If the purple is too daring for you, they also come in a classic black. I'll have fun wearing my new bright yellow "mimosa" Chanel nail polish with these this summer!


I highly recommend you head into H&M soon to check out the summer collections. They have gorgeous maxi dresses, shorts, bikini's..............you name it, they have it and at great prices too!