It's ok to hate fashion sometimes....

As we all know, fashion comes and goes and changes quicker than it takes ourselves to decide what to wear in a morning. But sometimes, certain fashions stick and its often the most irritating and mundane garments that feature again and again in monthly fashion glossies.

But seeing as January is a month that we go out with the old and come in with the new, I am praying that these fashion faux pas (in my eyes at least) disappear for good. Its time to see whats really bugging me on the high street:

The Quilted Jacket:

Wearing a pineapple on her head actually looks better than the quilted effort...

Just because uber cool (if you like) Alexa Chung has been sporting one since day dot, doesn't mean they actually look good. Its farmer Giles meets your nan in this coat catastrophe. Hideously ugly and not flattering to say the least, I am hoping (and praying) fashion girls of the world finally take a look in the mirror and ditch the quilted glitch.

Ugg Boots:

Well if its good enough for Jason Dono then....stop wearing them. Like, now.

The classic Ugg-ly walk...

I retweeted a quote from @ThomVice on Twitter who wrote: "Why are girls still wearing Ugg boots? Please explain to me why? They look like loafs of bread." And they so do!! Not only do they make your feet look as though they are not attached to the ends of your legs (hence the funny lopsided walk ugg-wearers do) they get stained from everyday wear and tear and end up looking like soggy bread loaves attached to your feet - not a good look. And then when men started wearing them too - oh puhh-lease! They don't look any better in them either.....

Jeggings:

Paris Hilton loses her bum amongst her thighs...
Some poor soul bares a little too much with her camel toe...
And that jegging really didn't see the butt muncher coming....

Ughhh! The most dreadful creation since the original legging. Yes yes, leggings are fine sometimes - such as when you're wearing a dress or top that goes way past your ass to prevent the dreaded soggy bum look (why girls? Please look into a mirror from time to time!) But jeggings?! Someone explain to me the reason behind the madness. Is it because your too tight to invest in a pair of decent jeans? If so, then please ditch the jeg and treat yourself (and the poor people who have to walk behind you!) to some jeans. Jeggings cause saggy bums that even Kate Moss and Paris Hilton can't get away from, the inevitable camel toe and not to mention the shiny effect of the material - yuck!

Margaret Thatcher Style:

Is Mags your new SS12 style icon?

Ugly bag. Ugly bag. UGLY BAG...

WTF is this about? I am so over seeing fashion mags finding the latest Thatcher inspired pieces for our wardrobe - if I wanted to look like Thatcher in the style stakes I'd give myself a good old slap across the face. Blue on blue? Pearls? And a barnet that even Hayley Cropper would turn down. And don't get me started on that bag the "fashion" world is raving over! It is the ugliest bag I've seen in a long time - and I've seen quiet a few believe me...The only thing that bag would be good enough for is to hit Cameron over the head with.....

Anyway, that's my rant over with....for now. Which fashion faux pas are you hoping disappear this year?

Image one: www.google.co.uk/images

Image two: Barcroft Media

Image three: www.igotuggs.com

Image four: Varied sources

Image five and six: www.guardian.co.uk  

Come Dress With Caggie Dunlop...

Last week's channel 4 'mash-up' program where the producers swap popular show stars with one another aired to a mass audience and ended up trending on Twitter world wide! Not only did we see Davina McCall become a contestant on her very own TV show Million Pound Drop, but we also saw our favourite reality TV style icon Caggie Dunlop compete in a dine off between her fellow Made in Chelsea cast mates.

Not one to shy away from an unusual outfit choice or two, we saw Cags dress up as Pat Butcher, a Madonna-esque throwback and a country bumpkin for three of the fancy dress themed parties. But the fashion show still must go on and despite her dressing-up fun, Caggie did not disappoint in the style stakes. Have a look at what she wore and where you can find similar pieces on a high street budget...

Caggie gives her vintage embellished dress a sophisticated look
 by teaming it with a long line blazer...

Embellished Dress
£69
Miss Selfridge

Suiting Jacket
Topshop
£65

Love love love this jumper!

The colour is unusual and the knitted fabric is very quirky, such a cool jumper...

Knit Jumper
Miss Selfridge
£25

Quilted coats aren't my favourite thing at the moment, but Cag's still looks
chic as she chills on a boat - as you do in Chelsea dahhhling....

Quilted Coat
Topshop
£55

Caggie may be dressed as Pat Butcher here, but I've seen this coat
in previous episodes of MIC - love it!!

Leopard Printed Coat
Warehouse
£60

Happy Shopping

xoxo

All Caggie Dunlop images from Come Dine With Me channel 4 Mash-Up

All product images taken from retail websites

Shop Online:

www.missselfridge.com

www.topshop.com

www.warehouse.co.uk



The Best of the High Street Blogs....

The blogging world has been taken over this past year or so with High Street brands getting to grips with social media and really pushing their business's to the forefront of our minds through clever online marketing techniques via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Blogger. With next year set to be even bigger within the virtual world (have you got your pinterest at the ready?!) I've picked my favourite High Street fashion blogs to show who's doing it right!

River Island is a great example of a good high street blog. The photography is cool, the layout is clean and modern plus their writing style is informative and pushes the brand's marketing strategy yet you don't feel as though they are trying to sell to you in a forceful manner. I really liked the post on their SS12 Press Day - I haven't seen many brands writing about their upcoming collections and showing images online (it seems to normally be kept so hush hush!) But River Island portray an air of pride within their content - making the reader sit up and take notice! Bravo! See the blog here.

One of my favourite blog posts from River Island....

Accessorize have only just recently created their blog but already it is a firm favourite of mine! I love the insight into the lives of the employees of the brand such as when the Head of Corporate Responsibility takes a trip to India and blogs all about her travelling finds and what she gets up to whilst she's away. This creates a certain bond between brand and consumer where we can both trust and relate to the wonderful people behind Accessorize. Also on there is HQ style and Muse of the Moment - fantastic blogging ideas that are unique to the brand. Make sure you check it out.... See the blog here.

A sneaky peak of what the Accessorize team are wearing
on their official blog....

I have long been a champion of Matalan's blog. Not only are the team absolutely lovely (and great to work with too!) their blog is full of informative style advice, fantastic guest bloggers and those all important fashion picks from the latest Matalan range. What is unique to this blog is the monthly Style Challenge where independent fashion bloggers are armed with £50 to spend at the brand and an outfit brief. Then all of the online community vote for their favourite to be crowned Matalan Style Project Winner. It is a win-win situation - Matalan get great promotion for their product and blog, and the Style Project participants get promotion for theirs too. An exceptional example of social media! See the blog here.

Matalan's Style Project competition is a huge success on their blog...

Happy Blog Shopping

xoxo

Image 1 and 2 - taken from www.styleinsider.riverisland.com

Image 3 and 4 - taken from www.accessorizeblog.com

Image 5 and 6 - taken from www.blog.matalan.co.uk

Spring into the new season with Warehouse...

As we bid a fond farewell to Christmas (well to the mince pies and cream at the very least!) fashion clearly paves the way into the new year with a major hit down of Spring/Summer goodies for us to feast our weary eyes upon. Gone are the over sized knits and faux fur coats; banished are the chunky boots and thick wool socks; instead we replace them with sugar coated colour palettes, light and breezy fabrics and prints that truly bring Summer to life in a season where less really isn't more...
And who better to tickle your Summer fashion taste buds than High Street Retailer of the Year (Drapers, 2011) Warehouse. Providing all a girl needs for frolics in the sun, lets delve into your aspiring Warehouse wardrobe; get your wish list at the ready ladies, it's going to be a hot one this Summer....

The Printiful Princess.
Because these pieces really are 'printiful' (where print meets beautiful FYI!). Vivid florals are splashed across summer tunics, mirror prints are reflected within day-to-night dresses and botanic patterning takes a 60's style influence in peg leg trousers. Clash with one another, team with a bright bold colour, just remember one thing: Ware it your way....

Mirrored prints are a key Warehouse look for SS12...

Acidic in colour, bold in print...

Botanic 60's style florals decorate tapered trousers...

Mix and match with bold primary colours...

The Sugary Seductress.
Gone are the days where pink was the innocent and girly colour that it's consistently portrayed to represent. For SS12, it's still ultra girly with an adoration for sugary hues and all things nice, but with an accentuation of the feminine form at the forefront of fashion, pink just became the colour of seduction this season. Focus on French frills, decorative applique and lace details and you won't be able to keep those boys at bay...ooh lala!

Frills and tulle add a sugary coating to the perfect summer dress...

Keep the fabric free and floaty for the ultimate girly twist...

Cinched in waists on a 60's shift dress- a key look for SS12

The Lady of Leisure.
As the Olympics are held in London this year, fashion has been overruled by all things which aren't normally in a fashion girl's vocabulary: sport. Don't worry, this season isn't going to have you participating in a rugby scrum or attempting to kick a ball into a net. Oh no, this season its all about being influenced by all things sporty. So before you go running off to JJB sports, check out the urban sport collection from Warehouse at your own leisure....

Tech fabrics and industrial zips feature in a sport revolution...

Draping fabrics with mixed textures in denim and leather...

Short shorts aren't just for rugby players you know....

Pared back utility ware is clean cut and modern with natural hues...

So which new season woman will you be? Whether your channelling your inner femininity, making a statement in attention-grabbing prints or getting all sporty (well, sort of!) make sure Warehouse is your first port of call. We may only be a few days into 2012, but I'm sure you can tell it's going to be a great year for Warehouse; High Street Retailer of the Year 2012, anyone?!


All images taken from the Warehouse Press Site: www.press.warehouse.co.uk

Does Customer Service Rarely Exist Now?

2012 has now hit us like a giant shopping bag full of festive sale bargains and as shoppers pick and fight over last seasons stock, the media churn out the same old stories as they do at this time every year. "Struggling retailers to shut stores..." "Retailers face being squeezed into extinction"..."Job loss will hit all time high in retail" and you've read the rest....

But what is it that's putting customers off from shopping the high street and independent shops alike? In a culture where we choose virtual fitness games (eg WiFit) as opposed to real life exercise, ready meals over home cooked grub and a night in watching reality TV instead of living our own lives, we have become submerged within this 'lazy-boy' lifestyle; and the same can be associated with shopping too.

Armed with bags, these shoppers took to Oxford Street to find some sale bargains...

Why venture outdoors (god forbid!) to spend your money when you can sit in the comfort of your own home and do it with a TV remote in one hand and an over-active credit card in the other. I'll admit I have succumbed to the magnetic force that is 'online shopping' and at times it may be convenient and stress free but the majority of the time it is just a terrible nightmare.

Picture this: four weeks ago I ordered a Christmas present from retailer Store 21 from their online shop. I paid extra for 2-4 days delivery and at a click of a button my order was complete: perfect. Or not. Twelve days in and no sign of my order. Telephoning the company was a no-go situation (I think they are incapable of picking up a phone as well as not delivering items on time...) so back to the trusty internet as my only means of communication.

Several toeing and throwing of emails later, my parcel turns up: one item short (I ordered pyjamas and only received the bottoms!) and with a delivery note for a lady living in Birmingham who ordered a wall clock - marvellous. So there I am with a random pair of PJ bottoms and a receipt for a product that isn't even mine. With the telephone still being unsuccessful, I emailed them asking them to call me. That was two weeks ago....

Streets should be buzzing like this every weekend - not once a year!

Don't get me wrong, if my order had turned up then I probably wouldn't have too much to grumble about but what is missing from shopping online is the customer-retailer interaction, the brand loyalty and the ability to get what you want and need in the here and now instead of in the then and whenever.

But retailers themselves need to step up their game when it comes to shoddy customer service. We, as customers, don't want to be hassled to buy a new season summer jacket when it's raining outside, nor do we want to be completely left to wander around blind sided either. We don't want our items stuffed in a bag after payment but we don't want to have to reach over and put it in a carrier bag ourselves(believe me, its happened..) If customers enjoyed the shopping experience and the way retailers make them feel they would a million percent return again and again. Shopping is about more than just spending - it's about feeling valued and inspired; something that doesn't exist online.

So if you're reading this as an employee within the retail industry, strive to deliver the very best customer service and ensure that your customer returns to you again in person and not virtually.And if you're a customer (which we all are from time to time!) give retailers a chance. If the service is shoddy, let them know! If it's brilliant let them know that too! Customer service is already diminishing but don't let it extinct our retail high street!



Image 1 taken from www.metro.co.uk
Image 2 taken from www.birminghammail.net

Vintage Sisters....

My sister hates vintage clothing. She can't stand it. Even the thought of her being anywhere near some old dear's cast-offs makes her break out into a cold sweat, causing her fake tan to run onto her pristine conditioned Topshop mini dress; the tears from her eyes destroying her false lashes...

As you can probably tell, my sister and I are completely worlds apart when it comes to fashion and style; but that's why I was so proud of her at Christmas when she braved the 'smell of death' and ventured in to a culture beyond her own as she went inside a vintage shop!

Getting her fashionable vintage eye from her big sis (obviously!) she managed to pick me two amazing jumpers - one in mohair (ooh get her!) and the other with an unusual decadent pattern. So, as an ode to my sister, here are her first ever vintage finds - and I am working on there being plenty more to come! To my sister, with love....x

The mohair vintage cardigan...

I love the interesting flecks of colour in blue and pink...

Such a cosy cardigan for these chilly months...

Cute little buttons in perfect condition...

The vintage jumper...

Black and white never goes out of style...

The chunkier the better...

Happy Vintage Shopping

xoxo

New Year, New Life, New Resolutions....

First up a very Happy New Year to all of you, the lovely readers of my blog! I am sure, like me, after filling your face with all things naughty, lazing around the house and outwearing your novelty Crimbo jumper, you are all ready for a life over-haul; and that's where the dreaded "Resolutions" come in....

Whilst many people choose to follow fad diets, attempt to work out to a z-list celebrity fitness video or two or vow to live life to the full each and every day, I have decided this year to just have one resolution: to not make any at all....

As soon as you brand a New Year's goal as the 'R' word it immediately becomes unachievable. You get the constant pressure from people asking whether you have broken it yet or whether your goal is objectable enough for you to obtain; thus battering your confidence and making you give up before you have even started.

So no, this year is the year of the non-resolution. Instead, I am opting to create a new way of life. After my move to the big city at the end of last year (how strange that yesterday is now deemed as 'last year'!) it is time for me to embrace my new setting and start doing what I set out to do when I moved here: be creative and get inspired! Most of them you will hopefully see on my blog; more photographs, more regular and topic varied posts. Others are more personal..

So as I sit here finishing the last of my Christmas chocolates off (hey, the diet will start tomorrow!) I think about what 2012 will bring for me; what do you hope it will bring for you?

Happy New Year

xoxo