Shoes and Sparkle

Huzzah!  I have new shoes.  New red shoes to be precise.  

I asked for your advice a couple of weeks ago when I was pondering what type of Converse to choose for my first pair.  Well, the replies were clear on one thing - you all loved Converse and I was about the only person in the world who didn't own a pair.  Not any more though!  There was some sound advice about going for a pair of solid coloured high tops, so I took that and chose a lovely red pair.  Black would have been sensible, green would have been too obvious (I can't have green everything) and white or cream is just asking for trouble where I'm concerned - they would soon have been an attractive shade of dirt.  Red it was.  I do enjoy a bit of sassy colour on my feet.

The jumper was a holiday purchase when we popped into Harrogate for a spot of shopping.  I wasn't going to buy it.  Honestly, I wasn't.  It was lurking on a sale rail but there was no reduced price sticker on the label and besides, I never buy burgundy things.  I don't suit them; I'm too pale.

I am a notorious sucker for #wardrobezoo related things though and that made it worth taking up to the till to check if it really was on sale or not.  It turned out that it was and that, combined with the lure of glittery gold owls, proved too strong for me to resist.  I'm so easily pleased.

Little detail on the back of the jumper

Jumper - M&S Limited Collection sale
Skirt - Warehouse
Socks - Primark
Converse high top trainers

Oh, and did I mention that they're amazing and I love them?  I will probably end up with about eleventybillion pairs now.  Just you wait and see.

The Orange Jumperfest

I'm back!  Not that you noticed I'd gone anywhere, such is the wonder of a scheduled posts feature that actually works, but trust me, I've been gallivanting around Yorkshire for the past five days.  I've had an amazing time - lovely company, beautiful places to visit, tons of delicious food and some excellent shopping.  Naturally many, many photos were taken but here's a quick outfit, as modelled by moi, with Studley Royal as a backdrop. 

I somehow ended up packing six jumpers in varying shades of orange, rust and orangey-brown for this holiday.  Who knew I even owned that many?  If you can explain why I took six jumpers for five days (and bought another three whilst I was away), do please let me know.

How cute is this? An unexpected surprise in a package from Jacques Cider - no idea how they got my address but it was a really lovely thing to do!

Jumper - H&M

Paperbag shorts - M&S Limited Collection via charity shop

Boots - Ariat

But really, I spent most of the holiday either lounging around in my pjs or bundled up in my tweed coat and/or gilet.  We were super lucky with the weather but it got somewhat chilly during the evenings and that's when we seemed to end up yomping around the abbey ruins with the camera.  Most of the pics feature something like this.  Gilet, scarf and MASSIVE new Primark jumper which I want to cuddle to death.

If you'll excuse me, I have about 90 billion more photos to edit before I can sleep.  No easy feat on a netbook with a tiny screen, I can assure you.  Oh, and I need to pack cos I'm going to Belfast on Friday night!  Nearly forgot about that with all the Yorkshire based excitement.  If you have any recommendations for good places to eat/drink/visit, please share!

Tweed & Corduroy

Let me tell you about a little quirk of fate that I like to call Alex's Law. It goes like this: you get vouchers for a shop and immediately there is NOTHING in there that you want to buy.

(Subsection 1 of Alex's Law: you often get vouchers for shops that you don't venture into very often.)

I won some Next vouchers a year or two ago and despite the fact that everyone else in the world (and blogland) had just bought an amazing bag/shirt/pair of shoes from Next, there was absolutely nothing I wanted to buy when I stepped foot in there. I think I shopped on a bad day - it seemed to be all sensible workwear and I just don't do workwear.  I don't know how this happens to me but I must have bad shopping karma or something.  Bet there was tons of lovely stuff in there the week after.

I didn't wait that long.  I cannot be patient with vouchers.  I know full well that the sensible thing to do is leave them in your purse and spend them another day/month/year if nothing catches your eye at first, but I have to spend them STRAIGHT AWAY.  So after flouncing round the store moaning a lot, I bought this jacket in a fit of pique and then begrudged the thing for ages. Really begrudged it. Poor jacket.

(I know this is odd behaviour.  Subsection 2 of Alex's Law: vouchers make you act like a crazy lady.)

I wore it on Tuesday and, y'know what, I really love it.  Tweed with wooden buttons, a cord collar and elbow patches - it could practically have been designed to appeal to me.  I am going to wear it a lot this autumn.  Why did I hate it for so long? I refer you to subsection 2 above.  The craziness clearly took a long time to wear off...

I bought these beauties at Bestival.  So cute!

Jacket - Next

Tshirt & cardi - H&M

Jeans & scarf - Dorothy Perkins

Brogues - M&S Limited Collection

Earrings - Wolf and Moon

Red, White and Ooooh

Do you ever think to yourself "Oh I've got loads of shoes/accessories/cardigans"?  I do it all the time, mostly when struggling to cram things into my annoyingly small wardrobe.  Yet when it comes down to it, it doesn't mean I actually vary my style choices that much.

Perhaps it's because of storage issues or because I'm terrible at doing the ironing but I often stick to the same cardi for several different outfits, or will wear one set of earrings or necklace for about two weeks in a row.  I don't even notice I'm doing it until I actually put two sets of outfit photos together like I have here.  Both outfits were worn over the Jubilee weekend (I know, I know, I am late at posting the pictures.  Don't all hit me with your discarded bunting) and are on the red, white and blue side of things,  so perhaps that's another reason why.  After all, even I don't need more than one pair of red Mary Janes.

What I do need is pretty much every sort of leg and foot related accessory that M&S Limited Collection are producing at the moment.  Check out the socks. 

I know they're not odd but I believe I've already mentioned at some point that knee high socks are the exception to the Odd Sock Law.

Shorts & tshirt - H&M

Cardi - Matalan

Socks - Marks & Spencer Limited Collection

Shoes and necklace (it's actually a headband) - Dorothy Perkins sale

Bangles & ring - Primark

And the tights!  Ooooh, aren't they just amazing?!

 

It's London.  On my legs!

Dress - via New Life

Cardi - Tu

Tights - Marks & Spencer Limited Collection

Shoes & headband (actually worn as a headband) - Dorothy Perkins sale


Too, too tempting.  Perhaps I can make room in my tights suitcase and sock drawer just for a few more... After all, I don't think I've ever said "Oh I've got too many tights."