Wednesday 31 August 2011

Retail therapy helps my mood :)

Sorry I haven't posted in a little while, I've had quite a lot going on and a lot on my mind, but I went shopping today, as it was pay day, to help my mood and I thought I'd do the usual and share with you what I bought. Dispite shopping all around town I only actually bought from New Look as nothing else was catching my eye, apart from this leather jacket from Topshop which I ordered in a week ago and they said it's still in transit :( I hope it comes soon, it's so gorgeous! But anyway, I've looked on the New Look website instead of taking my own photo's today and here's what I got:

First off is this cute little playsuit from the kids section. It's priced at £17.99 and fits perfectly. It's sort of like a dungaree style because the sides come down really low so it would show your bra but I'm going to either wear a top underneath or a bandeau bra top :)


It looks like I'm going for a mustard coloured theme today, but this is similar to the second dress I bought today (I couldn't actually find it on the website as it's Parisian make). It's pretty much the same except my one doesn't have the stitching detail and it just has thick straps rather than little sleeves. This dress is £32.99 and the one I bought was £24.99. I'm sure I'll do an outfit post at the weekend when I wear it to work.


Ahh I fell in love with this ring aswell. There were only three left so I felt I had to get it! haha I just love the shape and the colour and it's a nice chunky ring which I love at the moment. This was £5.99, and I also bought some teal nail varnish which I couldn't find on the webby so I thought I'd just add that in. They do some great colours and they're only £2.99. I have yet to try them out but my friend says they're pretty good!


Lastly are these gorgeous ankle boots for £24.99. I've liked them for a while now and have been saying how I want to start wearing heels more as I'm not exactly tall, and I just thought these would be perfect for this A/W. My friend was trying them on too, and in black and brown because she couldn't decide, so I thought I'd try them too and I instantly loved them! I was worried about the colour not lasting until next A/W but then again if you can work it into your outfits I think it will work. So after a while of pondering my friend convinced me to get them! Haha And I'm so glad she did because I love them and I'm going to make sure I wear them! Starting tomorrow when I go out with my mum, I'll hopefully put up an outfit post tomorrow too :)


Hope you're all well!


Wednesday 24 August 2011

54. Tutorial skirt



Top:  New Look
Skirt:  Self Made
Belt:  New Look
Shoes: New Look

Just a quick post tonight to show that I'm wearing the skirt I made in yesterday's post. If you've read through it I hope it all makes sence! If you have a questions then just comment and I'll get back to you straight away :)

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Tutorial Tuesday: DIY Skirt

Hi all! I've decided to start doing some tutorials on how to do various things like making clothes, head bands, jazzing up your nails etc. I'll do it every now and then on a Tuesday, probably not every Tuesday as I don;t want to run out of idea's straight away! My first Tutorial Tuesday is how to make a simple elasticated skirt. It's really easy to do and with this step by step guide on what to do then hopefully you'll all be able to make one! :)



You will need:


Fabric (I usually get 1 meter and use the length of that for the skirt), fabric scissors, measuring tape, pins, elastic,


and a sewing machine and thread.


Step 1: First of all you need to lay out your fabric on a flat surface with the right side down (pattern side down). You want your elastic to sit on the longest length of the fabric so this should be along the top of your rectangle of fabric. Lay out your elastic, with a little more going over the edge of the fabric, and fold over enough fabric to cover the elastic and a little more so that it doesn't catch in the machine. Pin the folded fabric down with the elastic sitting inside the fold and also pin the elastic to the fabric so that it doesn't move and get lost in the fold.




Do this all the way along the top of the fabric until you reach the end and then pin the elastic to the fabric again like you did at the begining. I forgot to mention, you don't actually have to put the elastic in straight away you can thread the elastic through afterwards, but for me I find it easier to put the elastic in as you go, so long as you have enough elastic.

So then you sew along the line where you have pinned making sure you don't catch the elastic in the machine and making sure both ends of the elastic are still pinned to the fabric to keep it all in place.



Step 2: Next you need to take one end of your elastic, un-pin it from the fabric and pull on the elastic making sure that you push all the gathers that are being created down to the other end of the fabric. You need to make sure when doing this that you don't make the skirt too small. Make sure that the elastic has to stretch a little to fit you, this way the skirt will stay up and will fit you perfectly. Once you have got the elastic pulled to the right length pin both ends of the elastic to the fabric again like before.





Step 3: After this you will need to attach both sides together. Lay out the fabric again as best as you can and fold the fabric, right sides together (pattern facing inside), until you reach the other end. Then pin along the edge all the way down starting from just underneath the elastic and sew.





Step 4: Next simply take both ends of the elastic and tie them together making a knot. Then the elastic will be secure and can be adjusted if needs be. Tuck the ends of the knot into the fold of the fabric to neaten it up and hide the elastic.




 

Step 5: Next up is the length of your skirt. The best way to do this is to try on the skirt and measure how much fabric you will need to take off the bottom to get the length you want, but make sure you remember that you will need to fold the fabric along the bottom up twice to get the hem, so always measure with that in mind. Then take the skirt off and start cutting. I usually lay the fabric flat and keep moving my measuring tape along the fabric so that I cut off the right amount all the way around.



Your skirt should then look like this:



Step 6: Lastly is the hem. Just simply fold up inside along the bottom of the skirt twice to hide the raw edge and sew! Once you come to the end be sure to pull the thread through from the patterned side of the fabric to the plain/wrong side and cut.




And your skirt should look a little something like this:



I hope this all makes sence and it's clear what you have to do, if you have any questions then just comment and I will get back to you straight away! And if you do make a skirt from this tutorial I would love to know how it goes! :)

Monday 22 August 2011

Make it Mine Monday

I'm bringing back the 'Make it Mine Mondays', as I said in one of my previous posts, because I think it's good to shop around and share your finds. It's hard for me working in New Look because then I just constantly buy from there when I'm working, but doing this post allows me to shop online for other shops and realise that there is alot more out there than just the clothes in New Look! Haha Don't get me wrong I do love New Look clothing, how could I not?, and I do have items on here from New Look that I want, but it is nice to see what else is on offer. So here are the things I've spotted this week:

New Look:

First off are these two amazing shirts from New Look. To be honest I am more siding with the sleeveless version because it's different and unusual and mainly because I've just bought a normal shirt. I have to say though, I'm not too sure about the asymmetric hem along the bottom. I'd have to try it on and see what it looked like or maybe take it up, however knowing me I'd be tucking it into a skirt or shorts or trousers anyway so it's not something you'd see. These shirts both come in at £19.99 each. I can't wait for them to come in store!


Next is another blouse which is already in store but I haven't bought it yet. I really love the colours and the pattern, although I wasn't too sure at first I really like it now and seeing it on a few friends of mine I think it really works. I will especially look good for this Autumn/Winter as the colours are right on trend. This blouse is £22.99.


Topshop:

Everytime I look at this image I want the jacket more and more! I never really shop in Topshop I only really browse online but this jacket I just fell in love with! I went into town today and tried it on but they only had a 10 so it was a little long in the arm for me and now I wished I had asked if they had an 8 because I reeeeally want to get it! The fur detaches from the collar too so that you can wear it with or without and it is actually quite a reasonable price at £58.00, and with student discount on top it'll be even cheaper ;) I think I might pop back into town tomorrow and buy it, even my Dad says I should get it!


Lastly I've chosen this cute little polka dot tie-up top. I'm really drawn to this style of top lately for some reason and this one is gorgeous! I also so this today in town and it's got a silky feel to the fabric which is even better. It's priced at £28.00 which is a little more than I would usually pay for a top but boy am I tempted! Do I treat myself?


53. Dream boats and petty coats



Cardigan:  Primark
Dress:  New Look
Sandals:  New Look
Boach:  Vintage

Well the sun decided to make an appearance today and so did my legs! I've been clearing out my room more and more often recently trying to de-clutter and get rid of old clothes and other stuff that I don't need any more ready to sell, and I dug out this denim dress which I wore to a western themed wedding last year! I really love the colour and the shape and the oversized bow on the front and it's just so easy to wear. When I first bought it I thought the length didn't quite suit me and my lack of height but I've never gotten round to taking it up and to be honest if I was that bothered I would have done it by now so I think I quite like that it comes down to just above my knees, it makes it different from my usual length (which isn't much shorter, I do wear my skirts at a reasonable length! haha). And I also found my tan sandals too! I love these sandals and I've had them for a little while now but I just think they go with almost anything! The only trouble is they do start rubbing after a while. Anyway, enough of my ramblings! I hope you've all had a good start to the week :)

Saturday 20 August 2011

52. Bow tie



Everything is from New Look.

So this is the look I actually want to wear to work tomorrow but I was hoping to get some feed back as I'm not entirely sure. To me I think it's a fairly good look, quite different and fun, but I would love other people's opinions. You see, I'm the kind of girl who gets really scared/worried/paranoid about what people think about how I dress/look. I know that I shouldn't and everyone always says that you should just wear what you want to wear and be confident, but sometimes I'm just not that confident. It's like I want to wear this tomorrow but what if people think I look stupid and laugh? :/ I know I shouldn't think like that but it's things like this that make me then change what I'm wearing and then wear something boring because I'm scared someone else won't like it. I wish I was just confident and didn't care what people thought because I do believe that if you wear something with confidence then you will pull it off. Ahh well we shall see if I actually wear this tomorrow, hopefully I'll just think 'fuck it' and then there's no going back! But if anyone is reading this then please give me your feedback, I would greatly appreciate it :)

So anyway, I should really talk about the look! I bought this bow a couple of weeks ago with this kind of outfit in mind, I've been wanting to create this look for so long but have always backed out of it or never found the right shirt, well, today I found that shirt. I've gone for a sort of preppy casual look tying up the top and then pairing it with high-waisted denim shorts and a belt so that it doesn't look too much like a school uniform. I think if I wore it with a black bodycon skirt then I would look like a school girl, and that wouldn't really be appropriate for work :/ I've then finished off the look with my cream brogues and lace edge socks. Hope you like it! :)

Coming Soon...

So I thought seeing as I make clothes all the time that I'd do a few tutorials over the next few weeks of some of the basic garment pieces and how to make them. I'll be starting with a simple elasticated waist skirt (below) so keep your eyes peeled! I'll pop one up sometime in the following week. And I would love your feed back! Do you think this is a good idea or not? I feel I need to add more to my blog than just outfit posts and when a girl asked how I made my skirt on Lookbook it just gave me the idea that I should put it on here for everyone to appreciate! I'm also bringing back 'Make it Mine Monday's' as I've been rubbish at keeping those up, but I have a few things under my sleeve so keep checking my blog as it'll be updated regularly over the next few weeks :)


Friday 19 August 2011

51. Time is ticking by without us knowing






Blazer:  New Look
Top:  New Look
Shorts:  New Look
Pop socks:  New Look
Shoes:  Primark

As I was writting out where everything is from I just realised it's all from New Look apart from the shoes..and I didn't even have work today! To be honest I was trying to dig out things that I hadn't worn in a while and something to go with my new pop socks haha. So this is what I came up with. I wanted the focus to be on the purple shorts and socks so I kept everything else simple and black and instead of wearing a cardigan like usual I pulled out my blazer, which I rarely wear but am so glad I have for days like today when you want a change. I finally finished with my gorgeous platform shoes from primark to change it up a little. They are such great everyday heels as they are so comfortable and now they have them in a tan colour and are down to £4!! I originally got them for £14 and my friend got the tan ones yesterday and only paid £4! So go and grab them before they sell out!! You will not regret it :)

Today has been pretty boring for me.. I've been trying to find the motivation to do this summer project but I just can't seem to find it anywhere :/ Instead I carried on making a couple of skirts for my friend. Hope you've all had a more interesting day than me! :)