Category Archives: Buys

Florida Packing! / NEW

July 27, 2012

H&M Black High Waist Denim Shorts / Topshop Rose Gold Bikini / ASOS Leather Cross Body Bag / AJ Morgan Cat Eye Sunglasses / ASOS Gold Knotted Sandals / Zara Black Asymmetric Sandals

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past few days, I have been so busy trying to get various projects finished before I leave for holiday, I just haven’t had the time! We are off to Florida tomorrow for 2 weeks to do Disneyland & all the big parks. I am unbelievably excited, I can’t wait to do all the massive rides, see the animals, watch the shows & generally get to be a huge kid again! We are also booked in to do Discovery Cove & Aquatica, I think these are the ones I’m most excited for, huge reefs to snorkel in, tropical aviary’s, lazy rivers & swimming with a dolphin!

Of course I will be taking lots of pictures to share once I get back, but I doubt I will be updating the blog until I’m home. I haven’t set any scheduled posts, I’m not a huge fan of them & they feel a little fake to me, but if I do have any days off, I may post a few snapshots of what I’ve been doing! Proper posting will resume once I’m home on the 12th August, but until then I’ll mostly be using my Twitter & Instagram, so follow me there if you want to see what I’m upto!

Less than a day until we leave & I still haven’t actually packed anything! I did manage to get in a little last minute shopping though…

My number 1 priority was to get some comfortable flat shoes, as we are going to be walking around almost all day for the whole 2 weeks, I couldn’t bare the though of having uncomfortable shoes. I have really wide feet, so sandals usually cause me no end of grief with their straps cutting into my feet leaving them bloodied & blistered, so I was extremely glad to come across both of these pairs that were such a perfect fit!

I usually go a little crazy buying bikinis & sunglasses before a holiday, but this year I decided to get just the essentials & buy some more once I’m over there. I have a drawer stuffed full of tanks, tees, camis & shorts, so I made a point of not buying any of those things either, I couldn’t resist this pair from H&M though, perfect faded black wash, properly high waisted, great fit & £20, there’s no way I could say no to that!

Hope you all have a lovely few weeks, especially if you’re going somewhere nice & I’ll see you when I get back!

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In : Buys | Tagged AJ Morgan, ASOS, Asymmetric, Bag, Bikini, Black, Cat Eye Sunglasses, Denim, Flat, Flip Flops, Gold, H&M, High Waist, Holiday, Knotted, Leather, Packing, Sandals, Shopping, Shorts, Small, Suitcase, Topshop, Zara | 22 Responses

Shoe Dying / DIY

June 18, 2012

Dylon Suede & Nubuck Dye / Topshop Suede Gladiator Wedges

One of my favourite things to do & possibly one of my worst habits is dying coloured shoes black. These chocolate Topshop wedges were another eBay buy, another attempt to integrate more non-black shoes into my wardrobe. They’re dark I thought, not far off black, I’ll definitely wear those. They’ve been sitting on my shelf collecting dust for months, so it was time I gave in & just dyed them!

I also have a strange habit of ‘rescuing’ ugly coloured shoes from the sale section & turning them black. It probably has something to do with them always being cheaper too, but, yes, I am one of those people who treats inanimate objects as if they have feelings… ‘Don’t worry poor shoes, I will take you home & give you a makeover, then you’ll be beautiful!’…

Whenever I mention that a pair I’m wearing are dyed, I always get the ‘Oh, I daren’t do that’ ‘What if you ruined them?!’ kind of remarks. Honestly, it’s one of the easiest things you can do & you can’t really go wrong at all. Get a cheap pair from eBay & have a go, I promise you’ll soon be addicted when you see how easy it is! It’d be pointless me doing a step by step tutorial, it’s literally : clean, apply dye, wait, second coat, condition… so I thought I’d just share some tips / advice I’ve picked up along the way.

Tips for dying leather shoes…

#1 : Don’t try to dye synthetic shoes. Just don’t, it’s not worth it. I know there are dyes specifically for this type of shoe, but they are basically paint – it will peel & flake. Same applies to using a dye that promises to dye shoes to a lighter colour then they were originally, these are also paint.

#2 : Get the right kind of dye. There are types for normal leather, suede, nubuck. You can use a normal leather dye on suede, but sometimes it can make it a bit ‘crunchy’.

#3 : Always clean the shoe first. If you have deglazer or a dye prep use this, if not, just give them a really good scrub with a toothbrush, lots of water & a little washing up liquid. Your aim is to strip off any coating the leather may have had applied & to make sure there’s no muck or oils on it. Make sure to thoroughly wash the washing up liquid off if you use this, your shoes should be soaking wet.

#4 : If you can see any glue residue, usually around the edges of the sole, the dye won’t be able to penetrate the glue, so you need to clean it off. A cotton swab & some nail polish remover will usually do the trick.

#5 : Some dyes will dye the stitching, others wont. I usually use ‘Punch Leather Dye’ & this will dye stitching too, the suede version doesn’t though, so always test this on a hidden part inside the shoe to be sure.

#6 : You won’t be able to change the colour of any zips, though you can get these replaced by a cobbler.

#7 : If the shoe has a wooden, plastic or similar heel, the dye will stain this, so always use a few layers of masking tape to cover it.

#8 : Be realistic! Dye is very runny & really messy. I would have liked to have kept the inside of these that lovely tan colour, but even if I’d been super careful using a tiny little brush, it would never have been neat enough to look decent, so I just dyed everything.

#9 : Even if the box says one coat is enough, always do at least 2 for a really nice even colour.

#10 : ALWAYS use a leather conditioner or cream after letting the shoes dry for 24-48 hours. The chemicals in the cleaner & dye are really drying on the leather & you don’t want to end up with cracked & hardened leather after all the time spent dying them.

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Also in : DIY | Tagged Dye, Dying, Dylon, Gladiator, How To, Leather, Sandals, Shoes, Topshop, Wedges | 22 Responses

Overly Optimistic / NEW

April 30, 2012

Topshop Wedges / AJ Morgan Sunglasses / Mango Nude Shorts

I have a confession to make, I think the awful weather these past few weeks may have been my fault. Ever since I optimistically brought a haul of summer clothing & accessories about a week ago, it has done nothing but absolutely pour it down! Sorry about that. Hoping it will pick up this week so I can do some proper outfit posts.

The wedges are yet another EBay buy, last year when I tried them on in Topshop I wasn’t sure if I liked them, so left them. By the time I’d got home I realised I wanted, no, needed them. We’ve all done it, decided to go back & get them the next day only to find them gone & sold out online too. This only made me want them even more and I’ve been manically scouring eBay since after a pair. I finally got my hands on them just in time (or so I thought!) for summer. They are the perfect summer wedge, just minimal & chunky enough for my liking.

I’m obsessed with cateye sunglasses and these AJ Morgan ones from ASOS are perfect, especially for the price. I never buy expensive sunglasses as I always lose them or sit on them, I’m too much of a klutz to spend good money on something so easily broken. I love the exaggerated, pointed shape of these and don’t even get me started on how perfect the nude colour of these Mango denim shorts are…

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In : Buys | Tagged AJ Morgan, Black, Cateye, Denim, Mango, Nude, Shorts, Sunglasses, Topshop, Wedges, White | 13 Responses

Moxham Anubis / NEW

April 16, 2012

Moxham Anubis Necklace

I fell in love, hard, with Moxham’s jewellery when I first came across it a good few months ago & have been deciding ever since which piece to get first, I finally settled on the ‘Anubis’ necklace in black. It arrived beautifully packaged from BENGT, who I have to say, have amazing customer service, my email full of questions was answered within a few hours & despite stating delivery was around six days, it arrived in two. I am so impressed with the service & the quality of the necklace that I feel quite a few more purchases coming on, I already have my eye on the ‘Flax’ necklace & ‘Taba’ cuffs in both black & nude!

This is Dorris by the way, you’ll probably see quite a lot of her, she was my first ever mannequin & although she is not of much use now, due to her battered state, I think she’s doing quite well for a 60ish year old lady & makes a great display piece. I brought her from a retiring dressmaker around 8 years ago, she was also her first mannequin & she let me have her for a ridiculously cheap price on the condition that I promised to take good care of her & still call her Dorris! As I’ve said before, I have a habit of naming inanimate objects, so this made a lot of sense to me & she has been Dorris ever since!

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In : Buys | Tagged Anubis, Black, Brass, Chunky, Designer, Gold, Hardware, Jewellery, Leather, Mannequin, Moxham, Necklace, Statement | 16 Responses

Finsk Bandage Wedges / NEW

February 24, 2012

Sorry for yet more shoe posts, I promise I’ll do some actual outfit posts once my skin gets back to normal (thanks a lot MAC pressed powder!) I’m sure it’s quite obvious now that I have a serious addiction, but I had to show these off, my new favorites, I think these are the first pair of non-black shoes I haven’t even contemplated dying black, they are just perfect as they are.

I’ve been collecting Finsk shoes for quite a few years now, it started off with a ruched pair of platform ankle boots from the collaboration with the (now defunct) shoe chain Faith, they were in the sale, crammed amongst all the others, but they stood out, every other shoe looked boring next to them. I didn’t have the money to, but I brought them anyway. I’d never heard of Finsk until then, but I got home & immediately looked the brand up & knew I had to have more shoes like this. I love contradicting elements in design, hard but soft, structured but organic & Julia Lundsten does this so well with Finsk.

New books too, my other addiction, ‘Empire of Death’ is a collection of gorgeous photos from Ossuaries & Charnel Houses from all over the world & is one of the most beautiful books I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve always been drawn to quite macabre & dark subjects like this, so I find it fascinating & quite moving, but I’m sure there’s a lot that would view it as really rather disgusting & maybe even disrespectful. Also when I spotted Hellboy, now in nice chunky hard back ‘library editions’, being one of my favorite comics, I couldn’t resist!

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In : Buys | Tagged Bandage, Books, Finsk, Hellboy, Nude, Purple, Shoe, The Empire Of Death, Wedge, Wood | 15 Responses

Leopard & Spots / NEW

February 13, 2012

Topshop Leopard Boots / ASOS Spike Choker / ASOS Cross Earrings

After getting the urge to start making things again a few days ago, I decided to pay a visit to the fabric stores & the market in town to have a quick look around, one of my favorite stalls in the market is owned by a guy called Terry & he has a whole mountain of various rolls & off-cuts of jersey type fabrics for super cheap prices. I won’t lie, usually the majority is there for a reason, cheap floral print spandex, scratchy glitter jersey, lots of polyester & nylon… but if you have a good rummage through, you can usually find some amazing things & this black on black, spotted spandex was one of the things I came back with. There was just over 2 meters of it left & I think it’s crying out to be made into leggings & a bodysuit, which I could probably (just about!) make both from it, but I can’t help but think once it’s used I’ll wish I’d done something a bit more adventurous with it…

I also couldn’t resist checking the Topshop sale whilst I was there & found these beautiful pony hair boots, I’m not a huge fan of leopard print, or any print for that matter, but the shape of these is just so perfect, I had to have them. I’ve promised numerous people that I’m not going to dye them black, but to be honest, I wouldn’t put it past me!

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In : Buys |6 Responses

Nude Finsk Wedges / SHOES

January 23, 2012

Finsk Wedges / Falke Tights

I’ve had these Finsk wedges for a little while now, I brought them for cheap on Ebay, as they had a broken zipper, which I knew I could easily fix. I’ve only worn them a handful of times though, despite them being one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I own. As much as I am trying to buy & wear other coloured shoes, these are one of only about 6 pairs I own that aren’t black, I always put them on & then end up switching them for a black pair at the last moment! Honestly, I’m so predictable! I do love the nude colour, but if they were black I know I’d probably have worn them to death by now…

I really can’t justify adding a new black pair to my already massive collection & it seems a shame this pair are sitting unworn, so I’ve decided to do a little DIY & I’m going to dye these black! I’ll be posting up some ‘after’ pictures once they’re finished if they turn out well, so fingers crossed!

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In : Buys |6 Responses

Savage / NEW

November 20, 2011

Alexander McQueen – Savage Beauty / Galibardy Teeth Necklace / Forever 21 Spiked Necklace & Chain Bangles / Dyrberg Kern Stud Bangle

I was gutted that I couldn’t go to the McQueen exhibition at The Met, so I settled for the next best thing & brought the book instead. It’s currently sitting on my desk, and I literally cannot stop flicking through the pages, I think I’ve looked through it each & every day since I got it. The front has a lenticular changing image, from skull to portrait & I must have wasted a few hours already just tilting it around! I’m an absolute sucker for beautiful art books, I probably spend as much on books & adding to my little library as I do on clothing, and this is one of the most beautifully put together ones I have, it is just packed with inspiration, it’s the type of book I’ll pick up again & again & always find something new to inspire.

I also can’t stop wearing this teeth necklace, Galibardy has become one of my recent favourite online stores for jewellery, it’s similarly priced to other high street jewellery, except almost everything is made from brass, meaning they will age & wear beautifully for many years, unlike the usual ‘base metal’ kind that you only get a few wears from before it’s discoloured. This necklace was my first purchase, but I already have my eye on more!

Talking of jewellery, I also recently got around to visiting the new-ish Forever 21 store on a trip to London, I’ve browsed the website now & again, as they have the odd few nice pieces, but have always been hesitant to order anything as I guessed it would all be poor quality & be quite a different story once it arrived. The clothing was as I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by the jewellery & ended up buying this spiked necklace & the chain bangles. I doubt it’ll be long before the colour starts wearing off & turning my skin green, but at those prices I can’t complain, and I think once they do I’ll just give them a coating of matte black spray paint & get a few more wears out of them!

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In : Buys |1 Response