Pure White Lace

Wow, look at how long my hair is here. I took these photos last weekend, but haven't got round to posting them until now. I went out for dinner with the family and wore this. I am a big fan of the peplum style tops, but couldn't find one that was what I wanted. This one is lovely. It's been featured on a few blogs and I'm really glad I picked it up from ASDA when I saw it. I think it looks lovely on every blogger I have seen it on and it's so simple but really pretty.I think it looks best paired with a simple bottom, such as these black skinny jeans or a simple skirt. I'm looking forward to wearing it for work with a simple black pencil skirt and slim fit heels. I also through on my chunky black chelsea boots to toughen up the look a little bit. 

This necklace is another recent buy that I picked up doing a tad of online shopping. The red lipstick adds a bit of colour. I think I'm developing a bit of an addiction to online shopping! It's terrible, does anyone have any tips for stopping?

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Top - ASDA

Boot - ASOS

Necklace - Dorothy Perkins

Gem xo

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Well. I got my hair done and a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. My hair just feels so much healthier. It doesn't look dramatically different but I like the blunt ends and it's much more wearable straight now as well, it has a more defined style. The hair dresser was lovely, I got it done at my local Regis salon in Birchwood, if you live nearby definitely visit her as she really listened to what I wanted rather than suggesting other styles which she think would suit me. I hate that in a hair dresser. She also recommended some Kerastase shampoo and conditioner which I've been wanting to try for a while so I'll let you know how I get on with that!

Knew a Girl in a Leopard Print Skirt

Normal blogging behaviour will commence now! 

I have a few posts queued as well so I'm planned out a bit more. I haven't done much this bank holiday weekend. As I said yesterday my parents have gone away so all I really did was help them pack and went for lunch with them before they went. I wore this outfit when I was at V last weekend as you've probably seen in some of the photos. But dressed it up a little bit with a waist belt and slip on shoes.

I showed this print in a wants of the week a couple weeks ago. It was a really good purchase from DP and I've been eyeing up the different colours and prints they offer in this dress. It's called the fit and flare dress and it's made of jersey. The jersey is quite a stiff material and feels like a really good quality material that will wear and wash. It's a lovely shape too, fitted at the top and flared at the bottom. I think it's the sort of dress that anyone can pull off really. I dressed it up a little with this lace crop top that I picked up from Primark last summer. 

Here, you can see the print a bit clearer. It's a grey, black and white mix that looks lovely with any other colour.

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Top - Primark

Belt - Dorothy Perkin

Shoes - ASDA

Tights - Tesco

Gem xo

Hairspiration

Hello, hope everyone is enjoying this bank holiday weekend. I am relaxing after still not having caught up on sleep from last week. I have a free house as well as my parents have gone away and it is bliss. One of the things I like to do to relax is have my hair done. I think it's a great way to pamper and treat yourself if you're feeling a little rough around the edges. 

I'm having my hair done on Tuesday and I've found some great photos of celebrities with hair that I want. I trawled through tumblr with the key word search 'mid-length hair' and this is what came up. I know it's not a massive difference to what I have now but I'm happy with the style of my hair. But my hair is in bad shape at the ends and needs a big chunk off to get it back to looking glossy and sleek like the celeb's hair above. I quite like the colour of my hair but sometimes wish it were a bit richer, but if its shorter it should add more volume and glossiness to my hair. I've gone for the wavy look again as you can see, and want the ends quite blunt, with longer layers. 

I'm looking forward to having it done and will show you the results soon enough!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Gem xo

V 2012

Hello,

This took a little longer than expected to get up but here is my great weekend at V festival! In all honesty I wasn't looking forward to this festival. I was being a bit snobby and thinking 'Oh it'll never match up to Glasto' which I loved last year, I know a lot of idiots go and people who are a bit chavvy. But I can honestly say if you're up for a laugh and don't take yourself seriously V is such a good short festival. It's full of people of all ages, no music snobbery and there is every opportunity to dance to any type of music! I will always go to a music festival open and without a closed mind.

I saw a lot of music acts, as the arena is so small to walk around, it's great just being able to catch people ten minutes apart. But my favourite act was Ben Howard, who you can see up there in one of the photos. His music is amazing and I'd urge anyone to go and see him. The Killers were great too as was the brilliant Tom Jones, and the Stone Roses.

What I wore over the weekend was basically the same sort of thing both days, except it was too muggy to wear my leather jacket as planned and just threw on a poncho when it rained. I took simple jersey dresses, leggings and small cover ups. I wore my red wellies as it was too muddy for anything else and my big leather bag. 

I had a great weekend and definitely have the post festival blues! I'm jealous of anyone going to Bestival and Reading/Leeds these up coming weekends! Hope anyone who is going enjoys them.

Gem xo

Max it Out

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I've queued this post, but blogger messed up so you may have already seen it, so apologies! Which I'm a bit bummed about. Anyway I'm at V festival this weekend but want to keep the momentum of my blog up so I made this post. Hopefully I can impress you all with stories of my mud wrestling and performing on stage with Tom Jones when I get back! ;)

Anyway, it's been pretty close and muggy, then thunderous and raining. So I've really not known what to wear. But when it's warm I want to wear simple clothes. Like maxi skirts. This one, which is having an identity crisis as it can't decide wear to sit and whether to be maxi or midi, is a great lightweight one I picked up from a charity shop not long ago for £3. It can be worn high waisted too which is great when I want to throw on an over sized crop top such as this one. It makes me look tall, which I am and my legs look super long, which is always nice. I belted the top to give myself a bit of definition. To go out in it I would wear my denim jacket to finish it off. 

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend anyway!

Skirt - Charity Shop

Top - New Look (old)

Boots - Dorothy Perkins

Necklace - The Lanes in Brighton

Gem xo

My Festival Look

Boots | Cuff | Vintage Denim Jacket | Rings | Dress

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Tunic | Leggings | Boots | Necklace | Rings

Dress | Jacket | Converse | Ring | Necklace

I'm off to V this weekend! And I've put a few looks together for my typical festival look. I think the main thing at festivals is to feel comfortable in what you're wearing, but not to take too much as you'll just regret carrying it all.  Whether you're drinking next to your tent or dancing in the fields, I think being comfortable is key. This is the shortest festival I've been to, it's only on for two/three days usually the festivals I've been to before I'm already set up on the Wednesday night, so its a bit of a luxury to me to not have to carry more stuff. 

I've gone for my typical look I think, quite simple, but with a rock edge. It's not a rock festival but I don't mind! I'm wearing darker colours that won't look as messy if it's muddy and light fabrics so I don't mind walking and dancing around all day in them. I'm going to take my leather jacket and a lightweight foldable rainproof poncho for if we're doomed to a rainy weekend. Wellies are a must, but for comfort and to keep cool if it's warm I'm taking a pair of old converse to throw on. 

I sometimes wish I could pull off the cute crop top and dirty jean shorts that is the typical 'festival look' but then again, do I really want to look like everyone else there!? 

Anyway, I have a few posts queued so everyone have a lovely weekend!

Gem xo

Kimono Over

Good evening!

Hope everyone has had a nice start to the week. It's been a slow one for me what with work. But I'm only in for three days then I'm going to shoot off to V festival this weekend. Woohoo! So I've been packing clothes and washing them, in hope that it's going to be a bit sunny, but not rainy and not too hot, and just perfect. Ah I know I'm asking too much. Oh well!

Anyway to this outfit. Sometimes I just feel like being boring and throwing on everything black. But I needed something to stop me doing that. This tasselled kimono I picked up in the ASOS sale is perfect. It would look great by the pool over a swimming costume but since there is no chance of me doing that at the moment this will have to suffice. I love the tassle detail although they are very impractical and keep getting caught on everything. And the florals and very pretty. It goes lovely with a black simple tunic and wedges and a topknot for a night out but here I wore it very casually with loose hair and black skinnies. One thing I do wish is, that I'd sized down a couple, it would mean the tassles don't get caught and the sleeves are a bit shorter. 

Look at this cute necklace from Dorothy Perkins. It looks like bunting! I was picking up some simple jersey dresses for V and saw this and had to have it. It looks love over high necked pieces of clothing especially.

Did everyone watch the closing ceremony? I loved it I'm missing the Olympics now, I might have to take up a high octane sport to keep my interest alive (as if). Anyway hope everyone has a lovely week!

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

T-Shirt - M&S

Kimono - ASOS Curve

Boots - ASOS

Necklace - Dorothy Perkins

Gem xo

Wants of the Week 23

As you can see I've had a bit of a change around. I've updated my page and updated the name too (for the third time). It's not for any real reason, I'm just quite indecisive so this is why my blog name changes a lot. I'm happy with it at the moment and probably will be for a while but you never know! So I'm sorry about that, again.

Anyway, this is what I've been lusting after this week:

1. Dress - Dorothy Perkins £18
These dresses from DP are so cute. I think they're so perfect for throwing on and still look dressy and pretty. I posted the berry one in my last wants of the week and I'm eyeing this one up too. The print will be great for winter.

2. Bag - H&M £29.99
As a lover of gold, studs and black this bag is ideal for me. I love the doctors bag/ bowling bag structure of it too, and I usually prefer slouchy bags. I also like that there are two options for carrying it, I'd most probably use the long strap.

3. Boots - New Look £27.99
Another pair of black heeled boots. I know, I know. But these are different, they have a wedge and are lace up. Again I'm looking more and more at winter stock as we have had hardly any sun here at all. New Look have some amazing boots, they have some black and glitter panel ones too that are amazing.

4. Polish - Essie £9.95
I've seen a few people wearing white nail polish and I think it looks lovely. It looks pretty, chic and simple whilst still being a little bit different.

5. Concealer - Benefit
Boi-ing concealer is supposed to be 'industrial strength' I'm not a big fan of foundation but I can't go throughout the day without a good concealer. I've read a few review saying it's the best thing they've ever used.

6. Spike necklace - New Look £5.99
I can only see the silver one on the website which is just as nice, but I think the gold would go with more items in my closet. Anyway this great necklace would look amazing over simple dresses or under shirt collars. 

Hope everyone had a nice weekend, I'm sad to be seeing the Olympics go! I do not know what I will watch on tele anymore.

Gem xo

Sleeps Alone

Thank god it's Friday. Today, and the majority of this week has been a major stress of meeting targets and staying late and early mornings. Sorry, I'm very grateful that I have a job at the moment honestly I am, but I know now why people got so excited for the weekends all those years I was a saturday girl in a shop. Anyway, today was half day and me and some friends from the office went for a Nandos and a natter. It was very nice. I'm home now sat with a malibu and coke in the garden as summer is finally here!

This is just another typical office outfit for me. A simple black shift dress, tights and shoes. This dress is years old from River Island. Actually I think it's five years old because I definitely remember wearing it when I used to sneak into clubs in my local town centre when I was a spritely 17 year old. I fell in love with the simpleness and the prettiness then and I still love it now. The buttons on the top are so pretty and add a lovely feature to the dress. As a black dress you can't really go wrong with it.

And here are the buttons close up. You can see the lace detail and the pearly buttons. Again I can't stop wearing this pastel nail varnish. It goes lovely with black and white outfits and adds a subtle hint of colour.

Anyway hope everyone enjoys their weekend! I'm looking forward to sitting in the garden and doing nothing if the heat stays on.

Dress - River Island (Old)

Tights - M&S

Shoes - Asda 

Favourite Shoes

Ah shoes, every girls has a pair they love to bits. We make them smell and they compliment out outfits so well. So today I chose my top six pairs that I'm wearing all the time, at the moment anyway. I have a thing about shoes and personally think that a simple shoe is better. As you can see from the small selection of my collection, I have very simple shoes indeed I need to invest in some colour ASAP. 

I'll talk you though my collection anyway, as boring as they are. (Starting from top left)

1. Chelsea Boots - ASOS.

I searched for an affordable lookalike to the TopShop boots that every blogger had and I found them. These are so easy to wear, ccomfortable to walk in, despite being very heavy. And I'll be very very sad when they fall to pieces.

2. Brogue Heels - Peacocks

I'm quite impressed with these. I picked them up cheap and they still look pretty clean and not falling apart just yet. I wear them for work mostly but they're a safe bet if I'm going on a night out where I know lots of walking will be included.

3. Converse - Schuh

I love the colour of these. They are the ultimate chill out shoe, beside Uggs obviously. I think everyone should have a pair and they never look wrong really. I wear mine with dresses and jeans alike.

4. Creepers - Market in Liverpool

These shoes take a bit of getting used too. But they add a great edge to any outfit. I'm on the prowl for some leopard print ones for wearing with blue skinnies and a black basic tee.

5. Brogues - Schuh

Another burgundy addition. These pretty pumps look lovely with cigarette pants and a shirt for a masculine look. They are very smart but pretty at the same time. As they're suede they require a bit of cleaning and looking after in order to look smart.

6. Loafers - ASDA

The newest addition to my shoe wardrobe. I seem to get a lot of compliments on these. Again they're smart and go with a lot of items in my wardrobe. The gold detailing go with a lot of my jewellery and I love the tassels.

Gem xo

Peachy Keen

Well the sun never really shone for us in this part of the world. Unless you count all the glare we're catching off Team GB's olympic gold count! I really should do an olympic inspired outfit before it's all over. But anyway I'm sick of wearing all black, and although I've safely stayed within the dark hues for most of my outfit I love the peachy colour of this button down tunic. It's from ASDA, and I must say ASDA are on fire at the moment for cheap, on trend buys in plus sizes. I have quite a lot of items I've bought from them coming up on the blog so watch out for them.

The cut of this tunic is lovely and light and the sleeveless top is ideal for when it gets warmer. If I were to dress it down I'd still wear it with my leather jacket but with a nice pair of thick leggings and black converse. In these photos I threw on the biker jacket and wore tights and slip on loafers. It's a lovely outfit for lunch with friends or for a day shopping. 

I love this baby blue nail varnish from Barry M. It's a great summer colour and I think it always makes my hands look really pretty. I wore this vintage bangle too that I found lurking in my Mum's jewelry box at my Grandma's house. Raiding my mum's old bedroom is one of my favourite things to do when I'm visiting theirs! 

In other news, I really need to get my hair chopped and I don't know what to do with it! If you have any suggestions or celebs I should have a look at please let me know.

Thanks for still reading too after my little hiatus!

Tunic - George at ASDA

T-Shirt - Dorothy Perkins

Necklace - Primark

Tights - M&S

Loafers - Primark (Old)

Bangle & Rings - Vintage and Pia

Gem xo

Back To Reality...

Hello,

I'm finally back. I'm back in a routine of taking photos and getting back into blogging. I have a couple of posts queued and it feels nice to be back again. This is just a quick post featuring Marley, who we're keeping now, after training and lots of old shoes and my bra being chewed. He goes with my outfit though, so all is forgiven because he is the ultimate accessory. In other news I treated myself to a Mac Book Pro and I've fixed my camera so it's all good round here. 

I have caught Olympics fever too! We're having competitions at work, dressing up and I watch it every night when I get in nearly. I get really emotional whenever Team GB win though and it's rather embarrassing as I get caught crying to God Save the Queen.

I'm still working hard but it's been a bit warmer and close recently so I've wanted to wear simple light clothes for work and such. So the other day I threw this striped midi dress on. The horizontal stripe is supposed to make me look wider but I love this dress and don't really care.  I love the gathered waist and the slouchy top on it too. I threw on my black blazer I picked up from Dorothy Perkins that I picked up a few weeks ago and my favourite black chelsea boots.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weather and I have lots of blog reading to catch up on! 

Dress - Primark

Blazer - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - ASOS

Necklace - Shop in Brighton Lanes

Gem xo