6 Miss Selfridge items in my basket lately

This post was written before the recent acquisition of Miss Selfridge by ASOS.

To locate the featured products - or similar - head on over here

The hit skirt you may have seen on Instagram

Admittedly the product images for this skirt aren't especially captivating (light green wrap around skirt as above) however I saw someone wearing it on Instagram and this was the selling factor for me. And turns out I'm not alone as the influencer picture is now on the product listing (well was, before the Miss Selfridge website went down).

The print on this floaty maxi dress

It's just so versatile. I can imagine this dress being perfect for city breaks, tropical holidays, after work cocktails, date night and brunch with the girls. Like waaaay in the future when we're actually allowed to do these things ;) I ordered my normal size but it didn't seem to have enough space in the boob department. Miss Selfridge had a 20% off discount code so I re-ordered the same dress (top left as above) and also in the size up to compare. The size up came up too big on me. Oddly the size that was too small before was perfect on the second attempt. What I didn't realise is that the dress has ties that can loosened or tightened accordingly (doh!).

The LOOK AT ME bag

I am trying to be more mindful of the environment so when I last worked in an office environment many moons ago pre Covid I made a conscious effort to stop using plastic bags and switch them out for totes. The tote bag I have is from a blogger event but the biege colour isn't practical for every day life. I also carried around a miniature handbag, the strap of which rubbed against the tote bag and stained it. Said stain is burgundy so could very feasibly be a wine stain given my love of red wine. Whilst I was considering a black tote with a suitably witty remark on it, this mustard macrame bag (as above) jumped out at me as it's a little more aesthetically pleasing than a carrying a large black rectangle around with you. Easily my best find of the year (was £28, in the sale for just £7).

The floral print bardot dress of dreams

This dress is just so effortlessly cool. I'm not always a fan of that elasticated corseting detail on dresses (very compressing on the boobs) but if the cut of the dress is right, it can be really flattering. Especially with a bardot neckline like this one. This dress has since sold out but the same print can be found on their tea dress version here.

The fluffy knit that looks blue but is apparently grey 

I'm baffled too. It's blue right? Now sold out but a sneak peek available in top right hand image

Itsy bitsy teenie weenie polka dot bikini

What's better than polka dots? Rainbow polka dots! I love the BlueBellGray essence of the watercolour polka dots on this bikini set which help transform a simple white bikini to something much more special. Currently in the sale with discounts within the 49-58% range, it's definitely tempting! 

Which items are your favourites?

You may also like: 11 things filling my ASOS basket lately

7 things to do during the Easter holidays. And more importantly... what to wear

Easter is finally here! Now comes the task of deciding what to do on these glorious days off from work. And more importantly, what to wear (always a quandary!) So with today's post comes an Easter post with a difference. Instead of overloading you with Easter eggs and Easter gift guides, I'll be sharing ideas of things to do during the Easter break and styling an outfit for each occasion. Be sure to let me know your favourite look!

Spring time walks
Whether by the sea or in the woods, it's the perfect time of year for a walk. It's milder out, and the sky is gradually looking cheerier and less pissed off. It's this time of year that nature's prettiest buds and blooms are begging to be photographed. It's still a little bit damp underfoot given recent weather, so a good pair of boots is a must. As is a rucksack and a cosy knit. If you're less about nature and are in London this Easter, why not try a city walking tour? Some are guided and you'll need to pay for, otherwise you can find plenty of free walks and maps for them on the web. There are so many to choose from including themed ones from the likes of Harry Potter, Jack the Ripper and so on.

Boots   //   White rucksack   // Ring    //   Roll neck jumper   // Jeans

Day trip
Be it a museum, art gallery or zoo, why not be a tourist for the day? If you're in London over Easter, catch the new Lands of the Lions exhibit at London Zoo which will transport you from London to India's Gir like that. Or if you have children or younger family members to entertain, why not try the Where's Wally experience at the Shard? Fashionistas will love the Vogue exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. For days like these, wear light layers with a light cover-up - because rain is always sadly a possibility! - and shoes that won't rip your feet to shreds in the first ten minutes!

Light blue coat //  Marble watch //  Blue jeans // Necklace // White rucksack //  White sneakers // White sweater

Brunch with the girls
I love going for brunch on my days off. During the week I have a rushed bowl of cereal before work and never really get to sit down and enjoy what I'm eating. So going out for breakfast / brunch is always some what of a treat for me. The Breakfast Club is a popular choice, but if you can't face the queues why not try Bill's or Duck and Waffle? Wear wardrobe staples in neutrals and tans with pops of colour here and there, dressed up with a pair of heels. Heels or wedges will take you from casual to chic in less than 60 seconds. A trench coat at this time of year always ticks all the right boxes too. Think small ish bag. You won't need to carry much - just a phone to Instagram that avocado toast, right?

Tan shoes //  Rib camel top //  Red clutch // Denim skirt

Picnic
Weather permitting of course! Bring your finest picnic blanket, fancy patterned cups, plates and napkins and maybe a thermos of soup / hot chocolate / both should there be a chill in the air. I just love this half moon picnic hamper set (below) - so unusually shaped, but in that white aesthetic that all us bloggers have come to love. Currently 50% off in the sale, it's a Spring must have. And now get ready for an abnormally wide image.... #LucyFail

Black jeans //  Striped bardot top // Straw bag  // Floral napkins //  Picnic basket

Yellow napkins //  Gold napkins // Shoes  // Colour glasses

Shopping
Because stepping into Spring requires a new wardrobe right? A rookie mistake I make every time I go shopping is taking too thick a jumper or too bulky a coat which then I have to cart around with me. So wear a thinner jacket like a blazer or a leather jacket. I like to wear ankle boots when I'm out shopping - I don't mind wearing heels as I'm losing stamina in my old age and not at the shops for hours on end like I used to be. So heels are now doable. But if you tend to spend most of the day at the shops and / or tire of heeled boots easily, why not opt for some white sneakers? (see "day trip")

Blue jeans // White lace blouse // Yellow bag  // Tan leather jacket // Ankle boots // Sunglasses

Cinema
I know that you can go to the cinema any time and that it's hardly Easter specific, but it's worth noting that some pretty epic films have been released lately - Batman v Superman is this Easter's must see! Cinema temperatures are always so unpredictable and can go from being toasty as to who-the-fuck-turned-on-the-aircon? So I always like to bring something cosy with me like a blanket cape or a scarf. A fluffy faux fur jacket will work equally well here.

Knee high boots //  Black faux fur coat //  Grey jeans // Paisley top // Cream faux fur coat

Easter baking, games & crafts
Baking being something I'm statistically very likely to be doing this weekend! Why not invite a friend over and make some Easter treats? Pinterest is full of inspiring Easter arts, crafts and bakes. And why not dig out family favourites like card games and board games? Always good for a giggle! When it comes to baking and crafting, opt for casual items of clothing that don't have fussy washing instructions - you don't want to be getting your dry clean only items ruined! This dungaree playsuit fits the bill perfectly. As good as it looks with a white tee underneath, I really like how dungarees look with printed blouses and shirts. I especially love this powder blue kitty blouse.

Cat print shirt //  Dungaree jumpsuit //  UNO // Kerplunk  //  Copper recipe stand // Marble cake stand

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

I think my favourite outfit has to be "brunch with the girls" - although "cinema" and "shopping" are close contenders! I am heavily coveting the white backpack. tan heels, camel top, denim skirt, pale blue jeans, yellow bag, lace top, everything from the "cinema" look, the dungarees, the cat shirt... who I am kidding?! I want and love them all! <3

Which look is your favourite?

Wedding vibes // Wedding outfit

Life lately in two words: Wedding Season. Every year for the last few years I've been honoured to be asked to be bridesmaid, but this year I had a little break from bridesmaid duties. Before now I've taken for granted the ease of knowing what I'll be wearing on the big day, and now fully appreciate how bridesmaids dresses can save you from weeks of indecisiveness about colours, lengths, strapless or not... Every time I found the perfect dress it would go out stock / not be available for home delivery or collection / potentially not arrive on time. Initially I was excited to pick out my own dress and choose a colour that I liked... but it seemed like fate was against me. Until I found my ideal dress from Miss Selfridge through the Debenhams website.

Light blue, strapless, not obscenely short AND in the sale. It was a sign. Then I noticed that frustrating word... "petite". Tall, curvy and proud of it, I am in no way petite. But the thought of letting the perfect dress slip through my fingers was too much to bear. I did a risky thing. I went ahead and ordered the dress - knowing full well that it would almost certainly be far too short on me. When it arrived and I found it wasn't a knicker flashing affair, it was a very special moment. Perfectly versatile for every day wear as well as weddings, this dress has already had lots of wear. With the added bonus of being quite so cheap in the sale, it saved me a fortune that I could have splurged on new wedding outfits.

If you like the look of the dress, it has now reduced down even further in the sale. Initially £25, it went down to £17.... then £12.50.... and now is £10.

I paired with a Forever 21 blazer, a New Look clutch (recycled from my previous bridesmaid duties!) and New Look peep toe heels. All of which were already in my wardrobe - so no further spending required!

The power of a blog. Discuss.

I sometimes think that we under-estimate the power of a blog. What we may see as our own materialistic ramblings with a sprinkling of outfit posts can be oh so much more. Blogs are having an increasing influence on High Street collections and the pages of fashion magazines. Items that bloggers feature can quickly become hot property and fly off the shelves like no one's business. We are not solely lusting over new clothing we think we need - we are also being inspired and shown different ways of styling our existing wardrobe staples. Your follower count is irrelevant - you can still inspire whether you are a big time blogger or a lesser known one like myself. There does seem to be a bit of a blogger "look" developing  Think Litas and Litas look-a-likes, disco pants, and rose gold jewellery. Blogs clearly have a great influence on deciding up-and-coming trends. But are they also turning us into an army of clones?

A question to all fellow bloggers: How do you feel knowing you've influenced someone to wear or buy something? 

Flattered? Or is it a little annoying? I imagine that for those of you on the negative side of the fence, you may see eye-to-eye with the aforementioned clone comment. But on the other hand, I guess it's probably quite touching if a stranger takes the time to contact you saying they like your style. 

Another thing to remember... no matter how popular the blog, bloggers are not celebrities. And most are certainly not living on a celebrity budget. Who are they? They are students / in full-time employment / struggling to make their cash last until the end of the month / fellow shopaholics... just like you and me. Their body type / complexion / hair more closely matching your own than that of air-brushed models you see in magazines. I find that blogger style is usually something that is very easy to relate to.

With this logic, it's hardly surprising that we are taking more and more inspiration from blogs and every day street style in lieu of high end fashion magazines and campaigns. With bloggers like you and me, blogger fashion is less "out there" and often a a great deal more practical for every day life. Those stacked Prada heels you saw in Vogue? Gorgeous, but hardly suitable for me to run for the train in each morning.

So where did this all stem from you ask?

Well, I realised the other day just how much I am influenced by other blogs. It was only the other week that one of my favourite bloggers Sarah featured the most exquisite piece of jewellery on her blog. My eyes lit up at the price (only £7.40.... no joke!) and fully aware that F21 do some amazing statement pieces, I promptly headed on over to their website to see what other necklaces they had on offer. In no time at all, the number of items in my basket started to multiple. In the end, I ordered a dress... a blouse....

..... and cheekily snapped up the necklace that Sarah featured. How could I not? It's too beautiful. 

And if you want any further evidence of the power of a blog, know this.... that necklace came in two different colours - plain or a peach sort of colour. The plain one that Sarah featured has sold out. The peach one has not. High praise indeed. Which leads me on nicely to my recent Miss Selfridge order....

Typical blogger basket much? Skater skirts being yet another blog regular. And the kimono? I'd been eyeing it up for ages but some how resisted temptation. Then I saw Lily rocking it and I was powerless to resist. 

I am weak. 

How to create your own festival when you can't make it to your favourite festival

Reading the title to this blog post you may be thinking: 

W-O-W... Lucy finally got herself to her first ever festival! 

Alas, I did not. Trust me, I tried. It was an unfortunate mix of some people being away on holiday, some people not being to afford tickets and some people really against “roughing” it in a tent. Sad times. Rather then curling up into a ball, severely depressed, I decided to take matters into my own hands: 

If I couldn’t go to a festival, then the festival would come to me.

For those of you without tickets or unable to afford them, keep reading and let this serve as a guide of how to throw your own fake festival.

One. Get in the spirit of things and dress up.

For my festival look, I am wearing a Miss Selfridge cropped top with fringing and a Topshop backpack (first mentioned here), H&M denim cut offs and ASOS black knee highs. 

And if like me, you’re sporting fringing, SPIN (it’s fun).

Two. Make a “tent” and bring your sleeping bags. In our case, we had to set up indoors as it was raining really badly outside. It mattered not for we had an excellent view of the stage (ha)

And despite not being there, we still "met" some characters...

Three. Make festival wristbands in bright neon colours. 

“Lucy festival” was shortened to “Lucival” (less letters to fit on the wristband).

Four. Eat “festival” food. We had homemade chorizo, butterbean and spinach stew and served it in plastic containers with flimsy plastic cutlery. Keeping it reaaaaal.

And a few picnic essentials that we ate in the tent

Five. Drink lots. We were armed with Brothers, Stella, Barcardi and Captain Morgan. 

And dance like no one’s watching. Throw those arms in the air!

Six. Imitate the band. Even if they’re wearing sunglasses at night in the pitch black. DO IT.

In summary, it wasn’t quite the same as being there, but at least we weren’t soaked to the bone in the rain or struggling to see the main stage! And another benefit? 

It meant the cats could join in too...

I also learnt that one of my cats makes an excellent table. Bless him.

Roses are red, violets are blue...

... I don’t want to give into commercialism

And neither should you.

The above sums up my thoughts about Valentine’s Day quite well. It’s a day where the card companies and the alike try to manipulate you into spending a fortune in the name of love. And make you feel damn guilty and a terrible boyfriend / girlfriend if you don’t. But let’s face it, you don’t need to spend a lot to show someone that you love them. Handmade cards are much cheaper than the soppy, heart infested ones you get in the shops. And they show a lot more time, effort and care - it wasn’t purely an impulse buy at the till whilst you were out food shopping.

I found some mugs on Cafe Press which I feel are a true representation of Valentine’s Day:

("Express your love when you want to, not when you're told to.

Down with Valentine's Day!")

("Chocolate makes me fat. Roses make me sneeze. I hate Valentine's Day")

 ("Happy commercialized holiday!")

Brilliant. But also slightly ironic. Many of us moan about the commercialism of Valentine’s Day but now there is a new market (the anti-Valentine’s Day squad and the singletons) which the companies can then make money from too. Terrible, huh?

I am loved up and have been for the last 5 years. We never make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day because if you love someone, you should love them all 365 days of the year – you don’t need one day a year to say / show it. We never go out or have a master plan. Firstly because restaurants are a total rip off at this time and secondly because the one year we did make a plan, I was insanely ill which ruined everything. And we don’t do gifts. But there have been exceptions to this rule. Last year, my boyfriend surprised me a gift and this weekend, we’re going away.

And the question lots of us face: what should I wear on a date? 
I feel like Valentine’s Day adds extra pressure on us to look good (another reason why I semi dislike the day). I have come up with some ideas for looks based on the sorts of things I would wear for each occasion. I hope these are useful / inspiring:

Staying in

If it’s just you and boyfriend home alone, dress comfortably but also add a little sexy twist if you can (he’ll thank you for it!). Try wearing matching lingerie or nightwear with a floaty cover up:

Tesco - babydoll

Topshop - teddy in "Berry"

Topshop - dip dye water colour kimono

Cinema / day time

Because of this seemingly “special” day of the year, you can get away with being a little bit smarter than usual. If you’re making a day of it, wear what’s comfortable - avoid tight fitting garments and high heels. Wedges are a good alternative as they give you a little bit more support and won’t kill your feet after an hour. Floaty sheer shirts, lace detailing and flowing skirts can all look very romantic.

New Look - beaded mesh top

New Look - chiffon gypsy top

River Island - 3D petal tunic

River Island - cream lace skirt

River Island - Peter pan shift dress

River Island - peep toe wedge boots

Topshop - abeline boots

Topshop - crochet lace vest

Topshop - silk shorts

Nice restaurant / night out

It’s up to the individual, but I would choose a dress for an occasion like this. If you are going for a many course meal avoid tight body con dresses and waist belts. Been there, got the t-shirt. You will feel mighty uncomfortable afterwards and in a body con number, your food baby will be quite clear. Try flowing dresses that skim over your stomach and team with a nice pair of heels:

Miss Selfridge - black lace V dress

Miss Selfridge - tan canvas heel

H&M - dress 

… and finally, a clichéd look

If you really love Valentine’s Day, you may want to wear your heart on your sleeve (literally). The High Street has so many options right now so you can wear head to toe hearts if you wish. Show The Love with this cute ASOS hearts cardigan which would look lovely slung over a black dress. Or alternatively team a sweatshirt like this with these gorgeous Topshop scallop shorts and patent shoes. You can even include your legs in the heart fest with these ASOS tights.

ASOS - heart cardigan

ASOS - heart sweatshirt

Topshop - scallop shorts

Topshop - "Kitty" black patent shoes

ASOS - heart tights

  

Hope all you have a lovely Valentine’s regardless of whether you’re single or loved up!