Fashion: What do you think of outfit posts?

I'd never pretend to be a massively fashionable trend setter or anything, but I do love clothes shopping and trying out new outfits with the limited funds I have. I read a lot of fashion blogs for inspiration and also out of curiosity, and have been toying with the idea of putting the odd outfit post up on here for a while. It's not something I'd do every day as most of the time I wear basic jeans/top combo to work, unless I'm going out to lunch or something. So here's my first attempt (excuse the mess as I've just moved house, and also excuse me looking a bit cross-eyed!) - if it looks like people seem interested in this then I'll keep posting them on the odd occasion! 

Necklace and shirt - vintage
 Bandeau top - Matalan
 High-waisted jeans - Miss Selfridge
 Wedges - Urban Outfitters

Shopping: S/S12 at George for Asda

I love my vintage finds and premium labels (more to look at than buy though!), but I have my fair share of high street and yes, even supermarket bargains when it comes to clothes. The Asda store in Milton Keynes is absolutely huge and has a massive George clothing section which I've happily browsed when I'm back visiting my parents, but I've never been so impressed with their range as I have this season! 

I could have easily spent £100 in there, but managed to limit myself to these few pieces (and thanks to my mum for putting up with me being in the changing room for a good 20 minutes!).

This gorgeous floral top could have been found in
a vintage store, but instead was just £9 in Asda!

I absolutely adore this embellished print, it's so hard to believe
it was only £8!

This top reminds me of the art deco staging at
the Florence & Machine gig I went to last week!

I love cobalt blue for this season, and these
ankle grazing trousers are going to be perfect
for spring with some brogues.

In total I only spent £40! There were numerous other things I wanted to get including this amazing pastel blouse, but they didn't have it in my size. I tried to get it online but annoyingly it's so great that Grazia have featured it so I doubt I'll ever get it now!

I will definitely be going back to Asda to check out more of their Spring Summer collection soon, and can't wait to start wearing my new pieces!


Last photo from George. All other photos property of Shopped and Dropped, do not re-use without permission.

Fashion: London Fashion Weekend 2012

Can you believe I won TWO competitions in the space of a week?! The first was tickets to a show at London Fashion Week, the second was tickets to the shopping event of the year: London Fashion Weekend!

Myself and fellow blogger Pink Julep descended onto Somerset House to find some bargains and hunt out some style inspiration. The event was spread through a huge marquee in the centre of the main quadrant as well as taking over the inside of the beautiful building. The array of shops was vast and ranged from designer labels like Twenty8Twelve and DKNY at knockdown prices, to independent boutiques and vintage shops.

I even got a surprise when I realised the vintage lime green leopard print Ashish tank I was drooling over was being sold by the brilliant and beautiful VV Brown! Wasn't quite expecting to bump into one of my fashion idols (seriously, when I first saw her perform I was completely besotted with her whole look!), but it turns out she has her own store, VV Vintage!

But it wasn't just shopping, London Fashion Weekend was about experiencing fashion and discovering style. There was pop-up shops from Benefit, Compeed, Veet and Elizabeth Arden for us to get our beauty fix, and a styling station sponsored by Shop Style UK and featuring top celebrity stylist Rebekah Roy. Both PJ and I found pieces we loved here both of which you can see in the photo below. Pink Julep is wearing a very cute hat, and I replaced my plain black blazer with this amazing patterned and textured jacket from Blank.

And of course, to finish off our day of fashion fabulousness we showed the celebs how it was done and had a well deserved glass of champagne.

Check out the London Fashion Weekend's site to sign up for updates on their next event for next fashion week.

Life: How to Prepare for New Years Eve

People seem to be split between two groups when it comes to New Years Eve. The first love it, and cannot wait to dress up, hit the town and drink into the early hours. The second can't stand the bother, knowing that it will nearly always be a disappointment and ridiculously overpriced. I'm in the latter. Don't get me wrong, I like a night out, I like getting dressed up. But New Years Eve just seems to be a chance of any idiot available to shout, puke and get in my way. I don't want to pay £50 to get into a club or bar that's usually free, and pay even more for drinks that are already hiked up because I'm in London. And the biggest thing is the expectation. People EXPECT that it will be the best night of the year, and in my experience, the more you plan an evening the less chance there is for spontaneity and therefore less chance for fun.

I've had a couple of great NYEs though. And today's To-Do List Tuesday is a little guide on how to make the last night of 2011 a good one.

1) It's all about timing
Don't plan too far in advance, but don't leave it until the last minute. I reckon optimum time is about 9 days beforehand. That way you don't make a rash decision to go to that bar with that person you hate, but you also don't end up staying in alone eating Ben & Jerry's from the tub watching Jools Holland in your pjs.

2) Wardrobe decisions
Despite not having any firm idea of where you're going, plan your outfit well in advance! If you're anything like me and leave it until the last minute you'll either end up wearing something you hate, or refusing to go out at all (This has happened to me. In fact I have been known to go home and get changed once I'm out too, but that was in my student days of being fickle and within walking distance of my house). Oh, and if you wear heels, cram some flats in your bag. No high heels are still comfortable at 2am. NONE.

3) Strategic Drinking

This works threefold: 1 - the important aspect of pre-drinking. Get your vodka jacket on and get you in the mood for heading out into the cold. 2 - take a hipflask. No harm in saving in a bit of money and keeping yourself topped up. Always good if you're heading out to fireworks or something outside! 3 - Pick a time and just drink water afterwards. Sounds prudish, but I'm not going to condone binge drinking, plus I am Queen Hangover and would be a billion times worse if I didn't have a self-imposed water o'clock.

4) Company
I've spent NYEs with 1 person and 25 people. It's difficult if you're like me and have friends dotted all over the country, but ultimately it's the company you keep on the evening that make the whole night. Don't get forced into going to a party with someone who will ditch you when you get there. Christmas is about family, NYE is about friends. 

I'm aware I sound like a moany old trout in this post. I'm not fussed about going out at all. But that doesn't mean I want to be sat at home alone when the clock strikes midnight! This year I'm going to one of my best mates' flats for a few bevvies. Warm, cheap and friendly - onto a winner!

Whatever you're up to this NYE, I hope you have a Happy New Year! Thanks for reading my little blog and I hope you come back in 2012!

Shopping: Buying an Outfit for Christmas Day

I now work perilously close to some very good shops. In my opinion, East London has the best shopping in the city with a mixture of markets, vintage stores, boutiques and high street in a pretty close knit area. There's the legendary Spitalfields and Petticoat Lane markets and Brick Lane all within 3 minutes of my office, so it take a lot of strength to hold back from innocently wandering around at lunch time.


A perfect example is Tuesday, when I went out to stock up on Christmas cards. Needless to say I didn't buy any as I was lured into Urban Outfitters - my favourite of favourite high street stores. I bought a couple of things under the premise of wearing them for Christmas day so TECHNICALLY it was OK! I always find picking an outfit for the big day a bit stressful as ultimately I won't be leaving the house, however I will probably be photographed throughout the day, so I need something that is:


1) Easy to sit down in. This rules out skinny jeans as the blood flow cuts off my legs after 30 seconds of sitting on the floor.
2) Elasticated or easily adjusted. For when I stuff my face with turkey and Twiglets (not necessarily at the same time).
3) Not over the top. Because it's not a wedding, I'll be with my family who have seen me at my worst, but it is after all a special day.


So behold! My Christmas outfit purchases!

£20 in the sale

It's red therefore it's festive. I'm going to pair it with high denier black tights too. Not even thinking about shoes as I intend to wear Christmas socks or slippers to keep my tootsies toasty.

Silver collar necklace £18

I think I'll probably wear a plain black top, or a vintage jumper with silver threading when it gets colder. Either way this collar necklace gives it a bit of oomph.

WIP nail polish £6

And finally I got lured into buying this at the till point. I don't own many statement silver rings so instead I'm bringing the bling to my nails and decking them out in this glittery beast. Perfick!


(All photos from the Urban Outfitters website)

Music: Festival Necessities

Well, festival season is nearly over. I promised myself I'd do at least one this year but that didn't quite work out, until a couple of week's ago my friend Ms J invited me along to Bestival with her. I've not really done too many festivals in the past, but there are standard must-haves, especially as the weather is predicted to be abysmal this weekend!

First up is food and drink. Obviously the standard festival fare is disposable bbq and vodka, but we've decided to just buy food there and have some snacks along the way. So there's cookies and crisps for the sugar rush, and cereal bars and fruit for when I feel guilty after my 7th bacon sandwich with extra chips. Drinks are consisting of mixers and a big juicy box of wine (which takes me back to my student days!). Disgusting? Maybe. But there's no glass bottles allowed and it's, you know.....cheap!

Provisions!

When it comes to clothes, I'd love to say that I've embraced the whole festival chic thing, but to be honest I'm more worried about staying dry and warm! I've got skinny jeans to tuck into wellies as well as a pair of vintage Levi shorts just in case the sun decides to make an appearance. I've literally chucked a couple of reasonably plain tees in as I plan to be wearing jumpers most of the time, including the big sexy grey one in the picture below which HUGE. It's from a beautiful vintage shop called Purple Haze in York and is long enough to be worn just with leggings, but that won't be the case for Bestival.

Keeping warm this weekend!

Of course, the main thing people wear at festivals is WELLIES! I'm going to be wading through the mud in my lovely Roxy pair that I really don't get enough wear out of. I've also chucked in a pair of sandals, but I think that may be a bit optimistic...

Shoe oxymoron

Ms J is providing the tent, and I'm taking no risks when it comes to being warm and relatively comfortable. I've got my pillow, sleeping bag, roll mat and slanket (that's right, the blanket with sleeves!) at the ready!

Comfort stuffs

And then there's the cosmetics stash. I'm a freak for smellies so it's hard to keep this section light! The must-haves are of course, toilet roll, hand sanitiser, dry shampoo and a toothbrush. But other essentials for me are headache tablets (for the hangovers), earplugs (as purchased because of the noisy neighbours) and sunscreen (because as I said, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!). My two Lush necessities are Ultrabalm and Go Green. Ultrabalm is basically a multi-use wonder product that I use as a lip balm, skin soother, eyebrow smoother, cuticle balm and clear mascara (to name a few uses!). Go Green has sadly been discontinued, but I stocked up! This is my last one, but it is honestly the only thing I know of that covers any smell! It was supposed to be a body spray, but I use it as a room freshener and it's fab. Electrics wise, there obviously won't be any plugs, and I'll manage to charge my phone in the press area, but I'm also prepared with my torch! I'll never be able to find anything in my enormous bag otherwise!

Cosmetic warrior

So here it is. My life for the next 3 days packed into a rucksack, an Ikea bag and my favourite brown satchel. Wish me luck!

Ta dah!