Website of The Week: My Vintage.co.uk

It’s not often I pipe on about a website, and it’s even rarer if I mention a website twice. So, for those who (stupidly) missed it first time, this weeks Website of The Week is….. *drum roll* My Vintage.co.uk

Run by the gloriously wonderful kick-ass Mumtrapeneur Emma, My Vintage.co.uk is literally a home from home for everything wonderful and vintage. From the outset, the website is clean, simple and easy to navigate. What I love the most, is the different options Emma has added in order for us mere Vintage mortals,to locate what we want, easily and quickly. I am as shy and scared as they come when it comes buying Vintage and am often lost in a mindfield of, well, a big load of fabric that quite frankly, I would not have a clue as to what was Vintage and what was a load of tat! But imagine my very surprise that nearly everything on My Vintage.co.uk was something that I’d most definitely wear. The descriptions of each item are flawless and the prices are well within everyones budget.

To show you just how simple it is, I have, within 10minutes, come up with three, yes three, outfits for you lovelies,  to show you just how simple this Vintage shopping business is!

*1960’s Orange Waistcoat £22, 1970’s Denim High Waisted Shorts £25, 1970’s Jaeger Neck-tie Blouse £38, Red 1970’s Wedges £30, 1980’s Orange Escada weave bag £90*

*1970’s Burgundy and Gold piping dress £26, 1970’s Gold Tassle Necklace £18, 1980’s Vicki Beth Shoes £36, Gold Drawstring bag £16*

*1980’s Sage Green Pencil Skirt £28, 1980’s Starzewski Cream Blouse £245, 1970’s Lanvin Scarf £160, 1960’s Leather Box Bag £52, 1970’s Russell and Bromley Leather Peeptoes £98*

Tell me these are not simply, absolutely amazing??? Exactly, I thought so. You’re sold right!? I ruddy well am. I finally feel I can access Vintage shopping easily and confidently and not feel like I don’t know what I’m looking for and how the hell I actually wear it! Get yourself over to My Vintage.co.uk to create some absolute fabness in your wardrobe.

Now to save my pennies for that blouse…..

Ooooo What are YOU wearing?!

No, I’m not being dirty and neither am I rubbing my thighs as I’m asking, This, my ladies (and Gents) will be the question on everyone’s lips very very soon.

The genius, and ruddy gorgeous, Poppy Dinsey has started something, that I predict is going to go viral – it is going to give you and me a whole new, better, alternative to Facebook – none of the crappy, irritating status updates, nope, but still keeping with the same social media aspect. Already famous for her simple but effective WIWT website, she is now giving us all the chance to become style icons. WIWT is simple, it gives you the opportunity to showcase exactly what you’re wearing – literally just that. You upload your photos to the site under your account, and Bob’s your uncle, you are now online. Other users than come along and ‘star’ your outfit if they like it, also allowing comments. Not only do you show off your individual styles, but you can tag the items in your outfit linking them to the brands, there is an Editors choice section, where Poppy picks her favourite outfits out – which could see your very own style getting on the Homepage for all to see… The list is endless.

So why is this perfect? err, well let me tell you. We all love to secretly ‘people watch’ don’t we? and don’t you dare tell me otherwise, it is programmed into all women to scope out, look, and sometimes even judge other women or men’s outfits/looks – well instead of hiding behind dark glasses, Poppy’s website brings you every outfit that you ever wanted to stare at for either the right or wrong reasons. This is the future – tying both the world’s love for all things fashion, and for every one’s roving eye. I have been lucky tryout the trial site and I have been using it for a while now. My Verdict? I haven’t been this obsessive and excited about something since I started really getting into Twitter, and you know ?this is probably better. I love the freedom to express my, sometimes bad, outfits, what I consider to be stylish, but it also allows me to freely pick on other people’s styling and hopefully find new ways of using my already bursting wardrobe.

The full site is due to be launching soon and when it does, I’ll be sure to let you all know. However, the trial version site is on: http://beta.wiwt.com/ where you can fill in and possibly get entered into using the trial site…

Now I cant go showing you too much on here, but keep your eyes peeled people, for it is coming, it is the future.

Simply Beach = Simply ME

I do love the Summer months: long, drawn out days with light long evenings, the birds are tweeting, the flowers blooming, and the heat of sun on your body – you just cant beat it can you? As we all know, for us women, Summer means something altogether completely different, our whole wardrobe changes: hemlines, arm lengths, strap size, even shoes and accessories. – it’s not just your simple t-shirt and shorts jobby, oh no, a Woman’s Summer wardrobe takes Military planning. Along with the normal Summer dresses and strapped tops, comes the Summer essential: Swimwear.

This word pretty much strikes the fear of God into most (un-surgically enhanced) women at the best of times, but for me? I chose to, every year, ignore it. How do I ignore it you ask? Well, I don’t go swimming, I will always say no to pool parties, I don’t often go to the beach and if I do, I conveniently forget my swimsuit – this pretty much runs year in, year out, without fail. I have, somewhere, got a old swim-all in one strap everything in-suit, that I might wear if I was kidnapped and placed on a desert island (yeah, I should be so lucky) I hate everything about swimwear, but can possibly hate the bikini even more. I owned a bikini once before – I had spent about a tenner on it, and thought that it was perfect for sunbathing – it was pretty much one of these string-porn-star type ones, but with a D cup chest, that really wasn’t going to work was it!? So the love affair ended. Since that moment I haven’t worn anything like that in public again, and never again did I think I ever would – that would mean going into a shop and possibly daring to bare in a changing room with the brightest white lights and curtains that are no bigger than dental floss – yeah = not going to happen.

Along came Simply Beach.com Now I know alot of you are going to say ‘there are alot of swimwear websites, but I will respond, saying no, none like this. The reason why Simply Beach is so different, is not only due to the extensive ranges and brands, but to the amazing service you receive when looking on the site and purchasing. I was drawn to purchasing a bikini online mainly because I could get to try the garment on at home, where I could black out all the curtains and light some candles, we all know what good lighting can do for a figure right?! Simply Beach is well set out, its tabs lets you decide to zoom straight to the Brand you want, or whether you’re looking for swimwear, cover ups or even clothes – you cant really get lost.

I decided to fight my fear and go straight to the bikini section – I wanted one that wasn’t your normal cheese  grater strung kind, nope, I wanted one that was going to fit my enlarged figure, be well supported but also not look like something Bigfoot would wear. I found this in the ‘Cup-sized Swimwear’ tab, which is a first for me to see – I knew I was going to find something to hold my puppies in, in this section. I fell almost instantly in  love with Freya’s range of bikini’s – with actual cup sizes and pretty, feminine but fun designs, I knew this was the option for me. As for the bottoms, well, anything that doesn’t have enough fabric to cover both my japan-sized cheeks, is a no-go. So a full, but sexy brief was my aim – my final pick was the Freya Pier Halterneck Bikini – perfection by fit, and perfection by print – love.

Now the decision and purchasing was complete, all I had to do was wait for the normal, agonizing delivery times until my bikini body got it’s D-Day. A pet hate of mine is delivery times anyway, but with Simply Beach, my order came within 2 days! I was truly excited to see the package nestled safely on my doorstep and ran inside to my darkly lit boudoir in preparation to try the elusive bikini on. Well, strike me down and call me Ms. Pamela Anderson – It was lush, lush and well lush! On every level I loved it – the fit, the quality and the style. Believe it or not, I felt, mildly, attractive. Would you Adam and Eve it!?

Now, as the above pictures will show you, I do not have a bikini body, I probably never will, and yes I still wish I was about 2 stone lighter, but what I love more than anything, is that I’m in a bikini, yes, that’s right, I’m in a bikini. That is all you need to know.

Simply Beach made my journey to Bikini stardom (ha!) so much easier. Giving me a easy to use website, with no silly jargon, its amazing descriptions, truthful measurements and a really really handy catwalk function where you can see those gorgeous models swishing their amazing bods down the catwalk *sigh* I loved everything about this website and the fact it got me into a bikini, through its ease of purchase pretty much equates to a big resounding success.

Thank you Simply Beach… Thank you…

**I would ask if you have nothing nice to say about my pictures, please do not say it at all – It took me over a month to pluck up the courage to post them!**

Oh yeah, if you’d like, pretty pleasio go vote for me in the Cosmo Blog Awards HERE

Monday’s Must-Have

If you ever needed cheering up on a Monday, this would be it! Monday Must-Have Purchase is back and today’s really is a must-have!

Priced at only £24.99 this animal-print inspired necklace really is the only necklace to be sporting come this A/W11. Maggie Angus is by far, a long standing love of mine – with eclectic looks that are always a guaranteed eye-catcher, this necklace is by far one of my faves! At this price and with this beauty, you cant really say no can you?

Go check out this and many other gorgeous designs, on the Maggie Angus website HERE

p.s Don’t forget to nominate me in this years 2011 Cosmo Blog Awards HERE

Knitting – the place to be…

Knitting is most definitely not just something your Gran used to do, Oh no, there is a new breed and social aspect to knitting in 2011, and right at the forefront of this breed of knitters is the delightful Louise Dungate.

I’ve featured our Louise before, I was originally entranced with her delectable and statement but precise knitwear style: her collections were distinguished yet easy to wear. There was something oh so comforting about the chunkiness of Dungate’s knitwear, and something about the styling that made it so fashion forward. It was most certainly a welcome change on what my nan used to knit!

After designing her own knitwear for two years, Louise has developed her own signature style of Big Chunky Knitting. She is currently working on a commission to create 38 garments for ‘Dagny & Barstow’, a new boutique opening in New York this month. And if that wasn’t enough for our Knit-trepreneur, Louise has opened her very own Knit Shop Studio, aptly named ‘The Knit Club’ on the High Street in Caterham-on-the-Hill. Louise has put her heart and soul into the shop and opened it following the closure of ‘The Yarn House’ so the community still had somewhere to buy yarn.The Knit Club proudly stocks Louise Dungate Knitwear and tees, as well as a large range of knitting yarns and accessories, carrying popular brands like Rowan, Sirdar, Rico, Brittany, Pony and Artesano.

Louise will be holding her own knit club on Thursday evenings for anyone who wants to learn, or simply wants to enjoy knitting with others and a crochet club will also be held in due course. Louise said of the club: “Anyone who’s interested in knitting should just do it, Knitting with a group of people is great, you get inspired by others, get to share knowledge and show off your work. Knitting is making a comeback!”

Now if that isn’t enough to make you grab those knitting needles, all of this is done in the shops amazing surroundings, all served with copious tea and cake. That’s me pretty much sold….. Now to see if I can make something out of this little lot…

If you don’t knit, don’t worry – just get yourself along to The Knit Club, pick up one of Louise’s hand-knitted accessories or take a lesson with the lady herself, and she’ll have you knitting in no time!

The address is 27 High Street, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 5UE

Telephone number is 01883 345220.

P.s Dont forget you can vote for me in the Cosmo Blogger Awards HERE

I’d like to thank my Mum…. my Dad…. blah blah blah

No, I’m not going to start blubbing all over your computer a la Gwyneth Paltrow, well, not yet anyway! For it is time for me to get on my hands and knees and ask you lovely readers, if you would do another favour for me!

Back in 2010 Cosmopolitan magazine held the first ever Cosmopolitan Blog Awards, if you’re a fellow blogger you will know just how amazing it is to have competitions like this, if not, it’s a huge deal for alot of us. I chose last year not to enter – simply because I felt I was too new. I felt the blog wasn’t really that good and would get little to no readers. This year however, I’ve decided to put myself forward.

Now firstly, its because of you readers that I’m doing it – I guess you guys have made me feel like what I write, is, well, interesting, and secondly I done it for me. Now I know alot of these competitions are a popularity contest etc etc but to even be in with a chance of winning, I have to put myself out there – so here it is!

If any of you would like, please click on the below link and nominate me – I cant tell you how amazing it would be to even stand a chance of getting through the nominations, I’ll be eternally grateful to you all, and even promise to cry on acceptance of my award if I win…. yes, I’d do that for you! In all seriousness though, it’s because of you lot I’m here so a nomination vote would be amazing!

Thanking you all!

Brooch-ing the subject

I’ve always thought of the humble Brooch as err, how do I say it, a little granny. I have images of sepia print photos of exquisite ladies, with gentle curled hair, a cardigan that is, of course, done up to the neck, pearls and of course a pretty little brooch. Which well, isn’t really me is it….

My jewellery collection is modest, I pretty much love everything I own and like to think that I wear all of it, often, but in all honesty, I can safely say, I have never owned or thought about even wearing a brooch – I just didn’t really get them – what do I wear with them? Can I wear other jewellery? Do I have to give off a certain look? I’ve often seen some very quirky brooches on people – worn differently, and I’ve always wondered why or how they got away with not looking like a eighty year old, however now,  I’m right there with them – I love them. Jon Richard jewellery have a collection of brooches that are so modern yet subtle, eye-catching but classy – they have completely got rid of the facade of what you would normally associate with a brooch and given it a whole new look – It pretty much sums up what Jon Richard do best, and that’s changing and pushing forward the boundaries of jewellery as a whole, and instead of just being an ‘accesory’ its more of a proper part of your outfit.

The lovely and gorgeous Emma from Jon Richard sent me some amazing brooches to try out and change my mind over, what essentially is something my gran would wear. I was astounded at how beautiful each and every one of them is: the attention to detail, how easy they are to wear and the amount of compliments I got when wearing them! They are all so very different from each other, and I found myself choosing my outfit around a different brooch each and every day, which was something that I didn’t expect, ever.

Overall, my opinion about the ‘humble’ brooch is well, its not really that humble, in fact they are flipping brilliant, and dare I say it, I am well and truly on one and desperately in the search of more variations of modern and some vintage ones – if any of you reader know of good stockists of vintage and non vintage – please do let me know!

What was your opinion about the Brooch? are you an avid Brooch-er?

If you go down to the woods today….

There is most definitely a big surprise…. For look what the ever-so-lovely Maggie Angus has bought us for the A/W11 period. Now I know A/W seems a long way off, but lets face it peeps, we’re already in July (seriously, where has this year gone!?!) and it is high time that we all start getting our outfits mentally prepared for the onslaught of thick woolly jumpers that are going to be invading your life (and wardrobe) – boring I know, but one sure fire way to style it up, is with an eclectic piece of jewellery.

As a certified Maggie-holic, I pretty much follow everything this little lady does anyway and following the rather huge success of her previous ranges this Summer, a look that I am still coveting (who can get enough disco diva bling anyway!) Maggie Angus brings us a new collection that brings her and her accessories right back to nature, well, the woodland really. As Angus’s third collection we head into the wild at night and pounce on the wonderful and magical world of nocturnal creatures. Bold striking silhouettes of deer, bears, foxes and owls are created by the crystal glare of the the moon – this doesn’t sound just like an accessory collection, more like an expedition right!?

Here are some sneak peeks from the new collection:

Cosmic Bib Necklace (also avliable in black) £34.99

Moon & Stars earrings £9.00

Noctua Owl Brooch £26.99

Stag’s Head Necklace £24.99

Ursa Bear Necklace £29.99

Wild Fox Ring £12.00

Wild Nature Necklace £25.99

For more loveliness, go check out Maggie Angus site here as I just know that this lovely, and well deserved, lady is going to get bigger and better!

July’s Cover Stars

So I’m a little bit late, but hey, here goes!

Here’s my months picks of good and bad covers:

Vanessa Paradis – Vogue UK July

I pretty much god damn love this cover! Vanessa gives off real class to a somewhat ordinary looking cover. With a simple, neutral coloured background, The styling is second to none: with the decadent encrusted jacket that is seductively placed against bare skin. With barely there make-up, Paradis does what she does best: look simply amazing with, what looks like, minimal effort. A grand cover for July – spring, fresh and classy.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley – Elle UK July

Never really a big fan of our Rosie – probably because I’m insanely jealous: not only is she gorgeous but she is going out with everyone’s favourite meat-head Jason Statham. This cover is sublime – gorgeous, sensual, classy and oh so sexy – that pretty much describes Rosie all over right? The styling is hitting the nude trend right on, and is heavily high fashion. Rosie’s posing is perfection and is eye-catching for both Males and Females alike. A real, grown up cover for Elle – but is pretty much ‘samey’ for Rosie.

Adele Adkins – Glamour UK July

How amazing is it to see our very own Adele on the cover of Glamour magazine! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Adele look so fresh, youthful and happy as she does on this cover. It may be because for once, the girl isn’t wearing black and her hair is BIG, but lets face it, Adele isn’t known for being High Fashion, and that’s a shame (lets not get me started on the ‘weighty’ issue) The cover suits the month of July and I praise Glamour for picking Adele to grace the cover – long may it continue.

Claudia Schiffer – Harper Bazzar UK July

One of my absolute favourite covers for the sunny (well, we can wish) July period. Claudia Schiffer pretty much smoulders in front of any camera lens but teaming with this seasons favourite Gucci stripes, amazing headwear and the almost standard beach-y scene. I love the simplicity of this picture – it’s just hot. Sometimes simple is the best.

Daisy Lowe – InStyle UK July

Boring much? I like the stark background and the bright red, but what I don’t like is 1-Daisy Lowe, and 2- the substandard ‘bored’ looking pose. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and investigated inside the magazine and once again I found the shots too impersonal – nothing friendly or welcoming about the shoot. The styling is not great, I would’ve liked to of seen Daisy put a brush through her hair, perhaps smile and possibly look like she enjoys being a model…. tough life. Disappointed InStyle..

Cat Deeley – Red Magazine UK July

Oh yes, and Red Magazine do it again. This vibrant cover would’ve been pretty much brilliant with any woman on the cover, but teaming Cat Deeley along wtih this scene is perfection. Deeley, known for her natural, Bohemian looks and the the natural hammock scene go together like a match made in heaven. Displaying this seasons ‘Brights’ trend, but also styling it in an easy accessible way is a sure fire way to grab my attention. Love it Red.

Until next month…

Monday’s Must-Have

This little beauty gives off a real Vintage air, but believe it or not is from Topshop! and at the bargain price of £36 it’s pretty much a Summer essential! I love it and its Barbie Pink hue. Go grab it here