Under the Green Umbrella Trees

Hey there, lovelies,

I've got a quick casual outfit to share with you this morning, which I wore to the hospital to be lectured and patronized by my physiotherapist yesterday morning. I'd go in to what happened, but I'd only start to rant about what she said.

The dress which I am wearing in this post is one of two frocks I purchased last week with a New Look voucher I won from Becky and Betty's joint blog giveaways. It was a lovely surprise to find out I'd won, and I was obviously excited to spend it as it's been a while since I've been able to afford new clothes for myself. So, thank you so much ladies! I purchased a cobalt blue chiffon dress, and this lovely denim number...

This lovely light-wash denim dress is so effortlessly wearable. It is the perfect dress to be worn casually in the day time for running errands, going to hospital appointments, and perhaps doing a spot of shopping. I think it could also work down the pub in the evening, at festivals and concerts, and perhaps even for nights out if the right accessories are used.

I was drawn to the dress online due to the pretty crochet collar detail which is shaped like sunflowers, but I also knew it would be the perfect casual piece to add to my rather dressy wardrobe. I don't have many casual pieces I can just throw on for a hospital appointment or for nipping to the supermarket. This dress certainly solves that problem perfectly.

The dress is made from a decent denim which isn't too heavy or too thin (although my leggings can be seen through the fabric). It'll be ideal for wearing all year round. I originally thought this was a prom dress style, but it actually has a modest asymmetric hem; although I really love that about it. (I'm still loving asymmetric skirts.) I did however, size up as I thought it had a fitted waist, but it turns out it's elasticated so it's rather loose on me- especially around the boobs... (However, this dress should be able to accommodate you ladies with ample chests). I cinched in the waist tightly at the back with the matching denim belt, which solves most of the over-sizing, and a cardigan disguises most of the looseness around the girls. I presume the denim isn't pre-shrunk, so I imagine it'll probably shrink a little in the wash, anyway, as I wear it. I just couldn't be bothered to return and reorder.

I'm smitten with this dress, and I'm so pleased I purchased it. It was a bargain at just £24.99, and I know it will be getting regular wear from now on. My only bug bear about it, is that it creases so easily, but that's a common issue with light-weight denim...

So, yesterday, I wore it with my basic purple Evans leggings, and a scalloped off white shrug by Lovedrobe. I wore my blue Havaianas flip flops as my toes are still recovering from operations and can't be enclosed, and used my pin stripe River Island satchel. I accessorised with a few pieces of jewellery which I'll show you below.

Here you can get a glimpse of the dress not hidden beneath a cardigan.

I love this beautiful neckline.

This is one of my favourite bags from my collection. I find the combination of colours, patterns, and textures interesting and aesthetically pleasing. It came from River Island about a year and a half ago, and it looks great with the dress.

I can't help but smile when I see daisies, and they're scattered all across our lawns now Summer has arrived.

And these are the accessories which I also wore. I won the double cameo necklace and the pearl bracelet with the flower charm from Rachel's blog giveaway a month or so ago, and I've barely taken them off since. I have a soft side for cameos and pearls, and I don't think I could love these two pieces more! I'm particularly crazy about the double necklace.The other two pearl bracelets are by Matalan, and the daisy earrings are a current line from River Island.

Outfit Details

Dress-New Look Inspire // Leggings-Evans // Shrug-Lovedrobe // Flip Flops-Havaianas // 
Satchel-River Island (ebay here)  // Daisy Earrings- River Island // Plain Pearl Bracelets-Matalan // Floral Charm Pearl Bracelet-Won in Rachel's giveaway // 
Cameo Necklace-Won in Rachel's giveaway //

This dress is definitely a winner, and I recommend it to all you denim loving ladies. It's available in sizes 18-28 on the New Look website, and if you're thinking of purchasing one, you should be fine with your normal size. Trust me, ladies, you need this dress. I'm certain you won't regret the purchase!

Do you like denim dresses? How would you style this dress?

I'm personally planning to restyle it with tan and brown accessories, along with a few thin braids in my hair.

Oranges and Lemons

Morning guys,

I'm sorry that it's been a couple of weeks since my last outfit of the day post, but I have something resembling one for you today.

I've just returned home from a two week stay with my sister at her home in Portsmouth. I mostly spent the time resting from the sofa or from bed, engrossed with old episodes of The Hairy Bikers (I love them!), and The Vicar of Dibley, but I was able to get out a little here and there.

On Saturday, we popped in to Gunwharf Quays, which is Portsmouth's outlet village. What's lovely about shopping there, apart from the great shops, is that it's situated right on the harbour, so it makes a scenic, relaxing environment to shop in. It's just a couple of miles from my sister's home, or I should say was as my sister and brother in law are moving today; so it was a journey I could physically cope with. We popped in quickly to pick up a couple of gifts; but that morphed in to dawdling along the water front with an ice cream, and somehow resulted in taking a short boat trip around the harbour.

We had no interest in seeing the Navy vessels or various other boats and ships dotted around the small bit of coast line; we both just liked the idea of being out on the sea in the scorching sunshine. It was a gorgeous hot day. I decided to push my pain tolerance to the limit to go on it, although I hadn't considered the fact the boat would have stairs. Somehow I managed it, and I enjoyed being out on the water with the sun on my skin. I couldn't move for twelve hours when I got home, but it was worth the pain.

So, what did I wear?

I wore my sunshine yellow polka dot dress from AX Paris which you've seen a couple of times over the last year. It's one of my favourite dresses, and one I always have the urge to wear when the sun is shining. The colour is so uplifting! This was actually the first time I've worn it out in public, and probably the only time I've worn bright yellow in public without feeling self-conscious! I think that just shows how far I've come along the road to self-acceptance.

I usually wear this dress with white and turquoise pieces, but on this occasion I had the urge to try it with coral... and I really liked the result! The colour combination is so pretty. 

I'm sorry I haven't got any full-length outfit photos to share with you. I wasn't happy with any of them- a wind-swept Louise with no make up and a swollen irritated eye is not a pretty sight! I didn't think it was far to subject you to that!

The shrug came from Lovedrobe last summer, which I love for the scalloped edging. I have this shrug in black and off-white, too, and they're perfect summer cardigans. I wish they'd came in other colours, too.

The cropped leggings are ruched at the sides, and came from New Look about two years ago. They're great for wearing under summer frocks for that extra bit of comfort and reassurance, if, like me, you're not comfortable with completely exposing your legs.

I'm still unable to wear any footwear other than flip flops at the moment, so I was wearing my battered pink Havaianas. Hopefully I'll be back in pretty shoes by Autumn.

 The saddle bag was from Accessorize, which I'm afraid is another old piece;  it's without a doubt one of my best summer day bags. 

I bought the skunk cameo necklace from Life's Big Canvas earlier this year (and extended the chain with some ribbon), and the daisy studs are by River Island which I recently picked up for the purse-friendly sum of two pounds.

I love this little skunk!

Don't you think the daisies are just the friendliest flower?

Oh, and I had a couple of coats of Barry M's Gelly Paint in Mango on my nails to complete the fiery look.

Outfit Details

Dress-AX Paris // Leggings-New Look (size 16 on eBay here) // Shrug- Lovedrobe // 
Saddle Bag-Accessorize // Necklace-Life's Big Canvas // Earrings-River Island // 
Flip Flops-Havaianas // Glasses- Roxy // Nail Polish-Barry M Gelly in Mango

Who knew an industrial English harbour could look so pretty?

If you're ever along the south coast of England, and are looking for somewhere lovely to shop, grab a drink, or eat out, make sure you check out Gunwharf Quays. I personally recommend you do!

Drip, drip, drop

Just a quick outfit post from me today. I've had these photos stored in desktop purgatory for a week or two, unsure of whether I would actually post them as I don't really like how I look in these photos. I guess I just gave in as here we are.

This was a rare moment out of bed for me. I've barely left it in three weeks as my pain levels have been particularly bad; my back hasn't recovered from being mobile for my last hospital appointment yet.

 I was just heading off to the Doctor's again here, so I took the opportunity to quickly snap a few photos.

It was a reasonably mild day, but very blustery, so I'm a little wind swept. I'm wearing a cute chiffon tea dress from Dorothy Perkins, which I've had for about a year. At first glance, the print appears to be polka dots, but if you look a little closer you'd see that the pattern is made up of multi-coloured raindrops. It's lovely. I wore it simply with black leggings, my turquoise Havaianas, a couple of bracelets with black and silver beads, and a pair of square teal earrings.

Outfit Details

Dress-Dorothy Perkins // Leggings-New Look // Flip Flops-Havaianas //  

Bracelets-Gifts from my best friend // Earrings-Camden Lock Market //

This was an unusually black ensemble for me, but I like the simplicity of an outfit quickly thrown together.

And I think the raindrops are a statement enough on their own!

Not Blue, Not Green, Not Aquamarine

Last week, I stumbled across some beautiful dresses whilst window shopping online at Matalan, and they instantly stopped me in my tracks. The dresses were delicate sleeveless chiffon numbers in a variety of block colours and patterns, and they immediately reminded me of the black polka dot asymmetric number I bought from Matalan last Autumn. That dress just so happens to be one of my favourite numbers, so I found myself eager to adopt these new frocks.

The only thing in my way was my bank balance, but an eBay sale, and some encouragement from Rachel convinced me to treat myself to one. I was torn between the green and the coral, but the green won! I ordered it early Thursday morning, and was surprised and delighted when it arrived on Saturday morning, especially since the Friday was a bank holiday! Such great service!

The dress didn't disappoint, and I dragged myself out of bed long enough to put an outfit together with it on Easter Sunday.

The dress is perfect, and the colour is so different to anything I have in my wardrobe, so I'm glad to introduce a new colour in to my current wardrobe. It's not quite aquamarine, and not quite turquoise. Definitely not mint. A little too green to be Tiffany Blue, but not far from it... Whatever the colour is, I have to say I really like it. The colour is so fresh and mood-lifting.

The dress itself is lovely. It's made from a thin chiffon, and although it's lined, this dress is definitely too light to wear outdoors in the cold. I was freezing when I took these photos! It will be perfect for hot sunny days, though, so fingers crossed Spring makes an appearance soon! It fits wonderfully everywhere, and even came with it's own brown skinny belt, which I'm wearing in these photos.

I wasn't feeling any of the photos of myself, so apologies for these beheaded shots.

I dressed the dress with my white polka dot cardigan, which I bought from Tesco last Spring but had yet to wear. It has pale blue spots all over it which I think work perfectly with the colour of the dress, and it's incredibly soft. The belt came with the dress, and I wore my turquoise Havaianas for popping in to the garden. I'll show you the accessories in just a moment...

I thought I'd add in a photo of the outfit taken indoors. The difference between the quality of the photos taken indoors and outdoors using the same camera is shocking!

I wore this cute beaded New Look necklace, which I've owned for years, as the wooden beads matched the belt, and the blues and purples complimented the green fabric well.

I wore this teal beaded flower bracelet, which I believe was also from New Look a few seasons ago.

This jade flower ring was the first accessory I added to this outfit. It goes perfectly with the dress as the colours are similar.

And, as I personally like how purple and green-blue look together, I couldn't resist bringing my adorable ASOS frog prince ring out again. He's the best accessory I own!

Outfit Details

Dress and Belt-Matalan // Cardigan-F&F at Tesco // Flip-Flops-Havaianas // Necklace-New Look //
Bracelet-New Look // Flower Ring-local shop // Frog Prince Ring-ASOS //

The dress was on offer for just £15 instead of £20, and I found a discount code (now expired) which took a further 20% off the price. With delivery, I paid just £15.50, which is practically free considering how much wear it shall get. I've now ordered myself the same dress in navy, and see myself collecting others as funds allow. They currently come in eight different designs, which you can find here, here, and here, and are a bargain at just £15. Go grab yourself one while you can!

I'm boring but overcompensate with headlines and flash, flash, flash photography

Apart from a car ride home from my sister's on Tuesday morning, this past week has been spent hibernating in bed.

At first I was advised to rest to allow my toe to recover, but thankfully that's eased considerably over the last few days- although it still hurts to move it, or if anything so much as grazes against it, but it's not a bother. As per usual, my back has been the hand manipulating the strings. It didn't cope well with a two hour hospital appointment, and has been searing hot agony ever since. The worst it's been in a while. I've struggled to move, and even sit up in bed, so have spent most of the week fan-girling over Fall Out Boy horizontally in bed. I'm so excited that one of my all time favourite bands has reunited with new material! And yes, I know I'm twenty-seven!

Yesterday was much of the same, but I had to leave my bed on a quest to find Easter eggs for my sisters; which means I threw an outfit together, and stood up long enough to snap a few photos to bring you this outfit post today!

I bought this lovely red shirt dress from ASOS Curve last Summer, but until yesterday had only worn it once.  I've been itching to wear it this week, so I popped it over black leggings, and wore it with a black cardigan to pop to the shops.

 The dress has buttons from collar to hem, which are hidden by a panel down the centre for a neater look, which is a little different to other shirt dresses I've seen and owned. I like that. I personally love the shape of the dress, and how the skirt flares out from the waist to give a great A-line shape. The fabric isn't quite opaque, so it does show a little of my shape through the fabric, but not enough to cause offence... I hope! My favourite feature is the sweet Peter Pan collar, buy more on that below.

I accessorised with ribbon, a green brooch, lip earrings, and a pair of pink Havaianas. I would have preferred to wear this dress with tights, and a pretty pair of shoes, but I can't wear anything which touches my toe right now... which, with this Arctic weather we've been having lately, has been absolute torture. Having bare feet in freezing temperatures is painful, and not advised!

When I posed for these photos, it was trying to snow, and it was bitterly cold. So cold I managed no more than two minutes of shivering before I dashed back inside with my camera. Winter seems to have gone on unusually long this season. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever have warmth and sunshine ever again...

And just to mix things up a bit, here's a rare shot of me wearing glasses! This may actually be a Polka Spots and Freckle Dots first! I hate people seeing me wearing glasses, even though I've been wearing them since I was a year old. I prefer to wear contact lenses but Specsavers won't give me any more until I've had a check up, which just isn't possible right now. So, glasses it is!

I tied a piece of burgundy ribbon in to a bow in the centre of the collar, which I was inspired to do after seeing somebody in a street style section of a magazine do so with a thin piece of black ribbon. I really love the way the ribbon instantly changed the look of the dress, and how pretty this little touch is. I know I will be trying this idea again under other collars with different coloured ribbons!

 I guess if I was really trying to impress you, I would have ironed the collar first, but hey, that's not me.

Outfit Details

Dress-ASOS Curve // Leggings-New Look Inspire // Cardigan-Matalan // Flip Flops-Havaianas (Fuchsia) // 

Brooch-Camden Lock Market // Ribbon-local haberdashers // Glasses-Roxy

May 31 Day Blogger's Challenge: Day 17- Something I Wear When It's Sunny

Something I Wear When It's Sunny

When the sun comes out in England, we have to make the most of it as you never know how long it's going to last. We can have weeks of gorgeous sunshine one after the other, but some summers the hot sunny days seem to be few and far between, and all we're met with are grey cloudy skies.

So, on those glorious hot sunny days, I like to wear a maxi dress. There's something about a modern maxi dress that looks odd and out of place at any other time of year in this country, so I like to make the most of them when the sun's out. To me they scream "summer".

To me, one of the best feelings in life is taking a stroll in the sunshine with the warmth against my skin. I love how a long floaty skirt feels against my legs as I walk when there's a gentle breeze in the air, and I love airing my feet out in flip-flops and sandals.

My sunny day uniform is a dress, usually worn with a cropped cardigan, sandals or flip-flops, and a pair of sunglasses.

I bought this particular maxi in Peacocks last summer. I held off wearing it for so long as I was convinced it made me look pregnant. I eventually came to my senses and wore it on holiday; and the last time I wore it was on a scorcher of a day last August wandering round Rockefeller Center. We were dying in 92% humidity, and we didn't cope in it for long- we were soon back in our hotel room flaked out with the air conditioning on!

This dress has a layered skirt right down to the floor, an elasticated waist under the bust, and removable straps. I always wear straps when given the choice; strapless doesn't suit my wide shoulders. It's a beautiful design; but a little too layered for really hot days.

I got the dress on my first shopping trip to Peacocks, and wish I'd discovered them sooner. It wasn't through lack of curiousity, just that there wasn't a branch in the places I normally shopped.

I love Havaianas. They're the most comfortable flip-flops I've ever owned and they don't blister my toes! I currently have three pairs, but they're past their best now. I've worn these pink ones to death! My toe-nail varnish is an orange Barry M.

The bracelets are part of a set from Dorothy Perkins, but the others are all black and didn't go with the outfit. The bracelet against the pink is actually purple, but for some reason photographed blue.

The sunglasses are from Guess, and my favourite of the two pairs I currently own. Sunglasses are still something of a novelty for me, as I've got very poor eyesight and didn't own a pair of sunglasses until I started wearing contacts in my early twenties. Now I couldn't be without them.

♥ Dress: Peacocks

♥ Cardigan: New Look

♥ Flip-Flops: Havaianas (from a surf-shop in Cornwall)

♥ Bracelets: Dorothy Perkins (part of a set)

♥ Sunglasses: Guess (from Bicester Village)

♥ Nail Polish: Barry M Nail Paints

What do you wear when the sun comes out?