Look Directory Part Deux

Happy Saturday one and all.

So I have decided to start reviewing fashion sites I haven't tried before courtesy of Look magazine classifieds. Well, forget funky pigeon.com there's a new bird in town- Funkydivaa.com (yes with two A's) let's take a look shall we...

Initial thoughts on opening the page is it has a nice homepage, always a good a start but what are the clothes like, that's what I want to know!

Well there is one thing I do like... do any of you remember when ASOS began? I do, very well, it was well priced and the clothes where designed so you can wear the same looks as your favourite celebrities, I mean ASOS does stand for As Seen on Screen (or Stars depending on who you talk to). But now that is has got mahusive, it has steered away from copying the clothes of our beloved celebrities and turned into a mainstream retailer. Something I have often complained about because I would love a website where I could buy a replica of Rachel Bilson's wardrobe, who wouldn't? Well Funkydivaa appears to love that idea too and I am pleased to announce that they have a 'Celebrity Inspired' section - fabulous. From Cheryl Cole to none other than Kate Middleton the pretty copy cat dresses are amazing and around £18.99, perfect!

I have been on the site all of 5 minutes and there already happens to be something in my basket:

Only £18.99 and a lovely floral design that will be perfect for the office - after work drinks or my going for a meal.

I also really like this feather inspired dress that is only £14.99, but then I can never resist a feather print.

And if you are mad about polka dots and wanting to indulge in Autumn's colour of choice then this baby should be yours for all of £15.99

The tops, however, leave a lot to be desired. There are some standard cardigans for only £8 which is good but the tops focus heavily on the slogan tshirt style for my liking.

But wait... When I go to the playsuit section my faith is restored, check out these bad boys....

The black wrap over is £17.99 and the mocha drape is just £15.99. I personally love the black one but I am a sucker for chiffon and a wrap style!

Having checked through the rest of the website I can honestly say some work needs to be done on their trousers, coats and jackets and footwear.
I am also mildly insulted that a M/L size is a size 10-12 according to Funky Divaa, lets hope this changes when they start catering to larger sizes. According to Gok Wan this morning on How to Look Good Naked, the average UK woman is a size 16, which made me feel a bit better, but Funky Divaa appears to be isolating a large segment of the market!

On the plus side they do stock Barry M products, and who doesn't love a good Barry M splurge?

So I am off to purchase that dress, maybe the playsuit too, will let you know how they look when they come.

Have you ever shopped at Funky Divaa? How have you found it? If not, go have a look and let me know what you think :)!

The Look Directory

I was reading Look magazine the other day and realised I never ever  look at the websites that advertise in the back of it so thought seens as I can't do my normal shopping due to health reasons I would take a look at these websites.

First up www.thepokeyhat.com

The Pokey Hat claims 'Hot new and vintage fashion; unique clothing for the stylish indiviual' As I am a fan of vintage this advert caught my eye. I have put on a few of my favourites, starting with my most favourite of course:

This pleated vintage dress is £65, the colour is lovely and the style to die for... with pay day on Friday I think I will be purchasing it very soon.

This backless vintage red dress is my second favourite and is only £38, I cannot believe it!

This gorgeous lilac maxi is also vintage and £70 while lilac isn't my colour it is very nice and I thought I would spread the word.

Then the following two aren't from the vintage range but from a brand called Jarlo whom I had never heard of but apparently Keira Knightley is a fan.

I hope you like, these are all available at http://www.thepokeyhat.com/

Next up www.chiarafashion.co.uk which claims to be ''Celebrity inspired high street fashion at amazingly low prices"

Now my first note is that yes they are cheap prices, but they also don't have a signature style, there are over 800 dresses on the site and more than 300 tops. Which is unfortunate, they really need to refine their ranges and figure out what it is they want to be apart from a discount retailer.
I did find one nice dress and one pair of shoes, the dress is just £14 and the shoes, a bargain at £6

While the shoes are a bargain they are sold out in sizes 5 and 6, better luck next time!

On to Vestry.

This is one I have actually heard of. There are a few good items on there:

I really like the Asymetric dress that is just £26 and the spotted dress that is only £20 - I will definitely be buying this in the future. The jumpsuit I also like even though it is not my usual style, it is part of the 'Little Mistress' range and is £45.

Now these shoes are only £25 do you think if I paint the sole red, people may believe they are Louboutins?

So what do you think? Do you tend to stick to the same retailers like me, or, are you a fan of trying new places and use the magazine advertisements to find them?

Baking Bread

As I am still laid up with a lovely kidney infection my usual shopping habit has had to take a back seat. I decided as I find it difficult to leave the apartment I would attempt to bake bread.

I got the James Martin bread mix from Asda for just 79p, I went for the roasted red onion and balsamic vinegar tear and share variety.

As my first foray into bread making didn't go so well this appealed as a second attempt as all I needed to do was add water and oil and knead.

When you add the oil and water it is very sloppy, or as the packet says 'sticky' which makes it very difficult to knead. I added a bit of flour as I thought I may have added too much water and carried on. It is very sticky but I muddled through regardless and my kitchen resembled a bit of a war zone afterwards.

I left it to prove for 45 minutes, kneaded for another 2 then split into 6 pieces on a baking tray.

They then needed proving for another 15 minutes before going in the oven for 15 minutes.

Et Voila...

Freshly baked bread for lunch was perfect and these taste lovely as a twist on normal bread rolls, or buns, or batches or baps... or whatever you call them!

I think I may take up baking bread on a regular basis, I love baking cakes, especially those in the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook and think baked goods are the answer to my heartbreak.

To new beginnings

So I have never really liked living in my little flat in Leeds, it was a huge step down from my last place but I think the way we had laid out the furniture didn't exactly help. It's not how I wanted it, but I let the boy have his way. Now that he has gone the flat has had a facelift with the help of my family clan who came for a visit yesterday.

My living room looks a lot bigger and I feel a lot more relaxed in here.

You may be able to tell that I have installed Instagram on my iPhone and yes that is Queen B on the TV and yes that is my knitting on the radiator.
This is exactly how I wanted my living room to look in the first place.

These LOVE ornaments are from Next and a lovely bronze colour. I bought them when in love but things happen and now even though it is difficult having them in here they make me optimistic for the future. Plus my side would look very empty without them!

My favourite accessory in my living room is my lantern, would you believe it was only £10 from B&M?! Bargain! Originally I had it in my bedroom but it somehow ended up in my living room when we moved and I think it looks great.

Then there is the teal armchair, it was a toss up between this armchair and the rocking chair for what takes pride of place in the living room but the armchair won. Both are hand me downs from my Nan, she re-upholstered the armchair especially for me and the rocking chair I rescued when she was contemplating throwing it on the skip.

I love the way it complements the living room and is the perfect place for reading a good book with a cup of coffee and a bar of chocolate.

And to the newest addition...

I got this Tillandsia plant from Asda yesterday, it was only £5 including the silver plant pot.

This is how it should look soon, it sprouts little purple flowers:


I will keep you posted on how it looks.


So what do you think? Any improvements I could make?

My spree

So yesterday I hit the shops of Leeds with one goal in mind... retail therapy. But alas, as always is the way I struggled to spend, I couldn't find most of the things I had my eye on and to top things off, my body confidence fell each time I tried on an item and it didn't suit. Then to make things even worse the trip got cut short as for some reason I got crippling back and hip pain so I descended on Starbucks with Elle in hand to try and sort myself out.

What I did manage to buy was:

3 pairs of shoes from New Look, I am not too sure about the shoe boots in the middle, they are really nice I am just not sure if I will ever wear them. I got some leather loafers that I have been wanting for a while and they where reduced to £15 so that's brilliant. The leopard print shoes are a bit of a wild card for me (pardon the pun) but I think I will be able to work them into my everyday boring work outfits and dressing up.

Then for spending over £30 I got a free necklace in New Look. I also bought a necklace that I love in Miss Selfridge:

The one on the left with the beads and feathers is from New Look and the one on the right which is a fabulous Orb style is from Miss Selfridge.

So I also got a dress from Miss Selfridge and have put it together with the others I bought to create my outfit of the day:

This gorgeous berry coloured dress is simple but looks lovely on and I think it will look fab with my leopard print shoes and the orb necklace.

So now I just need an occasion to wear them!

John Frieda

So as you may know I have gone from white blonde to dark brown in the space of 3 hours the other day.

After my session at the hairdressers I was recommended the shampoo and conditioner by John Frieda. Not only does it smell fab but even after one wash my hair looks incredibly shiny, healthy and my colour hasn't really faded - not as much as I expected.

 



I followed with some macademia nut oil as recommended by my hairdresser which has made my hair rather soft. Even though it has only been a couple of days since changing my hair it has made a huge difference.

No-one in work recognised me and all commented on how much better I look and how it really suits me, was rather embarrassed at being the centre of attention as people came over just to comment on my hair but was very flattered and made me feel like maybe things are starting to turn around...

Vogue at Harvey Nichols leeds

So... Queen Fi and I have our tickets to the Harvey Nichols Vogue Event in Leeds for next week and I couldn't be more excited!

So this weekend the credit card will take a beating as I want a nice outfit to wear to the event. My Nan bought me a lovely top yesterday from New Look which goes fab with my new hair - I never would have been able to wear it while I was blonde.

As you can see it's simple but it's lovely and only £14.99 an absolute bargain if you ask me!

So I am deciding whether to wear that top with a bodycon skirt and some fabulous shoes or whether to get a new outfit completely.

I have come across these beauties on the New Look website and can't believe they are only £25 a pair...

While the leopard print shoes may not be a shoe I would wear often I do think they would come in handy for dressing up a plain outfit so I will be trying them on on my mega shop this weekend.

To go with the leopard print shoes I may wear the following from River Island:

Lovely!

On a side note I also really want this skirt and this bag from River Island which I also think would go with the shoes (I think I have talked myself into the shoes):

For the Vogue event I really want the feather cover up, now it is from Ann Summers so please try and divert your eyes from the pearl bra underneath although it is rather delish!

So what do you think... what style do I go with? Suggestions are more than welcome!!