custom heels from Groupon!

Well I woke up to a frugal fashion delight this morning! The Groupon goblin has lured me into its treasure cave once more, but boy oh boy is this a deal!

£19 pp custom crystal shoe workshop with Nicky Rox!

Custom shoe designer Nicky Rox whose design studio is based in Poole is offering her fabulous Shoe Workshops for only £19 pp on Groupon! The workshop lasts two hours, a variety of crystals are available to customise your heels with and the BEST part about it is that you can bring your own heels! This means it could be a £2 pair from Primark, that plain boring pair you bought in the sales at Christmas, or a basic pair of platforms from eBay (there's plenty to choose from, here's a link to loads!) 


The only stipulation is that the shoes you bring must be plain, but they can be satin, suede, synthetic leather or PU (and I'm assuming real leather too?) and they can be any style, though no trainers or flip flops please! The workshop is at the Cottonwood Hotel in Bournemouth, a super cute boutique hotel which might not look much on the outside, but the inside is cute, kitsch and very pink!

The Cottonwood Hotel, Bournemouth

Hurry though, it's Groupon so the deal is only on until midnight and there are limited dates available. Aren't you just dying for someone to ask you where you got those fabulous heels?!

a Sixties staple - for under £20!

Well my lovelies it has been a little slow on the shopping front of recent! Moving out in September, several V.I.P's birthdays and a holiday in less than 10 days (eeeep!) mean that even my bargain scouring has been reigned in. I have however been searching the net for cheap little beauties to see in the new season and to share with you all, and I have found a little high street delight that I am dying to get into my own wardrobe!

Peacocks Funnel Neck Block Print Dress - £18!

As well as the naughty Forties, several AW '11 collections have given more than a nod towards the age of Mary Quant, Twiggy and the dawn of the mini skirt. Jean Paul Gaultier, Prada, Bottega Veneta to name a few have drawn on key trends from the iconic Sixties in their collections. But for those of us who can only dream of registering for a Net-A-Porter account, the super workable Funnel Neck Block Print Dress from Peacocks may be a little more reasonable!

Balenciaga RTW AW '11

A mini dress, although extremely fun may not be the most appropriate work wear and for budgeting beauties, an item of clothing must be multi-functional! So why not take a leaf out of Balenciaga's books and incorporate another key trend of AW '11, tunics and trousers. Wear the Peacocks dress with a pair of loose straight leg trousers (a clashing jewel colour if you really want to make a statement!) for a more professional look.

Prada RTW AW '11

For a day time look, team with slouchy knee socks, wide belt, low to mid Mary Jane heels and an oversized clutch a la Prada! Hair and make-up should probably be pared down to avoid looking too cutesie.

Jean Paul Gaultier RTW AW '11

For a night time look, it has to be the ever sensual Jean Paul Gaultier that we look to for inspiration. A beehive, high, blocky heels, massive earrings and coloured tights is most definitely the way to dress up this high street bargain.

One of the other great things about this dress seems to be its cut too! An A-line is great for pear shapes (yippee!) as it skims over the widest area of your silhouette, so this dress should terrific for those of us who are blessed (yes, blessed!) with more cushion for pushin'!

On an un-dress-related note, because I am going on holiday in less than 10 days (did I already say that?! Probably about 572 times.) I will really try and get a budget holiday essentials video done beforehand, so stay tuned for that if you have any end of Summer or Winter sun holidays on the horizon!