tooooo many tights!

Well the weather can't quite decide what it wants to do with itself right now: one moment I'm rejoicing at the nip in the air meaning I can break out my chunky knits and the next I'm scrabbling to peel off the layers lest I melt into a little puddle on the floor. BUT seeing as it's October and technically it's meant to be Autumn/Winter now I thought I would pay homage to one of my favourite cold weather accessories.

Wolford A/W '11 Bonny Dots

Tights tights tights: streamlining legs, shutting out the cold and reducing shaving costs for the female masses since the Sixties. Since then designers have experimented with patterns and prints to jazz up this simple staple, and this season it seems as if they've gone mad for extravagant leg dressing. In terms of premium hosiery, the first brand that always comes to my mind is Wolford, well known and loved in the fashion industry for its high quality product and high fashion designs. Unfortunately at around £30 a pair, those of us on a budget are somewhat loathed to click 'Add to Basket'.

That's why I was delighted to find so many alternatives on the high street, still on trend but with a much more convenient price tag:

Gipsy Big Spot Tights from ASOS - £8!

These Gipsy tights available from ASOS are a dead ringer for the Wolford Bonny Dots, and a darn sight cheaper at only £8! Cuter than a basket of puppies and kittens and simple enough to pair with several of this season's other trends without looking like you're a sandwich short of a picnic.

Next Navy Medium Spot Tights - £6.50!

Next also offer their own take on the polka dot pins, but they've also incorporated a twilight blue, an intoxicating favourite with fashion houses this season.

H&M Houndstooth Tights - £2.99!

My personal favourite after trawling through several websites and high street shops, these extravagant houndstooth tights from H&M are a complete bargain at only £2.99! Talking from experience, they look KILLER with a slinky, high-waisted pencil skirt and blocky, platform heels but they'd also go great with any number of this season's Forties inspired pieces. (N.B. The above image is of the Wolford Cheryl tights, H&M are rubbish and have not put their version up on their website, but it is almost identical except for the nude panels which are a very sheer black on the H&M product.)

Next Black Star Tights - £6!

Another popular name in the hosiery game is of course the dashing Henry Holland, whose collaborations with Pretty Polly have frequently been the focus of my style envy. This season he has snatched the A/W '11 star print trend from the skies and sprinkled them over a pair of his famous tights. Though not quite as dear as Wolford at £14.99, it's always good to look after the pennies, so you may want to opt instead for Next's version for only £6!

And finally, though not necessarily a trend for A/W '11 I felt I had to share a surprising discovery I made whilst shopping yesterday: fishnet tights are a frequent favourite of mine for nights out, but blow me if they aren't hard to find on the high street for a reasonable price! I know you'll all be screaming PRIMARK at your computer screens, but unfortunately for a girl with a little more cushion for pushin' around the derriére, the fit is truly awful. So imagine my surprise when I spied my faithful fishnets in Wilkinsons for just £2 a pair! Plus the fit is fantastic, who knew?

Wilko Fashion Tights - £2!

That's it for another post lovelies! I really am trying to get round to my supermarket beauty buys, hopefully this week will prove slightly more productive, and I hope to do a budget nail colour/design video too! In the meantime, leave me comments if you buy/own any of these tights and let me know what you wear them with!

ASOS 50% off! + a MASSIVE apology!

Well hello there my lovelies! For those of you who do read my posts regularly it has been a while, I am SO sorry! A combination of a gorgeous holiday, moving in with friends and generally having too much of a good time has prevented me from sitting down and properly doing a post, and unfortunately today isn't much of a post either, but I HAD to share this with you...

ASOS are currently in the middle of a 48 hour up to 50% off sale on their current season! It started this morning (sorry, I'll get back on it soon I promise!) and finishes 8am on Friday 30th September and there are some absolute beauties in the pile!

Navajo/native American is big on the high street this season, as are the Sixties, and this unusual but visually striking shirt dress encapsulates both trends, down from £55 to £44!

Shirt Dress in Aztec Print - now £44!

Block colours are also a big trend for AW '11, and one of the most popular items to inject with colour this season are jeans - these Vero Moda skinny jeans are available in four colours (the Direct Blue is my personal fave!) and are a complete steal at £22 down from £28! If you're someone who lives in your jeans and want to mix up your everyday wardrobe a little this season, these are a fantastic and frugal solution.

Vero Moda Super Stretch Skinny Jeans - £22!

If you're still looking for your Winter coat for this year, then you definitely need to check out the Coats & Jackets section during this 48 hour sale. From English heritage style jackets to Sixties style car coats, there's some gorgeous pieces perfect for keeping you warm and looking good this Winter. The one which caught my eye is this stunning faux fur coat. Faux fur garments dominated the AW '11 collections of designers such as Gucci, Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier, so this faux fur coat is right on the money, even coming in cheaper than similar coats/jackets from boohoo.com who are notorious for their mini-priced imitations!

Faux Fox Fur Coat - now £56!

It's definitely worth having a little trawl through yourself because there is far too much to condense properly into one quick blog entry, but make sure you get yourself on there quick as I'm certain the most popular sizes will be snapped up pretty sharpish.

I'm hoping to get a budget beauty video fired off in the next week, so watch this space!

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!

Summer make-up review!

AT LONG LAST! I've finished editing my first video for Cheap Like Me, it's a budget Summer '11 make-up review, let me know what you think!

(YouTube gave me the most HEINOUS thumbnails to choose from, so this is the best of a bad bunch, sorry people's eyes!)

The prices for the products are as follows:
Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder £6.99
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation £9.99
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19
Rimmel Glam'Eyes Quad Eyeshadow £4.99
Maybelline The Falsies Mascara £8.19
Maybelline The One-By-One Mascara £8.49

Hope you enjoyed it! Oh and get following you beauties!!

who loves short shorts?!

Well slap my thighs and call me Sally! (On second thought don't I bruise like a peach...) But exclamations aside, I have just experienced a revelation in Matalan. Yes, I can hear you all now: "Matalan?! Has she gone mad!?!?" Fear not my lovelies, you are about to see what on earth I am talking about.

Tribal Patterned Shorts - £8! and Denim Polka Dot Shorts - £10!

I spied a pair of tribalesque patterned shorts (above!) in more! magazine last week which looked completely adorable, so today I ventured into Matalan after work to seek out these Summer 2011 must haves, and I found them... along with a vast collection of Summer basics and cute key pieces, in particular - shorts!

Rebecca Taylor's 'Denim Dot Dukes' - £93 phew!

Matalan's Spot Print Denim Shorts - £10!

There was also a gorgeous pair of drawstring patterned shorts which I resisted buying (maybe next pay packet!) but that were equally to-die-for and the likes of which I have not seen on the high street for such a brilliant price! Drawstring also equals cinched in waist, which is a-okay in my book!!

Drawstring Patterned Shorts - were £12 now £7! Yay!

But shorts aside, there are also some gorgeous little basics floating around for Summer, including this bateau-style stripey t-shirt with rolled up sleeves, very reminiscent of the Marc by Marc Jacobs nautical collection!

Marc by Marc Jacobs SS11

Summer Stripe T-Shirt - was £8 now £5!

So there you have it my gorgeous lovelies, get yourselves to Matalan, there's so many more incredible bargains I spied that I didn't have the time/budget to list here.

Oh, also I am in the process of editing my first video! It's a Summer make-up review, and I'm hoping it should be up in the next couple of days, so watch this space!

latest bargain haul!

Another day, another trip to the charity shops! This time to the beauteous little bargain haunts of Ashley Cross and Upper Parkstone. These are both great areas for charity shopping: as with Boscombe, even though you may have to sift through a hell of a lot of poorer quality items, you will find the odd gem which you wouldn't normally find in the wealthier areas like Westbourne or Christchurch.

I think my favourite find had to be this woven tote (my wise owl of a mother believes it to be banana leaf?) with raffia handles and pocket detail. The perfect day bag, big enough to carry my enormous filofax amongst other essentials, but also great for the beach as it has a handy sand filter (the bottom is a loosely woven raffia) to avoid time consuming clear outs.

'M' for me!

I also found this great mottled brown box bag which has already proved extremely handy, due to its 'open plan' set-up which means nick nacks can't get lost in the lining. It also had an 'M' bag charm on it, which sealed the deal!

On the clothing front, I found two very different but absolutely lovely items: a leopard print maxi dress (on trend for Summer!) and a super super cute short-sleeved knitted jumper in a gorgeous light yellow! I love the fact that the maxi dress pattern is alternated in what almost looks like a zebra print style, more animal magic! And although the knitted jumper may not be suitable for this time of year, I cannot wait to wear it with a circle skirt, platform court shoes and a sweep of red lipstick in Winter!

As you can see ironing is not a favourite pastime of mine...

The final find was this rather eclectic little blast from the past, an ancient batwing top from Topshop in a sort of 80s-style tribal pattern. I might cut the modesty slip out of it and wear it as a shrug over the leopard print maxi dress, currently undecided!

That's it for now, I'm hoping I'm going to have the time/the skin to do my Summer make-up review this weekend so watch this space!

(P.S. I notice I have a couple more followers, thankyou and hello lovelies!)