Monday Morning Dress

Throughout the pretty epic fail that was my birthday shopping trip, I did pick up a couple of dresses in Primark of all places. One was the summery, Prada-esque, beach print dress  and the other was this one. It's not at all like something I would usually pick up, but I envisioned the colour looking good with a summer tan and it being comfy, and flowy etc. When I tried it on I found, as it goes with Primark, that the fit was really off. The sizing seems right, but there's too much material in all the wrong places which makes it unflattering. With my hat, I feel quite Vivienne at the polo in Pretty Woman, but that gave me enjoyment for all of five seconds.

Dress: Primark, Belt: Zara

Speaking of that scene in Pretty Woman, this Topshop dress always reminds me of it. 

Verdict on my dress: it's going back.

 P.S - Dressing Miss Dolly now has a proper URL on Facebook. Come and visit!

www.facebook.com/dressingmissdolly

Primarni Nails

When I was visiting my friend Kim on the weekend, a flash of molten gold caught my eyes, which shone from her fingertips. I instantly thought she'd had a Minx-over, because they had that famous, metallic glisten which comes hand-in-hand with Minx nail designs. The surprisingly good news? These were actually nail varnish applications from....Primark! For £3 a pack, you get 18 foil, nail varnish applications, which apply to your nails with the aid of hairdryer heat. The stupid thing is that you only get 18 nail applications, which means you don't have enough to do two full applications unless you're missing a couple of digits. We came to the conclusion that this must be a cunning ploy to make you buy more packs in order to repeatedly coat your claws. For a mere £3 though, I think they're definitely worth it. Some of the designs are a bit dodgy - pink and black, skull and crossbones anyone who's not an emo teen? However, if you choose one of the nicer designs, the result really is that of a professional manicure.

This was my friend's first attempt at doing this, so she said next time she'd try and make the edges a little neater. Aside from that, I think they're pretty good.

What do you think? Have you used these before, and if not, will you be buying them?

What I Wore: Valentines week

Topshop: coat, trousers. New Look: body. Primark: shoes, bag

Primark handbag, Models Own 'Scarlet Sparkle' nail polish, Earnest Jones silver ring, Topshop pink jewel ring

This isn't what I wore on Valentines day because I pretty much stayed in my pyjamas that day. I had a lovely time with the boyfriend, we just didn't venture out much apart from nipping to Tesco to buy a really nice dinner. 

I hardly ever wear these trousers because I don't have many shoes that go with them, but the leopard pumps make a good little pairing. I must have somehow lost a bit of calf muscle, odd as that sounds, because these tapered trouser legs aren't nearly as tight as they used to be. This time last year I was training for the London Marathon, and I acquired pretty muscular calves! It seems that's now all gone to waste! This outfit is really comfy, but looking at it in photos I think it needs....something. Maybe a necklace? I'm all for minimalism and simplicity, but there just seems to be space for something more. What do you think?

I braved Primark last week and was so glad I did because I found this little gem of a handbag. I love small, boxy bags partly because they look cute and make it easier to find things, but also because I like surprising people as I pull out umbrellas, books, wallets, keys, phones, cameras (it has been done!) from their deceptively small depths. I always want to go into Primark because I really like their s/s collection, but it's always so busy and messy, I just avoid it. However, the boy and I went on a Monday evening about 6ish and it was so quiet! Much less stressful shopping! If you haven't been in there recently, you really should. They have a great handbag selection going on at the moment.

And these are some of the yummy things we ate. I found a heart shaped frying pan in Tesco for £2! Amazing! So we had heart shaped fried eggs on Valentines morning. The boyfriend totally sabotaged my yolk! I had my favourite red velvet cupcake from Tesco too, and the most delicious lemon tiramisu. As you can tell, we are very healthy eaters.

Hope you all had a loved up Valentines. Did you do anything special or just gorge on treats like we did (because it's just as good if you're single, if not better!) ?

What I Wore: First Day Back At Uni 2011

Vest, Shorts - Topshop, Tights - Primark

Black& Silver - H&M, Pink - Topshop, Fox (on thumb) H&M

Nails - Jadestone by Models Own

I don't know why I feel so against going back to uni today. I think it's a mixture of having been on a break since December 19th, and wanting to get out in the 'real world' of working, away from the tedium of essays, lectures, and seminar groups.

I'm having one of those days where nothing looks or feels right, and you would rather just stay in bed. I've finally decided on my faithful faux leather Topshop shorts, which never look or feel wrong, and a trusty vest in a gorgeous oxblood shade. I realised I have no jumpers or long slouchy, long sleeve tops that I could layer on top of this, so I'm probably going to be feeling pretty cold!
After an episode of grey or black-red nails over Christmas, it's nice to have a burst of Jadestone on them for a change. It really is such a stunning colour and just hints toward springtime frivolity. 

What is everyone else up to today? I don't know why I'm complaining about uni so much. I'm only in for an hour!

camel and green

Topshop padded shoulder trench, scarf, peter pan tunic, River Island thigh high socks, Tred knee high boots, Primark tights

So, this is what I wore back to Manchester yesterday. The coat is my beloved trench, which is getting more than its fair share of wear at the moment, and the tunic is one of Topshop's popular peter pan styles. See how short it is on me! It might have shrunk a tiny bit in the wash, but it was essentially this short to begin with. It really annoys me that they don't develop their tall range with these kind of styles, because they're really popular staples that come up too short on us tall folk! I never wear this tunic unless I'm going out somewhere where its questionable length can be concealed under my coat, so it's not too bad, I'm just in love with camel and emerald green colours together.

(I've no idea why the quality of the first photo is so crummy? And I have to smile because I just don't exude the straight faced cool of Fashion Toast no matter how much I try!)

L-R: Primark, Earnest Jones, H&M, Accessorize, Topshop, Models Own 'Nude Beige', Collection 2000 Liquid Eyeliner

These are some of the rings I own. I don't really co-ordinate my jewellery as you can see. The golds go next to the silvers, the big with the little, anything goes. And my nail art you've seen before here.

I'm back in Manchester today to go to the Trafford Centre with my boyfriend as we've been together two years today! Hoping to snap up some bargains in the sale, though everything half decent is probably gone. I won't be too disappointed, though, as I managed to get myself an amazing bargain yesterday on eBay. I've mentioned before that I'm pretty backward when it comes to eBay and sites like that, so I've really surprised myself. I was going to go the Oasis site to buy an aviator jacket I've wanted for ages, but thought I'd just have a peek on eBay to see if it was on there. Amazingly, there were TWO in my size and more than half the price of the one in store, brand new and with tags!! This kind of luck is surely to make up for the fact that I missed out on winning the lottery last week. Nobody bought the medium size, but someone tried to outbid me in the last ten seconds. Luckily I managed to win, so expect to see that soon. I've only got time to do this post today, so Wednesday Wishes will be missing this week. I should really schedule them in, shouldn't I?

Anyway, whatever you're up to today, hope you have a lovely day.

Happy Wednesday :)

wednesday wishes 9

Oh, look Wednesday again and was I prepared for it? Am I ever? This week has been brain numbingly busy, because I've literally had to sit staring at my laptop screen non stop for the past seven days. I've been scouring through poetry books to aid me in writing ten poems last minute, and somehow, I've managed to pull it all together. Now that I'm only one poem away from completion, I've just had a quick read of my favourite blogs and gained some inspiration from Primark of all places. Their latest lookbook for ss 2011 has just emerged and looks really promising. However, let us all just remind ourselves that the lookbook for aw 2010 looked amazing too, but all it served up was masses of disappointment when seen in person. So don't get too excited when you see the following pictures:

The first dress is very pretty and screams Prada ss 2010 to me. Remember those gorgeous dresses with the cute beach prints? 

Prada S/S 2010

I'm a bit unsure why Primark are replicating a trend that was out this year. I can't remember something similar being shown on the catwalks for ss 2011, but I could easily be mistaken as I haven't had a proper look at the collections for next year in ages. 

I love the mid length styling of the last two photos. I still haven't bought a mid length skirt, because I'm kind of afraid to. Every time I see them they remind me of my Grandma, even though I haven't seen anyone my age look like a Granny in their mid lengths. Far from in fact; they look achingly cool and simultaneously chic. The second look really reminds me of the effortlessly cool styling American Apparel comes up with, and come summer I'm going to be all over the kind of big, floppy hats seen in the final shot. 

So all in all, yet again Primark is looking promising and I'm coveting the lot, but I've learnt my lesson and I just won't quite believe it until I see it in person. Also, is the model not Jade from Britain's Next Top Model a couple of seasons back? She came third I think..... It might not be, but she looks familiar.

P.S - Hello new readers! You're probably thinking that this blog is solely about Wednesday Wishes from the look of this first page, but it's really not, I've just been very preoccupied with uni work this week. While I'm getting back on track, feel free to take a look back over the archives :)

Happy Wednesday!

Sources: style.com and Amelia

a not so intentional outfit post

I've been debating for aaaages whether or not to post what I wear. Not because I don't like what I wear, I just hate, hate, hate having my photo taken and posing about.

I went to watch the fireworks last night with some friends in Salford, and my snap happy friend got a few photos of what I was wearing. Preferring to have had a photo taken by a friend, and not when I'm not so nonchalantly striking a pose by myself, I thought I'll just put it up and see how it goes, despite my hair and face looking particularly horrendous.

I love my trenchy!

I'm wearing my lovely Topshop trench (which I don't think I can bear to sell now, I'll just have to cut down on the cupcakes), my new Topshop peter pan collar tunic/dress, some black Primark brogues (I know you can't see them), my vintage handbag, boyfriend's H&M scarf and a whole load of H&M rings.
I know for an outfit post photo, this shot is lame but it's a slow start!

P.S - I've added that 'you might like to read' widget, and it might offer you glimpses of my blog way back when. I've changed my layout loads since I started the blog, so the archives are all pretty messy and the photos don't fit into my new layout. Apologies guys :)

a little post about a lot of nail polish

After the said lack of blogging, but immense amount of blog reading I was doing last week, I was getting pretty intrigued by some of the nail polish things a lot of you guys have been trying out. Namely the Barry M crackle polish and matte polishes.

The other week I went to Boots and bought the Barry M Nail Effects and nail polish in Blueberry (an icy, pastel blue) for 2 for £5, and 17's Matte Top Coat. Saying you're going to paint your nails, then take the shine off of them, and then put another coat on which will crack the nail varnish, doesn't sound all too appealing at first, but it looks a lot better than it sounds.

Barry M Nail Effects with Blueberry underneath

Models Own Jadestone with 17 Matte Top Coat

Models Own  Pastel Pink with 17 Matte Top Coat

The crackle one does have a good effect, and it got a fair few glances on the uni bus, but I'm not sure I'd wear it very often. It dries really quickly though, which is a bonus and each nail gets a unique pattern, which looks really nice. The matte coat is my favourite. It dries ridiculously fast and leaves a nice, even, chalky effect on your nails. I don't know how it reacts with the polish, but it seems to make mine a bit milkier in colour and almost thins it out a tiny bit as you apply it. If you do it in thin coats though, it's fine. 

And these little beasts....

Primark Leopard Pumps

...are the evil, toe haters that I told you about in my last post. I guess for £4 they're fine, but they are as comfortable as you would expect a shoe that costs less than a fiver would be eg: not at all comfy.

wednesday wishes 2

Topshop Jersey Dress, Miu Miu Leopard Heels, Reality Street Book of Sonnets, Kurt Geiger Pink Brogues, MAC Lady Danger Lipstick

Today's Wednesday Wishes is pretty hasty because I completely forgot I'd committed to this feature in all honesty. I've had a chest infection / flu type thing this past week, which still doesn't appear to want to vacate residence from me any time soon, so I'm all out with blogging and posting etc. 

Feeling a bit better today, I ventured into Manchester wearing my new experiment : flat shoes. I know that doesn't sound all too adventurous to those of you who are accustomed to the humble heel less shoe, but for me, patron of the stiletto, it was a big thing in terms of those sartorial decisions we make every day. 

To be fair, I didn't really treat myself to the best representatives of flats. I begrudgingly spent £4 on a pair of Primark leopard print pumps. I pretty much had to be taken kicking my heeled feet all the way to the till. I also bought a pair of Primark brogues (I really splashed out, didn't I!), which I've already hidden at the bottom of my wardrobe. Yet I went to uni with optimism in my little leopard pumps, happily thinking that I would be able to walk speedily from place to place and in comfort. Such feats are seldom heard of in the world of platforms, of which I am usually an inhabitant. 

However, by the time I'd walked 20 minutes my feet were hurting from feeling the cold, hard slap of concrete against my soles. I then wandered on into Manchester, and was practically hobbling home by the end of the day. I arrived home with some new purchases for my feet. A type of unbecoming toe jewellery, if you will, in the form of fabric. Fabric plasters to be blunt. 

Not only did my feet arrive back in the same, if not worse condition, than they usually do from wearing a good six inch shoe, but they didn't look half as good in the process. So as it stands, I still hate flat shoes.

Please, please help me find some comfortable boots that look really good and that don't have a heel, because I have to force myself to convert to their cause because I just can't skate around in stilettos on winter's upcoming ice.

Hope you're all ok. I've been reading your blogs even if I haven't been posting! 

Copy My Style

Ah, the dilemmas stores love to put us shoppers in, eh? I am in one at this very moment. You might remember my slightly excessive praise of Primark's a/w lookbook. It was indeed excessive, because as good as it looked, I should have known better - up close and personal, the clothes just didn't quite come up to scratch. I really loved one look in particular:

I'm such a sucker for a tea dress, you see. On closer inspection though, the material looked really cheap (what did I expect for £13?) and the collar was a shade of cream, which happened to be the very same shade my boyfriend managed to colour all of our underwear when I trusted him to do the washing unsupervised. That was an accident, and so I didn't quite relish buying a dress with a collar in the same decay-yellow colour.  Anyway, I left the store disappointed and then came across this:

Miss Selfridge's lookey-likey, which is near on identical. But this one is £49, a far cry from the bargain of Primark. And though I'm sure it's worth it, what with its pearly collar and all, I'm being all economical with my money at the moment and I'm just not convinced.

So the choice is:
Do I stretch some monies over to buy the pricer but nicer version, or be a super saver and get an ok version for a bargainous thirteen pounds?

I'm glad this is currently the biggest decision I have to make today.

Primark But Not How You Know It

After mentioning the Primark look book on Twitter, I've had a few requests to do a post about it.

Considering this is Primark, which instantly sparks certain preconceptions in all our minds, let's be honest, I'm really impressed with their new lookbook. I know the styling helps alot. I know the model helps even more. I know the airbrushing which will surely have been involved, will also be very much beneficial. Even so, some of the stuff does look really promising.

Here's some of my favourite looks:

Pretty good, right? I'm seriously in love with that faux fur gilet, an item I've been undecided on for a while. I love the chunky socks and boots. I'm entirely sold on the alpine heavy knit combo which will be perfect for browsing the Manchester Christmas market in, when temperatures are below freezing. The light blouse is so delicate and pretty, and that top look - the slightly gothic tea dress, and lace gloves - perfect. I've realised the factor which gives all of the above a really healthy boost up is the fact that they are all so cheap! I even quite like the aviator jacket, which major winter trend or not, I really did not like on the runway. 

The only thing I'm really hoping is that all of these don't look cheaper than cheap in person.

What do you think? Impressed?

Find the rest here.

Source: instyle.co.uk

Chop Chop

I've handed in my final assignment of year two, so today is a day for treats and pampering. First stop - Toni and Guy, where I'm going to get my hair cut after 6 months of pure neglect. It's taken me three years to get my hair fairly long, and it's still not long enough, so I'm thinking I'm not gonna get much taken off the length. Just in need of some layering and I'm contemplating a fringe Abbey Lee style...

My friend Danielle, who always has impeccable hair styles, persuaded me to get my hair done by one of the best stylists, so if you're thinking of having your hair done at Toni and Guy, let me be your guinea pig because you'll soon see how this turns out!

Then, I'm off for some shopping. I'm looking for a red lipstick (MAC no doubt), a floral playsuit (I've been seeing some really decent ones coming out of Primark!), and potentially some shoes. Tonight, it's Manchester's French Connection/Grazia evening offering 20% your shopping, vodka and Fru puddings. Sounds amazing to me. I know you had to sign up for tickets, so not sure if it's too late for you guys now, but they're going on all around the country so search it up.

I've got my eye on this :

AND THEN, we're hitting the Disaronno and Deansgate, which is bound to be fun :)

P.S I finally bought those Henry Holland suspender tights, I've been wanting them for ages and halfway through writing a short story seemed the perfect time to divert my attention and buy them. Show you soon :)

Photos: style.com

French Connection