21.1.13

A Night On the Town

For my friends 21st we went out last night. I had not been all dressed up and in an actual nightclub in a while. Now I would much prefer to go have cocktails in a bar or drinks at a friends house rather than go out any day but I do enjoy a good dance now and again. However going out clothes usually challenge me. I find it quite difficult to put together outfits that a dressy enough, flattering and synonymous with my style all at the same time.
Me (Right)
Blazer: Topshop
Skirt: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Zara (Close Up Here)
(I am also wearing 1D stickers on my top. Don't ask)

Last night I wore mainly black with a few spots of colour. I bought my neon pink skirt in Urban Outfitters on sale when I was in Boston over the summer. I would never normally wear pink and now that I think about it, I think this may be the only pink item that I own!! However I loved the fluorescence of it and the shape its so flattering. It is also lovely and soft and easy to wear as well. It cinches in at the waist nicely which I always appreciate. The blazer I am also living in. It is a wonderful shape and I picked it up in the Topshop January sale. I always think a staple black blazer is a necessary wardrobe item and I did not have a nice one for a long time so delighted with this.

My top is actually my sisters (who is fourteen). Don't ask me how I fit in it because I don't know. I thinks its a big size but no one need know that. It is a plain black bandeau with straps but has nice bow detailing on the back.When on it looks like four bows, very cute!




Apologies for the photo quality. I did not have time to grab a snapshot of my outfit myself. I am with my good friend Deirdre here and her wonderful burgundy skirt is from Penneys (Primark). Looks much more expensive!

I bought this bag for my sister for Christmas and I love it so much that I have worn it out probably more times than her! She is good to me (well she owes me for CONSTANTLY robbing my stuff)




Bag: Aldo

The obvious highlight of the night was the One Direction birthday cake that came with stickers. I have Harry and Louis' faces stuck on my chest in case you were wondering. Forgot about them and ended up wearing them all night!
 And here is me eating Louis' face. (And unfortunately I feel that this is the closest I will ever get to actually eating his face)

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18.1.13

Edinburgh

We went to visit our good friend Maeve in Edinburgh in November and here is a few nice pictures I captured while I was there. I didn't expect to love this city as much as I did. Considering that I am a student of English Literature as well as History and this city has a fascinating and creepy history to it, it was right up my street.

Upon returning I wrote an essay for college on Gothic literature and looked particularly at the Scottish Gothic and how the literature of this nation has a troubled and fragmented relationship to its past, its history and identity. I have to say that following my trip to Scotland, the essay was just a natural extension of everything I had learned and seen on my trip . I had never realised to what extent Scotland had such a long, diverse and painful history just as Ireland has had. I really love that they have marketed the city of Edinburgh in such a way that there is a distinctly ghostly, supernatural and almost uncanny feel about it. And I love everything scary or creepy so I was in my element.

And there was a bar called 'Frankenstein's.' Right. Up. My. Street.


Not that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has anything to do with Scotland (apart from Victor briefly visiting the Orkney Islands in the novel) but I guess it fits in with that spooky feel that is present in Edinburgh. If you are interested in the Scottish Gothic I would recommend reading James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner for a fascinating read rather than jumping straight to the obvious Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

That's it for my tangent, let us return to nice pictures and nice clothes.























Bag: New Look
Gloves: Penneys (Primark)
Coat: Urban Outfitters
Denim Shirt: Tommy Hilfiger
Cream Jumper: Second Hand
Scarf: H&M

And above is my friend and I pretending to be zombies......in a graveyard. And if I may say so myself I think I am doing a great job while Eilis - well she just looks very pretty! Zombies are not meant to be pretty. 









There was also plenty of very well named shops in aPUNdance.....


So apparently if we spat in this heart on the side of a street we would get good luck. Worth a try?



Outfit: See Above
Boots: Office

We also visited St. Andrews which was beautiful. Small, quaint and by the sea with an awesome Aquarium. What more could you want?? Well how about an Aquarium that has Meer Cats? Check. (As appropriately renamed by one of my friends as an Aqua Zoo)










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16.1.13

Doing Dinner

 Blazer: Topshop
Top: Naked Zebra
Leggings: Penneys (Primark)
Flatforms: River Island
Gold Collar: The V&A Museum, London

Wore this out to dinner the other night with the family. I just love how elegant the flatforms look and the little bit of height they give and obviously they are so COMFORTABLE. I am a bit wobbly on them though as I am not used to wearing that shape. I also lost one of them on my way up the stairs of the library in college, a not so Cinderella moment. In fact, I just caused a bit of a two way stairs traffic jam. And everyone saw my see through granny socks. 

The collar is from the Fashion shop in the V&A Museum in London. I was not really falling into the whole 'collar' trend UNTIL I SAW THIS. It turns out to be really uncomfortable to wear and a bit awkward. It's really heavy and makes indents where it hits your skin. Still looks great on a plain outfit and especially with collared shirts. However, I am starting to think maybe since I bought it in a museum that its not meant to be worn and is infact just a decorative piece....... But I obviously don't care and shall perservere and wear it anyway. 




I actually picked this top up in SoHo in New York which sounds very glamourous but it clearly was not as I can not for the life of me remember the name of the store. 



Bag: Penneys (Primark)

I picked this up in Penneys the other day for about thirteen euro which I thought was great. I debated for a good ten minutes whether to buy this colour or the turquoise. In the end I thought I would get more wear out of this. Thought it would go lovely with above outfit. 

So I am doing a 'Street Style' photo shoot tomorrow morning with Stellar Magazine for their next issue (again NOT as glamorous as it sounds). Still I am delighted for the opportunity and experience. As soon as it comes out I will post the pics and all the stories behind the scenes. Its already been stressful just getting to this point so lets hope it all goes smoothly tomorrow. 





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15.1.13

My Beef with Style Magazine

I would consider myself a regular reader of the Sunday Times Style Magazine and like it a lot. I usually enjoy their articles, love their quirky covers and specifically the fashion pages. However, lately, I feel that the magazine is suffering lack of style and I am usually left uninspired and can finish reading it in less than ten minutes.

I think it says something about a magazine when my favourite pages in the publication are the last two i.e the horoscopes, the Mrs. Mills column (which is I admit getting old) and the usually highly entertaining 'What are you wearing' column.

As I said I had been thinking this for a while, but this weeks issue really put the nail in the coffin for me. Instead of using the cute and striking pictures of the interesting and very stylish Irish playwright that they had interviewed inside, Style magazine tried to reel me in with hailing the latest fad diet. For a magazine associated with fashion, food, interiors and culture, it was obviously scraping the barrel trying to attract readership this issue. They also tried to sell fasting to me.

Fasting for two days a week? Er, nah.

As well as the usual inaccessibility of most of the clothes suggested on the fashion pages Style Magazine were also trying to inform me of upcoming Spring trends.

Well.

I don't care who is wearing it. I do not care what designer is plugging it. You will never ever get me to wear a skirt over trousers.


That, is never ever ever going to happen. Like ever. (This is exhausting).

The food and home pages are still great but unfortunately I am not a cook nor am I or my family redesigning  the house and I am aware and understand that they are trying to appeal to a large demographic of ages BUT Style Magazine I would really enjoy some more style please. Please refer back to your bumper issues of 2011 that were fantastic!

The highlight of this issue was the lovely lady on the 'What are you wearing'' column who I thought was surprisingly well dressed.


You go Girlo. 


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14.1.13

Shoe Binge

Although I have done very well in the January sales, I came to realise I had my sights firmly set on shoes for some reason. So four pairs of shoes have been bought in the last two weeks but I would like to justify all my purchases to my best friend who thinks I have a problem.


Shoe 1: The necessary sturdy black boot 
Black Boots: Equipet

I love the equestrian look and have wanted a pair of boots like these for a while. However, all Topshop or Office versions seem to be at least in the €90-€120 range for good quality boots. I believe I am a genius. I was in Equipet (A large pet store chain) in my local town and came across these bad boys. REAL equestrian boots y'all. As you can imagine they are incredibly sturdy and wonderfully comfortable (feels like slipping your feet into padded cushions) and at a quarter of the price of their Topshop counterparts (36€!!) I think I struck gold. The only downside I have with them is that they are not the greatest shoes for elongating your legs but the comfort alone means I will be wearing little else during my college days. Also ZERO pain running them in (I usually have fierce bad luck with painful new shoes for the first few weeks). 

A Justified Purchase: YES.

Shoe 2: The Sophisticated Flatform



Flatforms: River Island

I've wanted a pair of flatforms for a while but kept missing out on the Office ones. I always get a sturdy pair of boots and live in them right through winter, spring and our lovely Irish summer. This year I wanted a nice elegant shoe with a bit of height that weren't quite heeled boots that I usually go for. Ello Flatform. Love these to bits. They give the effect of a heel from the front so you get the benefit of long, skinny legs with the comfort of flats. These are actually the nicest flatforms I have come across. I love the quilted effect and the gold panel at the back is just a bonus for a girl who loves gold.

Justified: I think so!

Shoe 3: The Elegant Pointed Flat


Pointed Flat: Topshop

Ah the benefits of waiting for the sale. Wanted these for a while. Managed to resist buying them for about 37 pounds and they were reduced to 10 in the sale. Jackpot. I thought these were also lovely and elegant and perfect for dressing up an outfit for dinner or an event that is not quite dressy enough for heels. Only downside is I do not like them with tights but they look great with skinny leggings, trousers or jeans. 

Justified: Just About

Shoe 3: The Badass Heel

 Burgundy & Black Suede Heels: Zara

These are a tad grubby already as they have been worn three times by both myself and my sister. They are absolutely fantastic on and picked them up at half price in Zara sale. I had wandered in specifically looking for heels on Stephen's Day (Boxing Day) because I love Zara heels. Saw a women holding these and fell in love (with the shoes not the woman). She looked indecisive so I stood and stared at her until she hesitantly put them down. As soon as her hand left them I lunged for them and ran. She was not impressed. 

Justified: You never need to justify a pair of badass heels. 


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12.1.13

A Comfy Day

Was heading into college to spend about eight hours in a library trying to write a decent essay on Gothic Literature and I just wanted to be completely comfortable. So I slipped on my creepers, comfy leggings and my most over sized coat. Maybe I was in a Gothic mood but I thought I looked a bit grimey/ grunge which is not too far from the truth as I was covered in study grime and listening to Grimes (wonderful album Visions is by the way). So if I can make grime look somewhat intentional then that would not be a bad thing for when I am so swamped in study I struggle to find time to wash my hair!! 

 Top: Zara
Leggings: Penneys (Primark)
Shoes: Knock off Brothel Creepers
Waistcoat: Second Hand
Bag: Zara



You will have to get used to suitcase bag on this blog. If I could live in a bag, it would be this one. I definitely jumped on the fashion blog bandwagon buying this bag and though it is ridiculously large it is the best and sturdiest college bag I have ever had. I love that I can wear it with literally everything especially with my black outfits because I have been wearing a LOT of black lately and like that this bag brightens those outfits a little bit. No way of closing it though. Petrified I will walk down the street and someone will yank my lap top out of my bag. Worth it though.
This photo came out terrible so I tried to brighten it up but it went fuzzy. Anyway this is my oversized almost- camo coat (with a lovely photobomb from suitcase bag)

This beauty I inherited from my father. He wore it in his younger years without the fur collar and I am very grateful for my super organised father for having keeping the collar (Just in case, he says). It is the most beautiful deep green colour and so comfy to thrown on over skinny jeans or leggings. I lived in it all during exam season last term and let all my inner grunge out. 





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