UK Fashion & High Street Style Blog | We Shop Therefore We Are

Little black dress

Sarah — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:21:33 +0000

Little black dress that I bought in the Zara sale for the bargain price of £16 a few months back. It’s handy for evenings out and also ok for work with tights and a cardi on top. I like the simple shape with the low V-back detail:

Almost the weekend. I’ll be swishing on Saturday and doing next to nothing on Sunday – bliss! Have a good one.

Peebles Swish

Sarah — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:58:17 +0000

A quick post to let anyone in the Borders area know about a swishing event that my friend Susan is holding in aid of The British Heart Foundation this Saturday.

Come along and swap unwanted clothes, shoes and handbags for ones that you’ll love! Bring along 2-5 items and you’ll receive fashion vouchers to exchange for things that are new to you. There’ll be beauty and jewellery stalls, plenty of raffle prizes and – most importantly – the theatre bar will be open!

Date: Saturday 19th May

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Eastgate Theatre

Ticket price: £5

Peebles is a great wee town with some fab independent shops and interesting bars and restaurants, so it’s well worth a visit. More info can be found at Swishing.com

Image copyright Swishing.com

Breton stripes

Sarah — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:35:30 +0000

I’ve always been a bit of a Francophile and have always loved Breton tops. I’ve owned a fair few over the years but my current favourite is from French Connection. Perfect at the weekend with jeans and ankle boots:

The red boots are from our January Take10 challenge. I dug them out again a couple of weeks ago and have been wearing them loads. It’s nice to have a bit of colour in amongst all the black, white and grey I seem to find myself in most of the time.

Top and ankle boots c/o Zalando / Jeans: Cheap Monday at Urban Outfitters / Silver necklace: H&M

Edinburgh walk (and some old denim)

Sarah — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:13:30 +0000

Last week I decided to make the most of the bank holiday weekend by taking Friday off as well. Although the weather wasn’t great it was dry so mum, dad and I headed over to Blackford Pond where we started a walk that took us through the Blackford Nature Reserve, Braidburn Valley Park and on to Robert Louis Stevenson’s path up to Swanston Village.

Swanston Village, at the foot of the Pentland Hills, is tiny but worth seeing. It’s fairytale-esque and you fully expect hobbits to emerge from the thatched roof cottages.

After stopping off at the golf club down the road for some lunch (really good nachos) we walked back to the park and jumped on a bus to Morningside, which still has a great selection of independent shops.

I found this awesome denim biker jacket in Greensleeves - a second hand clothes shop/dress agency. I’d love to say it’s vintage but I think it’s from Zara ’09!

Ripped, zipped, distressed – it’s all going on! Possibly the jacket that taste forgot but I love it. There wasn’t enough time left in the day for a rummage round affluent Morningside’s great charity shops but next time…

Swanston Village photo copyright edinburghspotlight.com

Take10: H! by Henry Holland

Sarah — Thu, 10 May 2012 05:53:19 +0000

For this month’s Take10 challenge Debenhams invited us to pick a piece from their S/S ’12 H! by Henry Holland collection. Here’s what we chose:

The H! by Henry Holland range has some fun, quirky pieces but I think it’s aimed at girls much younger than me and I have to admit to being not all that enamoured with the semi-sheer maxi skirt I chose. I teamed it with a peplum top, ankle boots and my new orange and gold dangly ear-rings (a bit Pat Butcher!):

After taking the pic, I took the skirt into Debenhams at Silverburn, where the service has always been excellent, and exchanged it for a black and grey sweatshirt from Miss Selfridge that’s much more me.

To view the other girls’ pictures in more detail visit Jen at A Little Bird Told Me, Fritha at Fishtank Fashion, Sherin at HiFashion , Vicki at Magpie Girl, Paula at PinkBow, Ellie at Pretty Much Penniless, Lucy at Shiny Thoughts, Olivia at What Olivia Did and Harriet at Where Is Harriet?.

Thanks to Debenhams for sponsoring the challenge and Harriet for making the collage. Oh, and a massive welcome to new Take10-ers Fritha and Olivia. Great to have you on board!

Top and ear-rings: H&M / Skirt: H! by Henry Holland at Debenhams / Boots: River Island

Silk jacket

Sarah — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:56:48 +0000

I was cutting through TK Maxx on Argyle Street last week when this khaki patterned jacket caught my eye in the Gold Label section. Closer inspection revealed that it was my size and reduced from £320 down to £30! The brand is Edun – the ethical fashion label set up by Ali Hewson (better known as Bono’s wife).

The fit is great, the silk fabric feels lovely and the black lining provides a bit of extra interest. I’m really pleased with my bargain. Not sure if TK Maxx always has huge reductions like this or if I just got lucky this time?

Jacket: Edun / Jeans: Cheap Monday / T-shirt: H&M / Boots: River Island

Simply Yours

Sarah — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:36:42 +0000

Simply Be sister brand Simply Yours offers a great range of plus size lingerie. They also do shapewear, swimwear and nightwear from a wide range of brands including Figleaves, Gossard, Mimi Holliday, Wonderbra and Gok Wan.

Finding the right, well-fitting underwear can be a bit of a chore so being able to order lots of different brands and try them on at home is a real bonus. Here are my favourites…

Gorgeous vintage-style lingerie:

Super-stylish swimsuits from Figleaves:

Simply Yours is well worth a look for underwear and swimwear in sizes 30A through to 50JJ.

Sponsored post

Simply Be S/S 2012

Sarah — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:26:20 +0000

Following on from last week’s post on fashion for tall girls, you can find fab fashionable plus size clothes online at www.simplybe.co.uk. Simply Be do clothes in sizes 14-32 as well as a maternity range, sportswear, shoes and accessories. The website’s really well laid out with good pics of the clothes and customer reviews to help guide you. Here are my favourites from the current collection…

Leather-sleeved trenchcoat:

Pocket detail tunic:

Orange dip hem blouse:

Dotty shirt & coloured jeans:

Dip hem chiffon dress:

Simply Be also have stores but none in Scotland as yet. They seem to be doing really well though so I’m sure it won’t be long before they expand north of the border.

Sponsored post

Love Moschino zippy bag

Sarah — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:20:23 +0000

Of the things I’ve ordered from Sarenza UK, much as I enjoy them all there’s nothing I love more than my Love Moschino zip handbag. It’s a bit of a Tardis bag as it’s a very neat size and shape but you can get a ton of stuff in it.

It’s had loads of compliments and it seems everyone – from my friends to my Gran – wants to be first in line if I ever get bored with it. Definitely a crowd pleaser!

Top: H&M Trend / Trousers: Barbara Bui / Shoes: Carvela / Bag: Love Moschino c/o Sarenza UK

Fox & Rose

Sarah — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:38:46 +0000

I’ve been looking for a new swimsuit to replace my dull Speedo one-piece (and help motivate me to get to the pool 3 times a week) and recently came across lingerie retailer Fox & Rose.

As well as a super-luxurious undies collection, they also have a great range of designer swimwear featuring swimsuits, bikinis and cover-ups from top designers including La Perla, Princesse Tam Tam and Pistol Panties. Here are my favourites…

I absolutely love the print and colours on this one and would happily wear it to the local pool every day:

This one also has a lovely print, although the strapless style makes it more suited to pool-side lounging than my 40 lengths:

The bow detail makes this monochrome design really cute:

This is my dream beach cover-up – light, floaty and with a beautiful print:

The full range of Fox & Rose swimwear can be viewed at http://www.foxandrose.com/shop/beachwear.html