How to… shop successfully online – to avoid disappointment

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Buy from Asos. Seriously, my number one tip for shopping online is to buy from Asos as often as possible. Why? Free delivery. Free returns. Fast service. Fast response time. Friendly twitter account. Accept ALL major credit cards (including my American Express that many don’t seem to) AND Paypal (great for when you’ve been selling on eBay and want to use your spoils to treat yourself!).

In the interests of transparency, I’ll confirm now – at no point have I been paid to write a glowing review of Asos or offered anything in return for this post – this is seriously just how I feel.*

Many great high street brands are now stocked on Asos – like Mango, River Island, Warehouse and Oasis – who do not offer free shipping on their sites, so it pays to check out Asos’s availability before purchasing as you can save yourself up to £5. Plus, if it doesn’t fit properly, you haven’t lost that delivery charge.

Now, onto the serious points of this post.



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1. Order a couple of sizes in the piece you want – do you really only ever go into the changing room with only one size? If so, why bother? You might as well just buy that one size and be done with it.
2. Of course, if you’re doing this – check the store offers free returns. Most do, but it’s worth checking.
3. If you’re buying in the sales, check in the store too. Gap in particular seems to reduce things far more in store than they do online.
4. If they offer free delivery – why not try that piece you’ve been eyeing up? You’ve got nothing to lose!
5. Check their delivery options. Some stores offer free delivery in store but charge for delivery to your home. In this case, if you can pick it up, you can save yourself a few pounds and always try on and return in store if it turns out you don’t like it/it doesn’t fit – which will save a heap of time too. (I always do this for Marks and Spencer sales – great way to avoid the queues and get what I want!)
6. Make sure you get the return receipt from the Post Office. With free returns these days, you can go into the post office and they give you a receipt as proof of postage so that if it gets lost, you can still get your refund. Why wouldn’t you?

What are your tips for shopping online?

*I did write a sponsored post earlier this year for Asos – in conjunction with Handpicked Media and Nivea – which you can read here.

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SALE SEASON: River Island Steals

I always look forward to the River Island sale - there are always some wonderful bargains to be had! And the sale that launched today is no less exciting. Here are my picks:

For less than £30, make like Carrie Bradshaw (in the second movie) with one of these dresses:

Pink pleated maxi dress; and Blue one shoulder dress.

These pleated midi skirts are bang on trend and look to stick around for autumn winter too:

Yellow pleated midi skirt; and Coral pleated midi skirt.

AMAZING ACCESSORIES: (clockwise from top left) Green strap sandals; Navy espadrille wedges; Beige perforated duffle bag; and Beige fold up ballerina pumps and bag.

Clockwise from top left: Pink print sunglasses case; Black sunglasses case; Red sunglasses case; and Purple sunglasses.

Have you scored any bargains in the River Island sale?

Super Stylish Sister: #1

My Super Stylish Sister has agreed to be featured here each week for next few months:

Super Stylish Sis has, in fact, recently started her very own blog - Home Sweet Homemade Home - which is rather fabulous, so please go check it out:

Super Stylish Sister is wearing: River Island hat, Marks and Spencer coat, Next faux fur muff (a gift from her very generous big sis!! Moi, in case you wondered!!) and EMU boots.

I'm not sure there is any more stylish manner in which to keep your hands warm than with a faux fur muff?!

30 for 30 Challenge: Day 21

Someone suggested, when I wore this blouse on the very first day of this challenge, that I team it with a pencil skirt. Now I have:

What do you think?


I am wearing: Dorothy Perkins blouse, River Island skirt and Spartoo heels.

I think it works. I wasn't too sure, as I wondered if the bat-wing style sleeves might not work well with the high-waisted skirt, but turns out, I think, they do:

30 for 30 remixes:

2 out of 26 and Happy Burns' Night

Does anyone else who regularly takes outfit photos find themselves sometimes taking photo after photo and none of them look right? Today, no matter how many photos I took, none of them looked right. Eventually I settled for these two (out of the 26 photos I took):

First, I paid homage to Burns' Night with my tartan (!!??) scarf from Dorothy Perkins which I used to brighten up my River Island coat:

This blue Zara jersey dress is my all time favourite work-wear look in my wardrobe. I hadn't worn it since last winter and had all but forgotten it was in my wardrobe (I rediscovered it during my recent wardrobe detox!). In fact I loved this dress so much and wore it so much when I first bought it that when I saw it in the sale a few months later I bought a second and recently threw out the first dress and have now begun wearing the second:

Do you have a fail-safe "go to" for a morning when nothing else looks right and you're running late for work? Do you ever buy two of a piece you know you will wear forever?


As it's Burns' Night, I wanted to add a little Scottish touch to the proceedings. If Haggis isn't really your thing, try this delicious dessert: Cranachan. Believe me, it is very delicious. The boyf and I had it when we went to Loch Fyne for dinner on New Year's Eve.

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Happy Burns' Night to any Scots out there!

Christmas Outfit

Christmas this year was a real family affair but a little bit sad too. We spent the afternoon at the hospital with my grandma.

I am wearing: Marks and Spencer snood (gift from mum), Purple knit dress (gift from mum), River Island coat and EMU boots.

How was your Christmas? How did you spend the day?

I hope that whatever you were doing and wherever you were, you had a merry Christmas.

Something blue

It might be below freezing throughout the day at the moment and it might be incredibly difficult to feel at all warm when I step outside but I am actually loving the need to wrap up warm every morning. I have been searching for a long and chunky knitted scarf and some months now that won't leave bits over all of my coats. I have finally found one. This gorgeous blue scarf is from Primark. You will see that I also have the matching arm warmers. I'm not normally one for matchy matchy but this time I couldn't resist. They are just so warm!

How are you keeping warm in this weather?

I am wearing: H&M faux fur hat, Primark scarf, River Island coat and Primark arm warmers.

How to... Wear a midi

The midi skirt was all over the catwalks for Autumn/Winter 2010. From androgynous styling at Margaret Howell:


Elle.com

To Mad Men inspired looks as Louis Vuitton:  

Style.com

And sexy glamour at Nina Ricci:

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It is perhaps not the most flattering length to have graced the models at the shows or the manequins of our high street favourites but it is there nonetheless. Bloggers everywhere (The Style Crusader and Scenic World, to name but two) have been spotting and sporting the trend for a while now. You might remember that I invested in such a midi skirt from River Island a month or so back (here) and was a little unsure about it and how to style it but I am now learning to love it. This is my latest styling attempt:

I think the key rule when wearing a midi is to wear heels. If not, you run the risk (particularly if you are short, like me) of look stumpy and chunky. Like my current favourite suede court shoes from Spartoo.

The second rule is to find a style and length that suits you and makes you feel comfortable. If you're unsure about a tight calf-length midi, why not follow the Nina Ricci path and go for a little bit of a shorter length? Like this Warehouse double layer tube skirt.

Keep the rest of your outfit pretty streamlined - particularly if you are going for a more Joan à la Mad Men look. If this is the look you want to achieve, grab this Warehouse midi full skirt.

Don't keep your midi for formal (or work), work it into your casual wardrobe too with a little masculine styling, like Margaret Howell. If you're lucky enough to be tall, try teaming with a pair of brogues. And if you're not, a pair of heeled brogues would work just as well.

For a weekend midi, why not try a relaxed knit dress in this season's colour? Like this Asos midi length knitted dress in camel.

Will you be wearing a midi this season? If so, how will you be styling it? If not, pour quoi pas?

Top Sale Picks: RIVER ISLAND

black leopard print trousers were £34.99 now £10

camel stripe v-neck boyfriend cardigan was £29.99 now £15

beige print skater skirt was £19.99 now £5

blue eyelet detail long line vest top was £16.99 now £5

navy lace long victoriana style dress was £39.99 now £20