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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15 pieces, 15 outfits: Warehouse

A little like the 30 for 30 challenge but without the dressing up part (so not quite so much fun!!), I have decided to trial a new little feature. Each week I will take 15 pieces from a high street store and style them into 15 outfits, to show you just how versatile a capsule wardrobe can be and how much fun! So, as we ease into Spring, I'll pick out this season's essentials for your closet, from colour block tees to simple maxis and classics like Breton tees and chinos:

These are the 15 pieces that I will "remix" into 15 outfits, this week from Warehouse:

Colour block wrap dress; Colour block t-shirt; Oversized pocket top; Half sleeved slash neck top; Flag print tee; Acapella print tunic; Shrunken Western denim jacket; Bib detail vest; Leather shorts; 70s button through skirt; Capri pants; Anu beaded thong; Troy woven sandal; and Leather aztec bag.

Here are the 15 outfits:

What do you think of this new feature? Fun or flop? Would love to hear your thoughts!

BARGAIN OF THE DAY: Warehouse Anu Beaded Sandal

These sandals will take you from office to dinner and beach to bar all the way through the summer and for just £25 they'll leave some change over for a drink when you get there!

Weather To Wear: Cardiff Wed. 20/04/2011

At a recent event in London I met the lovely Kate - the girl behind i am not a celebrity. A couple of week's ago when reading Kate's blog, I discovered a new project she's become involved with, Weather To Wear: London. This new site offers daily outfit suggestions based on the weather forecast in London - such a fabulous idea, I thought! So I decided to have a go at producing my own outfit suggestion for the weather in my home town of Cardiff for tomorrow:

With the sunny weather continuing this week in the Welsh capital, I chose:

A Miss Selfridge playsuit - the perfect piece that takes you straight from work-to-beer garden;

Miss Selfridge sandals;

A straw clutch from Warehouse - don't know about you but straw bags are completely all I want to carry in the warm weather;

And, of course, the obligatory pair of huge designer sunnies like these by Gucci.

What do you think of the site? And my attempt at a similar post? Hope you're all enjoying the sunny weather and not too cooped up in an office (like me!).