Chictopia Style Icon.

I have some very exciting news to share with you - yesterday I opened an unassuming email, only to discover that I am one of Chictopia's July Style Icons! It will be announced on the site some time in early July, and as well as the coveted title I'm also receiving a generous prize of $100 Chictopia store credit and 2000 chic points. I am over the moon! I haven't been an active member of the Chictopia community for all that long, however I already feel truly immersed and it's simply a wonderful feeling to have been recognised and appreciated. I'm already eying up a few things to spend my store credit on... Perhaps these peter pan collar and punchy dipped hem dresses? Ooh, the possibilities!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Chictopia, it's a fashion community and inspiration site, where members can share their outfits and fashion inspiration, aswell as discovering new brands, and even selling their own products and designs! Members are rewarded with Chic Points which can be used to redeem rewards in the form of clothing and accessories - it's such an innovative system and the community really is lovely.

To sum up, three cheers for Chictopia!

PS. Check out my new Style Icon badge on my sidebar - isn't it pretty?

Jessica - Romwe Giveaway.

Dress* - Room31

Heels - New Look

Bunny Ears - DIY

I discovered these bunny ears whilst clearing out a corner of my bedroom today. I used them a few years ago as a prop for my A Level photography course, and I thought it would be fun to re-style them. There was a little controversy when I found a site using them as part of their layout without either permission or credit, but after I emailed the admin she deleted the site entirely instead of owning up to the theft. It was my first experience regarding anything of that nature.

This dress arrived in the post yesterday, and I love the sailor details. Since I live by the sea, I do have a weakness for nautical details, and this dress is no exception! Not to mention a pleated, chiffon skirt never goes amiss, and the fit is just perfect.

As promised on Twitter, I have another Romwe giveaway for you!

Here's how it works. You must -

1. Be registered on Romwe.

2. Be following my blog on GFC.

3. Leave your registered email below.

For extra entries, share this giveaway on Twitter or your blog and leave a link to the blog post.

The deadline is 20/07/2012 - Best of luck!

Cutie pop.

Dress* - Kee Boutique

Headband* - Crown and Glory

Sunglasses* - Giant Vintage

Woven Bag - Primark

Heels - New Look

I've been fascinated by Kee Boutique ever since my shoot the other week with Kitty Gallannaugh, so getting this dress at a discount price was a lovely treat. Their designs are simply sugar sweet, so this sky blue number called for sugar sweet styling! White tights, a dreamy flower headband and heart shaped sunglasses seemed like the organic route for accessorising, and the little scalloped details on the bag and the heels seemed to compliment the hem of the skirt.

Today is my little brother's 15th birthday, which makes me feel very old indeed. I remember the day he was born so clearly, and his first days at nursery and school... Time is going by far too fast for my liking!

Midsummer nights.

Dress* - Sheinside

Headband - ASOS Marketplace

Heels - Dorothy Perkins

Sometimes I do just like to wear things that are quite simple and romantic, which is probably why I was so drawn to this chiffon dress from Sheinside. When it arrived yesterday afternoon, it was so much lovlier than I could have expected, so I kept the styling very simple, even going to the lengths of tying my hair up (this is something that happens very, very rarely) since it is so striking on it's own. Possibly my favourite thing about it is the length; quite often I will encounter gorgeous maxi dresses, only to have them loitering at an awkward length just above my ankles (the curse of being 5"9'). This is the perfect maxi length, and it even holds it's own when worn with heels. Not to mention, there is so much fabric! It moves like a dream. I'm now hoping to wear it to my parent's 25th wedding anniversary party later in the summer.

Tim Minchin was amazing last night, but the elements were definitely against us. I arrived optimistically with my pasty pins out and no cover apart from a denim jacket rolled up to my elbows (it had been fairly sunny in our neck of the woods, and I hadn't even considered the notion of rain). We arrived at the Eden Project in sheeting rain, and things didn't improve. We ended up investing in £2 plastic ponchos - and whilst the torn, crumpled sheet of plastic may not be the most stylish garment I own, it is now my favourite. I was still soaked up to my elbows, my nicely styled hair was destroyed and the dye from my damp dress destroyed my favourite pair of white knickers (tmi? nahh), however the poncho made the difference between being completely soaked to the skin, and being able to enjoy the gig to the bitter end - despite the wind and the rain!

It's my little brother's birthday tomorrow, so I'm off to make him a cake. Have a lovely Sunday!

Wild strawberries.

Dress - Thrifted

Heels - New Look 

Bag - Primark

Hat* - Oasap

I picked this dress up yesterday whilst on our vintage adventure, and isn't it the sweetest? It's definitely one of my better preloved finds! I feel a bit like I'm in the musical 'Annie', wearing a red dress with a swooping white collar. This is also the first time my new heels from New Look have seen light - they're a bit different from the shoes I usually go for but I think they're sweet in an old-world kind of way, especially when paired with cute socks! I bought a few of these frilly pairs on Ebay for next to nothing. And don't you just love this blue, red and silver nail varnish? I won it in a giveaway hosted by the lovely Paige Calvert.

I won't be blogging tomorrow since we're shooting off to the Eden Project quite early to do a bit of exploring before the Tim Minchin session starts. I'm so excited now, I just hope the rainclouds stay away!

Our vintage adventure in Penzance.

Vintage 50s Dress - Kitts Corner

Ice Cream Detail Heels - Irregular Choice

Cats Eyes Sunglasses* - Giant Vintage

Pastel Pink Bag - Primark

Lacey Socks - Ebay

Today I convinced my mum to join me on a vintage adventure in Penzance. Penzance is a town that I have often heard being praised for it's abundance of vintage boutiques, so after a bit of preliminary research (and a quick lunch at Costa!) we dove straight in and attempted to navigate the streets of Penzance in search of vintage treasures.

Our first stop was Boudoir, described as 'A Lady's Private Room', in the doorway of a small arcade on Chapel Street. It's an adorable, slither of a boutique, and as you can see in the first three photos the attention to detail is stunning. It was everything a girly haven should be; there were towers of colourful, tasselled lampshades, gaggles of delicate perfume bottles, and a very thoughtful collection of preloved clothing. I picked out a red shift dress with a swooping cream peter pan collar, which I was thrilled to find was a perfect fit. As my mum tried on a dress of her own I had a chat with the owner, who formerly worked in fashion PR, and now writes a column for The Cornishman. Meeting such inspiring people never fails to get me excited about what the future holds!

The next stop was just down the road, and the nationally acclaimed Kitts Corner. It was darker, busier, and more cluttered than Boudoir, but in an endearing way. There were retro mannequins dotted around, with faces that were somehow simulataneously sinister and charming, and all around were vintage hats, shoes and other paraphanalia. Racks bulged with immaculate vintage evening dresses, each painstakingly labelled with the appropriate occasion and era, and as I tried on the above dress I recognised the faint strains of Abba permeating the air.

Not only was the shop itself a Wonderland, but I was absolutely over the moon with this 50s dress. For these photos I dressed it up with frilly socks, vintage cats eyes sunglasses, a little pink bag and a dusty pink ribbon tied around the waist. I was also thrilled as it gave me an excuse to dig out my old Irregular Choice heels (an 18th birthday present from a good friend - aren't I lucky?).

The overall ensemble reminds me of vintage milkshake bars and ice cream sundaes! Very summery indeed - now we just need some sunshine... But, at very least, I've had a lovely day with my mummy!

Fun at the fair with Kitty and Dina.

Kitty Gallannaugh Photography

WEBSITE - BLOG - TWITTER - FACEBOOK

Dresses from Kee Boutique

WEBSITE - BLOG - TWITTER - FACEBOOK

The very lovely Dina

BLOG - TWITTER

This shoot with Kitty Gallannaugh and Dina (from She Loves Mixtapes) was a fairly short, last minute affair, but wonderfully sweet and playful. Never have I laughed quite so much at a shoot - Kitty was so easy and fun to work with. The afternoon really did just feel like a normal afternoon at the fair, full of bubbling laughter, sweet sticky treats and brightly adorned rides. The wind tried to steal our hats and tangle our hair in our candy floss, but considering the damp weather we had last week we really couldn't have asked for anything better. It was dry (for the most part) and the sun didn't quite give up on us!

Definitely take a moment to check out Kitty's other work. She is one of my favourite photographers - her work is so dreamy, and simply magical. I'm keeping my fingers (and toes!) crossed for another opportunity to work with her!

I'll be posting again tonight with an outfit post some beauty goodies...

Floral feet.

Blouse - New Look

Sunglasses* - Giant Vintage

Dress - H&M

Heels* - Krisp

Bag* - Krisp

Today's outfit is a pretty monochromatic look, showing off my new accessories from Krisp. I chose the woven bag as a matching companion for my ever-popular boater hat, and since I've always been a floral fanatic I just had to try these heels - now I can get my hit of florals on my feet!

This afternoon Grant and I went into town to meet up with one of our friends, however we ended up crossing paths with a couple of other people who we hadn't seen in a while. It was unexpected, but nice. There was a lot of coffee, catching up, and promises of meals and nights out. On Saturday night we're going to the Eden Project to see Tim Minchin, and on the first of July one of our friends is celebrating his birthday. I must admit, it's nice to have plans which don't involve the long journey up to London... But that's not to say I'll have Cornish cabin fever in a week or so!

Ariel (Happy Father's Day!).

Dress - H&M

Blouse - Sergeant Fox

Headband - Poppy Daisy

Happy Father's Day! Today has been so lovely and chilled out (and full of carbs!). Yesterday I made my dad a Victoria sponge cake topped with fresh whipped cream, crumbled biscuit and chocolate, and since his main Father's Day gift was a waffle maker we ended up making waffles and scotch pancakes for brunch. We spent the afternoon at the beach, exploring rocks and eating cheesy chips with sweet chili sauce - it was lovely.

Today seemed to have an underlying mermaid theme. I had more fun with my Lime Crime care package, creating shimmery green eyes with 'Absinthe-Minded' and 'Mercurious' from the 'Palette D'Antoinette', then I lightly lined my top lashes and the corners of my eyes with their liquid uniliner in 'Citreuse'. The coloured liner looks amazing against their pressed eyeshadows! It's more subtle than yesterday's lilac lips, but I was actually surprised at how wearable the vivid colours were when paired with understated cheeks and lips. I can see myself wearing eye make-up like this on a daily basis.

Since I already had mermaids on my mind, I couldn't resist frolicking in rock pools and at the sea edge! It really has been a fun day.