#dearsally (Could I just live in your store please?)

I have a secret. I have been leaving shopping baskets all over the internet.

As the three month shopping ban, associated with my Capsule Wardrobe comes to a close I have been scouring the internet, window shopping. Or in this case, screen shopping. I’m pretty sure that I can’t be the only one who does this, right? But added to the fact that I haven’t bought clothes in three months I am also keenly aware that the best excuse for clothes shopping will shortly be upon us, Christmas.

Now if Christmas wasn’t a good enough excuse for clothes shopping, I really don’t know what is. This will be my first Christmas at my parents home since moving in with Josh. Therefore I have spent an extraordinary amount of my time imagining my outfits for each Christmas occasion. Carol singing, Christmas day, shopping (last minute of course.) So to put all my time to good use I have joined Long Tall Sallys campaign, #dearsally to share with you some of my Christmas outfit wishlists!

First up we have Christmas shopping!

Buy Me: 1,2,3,4

This is probably my favourite of all the outfits, most likely because it is so re-mixable and includes such great wardrobe staples with fantastic twists – Cords in a cranberry tile print? yes please! Knee high boots in an ever flattering brown, Yes! and a drool worthy fur lined parka hell yes!

Cranberry Cord Trousers

I am more than into trousers than jeans at the moment and these super soft, cord trousers just fit the bill! In my all time favourite colour of the moment, Cranberry! With their funky tile print these cord trousers are the stuff of dreams! And when shopping I always find its great to wear separates on the off chance that you might find a top you just have to try on!

Navy Blue Eiffel tower sweater

Oh I love thee, let me count the ways. A great sweater is a girl’s best friend. This Eiffel tower sweater has been on my wish list for a while now and makes a great shopping outfit. Easy to pull off when you get hot (I love LTS’s Stretch Cotton Cami’s for great long length basics to wear underneath) while cute and cosy for when you get outside. Not to mention a fun sweater like this is a festive must.

Brown knee high boots

This was a tossup. Boots or trainers? Don’t get me wrong I love a great trainer and in recent seasons they have become uber cute and fashionable! LTS for one have some fantastic metallic pairs but whenever I always tend to pull on boots. They have great support and are great for when it rains (no wet tootsies!) so I would have to go boots for a long day of shopping anytime!

Faux fur lined Parka

Oh my gosh, this coat. It’s a seasonal staple right? I don’t think the classic Parka ever goes out of style and a fur lined one? Well that’s just double the must. By the time December rolls in so does the bitter cold and although in store you might want to wish you didn’t have to wear any clothes at all once you’re walking your treasures home you’re going to thank me for the warmth that this beauty offers you!

The Christmas Party

Buy Me: 1,2,3,4

Christmas parties are the time for great fabrics. During the run up to Christmas I spend inordinate amounts of time wondering through my favourite stores touching fabrics that make me just want to roll around in a pile of clothes all day. There is something sexy about more tactile outfits, a great fur collar or a velvet coat just scream to be touched so this outfit ticks all the bases for a great Christmas party look.

Suede ankle Boots

Suede boots are a guilty pleasure of mine. I try to buy leather boots (far more rain appropriate I may add) but it just never works out. And yet hand me a suede pair of booties and I am sold. These were no different! Add two zips and these are keepers for sure!

Leather Look Pencil Skirt TTYA

Taller than your average has to have created the most perfect capsule collection for tall girls. Now that I am considering my second capsule I have been paying close attention to this incredible brand! Now look at this skirt, faux leather, it has a thigh, high slit towards the front. Is that not the Christmas party dream? Well, if its not I don’t know what is, but I have fallen in love and this my friends, is my new lover.

don’t tell Josh that of course . . .

Stretch Cotton Cami

Another key basic which as a tall girl you can only really get from LTS and TTYA is the stretch cotton cami. This fabulous black Cami keeps your modesty while fully tucked into the sexy leather skirt above gives you curves in all the right direction.

Velvet Devore Longline Kimono

This summer was all about the Kimono! I adored the idea of swanning around the summer months in a light weight patterned Kimono but unfortunately I never found the perfect one. This one however, oh where have you been all my life? Velvet? With Tassels yes please!!! Pulled over the sexy faux leather skirt and T this pulls in an interesting dimension and softens an otherwise provocative look.

Christmas Day

Buy Me: 1,2,3,4

Christmas day with my family is a day for dressing up. Throughout my childhood I remember my aunt and grandma dressing up and so dressing casual on Christmas day has never come all that easy for me when really all I want to be wearing is a dress, possibly with sparkles. However this year I had a change of heart. I am in love with leather and faux leather (could you tell?) but the leather trousers are just not for me. However when I saw this alteration on the classic Camden jean I just knew that this was the Christmas for denim. Add in some velour Ballerinas and a sparkly tee and I present you a smart casual Christmas day look for all of you who want to be smart and festive without having to give up on any of those edible treats!

Velour Almond toe Ballerina

A soft burgundy, this adds that great tactile edge to the outfit softening the edgy leather stripe on the Camden Jean while being comfy if you have to travel away from your home.

Leather look Panel Camden Jeans

The classic tall girl LTS jean is A, uber flattering and B, with the leather look panel this pair of jeans combines comfort and style all in one easy to wear package so you can even say yes to that game of twister! (if thats what you do on Christmas! I have promised my nanna that this won’t happen for us but that I couldn’t promise that there wouldn’t be a family conga line . . .)

Sequin Front Jersey top

Sequins. If you don’t have somthing sparkly on your person than you can’t enjoy Christmas. Thats not a rule or anything but I’m pretty sure it should be.

Textured Jersey Jacket

You want to look good, cute and comfortable in my families Christmas so to have a soft jacket on hand completes my Christmas day outfit. In my current favourite colour this burgundy jersey jacket means its still cuddly while looking effortlessly put together.

Gift shopping!

Buy Me: 1,2,3,4,5

Gift Ideas!

While your out Christmas shopping its always good to buy your loved ones a great Christmas present! I for one would always ask my parents for snuggly pj’s, socks and scarves so in my books there is never anything better than clothes for Christmas!

TTYA – Ripped Skinny Jeans

If you’re going to get someone a gift you might as well go all out right? Right. These are the must have statement piece for winter, taking cues from my mum from her teenage years add fishnet tights underneath for that edgy appeal.

Lloyd Baker across the body satchel bag

Any girl needs a cross body bag. Why? Because it makes that hands free life that much easier (hello texting on the move!) I love my Cross body bags so much, they mean commuting is that much easier and you don’t have to tussle with a falling bag strap when you could be doing something more interesting like trying to read your ipad as you walk!

Removable Fur Boucle coat

Statements, Statements, statements. When buying someone a gift its important to find something that really stands out and shows them that you care. If that’s what you are looking for (aka, I am) this coat is for you, look at that collar girls! Faux fur, you can’t say no to that right?

Georgette spot Shirt

There is nothing cuter than spots. This shirt works great at work and paired with skinny jeans plus polka dots are an all time classic. Do I need to say more as to why you need this in your life?

Gift Card!

When in doubt, buy a gift card. I know some people feel like this is a cop out gift but I always love a gift card as for someone like me who loves going shopping having a gift card means I can get exactly what I want and means I get to come home with a big bag of shopping to open and feel that new stuff feeling . . .

To see what more tall bloggers are in love with check out the campaigns hash tag #dearsally or see what other tall girls love on the brands community page which you can find here+

What are your plans for your festive outfits! link me any ideas you have as I’d love to hear what your thoughts are!

Also next week is the last week on my Fall Capsule! Ack! so this time next week is our last Capsule catch up for this year! Sadness, right?

In the interests of full disclosure this post is in collaboration with Long Tall 
Sally. All thoughts, outfit constructions and ideas are my own. I was however 
gifted one of the looks above in acknowledgement of this article.

Worst nightmare.

 

Lets be honest here folks. I think this dress has been secretly (and sneakily I may add) been getting shorter over the last year. I am pretty sure that when I bought it it was a tiny bit longer and that makes me sad because I love this damn dress. and to a slightly lesser degree its yellow counter part. In fact I kick myself for not getting it in black as well!

See its one of those dresses, always cute, always summery, loves me on my fat days and my skinny days alike looks good with flats and with heels. I just . . . what will I do without it? For a £15 H&M dress its gotten more wears than most in my closet, bar perhaps my Zara jeans. Guess that gives me an excuse to buy a new summer dress right?

So tomorrow is the beginning of our little Easter break! Me and the bear (Josh) are really looking forward to some down time. Which of course includes a house clean (the lazy girl in me made me spray down the en suite the other day while I was in the shower. That probably make me all kinds of strange and wrong. But a lazy girl’s gotta do her cleaning when she can be bothered!) probably a trip to Rochester to grab a coffee and walk up and down the street, throw in a bicycle ride and a BBQ with friends and we have one great weekend planned!

 

 

Day to Night Sports Luxe

(I assure you my heads not really twice the size of my body – I think . . . and hope quite frankly . . .)

Snood: Next, Blazer: F21, Top: Next, Jeans: Dorothy Perkins, Boots: New Look Find my go to make up look here+ 

 

 

I have a love hate relationship with these boots. Firstly I bought them on a whim when I was addicted to having as many pairs of ankle boots as is humanly possible! Now that was great before I hurt my metatarsals and found that all heels hated me and that flats were the only way to go. So couple that with the endless rain we found ourselves having I literally lived in these boots!

So now if I can avoid them I try too which is silly because I have really worn them in nicely now and they look quite good with this get up. This outfit I think is great from going from work to night I feel like I can wear this for date night as well as the work day which in my mind is always a keeper! And also, who can pass up an opportunity to wear an uber comfy tee like this one?

Tomorrows outfit today . . .

 

Top: Next, Bag: Accessorize, Jeans (Eden): Dorothy Perkins (The ones I’m wearing are their regular length rolled up one I am 5ft 10 3/4, Heels: New Look, sadly I couldn’t find any similar? what!? – if you do find any please do link them in the comments and I’ll add a link up here!

 

 

Today I am in leggings and a tunic something like this . . . In the middle of the working week you ask? Why yes, yes indeed because today I have been living the dream and have been out shopping for Phoenix and the Lions Spring Antique and Vintage stock  at Newark’s International Antiques and Collectors Fair. We spent a grand total of five and half hours today collecting some really great pieces for the store and man do my feet want a break!

In fact on the topic of feet I have been missing my heels with a passion! I have lived in flat boots, converse and ballet pumps for so long now that I will do (almost) anything to put on my heels again. So of course date night with the boy has become a weekly thing just so I can wear my many heels for a few hours! (not all at the same time of course – that would be silly . . . or genius?)

Luckily this weekend we are going away to Oxfordshire with my family to celebrate my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary! So not only do I get to spend time with my favourite people in the world but I also have an excuse to pull out my heels again (and tower over Josh – He must love me!)

Until then for what we got up to (with limited internet I may add – the horror!) Check out the official Phoenix and the Lion Twitter page! we found the cutest pigs that have a fantastic story that’ll all be revealed soon!

 

psstttt . . . I’m wearing this tomorrow! (god forbid I explain the title! – it’s been a long day . . .)

Tough Love and Cut Backs

I’m having to be careful because I can feel myself slipping again. Slipping back into those bad buying habit shoes. So for the rest of the month it has been re-decided that I need to teach myself some tough love and clamp down on spending again and maybe into next month as well. It happens gradually and I have begun to see where the problems lie in momentary purchases . . .

As a perpetual shopper I have learnt increasingly bad habits over the years since leaving the little town of Hitchin (where clothes shops were short on numbers) going from that to London full time meant that having hundreds of shops at my disposal more than nine hours a day meant that my shopping went up, my cash went down and my style with it! But you knew that!

What perhaps you didn’t know is that I do still feel pressure to bring out new items here on the therealjlow, which is silly really when I set out with the idea that this would be “the real jlow” not the girl who constantly shops because for most people that just isn’t a viable options and really I don’t think it should be. After a year of this blog I decided to try focusing more on quality over quantity and doing more with less so as I caught myself this morning I realised I need to look more in my closet rather than online and in other peoples so from here on out this month (and maybe next) no more new and far more remixed! I’ve also realised that if I have ten minutes I buy more and buy with less thought yet when I go out with several hours a whole afternoon I am far more sensible and hold on to more of my cash. So I’m cutting the spending and upping the time when I do go!

So here goes . . . it’s those blasted pink jeans again!

What I wore: When all else fails . . .

Striped Skirt: Dorothy Perkins, Alternative, Chambray Shirt: H&M mens, Grey Shirt: H&M, Red Heels: New Look

 

Get ready for a whole host of grammatical and written errors. The crux of this matter is I hurt my hand. I was washing up (always dangerous on a Sunday – or you know, any day) and the glass I was cleaning broke and without knowing it attempted to remove my knuckle. I was mostly unsuccessful but now I’m sitting here with a hand full of bandages and not allowed to use my hand. One handed typing and texting – not my thing, it seems.

Anyhoo, it just means that instead of beautifully written blogs posts. (I hear you laughing – I raise you one injury!) you get a week of post injury photos and little words, well hear goes . . . What I wear when all else fails.

Scarves, Scarves, Scarves

 

The Cold girl Wrap – Scarf: Accessorize, Striped tunic: Dorothy Perkins, Pink Jeans: Next, Heels: New Look (old) Similar

 

The not so infinity, Infinity Scarf

 

The Sari Wrap

 

Sandals, because the weather was so good open toes was a must!

Let’s talk about scarves.

Does anyone else have a small hoard of them in their closet? I’m sure it’s not just me but without actively wanting too I end up with at least one new scarf a season (maybe more). There’s something that just grabs me about them – the bad side? Well here goes, confession time! I tend to wear them constantly for a season and then they get relegated to only being worn occasionally. Worse still (and not on purpose) I find it harder to donate scarves than clothes – with scarves they’re still cute whether the trends have moved on and the colours are all wrong, I still love them. Unlike my clothes haul which in recent years I have fallen out of love with after a season (or they have fallen out of love with me! Hello bobbles!) But scarves, scarves never let me down – even when they have to have a whole drawer dedicated to them alone! (I have thrown out a few this year I promise – about 2 but I’m working on it!

But if there’s one upside it’s that you can wear scarves in a multitude of ways. The above are my favourite ways to wear scarves during the spring. It’s all about the light weight scarf in spring and summer and with travelling to India again this year it’s always good to have a really large thin scarf to wrap around yourself when you go out and especially in the temples and mosques hence the sari wrap. It’s probably my favourite way to wear this scarf at the moment whether it’s just to ward of a chill or a make do blanket on the train, I love it and its all down to those stylish ladies we saw in Ahmedabad! So thank you all of you for your incredible wrapping skills!

There’s obviously also the classic – cold girl wrap. You know the one – the post pub/dancing walk home or to the nearby pizza joint or the cold restaurant. It’s the scarf wrap of dreams in all those instances!

The final one is the make do infinity scarf. I’m not sure when the infinity trend started but it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon! I wear this a lot into the office for some extra warmth or when wearing lower cut tops and is probably my daily go to at the moment

What ways do you like to wear your scarves? And do you have any pretty bow tricks to offer? Cause I’ve been thinking about how to wear the tutorial from yet another beauty site forever. . .

Fair Weathered Running and Fears

Simple Summer Sunday: Jumper: Dorothy Perkins (oh, so old) Next alternative, Tee: H&M Basics, Skirt  (£1 fish of a skirt) Similar, Flats: New Look

It’s that time again folks, its exercise season. I know this because a, I am definitely packing winter weight like an animal that hibernates and B, because I almost got run over by five consecutive runners on the way home last night. And in the dark, over a high level bridge it can be pretty scary. It was almost like being roped into a flash mob. (That’s like a major nightmare of mine, along with people dressed up as Disney characters – *shudder*).

But yes, there are people like me getting fit all over the place! Fair weathered exercisers. I’m personally taking it slow – as in crawling almost backwards through the local pool a couple of times while I wait to get back on that bicycle! It’s just no fun with snow (re: floods) on the ground!

Running, Dresses & Global Warming all in one post!

Blue Dress: Dorothy Perkins, Belt: H&M (Old), similar (yes mens but who said they can have all the fun?), Bag: Accessorize sale, similar, More expensive, Blazer: F21 Similar Shoes: New Look

I think the sun has gone to my head. Why you ask? Well it could be because I find myself no longer capable of getting anywhere without rushing. The worst part is; I don’t even know why I am perpetually running – I get up at the same time, I am ready almost early and yet every morning I find myself running onto the train, running into the office, running out of the office, running for my next train, running for dinner . . . you name it I no longer walk to it, I run.

So during the week this dress is pretty useless but on the weekends . . . oh the weekends! I am one cool cookie. In fact we jammed so much in this weekend that I even chose to wash our car. Now if you know me you’ll know that car washing, not my strong suit. I was spoilt with a dad who loved his cars and made sure they looked good. Well that and I’m pretty sure he was just insuring that my messy mug of a car wasn’t bringing down the neighbourhood. (Or driveway, It probably was)

But then you know what happened? Monday. That’s what happened and so starts the cycle of running again. Oh global warming you are a cruel mistress!

I dream of Ice cream . . .

Pink blazer: H&M Sale (January 2014) Alternative, Tee: H&M Basics, Mint Bag: Accessorize Pink Jeans: Next Leopard Print flats: New Look (January Sale 2014) Similar

I look really tan and over healthy (and a little bit tired in these photos) and I’m not entirely sure why. How does this happen? It must be all the pink im wearing in this outfit so say hello to my new pink jeans! my quest for pink jeans arrived one day with no warning. Literally one moment I wanted bright coloured jeans and the next pale pink had jumped into my mind and wouldn’t leave.

So first I tried Boden – New would equal great right? Well no. Not for me & my apple shapes but Next did! These ankle skimmers were just what I was looking for and even better they had a great zip detail which meant they were that little bit more different and perfect for updating my wardrobe! Success! So get ready to look forward to seeing these little gems with my striped tunic, long thin sweaters and peplum tops! cause I’m coming for you!

Polka dot! Polka Dot! Polka Dot Afro!

 

Faux Vans: New Look, Spotty Jeans: Primarni As seen here . . . (in store), Glasses: H&M 2012 Similar, Bag: Accessorize Other

 

 

Lets be honest this tee shirt is the devil. Don’t tell me you didn’t think grey jersey could be so difficult? Well neither did I to be honest but I have had a string of bad luck when it comes to grey T shirts recently. They stretch oddly at the bottom shrink upwards at a drop of a hat! You name it, it does it! So yeah this isn’t my best but at least there are polka dot jeans!

I found them completely by accident and I love them! so comfortable and they are actually pretty long! We just had a great hot (ok, ok I give, warm!) day that I just couldn’t go around with all my legs covered! This has probably been my favourite sunday this year so far thanks to the good weather (amung other things) I mean I went out without a jumper! and that my friends is something to celebrate!

 

Bring on the mint!

Blazer: F21 (2012) Same shape/blazer in colbolt (you can’t go wrong!), Mint Tee, Dorothy Perkins (2011) Similar , Zara BF Jeans 2013 Similar (I love zara jeans for comfort price and fit! well suggested!), Pixie Flats Next 2013 Similar in Raspberry, Mint Bag Accessorize Necklace, thrifted.

 

Who knew that back in University I would pick up this gem of a shirt without realising that mint was going to be such a big deal in a couple of years? Well as luck would have it I did! I loved it then and I certainly love it now as well I mean mint and polka dots all in one? That is the style bloggers dream! It has also kept itself quite well over the years so its still wearable, remixable and loved now as well as back then! In fact even Josh loves it!

Now I must tell you I didn’t plan for a weeks worth of Mint posts but apparently its like my new favourite colour. Who’d’ve guessed right? Also these jeans make me so happy! They are so relaxed and soft that I could literally sleep in them they are that good! So the fact that spring/summer is on its way is very welcomed just so I can wear these jeans all the time!

p.s What are our thoughts on these shirts? I just wanna live in one of these on weekends with leggings! Thoughts?