The Party Dress Issue. No 1.

Sorry I've been MIA as of late. My new job is well and truly keeping me on my toes! Anyway, I went for a browse after work along Oxford Street last night and already the crowds are out in force doing their Christmas shopping. As much as I dread Oxford Street in the lead up to the big day, there's no denying how beautiful it is and I'm rather excited that my office is in the West End so I can soak up the best of the Christmas season. Selfridges already have their lights up and M&S are preparing for the big 'switch on' with The Saturday's in a week or so.

I've decided, starting today, to do a weekly round up of the best dresses for the party season, to hopefully inspire you guys for all the upcoming dinners, parties and celebrations that will take place over the next 2 months. First up, Coast. Not a range I'd usually be drawn to in all honesty but their Christmas collection is to die for and if you're looking to invest in a dress that will see you through party after party, this is the place to shop.

The more sequins the better I say for the festive season and Coast are mixing these with beautiful chiffons and metallics. Best worn with black platforms and a bit of in-yo-face bling - best way to P.A.R.T.Y.

 Elita Maxi Dress £180

Florrisa Dress £160

 Florrisa Maxi Dress £175

Perla Sequin Dress £195

All dresses are available in sizes 8-18 and will go on sale through exclusive in store preview events at 6pm on November 3rd. Please see www.coast-stores.com for further details.

Seeing Stars.

Today has been amazing. Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I've been waiting for some news with regards to a job interview I had last week. I can honestly tell you, I don't think I've wanted anything more than this job. After being unemployed for 8 months and a few knockbacks I was seriously doubting whether I should give up in fashion industry altogether. But, I ploughed through and good news, I GOT THE JOB. So exciting. The job is actually where I've been interning on and off for the past four months and is my first 'real' PR Assistant role. I had a similar role when I worked for a company last year but my main job there was as a Social Media Co-ordinator so it feels amazing to actually be doing something now that I'm passionate about.

I've been in contact recently with a few of my Twitter followers who have asked for some advice when it comes to interning. I've been a PR intern for a good few years now and can honestly say interning is the way in. Sure some days all you're doing is returns, making tea and running here there and everywhere but both my previous job and this job have come from me having internships within the companies - it pays off! Make yourself stand out, offer to do jobs that you may not necessarily want to do because speaking from experience it really does get you noticed. Anyway, enough of my preaching! Here's what I wore today. My lovely Mum took me for breakfast at The Wolseley which I was not expecting at all. Lovely surprise and a good day all round. Oh, I can finally introduce you to my new Mulberry Alexa bag too. A long time coming but it's finally in my hands.

This star print t-shirt is from Dorothy Perkins and fits so nicely. It has a cute zip detail at the back too. I first saw it on Nicolette (who totally rocks it with her Miu Miu glasses by the way) I put mine together with my khaki maxi skirt and gold converse.

A really cheeseballs photo of me outside The Wolseley this morning...

Jacket: Primark

Star print top: Dorothy Perkins

Maxi skirt: Marks and Spencer

Pumps: Converse

Necklace: Claire's Accessories

Bag: Mulberry

Rings: From a selection at Accessorize, Dorothy Perkins, Forever 21 & Boots

Inspiration from AW Edits.

I'm a sucker for magazines. Aren't we all? I actually dread to think about how much of my money goes on buying magazines. As well as my dose of weeklies (Grazia and Look obviously) I also subscribe to Vogue and Elle. But my favourites always come in the form of the seasonal AW and SS edit magazines. They feel like the ultimate style bibles and I often spend my time jotting notes, ripping out pages and reading word for word to find some style inspiration for the upcoming season.

Company magazine AW11 Edits is fabulous this year. The perfect guide for your must-haves for the season. I've read over it many times, circling the items I want to get. The AW Edit included a section called 'Happy Fashion Families' where Company gave us a complete guide of how to dress like our favourite fashion families. The Kardashians, The Beckhams, The Middletons (not really a style I'll be stealing I have to say) and The Olsens. Mary Kate and Ashley are two of my ultimate style icons and one of Company's features in this get-the-look was this stunning dress from Monsoon which I obviously had to have!

I love this dress. The cut, the colour, the tie-dye effect and the sleeves. Yes it has sleeves because as we all know my bingo wings rarely make an appearance. I went out last night and teamed it with my new leather jacket from Primark and leopard print boots. Must admit, I was a bit unsure about the clashing prints but it seemed to work - what do you guys think?

Personally I reckon I'm well on my way to becoming part of the Olsen clan! I'm looking forward to wearing this dress with tights and some wedges or some knee high flat boots for when the cold weather REALLY sets in. The Courtney Dress is available online and in store now at £85.

Dress: With thanks to Monsoon

Clutch: Giles Deacon for New Look

Leather Jacket: Primark

Boots: Topshop

Cuff: H'n'M

Rings: From a selection at Dorothy Perkins, Forever 21, Boots & Accessorize

Cross necklace: Forever 21

Something to confess.

I am not a shoe person. Shoes really don't interest me. If could spend everyday in ballet pumps then I would but a girl has got to mix it up a bit. I think it may be partly because I have big feet (size 9 to be exact) and for most of my teenage years I found it incredibly hard to find nice shoes that fit these boats on the end of my legs. Luckily now, most retailers go up to a 42/9 - yes Topshop and New Look I am nodding my head to you and giving you a MASSIVE thumbs up.

However my "shoes don't really interest me" line is no longer relevant for I have discovered the Miu Miu Glitter Ankle Boots.

I am completely obsessing over these. I've been checking the Net-a-Porter website a few times every week for the past god knows how long to make sure they are still in my size. Yep, these beauties are available in a UK9 I'll have you know. I don't think I've ever felt this way about a pair of shoes since I purchased a pair of Melissa/Vivienne Westwood jelly ballet pumps.

Seriously I NEED these shoes. The detailing on them is just beautiful and I can tell they'd just go perfectly with everything in my wardrobe. Who doesn't love a glitter heel? I'm particularly liking the curve detail of the heel and the peep toe AND the buckle strap AND, okay I need to breathe.

Small problem, they are £555. However, I do have a job interview tomorrow (I may add this is my dream job) so if all goes well, first paycheck I'm going to treat myself to these (permitting they are still on the website, which they WILL be)

So there we have it. My confession. I am completely head-over-heels in love with a pair of shoes and it's like nothing I've ever felt before. I'm sure once we are acquainted it will be the beginning of something beautiful. Now the question is, which colour?

I took a trip Stateside...

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that last week I spent five days in fabulous Sin City aka LAS VEGAS! (Extremely sorry if you're feed was littered with "OMG I'M GOING TO VEGAS. YES I'M GOING TO VEGAS. INCASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW I'M GOING TO VEGAS".

Anyway, as I've been such a bad blogger of late, I thought I'd share a few holiday snaps and outfits with you. The weather was unbelievably hot there but it did rain the first couple of mornings which in all honesty was a blessing as it didn't make the air outside seem so stuffy. I also celebrated my 25th birthday whilst being there and was treated to champagne, the biggest birthday cake I've ever seen, a stretch limo and a party at Surrender with LMFAO - yep, best birthday EVER. My friends are pretty amazing.

We stayed at Luxor hotel which is just on the end of the strip next to Excalibar and Manadalay Bay. If you're ever visiting Vegas I would without a doubt recommend the Luxor (which FYI is home to LAX nightclub, where we did spend one night partying with Coolio) the rooms were beautiful and fit in with the Egyptian theme that ran through the hotel. The Luxor is located right on the strip so we were central to everything and managed to visit all the casinos of most of the popular hotels on the strip. I'm already planning my visit again for next Summer as I am in serious holiday slump mode at the moment.

I was planning to visit some of the vintage shops that Carrie mentioned that are hidden away in Vegas but didn't have time. I did however manage to clear out most of the Forever21+ range in the Forever 21 in the Fashion Mall. I will share my purchases with you another time.

Metallic t-shirt: Dorothy Perkins

Collar: Primark

Black Pleated Maxi: Style369

Earrings: Primark

Floppy Hat: Primark

Red Pleated Maxi: Primark

Kimono: Primark

Tee: Uniqlo

Necklace: Claire's Accessories

Rings: From a selection at H&M, Boots and Accessorize

Bag: Alphabet Bags

Maxi: Primark

Kimono: River Island

Clutch: Topshop

Earrings: Primark

Necklace: Accessorize

Kimono: Forever21

Tee: Gap

Rings: New Look and Forever 21

As above.

Skirt: Marks and Spencer

Lips Clutch: Topshop

Yep, randomly bumped into Imogen Thomas outside Chanel who wished me a Happy Birthday!

Maxi: H&M

Kimono: Topshop

Kimono: Forever21

Top: H&M

Skirt: H&M

Wedges: New Look

Extremely-over-the-top Feather Eyelashes: Sephora

Overall I took about 301 photos of the whole holiday and as much as I'd love to share them all with you I have a feeling you may get bored. But here's one last one just to sum up the trip.

Gold Label at TKMaxx

Imagine being able to go through Carrie Bradshaw’s wardrobe. Are you picturing it? Trawling through rails and rails of beautiful dresses from some of the world’s most fabulous designers. Well, that’s exactly how I felt when I looked through the TKMaxx Gold Label collection. Instead of the New York back drop though I have a dreary Hammersmith King’s Street in London, however that doesn’t spoil the fun of being able to play dress up and drowning in designer luxury.

The thing is, you have to take your time with TKMaxx because you might just miss that one gem that’s waiting amongst the other clothing. Believe me, you will find something beautiful. For example I picked up two Lanvin mesh detailed t-shirts that were hidden amongst a pile of DKNY shirts priced at £60 with a RRP of over £100 – bargain!

You’ll find all sorts of designers in store: Emilio Pucci, Moschino, Luella, Jean Paul Gaultier, Versace and Marc Jacobs (these were just a tiny few of those I came across) Don’t be fooled by the sizing either – it’s all about being able to make things work for you. As a plus size I would pick up all sorts of sizing of items I thought might work – for example the below Jean Paul Gaultier fringed cape dress below and the Lanvin t-shirts were marked at a size 14 and they fit perfectly!

A few other items that grabbed my attention:

Manoush Sequin Blazer

Moshino Cheap and Chic Polka Dot Dress: RRP £960. TKMaxx £169.99



Blumarine Sequin Bomber Jacket: RRP £550. TKMaxx: £399.99

Jean Paul Gautier Dress (I think this was around the £300 mark)

This dress was originally £1310 (!!) but priced in store at £199.99

And lastly this Elie Tahari one shoulder dress which I picked up in an 18! This is fabulous and my eyes completely lit up when I saw it. If I hadn't already purchased my Birthday outfit I would have been swayed towards this little beauty. 

Shop the Gold Label collection at www.tkmaxx.co.uk - Happy Luxury Shopping!

I took part in my first ever Q & A - so look out for my little 'interview' on the TKMaxx Facebook page.

Going Boho

I'm getting rather used to these 'Today I Wore' posts as you may have noticed, although maybe a bit more practice on my posing. So today I went for a boho vibe to go and have some drinks in the sun (I say sun, but the torrential downpour reared it's ugly head). This maxi dress from H'n'M is my go-to maxi for hot days. It was only around £15 and I've definitely got some good use out of it and always team the dress with this tan belt otherwise it seems to gape quite a bit where the neckline ends. My kimono is from River Island (one of my trusty kimonos to cover up my arms - I haven't really got the courage to get them out. Need to take a tip from Naomi on this one) My beautiful beaded fringe bag is an oldie Accessorize along with my gold bangle and small purple stone ring. I love the colour on this and its kept really well. Not one bead has fallen off yet and it has travelled to many a day festival with me. The sandals (which you can't see) are from Primark. And yes I am wearing my peace necklace and large purple stone ring AGAIN. I just can't not wear this necklace!