Sunday, April 26, 2009

A welcome mini-break from the recessionista life!

That infamous bad girl, Mae West, once said ‘Good girls keep a diary bad girls don’t have the time.’ Well, that’s my excuse for not blogging recently – I have been too busy being a bold girl and shopping when I shouldn’t be! Ah, not really, thanks to my fabulous friend Lynn I have managed to enjoy a mini-break from being a recessionista and indulge my love of shopping just a wee bit.

Lynn, God bless her, lost the gift vouchers she got for my birthday last year and only found them recently. A belated present is always fun because it is unexpected and personally I think it was meant to be – they proved the perfect pick-me-up at a tough time when I really needed a lift. And so it was with great glee that I set out on a shopping spree over the Easter weekend. I have recently discovered the joys of the Arnotts fashion department and wandered there for ages trying to decide which items took my fancy most. I am definitely feeling a girlie vibe for Summer so I knew I wanted either a skirt or dress. I fell in love at first sight with a Miss Selfridge skirt which was just fabulous. Blue is rapidly becoming my colour of the season and it was a beautiful sky blue shade with a green, pink and white floral pattern (florals are big for Summer) and a cute bow on the waist. I just loved it on sight. Unfortunately, while the mannequin had a tummy that was practically concave I most certainly do not and when I tried it on the bow only served to accentuate that fact. I ended up looking like I had eaten a whole white sliced pan of bread! I spend my life dressing to make my middle look smaller but my tummy looked twice its normal size in this skirt so I ruled that out quick sharp! Next on my wish-list was a gorgeous (also blue!) jersey dress from Mango. Mango’s range this season is fantastic and their dresses are just adorable. I want them all! I ruled out two strapless ones on the basis I wouldn’t get enough wear out of them (must be becoming more practical as I age!) and chose the blue one as my favourite. It is sleeveless with small frills on the shoulders running down into a v-neck and empire line. I loved it the second I put it on and just know I will live in it regardless of what our crazy weather may hold this Summer. I feel cute and girlie in it and, as is the case with many dresses that I love, I know I can just throw it on and feel fantastic on fat (very common) or thin (rather less common!) days. For 35 euros you can’t complain about that!

Strangely, despite its ability to make my stomach appear to swell to twice its actual size, the skirt with the bow really appealed to the girlie girl in me. So, when I saw another one in Awear with a bow I couldn’t resist it and even more so when I discovered it was reduced from 36 euros to 10! Material and the cut of clothes make all the difference and this one was a totally different story when I tried it on. The bow is cut so it falls the length of the skirt to the knee which makes it far more flattering for shorty like me and it is heavier material and is plain navy with just red piping on the bow which are both far more forgiving on my tummy. Hurrah, I loved it straight away. The first day I wore it I felt incredibly good in with just a white T and red shoes. Simple but cute, I thought to myself until I met my mate Laura whose reaction was ‘You look like a sailor!’ Hmm, the nautical look might be in but that wasn’t quite what I was aiming for!

It was so lovely having the vouchers and being able to shop guilt-free for once so a big thanks go to Lynn. She is a fashionista like me. Never have I known anyone to accessorise like she can. The girl has style oozing out of her. Thankfully, we have similar taste in lots of things and she can spot a mile off something that I will love. Just as well because, as you may remember from a few weeks ago, I was on the hunt for a bag to match my outfit for a wedding I was going to last week. On a recent trip to New York Lynn spotted a bag she knew I would adore and got it for me. It is a red, patent clutch with a little flower on it – so me and totally gorgeous. It was a perfect match for the outfit and just what I was searching for. I got lots of compliments at the wedding, which is always nice. That girl has some kind of inner homing device when it comes to stylish accessories, she can sense them at twenty paces and thankfully on this occasion I was the beneficiary!

Sadly, my break from being a recessionista is over now and I am back to being voucherless and broke. Still, I have some cute new things to see me through for the time being and far better than that, I have a stylish friend to have fun with and that costs nothing!

2 comments:

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  2. Love it, love it, love it Jules...looking fwd to the next instalment x

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