Good night! Oh wait, good morning

Apologies for the slow updates! I've been at work the past three days (no surprise there)... Seeing as I'm jetting off to FL on Saturday, I thought it was about time I got you all up to speed on some of the amazing clothes I've been picking up for the coming sun. Saying that, I've heard the weather in the sunshine state hasn't been quite so sunny recently- anyone have anything to add to that?

Lets start with nail polish- not quite clothes I know, but I always buy some new colours for holiday that I tend to stick to throughout. As a lot of my clothes are dark/denim/vintage/studded/denim/denim/denim I wanted something that would continue (excuse the vague use of the word...) "rock-ish" image. I went for black- how cliched? Well, this isn't any ordinary black... It's metalic. It's great because it's hard to tell if you've made any dents or smudges and when it catches the light, the silver really comes through! I also got this cute metallic lilac which supposedly changes colour when you apply it- we shall have to see... I'll certainly include a mini review of it once I've tried it. Moving swiftly on before I get too over-excited by my new nail polish...

Anyone who has visited Orlando knows that water is a big part of most of the parks. Bearing this in mind, I wanted some shorts that were super light i.e not denim. I got these high-waisted little sporty shorts from Topshop whilst out with my parents. I've been seeing tonnes of variations on sports wear in the shops at the moment, whether it's track coats or trainers- personally, I'm a huge fan but I can definitely see why people think that the trend looks a bit too early 00's! My motto- anything in moderation is perfect, with a few exceptions, to an extent...

I'm also obsessed with crop tops right now. I think I mentioned that in my last post? Considering that a large part of my wardrobe consists of high-waisted shorts and other higher-than-the-hip paraphernalia, crop tops are just so perfect to create a wonderful outfit. I decided it was time that I jumped on the fringe band wagon- though I already own a fringed crop, it's far more tasseled than my new one which, as you can see, follows the cut up shirt style nicely. For me, this crop is pretty high street looking which is something I usually try to steer clear of but it looks great with my bikini (£6, H&M, couldn't say no) and conveniently hides the part of my body that I hate the most! What more can a girl ask for?

Lastly, you couldn't expect me to leave the country without a good pair of sandals, could you? Once again, Topshop served me (or my mother if you want to be pedantic...) well with these stunning studded leather gladiators. They were exactly what I'd been looking for- I'm not a fan of the plain gladiators as so many people have them! I was desperate for something a little different and once again, studs came to my rescue. I'm so excited to wear them and I have a hunch that they'll be perfect to team with my Hawaiian floral patterned maxi skirt. 

Please, excuse my feet.... I hate them just as much as you do. 

That's all for now folks! I have some exciting news for you all too- not sure if it's open for disclosure just yet but I'll get back to you asap. I'm hoping to have some super interesting posts coming up too which will be a little less "what I bought today..." orientated. I'm itching to get writing about my holiday and travels etc. I'm also feeling very 90's right now, so watch out... I need some Saved by the Bell in my life.

With that thought, I'll leave you with a photo of me in my jammies, not in bed, which is where I should be.

 

P.S Sorry for the shoddy cameraman-ship... It's late here. 

DOUBLE DENIM

As nights out go, last night was a good one! It was one of my close friend's belated 18th birthday celebrations so, despite my current financial situation, I headed out with everyone. Unfortunately, I only have one photo from the entire evening... This photo is not something to be impressed with so you'll have to rely on my incredibly well-crafted description to conjure up a sufficient mental image of my outfit!

We spent our night at Thekla- a boat come club in the centre of Bristol known for it's more casual approach to going out. I chose to wear some indigo denim high-waisted Levi's- unlike most vintage shorts, they're a great fit as they're relatively short and don't have the typically unflattering folded bottoms. Teamed with my black cropped tee from Topshop, bear legs and indigo denim jacket I was set for dancing the night away. That, and the dark colours of my outfit meant that none of the hundreds of drinks that were inevitably going to be spilt on me would be visible...  Going back to my crop top- I can't get enough of them right now. They're so versatile, in particular the range of them that Topshop have brought out. You can see here that they've covered a colour for every occasion. My favourite part about them; they look great both dressed up and dressed down.

As I just mentioned, I went for double denim. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with double denim- you just have to be prepared to look slightly 90's... Like most things, if you feel like you look good in it you most likely will! Alexa Chung always looks great, but some of the best outfits I've seen her in are when she's  pairing more than one item of denim clothing.

This is in no way my photo! 

If you were interested in seeing my superb drunk photo taking, here it is! You can also see my new earrings- they look lovely but I made the mistake in purchasing them from Claire's... My ears were burning the whole night. Never again. 

My Bobbi Brown lipstick in "Guava" is the best thing I own...

Deathly Hallows necklace anyone?

Life is so busy right now- that is no understatement whatsoever. Hence my terribly short post tonight! 

I mentioned in my last post that I was planning on converting my Deathly Hallows key-ring into a necklace and today I was lucky enough to stumble across the most perfect necklace to convert! Once again, I was rummaging through the Topshop jewellery sale when I came across a cute cross necklace on a suede strap. It was fate. The best part about it, is that the fasten on the necklace is an adjustable knot which meant that I could undo it easily and put the key-ring charm on instead of the cross. It's such a nice necklace anyway that I'm likely to wear it as it comes too. That, plus the fact that it was half price (£3.50) means that I've practically got two necklaces for hardly any money! 

Despite my lack of money, my spending head got the better of me... Among other things, I got a new bikini for only £6 from H&M- bargain. It's super bright and great for holiday. That, and my other purchases will feature in my upcoming posts so keep a look out!

Do we have any Hufflepuffs..?

I am knackered. You aren't supposed to get up at 7am during the summer holidays, are you? Well, today I did. As you saw in my sneak preview post, I spent my day at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour- The Making of Harry Potter. Totally worth the lack of sleep! I had an amazing time; it was so incredible seeing the props, sets and especially the costumes in person.

I finally got to wear my shorts too! I teamed them with a vintage Sea World  oversize tank top (Urban Outfitters; slightly overpriced but I couldn't help myself) and my Gap denim jacket (men's, bought in the sale for £10). I felt so summery with my round Topshop sunglasses too, especially when the sun came out just as we arrived. However, I played it safe and wore tights (even if they were slightly laddered...)- such a shame it wasn't hot enough for bare legs because tights always take away from such outfits! As I knew I would be on my feet all day I opted for my beat up old Vans. Even though they're wrecked, I think that items like that add something to an outfit that you don't find from brand new clothes- no, not a tramp-ish look... Character maybe? With me, I took my H&M pleather bowling bag- I swear to you, it may as well be Mary Poppins bag, good for all occasions!

Here's a few shots of my outfit-

As I mentioned, a lot of what I enjoyed most about the studio tour was the costumes. The detail that goes into them is just incredible! I particularly love the Yule Ball costumes from the Goblet of Fire- I actually think I'd wear Hermione's dress... Or maybe not, but there's no denying that the design is beautiful. And of course, Ron's hand-me-down dress robes. The costume design team seemed to be able to make even the most unattractive outfits look fabulous. If high street stores made clothes this well, we would be replacing outfits so much less!

At lunch time (prepare to be jealous...) I had some butter beer! Okay, so it wasn't my first time trying it as I've been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando but it was definitely a treat being able to have it again, even if it does give you a major sugar rush after a few sips.

Having butter beer made me so excited to go back to Florida next week... 10 DAYS EVERYONE!

Another reason why I love Harry Potter so much (if you hadn't already guessed) is the props. There's so many different things to pick out in the films that it becomes a totally believable world. My favorites; the jewellery which once again, I'd definitely wear in real life! I particularly love Xenophilius Lovegood's Deathly Hallows necklace, it's so similar to something that you'd find in Urban Outfitters right now. They sold a replica in the gift shop for £40... I had to stop myself because as you know, funds are low right now, but once again my creativity prevailed. I found a Deathly Hallows key-ring which I plan to put onto a cheap chain or suede strap; it might not be a perfect copy, but it shall certainly do. I have a feeling it's going to look great with high waisted shorts or my new Motel maxi skirt.

Xenophilius Lovegood prop necklace...

...my (soon to be) necklace!

Besides all the cute (strangely) fashionable things that I found around the Harry Potter studios, I of course snapped the classic props that couldn't be missed. It's a slight deviation from the usual topic of my blog, but I'd love to share them with you all!

And finally...

P.S I found the PERFECT thing to customise my Levi's so watch this space!

You're a wizard, Harry

Sneak preview of what's to come in this evening's post!

Work, bracelets, work, shorts, work, work, work...

It's killing me that I'm working so much right now, but I desperately need the money. Wearing my uniform non-stop is seriously dull and it feels like forever since I've constructed an outfit that I've fallen in love with. Thankfully, I have two days off this week (I'm supposed to be on my summer holidays?!) as well as two nights out with my friends- hopefully they'll give me the chance to get all of the fashion tension out of my system. You can definitely expect some exciting blog posts over the next week because I'm determined to make the most of these opportunities to wear something inventive!

Since dying my shorts yesterday, I've been constantly racking my brain for what to put with them. The Topshop sale has been surprisingly good so far, in particular the jewellery so I picked up a few pieces that were half price to team with my shorts. They're just as bright as the shorts which will mean I'll have room to tone down the outfit with a plain vest. I'm so excited to put it all together- just looking at it all makes me feel summery.

I really love the cute little Mexican Day of the Dead skulls right now!

 I have a feeling my shorts and bracelets will act as great festival clothes too- only 58 days until Reading! Is anyone else heading out to some festivals over the next few months? I would love to hear what sort of outfits you'll be taking. My advice would be one pair of shorts that will last the whole weekend which can be dressed up or down and most importantly go with everything, and of course wellies. I'm also planning on buying a bum bag which will be great not only for festivals, but for my holiday to Florida too. There's so many misconceptions about bum bags (I'm the first to admit I used to be completely against them), but I've recently found some gorgeous ones over at ASOS- the only problem is the extortionate price, so I'll definitely be doing some browsing before I make my purchase.

On the subject of summer purchases, I recently bought a new pair of Hawaiian patterned Vans- they're so different to any other pairs that I've seen before! Though there's a chance that when put with my dip dyed shorts they'll look too much, I'm definitely going to try them out together at some point. It's just too tempting!

My wardrobe is undoubtedly suffering a summer overload right now- I can't wait to see if my clothes rail will still be attached when I return from Florida with $600 worth of new stuff. 

How I spent my evening...

So I said in my last post that I would do it, and I have! After a hard days work (and several arguments with my sewing machine) I got to work on dip and tie dying two of my old pairs of shorts. I picked up some Dylon fabric dye from John Lewis- these small packets for hand use are perfect for dying just one or two items. They come in so many amazing colours but I went for "Intense Violet" and "Bahama Blue". 

Dylon Hand Wash Packets

Pink Levi's AFTER tapering 

My flamingo pink Levi's required some tapering before they were fit to be dyed. The bottoms of the shorts were originally turned over which meant they were ridiculously unflattering! I used my denim hot pants to get the measurements exact and the result was some great fitting shorts. After sewing the bottoms of both pairs of shorts (we can't have them fraying!), the first port of call was to soak the shorts in warm water. However, prior to this, I dip-dyed my pink Levi's in bleach (29p from Tesco)- it created such a nice effect that I was tempted to stop my dying there! The bleaching meant that not only did the shorts absorb the fabric dye far better, but they also had an awesome striped effect by the end of the process. 

 

For my pale denim shorts, I decided on tie dying which meant bunching up the shorts into elastic bands like so....

                                                

... followed by soaking them in a mixture of 6ltrs of warm water, 250g of salt and the fabric dye mixed w/ 500mls of warm water. The hardest part of the whole process is not splashing dye everywhere- my kitchen was covered in small purple and blue splodges and I successfully dip dyed two wooden spoons by the time I had finished! Once in the mixture, I left the shorts for 45 minutes and stirred regularly. 

For my pink Levi's I chose dip dying, which was a HUGE success! Following the same method of mixing the dye and water etc, I held the shorts into the dye so only the bottom few inches were submerged- this allowed the dye to soak up the shorts but still left a stripe of bleached material. I left them slightly beneath the water for the whole 45 minutes, but ensured that the dye was not continuing to rise- I was desperate for that bleached stripe...

 

These caused my kitchen some problems...  

I'm really pleased with how my shorts turned out- the best part about doing this was that it only cost me about £8! So worth it considering the fun I had and the fact that the Topshop equivalent are a shocking £34.

Here's the finished result- I hope you all love them as much as I do! 

Tie dyed hot pants!

Dip dyed Levi's!

Here's a quick list of instructions for the tie dye method;

1. Bunch up garment using elastic bands- the more the better! 

2. Soak garment in warm water until wet all over 

3. Fill a bucket with 6 litres of warm water, then mix in 250g of salt

4. Mix the packet of dye with 500mls of warm water

5. Add the mixture of dye to the bucket of salt and water

6. Submerge garment in bucket completely- stir for a couple of minutes 

7. Leave garment in bucket for 45 minutes and stir at regular intervals (every 15mins) 

8. Remove garment and rinse in cold water until dye no longer runs 

9. Wash garment, then leave to dry and your done! 

As soon as I get hold of some money I plan on ordering some studs and embellishing the back pocket of my Levi's, perhaps with a cross! I can't wait to style an outfit to wear with them- I have a feeling they're going to look great on holiday in Florida. I also spotted some colourful, half price, day of the dead skull bracelets in the Topshop sale which would look great with them- I'm going to sneak in before work tomorrow to see what I can find... 

You can definitely expect to see some more of my creations in coming posts!