New Look Festival Wishlist

There are 3 things that I think us Brits do well in the summer: endless enthusiasm for barbecues, dodgy sunburn marks, and music festivals. With V last weekend and Reading and Leeds this weekend, festival season is well and truly in full swing. So when the lovely people at New Look contacted us to see if we’d like to write a post around festival fashion, we couldn’t say no – firstly, who doesn’t love New Look?! We’ve been mega keen for their Evolution of Festival Fashion infographic (check it out if you haven’t seen it yet!) too. And secondly, we’ve been too poor to make it to any fezzies this year so have been creating up dream outfits in our minds almost daily anyway (is that sad? Probably. Do we care? NEIN).

Claire

New Look FestivalFloral Kimono / White Crop Top / Acid Wash Denim Hotpants / Across Body Double Zip Bag / Chunky Chain Necklace

I love all of the kimonos around at the moment, so decided to base my outfit around this sexual floral number. We all know that you don’t really feel the cold at festivals due to the ever-so-handy ‘cider jacket’ that you develop after several over-priced pints of orange fluid, but a cover-up’s still a good idea as the night wears on. Denim shorts are also a festival favourite, and OF COURSE I would team this outfit with a little white cropped tee – have I been wearing anything else this summer?

Bags at festivals need to be 100% practical to avoid any mishaps with pickpocket – or worse, portaloos. I’m sure we all remember the story of the girl who got her head stuck in the portaloo at Leeds Festival in 2009 after trying to retrieve her dropped bag, don’t we? DON’T WE?! (If you don’t, then here’s a reminder.) An across-the-boy bag with more zips than you think you can possibly need is therefore top of the essentials list – unless you too fancy earning yourself the name of ‘Poo Girl’ in the national press.

I’d finish this look with some chunky jewellery, a floral crown and a decent pair of wellies. Oh, and heaps of dry shampoo. I think I mainly love festivals because they give me a chance to be the unhygienic tramp I secretly long to be in my everyday life.

Lauren

Ah, festivals make me infinitely happy and I was lucky enough to pop to Wireless for the day earlier in the summer. While it was AMAHZING, it didn’t quite have the same excitement for me than a four day extravaganza getting muddy and looking crap. My past festival outfits have been beyond tragic and I really should have been a bit better at planning them at the time (they usually involved throwing things into a backpack an hour before we had to leave and wondering if there was still space for vodka). So, without further ado – here is what I’d have worn if I wasn’t a homeless girl living under a bridge a bit too poor to afford a fezzie this year.

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Tenki Pink Flower Print Skirt | White Bandeau | Light Blue Washed Effect Denim Jacket | Black Gold Chain Wellies | Gold Leaf Headband | Fringe Back Pack

Skirts are a must for me when dancing about like a prat in a field. I was considering putting a playsuit onto the list but then thought about the portaloo horror and decided against it. Skirts mean that there are no unpleasant mishaps vis-a-vis getting stuck in your clothes and having to call strangers for help.

Glastonbury a few years ago was unbearably hot (an Irish man saved the day when I got sunstroke and bought me a bottle of water. I LOVE YOU, WHERE ARE YOU?!) and I didn’t even laugh with scorn at a girl walking around in her bra and pants. With this in mind, you should always be prepared to keep as cool as possible in the event that a Mexican heatwave attacks you like a half-crazed Mariachi band. Bandeaus are a good idea because it’s LIKE wearing a bra but ensures that nobody thinks you are a prostitute.

BUT, you don’t want to look like an actual prostitute. Cover up with a trusty denim jacket, you slut (…joking hunnays).

Wellies are a must and these New Look babies are GORGEY. I also love the backpack. BACKPACK?! I hear you saying. It’s not as impractical as you think, this naughty little number has draw strings that you can tie with complicated knots to ward off pickpockets.

Floral crowns are brilliant and I’m still sad that I don’t own one (it’s a bit late to get on that wagon now). If you’re a bit tired of seeing floral crowns everywhere though, this gold leaf headband is a beyyyooootiful alternative.

What do you all think about New Look’s festival fashion? And what are your essentials? And how would you feel if you too were branded ‘Poo Girl’?

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Autumn/Winter Trends: Wishlist.

Claire and I are definitely being those girls at the moment. We have decided that summer is officially on it’s way out (even though I tried to wear I chunky knit to work today and may have somewhat melted) and it is now time to get properly excited about autumn/winter. Even though we live together, work together and generally see far too much of each other, we’ve somehow not run out of things to say to each other. This has been especially true this week, where we have spent approximately 100000000* hours discussing how we’re going to work the autumn/winter trends and what things we’re going to look at buying.

I must admit, I have been quite worried about the autumn/winter trends. So worried in fact, that I had a nightmare I dressed head to toe in tartan last night and Kate Moss told me I looked like a genuine fool (which is probably something that would actually happen if I ever met K Mossy). After some hyperventilating, a few cups of tea and some soothing head patting by Claire, I’m feeling a bit more positive NAY EVEN EXCITED about things to come. So excited that I’ve put together my wishlists for each trend, even though most high street stores haven’t revealed their autumn/winter collections yet. WHOOPS, I’m keen. Call this a autumn/winter trend sneak peak if you will (you probably wont), but here’s what I’m thinking of investing in this autumn/winter.

Tartan CollageTartan Tshirt: Topshop | Tartan Blouse: Boohoo | Tartan Cambridge Satchel | Paisley/Tartan Scarf: Miss Selfridge | Tartan Cigarette Trousers: River Island | Leather Panel Tartan Leggings: Boohoo |

Does anyone else have that problem of not really loving a trend but then coming round to it as soon as it’s going out of fashion? SNORE. This happens to me constantly. For example, I have finally decided that I like creepers approximately 2 years late. With this in mind, I have started convincing myself that I like the tartan trend months in advance so I’m prepared for the new season. I think I might have become as obsessed with it as I am with neon at the moment, so I’m going to be seriously investing in some key tartan pieces when the time comes! Oh to own that Cambridge satchel…anyone want to lend a homegirl £140?

PVC COLLAGE
PVC Skater Skirt: Glamorous | T Bar Shoes: Topshop | PVC Backpack: Topshop | PVC Mini Skirt:Topshop | PVC Scunchie: River Island | Leather Look Tshirt: OMG Fashion | Patent Skinny Belt: ASOS |

I’m a bit dubious of the autumn/winter PVC trend but I’m willing to embrace it with rubbery arms, provided things don’t get too prostitutey.

PASTEL COLLAGE

Rose Midi Dress: Missguided | Mint Acid Wash Mom Jeans: Topshop | Lilac Beanie: Topshop |  Yellow Crop Top: Missguided | Pink Watch: Olivia Burton |

My theory is that winter pastels are going to be more on the ‘dusty’ side – with more grey tones in them that the bright summery pastels. This is definitely an autumn/winter trend that I’m looking forward to! Apparently I’m really excited to wear lilac.

WELL. These are just the top three autumn/winter trends that I’m looking forward to! I’m also really keen for oversized coats, metallics (sorry Claire) and wearing dark plum lipstick again.

What do you all think? Have you got any trends you’re excited about?

Short Girl Problems: The Best Petite Clothing

They say that good things come in small packages – but what if the package wrapping just doesn’t fit?

Lauren and I are both self-confessed hobbits. I always liked to ambitiously declare myself as 5’3, though a cruel machine at the gym recently broke the news to me that I am in fact 5’1.8 (the .8 makes all the difference). Lauren comes in even smaller than me – some rumours suggest she is as little as 3 feet tall, and just wears special shoes like Tom Cruise.

Hobbts

Here is a recent photo of us.

We both quite like being short – you never really have to worry about finding a boy who’s taller than you, you’re brilliant at hide and seek because you can easily fit into most cupboards, and you can often get away with paying child fare on the bus.

One thing which is a proper snore about being short, though, is the clothing issue. Trousers drag along the floor. Midis cut us at awkward angles. We trip over our maxi skirts (Lauren face-planted in the middle of Birmingham City Centre just a few weeks ago due to this. Of course I didn’t laugh when she told me. Not one bit). Yes, these problems could all be fixed by altering our clothes but, frankly, the furthest I ever got in textiles lessons in school was making a puppet that was supposed to be a rabbit but more closely resembled something you might pull out of the hoover when you have a blockage. The domesticated life is not the one for me.

Another option is sizing down in ‘normal’ ranges. I have quite a few size 6 dresses in my wardrobe which, if you saw my hips, you would know is NOT my true size. But going a size smaller means you have less material, so it can be spread across your body better (sorry, I couldn’t find any better way of saying that). This is a good tactic with bodycon stuff, dresses in particular – I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for a pair of jeans, as fitting a size 10 bum into size 6 jeans will just result in an arse split that will be difficult to hide as you hand it back to the shop assistant.

My TIP TOP TIP though, is to find out where do good petite ranges. Things just look so much better when they are made for someone of your height – they keep you in much better proportion, plus you have less bruising from falling over all the time. So, here’s my list of the top 3 places to head to for petite clothes.

Petite - Clothing - Topshop
Topshop Petite
Topshop are hands-down one of my favourite shops that cater to my little-legged needs. They always have a decent sized range and often do petite versions of the season’s best-sellers, so we don’t have to miss out just because of the poor genetics passed onto us from our parents.

ASOS Petite
ASOS Petite
ASOS’ petite range is another personal favourite of mine, particularly for maxi skirts and dresses. Whereas Topshop only stock sizes 4-14, ASOS go up to a 16 so the majority of us tiny tots (did I really just say that? Yep, moving on) can find something to wear. What I also like about ASOS is that they do a lot of pieces exclusive to the Petite range. This makes me feel like I am in some sort of special club and can sashay around in amazing dresses that would leave taller girls flashing their foofs.

New Look 915
New Looks – 915 Range
Okay, DO NOT LAUGH. But buying kids’ clothes really is a superb idea if you’re petite. Have you seen how tall these 14 year olds are?! I have a slight problem with New Look’s 915 range because as I browse the crop tops and mini dresses, I can’t help but wonder where on earth 9 YEAR OLDS are going dressed like that. But that is a problem for parents and not for us short shoppers – so just enjoy the cheaper prices and worry about the nation’s children at a later date.

Are any of you petite? What are your tactics for dressing for your height?

Missguided:‘Sweet Deal’ Value Range

Working in an office on a business park, where the only place to venture out at lunch to is a manky bench round the corner, I have become quite the regular online shopper. Online browsing can become repetitive and boring, but every now and then you find something that, in my case, literally makes you slam your hands on the table and shout ‘WHAT THE EFF?!’ The last time I experienced this kind of shock was when ASOS started stocking Primark – this time it’s another exclusively-online retailer that’s made me want to throw a stapler at the wall in excitement (what, that isn’t a normal way to express yourself?) View Full Post

Rihanna Style: Swooning at the Diamonds Tour.

Claire and I have come to the conclusion that we must have been genuinely the best people in a past life because karma has been very good to us this week. After Claire won some nail wraps in a Twitter giveaway and we were given bottles of Argan oil, we had concluded that it had been a successful week of excitement. THAT WAS UNTIL YESTERDAY AT APPROXIMATELY 15.45. While we were working extremely hard and wondering whether the 10th cup of tea would be the one that would send us over the edge, a phone call came through.

Claire took it and managed to stay very calm saying things like “ah, brilliant. yes. thank you” so I automatically assumed it would be something boring to do with KPI or ROI (or whatever it is these marketing types enjoy nattering on about). Little did I know. It turned out that our boss couldn’t make the Birmingham Rihanna concert last night so kindly donated his tickets to us. Needless to say, we were massively excited and I spent a good 15 minutes shouting “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WORK IN THESE CONDITIONS.” We immediately started panicking about the state of our work faces and that we looked vaguely like idiots, so we had to do what every beauty blogger would do in times of crisis. We legged it to Boots after getting the train and hurriedly applied makeup using our iPhone cameras as mirrors on the way to the NEC.

It turned out the tickets our boss gave us were in the hospitality suite that included dinner before the show. As we were discussing whether or not there would be cocktail sausages and a buffet, we were shown up to the restaurant and presented with two glasses of champagne. There were no cocktail sausages. We were forced to choke down a five course meal (sigh, isn’t life hard) before heading up to the show deck to watch RiRi. Erm. Has anyone actually BEEN in/on a show deck before? Can I just say that a private bar, lounge and swanky leather seats were something I was not expecting…obviously having a healthy mixture of vodka, gin and archers was obligatory.

Rihanna was amazing, brilliant and we have big lesbian crushes on her now. If we had been more prepared for the concert (or gig? is it acceptable to say gig for an event where you don’t get beer in your hair?), we might have treated you all to an OOTD post, but neither of us looked that interesting. SO INSTEAD, we’re going to do Rihanna’s OOTT (outfits of the tour…). She is genuinely the most beautiful woman on the planet and can pull of anything…even things that seem like terrible ideas. Claire has already expressed an interest in purchasing a shiny dress patterned with dollar bills and I’m thinking of investing in a pair of neon chaps.

Act 1:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.50.03

I believe this little number was designed by Givenchy’s creative director and Rihanna looked AMAZING in it. Homegirl can rock thigh high boots, that’s for sure! Fans of Rihanna might have seen on Twitter that she’s dyed her hair a sort of grey colour. We couldn’t hugely tell the difference, but it looked very shiny and nice anyway.

Act 2:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.53.57I think Rihanna might actually be the queen of the varsity/sports luxe trend. I love love love this outfit, even the thigh high white leather boots (which Claire and I thought were trousers for a while, until we saw a flash of bottom). The ‘Sea of Desire’ top was designed by Raf Simmons and she wore a bra and shorts by Wolford. Her EPIC over the knee boots were custom made by Christian Louboutin. Oh, to have custom made Loubs.

Act 3:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.49.01

Rihanna’s second look was designed by Adam Selman and Manolo Blahnik for her snakeskin boots. I love her little crop top, it is brilliant in a I-drive-a-ferrari-so-I-got-a-crop-top-to-match kind of way.

Act 4:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 12.59.23

 

Oh. My. Goodness. RiRi looked absolutely stunning in this dress/top/skirt combo. Even though me and Claire are not the biggest fans of red, Rihanna has made me reconsider my stance on red clothing. This two piece top and skirt was also designed by Adam Selman and her shoes were Manolos again.

Act 5:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 13.03.10This hologram dollar bill dress is FIERCE. She came out with a matching jacket but I wanted to give y’all a full picture of how brilliant she looked in this. She had matching hologram trainers on, which were designed by Pierre Hardy. Her dress was designed by Adam Selman again. I want one.

Act 5:

Screen Shot 2013-07-19 at 13.07.23Rihanna’s jumpsuit was absolutely beautiful, onstage it was SO shimmery and excellent. It was designed by Lanvin and the heels/belt were Manolo Blahnik again.

These pictures were borrowed from Rihanna Overdose because we only had our iPhones on us and our pictures weren’t great! I thought I’d give you a little collage of our evening as well (lots of photos of our dinner paha!)

Rihanna

Rihanna2

Rihanna3What do you think of Rihanna’s style? Have any of you guys been to the Diamonds tour? What did you think about her outfits? I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t anything TOO slutty (if by pleasantly surprised I mean horribly disappointed) and my personal fave was her sheer varsity-style top. There were similar tops that apparently were available online but are now totally sold out, which is is definitely not surprising.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and RiRi is definitely our new gymspiration (I say that while I munch on a bag of  cheese and onion crisps…).

Primark Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection: Best and Worst

Lauren and I make no secret of the fact that we love Primark. It was therefore with great fervour that I rushed to Look’s website to have the first peek at the new Autumn/Winter 2013 collection. The items aren’t due to launch in stores til August, but going into Primark is like going into battle (hands up who’s had a pushchair try to plough over them like a tank?) and so strategic planning is necessary.

Primark seems to have gone up a lot in people’s estimations recently, with many saying that their S/S 2013 collection and the pieces available on ASOS were all indicative of them really upping their game. So what do we make of the A/W collection?

To put it bluntly, I’m not hugely impressed. I don’t think this is anything personal against Primark, rather I just don’t think this winter is going to be very ‘me’ in general. I was a big fan of last year’s gothic-inspired stuff, but I think this winter I was hoping to see something a bit more cheerful. Alas, no. It’s all doom and bloody gloom again.

Primark Autumn LeatherDominatrixes, rejoice! Leather looks set to hang around. I do normally like leather, but a lot of the pieces this season have a crackled, patent finish that I’m not a fan of. I do like the mixing of textures on the leather, varsity-esque jumper though, so hopefully there’ll be some more bits like that that I can scoop up.

Primark Autumn TartanAnother key look seems to be tartan. Again, I’m not a fan. Unless tartan is coming at me in the form of James McAvoy in a kilt ready to cart me off for a traditional Scottish wedding then I’ll leave it, ta. Lauren and I have discussed it at length (I do wonder how we still have jobs) and she thinks a pair of tartan trousers could work, while I’m willing to maybe try a tartan scarf if I absolutely have to. In the name of blogging, of course.

Primark Autumn JewelleryAs we move onto the accessories in the collection, my sense of bewilderment begins to border on anguish. What are these cheap, be-jeweled pieces? I love statement jewellery, but the only things these seem to state is ‘hiya, I’m crap’.

Primark Autumn ShoesNext, the shoes. Someone please explain to me when it suddenly became okay for heels to be this height? And slingback? And pointy-toed? Oh Yahweh, please take me from this world because I do not want to exist anymore.

FINALLY, there are some things that I do actually like. And what I do like, I like a lot. All of these are simply delightful:

Primark Faves

Primark Autumn Faves 2

And I’m sure once it all actually arrives there will be plenty of other pieces that I love in store. If not, then I’ll still be sporting neon and mesh and refusing to accept that S/S has ended, so please just bear with me through this difficult time.

What do you all think of the Primark’s A/W 2013 collection? Which pieces do you like?

ASOS Sale: The 6 Best Bargain Dresses For This Saturday Night

ASOS Sale Dress 1Mini Polo Neck Dress / Petite ‘Cold Shoulder’ Aztec Print Dress / Glamorous Number Print Midi Dress

Asos Sale 2Square-Back Mini Dress / Motel Midi Dress /River Island Diamond Print Bodycon Dress

I always get overly-excited when Asos launch a big sale – it’s one of my favourite retailers, and I never fail to find something on there. There are always great bargains to be found in the sale section, but at the moment they seem to particularly have a frankly SUPERB selection of going-out dresses. As I’m a kind-hearted girl, I thought I’d pick out six of the best dresses that you can pick up for under £15 – and if you order today or tomorrow, it can still arrive in time for that big night out at the weekend. You are very welcome.

Wishlist: The Search For A New Handbag.

Handbags. Even girls (who arguably should be sectioned) that claim they don’t like shopping and ‘girly things’ love a good handbag. Where else are you supposed to keep essential items like phones, keys and snacks for later? POCKETS? ARE YOU MAD? HAM SANDWICHES DON’T SURVIVE IN POCKETS.

Ahem. Anyway. I’ve been on the hunt for a new handbag for a while now and I’m in two minds whether to invest in something fancy or just go with my usual standard of buying a cheap handbag that only lasts a couple of months. At the moment I’m using a horrible combination of a little black box bag for the days I don’t have a lot of stuff (it’s a really old Primark one that’s not worth getting into too much detail about) and a big floral one for when I’m going to the gym (or have a big lunch…). They’re doing me fine for now, but I really feel like I need a nice grown up handbag in a sophisticated shade of black or tan to make my life a bit better.

So, with all of this pointless information in mind, I’ve decided to put together a handbag wishlist to try and streamline my ideas and also share with y’all the best of the handbags on the highstreet.

Contrast effect bags:

Screen Shot 2013-06-25 at 12.44.31As you may notice, I’m after a bit of a classic bag that’s going to last me over the next couple of years (fingers crossed), so I’m a bit wary of getting involved in anything too neon or rucksack-y. On the topic of rucksacks, me and Claire were discussing what perils you could encounter while wearing one. Don’t get us wrong, we are both big fans of rucksacks but there are things that need to be addressed. What if someone stole my lunch on the way to work (don’t pretend like you didn’t unzip people’s backpacks at school and hide their things)? What if I fell over backwards and squashed my belongings? What if I was mistaken for a five year old and told to go back to pre-school? Will I actually just look like a giant douchebag? For these legitimate/worrying reasons, rucksacks have not been featured on this bag wishlist. Sorry gals.

Tan bags:

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Printed bags:

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I’m painfully aware that the tan bags and contrast bags I picked are all a bit boring, so I’ve decided to do a ‘printed’ category to take me out of my comfort zone a bit. I’m not sure how classic these are but the I do enjoy a good bit of leopard and geometric print so one of them might be the one!

What do you guys think? Any particular favourites or recommendations?

 *Note – Claire just pointed out I wrote about lunch on three occasions in this post. IT’S MY FAVOURITE MEAL OF THE DAY, I’M SORRY I ENJOY A FREAKIN’ SANDWICH.

The Best Sites to Find A Fashion Bargain.

I feel like I may be giving everyone the wrong (or right) impression of me here on Stylingo. With posts like my guide to the best cheap makeup products out there at the moment and various other references to being a bargain hunter, I do think you might all see me as some kind of homeless penny pincher. This is kind of true to an extent (apart from the homeless bit). I’m still looking forward to the day that I can shop in Topshop without feeling horribly guilty and I have discovered that being a grown up means you have to buy boring things like food instead of a new pair of shoes, SNORE.

For this reason (and making sure we can afford tequila, vodka and other important things), Claire and I tend to always be on the hunt for a bargain. Claire is officially the queen of eBay and impresses me daily with her bidding action and I physically can’t say no to something that is on offer. We tend to do a fair bit of shopping, I mean client research, online at work because it’s convenient, so we have actually become quite the experts at where to find cheap clothes and products, how to obtain a fashion bargain and what the best way to save money online is. And because I’m such a kind and giving person, I’m sharing this list with y’all.

eBay

It’s not a huge surprise that this is at the top of my fashion bargain list! You can buy pretty much everything from eBay and it’s a great place to check for second hand gems. Over the years, I have accumulated quite a lot from eBay but probably the best buy I got was a pair of baby pink Hunter wellies for £20. The eBay shops are also brilliant and they often do things that are on sites like boohoo.com or missguided.com. Claire and I have come to the conclusion that eBay shops and some online fashion retailers have the same supplier, but often the eBay version is cheaper. It’s worth having a look what’s available; we have our eyes on the platform block heeled boots that are everywhere at the moment.

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Asos Marketplace

This has a similar vibe to eBay, but is run through Asos and is a bit more upmarket. There isn’t a bidding system but it is a place that many people sell second hand items. Asos impose strict quality control, not only on the clothes themselves, but also on how people sell them (you have to post pictures that have been taken outside etc!). You do have to have a bit of a root around, but you can really find a great bargain for really high quality and fashion forward stuff!

Screen Shot 2013-06-19 at 13.31.17

Blog Sales

If you’re a frequent reader of blogs (which chances are you are, if you’re reading this!), you may have noticed that a lot of bloggers do personal blog sales. This is usually to get rid of any unwanted products or clothes and it’s a brilliant way to get a bargain from one of your favourite bloggers. They sell anything from high end products to cheap clothes, so it really is worth having a look at what bloggers are selling.

Cheaper online options:

I’m definitely not knocking missguided.co.uk, boohoo.com or any other online retailer. I’m actually a massive Missguided fan and I tend to check there before anything where I’m looking for an outfit. HOWEVER, it is worth saying that there are other alternatives online that sell exactly the same thing for a cheaper price. Similar to the eBay shop situation, a lot of these online shops appear to have the same wholesaler and you can usually pick up a bargain if you’re prepared to have a good root around. Some examples of cheaper alternatives include:

OMG Fashion
Fashion Union
Mary Jane Fashion
Karma Clothing
Daisy Street
Desire Clothing

It just goes to show what a difference a quality model, good styling and a good marketing strategy can make!

Screen Shot 2013-06-19 at 13.43.43

Online shopping tips:

It is amazing to find a bargain on the internet, but buying cheap clothes online can also be a bit disappointing. You do have to be a bit more shrewd when it comes to choosing what you buy, because you can’t check out the quality, fit and real life colours for yourself. Over my internet shopping years, I’ve picked up quite a few handy tips so I thought I’d do a little addition to this post to share them and make your online shopping experience that much more magical.

1. Check the sizing! Claire did a really good post a few weeks ago on vanity sizing and what high street size you really are, which really highlighted the size differences between shops. Also, a lot of the cheaper shops do basic sizes like ‘S/M’ or ‘M/L’. This is slightly bizarre, because I am most definitely a ‘M’, whereas Claire is definitely a ‘S’. There is no way I’d fit into her teeny tiny jeans for example, just as she wouldn’t fit into one of my bodycon dresses. It’s worth really thinking about the garment you’re planning on buying and deciding whether basic sizing is going to have an impact. For an oversized jumper, basic sizing wouldn’t really matter but for tighter fitting clothes, you may want to try and check the measurements. Of course, you can always return something if it doesn’t fit properly, but that’s a faff and aint nobody got time fo’ dat.

2. Check the country! If you’re buying on eBay or other auction sites, it’s really important to check where the item you’re buying is being delivered from. Sometimes, the really cheap stuff is from the US, China or other international places, which can mean that delivery costs will be high. In the end, you might not actually save that much money. International items also take a lot longer to ship, so you might need to think about whether you can wait a few weeks for that must-have to arrive.It can be worth it though, I bought 60 pairs of eyelashes from Hong Kong for about £7. They took a while to arrive but really were a bargain!

3. Research voucher codes! Most online shoppers will be aware that brands often put out codes that offer money off, free delivery or other special offers. These can be amazing and are really worth taking advantage of when you can find them. I often find these on Twitter or Facebook, but you can use great sites like Fashion Vouchers. These let you search through various categories and find what offers are on at the moment. If you’re shopping from a regular high street store, there really is no reason not to find what voucher codes are out there.

SO. That is my rather long winded post on what good websites for cheap fashion are available out there in the big scary mystery that is the internet, as well as a few online shopping tips because I am just feeling pretty generous today ;). What do you all think? Have you got any other tips to add?