Zara brights

If you've read a fashion magazine over the past couple of months, you'll definitely have heard the term 'colour blocking' umpteen times. It's a very fashiony expression for essentially wearing lots of bright colours with each other...a bit of a colour onslaught!

In the grey depths of winter, the idea of colour blocking seems faintly ridiculous...a bit like a strutting peacock in a flock of pigeons. I think bright colours work in bright light...gorgeous sunshine lends itself to a more colourful wardrobe.

And now that the weather is starting to improve, the colour blocking trend seems to be flourishing.

A huge hit on the high street is the Whistles 'Carrie' pleated skirt in coral (the midi length rather than the knee length shown in the link) which given that it seems to be selling out everywhere, is going to be seen EVERYWHERE this summer!

Zara is one of my favourite shops on the high street and I seem to have regular Edna blogs on the lovely threads in store! Zara has embraced colour blocking this season and has some great bursts of colour, such as these pink skinny trousers, this pink blazer with black trim, this green frilled dress and this wonderful cobalt blue handbag. 

If you're feeling a little uneasy about a massive colour onslaught, then I think bright details...dare I say a pop of colour...through accessories, make-up or one item of clothing will work very well!

I think I'm more likely to wear brights against neutrals and on a day-to-day basis will probably have brights in the details of my wardrobe rather than the whole. Zara's latest lookbook is lovely and inspirational and shows a more subtle way of embracing the colour blocking trend, which I like a lot! 

Quick Dorothy Perkins Fix

A quick post tonight as I've been out for dinner with a lovely friend and I'm ready to collapse in bed (being six months pregnant is starting to catch up with me!).



I'm having a bit of a Dorothy Perkins moment and have been wearing my three new Dorothy Perkins dresses to death (the quirky cat print shirt dress was on my back today and will feature on Edna one day soon!).


Dorothy Perkins has a few new items in stock which I love and want...and these are top of the list.




Blue butterfly shadow dress - £40



Mink lace babydoll dress - £42




Raspberry pink cut out sandals - £16




Black floral lace up boots - £34

Spring owl

I seem to have lost track of the last time I had an owl of the month...I've been neglecting my owls!

Usually I have an owl of the month of a little beauty that I love but adore from afar (so that I stop myself becoming the mad old lady that collects owls!). This month, I have an owl that I actually own, courtesy of my lovely sister.

It's a very discreet little owl but full of character! It's a luggage tag that she bought from Paperchase and will cheer up a suitcase or holdall no end!

Busting out the spring brights!

The sun was shining in London today...a truly gorgeous day, which always brings out the best in this city. And given the lovely weather, I decided to bust out a bit of colour from my wardrobe.

It was so refreshing to not only wear bright colours but to have shed the layers and the thick winter coat. I got to wear a jacket that I bought in September at London Fashion Weekend and haven't been able to wear since because it's been too cold.

Most of my outfit was bought at a discount. The jacket from Berman Black was bought at a huge discount at London Fashion Weekend (I think for something like £40), the dress is a BCBG Max Azria number bought from a discount village in the USA, the necklace and ring were also bought at London Fashion Weekend from Lola Rose (the necklace was only £25, which if you look at the website you can see is a massive reduction on what Lola Rose necklaces normally cost; the ring was a birthday present), and the bracelet is Bex Rox but bought on sale on Cocosa.

The rest of the outfit is my worn to death Copenhagen boots, Uniqlo cardigan and Max C handbag.

Exciting Editions

Last month, Debenhams launched its latest designer collaboration – the Edition range. I was quite excited about it at the time as it features great, modern designers – the first range includes Jonathan Saunders, Preen and Jonathan Kelsey. But I think in my attempts to prevent myself spending money I hadn’t gone to see the range in the flesh.

On Friday, in Cardiff, that changed...and I had a moment of over-excitement where my mum had to remind me I was pregnant and shouldn’t get too over-stimulated!

It's a great range and reasonably priced for what you are getting...I had somehow presumed the clothes would be nearer to the £100 mark.

I broke the (admittedly weak) seal on my purse and made a purchase...a dress that works in pregnancy but will be fine afterwards (it's the Preen grey frill dress I’ve included below). My sister indulged too and bought the Jonathan Saunders lime chiffon front jersey top and it looked very special – the chiffon overlay is gorgeous.

I could have bought more. I may buy more. For now, I intend to enjoy my Preen purchase for under £50!

Preen Editions tonal grey oversized frill hem dress - £45

Preen Edition white circle print dress - £50

Jonathan Kelsey natural ‘Karla’ large satchel handbag - £50

Jonathan Kelsey black ‘Kia’ knot strap high heels - £45 (down from £55)

Jonathan Saunders lime chiffon front jersey top - £38

Jonathan Saunders black & white colour block dress - £38

Jonathan Saunders white colour block blazer - £60

Frocking Fabulous for affordable vintage

I just caught up on last week’s Lily Allen documentary about setting up ‘Lucy in Disguise' (which I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed and thought she seemed great company!) and it reminded me that months ago I had an email from a neighbour of a good friend who has an online vintage clothes store and I haven’t yet blogged about it.

I love vintage clothes shopping. When you find a second hand piece of clothing that you love, that fits you and you can afford, it feels like a little shopping karma has come your way...it’s a real treat!

Sometimes the vintage shopping fairy has bitten me instead of rewarding me. I remember being in a vintage store in New York a few years ago and getting flattered into buying a dress that apparently only I had fitted into since they had got it in stock. It felt like a sign that the dress was for me. I got it home and checked the label and saw that my special vintage purchase was actually just a Zara dress! And to rub salt into the wound, on my first day back in London I saw a woman wearing my ‘one of a kind’ vintage dress. So it wasn’t even vintage frikkin Zara!

Vintage can be fraught with pitfalls...buying high street rather than vintage being just one of them. Over-pricing is another. I remember going to a vintage fair near Brick Lane in London and turning into my mum muttering ‘HOW MUCH?!”. Ludicrous sums of money for clothes that would struggle to make pence in a charity shop.

Which brings me back to my friend’s neighbour's online vintage shop ‘Frocking Fabulous’.

 

There's a lovely selection of vintage clothing and it’s all reasonably priced. Dresses tend to be around £30-£50...though you can get some dresses for £19. There is a great selection of coats – lots of fake furs, some aviator jackets and wool winter coats – and a few handbags too.

I think that it’s also possible to go and see stock in the flesh...but you'd need to double check before turning up on their doorstep!

So reasonably priced vintage...without a Zara number in sight!

Maternity leopard print!

I'm experiencing the joy of a long weekend...which has meant spending today with my mum and sister, hitting the shops of Cardiff. I love Cardiff...it's such a great city and the shopping just gets better and better. There's now so much choice and every time I come up, new shops have opened (including a huge Urban Outfitters since I was last here).

Today I debuted one of my purchases from London Fashion Weekend (the brilliant discount shopping event in London, which follows fashion week...I blogged about it when I went with my sister back in September and went to the recent one in February).

It's a leopard print maxi dress bought from 'Never Fully Dressed', which sells lots of gorgeous and easy to wear chiffon dresses.

The high, slightly empire line fit means it's perfect to accommodate growing baby bump but will also be fine post-pregnancy.

I also love the length - if you're under 5ft 5" so many maxi-dresses can end up billowing around your toes and are not hugely practical on a day-to-day basis. But it's also not in the danger midi-zone, which I know is very fashionable right now but can be difficult to pull off.

And there's always room for a bit of leopard print in your life...even when pregnant! In fact, I love it even more because it's feels a bit anti-maternity wear!



I love this long skull necklace which I bought from
London Fashion Weekend last September...
but I can't remember the designer!


The rest of the outfit is an Asos bomber jacket which is years old, Asos studded boots, my beloved Sonia Rykiel for H&M gilet (or as Mr W has started calling it 'that bloody gilet'), and a Max C handbag (I won't share where my black undergarments are from as that really isn't interesting!)

Whimsical t-shirts

A bit of a late lust item of the week (I think it may even be lust item of the fortnight!). Sorry for being slack with Edna...a stinking cold, combined with pregnancy and work has meant I've either been working or sleeping and not much else!

This week I've been lusting after t-shirts from Uniqlo. They have a new range with the designers Antoni & Alison which isn't my cup of tea at all...but whilst checking out that range, I came across these little beauties from a designer called Franche Lippee.

It's the quirky, whimsical detailing that I love...and the fact that for some of them you would have to look really closely to notice, so it's almost like your little secret.

I haven't seem them in the flesh but I am hoping that they'll be made of a lightweight cotton which I would wear loose, tucked into some fitted, straight leg trousers (or skinnies), brogues and a blazer...maybe with my long, gold skull necklace!

Now I'm back off to bed with a bottle of cough medicine!

Ready for flowers

Florals make me a little nervous. I'd honestly struggle to think of very much floral in my entire wardrobe. It's such a fine line between floral patterns that are flattering and those that have slipped into old lady territory. And I’ve mentioned before that my look can sometimes stray into 'nan out for an afternoon tea', so adding florals into the mix could spell fashion (and potentially marital!) disaster.

You do spot younger women everywhere in London sporting ironic old lady looks; I’m not a fan of any look that is ironic and may require an explanation! I think if you’re 18 and/or stunningly beautiful you can wear what you like, for most other women our ideal is usually to choose clothing that is flattering and makes us feel good.

But, season after season, the florals on the high street get better and more diverse. There is a huge amount of choice and I’m starting to feel that space may be made in my wardrobe...and marriage...for some floral without risking doubling my age.

These are some of my favourites but I could honestly have doubled the selection...there is a lot out there and a lot to love!

Oasis bardot print tie back dress - £45

Topshop cream floral print bell sleeve blouse - £45

Asos Marios Schwab fairtrade floral tattoo digital print scarf - £40
 

Dorothy Perkins floral print dress - £38

Office strap up floral sandal - £40

O&O floral mesh dress - £48

Dorothy Perkins coral stripe border print vest - £19.99 

Laden Showroom vintage spray tea dress - £47

Topshop taupe floral print balcony bra - £18 (matching knickers available)

Accessorize floral printed ipad case - £28 (admittedly I'd need to actually buy an ipad first but still, lovely case for my non-existent gadget!)

Spring Monsoon

A bit of a dress domination tonight as Monsoon has so many great frocks for spring/summer...these are just some of my favourites. 

I don’t know whether it’s because it has been sunny today in London but I feel much more ready to embrace spring clothing and have been looking at all the new stock on the high street imagining warmer days.

It makes me excited to think about shedding the layers and wearing light-weight summer dresses. I’ve blogged before about Monsoon and my mixed feeling about it...lots that is very frumpy, too many dowdy patterns and unnecessary flourishes!

But there are quite a few gems amongst it all...especially in the Monsoon Fusion range. My favourite is the polka dot, ruffled number which would work with a blazer and even some brogues but also for a summer party with heels and some jewellery...and maybe a tan if you’re lucky! 

Roll on double digit temperatures!

Summer maxi dress - £95

Picnic check dress - £50

Dainty ditsy dress - £38

Fusion phoenix maxi dress - £65

   

Fusion jailbird dress - £55

Peony dress - £65

Jacintha print dress - £85

Aphra sleeveless embroidered yoke dress - £60

Demi dress - £85

Elba spot dress - £95

Emily frill sleeve dress - £55

And a bit of an indulgence but utterly gorgeous, the Marlin embellished kip dress - £150