An eBay Tale

So it would be fair to say I must be the last person to jump on board of the eBay train, but it finally reached my station and I purchased a ticket and I might just add that I have so much love for eBay. It’s a pretty epic shopping experience.

Now I am not usually someone who would consider wearing someone elses threads and I have never been able to capture the glamour of vintage. I am all about new and the minimalistic, but eBay is a website full of wonder and temptation…tempting the buyer to part with money on items that he or she really does not need. Now I am going to tell you my tale of my recent eBay escapade where the only person who has come off well is my 16-year-old nephew!

Place Bid

So I found my self trawling through endless lists of costume jewellery, River Island items (as I a still seeking the MOST BEAUTIFUL COAT EVER), Topshop items, Cue clothes and shoes. When I spotted a web bar at the top saying ‘Outlet’ I thought ok lets take a peek and then I saw that Schuh had a store and I adore Schuh…I purchased my favourite break-up shoes from them – a pair of red extra pointy heels.

So I entered their online eBay store and chose my size of 5. I saw the options Buy It Now or Auction Only. The inner bargain hunter elected Auction items…and oohhh it was wonderful…beautiful heels…clunky boots and delicate flats all starting at the bargain price of 99p. How could a girl resist…well this girl couldnt!

Place Bid – “Well I don’t mind if I do”

I found myself bidding on 20 pairs of shoes and as it was combined shipping for up to 10 items I thought well I might as well see if I can buy some trainers for my nephew who is 16. He is a size 8. So I started bidding on 3 pairs GStar Raw, KSwiss and Momentum. Yet again all staring from 99p. Favourite Aunty…yes I think so!

Well this was all happening over a period of 5 days and my phone was being bombarded with emails and push notifications saying only one thing…

“YOU HAVE BEEN OUTBID”

Arrgghh….frustrated was not the word! So sometimes I would just leave it, often I would increase my maximum bid and usually be outbid again! But as the days past the amount got further and further away from 99p. But really what did I expect. I believe this to be some sort of eBay naivety on my part.  So pretty soon I had been outbid and lost on 75% of my items. Either beaten at the last minute or it just got too high and I was paying for shoes I never really wanted (not like you can ever really not want shoes but you know what I mean). So I would give up otherwise I would have had a hefty bill for 20 pairs of shoes.

However there were four pairs still left at the end of it. A pair of Lacoste black pumps for me and the 3 pairs of trainers for my nephew. So it was the final hour and I sat with my PC watching and waiting as the time ticked down. A little smile on my face I was still indeed the highest bidder on all four pairs. Now my nephews all ended first and I had won all 3 pairs. The KSwiss I paid like £4.00 for…BARGAIN! Now I was on the home straight and just waiting for the Lacoste pumps…30 seconds…20 seconds…13 seconds…7 seconds (now in my mind I was the winner…hip hip hoorar for me!)…0 seconds…YOU HAVE BEEN OUTBID YOU HAVE NOT WON THIS ITEM…what the?! I hadnt won?! Thats right I had been beaten in the last 7 seconds…sad face!

So it was happy times for the nephew…I hadnt told him so I called to tell him the good news that he was now 3 pairs of trainers better off and was happy. But I was so annoyed that I had lost out on what I was hanging on in there for.

Now I feel this whole experience has been a great learning curve about eBay for me and now I have had it I feel I will be a much competent eBayer. I am pretty sure there are ways to be a successful  (tips welcome)  and over time I will let you all know of my progress…so fingers crossed I can show you some fabulous wins in the near future!

Mwah Daisy x

 

Lacking motivation…I look to Valentino!

Ok so I have been a little lame with my posts lately…do I have an excuse, nope!

Tonight I will be watching the September Issue which I am really looking forward to. I have seen the Valentino documentary and I loved it. If I ever need motivation of why I want to work in fashion I will watch that film. It fills me with sooo much joy and makes me want to work super hard to achieve my goals!

So far in my life I have just coasted along grabbing opportunities as they have passed. But this year I will be 24 and I am thinking is it time that I have a 4 year plan or something? Or is it ok to just take life as it comes?!

On friday I went out to lunch with a great girl friend of mine. We have known each other for 11 years. She was telling me all about her 4 year plan of how her and her boyfriend plan to get married, get a mortgage and get a baby. Well I was sat on the opposite side of the table and to be honest the opposite side of life. It got me thinking to my 4 year plan and oohhh how it differs…

My plan is to get a career, hence the Style Consultant. It is my passion to make the world a better dressed place and give women and men more confidence. I enjoy making someone feel good about themselves. I am positive person and would like to abolish negativity!!!

So at the minute my career is as far as the eye can see…which I will be working on this week!

I PROMISE!!! (one made to myself)

Fashiony words!

Oh my gosh don’t you just love it when a trip to Wikipedia turns out to be some very fun times! Well I having one of those moments right now.

My categorie is Fashion Terms…I thought it could be an interesting read and boy it did not disappoint I found two terms I thought I could write about…enlighten your mind here ->

Fashion Victim - A term used to identify a person (The Victim) who is unable to recognise boundaries of style.

Now personally I think they style is a form of expression so whether someone wears a Armani suit or a binbag if thats what they chose to wear that day I will respect that.

A perfect example of this is a recent event. I went out one day to meet a friend in my Bettina Liano skinny black pants (or trousers as us Brits like to call them). Now I freaking love them. They are gorgeously snug, wash incredibly well and make me feel confident and sexy. My friend however did not take a liking to them…exact words as follows…

“Oh my god what are you wearing?! Bit tight arent they?! Dont leave much to the imagination!!”

Now lets look at the facts shall we? Did I like my outfit? Yes! Did I look acceptable to be seen with? Yes! What was the problem then? If I wasnt a confident person with my fashion then my confidence could have been knocked. This is why when people try to break their boundaries and their same old styling routine they just go running back to it as they feel they have made a mistake. I can assure you I am no ‘Fashion Victim’.

So I say ladies and gentlemen wear what you please as long as it makes you happy and oh…its clean!

Recessionista - This term describes a person who strives to remain fashionable on a minimal budget.

Yes currently this is me! Is there any shame in buying high street? No way. I am the biggest follower of it, high and low-end! The British High Street amazes me as I have travelled quite a bit and I believe that there is no where as bold and as impressive with the amount of style and choice that one can buy when hitting the shops.

I am literally bowled over when I enter a shopping centre. Everyone can happily live within their means and buy great clothes. Being honest we all know that you get what you pay for, so often you will have to compromise on quality. Obviously the biggest High Street Fashion store to hit our streets that is great on the wallet is Primark. My feelings on it are neutral. I do shop there but if I am after a quality piece like a suit or wedding outfit then I will give it a miss. But I do think its the perfect place for a Recessionista and also if there is a new trend thats only a fad and your only going to wear it once then its a good place to spend the £££s.

Whether your spending £1 or £1000 on a garment wear it with confidence and no one will ever know how much you paid for it. With confidence comes great reward, so get dressed, do your hair and fix your make up ready to face the world and you will hopefully achieve a great day!

Had London time!

Ok so first things first I must apologise for not blogging for about 5 days…but I have a pretty good excuse…I WENT AWAY TO LONDON TO VISIT FRIENDS!!

Thats right I was off visiting friends and having good times…any fashion faux pas you may wonder…NOPE!!

Really had an awesome time. I got to see a friend who I hadn’t seen for over 2 years, I must admit I was a little scared that it wasnt going to be the same but it ended up all being good.

So whats going on with the High street this week…lets see what I am simply adoring and just going to have to buy…

I am still obsessed with jackets and coats…my new favourite has to be this one from Topshop – http://bit.ly/ajYbo9 it would compliment some cute skinny black trousers…that I noticed in River Island (love it) or some dark skinny jeans. I would team it up with a plain top as the jacket is quite detailed.

Wow, my next pick is awesome…I want it soo much…Check out this heart print cutout dress from New Look for the bargain price of £22…its my valentines day outfit thats for sure…Thank you New Look – http://bit.ly/9krnkD

Ok so I am going to go and think about that dress and count my pennies in the hope of making that purchase!!

Where does it all go wrong?

Ohh dear we have all been there havent we?! When fashion is just a disaster, we all think it looks great and our friends tell us we look fab but there have been times when I know I certainly didn’t. And now thanks to the digital age we can not escape it, forever it will be captured and stored on hard drives, USB storage devices and of course Facebook for the whole world to see.

Guilty as charged – catastrophic Clothing!

Over the years I have made my fair share of fashion mistakes, but I feel that with age comes a light switch and attached to that switch is the fairy Godmother of fashion who switches on that light and shouts in your ear, ”Whoa girl, what have you been wearing!” Well rather than describe them I thought it would be fun to just show you all…

The Teenage Years

 

If I had to choose an out that I hate the most it would definitely be the one at age 15…now brace yourselves for my next confession…

 

ITS WHAT I CHOSE TO WEAR TO MY PROM/SCHOOL LEAVING DINNER!!!!!!

 

Yes thats right I actually decided against a dress and went for a purple paisley handkerchief and beige trousers! Ohh how I cringe when I look at it. But at the time I am pretty sure I loved it. Ohhh how fashion and style changes! All I can do now is look at these photos and laugh and then look in my wardrobe and hope that in 10 years time I am not looking back thinking “Oh my gosh…what was I wearing?!”

 

 

I love my ski coat…thanks for being there!

Firstly I should point out that I have actually never been skiing…I would like to though one day. The reason I ended up buying a ski coat was all thanks to Topshop. It was the january sales and I was just browsing with a friend and ooh look a ski coat for £20. What an absolute bargain I think it had been reduced from £100.

Sometimes I find that when an item has been reduced by a ridiculous amount I can’t help but buy it, even if I don’t need it…usually I put it in the wardrobe and it never sees daylight again. But not with the ski coat…oohh how I have loved it. It’s a bit like a boyfriend, keeps me all warm and cuddly and looks super cool when it’s on (that metaphor dependent on the boyfriend).

As I live in England I think its important to build up a decent coat collection even though it was only £20 if you buy a decent coat it will last you a life time if you take care of it and after every winter get it dry cleaned…that is so important.

Yoga…it’s for me!

Ok so I must admit that I am so unfit, but I have great genetics on my side so I haven’t needed to exercise. Trust me I thank my mama and papa for that one. However it’s not how I want to portray myself. I don’t want to be a fitness finatic, I just want to enjoy working out and not just because I want to hit the Adidas Store to buy all Stella McCartney gym wear (its awesome - http://tiny.cc/ DZnqT) I seriously want to be healthy on the inside and when I go to stores and try on pretty dresses feel good about it.

I have never been into exercise even at school I would fake being ill to get out of PE. I always found it so dull. I wasnt really any good at it and we all know how difficult school could often be so I would get teased for being all arms and legs (yes I was gangly). The only time I was ever half decent was when it was summer time and we would do olympic themed exercise like the high jump or long jump. It didn’t really bother me but as I get older I feel I want to take care of my body more.

Good intentions…

Now I always have bright ideas on how I can improve my well-being. Now I havent really owned a pair of trainers since I left school but recently I brought a pair as I thought I could start running…I had been inspired by the London Marathon and thought wow I would love to do it. But boy I really hadn’t done any exercise since school and when I went on my first ‘run’, I use that term loosely it was more like a fast hamble, it was horrendous. I just got so hot and my throat felt like it had a tennis ball stuffed down it. But my boyfriend said it would get better, he runs you see and I thought it would be a fun hobby for us…maybe fine dining would have been a better choice! It didn’t get better, maybe I should have persevered and put more pressure on myself. But then I am the type of person who has to love what they do and that I just wasnt loving!

Next…

So tonight I was flicking through Sky’s millions of channels and came across a Yoga show on Lifestyle so I thought ok this could be for me. I have some friends who adore Yoga and go all the time. So I turned it on, moved around a bit, wobbled a bit and loved it loads! I was actually concentrating and enjoying it. I could even hear my muscles saying…aww thank you! It is going to be my new craze, I know I am sooo late jumping on this bandwagon but I am literally throwing myself on it and rejoicing at the thought of exercise. YAY!

Even more I am rejoicing at the new clothes I can now buy, and the Yoga mat and a little hold all to carry it all in! Good times but more importantly healthy times…big smiley face right here!

Underwear as outerwear…Yes please!

Ok so it’s predicted for spring its going to be underwear as outwear…will I be joining in? For sure I will…I love the chance to expose gorgeous lingerie. I often think spending obscene amounts of money on something no one (well not quite  no one!) will ever really see is such a same, so this is such a wonderful way to show the world that our bras are brimming with pure glamour. Check out this article in Vogue to read what it’s all about – http://tiny.cc/9GPSb

I must admit I have done this before, another fashion hit up when I was 18. I had brought a corset from Primark’s lingerie range for £8 it was black and burgundy with hook and eyes at the front and it tied up at the back. Being me I brought the smallest size possible and would put it on with the tie loose then get either my friends or my mum to pull as hard as they possibly could to do it up. I wanted a teeny tiny waist and to pay homage to the Victorian era. I would team it up with a just below the knee full skirt, which itself took an age to iron as it was just masses of material…another Primark buy. I loved this outfit as it was actually really rather reserved, long skirt and no low-cut top, it was one of those outfits that made me feel like a little princess!

I will now definitely be on the look out for more corsets, silk camisole’s, and anything that I think would look pretty, elegant and feminine to layer up or under. This is one trend I am very excited about! Check out Fig leaves website for some fabulous camis – http://tiny.cc/pdFnY and loads of inspiration to take you into the spring season!!

Oh no fashion dilemma!!

Sooo did I mention I love shopping…

So today I had another successful shopping adventure. Came away with some really great stuff. Although I didn’t buy anything from the store I am about to mention it has to be my favourite store on the high street of all time…and that store is tah dah…ZARA…their clothes are always so beautifully made, fit really well and are always on trend and often unique to the high street. I was pretty impressed with the amount of sale stock they still had left too. I had expected it to be all over but there was loads and some great stuff too. If I hadn’t been spending wisely I could have come away with some great impulse buys. On the other hand I was on the lookout for a great birthday present for my boyfriend but it didn’t matter which mens clothes shop I went in I couldn’t find anything that was a little out there or wacky…it all just felt a little safe. Any suggestions???

Thank Dorothy Perkins for these little gems…

Soo what did I buy?!…Well I brought two dresses from Dorothy Perkins, not my usual choice of shop, but I am loving all there nautical themed clothes in at the moment.

...this one?

This one or...

                                                                                                                                          The navy and white striped dress – http://tiny.cc/HhLso I loved the minute I saw it and I had to go to three different shops just to get a size 8, however I am thinking it may be a tad too roomy but I will have to try it on again before I decide. The second dress I found whilst out on the hunt for the first, they are exactly the same style however this one is cream with black and gold buttons – http://tiny.cc/wk74D .  Now the problem is I can’t keep both of them so I have to choose which one, and this decision I feel will be hard because I can imagine wearing both. They are ridiculously versatile. I could wear them to a party with black opaques and heels, or team them with leggings and boots/pumps for a day look. The only thing with these dresses is they will have to be layered on top of a jumper or long tee as they have huge cap sleeves that would not fit under anything.

I am looking for something that is easy to wear but still looks really smart and sophisticated and I reckon one of these two dresses will be just the ticket. You see I will be catching up with some friends I haven’t seen for ages and I think its important to look good on this occasion. I wouldn’t want anyone to think my standards and belief in glamour had somehow faded (I am currently sat in my pjs…sshhhh)!

Warning pure bargain bliss coming up…

My prize find of the day has to be  a gorgeous little headband I came across. It was in one of those stores where everything is £2. It’s a gorgeous Johnny

My new little bargain!

 Loves Rosie metal diamante bow on two black elastic bands. It’s the sweetest thing and the best of it is it only cost £2…how gorgeous is that! It looks super cute too. I spent about 20 minutes in this little shop just absorbing everything they had to offer…I could have spent hundreds of £2′s but I thought I should limit myself as I have been over doing it on the costume jewellery…only today I brought two necklaces from Primark…the mother of budget goodness!

Ok so I need major help on which one to keep…I love them both and will be so sorry to return one…but it has to be done…so come one which one??? Which one is destined for my wardrobe and which one is destined for someone elses???

xoxo

Oh no there goes a crime of fashion…

I have always been interested in fashion, but I have had my fair share of fashion disasters. Here is one of my favourites that I wore weekly…

When I was 18 I used to go out in the same outfit every weekend just because I loved it. From head to toe I thought it looked awesome, and maybe it did?! But then again maybe it didn’t. Firstly there was the top, a grey Topshop number all strappy and cowl necked…but a low cowl neck. It was a 10 and was 8 so there was a little extra room and when I was out I would find it working its way down my chest often exposing what I had…ooops…fortunatly I had some good friends who would always alert me when this true crime of fashion was being committed.

Then there was the jeans, they were a grey wash straight leg from Zara. They were so tight and used to put them in tumble dryer for hours just to make them that little bit smaller. Finally there was the boots. Ooohh how I adored these boots, they were flat and very pointy and came up to my knee…but the most important fact about them is that they were WHITE!! Yes you read correctly I owned, wore and adored a flat, pointy, knee-high white pair of boots! I would accessorise with loads and loads of silver bangles and massive silver earrings. I loved to wear it all, I felt so sexy in it. when I look back I think hmmm what was I thinking but I also think well at the time I thought I looked good…would I ever wear that ensemble now…NO WAY!!