Blogger Challenge: Outfit for £50 or under

I decided to undertake quite a challenge..to find a complete outfit for £50 or under. I am known for my bargain hunting or "stumbling upon" as I prefer to call it! Where better to piece together a complete outfit than boohoo.com. 

Alot of the time, I like to begin with a great pair of boots or shoes and work my way up. The boots I  selected are these beautiful tan ankle boots, at only £20. They really remind me of a pair boots that Mollie from the Saturdays wears. 

I teamed this with a beautiful monochrome heart print dress with a pearl neckline. The pearl neckline really stands and makes the dress look very classic. I can't believe this dress is only £10. The detail in the sleeves and neckline alone make it look more expensive. 

The black jacket will make the dress "dressier" for day or evening, and I would definitely wear this jacket with jeans and a tee to make it more casual. I cant live without a black blazer or jacket in my wardrobe, it is always something you will reach for in a rush. This is a steal at £20. 

The whole outfit comes to exactly £50 and the best thing is, each individual piece can be worn with multiple items in my wardrobe. The ankle boots are great with skinny jeans or jeggings. The dress with a chunky knit, tights and flats and the jacket with all my dresses and jeans. 

I am always in search of discount codes for ASOS, Boohoo, Oasis, Warehouse and Topshop online. If you haven't already checked it out,Fashion Vouchers, have amazing offers and discount codes for Motel, Debehams, Boohoo, Boots and so many good online stories. By far one of the best discount sites for online fashion retailers.Fashion Vouchers

Let me know what you think of my outfit for £50 below! 

Autumn Berry And Sequins

I am going to embrace the winter the only way I know how...and that is with some new wardrobe updates. I just recently moved into a new apartment, and with the move, I rediscovered some classic pieces as well as some tiresome old tees, jeans and jumpers which have seen better days. After some editing, I am starting to piece together "entering cooler days" outfits. When rainy days emerge, I have a tendency to reach for any dark coloured clothing I can find. I definitely don't think I am the only person guilty of doing so, however, I am attempting to limit my dark clothing days. Rather than reaching for my black jeans, I am living (not even exaggerating) in my new burgundy coloured jeans from H&M. I love H&M but I love it even more since Lana Del Ray started modeling for them. Everything she wears.. I want to own it! The burgundy jeans can be worn with many coloured but my favorite has to be either a cream or a pale pink. I wore pumps with this outfit but when the weather becomes cooler I will wear them with black ankle boots and a black or dark grey knit cardi or jumper. I have my eye on one in Zara..dreaming of it as I type this.

Let me know what is on your winter wishlist.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

This is possibly my all time favourite cleanser..ever. I had heard so much about it, I was kind of sucked into the hype and felt I needed to really find out if it was as good as everyone was saying it was.

My skin is oily to normal. I am prone to spots around my T-zone, cheeks and chin. Like most products, I didn't feel this would help my skin but I was willing to give it a try. Within days I saw results however, it was only after using this product for two weeks that I really noticed the difference. I thought my skin was always going to remain slightly oily and with the odd spot here and there. I got used to it and just lived on with copious amounts of concealer. However, cleanse and polish has changed my skin.

I really am so excited about the results and the fact that it worked so well. I wish I took a before and after photograph. This is a product which I am just not quite sure how I would live without it again. I am testing out a Kiehl's cleanser and toner, so I am trying to do them separately to see which one was better. However it is proving quite difficult at the moment.

*I have no affiliation with Liz Earle or any of their products. I simply, love this and want to spread the good word on the skin clarifying results!

September Starts

September has rolled around sooner than anyone could imagine..it always seems to creep up. Over the last couple of weeks I have been so busy with "life admin" that I didn't get to blog as much as I would like. I am moving apartments, changing jobs and trying to pass my driving test. I sat my driving test for the first time today, and unfortunately, although very close, didn't pass it. I had set myself up for those words "It's not good news today" but when you hear the words out loud, I don't think you can plan your own reaction. After getting over the fact I would have to pay 85 euro again and re-sit the test, I decided I needed something to cheer me up. And what can beat a little retail therapy?

Candles definitely help to relax and I have a lot in my room, living room and bathroom. TK Maxx are one of the best places to pick up large candles at a really good price. I actually end up buying more candles than I would ever need so they are really nice as presents!

I love the silver heel on these shoes from M&S. I found them on a sale shelf and couldn't really leave them behind. The colour goes with everything and although I think these were meant to be summer stock, I would still wear these in the winter with tights and a dress or jeans. 

Handmade Bracelets

At the weekend, I set to work on creating some new bracelets for Autumn/Winter. I created the bracelets with high quality gold and silver coated chain with lace and pearl beaded material. The bracelets can be worn stacked together or separately.

 

Trish @reservedforruby

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel by the great author F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925. I fell in love with 1920s clothing and jewellery when I watched old movies and I can't wait for the 2013 release of the movie. When I love a book, I generally don't like to watch the film as films often cut scenes and rewrite pieces to make it more suited and interesting to a viewing audience. I love reading a book and imagining what the characters look like, what their style is and their facial expressions. However, the Great Gatsby will be an exception due to the array of style that will feature throughout.   Part of the whole 1920s look were the beautiful jewels, diamonds and costume jewellery. 

Vintage is at the heart of Reserved for Ruby. An eclectic mix of vintage and on-trend, I feel, really completes a wardrobe. I am really excited to have some beautiful vintage costume jewellery available very soon at reservedforruby.com

Each piece was hand selected from different parts of the world and are all completely unique. 

Pink.

Summer. Are you still here? Sort of? Well we can work with sort of. I sort of bought a pair of pink shorts from Asda and have found probably one occasion to wear them. So I decided to get my camera out to remember this fine moment. When I first started Uni I became obsessed with pink, mainly due to my best friend inflicting her pink obsession on me. It became infectious. Pink hair accessories, pink tops, pink jumpers, pink bag and even taking the extreme route and only using pink highlighters! It didn't last, it was a phase but I moved in the opposite and only bought clothes if they were black, variations of white, ivory, cream, some grey, gold and tan. Slowly, I am introducing colour back into my life. After all, it actually does cheer you up. If you are colour-phobe..try it out once in a while.

You have probably noticed I wear this blouse quite a lot. It is one of my favourite purchases from "Annie and the Mannequins".  They have amazing stock and I want to buy everything but have to restrain myself. When I find unique items of clothing I tend to wear them a lot so it is worthwhile searching for those unique once off pieces.

Shorts: George at Asda, Blouse: Annie and the Mannequins

Dear White Dress With Floral Design

Dear White Dress With Floral Design,

I can't believe it has taken me this long to write to you but then again I procrastinate about most important things like categorising my scarves and placing them into individually labelled shoe boxes, writing to magazines hoping they might take a look at some of my writing and trying to do a fishtail plait. Am I the only person who can't? If there are other people out there who find it difficult, please share as I don't like to feel alone on this topic!

But back to you white dress with floral design.  You might recall when we first met.  You might not.  I saw you in Jack Wills and instantly saw the styling possibilities. Casual with white converse but an instant evening outfit with black heels, belt and black clutch. I couldn't justify why I needed to own a new dress as I didn't have an occasion in mind. You would be perfect at a garden party, but I am not at that age were garden parties happen very often. I struggled with this as I was only trying to fool myself with the garden party. This was definitely a dress that could be worn on a casual sunday with converse. 

Our second encounter, you were on sale in Jack Wills, and if this alleged sale didn't occur, we undoubtedly would not have met again. The 70% off popped out at me as I strolled past the window, looking for something exciting to photograph. I knew then you had the potential to become something. The potential to be mixed and matched all the while remaining effortlessly simplistic. 

Now you remain on my rail of dresses, waiting for the next venture outside. 

The Pinafore

A few nights ago, many enjoyed the Olympics closing ceremony. Young and old gazed at their TV screens whilst holding their iPhone, iPads, laptops and (any other type of phone or tablet computer) reading Twitter updates! If I want to know something, news worthy or fashion worthy...Twitter is my first port of call. I sometimes wonder how I would live without it. Although I would probably be in the real world more and not in my tech bubble!  However, as great as the closing ceremony was, according to Twitter, the general consensus felt it wasn't a patch on Sir Danny Boyle's opening ceremony.

One of my favourite moments of the closing ceremony (aside from the Spice Girls) was the appearance of the worlds top British supermodels in beautiful British designs. British Fashion was displayed to millions of people worldwide in one closing ceremony, and that is the type of clever publicity that is necessary to make it to the top.

Designer fashion aside, it is almost back to school time. Now, as a fully fledged graduate, I haven't had that back to school feeling in a long time (as I'm always in work!). However, I do miss the excitement of going shopping with my Mum to buy new shoes, a new school bag and a new uniform. Upon seeing this pinafore, it immediately reminded me of a navy pinafore I wore to school. I wore it with a blue shirt and a navy and red striped tie. I don't think I would ever venture down that route again, as stylish as it was at the time. So I have a new grown up take on a classic black pinafore.

 This is an outfit which you could wear to work, or make it more casual with a baggy tee. I top is from Primark and I love the detailed lace and pearl collar.

Pinafore: Miss Selfridge, Blouse: Primark, Hat:Vintage

Vintage Jewellery: New Collection

Well my blog kind of began due to my love for vintage jewellery and clothing. I have many vintage jackets, a couple of bags but have built quite a collection of vintage jewellery.  All of these items will be up on my site very shortly which you can purchase. It has been a work in progress and of course, it takes time to build a vintage collection. As well as that I will have a collection of handmade accessories.....I will keep you all updated. 

This beautiful gold tone bracelet is in mint condition and looks like it has never been worn. Glass pearls are set on a golden leaf texture. Measures: 7 1/4" end to end and 5/8" wide. 

This is a beautiful victorian style Amethyst and Pearl ring, in perfect condition.  The best thing about it is, it is adjustable and seems to fit 5-7 ring size.

Beautiful blue rhinestones complete this vintage set. The brooch measures 3 1/2" x 2". The clip earrings are 1 1/4". 

Coming soon to www.reservedforruby.com