The only way to spend a day off is shopping.

As pretty much everyone in England knows, today is the day of the public sector strikes, which is a bit of a blessing in disguise for students - day off! But I have technically lost valuable lesson time.. Shockingly, that doesn't bother me too much, since I was incredibly glad of the lie in, and a chance to get some more Christmas shopping done. It's not even December and I am already making excellent progress on the gift front, aided by the fact that today was payday too! Here's what I wore to brave the Christmas shoppers again..

Dress, Blazer, Shoes & Earrings - Topshop; Tights - Primark; Faux Fur Stole & Bracelet - ASOS; Bag - Tous; Ring - Parfois.
I decided that if the weather is going to be deceptively light and spring-like, I can be too! Hence the thin tights, summery dress & light blazer - although the faux fur stole is a definite hint towards winter. I was also feeling quite ladylike today, as you can probably tell, and my wardrobe lends itself quite well towards that.. Again, like many of my recent outfits, this one was actually pretty simple, consisting primarily of a dress & blazer, but the accessories lend it a more luxe feel and definitely stop me blending in to the background. One final comment about today's look is that the simplest addition to an outfit can make it or break it - the dark berry lipstick was a last minute thing, but without it, the look wouldn't have had the same pop. If you were wondering, I have used Boots' 17 lipstick in Rich.

As I said, today I got some more Christmas shopping done (aren't I organised?) and currently have the major parts of my mum's, dad's and granny's presents in the bag. Hopefully this current trend will continue and I will have all of my Christmas shopping done in a few weeks time, so that I am not freaking out about it come December 23rd or something stupid like that... But since today was payday, I let a few little presents for myself slide into the shopping bags too..

Accessorize were having a little seasonal event, where everything was 25% off, and this supersweet little wishbone bracelet found its way into my hand, then exchanged itself for a very small amount of money - and I'm not even sorry! You can never have enough jewellery, especially cute little bracelets like this that can either be worn alone for some simple styling, or stacked and layered up.

Next up is an impulse buy of the highest order - this amazing Topshop faux fur hat! I never used to be a 'hat' girl, but this year, much like maxi dresses, I have woken up to the fact that there is a hat out there for everyone - maybe even several. I saw this one in store, and was firstly drawn in by the faux fur, something I am going crazy for right now, then the colour (actually an amethyst kind of hue, not that it looks like it here) and then the temptation to try it on was too strong. Unfortunately, it looked pretty darn good, considering I thought I couldn't really pull off hats, and I decided to say what the hell, and buy it anyway. For one, I had just seen how much money was in my bank account after getting paid, and could definitely afford it, and secondly, this will do many jobs in winter (keeping my head warm, disguising bad hair days and revving up my cosy, practical outfits). Thirdly, you only live once. So why not treat yourself once in a while, and live that life as stylishly as possible. I am now in love with this hat. Even if I feel a little Russian in it... Love and kisses, Tara xox