Vuitton-esque.

I almost didn't want to post today's outfit, so that I could wear it again tomorrow! That's because the extent of my wearing it was the bus ride into college, after which I decided that I was feeling way too unwell, and left. Consequently, not many people got to appreciate the sugary-sweet cuteness that was my outfit today..

Dress & Blazer - ASOS; Top (underneath, as collar) - New Look; Shoes - Topshop; Tights - Primark; Bracelet & Ring - Temporary Secretary.

This look is probably the closest I will get to the sheer gorgeousness that the Louis Vuitton SS'12 collection embodies. I was ridiculously pleased to find this lookalike ASOS dress - the powder blue hue and cut out lace just screams LV, especially when paired with a cute scalloped collar. Next time I break out this dreamy dress however, I want it to be blazing sunshine so I can dispense with all the depressingly necessary layers like tights and a blazer..

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Wanted - Flatforms.

The wedge heel is making its customary comeback for spring, in many a style, pattern and colour, but while I adore wedge heels for their glamorous appearance and relative practicality, the fact that I am already a wedge convert with a couple of pairs at home means that I am hardly bouncing up and down on my sofa, raring to wear them. However, there is one slightly different, slightly unusual style of wedge that has me quite excited.. Say bonjour to..

THE FLATFORM.

This clever shoe shape was everywhere on the SS'12 catwalks, proving that flats can be high octane and glam too. At first glance, I was unconvinced. I thought they were a little unwieldy, a little clompy, and not really my cup of tea. Then I let them grow on me for a few months, et voila, I am now desperately seeking some perfect flatforms to complement my spring wardrobe! Honestly, any shoe that can give me (much-needed) extra height at relative comfort is my best friend. So here I am, hunting down a pair that are chic, stylish and affordable..

£50, Topshop
As per usual, my first stop on the hunt was Topshop, and I was not disappointed. I love the wooden sole of these, and the simplicity of the black uppers.

£55, Topshop
These lace up, espadrille style flatforms also come in orange and black, but they aren't my favourites. They are a little too casual for me, and a little too similar to trainers!

£110, Topshop Unique
Now these are more my style. The metallic hue is simply divine, as is the Prada-esque flame detailing. However, the lace up sneaker effect is still a little too sports luxe for my tastes.. And the price makes these way out of my league.

£35, River Island
I have seen these in store a few times, and thought the colour was simply stunning. I love the simple style of them, which lets the hue shine through and means they will mix and match easily. Not a fan of orange? They also come in black. These are my favourites so far..

£40, ASOS
As the purveyors of runway style and top trends that ASOS are, I naturally went running to them in search of flatforms, and their collection is pretty big! I love the pattern on their VARSITY flatforms, which also come in two other prints.

£35, ASOS
The print on these VEZZA flatforms is simply incredible. Not the easiest thing to mix and match, but definitely a gorgeous statement. These also come in denim, and would be the perfect easy-breezy spring footwear.

£50, ASOS
These VIPER flatforms come in a range of other colours, but this black & watercolour floral combination is my personal favourite. These just epitomise spring for me - somehow they are romantic, strong, eye-catching and simple all at the same time. Practicality goes out of the window a bit with them, but oh well, fashion over function!

After looking at these stunning flatforms, I don't feel like I need to hunt any further. If you're not totally convinced by any of these, or aren't a fan of the patterns, try looking at ASOS's flatforms here because they have so many more prints and styles, from pastel flatform trainers to high basket weave pairs. 

Personally, I am a little bit torn between the orange River Island flatforms and the ASOS VIPER flatforms. I know, the orange ones are more practical, affordable, easier to style and probably easier to wear, but those ASOS flatforms are calling out to me. I do adore the River Island pair though, and in an ideal world I would definitely get both! Give me a few days to weigh them up and make my decision, and then maybe you'll be seeing spring's new wedge style on the end of my (short) legs. 

I can see that the River Island pair are the more sensible investment, but the ASOS VIPER flatforms are so beautiful my heart literally goes out to them. And which to follow, head or heart? Which ones would you go for?

Love and kisses, Tara xox

PS. I just had the amazing realisation that I now have 60 followers! (does mad little dance and squeals excitedly) This honestly made my day, because I never dreamed of getting one follower for the my random fashion thoughts & it amazes me that anyone reads it at all! I am also over 15000 page views - thankyou so much to all the people who read, follow + comment, you make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

One thing you can't accuse me of is playing it safe.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet, since it is around 10.08pm and I have just had a day in college followed by work & quite literally only want to see my bed. I was pretty tired to start with today, and all that activity has just floored me.. This morning, when deciding what to wear, I did my usual trick of dressing super-brightly when I feel tired - it's a real mood-booster, and means that nobody else can tell you are basically running on autopilot because they are too busy processing your look!

Blazer & Top - Topshop; Trousers & Ring - ASOS; Shoes - Dorothy Perkins; Bracelet - Lola Rose.

Today I was not content with simply wearing my new (gorgeous) floral trousers from ASOS, which I officially adore, but I decided to basically attack the eyes of the general public with some seriously mixed up florals. And let's face it, single print outfits just won't cut it anymore! I think it works because the two patterns are both floral & digitized, but slightly different, and the orange of the top picks out the neon orange element of the trousers. Since the main body of my look was so OTT and in-your-face, I styled my clashing blooms with simple black accessories and silver jewellery. I will openly admit now that I had not realised how skinny the heel was on my new black Dorothy Perkins heels - it's fair to say they aren't the most stable of shoes. But I walked around in them happily all day, and skinny heels are very du jour! 

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Someone make it SS'12 already!

Today my half day at college was made even better by a quick shopping dash, and then arriving home to yet another package full of goodies I bought online last week. I can only liken last Friday to a total shopping binge - after the Mary Katrantzou blowout I just carried on chain-shopping on ASOS.. But my wardrobe desperately needed a new season update, so I limited myself to must-have key pieces as much as I could. I am most definitely in the mood to really rev up my SS'12 style, and I wish the weather would let me. Today I did slightly disregard the rain/cloud/wind/cold in favour of some spring style though...

Jumper & Clutch - New Look; Skirt - H&M; Shoes, Necklace & Earrings - Topshop; Tights - F+F at Tesco; Ring - Temporary Secretary; Bracelet - Lola Rose.

I am more than a little bit in love with this candyfloss-pink jumper - it is the perfect way to wear spring's sweet pastel hues while maintaining some vestige of warmth in these icy February days. To juxtapose the slouchy, relaxed, casual shape & style of the jumper I opted to dress it up with lots of sequins, glitter, and a statement necklace, along with a pop of bright pink lipstick. These all made today's ensemble look very pulled-together rather than thrown-together, and I really like the clash of textures between knitwear and sequins. Something that really brings the outfit together is the lipstick; I said only this morning that putting on lipstick always makes it look and feel like you have put some effort in - I honestly don't feel dressed without mine! My favourite little detail though is my Lola Rose bracelet, courtesy of my free shopping spree.

Now you've seen me working spring pastels today, take a look at which SS'12 styles are going to be popping up in my wardrobe soon, thanks to my ASOS goodies..

First up is this gorgeous tropical print pencil skirt - take me to Hawaii! I am now dying for summer, sun, beaches and blue sky.. But this skirt will have to do for now. The main reason I love it is that despite being tie-dyed and crazily printed with digital blooms, the pencil shape keeps it chic.

Alright, so I am going crazy for florals.. what can I say? The new digi-flowers are just too cute and eye-catching not to end up in my wardrobe, especially the ones on these stunning trousers. Not only are they gorgeously tailored, wildly printed with just a touch of neon from the orange detail, and achingly du jour, but these trousers are from the petite section, which means they will actually fit me well! I can't wait to wear them, but I will expect more than a few funny looks, since they are pretty out there..

When I saw this dress online, I literally had to get it. Do I need another dress? Realistically, no.. but there was no way I was letting this dress go. I think everyone is familiar with that gorgeous SS'12 Louis Vuitton collection that starred Kate Moss & was basically the epitome of pretty.. Well, I dreamed of owning one of their dresses, and then along came this little beauty - it is a stunning powder blue, with large, cutout broderie anglaise style lace and a cute fit-and-flare shape.. basically it is so Vuitton it hurts. Therefore, it was always going to be mine.

It does feel a little premature to be buying sunglasses, I'm not going to lie. Then again, if we do get a sudden burst of unseasonal good weather, my peepers will be bang on trend in these perspex, pastel pink cat-eye shades. Trust ASOS to have the perfect addition to any summer outfit on hand!

When I went to town shopping today I will admit that my latest purchases were playing on my mind.. leading to two things. Firstly, a lot of restraint since I spent rather a lot of money recently. And secondly, when considering what to wear with my new ASOS trousers & skirt, the realisation that I don't own a pair of simply black high heels. Well, that had to be fixed..

And the solution came from Dorothy Perkins. These simple, suede effect shoes are exactly what I wanted - a chic pointed shape, sleek black colour & the perfect heel height for walking around all day. They did come in a rainbow of other tempting colours, but I needed black shoes, so black shoes I bought!

I think this ought to be the last major shop that takes place for a while, because totalling up what I have spent recently just gets painful. I don't even want to look at my bank statement! A few weeks of restraint are in order... which will also give me a chance to get creative with my new purchases. So just to be clear, this should be the last shopping haul post you see for a while (or a day or two until I just buy something anyway), but prepare yourself for a lot of outfits...

Love and kisses, Tara xox