London haul.

Bonjour mes chers, from sunny Paris! I am attempting to keep up with blogging a bit and have pre-written this before I left England...

Brace yourseves, this is gonna be a long one.. So go grab a cuppa and settle in for a little parade of my latest buys from the Shangri-La of high street shopping - Oxford Street. I keep on saying that I need to save money, and that I have a lot of clothes and could probably get by without many more, but when confronted with that surreal level of shopping heaven, I cave. And I cave big time..

FOREVER 21

There is no Forever 21 near me, so I hit this one hard! I love the 1920s feel of the first top, it will be ideal for going out, and the other pieces were picked up in the sale for my upcoming summer holiday.

H&M

This top was just so Mary Katrantzou, I couldn't resist!

 NEW LOOK

Gonna get my retro on in this dress from Kelly Brook for New Look. Hello, Marilyn.

TOPSHOP

Me at the Topshop sale is like a kid in a sweet shop.. restraint was impossible. I ended up unable to resist a new cute sweatshirt, yet another gorgeous print, some sweet detailing and with a bit more 1920s fever.

JEWELLERY

Here's a motley collection of my jewellery buys.. All gorgeous, all irresistible. Stud Earrings & Shell Earrings - Forever 21. Bracelet & Ring - Topshop. Ear Cuff - H&M.

SELFRIDGES

I was in heaven in the Food Hall, and ended up treating myself to something naughty but nice - Pink Vodka. Gorgeous. And anywhere that gives you free tasters of vodka at 12.30pm is alright by me.

Finally, the end of my London haul.. I have got some gorgeous pieces.. and not much money! Any favourites among my picks? I can't choose - I love them all.

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Getting around to it...

Since I'm off college ill again (yes, I'm pathetic and sickly quite a lot lately), I have finally gotten around to a post that I have been meaning to do for weeks. As I'm sure everyone knows, the world went a little crazy over the collaboration between Marni and H&M that dropped on March 8th - and I was no exception. Or was I? When looking through the collection online to choose my pieces, I found that while they were all so well designed by the geniuses at Marni, they just weren't my cup of tea. Only one or two things caught my eye, and were exciting enough to convince me to buy. 

Obviously, the online scramble took place on March 8th, with some degree of success & a week or so later a lovely little box from H&M arrived at my door. I practically ripped it open (after struggling with it for a while) and was so happy with my piece of this collaboration.

The piece I opted for was this gorgeous flower necklace in black - bold, eye-catching and gorgeously quirky. Like I said, most of the collection wasn't really my thing, but I totally adored the Marni for H&M accessories! What I love about this necklace is that it is such a statement shape that it could easily be the focus of an entire outfit, yet the sleek, shiny black hue means it could be paired with a bold print and not steal the limelight. I'm planning on working it both ways in the near future. 

It's versatility is definitely one of this necklace's best features, and I love the way the petals of the flowers can move a little and aren't completely fixed in place, which adds tactility and motion to it. The quirky, stylized shape of the blooms is also gorgeous. And speaking of being versatile, that fabric tie means that you can have it at pretty much any length you want, from dangling almost to your waistline to acting as a choker or simply resting below your collarbones. It can be so long in fact, that for me it could even act as a belt - my parents pointed this out upon my proud displaying of it, and I am quite tempted..

I am so glad I got my hands on a piece of Marni's collection for H&M, even if it isn't an iconic dress like the Versace I will know where it originated from and enjoy it all the same. This necklace is perfect for embellishing my SS'12 wardrobe now and then making its reappearance regularly throughout my lifetime. So what do you all think? Did you pick up any items in the Marni for H&M drop way back on March 8th? 

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Getting carried away.

You've heard all my moans about college, early mornings and the great British weather a million times, and I don't want every post on here to turn into a mini life rant, so instead of dwelling on any of that slightly depressing stuff I am just going to go off on a bit of an overexcited word vomit.. Warning, I may not be able to control my excitement at times - read on at the risk of some serious underlining, exclamation marks and severely garbled sentences.

Blazer - Asos; Dress - Internacionale; Shoes, Ring & Earrings - Topshop; Belt & Tights - Primark; Bracelet - Temporary Secretary.
Sorry about the blurry picture.. not blaming the photographer though (got that Mum?), it is probably my silly digital camera trying to be clever and not use flash, before making a hash of the shot. Clever. Anyway, today I admittedly went all back-to-black without even thinking about it. Usually I shy away from top-to-toe black, preferring to frame my brighter pieces with any black items, but today it just felt right as a combination. I think the thing that stops this outfit falling flat as boring is the detail - the block-white hemline, patterned tights, glitter pumps, pink snakeskin belt & bright lips definitely perk up the black and add detail. One thing that was always going for this outfit is that black is an eternally chic colour, which most fashion editors would swear by..

And here comes the excitement. Sometime in the morning, while I was being all studious in lessons I got a text from my friend with awesome news - Lady Gaga tweeted her stage set idea today! It looks incredible, and now I am ridiculously excited about the Born This Way Ball, it is literally going to be the night of my life. I am already planning how to get in the monsterpit with my gorgeous Becca, so we can get dragged out to meet Stefani.. okay, maybe I'm getting carried away! But it's going to be absolutely AMAZING. Just think of the fashion! And seeing one of my greatest inspirations up close...

Here is the stage design... I'm not even close to Christian/religious and I am suffering heart palpitations.
 

As if that wasn't enough, I also picked up this week's Grazia and saw a piece on the Mary Katrantzou for Topshop collection that drops in ten days time. The pieces look absolutely incredible, so creative, so unique and pretty similar to some of her catwalk collections. There is no question, I have to have something from this collection. My friends probably thought the prices were still a bit ridiculous, but compared to the real Katrantzou deal all of the items are a complete steal. I already have my eye on a few dresses, and possibly a top, but unfortunately pictures are evading me. Go buy Grazia! Oh, and I also saw a few photos from the Marni for H&M collection - not as incredible as the Mary Katrantzou collaboration, but still definitely beautiful enough to make me want to cyber-stalk the website on the 8th March in the hope of picking up a piece or two. 

The combined excitement of the two fashion collections would probably have been enough to send me into hyperventilation (and honestly, they did - don't judge me), but then add in the Born This Way Ball and the promise of a visit with my lovely Becca, and I am literally out-of-this-world euphoric. The anticipation may kill me. Love and kisses, Tara xox

I never check the weather report.

Jumper & Earrings - Topshop; Denim Shirt - River Island; Jeans & Slippers - New Look; Ring - Accessorize.

Laughing in the face of the -8 degrees that it apparently was this morning, I decided that I was sick to death of my winter coats. Okay, in all fairness I did not realise how cold it was when I left the house, I didn't hear that ridiculous temperature until I got into college, but I still noted the frost and elected not to wear a coat. I will probably rethink this decision if it gets much chillier (or stays the same) but for now I can't quite bear to pick one up.. I did however layer up a little with my denim shirt and slouchy, oversized, chunky knit jumper, and the jeans were close to sensible. My poor little feet did get quite frozen - but it was so worth it to wear my sweet new slippers, which I got a fair few compliments on! This look is quite different to yesterday's, but like always, it perfectly summed up my mood - comfortable, slightly masculine, and pretty quirky. It is also the closest to minimal I will go.

Today felt quite pointless, in terms of the effort needed to go to college only to waste my morning with a free period in the canteen & a cancelled lesson in town, then go to double history in the afternoon and not really do that much productive work... Admittedly, I would have been even less productive at home, and yes, it was fun to hang out with my friends, but still. The point still stands that by the time I was on the way home I was a little unimpressed with today (the cold didn't help anything) and was therefore even more excited to get a mystery package from my mum, which turned out to be... a dress from Mary Katrantzou's previous Topshop collection!

It's no secret that Mary Katrantzou is probably my favourite designer right now, because her designs are so unique and inspiring, and it's pretty obvious that I am waiting with baited breath for the Topshop collection to drop. I wish I had a few thousand to invest in one of her latest catwalk pieces, but since I don't I will be frantically hitting the Topshop website on February 17th at 9am to try and get my paws on a gorgeous piece from the collaboration. Anyway, apparently my mum wanted to make sure I owned some Katrantzou even if the Topshop collection slips through my fingers like the second Versace for H&M collection did, so she found me a dress from a previous collection!

I love the simple T-shirt shape of this dress, as well as the incredible graphic print - this is the perfect statement day dress. I cannot wait to wear it, and I am so happy to have it now because it is a little piece of Mary's genius.. I will just have to not get too fat over the weekend, since it is pretty unforgiving (it's very bodycon). This was the perfect end to the week, now that my collection of designer collaborations is growing and has been expanded by my designer of choice, Mary Katrantzou!

I just realised that the Topshop collaboration drops in two weeks time - excitement! And the next collaboration I am awaiting after that is Marni for H&M on March 8th. H&M and Topshop apparently have the best designer buddies. Love and kisses, Tara xox

Hold on to your hats...

My heart just palpitated again. You may recall the level of insane excitement I reached when I saw that H&M were teaming up with Versace to release a collection celebrating the iconic designs of Gianni & Donatella... Well, just now I found out there is going to be a cruise collection, dropping on 19TH JANUARY. My only question was could it live up to the first?

This drop isn't based on the iconic designs/patterns, it is something new altogether, which is quite exciting! I immediately hunted down pictures and made my pick of the collection, although whether I will be purchasing any pieces is another matter.. Here are my favourite pieces from this new cruise line..

I sense a little bit of a fruit theme running through here... I have to admit, while the first, iconic collection beats this one hands down (it was always going to be hard to top) I do love the fresh feel of the whole line. It's just effortless summer chic in a handy, capsule-style nutshell. I can totally picture myself chilling on a beach in the super-cute fruity bikini, or strolling around the shops in style in pretty much any of these pieces - they are making me ache for summer days. My favourite thing in this drop is those gorgeous blue, fruit-print shorts which just scream summer. And at £24.99 I think I could afford them too.. We shall have to see, come January.

One thing I will say.. Not everyone gets to go off on a glamorous cruise holiday in January, Donatella! I'll be stuck at home in England, which is guaranteed to still be averaging about, oh, -2 degrees. Therefore, if I buy any of your bright, fruity designs I will either have to layer them up until they vanish under my warm stuff, or just sit at home stroking them. Either option is hardly satisfying. Which is why the shorts are my favourite - a chunky knit & some cute tights would sort these out for colder days! After that little moan I will admit, however, that there is something quite refreshing about seeing these light, bright prints and colours in winter.. oh now I'm confused. Do I love it or hate it? Annoyed or in love with it? Gah.

Since they don't drop until January I guess I have a few weeks to decide just what I think, and whether or not I will try to get my paws on yet more Versace. I think how much I get paid/get given for Christmas will have an effect on this, since my mental wishlist of clothes is already pretty darn long.. Anyway, this is the next (and final!) Versace for H&M drop - so what do you think? Oh and one final thing, apparently a collaboration with Marni is the next thing on the cards for H&M. It's official. They are the ultimate high street store for fashionistas. Love and kisses, Tara xox

Today, dreams came true.

I literally cannot describe the feeling. I guess I will start by saying that my curiosity was piqued when my mum told me there was a surprise waiting for me at home - clueless, I waited impatiently to get in and find out what in the world it could be! Well, after the whole eyes-closed-hands-out ritual I found myself holding an H&M box. A small struggle ensued to get into said box. And if you are following my train of thought, you have probably already guessed what was inside... Yes, today was the day that this little shopaholic got her paws on some VERSACE!

As you are well aware, I was crazily excited about the Versace for H&M collection that burst into stores last Thursday, and it won't shock you that I had stalked all the pictures and devised a plan of action for the release day, consisting of my wonderful Mum agreeing to face the online shop head on and try to pick up one of my favourite pieces. However, the 17th came around and although my Mum tried diligently to get some Versace in my life, it seemed we were unsuccessful, and so I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably never own any of Donatella's masterpieces.. Then this happened. There are no words. And not only do I now own Versace, we managed to score my absolute favourite item from the collection..

How gorgeous?? It looks a little bit weird and short hung up on the back of the door, but come on. It's a stunning dress. I am in love with every single aspect of it, from the iconic Versace print to the all over sequins, and from the leopard print background to the simple, flattering shape. Oh, and it looks pretty amazing on. Even on a pint-sized blogger like me, this dress is a perfect length, and has a cut that suits me down to the ground. I will never get bored of this dress, and I could talk about how beautiful it is all day and night, but for now I will settle for saying that if any special event crops up, there is no question, I am wearing it. And with minimal accessories - this dress deserves to make a statement.

And to preserve my Versace in its current flawless condition, I will be storing it in the complimentary, fabulous garment bag that came with the dress - well played Versace, well played. I adore the vibrant print and colour, I am so ridiculously proud to have this hanging in my room that I don't even mind not being able to actually see the dress through it.. 

So yes, today was the day that one of my dreams became reality. I now possess a bona fide designer item, and not just any designer item, it's Versace! Okay, it's a diffusion high-street line, but it contains an iconic print and literally screams high-end. And honestly, my chances of getting a real Versace dress (at least for now) are pretty darn slim. This has made my year. 2011 = AMAZING. I think I will stop rambling now, and let you get on with your lives.. I am just in such a state of excitement that I am not even sure how much sense I am making! I'm off to go admire the dress again.. Love and kisses, Tara xox