Done my hair up real big beauty queen style.

International obsession Lana Del Rey is one of my icons, so it's little wonder that I tried to replicate her retro glamour for a night.. This look was for a meal out with my friends on results day, and the photos were taken in my garden as I tried to be as fabulous as Lana.

Dress & Shoes - New Look; Clutch - christmas present from parents; Earrings - Versace for H&M.

I am in love with this vintage style dress, especially the print and the bow-tied back. The earrings are some more favourites that rarely get worn, since they are so heavy! I also attempted something new here with my hair - a voluminous, backcombed half up style that one of my friends commented was very like Lana - and am loving the results. Expect to see more hair like this..

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Moving On To Makassar.

Just a short flight (comparatively) from Jakarta is Makassar, a city on the island of Sulawesi. It is the main gateway to this island since it actually has an airport that is up and running. Although it is still fairly westernised with plenty of little minimarket type shops and a Dunkin' Donuts, we noticed a distinct lack of other foreigners..

On Day 1 in Makassar we flew in, arriving late in the afternoon with just enough time to check out the old Dutch Fort Rotterdam before watching sunset. The only downside to picking the best and most popular sunset-watching location was that everyone else there seemed more interested by the tourists - we even got filmed by an Indonesian TV station.

Dress & Earrings - Forever 21; Shoes, Bag & Bracelet - Primark.

Taking in the gorgeous blue sky and crumbling fort, I decided to have a mini shoot and pose a bit.. I adored this dress because the bright colour is holiday perfect and the embellishment adds tribal interest. By this point holiday hair was kicking in, so I threw it into a simple side plait. While I was posing there were a few people watching, but apparently the word "model" was thrown around in their conversation, so I am going to take the positives. Oh, if only I were a foot taller!

Inside the fort.

Sunset - I've seen better.

On Day Two in Makassar we struggled with dubious local transport to an older part of the town, before doing it in reverse and dawdling around.. We watched sunset again, after helping an awful lot of school kids out with English projects.

Top - New Look; Shorts - Blue Miss; Bag & Shoes - Primark; Necklace - Accessorize; Heart Earring - River Island; Ear Cuff - H&M.

This set of photos was taken while we wandered along the seafront, and my posing attracted a fair bit of attention... I opted for denim shorts and a bright tribal vest, accessorized with bright blue eyeliner and an ear cuff to add a playful edge. My hair was just shoved up into a messy bun to complete the not-totally-practical look. The Muslim acceptance of shorts is limited, and that top gave me some severe tan lines..

Some of the many school kids we helped.

In a Muslim cemetery.

Take me to my third world Alice in Wonderland..

Shipwreck.

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Someone call Shopaholic's Anonymous.

Last weekend I went shopping - a dangerous, foolish activity for me I know, but it was necessary. My summer holiday is coming up and I needed to supplement my hot weather wardrobe with mix-and-match-able pieces that will mean I can keep creating new outfits while I am away, while remaining appropriate for both tropical heat and more conservative cultures. For the shopping trip I eschewed sensibility and ignored the wind/threatening clouds to wear this..

Shirt - New Look; Shorts & Tights - Primark; Creepers - Amazon; Clutch - Cos (secondhand in Paris); Cuff - H&M; Earrings, Ring & Bracelets - Topshop.

I love a good pair of high waisted shorts because they are just so flattering, and this pastel stripe pair is really cute. I paired them wiith a sheer white shirt tucked in to emphasize the waistline, and buttoned all the way up in that girl-meets-boy way that looks very cute. I then threw my creepers into the mix because they are gorgeous and a little bit edgy, as is the new clutch. Lashings of jewellery and a bright lip completed the ensemble.

Primark

 

It's fair to say I got over-excited in Primark - what a haul. The cross tee and ballet pumps aren't even for my trip! 

New Look

The sales in New Look were bursting with gorgeous prints and colours - I just couldn't resist! And that parka is the perfect lightweight cover up, an alternative to my beloved blazers.

River Island

I have had my eye on these pieces for a while, but never quite had the cash to buy them. When they appeared in the sale however, I snapped them right up. I adore the paisley print on the dress and the mermaid-esque shell pattern on the skirt.

Topshop

 This neon dress is completely stunning, bright and beautiful, and will look gorgeous with a holiday tan.

Hair Bow - River Island; Black Rose Headband - Topshop; Ring & Gold Headband - Primark.

On holiday my hair will have to be up most of the time, so I invested in some cute accessories to keep it fresh!

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Paris Day One!

I had been excited for my trip to Paris for ages - I went with two of my besties and it was the best end-of-exams celebration I could have asked for! Day one didn't consist of very much time in Paris itself since our flight didn't land until 6pm local time, but it was still pretty good. Most of the day was spent in England packing and then in the airport drinking coffees, before being up in the air for a ridiculously short time and then touching down in the evening.

When we were finally in Paris we navigated the trains successfully & found the hotel, only to be moved to another hotel since they were "full". I suspect some easyjet style overbooking had gone on.. Anyway, the evening picked up when we started to explore, discovering first a Carrefour in which to stock up on BNs and insanely cheap wine, then a bar to drink wine and limoncello in. We did get a little lost afterwards though, wandering through a slightly dodgy district of Paris -  we had to get the metro back again to find our hotel!

Here is my outfit of the day...

Shirt, Ring & Cuff - H&M; Skirt - River Island; Bag, Shoes & Cross Bracelets - Topshop; Necklace - New Look.

I love the bright summery feel of this look, especially the pop of neon colours in the shirt. I always say that I dress a little OTT for my quiet corner of England, but heading into France really made me see how much of a Brit girl I am - their style is so classic, chic, simple and elegant, whereas I am all about the brights! Oh, and that suitcase next to me was my carry on bag.. travelling light doesn't really work for me.

Here are some snaps from the first day..

Packing.

Claire & Alison on the train into Paris.

Close up of Alison's cute braid - how SS12!

Alison & I before going out.

Day Two is coming up next, so until then..

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Step back in time.

Last night was another one of my friend's 18ths - yes, they're all turning into adults before me, it's quite annoying actually... But not to worry, only a few little days until my birthday. It was a really good party last night, age-related jealousy aside, as we all rocked up in our costumes, then talked, danced and drank the night away (over-18s only, I was on the Diet Coke all night). Since the birthday girl is called Briannie, we had been told to come dressed as things beginning with B. I love a good costume party because I love dressing up, and themes like this force me to get creative.

At the party there were costumes such as burglars, bumblebees, black swan, burlesque (this was a guy, by the way), Barbie and Beyonce (the birthday girl), and everyone looked awesome. I love it when people make effort for costume parties! As for my costume, of course I didn't pick something easy or obvious to dress up as.. Thanks to my extensive wardrobe, an obsession with old movies and google images I found my B - Barbara Stanwyck. No? Me neither, until I watched one of her films on youtube. She was a film actress from the 1920s-1940s and was full of glamour. And I just happened to own a flapper dress..

Dress - River Island; Shoes - New Look; Faux Fur Stole - Ebay; Earrings - Roam at New Look; Bracelet - Accessorize.

I don't do things by halves, so when it comes to costumes I go for it! I have actually been waiting for months for a chance to wear this River Island flapper-esque dress - it is just too extravagant for everyday wear, and there had been no appropriate parties previously.. So when the opportunity came, I went for it. The only thing I actually had to buy for this costume was the faux fur stole, which was an ebay bargain. I actually got a little attached to it during the night, and am hoping I can re-use it soon. I also really love the embellishment on this dress - it almost looks vintage! Especially when paired with the stole, gorgeous gold heels and some authentic, 1920s style hair and makeup...

As I said, I go all out for costumes so of course I could never be content with leaving my hair and makeup in the 21st century.. I had to go for it. Originally I was just planning on some 1920s style finger waves, but after much messing around with straighteners and hairspray I didn't look gorgeous and glamorous like a  1920s film star, I looked like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. So I abandoned that plan and went for a faux bob with some faux finger waves at the front, all held up with a few hundred pins. I actually used this tutorial on youtube and adapted it a little for my hair - if you want a quick, easy 1920s hairstyle, this is perfect.

Kudos to vasgarcia for creating this video, it really is super-easy and stays in place all night!

One last little thing to say.. I hit 100 followers! This made me so happy when I signed in to start posting today - thankyou to all of my followers for reading, commenting and finding me interesting enough that you want to be informed of my latest fashion escapades and musings! I really love posting my outfits and general fashion obsessions, and I am so glad other people like them too. Again, thankyou so much, and I am even more inspired to keep posting now. 

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Bits & pieces.

Here is the perfect example of how completely scatter-brained and slapdash I am getting in pretty much every area of my life (I am blaming exam-season pressure) - this post is a bit of a random one compiled of odds and ends that I had every intention of blogging in the last few weeks and just didn't get around to. I kind of feel like it would be better to leave these things un-blogged, but the perfectionist in me with her mild OCD is insisting that I catch up, and catch up now. And to be fair, it is bothering me a little.

So first up is a random little purchase I made in Topshop sometime last week..

These gorgeous neon-pink hotpants were such a bargain for Topshop and they caught my eye as soon as I walked in to the store! I literally could not resist them. I adore the bright colour, which will be perfect for injecting a bit of summer into my wardrobe from now on. Also, how much do they look like Kylie's encore shorts from the Anti Tour? These are quite similar to a pair of raspberry shorts from Topshop that I already own, which is why I didn't even have to try them on to know they would suit me. Cannot wait to break these out, probably with tights for now..

Next is this cute hairclip that I picked up in Primark for some ridiculously cheap price. This probably means the quality is iffy at best, but I just wanted a different way to style my hair up and if it doesn't work I won't feel bad about wasting money this way. If the heat ever properly kicks in I will need new ways to put my hair up and this clip is super-cute. I love the scalloped edges and the vintage-style floral print. If this works out for me, I think I'll be getting some more of these!

Now I'm continuing my Kylie-craze by finally posting photos of the merchandise I bought. I literally fought my way over to the stand to get these, and the pictures have been sitting on my memory card for over a week, unblogged.

Firstly these cute little button badges, I couldn't resist! There were 4 in the set but I actually gave 2 to Becca so we could have some each. 

I got this cute canvas bag because I can always use a good bag for shopping etc. I have already used this several times because it is so roomy - perfect for throwing my things in and going! I don't care if I look like a crazy fan - that's just me.

My last piece of merch was this gorgeous t-shirt, which you have already seen me wearing. I buy a t-shirt from nearly every concert I go to, but this one is one of the only ones I wear in public! I am not usually a tee girl, but I make an exception for Kylie's gorgeous face.

Finally, my last little bit of catching up comes in the form of something even more beautiful than everything so far put together. You remember I got all overexcited because we met Kylie last Monday before one of the shows, and I gave her a letter? Well, I got my signed poster back in the post earlier this week!

We are currently scoping out a frame for this so that the writing doesn't fade, I want to keep it fresh forever! This is now one of my most prized possessions (I'm a bit pathetic aren't I?) and it made me so happy to get it back.

One last piece of news - on September 11th, Becca and I will be at the Born This Way Ball seeing Lady Gaga! This is a week full of good news! I can't wait for this tour, to see the outfits, hear the music, and be inspired by being in the same room as Stefani Germanotta.

Love and kisses, Tara xox