The Zara Sale Countdown

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I am so excited I just had to print screen this image. 23 minutes encounting and I will be able to browse the jackets, blouses and jeans I have lusted after for the past few months-at the fraction of the price! YES.

Let me know if you have stayed up to get the best bargains before, or whether I am alone in this sale shopping addictiveness!

The Best of The Sales: Topshop

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Topshop is the Queen of the sales. They reduce their clothes enough to make your eyes pop when you see the new price tag, and always add their popular and coolest items to the sale rails. It always pays with Topshop to wait and see if your must-have item will appear in the sales- as normally it does! I have tried to remain calm this season, and gone for items that I have wanted for ages, or that I know are investments. Here are my top three: 

Roksanda Ilincic for Topshop, pumps and sweatshirt, all £15

When I saw this t-shirt hiding amongst the rails and rails of bargains I could not grab it fast enough. To celebrate 10 years of Topshop supporting British fashion, the retailer released a selection of t-shirts by designers for us to purchase. However at £30 they remained a 'wish-list' item! But, (thank you lucky fashion stars) I found this gorgeous, peter pan collar, quirky t-shirt designed by Roksanda Ilincic for a mere £15! Delighted does not cover it!

I have been hunting for the perfect pair of plain black pumps for a while now so when I saw these at the back of the shop I knew I had to buy them. As they are leather and have a thick sole they will be perfect for all my shopping excursions!

This sweatshirt was an item that I had nearly brought at full price, but thankfully decided that my loan could not handle another Topshop spree! At £15 I decided that it was fate, so snapped it up! I will be channelling my inner Jessie J when I wear this! 

Although I have had some really great purchases I suffered a massive disappointed today. For the first time in a while I did not follow my own advice about sale shopping. Taking a trip to the changing room is a necessity when you hit the sales as it is always best to consider that the items might be reduced because they have a dodgy fit. However, when I saw these beautiful printed trousers below I knew that I had to have them. There was only one pair! And in my size! 

So I brought them, hoping that they would be a perfect fit-they had to be, surely? I even grabbed this clutch bag on the way to the till because it matched the trousers. Unfortunately I had made a massive error as when I returned home I found them to be too tight. Devastation ensued, but I have learnt my lesson. No matter how lovely your sale items may be, always head to the changing room first. Less haste more trying on!

What have been your sale successes and disasters? Please share in the comment box below!

Best of the Sales: Urban Outfitters 1000s of new items added

Lace shorts NOW £40 

My next sale analysis comes from my favourite high street retailer. When I hear a sale has hit Urban Outfitters I get butterflies in my stomach with excitement and my bank balance quivers in dread. I am such a sucker for Urban, I could spend all day in their shop-what with their mix of cool music and quirky outfits. I remember my first ever outfit I brought there, I was about sixteen and remember looking in the mirror in their changing rooms (don't you just love how big they are?!) and thinking I had finally managed to look like the indie chick I had always wanted to be. Although I may have grown out of the band t-shirts and clashing skirts, Urban has just grown with me. 

So far I have managed to avoid the sale, I know it can't last much longer as they have just announced that new lines have been added. Here are my favourite picks from these new items!

High waist bikini, bottoms £13 and top £10

Ripped denim shorts was £40 NOW £20

Split midi skirt was £42 NOW £20

Maxi Aztec Skirt was £40 NOW £20 

This would be perfect for festivals and is a bargain at £20

This dress was £58 and NOW £30 

Hackney Weekend Festival Fashion

So this weekend I was extremely lucky as I attended Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on Saturday, where I danced to the likes of Nero, Maccabees and of course of the incredible Jay Z. It was such an amazing day and I kept my eye out for all the festival fashion! Denim shorts were the usual staple, but dip hem dresses and skirts made a new entry as ladies teamed them with their wellies. Florence and the Machine rocked this trend on the Sunday when she wore this beautiful dress below: 

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I also saw so many people in disco pants by American Apparel- I was incredibly envious as they looked as amazing as what the reviews say! They have risen even higher on my wish list now..One lady that I thought would have definitely donned some of these beautiful pants was Jessie J, as she always seems to be in them these days. For this gig however she wore some quirky black and white leggings and orange crop top. Not one of my favourite looks from this singer but glad to see the blunt fringe bob is back!

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My favourite outfit of the weekend though, which some may think is surprising, was from Rihanna. She wore a graphic t-shirt, tiny shorts, fish net cycling shorts and lots of gold bling. This may not sound like a fashionistas favourite attire, but I loved the fact she wore something fun and actually quite wearable for a festival. She did not wear sky high heels, and although most of us could never wear shorts THAT tiny, her outfit provided us all with a little inspiration for the coming festivals. I love the fact that it looked like she had put on what she felt comfortable in, even if it might not have been a favourite outfit for the fashion critics! I also need some of those sunglasses for future festivals! 

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A fellow cycling shorts lover was myself, as I decided to layer some H&M lace ones over tights. I added a bold print dress from Wallis, parka from New Look, rucksack from Urban Outfitters and chunky gold necklace from Dorothy Perkins. Not forgetting my Primark essentials, some sunglasses and white pumps that I customised with some studs. 

Sneak Peak at Primark AW12

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Although we are getting excited about the summer sales, the high street is (always) one step ahead and have released some pics of their next collections. I always use them as inspiration for the sales, so that I make sure I am buying items that will still be fashionable in the next season! 

I was just doing my usual high street browsing and found these pictures on Look, a great website for the high street and one that I read regularly. They had done a piece on Primark and I have to say, something that I usually never do, Primark has stepped up for the next season. I am lusting after their heavily printed blouses like the one below:

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But aside from their usual array of bright and bold blouses, Primark have all fashion areas covered with wedge trainers, chain print peplums and stud pumps. Blink and you would think it is Topshop...

See more of the collection in detail HERE.

Best of the Sales: Warehouse Dresses Under £20

The summer sales are in full swing, and although the weather remains dull luckily the high street have discounted their bright garments to add some cheer! Everyday I will select a shop and see what they have to offer. Today it's Warehouse, the luxe brand that issues clothes with great print in high quality fabrics. Normally the garments are highly priced so it is always best to wait for the sales to hit before indulging. This season is no different and Warehouse has put more than 50% off their clothes. 

I noticed they had some great printed dresses for under £20-the perfect outfit at a great price for (fingers crossed) some summery parties.

Animal Print Dress was £45 NOW £17

Placement Floral Dress was £55 NOW £17

Flower Print Dress was £45 NOW £17

Cherry Blossom Dress was £68 NOW £17

These dresses would look great with a light blazer, clutch and flatforms. Keep the look simplistic so the print can do all the hard work! 

I'm off to Bluewater to snap up some bargains so I will blog about my finds very soon. Let me know what items you have managed to find and how you are styling them! 

Pretty in Peplum: grab Leah Weller's look for £16 at Topshop

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Since I saw this picture of Leah Weller (model, muscian, dj) at an Esprit store opening I have been searching for the perfect peplum top. I already have the leather skirt, which looks surprisingly even cooler (maybe not literally) in the summer, so could easily achieve this chic look.

By some sort of telepathic fashion crisis awareness, Topshop kindly emailed me this morning to tell me that they had in stock, in a variety of colours, a peplum top uncannily similar to the one Weller chose, for a mere £16. Do you even need to question why I love the high street so much!

Also available in white: £16 at Topshop

Get them quick-I imagine that these will sell out fast as Topshop once again manages to mix great style at affordable prices. For more Leah Weller style inspiration see below:

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She was criticised for the last look at the Elle Style Awards this year for looking more 'playboy bunny' than stylish. I say you can't blame a girl for taking the occasional fashion risk-love the detachable collar.

What to Wear With...dyed Urban Outfitters Hot Pants

All over the high street a new trend has emerged. The shops have decided to find their ripped denim shorts and update them with a bit of coloured dye. Some have done dip dye, others have had a new colour and tie dye has even appeared. Overall, the look is cute and fun. I have been looking for the perfect pair for a few weeks-and as I am still hunting for a job-needed a pair that fitted my low budget! I found these in Urban Outfitters, which originally at £45 had been reduced to £25 so with my faithful student discount, I managed to buy them at a snip of the normal price at £22.50.

Now that I had found my new wardrobe update I played around with how to wear them. They would look great on the beach, daytime or evening and I have chucked these looks together. I am not one to go crazy with colour so have kept my looks subtle with the focus around these fab pair of shorts.

Beach Look: here I have teamed a purple bandeau from New Look to tone with the lavender dye of the shorts, added some simple flip flops from Office and made the outfit have more interesting by adding a feather necklace from Topshop. This is a very easy look for anyone to put together as they are basic items in your wardrobe. Just remember to add a floppy hat and some sun tan lotion when the sun finally decides to come out again!

Daytime Look: I have decided to mix trends together here but again keeping the colours pretty neutral. I have opted for the sports luxe vibe but added some preppy overtones to keep the outfit quirky. Here I have added a Topshop jersey shirt (I have literally worn it with everything since I brought it, at £12 it is the perfect  wardrobe staple!) and some wedge trainers I found by chance in TKMaxx. As jewelery is always a must with my everyday outfits I have added this Topshop necklace that I found in the sale for £1.50.

Evening Look: Again, I feel I may be playing it a little safe. I debated many other outfit choices, including a variety of sheer blouses but decided on this cute peter pan collar peplum t-shirt I found for a mere £5 in a Vero Moda sale. I added my favourite item of the moment- this Topshop stud bag and some Kurt Geiger cage heels to add some edge. I have always been a massive fan of light denim and black, probably from my indie days but hopefully the peplum makes the outfit on trend!

If this has inspired you to get your own dyed hot pants here are my top 3 from the high street:

Topshop £34 

River Island £35

Miss Selfridge £32

Hot off the Press: Topshop collaborates with JW Anderson

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It has been announced today that Topshop will collaborate with the young Irish designer JW Anderson. There will be a womenswear capsule collection which will feature jersey, denim and knitwear- the perfect combination for a very wearable offering to the high street store. This is incredibly exciting news and a credit to Topshop for embracing more fresh fashion talent.

Anderson spoke about this new venture commenting that "I am very excited to collaborate with Topshop. It gives me the opportunity to reach a much wider audience with my designs. It has always been very important to me that my collections are made accessible to anyone interested in fashion and design." The good news continues for the designer after a very successful spring/summer 2012 collection on the catwalks which illustrated one of the biggest trends this season: the pyjama! 

Topshop has also revealed that this collaboration will be slightly different as Anderson will design a collection of quirky bits and bobs, including photographer books and magazines. This is great for fashionistas that want a piece of designer but cannot afford the clothes. It also reminds me of the vibe that Urban Outfitters projects. Could Topshop be swerving to a more 'kooky' concept? 

Whatever their plans, I for one cannot wait to see this collection as JW Anderson is such an exciting new talent. Once an aspiring actor the designer found a passion for stage costumes and decided to study menswear at the London College of Fashion where he made his debut in 2007 at London Fashion Week. From there success blossomed and here is his last collection full of structure, print and embellishment. 

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