New Season Most Wanted

Even though I'm going away for my favourite shopping month, that doesn't mean I don't have my eye on a couple of key purchases for this season.

1. A leather jacket. Miss Selfridge have this one which I think is v Mike + Chris styled - am thinking a great birthday pressie. Team with with my new dress from Topshop, tights, and boots. Perfect Saturday chilling.

2. Schboots. Black, patent, cool, and bound to be impossible to walk in. Great for with shorts and mini-dresses. Yes, I'm not giving up mini-dresses. These aren't patent but are from topshop.

3. Double strap shoes. Yup, these are going to be big. I'm also thinking black patent, though pale colours with dark tights will also look fab. Think those fab pink satin Miu Mius for inspiration. Though my budget is a little less flexible!! These ones from Topshop are also not exactly budget at £75.

4. Ribbed tights. Warm, wooly, and leg lengthening. A pair in black and a pair in grey please.

5. Chunky wooly, well, thing. Yes, some sort of knitted item that will keep me warm. I'd like it to be rather shapeless please, and then I can belt it at the waist with my minis/shorts etc. Contrast of volumes etc. In fact, I had the perfect shapeless knitted item two seasons ago, but when I moved house, it seemed to disappear unfortunately.

6. Flat leather boots. This pair from Topshop are perfect. Am begging for them for my birthday pressie.

7. Oversized white shirt. I have a billion white shirts, but another one is definitely required. Ironically, I actually found the perfect oversized white shirt on Saturday in Primark of all places, but since I was shopping for Africa (yes, the whole continent), I ignored it. How unwise.

8. Grey skinnies. Like all jean trends, I'm late again. I just got my black skinnies. And they have an annoying "creep" habit (meaning they creep down from being low-rise to being way too ultra-low rise and I might flash), but I still really want them - just maybe not Topshop B's. Tuck them into my either knee high flat leathers, or some cute ankle boots.

9. Ultra-short Uggs. This is just a weather thing. I live in Scotland. It gets cold and miserable. Being able to put your feet in warm furry boots is a good thing. And ultra-short ones are good for tucking your skinny jeans into. Either chocolate brown or black please.

10. Oversized woolly hat. Like those floppy big ones that Keira Knightley wears. I haven't been able to find one yet that I like, but I'm on the look out. Instant "scruff-chic".

make me stop!

why do I love these boots? No really, why? Maybe Lily Allen would wear them, maybe Lindsay Lohan on a random day, but me? Why would I? And yet, I can't help myself....

I need a payrise!!

crazy craving

For some reason, I'm thinking leather jackets are a "good thing" at the moment. I was converted by a girl I stood next to at the Kate Moss Topshop queue who was tiny, blonde, wearing a cute headband, skinny jeans, and Westwood pirate esque boots at 5am along with her leather jacket. It looked so stylin! This is a great one from Topshop, who recently shocked me by removing their pac-a-macs from the website - I thought they were going to be a summer staple! Man, I was wrong, and have regretted it since then. Brings more meaning to their "buy it now or regret it later" tagline!

turbantastic

Style Bubble did a lovely post on the wearability of the Topshop turban, where she looks, well, rather normal. This inspired me to go back to the topshop website and think about investing. Too late! They've all sold out, and we're left with Prada ones instead. No thanks.

retail therapy

So, today was a very exciting day, with an impromptu wisdom tooth extraction, followed by a bit of a "keep me hanging" career chat at work, which left me a bit depressed. So, being depressed led me to the shops, where I picked up a silk patchwork dress from Miss Selfridge, which I'm thinking will be good for a summer wedding I'm off to in July, and boots, jeans, and a couple of tops from Topshop. I'm not done on my need to purchase, and I've got my eye on a couple more things online, but hopefully I'll manage to restrain myself. The crochet tunic top is particularly cool.

widgets for girls

Today's Topshop story comes right from the front page and onto your desktop. Topshop have developed fantastic widgets that sit on your desktop and deliver today's "most wanted" and a click to buy service. I can imagine this creating a whole lot more impulse buys, and other fashion retailers will be following suit. Has Amazon developed one of these with their top 10s (even by genre or keyword) - this looks like a great shopping tool. Now topshop just needs to figure out the whole "outfit suggestions" piece for each item, and they will be sorted.

In honour of my fabulous pink nails mentioned earlier today, check out this fantastic pants! If you don't want to commit whole-heartedly to the neon trend, then check out the underwear line from topshop. If you're feeling really daring, a pink or green bra poking out under a white wife-beater will look pretty damn cool.

topshop for charity

Topshop are advocating we all hold charity fashion sales to raise money for the national domestic violence hotlines across the UK. Get together with some friends and sell your clothes, raise money for charity, and get 20% off in Topshop. And if you can't arrange your own, they are holding market events in York, London, Manchester, and Brighton. Shame there aren't any Scottish events, but maybe I'll get together with some friends and see if we can make this happen.

styletastic

Last week I took my sister on a trip to the Topshop Style Adviser in Glasgow. Topshop Style Advisers are professionally trained stylists (mine had a degree in fashion and had worked in buying before becoming a style adviser) who serve as a professional shopper for you. It is such a great service! The girls were highly excitable and lots of fun - we were offered water, tea, or champagne before we started, before wandering around and picking up random stuff to try on. You have a small room with a sofa and a couple of huge changing rooms to try things on in, and then, once you are all shopped out (an hour and a half of pure fashion craziness), you finish your champagne whilst everything is gift wrapped and you don't even have to queue. And guess what? The service is completely free! Kate and I were looking for what to do with high-waisted silliness, and were convinced that high waisted jeans with cute tops were a good idea, and that high waisted shorts would also work as well. Having got home, I'm not necessarily convinced (or as Kate said, she has too many novelty jeans with her white ones and her red ones as well), and felt a bit like I had just stepped out of the seventies, so took the jeans back, safe in the knowledge that if a style adviser couldn't convince me they were a good idea, they really weren't. My high waisted shorts are still in the bag - I'm just not sure I'm brave enough to wear them. They do give waist and flatten my stomach, but they are still a little weird on the eye. The funky draped dress is just good for being different, though being strapless, it does give me that weird muffin top around the boobs (how does one get rid of that with strapless tops?). It'll be good for going out and drinking weird cocktails at Tigerlily. As for the shoes, although I think they are slightly orthaedic, they are genius and brilliant as well. Gorgeous. And although I returned the jeans, it was a fabulous day's shopping, and everyone should give it a go. Even my mum's convinced.

out of africa

I'm sure it is the high level of attention that Africa has been receiving in the media recently - Last King of Scotland, Blood Diamond, memoirs of boy soldiers from Dave Eggers and others, the heightened awareness of the conflict in the Sudan - but I've noticed that http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.giffashion has also been taking on African influence. Since I'm off to Ghana later this year to volunteer, I can't help but love this look. And yes, I don't know how to put fashion and the so frequent stories of misery that we hear from the many conflict, arid, drought-riven countries of the sub-continent, apart from Project Red, but I just can't help but notice the synergy. Today I read two amazing stories in The Observer coming out of Africa - one about the corruption of US aid that serves to do more for farmers in Iowa than it does for the citizens of Malawi, and another about a group of Nigerian women who are immune to HIV. And if that doesn't fascinate you, then just feast your eyes on this fabulous dresses from Topshop's Zanzibar collection. I actually got the longer sleeved one, since the sleeveless dress is actually a touch too long for my legs. Tights and ballet flats until the weather gets good, and then gladiator sandals and chunky bracelets. Topshop have a fabulous guide to their Zanzibar collection that is really worth checking out as well, if you need a little inspiration.

stylin advisin

Over the last couple of years, personal shoppers on the high street have proliferated. Making fashion and style accessible to everyone is a good thing (hey, I support democracy!), and this weekend, I'm actually getting to try it out. I'm taking lil sis to topshop for an hour of personal shopping to celebrate her finishing university. For all we know, we'll end up with nothing, but at least we'll know if it's a good service.

is this too fashion for me?

I got this dress from topshop yesterday after lusting after it for a week. It's just so fun and light to wear. However, it is sooooo fashiontastic and potentially unflattering I just can't decide. Do I throw caution to the wind, and go with my instinct of loving this?

teenage kicks

I saw a very stylish teenager wearing this dress from Topshop the other day, and I really want it. However, a couple of things are holding me back, and not just my bank balance.

1. She was a size 8; I am a size 12. Something tells me that will make a difference between "fun" and "pregnant".
2. She teamed it with white jeans and a cute grey, antiquey cardigan. Effortless. Me and white jeans are never going to happen.
3. Teenagers just have great style. I don't think I'll be able to get back to that.

Having said all that, I keep thinking maybe I can team it with the grey jeans I don't own, or my big brown belt, and get away with it. It just looks so much fun!! Please?

kate moss topshop.com further problems

First, I receive an email that my order is not being fulfilled. Then, I visit the website and I see that the stuff I ordered is available. Confused? Just a little. Not sure what is going on with the technical team, but I know I'm not the only one this is happening too. I haven't ordered again, unsurprisingly.

topshop.com falls apart under pressure

After encouraging shoppers to use topshop.com as alternative to braving the stores for the new Kate Moss collection, the website completely fell apart under pressure from shoppers at 4am this morning. Whilst I was using it, the site crashed an innumerable number of times, although this was relieved when new shoppers were banned from loading it up. However, much more annoyingly, the orders that my flatmate and I put through have just come up as cancelled, due to "factors beyond the control" of the administrators of topshop.com. Just how is not being able to match up warehousing and shopping baskets beyond the control of the online shopping team? The team behind topshop.com are going to have some serious questions to answer as this demonstrates that quite simply, their technology solution was not up to customer demand. If I was Philip Green, I'd be pissed. Because, quite frankly, he's going to have a lot of pissed off people on his hands.

topshop sale

The Edinburgh Topshop had a "3 days to go sign" in the window, counting down to Kate Moss day. Inside though, everything's on sale. I'm guessing they are going to dump the sale stuff for the 3hrs that Moss-ness will be on sale. It's all available on the website, so check out some good 2-for-1 bargains. I have to admit that I just am horrendous at sale shopping. It just isn't in me - the lack of patience at riffling through racks, the sense of "everyone else's rejects", and the sheer dubious-ness of most of the stuff. Which all should contribute to an extreme sense of achievement when you find a gem, but frankly, I have rarely had that. It's the same reason that I don't get along well with H&M.

topshop hype

As if Topshop wasn't hyping its Kate Moss collection enough, today it issued guidelines for queueing and shopping come 1st May. "Security will be on hand" etc etc. Other points of note is that hardcore queuers will get water and snacks to keep them going. Aw, too kind! Fashionista picked up on a rumour that Kate herself is going to model the collection in the window of the Oxford Circus. Frankly, its all getting a bit much and I'm feeling a bit jaded. Although I've promised to get up at stupid o'clock to get my sister a leather jacket as a reward for her medicine finals.

nothing creates a diet more than ...

... wearing a huge belt around your waist all day. I got this fabulous belt a few weeks ago from topshop to wear with a fabulous cream wool minidress. I've since teamed it with my playsuit (hello 50s pin up!), and today, a very old turquoise shirt dress to wear to work. Grown up, but cheeky. And definitely put me off eating anything all day, since (a) it digs into my stomach and (b) my little pot belly pokes out underneath, reminding me that I shouldn't have that second chocolate bar!

kate moss blue jeans!!

Dump the overdyed denim. Bring out the kiddies blues! Kate Moss is on the cover of Dazed and Confused this month in a pair of Topshop blue denims (they look like straight legs from the angle). Ditch the black, the grey, the overdyed - its back to blue baby.

this weekend I bought...

I had a bit of a mental shopping weekend, with far too many purchases from topshop! On Thursday evening I managed to come home with a great cream dress, that is a touch on the see-through side, so I've bought some nude underwear to try and wear with it today. If not, then it will have to go back. I also got some brown t-bar peep toe brown leather heels, which they aren't selling on the website unfortunately, so no pic of them. I almost forgot, I impulse picked up a white t-shirt with silver flowers and butterflies printed on it for no reason, but it is great for Sunday lazing. On Saturday, I was in Glasgow with my mum and my sister, where I tried on some fabulous high-waisted trousers, but we just couldn't figure out a way that they would work with my lifestyle, so back on the shelf they went. Instead, for some reason, we decided that a playsuit with ankle-length leggings would be far more practical. I kid you not. So, I now am the proud owner of a dark grey playsuit, which my boyfriend is threatening to disown me for.