Looking for a Vintage Bargain?!

I feel the need to blog about the following two sites that I've been lucky enough to come across, to let all of you lovely ladies in on the great bargains out there!

Both sites have recently put up lots of new gems and I'm so so sooo gutted that I spent all of my money this weekend at Biscester Village! Which btw, if you have not heard of before, you must go see! It's located close to Oxford and has some AMAZING designer bargains! And I'm talking mega bargains such as my new Fred Perry polo for £30 ;) and Jack Wills shirts for £20!! That's cheaper than Topshop. But the bargain of the century that I found there but just couldn't quite afford, was a Ralph Lauren beautiful dark green check shirt for only £60. :'( Ahh I want it so badly!! I will definitely be going again in a few months once I've saved up some wages.

And the best thing is, it's a super cute places that reminds me oddly of America, in particular of a Theme Park Resort! All the shops are like mini houses. Adorable! If you have more expensive tastes, there's also discount Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Armani, Alexander McQueen....the list goes on.

Anyway, back on track! 

The vintage bargain websites I want to blog about are YAYER and DIXI.

Yayer is a lovely women's fashion shop site, selling rare one off vintage pieces as well as modern items. Both categories have an edge to them with all of the clothing being of exactly my taste! I'm so happy that they started following me on twitter for me to find out about all these secret gems! You can follow Yayer on twitter or check out their facebook page.

And the other is someone I've already blogged about and bought lots of great items from...Dixi! Dixi also sell both vintage and modern pieces, all with a funky twist. They've this week had a huge overhaul of their website and posted lots of new items up! So it's the best time to get in their and buy something :)

You can also follow Dixi on twitter and facebook!

Both website stock very few of each item, especially the vintage pieces, with usually only 1 being in stock! So if you like anything buy it before it's gone for good :)

Hope you enjoy! x

Oh and of course if you know of any great sites similar to these two, please let me know in a comment! 

Chocolate Surprise

Models Own: Purple Grey and Nude

As I said in my Models Own post, I did a nail design with Purple Grey and Nude...and here it is :) The colours look great seperately and I'm surprised at how well they worked together. They compliment each other perfectly, and overall make quite a chocolatey effect!

I added the white lines on the thumbs, trying to mimick a design I had seen on Topshop's Blog and Wah Nails.

Also a big big BIG thank you to Lily for helping promote my blog by mentioning me in her Sunday Portrait post along with another favourite of mine Quite Quaint. I actually know Lily and her blog is great, as I'm sure all of you already know as she has about a million followers :) If you've been kept in the dark, make sure you now follow it!

Dalton Ghetti

I found an interesting post this morning from a site called Design Sponge. If you don't already follow them I suggest you do! They post some really interesting things, some absolutely crazy and some just beautiful. And (why I like them) they have some amazing interior design posts. They're website is actually where I found out about Abigail Ahern.

This post is about an amazing artist called Dalton Ghetti, who carves incredible images out of pencil lead...yes you heard right, PENCIL LEAD! This image below shows the alphabet that he hand carved, and if you follow the link above you can find more of his works, including a church, a hammer and even a giraffe! It's something I've not seen before and must take all the skill and craftsmanship in the World!

A wonderful, intriguing, ming blowing article to wake up to this morning.

Play Nicely

Playsuit: Motel

Vest: Primark

Belt: Charity Shop

Spot Tights: Primark

Boots: Primark

Last night I went to a club called Thekla in Bristol. It's a really interesting club, mainly because it's actually a boat! In the week they do some great student nights, and on a weekend it's mainly a dubstep scene where the entrance fee and drinks prices go up quite a bit! But last night my boyfriends friend got us both guestlist so it was well worth it. The night was by 'Crazy Legs' and featured dj's including Untold, Ramadanman, James Blake, Pangea and Ben UFO. I've never been to a night like it before and really enjoyed it. It's great when everyone there respects the same genre of music and everyone comes together to enjoy something. Very different to my usual scene of average clubs in Gloucester on a Saturday night. If any of you are ever around Bristol on a night out I would definitely recommend Thekla.

Before hand we stopped in at Wagamama's! If you've never been you HAVE to go, there's quite a few around the country now and I can't stress how good the food is enough. It's a mix of Asian inspired food, including rice and noodle dishes, and the four I've tried so far have been amazing!

I also quickly want to say a big thank you to everyone following my blog, it really means a lot! I've had a big increase in followers this weekend, and to be honest, I'm a little taken a back by it :) Thank you! And thank you for all of the lovely comments. x

Models Own #1

L to R: Purple Grey, Nude, Feeling Blue, Mixed Up, Gold Finger, Silver Fox

All of my Models Own goodies have now arrived and I have finally tried them all out :) So here they are! I am SUPER impressed with the glitter polishes. They each have two coats on but I'm impressed with how much glitter actually comes out compared to a lot of other brands. Glad I read the reviews first before purchasing, it's always best to do. 

My favourite colours are definitely the Purple Grey and Nude. I think they're the two best sellers, and I can totally see why, they're both gorgeous! I've now done a nail design with them both and it looks great, very chocolatey! 

I also purchased a lippy and have tried it and I like it! I haven't worn it out yet though so I don't know if it's lasts well so I'll have to test that soon. I was a little disappointed with the colour though, I chose Pinky Red, but it's more red than pinky! And I already have a great Benefit red lipstick. I suppose it's hard to tell the shade of a lipstick online though,  don't think I will buy one from online again, as I've already had a disaster before. I once bought a Barry M lippy off their website. The shade was 'Marshmallow' and online it looks like a light pinky/mushroom colour. But it comes out almost white, which is most definitely not my style.

So my tip of the day is to always buy lipstick in store where you can test before you buy! 

I sneakily bought a £10 voucher from Models Own for half price so today I have now purchased 'Beth's Blue' and 'Lime Green' (which doesn't look very limey) and this time I noticed the free black kohl eyeliner we're entitled to! Forgot to pop that in the basket last time :) But now the shipping has gone up to £2.95! It's no longer free. But I shouldn't complain! And I should definitely stop buying now!!!

Oxford Swag

Chanel T: Seven

Denim Shirt: Missguided

Leggings: Dixi

Espadrilles: Office

Outfit Post! 

Sorry I've been slack on blogging over the last few days, this bank holiday is proving to be a busy one!

This outfit consists of a few of my 'best' buys. The top is one of my all time faves...drippy Chanel! And it even came in a Chanel carrier bag <3 I bought it from a shop called Seven in Bristol, located on a side street just off the top of Park Street. They sell lots of hiphop/80's inspired clothing, lots of one off pieces! It's a great store for something a little different. 

The leggings are from a store I regularly big up, Dixi. 

And the denim shirt is from a site I used to use a lot called Missguided but haven't really checked it out for a while. About a year and a half ago I found out about the site and loved all the cheap knock offs they did of high street stores such as Topshop, but since then the prices have risen and a lot more people have found out about it. And weirdly the clothing has gone slightly chavvy?! Not a good look.

Sadly, the espadrilles I'm wearing here are now wrecked :( I stupidly wore them in the rain so they are covered in dirty water marks and now have a hole in the front! It was a sad day, my boyfriend bought them me for my birthday back in April, and they've been my staple wardrobe item throughout summer! Luckily they're only £10 from Office so I could buy some more easily but with the rain setting in for Winter, I guess there's not much point.

So there's my outfit for this week..oh and the ring is from Accessorize in the sale for only £2! Bargain!

This whole outfit is quite a steal: Espadrilles £10, Leggings £15, Denim Shirt £9.99, Chanel T £20 and Ring £2! :)

Hope you like!

Nailz

How lush are these nails? Particularly the top photo! Taken from Wah Nails website, these photos have given me inspiration for some new nail designs! I highly doubt they'll come out this good though. I believe the 'Bows' are stickers, and they sell/apply them in Topshop Oxford Street. 

The second photo, I first saw this design on the Topshop blog but in a cool mushroom colour. Very sexy!

I've dabbled with tiny gems before, but I may branch out and try sequins/studs next. I suppose you can pretty much glue anything to your nails with some strong nail glue and plenty of top coats!

Have any of you produced some funky nail designs?! I'd love to see them :)

Oh Drew

Has anyone else noticed how gorgeous Drew Barrymore is looking recently?! Whilst she's been promoting her new film Going The Distance, she's been just about everywhere! Even V Festival, where she looked absolutely stunning with braids in her long locks, and wearing a Pocahontas style tassled dress. She's really had her ups and downs looks/fashion wise over the 28 years we've been seeing her in the spotlight, since E.T. To be fair to her, what kind of child wouldn't have gone off the rails at some point during such a long hard working career in show business. 

In recent years she's stepped up her game, and has transformed into a beautiful young woman. But this August I think she's looking her best yet!! I've always loved her 'rough around the edges' style, and with her newly ombre'd hair and fantastic wardrobe, they compliment her personality perfectly.

Here are a couple of photo's I've found, describing what I mean...

I'm no longer sure whether I'm more jealous of her for being so goddam attractive or for the fact she dated the World's most beautiful drummer Fabrizio Moretti for 5 years. 

Abigail Ahern

British Interior Designer and Stylist.

Her work consists of mixing eclectic items but with a certain sublty. It's modern yet still liveable and looks AMAZING! How incredible are the lighting fixtures?! God I hope one day I have a house big enough to house one of these baroque chandeliers. And at a cool £2500, hopefully I'll be rich too!

Abigail's Blog

Abigail's Collection

Models Own Goodies

Part 1 of my Models Own goodies arrived this morning. The top three polishes plus a Pinky Red lipstick! So many bargains to be had, I just had to stop myself before I spent ridiculous amounts of money. I was a little sneaky though and bought a voucher for half price so that after Friday when the discount has finished I can still get some half price polishes!! Next on my list is Beth's Blue! 

I've currently ordered Purple Grey, Nude, Feeling Blue, Mixed Up, Silver Fox and Gold Finger. I was hesitant before buying the glitters as many glitter nail polishes come out very wish washy but I read some reviews first, and they seem to be great! Two coats and you have really dense glitter all over.

I know a lot of people have trouble with their website, I did too. Expecting it all to sell out whilst I was at work I made my boyfriend log on and get my list of items but he couldn't because the server was busy. But there was nothing to worry about as their is plenty of stock and eventually you will get through! To keep updated visit the Models Own Facebook page.

I will post some photos of how good they look (fingers crossed) when I get them all :)

Raspberry Sorbet

Barry M in Baby Pink

Sparkle and Fade in Peach

Black liquid eyeliner

Step 1. Base coat in baby pink

Step 2. Apply peach over top in a variety of shapes

Step 3. Apply leopard lines in a black liquid eyeliner pen.

Matching toes :)

Fingers crossed they won't chip tomorrow at work, ugh! That's the only trouble with working at the moment, my nails are suffering. Just another excuse to do something different next weekend I suppose ;)

Topshop Autumn/Winter Wishlist

1. Twill tapered trousers in pale blue £35

2. Matthias woven ankle boot in blush £35

3. Fleece collar biker jacket £58

4. Knitted textured slouch cardi in taupe £40

5. Fine plain jersey snood in mint £14

6. Motel Ingrid dress £39

7. Kraft brogue monk shoes in tan £50

8. Fur pom knit headband £12

9. Knitted short cable jumper £38

After seeing many of your new season wishlist's I decided to create one of my own. Originally I was scanning lots of sites but found that most items that caught my eye were Topshop, so I've now decided to purely do a Topshop wishlist. This is unusual for me as in recent months I haven't been a huge fan of Topshop. Their Spring/Summer collection didn't do much for me and I found many other high street stores were doing the same items for a lot less money. However, with the new season right around the corner, I have been very impressed by Topshop's new items. I do always love their Winter stuff, but can very rarely afford it. So this year I am looking forward to much better earnings from my new job I'm due to start in October and my Christmas bonus!...HA! Making a Christmas list already! Sometimes I wish my birthday wasn't in April.

Out of these items, first things first, I HAVE TO HAVE THE JACKET! I know many of you have also fell in love with Autumn's key jacket trend. I bought a leather biker jacket last year from Miss Selfridge which I immediately loved, and still do but it's quite a tight fit and I like my jackets a little too big for me so you can fit some chunky knits underneath! I have a Topshop long coat too, and it's great on the really cold days, and I suppose I could do with a new one, maybe one a bit more light weight, but it looks as though I'm going to have to go for another biker esque jacket...will have to hide it from the mother! 

Gem Fatale's sporting one in one of her latest outfit posts, and it looks so goddam amazing! I'm definitely going to be buying this on friday with my wages :)

The other item I am crying out for is a new pair of boots! I've recently given all 3 pairs of mine away to charity and only have my Uggs left. Uhoh! Not good in this rainy weather. The Matthias boots are gorgeous, and I love the colours they come in, I think blush is my favourite though. And £35 is quite a bargain for boots! I've always bought black boots in the past because they go with everything but for a change I think I might go for a coloured pair, plus if it's a neutral colour it should still go with everything!

I love the tan brogue's as well, and have been looking for a pair for ages, but I think they're going to have to wait for now. I cannot afford to spend all of my wages on these items, as much as I'd like to! :(

If any of you have posted a wishlist of any kind up for Autumn/Winter, let me know! I'd love to see them :) x

Kate Moss

Accidently when typing into the address bar 'modelsownit', to buy yet MORE nail polishes...yes I've well and truly used my 50% discount code!! If you haven't yet be sure to do so before friday, the code is FACEBOOK50. Anyway where was I...oh yes when trying to get onto the Models Own website I accidently clicked enter too early and it went to models.com! I might be a complete retard here, but I haven't checked their website before and I'm so glad I accidently stumbled up on it!!
Whilst browsing through their recent posts I came across a stunning collection of photographs of one of my favourites...Kate Moss.
Now I know most of her photoshoots are super sexy, but her recent ones for I.D's 30th Anniversary magazine out do the rest by a long shot. Here she models an INCREDIBLE pair of scarily high platforms by the legendary designer Vivienne Westwood. The sky high heels are more than a foot high! (Naomi Campbell's infamous 'stumble' can eat it's heart out). The shoot was done by Nick Knight who often works with Kate, and here he has styled her in a mixture of latex and leather, but nothing can draw your attention away from these amazing shoes!
You can see more shots here.

Another collection I found on Models.com featuring Kate Moss, was a group of photos from September's issue of Vogue Paris. The article touches on this Autumns most talked about fashion trend...LEATHER. Here you can see Miss Moss in a range of different leather items from studded jackets to leggings to one shouldered dresses. Looking forward to seeing this article for real.

To view more images you can do so here.

Dixi

If you've read my first outfit post you will know that I bought quite a bit of the outfit from a site called Dixi. Well tonight they previewed some of their new stock and gave credit to the photographer Ruth Rose. After looking through a lot of her photography I've fallen in love with her style, her fashion photography in particular caught my eye and I've always been interested in knowing who does the Dixi photography. I've started following Ruth on here and I also follow Dixi. 

Dixi's next collection looks to be just up my street with lots of grungey looks comprising of striped tights, biker boots and cute snoods. Ruth has photographed the model Katie Jane Mabey with Kesha esque style. Personally I love the new shots, they give Dixi as a shop, a real sense of style and edge over competitors. Dixi has always been an alternative fashion sight selling vintage and modern pieces, BUT they differ to others by only stocking a few of each item so that their buyers feel like they have one offs.

From experience if you fall in love with some of their pieces, as I did, get in their QUICK! Because they really do sell out fast and I've sadly missed out on some great buys that I kicked myself for afterwards.

I can't wait to see more of the new range, and luckily (or not so luckily for me) pay day is right around the corner.

Also my stripe leggings are in the second photo & if they ever come back on sale be sure to get them! Ladies the are so sexy!!!

Book Lovers Dream

The Ark, designed by Rintala Eggertsson Architects, is a book lovers dream. This two storey, walk in book shelf is incredible. The whole concept blows my mind, and if I had enough books to fill it and a big enough house to store it, I would definitely want one. The idea of climbing inside and being able to go 'upstairs' in a book closet is intriguing to say the least. Brings back memories of being a child and exploring, a mini adventure getting lost in your very own library...possibly even getting transported to another world. LOVE

Rainy Afternoon

Hat: River Island

TShirt: Urban Outfitters

Jeans: Primark

Bracelet: Gift

On this rainy Saturday afternoon, my outfit has been inspired by the dull greys outside the window. The hat adds a touch of Summer, sadly I have only worn it once this year, hoping to take it to Ibiza now. It was a great buy from River Island back in June, much much cheaper than any I found in Topshop and fit much more snugly. I wasn't sure on the studs but they've grown on me. I never wear hats, apart from beanies in the Winter months, so this hat is a bit of a first for me. 

My top is a new buy from Urban Outfitters, they had a fantastic online sale recently and it was bargain at only £9.99. I've wanted a tshirt with an eagle or wolf on for ages and then found this Harley Davidson one and just had to have it! 

My jeans were another great buy, only £8 from Primark and I've never found there jeans to be very comfy, but these have an elasticated waist and stay nice and tight down the leg, where as my Topshop ones seem to go very saggy around the knees and bum after just one wear. Hmm bit of a waste of forty odd pounds.

Hope you like my outfit today :) I finally got my boyfriend to take the photos and I think they've come out a lot better. The position of the camera is better and the lighting is better, although it's a grey day, but my window is huge! (practically the whole of my wall).

We're now off for a walk whilst the rain has stopped. Can't stand staying in all day everyday in this miserable weather, and this is the first Saturday I've had off in about 6 years since working in retail. So I'm going to make the most of it :)

Oh and I'm off out tonight with the girls, can't wait to see them all and have some cocktails! Been seeing them alot more recently which has been great, a true rarity!

Right the boyfriend is begging me to get off here, so BYE! x