Bubbledogs

Sometimes all you really want is a filthy dirty hotdog. Other times, you want something a little more refined. Not very often, it must be said, but sometimes! Having champagne AND hotdogs in one menu when you're as indecisive as I am meant it was only a matter of time before I became a Bubbledogs disciple...

Living in Fitzrovia means going to Bubbledogs is less of a choice and more of an inevitability... but it didn't start off great. After queueing for twenty minutes, which we completely expected with this whole no-bookings fad that's sweeping every restaurant and pop-up bar within the M25, a couple walked to the front of the queue, jumped it in front of everybody and got a table. Those who know me at all will know that reeeeeeally ground my gears, especially when I was staaaaarving... but luckily, we were paired with a very lovely couple from Skegness onto a table of four and it all worked out for the best!

I ordered the pork BLT, which is a pork hotdog wrapped in bacon, caramelised lettuce and truffle mayonnaise. It was DELICIOUS (especially when teamed with tater tots and canned cheese - surprisingly amazing!) though I couldn't finish it all... After a glass of rose champagne, I was ready to roll (literally) home. We did try to take some photos but apparently 'the lighting was terrible' (!) and it didn't really have an atmosphere where you'd be comfortable cracking out the flash... so use your imagination or perv on this less pretty shot I half-heartedly instagrammed! There's a reason I don't take the photos...

Never being one to dress suitably, for the piggiest day of the week, I decided to wear a leather studded skirt and polo neck. Not the best outfit for gorging on hotdogs but whatever. This skirt was from Glastonbury (sob) two years ago, it said it was vintage and was from a vintage stall but it was a BIG FAT FIB! Turns out it's actually, believe it or not, from Matalan's Be Beau range. It is real leather though which is fairly surprising... it's actually amazingly versatile. I prefer to wear it like this with a thin cashmere or cotton poloneck to make it less Pretty Woman... it's also great for me as it's got an almost 60s vibe with the slight A-line cut but doesn't make me look like I'm wearing fancy dress as I sometimes feel in (real) vintage pieces. This J Crew turtleneck is so soft, miraculously it stops that neck-tugging annoyance and constriction that I have found with others! It's still on the site in purple but is out of stock at the minute. I got it from eBay for £5.20 which was a super bargain, I know it'll be hanging round my wardrobe for many, many seasons.

Standard bag choice and I'm usually a total shoe fiend, but these Topshop boots go with everything... think I need to shake it up a bit! I have some glitter loafers arriving shortly though, so back with our regular scheduled programme of completely inappropriate shoes...now I just need that acid yellow Proenza bag and I can stop being a total dullard!

ANYWAY - I'd give Bubbledogs a 7/10. It's great fun and everyone should definitely go once, but for the queue and the almost-but-not-quite stuffy atmosphere, it's not an everyday place.

Tissue Turtleneck Tee in Black - J Crew - £34.24 (or eBay for £5.20)

Black Leather studded mini-skirt - Vintage via Matalan - £5

Topshop Strappy Boots - as before

Chanel 2.55 - as before

Sardo Cucina

As I can't seem to keep money in my purse for longer than, ooh, nine days, if I want to go somewhere nice I have to go pretty sharpish post-payday. So, as we're lucky enough to live in Fitzrovia, sometimes it's nice to explore the little kitchens and cafes around and about. Last night, we wanted to go to Honey & Co, but as usual it was packed to the rafters... so we ventured a little further down the road toward Warren Street station and popped into Sardo Cucina.

An offshoot of the acclaimed Sardo restaurant (which isn't far away - it's next door), Sardo Cucina is a smaller, more relaxed atmosphere. We sat outside and though it's not the glorious sunshine I'd like for late June, it was warm... which, when teamed with some seasoned fresh olives (not for me 'cause I think they're gross but they add to the feel) and some freshly baked sourdough bread (carbs, I can get on board with) - if I closed my eyes I could pretend I was sunning myself in Tropea! 

The bread and beer were mine...

Anyway, as we went straight after work I was in my boring clothes. For work, it's hard because some mornings I am like 'be professional' and some mornings I'm like 'sod it. Wear that leather skirt if you want to.' Seriously, that old adage - dress for the job you want not the job you have? Well I seem to want to be either a demanding toddler, a preppy sixties teenager or a Nirvana groupie. Today, I was doing quite well for myself - preppy sixties teenager erring on the side of professional.

So today, I was wearing a Topshop dress that I got a couple of weeks ago, brand new with tags, from eBay for £4.60. I was very upset to buy this dress with cap sleeves and then find out they'd bought out a mid-sleeve version. I love a good sleeve - what is the deal with cap sleeves? So painful to lift your arms above about 60degrees away from the body... Anyway I digress, Alexa Chung wore that version last week and Topshop have miraculously bought it back in stock, at least into the Oxford Street store (the Chung effect is ridiculous) so you can grab it for about £40.

Gratuitous boob shot.

It's got teeny tiny gloriously dainty embroidery of forget-me-nots and hearts, teamed with a saccharine sweet little black peter pan collar. If that makes you feel a bit sickly - as it does me - I also wore my super bargain strappy wannabe-grunge Topshop ankle boots from the last post because I just pretty much never let them leave my feet any more, and chucked on my favourite Acne leather jacket because there's nothing in the world it doesn't go with and make look...better. If nonchalance was an item of clothing, it would be this jacket (wow, there's a pretentious sentence...). I couldn't resist my hairbow today either. I try and keep it to a minimum but I love it so much...

Anyway, that's what I did with my Tuesday. How about you? x

Dress - £4.60 - Topshop via eBay

Hair bow - £1 - Portobello Market

Jacket - God Knows - Acne

ready to start

I figured it was about time I actually did something productive with the blog so... I managed to rope in
Louis and armed with his fancy camera we went round to Fitzroy Square to take some photos of my new favourite eBay buys!

Virginia Woolf and George Bernard Shaw lived here, we have some fancy neighbours.

I had been after a paisley shirt to wear for a while, mainly to go under dungarees. All of the ones in charity shops in Marylebone were either hideously oversized or in a gross ochre colour - so I turned to eBay, because shopping in proper shops is for losers. This shirt is from New Look a while back, and has a really teeny tiny red paisley pattern which is AMAZING for layering as it's not too overpowering.

Despite it being June, it's hideously cold so unfortunately this 'winter staple' has been wheeled out a few months early! I teamed it with my favourite vintage velvet navy skirt that I got from Barnados in Stoke (charity shops outside of London are a hundred times better than ones here as there's a stigma in shopping there, and trends tend to hit a little later so if you know what to look for you can really drop on! When I head home, my favourites are in Bakewell...). This skirt goes with everything, and is a really flattering slightly A-line shape which hides my generous booty. It makes me feel like Francoise Hardy! 

Due to the cold, I also had to crack out the coats and knitwear about four months too early - this Topshop coat was bought on eBay whilst I was at uni for about £10. My friends call it my Zooey coat, it's undeniably twee and covered in red bows and piping, but the boxy swing shape is really flattering, and teamed with my favourite cashmere tartan scarf from a charity shop in Marylebone (£3) looks like something Madeline would wear on a daytrip to the Champs Elysees. To add to the Parisian-meets-London theme I added in my trusty Chanel 2.55. 

These boots are the reason I wanted to write this post - they're my eBay buy of the month! They're Topshop, and were £85 new and still unworn in the box when I got them for under a tenner including p&p! I got them a fortnight ago and have worn them every day - they look better with jeans or bare legs than they do here but it was too cold! They're kind of 90s which is great because I am not yet warm to this revival so I at least look like I'm paying SOME attention - but they're just the most flattering cut and they make every outfit look like I've at least tried...

Whilst we were out, I was reading Gone Girl - I know I'm a year behind everyone else in the world but seriously it was incredible. Nobody was allowed to speak to me whilst I was reading it. No spoilers but good lord - the ending made me want to tear it to shreds!!! You will know what I mean if you've read it...

Rumour has it that Reese Witherspoon and David Fincher are signed up to make the film - if they ruin it I'm going to go all [CENSORED - NO SPOILERS] on their ass...

Anyway, that was my first proper blog post. It had a puppy in it and everything.

x

Shirt - New Look, eBay - £4
Skirt - Vintage, Charity Shop - £3
Coat - Topshop, eBay - £10
Boots - Topshop, eBay - £8
Scarf - Vintage, Charity Shop - £3
TOTAL - £28

Dolores on the Dotted Line

I got this badass Lolita print the other day. There's nothing really to say, I just wanted to share my love for it. My favourite book, by my favourite author, illustrated in a totally Eduardo Recife way - so cool! Being useless around the house has meant it is still sat in the frame on the floor but even so...

Woe is me. Topshop Sale meets Glastonbury.

So as its the Topshop sale, and I just wouldn't be a real female if I denied that those two words bought a flutter of mild panic into my heart (namely because the three years that I worked there, it was only ever the sale that rendered my fingers bloody and sore for a fortnight after - treat those ladies kindly). Anyway, so as its the Topshop sale, and as its Glastonbury next week (I don't want to talk about it), I thought I'd do an imaginary 'what would I be panic buying on Oxford Street on Tuesday?'

Well. This.



I would undeniably take sandals as the eternal optimist would refuse to believe it would be welly weather all weekend. These babies would be perfect with some lace socks...

The little dress is amazing for £18. The jacquard fabric is sturdy enough to withstand some festival commotion and wee showers whilst trying to catch Alex Turner's eye (don't lie), and obviously the denim jacket (£30) is a totally uninspired move but PRACTICAL. My least favourite word but completely necessary in those conditions. My favourite bit of the look though is that badass red leather backpack. £40 and suuuuuuper soft, it would be the best festival companion you could ask for - won't need a wee, won't need a beer, will hold all of your stuff forever and a day AND look cool.

So now I have my Glastonbury blues out... You can buy all of this shizz here

Friday's Outfit - Metallica

So I will post some outfit shots soon, and tomorrow I will be posting more about eBay buys as that seems to be what the people want (!) but I just wanted to share this bit of my outfit from yesterday cause I just kinda loved it.
Metallics aren't really my thing - but this is my exception. It's silver too which is WAY out of my comfort zone (living on the edge). This is a kids H&M jumper that is an undeniable Isabel Marant rip off, it's actually shiny silver and gets lots of 'chain mail' comments. But I love it, and what.
This necklace was a TOTAL bargain from Matalan, I think it was £6. I mean come on. Two Starbucks worth. It's unbelievably versatile but I like to think the double whammy silver is the money shot...

This necklace is actually out of stock now but Matalan's entire statement necklace collection is actually ridiculously good and cheap...

Check it out here...
Matalan Jewellery

Bit late. Graduate Fashion Week.

I am very annoyed with myself for not posting this sooner but I have been snowed under… The other week, I was lucky enough to attend Graduate Fashion Week at Earl's Court with Next. I went along with the lovely Amber from Twentysomethingmummy and Lauren from Gold Lights & Sartorial Delights, Ngoni from IAMNRC, as well as Ellie from Next…it was ever so slightly hectic!

We started our hectic day with a pitstop for burgers, chips and mac'n'cheese - we knew we'd need lots of energy to get around the 40 universities and colleges showcasing fashion, accessories, shoes, lingerie, swimwear, childrenswear, photography, marketing, styling... *breathe* all in one afternoon! Earl's Court was the perfect venue as each college and university was given their own space - each bursting at the seams with designs, lookbooks and concepts that gave us an insight into the various creative processes.

After we perused the stalls and grabbed some goodie bags, we headed over to the Best of GFW show. Admittedly, we got slightly distracted before the show started as we spied Mr David Gandy sitting on the front row...but as soon as the lights dimmed we were firmly fashion focussed! Presented by the beautiful but completely bland and unprofessional Zara Martin and the ever-vivacious Henry Holland, the show was sharp, fast and super-slick.

Stand-out trends were collars, sleek oversized jackets, crisp white and fresh mints and yellows, and heavy nods to Maison Martin Margiela, Commes des Garcons, Ann Demeulemeester, Alexander Wang and Acne. A few designers went down the nostalgic route too, and went entirely in the opposite direction - cartoonish colours and garish designs bubbled down the catwalks with a definite accent of Japanese harajuku and Vivienne Westwood tongue-in-cheek accents. It was definitely a show of extreme minimalism AND extreme maximalism!

The show was incredible and some of our favourites - Kim Phillips, Thea Sanders, Nicholas Wirth, Josephine Pettman to name a few - stayed with us over a quick Pimms in the sunshine and a discussion over who we'd love to win the grand prize!

We headed into the Gala show with much excitement - particularly as we'd spied the front row arriving! Zandra Rhodes, Suzy Menkes, Hilary Alexander, Mr Gandy...and Eve! We managed to refrain from attempting to recreate the Gwen Stefani duet. Suzy Menkes received the lifetime achievement award from 'long-time sparring partner' Hilary Alexander, and gave a hugely inspirational speech where she commended the graduates and encouraged the industry to ensure we never let such talent go unnoticed. There was also an emotional video message from Christopher Bailey, previous designer at GFW and current head of design at Burberry and patron of the GFW charity. He spoke of how the designers should never lose the fire in their bellies and how they could achieve whatever they aimed for - cue a few wet eyes from the graduates!

The winners were announced in a flurry of gold glitter, and the atmosphere was almost a polar opposite to London Fashion Week - there was a sense of camaraderie and anticipation for the future from the next generation of designers and we were all hugely inspired by the sheer amount of work, dedication and soul that had gone into their collections. Josephine Pettman (Phiney Pet) was the absolute stand-out collection for me. I WANT IT ALL. Josephine, if that dinosaur dress is ever clogging up your wardrobe…

All in all it was great fun – my pictures are all up on Instagram if you want to see some blurred catwalks…