Do you remember your first love?

Hi guys,

Do you remember your first love? Aside from chocolate biscuits, mine was a chap called Andy from Rotherham (yup, it's all glamour for me).

I was fifteen years old, and I thought he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I even thought the fact he came from Rotherham made him mysterious and exotic: oh the deluded power of love! When we broke up I thought I would never recover. We were the Romeo and Juliet of the North, and there was no way to get over it: for a month or two at least, until boyfriend number two came along!

Aside from to make you all cringe, why am I sharing my puppy love stories? Because of Dr Martens new campaign: #Firstandforever. They're inviting people to tell them about their firsts: first love, first heartbreak, first pair of Dr Martens....

I popped along for a sneak preview of the new campaign video last night, featuring Agyness Deyn looking unfeasibly beautiful. And now you can see it too. I promise this video will make you wish you were fifteen again:

I still remember my first pair of Dr Martens. They were shoes, not boots: black and clunky and ugly as hell. Especially when teamed with my gangly teenage legs! But I loved them: just as much as I love my chunky boots now. At least that's one love that did survive!!

Tell me about your first love!

Love Tor xx

Dr. Martens S/S11: Things get girly!

Hi guys,
Over the past twelve months, I have become addicted to my brogues. They were shoes that had to grow on me; at first I was worried they would make my calves look chunky. But now I couldn't live without them: they're my go-to weekend shoes, they match everything, I can walk in them for hours...

For next year, I think my evolution of the brogue trend will be these clumpy, stompy, but infinitely feminine Dr Martens shoes. Now I know the pleasure of a flat sturdy shoe i'm never going back:



I love the black and grey patent ones for wearing to work (perfect with slim hareem pants and a shrunken blazer) and the sugared almond coloured ones and floral ones for play. The floral ones look so vintage, especially teamed with the cream lace tights, and would look amazing teamed with clashing floral dresses when spring and summer finally come around again.

It's difficult to think about next years wardrobe when Christmas is just five days away, but the blue ditzy floral shoes will definitely be on my hit list once the festive season is over and I can start obsessing solely about fashion again....bliss!!

Love, Tor x

Shoe show off: three new pairs of lovely shoes!

This is definitely going to be one of those self-centred "look at all the great shoes I have" posts, but i've made my peace with that!

You may remember that back in April I went on a tour of the Dr Marten factory and as well as it being a fascinating day, they also said that they would send me a pair of boots of my choice. Four months later (and completely out of the blue as i'd forgotten all about it!) and I finally have my hands on these beauties:

The pattern on them is a Victorian rose, and the detail I love most is the pink stitching: it's interesting to add a girly slant to what is essentially a masculine boot. They also come with pink ribbons that can be used to replace the laces. I have no idea what i'll wear these with, but I can't wait to give it a go!

Next on my list of lovely shoes are these sandals from the Topshop sale: leather and studs and lovely gold. What more could you look for in a sandal!? They were in the sale for just £12 (as you can see) and I actually got these to save for my honeymoon: I don't own any sandals or flipflops that don't have hundreds of straps, and I know for our trip i'll need something simple and slip on, and these fit the bill perfectly.
Finally, whilst I was on my mamouth trip to New Look last week, I picked up these heeled desert boots: they will be my new winter staple shoes. The picture isn't very good (because the boots are on my feet!) but that's just testiment to how comfortable they are! New Look actually had a really big selection of reasonably prices winter boots (both flat and heeled) that I think would be well worth checking out if you need a new pair.

I know this was a bit like "show and tell" at school (only with legos!) but I had to show off my wonderful new foot fashion!

Love, Tor xx

Happy Birthday Dr Martens: 50 Today!

Today is the 50th birthday of Dr Martens and to celebrate on Monday I was invited to look around the DM factory, based in a small village just outside Northampton.

The day was split into three sections: first we got to explore the products that will be available in the AW10 collection, then we were given a tour of the factory where we saw a boot being produced from start to finish. Finally we were shown the videos being produced as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations which feature specially recorded classic songs from 10 up and coming artists, including The Noisettes. The first three of these videos are released now, and the other seven will be lauched throughout the year. You can see the videos, download the tunes, and find out more on the new Dr Martens website, which launches today.

As cool as the videos and lovely lovely boots were (floral= love) the most interesting part of the day was the factory tour: I think it's amazing that the DM vintage collection is still made in the UK using traditional techniques.

It was fascinating to see the soles being produced, the leather being stitched, and the traditional techniques used to put the whole shoe together. Did you know that out of a side of leather (that's a whole half of a cow) the same piece have good strong parts, and weaker parts: the nearer you get to the cows belly, the weaker the leather is. How fascinating is that!? I always just thought leather was leather!

The gentleman that conducted our tour, Brian, was amazing; he has been working at the factory for 37 years and is the longest serving member of staff, so he knows everything there is to know about making Dr Martens! As part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations the factory is being opened once a week, so if you'd like to check out this tour, and meet Brian, you can!

Oh, and if you're London based and you love DMs as much as I do then get yourself down to the flagship DMs store on Neal Street today: For one day only to celebrate their birthday all of the 1460s (those are the classic standard height boots) will be just £14.60! No, this isn't an April Fool. And at that price, i'd pick up three pairs!

Love, Tor xx

Hello, Kitty.....

Hi guys,
As a self-confessed cute and kitsch junky, i've always loved anything with a cartoon character on it. In fact, as a 15 year old girl, my most treasured possession was a blue plastic Miffy bucket bag which I carted around with me everywhere (much to my mothers distress!)

My favourite character though has always been Hello Kitty. For those of you less obsessed than I with this adorable cat here are some fun Hello Kitty facts:

-Hello Kitty symbolises generosity, innocence, kindness, and most importantly, friendship.
-Kitty lives in London with her mama, papa, and twin sister Mimi.
-Hello Kitty weighs the same as 3 apples.
-Her trademark is the red bow she always wears above her left ear.

Hello Kitty started life back in 1974. And my obsession with the creature has been a long-running annoyance to my family and friends; particularly my husband who doesn't enjoy Saturday afternoons hunting for new and exciting kitty goods half as much as you'd think!

Imagine my surprise then, when Kitty-fever hit the highstreet:

Dr Marten Hello Kitty boots (I desparately want the bow shoe version of these, which are just £91). These hit the stores last year, but are still available to buy online: who could resist?

Hello Kitty Loves Liberty - this range at Boots is seriously gorgeous, and if you're quick and hit the sales, you can pick them up at half price: I got this set, which includes a hand wash, hand lotion, and soap dish, for £5. The original price was £10. Bargain!!

Finally, if you're looking for Hello Kitty clothing, don't overlook your local supermarket. George at Asda and Clothing at Tesco both have excellent Hello Kitty franchises. And H&M always impresses me with their Hello Kitty collections: both fashion and cosmetics.

I'm not suggesting we all wander around covered in cartoon advertising ala a small infant (that, after all, is my thing!) But sometimes I think we fashionistas- I use that phrase loosely- take things a little seriously. And if anyone can make us loosen up and realise that fashion is supposed to be fun, that someone is Hello Kitty....

Love Tor xx