Yes, it's Time! I'm going to mention the 'C' Word!

Hi guys,
When I was out shopping today I popped into Primark, where I was confronted with a stand full of Christmas jumpers. Then I went into Mamas and Papas, where the stand closest to the door is covered in tiny Santa costumes. And every card shop on the high street has festive wrapping paper in the window. It may only be September, but the X Factor is on the TV, there are Quality Street in the supermarket, and it's time to count down to Christmas.

So thanks to all of this and a timely email from Duo, unveiling their new Christmas collections, I've decided it's time to show you my dream Christmas party outfit. I already have a couple of Christmas parties booked in for this December, and hubby and little man's birthday's both fall in that month too. So having a couple of Christmas party outfits in my armoury is essential: and the sooner the better! 1. French Connection Daisy Maze Dress, £150
2. Phase Eight clutch bag, £44 
3. Angelica black suede shoes, Duo, £125
4. River Island brown vintage shrug/jacket,£30
5. Marni gold plated cocktail ring, £120
6. Hervé Van der Straeten gold earrings, £130

I love anything with a vintage feel, so this slouchy dusty pink dress caught my eye as soon as I saw it. It would be perfect for hiding my mummy tummy and showing off my legs (which will look much longer thanks to those killer heels) instead. I kept the jewellery simple (for me anyway) and rejected my trademark bangles and lockets because of all the sequins on the dress: a simple pair of earrings and a cocktail ring seemed like enough accessories. And because I'm far too old to queue outside a night club without a jacket on in the middle of winter, I've added a little vintage shrug into the mix to keep me toasty and warm.

Have you started thinking about your Christmas party looks yet? And what trends do you think you'll be channelling? Believe me, this is just the first of plenty of Christmas posts you've got coming your way over the next couple of months!

Love Tor x

Current Lust List: New Season from French Connection

Hi guys,
Despite the fact that it's 30 degrees outside today (and I'm wearing a floral sun dress) my mind is now firmly fixed on autumn/winter fashions, and all the sunny days the weather gods throw at us won't be distracting me! Autumn/Winter is my favourite fashion season by far, and I would start shopping for it in July if I could! I want to look at new season shoes, new season coats, pretty party dresses (yes, Christmas party season is nearly here!) and fabulous jumpers I can slouch about in as part of my skinny jeans/nice top new uniform! As usual, I will be checking out the best of all the new season collections from all of my favourite stores. Let's start with French Connection, where I've never seen a party dress I didn't like,. To mix things up a little, this year I will pick my favourite three pieces from any given store, which means I will have to edit all my favourites much more strictly and will give you an easy overview of what the new season collections have to offer:
1. London Texture Front Jumper, £59. I love, love, love this leather fronted jumper. In fact, it is my favourite piece on the whole site, and I plan on making a beeline to my local French Connection store to pick it up immediately. It will look fantastic worn casually with skinny jeans and studded boots. But could be dressed up paired with opaque tights and a vibrant coloured pencil skirt. You could even add a metallic sequinned mini skirt and have a too cool for school party look. I love this versatile jumper: get in my wardrobe!

2.Hedgerow bottom tunic dress, £120. Digitally printed for an intense ombre effect, this floral tunic dress is another versatile little number. Add heels and a glitzy clutch for the evening, or high gloss flat pumps and a fitted black blazer for a super-stylish office look. I've been a fan of digital prints since the very first Matthew Williamson digital rose print hit the runway, so I always have a soft spot in my heart for dresses like this. And I love this loose undone shape too: dresses like these were made for new mums like me!

3.Belle boucle wool coat, £220. Finally, how could I write about a winter season collection without mentioning my very favourite winter piece of all: the coat! I have over thirty coats in my wardrobe but I don't have an orange one, meaning I have the perfect excuse to add this to my collection. I enjoy the oversized and masculine proportions of this boucle coat, as well as it's glorious and bright tangerine shade. I would wear this open over a chiffon blouse and team it with leather leggings: this fabric would look fab contrasted with the mixed textures of the leather and the chiffon. Winter heaven!

What do you think of the latest collections from French Connection? And what do you think of my picks? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Love Tor x

*This post is sponsored by Spreaditfast

Dailywear: A nice day for a white Christening!

Hi guys,
Yesterday was Wilbur's Christening. Which of course meant that I had spent weeks choosing an outfit to wear for the occasion. I wanted to look smart (but not too smart). Conservative (but not too conservative). Feel fashionable, and be comfortable. Here's what I went for: The dress is from French Connection. I managed to get it in the sale for just £30. The shoes are Steve Madden via Sarenza. And although they're high, they were surprisingly comfortable (unfortunately, because it's been so long since I wore heels though, I did have a little wobble!) The suede handbag is from Hotter. I have no idea where I got the belt from! And believe it all not (because I don't think you can tell!) the jacket is from Primark: We were lucky with the weather, and it was so warm I took it off as soon as we left the Church.

And as for the white Christening mentioned in the header? Well here is my little man (now officially Wilbur George) wearing the Christening gown that I also wore to my Christening 29 years ago. And he wears it adorably!
What have you been doing with your bank holiday? Have you been up to anything exciting? After all the running around yesterday, we're planning on spending today on the beach with a picnic, doing very little!

Love Tor x

Daily Wear: Long and lazy Sundays

Hi guys,
This weekend was dominated by a friend's wedding (which was great!) on Saturday and Saturday night. As is expected for these occasions, I got all dolled up and boogied the night away. Which meant that today was the perfect day for a lovely long relaxing day: which we chose to spend having a fat steak in the pub then mingling with the crowds of Bicester Village, alongside my parents, sister and gorgeous nephew. You can tell I had a late night the night before, as it doesn't look like I remembered to brush my hair!



I love the dress, which is from French Connection; a bargain picked up in the sale earlier in the summer. It's not maternity wear but where stretch jersey is concerned, I really don't think it matters. The scarf is from Alice Temperley's Somerset Collection for John Lewis, and the bag is BCBG MaxAzria, which I picked up from TK Maxx, also earlier in the summer. The ring is from Swarovski (and one of my faves!) Without wanting to be predictable (ha!) I am wearing my favourite River Island leather jacket and H by Hudson boots (c/o Sarenza) too. Again.

I love Bicester Village: it's one of my favourite shopping days out. And usually I come home with bags full of goodies to show off. But this trip, aside from an oven glove and two tea towels from the Cath Kidston outlet (oh the glamour!) I left empty handed.

Have you guys all had a good weekend? I'd love to hear what you've been up to - especially if it involves shopping. I really do think I'm addicted!

Love Tor xxx

January Sales 2011: Miss Selfridge and French Connection

Hi guys,

Another day, another visit to the sales! This time I popped to Miss Selfridges and French Connection to try on impractical party dresses that I don't need: my favourite impractical things to buy! I haven't been massively impressed by the sales so far, but I haven't hit any of the big department stores yet: i'm sure as soon as I do i'll be regaling you with tales of armfuls of lovely stuff bought (well, here's hoping!) Until then though, here's what I tried on in Miss Selfridges:

The nude dress had been reduced to £20, the metallic T-shirt had been reduced to £8. I loved the nude dress, especially the detailing around the shoulders and the ruffled capped sleeves. But boy, did it make me look top heavy! I ummed and ahhed over it for a little while, but decided it probably showed a little too much boob for me.

Like the magpie I am, I was attracted to this dress because it was shiny and sparkly. The sequins were gorgeous, and it was reduced from £100 to £45: bargain! But it isn't exactly flattering on my wobbly mince pie belly, so this one ended up back on the rack for somebody else to find and love!

I loved this dress from French Connection, which had been reduced from £190 to £50, and even came with a matching bag that was reduced to £25. However I was put off by my shopping partner (aka Mike) who pulled that face when I came out of the changing room (complete with slightly wrinkled nose) and put me right off!

Love, Tor x

Daily wear: An ode to my new winter coat

Dear coat,

Thank you for finding your way to the French Connection outlet and being so resilient: it must have been difficult being sent to a second-rate shop and hanging there for so long, knowing that noone wanted you. It must have really hurt to have only badly fitting dresses and odd leather goods for company, knowing you didn't deserve to be there.

I'm so glad I found you: I knew as soon as I saw you sitting alongside the mustard coat I thought I wanted that I would make you mine: I knew I could make you happy. I'll take you out and show you the world (well, North London, anyway) i'll play with you in the snow. I'll look after you and repair you if you ever get hurt.

I love that you're so versatile: I can style you with tan vintage accessories at the weekend and get a fab retro look, but you also look smart and sleek with black accessories for meetings and trips to the office.

Today I teamed you in vintage style with a big belt, a couple of old brooches, a patterned scarf and my cozt fur hat. You've protected me from the snow and you look great. Thank you!

Love, Tor xx

Christmas wishlist: French Connection coat

Hi guys,

In honour of my lovely new coat (which I picked up yesterday from the French Connection outlet and am completely in love with!) today's wishlist item is this fab coat from French Connection.

I love it's 80s style shape and slight bat wing sleeves. Personally, i'm too heavy busted to wear a double breasted coat, but on someone smaller up top, I think this coat would look amazing: it's a versatile piece that would look rock-chicky teamed with jeans and ankle boots, but really sleek over a little black dress.

At £190 it definitely isn't the cheapest coat on the highstreet, but it is a great shape and classic colour that means it will last you winter after winter: after a couple of heavy snows the cost-per-wear of this coat means it will practically pay for itself!

Love, Tor xx

Day out: Christmas shopping at Bicester Village

Hi guys,

Today my sister and I went Christmas shopping to Bicester village (although we ended up buying a few treats for ourselves whilst we were there!) This is my third trip to Bicester, and I really like shopping there; it's an outlet village just outside of Oxford. According to their website they are just a 60 minute drive from London, but from my part of London it is more like an hour and a half. Still, we just popped the radio on and enjoyed the ride: it was worth it! Here's what I picked up:

The Cath Kidson outlet was one of my favourite shops. I picked up a pair of Christmas mugs for someone's stocking for £8, a much-needed Oyster card holder for £3.50 and refreshed my kitchen with new tea towels and a replacement oven glove. This shop had everything: the bed linen, the sewing kits, the crockery... I had to be held back from blowing my savings on the lot! And all of the staff were so helpful and friendly too: that always makes a shopping experience so much nicer!

Bicester is mostly high end stores, but there are a number of high street favourites too, and these are much more in my price range! I got this great bangle for £2 and these flip flops for my honeymoon for £2.40 from Accessorize! The Accessorize is attached to a Monsoon store which would be the perfect place to go if you're looking for a party frock: they had a massive selection of dresses with up to 70% off RRP.

Finally, I got myself a new coat for £65 from the French Connection outlet. I was surprised they had so many coats with such great discounts at this time of year: The original price on this was £150, and I think it's classic enough that it will last a good few years. I'll show you what it looks like in a daily wear post in the week!

I also picked up a few Christmas presents that I can't write about - the blog has ears! Bicester is such a lovely place to walk around, and has such a great atmosphere. If I wasn't busy buying presents for everyone else (and paying for a wedding!) then I would have picked up a gorgeous Vivienne Westwood bag, some lovely bits from Crabtree and Evelyn, an Alexander McQueen scarf.... the list goes on. And the discounts are incredible: lil sis fell in love with a pair of gold Jimmy Choo shoes that had been reduced to £99.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? If not, when do you start? I've never understood people that can leave it until Christmas eve, so i'd love to know your present-buying rituals!

Love, Tor xx

I am the woman. This is the dress.

I love the new French Connection campaign (Though admittedly not as much as Fi from Save our Shoes) The man is strangely, and remarkably, attractive! Today however, not only do I love the campaign, I now love this dress!

I can't remember the last time I tried on a dress and felt so immediately gorgeous: it nips in my waist and skims my hips, covers my arms but shows off my cleavage! It's very slightly tight on my boobs (sadly most dresses are!) and it's also £125, which is more than I would usually spend on a party dress.

But I think it's so versatile that I will wear it again and again: i'm trying to justify it to myself on a cost-per-wear basis, and with the party season approaching I could accessories it very differently and wear it over and over. I think by the end of the weekend, this dress will be mine!

Love, Tor xx

Daily Wear: Back to Black

Whenever I have a wardrobe crisis or I don't know what to wear I turn back to my trusty black. Its my favourite colour to wear, I love the contrast it makes with my hair, and I know it isn't really, but it feels slimming to me.

Today I am playing with proportions. I have a naturally pronounced hourglass figure (big boobs and big hips and bum but with a narrower waist) but I find it really hard to dress, especially when I spend most of my time trying to minimise my bust! However today I decided to play with my bodies natural proportions: this dress is from French Connection (I got it from Bicester last week) and has a wide cinched in waist and heavy sleeves which emphasise my hourglass. I further emphasised my waist by adding my pony belt (I got this from Primark from £3 - I'm really impressed as it looks like much better quality than that!) Finally I added two necklaces in an attempt to elongate my upper torso.

Do you have a part of your body you love to show off? Or is there a part of you your always trying to minimise which prevents you from trying new things? I find other peoples relationships with their bodies fascinating!

Anyway, I think i've bigged up what is actually a really plain and simple looking outfit, so i'll finish it off with the sentence that would have done instead of all the fluff: this is what i'm wearing today!

Love, Tor xx