What do you wear on a first holiday with a new boyfriend?

In the last installment of our "what do you wear" series I asked you guys to come up with other stressful situations that you have no idea what you should wear for! This post is taken from one of those and was thought up by the lovely Rai: "What do you wear on your first holiday with a new boyfriend?"

I loved this question because this time last year Mike and I went on our first holiday to Turkey together (the couple of nights in a tent in Yarmouth the year before don't count, as i'm trying to wipe the horror from my mind!) and it both made me smile, and make me remember the stress I had putting my suitcase together. So here are some suggestions. This post is working on the assumption that you're going on a typical beach holiday with a couple of "cultural" day trips. I'm going to do a city break one later in the month (based on lessons learnt from our trip last month to Paris)

I've tried to put together a capsule wardrobe, and I genuinely think this is all you need for a seven day break! Lots of pieces that work together and are easy to throw on are key, especially if you guys don't live together: he doesn't need to know it takes you an hour to get ready every morning. This way you can keep it bright, breezy, and speedy, because you don't have a hundred choices. Even now, when waiting hours for me to get ready for dinner, Mike laments that it didn't take me anywhere near as long when we were away. Lull him into thinking you're a low maintanance gal: then unleash the real you on him later!

I've made denim culottes the centrepiece of the wardrobe because they're so versitile: feminine and flattering they'll look good over a bikini, with sandals and a t shirt for a day of sightseeing, or dressed up for the evening. I've also used a neutral tan base colour because that way even if things don't quite match by the time you get to the end of the week it still looks put together. The satchel bag is perfect for sightseeing or evening. And everything else can be worn for any ocassion ensuring you always look hot!

I also went for bikinis that would mix and match well together - nothing worse than having to throw on bottoms that have a soggy gusset!

Love, Tor xx

Everything in the picture is from Topshop

Question: What do you wear when you meet a vicar?

I haven't done one of my "what do you wear?" pieces for a while, and I admit that this one is pretty specific! But I decided that if it's a situation that I have no idea what I should wear for, then other people have probably struggled with it too! On Sunday (eek - that's tomorrow!) Mike and I are going to meet for "a chat" with the vicar that we hope will marry us.

I only generally go to church at Christmas/Easter or for weddings/christenings/funerals. All of these are specific occasions with their own dress codes. And I know that church goers tend to dress up for church on a Sunday. But what do you wear when your having a cup of tea with a man that will decide if you can get married where you want to, and will be intergral to your service?

Advice from all of my married friends has focused on one word: "conservative". But conservative doesn't have to mean boring, and if you're fashion conscious then I think that part of your personality needs to shine through too. So here are my ideas for what to wear to meet the vicar:

I have included big bags with both outfits because wedding visits generally mean you accumulate more brochures and bits of paper than you can carry: this way you have somewhere to put them!

The modern clergy is very different from its considerably more formal ancestors: I'm lead to believe that as long as you're a believer and you want to get married, anything goes! Most vicars I know wear jeans and shun their dog collars. I know there are some situations that can't be influenced by what you wear (it's not like your on a first date with the vicar and you want him to like your dress!)but I just think, as with most things, it's about making yourself feel good that's important, and looking good will help you do that. The two outfits above will help you fly through this situation, which is bound to make you feel nervous (I'm starting to get the jitters already!) and keep you looking and feeling confident.

I just hope I can manage to look good and maintain the illusion of confidence on Sunday!

Love, Tor xx

Ps - If you have any ideas for "what do you wear?" pieces i'd love to hear them!

TKMaxx's fashion bloggers challenge

I always involve experimenting with outfits and making my pieces as versitile as possible, so when TKMaxx got in touch and asked me to take part in their fashion bloggers challenge, how could I say no! I was given a picture of a dress from their collections (only £19.99- bargain!)and three very different situations, and asked to accessorise the dress for each. Here are the situations:

- Meeting the boyfriend's parents for the first time
- Job interview
- Night out with the girls

Here's what I came up with:

For meeting the parents I wanted something pretty but casual: fashionable but well put together. In these situations I don't think it's wise to look too overdone, but it could be taken as a slight to look too underdone as well (balancing act or what!?) My mum always says the first thing people notice about you is your shoes, which is why i've balanced this outfit with a nice pair of courts, and a matching bag for good measure!

For the job interview I knew I would have to make the outfit look much smarter, which was hard to do with a pretty ruffled dress. But I gave it a go! I went for a shoe that meant business (I always feel more confident in any situation if i'm wearing heels) and a very smart pin striped jacket. Accessories-wise I kept it simple with a neck scarf and a big watch

For the night out with the girls I went for high heels and military-glam. I also toughened the dress up with lots of black and rock chick accessories: this is the way I would be most likely to wear the look.

How would you wear this dress?

Love, Tor xx

Question: What do you wear to a job interview?

The third question in my "what to wear to..." series is the most difficult one of all: What to wear to a job interview. I think it's so hard, and often spend more of my preparation time panicking about my outfit than I do reading my notes!
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What you wear to a job interview depends on a number of factors. Firstly of course its key to be professional, and its important to be comfortable. But the level of formality, and more importantly creativity in your outfit depends on the industry you want to work in. So i'm going to divide my post into 3 categories: formal (I think this is best for city jobs), semi formal (this is good for more creative roles such as marketing and pr) and casual (nowadays almost any role can be in a "casual" office so only go casual if they specifically say so- I had my first casual interview for a big corporation, and it was more nerve-wracking than the boring suit ones!)
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Formal: Sadly, in some industries there is no room for creativity at all. If you are going to a formal interview for a formal job I would stay safe in a black suit and a crisp shirt. I would even stick to a skirt: I have heard from friends who work in the city that this is what is expected from women at the first interview stage. This doesnt have to be horribly boring though! A well cut shirt can be hard to find, and I bet you will find yourself wearing it to everything, again and again!

Semi formal: For this I would still lean towards a suit but team it with a jersey top rather than a blouse. This is also a good place for a shift dress and nice handbag!

Casual: Like I said before, this is the hardest one. No matter how casual everyone else is, this doesn't mean jeans! It's still an interview, so its important to look a little smart and make it clear that you're taking the interview, and the job seriously. When someone says come casual what they want is for you to be relaxed: but an interview is still a time to present the best possible version of yourself.

Most of all, don't worry too much about it all! The best piece of advice my mum ever gave me was to remember that they aren't just interviewing you, you're interviewing them. So I always put a little piece of my own creativity in my outfit; with interesting shoes or a piece of jewellery. (I do work in a creative role though!) Because it's important to me and if they don't like who I am I won't be happy anyway, so it's better to just not get the job!

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PS - Congratulations to the lady who inspired this post! My sister found out on Thursday that she has a new job and is exciting to start in a new career direction. Go Amie!
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Love, Tor xx
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Outfit 1: Suit from Debenhams, shoes from Carvela, shirt and bag from River Island.
Outfit 2: Suit from All Saints, everything else from Topshop
Outfit 3: Everything is from Debenhams

Question: What do you wear to a winter graduation?

Everyone I know (until recently) has graduated in the summer. I always thought this was the standard university way: until December when i'm confronted with my sisters snowy graduation and no idea what to wear! For every other graduation i'd been to a floaty tea dress and pretty heels had been the easy order of the day! This was as much a dillemma for both my sisters and my mum, so I thought the next installment of my "what to wear..." series would cover what to wear to a winter graduation.

What do you wear to a winter graduation?

Young or old, the perfect piece for the winter graduation (if you have the money for this as well as a lovely outfit, of course!) is a statement coat. My mum wore a beautiful calf-length cream wool number covered in black embroidery, which she teamed with tailored black trousers and a red silk top (for an injection of colour) I couldn't afford a new coat, so opted for my smartest navy mac. It might not seem that important, but given that all but the professional pictures are likely to be taken outdoors, people will see more of your coat than anything else.

If you really feel the cold I suggest you balance the neccessary accessorising with colour coordination; its OK not to freeze in a hat, scarf, and gloves, as long as they all match; if you really want to coordinate, match it to your top or dress underneath as well!

With a winter graduation it is tempting to whip out the sparkle: the shops are full of Christmas party dresses, and this is a special occasion, the bad devil on your shoulder tells you. Don't be tempted: you'll only stand out for all the wrong reasons. The outfit you're looking for is a smart formal day time outfit: something you wouldn't be ashamed for your Grandma to see you in!

If you fancy wearing something a little more attention grabbing then you could do a lot worse than this seasons winter florals: a wintery take on the traditional florals most people wear to a graduation:

And of course for those of you than wouldn't wear a skirt for love nor money, the winter graduation is a Godsend; skirts are almost expected in the summer, but in the winter there's nothing you can't do with a well-tailored pair of trousers. Opt for a brown or navy blue to avoid blending in with the crowd or accentuate your dramatic nature with black on black.

Another thing to bear in mind (with summer as well as winter graduations) is that if you are going to be walking across lawns to reception tents or photography beauty spots think about what you wear on your feet! As always the usual "rule" to stay comfortable applies and in this case it is also important to think about staying warm; there's nothing worse than having to rush through such a special day because all you can think about is how cold your toes are!

I opted for a coral black and blue floral skater dress with thick black tights and knee high black boots. I teamed it with my navy blue mac, a black scarf and black hat: it was warm and comfortable, but looked really smart on the day. And it really was a special day all round!

Love, Tor xx