Supermarket chic part 2: George at Asda

Hey guys,

Lots of people expressed an interest in my supermarket chic post about Tesco (Clothing at Tesco even profiled me on their site!) so it seems only fair that we look at what some of our other British supermarkets have to offer. Last week I went to the George at Asda high summer press day: an event where I saw a series of pretty dresses that will be landing in George shortly. Here is a sneak preview of some of my favourite pieces:

I love the sharp square shoulders of the aztec dress, and suspect I will pick it up when it lands in store. When I saw the floral dress with the tiered skirt I immediately knew that it would be perfect for a summer wedding: and for less than £20 its great if you're invited to a summery event at the last minute and need to pick something up on a budget! There were some pieces I wasn't so keen on (like the military jacket above) but overall I was impressed with the designs and more importantly with the quality, which felt really good.

As I left the event I was handed a look book and a £50 voucher to spend in George. So naturally when Mike and I went to do our supermarket shopping last Sunday, I went out of my way to spend it!

We usually go to the Asda in Edgware, but they dont have a big George section, so I made Mike drive me to Wembley instead. I've never been to this one before but if you're looking for a super Asda, this is the one to go to! Its on two levels, and the whole of the upstairs is dedicated to clothes and homewears. I got: brown studded boots (In the sale for £9) Floral drop waist dress; £12, Studded sleeveless denim shirt, £12, black hankerchief hem vest £6, Polka dot top, £10, and black leggings; £5.

Head to toe in Asda: here are the boots, leggings, floral dress and denim shirt.

First I want to rave about the leggings: they're really thick and really hold their shape. I usually pay £10-£15 for my leggings from Topshop, but I think these ones for a fiver will be a really good alternative! I'm also nuts about the denim shirt with the studs on the shoulders: it's going to look great unbuttoned over pretty dresses in the summer but can also be worn now over leggings and long sleeve jumpers. When I picked up the slouchy floral dress I had my summer holiday in mind and I couldn't resist the boots for the money: practical but with a tiny heel!

I'm really happy with the stuff I got: the fit and quality is really good and very flattering. Some of the range is pretty fashion forward and it slips into my existing wardrobe really nicely: I see this as a good alternative to Primark for buying on a budget.

Oh, they also do bras up to a G cup and swimwear up to an F cup - I really liked some of the swimwear actually, and the prices were really reasonable: full fitted suits for £8! I will definitely be going back for my summer holiday shop.

Love, Tor xxx

Barry M nail varnish: oh the colours!

Does anyone else walk into Boots or Superdrug looking normal and walk out looking like Rainbow Brite? Whenever I pass a Barry M counter I try a little varnish on each finger until I end up looking like a technicoloured nightmare!

Luckily today I was avoiding the crazy brights and pastels, as I was looking for something to replace my standard black varnish, that wasn't black but would compliment all the black clothes I wear. (wow that sentence was complicated!)

The good thing about Barry M is that the colours don't have poncey names (I hate the poncey names that make it hard to work out what's actually inside!) From left to right I tried: racing green, chocolate brown, bright purple, grey, and matte white.

I really liked the chocolate brown (this is the one I ended up buying) and it looked this good with one quick coat. The racing green was another favourite, but it was thinner and needed a couple of coats. I tried the white because I thought the monochrome look might work well, but it wasn't for me: it reminded me of when we used to paint our nails with tippex at school (yup, I was that cool!) The thing I love about Barry M nail varnish is that they come in a variety of matt, shiny, and sparkly finishes: i generally like the colours that come in shiny, but i'm desperate to try a matt varnish in sooty black.
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I usually stick to basic colours on my nails, but five minutes at the Barry M counter makes me brave and ready to try anything. What nail varnishes do you keep going back to? And what colours would you recommend?

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Love, Tor xx

Go shopping: Buy a dress, buy a top, buy a phone!

I feel like if I were a dictator of some kind, then the title above would definitely form a part of my ruling philosophy!Everyone would be well dressed and forced to shop for clothes, shoes, and occasional fashionable electricals. Not sure I can find any negatives in the thought of this dictatorship, actually. I'd get everyone to refer to me as the Tor-tator. If only I owned a small island!
If you are in the market to buy a top then Isabella Oliver are offering FabFrocks readers 20% off all their tops. Just enter TOPS20 at the check out to receive your discount; this offer is only valid until Sunday though, so probably time for some Friday shopping! I don't know why I think of Friday as a shopping day - if i'm honest I will shop on any day with a "y" in it!
If you feel like buying a new dress (who doesn't feel like buying dresses!) then as I command it, Topshop is running an amazing celebrity dress auction on 16th March following the 'Dress Me Up' hire project over Christmas. All proceeds go to charity... and you could get your hands on a dress previously owned by Kate Moss, Dita Von Teese or Scarlett Johansson... Or a dress donated by one of Topshop's designer friends, including Emma Cook and Christopher Kane. The auction prices start at £60, and although i'm sure the prices will go unaffordably crazy, its nice to dream that you could own one of these dresses for the price of a night out isn't it?! The auction takes place at 10.30 am and you can find out more about it here. Its also worth mentioning that its for a really good cause!
And as for the phone?? Well, I love gadgets and gizmos but i'm ashamed to say (given the job I do!) that i'm actually a bit of a technophobe: It takes me a little while to get to grips with new technologies. And the INQ Chat smart phone from Three mobile was no exception.I was kindly lent this phone to tweet during London Fashion Week: its a social media phone, meaning it's really easy to use twitter and facebook on it. Which believe me can turn you into a twitter addict! It also came in really handy for checking emails.

It comes with flash cards rather than a manual which look great and are probably all you need if you're a hip young thing, but it meant I had to return to the internet in order to do simple things like work out how to take the back off and insert the sim card. It also beeps all the time - i'm sure anyone with half a mind for technology could sort this immediately, but I found myself cradling it like a mother with a new born screaming "what do you want?? what do you want!!"

I won't be upgrading to this instead of the iphone i'm collecting next month, but for that kind of smart social media technology on a budget, I think its definitely worth a look.

So there you have it, everything you were promised: dresses, tops, and phones. I feel kind of cheated that I didn't throw shoes in there too though. Maybe next time.....

Love, Tor xxx

PS - My Stylecompare competition is now closed. The three finalists from Fabfrocks whose entries were submitted to the judges are: Gloria, Rachel (Kenners) and LoLo. Unfortunately I don't get to choose the winner, but good luck everyone. Would you guys like me to post the looks submitted by the finalists I chose by the way??