Missguided Tweed
Tweed is a trend that just won’t quit and with its ever growing popularity, I have finally given in and purchased myself a Jacket, complete with elbow pads and all! I have resisted for so long, mainly through stubbornness and an absolute refusal to look anything like a cast member from Made in Chelsea; but also because decent looking, nice fitting tweed is pricey!
However, last week I was stood on the tube and reading another girls magazine over her shoulder (as you do) and an advertisement for Missguided.co.uk caught my eye so I took a mental note. Once I was home, I looked up all the delights the site offers for women and my eyes popped at the cute designs and reasonable prices! It reminded me of how ASOS used to be in its first year, before it got so big and pretty expensive too. I thought I’d do a quality test so bought a dress I liked in the sale, the next day it arrived and I was very impressed by the material; both its durability and feel. I also thought to myself that cheaper clothes can often be shapeless but this dress was perfect and genuinely fit like a glove. So, what’s a girl to do? I immediately jumped back on the site and purchased a few more bits!
That is when I saw the tweed-style jacket! It was the price that made me take the risk. At £29.99, where could I go wrong? Plus with free returns in case I just couldn’t handle myself in it I thought it was worth a try. However, when it arrived I pretty much fell in love. It has a really nice slim fit, highlighting my waist and still showing off my curves which makes me feel feminine. I am a big fan of the soft suede elbow pads which are a great detail as are the marble style buttons which make it look more expensive than it is. It is obviously not tweed, tweed, but who cares?! It looks great and I’ve already had a whole ton of comments on it.
Let me know what you think and make sure you check out http://www.missguided.co.uk! Plus, like them on Facebook and receive 10% off!
Week TWO in Chicago has a touch more style…
This week I ended up hitting a few more bars and a brilliant piece of theatre so paid closer attention to my outfit choices (I could no longer rely on the coat). However, this week also saw me exploring the Chicago Aquarium, the Lincoln Park Zoo and Millenium Park – all of which were awesome! I have never heard of a “free” Zoo before but sure enough, this one is. I was dubious as to how well maintained a non-profit zoo could be and little worried for the animals inside. However, it turns out this zoo is part of many conservation programs and gets its funding through this. They open it up as an attraction to get people interested in animal welfare and to show us how special these animals are. There is something incredibly humbling about seeing an animal so up-close and personal! Although I sometimes get upset by zoos and keeping animals contained, I feel it is important to show us humans how wonderful they are. It was an incredibly windy day in the windy city zoo but we still lost ourselves for a good four hours just wondering round and seeing the animals.
I wrapped up warm in jeans and an over-sized jumper, cherry tomato ugg boots and my coat but still clutched a nice warm hot chocolate when it was on offer!
The aquarium was a very cool attraction with a great exhibition on Jelly fish. It also had a 4D cinema where Happy Feet was showing – a form of cinema that is not quite perfected yet in my opinion but I did enjoy it! Outside the aquarium were great views of the city and these massive iron leg structures I enjoyed playing around (big kid!). I thought I’d dress up my coat look with a fuchsia pink scarf and tried out my feather earring for the first time. I thought they added a nice touch as I was starting to get a little bored of seeing myself in the same thing! 
A few nights we went out and drank cocktails (one too many on one occasion!) and I wanted to wear something that said, “I tried but not too hard”. So, I went for a baby pink boyfriend blazer over a cute Zara dress, with thick black tights and black boots. It is a look I think is really casual yet chic and sexy. It also is really comfortable to wear because you don’t feel too “on show” and you can just relax. Another night I went for black leather leggings, a long black tank top and a blazer (which I ended up ditching when I saw the bar was pretty dressy).
Chicago has been one magical adventure and I’ll be sad to say goodbye. If you ever get the chance to visit, do it and do it with style!
Keeping things Simple and Chic in Chicago!
I’ve been hanging out in Chicago now for the past week and there is SO much to report! First off, what a city! On one of my first nights here, it was Halloween. The Americans take this “holiday” far more seriously than us Brits which I think is amazing! I’ve always had Halloween themed birthday parties since I was a kid so it was awesome to see it being done so well everywhere I looked! We went off to this Haunted House and paid to get really scared and freaked out! No expense was spared when making this attraction and for the whole hour you wonder through all these different rooms just not knowing what is coming next. It. Was. Awesome!! Chicago is probably somewhere I’d never go to unless there was a reason for the visit but my goodness am I glad I had a reason. The city has a very gothic vibe with a mix of these gorgeous old buildings and massive modern day skyscrapers. It is incredibly spacious and clean for a city and unlike London, you never feel like you’re surrounded by millions of people on the street but instead you have breathing space. There are plenty of attractions that you can wonder in and out of for free and the ones you pay for are well worth it!
The next night we headed out to the Ice Hockey. Here I was sporting a Blackhawks tee-shirt to show my support to my new favorite team and to fit in with the locals! I was actually pleasantly surprised how stylish the tee-shirt was considering it’s a supporters top and usually they are splattered with sponsorship and a bit shapeless. This on the other hand was an awesome top! You can’t really see it in the pictures but the red is a little bit see-through which is a nice detail and makes it kinda sexy, plus it is nicely fitted and works well with jeans and my cherry tomato ugg boots! As for the game, well that was also a pleasant surprise too, the Blackhawks won in extra-time and although I didn’t get to see a fight or anyone lose their teeth, I did get to see an awesome game.
I also had to spend some time this week dedicated to The Magnificent Mile, which is just as it sounds…a magnificent mile of SHOPS! I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular and enjoyed window shopping at the designer stores and stepping into the more mainstream ones. I was a little surprised by the lack of individual boutique stores in Chicago in general but here you did find more of the unusual items you only get in flagship stores.
I bought myself some gorgeous gold leaf earrings and thought I’d purchase some feather ones too to try them out. I also picked up some gloves as I had underestimated how chilly it was in Chicago this time of year. Nothing was super cheap, like it used to be when you shopped in America, but it was good to see what they had on offer. I wasn’t blown away by the clothes inside the shops but that is probably because I like to find something a little unusual. 
I didn’t get many opportunities to lose the coat either as it was absolutely freezing! However, that was cool with me as I love my new Dahlia coat and it pretty much goes with everything. I had fun adding different scarfs and rockin’ knee-high socks with it, plus it did its job of keeping me warm which says a lot about it because, man oh man did I need it!
One unexpected surprise of this week was that I had a casting for a commercial that I was offered after the casting director saw me walking down the street! It was a little random but pretty cool to take part in and I was asked to wear a colour that would compliment my skin tone and hair so I opted for a cool burnt orange number I picked up in a boutique in Hull – but more about that next time!
Must go…the zoo is calling! I’ll let you know how I get on next week!
Round One, Week Four: Shoreditch, Songs and Sundresses
Well first off, today I quit my job in Mayfair. The whole thing happened in a rather peculiar way and I start the night off feeling a little uneasy. Its the final four acts in our shortlist of 16 so I’m hoping for a good turnout and for a few drinks! The Music League kicks off its first of two nights at The Hoxton Pony in Shoreditch, a popular after-work watering-hole for under 25s so it’s already heaving. I track down Sophie and our TML Photographer (and my good friend Matt) and tell them about my day…they congratulate me and get me a beer…the peculiar feeling starts to lift! Jonathan arrives and we all relax as the bands sound-check and do a little more people watching!
Tonight I’ve gone for a white and black summery dress as London’s turned up the heat. Its one of the first things I bought from Dahlia and one of the dresses I’ve had the least chances to wear. What I really love about it is the detail on the back, it has a horseshoe shape cut out with black thread going round it. To cinch in the waist it has a back velvet band under the bust and the underlining stops just above the bust allowing for skin to show through the lace at the top. All these little details are delicious and make the dress really special and alone, it is a standout piece.
The night was crackin’ and I’m sad to say goodbye to 8 of our 16 bands. However, next week we have Round Two to see which of our bands makes it through to Winterwell Festival. Come on down to The Hoxton Pony to party like its 1999!!
Round One, Week Two: A little more polished!
This week, The Music League hosted its competition at The Rhythm Factory in Shoreditch. After all of us struggling to find the little black door along the epic highstreet, we made it and we ordered wine whilst our acts sound-checked. This week we heard Matt Mure, Analectra, The Mouth of Ghosts and The Promenade. Jonathan and I were much more on form this week…I thank the wine for that! We also had a bigger crowd to “Wow” so we just upped our game and enjoyed the atmosphere of the night.
This dress makes me feel a little saucy but I also think it looks classy and sweet. The Peter Pan collar, which I seem to be favouring lately, gives it a relaxed, playful feel which I adore. I also think the beige and black combination keep it the right side of “too sexy”. If it was all black the dress would suit a totally different night out
Jonathan looked chic as ever in his Graphic Tee and dirty-blue skinny jeans. He probably won’t thank me for this photo of him but I just loved his Couture Pose and had to share it with you!!
Sophie, the founder of The Music League is always discreetly fashionable. She puts her outfits together in her own way and owns it. I love the way she pulls off looks most of us would only dream of wearing. She has a rockin’ body and height I envy and I enjoy seeing what she’s wearing each time I meet up with her.
Bring on next week and the next outfit…I mean the next bands!! 
Round One: Night One – My Comparing Antics and Outfit!
This week I was thrilled to be presenting for The Music League at the The Shoreditch in…erm Shoreditch! The first round of the competitions has 16 acts taking part and the first night delighted us to the musical stylings of the Greenwich Tea Party, Dan Shears, Will Robert and Tape. Never heard of them?? That’s OK…you’re not supposed to as this competition is all about unsigned up-and -coming talent.
Sophie asked me to compare alongside the wonderful Jonathan Rodden who I’d had the pleasure of spending three years of drama school with. We’d figured that our improvisational skills would kick in and all would be brilliant but perhaps we should have prepared more than just our outfits as our presenting left a lot to be desired! It was a hell of a lot of fun though and I got to hear some cool music and hang out with some very nice people in the process.
I also got to debut in my new Dahlia dress which I’m madly in love with. The orange is a really playful colour and certainly reflected that side of me here! I teamed it with a cute little black cropped jacked I got in Nordstrom when I was in Florida last year and black heels to sexy it up a little. I also cinched in my waist with a black belt covered in silver studs just to show off my figure a little more. I kept accessories down to a minimum as I love the Peter Pan collar with its sweet bow detail and didn’t want to take away from it. I felt really good in this outfit and I think Jonny and I look like a great team (even if we didn’t perform like one!)
Now, what to wear next week………?!
SPOTLIGHT CV
