Sarenza A-Z: Irregular Choice

Somehow we've reached I in the A-Z...I'm not sure where the weeks have gone to, but here we are. I'm pretty sure nobody predicted that my brand of choice this week would be Irregular Choice; a bit of a marmite brand between bloggers and one I never used to get, but since Alex and Charlotte introduced me, I've become a bit of an addict and own several pairs.

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Hmm, where has my spring like colour scheme gone?

1. Miaow; possibly one of the most recognised styles by now, they've been around for a few seasons and I still adore them.

2. Otters; cheating somewhat as I own these, but I still love them; they are much more subtle than they appear and really comfortable too!

3. No Photo Please; because a girl can not have too many pairs of glitzy flats.

4. A Night Under the Stars; GLITTER.

They also do some pretty fun bags, too (there, that's more spring like!)

Are you a lover or a loather? What's your "irregular" choice?

xxx

P.S. My second choice brand was the super affordable I Love Shoes, yet another brand that Sarenza introduced me to.

the perfect weekend

Dress c/o Matalan, Tesco tights (which I shamefully discovered had a hole mid thigh whilst out and about), Georgia Rose boots c/o Sarenza.

Yesterday was one of those days that makes you think "this is what the weekends should be like, always". With almost spring-like sunshine beaming down on us, Best.Friend. and I hopped in her car (she's my personal driver, really) and headed down to Clarks Village in Somerset; about an hour away from us. I raved about this place a couple of weeks ago when my parents went, and I will continue to rave. Best.Friend. bought a beautiful dress in the Monsoon outlet at a crazy price to wear to a mutual friend's wedding in May (I am yet to purchase my dress, but know what it will be!) and we both stocked up on undies in M&S (£5.75 for a matching set) and bras in Calvin Klein (3 for £16). The Cadbury shop is always a delight and we came away with chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, and the surprise winner of the day was Claire's Accessories where I got some much needed silver stud earrings for crazy cheap.

Other shops we looked in and enjoyed were Yumi which had amazing bargains if they had your size; they didn't for me this time, and several places selling handbags. We had a cheap and tasty lunch in Subway and stopped off at a nearby Sainsburys to raid their bakery for a snack.

The evening was spent watching Saturday night TV before falling asleep shamefully early, and today I am hopefully seeing Ellie for one of our Chickpea buying missions with an added trip to Primark. I need to be restrained as I don't get paid until Wednesday, but when shopping opportunities present themself, it'd be rude to refuse.

How's your weekend going? Bought any bargains or done anything especially wonderful?

xxx

zippo meets Fred Butler

(images from fredbutlerstyle blog)

I'd say it's pretty much common knowledge now that I didn't attend London Fashion Week; a bit of better planning on my part means I probably could have done, but to be honest I find it quite over-hyped and the idea of the general chaos and sheer volume of people kind of puts me off.

Saying that, there are a couple of shows/presentations I wish I could have gone to and top of that list was the Fred Butler A/W presentation. Sculptural pastel pieces that look more like props than apparel. Pastel hair. An almost anime feel...I am besotted.

And every fashionista knows that goodie bags are a perk of Fashion Week...for the Fred Butler presentation they broke the mould of tradition by giving out a limited edition Zippo lighter created especially for the event...

 

 

I was very kindly gifted one of these lighters and even as a smoker with a penchant for Zippos I can't quite bring myself to use it. Something so awesome and unique shouldn't really be used for such a filthy habit, right? I think I'll treasure this one as the reminder of the one Fashion Week presentation I am genuinely gutted to have missed.

xxx

with my blue shoes on

Next jumper, Matalan skirt, Superdrug tights, Clarks shoes from a super awesome friend.

Clarks isn't the first place I'd look when searching for shoes, but one evening I was randomly browsing and came across this pair. Tempted to order them next month from Sarenza, I checked with a friend who works in a Clarks shop if they were as nice in real life as they looked online. Well, I guess they figured there was only one way to find out, as a few days later a parcel had arrived for me.

Have I ever mentioned how awesome my friends are?

What's the sweetest thing a friend has ever done for you?

xxx

USC Wishlist

USC is a shop that has flitted on and off my radar for years. To be honest, I'd kind of dismissed it a couple of years ago; I just didn't think it sold the kind of clothes I liked, so when they got in touch with me to tell me a bit more about the store and I took a look, it was kind of a shock to end up with a MASSIVE wishlist...

This is just what I fancy from the latest arrivals!

USC has an unrivalled range of branded fashion and footwear across 38 stores nationwide including flagship stores in Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Liverpool and the web hosts over 3,000 produces online- www.usc.co.uk

They have some great brands include G-Star, Diesel, Police, Huntington & Co , Adidas Originals, Ugg Australia, Fred Perry, Soviet, Maggie & Me, Little Mistress and Replay. It is a destination shop for all the best known and loved brands and is one of the few multi-branded retailers in the UK.

I'd encourage you to take a browse online, or give the nearest store to you a chance...although please don't blame me if you end up blowing your wages in one fell swoop!

xxx

specs, studs and feathers

Dress c/o Motel Rocks, Tesco Tights, Buffalo boots c/o Sarenza, Glasses Red or Dead at Specsavers.

Finally, after *coughyearscough* much delaying and putting it off, I had an eye test last week, which revelaed I do still need glasses (I've had them since I was 9 though not many people knew!) and that I needed to wear them a bit more than I had previously. My old frames had literally fallen apart, so I treated myself to two new pairs (gotta love a buy one get one free deal) and picked them up this week.

How amazing is the world/how much easier is my job when things aren't quite so blurred? I got the red/black pair you can see above, as well as a more neutral pair for when I feel a bit less bold.

I will not leave it seven years between tests this time. Promise!

xxx

My Latest Addiction

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce you to my latest snacking addiction, who I first came across via the gorgeous Nicky
A new brand, Garbanzo make the most addictive roasted chickpea snacks in three awesome flavours; currently only available in larger Holland and Barret stores, but I have first hand knowledge that they plan to open an online store soon.

My addiction to these is a running joke among a few of my friends (Ellie, Trudi...) and those that have tried them have also got hooked! I wasn't asked by Garbanzo to post this, but I contacted them to find out if they had any other stockists, and when I realised what a lovely bunch of people they are, I decided I wanted to spread the love a little bit more.

If you see these, buy in bulk...SO seriously good...especially the bombay firecracker flavour!

xxx

from blue to pink

A-wear dress (bargain at £5), New Look daisy tights, Yull chelsea boots and Heart Leopard bag from Motel*

Thursday; the weekend is in sight. Not much to say today other than I LOVE this bag, it's perfect for toting all my extra junk to work- glasses, water bottle, snacks, paper work, kindle...the list is endless. I am not one to travel light! I was on the search for THE perfect tote bag for ages before I found this one in pretty much the last place I looked.

Do you travel light? Or are you like me and pack everything but the kitchen sink for the shortest of trips?

xxx

brightening the blues

Matalan dress, Betsey Johnson tights, Clarks shoes c/o Sarenza

I always think blue makes an apt outfit for a Monday, and the one just gone proved to live up to it's reputation with general chaos and all round confusion at work! I love these tights but forgot just how much attention they attract until I was walking by a main road on route to work and a couple of cars slowed down as they passed.

I hope everyone enjoyed pancake day! I went, sadly, without due to lack of planning and general laziness! What was the best topping you tried? I'm wondering which reader set a new record of number of pancakes eaten?! And now we're on the countdown to Easter (bring on the mini eggs and malteaser bunnies!) what have you given up for Lent, if anything?

xxx

Are you a student in Cardiff?

Sorry for such an area-centric post, but I really, really wanted to share this with anyone who lives in Cardiff so they can take part...

Oasis (side note, check out their AMAZING new denim drop) are working with an agency who have distributed posters throughout key student areas in Cardiff, These posters advertise the ‘Hunt For The Denim Dog’. The journey for students will be:

• Students must scan a QR code or enter a unique URL which can be found on the posters.
• They will enter a landing page asking them to sign up their details and submit
• Once they submit, a second page will pop up telling them that they will receive their special reward shortly
• They will then receive their voucher into their inbox. They can print this out and bring instore, or alternatively show this on their phone screen to the store staff to claim their prize.
• They will not know what their voucher has won them until they bring this in to the store and are verbally told by the store staff.
  
  

I really want to hear from you if you find one of these posters and win an awesome prize, so get in touch!

Oh, and whilst your in-store? I'll take a size 10 in the jeans above, thanks!