Getting married can be daunting enough without all the expenses looming over your head. When I decided that I wanted a fairly low key, low cost wedding, one of the questions that flooded my mind was ‘what about the dress?’. There wasn’t any way that I felt I could justify a £500+ dress – one that…
Tag: fashion
We need to talk about puffer jackets
Puffer jackets are popping up everywhere from catwalks to high-street retailers, but the very thought of them is giving me chills. Why? – I was born in a puffer-jacket country, a place so cold you have no choice but to wear one, making everyone look like the Michelin Man trudging through the snow. Firstly, I…
Wedding guest prep: what to spend to look fabulous
Oh my goodness, weddings are so expensive! Don’t get too excited, guys! My partner hasn’t popped the question just yet, but I attended a wedding this weekend. Even as a guest, I found that I was splashing out so that I looked my best, and it all added up. As a disclaimer, I should add…
How to dress A/W16 on a budget
All the leaves are brown… and it’s chucking down with rain. Yes, autumn has arrived. With autumn come new fashion collections – first the pre-fall, then fall, and then winter, which will be variations on the same thing, with slightly warmer textures and a more festive look the closer we get to Christmas. The good news…
How to make your makeup last longer: tips from a former Avon rep
I may not have made a fortune from selling Avon products while I was a rep, but I did learn valuable tips of the trade that I keep up my sleeve, and accumulate enough fragrant goodies to pack my bathroom from floor to ceiling. Here’s how to extend the life of your makeup, saving you cash and reducing waste.…
Six of the world’s most expensive luxury products you will never be able to afford
One of my favourite things to do is imagine I am a billionaire, safe in the knowledge I will never really have to cope with the burden. When I do that, I like to browse all the things I might buy if money really were no issue and also if I was a bit stupid. Without…
Shopping hack: confessions of a former shopgirl
Around five years ago I briefly worked in an upmarket high-street womenswear shop in Covent Garden. It wasn’t my first job in retail, but the intense focus on the hard sell, the expectation to harass the customer every step of the way, was something I hadn’t previously experienced. When a customer entered the shop and…
Is summer fashion expensive? Not if you choose these sensible choices
I did a very reasonable thing the other weekend. I walked into a shopping centre close to my house. It’s not great – on weekdays it closes at 6.30pm and the selection is limited to the most obvious high-street retailers. But they have them all. Which means that you can pop from one to another…
Frugal fashion: why I fell out of love with ‘vintage’ fashion
I remember a time when shopping at a second-hand store was a way to save money, but with ‘vintage’ and ‘retro’ being such buzzwords, you may now find clothes shopping cheaper on the high street. That is not to say any used thing is vintage. Shops that purport to selling vintage – when it’s just…
The back-to-school uniform test – shops that score highest for value
If your children are anything like mine, they tend to shoot upwards like beanstalks in the summer and grow a shoe size or two. Unless we take to feet binding or practice ancient growth-stunting techniques, it means a whole new set of school uniform will be required in the back-to-school September rush. In the unlikely…