It was a six months ago now, but for our first anniversary we headed back to the scene of the crime - spending the night in the hotel where we were married.

Apparently it's not socially acceptable to wear your wedding dress in public the after the wedding day itself, so I had to make do with my 'day after' dress instead.

No matter what I knew I was going to wear this dress on our anniversary, even if we'd spent the evening in front of the TV (actually that's not true, if we'd done that I totally would've worn my wedding dress).

Anyway, I went with black shoes, a silver beaded bag, and a dark red pashmina, and painted my nails in my 'wedding red'. I wore the earrings I would've worn on our wedding day if Andy hadn't surprised me with pearl studs (and necklace) on the eve of our wedding.


Andy arranged for private dining in the McCallum Room where our ceremony was held. I had no idea we were eating in there and might have cried a tiny bit when I realised.

We sat opposite each other on a long table, with candles, a vase of red roses, and a white table cloth scattered with rose petals and tealights.

Our meal was delicious! The stunning medieval building and the excellent food were the main reasons we picked The Swan as our wedding venue. We've always been impressed with the food and quality of service, and Lavenham is such a beautiful village - worth a visit if you're ever in Suffolk.


The hotel bought back so many lovely memories - even the smell of the place took me back to our wedding day. The food was outstanding, the gin was crisp and cold, and the company wasn't bad either.

It was a super way to celebrate our first anniversary, and it felt nice to be wearing my day after dress again. Only six months until our second...

I organised a clothes swap at the weekend and came home with three lovely dresses. Two I love, the other I like but I’m not sure about. The beauty of a clothes swap is that if I don’t like it, I can take it to another swap. Or sell it on ebay. Or donate it. Either way I'm not really losing anything.

The first dress I found was a Louche Jena dress in red and grey, this is my favourite. I think this will be lovely to wear all year round and could be worn for meetings or just casually. It’s pretty versatile.

Then I picked up a cute red party dress by Union Boutique, not a brand I've heard of before but it looks well made, with boning to the bodice and full lining. It’s a lovely fabric with a bit of a sheen to it, it also has a bit of a petticoat going on. In my opinion this dress could only be improved with the addition of pockets. My feeling is that it'll be perfect for Christmas, but I could also wear it to a wedding next summer.

Lastly, I was rather taken by the art nouveau fabric of this Atmosphere dress, I have a feeling it’s too young for me - a little short, a bit too flared - but I’m going to style it up and see how it feels. Expect a post soon, where I’ll appreciate your honest opinion on it's age appropriateness.

Clothes swaps can be a bit hit and miss, you never know what people are going to turn up with. Sometimes you find very little but other times it’s like going on the best shopping spree ever, made so by the fact that you’re not spending a single penny.

Have you ever been to a clothes swap? I love them! Just beware of 'The Snatcher', there is one lurking at every swap.

Day 10 of Blogging Every Day In November with Rosalilium

I bought this dress for our honeymoon. It fits nicely, has sleeves, a flattering neckline, is a nice length, is a bit swirly, makes me feel girly and all sorts of summery. I love it, it's a most perfect dress.

I wore it twice while we were away and then emptied my suitcase into the washing machine when we returned home. I hung it up and huzzah! it didn't need ironing.


But then I noticed a hole on the waistband, front and centre. The seam had frayed. Gutted.

I looked online to see if I could order a replacement and send the other one back for a refund. No luck.

For some reason I couldn't bring myself to return it but there's no point in holding onto something I'm not going to wear again.

So I need to mend it. Sadly, it's not a simple case of sewing it back together as the material has frayed.

My question is... what's the best way to mend it so that I can then disguise the area with something pretty?

I'm thinking of using some interfacing on the inside and then sewing zig zag across the area to strengthen it (and hopefully prevent it from happening again).

As for the embellishment I'm thinking a row of buttons (you know how much I like buttons), or a couple of brooches pinned in place.

Perhaps some navy lace or applique?

Or some brightly coloured embroidery?

A faux belt buckle?

I need to run wild in a haberdashery.

Which reminds me of this - when standing outside a haberdashery the other day and little boy walked by with his Mum. He said 'a haberdashery, that's on of those places full of things just for men isn't it?' his Mother and I looked at each other a laughed. I don't know what's he's thinking of but, no, it most certainly is not.

So project dress sos - any ideas?

(Day 9 of blogging everyday for 40 days)

As soon as I knew we were going to a ball I started to plan my outfit. I love dressing up and often find the planning of my outfit almost as exciting as the event itself. Having the chance to dress up and wear something that I normally wouldn't feels like such a treat!

I was so tempted to buy something new, but having had this ASOS dress for ages and only having worn it a few times when we'd had friends over, I decided that it was time to give it it's first proper outing. Andy bought it for me but it was so long ago, he didn't even recognise it.

It's light and drapey and perfect for a summer ball. It does have thin straps though and, disliking my shoulders in the way I do, I always wear it with a cardigan of some description.

"Oh, you're off to a ball are you? Lovely. What's your outfit like?"
"Well, I've got myself a smashing cardy..."

It doesn't sound very dressed up does it?

I searched eBay for a beaded shrug but didn't find anything quite right, so I hit the charity shops in town. In the first one I found this fine knit bolero which is practically the same colour as the dress. I was so chuffed, but the best bit? It was only £2.80.

I wore a pair of wedges that I've had for at least 3 years - the only ones high enough to enable me to walk in this dress - and an Accessorize bag I won on eBay for £2.79 in 2012.


You've gotta love a bargain outfit! We're off to another ball tomorrow night, so expect another bargain outfit post soon.


How would you style this dress?

Love

After seeing Sophie's entry I decided join Florrie's floral festivities to help her celebrate three year blogiversary.

This was a bit of a challenge for me as I don't have many prints in my wardrobe but having recently decided to inject some colour and pattern, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to show off my most recent floral find.

As a result of some eBay trawling I am now the proud owner of this pre-loved Topshop dress. I had to alter the neckline as it didn't sit quite right and with that done, I'm smitten!


I then went on a hunt to find other floral items for my outfit. I have to admit that I was surprised to find as many as I did. The whole process felt wonderfully reminiscent of playing dress-up as a child.


I added two necklaces - both daisies - one a bridesmaid gift from my sister-in-law, the second a Christmas present from my Dad, a leather cuff covered in daisies and three bracelets with flower charms, a brooch (found on etsy, made from recycled materials) and finally some sandals that I had to dust off - I had totally forgotten about them!

See all the paticipants of Florrie's Floral Festivities here.
Love

Those of you who read the first of my May Challenge posts, you would have seen a glimpse of my bargain Coast dress, purchased back in October, for a ball I attended in mid May.

It was on eBay and when I saw it the bidding was due to end. I knew it was too much of a bargain to ignore. I waited until the last few seconds, made my bid and won. I love it when that happens!

The dress is second hand and so is the clutch bag, so I decided that this outfit should be my entry into Ceri's Ethical Outfit Competition. I was so pleased to find this dress, as a piece that won't get worn very often I was glad that I could find something second hand, rather than buy new, from both an ethical and a financial point of view.


The whole outfit was a bit of a bargain actually.
Coast dress (worn once) £20.00, eBay
Shoes £29.99, Zara
Oasis bag £15.00, (used once) eBay
Pilgrim ring £15.00 in the sale, Debenhams
The necklace and earrings I've had for ages, even my nail varnish - Dangerous Affair, Ciaté - was free on the front of a magazine.

That's a total of just £79.99 - £40 less than the original price of the dress alone. I love you eBay.

I'm pondering what to do with this dress now. I'd love to think that I will wear it time and time again as I'd hate something so pretty to just hang in the back of my wardrobe. A dress like this should be worn, but I doubt that I'll be presented with many occasions to wear it, however, I'm a little reluctant to part with it...

What is your best eBay win? Are you entering Ceri's competition?

My friend's recent wedding reception had a black and white theme and, to my surprise, I had little in my wardrobe to fit the bill. I didn't want to go all black and definitely didn't want to go all in white, so I went looking for something with a bit of a pattern. Being a bit of a patternphobe I tend to stick to block colour but this rope chain print Oasis dress from Very wasn't too scary.


I've had this bag forever, I found it in a reduced bin in Warehouse for £3.00 eons ago. It's the sort of thing that comes out when something a little eveningish is required. I painted my nails with my current crush - Rimmel I love Lasting Finish Nail Polish in 270 Hot Shot - to keep my outfit from being entirely monochrome.


I wore my new Rockalily Vintage Vixen lippy (a panic purchase when I heard that Rockalily lipsticks were soon to be no more). This is just one coat which gives a subtle colour, this is my favourite brand of lippy, the colours are long lasting and vibrant - perfect for pale skin, it's super hydrating and smells like cake. I can't believe that once it's gone, it's gone!

Have you ever been to a themed wedding?

Last year I posted about the perfect maxi dress for work and now I am on the lookout for another.

For the office, I think, it is best if your maxi dress covers your shoulders, is modest and is minimal.

There are thousands of maxi dresses available but the vast majority are strapless or sleeveless, floral or heavily patterned and voluminous.

Here are the office-friendly maxi's on my list (the ones nearer the bottom on my 'if only' list).

Casual T-Shirt Maxi Dress
New Look £14.99
Simple shape, neutral colour - the possibilities with this are endless. A cute cardigan would work equally as well as a blazer for the office, but this wouldn't look out of place slung on over a bikini on the beach too… win, win.



Mariella Belted Long Sleeve Maxi Dress
Missguided £19.99
Simple shape, long sleeves - easy to accessorise. A great wardrobe staple and the sleeves will save you on those typically English summer days when the sun spends most of it's time behind the clouds.



Navy White Stripe Cotton Jersey Maxi Dress
Laura Ashley £67.50
I adore stripes in all guises, especially when they come in the form of an empire line with clashing stripes - perfect for hiding an after lunch tummy. It's also smart without being to 'buttoned up'.


Splendid Maritime Stripe Maxi Dress
shopbop, £91.45
This is perhaps a little casual for work but you could hide the tie waist under a belt and smarten it up with a lightweight blazer. I love the stripes and simple t shirt shape.


Full Circle Kasumi Cap Sleeve Maxi Dress
House of Fraser £110.00
Okay, so technically this is more of a midi than a maxi but isn't it lovely? And, technically, it doesn't have sleeves but the neck is high enough to compensate (am I clutching at straws here?). The stripes and blocks of yellow are just too lovely not to have included this dress!



Ella Moss Chelsea Striped Maxi Dress
shopbop £104.70
I really don't think that this dress needs any explanation...



Tucker Floor Length Dress
shopbop £267.05
For me this is THE perfect maxi dress for work. It's the colour, sleeve length, neckline and even the buttons that make it so. What's more after work you can undo a few buttons, add some jewellery and sandals and it would be transformed into a gorgeous evening outfit. I want this dress.


So there it is, my (wish)list for an office maxi dress. Which ones take your fancy?

Images from New Look / MissGuided / Laura Ashley / House of Fraser / shopbop

The Mend Pile, aka the pile of clothes that need mending or altering that gathers dust in my bedroom, has begun to taunt me. Which is why I made 'fix the mend pile' one of my resolutions and I have made a start, albeit a small one, by fixing a broken belt loop and sewing some buttons back onto a jacket.


My first alteration project is a Matalan dress, purchased back in March/April 2011. I haven't worn it yet, I love the material and pattern but something wasn't quite right...


It fits nicely but the length wasn't very flattering. It's a bold shape and pattern and didn't seem to match the knee length style. So, I decided to lop six inches off the bottom. The picture on the far right was with the skirt just tucked up, but you can see the difference it made.


Tink inspected my handy work thoroughly.

I'll show you the end result, properly styled and accessorised, in an outfit post soon...

Do you think I made the right decision?