The Daily Bread #15 - The Made in Britain Midi

Dress - Topshop

Jumper - Lindex

Boots - Bianco

Necklace - Topshop

As I may have mentioned, a few weeks ago I placed a very ill-advised, bank-balance-destroying Topshop order because I was simply desperate to get my hands on a particularly beautiful paisley skirt.  I'd first lusted after it a few months ago but it went out of stock almost immediately, in true Topshop style.  You can imagine my delight when a procrastinating browse informed me that it was back in stock.  As I was already paying postage, I decided to order this midi dress too, as I'd been hunting for one of this style for a while but had found no luck in Sweden.

It's a simple, high necked, long sleeved, navy blue jersey midi dress but I absolutely love it. It fits like a glove, it's so versatile and it's so comfortable.  I've layered it here with a jumper and ankle boots for a cold Tuesday in Gothenburg but it'd be equally at home with some statement jewellery and a pair of heels for a sophisticated night time look, despite the casual jersey fabric.  It's surprisingly very flattering too; I'm by no means the skinniest of girls but it doesn't cause any bodycon nightmares, I think because of the fairly thick fabric.  

This dress also forms part of Topshop's 'Made In Britain' collection, which you can read more about here.  For me, this dress is an ideal component of the range.  It is a wardrobe staple - practical, comfortable, live-in - yet the length and the fit lend an immediate sense of luxe to any look.  You could throw it on on the dreariest of days, in the worst of moods, and immediately feel more in control, more put together, more womanly (if that isn't too cliched a word to use).  It feels like wearing a secret and that's why I think it fits so well with the collection. This whole concept of understated luxury is something that, to me, just seems so very British.

As you can probably gather, I'm a pretty big fan.  It's a feel good piece if there ever was one, and I love that. I feel I should put a quick note about the sizing though. I read on another blog that they'd advise getting a size up in this style.  Personally, I completely disagree with that.  I think there's nothing worse than baggy body con which will just never sit right.  I guess that's down to personal taste but I'd advise going a size down, if anything.

I apologise for having been so absent over the weekend; I've been holed up in pyjamas procrastinating like a professional.  I finally submitted my essays yesterday though and so I'm back.  Today I'm attempting to be very productive and organise a few quite exciting developments in my life, which I'll sure I'll be blabbering on about soon.

From a snowy Sweden,

Elise.

The Daily Bread #13 - Call The Midwife, Apparently

Dress - ASOS

Jumper - Lindex

Brogues - Unknown Swedish 

Today, my mother and cousin arrived for a weekend of festive fun in Sweden and since their arrival, they have done little except mock me for looking like an extra from recent BBC drama Call The Midwife.  Pssht.  Apparently it was the combination of jumper/collar, swingy mac and very sensible black brogues.  I'm not going to lie - I don't really find any of this particularly insulting.  Take me back to the fifties any day.

I must admit though, the shoes do look slightly like they were acquired via an orthopaedic prescription.  I bought them yesterday on a desperate hunt for anything flat-ish and lace up, after the contents of Big Foot's shoe collection was delivered on Wednesday.  I couldn't find anything that I loved and I wasn't really willing to part money for mediocre (either my student brain or my middle aged one finally engaging) so when I saw these reduced to 99sek, about £9, I thought they'd do as a filler shoe, until I fell in love again.  It got even better when I took them to the till and the sales assistant informed me that it was buy one, get one half price, and off I trotted to find a second pair.  I found a pair of quite nice black heels, also in the sale, so ended up with 698sek worth of shoes for 148sek which I'm not complaining about at all, even if they are more suited to the doctor's office...

I must stop rambling about the embarrassments of today's outfit though and please let's discuss the dress instead.  Jeez.  It came in the Big Foot parcel from ASOS and probably made up for my footwear disappointments.  I ordered it on a whim, as I saw it was reduced to £20 and I'm a big fan of toile style prints (as you can tell by duvet set featured here).  I was pretty chuffed when it came.  Whilst it's more of a summer dress, with a really exciting shape to the shoulder area, I also love it styled for autumn with a jumper like this, and I think the monochrome colouring stop it being too unseasonal.  It won extra brownie points because dresses never fit me properly - disproportionate boob:hip ratio, with the former coming out on top - but this does up all the way to the top without a single gape and also fits perfectly on my waist.  Bravo ASOS, bravo.

As predicted, today has been full of festive fun already.  We browsed the Christmas sections of pretty much every store in Gothenburg, wandered until dark in order to appreciate the lights and then had Glogg, a Swedish mulled wine type affair, with our risotto.  Beth and my mum have both fallen asleep now (they blame the early flight for this antisocial bedtime; I blame the Glogg) so I thought I'd type a little post for you.

Talking of Christmas, something which I won't stop doing until January, I received an email from Vicki (A Life of Geekery) this week containing details for bloggers Secret Santa which is VERY exciting.  Christmas really is a-coming, hoorah!

With good tidings and weekend wishes,

Elise.

P.S. After many occasions of having problems with no light, I took my pictures really early today and found there was too much.  Oops!

The Daily Bread #6 - Easy Like a Sunday Morning

Shirt - H&M

Jumper - Lindex

Skirt - J.W. Anderson for Topshop

Boots - Bianco

Yesterday, in an excitable frenzy after a few too many cocktails, Suzanne and I planned a perfect Sunday of lunch and shopping.  This morning, after I'd drank a litre of water and washed away my groggy head, this idea was just as appealing.  Feeling a little delicate, I wanted to be comfortable yet still wearing something nice enough to cheer me up.  Out came the zebra skirt.

I had ordered this skirt from the Topshop website within an hour of the J.W. Anderson collection being available online.  I was just terrified that I'd go back the next day to find it all gone.  I picked this skirt because I like it's very simple shape (it's actually a high waisted slim A line, but I like it worn with layers over it to create a very 60s mini) combined with the bold print.  I find this makes it very wearable yet also interesting.  For such a statement piece, I seem to get a surprising amount of wear out of it.

I said that you'd be seeing a lot of this jumper and here it is for the second time this week.  It is the perfect hangover jumper because it's very 'snuggly' (is it just me who requires comfort blanket style emotional support from their clothes the morning after the night before?) yet quite light so won't cause the dreaded hangover overheat.  Just like everybody else on the planet at the moment, or at least in the blogosphere, I'm loving collars in all shapes and forms.  Since buying this shirt from H&M I have absolutely no idea how I ever lived without it; it just goes with everything.

Our day was just the perfect Sunday we had hoped for.  After a lovely lunch at En Deli Haga, which is a vegan deli in Gothenburg, we went for a wander and a browse around the shops.  I discovered the Zara TRF range which was quite exciting.  From what I can gather, it's just the 'young' range aimed at teenagers.  They had some great things there though and it seemed to be slightly cheaper.  I bought a really exciting blouse which you'll definitely be seeing very soon and also some desperately needed black jeans.  

Then, the most important part of the day, I lost my Mac virginity and bought a lipstick.  Even the Mac shopping experience was delightful - so much more satisfying than the disdainful stares you get shopping in the Rimmel corner of the the department store.  I went for 'cyber' with some moral support from Suzanne.  I've wanted a vampy purple lipstick for weeks but it's just such a scary colour.  I'm so excited for it to have an outting next weekend and I'll let you know what I think.

Unfortunately, my weekend of fun is over now and I've got a Sunday evening of reading prep ahead of me.  My first week of blogging has come to an end and now I've got to grips with it a little more, I'm going to try and do a few more general posts this week and also remember to take pictures out and about.  I solemnly swear.

Over and out,

Elise.

The Daily Bread #1

Shirt - Glamorous

Jumper - Lindex 

Jeans - Miss Selfridge

Boots - Bianco

Belt - Topman

Necklace - Miss Selfridge

Ring (top) - The Amber Shop, Southwold

Ring (bottom) - Past Times

Nail Varnish  - Topshop in 'Sketch' 

A quick apology for a) how horrendously awkward I am in front of the camera and b) the fact that I've not yet quite got used to said camera, hence the slightly dodgy photography in general.

I plan - with the very best of intentions - to do an outfit post every single day, come rain or shine.  Given that I wasn't doing anything very exciting today, I opted for a fairly simply outfit.  The shirt was bought last summer (by which I mean 2011) and has had a lot of wear for something I was never particularly in love with, as always seems to be the way.  I stole the jeans from my mum when I was at home last week, as mine developed a hole and it was a period of serious poverty.  The boots and belt will probably feature almost daily, so you can say hello to these as new friends.  I was excited to wear the jumper though, which I picked up in my favourite Swedish high street shop, Lindex.  I'd been looking for a loose yet not oversized, medium thickness, super soft jumper for weeks when I finally found this.  I'd originally hoped for bottle green or navy, simply because they better compliment the outfits I originally had in mind for it.  However, I couldn't leave this behind as it ticked every other box and I can imagine it'll be worn a lot this winter. 

As I said, I've not had a very exciting day.  I popped back to the Rohsska (a fashion, design and decorative arts museum in Gothenburg) to take some pictures as I was camera-less when I first visited a few weeks ago.  You can be expecting quite a few Rohsska posts coming up as it's probably my favourite space in Gothenburg so far.  Afterwards, I went to finally buy some new skincare products as I've been a terrible excuse for a girl lately and have absolutely abused my skin with cheap face wipes.  I've just properly cleansed, toned and moisturised for the first time in weeks and I can't stop stroking my face which feels baby soft again at long last.  Buying cosmetics - well, buying anything really - is a matter of pot luck nowadays, given my complete lack of  knowledge of any Swedish language, but I bought the Nivea Purifying Wash Gel and Mattifying Toner and some Olay Eye Make-Up Remover.  So far, so good but I shall review these further in due course.  

Now, for some reason given what a lazy day I've had, I'm absolutely exhausted, so I'm going to have to bid you a good night.

Sweet Dreams,

Elise.