Mia and Matt's vintage wedding!

Hello! I've been bridesmaid at Mia's wedding this weekend, which explains the lack of updates this week! My boyfriend and I just got back from Newton Abbot where Mia and Matt were married on Saturday. We had an absolutely fantastic time and everyone looked so wonderful. Especially Mia:



Mia organised everything down to the last detail - even the table plan was animal themed!







I will definitely do another post soon with bridesmaid pictures as I know a few of you want to see what we were wearing. I didn't have my camera to hand for most of the day so I only have a handful of snaps (none of the bridesmaids!)

Corinne x

Desert Boots

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know I'd become officially obsessed with tracking down a pair of desert boots with a wedge heel. I didn't mind what colour or where they came from just so long as they had a heel that wasn't too high. I hunted for the coveted New Look desert boots but they'd sold out on the New Look website so I'd pretty much given up on ever owning them. I was dying to get these Clarks ones, but at £99 quid a pop I couldn't justify the purchase.

I really like desert boots and could easily have bought a classic flat pair like Gem Fatale always wears so well. But there was something about the wedge heel that I really loved. I have quite large feet so the opportunity to make them look a little bit smaller with the help of a heel is always much appreciated! I also love that they're so versatile and you can wear them with pretty much anything and look good.

Anyway, you'll imagine my GLEE when I spotted a few pairs of desert sand boots in New Look today. They were the very last pairs of the boots available and all of them were a size too big. I thought I'd try them on anyway (perhaps I could stuff the toes with tissue and hope no one noticed my giant man feet). Fortunately the New Look sizes for this boot seem to come up quite small. They didn't look massive like I had feared and they're really comfy!

When I got to the till the lady serving me realised there was no product number on them and no price! I guess this is because they were one of the last few pairs? I waited for a while and they guessed the price at £39.99. Looking at the website it seems they were £40 (so I made a huge 1p saving). I also really liked these furry boots too but the heel looked slightly too high for me. Worth a look though if you need new boots. New Look seemed to have loads of amazing footwear this year!

I also wanted to show you this amazing cameo necklace I got from my mum. It belonged to my grandma...

Luxe lovin': Velvet

There's something about the colder weather that makes me seek out velvet. I realised this when I returned from my favourite charity shop yesterday with a long black velvet maxi skirt and a pair of red velvet trousers. I then looked in my wardrobe and remembered I'd recently bought a blue vintage velvet dress. There we have it, I'm addict.

The red trousers were by Ghost but they had that mumsy evening out vibe to them so I turned them up and made them into shorts. I really wanted to use the fabric I cut off to make some cuffs for the bottom of them but after a few hours of trying to sew the velvet I gave up and decided to roll up the seems and hand sew them instead. I think I probably just needed some interfacing or something to stop the velvet from stretching under the foot of the sewing machine... or perhaps I was using the wrong needle or stitch. Who knows. Anyway here's how they turned out. Not bad for £8.50 *expensive but they are made by GHOST so...



Next up is the long velvet black skirt. I nearly didn't buy this but I'm so glad that I did! It has a bit of movement to it and although it's a size 14 it works really well on my size 10-12 frame (it sits on the hips and gives me the maxi length I need!). It was £6 I think... I'm wearing it with a (really creased) Topshop boutique top I bought last year. There's something really great about mixing these pale fabrics from last season with darker moodier fabrics like velvet. My Bertie boots are also making an appearance... (I wore these to work the other day and they didn't hurt my feet one single bit... they are actual DREAM boots).



Finally, here's my sneaky eBay buy (I'm banning myself from eBay for the next month or so). I was a bit miffed when this dress arrived because I realised it needed repairing a bit (the seller didn't include this in the advert). But I'm so pleased with the fit that I'm trying to forget that! It was £30, which is a bit more than I usually like to spend on vintage items on eBay but I know that this will be a dress that I'll keep for life and it's so wearable that I can see myself wearing it all over the place).





My only worry with velvet is the dry cleaning bill! Oh and also that I had a gorgeous velvet dress I wore to a work Christmas party last year that got irreversibly splattered by someones red wine. It totally ruined the nap of the fabric down the front of the dress and it'll never look the same. SAD FACE. Lesson learned - do not wear velvet to work Christmas party.

So, what do you think of velvet, something that's best left in the 80s?

Fearne Cotton SS11 Collection LFW

On Thursday night I was lucky enough to attend Fearne Cotton's Very fashion show at Victoria House in Bloomsbury. I was really excited and intrigued to see what Fearne had come up with in her fourth collection.

Very is a catalogue brand so I hoped that there would be models of all shapes and sizes gracing the catwalk. Unfortunately this wasn't the case; they were all super skinny. This seemed like a missed opportunity to really push exactly how the items could be worn by everyone. Especially since the range actually caters for most sizes. It would have been good to see how the dresses coped hugging some real life curves.

All the items were extremely wearable, and a theme seemed to develop (albeit a subtle one) with the big bows, sheer fabrics, pretty pastels, faded denim, lace and crochet details. I was also pleased to see a bit of fringing making it into the collection! My favourite item was this sheer cape dress, which was layered over another dress in the collection. I imagine wearing it over a bright coloured shift dresses or a textured maxi dress. It instantly made me think of the dreamy soft focus shots in Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides. which is probably why I love it so much!



Before the show I arranged to meet up with the lovely Gem Fatale, Fiona from Save Our Shoes and Emily from My Fashion Life. I feel like I've met so many really lovely people this week! We had such a good time and I felt like I'd know them for ages (especially Fiona who was hilarious!). We shared a few giggles and drank a few glasses of pink gin...



To see the full collection make sure you check out Gem Fatale's Flickr account!

My favourite make up products

Just a quick post today to tell you all about my current favourite make up products. Every now and then I like to change what I'm using because I get bored or it stops working on my skin. I don't really have any brand loyalty at all but tend to use the same brand of foundation for a year or so, or until I find something better!

I am very pale and find it difficult to find foundation that doesn't leave the tell tale line across my jaw. I purchased Maxfactor Colour Matching Foundation and I'm really pleased with the results. It's also really soft and blends in really evenly.

Before I apply my foundation I've been using L'Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Smoothing resurfacing Primer, which makes my skin really soft. It creates a really nice base for my make up and helps the foundation go on smoothly. Boots have an offer on at the moment so I got the L'Oreal Paris Touche Magique concealer pen free. The pen is really light and adds a bit of a brighting glow below the eyes (great if you're tired or have eye bags). I've been using Benefit's Erase paste for a while but much prefer this. The L'Oreal pen is much thinner than the Erase Paste and adds a translucent layer under the eyes that doesn’t clump up or sit in wrinkles.

I've been using Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner (from eBay) in black on my eyes - it has a tiny nib on the pen so it's really easy to apply!

I also ventured into the Topshop make up department for the first time this week and purchased the skin tint and some bright pink blusher. I'm really pleased with them both and the packaging is so pretty! The blusher doesn't go on quite as well as some that I've tried but it does instruct you to blot rather than dust it over your face, preferring you to blend with your fingers later. I'd be interested to hear what other people think of Topshop make up as I've only used these two products.

I'm off to see Fearne Cotton's Very Collection this evening, I'll let you all know what fantastic things she's designed for 2011. Hoping to see a few other fashion bloggers there including Gem Fatale and Fi from Save Our Shoes. Will tell all soon!

Bertie bloggers event

Last night I attended the Bertie Bloggers Event at the new Bertie Shoes store on South Molton Street (near London's Oxford Street). It was an opportunity to try out the new Autumn/Winter collection and meet bloggers Ellie, Amy and Jazzabelle for the first time! What lovely ladies they all are! I felt really inspired by them and their genuine love for fashion and blogging. Hopefully it won't be too long till we cross paths again.

It's the first bloggers event I've ever been to so I was really pleased to see my friend Christina there too! We were all very kindly allowed to take one pair of shoes home with us, which was like some sort of awesome dream! Christina and I spent a good 15 minutes walking up and down the store together trying to figure out what shoes we really wanted and getting slightly stressed. There were so many beautiful shoes and boots it was really hard to pick! In the end I went for a pair of heeled clog boots with zippers and laces.

As you know I usually opt for flats but I wanted to be adventurous and these boots just seemed too perfect to leave behind!





Annoyingly I didn't have my camera at the event but there's tons of photos on other blogs. I did a search earlier and found I was stood right in the middle of quite a few photos blabbing to Ellie like an old fish wife (I'm so fashion).

In other news, remember I said I wanted those Edie Sedgwick earrings? I had some made on Etsy by the lovely Tatania Rosa. They are absolutely amazing and I can't wait to wear them!



Corinne x

The search for the perfect winter coat

Source: Kennedy H


Source: Fashion Infusion


Source: Annika M.

This winter I'm pretty sure I don't want to buy into the cape or the aviator jacket trend (SHOCK HORROR). Instead I'm searching for the perfect wool swing coat with fur collar. These coats seem to be available all over Etsy and eBay, which is great because who wants to spend load of money on a coat!?

If you live in the UK like me then you'll know the British weather can be unpredictable. My boyfriend will tell you, I have A LOT of coats. I have coats for light rain, coats for heavy rain, coats for cold days, jackets for days when it's warm enough and giant knitted cardigans that won't fit under coats and usually only get worn in the confides of our flat. I really am the queen of outerwear right now. I'd really like to streamline them but I'm terrified of getting rid of the perfect drizzly day coat and regretting it later.

For me coats have always been a great way to cover up an outfit that has been thrown together in the dark ten minutes before leaving the house. A coat can transform an outfit from scruffy to elegant in a matter of minutes (provided you never take it off!). If you're fond of short skirt a long coat will pervert-proof your curves and add that perfect cover up when walking up stairs/riding the escalators in the tube).

Don't get me wrong, I love capes. They're so quirky and look fantastic on pretty much everyone. There's so many out there at the moment aswell, you can have your pick of colour, fabric, length and style. My only bugbear is the need to wear something under the cape that matches and has long sleeves. When it's freezing a t-shirt under a cape just isn't going to cut it and I never remember to bring my gloves/buy extra long ones to cover my arms. Call me lazy but it just adds a whole load of complication I can do without!

Similarly, I've browsed the sheepskin aviator jackets on the high street but I'm not sold. The best one I've seen is this Next one (£75). It's a great colour and I like the way that the sheepskin is coloured slightly darker and more subtle than a lot of the high street ones available at the moment. The price is also really reasonable. It's just, I really want something that knee skimming and dare I say it, smart. The aviator jacket just doesn't have the versatility I need. There's also something a bit too boxy about the shape that doesn't work for me.

Instead give me soft shoulders, cashmere wool and a warm fluffy collar any day of the week! I'll let you know what I end up with and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this season's coat trends. What are you planning to purchase for the colder months?

Corinne x

A few final notices...

1.) I used random.org to sort a winner of the Gypsy Warrior Vintage necklace today and Ellie from Pretty Much Penniless was the first number to be randomly generated! Congratulations Ellie! Thank you to everyone who entered. I'll be sure to come up with some more giveaways as soon as I can.

2.) Sorry for the delay in writing this post! If you follow me on twitter you'll know I've been home to see my parents for a few days and have a relaxing break. It was fantastic! I went to Vintage Vision where my mum works, check out her blog here and we put together a window display ready for the Abergavenny food festival next weekend.

3.) We've finally sorted my bridesmaid dress for Mia's wedding (we have been through a total of 10 vintage dresses now!). Ironically we went back to the first one purchased! It's bright bright bright bright BRIGHT yellow and I've been reinforcing the seems today with my sewing machine as some of them were beginning to come apart. I will post about it soon but I need to sew some daisy trim to it before it's finished. Exciting! Less than two weeks till Mia's big day. Find out more in her wedding blog: 1960s Bride

Wills Moody Jumble sale

Today my boyfriend Louis and I ventured to Euston to call upon the Wills Moody jumble sale. I was originally planning to go Battersea to see Christina, Kristabel and Yishyene but didn't feel up to making the trip all the way to South London in the end. I've been feeling pretty crummy and like I'm getting a cold this weekend but this event really cheered me up! Unfortunately I took my camera but forgot the memory card (duh) so I couldn't take any pictures at the sale.

We'd never been before so didn't really know what to expect. The sale has free entrance and there was a mix of clothes, bric-a-brac, cds, records... everything you can think of! It's all indoors so it's great for the winter months when you don't want to be wandering around in the cold and rain. As well as shopping for clothing you can also sit in the bar and donate £2 to eat from a yummy buffet (all proceeds go to charity). This is particularly great if you have a boyfriend who doesn't like jumble sales (they can sit in the bar and have a beer while you wander around).

It turned out to be a great place to pick up some bargains. Most items seemed to be around the £3 mark or less. You definitely need to have a good rummage if you're going to pick up the best things and make sure you take cash with you because there's not many (if any) cash machines nearby.

My boyfriend actually ended up buying more than me for once - there's loads of cds, records and books for sale. I bought a box brownie camera for £2.50 which I need to find film for (something tells me it's going to be impossible!). I was about to give up on finding anything else but just as I was going through a rail for a second time a friend of the stall owner added this amazing 90s floral dress. I snapped it up right away and only paid £3 for it! It's recovered me from missing out on the fur waistcoat at the Crouch End Bar boot!

It makes me so happy that's it's still possible to find great vintage items so cheap at these events. Especially at the moment when I'm trying to save money. Anyway, here's the dress, I'm wearing it with the DIY rose necklace I made a while back (but I tied it round my waist as a belt.)







Too much floral? Tights are from Topshop, Shoes are Vivienne Westwood/Melissa.

I still want to go to the Chiswick car boot sale and need to set a date to do this. Apparently it's much better than Battersea (which I find hard to believe!). For more details on Wills Moody check out View London. The jumble sale runs from 2pm - 5pm at the St Aloysius Social Club every first Friday of the month.

Corinne x

Crouch End Barboot, The Haberdashery

Tonight I went to the first ever Barboot sale at The Haberdashery cafe in Crouch End. When I arrived at 7.45pm there were loads of people lined up outside sipping big glasses of white wine and nibbling on adorable little cakes.

As Crouch End is a bit well-to-do, there weren't many bargains to be had but I imagine if you went towards the end of the evening you'd have more joy getting prices down. I saw the most amazing 70s fur waistcoat with suede fringe, I looked at it for ages and eventually plucked up the courage to ask the seller how much it was. She said £40 (which still seemed to much for something that I probably would only have worn occasionally and didn't really need). I wondered if she said more because I was wearing my fake fur coat (she must have thought I had a taste for fur!). Seconds later a lady purchased it for £35 (no haggling). I suppose timing is everything when you're tracking down items at a boot sale! More power to her though, she'll probably wear it more than I would have anyway!

I spent a short while browsing the stalls but there were so many people crammed into a small space it was difficult to really look properly.



Especially in the back garden where people were falling over each other. One girl stood on my foot and apologised only to fall on it again moments after! I wonder if less people will go next month or if it'll be equally as packed.

















At this months Barboot there was a Love Miss Daisy stall, which I was eager to check out. They were right by the front door though, which made it difficult to really get to them! I had a brief look at their rail and there were some really nice pieces but they were all a bit expensive for me this month. Great if you have a special event to go to though! There was a beautiful midnight blue 50s dress that looked like something Joan from Mad Men might wear. I expect the Barboot will have guest sellers every month but anyone can sell there so if you live nearby get signing up!

The photos I took are not the greatest but I didn't want to use my flash gun so some of them are a little blurry. Here's what I wore to the barboot:



I pulled out my old fake fur River Island coat I bought in the sale last year, this is going to come in handy during the milder months. The sleeves on it are mid-length so I either need to get some longer gloves or avoid wearing it when it gets really cold. Under the coat I'm wearing a vintage inspired dress my mum bought me from Matalan a year or so ago. I've had so much wear out it, it looks vintage but actually isn't. This was actually the first outing for my Kate Kanzier brogues too. I love how shiny they are!

Bye bye waistcoat, all I have left is this blurry memory of you...


The Barboot takes place the first Friday of every month. It's free to get in and you can join The Haberdashery group on Facebook to be reminded/invited to events. I'm not sure I'd make the effort to go to the Barboot if you have to travel really far. It's good to make a night of it though - perhaps go there before you head out for the night? I'd love to hear from anyone else who made it to the Barboot! Especially those who actually bought things!

Cheerio peeps, Corinne x

Necklace giveaway from Gypsy Warrior Vintage

One of my favourite vintage eBay stores has given me the opportunity to giveaway a harmonica necklace to one of my lovely readers. If you don't know Gypsy Warrior Vintage then make sure you go check out their store. They stock a massive range of interesting vintage stuff that you won't find on the high-street.

Here's the necklace that you could win. I noticed Llymrs wearing something very similar in a recent post. It's an adorable mini harmonica necklace that'll look great with any outfit!



To enter the competition, all you have to do is:
1.) Follow me on Twitter and tweet @conanroparian using #necklacegiveaway at the end of your tweet.
2.) Follow me on blogger and leave a comment below so I know you have entered!

The competition will close at midnight on Thursday 9th September 2010 and I'll use random.org to come up with a winner!