Sponsored post: RINSTA fashion, glamorous Y2K fits

I was kindly sent two cardigans from RINSTA, a hot new website that specialises in Y2K-style aesthetic. Here are some snaps of me in said cardigans!

Review of five perfume samples from eBay pot luck – part 1

The perfume samples deal on the FeelUnique website that I've gotten a bit used to for the past few months is currently on hold. For the uninitiated, that's 5 samples for just £3.95, making it a very cost-efficient way of exploring whether a perfume is for you in this new world order, where department stores no longer put on testers.

These FeelUnique samplers had been a marvel for me, and four batches of five samples each, meant they'd kept me busy for the last four months.

Feeling I needed my kick of a few new fragrances to test out and review, I looked elsewhere. On eBay, quite a few sellers offer bundle deals, where you get a range of perfume samples. The price per sample works out to be cheaper than if you'd ordered them on FeelUnique, which is only fair as in these cases, you can't pick and choose which brands you get; you get what you're given (and the samples available on FeelUnique are more up-to-date and thus for perfumes that currently retail at higher price points).

Dress review: ADELA DRESS (Hobbs)

The work aesthetic that I aim for with my sartorial choices is demure and classy. Whether or not I realise those objectives are another matter, but, to help achieve this aim, I have few, but not inexpensive pieces from three retailers which I think exude elegance: Hobbs, Ted Baker and Hawes and Curtis.

In terms of Hobbs dresses worn at work, I rotate between three: the previously-reviewed Harper dress, the Mariatta dress, and the Adela dress.

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibit at the V&A

My friend Joy invited me to the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibit at the Victoria & Albert museum, and it was an afternoon very well spent! The gowns were absolutely to die for, and it would be amiss of me not to share some of the sumptuous photos I took!

The gown wore by Ziyi Zhang at the Live for Life premiere... stunning!

My Gal Gadot piercing

As part of my job, I have to sit professional exams in order to become a qualified actuary. My first sitting for these exams were this April, where I sat two. I was fairly confident that I'd passed Statistics but almost certain that I failed Maths.

So, imagine my euphoria come results day in early July, when I saw my name on the pass list for both exams that I sat! An exam pass is so much more satisfying when you've made peace with yourself that you were going to fail it!

As a treat to myself for all that hard work I put into those passes (I was knee-deep in revision notes all the way through April; I didn't even know certain football matches had happened), I got the top of my ear pierced, as photographed below:

Given how passionate I am about films and film star culture, it should come as no surprise to you that I was inspired to get this cartilage piercing, after seeing it on Gal Gadot:

I'm not so vain and deluded that I consider myself remotely in even the same league as Ms. Gadot, but at least now I have something in common with my own pick for the most gorgeous woman in a 2016 film!

OOTD: My 'Gareth Southgate x City of Stars' look

This look was partly inspired by Gareth Southgate rocking a waistcoat during the World Cup. Although I don't have a waistcoat, I do own this rather fetching sleeveless sweater, which I've paired with a black starry blouse. Thus, due to my compulsive desire to enforce a film reference on everything, this is my Gareth Southgate x City of Stars outfit.

Point of interest, the last time I mixed Gareth Southgate with 'City of Stars', I covered the song, called 'Dear Gareth Southgate'.

Shirt: Warehouse

Sweater vest: Alba Moda

Trousers: John Lewis

Glasses: Red or Dead

OOTD: new haircut

With the sun finally hitting the UK, I decided my long hair of previous was getting too unmanageable, and thus, in trimming it, I've gone from Alicia Vikander in The Light Between Oceans length to Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane length! And, in keeping consistent with the Chastain look, I've duly painted my nails black, like Liz Sloane had!

Dress: Marietta dress from Hobbs

Earrings: Amazon

Glasses: Red or Dead

The Marietta dress is now  the third dress from Hobbs I own (the other two: un et deux). Their dresses are perfect for the kind of aesthetic I'm going for at work: elegant and demure.

I find clothes definitely help with the 'fake it 'til you make it' mentality, by which I mean, even if I'm in a sub-optimal mood, if I'm at least sharply dressed at work, I feel better about myself. This then helps to improve my frame of mind, and how I carry out my work.

Mark Twain absolutely nailed it when he said 'clothes make the man'.

OOTD: Polka dot tights

T-shirt: H&M

Hoodie: Marks and Spencer

Handbag: Michael Kors

Boots: Dorothy Perkins

Tights: M&Co

Miniskirt: a gift

OOTD: Will they know what you overcame? Will they know you rewrote the game?

What I wore to catch Hamilton at the Apollo Victoria theatre, something I'd been eagerly awaiting for months!

OOTD: Red meat, red wine, purple dress

Dress: TK Maxx

Heels: Marks and Spencer

Handbag: Michael Kors

Raincoat: Monsoon

Earrings: Miss Selfridge

Glasses: Nicole Farhi

Dress review: HARPER DRESS (Hobbs)

I’ve recently started a job in finance, a profession where it is tantamount that you dress for the part. Time permitting, I might review several of the outfits I bought, but I definitely had to give this gorgeous peach Hobbs dress a mention.

Hobbs’ sizing is very accurate, so the size 10 fit me nicely. If I were to gripe about anything, it would be that it’s too tight at the bust, but that was also the case with the Missguided and Miss Selfridge dresses I reviewed, so I think it’s fair to say that’s an artefact of my inconveniently ample bosom, rather than a design flaw of Hobbs, who tailor their dresses to the average chest size for every size.

OOTD: Wearing my 'Insufferable Emma' dress

My five least favourite actresses are Jennifer Lawrence (eighth worst performance of 2017), Emma Stone (actually not a bad actress tbf, but she stole a role from an Asian actress in Aloha), Emma Watson (worst performance of 2017), Cara Delevingne (fourth worst performance of 2017), and Kaya Scodelario (I don't contribute to her Box Office takings so haven't seen a film she's been in for years, thankfully).

So 40% of my 'Insufferable Women' list consists of women who share the same name as me. What they also have in common is that in the musicals they acted in, their singing was... not the best. This quote from Phantom Thread perfectly summarises my reaction when I heard Emma Stone wail through 'Audition' and Emma Watson's auto-tuned caterwauling in 'Belle':

In La La Land and Beauty and the Beast, the two Emmas each wore a yellow dress. Stone's came in the 'A Lovely Night' dance, and Hermione's was in the scene when she first dances with the Beast.

Not one to be left out, I thought I'd make like my two namesakes and also wear a yellow dress. After all, I too, am an Emma of dubious singing talent, who has far too high an opinion of herself. Hence, my yellow dress is verily named, the 'Insufferable Emma' dress.

Dress: John Lewis

Earrings: from China

Glasses: Red or Dead

OOTD: I knew you were trouble when you walked in

What I wore to dine at one of my favourite Japanese restaurants for the umpteenth time!

Angelica T-shirt: New Look (a store I'm clearly a fan of!)
Earrings: Won in a competition

OOTD: And there's a million things I haven't done

Outfit of the Day featuring me looking extremely pleased with my Hamilton guitar book!

 A picture without the book covering my dress:

Best and Worst Dressed of the Oscars, 2018.

Obviously, fashion and looks are subjective, so this is by no means the gospel. And I'm not even gonna pretend that bias and love for certain performers (and disdain for others) did not creep until my rankings. I'm prone to playing favourites and being hella petty to those I dislike a la Miles Teller when he tweeted 'congratulations to Moonlight!'

The Dunkirk twinks Harry Styles and Fionn Whitehead weren't invited to the Oscars, but had they been, I'm sure they would have made the Best Dressed Males List.

So, without further ado...

Best dressed women

07. Beanie Feldstein

Jonah Hill's younger sister's dress reminds me, funnily enough, of Jonah's Superbad co-star Emma Stone's gorgeous City of Stars dress that she wore to the 2017 Golden Globes. Only a darker, more gothic version. Black is a slimming colour, and the winged eye make-up, wavy hair and dangly earrings complete the outfit nicely.

Preach.

This piece by Melanie Phillips in The Times, about the brazen double standards and hollow virtue-signalling from Hollywood by wearing black at the Golden Globes on Sunday, was too good not to share. Click on the image for a bigger version. #GoldenGlobesSoMessy

Oh, and the BBFC covered Get Out in their podcast today, the cover graphic which I thought was simple, arresting and perfectly captured the themes of the film:

A rant about the shite BAFTA nominations that came out today will be incoming later this week!

OOTD: Office Christmas Party

On Friday December 15th, I went to one of two Christmas parties our Institute is invited to (the second will be after the New Year - keep your eyes peeled for an OOTD then!). Naturally, this was an opportunity for me to get my gladrags on!

Dress: Jane Norman

Ring: Accessorize

Necklace: New Look (I was going for a Carrie in Sex and the City-style aesthetic!)

Earrings: Topshop

OOTD: Watching THE LION KING at the West End followed by an amazeballs Dishoom meal

T-shirt: Hollister (a very versatile piece, having worn in in this and this OOTD as well)

Skirt: Missguided

Gingerbread man earrings: Market stall

Trainers: Adidas

Faux leather jacket: TK Maxx

Toy: Disney Store

Fashion review: FLORAL RUFFLE TEA DRESS (Missguided)

When I was at Bath doing my undergraduate degree, I used to have the nickname 'Chelsea bitch', given that I was prone to making some catty comments about players of opponent teams, or taking the banter too far in order to prove a footballing point. Just think, Gone Girl-levels of batshit and petty, conflated with football tribalism. 😳

I quite liked living up to this sobriquet, which is why, despite the fact that pink is my favourite colour,  I tend to have more outfits featuring the colour blue (ladies and gentlemen of the jury, exhibits one, two, three, four and five). 

The way I saw it, by wearing blue, I was repping my club in my fashion choices.

So when I saw this floral ruffle tea dress on the Missguided website, I had to snap it up. It had an average 4.5/5 review score, and had such a pretty, girly print, as well as being in an adorable shade of baby blue. It would have been rude not to!

Oblig selfie: - 

As you can see from the picture above, the dress suffers from the some problem at size 10 as did the Miss Selfridge khaki dress, which is that if you're on the chesty side, then the neckline pretty much puts your tits entirely on display. The next time I wear this dress out, I'm going to be more prudent and wear a camisole underneath, because the amount of cleavage on display in the photo above is a bit much, haha!

Aside from that, I'm a fan of the dress. The fact that it has long sleeves means it's a good alternative to the Miss Selfridge floral ruffle dress (I clearly like flowers and ruffles!), for when the weather is a little cooler. And at least with the Miss Selfridge dress, I don't have to lie down in order to do the zipper up!

The shortness of the dress means I would rather wear this during the Summer, when one can get away with shorter hemlines. But if you have confidence to wear whatever you want all year round, by all means, wear this pretty blue number with pride!

8.5/10

OOTD: getting my 50s boogie on.

What I wore to dance the night away in Bloomsbury!

Dress: Warehouse