Monday 10 December 2012

Rodding Around The Christmas Tree



Dress - ASOS
Cardigan - Vintage Engelhorn
Belt - River Island
Boots - Bianco

I've been a little concerned over the last couple of weeks about my unsatisfactory levels of festive spirit this year.  I am usually annoying festive, yet lately I seem to be grumping around like I'm competing for the Scrooge of the Year 2012 title (and yep, that does exist, an official sport in the winter Olympics don'tcha know).  However, I can confirm without a shred of doubt that Christmas has finally arrived for me, no more false alarms.  I'm pretty sure I can thank an afternoon of loudly listening to Rod Stewart's Christmas album for this wonderful turn of events.  Thanks Rod - you've saved the day, yet again.

To support this new festive feeling, and make sure it doesn't run away, I decided to go for a quite festive colour scheme today.  Basically, just the red cardigan, but it is very red so I think that's enough.  I think I've talked about this piece before but in case you missed it, I picked up for a measly £5 in a sale at my favourite hometown vintage store in a one day only cashmere sale.  Yes, that's right, cashmere for five English pounds!  I used to neglect it a little as I didn't like the shape but I'm really enjoying it this winter.

Having decided that this cardigan simply had to be a feature of the day, it seemed a good opportunity to bring out this dress again that I ordered a few weeks ago for just £20 in the ASOS sale.  It is a little summery but I think the monochrome colouring and the pattern, that to me feels so quintessentially British, make it acceptable all year round and a perfect item to layer.  Wonderful.

Now I think about it, not a single item in this outfit was bought full price (with the exception of the tights but as they're Primark-via-mother I'm not sure that can exactly be deemed as an extravagance).  I bought the boots half price in Swedish store Bianco a few months ago and the belt, which is real leather, was a January sale bargain back in 2009 for just £7.  This actually isn't a very surprising realisation given that I pride myself on hunting down sale bargains.  

Speaking of bargains, I ordered myself a pair of the much coveted Office Nighthawk ankle boots for just £41.25 yesterday!  I wasn't sure that they were particularly "me" at first but I think they'll be good to toughen up my quite classic/feminine clothing choices.  I do love a bit of genre-clashing, after all.  If you want the same bargain, pop to the Office website NOW and use the promo code "LADIES25" at the checkout.  This code applies to any Office brand styles so it's the perfect time to order yourself a little Christmas present.

As I type this, I have yet another banana cake baking in the oven in preparation for a pot-luck dinner party I'm throwing with a few friends this evening.  I'm planning to jazz this old favourite up with some lemon cream cheese frosting.  I know this sounds like a strange combination but I have high hopes for it.  I'll almost certainly be bombarding you with pictures of everybody's offerings at some point in the week.

With merry Monday wishes,
Elise.



15 comments:

  1. Lovely dress! And I heard Shakin' Stevens for the first time today, which is definitely my favourite Christmas song, so that helped a lot to get me into the Christmas spirit.

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  2. Great dress! The fabric is so elegant and classic-looking!

    FashionEdible
    http://fashionedible.blogspot.com

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  3. Aw you look so pretty! Love the dress, i'm always wearing summer dresses in winter! I cant wait for chirstmas! Have fun with your evening thing! Also, thanks for following! xxx

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  4. Nice outfit! Love the dress! Very fashionable!
    Cheers ♥

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  5. The print on your dress is so pretty x

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  6. Hey, love your style and love your blog...following you on Bloglovin! (:
    Check out mine and follow me if you like it too http://memypendown.blogspot.in/
    much love.x

    Check out and like my Facebook page
    http://www.facebook.com/MeMyPenDown

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  7. Really love the print on the dress! And the red lipstick looks great with the outfit :)

    Aimée X
    dress-it-up-6.blogspot.co.uk

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  8. Just found your blog and I am loving your style! this outfir look great! such a lovely dress!
    Happy to be your newest follower!! xx
    pls, turn the word verification off, it's a real pain...
    Alice Barton ♥ The Mow Way

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  9. Love your hair!

    http://golddustk.blogspot.co.uk/

    x

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  10. Stunning print on the dress:)

    thebeautymist.blogspot.co.uk

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  11. Love the pattern on that shirt especially paired with the red cardigan! xx

    fashiontatt.blogspot.com

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  12. love your boots..

    megha
    http://meghafashionista.blogspot.com

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  13. I seriously love that dress. Especially with the red... it looks great!

    Rachel

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