Girl In The Pretty Dress

The by-line for this blog has always been 'Country Chick, City Chic' - I came up with this because half of the time I can never decide what I like best. Recently it's a dilemma that's affected more than just my wardrobe - but more on that later. This post is most definitely for the the country bumpkins out there. I've rounded up 10 of my favourite checked pieces. It's a trend that I adore. It's cute without being too young and has a fresh, clean summery feel to it. I always associate this style of fabric with summer picnics. Sadly the weather in the UK is nowhere near warm enough for any of these items - but a girl can daydream right? 1st Row Dress: Whistles / Dress: ASOS / Top: Warehouse 2nd Row Dress: ChicWish / Crop Top & Skirt Set: ChicWish / Shirt Dress: Oasis 3rd Row Dress: ASOS Tall / Shirt: Lee / Shorts: Mango / Dress: ASOS

I was walking down The Strand in London recently when something caught my eye... It had the words 'Louis Vuitton' and 'free' on it so I had to investigate further! What followed was a wonderful walk through the Louis Vuitton A/W 15 collection and the opportunity to see how it intertwines with the history of the brand. In their own words: "Series 3 is a stand alone exhibition showcasing a designer and his creative process and influences. Far more than a simple collection it is a stream of consciousness, dreams and self-reflexive journeys. Inside a designers mind, muses intertwine with cherished memories and visions of new shapes, cuts and meticulous craftmanship. He sits between the past he embraced and the future. The designer's careful thoughts pair with a delicate artisanal touch: a new moment of excellence born in this union. "Series 3" retraces Nicolas Ghesquiere  Autumn/Winter 2015/2016 collection for Louis Vuitton. "Series 3" is a s...

As promised here is a peek at some of the glorious outfits I got to witness at last week's Great Yorkshire Show. The Fashion Show took place in the Fashion Pavilion and featured a mixture of graduate designers, high-street brands and couturiers. With so many beautiful dresses on show I was hard pushed to say which was my favourite (though I think James Steward's gowns may have just swung it!) Which do you like best? Designers and Collections: Batley College of Art and Design Sheffield Hallam University Charlotte Lucy Phase Eight Hull School of Art and Design Hobbs James Steward Couture Beth Hirst (Millinery) Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University Charlotte Lucy Charlotte Lucy Phase Eight Phase Eight Hull School of Art and Design Hull School of Art and Design Hull School of Art and Design Hull School of Art and Design Hull School of Art and Design Hobbs Hobbs Hobbs James Stew...

The last few weeks have been so fun-packed that I've not had much chance to shoot an outfit in a while. This post is something I've wanted to do for a long time though, so I decided not to put it off any longer. I read on The Elgin Avenue a while back about the #LiveinLevis marketing campaign and realised that I'd never actually owned a pair of Levi's.  Jeans shopping for me is always a trying experience. This is largely because I'm pear-shaped and my legs measure 35" - which is an exceptionally awkward length to find. But after a LOT of experimenting in the Levi's store (and no small amount of patience from the store assistant) I managed to come away with this pair: a demi-curve with a 34" leg.  They aren't *quite* long enough if the truth be told, but that works for me as it means they avoid the mud (and in summer I'll just roll up the cuff and wear capri-style). Unfortunately Levi's don't sell anything longer than 34" ...

Way back when I was a student, I spent most of my spare time binge watching 'The Hills' and desperately wishing I could move to LA and get a job working with LC and the gang. Then they brought Kelly Cutrone into it and I changed my mind - I wanted to be a tour de force like her. I've always thought her 'all-black' dress code at fashion week was a stroke of genius. It's smart, yet unobtrusive and it's quick and easy to achieve. I love this shirt dress from New Look Tall at ASOS . In fact ASOS is doing a stellar job lately of catering for us leggy lovelies. However, if I'm going to be honest, this is one 'tall' item that falls a little 'short'. In the tall blogging community I'm a bit on the short side at only 5'10" - and this dress only just fits me. But it does fit. Just. Yay! Dress: New Look Tall via ASOS (exact one here ) Tights: F&F Boots: XTI...

Jumper Dress: F&F | Leggings: Topshop Tall | Boots: Debenhams | Mittens: Next This time last year I wrote about my ' 14 for 2014 '. I've never been one for resolutions, but I'd suddenly found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands and it seemed like a good way to organise my spare time into something more productive and enjoyable. So far so good-intentioned... I started as I meant to go on with Number 1: Blog more - and managed to do this for the first few weeks. Then in March something rather wonderful and unexpected happened... I got a promotion at work. And all of a sudden my spare time started to shrink. So number 1 had to be re-assessed whilst I adjusted to my workload. A few of the other numbers were also neglected whilst I was enjoying my new role, so this year I've decided not to make new resolutions, I'm just going to carry some forward: 1) Blog more 2) Keep a Journal 4) Get back in the saddle and go...