Girl In The Pretty Dress

Dress: Joy | Necklace: Joy | Shoes: Dorothy Perkins | Bag: TK Maxx Yay for Summer. And hurray for Summer Sales. I bought this dress from  Joy  for a bargain price (and it's still available online  here ). I love the scooped back, (scroll down for a pic) it's the perfect dress to keep me cool, yet covered. Stripes always say 'summer' and 'seaside' to me... so of course I  had  to buy an anchor necklace to complete the look (also from Joy and available  here ). I've just booked my summer hols - to Corsica! I can't wait to get back out to the med and enjoy a week by the sea. I've never been before so I'd love to hear any tips you guys have... Happy sales shopping! xx

It's Father's Day today in the UK and it's no secret to anyone who knows me that I think my Dad is pretty damn amazing.  In our family we do things a little differently when it comes to commercial holidays. Whenever they roll around the rule is that all cards and gifts have to be hand-made (because it's the thought that counts!) It's fair to say that, over the years, the 'no shop bought gifts' rule is something which has backfired on my parents once or twice... There was the time my sister made my mum a pair of "binoculars" by cellotaping two cardboard loo-roll tubes together, the year I got made redundant and each parent just got a hug, and let's not forget the Mother's Day when I broke my arm (long story) and we ended up in A&E for the rest of the day. But now that I'm older and wiser I've learned to stick to what I'm good at. So this morning I have been baking up some goodies for my Dad - who loves nothing more t...

Jacket: Zara | Scarf: craft fair | Dress: ASOS Tights: tightsplease.co.uk | Boots: Debenhams Unimpressed Cat: Not for Sale You can buy a navy version of this dress here . The tall blogging community recently got very excited when ASOS launched its  tall range . A lot of brands associated with ASOS followed suit and there's now a great range to choose from. Just before the range launched ASOS drip-fed some items into it's stock and I spotted this longer-length dress - it really is the perfect length for me. Usually I have trouble finding waisted items that sit right with my body proportions - but no such issues with this dress. If you're 5'10" or over I'd definitely check it out. My cat might not have been too impressed but I was.

"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness" - Bill Blass I don't know much about Bill Blass but that quote seems kinda sums up this week. Whenever I'm having a trying time of it at work I like to compensate for my lack of confidence in myself with an outfit that says otherwise. This one works a treat. I bought this Mango shirt in the January sales and it's one of those rare purchases - the kind where you wish you'd bought two just in case you wear the original out.  Shirt: Mango | Jeggings: Marks and Spencer (longer length) | Boots: Debenhams

When I turned 24, I spent my birthday visiting a castle in Wales, and in the garden they had a butterfly house. It was honestly one of the most magical places I've ever stepped inside, the butterflies floated around lazily on soft currents of warm, tropical air and everywhere you looked there was colour, grace and beauty. The image of a butterfly just spells out spring/summer to me - so here are my picks of the best butterfly prints out there. (Clockwise from bottom left) Butterfly print dress - Yumi  £22.50 Butterfly print top - Oasis  £18 Body wash - Anna Sui (via ASOS ) £16 Watch - Olivia Burton (via Topshop ) £95 Butterfly print scarf - Oasis (via ASOS ) £16 Butterfly print cardigan - Warehouse  £40 Butterfly mesh top - Anthropologie  £68 Scent - Anna Sui (via ASOS ) £31

It's no secret that I am a bit of a swiftie. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to see her live in London. I'd been mooching round the city in the daytime, and had worn the dress below. It being the 'Red' tour though, everyone else at the concert was dressed to match the description (and accessorising with fairy lights!) ... Anyways I was bemoaning my lack of Taylor-appropriate attire to my sister, when she quite rightly pointed out that I hadn't missed the boat at all - I was wearing swifts.  So now I love this dress even more.  Here's how I dressed it up recently for a family meal out. Earrings: ASOS Dress: Warehouse (Via ASOS) similar here Tights: tightsplease.co.uk Shoes: Next Clutch: Textile Federation via ASOS And the concert? It was pretty incredible. Here's short clip I filmed of Emeli Sande performing 'Next to Me' with Taylor Swift.

I've refined my shopping habits in recent years and most of the things I buy these days tend to fall under the labels 'classic' and 'timeless'. And this fits the bill - in fact when I looked at this photograph I thought 'if it was in black and white, you might wonder if it had been taken in the sixties'. The dress is a favourite, it's heavy fabric - so perfect for winter - but it's not overly warm for office-wear. And I've been enthusing about Charnos tights for ages - as I have quite long legs and these are the only brand I can find that fit me perfectly and don't slip throughout the day. Dress: GAP | Bag: Accessorize Tights: Tightsplease.co.uk (exact ones here ) | Boots: Marta Jonsson at Debenhams