Well I do have somewhere to go… Sardinia in April and I already have dresses that I want to wear out there. They are:

*Striped Sundress from Topshop

and

*Laura Lees Boat Dress also from Topshop

They are currently languishing in my wardrobe whilst I stick to my main staple of jeans and other other cosy items. I reeeeeally want to wear them now.

I probably could wear them now with some clever layering and thick tights, but I find the layered look does not suit me. I just don’t have the layering knack, and end up looking like someone who is into their second trimester and should be offered a seat on the tube! Not really the look I want. So in the mean time they remain unworn and just lovingly looked at and occasionally tried on .. again and again.

Fingers crossed for some warm weather in April.

Being deprived of shopping at the moment has sent my lust for some items through the roof. It has slowly escalated from just looking on the web, to going in store, handling the items and then before you know it I’m trying it on.

This can only lead to one thing… purchasing. I must stay strong.

At the moment I am obsessed by these shoes from Office:

The Giddy Up ankle boot

Madge Multi-coloured Leather Peeptoe

Egg Noodle T-Bar

and even though I already own these in gold, I want all the other colours too.

Abu Dhabi sandal

More things to add to my growing wish list. I may have to ask some friends (very nicely) over at Office for a favour.

p.s sorry for the small images.

I previously posted about how much I wanted this dress from Miss Selfridge.

Well I finally succumbed and went to try it on knowing full well that if I liked it, the chances of buying it would have greatly increased.

As it happens when I got into the changing room and put on the dress, my reaction was …. meh.
I was slightly underwhelmed by the whole the thing and the way it looked on me. Instead of feeling elated and already being flooded with ideas of what to wear it with, I felt nothing, just meh!

Actually I lie… I felt I looked a little like a deflated Violet Beauregarde, just without the blue face.

Other than my usual daily dressing dilemmas, this year I am getting married and so have had to face the biggest What should I wear panic. I use the past tense ‘had’ as I have bought my dress , the dress. I managed to pick one up at the end of last year in a wedding dress sample sale, and I am glad it is out of the way; one less decision to make.

Choosing my wedding dress was not easy. Trying to decide whether I should go for modern or traditional, how much I should spend, where to buy it from… I looked at magazines and websites for inspiration, and for a while this was my dream dress: Elie By Elie Saab at Pronovias
The £5000+ price tag was a tiny bit out of my price range, and so helped me make my decision. I decided maybe sample sales would be a good place to find a gorgeous dress at an equally lovely price.

Anyway the sample sale was held at a hotel, and I didn’t really know what to expect. It was timed entry and so I turned up at my allotted time of 5:00pm, along without about 30+ other girls and waited patiently in line.

When we were finally allowed in, the brides to be were given instructions on what was to follow: you would be measured and told what size dress to go for, go into the rooms filled with dresses and choose five to try on, lastly go and try them on in the hope that one of your five chosen dresses would be your wedding dress. Sounds simple and it was.

The part that I didn’t like though was the part where she said, once you were measured you should choose a size UP from what you normally wear. What?!? Why?!? Apparently, it was nothing to worry about and was just the way designers cut the dresses, it didn’t mean anything.

How can she say ‘not mean anything’? Of course it meant something. In 30 seconds I would have gained a dress size, without even having had the pleasure of eating something delicious.

I know there has been all the talk on the high street about vanity sizing, things being cut larger to make you think you are slimmer than you are. You would think that would be a good principle to apply to wedding dresses; obviously not!

So with my new ‘larger’ dress size I begrudgingly went to look at my plus sized rail thinking all I would find were sequin covered sacks. To my surprise I found three that didn’t repulse me or look like Liberace cast offs and headed for the changing room. I found this was actually just one big communal changing room with lots of semi-naked brides-to-be. More trauma.

Needless to say one of the dresses I picked turned out to be the ‘one’. It looked a lot nicer on than it did on the hanger, and looking back I was  too quick to judge. I put it down to the shock of going a size up. Now all it needs is some altering to make it fit properly in the right places,  and I can’t wait to finally wear it.

Now all I need is some shoes!

I decided to spend my lunch hour torturing myself with a trip around the shops.

As I have previously mentioned, I am trying not to buy anything, and so to avoid all temptation I have not gone into shops, nor have I been looking at the shops websites.

This can be the only reason why this dark denim dress from Miss Selfridge has almost snuck by me.

I could not find it in store, even though it was on the mannequin. I asked an assistant and no luck. They were waiting for a delivery. I left the store empty handed. However, I was not to be beaten. What am I? Some sort of shopping novice? Hells no!

So I thought I’d log on and see if it was available online and just order it from there. Job done.

NOOOooooooooooooooo! Sold out (in my size) Dagnamit.

It is now my mission to stalk Miss Selfridge until this dress comes back into stock.
This dress will be mine, oh yes it will be mine.

Damn it. I’ve got an itch to shop and it needs to be scratched.
Tiny problem though - no cash.

Then like a cartoon lightbulb going on over my head, I remembered I had a French Connection credit note waiting to be spent.
Tiny problem - can’t bleedin’ find it!!

Arrrrrrgggggh!

That’s it. It is officially splitsville for me and my favourite (read only) black pair of skinny jeans.
I am slightly annoyed because the thought of going out to buy another pair fills me with dread. I hate jeans shopping!
The thought of trying on pair after pair that will only pull up to around my calfs is slightly disheartening. Plus facing the unflattering light and confined space of fitting rooms is just too much to bear.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not getting rid of them because I no longer want them, but because the other evening I unceremoniously split them. Not with my lard ass either I’ll have you know.
I accidentally spilt some drink on the floor at home and obviously had to clean it up, so I went to kneel but couldn’t be bothered to get on both knees and well… I can’t explain exactly, but the point is they split.

After a short burst of expletives, I came to terms with the split and moved on.

Now my mission is to replace my black jeans; wish me luck.

Working on oxford Street basically means money pours out of my pockets and into the tills of the many shops around me without even having to try.
However, these days it is a totally different story. It feels like 50 weeks since last pay day, with another 6 more to go till next pay day. It means shopping is well and truly off the (credit) cards.
It’s not helping that stores are slashing prices like it’s going out of fashion, but I’m also being tempted by all the lovely new things that are popping up in the window.

Oh how I wish I could run into a store and fill my arms with as much stuff I could carry, throw my debit card at the cashier, and beg for them to bag it all up!

So anyhoo.. I have been good and resisted all urges to shop; generally by not going out for a wander at lunch times and heading straight home after work. Yawn.

However, now that I can see pay day looming on the horizon I can feel my will weakening and the lure of the stores getting stronger. Eeek.

This is why there has been no Object of My Affection post as I cannot even begin to obsess over anything, or else it will end up in my wardrobe with the bank manager banging at my door.

I’m not meant to be buying anything but last week I could not resist buying these : Paul & Joe Sister Wedge Brogues

At a £100 off the original price, how could I say no?
Knowing my luck they will probably go down further, but that’s an angry post for another time.
Colourful tights, shorts, skirts, pinafore dresses…. they’ll go with everything!

Now my feet are itching to wear these lovelies and am waiting for them to arrive. Oh the excitement.

EDIT (15:49) : They have just arrived. Whoopee.

Let me introduce you to the current object of my affection:
This STRIPE BOW BLOUSE from Warehouse.

How can I resist the allure of this red and white candy striped confection of loveliness? Especially when it’s topped off with a delicious bow. Lovely.Now all I have to do is pool together all my change and come up with £38. I wonder if Warehouse will except my sandwich as payment. It’s a good sandwich.