I heard the truth was built to bend.

Oasis floral denim dress: £5, via sample sale. Vintage bag: 50p. Clarks two tone sandals: c/o Cloggs. Little Nell key necklace. Ralph Lauren sunglasses. Marc by Marc Jacobs bracelet: gift. Rotary watch: gift.

Another Saturday, another pub lunch (FYI, this time I went for a burger instead of fish and chips, and only realised that I hadn't photographed it when I was halfway through. Tough luck, pals). Yesterday we were told to make the most of the sunny weather as Bertha's due to have her stormy ways today, so we vowed to spend as much of the day outside as we possibly could. Sandals were a must, but I fancied a change after wearing my asos ones to death, and debuted my new Clarks ones from Cloggs. I like the patent toes on these ones, which make them slightly more transitional than my woven pair, and they look a lot, dare I say it?, classier to boot (clearly got chelsea boots on the brain, despite the weather...). I do need to wear them in, but Clarks shoes will always be comfy, so these two will be sticking around for a while.

Since I started at Oasis, I've found myself surrounded by pretty prints and girly cuts, and it seems to be slowly making its way into my wardrobe. Of course, a sample sale is going to help that along nicely, and this denim dress was the first thing I picked up when confronted with a car park full of rails - fate, amirite? I don't think it ever made its way into stores so I've picked out some similar styles below because I'm not that much of a tease, but I love the muted floral print of this one and the shape may even tempt me out of smock dress territory on special days.

Also, that penultimate photo features what looks like a rabbit in the tree bark. Yes. Yes it does.

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Picnic at the Englischer Garten and Michael Kors giveaway.

Vintage gold blouse: 50p, via charity shop. Topshop leather skirt: £13.50. Levi's denim jacket: mum's. Topshop frilly ankle socks: gift. Topshop monk shoes: old. Rotary watch: gift. Michael Kors paige sunglasses: c/o sunglassesshop.

Photos by Marine.

It's officially picnic weather! This weekend we spent the afternoon in the English Gardens with a lot of food and an equal amount of laughs. Apparently most of Munich decided this was the perfect time to head to the park too, but we managed to bag a sunny spot so the crowds were soon forgotten. Rosa brought her camera too so expect so expect to see photos on her blog soon, and looking through my own only made me realise how much more comfortable I am behind the camera than in front of it, but I managed to nab a few outfit snaps off Marine before the sun set.

I was very lucky to be sent a pair of sunnies to style up by the lucky ladies at Sunglasses Shop, and it makes a nice change from my usual rotation of 50p charity shop and Primark frames. They were kind enough to let me share the love with you guys too, and are offering a reader the chance to win a pair of Michael Kors sunglasses too - maybe you could get a pair of Michael Kors Paige sunglasses and we could match! Just enter below for your chance to win (please note you must do all three of the first options to be considered) - and fingers crossed!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I've been treading water for your love.

Floral shorts: Topshop (old). Jenna blouse: gift, NW3 by Hobbs. Anna boots: £76.50, Topshop. Fedora: £14.99, Missguided. Sara bag: c/o Biba at House of Fraser. Glasses: London Retro at Sunglasses Shop.

Although Essex may now be known for Sugar Hut and vajazzles, I still associate it with the countryside. One of my favourite independent cafés The Lordship sits in the nearby village of Writtle, so when Jazmine came to visit we headed there for scones and a fair amount of tea, even if hot drinks don't seem to be quite weather appropriate. After we'd cleaned our plates, we headed down the road to the village green, only to be joined by rather a large flock of docks who were certainly big fans of the stale hovis one little girl was throwing haphazardly in their direction. We may not have had any food offerings with us, but we certainly tried to make friends, even if we may have interrupted the ducklings' afternoon nap!

As it was quite hot, I opted for my trusty Luella-style shorts that I bought from Topshop about five years ago, a fedora to deflect some of the rays, and my newest bag from House of Fraser's Biba collection. I've always known about Biba as my mum was a big fan of it when she was little (she describes it as like Topshop, but cooler as they only had one store so it was a big deal to save your money and get your clothes from it), so I think she may be stealing this from me whenever she gets the chance! I love the subtle embossing of the brand on the leather and the metal details. And it matches my watch, so four for you House of Fraser.

Speaking of the countryside, I'm heading to one a bit further north tomorrow, and am gracing Kendal for a few days. I've never been to the Lake District, so this is a first for me. I've been told to bring "sensible shoes", which could be interesting as I'm pretty sure I don't own any. Do let me know if you have any recommendations, although I know we're going to Beatrix Potter's house for sure.

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Not leather clad or dangerous.

White tee: c/o COLLECTIVE. Leather jacket: The Kooples. Joni jeans: £30, Topshop. Boots: Topshop. Ralph Lauren Sunglasses: Sunglassesshop. Necklace: Topshop. Watch: gift, Rotary.

Now, any of you who follow me on twitter may have noticed that I've been indulging in the music I love quite a bit recently. Last week, I headed down to Twickenham to see Chime for Change with my main girls Liv and Jaz, and then later that week we went slightly more more East to Rough Trade for the launch of Miles Kane's new album. Of course, I thought it only fair to channel their cool, and whip out the new "yay you've made it through three years of university treat yourself" present I picked up in the Kooples after about three hours of umm-ing and ahh-ing. I've always wanted a leather jacket, as anyone who's seen me in the same room as one will definitely know, and you could find me looking on every website from Bonprix (it's an online store I've recently come across, please keep me away from their festival shop) to Topshop in my attempts to find The One, but once I had the thumbs up from mama, I knew it'd be okay to finally enter my pin and do it. And, erm, here it is in all its glory.

To tone it down to make it more mosh pit than royal circle, I've paired it with my Jonis and a plain white tee. This particular t shirt is from a brand called COLLECTIVE, who have challenged me to style it three ways. You may have seen Monday's toned-down affair, and it's gonna be all-white on Friday (and I can't promise there won't be any puns, as there probably will be). About 90% of my tees are white, but all seem to be adorned with something band related (I'm looking at you, Morrissey). This one's a lovely lightweight material, that fits loosely enough to not weigh you down in the hot weather, so it'll be perfect for the Summer, if it ever shows its head. I am consciously trying to build up a wardrobe of good quality basics, so this one fits right in.

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Giveaway(!!)

This has been in the pipeworks for a while, it has to be said. A mixture of the unreliable postal service and being terribly busy this academic year has meant that lots of emails flicking back and forth have only just made it here.

A couple of months back I reached the one thousand follower mark. I'm not a big fan of the word (in my own english student way, I always think it ought to be renamed "readers"), but it honestly does mean a lot to me that anyone commits to having my little blog appear on their feeds. So, in true "I've just got my birthday money, let's do this" fashion, I've prepared not one but two thank you's for you jolly wonderful people.

prize one: spring/summer

Well, it wouldn't be a proper giveaway if it weren't themed, eh? Whenever I think of Summer, I think (read: dream) of travelling to exotic locations. I headed off to Cath Kidston to pick up a luggage tag and make-up bag, and Sunglasses Shop have kindly agreed to let the winner pick a pair of SXUC sunglasses - you've got to look after your peepers, after all.

prize two: autumn/winter

Who doesn't like to snuggle up under their duvet with a good pair of socks? I'm a sucker for Topshop's offerings, so got two frilly pairs in my favourite colours. My favourite online jewellery brand Elsie Belle (I'm sure you've seen me wearing my masquerade necklace, as I wear it all the time) have donated a teapot necklace and leaf bracelet, two things I associate with this time of the year.

to enter:

As this is a giveaway for readers, you must be following via either Google Friend Connect (that box on the left) or Bloglovin'.
Just leave a comment saying which prize you'd prefer, and like the relevant company on facebook (Sunglasses Shop and Elsie Belle)

For extra entries you can:
Follow me on twitter...
...tumblr...
and ...instagram
As well as liking on facebook.
You can also tweet something, linking back to this post and mentioning @rebeccacohen.

Whatever you do, just write it in a comment, and I'll add it to a spreadsheet, or something geeky. Extra point if you tell a really bad joke.

Open to international readers, and closes 6th February 2013.

I think that's got pretty much everything covered. All that I have left to say is good luck!

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Wintertime winds blow cold the season, fallen in love, I'm hoping to be.

 

 

Ralph 5132 Sunglasses: c/o Sunglasses Shop. Fuchsia silk top: 75p, East via charity shop. Floral print trousers: £13, H+M. Two-tone black flats: 50p, Russell and Bromley via ebay. Multi-coloured bag: gift, Marks and Spencer. Denim jacket: £63, NW3 by Hobbs.

Liverpool doesn't seem to understand seasons; one minute you're wearing a cardigan, tights, and some unintentionally nineties inspired grunge hair (i.e. slicked down with the rain), then you wake up the next morning to discover weather like this. You don't need to take an Open University course in Understanding the Weather (I know someone who has) to realise that the jumpers can stay inside for a day or two more, and head for something a little more summery instead. I, personally, am not one to spend a lot of money on sunglasses, feeling that I spend more than enough on contact lenses and my "seeing specs" to make up for it, and instead choose to raid charity shops until I find ones that my friends roll their eyes at. However, when Sunglasses Shop - the designer sunglasses retailer based just down the A127 from me - got in contact, I thought that maybe it was about time I looked after my peepers a little bit more than I had done previously. In all honesty, I cannot fault them: they fit my face (however silly it sounds, it's quite difficult to find a pair that don't make me look like an insect), are a flattering colour, and I like the subtle cat-eye shape. They also earn bonus points for turning up really quickly, which is handy for those who are rather impatient.

I'm still library blogging (sigh), between readingreadingreading for my dissertation, going to the gym (!), and undertaking a fair amount of projects in the hope that I may end up doing something productive when I graduate next summer. One thing that I'm rather happy to say is I'm now officially the fashion co-editor of The Tab Liverpool, so expect to hear plenty from me over there for the next few months.

Third year: come at me.

xxx

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