with love, from southend-on-sea

Mint green blazer: c/o Glamorous. Black strappy top: tesco (I think...). Floral chiffon skirt: £15, American Apparel, via ebay. Black Chelsea boots: £60, Topshop. Belt: 20p, charity shop. Cloud bag charm: gift, Luella.

If you ask the average Essex resident for their opinion of Southend you're likely to get quite a varied response. The high street is rather generic, littered with chain stores and night clubs, while the seafront is home to (possibly!) more fish and chip shops than grains of sand. Yet it boasts the world's longest pier, and, most importantly, it is where Rossi ice cream was born - both black cherry and banana are my favourites, it's impossible to have just one. I don't visit very often, but when I do you can guarantee a trip to Oldham's will be on the cards, finished off with a meander down the promenade to the Peterboat in Old Leigh to watch the sun set over the docked sailing boats.

In typical British fashion, the weather was rather changeable, so I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to air my first ever non-uniform blazer. I have always associated this item of clothing with stuffy classrooms and the one time I didn't put the lid back on my fountain pen, and the entire right-hand side of my pale yellow blouse was dyed a rather lovely shade of blue... However, the mint green did take the scholarly edge off things slightly, and sitting by the shore, with the sea breeze blowing my hair whilst sipping on a fruit cider took me as far away from assemblies and Friday afternoon German grammar "treats" as I think it's possible to be!

xxx

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I could bore you with the truth about an uneventful youth

Paisley print dress: £5, H+M. Denim Jacket: £63, NW3 by Hobbs. Chelsea boots: £60, Topshop. Tote bag: free, Mary Katrantzou for Topshop. Necklaces (from top): Topshop, Vintage, Elsie Belle. Plus MYSTERY UMBRELLA.

These photos represent a series of cliché poses:

1. "I'm a fashion blogger, darling"

2. "Look at my expensive It Bag" (which I got for free)

3. Coy "oh, there's a camera? I didn't realise!"

4. TOURIST

The above may also be read as "reasons I should not be allowed a camera".

I wore this to walk to the next village to buy milk. I do love the countryside, but it's a drag if you want to actually do anything, as the last bus runs at 6pm. This normally results in nights out becoming very similar to escaping Azkaban in difficulty levels, ending either in getting the first bus home at 7am, or crashing on some poor, unsuspecting person's floor - London and Manchester's night buses are an extreme luxury to my country bumpkin self. The dress was bought as a result of this difficulty, as I decided the cider-covered, slept-in clothes post-spontaneous Friday night weren't entirely appropriate to wear to one of my closest friend's birthday meal. Cue a trip to H+M's heavily discounted sale rail, and grabbing this for a fiver. You're only young once...

xxx

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Cold as ice-cream, but still as sweet

Debbie Harry t-shirt: £7, H+M kids. Yellow midi-dress (worn as skirt): £13, Primark. Heeled chelsea boots: £60, Topshop. Bag: ma's. Belt: 20p, charity shop. Watch: gift, Rotary. Sunglasses: £1, Primark.

Ignoring my facial expression (which I coincidentally find hilarious), this outfit consists of jumping on a trend roughly a year later than everyone else. The morning's bleary eyes decided it was time to try out a midi, however, it being "too yellow" resulted in bringing out the classic cohen technique: add a band tee. My collection's not the biggest, but there are two Arctic Monkeys, two Smiths, one Black Lips, and this, which I purchased from the children's section of H+M a summer or two ago. For now there is just one midi-dress in my wardrobe, and I'm not wholly convinced that I'll add to it, as I'm pretty sure I look even shorter than I actually am (5'4", FYI). Although it does do a rather good job of covering my ice-cream baby, and that's all I really look for in a dress.


Today is the last day of my current internship, cue going to M&S before work for chocolate chip cookies and milk chocolate digestives to dunk in our tea. Although I'm sad to be leaving, I am not sorry to avoid commuting past the Olympic Park during the first week of the Games. I'm going to try and find a pub tonight that's showing the Opening Ceremony as I wasn't lucky enough to get tickets (or rich enough to be able to afford them). Did any of you manage to get tickets for events?


xxx

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