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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You walk into the room with refine and poise.

Burgundy Georgia blouse: c/o Lovestruck. Leather skirt: £15, Topshop. Black chelsea boots: £60, Topshop. Leather colour-block bag: gift, Marks and Spencer.

You know it's Autumn when the tones of your clothes match the colour of the leaves... perhaps. Lovestruck sent over this beautiful burgundy blouse last week, and I've been imagining wearing it whilst kicking up crunchy leaves in Sefton Park, before realising that I have a mild case of Fresher's Flu(TM), and the only thing I'll be doing for the next few days will be drinking tea under my duvet.

Liverpool has been doing its best to put a dampener on things by raining excessively for the past fortnight, but I shan't let it rain on my parade (yes, I like puns), and find myself wandering between Cuthbert's, Leaf, and the many student events that stores are putting on to entice those who have just received the loan windfall in their bank accounts. I'm going to be relatively good and try to just buy Christmas presents, but when have I ever been able to resist a lipstick

xxx

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The Apartment.

 

Black granddad collar blouse: £1.50, vintage Next, via charity shop. Truffle corduroy circle skirt: £15, American Apparel, via ebay. Black heeled Chelsea boots: £60, Topshop. Black leather belt: 20p, charity shop. Cameo necklace: £1.25, charity shop. Black clutch bag: £15, charity shop. Black Rotary watch: gift. Lipstick: Topshop Mischief.

As you walk away from Somerset House, you notice the atmosphere nosedive. There’s still a palpable excitement at Freemason’s Hall where Fashion Scout shows are held, and various other locations across the Capital host one-off events throughout the whole of London Fashion Week. Yet I spent a weird amount of time in Covent Garden (and that’s not including The Last Nando’s before my friend headed off on her Erasmus year). Abi noticed the distinct lack of amenities provided for bloggers over the past few seasons, and she took it upon herself to supply a solution. And boy, did she. When she first got in contact, I assumed it’d just be a room with a place for you to plug in your MacBook, but The Apartment even provided the computers for you. Obviously, food was the main incentive, my particular favourite being the vegetable biriyani provided by Cinnamon Soho, but special mention to Aubaine for presenting the best meal of the day: afternoon tea. I honestly cannot imagine a world where someone believes that they have had “too many” macarons.

 

1. I didn't realise there were so many types of make-up - thanks Becca

2. iya Ngoni

3. Post "makeover": hair by Wella, face by Becca

4. BFFFW (Best Friends For Fashion Week, lol jk, fo lyf). I stole the photo from Ngoni.

It simply wouldn’t be Fashion Week without the tiniest mention of “fashion”. Sadly I missed out on presentations by Forever 21 and Penhaligon's, but I had plenty of fun dressing up in a few of the garments ebay had picked out, and the lovely girls at Stylistpick even decided to “interview” (can I really say that?) me, which you can read here. Ngoni was a mega babe and took some outfit photos for me on the balcony – check out the killer view! – before I sampled Becca Cosmetics’ spread and Wella sorted out the mess atop my head. Would it be too P'Trique to call them lifesavers? Regardless, The Apartment was the more chilled part of London Fashion Week, and I’ve my fingers crossed Abi decides it’s worth the stress next season! And, if the stress isn’t worth it, the drawer full of jellybeans probably will be.

xxx

ps, sorry for my sporadic posting recently. I'm back in Liverpool but am currently without internet at home, and I find it a bit weird to write blog posts in the library (just me?). I hope you're all well, and sorry for not leaving long, rambling, and pointless blog comments. I can kinda reply to tweets on my cheaptastic plastic phone, so I can pretend I'm in the twenty-first century between Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite texts. But for now I am going to head into town to buy provisions for tonight (shout out to the Rodney Street gals!), and eat hummus. Leave your life update as a comment, and I will read with mirth whilst surrounded by unnecessarily stressed freshers.

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