Bank Holiday...

Kimono- Zara £39.99

Jeans- Topshop (Jamie)

Top- Primark £3.00

Shoes- Kurt Geiger 

This past weekend it was the May Bank Holiday weekend. Therefor after settling into a new city center apartment for all of 12 hours we went off to celebrate. It was the Northern Quarter street party. The Northern Quarter is the trendiest and in that my favourite part of Manchester. It is jam packed full of bars and resturaunts combined with plenty of cute vintage shops. The perfect place to get a cocktail to sip on and watch the world go by. The street party was where the bars all joined together and put stalls selling alcohol everywhere. There was plenty of other things going on like dog shows and live music produced by the best DJ's in Manchester. It had a great atmosphere and everyone was enjoying the sun. Now living just 5 minutes away things like this are on my doorstep.

My outfit was inspired by the sun. Whilst it was shining I figured an all day event could get rather chilly. Therefor I went for the combination of Jeans and vest and threw this amazing Aztec Kimono over to add a bit of glamour. I had been eyeing it up for a while in Zara and finally caved into buying it after the inner fight I had been having with myself. The shoes are Kurt Geiger and they are a low stacked platform. I love the snake skin detail on them combined withe the buckles and suede heel. Being low they are so practical to wear everyday instead of just for a night out.

Travelling....

We were looking for some decorations for the flat and as I am going travelling in the summer with my best friend Faye we wanted to get a Globe. However we ended up walking past a shop with huge maps in the window. Me and Hannah just couldn't resist. We figured we could stick on all the places we visit and when i'm travelling she can move my head around Europe depending on where I am. I really want to travel the world and so am pretty happy that I found a map because it represents what I want in my future. The best part about our map was the cost £3.99 in the sale from a cut price book shop in the Arndale shopping center Manchester. We couldn't resist the combination of a bargain and a map.

New Flat....

I have a huge apology to make. I have had a hectic and stressful week since I have finally moved into my new apartment. I must say I am currently living like a queen in the heart of Manchester. Whats better is I am living only 5 minutes from the shops and my favorite places. The apartment itself is lush. I wasn't sure at first so was quite apprehensive about the move. However once we finally after 5 hours of back and forth trips into the sticks got our stuff in, I fell in love. Personally I think its the vintage rug that my Gran donated to the cause. We still have some stuff to do but already I am feeling the benefits of not living in a house with 6 other girls and a foreign student. So is my housemate Hannah, however not sure how impressed she will be featuring in the photograph below. 

The living room will be perfect for parties as it is huge. It's cosy and the mega bonus is there is a balcony. Perfect for the recent excellent weather we have in Manchester right now. The best part is with only 2 of us it is easy to clean and we no longer live in filth. We still have some stuff to do with the decorating. I am currently planning on making a wall full of inspirational quotes but more important at the moment are my pending exams. 

We obviously had to celebrate moving the posh way so cracked out the bottle of bubbly with the orange we had for breakfast. It was bank holiday therefore the bubbly was only the start of the madness on Sunday. The flowers were a present from my parents and a beautiful one. They came to help us with the move and were a great help.

As far as fragrance goes, I have found my perfect match. Although it is a little on the expensive side £64 for a large bottle. I have fallen in love with the rich fragrance of the perfume. It has notes of cinnamon but quite floral. Its hard to describe but in all the Westwood perfume gives off a sophisticated yet youth full smell. Perfect for someone in their 20's like me. I always prefer the rich fragrances as a post to fruity and flowery ones. I especially hate sweet smells and think they at times can be quite sickly and overpowering. I am more of a musk kind of girl. The bottle whilst being nothing special is quite sweet, small with a pink fragrance in. The tell all being the standard Vivienne Westwood orb that sits on top of it. You can purchase the perfume at Vivienne Westwood shops, Debenhams and House Of Fraser.

Summer Sun...

Dress- Topshop

Jeans- Topshop (Jamie)

Sandals- Zara

The recent good weather has meant that I have finally had a chance to wear the many summer dresses that have been sat in my wardrobe gathering dust. This particular one has been worn quite a few times recently. The pattern is great and its an easy going dress, whether I tuck it into jeans or wear it with a jacket as a dress. 

Recycling..

Top- Vintage (via Gran)

Jeans- Topshop (Jamie)

Belt- Vintage (via Dad)

Today I have managed to recycle the fashion staples of two decades of Clark's, my dad and my Gran. Both unlikely sources of fashion but when put together manage to create a rather nice outfit. The shirt is a vintage silk, it's meant to be high necked but that wasn't really working for me today. Therefore I pulled the buttons open and folded back the collar. It has quite a cute nautical pattern to it with lots of tiny anchors dotted all over it. The sleeves I found a little annoying, they were quite puffy around the shoulder but personally i think this was due to the shirt being a little big. A few months ago I went through my grans wardrobe looking for vintage pieces and it didn't dissapoint. As a little girl I used to love playing dress up in all her old and fabulous heels. Pretend I was a princess or a rich lady for a few hours. Dress up is something I still have a passion for. However now it is done seriously rather than for fun, I spend most of my life worrying about what to wear rather than doing the other things such as uni work that will make me go places. Clothes it is without a doubt one of the major players in cheering me up when I am down perhaps that is why I spend so much time and money on shopping. Anyway I decided today for the jeans and shirt the relaxed yet smart option. I was only after all going to Nando's for a bit of tea. That was delicious, creamy mash is defiantly a luxury to the food world. The outfit was tied together with the vintage brown belt, which added definition to the whole outfit as well as breaking the elements apart.

Sunday Style..

Jumper-Zara

Dress (worn as top)- Topshop

Jeans- Topshop

Necklace- Topshop

Today I reworked a Zara split back jumper by wearing it backwards. It actually looked pretty cool with a chunky necklace over it and my paisley patterned top peaking through. Infact it was a day of reworking as the top is actually a slip dress from Topshop. It comes from the Boutique collection. This is a premium line you can find in most branches. Most of the dresses are real silk, a nightmare to was. But they all hang so nicely and are always really comfortable to wear. The boutique collection also features real wool and cottons as well as real leathers. However once you go Boutique you are unfortunately paying the premium prices that the high street does rarely offer. But who cares sometimes quality must be put forward to expenditure. I am loving the summer collection of boutique at Topshop, it has some really light and flirty dress which would be great in the summer sun as well as shirts and camis to keep summer cool. I have also noticed lately that they are starting to branch their colour pallet out from the dull colours that form the core of the collection to some bright shades in particular blue. I own a few of the Boutique dresses most black, so when buying this one I decided I should branch out and add a little colour to the silkier section of my wardrobe. It turns out that blue and white floral is actually just as wearable as plain black, who would of thought it. As pictured here it fits pretty well into jeans as a baggy camisole and also works under the jumper. Giving a relaxed Sunday look.