Tag Archives: River Island

My obsession with jumpsuits.

Obsession?  Addiction?  Call it what you will – I LOVE a jumpsuit.  I love the fact that they are quirky, retro and not to everyone’s taste.  I’m a little sad that they are becoming more mainstream.

I’ve acquired a few new ones over the past month – I must stop now as I am not sure I will have time to wear them all over the summer!  At least three of these will be coming on vacation with me so let’s start with those.

First of all this River Island gem.  It was in and out of my ASOS basket for weeks before I finally hit order after seeing Trea model it.  Thank goodness I did – it is amazing.  It is so comfortable (though I did size up to a UK 14 as River Island can be quite small) and it has adjustable spaghetti straps with a popper at the front to maintain your modesty.  I am wearing it here with a body underneath so it doesn’t appear to be too restrictive as far as what underwear you can wear with it – always a concern for me with thin straps as I need to wear a bra.

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So….as I loved this so much I tried this one…and loved it too!  Again River Island from ASOS – I’ve just switched out the cheapo belt it came with for a wider one of my own.

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Now this Zara jumpsuit is all I ask for – leopard print, comfort and a little cleavage for a night out:)  It only comes in small and medium and this is a medium so it is definitely generous sizing for Zara.

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I’ve been eyeing this khaki one online for a while and Cali persuaded me to buy it while we were in NYC last week.  I’m glad she did – I really love it.

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Finally good old M&S!  This photo does not do it justice.  The fabric is so drapey and soft, and it comes in black or navy but the black is sold out online.  It feels so elegant on and it is a fabulous evening piece instead of a dress.  This is a UK 12 but I know many of you taller ladies will be disappointed that it doesn’t come in a longer length too – it may come up too short for you.

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So are you wearing jumpsuits this summer?  Do you say yay or nay?

I’ll leave you today with my outfit from Thursday – one of my favorite t-shirt dresses from ASOS.  Off now to finish assembling IKEA flat packs – 2 loft beds are done so now for the easy pieces!

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Dress – ASOS (on sale) // Sandals – Ancient Greek

 

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Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you imagined…

So the blonde hair…it’s going tomorrow.  I am going back to my roots.

After a week of scaring myself in the mirror and trying to make my complexion look less jaundiced, I’ve given in and I am going back to my roots tomorrow.  Glossy, dark chocolate locks here I come.  I wanted a change which is why I thought I’d try the lighter locks but, to be honest, with my skin tone I feel so washed out, and my hair is so dark that I already can see root growth.  The maintenance would kill me!

It was really after seeing the following photo that I decided not to persevere any longer.  I love this jacket but I look so drab and dreary in it with lighter hair.  I’ve also binned the shoes – I loved them once but again I think the pink/nude color does me no favors whatsoever.  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it – I should know by now to stick with my dark palette – in fact I should ask Donna over at I Won’t Wear Sludge Brown to do a color reading for me.

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Shoes – Clarks Hamble Oak // Jeans – H&M boyfriend jeans // Sweater – Zara (old) // Jacket – River Island (old)

I am of course eternally grateful to my hairdresser for squeezing me in tomorrow before I leave on my trip this weekend!

Yesterday I was running some errands and I happened to nip into Neiman Marcus – as you do.  I rarely go in department stores as I think I’ve mentioned before I can find them overwhelming.  However, my eyes were opened by Neimans – what have I been missing!?  I had a quick look around the contemporary store – CUSP.  So many great brands like Vince, Rag & Bone, Alice & Olivia, Helmut Lang and even Isabel Marant – I had no idea there was a stockist here in Atlanta!  I may have found myself trying on some J.Brand leather jeans…just for size of course…for the record they fit big…I got into a 28″ because they are so beautifully stretchy.

I then headed to the shoe department – again I found my favorite Rag & Bone Newbury boots along with the Vince Nina flat that is back in an array of colors this Spring.  I was totally smitten by the sale shelf – I nearly cried with joy when I saw Isabel Marant boots and Chloé Suzanna boots less than half price!

Beautiful hairy Newbury boots in the sale:

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These Saint Laurent boots made me stop in my path – just stunning and they totally remind me of my Zara boots (yet to be worn).

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So now I know what an Aladdin’s Cave Neiman Marcus is it could truly be catastrophic.  It’s a good job I don’t like mall shopping…

Today I had one last go at dealing with the blonde but headed back to my comfort zone when it comes to colors.

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Boots – H&M // Leggings – H&M (old) // Dress – H&M // Scarf – H&M (old) // Bag – Alexander Wang Rocco (TheOutnet.com)

 

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Sequins and snow.

This is what I woke up to this morning…

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Not quite what I was expecting.  I thought we’d had the worst of the weather yesterday with the ice storm.  It was quite literally raining ice, and we spent the day curled up on the sofa watching the NBC team in t-shirts in Sochi.

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As we have now had no school since Tuesday, and we are off Friday and Monday anyway for President’s day, to say I am climbing the walls is somewhat of an understatement.  I have tried to focus my attention on my trip, but that of course just gives me greater anxiety wondering if I will have to swim from Bury to London on the 28th.  Not to mention I have suede shoes on my packing list – I might just have to pack the Hunters and be done with it.

My iPad has been getting quite a work out while we watch the Barbie movie for the 20th time, and I have found myself engrossed in Pinterest on more than one occasion.  I’m currently obsessing over this look:

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I ABSOLUTELY NEED A SEQUIN SKIRT.

It must be over the knee, but not too short, sequin covered but not too glitzy, grey or blush so it can easily be dressed down with a grey sweater, and lined so it can be worn with tights without fear of ripping them.  I don’t feel like I have found the perfect one yet but here are some that have caught my eye.

I love the red trim on this IRO skirt and it looks nice and comfy with stretch…It’s a great price on TheOutnet.com for some IRO in your closet.

IRO skirt

This Zara skirt is pretty close to what I want – it will look great with a grey cashmere sweater and wool tights.  My concern is the length…it might be titchy on me, and though I will be the first to say I love my legs, there’s legs and then there’s the chance of showing your tight gusset – not a good look.

Zara skirt

This Express Aztec skirt reminds me of the AllSaints skirt from a couple of years ago, but for a way more palatable price – just $36 this weekend!

Express Aztec

Express also have this gorgeous knee length skirt…I am tempted.

Espress knee length

I love the blush colors in this River Island skirt too – and the black trim would help it pair with black cashmere and black tights.

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I saw this skirt in Target a few weeks ago – it’s a bit longer than I am looking for but the color is perfect as is the price.

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Finally this one is gorgeous – I’m just hoping her legs are crazy long and that it won’t be quite as short on me!

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So sequins and knitwear – what do you think – can I get away with it?

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Are you ready for some football?

It’s been a major fail with my new diet since Mike arrived.  Having said that, my new found love of cooking has had me pottering around in the kitchen since he arrived.  On Saturday night I cooked one of my favorite dishes that I have come to love since living here in the South – shrimp ‘n’ grits.  It’s so easy to cook too and you can add cheese to the grits, and chilli to the sauce as desired.  Trust me, it’s delicious!

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Sunday morning began early – we were off to watch the Atlanta Falcons play at the Georgia Dome!!  SO exciting.  Watching a football game also means tailgating prior to the action.  As we are amateur tailgaters, instead of grilling, we decided to take an eclectic mix of food including bacon and sausage butties, olives, hummus and grapes – and beer of course!  Obviously my gluten-free living has gone out of the window this week.

Tailgating

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I didn’t get a full length shot of my outfit – but needless to say I was wearing a Falcon’s t-shirt with my new Diesel Jogg Jeans and my Golden Goose Francy sneakers (similar here).

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The noise was overwhelming in the dome and it was a brilliant game with a Falcons win – though not the easy way!  Poor Hugh couldn’t handle the pace in the 4th quarter!

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Yesterday we took Mike shopping.  Quite often he likes to get a bargain on this side of the Atlantic and it was nice to have a mooch around the shops on a quiet Tuesday.  We hit Target too for some early Halloween bits and pieces before they all sell out!

TargetTrousers – Harem trousers Zara (old) // Top – draped top Zara (old) // Jacket – Zara (old) // Scarf – School Gate Style blog shop // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers // Bag – YSL Roady

I felt a bit of a plonker having my photo taken in Target – my Husband isn’t the quickest snapper and he is more intent on making me giggle rather than composing a great shot:)  I wanted to get a shot of my new scarf though.  It is from Avril’s SchoolGateStyle.com shop and the great news for us here is that Avril ships to the US for just $5 regardless of how much you order!  Her prices are brilliant and the quality is fantastic.  I love the colors in this Lightening Storm scarf – bright pink, orange, blue and white on a black base.

Of course it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t fall for something while out shopping.  Recently I bought the new J.Crew wool baseball cap:

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Yesterday I fell for their new leopard print cap – gorgeous, sumptuous calf skin – a great hat that will be worn time and time again.  25% off with free shipping today in the US (code SHOPFALL) helps with the almost $300 price tag if you’re smitten too!  I didn’t buy it yesterday – still compiling a list of justifications and googling frantically for a cheaper version!

JCrew leopard print baseball cap

Finally an outfit from Monday.  The jackets are making a come back with the big cool down we are experiencing here this week.

River Island jacket

Jacket – River Island (available at ASOS) // Top – TopShop camisole // Trousers – Next navy harems // Shoes – Tory Burch Eddie navy flat

Now all I have to do today while I take Poppy swimming is to decide what to wear for our 15th wedding anniversary tomorrow night!!  We’re off for some fine dining while our babysitter is here – thanks Mike:)

 

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Fun in Next!

I will be traveling for the next few days – wending my way from Bury to Kyrenia – so there’ll be no blog post for a few days.  To make up for it I’ve done two today.  I couldn’t wait to tell you about my exciting morning;)

Mum and Dad took the children out for the day so I got to have some ‘me’ time in Bury with the shops that I miss.  M&S, River Island, Primark and Matalan were all on my hit list.  However, I was completely side tracked by Next.  What a revelation!

Well in all honesty I had seen some of my blogging friends wearing some great items from Next recently, so I knew I had to take a look while I was here.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery no?  We are all inspired by what we see in other blogs – and I’ve already bought Avril’s shoes, now I have Hollie and Eve’s jacket, and I think Kat’s jacket too?

For the trip I decided to give two fingers to the weather and wore all white, with my Boden leather jacket.

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T-shirt – Zara TRF linen t-shirt with pink flower (old – can’t see it online in the sale but it may appear again) // Jeans – H&M (old) // Scarf – Boden chincilla pinspot lightweight scarf (I love this and want the acid lime one too)

Here’s the gorgeous Next jersey biker jacket in grey.  I tried a 12 to start with and it was huge so ended up with a 10.  Both Hollie and Eve All Worn Out have this.  It is the softest, snuggliest jacket ever – perfect for Bury – maybe not so much for Atlanta and Cyprus.

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I then spotted these great harem trousers in white.  Some of you may like these – they are not low slung at the crotch – but have quite a tapered leg, others of you may not – as, with most white jersey, you can see the pockets.

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I’m not normally a blouse person at all.  But I was immediately drawn to this.  The leopard print obviously caught my eye, but the colors are also lovely – greys, white and blush tones.  The shape is great too and very forgiving for the muffin top.

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With the jacket it creates a good day to evening outfit.

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The top with skinnies.

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Next up I saw this blue jacket.  I loved it immediately.  It’s a really flattering cut, lightweight and washable too.  I also love the neckline.  Oh and I totally love the fact it was only 28 GBP!  I think Kat has this.  It didn’t photo well at all – I think Next in Bury has the darkest changing rooms ever.

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Finally the shoes.  I didn’t get them – I wanted to – but the toe problem reared it’s ugly head again.  I loved these and realized that I don’t have any navy heels at all so I could completely have justified them – but the little toe just wouldn’t behave.  They came in grey too.  I’m afraid I can’t see them online but I think they were about 28 GBP.

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So all in all a fun trip to Bury – I even managed to grab coffee with my sister.  I didn’t make it to anywhere else but Next I’m afraid.  A good job I think really:)

 

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A graduation and buying wedding rings!

It was Hugh’s Pre-K graduation yesterday.  I shed a couple of tears of pride.  Where have the past 5 years gone?  It’s a cliché, but true, your children grow up so fast.

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Dress – Zara (sold out online but in the TRF section if you’re looking in store!) // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

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The lady with the red trousers is Shirley.  She adores Hugh – she cared for him in the baby room at the daycare and now babysits for us.  I was so touched that she came to see him graduate.

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We arrived home just in time to meet Karin and Simon, our friends from Sweden.  They are visiting for the weekend.  It’s a year since Simon proposed to Karin here in Atlanta, so this visit we get to chat about wedding plans and we’re off to choose wedding rings today!!  Well rather they are off to choose them – but you know how I like to be involved and share my opinion.  Fortunately Simon has known me for 23 years so has probably learned to accept/tolerate my interference by now:)  I hope to share photos of the selected rings later.  In the meantime my Husband kindly advised me to avoid wearing turquoise – apparently it could be interpreted as me trying to wear the store’s signature blue.

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Jeans – H&M // T-shirt – Gap // Jacket – River Island // Boots – Isabel Marant Dickers

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You can’t beat jeans and a jacket.

I don’t know why I don’t just stick to this simple formula:

jeans + jacket = comfort + confidence

Regardless of the type of jeans – and I have all styles from bell bottoms to skinnies, nothing beats the simplicity of just adding a t-shirt and jacket to provide a relaxed yet pulled together look.  I should remember this every day when I get dressed.  I have a passion for loud, colorful trousers, as you all know, but jeans are my true love and I should never forget that.

Wearing these 501s is so nostalgic for me – they elicit all kinds of emotions when I put them on.  Even though these are newish they take me back to the late 80’s when I would borrow a friend’s pair that were perfectly worn and ripped (I think they were Sara’s that she had ‘borrowed’ off her boyfriend?).  Tightened around the waist with a big leather belt, that needed extra holes back then, I would wear them nearly every weekend in the summer of ’88.  I thought I looked the dogs b*ll*cks in them.  I even remember the green bat wing t-shirt I used to like to wear with them, and I still wear YSL Paris perfume that was my favorite back then.  I can see us all now – Bury Grammar Sixth Form – in our weekend common room at The Hare & Hounds.

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Jeans – Levi 501s // Shoes – Tory Burch Eddie flats in musk // T-shirt – Gap (now on sale) // Jacket – River Island

What clothes are nostalgic for you?

 

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Some sale wants.

I don’t remember Boden ever putting their Spring items in the clearance section before June in previous years?  Maybe I’m mistaken, but this year they seem to be dropping odd items in throughout the season.  I just happened to be browsing yesterday and found myself lusting after 3 fabulous spring coats.  This is when I so wish I was back in the UK and actually had use for spring coats.  It’s 80 degrees here this week so it appears summer has arrived for 2013.  MM did suggest that they would be great coats for Fall and even Winter here – surely that means he agrees with me and I should purchase immediately?

I will preface this with the fact that 2 of these coats got some poor reviews.  However, seeing as I am not the ‘typical’ Boden buyer I tend to take the reviews with a grain of salt.  For me the truth always lies in trying the clothes at home, and styling them how I would wear them.  I think all 3 of these coats would look fabulous dressed up or down.  I can see myself wearing them with boyfriend jeans, a white t-shirt and flats, keeping them simple and casual.

The first is the swishy coatigan.  The fabric (as the reviews confirm) looks nothing like a coatigan – I think this is definitely more of a lightweight coat.  I want it in parchment which is currently reduced by $60.

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The next is the Canonbury coat.  I’ve had my eye on this for a while.  I think it looks stunning in the iris.  Again it would look amazing with just jeans and a t-shirt to really sharpen up a casual outfit.  The iris is only reduced by $30 right now but the other two colorways are reduced further.  The reviews are pretty dire regarding fit, but I really want to try this and see – dare I say it – but it may just be too much of a departure for some stalwart Boden customers.

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Finally I absolutely adore this red version of the Spring trench.  It is SO me and would make such a statement.  This one I might just have to order for Fall.  The red version is currently reduced by $60.

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What do you think?  Have any of you tried them?  If so do the reviews do them justice?

Today it is back to normality.  The final days of the vacation were amazing.  The children and I did some dancing on the deck while Dad prepared the grill:)

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I love this photo of Poppy at dusk looking out to the rigs.  I know the thought of oil rigs to many of you may be far from romantic – but I assure you when you see them all twinkling at night it is an amazing sight to behold.  Now I sound like I’m about to break out into a Toby Keith song.

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My final vacation outfit was of course a bikini – but sparing you that photo – here is one of me in the Zara dress that I used as my beach cover up.  I love it – it is really comfortable and light weight.  As you can see the house we stayed in was very ‘retro’:)

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Yesterday we were all tired and fortunately had a birthday party to attend which got us up and out of the house.  It was very odd getting ‘dressed’ again and wearing make-up – I even wore a necklace (inspired by Fiona’s post).  Not sure about this get up though – I think this is a bit of a failure – maybe trying too hard?

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Jeans – Target // Top – Zara // Jacket – River Island // Boots – Isabel Marant Dicker // Necklace – JCrew bubble copy from local store

…And here I am today, bleary eyed but happy to be home.

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Jacket – Gap (old similar here) // Sweater – Express (old) // Trousers – J.Crew Café Capri jade (old) // Flats – Vince Camuto Fawna (old)

 

 

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Withdrawal.

I’ve gone cold turkey.  No not with the wine silly!  I haven’t bought anything, or clicked an order button for a whole week.  I’m not sure when this last happened.  I have, however, filled several carts with things I ‘need’.  It’s actually quite fun to keep checking them and looking at them knowing at anytime I could hit the order button if I want to – I’m teasing myself;)

Yesterday we had an afternoon of severe storms so I had some time to surf online, as you can be sure we were going no where near the surf outside.  The storms were pretty darn scary, with Tornado watches – and being in a wooden shack on stilts did not feel the safest place to be.  At one point we tried to drive away from the storms but quickly realized the whole of the Alabama coast was impacted.  I felt too much like a ‘storm chaser’ guy on The Weather Channel, so we turned around and hunkered down.  I calmed my nerves with a strong margarita and distracted myself with some online window shopping – no one else in the family seemed to be that worried as plastic furniture went hurtling past the windows.

So what did I drop in my carts?  Well first of all hooray for Zara – lots of new items have appeared, along with a new model who is a bit more engaging than the previous ones this season.

This green jacket is just stunning – it looks fabulous in this fabric.

Green Jacket

 

One item I know I NEED is a lovely longish lace dress – why?  Well I don’t have anything like this already.  I can see it worn with converse, thong sandals, flip flops or even my Dicker boots – very versatile for any occasion.  I just wish it wasn’t $159.

Lace dress

 

Of course there is another pair of patterned trousers that I love – this bird print pair are beautiful and will be perfect paired with a simple t-shirt.

bird trousers

 

Another pair of shoes perfect for my feet, yet still enough like sandals to be summery are these peep toe booties.  They’d look fabulous with dressy shorts like these, or skinnies of course.

peep toe boots

 

One item that will definitely be winging it’s way to me is this white jacket – once I can summon the strength to click order:)  Also I am not sure whether an XL here is really the usual TRF L – I ALWAYS need a large in TRF jackets.  I seem to be obsessed with biker style jackets this season.

white biker jacket

One of my favorite stores – AllSaints – is having a sale right now on selected items.  I adored this Kayo Sweater dress as soon as I saw it at the start of the season.  The cobalt is now in the sale and I’m thinking this gorgeous color will be a welcome change from my AllSaints’ greys and blacks currently in my closet.

Kayo

Finally Asos.com has become another ‘go-to’ site for me.  I find it a little overwhelming navigating all their items – the same reason that I don’t really like department stores – but it’s so exciting to see all the UK brands I can get my hands on in one place, with free shipping and free returns.  Whistles, Oasis, River Island and some lesser known brands are all available.  Not to mention Asos’ own brand.  For less than $60 these loose Saxby boyfriend jeans are a steal – a great substitute for the Current/Elliott Dad jeans.

Saxby

I also have a weak spot for this dress – I just wish it was short sleeved for the summer here.

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Not sure how much longer I am going to go before caving.  I wonder if I can make it another week?

 

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Rant time!!

Okay before I get on my soap box let’s start with the fun stuff.  As I got dressed today and thought about ordering another of these shirts I realized I had completely omitted to tell you all about Boden’s 20% off till tonight!!  How foolish of me! This is ‘The Shirt‘ in seaspray gingham.  I have gingham shirts from Boden and J.Crew and Boden’s are far superior.  Once again their attention to detail and quality outshines their competitors’.  There’s a wait on some of the colors but I cannot recommend enough.

Every time I take photos in my closet I am reminded that I still haven’t got a new mirror yet!

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Yay the Bobbys are on for their first airing!!

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Look at the lining of the cuffs and collar on the shirt – how cute!

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Shoes – Isabel Marant Bobbys // Shirt – Boden The Shirt // Jeans – Gap boyfriend jeans (old) // Jacket – jersey jacket Zara (old)

Okay first things first – the Old Navy jeans were abysmal.  I am straight up and down or apple shaped – and they are definitely cut for a curvier woman.  They were too short, too hippy and too tight around the calves.  The search for distressed white jeans continues.

Now my rant.  Okay, I have been singing the praises of River Island and have a gorgeous jacket from them that I bought back in the UK.  So, when I saw the cloud jacket online, I decided that given they offered free shipping to the US on orders over $75, that I should go for it.  Another couple of jackets also fell in the order – well free shipping right?  Yes the conversion rate was higher than the current exchange rate, but for the sake of wearing something that will rarely be seen elsewhere over here, I thought it was worth the little bit extra.  So I went through the order process – all prices in dollars, no small print – perfect – wooo hooo.

No – wait – 2 days later I received an email from customs requesting $66 before they will deliver the package!!! I am FURIOUS! Numerous tweets, FB interactions and phone calls later and River Island refuse to do anything about it.  I feel it is complete bait and switch.  Yes, they sent me a link to the small print on their website where it mentions customs may have to be paid – but in my eyes the customs costs should be mentioned in the order process, so that ALL costs to the consumer are known up front.  No other company who ship to me from the UK make the recipient pay customs – I have never paid customs for Boden and ASOS parcels.  If River Island wants to be a global company with global sales then they need to resolve this.  I will not be ordering from them again.  I am so disappointed.  I bet I have paid VAT too on the items – so effectively I’ve been taxed twice.

Now to rub salt in the wound the jacket is available on ASOS and $15 cheaper.  Darn it.  I always learn the hard way.

What do you think?  How do other companies avoid this?

 

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