Portugal Part Two

Hello!

As promised, I bring you the second round of pics from my holiday in Portugal earlier this month. You can read the first post here.

Last time, I brought you the pretty side of things; the beach, the port etc. but I really enjoyed exploring the older, run down streets of the poor part of the town. There were loads of really interesting buildings with pretty tiles on the outside.

And of course some obligatory shots of what I wore!

My actual favourite holiday dress- had it for years!

Dress: Urban Outfitters (old)

My 'sack' dress!

Sunglasses: Ray Ban; Dress: £25, Blue Rinse Vintage; Backpack: £1.10, charity shop; Pumps: New Look

Towards the end of the week we went on a boat trip to explore all of the little caves along the rocky coastline. This was no ordinary boat- it was a pirate ship!

Sunglasses: Missoni, £15 (I know, right?!) @ TK Maxx; Cropped tee: Forever 21; Skirt: Missguided.co.uk

I'd really recommend taking one of these trips to anyone going to the Algarve. The majority of the caves can only be visited by boat and many are hidden out of sight from the land. I didn't take photos inside but once anchored up, we filtered into smaller motor boats and were taken right inside the coves.

I can't believe how awful the weather's been since we got back- so glad I didn't go overboard (haha awesome pun, no?) on buying summer clothes!

Have you been away recently?

Love,

Foxy

Portugal Part One

Hello!

I got back from my holiday on Friday evening and thought I'd share some photos (there will be a 'part two' post as there are so many!).

Me and Chris went to Portimão, Portugal and stayed in the Praia da Rocha resort (where the huge beach is), a short walk from Portimão's old town and port.

This (and the next) post will be a bit of a mash-up between the outfits I wore and general scenery- enjoy.

Treated myself to some Ray Bans at the airport!

The port at Portimão town.

Sunglasses: Ray Ban; Twist back crop top: c/o Forever 21; Backpack: £1.10, charity shop; Skirt: c/o Forever 21

Exploring the old streets of Portimão.

Taking in the sights while getting lost.

Earrings: Gogo Phillip @ Tophop; Cord and fringe top: ASOS sale; Lightning ring: ASOS sale

Enjoying the local Super Bock (a little too much!).

The BEST cocktail. I can't quite remember what it was but they won an award for it! The strawberry 'caviar' in it was amazing. Hats off to the very talented bar men at Absolutely Lounge.

Dress: c/o Forever 21

Not the best view of a derelict hotel opposite but lovely to have a drink on the balcony before going out!

The rocky Praia da Rocha coastline at sunset.

I had an amazing time and have thoroughly got the holiday blues. I spent the first two nights back in the UK under a huge fleece blanket and developing a timely cold...

I will be bringing you part two soon!

Love,

Foxy

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Fanny Pack

Hello!

This is a quick one before I jet off to Portugal tomorrow! I haven't been on a proper holiday in a while so I'm very much looking forward to it.

I'm currently throwing clothes about the flat and trying on holiday outfits as, obviously, I haven't started packing yet.

Last night I finally got around to customising a bum bag I bought a while ago so thought I'd show it (re. the post title, the phrase 'fanny pack' always amuses me, I'm pretty immature like that).

I got inspired before starting.

And here's mine.

Before:

Bum bag, £5, Blue Rinse (Manchester)

After:

Holiday outfit trialling! Hat, £8.50, French Connection via ASOS sale, Dress c/o Forever 21

Okay, I'm off to order a Chinese and finish packing- adieus!

Love,

Foxy

x

Transitional? More like Torrential!

Hello!

I'm now convinced that the minuscule amount of summer we've had is over!

This morning I awoke to glorious sunshine and 20°C heat, so with a spring in my step, I pegged my washing out, broke out the bare legs and set off into town in my sandals.


I wore this:

Sunglasses: Forever 21; Earrings: Car Boot Sale; Jacket/Shirt: Army Surplus Shop; Dress: Forever 21; Belt: Charity Shop, Sandals: New Look

In true Manchester style, two hours later the heavens opened and it absolutely chucked it down! I resembled a drowned rat when I arrived back and to add insult to injury, my washing was soaked!

Luckily, my spirits were high after a successful shopping trip, thanks to Office Shoes who literally have the best sale on ever!

I popped in to look for sandals for my holiday (which I'm yet to book- so organised) and was drawn to the Jeffrey Campbell's which appeared to be... in the sale section?

My eyes did not deceive me- £50 off!

I chose these in burgundy as I thought they'd be really wearable for A/W too

From my Instagram- 'katieafox'

They're the 'Foxy' style (how apt!) and I'm totally in love with them! I already have the Lita's so I thought these would be really nice as they're open-toed.

I trotted off to House of Fraser in search of a bikini where I bumped into the lovely Sarah of Fashion Dotty who I promptly showed my new purchase off to.

She mentioned that Office were also knocking 50% off their own brand sale prices too! Now, this I missed earlier amidst all the Jeffrey Campbell excitement.

I moseyed over to the Office concession and couldn't believe my eyes.

After trying on around 20 pairs of shoes (no word of a lie), I settled for these:

Was £55, bought for £12.50- madness! They're suede too.

And...

Also suede, was £68, also £12.50!

All in all, £80 for three pairs of shoes that would have originally cost £228.

I'm so happy, I could weep.

Have you picked up any amazing bargains in the summer sales?

Love,

Foxy

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A Night at the Opera...

Hello!

This week I got an invitation to a rather, erm, different event- the Opera!

Now, usually I might have laughed off such an idea, but I was intrigued as this opera was a collaboration with Peroni. Any event where the chance of a free premium lager is more than a likelihood, I'm there.

The event was called Opera di Peroni, a contemporary outdoor opera aimed at introducing the genre to a clueless new generation.

It was held in big marquee at Media City, Manchester, which was great to have a nosey around. Can't believe I hadn't had a proper look around there before as it was one of my reasons for moving to Manchester (being a media type and all).

Here's what I wore:

Jacket: Topshop sale (old); Sheer Crop Top: c/o Forever 21; Galaxy Skirt: Missguided; Zara-a-like bag: eBay; Belt: 50p, Charity Shop; Necklace: Vintage Fair

Media City is so nice! It was really sunny too so Chris and I had tea at one of the restaurants outside.

You can see the marquee across the water

The opera was actually really fun, some great characters and costumes- plus plenty of free Peroni and Italian 'Apertivo's'!

The event is yet to tour Liverpool and Glasgow so there's still chance to go see it.

Have you been anywhere out of the ordinary recently?

Love,

Foxy x

Forever Twenty One

Hello!

So, I had the immense pleasure of taking part in something amazing at the weekend. A troupe of Manchester bloggers (Emma, Penny, Sarah, Katie, Jazmin  and Jen) and I, were invited down to the Forever 21 store on  Oxford Street in London for a shop-a-thon in anticipation of the grand opening of the Trafford Centre shop on 21st July.

There are so many reasons that I was thrilled to take part in the event. Firstly, I don't regard my little blog as attention worthy at all and it still surprises me that I have an amazing little following of readers (thank you!). For this reason, I don't really get invited to fashion events as a 'blogger' so it was amazing to be chosen as part of a select few. Also, I'm rather new to Manchester (I moved here last summer) and to be recognised as part of the Manchester blogging scene is just amazing. Plus, Forever 21 has a special little place in my heart as the first UK store was in Birmingham- where I went to uni. I still remember all the hype around it and even though I didn't shop there a great deal, it was one more little thing I missed after moving.

Anyway, let's put the violins away- on with the shopping!

After shopping, we went to a lovely little Italian restaurant called Rocket, hidden away down a side street away from the hubbub of Oxford Street.

I had the most amazing pizza- pancetta and goats cheese with cherry tomatoes and a balsamic glaze.

We all had to admire Katie's vigor for ordering the calzone, which was the size of a small child!

Here's a quick snap of some of the things I got- which was loads! Forever 21 is such great value, you get a lot more for your money than you'd expect from other high street chains of the same quality.

I began picking up a lot of black (surprise, surprise) so I moved out of my comfort zone a bit with some bright prints and a few neon tops.

I hope to style some of this up and do some outfit posts soon.

If anyone in Manchester fancies going along to the launch of the new store, I'm told that the first 300 through the door get a giftcard to spend in store!

On a final note, I had a fantastic day and met some lovely people- hope to meet up soon!

Love,

Foxy

x

Denim and turquoise

I wanted to share another pair of shorts I made. I made these a few days ago from some Lee jeans I got from COW vintage on the sale rail for £5. I figured that I'd pay about that in a charity shop so didn't hestitate in buying them.


Here they are!

Hair: bush, depths of hell- you decide! Debbie Harry T-shirt: Ben Sherman Plaited leather belt: Topshop Tights: Primark (originally un-ripped!)

I have lots of denim cut-offs, but love these because they're the only pair that don't cut into my thighs! I'm cursed (some might say blessed- I think it's a pain in the arse!) with a little waist and bigger hips/bum/thighs. Needless to say, it's quite a challenge finding highwaisted clothing that fits well in both departments!

These are quite big on my waist but look okay drawn in with a belt (if you look closely you'll see a bit of a paperbag effect going on). I also love the washed-out colour as all my other cut-offs are darker shades of denim.

I like having a raw, frayed hem but also love turn-ups; these are the best of both worlds.

The 'turquoise' refers to these new rings.

I've been after one for aaaaages after falling in love with the YSL Arty version, but for over £100 (and it's not even gold!), I was hardly going to buy it was I?

The beautiful YSL Arty ring in turquoise

I'd seen lots of stuff on the Topshop semi-precious stone rings, and at an average of £10 they seemed a steal! The YSL one looks pretty, granted, but the stone isn't even what it seems- it's glass!

So I hit the high street and left with these beauties!

The one on the left is from Forever 21. Now, I'm not a big fan of the shop; I completely bought into the hype in the run-up to its opening in Birmingham, then was left disappointed when it finally arrived. The best way I can describe it is simply, 'an American New Look'- similar styles and prices.

I've been and looked at clothes in Forever 21 a handful of times and find that what they sell is very hit and miss. Yes they do pretty cheap clothing, but a good proportion of clothes aren't great quality- worse than Primark in many cases.

However, I'm so chuffed with this ring! For around £5, I can't tell you what great quality it feels, it's really heavy!

I was after a gold ring really, but couldn't resist this. I love the detail on the sides and the cracked effect of the 'stone', which is in fact plastic! Though someone thought it was an expensive one last night!

The second ring is Topshop. It's one of the semi-precious stone ones but was only £8.50 (even less with my student discount).

Afterwards, I realised I'd seen it on Ashleigh's 'This Stylish Life' blog- doh! We do seem to have very similar tastes though... (for some reason I can't link to the post, but it's a fairly recent one on her blog)

I'd definitely recommend that anyone going shopping in Birmingham soon checks out Forever 21 (never thought I'd hear myself say that!) but honestly, their jewellery selection is brilliant! These are my faves:

£4.80

£3.80

£4.80

£5.80

Foxy

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