Marks & Spencer Bring Fashion Week to Manchester

Hello!

Another season has gone by with me not attending London Fashion Week! Every time it comes around, I pledge to go and then something always crops up and scuppers my plans. There's always September...

Luckily, Marks & Spencer chose Manchester as the only non-capital location to host their exclusive Spring/Summer'15 catwalk show, which was held to mark their involvement as an official sponsor of LFW.

Sitting front row with some of my fave girls by the purpose-built runway at the Market Street store, we got a glimpse of the brand's key new season looks which if not already available, will be hitting stores very soon!

Frow-ing with Chyaz (and her lovely sister) and Anna

The show was opened with a speech from Belinda Earl, M&S' Style Director. We were also shown a short film before the catwalk show which was produced with footage from London Fashion Week and outlined some of the season's top trends and how M&S had interpreted them for their own collections.

I loved the looks that were sent down the runway - as someone who doesn't really shop in M&S for clothes, I was surprised by how on-trend and wearable the pieces actually were!

There were some great monochrome looks which were really clean and minimalist; lots of floral prints and bold spring shades like coral and bright blue, plus plenty of seventies-inspired pieces with plenty of suede and denim. The 70s trend is undoubtedly one of the biggest of the season and one of my personal favourites too.

What spring trends are you loving right now?

Afternoon Sunshine

Hello!

A quick outfit post.

This is an outfit I wore to a friend of mine's (baby's, obvs) christening that I went to just after we got back from Brussels.

 Clubmaster-style sunglasses- New Look*

Off-the-shoulder floral crop top- New Look*

Belt- charity shop

High waist trousers- ASOS

Bag- Vivienne Westwood

White court shoes- Dorothy Perkins

I'd had this floral bardot-style top for a couple of weeks and was been looking for an opportunity to wear it. It's quite girly for me but I was glad it was there hanging in my wardrobe- can hardly rock up to the church in my usual uniform of ripped jeans and a baggy top.

I was so surprised by the weather! I was expecting to return from Belgium to the usual dreary Manchester skies but it was so gorgeous the weekend we got back.

I had a white blazer with this outfit but couldn't bear to keep it on for these photos. The shoes are also horrendous to walk in, worst pair I have by far; I don't know why they're so uncomfortable! I walked down to my little outdoor blog photo 'spot' in my Nike sliders and threw on a big T shirt with an ice cold drink when I got back in.

The things bloggers go through for a photo opportunity...

Have you had any nice weather where you are recently?

Daylight Saving

Hello!

Wow I'm getting a bit rusty on the old blogging; need to find more time for it!

This one's just a quick outfit from a day I spent in the park a couple of weekends ago.

I'm trying to save a bit of money up (and not doing so well- summer sales are the death of any spare cash I have at the moment) before my holiday at the end of August so trying to go out less and do more fun stuff for free.

So with that in mind, me and the boy spent said weekend in the park having picnics/BBQs, sunbathing and kicking a ball around. It was pretty great thanks to the fab weather we're having (please don't go away).

Cat eye sunglasses: Republic

Gold hoops: vintage

Necklace: charity shop

Sheer leopard print top: Oh My Love

Printed bandeau top: Tinned Bananas

Levi cut-offs: Brag Vintage

Vagabond Flora sandals: ASOS

This sheer, cut-out back top from Oh My Love and my Tinnned Bananas floral/leopard bandeau top make for an excellent combination. Tinned Bananas have launched into sale so you should seriously go check them out for amazing bodycon styles and eye-popping prints. I think I used their generous discount code from Fabb Events Manchester pretty much the next day to bag this!

The shorts are new too, from Brag Vintage who have an excellent selection of vintage Levi's. These acid wash grey ones are a welcome addition to my collection!

My sunglasses were quite the bargain at just £1 in the Republic administration sale. I'm rarely without my Ray Ban tortoiseshell Wayfarers when the sun comes out but there are times when you just want a cheap pair of sunnies that you aren't going to weep over if they're sat on/lost/stolen/insert dire end.

And the hair is up again on the blog- what's going on? Free-flowing locks are far too impractical in this weather. Case in point, I was enjoying a beer last night when I was attacked by a wasp who proceeded to get stuck in my hair and was buzzing around angrily trying to escape right by my face! Of course the drama was overshadowed by said wasp shortly after flying straight into Chris' mouth and stinging him, resulting in a trip to A&E- he's fine. The wasp however clearly had issues so was swiftly put out of it's misery by half drowning in a puddle of man spit and finished off with a stomp to the head by a girl (me).

Play out, but stay safe.


Love,

Foxy x

Sun is Shining, Weather is Sweet

Hello!

Well today the weather has been gorgeous in Manchester (for once), so I couldn't resist getting my bum outside to take a few photos.

I'm not the biggest exhibitionist in the world and I actually go a bit shy faced with having to pose for my picture in front of passers by. I live in a flat so have no private garden to speak of so outfit pictures are always a little difficult for me.

There's no denying that they look better outdoors so today I decided to venture out to the park by my flat to take some photos in a 'quiet' area. Of course this wasn't the case; being typically grey Manchester, as soon as temperatures float over 12 degrees every Tom, Dick and Harry goes nuts and are running around with their man boobs out in public sooner than you can say "ya'rite!"

I managed to snatch a few snaps in a less busy part of the park and was shielded by a well-positioned tree, so here y'arr:

Sunglasses: Ray Ban (from duty free but some very reasonably priced Ray Ban Wayfarers here)

Cross earrings: Primark

T shirt: Charity Shop

Skirt: c/o Forever 21

Nike Low Blazers: c/o Get The Label

I found this very cool tie dye Bob Marley t shirt in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago. I do love a bit of Bob but I'm by no means the biggest reggae fan in the world (though am more than a bit partial to some ska) so I might sell this one on eBay and hope someone snaps it up for the festivals where I think it'd look great!

I'm absolutely in love with my new Blazers which I chose at the recent Get The Label blogger event. They're a really cool bright orange/red colour which matches my Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish number 12 lipstick perfectly. I'm loving this trainers revival- so comfy!

You also might have noticed that I've shaved the side of my head again! It's been just over a year since the last time I did it. I'm so bad with my hair, I constantly get bored with it and get the urge to do something drastic. All of the cool Tumblrs I follow with super hot babes with crazy coloured hair probably don't help...

I'm a rainbow too.

Hope you're enjoying the long weekend!

Love,

Foxy x

Easy DIY: Floral Shades

Hello!

I don't know about anyone else but I'm thoroughly sick of the weather in the UK! I swear it decides to snow whenever I want to do anything. Despite the plummeting temperatures, last week I decided to do a quick summery DIY to cheer up the miserable day!

I remember being completely taken by the 3D flower sunglasses from A-Morir last summer; they're so beautiful and perfect for festivals.

The A-Morir 'Phillips' and 'Cass' styles:

These styles will set you back around £200-300. They're handmade to order and I'm sure are worth every penny, though at that price, they'd cost around the same as the holiday itself for me!

Taking inspiration from these, I thought I'd have a go at making my own.

First, you'll need a cheap pair of sunglasses.

I bought a couple of wayfarer styles from Primark- can't a wrong for £1 a pair.

You'll also need some 3D plastic flowers with a flat base.

You should be able to find some in any good craft/bead/jewellery making shop. I got mine from a bead shop in Affleck's Palace, Northern Quarter, Manchester- also my go to place for cool charms for jewellery making! The have an online shop too, here.

Pretty handily, they had some strips of three linked flowers in various colours which saved a lot of time and effort. A three-link flower was 50p a piece.


Then simply glue your chosen flowers to the specs wherever you like. I simply added a strip of three to either side at the top, but you could go all out and add single pieces all around the rim.

(I used Loctite superglue if anyone needs a good glue recommendation. I've found it to be the best I've come across for this sort of thing)

And voila!

Total cost £2 a pair! What do you think?

I think these make a great alternative to a flower crown, don't you?


Have you come across any cool summer DIYs lately?

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

x