She's All That

Hello little bloglings! Since I've been gone (no, I'm not going to start jotting down kelly clarkson lyrics) I've acquired a brand spanking new job (PAID this time) at House of Fraser in the multi channel department of their Baker Street office! I'm still learning the ins and outs but my team are lovely and I can't wait to get settled there!

Secondly, to celebrate my first pay cheque in over 6 months, me and a couple of gals booked a holiday to Ibiza for the grand price of £200! Flights, hotel and parties included, well chuffed! The party places are not my sort of thing anymore but I just couldn't turn down a deal like that! 

Another bit of exciting news, Stray Closet has now reached over 40k views! That's probably a days work for a lot of you, but this has been a long time coming for me! So thanks guys!

Amongst all of this, I have seriously dropped off the fashion bandwagon and desperately need to learn whats what again! 

So, to kick off, I purchased this cheeky number a couple of days ago whilst watching Eurovision (who else is loving Conchita?!).

 I recently watched 'She's All That' and simply had to find a gorge 90s trend spaghetti strap dress like Laneys, and Fashion Union made this happen for just £12! This one also looks a lot like Cher's little white number in Clueless, you all know the one! 

It hasn't arrived yet but I'm hoping it'll be super cute when it does! 

Clueless by emilyrodgers18 featuring a white dress

I've always been so focused on print each season, so this time its all about plain colours and simple lines and shapes. A simple dress can look gorgeous when its got a great fit, and they're so much cheaper too! 

IOTW #5

I am going to do a separate post about my trip to Indonesia, but I've still got loads of Instagram photos over the last few weeks to update you all on! The first is of a new outfit I bought after my very long trip back to blighty, I love the giraffe print top and I was dying for some new jeans (both Topshop). The tan loafers were an absolute find in Primark at just £12! 

The next is a roast I was served in the hotel I was staying at. My first proper english meal in 3 weeks, it couldn't have tasted better! 

My nails for my holiday. These falsies had lasted since my graduation which was about 3 weeks prior! I used my new matte top coat to finish off the design.

The next few are from my trip to Cayman in July, the mug was at my aunties house (where we stayed before our flight). She has loads of them with sayings on but I somehow always end up with this one! love it! 

As I was eating my cereal that morning, one of her cats stared at me the entire time. I gave in and gave her a cheerio, or two. 

Just one of the amazing sunsets we experience out in Cayman, they definitely rival that of my hometown in Jersey! 

Me and my sister went out a few times while we were there, and considering most of the tourists and residents there are American, we got native and played some beer pong! Turns out we were doing it wrong.

The next photo has to be the most spectacular photo of a sunset I've taken so far, with a bit of editing I must admit, but still pretty amazing! Every time I show someone, their reaction is "wowww". 

Blackbeard's vodka, the stuff of pirates and rather lethal at that. 

This lizard was a friend of ours, he hung out by the pool every day and we called him Yoshi. He even jumped in and came swimming with us once. 

I love this key ring I bought out there. The whole ethos of the island just seems to be this saying. Its so chilled out and everyone is always happy, I bought this to remind myself to be the same! 

And finally, my little sister went to Turkey shortly after Cayman, I've been before and therefore know all about the fake goods they import there. I asked for a Mulberry purse and this is what she got me, its so beautiful I almost can't believe its not real!

IOTW #4

Here are my Instagrams of the Week. Bit of a mixture for this one! 

Firstly, my mum bought some wacky flowers which are beaut so I took a snap. 

When it was sunny a while back I went to my bathe in my friends garden. 

I made the third picture a bit bigger so you could actually see it. I started using the 'No Crop' app which gets the whole picture onto Instagram which is handy, and used it for this coastal picture when I went for a cliff path walk. 

When I was at the Country Show last weekend helping my mum sell her lovely Bunting, they had an animal farm next door and this little bubba cow was inside, too cute!

I love a 'look I'm in the garden getting a tan' picture.

The selfie was for the BINTM 'selfie' stage of their competition of which you can read my post about it here. I had actually just been doing a shoot on the beach and therefore was in a selfie mood. 

I have been doing lots of my Davina work outs recently being unemployed (starting work at Next this week, thank god!) and therefore spend my morning doing a few sit ups, and I'm loving the effects! 

My newest nail design, cartoon nails, a woman saw them and said they were 'fab'. 

And lastly, a club photo from last weekend, wearing my new Topshop animal print top. 

Man of Steel Premiere

Last week was all about Superman. 

The Hollywood and London Premieres were massive and luckily, the man of the hour Henry Cavill being from Jersey, we got our very own special Premiere. 

For anyone who has been to Jersey, you'll know that nothing happens here, ever. For those of you who haven't, it's the type of place where you'll find a gripping story about a potato on the front page of the evening news, so this was a big deal. 

Russell Crowe, Amy Adams and of course Henry came along to the local cinema, where the red carpet was laid and crowds of fans lined the rails to get autographs and pictures with the stars. 

It was a fun event and we got to meet Russell Crowe! Here are some pictures from the evening...

 

I was bored last Friday so did these nails, of which the only person that noticed was a small boy at the premiere. 

Amy Adams was such a beauty, but she has the weirdest signature I've ever seen. 

Cavill loving the attention. 

And the ridiculous smiles from meeting Russ, despite what people say, he was lovely! 

The film has already made millions and is a big hit in the box office, and guaranteed it will be on in our local news for years! Despite this, I did feel a pang of pride knowing a big star was from our tiny island, and I'm excited to watch the film.  

Ballin'

I had my Summer Grad Ball at the Hilton last Saturday, so naturally thought I'd share the experience with you all.

It was a glamourous evening, with a glass of free champers on arrival, a 3 course meal, and a D-Jay to finish off. 

Being on a fashion course you can only imagine the parade we were expecting, girl after girl dressed to the nines. Some with loubi's, some carrying Chanel, and the not so subtle stares from head to toe, with a "what does she look like?" or "that dress does NOT suit her" to follow. 

Yes, it was bitchy.

My dress was from ASOS, it was a bargain I thought at £55, however having sent it to Jersey by accident (home), and my Mum having to send it back here, it got a nice VAT charge, which I was fuming about! 

I had my hair highlighted, and curled it myself (v.proud) and did my nails (below) and did my make up using my Benefit 'Primpcess" kit. 

I even wore heels! 

All in all it was a lovely send off, I even had a dance with my finance teacher!

Below is a mood board of the accessories and things I used for the night.

Ball by emilyrodgers18 featuring chinese laundry pumps

Company Fashion Forum

I know I'm about a week late but I've finally got round to writing up my experience from the Company Fashion Forum.

All in all it was a good evening, I wrote 6 pages of careers advice that all the members shared with us, which was really helpful. Unfortunately I arrived late as I was faffing around getting ready and then I got lost, oops! So I missed the champagne and photos and things, but at least I made it to the talk! 

The Speakers were: 

Kathryn Kenny – New Look – Senior Digital Content Manager

Victoria White - Company Magazine's Editor

Oonagh Brennan - Company's Associate Editor Fashion

Karen Jones Russell – Stylist

Jen Holmes – Blogger at A Little Bird Told Me and Freelance Writer

I read Jen's blog and she always make me laugh, and it was so weird seeing her in real life, and she made everyone laugh during the talk as well. 
The girl's all had different stories to tell and different pearls of wisdom to impart on us, and I'm sure I'll use a lot of it in my future career!

Some of the best notes I took from the night were: 

1. Never say no to an internship, never turn down an opportunity because at least you're out there, learning new skills and finding out what you like and don't like. Basically, always say 'yes' and be open-minded. 

2. If you live and breath fashion, it will come naturally to you. All the hard work and long hours will be worth it, and at the end of the day its either going to make you or break you. 

3. A degree is not important, what matters is work experience. (This one did not sit so well with me, I hope I haven't just wasted three years of my life!)

4. Never change who you are because of the job you're doing or who you're working for. 

5. Always have a positive attitude (no diva's!).

6. Always have confidence in yourself. There's always going to be people more talented, with more experience or a better degree than you, just believe you can do it. 

7. Learn admin skills in any experience you get, they are so important and you will carry them with you for life. 

8. People in the industry talk to each other, so being with a company for just one day can really boost your chances, if you make a good impression.

9. Be different/innovative. This is a creative industry, if you want a job, show how creative you can be. Some examples are making them laugh just by what's in the 'subject box' of an email, or sending them funny post such as a fashion survival kit. 

10. Learn to manage your time- the hours are long and the pay isn't great at first, but its fun and you're doing something different everyday. 

11. And finally, sorry to end on a random number, but I'm sure this one applies to a lot of you. Bloggers are now like partnerships to fashion companies, if your's looks good, if you have a big fan base and good content, that will get you noticed.

For the evening I wore my cropped Topshop monochrome jumper and leather skirt. I was surprised to see 2 extremes of pure caj and major stylin' ladies at the event but each to their own I guess. 

Above are the nails I did for the event, although I doubt anyone noticed!

I was not only too chicken to go up and speak to the ladies afterwards but there was crowds of fashionistas around them trying to shove business cards in their faces, so I didn't bother. They also basically said in the talk that its near impossible to get a job with them so I didn't take the chance.

To top the night off we were all given a fab goody bag with lots of fab goodies! 

My favourites which I cant wait to try are the nail wraps and nails tattoos, of course. 

I'm also loving the right guard (smells lush!) and the blue hair spray which gets everywhere but its so fun to play with. 

I would definitely of recommended going if you were on the fence, but if you're cash-strapped like me, and made the same mistake of not making the most of the opportunities there, it probably wasn't worth the money.