Post Christmas Sale Picks

Happy Christmas to you all! I hope the day was filled with merriment and laughter and that Santa was good to you. We have literally not stopped eating since christmas eve, so I thought I would take a break from scoffing left overs into my gob and show you all a few bits and bobs I've gifted myself from the December Sales. Not that I have any money left, but I managed to find a few good buys that didn't burn a hole in my pocket too much! 

I'm not a great fan of online shopping (despite working in e-commerce for the House of Fraser website), partly because post offices are in my Room 101, but mainly because I just can't do it! There are some experts that can order tons, and know exactly what they're items will look like, and get it right every time. I guess this comes with practise, but I always end up having to do returns or not finding the best deal, the whole thing is just quite distressing for me! But with boredom creeping in, I began to scroll the sale pages of my fave fashion sites and I think I've made some good choices here. 

December Sale Picks by emilyrodgers18 featuring statement earrings

The camel coat is a piece I (actually my mum) bought in the store sales at River Island, saving £30 it was marked down to £50 from £80. I love it, it's an oversized cocoon fit with a lovely deep red lining and will do nicely for a new winter coat. 

Accessorize have some great savings as always at this time of year and costume jewellery is everywhere at the moment. They have a lot of great statement pieces, but after searching for some big embellished earrings for a while, I finally settled on these lovely pearlescent pastel drop earrings. They were half price, £7 down from £14, I may have to get another pair I've got my eye on! 

I know, I know, Christmas is over, so why on earth have I got a xmas jumper in here. Well, was it just me or did you also have a mad dash around Primark the day before National Christmas jumper day?! So, to stop that from happening next year, I've thought ahead and ordered one in advance. You can get some amazing deals on xmas jumpers at the moment, I bagged this one for just £6 from Boohoo! 

Urban Outfitters is great for knick knacks, and if you want to be super organised, you can start thinking about next years christmas presents! (too far?) I got the hip flask, iPhone hairbrush case, kitty pencil case, and Russell Brands book into my virtual shopping basket for a good price. Great gifts for the future or little treats for yourself, either way they'll come in handy! 

I've been searching for a new good pair of jeans for some time now which is an ever lasting struggle in itself #firstworldproblems but I thought I'd give some ASOS ones a try as I've always opted for Topshop's Tall section. This pair came in leg 34" which should just about fit, and they're under £20 which is a bonus!

I never ever treat myself to nice undies, I usually just grab the nearest bra to me in Primark and think that'll do. I've wanted to try the triangle unpadded bras for a while so when I came across this one for £6.50 on ASOS with its delicate feminine design I thought I'd give it a bash. Being bosomly challenged, I'm a bit skeptical on how it will look but fingers crossed! 

And lastly, the off shoulder, bardot style top is caked across the sale pages right now. I'm not sure if the trend has been a flop or if it's just getting started, but I love the look of the necklines so I ordered this one from Boohoo for £6. It's always a bit hit and miss with this site so we'll see how it turns out!

Hope you've managed to bag some good buys this sale season. If you know any good sites to recommend for some good bargains, please comment them below! 

Tumblr Tinkering

Whilst interning at Motel I was given the company's Tumblr to look after. Update it with awesome photos, maintain those witty hashtags and get those adoring followers up. 

It became my social media baby, my pride and joy, and it pained me to leave it to someone else. So I started my own Tumblr page for this blog, and filled it with my own inspiration and some awesome photos which reflect my style and personality. It's my new fave by far! 

I am still learning loads about Tumblr and love to look at great blogs for inspiration and to see how everyone represents their own style through images. If you have a Tumblr page I would loveeee to take a look! 

You can check mine out and follow if you like it, here! 

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.