Christmas! And My Birthday!

Hope every one had a great Christmas! It was my birthday too! Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

I do not own this photo!

So, what did you get?!

xxx

Thoughts, plans; this week.

I have quite a wordy post today! There are many things I need to write down just so I remember everything. Please read the post, I'd appreciate it!

1. LFW Press Passes - Can I apply, have you ever applied, and what are your thoughts?

The applications for London Fashion Week are now open again. I'm completely clueless. Honestly, I don't know where to start. Am I entitled to apply for a pass? Should I? Do you think it's right? So many questions! Does my blog count as a publication? Oh please, just help me! I feel like I'm breaking some sort of rules filling the application in.

So what do I do when I've applied? Do I then personally email designers/companies?

If anyone can spare me a minute, I'd be so appreciative. 

2. English Essay on Othello

Okay, I haven't got much to say. To cut a long story short, I've left it very late and now I'm writing this post while I probably should be typing the rest of a lengthy essay. But I'm not. Yet.

3. Tuition fees rise. I will be one of the first to suffer from this.

Another one that I can't quite put into words. There is a lack of communication going on between young people and the government. They're simply not listening. And what annoys me more is that some misguided young people my age seem to think the rise in fees is good, but only because they are too oblivious to other people's problems. My year will be the first to suffer as a result.

4. Music

I'm really liking some of the music coming out at the moment. I like it more when it's underrated. Here's Game Over by Tinchy Stryder. I only like Tinie Tempah/Example's bits. I don't know if I've heard Tinie Tempah rap like that for a while! I hate the fact that lots have these artists have turned to mixing their songs with pop music, but I love it when they come out with real music! I know they're just talking about themselves, but I don't really care.

5. The X Factor 

Every week I find myself shouting at the TV. I'm glad Cher has gone, I can't believe she actually thought she would win. But the X Facor is producing so much manufactured rubbish now, I wouldnt have been surprised if she had won, actually.

I like Rebecca's voice, but she really ruined Corinne Bailey Rae for me. 

 

On the other hand, the positives.

Anyone who watched X Factor this week will know that Rihanna was AMAZING this week! I love What's My Name too. Minus Drake. I hate Drake.

I really didn't used to like Rihanna, but I've rediscovered some of her old music and I see now that she's actually a very good all round artist. She can dance, sing, and she's just so cool! I think she's keeping R&B alive.

Dermot's reaction is hilarious!

6. Will I have a job by the end of this week?

I went for my interview, it went okay, but like an absolute idiot I forgot that Office and Aldo are probably Kurt Geiger's biggest competition. How did I forget that?! She probably thinks I'm completely clueless!

Anyway, that's it for now,

Serina x

Sheer Luck

I'm sure many of you have already seen this shirt! My store doesn't seem to be selling out quickly, as these are tucked up behind things in the Divided section upstairs so I'm waiting to buy one. I know £7.99 isnt much to pay for a shirt, but every penny adds up! I really want it for my interview, but if I wore it, I'd only want to wear it with the corset type things I've posted. I don't want it to look slutty but I don't want to ruin the great effect of the shirt. Look at me, talking like I have it in my hand. Unfortunately, I dont! And now ASOS have the exact type of vest I've been looking for to wear under this shirt! So I guess I'll have to wait until hypothetically, I have a job.

H&M - £7.99

Asos - £28 

Topshop - £35?! Not gonna happen.

Serina x

P.S. I'm slowly reaching the 100 follower mark. I don't know if I should join the bandwagon and do a giveaway, but I'll see how I feel.

I'll believe in fate when it comes and finds me.

The title has nothing to do with this post whatsoever!

I really want some shoes, you know? New shoes. Some plain, classic court shoes. I have an interview at Kurt Geiger next week so I'm feeling a bit inspired and I've chosen my favourites from the site at the moment. * 

1, 2, 3

And my favourite looks from this week!

Photos from MarieClaire.co.uk

* Photos removed due to the takeover of crazy exclamation marks...

Shift Dress.

Just decided to go onto the Topshop website, and noticed the shift dresses feature on the homepage. I've already seen the dresses a million times, and wanted them (it seems they're very popular as they keep selling out and restocking them!) but I didn't think I've posted my favourite one. I really like the classic shapes, the simple ones, but I'm also looking for a christmas party type dress that is nice for a sit down meal. This one caught my eye, and I particularly like how they've styled it on the website! They've also lowered the price of this dress, (I think it was £55 before) which is a bonus! However I doubt I'll be buying it. I really love the sleeves and cuffs. 

Topshop - £46

Serina x

P.S. Outfit post soon.

Arghhhhhhh!

Currently trying to get into the H&M Online shop. And failing. I thought I'd definitely get in, but it seems there are some more dedicated people out there ready to get into the shop way earlier! Anyway, fingers crossed.

All I want for Christmas (My Birthday) is THESE

Sorry if the grammar is wrong above.

Just WOW! They are PERFECT in so many ways! I love how they dont have the bulkiness that some brogues have that I probably couldn't pull off. They're pricey at £52 (Topshop), but it IS my birthday AND Christmas. Although to be honest I'm not that bothered this year. I'd actually rather pay for them myself, meaning I would have got a job. Which hasn't happened yet. :(


Serina x


P.S. Thoughts on the new banner?

Harry Potter

Quick shout to Jess who posted a link that helped me find my "type" - in the new banner. I love it!


To begin, I just thought I'd post my two favourite outfits from the HP red carpet events.

Sort of review:


I'm not at all ashamed to say that I'm a big Harry Potter fan, and I went to watch it last night. Again, it was disappointing compared to the book, but overall I thought it was good at setting the scene, and was quite true to the book anyway. However quite a few parts were filled with images of landscapes etc, which were pretty cool to look at, but wasted some of the 2hr 30 minutes we spent watching it. Also, it was getting a bit ridiculous (the whole emotions thing with Ron/Hermione) at points. I sound really pessimistic!!! I just thought they went a bit overboard with trying to show the maturity of the characters, that's all. After all, Harry Potter is still read/watched by younger audiences. I certainly got some frights, so little kids will too!


I actually really enjoyed it and I think they've made it how it is so the last one blows us away. 


Some of the cinematography was absolutely awesome.


It's well worth going to the cinema for. Just purely to look at the amazing effects.


Serina

Back up

Firstly, thank you for the nice response on the last post! I'm glad people felt inspired :)

Okay, so I've been having back/neck problems for a while now, which I think is mainly due to the amount of time I spend on the computer, but also due to the lack of a proper bag! 


This satchel (above - hanging from my hand in an attempt to take a decent picture of it), although I love how it looks, is made of really crappy material (it was from ebay). When I use the shoulder strap, it's just about OK, however, when I'm carrying very heavy books around on the end of my arm, I don't think it does me very much good.


So I'm trying to look for a nice rucksack/backpack type thing. These are a couple I've seen (I HAVE looked on other sites, as well as ebay for some good quality leather ones). And some coats I've also seen.

So, if you have any good advice on buying a backpack/rucksack, please share it! Also, which coat do you like best? I'm split. I'm the type of person that thinks bearing in mind the future. So I would probably invest in the navy coat as it probably won't date, and for £74.99, I can't really afford for it to date. Also, it's 100% wool as opposed to the light camel colour which is only 66%!


Serina x

Go for it.

I feel incredibly proud of myself. The play went really well (don't worry if you have no idea what I'm talking about), and for the first time I have this feeling I can't explain. 


I entered a Young Writer's programme in January, and very luckily got chosen along with 6 other writers ranging from the ages of 16-26 (although I was the youngest one at 16). To be quite honest, I had never thought about writing seriously before, but figured I should just give it a try.


Out of all the things I've done (yeah, I haven't done that much to be honest, but hey!), I have to say, this has been the best experience I've ever had. It's shown me that even though you might not know it, there could always be some sort of spark or interest in something inside of you that could lead to something really good.


And it certainly has for me. Our work was showcased in 30 minute readings by professional actors at The Curve in Leicester (who I have to thank greatly for doing such an amazing job). I had really mixed feelings on the day (last saturday), and even though everyone was saying really nice things about the play, I was still unsure.


However, if this leads to nothing at all, or something really big, one thing I know is that it has been an amazing experience that I'll appreciate undoubtedly for the rest of my life. I hope.


TO ADD TO THIS:

Without funding for Arts, I probably never would have got this opportunity. Thanks to the conservative government, this sort of funding will be gone.


Anyway, you're probably not interested in all that, but I felt like sharing it. 


Thank you for reading the whole thing, if you did!


Serina x

Asos wishlist.

ASOS CHINOS - £28

It's really annoying, but I can't find the jumper from this photo!

ASOS WHITE Elbow Patch Coat - £120

ASOS TAMARA Shoe Boots - £110

Asos have some nice stuff at the moment! Okay, so the last two items are very pricey, but I think the chino's are quite a reasonable price. 

Serina xxx


P.S. My blog is a bit cleaned up now. I've been trying to get rid of that awful background thing for ages. Do you like the clean look?

Basics.

Vintage shirt, Topshop trousers

This picture is really crap quality, but I wanted to show you the camel trousers I bought from Topshop. I wore them about twice, and all the seams had come undone at the bottom, so they swapped them for me. I got a navy pair instead. I love the navy ones however I do love the camel colour. This is one of the few Topshop purchases I have made. They were supposed to be £38 however doing surveys and earning 10p a time paid off, as I got a £10 voucher. On top of that I used student discount so they were £24!

I know they'll pop up on ebay or something anyway, so I'm still planning on buying them (or similar ones!)

Anyway, this outfit isn't really complete, and I look really young, however I kind of like to keep things simple. It represents me, really. I'm not one who can be bothered with jewellery, although I love a good bag! Unfortunately, now I don't have these, I can't style them, but I can look at the memory...

Serina

Lanvin for H&M

So the first image has been released! It all looks very exciting, I love black! I like the trench coat in particular here.

I'd better get saving!! 

Currently my job status is unemployed. Sixth form work is piling up, and I already seem to be falling behind. I need a serious weekend of hardcore catching up and work.

The play is next week! It's crazy!

Outfit post coming up!

Serina xxx

Want it.

The whole thing is gorgeous, the drapes, the sleeves, love it!

Caroline

Caroline has no relevance to me, we just got shown this song by our french teacher the other day. It's pretty deep!! Anyway, things are less stressful (for now) as I have sent my play. So hopefully I'll have some new posts. I've been wearing many weird and (possibly) wonderful things for sixth form but havent taken pictures... Maybe I will soon!


Serina x

VALENTINO FOR GAP!

So Lanvin is collaborating with H&M....

and NOW VALENTINO IS COLLABORATING WITH GAP!

I'm very excited.

Lanvin for H&M!!!! (And 50 followers)

I'm very very excited as I just saw today that H&M is collaborating with LANVIN!
This has got to be my favourite so far. I think I will definitely purchase something!

Also today, I found I've reached 50 followers! I appreciate every follower, and its taken me a long time to get this going so please keep being patient with me!

So just to make a quick note, I still need to show you:

1. My outfit from prom/graduation day
2. My SIXTH FORM outfits!!! I have so much to show! But this requires a good camera + good photographer!

Serina xxx

wants.

I really have an urge to buy some hi-tops and this jacket.

Urban Outfitters

Levi's at Rokit Vintage!

Adidas Originals

AND now... in complete contrast:

Serina xxx

ROKIT

So I've been searching and dribbling (not literally) over clothes that I want for sixth form online. Blouses these days seem to be so expensive! The way I've been thinking of it is "You're getting a job soon, so don't worry, you'll have money!" but then I know my parents will be wanting me to save too. And I want to save.

My camera fund is currently at £0. I recently got lookbook but I don't want to post a look until I have a half decent camera. I've been reading, and apparantly it's like a crime to take pictures in mirrors.

Yes I'll admit they really aren't the greatest of pictures, I don't think I've actually posted any on here (don't quote me on that, I'm not 100% sure, but I don't care anyway), but who am I to judge the people who dont know or have no other way of doing it? I think it's quite ridiculous that by the way someone takes a picture they can be judged.
Anyways, I thought I'd have a look on Rokit Vintage and was pleasantly surprised! They have a whole LOAD of beautiful blouses for around £20 each. £20 isn't cheap for me admittedly, but it's cheaper than ones I've seen on asos, topshop etc And if they've lasted this long, they must be good quality.

I've been into rokit vintage before on brick lane, browsed, but never bought anything. Anyone have any experience with Rokit?

Serina xx


EDIT! I have a new template courtesy of the designing thing on blogger... what do you think?! I like it!

...Random thoughts.

Credit to one of the people who commented on my last post - sorry for nicking it!

I'm in deep thought at the moment. I also have holiday blues :(

Santorini was amazing. I'm going back as soon as possible.

Photos coming soon!

x

Why do you torture me ASOS?

I still need to post pictures of my leaver's day, but seriously, why does ASOS do this? They release all the best dresses AFTER we need them :(  No doubt I would have probably looked stupid in this, but still, I love the drapery!

Once I've re drafted the play, I'm going to get my act together and get this blog going properly! I know I always say that. 

ALSO - I'M GOING TO SANTORINI FOR A HOLIDAY!! WOOOO! Holiday clothes time ;)

Serina xxx

Corinne Bailey Rae vs. Eliza Doolittle

I have another post that I've been writing, however today I'd just like to post some good music.


Anyway, I'm very biased towards Corinne Bailey Rae as I've just loved her music ever since she released her first album, but now this "Eliza Doolittle" has come onto the scene, so I'll give her a chance. I have to admit, Corinne's new (well, newish) album, is very different to her last one (with the death of her husband in between), but I suppose their voices can be compared.


Anyway, I'm going to post one of Corinne Bailey Rae's (which sends shivers down my spine and is my favourite from the album, The Sea) and one of Eliza Doolittle's, which is probably more fun and upbeat, and gives you a generally happy feeling. You can make your mind up! 


(BUT LIKE CORINNE'S MORE PLEASE!) Sorry about that. I do like Eliza Doolittle, and it's not fair to compare them as I suppose they are quite different. But Corinne FTW. I think it's quite unfair how Corinne's album hasn't really been hyped that much as it is an amazing album once again.


On another note, I feel very ashamed today as I lost a follower (and then gained another, so a shoutout to my new follower!)








Enjoy!


Serina xxx

Sorry Emma...

...but I love the new Burberry campaign with Rosie more!

I love it! I would pick this collection over the last one any day. Did anyone else think the lilac coat was just... not great? Who am I to question the big designer, right? Well I'm a consumer... and I just didn't like the lilac coat! I think we all have a right to say, "No, we don't like this piece of designer clothing".

When Alexander McQueen died, I was having an MSN conversation with my friend. We were talking about the Brit Awards - where Lady Gaga wore the McQueen outfit, with the lace thing in her head. I made a comment like "Did her dress get stuck in her head or something", unaware that it was McQueen, and my friend replied "It's Alexander McQueen :/".

It's left me thinking for a while. Of course, I respect the work of designers, but do I HAVE to like their work? Firstly, just because McQueen died, it doesn't mean my opinions to the clothes have to change. If I see a piece of clothing I don't like, I'll say it, so why does the designer make a difference? Just because it's Alexander McQueen, who died about a week before, I automatically have to like it?
And this was coming from a friend who probably had no real awareness of McQueen's work before, but as soon as the word fashion becomes apparant, she automatically had to think that she loved all of his work so that she can fit in with the view of the "fashion crowd".
It all boils down to personal taste, it shouldn't be about what we SHOULD think, we should think whatever we want to think!

Sorry about the rant, but what do YOU think?

Serina xxx

Venus & Serena in the Wimbledon Arena! (Or not.)

Unfortunately, I dont think the wedges dream will be happening :(

Unless my mum decides to fork out about £70 for a pair of Topshop shoes spontaneously. (They have the black chiffon wedges in my Topshop store). So yeah :( Very upset about that, but hey, life goes on! :P

I was trying to find a lyric that matched Serena Williams!



However Venus, is OUT.

So I'm sitting here on this hot afternoon, my neck is killing me, however I feel a little bit peaceful, knowing that I don't have to revise. At least until I find out I failed or something.

Serena Williams is through to the quarter-finals, yay!
However, even though Williams is known for her new and stylish outfits each year, I think her opponent Na Li outdid her!

Speaking of wimbledon fashion... doesn't Roger Federer just wear the best clothes you could think in terms of tennis gear? Not that I know much about it, but it looks good to me! Slick! And you can even see a bit of a pintuck there on his t-shirt.

Thank you for all the advice/comments on the last post! I really wish I could buy the shoes :(

ALSO - I received my package, the dress, this morning. It is absolutely gorgeous. After everything seemed to be going wrong, this is all I could have wished for :) And I'm very glad I didnt waste £130 on a French Connection dress.

Serina xxx

P.S. I've reached 40 followers, so thank you all that follow (and all that comment!)

WEDGES

Are they a bad idea with my prom dress?

I need some serious advice - because either I'm deluded or they'll look amazing.

So I've established that I can't afford the Topshop ones, HOWEVER

These ones on ebay, are quite a nice alternative. And could also end up looking completely stupid!


So, just a reminder, thats my dress^^


And these are the wedges... wait for it...

Please be nice :(

Serina xxx

POWER

I've officially BOUGHT my leaver's day dress. YAY

And on another note....

MR WEST IS BACK, WOOHOOOO

Kanye West appreciation post coming up.

Serina xxx

Sale!

Topshop sale has begun today, and I'm actually feeling that there's something worth buying this time. I really need a new pair of jeans and have wanted the jamie jeans for AGES! And now they're 20 quid... not bad I think!

So, I've put together a little outfit with my sale picks... (And one sneaky pair of ASOS shoes).


Although I post alot of Topshop clothes, I hate Topshop clones - and am certainly not one of them! I think that what happens is, most people can only afford the lowest priced stuff and all end up buying the same stuff... However, even though I wish some of the stuff was more afforable, I can't help but love some of Topshop's clothes sometimes. Especially this classic trench, but reworked into a shorter and stylish version. I also love the dark navy more than the classic colour as I feel it makes it just that little bit more edgy.

Trench Coat - £30

Frill Blouse - £32 (NOT IN SALE)

Cornflower Jamie Jeans - £20

ASOS Mikey Leather Woven Shoes - £28

Canvas Bag - £12

Wooden Bead Bracelet (which is erm.... sold out) - £7

AND FINALLY - I think I have found my perfect dress...

I wanted it in this colour (which then sold out) so now I will have to settle for the Nude colour (which doesnt seem to be showing up now!)

Serina xxxx