Summer Ball and Swing Dancing !

Hi guys

This is just a short post to show you what I wore for the LSE Summer Ball on Monday (as promised). Unfortunately there is only one full length mirror on each floor which is situated just outside of the kitchen so I could only get a few shots without being stared at.

The whole outfit:

 

Navy Spot Print Strapless Dress £14.99 - New Look (Shown on Website )

Skinny Belt  £5.00 (part of a set of 2) - Marks and Spencer

Pink Woven  Strap Summer Sandals £24.99 - New Look  (Shown on website )

 



 And a look at my jewellery, hair and make up :

 

Long pearl necklace £2 - Primark

Silver Pearl Bow £4.50 - Primark

 



I actually had a really good night. Everybody looked amazing in their dresses and suits and the drinks were relatively cheap.



Then, later on this week we decided we would go to a swing dancing night. I have always wanted to do this as the professional dancers always look amazing and make it look easy. We headed to an event run by the London Swing Cats called "The Cat's Meow" which is on once a month.

The night opens at 8pm with a taster lesson before some old school music and a live band performs. This month had "The Piccadilly Bullfrogs" performing. We learnt some basic Charlston and picked up a few steps from the regulars who were kind enough to teach us.

Here is what I wore:

 

Flamingo Fairy Dress £55.00 - Collectif (Shown on Website)

Cream Bow Dolly Shoes £8.00 - Primark



And a close up:

 

Pink Flower Clips £1.99 (per pair) - H&M

The group of us who went had a really good night and a few spins on the dance floor with new partners. I think it will be a regular haunt once we are back in September and have actually mastered a few swing steps.

I'll be back later this week with a fabulous pair of shoes

GoodyTwoShoes x

Shoes of the Week 20/02/13 - Babycham Scorpio Glitter

Hey Guys

It's been another busy few day here in London. Fashion hit last weekend with London Fashion Week showcasing the Autumn/Winter Collection and the first British Plus Size weekend held here with special panelists and events happening across the city.

The work at LSE has once again stepped up in volume as we are tested on new material and put through our paces in essay submissions but I am managing to keep on top of it.

I also had a very busy weekend as my fabulous Mum came to stay for a few days. We went to the theatre, did some shopping , took in the sights and generally had a great time. It was good to see her and I'm looking forward to heading back home in a few weeks.

This weeks shoes come from a new website I discovered the other day (www.soyoushoes.co.uk). I suggest you check it out as there are some really great styles and brands on offer for good prices.

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My shoe of the week are Babycham Scorpio Glitter Bow Stiletto Heel Platform

If Dorothy was a Rock Chick then these would be her glittery shoes back home.

Featuring over 3 inches worth of heel and a platform front these shoes are not for the faint hearted.  They zip up on the inside in a traditional shoe boot style and hit just on the ankle, giving full foot coverage. The outside has a glitter sheen that sparkles under the light and a cute bow on the outside edge with the Babycham Logo shown in a button to make up the middle. To give a finishing touch the platform front offers black and pink candy stripes making the beauties sugary sweet.

At £60 these are reasonably priced compared to similar products available and offer a lot for the money. However you do have to be extra careful when wearing these in case you topple over.

Overall I give 8/10 - gorgeous shoes to look at but maybe not the easiest to walk in.


Talk to you soon


GoodyTwoShoes x

Shoes of the Week 09/01/13 - Office Playdays

Hey guys

Happy New Year !

I hope you have had a good time off and enjoyed the holidays. I think this time of the year is always the busiest as everyone gets filled with the party spirit or, in my case, a cold.

2013 is looking to be a pretty busy year again for me as I complete my first year at Uni and aim to find a house in London. I move back to halls at the weekend which has meant more stress over packing (especially how to fit all my sales bargains in  !)  and completing work on time. I can't wait to get back to the big city and continue exploring as much as possible.

This holidays has seen me buy 5 (!) pairs of shoes which makes picking out shoes of the week even more difficult as post Christmas debt and pre student loan makes me lust more for shoes I can't afford. However , if you are a thrifty spender I have found a lovely everyday pair for a bargain payday price.

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My Shoes of the Week are Office PU Playdays .
 

 

 

These beautiful shoes are the only roses you need to buy this spring.

 

Featuring a beautifully embroidered rose upon the toe and made out of PU leather they are certain to provide both comfort and style. Fitting with the latest trend for florals and embroidery they are also an ideal pair for transitioning your A/W 2012 into S/S 2013.  

 

In classic black the "playdays" are almost certain to live up to their name because they will go with anything and I can guarantee you will never want to take them off.

 

These come in at £30 - perfect for a January treat.

 

 

I'll be back soon reviewing my top 5 Shoes of the Week from 2012.

 

 

GoodyTwoShoes x



Freshers Week 2012 A Tradition Too Far ?

Hi all

This post is on a slightly different tangent than previous posts but I feel that this topic is something that needs to be discussed.
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As every new university student finds out "Freshers" is what you may know as your first week away from home. Unfortunately, this week (sometimes weeks) is not a nice introduction to your fellow flatmates and course buddies over a cuppa and some biscuits, rather an intense binge drink and hungover cycle many find hard to break or say "No" to due to peer pressure.

Most university's will encourage people to go out to various events laid on and have a good time. However, not everyone will stick to their previous limits. For many students this is the first time they have truly been free from their parents and away from home for a long period of time.

Faced with a new environment , living with strangers and encouraged to socialise most new students hit freshers week hard. Seven days of partying all night and barely staying awake in the first few lectures ( if they make them) does allow you the opportunity to meet your new friends in an intoxicated state making bonding as a group easier. But at what costs ?

For some its just the constant hangover , for others it can be much more serious. In one case a freshers student at UCL collapsed and later died (Fresher student collapses ).

Some may believe that this culture would be easy to say 'No' to. As a girl who likes to go out but not drink I know from experience how pressurised you are and the expectations held by your fellow freshers.

My halls put on a night out to various clubs every night last week. Predrinking would begin at 8 and most nights go on til 10.30 when you would make your way to the club of choice , undoubtedly to buy another drink before stumbling back to halls around 3 - 4 am. Every night at dinner I would get asked the same set of questions - "Are you going out tonight?" "...No" "Oh." and then nine times out of ten the person would ignore me.

By the 4th night I eventually said yes and agreed to go out on the Friday to one of the biggest events here at LSE - "The Crush". By this point it seemed people had began to bond over tales of the night before or shared hangover woes. I felt left out and isolated in my choice to abstain and buckle down to work for a very intense degree.

So I got ready and headed to "pre-drink" in the common room which is where I hit my first problem. I had not gone out yet , I did not know anyone properly enough to go and sit with them and everyone was in groups. I ended up sitting on the couch with a drink , watching TV, hoping that someone I knew a bit better would appear. Luckily a guy from my floor came over and we chatted for a while before he had to go. Shortly after I found another girl who I knew from a brief encounter in the lift and we created our own group to head off.

The night itself was fun and action packed which definitely gave me something to talk about in the morning. I did meet some new people but I also ended up with a huge bump on the head , losing one of the people I went with, getting soaked on the way back and had to evacuate the building due to the fire alarm being set off.

Interestingly though, when I asked my peers if they would talk to their drunk friends when they were both sober the majority said no. This suggests that there is definitely other ways to introduce yourself and break down the barriers between new people.

When it comes to freshers it is a hard line to walk. Yes you want to celebrate getting to uni and surviving on your own but how much is too much?

My advice to freshers next year is be prepared to party but know your limits. Don't be afraid to say "No" some of the time and don't worry about meeting new people. Freshers is just one week out of many and there will be more opportunities along in the future.

As for me I have made more friends through mornings cooking breakfast in the shared kitchen, saying hello to other people on my course and knocking on doors on my corridor. I still talk quite frequently to the people I went out with but some will be better as drinking buddies than study groupies.



Other interesting articles relating to freshers :

http://london.tab.co.uk/2012/09/28/there-was-pigs-blood-everywhere/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9456328/Cambridge-students-warned-they-could-be-attacked-if-they-wear-academic-gowns.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/09/18/freshers-week-2012-facebook-friendly-students-fraud_n_1892667.html

http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2012-10-06/video-warning-on-binge-drinking/




GoodyTwoShoes x

Shoes of the Week - 04/10/12 Kurt Geiger Sale "Pickle"

Evening all,

I'm sorry this post is a couple of days late but between moving to London , freshers week and no Internet access for the last 3 days due to problems in the halls I've not really had much time to think.

However I do have this post and another lined up for the next couple of days so I can hopefully get back on track and get back into my routine.

One thing I have found out about living in London - it's not the cost that makes it expensive, it's the amount of temptation around. A good example of this are the shoes selected for this post.

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My shoes of the week are the Kurt Geiger "Pickle" studded sandals

Luckily for me the LSE is about 5 minutes walk from Covent Garden. After a few bits to do this morning I had the afternoon free so thought I would take a walk over. The weather down here is dry but getting colder and tourist season is letting up before Christmas making the overall walk quite pleasant.

Unintentionally, my first stop ended up being Kurt Geiger. They had a sale sign in the window and the latest collection at the front of the store making it impossible for me not to have a look.  I have always loved the KG brand but due to pricing being way out of my league I constantly check whats on sale in every store I pass.

The Covent Garden shop had a wide range of designs in the sale but most pairs were in limited sizes. I spotted the above pair because of the stud detail and because they looked quite big (therefore might fit).

I was in luck ! the last pair were a EU 41 or a UK 8.

Needless to say they were quickly tried on and walked around the shop.

They feel rather comfortable to walk in both with and without socks on (I doubt I will ever wear these with socks) and the design doesn't rub against my toes or ankle. The low to mid heel (7cm) also gives great comfort making them feel easy to wear without having to worry about falling off or out of them. They also have real leather uppers which will mold to your feet after a couple of wears.

The design of the shoe itself isn't one I would normally go for because I feel my feet look strange in sandals and I associate them with older ladies but these actually looked really stylish on.

The best part was the price. On the website these are listed at a RRP of £95 reduced to £29 but in store they were knocked down a further £4 making them just £25.

They are now quite happy as part of my ever growing shoe collection and I look forward to wearing them out and about London.

Overall - an 8/10. Not the most desirable shoes but practical, durable and easy to mix and match with my wardrobe.

For those who have yet to visit Covent Garden I do recommend going as it's full of great brand name and specialist shops/stalls.

Speak soon

GoodyTwoShoes x