Apologies once again for my appalling lack of blogging. Hopefully slightly more regular posting will resume after my exams finish in two weeks time.
Anyway, as promised some time ago, this post is dedicated to my completed prom suit. I stuck to the Topman suit I bought online, however I must say I was rather disappointed by the trousers, whose darker shade of cream contrasted terribly with the lighter coloured blazer. In fact, though the trousers are very unique and elegantly styled in their own right, they go with very few blazers, I found to my cost, as I tried them with every tweed blazer I had at my disposal. Finding a shirt to go with them was also very challenging; in the end I had to resort to simple blacks and greys.
Having decided to ignore the trousers, I was left with something of a problem: what to wear with a patterned blazer designed to go with matching trousers? Perhaps black was the boring option, but in my desperation, it seemed like the option with the lowest risk of prom-night-embarrassment. To liven things up, I took a black shirt and glued diamantes all the way down the centre. You can't see it in these pictures, but I also stuck diamantes around the cuffs and applied a line of studded diamantes across the seam on the back which stretches from shoulder to shoulder.
The party piece of my outfit is the diamante bow tie. It may have taken hours of painstaking labour to apply the 3mm diamantes to the black backing, but the rewards were immensely satisfying - I relished each compliment all the more knowing that I had made the bow tie myself. Unfortunately I cannot take credit for the manufacture of my two-tone shoes, but they're such classic shoes that they've garnered almost celebrity-like status at my school. Would definitely recommend them to anyone seeking to stick out in a formal environment. They're also great for disguising an inability to dance!
Just to remind you, here's a picture of the suit from the Topman website
and here's me in it (looking a little uncomfortable)
You can't buy this bow tie anywhere, but contact me and I will happily make one for you (for a fee, of course!)
(diamante earring, on sale at Topman for 90p)
To those seeking to emulate my hair-do, a ton of hairspray is a firm prerequisite
My wing-ring from Camden
My babies.
A slightly more sassy pose!
My year 13 leavers dinner dance (or 'prom' as everyone seems to call it) may not be until May, but, as the saying goes: the early bird catches the worm (or, in this case: the best prom suit). Prom is one of those occasions where it's of the utmost importance to get the right outfit. It's important also, to remember that a prom suit is not just for prom- true, it may only be worn on prom night, but the photos will linger for the rest of your life; particularly if you end up being a celebrity and journalists are actually paid to scour year books and school photo albums to find the most embarrassing pictures of you.
A bad prom outfit can scar you for life. In 20 years time you could go to a school reunion, and the only thing your ex-classmates will remember you for is that awful neon pink tie you wore to prom, or the shocking yellow shirt poking out from underneath your grey pinstripe blazer, or, if you're a girl, the daring monochrome dress that just stuck out a bit too much. I certainly regret the boring dark suit I wore to my year 11 prom, so I'm keen not to waste this opportunity to redeem myself. A straightforward black tux would be far too predictable. A white tux with shiny black lapels would at least stand out from the crowd a little more, but it's still a bit too wedding-meets-casino for my taste.
As much as I'd love to turn to top-end designer labels like McQueen or Prada, my budget sadly limits me to the high street. I can't deny that I was feeling somewhat optimistic when I began my quest- I went into Topman's flagship store in Oxford Street just before Christmas, and was very pleasantly surprised to find some lovely tweed jackets, monochrome blazers and brightly coloured two piece suits. Hence I was disappointed to find that, by the time I thought to look online, most of the suits I liked the look of had already sold out in my size in the Sales. Fortunately, however, my disappointment did not last when I browsed quickly over Topman's new range.
It really is a fantastic collection of very on-trend garments, but what really stood out to me was this blazer with matching chinos. What really drew me to it is that it's full of surprises. When I first saw it I thought 'ooh, that's a pretty floral pattern!' Then I thought it was paisley. Then, when I looked even closer, I realised it's more like a sort of graphic print. Then I realised there were subtle differences between the blazer and chinos: the first being the fact that they're actually different colours (maybe this was actually a fairly obvious difference, but it was only a small photo!), the second being that the pattern on the chinos looks slightly more condensed.
My friends recommended wearing black trousers with the suit, but I think wearing double pattern is a little more risque. I might make a few small changes- some skull buttons wouldn't go amiss in place of boring black, and maybe I could add some plain lapels, just to highlight the edge of the blazer. Of course, these are just ideas- the combo is still fantastic just as it is on the Topman website. In terms of what to wear with it, I'd have to try the suit on first, but I'm sure anything plain and dark (maybe even with a contrast collar) would do the job nicely. Add a few bracelets, a fancy homemade tie and some dark brown Chelsea boots, and my prom suit is complete! I'll be sure to post some pics when I get it!
(blazer- £90, Topman)
(chinos- £44, Topman)
(this is the contrast collar I was talking about)
(shirt- £28, Topman)
(Chelsea boots- £22.99, Shuperb)
In all honesty, I was, at first, a little disappointed with the River Island Winter sale. On Boxing Day, I devoted about an hour to trawling through the websites of the staple high street retailers (Topman, Ark, H&M- you know the ones I mean), searching out the best buys and bargains. My disappointment, I must admit, was by no means limited to River Island. Aside from a very reasonably priced pair of bright green coloured skinny jeans, the menswear sale at H&M was hugely inferior to its female counterpart. The only fruit yielded from my Topman search was a pair of white tees for £12- which I only bought because I had some dye to use up. But River Island topped the lot- I couldn't find a single thing I wanted enough to buy when I had my first glance through their online sale. After the third page I gave up and resorted to looking through designer outlets, in the vain hope of finding a McQueen skull scarf for £10. Perhaps my thinking was a little to wishful. No; it definitely was.
Fortunately though, due to a past purchase, I receive regular e-mails from River Island. Usually, my enthusiasm for a company fades almost as soon as I find out the item I ordered has been sent- my interest is then transferred to the Royal Mail. Then, when the item arrives safely, I move on the the next craze, and I soon begin to regret my subscription to regular notifications from the company which, as I've explained, I have lost all interest in. But now my attitudes have changed.
As I was saying, I received this e-mail from RI telling me that the sale contained items which 'now had up to 70% off!' Being as financially apt as I am, I thought 'Ah fantastic!' and decided, in my bargain-finding wisdom, that the sale deserved a re-analysis- failing to realise that such an offer usually means 'one item with 70% off, the rest with a few pence knocked off.' However, such was not the case with the River Island sale, which I am now ashamed to admit I skimmed through so thoughtlessly on my first inspection.
Perhaps my initial dissatisfaction can be explained by the fact that I only looked at the first three pages of about twelve... Never mind though, the point is that my second examination was both more thorough and much more enjoyable. Some of the bargains on offer in the sale really are spectacular. I only wish I could have saved a little more money from my immediate post Christmas spending spree. It may be only the dregs of the sale that are left over now, but if anything, this seems to have highlighted the true gems of the sales- the items which are a little more risque,lingering still, after the popular fads have been bought up by the average mindless consumer. Here are some of those:
A cute little studded bracelet for £3? Yes Please!
The 'Navajo blazer'. £25 down from £80 (!!!!)- speaks for itself really! Looks kind of fleecy, good for a smart winter look I'm sure!
This is like an evolved cross necklace- its a necklace made up of lots of little crosses! Looks kind of barbed wire-y from a distance. A must have at £3!
Camo was big in 2012, and the trend looks set to continue. And what better way to continue the trend with this camo print shirt with corduroy collar and elbows for only £15 (down from £40!)
Something about the brown straps with the African tribal-meets-aztec style print just makes this look lovely! Only £8 as well!
Navy brogues for £25. Timeless classics- great for any outfit that won't go with regular brown ones.
Purple denim shorts, cut high above the knee in keeping with the late 2012 trend. They look really authentic- like someone has taken a can of spray paint to some jeans then cropped them neatly around the thigh. Irresistible at £12!
