DIP DYE

I WANT I WANT I WANT I WANT I WANT I WANT

A bit late on this one I know, but I love this look. My hair is still growing out an unfortunate encounter I had with peroxide back in 2006. I say unfortunate but it was far from accidental- I wanted to look like Gwen Stefani. Suffice to say I didn't, but still insisted on bleaching the absolute crap out of my hair for 2 years. I really like the blonde tips look but I'd have to wait ages for my hair to grow out enough so am considering colours...but which to choose! At the moment I'm thinking green/purple. But I'm also cautious as the last time I dyed the ends of my hair (pink, in case you were wondering) I was 13 and also thought wearing fingerless gloves and Korn t-shirts  was a good idea.

Dificile.

x

FIRST TIMER

So Cheepfrills has finally got a press day under its belt. Claire's Accessories chose 50's chic salon 'The Powder Room' off Carnaby Street for the preview of their AW11 collection. Whilst working as a brand intern for Exposure PR I got pretty familiar with the Claire's collection and the new direction the brand is looking to take, so it was interesting to see what they've got in store for winter. I'll be the first to admit that, for me, Claire's was synonymous with neon friendship bracelets, emo inspired striped wrist cuffs and diamante overkill, yet their SS11 pieces are undeniably strong. Whilst at Exposure I had endless calls in for sunglasses, trilby hats and festival-chic jewellery, all of which Claire's was easily able to cater for. Particularly love their rose head garlands and rayban-esque sunglasses.

Anyway, on to AW11.

Nice little array of fur winter warmers, particularly like the scarf/hat hybrids.

Really like the Lennon sunglasses and the chain print scarf, and since I'm obsessed with animal jewellery at the moment wish I'd got a picture of the reindeer ring that went with the earrings above. Claire's have definitely got some strong pieces in the pipeline for AW11.

Free food aside, it was lovely to catch up with some of the Exposure team (shout out Nic and Josie!), and interesting to see my first press day. Next up- Hobbs!

x

THRIFT

Cheepfrills wouldn't be complete without paying homage to South East London's best kept secret, Deptford market. Aside from wholesale toiletries and suspect electrical goods, Deptford market also has an abundance of clothing stalls, selling everything from designer to second hand. The bric a brac section by the Albany theatre usually has a couple of good jumble stalls if you have the patience to rummage through various scattered piles, but the best stall by far has to be 'Just So', that resides near Deptford station. Most things are just £1, or 2-3 maximum, and there's always a gem to be found. Below are a few of my favourites-

I absolutely love this skirt- and just 1 pound! Probably still a bit cold to be wearing this on May London days but as soon as summer hits it'll be a mainstay of my wardrobe. Pretty versatile as it goes with flats but would definitely look best with some high clogs/gladiators.

The floral dress was originally a maxi, but I cut it- unfortunately rather unevenly. Really wish I'd bought a couple since they were only a pound each and I would've liked to cut one into a crop top. I bought this dress about 3 years ago and still wear it now, such an easy outfit. The tie top I bought a few weeks ago- again just a pound! Yup, definitely one of my favourite markets. Also worth stopping off at The Deptford Project train cafe too for cheap n' tasty food:

http://www.thedeptfordproject.com/template_permalink.asp?id=110

I quite enjoy my uncomfortable expression in these. I hate having my photo taken.

x

RUMMAGE

An uneventful and dreary Saturday not so long ago prompted Sophie and I to raid mother's old clothes- mum maintains she threw all her best pieces from the 60's/70's away, which breaks my heart looking at how special some of these are. See below:

SEQUINED MINIDRESS

Ma says she bought this before she went to university so some time around 1968. She must have been absolutely tiny as the collar on this almost chokes me, but it's so beautiful. The main body is made out of a thin orange/red crepe-like material with multicoloured sequins all over the bust. Can't wait for a 60's themed party I can wear this little gem to, even if it is too short and feels like it will rip every time I bend over.

LEATHER JUMPSUIT

I think Mum wore this around the 80's, complete with short spiky haircut and one dangly earring. It's quite big and unbearably hot, so not sure when I could ever wear this realistically, but I'm determined to at some point.

This black number is another mini dress Ma had when she was about 18. Again it's tiny, and the cut out holes on either side are lethal for showing off a few flab rolls when you sit down but I love it, especially the structured top, which isn't really visible.

Anyway! Enough narcissism for one day.

x

HAD TO BE DONE

ROYAL WEDDING '11

I think it's safe to say we all breathed a heavy sigh of fashion infused relief when Middleton stepped out in McQueen. Sarah Burton's appliqué lace creation nipped Kate in at all the right points, exaggerating her tiny waist and slender arms, and the silk tulle veil was just the right mixture of simplicity and elegance. Royalist I ain't, but I did enjoy the whole pomp and ceremony of it all- and there's something irresistibly quaint and British about street parties and bunting.

Girl done good.

My royal wedding, as most others I imagine, was spent getting drunk and eating.

What a spread.

x

Damn.

Sky Ferreira.

Can't say I rate her music all that much but I'm a little bit obsessed with her face. And hair. Have been trawling through lookbook.nu for some inspiration and these were a few I particularly liked.

Have only just noticed the Jeffrey Campbell theme.. how I yearn for a pair of these but just know that they would make me feel a) incredibly tall/self conscious b) be utterly hazardous.

In other news managed to snap up the perfect black jersey maxi in New Look for £4- result.

The blur is Sophie, fellow cheepfrills contributor and bee EFF EFF. Many more of this narcissistic webcam shoot to come.

Happy Sunday x

So it begins...

...as an English graduate with no discernible experience/evidence of interest in fashion a blog seemed like a good way to have something to talk about in interviews. And I still don't understand Twitter. I'm currently a brand intern at a PR company in London, hoping to eventually become an account executive of some sort. This blog will mainly consist of photographs I find beautiful/inspiring, style icons, cloves wot I want, and maybe even some of my own pictures.

Cheepfrills was an idea me and a couple of school friends had on livejournal when we were about 14, where we would list all the cheepfrills ('cheapthrills' was already taken) that made life worth living; i.e. the cold side of the pillow, finding money in an old purse, your alarm going off only to realise it's a Saturday.. etc, etc. So I decided to revive it, and since I love thrifting/charity shopping - literally cheap frills- it seemed appropriate.

So where to start? Well, having spent the past two weeks stuck working in an airless basement unable to enjoy London sunshine, summer and holidaying has been largely on my mind. Well-travelled I am not, but summertime London has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. SO- on that note- summertime wardrobe pieces I am currently coveting:

MAXI SKIRT:

This is one trend I have been staunchly against for years, always associating it with Coleen Rooney in a hot pink strappy number teamed with some sort of cropped denim jacket. However, a plain black jersey maxi skirt, teamed with a well worn pair of Vans originals/Converse/Creepers/wedge boots, a leather jacket, cropped tee and a messy bun= perfection. Credit where credit's due...no one rocks a maxi quite like the Olsens.
Colour is also good:

GLADIATOR/CLOG SANDALS:

Carvela, Carvela, Carvela. So many to choose from, all equally desirable and dangerous for my depleted wallet. Particularly love these 'Kabin' numbers, £85. And think they may even go with aforementioned skirt..so an investment really.

WEDGE BOOTS:

Ok, not particularly summery, but I've been trying to find the perfect wedge boots for some time. Quite like these from KG, although theres something about the wedge I find slightly..orthopedic? That and the £190 price tag is enough to make me continue to look elsewhere.. still, worth a mention.

This is proving time consuming so instead I'll just make a collage:

I realise the random girl in the corner sort of ruins it but she has my dream hair. I love the two tone dark roots/blonde tips look that's proving popular at the moment. And I wouldn't mind her face either to be honest.

That's all folks

x