OOTD: Knitted cape!

Hello everyone! I am sorry I haven't posted too much this past week or so, I had lots of posts planned but some things came up that I couldn't say no to. What were those things? Well, my country Ireland and its future. I'll talk more about that later!
Todays outfit wasn't too exciting. I miss my pretty sun dresses and favorite nude/light pink color palette already. I just don't "do" winter. I usually wear this cape with black leggings and a black shirt underneath but I felt that I needed a little splash of color today! SAD has definitely kicked in!






Knitted cape: Topshop *** Tights: Primark *** Necklace worn as a bracelet: Primark *** Butterfly hair clip: New Look


Anyone who knows me will know that I don't like politics and avoid getting involved with them. Lately however, I have changed my mind. Regardless of where you are in the world you have probably heard that Ireland took a "bailout" from the IMF for €85 billion ($112.61 billion) To keep it as simple as possible, most of the citizens didn't want our government to take it, our taoiseach/prime minister signed off the deal without even taking a vote in the Dáil, and a lot of citizens are very angry. Our taxes are being raised and minimum wage reduced by €1 per hour. I think its fair to say that middle and lower class citizens of our country are being forced to pay our banks debts. So I have been taking part in protests, not that its really making a huge difference but its still better than sitting around!
There was 2 protests during the weekend. The first was very small, about 100 people at peak time. The Taoiseach was scheduled to make a speech at a hotel (but later withdrew and sent someone else instead, who used a back entrance to avoid us!) I have a few pictures from that protest below. Even though it was -8C and snowing, people waited there for over 3 hours. The second protest was larger, over 100,000 people but not successful as the IMF deal was signed the next day.
There are a few upcoming protests on Wednesday, Saturday, and then Tuesday. I'm going to try attend at least one more. The IMF deal has been signed but we are hoping the opposition will condemn the upcoming budget. Phew!
Anyways here are a couple of pictures I took, just to note that although Sinn Fein made up the majority of protesters, I am not involved with their party!








The cheese sign was definitely my favorite, read this to understand why shes making a reference to cheese!
I have lots of blogs to catch up on tomorrow, I have missed reading them so much! I hope you all had a nice weekend.


PS. How lovely is all of this snow we are getting in Europe?! The view out of my window looks so much prettier now!

xoxo

OOTD: over the knee.

Dress: Dunnes *** Cardigan: Topshop *** Belt: Topshop *** Socks: Topshop *** Necklace: Primark


My dress was cheaper than my socks...crazy right?! The socks are from Topshop and came with the ridiculous price tag of €11 ($15). Usually I would not spend that kind of money on socks, I prefer the 3-for-€1.50 kind from Primark - BUT these are the perfect over the knee socks.
You would think shopping for socks is easy regardless of your size but I have learned that finding comfortable knee high or over-the-knee socks is quite a mission! Usually the band at the top of the socks is too tight and sticks into the fat on my legs, or they roll down every couple of seconds, sometimes both. The bad part was that the only color available was dark grey but I love 'em all the same.

Now i'm off to bed as I have to be up very early in the morning to try and snag some Glee tickets in the presale. It's going to be a Christmas gift to my sister but a little part of me is really excited too because I have a huge crush on Mark Salling. Swoon!

Whats on your Christmas wishlist this year?

xoxo

Forever 21 = Fail 21.

Forever 21 has finally arrived to the UK and Ireland! The first European store opened in Birmingham, UK on November 12 and the second store opened one day later in Dublin, Ireland.



As you guys know, I have been incredibly excited for Forever 21 to finally reach our shores. I even applied for a job there. Well, my Forever 21 "career" has come to an end. I'm 100% happy with my decision. I don't want this to become a "why you should avoid working for Forever 21" post, so I will just say that I was unhappy with many things as were at least 10 other employees I spoke to. Anyways, moving on.
The Dublin store which is located in the Jervis Shopping Centre is the European flagship store and approx 69,000 sq ft. It is spread out over 3 levels and stocks all of the Forever 21 brands (Kids, HT81, Forever 21 plus, etc)


(Forever 21 opening day - model Amber Le Bon and Do Won (Don) Chang, CEO open the Dublin store. Picture credit - Jervis)

The store is incredibly big, 3 floors stocked full of the latest Forever 21 fashions so you will find something to suit everyone.. except anyone who is over a size UK 12 or male.



The mens section is laughable, as is the "plus size" section. Given that the store is quite large I expected a decent Forever 21+ (previously Faith 21) section but instead we have a rather small range consisting of a few pairs of jeans and knit sweaters. Don't even get me started on the fact that the "plus sizes" begin at UK 12. I'm sorry but I do not think that someone who is a size 12 should be shopping in a plus sized section.
New Look recently opened their biggest store (in the world!) in the unit next to Forever 21 and I have to say that although it is half the size of Forever 21 (and incredibly cramped) I prefer it. They don't class anyone under a size 18 UK as plus sized and their huge Inspire collection for plus sized gals goes up to size 26!

If you live outside of Ireland or the UK then don't worry because they have also launched a European website! (www.forever21.eu)
The website has plenty to choose from but again the plus size section is boring. There is a total of 9 items, all jeans and knit sweaters. Can't big (European) girls be fashionable too?





Unlike the regular Forever 21 line, it seems like they have mostly switched the currency sign for the plus sized line. This love & lace tee will cost you £14.80 but buying it in the USA would cost you $14.80 - meaning it's almost $10 extra to buy in the UK! I understand there are import/vat costs but not enough to justify THAT much of an increase. This cable knit extended cardigan will cost £28.80 of your hard earned money, but would cost just $29.80 to buy it Stateside, which converts to $45.73 at todays exchange rate.

I am sure that they will still do well in the Irish market, where stores like Topshop and their ridiculous Euro exchange rate dominate the high street but overall I am not impressed with the Forever 21 store OR the European website. I will not be going out of my way to shop in store. I will still shop from F21 online, but from the USA web-store instead. Not only will it work out cheaper including taxes and shipping, I will also have a much wider and nicer selection of clothes to pick from.

ASOS Curve review - Ruched Sleeve Drapey Jacket

Hey readers!

A while back ASOS contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing a couple of pieces from their Curve line, so of course I jumped at the chance! I'm a massive fan of ASOS (check out my ASOS tag!) and I have been buying clothes from their website for many years.
As a size UK 16-18 I don't quite fall into the size bracket for ASOS Curve which starts at UK 20 but I have been curious about the line since it launched. I picked out 3 items that I would actually wear, I have quite a few pictures so I will make a new post for each item.




The first item I am reviewing is the ASOS CURVE Ruched Sleeve Drapey Jacket which retails at £75



Why I chose this item: I have quite a few blazers already but most are very basic and this one had a little oomph! to it. The asymmetrical hemline (dip, waterfall, whatever-you-want-to-call-it!) really made this jacket stand out for me. I have wanted a navy jacket/blazer for quite a while so it seemed perfect.




First thought when I received the jacket: WOW! - Followed by a "please let this fit me!".

Overall thoughts & how it fits: I ordered the jacket in a size UK 20, i'm size 16-18 on top so I had some worries about the fit initially. Once I tried on the jacket I was happy to discover it didn't look too obvious that it's a size too big on me! It doesn't button up the front which I think could be why the sizing wasn't too noticeable.
The jacket fits like a standard size 20 but you can tell ASOS modeled it on a real plus sized body. When I buy blazers in stores like New Look (their regular line), Topshop, etc. it feels like they just added a couple of inches of fabric instead of making it to fit a curvy body, ASOS definitely kept our lumps n' bumps in mind when making this jacket.



I have quite large upper arms and one problem I have with buying jackets is that the upper arm area can feel too tight - I am happy to report that I didn't have that problem with this jacket! There was extra arm space so for that reason I would say this jacket is definitely a true size 20 (they make it in smaller sizes for their regular line too - hurray!)
The jacket is made from a very high quality material and its fully lined inside. The sleeves have puffball detail which I really love. It has shoulder pads which I am not a fan of but then again I know a lot of girls love them so I will overlook that! I think the shape is very flattering to curvy bodies.




I have to say that when I first discovered this jacket on their website I thought "£75?! Really?!" but upon wearing the jacket and seeing the lovely fabric up close I think it is a bargain for that price. £75 is a lot of money (to me, at least!) but it can be worn in so many different ways and its a perfect basic yet incredibly chic piece to have in your closet!

Pros and Cons: Pros: Incredibly versatile - can be dressed up or down for most occasions. Cons: None! I absolutely love this item.


Have any of you girls ordered from the ASOS Curve collection? What do you think of it?

Please note that I was not paid for this review! I was sent the 3 pieces by ASOS. The dress i'm wearing under the blazer is also from ASOS curve, how pretty is the print?!



xoxo

OOTD: winter florals

Its winter and I am still rocking my floral print dresses! That said, I think this print is perfect for AW because of the darker colors. I swear I am not a crazy woman for going barelegged, most of my day was spent indoors! I have been doing lots of research and exchanging emails about...puppies! I really hope to buy one soon. My favorites are french bulldog, pugs, chihuahua and miniature jack russell. Can you tell i'm a fan of tiny dogs? Don't worry, I have no plans to carry it in my handbag.






Dress: Topshop *** Cardigan: Primark *** Shoes: Primark *** Accessories: Primark and Forever 21


I had my first day of work at Forever 21 last Wednesday. I woke up at 3am and it was 9pm when I finally made it home! Work was 9am-6.30pm but I had to travel to the city. The first day was just learning how to fold clothes "the Forever 21 way", learning the new names for things (eg. a cash register will be called the cash wrap), about the products we will be stocking, etc. I'm working every weekday next week from 6am-4pm. We get to purchase our uniforms on Thursday so i'm very much excited for that!
Sadly our employee discount is not going to change (10% off) and we have to wear head-to-toe F21 with no uniform allowance which i'm not too happy about. I love Forever 21 but I was really hoping for an extra discount for our uniform, oh well!
Our store will carry every brand (21men, kids, plus size, etc) I'm very excited to be a part of it. I can also tell you guys that the Forever 21 European website will be launching soon! Our store is opening on November 13 and the website will be launching on November 12.

I hope to get back to blogging more regularly very soon. I want to update at least once every 3 days, that's my goal anyways. Everything is very busy right now so please bare with me! It doesn't help that its dark by 4.30pm so that really limits when I can photograph my outfit. I have a few posts planned including a review of some great pieces ASOS sent me from their Curve line!

Hope you guys had a wonderful Halloween. Next stop..Christmas!


xoxo