Up until 2009, I can safely say I had never touched a pair of hold ups. Oh the shame. Tights were the hosiery of choice for my pins.

But after sitting at my desk all day I suddenly felt a stomach cramp coming on. I roll down the tops of my tights you see as I’m not a fan of the boob shelf look.

The naughty tights that I trusted for so long has begun to hurt me…that was it, i had to find an alternative. Why should anyone tolerate discomfort?

 The problem was I didn’t know the difference between hold ups and stockings. I thought they were synonyms! So, I strutted to Marks & Spencers ready to grill the stern woman in the womenswear department. Only problem was that I chickened out and just asked where the stockings were. She replied: “Stockings? Are they still in fashion? We haven’t stocked them in years!”

I left feeling slightly confused. After all, didn’t all ladies ready for a night of seduction wear stockings? How could Marks, hosiery shop of choice, not stock these sexy items? Time for an internet search….

It should have been obvious. Doh! Hold ups, stay up by themselves. Stockings, however, require a garter belt. I was enlightened!

I discovered that hold ups can be bought anywhere but that it’s trickier to find stockings…so where did I go? Ann Summers of course. Job done. Got all gartered up and ready to go.

And it’s pure pleasure. Feel more ladylike at once. Oh and you don’t get the stomach cramps which is ALWAYS a plus!

Here’s a little clip I discovered on how to wear tights with style….

When I got mine, say back in February, I was one step ahead of the fashion pack.

Now I am wishing I had thought of another summer sandal.

So what do I do? Go and buy another pair of course. All silver and studded. They are scrumptious.

Luscious silver sandals

But I always fall into this trap. I simply love embellishments; I go weak at the knees and run to the till, pay up and pop on.

The inevitable happens. A bead falls off. Part of me dies inside. I have an OCD thing with shoes you see. How can I wear a shoe when I know a part, albeit miniscule, is missing?

Arghhhhhhhhhhh.

I consider taking the shoes back and getting another pair but the same WILL happen.

Instead, like the obsessed person I am, I stay in on a Saturday afternoon sewing the beads back on my sandal ONE by ONE.

Does this make me sad? VERY. Am I happy? YES.

I went for a walk in Knoll Park yesterday, and wore them and guess what ? EVERY bead stayed on! Woooooooooooo.

I think to myself…I must learn from this experience. DO NOT buy anything with pretty beading on it – it WILL cause you angst.

And I’ve just bought a gorgeous beaded bag from Accessorize. Whoops.

Sorry about the lack of blog action, got delayed by some intense journalism assessments and BBC work placement (which is ridiculously cool).

But that does not mean that I have kept my beady eye off the fashion stakes. OH NO…

Now I know this story is just over a week old but i have to mention it, it makes me laugh:

“TROUSERGATE: FASHION´S MOST ACIDIC ROW IN 15 YEARS”

Even the headline is overly dramatic!!

WHAT HAPPENED?

Well…Giorgio Armani accused Dolce and Gabbana of copying him at Milan Fashion Week.

You would have thought these two were grown up enough not to squabble. Oh no!

The row apparently started when D&G were showing off their new quilted silk trousers (yes you did read that right).

Armani, the little scamp, then kicked off as he brought out trousers with the same design. SHOCK HORROR.

D&G (not sure whether it was D or G or both here) then said that they would never have copied Armani´because he has nothing to teach them´.

How catty. It makes me giggle.

Armani is then reported to have said “now they copy, later they learn”.

In my head, he is jumping up with wild hand movements saying this in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice. I do realise that this is extremely unlikely.

But wait, I´m not done…D&G said the following about Armani:

“He has never been a source of inspiration for us and we stopped seeing his shows years ago.” OUCH.

The world of men´s fashion is highly amusing!

P.sssssss. i saw the D&G model David Gandy sitting opposite me on a completely empty tube train just before xmas. That really is absolutely fabulous!In case you don´t know who he is…here is a little video…

sale

I admit it. These sales are killing me.

I have no money apres christmas and there are such great sales this year…they are taunting me.

Take this grey high waisted pencil skirt from ASOS.com. It’s is divine. It’s now ridiculously cheap and I can’t buy it. Can you?

Other favourite sale websites of mine are:

French Connection

All Saints

Miss Selfridge

Pre-Christmas…

I decided to treat myself.

French Connection have a college style black cardigan. It goes with EVERYTHING.

I found it on sale. 30% off. Result.

But that is as far as it goes for me – go shop for my sake and enjoy the sales!!!!

Pyrenees

Slope Fashion

When people think of Barcelona, they think chic, colourful fashion.

And you wouldn’t be disappointed. The Pyrenees are choc a block full of cool spaniards donning a myriad of colours.

Rule of thumb: The more colourful the better. In fact, garish is a skier’s dream!!

SKI FASHION:

Flourescent pink trousers

All in one white suit covered in multicoloured swirls

Oh and my favourite – A zebra print ski jacket. Divine.

Don’t get me started on the headscarves. They range from the cool to the totally bizarre.

But that’s the point. Anything goes.

It seems the slopes let you free your inhibitions. Clothes wise that is!

However, comfort also matters a great deal. Let me tell you…those ski boots are not comfy. After doing my first run each day, I felt like dying from crippling cramp from doing them up too tight!

But when you get into the swing of things ( and loosen your boots) there is nothing like it. Plus a good pair of apres ski boots will always help!

Helmet wise – you don’t have to, but you should. Better safe than sorry eh?! My helmet is a gorgeous sleek black and gold, with faint fleur de lis panels on each side. When head protection looks that good, you don’t mind!

So if you are thinking of hitting the slopes anytime soon and think you can just chill out in sports gear, you are wrong!

Clothes have never been more important. It’s just another catwalk but you are on a pair of skis!

But why o why do I have them? Well..

MY VERY OWN SHOE EMERGENCY

I was about to go out to a birthday party of a friend of mine.

We were going to Hoxton, I love the area. But since no tube station is that close…I knew that I would be walking.

My stiletto black shoe boots needed to be re-healed. What does a London woman do?! Ah yes..there is a cobblers just next to Topshop Oxford Circus.

BRILLIANT NEWS.

So there I am. Waiting. £5, absolutely fine. Then BHAM. “er miss, I dont know whether you’ve realised..but the heel on one of the shoes is a bit loose and I wouldn’t want you to go out and then have the heel break and you break your neck”.

ME NEITHER!!

Popped into Topshop as you do and scoured the store for some funky replacements. Tried on variety of strange footwear. Liked none.

Then saw the purple suede shoes. Kinda like shoe boots with a purple fabric bow and some chunky heels.

“Do you have a size 8?” I asked timidly. They never have that size. My fault for being so tall.

YES YES YES! They did! woooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Fitted like a glove, super comfy, fit on the foot.

I fell in love.

Am still in love.

Lovely shoes.

P.S. according to this purple suede shoes are for men too.

My anonymity essay has to be handed in today and Public Admin work tomorrow so fashion news had to be put on hold. But no more. It’s Christmas time, lets indulge ourselves in fashion.

HEADLINE NEWS

- 50% off Office shoes- so get down there!

 - ASOS and Miss Selfridge are doing the most incredible online sales, you need to see them. FREE delivery!

UPDATE

The House of Commons reporting day was amazing. Absolutely loved it. Took an amazing photo within the grounds of Big Ben, the Millennium Wheel and their Xmas tree. Will upload it asap.

Found an ITV crew doing live reporting from there and chatted to the crew. Really lovely. Correspondant- very smartly dressed, however, his make up was far too thick.

Perhaps should reconsider the white trenchcoat next time. Was unecessarily cold at times. Shivering in lobby, goose pumps in conference room, you get the idea.

PARTY

Was my best friend’s (of Barry M Fame-she met him actually!) birthday party on Saturday. Had a good time. Dressed in purple concession dress from Topshop. Very vintage and ‘romantic’. I loved it. Early Christmas present from my mum in fact. Wore yummy purple suede shoes. But i’ll tell you all about them in my next post…Bet you can’t wait.

Actually, don’t bother because you would never guess it in a million trillion years.

I’m going to the House of Commons (in London for those of you who are not familiar with the place!)

No, I haven’t suddenly become an MP-I am reporting from there.

Is this good or does this look better?

When I told my mum last night (rather excitedly I must admit) that I was going, she responded with a kind smile and urged me to dress warmly and comfortably.

Oh NO! I had been so looking forward to going that I hadn’t thought of the clothes dilemma I had yet to face.

First, it might be helpful to tell you what story I am going to cover-TRADE UNION JUSTICE WEEK.

Essentially, this week has been organised by unions across the justice sector, to campaign for better pay and more resources for the justice system, including prision officers, probation staff, police officers and staff. Phew!

But today the trade unions members are aiming to have a major lobby of parliament.

What on earth do campaigners wear because I really don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb. How bad would it be if everyone was in baggy jumpers, cords and walking boots and I was in shirt, suit trousers, shoe boots and a patent bag. Awful.

That’s leaving out the added complication of the House of Commons. I take it campaigners need to look smart too. But is campaigner smart the same as journalist smart.

Arghhhhhh. But am I getting protester and campaigner confused?! And why is there no online guidance for this issue?!

I’ll have to let you know what I figure out and what exactly is a campaigner’s uniform. Maybe I will have to be the only online guidance! Oh dear….

Here in the UK, the weather is changeable and I pretty much like it that way.

But for some reason, this November and December, we have been landed with an arctic spell that goes on and on and on and you get the idea…

UK snowy day

This has caused havoc with my wardrobe. YES, HAVOC. What do you wear when everyday is a bit colder than the one before? More warm stuff?

Erm no, because you have already been wearing the warm stuff and have got nothing left.

I am constantly looking the same and this gets on my nerves. I NEED SOME VARIETY.

This is how exciting it gets:

• Monday: blue jeans, black leather boots
• Tuesday: black jeans, black leather boots
• Wednesday: white jeans, black leather boots
• Thursday: oh for god’s sake, i’m going to wear a dress. Open front door, arghhhhhhhhh it’s freezing. TAKE.DRESS.OFF
• Friday: 2 pairs of leggings and a dress? Nope. Even colder. Result- blue jeans and black leather boots.

OH JOY

I am dying to wear a dress and a shoes not boots.

But with reports of a white christmas around the corner and odds being slashed, I’ll be living in my jeans and boots for a long time to come.

I was really looking foward to it and it didn’t disappoint!

CHANGELING with Angelina Jolie and Clint Eastwood, tells the harrowing story of a mother whose son is snatched from her home whilst she is at work.

Ms Collins (Jolie) tells the police and faces an anxious wait until the cops tell her they have found her son.

But the boy they present her with is not her son. Whilst she protests, she is persuaded by the police captain in charge that she is confused.

Further confusing matters is the boy who calls her ‘mummy’.

Collins continues to fight the authorities, claiming that whilst they insist that this is her son they are wasting valuable time not finding her own flesh and blood.

The captain loses patience. Unwilling to see embarassment brought upon his police force, he chucks her into an asylum.

I don’t want to spoil it, so I will say no more. But I highly recommend it. ESPECIALLY as it is based on a true story connected to the Wineville Chicken Coup Murders.

20′s fashion

The film was beautifully shot and really brought home the feeling of living in 1920′s America.

As if that isn’t enough, two very old American women were going ‘I remember that’ the whole way through. (Rather loudly I might add. Every few minutes a ‘ssssshhhhh’ was heard.)

Jolie looked beautiful but painfully thin (was this around the time her mother passed away?)

Twenties fashion was so elegant and flowed over the body rather than clinging hear and there. Glamour is the buzzword.

Angelina Jolie Twenties Fashion

The hats were incredibly simple yet stylish and the coat and gloves looked inexplicably chic.

If only that era of clothes could come back in (bar flapper dresses which have already made their comeback!)

However, whilst I was wishing I could have lived in the 1920′s, I began to think…

It would mean going back to the society that allowed the dreadful Collins tale to take place. A time when women were considered to be little more than emotional baby making machines.

So next time I wish upon an era, i’ll go down to that vintage shop and thank my lucky stars I dont have to in it.