AYD Hiatus

You have probably noticed a drop off in posts over the past three months.  This is because I (Ria) have started a new job, which I love dearly, but which means I don't have much time for this here blog anymore.  Therefore, rather than throw out the occasional post, I've decided to put AYD on indefinite hiatus.  I'm not saying this will be the end forever, and I hope that it's not, but it's the only solution for now.

It's been very difficult to make this decision, and I want to thank all of you for sticking with it and for giving AYD so much support.  I also want to thank Roisin and Nom especially, for being wonderful co-writers and all round Good Eggs.

Au revoir!

Ria x

Cool or Cobblers? Nikko by J.D. Fisk

In this week's Cool or Cobblers, we'll be discussing the Nikko. 

Nikko is brought to us by Dolce Vita's menswear brand J.D. Fisk. A pair of these babies costs $169 - that's £106.93 to you and me at the current exchange rate. I think they're deliciously stylish. The cobblers aspect is that they're not available in the UK yet, but should you disagree, you're welcome to share your opinion with us in the poll below...

Cool or Cobblers! Clementine from Kurt Geiger

Hallo, my name is Mistress Naomi. I am here to punish you because you are nothing but a worthless worm, a disgusting dog whose only purpose in life is to LICK MY STILETTOS!

These Clementine stilettos by Kurt Geiger are basically bondage. Just look at them! Observe that dangerously shiny, hostile, black patent leather. That miniscule heel, skinny as a Vogue cigarette. The sharply triangular toe waiting for your poor, soon to be excruciatingly sore feet. Vamp central baby, vamp central.

These shoes holler high maintenance. They postulate power, in no uncertain terms. They say, quite simply, "Don't mess with me baby, because I can kill you in less than seventeen seconds in twelve different ways. And I will."

The price you'll pay for such a statement, is £220. That's Kurt Geiger for you. You aren't buying shoes, you're buying into an idea. Put these shoes on your feet and you'll become the kind of person who gets people doing exactly what they want, immediately. This will probably be due to the fact that you've become a total bitch because your feet are killing you, but who cares, you'll look amazing.

So what's the verdict?

Cool or Cobblers? Lucas Derby Oxfords from Mr KG

Bonjour babies, how are all? Recently it's been brought to our attention that there are those amongst you, dear readers, who, anatomically speaking, could be classed as [Samuel Beckett length dramatic pause] of the male persuasion. That's right, you guessed it, BOYS.

Now, who knew that we'd attract such attention (aside from the fact that we're all ridiculously fit and witty, OBV)? We write about dresses and bags and things! We're delighted by your presence and welcome you with open arms. We won't name names, but we would like to invite you to join in with our games! So, in the spirit of equality and like, anti-sexism and shiz, this week's Cool or Cobblers features shoes for chaps. Ladies and gents, I present to you...Lucas.

Lucas comes from the Mr KG range. He's a suede Derby Oxford-style shoe available for sixty of your English pounds in tan (pictured), navy, brown or grey (I especially like grey and navy myself, but I'm not supposed to sway your opinions so pretend you never read this). There's some interesting detailing on the soles which might influence your opinions either way, as evidenced below.

So, there you have it. Lucas by Mr KG. Ladies and Gentleman, kindly place your votes in the box below. Danke je!

Cool or Cobblers? Lucas Derby Oxfords from Mr KG
	Cool!
	Cobblers!
pollcode.com free polls

about your dress Christmas club: Paper Angels from Very Nice Things

These sweet packs of Paper Angels from Very Nice Things are quite simply, very nice indeed.

I think they'd look pretty as place settings at a Christmas table, on the tree, or just scattered about the house randomly spreading festive cheer about them in a tiny, angelic fashion.

They cost £10 for a packet of 7, and look, they come flat-packed, so you could either spend a happy afternoon making them all up for yourself or send them as little postcards to your friends! You could be the coolest of your friends with unusual Christmas cards AND spread crafty, festive cheer! Win.

As Very Nice Things is run by a Very Nice Person, aka Emma Blackman, AYD blog readers get a special discount of  15% until the end of November when you enter the code AYD15 at checkout. Huzzah!

Cool or Cobblers? Herman the German from Irregular Choice

Irregular Choice is one of those brands that really makes me stop and think. Sometimes I might be thinking 'SWEET LORD ABOVE, DID SOMEONE TAKE TOO MUCH ACID AND THROW UP ON A DESIGN BOARD?', sometimes it's just 'Wow, those are really awesome. But are they too awesome to be considered acceptable in public?', sometimes it's 'Oh my goodness, they would look ridonkulous on anyone who wasn't aged 15 and going through some sort of awkward Japanese Lolita phase' and finally, sometimes it's just 'Those look terrifically uncomfortable.'

You see, I have a pair of ICs in green suede with jewelled frogs on them, which I purchased at Uni when I really didn't have enough money to be purchasing a pair of shoes which wouldn't look out of place in a fairytale and cost more than I was meant to spend on food in a fortnight. And let me assure you, they are cripplingly uncomfortable. But they look so damn pretty, sometimes when I am alone, I just put them on in my bedroom and stare at my feet.

Anyway. For today's Cool or Cobblers, I'm throwing Irregular Choice out there for you to destroy or deify.

Meet Herman. Herman the German.

I know what you're thinking: 'Nom, with your dang leopard print fetish, get over it, you're such a wannabe Dorian from Birds of a Feather.' but look. Hermy has other qualities that should not be ignored. Take for example his heel. How jaunty!?

And I do love a dear little bow. It's so sweet, so coquettish in a shoe. I'm sure Marie Antoinette would approve. I mean I know, she was like, thirteen, but whatevs, haven't you seen the film with Kirsten Dunst? She had pugs man. She had style. Oodles of it.

A pair of Herman the German shoes will cost you £99. That's just £1 off a full pony guv'nor. What do you think? Worth it? Cool or Cobblers?

Cool or Cobblers? Herman the German from Irregular Choice
	Cool!
	Cobblers!
pollcode.com free polls

Nomday! about your necklace: Lego necklaces from Kookiemonkey

I love Lego. I think I inherited this from my mother, Rosebud, who used to get us big Lego sets for Christmas, but wouldn't allow us to play with them until she had built them first. Now my siblings and I have mainly fled the nest, she has an entire room set aside for Lego. Sometimes when I come home I find her sitting in said room, playing building the sets on the floor. She has ALL the Harry Potter ones.

Kookiemonkey on Folksy has made a set of 18 inch necklaces featuring Lego bricks for the bargain price of £10. Perfect little gift for the geek in your life.

I like this little Taxi  necklace, which is made with a vintage Lego brick:

This Fangs necklace has got me racking my brains trying to remember what set it came from originally:

And this vintage i-mac vs Pc necklace reminds me of the old Acorn PC we used to play on in Year 5 and 6 in primary school. There was this game with a turtle, I think it was called Logic or something and it came on floppy disk.