about your dress: Louche Flying Ducks jumper dress at Joy

Firstly, I apologise for the quietness this week.  Having moved to London on Sunday, the Virgin Media man came round on Monday when I was at work to set everything up, and everything's working brilliantly... except my laptop.  I have therefore commandeered the boyfriend's Mac for this post, and will probably have to do so until I find a way to get online (not happy - this thing has a very silly keyboard).

Enough of the strife - this Flying Ducks jumper dress has cheered me immensely!

It's an affordable £39 from Joy, and is definitely the best jumper dress with flying ducks on I've seen this week, possibly even this month.  Now that I walk past Joy's Islington branch every day on my way to work, I predict it'll be only a matter of time before this little number wings* its way into my wardrobe.

*It's funny, because ducks have wings.

about your dress: Darling Elsa tunic at Aspire Style

When this post is published, I will no longer be an employee of Aspire Style, something I imagine I am still pretty sad about (I am writing this the night before my last day to make sure there's a posting on Monday - today - as I shall probably be busy scolding my boyfriend for unpacking the wrong way whilst I've been hard at work at my new job) - but every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case the lining is that I now get to write about my former place of employment!  I never really did so before because I didn't want to seem biased in any way, but they are a truly fantastic company and deserve to be acknowledged.

One of the last purchases I made at Aspire was the Elsa tunic by Darling, who specialise in beautiful vintage-inspired dresses, tunics, cardigans and coats.

Elsa is £49, which is on the cheap side for Darling, and I love the pretty neck tie and black lace print.  I shall be very proud to wear this and remember my time at Aspire Style, and will relish telling people where it's from.  Even if they don't ask.

about your dress: chiffon dress from H&M

I wanted to save my first H&M post until it had been officially launched, even though as a mailing list subscriber I've been able to access it since last week (along with millions of other people; I've no delusions of grandeur).  Having now trawled the whole website I have decided that the prettiest of all the pretty available is this chiffon dress:

I love the colour and the contrasting black detail, and I'm especially a fan of the fact it's a mere £24.99. It's just occurred to me that I've always found H&M provide good value without compromising on quality; I can't actually recall having to ever return anything after getting it home and discovering it was faulty.  Perhaps I'm just lucky, but they have had plenty of my pounds over the years.

Overall verdict of H&M online: tries hard, but could be much better.  They win massive blogger brownie points for including an 'add to blog' button on the item pages.  Sure, it's no easier than directly linking to the page like I normally do, but you can't do that on the H&M website and it's nice of them to help bloggers out (even if I did just use it to nick the html link for this particular dress).

However, allowing me to 'buy now, pay later' is nothing short of DANGEROUS. I also don't like having products suggested to me when I'm going to the checkout (because I'm too poor and it's unfair of them to distract me like that) and they lose points for not having a 'view all' button - do they not know I'm far too busy and important to spend my life clicking 'next'?  Please, someone, forward them that memo.  I've got other things to do, obviously.

about your bags: colourful bags from A|Wear

Right now I'm feeling like Natalie Imbruglia circa 1997 (y'know, TORN) (although technically that song was written by a band called Ednaswap) - on one hand, there's the relative safety of this Two Tone Quilted bag (£25)...

...But on the other, there's this Colour Block Satchel, screaming "Look at me!  I'm redder than that quilted pansy!  And everyone knows red is an EXCITING colour!  I'm EXCITING!  And I'm £5 cheaper!"

Both bags are available now from A|Wear, but as well as being featured in the shop's magazine, the satchel's also been featured in 'New' magazine.  I assume people who buy 'New' have much more money than sense, so you might want to hurry before they snap these babies up with all that cash of theirs.

about your shop: Remixed Vintage on Etsy

I am particularly pleased with this Etsy shop find, so I thought I'd save it for my 100th post... which is this one!  That's right, 100 posts of pretty, lovingly found and presented to the you via the medium of this blog by yours truly.

I had never heard of a train case until I was searching for something on Etsy and this beauty caught my eye:

I can't remember what I had been looking for; I became too distracted by this pretty box and the aim of my original search was forced out of my mind.  Upon clicking on it, I discovered it was a train case - apparently this is the technical term for that box my mother carried her make up in whenever we went on holiday as I was growing up.  Mother's was not as pretty as this one.  This one's called Claudette, and it's she's $70 from Etsy shop Remixed Vintage.

But the pretty didn't stop there!  I was very pleased to discover that shop owner Judy is a dab hand at breathing new life into sad old train cases by means of collage and decoupage.  Eliza (also $70) is another serious contender for my affections:

Or perhaps I shall sit back and allow Kelly ($70) and Sadie the hat box ($80) to fight for my love...

"Calm down, ladies!" I shall say to these beautiful pieces of upcycled luggage, "There's enough Ria to go around!"  - sadly the same cannot be said for Ria's money, which leaves me with a serious decision to make.  I think I'm going to need some space...

***

Thank you all for reading About Your Dress these past seven months.  Seeing the gradually ascending number of visits via the medium of Google Analytics (The Ultimate Blogging Spy Tool ®) has truly warmed my cockles.  Here's to another 100!


P.S. About Your Dress is now on Facebook - become a "fan" here and I'll put you on my Christmas card list (DISCLAIMER: I don't like Christmas and this list does not exist, but if I did and it did, you'd be so high up).


P.P.S. I LOVE YOU ALL!

about your poster: Alphabird Poster by Amy Ruppel on Etsy

I would love someone to buy me this Alphabird Poster by Etsy seller Amy Ruppel for my new house (days until the move: 6, boxes packed: 0), which combines my love for birds and letters to excellent effect:

It's $25, plus $7 postage as Amy is States-based.  If you're a fan of this birdy/wordy combo, do check out her other items for sale for everything from prints, to wax paintings, to these awesome $10 bingo cards featuring Ms Ruppel's home town of Portland:

I somehow doubt the Stratford on Avon version would be as much fun, what with the lack of Voodoo Donuts and Tiny Horses.

about your cardigan: Vila Vanilla Cali Knit Cardigan at Oliver Bonas

The icky, grey, wet September weather we've been experiencing this week has made me long for nothing more than a thick cardigan to snuggle up to, and this Vanilla Cali Knit Cardigan by Vila is a serious contender for the job.

It's available at Oliver Bonas and at £50, it's a little more than I'd pay for a standard cardi, but it does look like it's packing some serious warmth factor.  I wonder how many togs it is...

about your watch: Timex 80 range

I am currently coveting pretty much all of the Timex 80 watch range, an awesome combination of retro, colour and time-telling practicality.  With all the coloured styles coming in at under £50 and the metal versions under £60 (in case you fancy a bit of bling), they're nice and affordable too.  Maybe you could build up a collection so your watch never clashes with your outfit!

There's plenty of colours to pick from, but I think my favourite is the fairly masculine aqua and grey version (£49):

Even though the 80s style won't be to everyone's taste I think they're a fun way to add a bit of colour to your day, and will almost certainly make checking your watch and realising you're running late a little less annoying.  The range pictured above is the most comprehensive I could find, and is available here at End Clothing.

about your dress: 1950s lemon rose vintage dress at Love Miss Daisy

My favourite online vintage shop - Love Miss Daisy - has recently had a makeover, which included the wonderful 'display by size option' so you don't get disappointed when you see something wonderful before realising there's no way this garment will ever fit you.  EVER.  This stunning 1950s lemon rose dress is such an item - at size 8 it's laughably small for me, but I do hope someone I know will buy it and send me pictures.

It's sooooooooo very extremely pretty, and is only £45!  One of the things I love the most about Love Miss Daisy is the reasonable prices - they don't try and rip you off like so many vintage sellers have the tendency to do.  I beg you, if you purchase this wonderful dress, send About Your Dress a picture so I may gaze upon it forever (not in a creepy way).

about your shop: Zara

Zara coming online (FINALLY) is little short of dangerous - I was scared of the sophistication of it as a youth, when I wore nothing but baggy jeans on account of the fact I was really alternative and crazy cool, but as my taste in clothing has matured and grown, so has my appreciation of this store.  Sadly for my bank balance, I find their wares affordable and could easily spend my monthly salary in there in one hit (probably) on things like this Boho Flower Dress (£29.99):

Or this stylish and practical Bowling Clasp bag (£49.99):

Ooh, or this knitted Sailor's Coat at £59.99!  It's got piping on the cuffs, dontcha know:

My absolute favourite, however, is this immensely comfortable-looking Long Jacquard Jersey jumper (£29.99):

If anyone ruins it for me by saying it looks Christmassy, there'll be trouble.

The site seems to be having a few teething problems - certain categories produce an error message when clicked (perhaps because they are currently empty) - but hopefully this will be remedied over the coming weeks.  I had high hopes for this website, and I'm pleased with what they've done so far; H&M will have their work cut out if they want to beat Zara to the 'About Your Dress best new e-tailer of 2010' award!*

*This doesn't exist.  Largely because I hate the word* e-tailer.
**I use the word 'word' loosely.

about your shop: Skull and Cross Buns on Folksy

It's always nice to receive good post (as in post which isn't about money in any way, shape or form (unless it's a birthday card with money in)), and I'm still a fan of sending things by snail mail.  What better to jazz up your lovingly scribed letters than with a stamp?  Folksy shop Skull and Cross Buns is a fantastic online emporium specialising in hand carved rubber stamps in all kinds of fun shapes and sizes, and seller Emily Fox makes each one especially for every individual customer!  Here are some of my favourites...

If you're having a Hallowe'en party next month, this pair of mini pumpkin stamps (£4.50) would be an excellent way to decorate and personalise your invitations:

Fancy starting your own cupcake empire?  Why not prettify your business-related stationery with these yummy-looking cupcake stamps (£4), available in three designs:

This personalised teacher stamp with pencil and crayon would make a fantastic gift for any primary school educators you know, and at £12 I think it's good value for such a unique present:

Skull and Cross Buns wins extra points for catering to not one, but two of my weaknesses, with this pretty baby barn owl stamp (£3.50)...

...and - you guessed it - MOUSTACHE stamps!  Get this pair of dapper decorators for just £5.50:

According to the item descriptions, Skull and Cross Buns offer an 'angel' policy on their products, meaning that you're free to use your stamp for any crafting you do for profit - you could even open up your own Folksy store selling pretty hand stamped stationery!  To me, that kind of generosity makes this seller definitely worth supporting.  GO!  BUY!

about your coat: Hooded Contrast Swing Coat at Topshop

Oh September.  Regardless of the fact I've not been in school for 6 or 8 years (depending if you count sixth form as school), your arrival still makes me feel distinctly unsummery.  You signify the beginning of chilly Autumn, and the build up to that time of year I dread (begins with a C and rhymes with Bristmas) but you also bring with you an excuse to wear lovely snug clothes*, and for that I forgive you.  Especially if it means I can buy a new winter coat, and doubly especially if it means I can buy this Hooded Contrast Swing Coat from Toppers:

I know the colour might divide opinion, but I think there's something lovely and old-fashioned about it, and it would also look great with the satchel(s) I intend to buy before the year is out.  At £75, it's not too heftily priced either.

*This is assuming the weather which made me sweat like a nun in an adult shop today abates.

about your storage: Russian Dolls boxes at Bombay Duck

Every time I move house, I realised exactly how much Stuff I own.  I have no idea where this Stuff comes from, as I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to throwing things away, but it seems to accumulate none the less.  Perhaps it breeds when I'm not looking, or perhaps armies of Stuff conspire to rescue their fallen comrades from the bin bags into which they're discarded.  Regardless of how it maintains its existence, exist it does, so I might as well keep it in pretty boxes, like these Russian Dolls Gift Boxes from Bombay Duck:

Yes, they're technically gift boxes, but they're only £5.50, reduced from £12.50, and I think they'd be ideal for storing bits and bobs.  If you want something a bit bigger, for important letters and files and the like, you could upgrade to these Storage Boxes:

These are also reduced (to £12.50 from £29.50), so you're saving money as well as making mess look pretty!  I'm not usually the biggest fan of Matroyshka motifs, but these ones have managed to tickle my fancy with their pretty colours (and I think the low low prices might have helped).