Nomday! about your knitwear: gnome blue jasmine knits at Cath Kidston

I was a bit over Cath Kidston. !*Confessional moment*! I was starting to find some of the floral stuff tawdry and thoughtless; I was starting to get the impression that dear old Cath just spotted any old print with some foliage on it and thought RIGHT! Let's stick this on everything I can think of and make a shed-load of dosh!

Let's face it, a lot of the Cath Kidston merchandise sits smugly in the posh-upper-high-street-price bracket, reserved, in Nomworld anyway, for birthday presents for very special people. Unless there's a sale on. What? I'm from the North, I have no qualms about wanting good value for money. When I'm buying things for myself, I'm only prepared to pay over about £45 for something if it a. literally makes me ache with longing, b. squeal with excitement or c. makes me look really, really hot. This Cath Kidston gnome blue jasmine jumper ticks two of these criteria (not the hot one. I have big boobs, jumpers always make me look like I'm smuggling galia melons):

I love it. Lots of my besties from my hometown (and, interestingly, even one of my bosses at work) call me Gnome, which stems back to an A level drama class in Year 12 where our rather well spoken and beloved tutor, Mr Jones, tried to call me 'Nom' in an attempt to be down with the kids but just couldn't quite manage it with his absurdly posh accent.

Here are some facts about the gnome jumper: In the Cath Kidston catalogue, it's called the 'gnome blue intarsia lambswool jumper', but on the website it's simply called the 'Gnome Jasmine Jumper'. It costs £65 and it comes with a flock of accessories (naturally, nobody could accuse Cath of not taking a print and ramming it down everybody's throat until they start puking bouquets) such as the matching hat for £25, scarf for £38 and toadstool gloves for £25.

My one qualm about this range is that on the website, the copywriter continually describes this range using the 'Q' word. Yes that's right, quirky *gags*. That word offends me; it's used by people who also think the words 'kooky', 'nutty' and 'wacky'* are appropriate to describe people who aren't Tax Inspectors or Accountants. Or by Tax Inspectors or Accountants when they're referring to themselves on the weekends.



*'Zany' too, don't forget about zany.

Cool or cobblers? Pepper peep-toe Mary Jane shoes from asos

Oh. Dear. God. I can't even call this. They're either insane, or awesome, but I'm too busy staring open mouthed to decide.

They tick a lot of boxes for me. I mean, they're black and gold, which means as I'm trying not to trip up dancing down the street I can validly sing that Sam Sparro song from 2009 which I loved so much I actually had as my ringtone for the longest time. They're platforms, which means I'm super tall AND retain some stability. They're peep toes, which somehow always manage to look ace despite the fact your toes are squishing through. And finally, they're sparkly, baby. They SPARKLE LIKE DIAMONDS. GOLD DIAMONDS. I KNOW THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE BUT I DON'T CARE BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY SNORTED SOME GLITTER AND NOW ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS SPARKLES AND UNICORNS AND ohdearsweetlordIfelloverpleasecansomeonetakemetoA&E?

The pepper peep-toe Mary Jane shoes from asos cost £50. Whaddya reckon? Cool or cobblers?

Cool or Cobblers? Mary Jane Shoes from ASOS
	Cool!
	Cobblers!
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Cool or Cobblers? Kurt Geiger Ella shoes

Welcome friends to our newest wee feature, dedicated soley (har har #DadJokesLOL) to shoes. In Cool or Cobblers you get to decide if our taste in footwear is nifty or naff. We bring you the shoes, you make the call.

It is without further ado that I bring you... Ella. She's leggy, she's leather, she comes in the colour of my favourite beverage (wine, duh) and she costs £220 from Kurt Geiger.

Personally, I'm not intimidated by the snakeskin. I know, I know, it's a bit trashy 80s but you know what? I'm down with that. I think the mustard and wine colourway makes them look, like, well posh innit. I'm a fan of the platform too. It makes my interminably clumsy self feel more secure, even if I do happen to be four inches taller. Take a look at Ella from the back:

I hate to see you leave baby, but I LOVE to watch you walk away! So whaddya reckon? Cool or Cobblers?

Cool or Cobblers?
	Cool!
	Cobblers!

about your shop: Rise Fashion

First of all, I need to apologise for the hiatus that About Your Dress has been on over the past month or so. I (Ria) have got a new job and it's MAD busy, so I have not been giving this poor baby the love and attention it needs - nay, deserves! If you can find me, you're more than welcome to slap me on the wrist. Anyway, it's back to business as usual, and I though I'd start by introducing you to the thing that has stolen so much of my time recently: Rise Fashion.

 Rise started life as a wholesale brand, and this is still a big part of the company's profile (you may have seen their wares in Dorothy Perkins, Tesco, or even your favourite local boutique coughASPIRESTYLEcough), but in 2008 they opened a website to the public. This is now in my capable hands, so obviously I want you all to go there and spend lots of money, but like everything we feature on AYD, this is because I genuinely believe in their products (I'm even writing this on my lunchbreak so it's not even on company time). The pricepoints are fantastic, and I've seen first hand how much care and attention goes into the design of each style. Without further ado, I present to you my five favourite Rise products (in no particular order):

Lula dress, £30 (reduced from £40)

Florence dress, £20 (reduced from £30)

Anais dress, £22 (reduced from £32)

Evie dress, £60

Sadie blouse, £24

I am incredibly happy to be working with a brand which I can truly support, and I hope you love Rise as much as I do!  In case you need any more convincing, you can get 15% off with the code AYDblog.  I'm too good to you.

Nomday! about your shop: Me by Amma Gyan

Back in June I celebrated London Jewellery Week by visiting Hatton Garden Festival with my beloved buddy Ellie in search of some new pretties that I could croon 'My Preciousssss' over in my very best (which is, incidentally, pretty lame) Gollum impersonation. It was a wonderful way to spend a sunny Saturday, walking along a street full of British craftspeople, watching them create and talking to them about their work. I guess some people might not do the whole talking part (mon Dieu, you don't speak to strangers, this is LONDON), but me being me, I obviously did. And I enjoyed it too, so there.

It was on this delightful wee free day out that I met a jewellery designer called Amma Gyan; her brand of leather accessories and jewellery, Me, really stood out as beautiful and unique. 

These pretty turquoise and leather dot rings cost £30 and are lovingly crafted with soft Italian leather and gold clasps. They come in red leather (shown above) and plum. If you're not a turquoise girl, there's a gorgeous onyx black dot ring (shown below) and a pearl and tan version available for the same price, and for £21, a selection of gold dot rings.

There are two types of necklaces to go with the ring, if you like to be all matchy-matchy with your accessorisation, the dot necklace, for £56 and the Cleo, for £45.

I also rather like this Natasha necklace. I'm loving the way Amma has casually paired it with a white t-shirt in the picture. What a lovely way to dress up a simple white tee! Delicate yet bold, I think it's really pretty. It comes in white or yellow leather (pictured) and costs £85.

Amma is on twitter @MebyAmmaGyan and she also has an interesting tumblr style blog here too.

Nomday! about your mugs: Espresso mugs by Le Creuset

When someone mentions Le Creuset to you, you probably either think 'Oh crumbs, I don't speak French, how can I stop myself from looking stupid right now? I'll just nod and look like I'm concentrating.' or you think of bright orange 70s cookware. Le Creuset has actually always come in a multitude of colours since its launch in 1925, but probably the most iconic colourway is that graduated orange.

I'd only ever seen the orange - which is officially called 'Volcanic', according to le website (don't be scared, I'm just making things sound French by putting a 'le' in front of them, I'm not actually writing in a different language - I know, INSANE right?) so I was truly thrilled to discover what pretty hues you can procure them in. 

Take, for example, these lovely espresso mugs - and whilst we're on the subject of espressos, who else dies a little inside when you hear someone say expresso? Hello! THERE IS NO 'X' IN ESPRESSO! IT DOESN'T MAKE IT COME FASTER! Ahem, sorry, these lovely espresso mugs cost just £7.50 from the Le Creuset website and come in 9 different colours, below are some pictures of my personal favourites. 

First up, ladies and gents, we have the Le Creuset espresso cup in 'Cassis'. She's lovely, isn't she? Turns out cassis is just a posh (or French) way of saying blackcurrant.

Next in line we have 'Kiwi'; bright and zingy, strong coffee served up in a Le Creuset espresso cup in kiwi is a sure fire way to kick-start your morning.

Next we have Teal. Teal feels fresh and calm to me. Fresh and calm. Like...like something fresh and calm.

If you're not an espresso drinker, you might just want a normal mug, for tea and whatnot and incredibly, thanks to the combined wonders of product development, charity and marketing, you can get one of those for just £10 AND help save the world, because Le Creuset have a rose coloured line in conjunction with Breast Cancer Care. Yay! 

Hello Rose

The full range is called The Strawberry Tea Collection and it's limited edition for 2011. On average, Le Creuset donates £1.25 for each item purchased and has pledged a minimum of £20,000 to the cause. What are you waiting for?

I things that feel heavy and look sturdy, mainly because I'm extremely clumsy and break fragile objects at the drop of a hat, or rather, mug. Although I distinctly remember struggling to lift a fully loaded Le Creuset cast iron saucepan in my youth, I figure that once the Nommie Dream House is established, a fully kitted out Le Creuset kitchen will be an excellent way of keeping the bingo wings at bay. Move over Madonna, Nom is snapping at your armbands.