H by Henry Holland part 2

So after my little lust list on the Henry Holland collection for Debenhams a while ago I've been a bit preoccupied with uni work. This means it's taken me roughly two weeks to update this little blog of mine and bring you the pretty things I stumble upon in my life.





That aside, I am now the owner of a piece of Henry Holland, thanks to my uni loan and a free morning before uni I found myself in town and decided to treat myself to one of the pieces I so dearly wanted. I scoped out a couple of the pieces from my list in the Sunderland branch and hot-footed it to the changing rooms.





Unfortunately I wasn't all too impressed. The pink check playsuit I wanted may have looked great on the model but on me it was shapeless to the extreme, I doubt even a cinched in waist of my own provision would have helped it. It looked like a sack on me.





This small failure was added to by the ditsy playsuit which came up short on me. Okay so this wasn't a design flaw it was more my long torso means some playsuit shorts can look like hotpants on me, not such a great thing. Onto the reject pile it went.





A few more dresses and a skirt later and I finally found it. 'It' was on my original lust list and one I'd saved until last:

The official description on the Debenhams' website is as follows: "This H! by Henry Holland all in one outfit waves it's magic wand to indecisive wardrobe decisions. The 2-piece dress masters a jersey vest top with an attached check skirt for a complementing daytime look that says "This girl knows how to dress". Effortless."

Effortless? Check. Complementing daytime look? Check. I love this outfit. It's easy to accessorise, can be worn with tights or leggings (I'm not brave enough to go bare-legged) and it's always remarked positively upon when I wear it. The jersey top is stretchy enough for if you're having one of those paranoid days where nothing fits right and the pulled in waist creates great figure. The skirt cuts off at the best point on the leg to provide a very flattering look plus the buttons in the same material as the skirt are a cute attention to detail which I adore.

A lovely outfit for under £30 which can be worn all year round? Brilliant I say, simply brilliant.

bit of procrastonation

Hi, my name is: Natasha

Never in my life have I been: drunk

The one person who can drive me nuts is: my niece when she wakes me up at 5.30am :

High school: never ends. A little bit of Bowling for Soup there :)

When I’m nervous: I fiddle with my jewellery, bite my nails and play with my hair

The last song I listened to was: I think it was Sorry by Buckcherry

If I were to get married right now my best man/maid of honor: Amy. I promised her years ago

My hair is: pretty spiffy right now thanks to a cut a couple of days ago :)

When I was 5: I had an obsession with Flipper the movie

Last Christmas: was really lovely. Even if I did have two essays to write over the holidays

I should be..: doing work on my essay and changing my Vogue entry

When I look down I see: a desk

The happiest recent event was: my afternoon nap

If I were a character on ‘Friends’ I’d be: Rachel Green without a doubt.

By this time next year: I will be 20. Woah.

My current gripe is: I'm hungry but can't actually be bothered to move

I have a hard time understanding: a fair few things about life

There’s this girl I know that: needs to realise she's beautiful

I like you when: you're nice to the people I care about

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: my mum,Piers or one of my best friends

Take my advice: always spell check electronically and manually

The thing I want to buy: is a book of stamps

If you visited the place I was born: You would be quite surprised I think.

If you spent the night at my house: it would depend on who you are exactly but food, movies and lots of jokes would be in order

I’d stop my wedding if: the church was on fire

The world could do without: Bad spelling & grammar. I'm serious.

I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: Eat one?

Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: a pretty green top from Next

Most recent thing someone else bought me: Mum bought me a take away for lunch today

My middle name is: Louise

In the morning I: am wishing for more sleep

The animals I would like to see flying besides birds are: bears. But only with cute, little wings. It appeals to me on an amusement level

Once, at a bar: Bev kept stealing mine and Amy's drinks

Last night I was: hanging out with the family

There’s this guy I know who: I love, who is lovely and I'd really really like him to be back from Austria right about now. Pretty please.

If I was an animal I’d be: a cat, according to the noises I make when I'm sleepy and stretch

A better name for me would be:

Tomorrow I am: catching up on sleep

Tonight I am: talking to friends online

My birthday is: January 12


Well, that's over and done. I guess I should do some work now!

Make up tip

So I'm fully aware this is quite a repeated tip. However this is the first time I've actually put this one into practise. I was getting bored of my bare nails after two weeks varnish free for nail breathing space so tonight I painted my nails with Barry M gold glitter varnish. However I'd forgotten a)how much I usually put on for a bold colour and b)how long this then takes to dry.

So to avoid glittery hands (the varnish runs due to the thickness I apply, two coats doesn't look as good as one coat simply loaded on) I filled my sink up with cold water and dipped my hands in for approximately a minute and a half. I believe the recommended time is between one and two minutes.

Overall this worked pretty well. I did however smudge a couple of bits when I was drying off my hands where the nail hadn't fully dried yet, so perhaps the full two minutes is required for complete effectiveness. I think next time I'll stick to my old technique: blowing on the nails every now and then and typing strangely if I have to.

The perks of article research

So today was the day I went around the three selected charity shops for a group of MA student's final project magazine. It went well, we (myself and Rachel,one of the MA students) got around all the shops and got pictures within an hour. Not only that, but we got an invitation from one of the charity shop's (arthritis research) designer sale pre-party. How exciting. I went to get pictures and more information for my feature and left with an invite to a party to oggle at designer clothes, shoes and jewellery before they're properly on sale. Hopefully something pretty will be available within my budget? Bring on the end of April.

H; Henry Holland for Debenhams

I managed to get a looksie at the new Henry Holland for Debenhams collection today. May I say Mr Holland; job well done. At first it was the pictures of Pixie Geldof modelling the clothes that drew my attention when walking around town today, but then I saw exactly what she was modelling and I all but ran into the store.

This collection does not disappoint. From blazers to playsuits, from camisoles to bagazines and all things in-between this collection is both brilliant and affordable. Yes the more expensive pieces are between £25 and £40 but so are a lot of things on the high street. My particular favourites are:

This cutesy bow headband, £4
This adorable charm bracelet, £12
This print-clash playsuit, £25
This beaut of a dress, £28

This "bagazine" clutch £25
This hot pink checked dress, £25

and finally...

This ditsy playsuit plus cute belt £35 (which is the highest up on my "I want it!" list from this collection)

The full collection is available on Debenhams website (which offers the option of free delivery to your nearest store, check on the website to see if your local Debenhams is included) as well as being sold partially in Debenhams stores.

Bring on summer

Yes, before anybody says anything I am aware it is only March. I am aware we're in spring. But after a few days of sunny weather I'm impatient for summer, and the summer clothes that come with it. Despite the bleak skyline from my window this morning I decided to dress in a recently acquired blue sundress and white cropped cardigan with three-quarter length sleeves. I'm not completely insane though, I have weather-proofed the outfit with black leggings and boots.

Bring on summer when I can wear this dress with either tan tights or as a cover up on the beach. I want summer!

Skirt success

About a month ago I came across a particularly lovely pencil skirt in one of More magazine's fashion spreads (see below for picture). For just £12 and boasting a wonderfully graphic floral print I immediately coveted it. I looked for it at the Next here in Sunderland, but I couldn't find it. Several attempts failed to surface the skirt so I had resigned myself to not getting my hands on it.

Fast forward to this evening and I have just located it on their website. I think I'll take the risk of waiting to see if they're stocking it in my home branch when I go back for Easter. Otherwise it shall have to be an order online job.

Image sourced from Next's website