Men.....

OK I have to admit, I judge on first impressions, but then who doesn't? Not so much with girls, I think over the years I've learnt that us girls are much deeper than we seem on the outside. The clothes, the hair; it's all just a mask a lot of the time. But when it comes to men, I'm sorry I just judge you. And it's on

(a) the shoes
(b) the hair
(c) the outfit

Usually in that order.
For example..... If I saw a guy walk into Office in seriously baggy jeans with a chain hanging, a black "rock" t-shirt and some ugly black bulky trainers, I'd think "no" instantly. Add a ponytail, a shaved head (although I can sometimes find a loop-hole in this rule for certain guys) and some dodgy beaded man-jewelery and I'm screaming "hell no".

Swap this for Vans, chino trousers, checked shirt and a body warmer and you, my boy, are onto a winner. Feel free to swap any of these for Toms, Nike blazers, anything All Saints, drop crotch jeans, skinny coloured jeans, bobble hats, denim shirts, chunky knit cardigans or jumpers, and you will also trigger the "yes please" reaction in my head.

(Small selection of some of my fave's).

Clearly this is the casual side of life. Throw in a suit jacket or a blazer, some brogues and a skinny tie for an evening on the town and you're bound to look sound. 

Of course, like I said, there are exceptions, and some men in drop crotch skinny ankle jeans with Toms and an All Saints t-shirt just should not have bothered. 

Dress to suit yourselves boys. 

Oh and finally....the hair. This is only a personal opinion, because I know most girls have very different opinions on this, but:

keep it short

keep it neat

feel free to shave it at the back and sides

don't overdue the gel/wax

if you have curly hair, keep it curly. put the straighteners down 

no streaks/highlights/drastic colour changes to fool us you're not ginger. your eyebrows give it away

and for the love of god, don't try and copy justin bieber

Take note :) 

Today I wore....

...this.

Trousers from Vera Moda, top from Topshop, Shoes: Vans, Jacket Pepe Jeans in New York about 5 years ago!

It seriously felt like spring when I left the house this morning. These trousers also look good rolled up, but it wasn't quite warm enough to get my ankles out just yet. Definitely a comfortable outfit and easy to wear, and these trousers will look spot on with the new red pumps I bought today.

Roll on the warmer weather!

Primark....

....drives me mad. But within those tormenting trips, battling the people and mess, I do get excited when I find a little gem like this....

Happy Valentines....

Or not. I may be single but this is not the only reason for my sheer bitterness and misery for today. Even in relationships, I just do not see the point of having a specific day when you should tell your boyfriend/girlfriend you love them. You should be doing this every day of the year.

(I do have one exception though, I have a friend with a boyfriend in the army who sent her a dozen white roses to her door this morning. That got a big 'ahhhh' from me I won't lie).

Also, everything goes up in price. Flowers, chocolates etc etc just decides to double in price. And don't even get me started on needing to go into card shops to buy birthday/anniversary/good luck cards anywhere near V day. Just not going to happen, any card buying that I need to do can wait. So with me being, yes ok I admit it, the bitter single girl, I dragged my mum shopping in leicester to get one of my best friends birthday presents, and to treat myself to a few bits. Needed to feel the love somehow...right?

(Also, as I'm date-less tonight, there's many, many blog entries happening whilst I watch the soaps on the sofa with a cup of tea and a biscuit....here goes.)

My shopping trip today was very reserved, mainly window shopping. I got a few nail varnishes and bracelets from H&M, some underwear, a top and belt from Primark, a new dress for work from Primark and some amazing shoes from some random cheap shop in Leicester that I love every now and again for a bargain.

Shoes: £10

These will be sound with denim shorts in the summer, but until then I'll team them with beige trousers either long or rolled up, or leggings, long top and cropped denim jacket. 

Dress: £15 Primark

New dress for my new job, worn with black tights (two pairs....don't ask why but I can't ever only wear one pair of tights, have to layer them up!) and my new Office nude heels. The belt on this dress was also bought today, £1 from Primark. Pop my new black blazer over the top and it will be perfect for the new job. 

All these new clothes from the new job has got me so excited! 

One-sy's...

All-in-one, babygrow, one-sy, bodysuit...whatever you want to call them, I call them painful. Especially teamed with underwear that I hadn't thought through this morning, considering my one-sy decision.

 The One I Wore Today

Poppers digging in and moving around, the constant wedgie all day, re-aranging myself at the most inappropriate moments, and of course the battle to go to the toilet. My exact words today were "Lauren I'm just nipping the loo, I may be a while, I've got a one-sy on and it takes me a while to re-popper myself back up". Not something I think any girl should ever hear herself say.

It came off as soon as I came home, and is stashed away somewhere I won't be tempted to wear it again.

Ouch.

New Shoes (again)....

Working in Office is a dangerous game for me. All I ever do is give my wages back to the store in the form of their profits. And with the new season shoes coming in everyday, I cannot get enough. In fact, I'd probably call it a problem. We've had so many new colours of Vans that I feel like I NEED to have, the start of the gladiator sandals are in, some gorgeous wedges that are amazing and that I'm already planning my summer outfits around. Little flat pumps with lovely detailing, as well as espadrilles, toms, and new brogues and smart loafer style shoes.

First day back at work after a week of yesterday only meant one thing....PURCHASES....

Office: £65

I'll be honest, I'm unsure about these. I do love them, and love the colour, but the other shoes I bought (see below) are also a pale colour, and I'm concerned about the number of wears I'll get from these. They also come in black patent which look a bit man-ish, although I'll put them with a nice summery dress and tights, or rolled up peg-leg trousers and a floaty blouse. So these will either stay in my life as pink, or I'll swap them for black. Watch this space. 

Office: £70

These are, quite simply, stunning. Nude, patent, high with a platform. What more could a girl want?! These are going to be saved for 'best' at work, and will last me forevverrr :)

MODA...

It's been a while I know, but I've been so so busy! First post has to be totally dedicated to last Thursday; MODA :) Being such Lincoln Moda fans, myself and the Uni pal Sian decided to take a peek at the Leicester Moda to see if it lived up to Lincoln, which kindly gave us some of the best nights out ever. Annie Mac, Fake Blood, Jakwob and High Contrast were on playing, along with some others. I am such a dedicated Lincoln Moda fan, that I do have to say Leicester was good, but just not good enough.

Saying that, it is an excuse to talk about the clothes from that night ;)

Those who know me, know I love my heels. High ones of course. But Moda just is NOT the place, and for those poor girls who didn't know this, or who just wanted to wear them anyway, I did feel sorry for you because:
(a) your feet must have h.u.r.t.
and
(b) you poor girls just couldn't stay upright at the front during Jakwob dropping some Rusko jahova. In fact, pure raving was out of the question.

Boots were certainly the order of the night, and something comfy that wouldn't matter if there was some free-flying beer heading in our direction. My hair freshly dyed Black Cherry, and Sian's dyed red by her cousin a few weeks previous. 

Sian was wearing tights from Primark, shorts from Topshop (creased like a bitch), boob tube from New Look and customised (once had sleeves) from....can't remember but I'll check.

I wore leggings from Topshop and top from Republic. Can't tell on here but had rips all over it, made it a bit more interesting. 

So yeah....Moda is all about a whole different type of glamour. Comfortable!