PAISLEY SHORTS DAY

Um.. hello? Is this thing on? I have to check, you see, as last week the light on my laptop screen broke and I couldn't tell whether I was on Pinterest or porn. Actually I don't go on either of those sites but they're alliterative so it works.

I've been working hard with helping to launch Thriftette's rebrand this week (check out Ette!) and coming home to sit on a computer has been pretty unappealing anyway, especially in this weather. But it was a most welcome relief when I got a new laptop (THANKS DAD & MUM you da best), I really didn't know how much my work life depended on it. Honestly though you should've seen it, the screen had been hanging off by a thread and it's a miracle it lasted so long. Tragic was not the word.

Here are some pictures from a time when I left the house on a sunny day with Chris and we both inadvertently wore paisley shorts. I'd suggest we did it more but the fly broke on my shorts (classy) so perhaps not. We sat in the Manchester International Festival garden drinking cider and it was more like Madrid than Manchester; incidentally a bunch of my friends are in the former city right now, and I keep getting Snapchats saying "jealous???" but when the weather is like this there's nowhere I'd rather be than the latter city.

I'm wearing:

Urban Outfitters tee

Minkpink shorts & bag

Wildfox sunglasses

Topshop hat & sandals

Summer of Hope and Glory

Last Thursday marked the launch of the Trafford Centre's Summer of Hope and Glory, celebrating everything British, and from May to August there will be events, treats and competitions, all fit for a Queen. You can celebrate your own Jubilee with Queen For A Day, win a summer wardrobe of shoes, get festival fashion and beauty tips at Mad for Mud'n'Music, and much, much more.

On the launch night I walked round with a British Shopping Passport which detailed the discounts being given out on the evening.

The launch night was a warm one, and I hate queuing for sweaty changing rooms only to find the outfit doesn't suit me anyway. I took the opportunity to try dresses on in the comfort of my own clothes with the Magic Mirror interactive screen outside Selfridges. You lift your arms to activate the screen, then you scroll through a number of dresses, changing the size and the position on the screen to suit. It's no replacement for actually having the clothes on your body but it's a fun gimmick, and seeing the colours and patterns near your skin are of course a benefit.


Check out the Trafford Centre website for information and dates - meet you in the Welly Wanging queue!