EASY DRESSING

French Connection top Zara trousers Love Label boots Urban Outfitters sunglasses H&M necklace Dixi & BCBG rings Forever 21, Kenneth Jay Lane & vintage bracelets Jeans and a t-shirt, version 2.0. This has got to be my favourite top of all time - it's so baggy and mis-shapen, but the fringes move beautifully and it can be worn day or night. I deliberated about buying these trousers - would every blogger and their dog have them come September? - but in the end I am so happy I got them. They're my version of disco pants; the material sucks me in, acts like a Wonderbra on my (pretty much non-existent) bum and will undoubtedly become my go-to pair this winter.

I'm still without internet in my new flat, and in fact will be without it until the 21st of August. Currently I'm sat in Starbucks waiting for them to realise how much bandwidth I'm sapping uploading all these images. I'm in desperate need of new ways to procrastinate so please fire any suggestions my way! DIY tutorials, cool magazines, and new dance routines all welcome. FYI I don't have a TV, and reading feels far too productive. HELP.


Graceful as a newborn horse.

(Apologies for the new animated gif obsession. Clearly my lack of internet has regressed me back to a time when I had to ask my parents to use the computer)

CROCODILE SHOES

A few weeks ago I sparked a passionate, opinionated debate on Twitter. I'd like to say it was about politics, or the environment, or something that actually matters, but it wasn't. It was about shoes.

I couldn't decide between Office's Nighthawk or Billy the Kid. I mean, how could I? They're both so different. Twitter decreed it should be Nighthawk, so naturally I went into store and... decided on a completely different pair.

Hello, Break of Dawn. I don't know how I coped without you but now with you my life is complete. You add a Western edge to skirts and dresses and are the perfect accompaniment to jeans. My only qualm is that every time I see you Jimmy Nail's Crocodile Shoes pops into my head. But that is something I will learn to live with, my love. I will never need a new pair of shoes as long as you live.

Oh. You come in pewter, too? Heeeey baby. How you doin'...?

GUEST EDITEUR

Last week I had the opportunity to play dress-up in MW Matthew Williamson, Equipment, and Alice by Temperley at Chester womenswear boutique, The éditeur. The full results will be trickle-fed onto their blog over the next few days (you can check out the MW Matthew Williamson post already), but until then here's a small preview of the outfits I styled! Can you tell I'm a fan of the trophy jacket?

CAR BOOTY

There is not much that will get me out of bed before midday on a Sunday, but a car boot is definitely one of them. Make that the biggest car boot in the UK and I'm sold.

I often say that my parents dragged me up on a diet of boot sales and antiques fairs, which is probably why I'm such a hoarder even today, but although Manchester may have many things - even a beach - what it is severely lacking in is opportunities to rummage through bargains. Even our charity shops are classed as vintage!

So there was no way I could resist waking up my (very grumpy) boyfriend early yesterday to root through a load of old junk at the Real Radio car boot sale. One man's trash is another man's treasure, as they say. I didn't score big but for the grand total of £5.60 I got a fringed jacket - not totally unlike the recent Topshop ombré one - a pair of 1970s sunglasses, a lovely slice of agate (I smell a DIY!) and a sequinned table runner that will look just peachy in my new bohemian-style flat.

Speaking of which, I am moving in on Tuesday (just two floors up in my current building to a bigger flat - so not exactly a big move) and am expecting the internet will take a few days to be installed. I've scheduled a few posts to run in that time, and I look forward to catching up with comments, blogs, and fashion news when I am back in internet-land!

PS. Don't yellow shoes make you really, really happy? They do me!

DIESEL A/W POP-UP

What comes to mind when you think of Diesel? As a teen, their jeans were the holy grail of denim, and I was pleased as punch when I got my first pair from the Cheshire Oaks outlet store. I didn't much bother with the brand as I grew up as I simply assumed I'd grown out of it.

Turns out Diesel had grown with me. I visited the Diesel autumn/winter 2012 collection pop-up in Harvey Nichols on Thursday, and was treated to a thorough run-down of the collection and brand by the (very passionate & knowledgable) Northern visual co-ordinator, Helen.

Diesel has split into three much more targeted brands, rather than attempting to cover all markets as the previous one did. 55DSL is the "bread and butter" goods - t-shirts and denim - Black Gold is a luxury brand with Sophia Kokosalaki at the creative helm (though Vogue reports Kokosalaki is leaving after three years in charge), with the eponymous brand covering the notoriously difficult middle market.

Diesel will be no less on-point than its older Black Gold sister however, as its head designer is Fashion East & NEWGEN alumni, Heikki Salonen, who is known for his grungy, minimal aesthetic. As I saw on Thursday the autumn/winter collection covered all wardrobe bases - the perfect leather jacket, the coloured skinny, a dress-up-or-down jumpsuit - in a mainly neutral colour palette; on-trend khaki being the basenote with a pop of sunflower yellow on top. Each piece would work effortlessly with the rest of the collection, along with your best vintage top or high-street blazer.

Look out for the Diesel pop-up in your local Harvey Nichols - it's visiting each store for two weeks at a time - and I guarantee you will be impressed as I with the brand's progression.

SMYLIST

How do you feel about having your teeth digitally imaged? I'm filled with equal parts dread - I'm quite happy remaining ignorant about how my teeth really look - and excitement: the technology at the new Smile Stylist at Manchester's House of Fraser means you really can achieve a great grin using computer aided smile design.

HoF's infamous superstylist Matthew excitedly showed me around the brand new space - the practice was finished on Wednesday a whole fifteen minutes before the star-studded opening bash began - and despite there being a whole load of amazing technology in the suite we mainly focused on the aesthetics (well, we are fashion people after all): the bubble piece of art on the wall is actually the air conditioning unit, and somebody clearly pre-empted the Olympic cauldron with the waiting room's wall adornment!

I chatted to practice manager Rachel (whose Prada-esque shoes, below, were actually from Next. Colour me surprised) and relayed my teething problems. I'm lucky enough to have neatly shaped gnashers - the practice uses Invisalign to invisibly straighten teeth - but they have never been white, and as that is not their natural colour I assumed whitening wouldn't work. Turns out my fears were unfounded, as Rachel tells me Zoom! whitens teeth by several shades in an hour, and Enlighten whitens by up to sixteen shades.

I have a consultation booked for next week (eek) so expect to see my sparkling grin splashed all over this blog very soon indeed.