MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Having got the need to hunt down some bargains out of my system (slightly) with a spot of online sale shopping this morning, I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of Mr.Claus. I was obviously channelling the dark, wintery gothic look when I opted for these items below, both Topshop, midst in panic. Although the satisfaction of finding bargains is great, the process in which I do so, I find extremely stressful. Online sales means a lot of faffing and I usually end up making horrendous decisions under the pressure of wishing not to miss out, yes last year's wax fur jacket horror I am talking to you! This year however, I feel happy in my buys, both of which I've been eyeing up a lot during recent shopping trips. The playsuit could work wonders with a chunky sparkly necklace and the sequin top is timeless. Just need some fancy nights out in which to sample them!

Now after a couple of festive drinks at our local, I am tucked up, slightly tipsy and ready for the festivities to begin! I guess there is nothing left for me to say but

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
 

Now maybe just a little bit more sales shopping before bedtime...

Mission: Christmas Shopping Impossible

"Erm, excuse me love, can I get to the machine?"

 

It's 5:30 pm and I'm sitting on a 'do it yourself' photo developing machine stool in Boots, Covent Garden, applying blister plasters to my ravaged feet. Onlookers snigger at the sight of my swollen battle scars; socks, boots, shopping bags afray. At that moment in time I gave the saying 'shop till you drop' whole new realms of meaning and yet I was merely adjusting my armour, preparing to march on, choosing to rejoin the thousands of other last-minute shopping soldiers (or morons, you decide!) to continue on in our quest for the perfect gifts. Why do we do it?

 

From Marble Arch to Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road to Carnaby Street, me and my comrade in arms (my Mother), set out around midday to brave the battlefield of London and did not cease until 9 o'clock later that evening. Our battle however, was not in vain. After procrastinating in Marble Arch drooling over some beautiful items in Topshop (See previous post), we fought through the crowds of hungry elves in Selfridges to reach the maze of confectionary, the perfect supplement to those presents, i.e. those singing reindeer socks for your Dad, that need just that little something extra. Here we met our first enemy. A woman attempting to sell gourmet jelly beans in the most underwhelming manner imaginable.

 

"Get your Jelly Bellys, everyone loves a Jelly Belly, it's not Christmas without them!"

 

Firstly, I am allergic to jelly beans so a tip for you my dear, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! Secondly, I thought Selfridges was a high end, posh totty kind of place and yet, here this lady was, sounding as though better suited on a stall at Romford market. Third and finally, I think Jesus would disagree with you when you say the gourmet jelly bean is a traditional Christmas dish. #justsaying

 

Next we moved through Bond Street halting at Fenwicks, Calvin Klein and back to Oxford Street, sauntering into the passageway of 'blink and you'll miss it' St Christopher's Place, opting to re-fuel in the form of a very large and very tasty American Romana pizza at Pizza Express. Here we met our second enemy and he wasn't an unfamiliar one either. We'd met before. He'd waited on me and my cousin only weeks previous and taken a fancy to winking and deeming me his senorita. Today was no different.

 

After trekking to Covent Garden, bandaging my wounds and returning to Oxford Circus, bumping into Mike Barnes from Hollyoaks/that guy off Corrie along the way, we collapsed in the EAT armchairs at the bottom of Topshop. Here we met our third and probably worst enemy of all. Ourselves. As a sucker for a stud, sequin and sparkly number and that's just my Mum, even 7 hours of shopping couldn't stop us from running ragged amongst the festive inspired rails.

 

By 9 it was mission complete! Only as I slumped into my seat on the tube did I realise it was back to duty the following day having to wrap it all! Sigh.

 

Same time next year?

 

 

Charlotte's Top Tips for surviving the last minute Christmas rush

 

1. To burst (yuck!) those blister blues, make sure you pack some plasters!  

2. Re-fuel at every 2 hour interval. The amount of time re-fuelling can largely determine one's willingness to proceed so be careful not to rest for too long!

3. Don't do it. And if you do do it, don't waste valuable shopping time trying to persuade a lady that you really don't need any jelly beans!

 

 

Top of the Shop

 

Aside from talking... a lot, my obsession with Topshop is also reaching dizzying heights. So I thought I'd share with you some of the items I was drooling over during my recent (hellish!) trip to their Oxford Circus branch (Post coming soon!).

 

Santa knows what I'm wishing for this year :)

 

 

Knitted Embellished Ray Jumper £50
This was one of those rare pieces that you spot and hope that it is everything you've already cracked it up to be in your head. As soon as I laid my eyes upon this pastel coloured blue number, I felt drawn to it. The stud detailing gives the cosy knit a slight edge whilst the colours ensure its still feminine and not TOO rock chick as I just can't pull that off. I'm hoping this means that pastel colours are on their way back for Spring/Summer as the sweetie palletes are right up my street! 

 

Plain Fedora in Oxblood £25

Hat person? Not a hat person? I'm still trying to work that out whilst taking some risks in the process of doing so. I originally took a fancy to the camel coloured version of this hat but since sampling it upon thy head, I felt a little bit like a cowboy (yeehar!). Then I discovered this beauty. I love the oxblood colour as its very versatile, great for winter and works particularly well with the overwhelming 'creamness' of my wardrobe. (There's nothing quite like a good crispy cream, top that is!) I also think it could give a dash of colour to the outfit below...

 

Oversize Monochrome Spot Shirt £38
This spotty piece I tried on in a size 6 as it is extremely oversized but I loved its simplicity (like this description of it) and thought it could work really well with a red lip.





 

Chiffon Double Sleeve Playsuit £46

Meanwhile I'm in the hunt for an outfit for New Years Eve, you know that dreaded overrated night of the year that you spend months leading up to telling everyone how ridiculously overpriced and a waste of time it is but yet you still want to look fabulous for. Yep that one. Whilst I loved the colbort blue colour of this playsuit, that being the reason why I was attracted to it, this isn't something I would perhaps usually go for. The arms are very batwingingly 60's and felt I needed to give it more consideration. Maybe with a chunky sparkly necklace it could look great.

 

What do you reckon?