All the small things

Sometimes it isn't a massive haul of hugely expensive stuffs that makes you smile, but a few, small, carefully chosen treats. I took myself off with just over £10 in my pocket last week to indulge myself a bit after a couple of gruelling but rewarding days catering a workshop.

Above is what I "hauled" - mostly items that made for the loveliest, most indulgent bath ever, plus a little fashion pick me up: discounted deep pink roses from Waitrose, £2.99; purple butterfly tealight holder from Poundland, £1 (obvs); Yankee Candle votive in Vanilla Cupcake, £1.70; Ferrero Rocher, Poundland, £1; Lush Yuzu and Cocoa Bubbleroon, £2.95; and H&M mint headband, £2.50.

The Yuzu and Cocoa bubbleroon from Lush is my favourite Lush product - and my favourite bubble bath product ever. It's got such a comforting sweet chocolatey scent, and despite being really softening due to cocoa butter (it's much more moisturising than a standard bubble bar) it produces a decent amount of bubbles even in my hard water area. It's conveniently made up of two half-domes stuck together so you can pull them apart and make them last for two baths! On this particular night, I was very achy and exhausted from being on my feet and cooking all day, and so I used my bookchair to prop up a copy of Grazia in the bath, lit my little Yankee Candle votive (it smells amazing!), watched the butterflies on the tealight holder flicker prettily, ate a couple of my Ferrero Rocher and listened to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald's duets (I can't say I didn't sing along). It was HEAVEN.

I also picked this headband up in H&M - I have a small, oddly square head so hard headbands don't really fit me and I find them horribly uncomfortable, but I love wearing headbands as they accentuate my fringe. I always like pastel accessories in spring (spring? ha!) because I do like the sweetness of muted pastel shades, but full block pastels look hideous on my skintone. This has perked up lots of dark wintery outfits!

This was so immensely satisfying to do - I thought quite carefully about how I was going to spend this £12, much more than I have done in the past, and I love everything I did get for it. It's the little things, as they say.

Bejewelled Tuesday: People Tree

The ethical brand People Tree is going from strength to strength, I think - the Orla Kiely and other designer collaborations, beautiful organic cotton frocks, lovely block prints and affordable prices for great quality ethical pieces means it's a brand loved by many. I especially love that so many pieces are produced in Bangladesh and use traditional techniques like block printing and embroidery.

But did you know that they do some lovely jewellery? I'd never really paid attention to their jewellery before, thinking it might all be a bit too chunky for my tastes. But they do some lovely, lovely jewels.

Some of these pieces remind of me of the much pricier NW3 at Hobbs jewellery range, with their whimsical charms and bright colours. The hoop earrings and star necklace would look so amazing with a bright coloured maxi dress, they make me dream of summer. My favourite, though, is the brass charm bracelet. I just love the colours and the quirky little forest themed charms.

Bird earrings, currently £6.40

Cream collar necklace, reduced to £9.60

Brass charm bracelet, £8

Palm leaf bracelets, £6

Brass star necklace, £26

Beaded hoop earrings, £12

Maps... they don't love you like I love you

Ah, the song lyric blog title cliche!* But it's true, both Bartimaeus and I love maps. They are fascinating representations of the world - but they also structure how we think about space and others. We have both used The Peters Projection and this, our favourite West Wing scene, in our teaching in order to get students thinking about how maps have always played a role in global power relations. Did you know how tiny Britain actually is in comparison to the African continent?

So when I saw this scarf on ASOS I couldn't but love it immediately! I already have a spinning globe pendant that's one of my favourite charm necklaces, but an actual map on a scarf? Amazing.

Warehouse at ASOS, £22

Then I had a google and came across these beautiful, but much more expensive chiffon map scarves. Though I think that limiting the designs to Europes, the States and Britain is somewhat parochial - especially given the rise of the Asian designer consumer!

Faliero Sarti, £222

Actually, these map scarves from Korea are my favourites of the bunch I think - I love the range of colours and the generous size. 

Ebay, £11.41

Ebay, £11.41

*Actually I was rather disappointed to find out that this song isn't really meant as a tribute to all things cartographical but as a somewhat needy plea to Karen O's musician lover of the time who was leaving for a tour. Whatever. It's about maps to me.

Bejewelled Tuesday: Oscars highlights

Although I love awards ceremonies and all the glamour of the gowns, to be honest, this year's Oscar offerings generally left me cold fashion-wise. Too. Many. Pale. Pastels. Yawn. Why are Hollywood actresses in general so afraid of colour?

Anyway, I thought a different take on the usual dress deconstructions might be to take a look at some of the jewels, because there were a few very pretty sparkly accessories going on. Here are my favourites.

I think in terms of dresses, Olivia Munn and Jennifer Garner were two of my favourites, each opting for rich, luxe, bold jewel tones in a sea of eau-de-meh. Their jewels didn't let them down either.

Olivia Munn's little gold studs PRECISELY demonstrate why I think this size of stud can be so very flattering for the face. With her baroque gold and rich burgundy gown, they were just enough in terms of accessories, allowing the dress centre stage but framing her gorgeous face perfectly too.

Ah Jennifer Garner, I love thee in so many ways as it is. But really, a pewter (possibly blackened rhodium?) and diamond set paired with a rich violet gown? I swoon at the combination.

Now here's a pair of statement earrings courtesy of CZJ (I wasn't a fan of her dress much, there's always something a bit to "cabaret" about her gowns that's very aging). I adore the jumbled pave setting (look closely and you can see pearls adding dimension to the gems) and think a pair like this would be a beautiful modern option for an Indian bride.

Winner Jennifer Lawrence. People are divided on both the dress and the award, but what I really adore is the delicate gemstone necklace draped across her decollete and down her back. It's just breathtaking. I'm not as keen on the chunky round leverback earrings which don't seem to go with it, in my opinion but the necklace with the simple yet statement gown was stunning, fresh and delicate.

Bejewelled Tuesday

I have a confession. I'm not really a rabbit. Nope. I'm a magpie. I have so much jewellery. It's an affliction I've inherited from my mother, as I've mentioned before. But especially now that most clothes are off the menu, I'm really enjoying all my necklaces, earrings, bracelets and baubles. I've only just come up with this as a weekly feature - but I thought I'd start profiling some of my favourite pieces, both in my collection and things I've seen on my virtual and real life travels.

Two of my most precious, cherished pieces are Alex Monroe necklaces given to me by my lovely sister. Here I'm wearing them layered - one is the tiniest butterfly with an even tinier green sapphire droplet, which she gave me for my Ph.D. graduation. The second piece was a pre-wedding gift, a charming little scene of branbles, a curious little mouse and a book. I wore it for my vintage afternoon tea-hen do.

Alex Monroe's pieces are everything I love most about jewellery - delicate, whimsical, pretty beyond words. There are so many pieces I love, it's hard for me to even pick some, but the piece I would dearly love to add to my collection next is one that has particular emotional resonance for me with my own little family in the making:

Birds and Nest Ring, £135

All this means I'm very excited that Alex Monroe is collaborating with Evans on a costume jewellery collection titled Miss Alouette, inspired by William Morris' nature designs. Of course, the daintiness and detail of his fine pieces is hard to replicate at high street prices, but this is still some of the prettiest fashion jewellery you will find out there. I'm impatiently awaiting the launch date to be announced!

Winter Wedding

Winter Wedding by nazneen372 featuring teardrop earrings

Dress
joythestore.com

Shoes
office.co.uk

Teardrop earrings
oliverbonas.com

Hair accessory
johnny-loves-rosie.com

Darling Edie Frame Bag
darlingclothes.com

I am absolutely thrilled and excited about a few events coming up over the next few months - including a cocktail party themed birthday bash and most wonderfully, the wedding of two of dear, dear friends.

I love weddings, and haven't been to enough! Although it's a good few months away, I have already put my outfit together because I'm nerdy like that. I suppose most people wouldn't wear this much colour to a winter wedding - but I think British gloom makes it all the more important to break out sunny, happy colours.

I've had this dress in my wardrobe unworn for a while, and it is perfect for such an occasion - structured enough and made of a love heavy cotton stretch that will be warm but also comfortable. And it has pockets! Usually I go a bit mad on buying new stuff for a wedding outfit but for this one I'm almost totally sorted already. The glitter shoes are an amazing pair I picked up on Office's website for £12, whilst the bag is a lovely textured leather one from Darling via Brandalley for £22. I do love a bargain, me. The only two pieces I do not own here are the headband and the earrings! I love the hairband which is dramatic enough to give the dress a bit of edge and quirk and be appropriately hat-like for the occasion without at all veering into yucky fascinator-ville.

I've sometimes gone too crazy with the colour palette and my makeup at weddings, so this time I am trying to unite everything by keeping the main two accessories (head/toe) purple, with two hints of colours in the print in the jewels and the bag (how pretty and vintage looking are the earrings!). I will opt for a simple and pretty makeup look with a soft taupe eye, black flick and defined red lips and matching nails. The hair will be down to keep things a bit more relaxed, I think.

To winterise it, there will be thick black tights, and I plan to wear as a cover up an old but lovely and very 50s olive green cropped jacket I have from Topshop, with some long elbow length wool gloves in pale grey.

Magpie-Rabbit: Accessorize

I love jewellery. It's an inherited, quite culturally specific thing in some respects - when we were children, my mother used to drag us around all the jewellery shops looking for just the right pair of earrings to match a necklace or vice versa. It was drilled into me through these searches that it is important to accessorize an outfit with jewels - but always tastefully, always appropriately. My mother's great love is pearls, which I've also inherited.

But as any child is wont to do, I've taken those lessons, and I've taken them in directions my mother doesn't always approve of. I love costume jewellery as much as fine pieces and over the years I have amassed quite a collection. My jewellery tends to be like my clothes - girly, quirky but not too "out there." Being small, I prefer smaller, delicate pieces - I love little charm necklaces (teacups, rabbits, cupcakes, time-turners, snowflakes, I own them all), stud earrings or 1cm drop earrings that just frame the face, though for evenings and so on I do also like a good pair of chandelier earrings.

Accessorize (and this is not a sponsored post in any way!) for many years has been one of my favourite shops on the high street (especially during their 70% sales!)  I can browse in there for hours! They're having a particularly good season this winter so I thought I would pick out some of my favourites that I'll be watching out for in the next sale.

A pair of bow pearl studs is a staple in my jewellery wardrobe - bows are a very flattering shape and the tiny seed style pearls are so pretty and antique-looking. They go with almost everything so I always take them on my travels:

£4

I've played with these a lot in store - they're so glowy and beautiful! 

£12

 These are also quite high on my wishlist, to wear with my emerald lace skater dress. I love how Indian they are in style, they would go equally as well with a sari or salwaar kameez:

£10

This is utterly gorgeous and very expensive looking I think. There's a beautiful matching cuff and earrings (though wearing all 3 together would be crazy). I think with a navy dress, this would be so bewitching and glamorous.

£15

And finally, a little gothic beauty just to show how they have a bit of everything!

£15

What are your favourite costume jewellery pieces? Did you have a jewel-mad mum like me?

Arm Candy, that ole blogger cliche

When I was at uni, I used to take great pride in my stacks and stacks of bangles, bracelets, cuffs and beads which I used to meticulously match to my outfit every day and which used to go from wrist to close to my elbow on both arms, Indian bride style. (In fact I made one of my best friends in the world through our matching sets - that and Goodness Gracious Me). Alas, I no longer have the time to do that (make the most of it, students) and I spend far too much time in silent whispery archives and libraries to jangle and clatter quite so much. That said, I do always jingle a bit, as these I never take off - my dozen hand carved silver bangles which were given to me by my beloved uncles:

The polish I'm wearing here was actually given to me from the beloved friend mentioned above, and is OPI's Jade is the New Black

Close up of the Bangladeshi floral hand carving <3 br="br">

But I do keep seeing people on Instagram proudly displaying wrists full of jewels (if you wish to follow my endless pictures of other people's cats and my lunches, I am nazneen372), and I have a hankering to reload. Perhaps not quite as gaudily as before - now I am thinking of delicate pieces, semi precious stones, and whimsical charms that might nestle and peek from under my bangles. Should I stick to silver? Should I mix metals? I don't rightly know!

But these are some of the pieces that have caught my eye of late:

I've always loved the more delicate pieces Lola Rose does:

QVC, £18.36

 Also rather pretty but a bit chunkier to make more of an impact (and would co-ordinate with my engagement ring :) )

QVC, £18.36

 I love seed pearls so this delicate bracelet with the tiniest tiniest pearls does sing to me:

Oliver Bonas, £18

And really rather gorgeous, this, like a garland of tiny flowers:

Oliver Bonas, £18

Finally I couldn't not have a rabbit charm, could I? (I'd have NNA as the initials, to stand for me, my sister and my bro):

Etsy, £18

What's on your wrists? Do you like to keep it simple with a single piece, or do you go to town on mixing it up?

I see dresses and shoes and cardigans of green

 Again, a bit of a bastardisation-title. But although my head's still firmly in sales-and-winter-clothing, spring collections are arriving in the shops now, and from what I can see, there's a couple of trends emerging. The most obvious being GREEN. A fresh, zingy, grass-green shade has cropped up in several places. I love these greens, so that's not a bad thing for me! (I don't follow high fashion closely enough to be able to identify the source, but I'm sure there must be one? The botanical prints remind me a bit of Erdem...)

I think this shade looks wonderfully fresh with white, and little blue, red or yellow accents. But it looks good with royal purples too, and as the black dress shows, if you're scared to go full-kermit, it pops as an accent against black. White generally looks terrible on me, so that's what I'll be pairing it with, even if I think this green looks its nicest against a bright crisp white. Like Wimbledon in outfit form. Oh, for summer!

Friday Frock!: Scarlet Safari

Dress, Primark; vest, M&S; cardigan, New Look; belt, Dorothy Perkins; tan ballet flats, Primark.

The series (which I realise has been inspired by a number of bloggers who also post dresses on Fridays) is back!

And yes. It might come to your attention that these pictures were not taken that recently. The clues would be the intense, bright sun, the bare legs (it already feels like quite a while since I donned tights, despite our October heatwave) and the lush vegetation of my mum's garden.

Nevertheless, as we enter the dark days of winter proper, it's nice to remember exactly how lovely the rare real summer's day in England can be (this is totally the reason, and not the fact that one of my cameras is having lens issues and the other has a dead battery and no charger, nope). This was a work outfit - I love cotton shirtdresses in summer for work, as they look relatively smart but are also cool and comfortable. I love the deep red shade of this dress - the best kind of red on me - but I find red tricky to pair colours with, as I usually dislike pairing it with black. But I think the safari-inspired palette of creams and tans works nicely here with it. If you notice, the cardigan has black polka dots on it - I love this cardigan from New Look so much! It adds interest and quirk to any outfit.

To emphasise the explorer vibe, I opted for my beloved spinning globe pendant:

Necklace, Accessorize

And some lovely drop earrings I got years ago from Sainsburys, of all places! I like little drop earrings a lot, they frame the face very flatteringly, and aren't too much for day:

Earrings, TU at Sainsburys

Ring out the old, ring in the new

Two of my essential accessories have been in serious need of an update for some time. My faithful tan leather cross body bag, and my wallet. My bag travelled the world with me for four years but daily use and trips to India, Bangladesh, the Middle East and Europe have taken their toll - to the point that my uncle in Bangladesh even politely and somewhat reproachfully enquired "don't you have ANY other bags?"

I was considering alternatives in this post - but having tried all the Topshop bags, none were quite right. My specs, though, were quite high: good hard-wearing leather, big enough for Moleskines/thin novels but not too huge, pretty daisy cutouts if possible, a strong, comfortable strap, and two compartments at least. I felt like it was never going to happen! It did, after a long search, and from a rather unlikely source!

So here's my accessories upgrade:

My poor weary tan leather bag, Accessorize (oh the shame...)

Purple leather wallet, Urban Outfitters

New-shininess (well, nearly new, they've been in use for a few weeks:

Tan leather bag, Dickins and Jones at House of Fraser

Red leather wallet, Marks and Spencer

Close up of punch out detailing on bag:

I definitely feel less scruffy and more put together now. And I'm so chuffed with the bag, it's made of such butter-soft but structured high grade leather, unlike the Topshop versions. I got it from Dickins and Jones of all places, which I view as a label for somewhat older folks, but it's so similar to the Topshop ones in style. I know, though, that unlike those, this will last me a good few years. I got it in the House of Fraser sale (the blue is still available), and with a gift voucher I only paid £20. Cannot complain about that! The wallet was also bargainous - at £6, and has just enough compartments. It's roomy, but I can't stuff it full of crap! Which is probably a good thing. They have lots of other colours too.

Hopefully my uncle will approve of my de-tramped accessories!

MOTD: Riviera

Here are the accessories I paired with the Paris print dress, together with my tan ballet flats and tan belt.

These are my absolute-favourite earrings, a humble pair of studs from Topshop. I would be heartbroken if I lost one of these. I just love the delicate colours and the size is just right. They seem to go with and uplift every outfit.

I got these coral beads when I was on holiday. I usually favour little charm necklaces but every now again I love a graduated beaded necklace, they are so feminine and old-fashioned.

I had to add a brooch to stop the neckline gaping, so I picked this one my best friend bought me, which picks out the green in the print.