A Collective Clothing Haul Featuring Next, H&M And More

When you're unhappy with your appearance, it changes everything. For a girl that normally loves clothes shopping and fashion, my last few shopping trips have left me feeling miserable and uninspired. I compare myself to others way too often and the thought of shopping in actual shops at the moment is depressing the hell out of me, especially when you can't find anything above a size 14 in Primark, so I did what any sensible person would do and turned to online shopping.

Trying something on in your own home is a much better way to look at something objectively. If you're having a rubbish day, you can leave the package until you feel as though you're in a better place. Everything in this haul bar one item was an online purchase, and even though I'm feeling a bit mehh I managed to get a few practical items, and a few fun items that I'll enjoy wearing. Oh and the trousers and the skirt all have an elasticated waist so even if I do lose a bit of weight they can be easily altered - see despite my negativity I'm still trying to be a practical and sensible fashionista :)

I'm going to start off with one of the fun pieces and I said in my previous beauty review post I love bright colours, and I love vibrant prints, so this top fits the bill perfectly.

It was something that I ordered from QVC of all places. When you think of QVC and fashion, you probably think like I did that they only se;; comfy, and casual clothing for those who are getting on in years. Well you couldn't be more wrong, okay they do sell ranges that are probably more appropriate to someone of say my mum's age but I'm a firm believer that you can find good wardrobe pieces in the most unexpected of places. QVC UK currently sells BIBA, a range by Trinny and Susannah, and a diffusion range from top designer, Issac Mizrahi, as well as exclusive, quirky pieces from internationally renowned designers such as Butler & Wilson, and Bob Mackie.

Although American designer Bod Mackie is probably better known for his work with celebrities such as Pink and Diana Ross, and of course as the designer of Cher's 1988 Oscar costume, he also designs a line exclusive for QVC. Wearable Art By Bob Mackie is a line of easy to wear, eye catching pieces, that showcase both his design and artistic talent.

This top is made of a soft, silky, slinky type fabric that feels beautiful against the skin. I love the psychedelic prints that he uses, and for someone who isn't normally a pink fan, I love the almost, clashing colour combination. Unfortunately this was a clearance item and no longer seems to be available on the QVC website but if like me you love quirky, retro and bright prints, it could be a brand to consider.

I'm all about colour and something that seems to appear every summer is neon. I love brights and whilst neon isn't always the easiest thing to wear, this shirt from the Definitions brand at both Very and Littlewoods seems to have got it spot on.

This sheer white shirt features a floral design in both bright and neon shades. My pictures aren't really doing the colours justice but this is an easy way to wear neon if your scared of wearing block colours.

Unless you're brave you would probably need to wear something underneath it, but I've mainly been wearing it with skinny jeans and sandals, one of my go to combinations that suits a variety of occasions.

I'm a bit obsessed with shirts and florals at the minute so as well as ordering another Definitions shirt I also ordered this one from Next.

With an ecru background this long sleeved shirt buttons half way down, and is covered in an exotic floral print.

This shirt was £20 and it also comes in a tan colour way. This pattern seems to be pretty popular with Next this season and you can also get a sleeveless shirt, and a three quarter sleeve top in the same print.

One online store that delights and annoys the hell out of me in equal measure is H&M. I really like their clothes for basics and for something a bit different. Their online store drives me nuts though - they've only recently got a search option and please don't order anything if you want it in a hurry, but the website has a good selection, and it offers the full range of sizes, so for me more often than not it's worth the risk. This time round I got a few basics including some of these.

Harem pants are something that you either love or hate but I'm a huge fan. They're comfy and in the summer they can be a bit cooler than leggings, speaking of which...

Yup, leggings, but these are very different to the basic leggings that I normally wear around the house. Not only do they have a high waist but they are also made of a thicker, more substantial material and they almost seem to suck you in a bit, without being skin tight. They are a bit dressier than my normal leggings and I would be happy to wear these outside of the house.

Something else that divides opinion is combat or cargo pants. I haven't worn them for quite a while now but I've seen so many images of them being used as part of the utility / sports chic trend that I thought I would give them another go. I'm planning on wearing them maybe with a vest and some tan leather sandals but we'll see.

As much as I love pattern I'm not that confident about wearing it on my bottom half, in fact Mummy Lou embraced the patterned trouser trend way before I did, but once I'd tried it I couldn't get enough. These are my fourth pair from H&M and I think that they are probably the boldest to date. I love the warm colours and the almost Moroccan type print

The last thing that I got from H&M was a skirt. It's navy blue and has front pockets and an elasticated waist. It's very slouchy and perfect for the summer months.

It was £24.99 which I think is expensive for what it is and annoyingly it's now on sale at just £12, but guess who's now ordered the blush pink version? Yes me!

From something practical to something a little bit silly, a little slogan t-shirt from ebay.

I love this tee, and as someone who feels more confident online, than what they do in real life, it was a must. You can get these t-shirts from a variety of ebay sellers but this was the seller I used, and it was £9.99 with free postage.

My final online purchase was something from the George range at Asda. I always have a look through the rails when I'm in store but I haven't been in for a while so I had a little look online and this midi skirt literally jumped out at me.

Described as red, it's a really vibrant orange. It has an elasticated waist and it's made of a scuba type fabric, and it has two faux zippered pockets on the front. It was just £14 and you can still find it here on the Asda Direct website.

I don't know whether it's to do with the change in the weather or down to an attempt to lift my mood? but I'm really loving orange at the moment. It's such a happy colour and my final clothing purchase and the only purchase physically done in a shop, is in a fabulous, zingy orange colour.

It's just a basic bat wing cardigan, nothing exciting, but when I saw it on a Primark sale rack its colour dragged me in and I couldn't leave without it. It was only £5 reduced from £10 so it was a bargain. I love wearing orange in the Autumn to match the leaves as well so this is a buy that should easily take me right through to October and beyond.

If you want to see all of my buys in a bit more detail then you can watch the accompanying video that I've made especially for you x



Thanks for reading and hopefully watching, and don't forget to follow and subscribe and leave me your thoughts below xx

Clothing And Accessories Haul Featuring H&M, George and Boohoo

Another week and it's time for another haul. I'm not feeling very comfortable with my size or my weight at the moment, so really clothes shopping should be off the agenda but sometime you either see a bargain or you just get the urge to buy some pretties and that's exactly what's happened here.

I've probably done something a bit silly with some things and I've sized down for when I do lose a bit of weight but I'm really hoping that it will give me a bit of an incentive and the offending pieces won't just sit there in my wardrobe for ever more - fingers crossed anyways x

We'll start of with some supermarket buys from George at Asda. Over the last month or so I've had a couple of business meeting in Asda Cafe of all places. With time to kill I had a mooch around the George sale rails and I picked up a few half price bits including this gorgeous blouse.

It looks absolutely nothing in the picture but it's made of a sheer, pale ivory fabric, it has long slightly puff sleeves with crystal buttons and the most beautiful Peter Pan collar that you ever did see.

The collar is covered in the cutest daisy embellishment, made out of crystal and a PVC like, faux leather. The collar was undoubtedly the selling point for LouLou the daisy lover, and even though this top is too sheer to wear on it's own, I know I'll wear it a lot over both leggings and skinny jeans.

Another top that I got from the Asda sale racks was this boxy, purple floral number.

Made of shiny, scuba style fabric, it has a zip at the back of the neck and I love it. There was also a dress and matching pencil skirt available, but me and pencil skirts don't really mix so I'm picturing this with some high waisted jeans, or even some flares, if I can find a pair that fits and suit me.

As well as the tops I also got this floral patterned tunic dress. Made of a textured fabric, it has a black faux leather trim around the neckline, which adds a designer edge. I think I'm mainly going to be wearing this with black opaques, and maybe the brogues you'll see later on in this post, but I think that this would also look good over leggings for a long line tunic look.

The final I bought from Asda was a non sale item but it was only £12 so I still consider it to be a bit of a bargain buy x

I'm loving the silky, shiny scuba type fabric that seems to be everywhere at the moment and I also have a bit of a thing for elasticated waists. Hey, don't knock them until you've tried them. They fit on both your fat and thin days and they're comfy. There also pretty easy to adjust if you lose weight so I'm all over them at the moment and this one fits the bill perfectly. It's black with a large grey and white floral pattern.

Unfortunately I can't find any of these items online now, but if you have an Asda Home, or an Asda store near you it might be worth having a look at the sale racks, you never know what bargains you might find.

Sticking with the scuba fabric idea and the concept of the elasticated waist I've also recently made a little purchase from boohoo. This is one those sized down items but I loved it so much it will be worth cutting back on the bad things to wear it x The Kadie Porcelain Print Box Pleat Skirt, is made of the same, silky, shiny scuba type fabric but it isn't quite as thick as either of my Asda purchases. It normally £20 but buy at the right time from boohoo (usually weekends) and you can either get some money off or free postage. I love the clean, sharpness of the blue and white and I can't wait to wear this when I've lost a few pounds and have a bit of a tan. I'm not 100% sure what kind of top to wear this with so I'd love to hear your thoughts x

I don't whether I've been thinking about the warmer months but after wearing skirts only sporadically for the last few years all of a sudden I'm obsessed with them. Again all about the elasticated waist, this skirt comes from H&M.

When I first received this skirt I couldn't decided if I loved it or hated it. As well as being stupidly tight, I just wasn't sure about the colour and the fabric, or the £39.99 price tag! Although it's still way tighter than I would have liked (I'll work on that!) it has grown on me. I still think it's overpriced, but the almost tan, terracotta brown shade reminds a lot of some of the 70's inspired bits that are everywhere at the moment. The sort of ribbed, knit, almost nylon also has that retro vibe about it. I'll make it work and it's something that you could wear across several seasons so I'm hoping that it will make a versatile addition to my wardrobe.

That almost retro style rib knit seems to be everywhere at the moment and despite the sweat issues that come from the fabrication I'm a bit of a fan. This high, turtle neck black ribbed jumper also from H&M is a real, wardrobe staple, and a bit of a twist on the basic black sweater. I've been wearing this jumper with statement necklaces for a stylish yet classic look. Unfortunately this was in sale so it isn't online any more and unfortunately neither is this jumper.

This is just a classic, black and white horizontal striped, fine knit sweater, with an exposed zip at the back of the neck. I've been wearing this over skinny jeans, and leggings and accessorising if with chunky, black and white jewellery pieces, and my gorgeous Iced Rainbow necklace, that you may have already seen in this post x

This post seems to feature a lot of reoccurring themes, skirts with an elasticated waist, scuba fabrics, florals and blue and white. I think I get my love for blue and white from Mummy Lou and I couldn't resist yet another jumper.

This open weave jumper is white and features a lovely blousey, blue rose design. Unfortunately this one is long gone from the website too but I think will be a lovely piece for those cooler summer evenings.

My next clothing purchase came courtesy of Dorothy Perkins. I used to be a regular Dorothy Perkins shopper, but lately not so much. I find it quite an expensive store for what it is now, and to be honest all of their clothes are a bit samey :( Once in a while though something will stand out and on this occasion, it was this top.

My pictures just aren't doing this top justice, so I would recommend either checking it out on the Dorothy Perkins website or in person. It's all about the layers, with a wrap over a back and layers of fabric. Again the selling point was the neckline and I love the crystal and bead detailing. It should be £28 but if you look hard enough online you should be able to find a discount code x

My final clothing purchase came from QVC of all places. I know they have a bit of a reputation for old lady, and casual wear but I'm a firm believer that you can find fashion and beauty gems anywhere. One of QVC's most longstanding brands is British fashion jewellery brand Butler & Wilson. As well as a range of distinctive jewellery pieces, they also have their own fashion and accessory range.

I fell in love with this top the first time that I saw it presented. I love hippy and psychedelic swirls and patterns and this multi, coloured rainbow design called to me. The fabric is silky soft and feels gorgeous against the skin. The design has a slightly blurred finish which adds to the trippy feel. It was £30.40 excluding postage which wasn't cheap but I've already worn it once and received a few positive, compliments so it was well worth it for an unusual piece.

As well as some fashion pieces I've also bought a few jewellery and accessory pieces and a pair of shoes.

On those days when the rain and the ice have stayed away I've been ditching my boots for my beautiful Clarks brogues. I've worn them an awful lot and they still look as good as they ever did but I really, really wanted a black pair. Unfortunately I can't justify the outlay at the moment so after a lot of searching I eventually found a decent alternative courtesy of 24 Studio

Okay they aren't real leather but these Dolcis brogues look and feel like the real thing for a fraction of the price. I can't find them on the website anymore but I know they were less than £20 and they have some that look very similar on sale at just £12.99.

It wouldn't be a fashion and accessory haul on this blog if it didn't contain a few jewellery pieces x You've already seen a post on my gorgeous necklace from Iced Rainbow but I also a few pieces from Avon including this beautifully packaged necklace and earring set.

Packaged in a galaxy print, star shaped box you get a silver tone necklace with a tiny star pendant and matching stud earrings. As well as this sweet set, I also got this bracelet x It's a stretch bracelet in a sort of mesh, popcorn style, with a real gemstone, quartzite stone at the centre.

Alas these were sale items so they aren't on the Avon website anymore but it might be worth having a look through a sale brochure if you have a local Avon representative x

My final jewellery purchase came from one of my favourite places to buy jewellery, ebay x

This bracelet set contains a variety of faux gold, and faux pearl beaded bracelets, and one gold tone bangle, several of which have charms such as crystals, coins and stars hanging off them. All of these bracelets can be worn together or separately x They were just £1.09 from this seller x

My last clothing and accessory purchase was a bit of a silly one. I bought a pair of grey, furry bunny ears from Poundland.

An obvious Easter purchase don't you know and I wore them with pride to the hilarity of my family over the weekend x Why not? well all need to do something every now and then that makes us or someone else smile x I don't think Jasper was that impressed, but this picture seemed to make a lot of you smile on Instagram x

I've filmed a little You Tube video to accompany this haul, which I hope you'll watch and enjoy and I'd really love it if you'd subscribe x



If you have any questions or comments on anything that I've bought please leave me a comment, I love reading what you have to say x