Confessions of an eBayaholic

It all started approximately 7 years ago...

I had just started Guides and they were planning a prom themed party. I needed the perfect dress. My mother and I looked everywhere, then one day she logged on to eBay. Hundreds and hundreds of dresses appeared at much more affordable prices. I found one I liked then we waited till the last 10 seconds. 10, 9, 8... I remember it so clearly; 7, 6... I really wanted that dress; 5, 4... I prayed that my mother was the highest bidder; 3, 2, 1... SOLD! YOU WON THE ITEM! I screamed. And that's where I was first introduced to the God send that is eBay.

More recently I've become obsessed. Who can resist grabbing that top for £2.50 when it should have been £32? Sometimes P&P charges can be a bitch. You feel chuffed because you won a dress for 99p, but it costs you about £4.99 in reality. But who cares?

My dad. I'm not old enough to have a PayPal account so all my orders go through his account. Of course I pay him back, but he doesn't approve. I recently spent about £80 on eBay, for which I bagged four dresses, a shirt, two skirts, a pair of shorts and some Topshop Joni jeans. Not bad! But after that splurge I decided I give up on eBay for a while. But just a couple of days ago my watch list managed to shoot up to over 70 items again. I think I've relapsed.

Here are my most recent bargains:

Topshop Crop Top - £4.70 (including P&P)

I only got this today. Can't wait for it to arrive.

Topshop Button Denim Skirt - 4.99

I love this skirt, I wear it all the time now! It's a tad big, but it's fine with a belt on.

H&M Boucle Shorts - £3.99

These shorts are more like hotpants. I'm a bit concious of exposing my butt cheeks, but otherwise I really like them.

Do you use eBay? What are you favourite bargains that you've got?

Mint Madness!

Do you have an automatic response you tell people when they ask you a certain question, even though that response is simply not true? For example, when asked what your favourite film is you say Pulp Fiction, even though it's actually Toy Story 3. Well my automatic response is pink. As in what-is-your-favourite-colour pink. But I'd never wear pink, or have my room pink, or paint my nails pink. So why do I say it? In reality, I love mint!

I'm not talking about the mints you eat, or the adjective 'mint' - that only antique collectors use. I'm talking about that delicious pale green which wouldn't look out of place on top of an ice cream cone. I can't get enough!

The pastel trend is nothing new. It grazed the catwalks back in SS12, and now that spring is finally here again it's making a comeback! I'm a lover of all pastel colours, but mint holds a special place in my heart. As I'm typing this I have a mint polish on my nails (albeit very chipped), and sat right next to me is my phone engulfed in a (grubby) mint case. Although it's coming across that I don't look after myself and my belongings very well, the actual point I'm trying to make is that I LOVE MINT!

To celebrate all things mint, here are some of my favourite pieces in this fabulous colour:

Mint Mesh Overlay Mini Skirt - £38 - Topshop

Blouse With Double Collar - £28 - ASOS

JuJu Jellies 'Babe' - £20-£28 (stockists vary)

Topshop's Railroad Collection

If you're an avid follower of Topshop like myself, and find yourself checking their website at least once a day, then you'll have seen their railroad collection. All very 50's American inspired, with a mix of denim, lace and my favourite for this season; tea dresses! I can't get enough of this collection!

When I look at this collection, I immediately picture myself in the blue floral tea dress, with dainty trimmed socks and the white t-bar shoes, sitting in a 50's style diner, tucking into a monster of an ice cream sundae. The collection also has a western prairie vibe, from the more feminine lace pieces, to the array of denim, check shirts and bolo ties!

It's safe to say that I love every piece of this collection, and I think it really defines the style I am in to this spring/summer. Unfortunately  as with all Topshop clothing, I find them to be a tad overpriced, but hopefully I can afford splurge out on just a couple of items from the collection.

This was a very difficult decision, but here are my top 3 pieces from the railroad collection:

Lace Crop Top - £24

Cotton Circle Crop Top - £32

Molly T-Bar Geek Shoes - £35

What are you favourite pieces from this collection? Leave a comment below.

Am I missing a milestone?

Most of my thinking is done before I fall asleep at night. But the other night my body decided to wake me up at half past three in the morning, and I had a bit of an epiphany.

I want to go to a festival!!

I'd never thought about it too much. A few people I know are going but all my closest friends have opted against spending their summer in a nylon house and using dry shampoo rather than the actual stuff.

But it's an experience! And according to my 'peers' 17 is the year for festivals and 18 is for holidays! And when I go to uni I don't want to be the only one who doesn't have a rotting wristband still latched on their arm.

But how do people my age afford this!? I figured the answer was either they have a job, or very generous parents. And unfortunately I have neither. And I can assume that many other people are in the same boat as me, so how did they fork out £200+ to go?

And even if I could afford it, who would I go with? Everyone I know who is going to Leeds is coupled up, so I'd be third wheeling times 5! Maybe I could convince my own boyfriend to go?

Am I being silly? Is going to a festival that much of an experience that I can't pass through to adulthood without having been to one? I don't know, but am I willing to take that risk?

Company Fashion Forum

Last Thursday I attended Company's Fashion Forum in Manchester. Yes, I know this post is a little over due but better late than never ey?

I have to admit, without sounding big headed, I wasn't sure how much I'd take away from this evening besides a fabulous goodie bag. After all, there's only so much a person can tell you about how to make it in a certain industry before you just have to go and find out for yourself. And the amount of time I sit in bed on my laptop researching careers is rather staggering. But I was pleasantly surprised to come away from the evening with a few more great tips!

After much trekking around parts of Manchester I'd never seen before, we finally found the venue! The density of fashionable girls hanging around is a good clue that you're getting close.

It's a good idea to take a note pad and pen (or an iPad if you're fancy like that) so that you can make notes. It didn't actually cross my mind to bring any paper, but thankfully I ended up going straight from college which turned out to be a God send.

The event was kicked off with all the panel members introducing themselves, and then editor Victoria White took the reins and briefly interviewed each person individually so we could learn more about them and how they came to be where they are now. It was quite refreshing to hear that one of the panellists had a very strong regional accent, showing that you don't need to be based in London to make it in fashion. In fact, about half of panel were located outside of London!

Vic then handed it over to us fashion wannabes to ask the questions we'd be dying to know. Now I'm not the most confident of people so putting my hand up and asking a question in front of all those people was a no go for me, but luckily we got the opportunity to go down to the front and speak to them privately at the end. I took this opportunity and ran with it, maybe a little too far?  I felt like I was hounding those poor women, but maybe it came across as enthusiastic. Let's hope!

All in all it was a great evening. I came away with a bag full of goodies (including my favourite moisturiser that I had almost ran out of at home) and a bunch of great advice. I'd really recommend this event to anyone who is unsure of going. Being only a lower sixth student meant I was probably one of the youngest people there, with most girls currently at uni, but the advice was still invaluable, and you might even bump into someone who is at the university you want to go to, so take the opportunity to ask them about their course!

Here are the top three tips I took away from the evening:

• Magazines etc get hundreds of emails a day and yours will probably be sent to the spam folder, so be different and hand write a letter!
• Don't spend too much time in education. Get your degree and get out. Yet another qualification is yet another year away from your dream. Get some internships instead. Experience is key in this industry!
• Never ever throw away a contact! Keep in touch (professionally or personally) with everyone. The people you study with at uni may end up being the assistant of the person you need to impress.

It's a tea party!

You know those people? Those who can walk into a vintage or charity shop and pull out tonnes of gorgeous items, and only pay £7 for the whole lot? Those people you're insanely jealous of because their wardrobe is twice the size of yours and probably half the price? I'm not one of those people.

My luck with charity and vintage shops is fairly non-existent. Admittedly I've gotten a fair few things off eBay for pennies, but I'm no bargain queen. So after longing for an adorable little vintage tea dress for quite some time, I am happy to see that they are very on trend this season, meaning that most high street stores will be stocking them, making them a whole lot more accessible. But probably more expensive!

So here's a round up of my favourite tea dresses this season, from the 'ooh, I could probably afford that' to the 'if only Christmas was nearer'.

So this first one is probably one of my favourites, and you can find this at River Island for £28 (or River Island @ ASOS), which I don't think is a bad price! I love that it has buttons all the way down. I don't think a tea dress is really a tea dress without a few buttons.

This next one is from Motel for £40, but students can get 25% discount at the moment which means you could snap this one up for £30! Annoyingly, the models hair is in the way of the neckline, but it's v-neck, wrap style dress.

This Nishe dress can be bought from ASOS for £50. The Nishe collection has a quite a few tea dresses with a very similar cut to this one, although this pattern was my favourite.

Moving up the price scale a little, we have this number from Urban Outfitters for £52, and you can save 20% at the moment. This one has to be my favourite because of the dark colour and delicate print making it very easy to wear. It also has those buttons all the way down which I love!

And finally, this adorable silk dress with a beautiful subtle print in a gorgeous pastel colour - which is perfect for SS13 - is from ASOS. It costs (unfortunately) £252. Oh well. I can dream.

As you can see, my idea of a tea dress is very specific; cap sleeve, buttoned front, but that's just what I like. There are many other kinds of tea dresses out there that still hold the feminine, vintage feel that are perhaps more suited to your taste.

Good luck to everyone with your SS13 wardrobe!

The birth of my blog!

So I have decided to start a blog. And while you may think the hardest part of starting a blog is ‘what do I write about?’ or ‘will anyone care about what I have to say?’, for me it was choosing a name.

I saw this task as very similar to naming a baby. There are many things you need to take in to consideration.  Number one. People must be able to spell it. Having the name Aderyn means I have felt the wrath of this situation, and I can tell you now, it’s not pretty. But why name your blog something that nobody can spell? The time consuming task of writing down the name of my blog, rather than just saying it aloud, made me think twice about swapping that ‘y’ for an ‘i’.  

Number two. It also needs to be fairly sensible. Too many celebrities nowadays are announcing the birth of their new born child Princess or Fifi (how these women get their husbands to agree to these names I’ll never know!). Albeit I probably thought these were great names at the age of ten, by the time you give birth you really should know better.  Similarly, for those of you who made a Hotmail account when you were twelve and inappropriately called it ‘s3xy_kitten-xoxo@hotmail.co.uk’, you’ll understand the embarrassment of having to recite this to people five years on.

So with much thought and consideration, and many many missed blogging opportunities, I decided to be brave and just pick one! So as I sit here, five days before my coursework deadline, telling myself that although this isn't what I'm meant to be doing it’s still productive, I present you with my blog. Hopeless Whistler!