Masquerade

One of my friends handed out the invitations for her birthday party today - a masquerade ball. It all sounds very fancy and sophisticated and even though it's not until the end of March I'm still really looking forward to it - especially finding my mask! 

I can't decide if I want to buy my mask to suit my dress or the other way around, it's not very often you get invited to a masquerade ball so I want to make the most of it and wear something a little bit unusual, which is why I like the opera mask above, (£15.99 from eBay) I like how it arcs over one eye and so isn't a typical mask shape, and the black with clear jewels means it would be easy enough to find a coordinating dress... now, how would I do my hair to avoid an ugly bump made by the elastic?

House Party Fashion

House party by hollyarrre featuring topshop

Lipsy floral dress
lipsy.co.uk

Topshop leather jacket
£65 - topshop.com

Zara shoes
£33 - zara.com

Blue Nile infinity bracelet
£46 - bluenile.com

Dolce Gabbana liquid eyeliner
£22 - sephora.com

Topshop
topshop.com

Nordstrom Personal Stylist 2013 e-Gift Card Personal Stylist 2013 $150
£33 - nordstrom.com

House parties can be a bit of a mine field when it comes to what to wear - when you hear party, you think of dressing up, but then you hear house, which calls for something more casual. I usually go for a blend of casual and dressy, because if you don't know everyone who's going to be there, there isn't much opportunity to discuss outfit choices, and nobody likes to show up to a party feeling under or overdressed.

In this look I've gone for a simple summery dress, then toughened it up with a leather jacket. Sandals are a good option for a house party, because they're easy to slip on and off if the host asks you not to wear shoes indoors, but they mean you can be up dancing all night and are far less likely to stumble after a few drinks. Keep jewellery to a minimum and don't wear anything that you'd be distraught to lose (I've spent many a morning-after-the-night-before looking for some girl's Pandora bracelet that she lost after her sixth vodka Red Bull)

I never feel "ready" unless I've painted my nails, and as a bit of a traditionalist, I like my nails to co-ordinate with my outfit if I'm going out. Lastly, a flick of liquid eyeliner and some loose waves never look out of place.

18th Birthday (in six months' time)

Image from We Heart It

I turn eighteen in less than six months (that is a terrifying concept considering that Hannah isn't even seventeen yet, I'm such an oldie!) and I'm debating what to do to celebrate.

I would like a party, but I don't know where to have it (it must be at a venue but I don't know where it should be) and my biggest worry... will anybody even come?

My idea for the party is to have a sort of grown-up kid's party, I feel like I'm rather immature for my age and don't feel any different to how I felt when I was about fourteen so I think having a kid's party would make the whole thing slightly less terrifying. I'm also the first of my friends to turn eighteen, this makes things all the scarier.

The idea is sort of there, but I don't really know how to develop it... I'm thinking vodka jelly, cupcakes, bubbles, balloons... but when does it stop being whimsical and start being sad? Where is the line?

 

All photos from We Heart It

Let me know what you think? Cool or absolutely not?

Christmas party dresses

Since my Christmas tree is up and the halls have been decked, I've been buying and wrapping Christmas presents and now I'm feeling all Christmassy and looking forward to the sixth form Christmas party and ofcourse the big day itself.

I love Christmas Eve too, me and my family have my aunty and uncle round and we all eat pork and stuffing cobs with mince pies and festive cupcakes or biscuits (depending on what I want to bake) then we watch a something like A Christmas Carol and track Santa on the computer. Family traditions are what makes Christmas, don't you think? I love how every family has their own routine, and how strange everyone else's patterns seem to your own.

Tonight I'm looking for a Christmas party dress, and showing you guys my favourite choices from the high street this winter.

 

First up is this super-cute off-white dress from Topshop for a pricey £50
I love the collar (ofcourse) but also the lacy detail on the nipped in waist is really beautiful. The crystal stud detailing on the collar give a subtle nod to the studding trend associated with the grunge look which is in this season, but the dress still gives off a butter-wouldn't-melt vibe which I really like.
Silver or nude heels would look great with this dress, or you could throw in a completely new colour palette, such as electric blue.

Next up is this quirky printed dress from H! by Henry Holland at Debenhams. This dress is £40 but is so Christmassy, with the velvet collar, button placket and cuffs on the 3/4 sleeves. Unfortunately it is out of stock in some sizes at the moment online, but there may be some available in store. Although the dress is short, it is balanced out by the high collar and long sleeves, so you don't look like a slut. Wear with black tights and simple black heels.

And now for something completely different...
Okay, so this dress (New Look £14.99) may be a little more Halloween party than Christmas party, and I can't decide if it's awesome or awful, but it would certainly make a statement at a party (especially a family one!) You wouldn't need any jewellery, the dress makes it's own statement, so keep it simple with classic black tights and shoes.



This cosmic print dress is an absolute bargain! At just £20 from Republic, look at the amount of fabric you get for your money, not to mention the absolutely beautiful print. The chiffon fabric is absolutely perfect for this print, giving the dress plenty of movement and the mullet skirt just tops it off wonderfully.

And finally, if you like simple, then it doesn't get much simpler than this gorgeous blue velvet dress from Miss Selfridge (£35) unfortunately this dress is labelled as "Exclusive" meaning that it can only be bought from/returned to the Oxford Circus store or online. It does seem a bit of a chore but at least it lowers the chances of anyone turning up in the same dress as you!

If you wanna be the Spice Girls

Last night me, Hannah and three of our friends went to the sixth form Halloween party dressed up as the Spice Girls. You may have read about our plans for this venture in Halloween #3 and Leopard Print Loathing, but I think that it's nice for you to see the finished product.

We all got ready at Baby Spice's house, to a soundtrack of the Spice Girls Greatest Hits album, and had great fun creating a faux bob for Posh, drawing on liquid eyeliner tattoos for Sporty and applying layers of bronzer to Scary.

The party had a lax fancy dress code, so when we arrived we were concerned that no-one else had dressed up, however as the night progressed plenty of people showed up in costume: a kilted Scotsmen, a group of surgeons, Cupid and Snow White, amongst others. The winner of the fancy dress costume was a guy dressed up in a giant inflatable willy costume, which probably tells you all you need to know about the class and tone of the party.

The guy at the bar knew exactly who I was dressed up as, which is the most important thing for me when it comes to fancy dress - there is nothing more awkward than talking to someone at a fancy dress party and having them ask you who you're supposed to be. I was also happy because my costume wasn't very slutty - it may have been short, but it wasn't up my arse and my boobs were nowhere near out.

With my first Halloween party of 2012 over, I can now really look forward to the second one on Tuesday.

Oh, and Spookbook is back! You can check out the entries so far and submit your own here.
Happy Halloween!