Lovelyshoes.net, MissGuided, Dorothy Perkins haul and review

Lovelyshoes.net is a Chinese-based online store that wholesales shoes and bags, and I've reviewed stuff from there before on my blog. The shoes are really cheap (like $10-$30) so it's great for people on a budget! However it's copped its fair share of bad reviews on the internet for the quality and customer service. My personal experience hasn't been as bad as others though, and although there are some 'misses' in this haul I still think they were kind of expected for the price I paid.

I got 4 pairs of shoes (the black ones with the metallic heel are from MissGuided) for about $51 plus shipping of about $49 (yes, it's almost the same price as the shoes themselves!) = $100.

Shipping to Australia took about 2 weeks.

As for sizing, I always order Euro size 37 from Chinese wholesale websites which seems to be pretty consistent and fit me perfectly.

(more under the link!)

Bikini Shoot with Itsie Bitsie

'Twisted Sister' Bikini top: c/o Itsie Bitsie (link here- I got 'black white' in XS)
'Twisted Sister' bikini bottoms: c/o Itsie Bitsie (link here- I got 'black white' in XS)
Chiffon outer: Supre
Sunnies: ASOS

The long-awaited bikini shoot is finally up!! We're heading out of summer now but it was so difficult to organise a beach shoot! They are just too far away and we had the worst luck with this weather that practically changes entire seasons throughout the days. Thankfully we managed to squeeze in a shoot on a graciously sunny day, but for convenience it had to be at Bondi Beach which is one of the most crowded beaches in Sydney! It was so nerve-racking as this was only the second time I had ever worn a bikini as well, and I was so anxious I felt sick, but I'm so glad that I put all those undesirable factors aside and managed to come away with good photos to show off this bikini! :)

I was pretty excited to take on the challenge of a bikini shoot when Itsie Bitsie first contacted me! And luckily there was such a cute range of one-pieces and two-pieces available, as well as beachwear such as cover-ups or even summery dresses you can wear anywhere. I especially love the swimwear range though- the styles have a really cute, 50s pin-up feel to them with a modern touch (especially this one, it was too hard to resist!) The one I ended up getting is a bit more conservative but it still had that 50s touch with the halter neck! :)

I chose matching bottoms as well, and although these are pretty small bottoms compared to others, don't be afraid because they're deceivingly flattering :) I really liked the ties on the sides not just because they looked cute, but they also create an illusion of wider hips and therefore accentuate that waist-hips ratio! The other great thing about both pieces of the bikini is that the material is quite thick, which is very important when it comes to swimsuits lol.

Anyway, I hope you guys like the photos although it's a little different to my other outfit posts! Don't forget to  check out Itsie Bitsie for more cute swimwear and beachwear- they're based in Hong Kong so don't be alarmed when you see high $$, as it's in HK dollars (you can change it to USD) :)

I wanted to ask you guys a question! Just curious, as obviously this is only my second bikini. What do you guys look for when choosing a bikini?

foxes and leather

Fox jumper: Jay Jays

Red pants: Zara

Hat: Cotton On

Shoes: Therapy

Buckled drawcord leather backpack: c/o YesWalker (link here)
Bones bracelet: Tobi.com

When you see the jeans come out you know that we're truly heading out of summer! Truth be told, I've had these red Zara jeans for ages but I was never happy with how they looked so I never worn them in public. But there are some days when you wake up with a positive outlook and you transfer that to what you see in the mirror, and then you adorn yourself with the self-confidence to wear anything :) Wearing these jeans out was a lightweight challenge; I did a bikini shoot recently and that took me to a whole new level of fear! I'll post photos from that shoot up soon although honestly I still feel really queasy thinking about it.

On to the outfit though! The weather on that morning started off so cold and miserably, and there's something about wearing a cute, warm knit with an animal on it that makes the day so much brighter :) Wearing this took me back to my uni days- these wedges are reaallly comfy and I can run to class in them, and the YesWalker backpack is perfectly sized for my uni essentials (ipad, ipad keyboard, wallet, phone, bottle of water and maybe a small-ish textbook!) YesWalker is the sister site of the popular YesStyle, but is concentrated on shoes and bags. They also have free express international shipping which means you can get all your goodies straight away! I love the leather look of this bag and the heart-shaped zips (unfortunately you can't really see in these pictures!) as well, and I only wish I had this backpack when I was still studying!

Do you guys like wearing clothing with animals on it? Do you have a preference for particular animals to feature on your clothes? :)

Tobi haul #2, ASOS, and so many other things!

Tobi has such an amazing range of unique pieces at really affordable prices. Last time I made an order I received two crochet cropped tops in black and white which I absolutely loved to death (and made two outfit posts for! Here and here), and a Mink Pink striped crop top.

As I had such a positive experience, I decided to make my second Tobi haul a bit bigger. As I had already used up the 50% discount for first-time orders, I just stuck to the 30% discount for new arrivals.

Unfortunately I wasn’t as impressed with the pieces this time around, as I was last time. The pieces in my first haul were great quality and design, and at such bargains too. This time, the quality of the items was of lower standard overall and the prices really did not seem to justify it. I guess in the end there will always be hits and misses! And it's a bummer that I had to pay a little extra for the 'misses'.

Ordered 3 tops, 1 dress and 1 bracelet- total was $123. Including shipping of $9.95 (as I didn't meet the $150 for free shipping), total was $133.

 Lace up top dress $26 small (link)

(wearing the nude slip underneath)

So next time I should really read the description of items properly, as it said the lining does not go to the top of the dress. ie it's lined from the waist down so your underwear won't show through, but at the top where it's lacy it's not lined. Luckily I already own a nude slip (that goes from the top of the bust to above the belly button) to wear underneath this dress. It does the trick perfectly!

It’s also pretty tight around the middle and I had difficulty in zipping it up, but that’s because I have large ribs. It's only tight around my ribcage, and everywhere else is comfortable.

Also the neckline is really high and quite uncomfortable in my opinion. Although it's not right around my neck like a turtleneck, the fact that it's a bit scratchy and tight, makes me wish I hadn't gotten this! However the design of the dress is absolutely beautiful, and I love the lace, the flared design, and the tulle lining underneath the skirt is super pretty.This tulle lining helps create the flared shape as well as add a pretty touch underneath the dress. I can't remember the last time I made contact with tulle, so this dress makes me feel like a princess!

4/5

Spiked denim bustier $32 Small (link)

The denim bustier was kind of nerve-racking to put on! The threads are all exposed on the inside, so there is a high risk of snagging onto those threads and accidentally pulling those spikes off. It’s kind of crudely made and it’s not something I would pay more than $20 for. It also sits quite high on the torso, and the 'bust' lining is not quite where a real person's bust would actually be. So I think this piece is strictly for the flat-chested!

Personally I don’t know if I’d be confident wearing an outfit like this out! But I did like the idea of denim on denim, when I was modelling the bustier! The denim bustier has a very Madonna, 80s vibe to it and I guess that’s what drew me to it :)

4/5
so much more under the link!

Garden magic

cut outs dress: c/o Boohoo (link here)
floral crown: Sportsgirl
clutch: Forever New
Bangles and bracelet: Equip and Collette
Shoes: c/o Fashion Valet

Photography cr: boyfriend

It took me ages to figure out how I was going to style this Boohoo dress! There were such interesting elements to the dress such as the criss-cross cutouts in the middle and the high-low cut, which called for a variety of different looks. I was going to go for Greek goddess complete with a jewelled chain headpiece, or simply modern, night-out-about-town chic. But there was a floral crown I've been dying to wear and after putting that on, all the other accessories just fell into place to create what I call my fairy princess look :) and luckily the location complemented it too!

Even if you're not going for any particular look, I seriously think this dress speaks volumes by itself and doesn't really need any additional pizzazz. There wasn't much wind that day during the shoot, but I wish I could show how even more incredible the dress looks with all that volume below the waist! Anyway I hope everyone is having a lovely week so far, I'm off in another state for more work training at the moment!

Hop Shop Go experience #2: Forever 21 haul #2, Eastbay haul #1

It's time to bypass unfairly high shipping fees to Australia again, with another bulk order using HopShopGo! You can read experience #1 with HSG in this blog post here. In hindsight I don't think that post was very well written so here is a summary of what HSG is all about:

HopShopGo is a parcel-forwarding service that provides consumers with a US address, to help maximise your online shopping experience. This is really useful for 2 main reasons:

1. some stores don't ship to places such as Australia,
2. or they charge really high international shipping rates.

When you register on HSG they will give you a US-based address. You copy that address into the delivery address fields when buying something from an online store. When that package gets delivered to the US address, HSG will notify you via email, or you can check your HSG account. You can then ship the package out whenever you want, to your own home address elsewhere. (but there is a limit on how many days you can keep it there, otherwise you start accumulating storage fees!)

It's also wise to make bulk orders to get delivered to the US address. You know how sometimes packages have like a huge box with a bunch of padding and air around a tiny item? HopShopGo can consolidate all your packages together to reduce shipping fees. However that consolidation option isn't guaranteed, and it won't be available when they think the savings aren't worth it.

I'll start off the post with a review of the items I got and then go on to calculate the savings I made!

Forever 21 actually has a store not just in the US, but has also opened in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. You can find out more here!

Onto the hauls- I actually made two. Most of the stuff was my little sister's, which I haven't featured in this blog post. (so when you see that the total cost of the F21 hauls was about $272 don't be alarmed lol!) The other stuff is all mine and which I'll go on to review!

"I love drummers" baseball tee $17.80 Small (link)
I'll start with my favourite! I bought this just for fun because my boyfriend plays the drums :)  the material is incredibly soft and I’ll probably wear it to lounge around in. The only thing is that the top seems to have been made for people for narrow shoulders only, and you can see how underneath my armpits it's rather tight there. Oh well, it’s a tee I just got for fun and for the message on it! :)

There were other cute similar options on Forever 21 as well, such as "I love the DJ" and "I love the band", if those messages are more suited to you! :)

4.5/5

more under the link below!