Wish List Wednesday

Wish List 1 by rionadoherty featuring a slip dress
1) Boucle Blazer - ASOS
2) Floral Pinafore - Topshop
3) Chanel case - Etsy
4) Petite Hexagon Strappy Dress - Topshop
5) Glass Teapot - notonthehighstreet.com
6) Cameo Charm Bracelet - ASOS
7) Hi Top Floral Converse - Schuh
8) Poem Platforms - ASOS
9) Neon Yellow Transparent Clutch - Bershka
10) Nude Sling Backs - Topshop

Looking at the A/W'13 collections we first saw a few months ago, and particularly looking at Anna Sui, it's fair to say preppiness is making a comeback. Think Blair Waldorf with a bit of a bohemian twist. The ASOS boucle textured blazer featured above could very easily fit into the Anna Sui collection -

- with a fraction of the price. If you're looking to be on trend this Autumn (or are still mourning the end of Gossip Girl... *despairing emoji*) this is a great place to start.

2) Festival wise this summer, the way forward seems to be an ensemble of clothes we used to wear as children. The recent 90s revival has seen scrunchies (to quote Blair Waldorf, I have never owned a scrunchie), jelly shoes, crop tops, dungarees and pinafores worm their way back into our wardrobes, though I for one am avoiding the jelly shoe craze. I love the print on this pinafore and would pair it with a plain white rolled-sleeve t-shirt with DMs at a festival.

3) An iPhone case with a Chanel nail polish design, with a choice of around a hundred nail colours. There is nothing not to love here. Especially for £5.90.

4) Yep, you guessed it - THIS IS REALLY 20S AND I LIKE THAT. I love the back especially.

5) Firstly, a glass teapot is an incredible idea. Secondly, the idea of blossoming tea just about blows my mind. And obviously this is best experienced in a glass teapot, so get your blossoming tea from House Of Blossoms (more reasonable prices than anywhere else I've seen) and throw a tea party with a twist. Bound to impress.

6) Whether it's real gold or not, Rose Gold is most definitely having a moment. For £6.50 this is most definitely not real, but Rose Gold + Cameo = chic. 

7) The fresh colours on these floral Converse just scream summer. I need.

8+10) Block platform heels are everywhere at the moment and I think they look especially good in nude. Now, they are real leather, but I do think £85 is a little pricey for the nude sling backs... If you're not bothered about real leather, there are several identical pairs on eBay (which were on eBay way before Topshop were selling them, and also retail on Missguided for £35ish) for a little as £27.92! I certainly can't tell the difference...

Just search for 'nude block platforms'

9) Similar to the current 'trend' of doing an Anna Wintour and carrying no bag at all (iPhone 5 and credit card are the chicest of essentials, carried by hand of course), we also now put our possessions on show to the world. Transparent bags are a pretty stupid idea, but I love them too much to care. With the Bershka bargain above you can choose between transparent neon yellow or neon pink. It's very similar to one The Londoner donned a while back, except hers was an iPad case and a little more expensive. A big selling point of this clutch - IT'S £10.

Are you lusting after any of the above?

Bises,

Riona

A Facebook Plea

I know you're all waiting with baited breath to hear my thoughts on Gatsby, but I want to take time to write a proper post on it and, as my life currently consists almost exclusively of college, work and college work, I just won't have the time for a few days - but on the whole I definitely enjoyed the film.

I've noticed quite a lot of people are reading my blog lately but not following - if you're on Google+, please follow! If not, I installed a little gadget on the sidebar the other day which allows you to follow by email! Just enter your email address and you'll receive an email every time I write a post.

Alternatively, if you've enjoyed reading my blog, I'd really appreciate it if you could like my Facebook page! I often post photos and links on there:

https://m.facebook.com/#!/ImGoingToBeLate?__user=535792400

Thanking you. Here's a bit of my life over the last month:

1) First legal bottle of champagne! 2) the sunset through a phone box yesterday.

3) Sweep had a haircut the poor soul. 4) Seeing Gatsby eeek. 5) Travelling planning going extremely well... Slightly worrying that two friends and I are being left to backpack in foreign countries for 2 weeks... 6) My cocktail of choice, mojitos. 7) The best iced tea you will ever taste. Recipe coming soon. 8) Erm, in the garden? 9) A summer haul, also coming soon.

Bises,

Riona

P.S. The observant among you have probably realised I've also decided to change the font I use. Ooooo.

5 Things to Do This Weekend

As it looks to be another rainy weekend, here are a few ideas, whether they're during a revision break or you're just bored and longing for this supposed summer to finally reach us...

1) See The Great Gatsby | The decadent Roaring 20s era has taken the world by storm recently as Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated remake of the classic American 20s novel, often cited as one of the best books ever written, is released in the UK today, after the initial Christmas release date was pushed back until now. I've watched the trailer (I wrote a post on it a while ago here if you still haven't seen it) about 30 times and I still get goosebumps every time I watch it. It's sure to be 2 hours of Prada flapper dresses, an AMAZING soundtrack and of course Leo DiCaprio. An unmissable combination. If the film leaves you with even worse 20s fever, head down to Harrod's this weekend, where you'll currently find a pop up Great Gatsby cocktail bar in the store's underground tasting room and wine shop. It closes on the 20th so hurry up! (Although if Harrod's is out of the question you could always whip up a few mint juleps, side cars or if gin is your thing, maybe some martinis - all quintessentially 20s beverages.)

2) Finalise Summer Plans | If you haven't already, get booking! I finally got my travelling stuff sorted out the other week and I've never been so excited - Budapest, Prague, Berlin and Amsterdam within 13 days (the photo featured is of the Saturday night summer bath parties in Budapest. Eeeek). So whether you're planning to head off on a boozy break, a festival or two or a culturally enriching (aha) backpacking excursion, get it sorted and it'll give you some motivation through all the rain and revision.

3) Watch an Audrey Hepburn film | Whenever it's raining, all I want to do is stay in bed with my Audrey Hepburn boxset, often replaying the final "CAT!" scene in Breakfast At Tiffany's with that famous kiss in the rain featuring the beautiful George Peppard.

4) Sort Out Your Summer Wardrobe | Again, when you're bogged down with mind maps and Post-It notes, it helps to keep summer in mind. I love this boho Fringed Coachella Beach Kimono from River Island and will definitely be donning it on a few beaches this summer. I usually look to a few celebrities whose style I admire for summer style inspiration, which is currently Blake Lively (or ANY of the clothes she wears as Serena in Gossip Girl) and Gillian Zinser. I love how laid back their style is, but also polished when need be.

5) Get a Free Graze Box On Me | I got my first Graze box this week and it has changed my life. You can rate hundreds of snacks online between 'Bin, Try It, Like, Love, Send Soon' and they'll send you a selection of the stuff they think you'd like. I received summer berry flapjacks, oatcakes with red onion marmalade, a white chocolate, Amaretti biscuit and coconut mixture and their 'Billionaire's Shortbread', containing milk chocolate, fudge pieces, almonds and cranberries. Now thanks to me, if you quote 'TJRRKJTD' on www.graze.com, you'll receive your first box for free! I'd definitely recommend them, they're perfect for coming home early from college to and their food is supposed to be pretty good for you. If you're into that.

Bon week-end!

Bises,

Riona

Teen Vogue Comes to the UK

...in a much smaller version with slightly more affordable content. Yes, meet Vogue's new supplement for teens - Miss Vogue.

I am incredibly late to the party on this one but unfortunately with exams going on, blogging has had to take a backseat.

I can see the need for Miss Vogue. Though a lot of teenagers buy Vogue, it does seem to carry a bit of a 'middle-to-upper class 30 something' stigma, mainly due to the prices and brands of the products featured and the demure topics of the articles. Miss Vogue is something fresh, that touches not only upon 'affordable' fashion (though still not quite my idea of affordable - featured is a £130 copper geometry set and brands that go up to around £400) but on topics relevant to teenagers written by teenagers, such as image, drugs, social media, exams and sex.

It is very similar to Teen Vogue (though I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing as Teen Vogue boasts Nicki Minaj as its current cover girl) - for example the 'My Space' feature on the bedrooms of various artists/models/directors' daughters is reminiscent of Teen Vogue's dorm features, and the same goes with the 'I Dated A Rockstar' story which, personally, I found more Bliss magazine than Vogue. However, I absolutely loved the wanderlust-fulfilling 'Saturday Night Around The World' feature and all the fashion stuff is just what you would expect from Vogue's little sister - on trend and more than appealing to the target audience.

It appears Vogue are testing the water to see just how successful the new venture is, but it's been hinted that there probably won't be a monthly edition, with Alexandra Shulman stating "We might well sell it twice a year, say, with the main magazine." Personally I think Miss Vogue could easily stand alone on the market; the potential is huge - Vogue.co.uk are already publishing Miss Vogue posts. This could lead to its own website, more involvement with teen bloggers, an iPhone app, Miss Vogue events, maybe a campus magazine like Cosmo On Campus...

What did you think of the magazine? Think it should stick around?

Bises,

Riona