6 Tips About Dress Alterations Every Woman Should Know*

Getting the perfect fit doesn’t have to be so difficult; dress alterations can be a life saver!
You’ve got a big event coming up; maybe it’s your best friend’s 30th, your sister’s wedding, or simply that job interview that you’ve wanted for an awful long time. Whatever it is, you need an outfit; one that shows off your best bits as well as one that looks sophisticated and fancy to boot.
However, something so simple as finding the right dress can be an absolute nightmare when you actually start that search. What looks best on your body? Where do you shop for a dress these days? Does your old dress even fit like it used to? With so much to consider, it can put you in a bit of a spin.
You don’t always need a brand-new dress for every occasion. Think about those dresses you used to love that are stored away in your wardrobe, just waiting to be worn again! Whatever your decision, dress alterations can be an absolute life saver. What should you keep in mind?

1. Give yourself plenty of time.
If you don’t give yourself enough time to organise your outfit, then you’ll be rushing around like a headless chicken the night before your event. We could all do without the extra stress when we have something important on the cards! If you’re ordering a dress then leave yourself a few months to get sorted if you can. This is especially important for weddings or other big events you’ve got planned in advance. If you know you’ve got an important interview next week, make sure you have all your alterations completed sooner rather than later!

2.Visit a tailor or seamstress.
If you know what your dress needs but you’re not sure how to get the look you want, a professional seamstress or tailoring professional is your best bet. Dress and wedding dress alterations from Alterations Boutique can help pinpoint areas for improvement, ensuring you get the look you need as easily as possible. Want a more fitting waist? Perhaps you need a hem taking in, or even sleeves removing; whatever it is, an expert can always help you out and take away some of that stress.

3.Don’t settle for an estimate.
A tailor doesn’t really know what they’re faced with unless they’re presented with a garment. It can be incredibly difficult to give out information over the phone or via email without actually seeing a dress with their own eyes. It’s always better to book in an appointment with a tailoring specialist; that way, you’ll have time to talk about what you need and ways in which your look can be achieved.

4.Remember your budget.
If you don’t have a skilled seamstress in the family it’s unlikely that you’ll get a discount when getting dress alterations. Make sure you budget! How much are you willing to spend on your dress to make sure it’s perfect? If you’re going to wear a dress more regularly than once in your life, then keeping some money aside is always going to be worth it. You’ll easily get your money’s worth!

5.Keep shoes and accessories in mind.
When opting for dress alterations, it’s always best to wear the shoes to go with your outfit alongside your dress. If you’re going for the hem tuck you need to make sure you stay in proportion! It can be easy to just focus entirely on your dress when, in fact, your overall look is the most important at the end of the day.

6.Take a friend!
Getting an opinion from someone who isn’t yourself or a seamstress is a good idea. A friend or family member knows you better than anyone else, and will be able to tell you, honestly, how things look, and even make suggestions about what may suit you!

Remember dress alterations when you’re in need of a new outfit!

Sometimes, having a big clothing sort out can uncover so much. Who knew we had so much in our wardrobes just waiting to be worn?! If you’re a little stuck for ideas, or you’re not sure what to do with all your old clothing that no longer fits, visit a professional!

This post was in collaboration with Alterations Boutique, suit and dress alterations specialists in the UK. For more information about their services or to make an enquiry, visit their website: https://www.alterationsboutique.co.uk.

The November 2018 Degustabox- getting festive

It feels like an absolute age since I last did a Degustabox* post, although in reality I only skipped one month and that was due to the chaos of moving house. It’s good to be back, and with a bang as November’s festive themed box was a great one, packed full of fantastic products (although I’m not 100% sure how festive it really was!)
I’m a year round soup enthusiast and I was already familiar with this month’s product of the month- organic chunky tomato and organic lentil vegetable soups from Amy’s Kitchen. I prefer fresh soups when possible, but when it comes to tinned ones Amy’s Kitchen is a brand I trust and gravitate towards. They are pricey at £1.80 per can but totally worth it, full of flavour and 100% organic- my favourite is the lentil and vegetable with some fresh crusty bread for dipping.

I say this every time but my savoury tooth trumps my sweet one most of the time and I’m always down for trying new products. Emily Veg Crisps sweet potato sticks are a fairly new addition to the Emily range, and my favourite product in their range from here on out. The sea salt stands out by a mile for me, I prefer simple tastes, but the chilli and lime are also delicious. Find this in stores for around £1.00 per pack.

Jack Daniels and I go back a long way, and most of my night out horror stories involve JD and diet coke in some capacity (or in one memorable incident, a litre of JD straight…I was later fished out of a wheelie bin). I’ve avoided it for several years now, being a more sensible woman than I once was, but I like the idea of being able to get it in a single serving can- Bob and I have these stashed away for over the festive period. £2.00 per can – an ideal price for keeping dignity intact.

I’m rarely without a bottle of tabasco sauce in my cupboard- it’s just so versatile! I love it on a salad or pizza, mixed in to scrambled eggs and I’m betting it’s a great way to spice up a festive prawn cocktail! This year the brand are celebrating it’s 150th anniversary- the perfect excuse for a tabasco infused Bloody Mary!
I’m not quite sure what stock pots have to do with Christmas other than they are a great store cupboard addition and one I always keep on hand. I use them a lot in soups, and find the pots much easier to use than stock cubes. Kallo have the added bonus of being fully organic and free of nasty MSG and artificial ingredients- worth the £1.80 price tag.

Moving on to some more festive items, first we have Jules Destrooper Almond Thins & Belgian Chocolate (£2.19). These are utterly divine with a cup of strong coffee so great for serving when guests come round. They are also luxe enough to be at home in a festive food hamper.
Reese’s are also on to a festive winner with their peanut butter snowman (£3.00) which I passed straight on to my dad now he’s discovered how good the peanut butter cups are! This is a great stocking filler idea, or an indulgent treat to yourself after a long day Christmas shopping!

Oh a healthier note we have a coconut bar from Nick’s (£1.45). This is a naturally sweetened coconut bar covered in milk chocolate, with no added sugar this is basically a more virtuous version of a Bounty. A classic combination and a good idea for popping in to the stocking of someone trying to be good.

I’m puzzled as to what a kid’s breakfast product has to do with Christmas but whatever! We haven’t actually tried these as they aren’t really our thing- if you have given these a whirl I’d love to know your thoughts.

I also haven’t tried the Cranberry Marshmallows from Mallow and Marsh yet as I haven’t seen these in any shops near me and I want to put some out at Christmas as Bob and I are hosting both days (are we mad?!) I’ll pop a review up on social media over the festive season though – I love this brand and I know they’ll be good!

Finally we have The Bees Knees non alcoholic sparkling wine- this is a vegan friendly alternative to sparkling wine, made from grapes and green tea. It’s vegan, gluten-free and low in sugar and calories and definitely the kind of thing I’ll be keeping on hand over Christmas.

For those who don’t yet know, Degustabox* is a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money.
On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this as you can see if you do the maths.
If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim a brilliant £5.00 off of your first box (making it just £7.99!) by entering the code 6HZJ8 at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.
Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products and what you thought of them.

Personalising our Home with Posterlounge

Since moving in together in October, Bob and I have been doing our best to put our own stamp on our home within the limits of what is allowed in a rental property. Fortunately for us our landlords are amazing and let us paint a wall in our bedroom (is was bright red, and so not soothing) and the rest of the house is neutral throughout making it easy to make small changes in non-invasive ways through our own furniture and accessories.
We were also contacted by the team at Posterlounge to see if we wanted to pick out a couple of pieces of artwork from their extensive selection, and of course we said yes! There were a lot of screws and hooks in our walls when we moved in that we can’t take out, which also means we have plenty of scope for hanging up some pictures, photos and other accessories (currently out advent calendars to keep them out of Pablo’s way!) so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to further personalise our home. We decided to pick out one piece each (and hope the other person liked it!)

Dreaming of Space* | We Were Together*

You can probably guess who chose what! I instantly fell in love with the quote on the print I chose, and it’s minimalism, whereas Bob who is obsessed with all things space just needed the astronaut in his life. They are now living in harmony on the lounge wall and we couldn’t be happier with the quality and service received.

The greatest thing about Posterlounge in our opinion is that there are so many options for how you want your art. You can buy as a standard poster in various sizes (with or without a frame) or chose from an array of alternative finishes such as canvas, wood, alu-dibond and acrylic glass- again in a variety of sizes and finishes.

We went for acrylic glass for both of our pictures and love the effect it gives. We picked the 50×70 size with no frame which bought the pictures to just under £60 each, and worth every penny. We’ve already said that we’ll be returning to Posterlounge in the new year to purchase some more art for the house as we really found it hard to narrow it down this time! I should also add that the pictures came with everything we needed to hang them, meaning they were up within 5 minutes of coming out of the box.

Have any of their pieces caught your eye? And does anyone have any tips they’d like to share on how else to personalise a rented home?

Products in this post were sent free in exchange for blog consideration, all opinions belong to Bob and myself.

Return of the Tights

Once upon a time I was known for my love of crazy tights; back when my blog was brand new, right up until a couple of years ago my motto was “the bolder the better” and my collection branched in to triple digits territory.

So what happened? I grew up I suppose, got a full time job where neon orange legs weren’t acceptable and I became generally too conscious of what other people might be thinking of me. Just as I’ve finally started to become comfortable with who I am, and have begun to branch out a bit with my style again the folks at UK Tights got in touch and gave me free reign in adding to my collection…determined not to stick to boring 60 denier black I tried to branch out and the results are below.

Dress: Pull and Bear | Tights c/o UK Tights (Jonathan Aston) | Boots: LOTD

Dress: La Redoute (similar) | Tights c/o UK Tights (Cecilia De Rafael) | Boots: LOTD

Jumper: Next | Skirt: New Look | Tights c/o UK Tights (Cecilia De Rafael) | Boots: Very

Whilst I’m not about to jump back in to stockpiling tights in a rainbow of colours it was SO good to be back wearing what is so typically me! I was hesitant at first of drawing too much attention to my legs as I am finding myself increasingly self conscious as my weight creeps up, but with a bit of careful consideration about what to pair them with I had a great time thinking up ways to style the tights and felt brave enough to leave the house in them too (from the girl who has been living in the same pair of jeans at weekends for months on end now).

I’ll be the first to admit that I was hesitant about whether investing in tights was a great idea, I mean, can you really tell your Primark from your Pretty Polly? Well, actually, yes, you can- another addition to my quality over quantity approach- three pairs of tights that I’ll actually wear vs. 100 pairs of cheapies that will never see the light of day? That’s value for money.

Caring for your car this winter*

I think this is probably the first motoring related post I’ve written where I’ve actually owned my own car,
The novelty of having passed my test and purchasing my first car hasn’t quite worn off yet- I stil get a kick when I see my little Aygo parked outside the house and I’ve become quite attached “Alphonsus” so it’s only natural I want to take the best care of him as I possibly can (notably also for the financial implication too).
With the colder weather coming I’ve been looking in to how best to make sure my car survives the season and I’ve popped together a post of some basic checks to keep myself, and hopefully anyone else reading this post safely on the road.
Car care tips for winter:

Check your coolant levels: If we get another “beast from the East” this year then you run the risk of a cracked or frozen engine which sounds horrendously expensive to repair. On the other hand, anti-freeze is pretty affordable and a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and water will see you through the winter months.

Check your tyres: For winter driving it’s recommended you have a minimum of 3mm tread depth. It’s worth considering winter tyres which are designed specifically for snow and ice- given that we got pretty much snowed in last winter I’m thinking these might be handy!

Check your battery: Your car battery has to work harder in cold weather, get it checked/replaced at the first signs of a struggle to avoid getting stranded.

Stock up on de-icer: It sounds simple but you really don’t want to be caught out by a frosted wind screen. After spending a good 15 minutes scraping my car the other day I promptly popped to the pound shop and picked up a couple of cans!

Inspect your lights: Winter visibility is notoriously poor so it’s important you make sure all of your bulbs are functioning and that you keep your lights free of snow and ice before setting off.

Don’t neglect your AC! It sounds counter-intuitive but you still need to run your air-con in winter; it is made of parts that are designed to move. Leaving it off for several months could cause it to seize. Running it regularly also helps keep your car dry and damp free- and can reduce steamed up windows too. Pop in for advice and a service from Car air conditioning service in Essex from experts at Jet Wheel (or other local experts)

Have you ever been caught out by the cold weather?