STRAPLESS AND STRAPPY DRESSES...

This is what I wore when I went away recently...

This is one of my best loved dresses.  It's from Quiz Clothing (my favourite fashion shop) and was a present.  I love the dippy hem, train effect.

This is another of my Quiz dresses, bought in the sale for (I think) £15....might have been £25, I can't remember.  The lining was very short and made of cheap, knitted nylon, so I added a deep, black lace frill (cut off an obsolete River Island skirt) to make it look better. 

This is from Dorothy Perkins' Izabel London range, which is always worth looking at.  A snip in the sale, at £10, it is not worth the £40 it was originally priced at- the skirt fabric is a cheap nylon.  But it looks okay on, and that's the main thing.

I do like strapless and spaghetti strap dresses as I'm quite big built and find thick straps make my shoulders look heavy, as do cap sleeves.  I've also got an impressive cleavage, so like to show it off!  I prefer dresses that don't have to be pulled on over the head, as I have big hair and like it to stay that way.  I also go for things that are easy to get on and off- I don't have servants, and can't be doing with fiddle-farting around getting dressed or undressed.

I might have studied fashion, but I have my own individual style, and do not follow trends slavishly.  THE LADY IS NOT FOR TURNING!

I actually studied fashion because I HATED what was in the shops, not loved it, and thought I could make a difference.  But my college course did tend to push me towards copying, and I'm as surprised as anyone that I went on to work as a commercial designer!

MULTICOLOURED DAY SANDALS

These are my summer day shoes.  With a wedge heel that's two and a half inches high, some might say they're not particularly practical.  But this is a low heel for me, and I find them very comfortable.  They were a present from Shoezone, are a couple of years old now, and I love 'em!

I couldn't be bothered to take them off (or, for that matter, roll up my trousers) when I had a walk on the beach the other day.  So they stayed on, and here's the evidence.

My partner dragged me, kicking and screaming, to Great Yarmouth three years ago.  It's his thing- he's holidayed there since he was a kid.

I was brought up in King's Lynn and have an aversion to the place (although it's more the small town, small minded mentality that offends me rather than the town, per se).  For that reason, I was not overly thrilled with the idea of stepping into Norfolk.

But I found Great Yarmouth more than alright, and have returned (willingly!) a few times since.  Here are my high(ish) heeled footprints....

PRINCESS DAISY by JUDITH KRANTZ

PRINCESS DAISY

BY JUDITH KRANTZ

THE BLURB:-

She was born Princess Marguerite Alexandrovna Valensky. She was a blonde beauty living in a world of aristocrats and countless wealth. Her father was a prince, a Russian nobleman. Her mother was an American movie goddess. Men desired her. Women envied her. Daisy's life was a fairytale filled with parties and balls, priceless jewels, money and love. Then suddenly, the fairytale ended. And Princess Daisy had to start again, with nothing. Except the secret she guarded from the day she was born.

THE REALITY:-

It a long time since I read a blockbuster! I saw “A Woman of Substance” on TV in the early eighties, found it incredibly moving, and subsequently bought the novel. Ditto “The Thorn Birds” and “Lace”, but somehow Princess Daisy- a contemporary- kind of passed me by. I remember adverts for the mini-series as it starred Rupert Everett, who became a favourite of mine, but that's about it.

This book certainly delivered! It has it all; beautiful people, glamorous locations, passion, sex, obsession and jealousy, and also a classic riches-to-rags-then-back-to-riches storyline.

The apparent secret of Daisy having a mentally handicapped, institutionalized identical twin was not particularly hidden, but I found the concept original and touching. The characters were all well-rounded, human and believable, and the research into detail was exquisite.

I did, however, find that the novel got less interesting as it went on, the historical sections at the beginning being more of a fulfilling read. The exposure of Daisy's secret was predictable, and the demise of Ram Valensky was simply a cop out.

This book reeked of the late seventies/ early eighties, and seem a typical write from that time. I would, however, highly recommend it. The character of Daisy is human and very likeable and it sold many copies for a reason. This certainly had me rushing to turn the pages. 

I don't think I'm going to be reading or reviewing so many books for a while.  I need to press on with my next novel, and spend my spare time writing.

MANDARA SPA AMBER HEAVEN

I bought this delightful little set of smellies to put in my washbag, as they are a handy size for travelling.

The smell reminded me of the classic perfume Shalimar, by Guerlain.  

Absolutely gorgeous!

HAIR CORSAGES AND WILLY HOOP-LA

I like to pin a bow or a corsage in my hair, I'm a very decorative creature!

These little pretties were found at Martyn's Walk Around Store in Great Yarmouth.  It's an interesting place- it sells a cornucopia of goods, from wallets, costume jewellery and ornaments to quite well-made stuffed animals and novelty, jokey gifts.

They had a game which was called Willy Hoop-la, consisting of a set of rings you have to throw over a (quite wide...ouch!) fake penis.  I find a set of my bangles and the real thing much more fun...  

BAGS OF FUN!

I'm not as obsessed with bags as I am about shoes, but I just had to share this lovely ombre effect, glistening changeant delight with you.  Bought on a recent trip to Great Yarmouth, for only £12, this is a real find and will soon become my next day bag.

This is my current day bag- animal print, purple (my favourite colour) and with a bit of bling, this ticks all the right boxes.  And it only cost me £15, off ebay.

I have a friend who always tries to persuade me to buy an expensive bag, one which lasts.  She then sticks her £80 brown leather number, that she's had for nearly ten years, under my nose.

Well, I don't want a bag that lasts!  I like a bit of variety with my fashion, and the time my bag starts to fall to pieces (tends to be around six months) coincides with the time I'm getting bored with it anyway.  Plus brown is not a very exciting colour, and a sensible leather bag is just...BORING! 

A girl I worked with showed me her equally boring brown Prada bag.  Okay, so it was Prada, but it cost 300 or 400 quid plus, I can't remember which.  My comment?  "They saw you coming!!!!"

A MODEL LIFE by MURIEL RODRIGUEZ

A MODEL LIFE

BY MURIEL RODRIGUEZ

THE BLURB:-

Whilst recovering from a canoeing accident in the South of France, and with a promising professional swimming career in tatters, 17 year-old Marion sees an advert that will change her life: Icon models are holding a contest.

She enters, gets whipped into shape by militant stylists, cross-dressing walking experts and chain-smoking make-up artists, and manages to win a modelling contract. But when she arrives in Paris to begin modelling, her glamorous ideas are quickly dispelled. She becomes indebted to the agency and struggles to get her first break.

Based on true events, A Model Life follows Marion's career as she climbs up the modelling food-chain, from dealing with pervy photographers in Paris to trudging through snow to casting in New York, from Armani to Playboy, Marion has seen it all.

This book is a must for anyone who wants to know what modelling is really like...

THE REALITY:-

Either badly written, badly edited, badly translated or a combination of all three, this book frequently lacked proper punctuation, had misspellings, malapropisms and words that ran into one another.

I bought this purely for research purposes- in my next novel (which has the working title of “Lydia Darling”) I intend to make two main characters models.

The novel did what it said on the tin- it gave me an interesting insight into the world of modelling, with some fun characters that made me laugh, purely because of their ridiculousness! The storyline was nothing special, and I was glad that, at 287 pages long, this was a short read. Avoid if reading for pleasure!