Amy Louise : fashion

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Following on the wedding blogpost theme this week mainly for two reasons. One of which you will know about already... my best friend is getting married next month and the below I don't have to worry about (just yet) and two it is of course wedding season and all I see on my Facebook feed is weddings or wedding planning so I thought this may be a little helpful (to you and I).

So onto the main reason of this post...... What do you wear for someone's big day?

Shopping for a outfit for a wedding can be a long process. Firstly you begin to wonder what your other friends or family are going to wear because you cant possibly turn up in something similar. Secondly, what type of wedding is it i.e. laid back or more glamorous and sophisticated because these two would require two completely different looks of outfit. I think it always helps to give your guests some indication of the dress code i.e. Black Tie, Cocktail, Casual, Beach or maybe even Festive (themed).

It is well known that when it comes to a wedding you have to make some effort (whether you want to or not). It is probably best to be slightly overdressed (and be complimented throughout the night) than underdressed and feel out of place. A massive thing to remember....stay away from the colour White! Also please remember that the Bride and Groom will most likely show off the wedding pictures to everyone they know so think about the colour you choose, neon and garish patterns are sure to make you stand out...however you don't want to stand out for the wrong reasons!

I have categorised what I believe are 4 different (typical) wedding types;

The Country Estate Wedding

Think Grand, think the Oscars, think old Hollywood Glam. A cocktail or longer length dress in conservative colouring with delicate detailing teamed with barely there heels and a matching clutch. Usually set in old, grand romantic venues where you get a real sense of the old English way of living for the upper class.

The City Wedding

I feel that the hem line can be slightly shorter with a City/town wedding. You can experiment with colours and patterns and team with bold, fun accessories.
When I think of City venues I think of old, quirky theatres, large contemporary spaces or just beautiful hidden unknown buildings.
Therefore there is no formal setting and the atmosphere and dress code can be more relaxed.

The Wedding Abroad

Think Sundresses, jewelled flip-flops or pretty wedges and sunglasses are essential for this wedding.
Whether your off to enjoy some European sun in the 'Island of Love' that is Cyprus or overlooking the Caldera in Santorini, or perhaps going further across the Atlantic to the white sands that are the Caribbean these outfits are perfect. Light and not OTT but practical for walking the cobbles of the Mediterrean or avoiding A. sweat patches (no point denying it!) or B. embarrassing "up wind' moments from the sea breeze.

The Beach Wedding

Think free flowing, light and romantic. Here is your opportunity to reach for the bold, vibrant colours and prints as they compliment the summer and the lovely backdrop. Just remember to prepare for all elements, sand, most definitely the odd bit of wind and maybe the odd bit of water.
Marry on the white sands with the clear blue sea as a backdrop and have the sea breeze catch your train and veil as you walk between the rows of white chairs filled with those close friends and family to the man of your dreams under a canopy filled with flowers.

Let me know if you are attending a wedding this year and

what your planning on wearing.

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I cant believe that I am already half through my pregnancy! The 16th October really does not seem that far away now especially if its anything like this half just gone. Time has flown by and it only seems like last week that we found out and were telling our family and friends.

Now for anyone thats just found out that they are expecting or are at the same stage of me, I just want to empathise that all people are different so what happens to one person may not happen to another.

However, this is my story so far....

My pregnancy has honestly been a breeze and I'm so thankful as I have heard others have a terrible time. I may not be so lucky next time (if there ever will be a baby #2).

I did not suffer from any sickness, however in the past few weeks I have noticed that I can quite happily lounge around on a sunday and watch a film on the sofa or in bed.

I don't think I have any cravings, although I am quite partial to a cheese sandwich now which is unlike me as I didn't eat a lot of bread before my pregnancy.

I had a week of bad skin but I just kept telling myself it was my hormones but it still makes you feel low so to turn it around I treated myself to some new oversized shirts and shift dresses to start off my maternity wardrobe.

This leads me onto my maternity clothing..

Changes to what I usually wear

My skinny jeans began to feel tight around 16 weeks. It was then that I tried on all my jeans and from then to now I can still fit in 2 pairs of Jeans and my leather look jeans and of course wet look leggings.
I have since picked up oversized blouses to wear with leggings/jeggings. Also I have brought some cute swing and skater dresses in a larger size and maxi dresses for the summer.

Since the start of my pregnancy I have only put on half a stone. It appears to only be baby weight as I have not gained weight elsewhere. For this reason I am simply buying tops and dresses in a size bigger and jeggings to accommodate my baby belly.

Changes in my Beauty Regime

A downsize of my pregnancy is that my skin has got a little more sensitive than before.

I realised this after doing my usual body scrub, it was leaving my skin with a rash like redness. I now only exfoliate with a glove once a week and instead of a body scrub I have swapped to using a body polish. My favourite is the Strawberry scented range from The Body Shop.

I also use Flake Away by Soap & Glory but without a glove once a month.

I have also swapped my moisturiser for Palmers Cocoa Butter Massage Lotion which is specially designed for pregnancy stretch marks. There are lots of stretch mark creams available, however due to a past experience (Burning my arm and using Cocoa Butter left me with no scars) I felt that this would suit my skin best and I have had past excellent results.

I shall be doing a post on my experience of the stretch mark so keep a look out. To date my skin is being kept hydrated, smells lovely afterwards and no appearance of any marks yet (it may be too early to tell though)

Until this week my decision to not dye my hair whilst pregnant was not an issue. However, after a day of not washing I can really notice my roots. I have brought John Frieda's Lightening Spray which I intend to use on holiday (if we can get one booked) and in our british heatwave we are expecting. This will hopefully see me through till after baby's arrival.

Boy or Girl?

We have been asked numerous times now whether we are finding out the sex of the baby and I have come to realise that it's a personal choice to everyone.

Our scan is on Tuesday and we will finally find out whether our own little bump is a prince or princess, It is a date circled on all our families diaries. Now if its true what they say about mothers intuition, I feel that we have a little prince on the way. I have as I'm sure all expecting mums have done googled the gender predictions/myths, but they are all different and i'm looking forward to the surprise.

We have a few bits for the baby which you can see in my Baby Haul Post here. It had become hard to pick things up as us being the fussy couple that we are, some items I couldn't see a boy in and vice versa even though they were neutral. We made the decision to wait until we find out whether it's a boy or girl to start buying little outfits and the essentials we are going to need. We are planning on getting the Nursery furniture in the next few weeks and get that all set up and looking nice for little one's arrival.

I would love to hear other mummy stories and how you have got on and how you are preparing so add your links in the comments.

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Now I'm expecting I can't help but always look in the baby section whenever we go shopping. My first ever baby shopping trip was with my nan who is just over the moon at the thought of being great granny. It was just after I had my 12 weeks scan and she had been asking pretty much since day 1 when I was going to go shopping.

Me and Chris had spoken about whether we find out the sex of the baby and both felt the same in that we would like to know. So for now it's been neutral baby shopping.

However, it's getting harder to pick stuff as we want to buy little outfits with shoes but you don't get much choice in just the neutral colours. We have got some cute things so far but let the shopping commence come Tuesday when we find out if we are having our own little prince or princess.

Sleepsuits & Bodysuits

We have been buying these mainly from the BHS own range and Primark. I didn't want to spend too much money on these especially for when it's newborn as I'm sure they will only get ruined by everything you can think of.

We have stocked up on these as we know after a few washes they will probably have to be binned.

Mittens

We have got these from H&M (come in packs of 2's) and Primark (come in packs of 3's). We have brought these in white but I will get some more coloured ones. These will not only protect the baby from scratching itself but also keep its little hands warm.

Another thing that we have brought that was not included in the video is the White Knitted Baby Blanket. We for this from Debenhams and it's honestly the softest blanket I've felt and I can just imagine our little prince/princess all wrapped up warm.

As it's a winter baby I will be looking for layers and warm snugly clothing. We have already said that we will buy a few summer things (most likely in the sale) for next year and most likely the winter clothing will come in late August to get the remaining bits we need.

I would love to hear what any mums or expecting mums have found useful or have brought which you think is essential. Any advice or guidance will be greatly appreciated.

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(I wanted to get this post up last week but after one thing and another and then out this weekend I have only just oft the chance to get my laptop out).

So firstly I have to say a massive thank you to the girls that ventured out in the horrible weather and headed to London and made nyLDNmeet happen. Also the amazing MooGoo brand and representatives for choosing our event as their first UK launch of their makeup line Dusty Girls. Also our wonderful team of hair stylists from FordhamSoho that were on hand to fix hair after the walk through the wind and rain and our wonderful beautician from Urban Pit Stop offering relaxing massages and manicures and our henna artist to offer a unique design for our bloggers to show off days later.

We also had the lovely Vix Meldrew bring along the Stella & Dot range for a trunk show which again went down well with our bloggers. I saw lots of pictures being taken when passing and I was lucky enough to be "blinged"up by Vix with a gorgeous necklace for the event.

So the venue, Bittersweet Soho. It offered our bloggers the opportunity to access a members only cocktail bar and experience and taste the delights of their bespoke cocktails. Not only could they try out the cocktail they had to offer but many of our bloggers had the chance to make their own which from reading other blog posts went down well.

So at the very start of planning this event we decided that our chosen charity would be Look Good Feel Better. This amazing charity provides skincare and makeup workshops with beauty volunteers within hospitals and cancer care centres in the UK.

The workshops gives cancer patients the ability to regain a sense of control of their lives and gives them the opportunity to look and feel more like their "normal" selves. Being with others that have gone through the same enables the patients to be at ease and enjoy and laugh during the workshops making friendships with others.

I have witnessed the harsh reality of cancer and as a women I cannot begin to feel how they must feel when what you see is not what you used to see in the mirror. I have learnt and been taught growing up that beauty is skin deep.

With the generosity and support from brands such as Toni & Guy, ProBlo, Billie X Shoes, Dorothy Perkins, W7 Cosmetics and other PR companies we were able to get together some amazing raffle prizes. With our bloggers being very generous towards the raffle tickets we raise an amazing £175. Therefore a huge thank you to everyone who donated.

We hope our raffle winners liked and enjoy using/wearing their prizes. We look forward to reading your reviews (and we will ensure that your review post is passed onto the relevant people at the brand). As many of you know, we have decided to carry on planning and organising events due to the feedback we received. If you would be interested in attending one of our many planned events that are soon to be mentioned for signing up, follow us on LDNmeetup

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What do we think when we see a mirror?

The true definition is "it mirrors or reflects objects or a scene back that is in from of it".

I felt short and stumpy with flats so I added heels (Next)
and it made my look longer and I felt better wearing
the high waisted shorts (Topshop)

Only when we begin to look in the mirror and begin to assess what is being reflected back to us do we begin to judge ourself and as the fairy tale Snow White famous quotes goes "mirror mirror on the wall, whose the fairest of them all" If is only us that can decide who is the fairest and with that we question and criticise what we are seeing. I believe what we see back is dependant on our mood or attitude. Like every boy and girl we have our "feel good days" and our "feel and look horrible days" so that attitude effects what we see. It does not reflect the true image of you.

For me this happens when I order something online and when it arrives it just doesn't look as good as it did on the website and model. Im 5'3 so not the tallest (maxi dresses are a big issue for me especially ordering them online), I'm between a size 8 and 10 with hips so sometimes I find my hips look huge in a dress or skirt and thats a big no no for me. Also I have quite a small upper frame so my boobs aren't the biggest so sometimes a dress will simply hang off me when it looked nice on the model.

Bread had made me feel yuck and I felt bloated
so a floaty maxi (Love Label @ topshop)with heels hid the bloated belly
and the heels added height.

I have learnt with age that my hips are my genes, nothing I can do about them so I simply embrace them. I know my body in the sense that I know what food bloats me so I avoid them or if I've overindulged at the weekend ill do a week detox. I know I suffer from water retention as I'm quite bad for not drinking enough so I take water balance tablets.

I have also learnt what styles suit my body, although I do like to experiment I know I have to feel comfortable in it so if i feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable I hang it straight back up again.

I don't like to wear bralets but this top had
the crop underneath with the floaty material
on top which made me feel more comfortable.

I don't think we should be put off by what we see in the mirror, at the end of the day thats the person we are. We can simply adapt to what we don't like. If its the length of something or you feel short, add a pair of heels. There are so many styles of shoes now that we are bound to find a pair that can go with an outfit.

If it feels slightly too tight, have a think about your body. Is there a reason why it may be more bloated than usual? If so then you know your just having an off day and in a few days time you'll be back to normal. If it simply is to tight, I have seen and experienced that sizes vary in every shop so it may just be a small size. No one will know if you have to get the next size up, if you like it then why should you not have it.

The bottom part of this Dress (French Connection) starts just above the hips
so not only was i comfortable that my hips weren't on show but i was able
able to get a size smaller as the material didn't pull at my hips.

At the end of the day, everyone has their bad "fat" days and good "skinny" days. Even the celebrities which we always see looking so polished have them. What they don't tell us is that they are most likely wearing control pants under that dress or haven't eaten for the day to squeeze themselves into a tiny dress or have personal trainers working them crazy every day because they have the spare time to do that.

My Moto is if you feel look then you'll good look. I think your attitude about yourself changes if you know you look good. You carry yourself better. Also just means you can do more selfies haha
I know my attitude towards my body image influences my younger family members and I would prefer that then them having a false presentation of men/woman and what we should be.

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AMY BROWN / 29 HAMPSHIRE

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