Elsie & Arthur Spring/Summer Collection

Elsie & Arthur is an independent lifestyle clothing label based in Devon, and run by Jack Williams and Allie Lawson. The label is a mix of traditional British culture and the typical Devonshire lifestyle, and uses natural and organic textiles as much as possible to create durable and comfortable clothing.

I've been lucky enough to have a sneak peek at their upcoming Spring/Summer range which launches today, and I love it! There are some gorgeous prints, lovely floaty summer dresses, bright polka dot cardigans, and cute bags! What more could you want from a summer collection? 

The first thing that caught my eye was the adorable Lydia cardigan. You can never have too many cardigans and I absolutely love polka dots so basically, I need this in my life! This retails for £38, which might seem pricey, but it's a silk and cotton mix which means it is high quality and durable, but also incredibly soft on the skin.

The dresses are equally as stunning, I particularly love the gorgeous print on the Colette dress. This shade of blue is just perfect for summer, and I've not ruled out nabbing this last minute to take on holiday with me next week. It has an elasticated waist which creates a really flattering fit, especially for us bustier ladies! The Colette dress costs £35, which is a really good price for such a cute dress.

Speaking of holidays, the Maytree bag is the perfect size for carry-on and as a beach bag. The cute floral print is reminiscent of Cath Kidston, but the rope handles give it a completely unique twist! These are £15, and are available in either blue or white.

Elsie & Arthur is available exclusively online (here) and for this weekend only, are offering my readers 10% off when entering the code BOOKISHNESS at the checkout! 

Elsie & Arthur will also be touring the UK's country events this summer, so keep your eyes peeled! 

*Sponsored post*

Interview Haul

So the exciting news I mentioned last week is that I have a new job! I'm really pleased, but also quite sad to be leaving my current job as I've worked there longer than I have anywhere else. When I found out I'd got an interview I was quite stressed as I knew I didn't have anything remotely smart enough to wear! Luckily, this month was one of the council tax break months, so I had some spare cash to go shopping for an outfit.

The first item on my shopping list was a dress. I knew I wanted something with a pencil silhouette as this suits my figure best, and I spotted this dress in Dorothy Perkins for £25. I tried it on and it fit like a glove, so that was easily sorted! I was so pleased to get it for such a reasonable price too, I had been expecting to shell out £50+ for a decent dress.

 

I wasn't sure whether to get a smart cardigan or a blazer to go with the dress. I tried on quite a few blazers in different shops, but I have to wear the petites as I'm really short and I found that most of them made my shoulders look ridiculous! After much online searching I spotted these cardigans on the H&M website. Originally I was going to get the pink, but when I went into my local store I saw that they had this lovely cream design which was perfect with my dress. One thing I would say about these though, is that they run large. I would normally buy a medium in H&M, but I bought a small because the mediums looked baggy. When I got home I realised that the small was still too baggy, so I washed and dried it, and luckily it shrank just enough to be better fitting!

 

 

As for accessories, I knew I would need a smart handbag. Normally I carry everything around in a satchel, but I figured something more smart would be needed for an interview! Accessorize came to my rescue with this cute handbag. For £29, this was a bargain. It's a bag that I will get loads of use out of, and it's roomy enough to carry around all of my essentials and more. I could almost fit my certificates folder into it as well, it was only just too small.

 

The final item on my list was shoes. I knew I was going to get them from Clarks, I just wasn't sure what style I wanted. In the end it was between these gorgeous heels or these sensible brogues. I tried both pairs on and I think I would have probably managed alright with the heels, but I'm far more at home in flats and I already own a pair of these brogues in a snazzy black and white pattern. They're super comfortable, and they last for ages. 

 

So that's my interview haul! I'm really pleased with the things that I got as I will definitely use them all again in my new job, and I also think I managed to get some really good bargains. The dress and the cardigan definitely saved me a fortune, buying a full suit would have been super expensive!

What do you think of my interview haul? Would you prefer to wear a suit or something a bit less formal? 

 

Recently I've bought...

This is another new style of post for me, because I've noticed that I seem to be slipping into a rut of mainly posting about beauty related stuff. I do buy clothes too, just not as often. I also find that a lot of the time I don't feel confident enough to get dressed up and prance around in front of a camera, so I've decided to start doing a round up of the clothes that I've bought! This post covers January to the beginning of March, so there will probably be another similar post in a couple of months time.

I bought this gorgeous dress from Oliver Bonas during the January sales, and they actually still have a couple left! It's a really bright electric blue with a super cute cloud design, and even though I bought it back in January, I still haven't worn it out and about. It hasn't really been the right weather for it, but I'm hoping that there will soon be some sunny days when I can wear this teamed with a yellow cardigan. 

In February I made my first Sugarhill Boutique purchase! This was mainly brought on by my friend Samantha over at My Lady Boudoir and her adorable bicycle print dress. I'm a big fan of cute prints so I headed straight over to check out the website and fell into the sale section. This sequinned sweater was reduced from £48 to £29, and there are still some sizes available here. Sorry for the creases, I've been a bad blogger and had the jumper hidden away at the bottom of my chest of drawers. It's such a lovely jumper though,  super snuggly and anything with sequins is an instant win for me! I've definitely fallen in love with Sugrahill Boutique too, I'm currently lusting after this amazing zig zag sweater! Want.

I've already written a post mentioning one of these cardigans from H&M which will be up later in the week. I spotted this teal version in my local store and just had to get it! I love the black detailing, I think it adds a really smart edge to the design. And for £14.99, I was pretty hard pushed to not get one of each colour...

My final and most recent purchase is this super cute cardigan from White Stuff. £45 for a cardigan isn't cheap, but I love all the extra details that White Stuff put into their clothing. The buttons are beautifully delicate, the heart pattern is adorable, even the tag in the back has a cute heart charm! This was definitely a treat to myself, as I've had a super stressful couple of weeks and I guess it could count as an early birthday present right? Sure. 

 

What do you think of my recent clothing treats? Would you like to see some more posts like this on the blog?

Halloween in Cambridge

This is kind of a random Librarian Work Wear/Face of the Day/Photography bundle. Obviously I wanted to wear something Halloween and work appropriate, so I went for this dress from my trusty Modcloth. Apologies for the blurry photos, the light has been pretty awful for photos today!

The cardigan is also a Modcloth special! The tights are from Primark, and the shoes are from Clarks.

I have loads of these necklaces from a seller on Etsy, who unfortunately doesn't make them anymore. They're made from resin and are too cute! I thought Elphaba might fancy a trip out on Halloween.

Make up wise, I went for one of the golden shadows from my new Sleek Vintage Romance palette, and the Antique blush. I later teamed it up with the Wild Berry matte lipstick from MUA, but didn't get any photos! I did however, get some lovely autumnal photos from around Cambridge today, so enjoy!

Librarian Work Wear #10

I've recently bought myself a new dress from Modcloth. I haven't been buying things from them as much recently because of customs prices being so high and being poor after paying for a wedding. But I spotted this dress on the site about 3 weeks ago and just had to order it!

This is the A Pebble's Throw Dress. I absolutely love the gorgeous blue detailing.

I've teamed it up with the Charter School Cardigan  in Honey, the Shoeful of Sugar heels, and my new tights from Primark.

These tights are brilliant. It's a shame they're so thin though! I'm really worried about snagging them.

I think this is probably my favourite Librarian Work Wear post yet! Now I'm off to go and look at some more dresses...

Librarian Work Wear #9

More autumny dress goodness! You will have noticed by now that the majority of my Librarian Work Wear posts are dress based. This is because I have a serious addiction, and my bank account is always suffering from my spontaneous dress purchases. Not to mention my wardrobe space. This dress is another Modcloth favourite, and I actually bought this originally to wear for my engagement shoot. It ended up being so cold that I had to wear a massive coat, so it's not really visible in the pictures, but I still love it.

I think the buttons down the side are the best thing about this dress. They don't actually function as buttons, they are just stitched on for decoration. You can buy the dress here for $44.99.

I'm also enjoying being able to get my boots out! I bought these last year from ebay, the brand is Poetic Licence. These took some serious breaking in and they completely crippled my feet at first, which meant that I didn't really get to wear them much last year. This year, I'm going to get my moneys worth out of them for sure! I love the detail on the side of the boots, just adds a little bit of extra interest. I'm currently lusting after these amazing boots from Poetic Licence. Love the purple!

Outtake: This is how I usually stand.

Librarian Work Wear #7

Now that autumn is fast approaching, I'm starting to get out some of my warmer dresses. I really love the vintage cut of this dress from Folter Clothing. I actually purchased this from Modcloth, as that seems to be my go to place for vintage cut dresses. I love the wrap design on the bust, although it did need stitching up a bit as it was gaping slightly. The polka dots are also a massive hit with me, as we all know!

I've teamed this dress up with a bright yellow cardigan, and bright blue shoes. I feel that autumn doesn't have to be a season of dark colours! The cardigan is one I have already featured, and the shoes were actually my wedding shoes. I also bought these from Modcloth, unfortunately they are no longer available.

 Outtake: This week Bernie wanted to be in my photos! So here's a cute puppy for you all to squee about.

Thanks for reading :) xxx

Librarian Work Wear #5

Some of my favourite brands have started releasing their Autumn/Winter collections now, and I was super excited when I spotted Hell Bunny's new Madden dress. I absolutely love the vintage cut of this dress, and everyone knows I'm a total sucker for polka dots! I could hardly resist. So come payday, I snapped up this little beauty from rockabillypinup.co.uk. I can't spot this colour on their website anymore, but there are lots of other Hell Bunny stockists to choose from!

The dress itself isn't lined, and the material is quite thin. If I wanted to wear this into the colder months I'd probably have to invest in a slip and some really thick tights! I've been a bit nervous about it being slightly see-through in the sun as well.

It's totally gorgeous though, the skirt is really floaty and I especially love the collar detail! I've got my eye on the green version as well.

Outtake:
There are always stupid photos left over from me being awkward and not knowing how to pose, and the husband just snaps away happily. I've decided to start including them because they make me laugh. You're welcome.

Thanks for reading :) xxx

Librarian Work Wear #3

So this is another heavily biased Modcloth outfit! You'll recognise the Orchid cardigan from my first Librarian Work Wear entry.

The Dress

 This dress is seriously beautiful! I originally purchased this as my "going away" outfit for after the wedding, but I ended up putting it on after all of my guests had left as well, because I needed to be comfy. Seriously, wedding dresses are heavy. This dress is a gorgeous minty shade, and the biggest bonus is that it has POCKETS! Unfortunately, this dress is no longer available at Modcloth, but the brand is Mink Pink, so you might be able to find it somewhere by searching for the brand.

The Shoes

I got these awesome brogues from Clarks for £54.99. I think that's a bargain, as these shoes will definitely last. They are super comfy, with padding inside to cushion your feet. They also come in less snazzy colours, but I have got my eye on the new Wine Red shade! Perfect for autumn.

I've included some bonus dress shots that I took a few days after writing this, as the weather was really nice!

Cute puppy sold seperately. Bernie says Hi!

POCKETSES. This is my enthusiastic face.

Much more normal.

Thanks for reading :) xxx