Competition: Calling, North Easterners & Brides To Be

Whether you qualify for the above or not, the North East wedding show is nearly here. This year I have been invited to attend the January 2016 show. Although I am no bride to be, who doesn't love a good wedding, and as a fashion design student I love looking at those all important dresses. Why I am posting about this do you ask? Well Christmas has arrived a little early for According to Ellie and The North East Wedding Show as we are giving away two tickets to you lovely readers.

Just to give you a little idea of what you can expect from the event; from cake tasting
 (I might just have to pretend I'm getting married for that), flowers, honeymoons, and of course, the dress. After a browse and shop you can be entertained by live music, and the bit I personally would be most excited for, a runway show of wedding wear. So you can try, book, plan and buy all under one roof. That roof being metro radio arena in Newcastle, on the dates the 16th and 17th of January 2016.
So if you're a blogger, planning bride or just interested to browse, comment below, tweet or e-mail me stating why you would like to go and a winner will be selected by Boxing day.
Good luck!

From myself and on behalf of the North East Wedding Show team, Merry Christmas!
x

My Hand Picked Christmas Ideas

With a very intense university experience at present, Christmas still seems very far away. However the Christmas shopping is one of my favourite parts of the period and always gets me feeling festive. So as a very welcome uni break to lift spirits for me, and hopefully some affordable inspiration for you, here are some of the things on my wish list if not for myself, but the other girly ones in my life.

From left to right
Bra £20 Miss guided
Phone case £21 Asos
Aloe Vera Hand & Body Moisturiser £19 Kiehls
Make up bag £8.99 Etsy 
(if anyone knows where I can get these brushes also, please fill me in!)
Gingerbread Man Necklace with Black Diamonds £180 Bees Fine Jewellery
Winter Belted Camel Coat £65 House Of Fraser
Fluffy Jumper Dress £28 Missguided
Festive Cranberry Face Mask £6.75/75g Lush
Cosy Fur Bobble Hat £19.95 The Fur Bobble Shop
Ice Cream Phone Case Was £12 now £8 Asos
Mink & Rose Gold Watch £70 Olivia Burton
Perfect for stockings socks £8.87 Victoria's Secret
Sweet Silver Loveheart Ring £25 Bees Fine Jewellery
Drinking Fudge Mug Set £10 Not On The High Street
Crackling Woodwick Candle Varied price approx £15 Amazon

Merry shopping
Ell     

Last days of summer OOTD

Clinging onto the last days of summer I had to find the time to wear this cutesy crop and short two piece before it was too late, and before I became too pale to bear! This little number was from a brand I newly discovered Luxemme who offer a small but trendy range of clothing, perfect for when you don't have time to trawl through pages of online shopping. This particular set was from the limited edition range ,  a set I love for its tie details on the side of the top, a feature that seems to be very in style at the moment. As I wasn't brave enough to wear it alone for a day look, I paired it with a trench and some low block heel sandals. Although I reckon it would look great alone on a night out simply teamed with a pair of pointed nude heels and clutch.

 Hope you like it!

This two piece is priced at a very reasonable £35.00*

Shoes | Dune

 Jacket | Phase Eight

Ellie

Feb Faves Featuring: The Utility trend

Every month I find it routine to see what new products have arrived into stores, and it appears that the utilty trend is the next big thing. I love the whole uniform meets safari sort of style and I'm a big fan of the neutral colour palette, see some of my fave garments and accessories in shops and online at the mo.

Topshop have done it again with some stunning staple garments this season. What particually caught my eye was this relaxed tailored sleeveless jacket, great for a smart casual look day or night. This simple white number is something I would like to call an investment buy, this is because it will go with so much which will enable you to get full wear out of it so that its price tag of £48 doesn't seem so bad.

This cute cropped shell top in a deep khaki would be great worn with the sleeveless jacket and accessories mentioned,  finish of fwith some black skinny jeans and you'll be good to go! This top, also from Topshop retails at £36.

I am a sucker for vintage items and if like me you are too I recommend you pay a visit to Invaluable.com, a website I recently discovered that hosts worldwide auctions for the most gorgeous pieces of designer jewelery and watches. Can we all take a minute to appreciate this gorgeous necklace watch. It is a Longines brand watch so it will no doubt eternally be on my wish list but that's where invaluable is also brilliant as there always new items up for auction so my fingers are crossed something similar more within my budget will pop up soon!

In full agreement with the saying that there is no such thing as too many shoes, I hope to add these Zara beauties to my collection. I adore the slipper style and practically live my life in flats so I think it would be a justifiable purchase don't you? For £29.99 a pretty reasonable price too.

Another Zara find is this tote bag in prettiest nude colour, the perfect, practical sized accessory to have on your arm in keeping with the utility trend. It is on sale at an affordable £29.99.

What are your fave pics so far this month?

Are you a fan of the utility trend?

I would love to hear from you!

Love,

Ellie

A Year In Pictures

Hello! If it's still acceptable to say it then, Happy New Year! I hope you all had some lovely time off and didn't have too many work burdens like me to deal with over the festive period, hence my absence in posting, it seems only right to make 'time manage better' my no.1 resolution.
At the start of this year I took some time to reflect on 2014 by putting together a year in pictures, something I recommend everyone should do. I went from initiating with 6 pictures which soon grew to 12, and I could have had so much more! Looking through all my captures of the past year made me realise I'd had a way more productive year than I thought, which put me in a perfect mind set for 2015, something that we could all benefit from don't you think?  If you're thinking 2014 was not your year, well this could also work in your favour being be a useful tool to help bring out all the highlights. On the other hand if you are simply in need of a fresh start, do what I did last January and get a new haircut, take a trip, pick up a hobby. Or, do something I did this January and give your blog a new do, and if you don't have one why not start one?! As you can see it is a fab way to document things like this.

From right to left; My first internship of the year at a fashion suppliers, my new year do when my hair got the chop, a lovely trip to Amsterdam with my boyfriend, moving to London and starting my internship at womenswear designer studios, According to Ellie's first giveaway, learning Italian and discovering new restaurants in London, mine and my boyfriends birthday spent at the Waldorf Hotel, just in time for the races I taught myself how to make fascinators, working at London fashion week with designer Zoe Jordan, fashion illustrations of the collection I helped work on during my internship, my favourite OOTD taken in the beautiful Florence, and a Christmas jumper i made for the designers I interned at that was auctioned of for charity.


What are your 2014 highlights and new years resolutions?
I would love to see your photo montages, post your links below!

Ciao for now!

Ell

   

OOTD: When In Florence...

I couldn't of asked for a more lovely way to start the autumnal month of October than in the north of Italy in the beautiful city of Florence. Although we arrived to worse weather than England, the days following we couldn't of asked for better as temperatures reached 28 and the sun was shining over the Florentine skyline. As I have recently been taking a night class in Italian i was very excited to practice the language. I have visited Italy a few times but no where like Florence, the city itself felt very chic, yet traditional, and full of culture and beautiful people. To those of you who aren't familiar with Florence might like to know that Florence is also a great city to visit for fashion as it is home to many famous Italian fashion designers, including Gucci who has in recent years opened a museum there, a great place to see an archive of the designers greatest designs. Not forgetting, if you are a fan of leather pieces, Florence is THE place to go for a genuine leather article, with almost every other shop and or market selling the most gorgeous selection of leather bags and goods. So as I was in fashionable surroundings I thought it only right to an outfit of the day post. My most recent shopping spree involved me hitting the H&M sales and grabbing a bargain or two. This including the new love in my love at the moment, my black duster coat (similar to one in my wish list post below); which I was surprised was in the sale as I have noticed this style of coats just becoming a popular trend. I teamed this lightweight with more H&M both old and new, along with some H&M sunglasses that I bought especially for the trip. In fact, I think the only thing I was wearing that WASN'T H&M was my sandals, a Topshop purchase a couple of years that I absolutely worn to death i am pleasantly surprised with how long they have lasted! See below for some similar options of the older items.

The beautiful Florence itself...

Duster jacket H&M was £29.99 sale £15

Top H&M full price £14.99

Shorts (old) for similar click here

Sunglasses H&M full price £6.99

Sandals Topshop (old ) for similar click here

I think it is safe to say that this OOTD post is the last one where I will be seen wearing shorts for a while as on my return from Italy i decided the season of coats has finally arrived!

Have you got your winter wardrobes ready?

Keep in touch!

Ellie

LFW: Zoe Jordan SS15

Another September passed and another fashion week been and gone, and in my case, also the end of a 5 month internship at womenswear brand Zoe Jordan. My time with the London based brand was a valuable experience, to any fashion students reading I was really interested in hearing about other peoples experiences in the industry before starting mine, so to those interested here's a little inside info on mine! After a bit of a steady start working within the business, branding and admin side, I was soon in my element working closely with the design team getting some real hands on experience including designing, pattern cutting and my biggest achievement during my time there, sewing actual show garments! When looking for placements, although a well known brand would stand out on my cv, from the start I wanted to go to a small studio with the hope I would get given more responsibilities, and I am pleased to say that the further I got into the duration of my internship, the more I was trusted with. This enabled me to gain some great skills for the reminder of my degree! 

As part of my Zoe Jordan experience I had to opportunity to accompany the lovely team to London fashion week to showcase the collection, the atmosphere at Sommerset House was incredible, with fellow bloggers and designers surrounding the area it was a very fashionable affair. But as you can imagine, in the build up to fashion week things are slightly less glamour behind the scenes with last minute changes, alterations, and finishing touches. However the thing I love most about studying fashion is that all the hard graft is worth it in the end to see the finishing result. With some gorgeous prints, tailoring, quality fabrics, and colour palettes, Zoe Jordans spring summer 15 collection 'Tour' is completely wearable and luxurious. Here are a few of my snaps from the designer show room at London fashion week. 

LFW Sommerset house

 LFW Sommerset house

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Zoe Jordan SS15 'Tour'

 Designer showrooms after party

Did any of you get a chance to go to London Fashion week?

What were your favourite collections?

If any prospective fashion interns would like to know more on my internship or advice on how to get one, please don't hesitate to contact me!

E.D

September Wish List

With the arrival of September it's out with the shorts, vest's and flip flops and in with the autumnal shades, long sleeves and boots. Fortunately, this means an entire new range of clothing is being launched into stores, excuse for a shopping spree, I think so! The nights are still light and the return of the limited editions Costa coffees is not far away, Honeycomb Hot chocolate I'm ready for you! However optimism aside for a moment, I am still a student so my shopping spree is on standby and wishing is all I can do at the moment. 

But honestly, composing this wish list post has actually got me rather excited for the upcoming season, and do I dare say the C word? Okay maybe it's a tad early to be thinking about Christmas just yet (oops I said it). For now, see what bit and bobs I'm loving for this season.

1. All hail the new palettes from the 'A Novel Romance' collection at Mac. My personal favourite, 'A passionate quest' is a premade made palette of the most gorgeous autumnal shades of pinks and purples, with a hint of navy and slight shimmery pigments, to die for! £30.
2. Also from Mac and the 'A Novel Romance' collection, are these lush lipsticks. Available in a few shades but I have my heart set on 'Myself', a gorgeous nude beige for a more a natural look and 'Hearts a flame' a statement purpley red that is perfect for the season. Both £15.50.
3. I am loving a cropped knit and shirt look at the mo, find this grey knit in New Look for a mere £14.99 and this silk shirt from Zara, £39.99.
4. You can never go wrong with a pair of super skinny dark wash jeans to team with your autumn knits, River Island, £45.
5. The most gorgeous pair of boots that will unfortunately remain on my wish list for a long time yet, Kurt Geiger, £90.
6. I have seen these everywhere in the shops recently but I have found no other other duster coat quite like this one, this will be hanging in my wardrobe one day, Zara, £79.99
7. Practical, and a statement accessory, this large faced bracelet watch can be found in River Island, £28.
8.Would it be autumn without a tan tote bag? Of course not. I have my eyes on this one from Zara, priced at a purse friendly £29.99.

What's on your autumn wish lists?

Until next time,

Ellie

Do it like a dude

Recently I have unintentionally found  myself wearing a range of loose fit, boyish clothing and have since been more and more aware of this type of look in stores and magazines. And quite frankly, it is safe to say I have now fallen in love with the boyfriend fit trend!

In this slightly more summery weather there is nothing more I have loved to do in a morning than throw on a pair of ripped jeans, a loose fit T or cami with some Birkenstock sandals and a pair of shades. It's great to be comfotabale and feel great in what I'm wearing, so for me I think this trend is a win win. If you're yet to discover the boyfriend trend, take a look at some of my fave high street pieces below. I have put together some outfit combinations, however a lot of these garments would look great mixed and matched too!

River Island Duster Jacket £55
RI Loose Fitting Black Top £22
RI Long Shorts £30
Topshop Smart Rucksack £38
Office Silver Birkenstock Sandals £39.95
ASOS Half Frame Sunglasses £12
RI Icon T-shirt £16
RI Ripped Boyfriend Jeans £40
Dune Black Snake Espadrille Pumps £75
H&M L'Amour Jumper Initially £14.99 Sale £8
Topshop Ripped White Skinny Jeans £38


Are you a fan of this trend?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this post so feel free to comment below.

Until next time.

Ellie

Bloggers Event: Happy Birthday Nuffnang

Nuffnang is the one of the world leading blog communities for people who share a love for networking and blogging. Although established in 8 different countries, Nuffnang UK celebrated their first birthday this year and I was delighted to be able to attend their first birthday bash! As I have just moved down to the big city on placement, I was very excited to attend my first London based blogging event and meet some new bloggers! Nuffnang welcomes all kinds of bloggers so it was great to meet such a lovely bunch of bloggers all with different blog genres and have a good ol' gossip about topics including food, lifestyle, fashion, travel, weddings, the list was endless! To where I wore River Island, Marks & Spencers, and ASOS, the event itself was based in East London at Netil 360, a rooftop terrace and bar. I had yet to discover this part of London so had no idea what to expect. From below, the Netil 260 building looks just like your ordinary high rise building, nothing exciting, but after climbing/crawling up the many flights of stairs you arrive to the most gorgeous setting with amazing views overlooking the whole of central London. With sights of The London eye, The Gerkin, and The Shard, a perfect hideaway from all the buzz that you'd never guess was awaiting you from downstairs. It helped we were particularly lucky with the weather that day, and I can imagine how lovely it would be to spend a whole summers day or evening up there with a glass of chilled Pimms. On the subject of Pimms, all bloggers were welcomed with a glass on arrival, I was in my element straight away, we were also treated to a complimentary lunch provided by Club Mexicana, a pop up restaurant serving the scrummiest mexcian tacos including a vegan option which I would usually be unlikely to opt for but it was delicious! My visit, although a bit of a whistle stop one as I had to be at another event (which I will be posting about shortly) was more than enjoyable. A pleasant summers afternoon accompanied with great company and great food. Thanks again Nuffnang, see you next time!

If you would like to check out some of the other bloggers I met check out the links below!
Bloomzy
Petite Promise
Tiffany Kml
Daydream In Blue

Are you part of the Nuffnang community elsewhere in the country?
Have you been to any events recently?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway below for the chance to win some hair & beauty goodies!