NOTD: I Heart You

by Sanchia

If you've been following my posts then you'll already have spotted today's NOTD in my most recent Can't Live Without review. I decided to take another stab at the design today because my first effort was pretty bad!

Snow White (£5) and Red Alert (£5), both by Models Own

Once I'd done the red base coat, I cut the heart shape out of a piece of paper, stuck my paper "stencil" to my nail with tape, painted over the heart-shaped gap with the white varnish, and then left it to dry before removing the paper. (If you get any residual paper stuck to the nail, it should come off after you've washed your hands.)

I had to do a slightly smaller version for my little finger, and a bigger one for my thumb, but I'm really getting into this stencil thing! It makes it practically impossible to mess up my right hand.

Remember, you can leave a comment below, e-mail me (see the sidebar for the address), or tweet me @wakeorsleep if you want to get in touch!

Love Sanchia xxx

Festival Time.

So while Sanchia has been sunning herself in florida, I've spent a long weekend living in a tent at Latitude festival. (My first ever festival!)

Beinga festival virgin, I of course ended up taking far to much stuff.

My (annotated)packing list!

• Dresses x 2 (didn't wear either was too windy!)
• Oasis Playsuit (wore for one day)
• H&M denim shorts. Definately my new festival staple. Wore them for 3 of the 4 days with different tops. Wore with my UO plaited brown belt.
• Topshop Coral crop top - perfect for the weather as kept my shoulders covered (I burn very easily) but was nice & cool!
• River Island striped top - picked this up for £5 in the river island sale and went well with the shorts and my hunters
• Navy hunter wellies - love these so much.
• Aldo gladiator sandals - bought these last year and have worn them so much since. I love the detailing on them and we don't have an Aldo in Norwich so have never seen anyone else wearing them!
• flipflops - great for morning shower/toilet trips!
• Pack-a-mac - Came in useful during a thunderstorm!
• Bags - Marc by Marc Jacobs tote, UO satchel and Topshop mini satchel.
  

But my definate fashion staple? Batiste Dry Shampoo. So useful. Absolutely love this stuff. Such a hair saver!
So on to the festival itself. Was amazing! A great mix of music, comedy, poetry, arts and fashion! Highlights were definately Florence & The Machine, Matthew P, Lissie, Vampire Weekend, Mumford & Son, Noah and The Whale, Josh Radin, Mark Watson, Phil Jupitus and the Chelsea & Central St Martins graduate fashion show. I'll definately be going back next year!

Tents!

The Graduate Fashion Show - the runway went across the lake!

Was hoping to meet up with Milly who runs the lovely blog mlle_milly (definately worth a look!) but my phone ran out of battery so I couldn't contact her! (very annoyingly!)
So now I'm no longer a festival virgin, what are my tips?

• the lighter you pack the better - we had to lug all our stuff a fair way and my shoulders were killing the next day!
• Wear your heaviest items there/back!
• Picking a staple like denim shorts is a great way to cut back on the number of clothes you need as you can just take a few items to match!
• Pick a bag big enough to fit a bottle of water, programme and raincoat in.
• Charge your phone well or take a spare phone you can put your sim card into (I ran out after 2 1/2 days - not good!)
• dry shampoo!
• don't take too many accessories. I wore the same necklace/gold cuff every day (I did have some earrings but the wind was so strong, they both broke off!)
  

So have you been to any festivals this year? What's your festival style? Any tips to share?

Love Millie xxx

Pack It Up & Move It On.

By Sanchia xxx

"The only situation when deciding what to wear becomes a waste of time is when you're on HOLIDAY."

That's been my mantra for pretty much the last 18 years – putting together a holiday wardrobe annoys me so much that over the years I've got it down to a pretty fine art, so I thought I'd do a post about capsule wardrobes and packing for your summer holidays, and hopefully we can give each other some hints and tips. :)

Packin' up ma suitcase for a week in Florida, USA!

Right then, first things first. When I'm deciding on which clothes to take, I think about:

• climate/ freakish weather tendencies of where you're going (seems like an obvious one, but when I packed for the glorious sunshine of Florida I did not account for tropical thunderstorms. I know, I'm stupid. :P But hopefully by writing this down, someone somewhere can take something positive from my idiocy!)
• how long you're staying/ possibility of washing clothes while you're there (less clothes required = more room for shopping, YES!)
• any events or occasions you'll be attending (that might require a formal dress/ heels/ fancy dress costume/ etc.)
• how much luggage you're prepared or allowed to take (and how much space you have to leave in your suitcase for other things)
• what kind of shoes you'll need (my family are into long-distance walking city breaks) for day AND night (beaten-up brogues in a posh restaurant? Methinks not ...)
• the local dress code (e.g. the Spanish city-types are always classy and well-dressed. All. The. Time. Which totally threw me in Barcelona! But obviously don't smother your own style just to fit in, because then you'll just feel horrible.)

I'd say the basic key is layers (if you're going from a cold to hot climate or vice versa then knee socks, scarves and cropped tops or cardigans will be your best friends at the airport), and anything with mix & match potential. Beware the potential for tanning marks: for Florida I made sure I wore a different kind of top each day – spaghetti strap, thick vest-top type strap, bandeau, sleeves – and I'm tan-line free! Also, only take pieces you love – if you wouldn't wear it here, you're certainly not going to be comfortable in it away from home. Don't skimp on jewellery, accessories and shoes, as they can completely transform an outfit, especially if you're relying on the day-to-night thing, and don't forget at least one kinda smart sort of evening dress type thingy (I took my maxi dress and DEAR HEAVENS I have no idea how I ever managed without it).

... aaaaand here are some pictures of what I wore while I was in sunny Florida:

So to sum up, for holiday packing my three basic rules are:

1. Practicality over everything else for the day.

2. Something less practical for the evening.

3. Mixing and matching layers will solve all your problems.

If you've got any more advice on capsule wardrobes or a clothes-related holiday anecdote to share, you can leave a comment below, e-mail us (see the sidebar for the address), or tweet me @wakeorsleep.

Happy holidaying, stylish friends!

Love Sanchia xxx

Introducing ...

Behind the Style Goddesses blog are two Norwich-based students: Millie and Sanchia. We thought we'd do a bit of Q&A so you can find out what makes us tick!

MILLIE (@AllCamillaWrote)

The label I'd love to own is ...

For accessories: all those that know me know that one of my lifetime ambitions is to own a Mulberry Bayswater (and an Alexa if possible!); for general fashion: I’m also a bit of a Marc Jacobs fan (I love his prints); for shoes and bags: on the more high street end, Kate Kanzier wins for me – if you haven’t checked her out, do it, she has some beautiful brogues and sandals and her bags are such classic designs; for general fashion/ beauty/ gifts: Liberty London – who can’t love their floral prints?

My room 101 contains ...

Crocs, cooked peas and carrots (I like them raw), and very large people wearing leggings/ jeggings/ tops as dresses!

Take my shopping advice:

Wear a dress when you go shopping as it’s so much quicker to try clothes on if you’re not wearing loads of layers!

The best piece in my wardrobe is ...

Silence and Noise blazer from Urban Outfitters or my Links of London charm bracelet.

My wish list for A/W 2010 contains ...

I love the vivid colours and the structured tailoring Ada Zanditon used in her A/W 2010 collection at LFW. I’m also a big velvet fan so I’m glad that’s really going to be big this winter, also lusting after some of the Melissa Odabash designs which score double A/W trend points for mastering the bohemian and draping looks.

My fave high street/ online stores are ...

Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Miss Selfridge, Zara, French Connection, Warehouse, All Saints, H&M, ASOS, Ebay, Net-A-Porter/ Outnet & Shopstyle.

SANCHIA (@wakeorsleep)

The label I'd love to own is ...

The late Luella was everything that's fresh and unique about British style! Full skirts, high waists, cutesy floral prints and TWEE bows ... what more could a girl ask for? But in this terrible post-Bartley world, I'm going to say Erdem, for his practically hallucinogenic prints!

My room 101 contains ...

White tops with black leggings – in fact, just leggings in general – the eight-legged S-word, and the pain of playing acoustic guitar after you've let your finger pads get soft! Ay ay ay.

Take my shopping advice:

Save money by buying long tops from tall collections in shops and wearing them as dresses. Also, don't be afraid to wear necklaces as belts or bracelets. (What can I say, I'm a cheapskate ... :P)

The best piece in my wardrobe is ...

My gorgeously soft, brown leather H&M belt (an absolute STEAL for a tenner).

My wish list for A/W 2010 contains ...

Erdem's printed wool cape, £3780. It's a beautifully voluminous number with a really striking turquoise and red print towards the hem – you absolutely cannot ignore it, and I absolutely cannot afford it! I also love Chanel & Elie Tahari's furry shoe boots, and Stella McCartney's oversized cable-knit sweaters.

My fave high street/ online stores are ...

For attention to detail, buttonsbucklesandbelts.com will let you transform an outfit instantly; for tights and socks, mytights.com; for jewellery, Accessorize; and as for clothes, H&M is my undisputed life partner!